Forest and Stream. 



A Weekly Journal of the Rod and Gun. 



I'KBMS, $4 A Yeah.. 10 Cts. a Copy. I 

 Six Months, $3. f 



NEW YORK, OCTOBER 29, 1885. 



J VOL. XXV.— No. 14. 



( Nos. 39 & 40 Park Row, New York. 



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Foreat and Stream Pabllshlnie Oo. 

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C0NTENT8. 



Editorial. 



The "Forest and Stream" Tra- 

 jecioryTest. 



The Indians and the War De- 

 partment. 



A New Raciing Class of Canoeists 



The Time Limit iu Races. 



More Starving Indians. 



Grizzly Bear and Buffalo. 

 The Sportsman TotmisT. 



The Bull Fight. 



Bleating for Deer. 

 Natural Histoby. 



About Sponges. 



Range of the Grizzly. 

 Game Bag and Gun. 



Range of the White Goat. 



Hunting for Meat. 



Texas Attractions. 



Wire Cartridges. 



Minnesota Game Notes. 



Side-Hunts. 



Another Day with the Squirri-is. 

 Lost in the Mame Woods. 

 Game About Seneca Falls. 



CAMP-FiBK FLICKBRDK+f;. 



Sea and Riter Fishing. 

 The Angling Tournament. 

 Tautog. 



Autumn Fishing in Barnegat 

 Bay. 



Sea .*.nd Riveb, Fishino. 



The Tjdj Pond Couatrv. 



The Ichthyophagous Dinner. 

 Fishculture. 



Sebago Salmon Planting. 

 The Kennel. 



Collie Fi-aud at Philadelphia. 



The Black and Tan CoLlios 



Fraudulent Pedigrees. 



Beagle Records 



The fiobins Island Field Trials?. 



The P'uture o." l^og Shows. 



Prince Charles Spaniels. 



Beagles at PliilanelpbiM. 



Keunel Notes. 



Kennel Management. 

 Rifle and Trap Shooting. 



Range and Gallery. 



The Trap. 

 Canoeing. 



A Western Branch of the A.C.A, 



Racers and Cruiser.<. 



Ci>nstruetionof "Deja's"' Boat. 



A "B" Line from Humboldt. 



Establishment of a Senior Class, 



Spj inglield C. C. Regatta. 

 Yaohttng. 



Whose Waterloo y 



Geuesta and C-Sracie. 

 Answers to Correspondents. 



THE INBIANS ANB THE WAR DEPARTMENT. 

 TT is reported that the President has deteriniued to recom- 

 mend a change in the method of purchasing supplies 

 for the Indians, and that he will advise that in futiu'e this 

 duty shall be entrusted to the arm)'. 



It is to be hoped that this report is true. The manner in 

 which, their provisions have been supplied to the Indians has 

 long been known to be disgraceful, and the record of the 

 Government in this respect is a sorry one. Although the 

 misdeeds of contractors and Indian agents have often been 

 exposed, the old-time methods still prevail in very many 

 cases. Out in the Western country it has passed into 

 a proverb that the easiest, surest and quickest v?ay to 

 make money is lo get au Indian contract. Does such 

 a contract call for provisions? The persons furnishing 

 them send on rusty pork, damaged flour, and spoiled bacon. 

 For clothing? The cloth is rotten and the workmanship of 

 the poorest kind. For beef? The contractor gathers all the 

 lean Texans, all the big-jawed and otherwise sick steers that 

 he can find and delivers them. Too often all this material 

 is accepted by the complaisant inspector and paid for at 

 prices which would furnish good articles of each kind. 



Sometimes, it is true, the Indians became restive under 

 this system, and then the army was called upon and 

 the chase of the hostiles began. Meantime the contractors 

 and. their employes had had time to get out of the country, 

 and, regarding the war as none of their business, they pock- 

 eted their profits and made arrangements to get another 

 contract. 



The story is familiar enough, and it is quite time that the 

 system under which such a state of things was possible 

 should be changed. Among the people of the West, with 

 the exception of those who expect to, or are now making 

 money out of the Indians, the sentiment has long been 

 unanimous that the charge of these tribes should be turned 

 over to the army. We have urged this, and no longer than 

 two weeks ago spoke of it as something v?hich ought to be 

 done. We are glad to think that the administration takes so 

 wise a view of this subject as reported. 



There are many reasons why such a change should be 



made. Obviously the army is most nearly interested iu the 

 proper guardianship of the Indians. Most of the Indian 

 wars have been brought about by ill-treatment of some kind, 

 and the Indians would not be ill-treated if in the hands of the 

 army. Fighting Indians is not particularly pleasant work, 

 and there is no glory to .be got by chasing a few bucks over 

 the praii ie or through the mountains for a week or a month. 

 For thi.«, if for no other reason, the army would treat the 

 Indians well and so avoid such expensive wars as of past years. 

 It is evident, loo, that the Government can furnish supplies 

 more cheaply when the purchasing power is lodged in one 

 bureau instead of being in two. 



The most important reason, however, for making such a 

 change as the one recommended lies in the fact that the In- 

 dians will in this way be better .supplied. It is no secret 

 that in the past there has been a vast amount of corruption 

 iu the Indian Department, which a change to the army 

 would entirely do away with. Notw^ithstanding the occa- 

 sional lapses of which we Jiear among army men, it is still the 

 fact that the otBicers of the army are iis a rule gentlemen of 

 high standing, and are thus far better able to withstand the 

 temptations which are likely to assail those who have fo 

 deal with the Indians than is the average civilian, who 

 may have received his appointment as a reward for 

 political work done for his candidate at the polls, nor 

 vrould the conduct of officers in charge of Indians be at all 

 influenced by those political considerations which oftentimes 

 have so great weight with the civilian. There will be no 

 cases where an army officer to make a good record with his 

 department will trj' to manage his agency so economically 

 as to starve the people who have been placed in his charge. 



The present movement is a long step in the right direction, 

 and, if carried into effect, will do much to better the con 

 ditiou of the Indians. 



THK F0RE8T AND STREAM'S TRAJECTORY TESTS. 



"flTHlLE our expert is busy computing the figures ueces- 

 ' ' sary to reach conclu.«ions on our trajectory testP, we 

 can only ask our readers to lie patient, assuring Ihcm that 

 the returns will be made at the earliest possible moment. To 

 those of our readers who have written that thej'- would defer 

 making contemplated purchases of rifles until after the re- 

 port of tests, we would say go on and make your purchase; 

 any of the standard and well-established makes of American 

 breechloaders are good enough for any hunter. He must, of 

 course, exercise discretion in his selection. He must not ex- 

 pect a S6[uirrel rifle to knock over a bear; but a rifle from 

 any of the well-known armories, used as the experience of 

 its makers shows it should be used, and where the buyer 

 knows how to load and aim a rifle, there need be no grumb- 

 ling at the piece. The fixed error of the weapon is so much 

 less than the average probable personal error of the shooter 

 that, until the latter is corrected, there ought to be less com- 

 plaint at the former. 



Of course each make of rifle has its advantages and also its 

 disadvantages, and there is need of great care in picking out 

 a weapon; but when the fault-finding period comes, let the 

 shooter acknowledge that he does not know how to shoot the 

 rifle as well as the rifle knows how to shoot. 



A NEW RACING CLASS OF CANOEISTS. 

 lyj O similar body of sportsmen here or abroad have taken 

 -L^ the high standard regarding racing that has character- 

 ized the American Canoe Association. It has from the first 

 encouraged racing as the principal factor in the improve- 

 ment of boats and rigs and the encouragement of skill in 

 haudhng; and also as the most interesting feature to out- 

 siders at the meets, and the one most likely to promote 

 interest in the sport. At the same time it has so hedged in the 

 races with such restrictions as ])rohibit any professionalism, 

 but encourage aU present to enter races. Racing for any- 

 thing but honor and the satisfaction of making a creditable 

 performance, is strictly discountenanced, and the prizes 

 given are of little intrinsic value. 



Last week we published a suggestion by Mr. R. W. Gib- 

 son, last year chairman of the regatta committee, looking to 

 a still further extension of the same idea. His plan is to 

 establish a class open only to men who have won a certain 

 number of paddling or sailing races, these men to be 

 entitled to carry a distinguishing flag. No member will be 

 allowed to take a prize in a regular xissociation race, though 

 he may enter and be accorded first place if successful. By 

 this plan the few expert sailors who would take most of 

 the prizes are by degrees removed and the prizes are 

 open to the majority, while the presence of the veterans in 



the races, working only for the honor of first place, will be 

 an additional incentive to the regular contestants who will 

 not care to be beaten badly, even though they win a prize. 

 The extra class itself offers the highest incentive to the ama- 

 teur sailor, as the simple flag he will be entitled to fly is in 

 itself a warrant of his skill as a sailor or paddler, and will be 

 valued more than any cup or other trophy. It really in- 

 creases the number of prizes without the usual objection, 

 that when too numerous the value is lessened. Admission to 

 the class itself would be one of the highest prizes to be raced 

 for; the field of entries in the general races would be a large 

 one, and the mere honor of beating it should content a man, 

 even though no prize went with it, as his reputation would 

 be known to all canoeists; while among the juniors to take 

 first prize would be something, but the honor of beating the 

 seniors would be still greater. No extra labor would accrue 

 to the regatta committee wh© already have enough to do. A 

 number of extra races would soon be arranged among the 

 first class men only, which would add still further to the 

 attractions of the meet. On the whole, the scheme is an ex 

 cellent one and we hope to .see it accepted by the Association 

 this fall 



THE TIME LIMIT IN RACES. 

 \ CASE has lately occurred in one of our local yacht 

 clubs in which, according to the testimony of a 

 number, a race was not sailed within the time limit set forth 

 by the <:lub rules, but was nevertheless decided to have 

 been within the time by the judges' watch. Club 

 members on shore, others on the various boats, and the 

 reporters on the club steamer, all limed the start and the 

 finish and made the time of the first yacht considerably 

 over the time allowed. In spite of this the judges at once 

 announced that the race had been made and declared their 

 time correct. As the matter was widely discussed within a 

 few days after the race, the feeling was general that the 

 official time was not correct and that the offl-cials had, to 

 avoid the trouble and expense of a resail, stretched the limit, 

 a state of affairs that has created a great de:il of dissatisfac- 

 tion among many of the club members. The matter was 

 considered at a club meeting, the regatta committee declined 

 to question in any way the retm-n of the judges, and though 

 one of the latter declined to act. the other two stood by their 

 first decision, and in spite of much opposition the sail was 

 declared a bona fide race and the prizes awarded. As no 

 outside boats were entered it is simply a family quarrel 

 which the club may he left to settle among themselves, but 

 it will interest all yachtsmen who may be inclined at any 

 time to enter the regattas of this club to watch the outcome 

 of the dispute. If a time limit means anything at all it must 

 be observed ; if the club can have one race only, or if it is 

 to be decided, race or no race, at the will of a few officials, 

 the sooner the limit is wiped off the books the better for the 

 reputation of the club. Members who enter a race under 

 certain definite stipulations may well object if these are 

 thrown overboard at the will of a few, and contrary to the 

 laws and customs of the club. If for any reason the time 

 limit was exceeded, but it was impracticable or undesirable 

 to order a resail, the matter might, if none of the contest- 

 ants objected, be referred to a general meeting of the club, 

 as to whether the race should stand, but every man who 

 starts in a race has a right to demand that all the conditions 

 shall be compUed with, and any trifling with this right must 

 bring discredit on the club countenancing it. 



A CoNTRtBUTiON TO HisTORY,— The account of elk and 

 deer killing in Wyoming, published elsewhere, is not a record 

 of exhilarating sport. It is a cold blooded story of cold- 

 blooded butchery for winter meat. We give it as a contri- 

 bution to the history of the extinction of American big game. 

 The meat hunt of the Colorado party has its parallel in a 

 thousand other holocausts of the same character. There is 

 one thing for which the writer of the account deserves credit; 

 he does not attempt to magnify the butchery into sport, he is 

 honest enough to call it by its right name. We print it, not 

 for the pleasure of the reader, simply as an illustration of 

 how and why the game of the West is fading from sight. 



Passauumkeac^ Pedagogy.— They are slowly learning 

 some things up in the Maine woods. One lesson is that if 

 deer are killed out of season the privilege must be paid for. 

 Another is that it does not pay to net trout on their spawn- 

 ing beds. Instruction to this effect, in the shape of a fine 

 and costs, has just been given to a Clear Stream poacher by 

 a Passadumkeag justice of the peace, whose pedagogical 

 methods are worthy of all praise. 



