Nov. 1&, 18850 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



327 



once for some ^ood duck ground. Cooper and Bergau bave 

 killed every kind of waterfowl from the little dipper to tlie 

 beautiful swan, and they love now to sit and talk over their 

 many trips; for after forty or fifty years of duck shooting 

 thi^y can tell some yarns tliat would make even the Ancient 

 Mariner open his eyes. Tbey can tell of whole flocks of 

 broadbills being cut down, or 'of one single one killed at a 

 distance that your readers would not believe if I should tell 

 it; and how once a black duck came sailing over, only to 

 fall plump in a muskrat hole and to be lost. And so year 

 after year they go, only once now, in the fall, to take one 

 more' trip, which is all the pleasure they care for. They 

 talk of the trip for eleven months of the year. Some fall 

 will find their places tilled by younger gunners, who will 

 hear of the wonderful old men who could stand all day and 

 shoot as well as the best young men. Wad. 

 Red Bakk, N. J.^ 



DEER IN THE ADIRONDACKS. 



Editor Forent and Stream: 

 It is now time that the effects of the non-hounding law 



in New York began to show themselves, and I think that 

 many would be in terested to read repoits from various sections 

 of tlie Adirondacks. For myself I would be especially glad 

 to hear from the Saranac and St. Regis localities and also 

 from the Raquetle River country. Such qut^stions as the 

 following may bring out answers, in which all those who 

 have the welfare of 'the North Woods at heart, would be 

 greatly interested : Has hounding been generally practiced 

 since the passage of the law in the above mentioned locali- 

 ties? ff so have tJie wardens or their deputies been conver- 

 •sant with the fact? Have any complaints been made and 

 any iudictin(?nta been found uuuinst any sportsmen for the 

 violation of the uou-bnunding law? If so have the persons 

 indicted been acquitted or convicted? What is the senti- 

 ment of those sportsmen who frequent these places as re- 

 gards the advantages and disadvantages of the law as it now 

 stands? What is the feeling among the guides regaroing it? 

 By guides 1 do not mean one or two, but tbe general senti- 

 ment among the guides as a class through these sections. 

 We have read in your pappr articles from the extreme west- 

 ern part of the Adirondacks and a few short notes from Mr. 

 A. R. Fuller, of Meacham, but nothing definite has yet met 

 my eye concerning the large tract of country embraced in 

 the sections above mentioned, xis a very large uuml>er of 

 people— sportsmen, invalids, tourists, and others— annually 

 visit this section, it seems to me that some account of the 

 working of the law, whether for good or bad, ought to be 

 given to the readers of Forest xnd Stream. 



Ampersand, 



Reynakd'b Wiles.— Fair Haven, Vt., Nov. 13.— Reading 

 an account of foxes chmlung trees in Forest and Stream, 

 reminds me of a little incident that happened here some 

 years since. A friend of mine w^ho is quite a fox hunter 

 started out one cool, clear morning in mid-winter with two 

 hounds. They had no been out very long before they started 

 a fox from his lodge under a shelving rock. The hounds 

 gave him a warm run for three or four hours up and down 

 the ridge. A little after noon they came near a sawmill and 

 here the scent was lost. My friend bearing the hounds con- 

 tinually ill one s|)Ot, crossed over to them and found a 

 medium-sized pine tree partly blown over and no sign of 

 the fox beyouil tbe foot of the tree. After looking tlie tree 

 over for some time be spied the fox up in the very top of it, 

 taking his midday nap in the bright sun. He brought it to 

 the ground with a charge of buckshot. On another occasion 

 two hounds had been running a large fox one morning on a 

 range of hills. About noon the fox suddenly took a turn 

 straight down the bill to the road (the hounds about thirty 

 rodsl)ehind) until very near the bottom, when he wheeled 

 and took a line straight north, going within six feet of a 

 large stone, some three feet high and about four feet square 

 on top. After he had gone some four or six rods he suddenly 

 wheeled and came bacfe in his tracks to the large stone, 

 jumped on top of it and down close to in on the other side. 

 When the hounds came by Mr. Fox jumped back into his old 

 tracks and back up over the hill. It was some moments be- 

 fore the hounds saw through the trick which had been so 

 cleverly played on them. — Ned. 



f VEiiVET Scoters in Michigan. — Three weeks ago a flock 

 of w^ild ducks, seven in number and of a variety never seen 

 in the vicinity before, fluttered down upon "Pine Lake. 

 They seemed confused and bewildered, but were keen and 

 wary enough to laugh to scorn the wiles of the local sports- 

 men. They resolutely refused to leave the pond, evidently 

 enchanted by the picturesque scenic effects produced by the 

 wrecks of picnic straw hats, which still float on the water 

 out there, and on Friday three of them fell victims to the 

 combined skill of A H, Whitehead and S. L. Smith, of this 

 city. A careful examination of them revealed the fact that 

 they are df the varietj'^ known as "velvet scoters," a salt 

 water bird that very rarely frequents inland lakes. They 

 are of a uniform dark brown color, large size, and with soft 

 velvety feathers. But one bird of the kind has ever been 

 shot in the State before, and this flock was probably blown 

 in by some heavy gale while on their way to salt water. 

 One 'of the three kdled was presented to 'C. J. Davis and 

 will be "taxidermed" by that genlleman in the highest .style 

 of the art and added to his collection. — Lanmig, Mich,, 

 Republican, Mov. 11. 



He Has Already Done It. — Mr. Coster, while shooting 

 with me last year, said Mr. Hammond (referring. I believe 

 to your kennel editor) is nearly crazy to kill a big gobbler. 

 If such is the case and Mr. Hammond should evel- happen 

 out this way, I will undertake to have him kill a patriarchial 

 turkey; one that has to run cross-legged to keep from step- 

 ping on his beard. I will not promise to go with him, how- 

 ever, but will put him in charge of one of my negro hunt- 

 ing servants who is an excellent turkey hunter. Turkey 

 hunting requires patience and a greater fondness for the use 

 of one's legs than i possess.— Starr. [In last week's issue 

 we gave Mr, Hammond's report of a Tennessee turkey 

 gobbler he had brought down.] 



A Savage Moose. -Jerry McGowen, of Portage Lake; 

 Charles MeConkey and George Sutherland were in the woods 

 not long a^o, and while tramping they suddenly heard a 

 noise as if some large animal was breaking his way through 

 the brush. Looking to see the cause they were intensely 

 surprised. They saw a large bull moose makmg tracks for 

 them. They had barely time to climb trees to save them 

 selves from being trampled under foot by the vicious beast, 

 and the old forest king kept them treed for about three hours. 

 — Aroostook Herald. 



Connecticut.— Hartford.— Very poor shooting in this 

 State. Quite often one of those "phenomenal shots" reports 

 big bags, but as good shots a& we have do not report more 

 than three to six birds a day, and these men are workers. 

 The largest score that I have any knowledge of is from a 

 market-shooter — eleven grouse and two woodcock for one 

 day. This ought to satisfy even a market-shooter. Quail 

 shooting is far from good; the young birds are not more 

 than half-grown. The market-hunters are doing more than 

 their share of killing the game birds. Over 1,500 grouse, 

 quail and woodcock were shipped from one country town on 

 the N. Y, & N. E. R. R. last season. It is not strange that 

 game is scarce in that section this year. Connecticut can 

 boast of as many market hunters who shoot out of season as 

 any State in the Union, in proportion to the population. 

 The law is not off on wooflcock until Oct, 1, but the birds 

 are killed from July 1, and when a pp-rson goes out in Octo- 

 ber the bag of woodcock is not filled to any extent notice- 

 able. If it was not for the flight birds the sportsman would 

 seldom ever see a woodcock.— Flick Flick. 



Who Takes the Deer?— Millville, N, J., Nov. 10.— 

 Editoi' Forest and Stremn: In reply to your inquiry: AVehave 

 killed a great many deer this fall. They are very plentiful. 

 We hunt with hounds, as tbe underbrush prevents still-hunt- 

 ing. If one party's dogs trail and start the deer and run it 

 out of their drive, and another party kill it, they claim the 

 skin and horns and half of the meat. This rule has been 

 the custom for years in Cumberland county ; and I never 

 have heard of one party quarreling with another when a 

 deer has been killed in this way. Quail and rabbits here are 

 more plentiful than for three years past. — J. E. W. 



Havre de Grace Dock Shooting fell off during the past 

 week, no doubt owing to the saluting the fowl have been 

 getting since the season opened. The ducks are now begin 

 ning to get very wild and do not decoy well at all. Canvas- 

 backs are scarce, but they are a hard weather duck and are 

 not looked for until tne temperature is lower. Point shoot- 

 ing has been good during the past week, and the stormy 

 days we have had made the flights good m some localities. 

 —Homo (Nov. 14). 



Ducking Property for Sale.— The attention of those 

 interested in fowl shooting is called to the advertisement of 

 an interest in the Monkey Island Club of Currituck Sound, 

 offered for sale in another column. Duck shooting is pro- 

 verbially uncertain, but if one can hit the right weather 

 there is no place where he can have more sport than in old 

 Currituck, 



Snow Geese have arrived on Delaware Bay. Their loca- 

 tion is a safe one and they occupy the same feeding grounds. 

 —Homo (Nov. 14). 



HORACE SMITH. 

 npHE readers of the Forest and Stream will be pained 

 to learn of the death of Horace Smith, at Philadelphia, 

 last Thursday, Nov. 12. 'Squire Smith, as he was famiharly 

 and affectionately called by his friends, was one of the oldest 

 and best known sportsmen in the country. 



He was born at Trenton, N. J., in 1805. In early man- 

 hood, when a justice of the peace of his native town, where 

 he legitimately earned the title by which he was ever after 

 known, Mr. Smith suffered from a pulmonary complaint 

 which the physicians pronounced incurable, unless by a 

 bare chance relief could be found in an out-door life. In 

 late years the ' Squire was fond of telling how faithfully 

 he followed the injunctions of the physicians to 

 live as much as possible in the open air. With dog and gun 

 he made long tramps for game, undergoing an amount of 

 fatigue, from which stronger men might well have shrunk. 

 To these shooting excursions the 'Squire always attributed 

 his health and life. 



Among his early shooting companions were William 

 Henry Herbert ("Frank Forester"), Henry Toler and W. 

 Rolfe. He lived to see a new generation of sportsmen, 

 and to witness a wonderful change in the hunting 

 grounds of East and West. In late years he 

 did an extensive business as an agent for the 

 sale of sporting dogs, a large number of which were ex- 

 ported by him to Havana. He was a correspondent of the 

 old Spirit of the Times, and when the Forest and Stream 

 was established he served it for a time in the capacity of 

 kennel editor. 



Never in robust health, tbe 'Squire was always cheery and 

 light-hearted. His companionship was valued by a host of 

 friends. His name was a synonym for integrity and fair 

 dealing. 



"THat reminds me." 

 174. 



"That reminds me." Item No. 173 in Camp-fire Flicker- 

 ings column of Forest and Stream, dated Nov. 13, recalls 

 a very similar witty repartee made by an old friend of mine. 



Several years since (I think it was '58) a party of Boston 

 gentlemen were enjoying their autumn vacation at "The 

 Old Shanty," Scarborough, Me, On the day of the recep- 

 tion of H.iR.H. ihe Prince of Wales, who sailed from Port- 

 land (in four or five English war ships), Cale Loring, the 



host, and all his guests, excepting Billy C y, went into 



Portland to witness the show attending his R. H.'s depart- 

 ure from his "lost colonies," and Billy was left in charge of 

 the shanty. He was not a gunner, but was a devoted fol- 

 lower of Izaak Walton, and for years had taken his outings 

 and rest in a fortnight's fishing, each spring and fall, at 

 Scarborough, and from young fluod to low ebb of tide, would 

 patiently haul in smelts, flounders, tomcods, eels or sculpins, 

 with the patience and perfect enjoyment of the true fisher- 

 man. 



The rest of the party left for Portland in the morning, and 

 Billy, anchoring his punt in his favorite place, caught fish to 

 his heart's content until the receding tide withdrew his finny 



prey. Then, laying aside his rod and line, he seized a "Scar- 

 boro" clam hoe and unearthed a bushel or so of "the best 

 clams in the world," came back to the shanty, cooked and 

 ate a hearty dinner, and lay off on the front piazza to smoke 

 and pity the rest of the crowd in town. As he was finishing 

 his first pipe a flock of blue- winged teal, fre?h from the 

 north, pitched into a pond-hole across the river. Now, 

 Billy was no gunner, but was a good cook, and the party, 

 when leaving, had charged him to have something for them 

 to eat when they sot back. So thinking to surprise them, 

 he took one of Gale's guns and plenty of ammunition, pad- 

 dled across the river and "went for" the teal. Walked up 

 and blazed away at them ; they had never heard a gun before 

 but jumped up and flew to the next pond-hole, a few 

 hundred yards away. He loaded up, followed them and 

 blazed away again. (In parenthesis I must explain that 

 although an expert fisherman, he had not "shot a gun" i-ince 

 his Fourth of-Julyhood. He grew interested in the chase, 

 and followed tbe teal from one pond-hole to another, loading 

 and firing, but without injuring a bird. At last he became 

 convinced that he was not a gunner, and turned back for the 

 shanty. 



Cale and the whole party had meanwhile arrived at the 

 shanty, and when he looked up from the opposite river bank 

 he saw them all seated on the piazza waiting for him. The 

 party had said, "Cale, we won't sayanylhing, but you must 

 open up on Billy when he gets across" "All right," says 

 Cale, "I'll ask him what he has been fishing above high 

 water mark for," As Billy landed and came up to the party 

 there was a dead silence until Billy handed Cale a gun and 

 said, "Caleb, there's a nice flock of teal over in that pond 

 hole there, go over and get some for supper. I have tamed 

 them so that they are not afraid of a gun." The biugh was 

 turned at once and Bdly came out with flying colors. "All 

 righi," says Cale, "how many are there of them?" 

 "Twenty," replied Billy; "I have been counting them all 

 the afternoon, so as not to miss any." Cale Sdid no more 

 and took bis third gun, crossed the river, crawled through 

 the thatch with two guns in one hand, one in the other, shot 

 the six barrels into the flock and in about twenty minutes 

 was back with nineteen teal, and apoloe-ized for losing the 

 other one, saying "he was not very fai." 



I have put "that reminds me" at the top of this letter, 

 because those who never saw Cale shoot could not be con- 

 vinced of its truth by a thousand affidavits, but those who 

 knew him and his marvellous skill with the gun would not 

 doubt the truth of it, and I am not the only living witness 

 left, although most have gone over to the majority, Mac, 



V^ooodford's, Me., Nov. 13, 1885. 



Address all communications to the Forest and Stream Publish- 

 ing Co. 



THE LAKES OF NORTHERN MINNESOTA, 



SITUATED within the bow of the Red River of the 

 north, and bounded on the east by the heavily timbered 

 portion of the State, and on the west by prairie extending to 

 the Rock^,' Mountains, and dotted with lakes var3'iHg in size 

 from the tiniest pond to the more pretentious inland pea 

 miles in circumference. The country contiguous to Detroit, 

 Minn., presents more attractions to the outer than any other 

 with which I am acquainted. Detroit Lake itself presents 

 many facilities for pleasure. The Northern Pacific Railroad 

 will set the tourist down at the club house of the St, Louis 

 and Detroit Lake Boating Club, a Couple of miles east of 

 town, or first-class accommodations can be found at several of 

 the hotels in town, wbere one is still only half a mile from 

 the lake. At the foot of Lake avenue, south of town, is a 

 _ boat house well supplied with everything necessary, where a 

 boat can be hired for any length of time one may require, 

 from one hour to the full season, and if you wish to extend 

 youi rambles, ample facilities for doing so are at hand. 



The first fishing I did here was in Detroit Lake. With two 

 young friends 1 procured a boat at the foot of Lake avenue. 

 The day was windy and the waves were running too high 

 for fishing except along a nari-ow strip wext the western 

 shore, where the woods furnished a protection from the 

 wind. Our success was all we could ask, and considering 

 the state of the weather, better than we had reason to expect. 

 The afternoon was delightfully spent and we came to shore 

 with twenty-seven fish, one of which was a black bass weigh- 

 ing ^ pounds and one a pickerel of 3^ pounds. The rest 

 were bass, wall-eyed p'ke and perch. On other days I have 

 fished in this lake and others in the vicinity, when the fish 

 were so plentiful that one could procure more than he knew 

 what to do with. I have seen men fish for half a day at a 

 time and save everything they caught, only to let them die 

 and be wasted. But I am happy to say that this is the ex- 

 ception and not the rule. There is no excuse for keeping 

 undersized fish here, for there are enough large ones to 

 satisfy any angler, unless number be the only object. 



When one tires of this lake and its scenes, there are many 

 others which can be reached. One Monday morning my 

 friend B. and myself left Detroit for a trip down the Pelican 

 River to the lakes beyond. We crossed Detroit Lake to the 

 outlet on the south side and went down the stream, passing 

 through several small ponds, until six miles from Detroit 

 Lake the stream enters Pelican Lake at tbe eastern end. 

 This lake is about ten miles long from east to west, and from 

 one to three miles wide from north to south. The river 

 leaves it again at the end of a bay at its southeast point. Wc 

 had loitered along during the day examining points of in- 

 terest and exploring each nook and crook of pond and river, 

 and stopping to fish at favorable places, so that niijht over- 

 took us soon after we entered Pelican Lake. We went into 

 camp an hour before sunset, and cutting spruce boughs and 

 some forks and poles, soon had a comfortable shelter over us 

 and a fragrant bed under us. We spread our blankets, and, 

 after eating a supper of fish rolled in flour and fried, bread 

 and tea, we lay down and slept the sound sleep which a day 

 in the open air gives. The next day was spent in exploring 

 tbe bays and inlets of this lake; and we campi d the next 

 night at its western end, near where the outlet of Cormorant 

 Lake empties into Pelican. The next morning we ascended 

 into Cormorant Lake and spent two daj's upon its shores and 

 wateis. 



This is a beautiful sheet of water, about nine miles long 

 and from two to five miles wide, with a very irregular out- 

 line, its contour abounding in bays and points and secluded 

 nooks. One might spend much more time here than we did 

 and still not see all its beauties. Friday morning wc turued 

 the how of om- boat down the stream into Pelican Lake 



