[Feb. 5, 1885. 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



29 



men who might drink to excess themselves tell me to "Stick 

 to that" than I have had them urge me or pass it a second 

 time. 



Mr. Hardy speaks as if the money distributed by the 

 sportsman was of but little benefit to any one excepting the 

 railroads, hotels and guides. Had his home in years past 

 been in one of those border towns visited by sportsmen, and 

 his occupation not a guide but one of the poorer class of 

 farmers such as Mr. Wells describes (and in describing did 

 not draw from bis imagination), he would find that the 

 money brought into the place by the sportsman was a great 

 benefit to him. When the settiers produce such commodi- 

 ties as butter, eggs, lambs aud chickens, he receives for them 

 more ready cash at his own door than he would after he had 

 transported them twenty or forty miles to the railroad. Is 

 this not an advantage? ' Again, in case of sudden sickness 

 or accident, instead of the twenty miles' drive to Phillips for 

 the doctor, the telephone does the work: the message is sent 

 and back comes an answer, the doctor will start in five 

 minutes. As the man pays his fifteen cents and hurries back 

 to the bedside of his wife or child, does he realize no benefit 

 from the money distributed by the sportsmau? And though 

 an individual may receive no money directly from the sports- 

 man, is the benefit the less, and cannot he afford to Ipse 

 some of his pleasure and perhaps immediate gain in hunting 

 and fishing for it? 



As far as the great damage to the timber lands of our 

 State by fire Is concerned, this is true to the letter; and 1 do 

 not wonder that the men that own wild land look with sus- 

 picion on every one who goes in the woods. In some cases 

 sportsmen cause these fires, but I think these cases are few. 

 It is generally supposed that the sportsman knows nothing 

 about building a camp-fire, and is liable to burn the country 

 up at any time; were it not that the sportsman is in most 

 every case attended by a guide who is experienced and who 

 does this kind of work, there might be cause, for alarm. 1 

 have been over the hunting and fishing grounds of our State 

 as wet) as other sections of it considerably, and should say 

 that certainly in two-thirds of the cases the fires were started 

 bj r people much nearer home than the sportsman. Take 

 some of the tracts of country that were not visited by sports- 

 men until within a. few year's; look them over and see if you 

 can find as many places where fires have been started and 

 have done more or less damage since the guide began to 

 build his "shanty" (which was as soon as the sportsman be- 

 gan to visit, the region), as were started in the same number 

 of years before; and when you find a burnt place do not say 

 that the sportsman did it until you have asked some ques- 

 tions. When a man puts his money and labor into a camp 

 in the woods— no matter how cheap or how expensive it 

 may be— he does not build it to be burned up, neither does 

 he want to see the country about it burned, which would be 

 just as disastrous to him. Does not his own self interest, if 

 nothing more, cause him to be just as careful with fire as he 

 would be if the laud were all his own, and would not he 

 1 'fight fire" with just as good a will? The men who own the 

 timber lands in this region are greatly respected by the 

 guides and all who have had dealings with them, and this 

 does iliem no harm in regard to the safety of their property. 

 On a recent trip to the more northern and eastern part of our 

 State, I was surprised to see how much more damage had 

 been done by fire there than in this part. 



In iegard to the slaughter of fish and game by the French 

 lumbermen, spoken of in my friend Danforth's letter to Mr. 

 Wells, I cannot speak from experience, as I have not been 

 in that vicinity in the winter since they commenced to 

 lumber it, but John has been there a greater part of the 

 time, and I well warrant that he knows what he is talking 

 about. Mr. Hardy has not "the exact ground" located 

 just right after all his trouble; it is more than thirty miles 

 north of Mr. Coe's operation. 



Your North Bridgton correspondent seems to be of the 

 opinion that "the little gnat of a Frenchman" is not much 

 on the hunt. I should hke to see the gentleman try to step 

 in that little fellow's tracks, when he has snowshoes on and 

 is "crusting" a deer. Unless he is blessed with a very long 

 pair of legs he would find that there was a chance for some 

 strain there. He may know the Frenchman as he is at work 

 in the mills and living in our villages and cities; but I know 

 him as he is in his border Canadian settlement home, and I 

 have also seen his track in the woods. 



I wonder if Mr, Hardy realizes the difference in the sports- 

 man, hotel keeper and guide of '58 and '85. My experience 

 is that no two gentlemen can be found to day that would 

 waste three hundred pounds of trout at any public fishing 

 place in Maine. If they did they would most likely be 

 spoken to by both hotel keeper and guide. The practice of 

 "socking out" has given way to the wiser course of unhook- 

 ing and letting go all fish that are not needed. This is every 

 day gaining strength, and it is the duty of every hotel keeper 

 and guide to "talk it up." As fly-fishing and light rods have 

 come into fashion, it is found that a few fish caught on the 

 "light rig" afford much more pleasure and the needed exer- 

 cise than many fish caught on the "derrick." The two- 

 pounder caught on the fly with the light rod affords _ more 

 pleasure than the eight-pounder caught on the hand-line or 

 stiff bait-rod. Viewing matters in this light, would it not 

 If more practicable to drop bait-fishing from July 1, instead 

 of stopping all fishing Sept. 1 or 15, as has been proposed. 

 In doing this the large trout (the best breeders) that congre- 

 gate ia the deep holes of the lake and succumb to the 

 patience of the deep-water fisherman, would be spared to 

 breed or be caught in a way that would mean something 

 besides just the getting. Besides this, the bushels of chubs, 

 suckers and redsides (the food of the trout) that are caught 

 and chopped up to bait these places would also be spared 

 Ripe spawn cau sometimes be found in trout at all seasons 

 of the year. 



Although I am writing in a 12x14 room, where a game of 

 high-low is going on, and my head is full of "What's trump?" 

 "Here, you, let that be, and "Put your Pede right on 

 thare," I cannot hold up without thanking Mr. Hardy, in 

 behalf of myself and my guide friends, for his compliment 

 as to his ideal Maine guide. Capt. F. 0. Barker. 



Bemis Camps, Rangeley, Me. 



EdAtw Forest and Stream: 



I have been greatly interested in the various articles re- 

 garding the "Maine Deer Law," and the opinions of the 

 majority of your correspondents are good, and should be 

 allowed to go unchallenged, but when one writer asserts 

 that the French Canadian is, so far as fish and game are con- 

 cerned, a quiet and inoffensive person, it is time that we who 

 are thoroughly acquainted with the habitant should cry 

 "halt." My own experience with the country "Canuck" 

 relative to the protection of fish and game, has been a long 

 and eventful dne, and instead of finding them veritable 



saints, I have found them, as a rule, a class of inveterate 

 pothunters of the lowest kind. They will kill for the pot 

 everything, from a small bird to a mother partridge with her 

 brood, or a doe heavy with young in March. During the 

 season of deep snows and crusting they swarm through the 

 Megantic woods in this Province, running down and 

 slaughtering the few deer that remain in that country, and 

 they" also carry their depredations over the border into North- 

 eastern Vermont, around Big and Little Averill and Leach 

 lakes; also into the extreme northern part of New Hamp- 

 shire, etc. They fish through the ice, and when the ice goes 

 out their set-lines and gill-nets may be found in every stream 

 and lake in the Province, as well 'as their snares for part- 

 ridge arid hare are to be found iu every bush near where 

 they reside. The greater portion of small game that is 

 brought into this market (Montreal and Quebec) is killed by 

 the French habitants. During the summer months the in- 

 nocent "Canuck" may be met at all hours of the day or 

 night on our waters prowling about in his dugout with guu, 

 jack and spear, and he seldom returns home empty-handed. 

 This utter disregard of fish and game protection is not con- 

 fined wholly to the lower class of French habitants, as a 

 perusal of the game laws of this Province will prove. 



We have here in Montreal a large and earnest working 

 game protection society, but they can do but little toward 

 remedying the defects in the game laws beyond putting the 

 present laws in force, as the French are largely in the 

 majority in the local House of Parliament. The Missisquoi 

 River, in the vicinity of Highgate, Vt., has been lately 

 stocked with black bass, and last summer the noble Parlez- 

 ixnis neglected his work, and spent his time iu scooping out 

 the fry "by the thousands. The Legislature of that State, 

 however, has put a stop to that work by passing a law for- 

 bidding any bass to be taken less than ten inches in length, 

 The worst poachers on the Missisquoi marshes last season 

 were French Canadians fresh from the factories. If 1 had 

 the time and space, I might give numerous incidents that 

 have come under my personal observation to prove the truth 

 of my statement that the French habitant makes the most 

 inveterate of pot-hunters. 



I notice in your last issue au item that a deer had been 

 seen on Sutton Mountain, nearRichford, Vt. Sutton Moun- 

 tain is over the line in the Province of Quebec. Some seven 

 years ago, in the interest of "fish and game protection," 1 

 visited a back settlement of Ensrlish settlers on that moun- 

 tain, and learned from a local trapper, Mr. Chester Aiken, 

 thas there was at that time, the month of March, a yard of 

 about a dozen deer on the mountain, and the Engl^h resi- 

 dents in that vicinity have interested themselves to protect 

 these deer, so it is quite probable that their numbers have 

 increased rather than diminished. Stanstead. 



Montreal, Canada. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Sportsmen will learn with a feeling of gratitude that but 

 very little venison is coming into the Boston market, as com- 

 pared with former seasons. When the close time for Maine 

 venison came on (Jan. 1), the dealers in that State who hap- 

 pened to be still disposing of each his lawful quota of "three 

 deer, two caribou and one moose," quickly put the meat out 

 of sight. The custom of obeying the game, laws in that State 

 becomes easier as it becomes more of "a custom. The Game 

 Commissioners and sportsmen of Maine are much pleased 

 with this evidence of actual progress in public opinion. It 

 is not of their own marketmen or hunters that the earnest 

 friends of game protection in Maine have to complain, but 

 of other markets which would be glad to offer Maine game 

 at all seasons, and of sportsmen who desire unbridled license 

 to destroy when it best suits their own convenience. 



When the Maine venison season closed, but little was 

 shipped to Boston this year, for the trained force of wardens 

 were, on the alert. At this the Boston game dealer is some- 

 what disappointed. He gets a little venison, it is true, but 

 it is chiefly western. Not more than one deer out of fifty in 

 1882-3 is seen here this season. The chances for crust-hunted 

 venison are also very small. The snow in the Maine woods 

 is not yet deep enough to hinder a deer from making full 

 speed. An early thin crust over not six inches of snow pre- 

 vented the late December hunting— the deer could run, but 

 the hunters could not approach, the breaking crust making 

 noise enough to stampede every deer or caribou within two 

 miles. One or two hunting parties gave up in despair. 

 Taken all in all, it has been a wonderful season thus far for 

 the preservarion of deer. 



The chances are very small that the Maine Legislature will 

 make September an open month. The Maine papers do not 

 generally favor the measure. The reply of "North Bridg- 

 ton" to Mr. Weils, in Forest and Stream, has been exten- 

 sively republished in Maine, and it will also be used in reply 

 to that gentleman's argumeat before the committee of the 

 Legislature. The prevailing sentiment of the Legislature of 

 that State is one of gratitude to the Commissioners for the 

 good work they have done, and the expression is likely to be 

 very general in favor of giving them their own way for 

 a while longer. Some of the strong expressions of adverse 

 opinion, which have been published, are received by the 

 earnest laborers for game protection in Maine as promulgated 

 in rather bad taste, since the authorities have in their pos- 

 session the testimony of guides going to show that one or 

 two at least of the earnest advocates for open September are 

 guilty of "jack-shooting" and "calling" in Maine in that 

 month. Special. 



A SCORE OF HITS AND MISSES. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I have just finished reading "Wells's" account of his 

 "partridge" hunt in Chatham, and was particularly inter- 

 ested in, and I must say, pleased with his summing up of 

 "shells used" and "birds bagged." I "felt good all over" 

 to see that some of the older crack shots are satisfied with 

 killing one-half their shots. So many men claim to do so 

 much better, yet when I hunt with them, do so much worse. 

 Now I know and all who have shot birds season after season 

 kDOW that to figure up at the end of the season and find that 

 when we have bagged one-half as many birds on the wing 

 as the number of shells used, snapshots and all others being 

 counted, we have done much better than usually falls to our 

 lot. 



Very few young sportsmen think to keep a record of shots 

 when they hunt, sometimes as often as three days in the 

 week. However, having been out shooting less than usual 

 this winter and fall, I have kept an account of my outings, 

 and find I am "ahead of the record," though I am confident 

 that had I kept a similar record during the two preceding 

 seasons I should have been behind; I had not learned the 

 peculiarities of my gun until this season— the exact load re- 

 quired, its limit of range, etc. , etc. I find that by keeping 



one gun for constant use, and confining myself entirely to 

 its use, I can make much heavier scores than when con- 

 stantly changing guns. 



I began shooting the present season quite late, after the 

 birds were full grown and strong, and my outings resulted 

 as follows, the time of each outing not exceeding a half 

 day, generally an afternoou- 



First (afternoon), used 10 shells; bagged 7 birds 



Second (a fterooon), " 19 " " 14 " 



Third (afternoon), " ,...18 " " 18 " 



Fourth (morning), " 22 " " 12 " 



Fifth (afternoon), " .... 7 " " .... 4 " 



Sixth (morning). " ...10 " " 8 " 



Seventh (afternoon), " 8 u " 7 " 



Total 9-1 shells 70 birds 



Thus scoring a very good average, though this may be 

 accounted for by my getting such few shots, as I was break- 

 ing mv young dog and birds were unusually scarce. You. 

 will notice that one afternoon's work was 18 shots and 18 

 birds. Two shots were missed and I made two doubles. I 

 frequently kill as many as 300 birds of a season, but have 

 hunted very little this season, as the birds seem scarce and 

 we wish them to increase as much as possible during the 

 coming season. A very peculiar feature of the last outing 

 was the fact that I saw no male birds at all, and all of the 

 seven bagged were hens. Why is this, think you? I have 

 not noticed the same thing any previous year. 



Having been badly injured while fox hunting on Christ- 

 mas Day" my horse falling and throwing me and striking my 

 head with its front shoe, I have not been able to get around 

 much ; but am getting on my feet again and will give the 

 birds another "go" soon, when, if I find nothing but hen 

 birds, I shall lay my guu away until another season, or else 

 go to Currituck Sound goose shooting. A. F. R. 



Belvidehe, N. C. 



SOME REMARKABLE SHOTS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Like one of the recent contributors to this department, I 

 have made some remarkable shots, which didn't bring any- 

 thing to bag; but of I hem I will write at another time. 



Once I was calling three old gobbleis, and found them 

 coming straight toward me along a trail. Watching my op- 

 portunity, I succeeded in catching them in arow\ one behind 

 the other. I fired a rifle ball through all three, killing them 

 instantly. Three tine gobblers, weighing upward of twenty 

 pounds each, at one shot, I thougut was pretty good, especi- 

 ally as there were only three turkeys. 



just after the war. I was out hunting deer with a friend. 

 I soon killed a small oue. We concluded to take it imme- 

 diately to where our horses were hitched, a quarter of a mile 

 away. Soon alter starting, I saw a doe lying on a hillside 

 in easy shooting distance. 1 gave the shot to my friend. 

 When 'he fired, the deer flattened out on the ground, and I 

 heard the bullet whizzing on. He shot an army Enfield rifle 

 loaded with army cartridges. On goiug up to the dead deer, 

 we heard a rattling in the bushes a little further on, and on 

 looking found two well-grown fawns almost dead, both shot 

 through the necks; all three killed by one bullet, and after 

 all that execution it whizzed still further. 



I was trying to stalk an old buck antelope once, but failed 

 at every attempt. Finally growing discouraged I sat down 

 and concluded to try one shot at long range. 1 was using a 

 .40-90 Sharps rifle. Guessing the distance at 1,000 yards, I 

 made the proper elevation, and after careful aim, fired. The 

 bullet passed through his heart, killing him in a few seconds. 

 I call this a remarkable shot, though it was exactly what I 

 tried to do. 



I once bagged sixteen mallards at one shot, using a 12-bore 

 shotgun. They were feeding on acorns. My second barrel 

 failed to fire. Black Tail. 



El Paso, Texas. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Last autumn I was walking along the shores of a small 

 lake, cairying a .38-caliber rifle. Close to shore on the other 

 side, so distant as to be scarcely visible to the naked eye, 

 was a lone duck swimming around. Intending to induce it 

 to take wing, so that a companion with his shotgun might 

 possibly get a wing-shot, 1 raised the sights to 400 yards, 

 took aim and fired. There was a splash, a flutter, and the 

 duck lay dead upon the water. 



Another: During the winter a sudden severe cold snap 

 froze all the streams and ponds in this section. A friend 

 knowing of a large open spring, some six or eight miles dis- 

 tant, came around with his buggy, and we drove to the 

 spring. Sure enough the water was open, and the surface 

 so covered with big mallards that the water could not be 

 seen. The spring or open pond was about thirty yards long 

 and about ten wide. On the west side close to the water 

 there was a high bank, making approach to within twenty 

 yards very easy. We cautiously crawled up to the edge of 

 the bank and poured four barrels of No. 4 shot from our 

 breechloaders right down iuto that unconscious mass of 

 mallards, crowded into that small water hole, and killed — 

 one old drake; and he was probably scared to death. 



Tenderfoot. 



Clay Centre, Kan. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Your remarkable shot series or incidents are interesting, 

 though many, if not all, are accidental or simply chance 

 shots. Let me relate two chance shots. During the year 

 1853 I was camping on Floodwood Pond in the Adiron- 

 dacks, when deer were almost as thick as sheep in a farmer's 

 pasture, and you would think so when I tell you that one 

 day I counted fourteen in sight, in two hours from my 

 camp. One morning my guide and myself took a tramp 

 through the woo:is, and seeing a large buck, on the shore of 

 a small pond, he fired and we went around the pond to se- 

 cure our trophy, and imagine our surprise to find two dead 

 deer— the two were standing side by side. The next season 

 1 camped on the same ground. One day a companion bor- 

 rowed ray Lewis rifle. He with his guide shoved away from 

 the shore about two rods, and across a bay, certainly eighty 

 rods, saw a buck feeding. He took deadly aim and fired 

 more for the " fun of the thing, to see the deer run," than 

 with the least idea of capturing the prize. The ball struck 

 the water twice, glanced and killed the deer feeding on the 

 lily pads. M. D. R. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



While hunting in Spencer's Grove. Iowa, a few years ago, 

 a gray squirrel ran up a tree and disappeared behind a hunch 

 of leaves. Taking aim at where it "was supposed to be, I 

 fired, and two fine squirrels fell dead at the root of the tree. 

 Some sixty-five years ago, my grandfather made a home for 



