44 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Feb. 11, 1886. 



ing, as far as we know, on a very slim allowance of food. 

 While under our care they lose "that habit, and feed right 

 along all winter as voraciously as any of the rest of the ani- 

 mals. Little difference i3 made in the habits of wolves, 

 foxes, coons and such animals. Foxes and wolves born in 

 captivity, however, seldom thrive well. Rarely one of them 

 is born without some disease, the most prevalent form being 

 that known as rachitis. Even if they are not afflicted with 

 this disorder few are perfect in their formation, being knock- 

 kneed and otherwise deformed. Those born with rachitis, 

 which, by the by, is a scrofulous affection of the spine, 

 -arely attain a full growth. The disease is generally 

 fatal." 



The one animal in all the strange collection that is more 

 likely to stir unpleasant recollections is the once proud but 

 now almost extinct lord of the plains of the West — the 

 buffalo. I never could understand why buffalo killing 

 should be the sport and toy of every fledgling who could 

 straddle a hoise or fire a gun. Why those noble animals 

 should have been allowed to be slaughtered as ruthlessly and 

 as pitilessly as one would kill a biting, snapping cur on the 

 roadside, is one of those things which I will never be able to 

 find out. Said Mr. Oonklin, ''Scarcely a week passes by 

 that I do not receive a letter from some showman asking me 

 the price of the buffaloes that we have here in the menagerie. 

 They want to buy them to exhibit them as curiosities, for 

 such they have become." The prices which showmen are 

 willing to pay for buffaloes for circus purposes depends 

 entirely upon the age and condition of the animal; strange 

 to say, that no matter how high the price they may offer, 

 owners of the animals are loath to accept, for they realize 

 that in the present condition of things it will be difficult to 

 replace them. At the present time iu the Central Park one 

 buffalo calf mopes about his cage unconscious of the im- 

 portance which is attached to his existence in this bustling 

 world. He is as carefully tended as though he was worth 

 his weight in gold dollars. Buffalo breed readily in captiv- 

 ity, their period of gestation being the same as that of our 

 domestic cattle, with which they naturally assimilate. 



As staled alreadj r , every animal now in' the Central Park 

 menagerie, with perhaps one or two exceptions, was born 

 there. Experience has shown that those of • 'foreign origin" 

 are longer lived, and hardier than the animals of this country. 

 Tbe record of the deers is one that will excite more regret 

 than other Tecords. In two pages of the ledger w T hich I ex- 

 amined 1 found that during one year there had been fifteen 

 deaths as against twenty-six births. Out of all the deaths 

 only five were the result of natural causes, the remainder 

 being principally due to tramp dogs, which infest the park 

 in great numbers during the summer months. Deer have a 

 mortal fear of dogs, and a great many of them have been 

 actually frightened to death by curs which have attacked 

 them in their cramped quarters. The park police and the 

 keepers of the menagerie are not slow in shooting all dogs 

 they find at large about the park. Notwithstanding their 

 vigilance in this regard, the prowling canines occasionally 

 succeed in evading them. 



Such a zoological garden as New York requires should be 

 put in a park wholly or chiefly devoted to it alone. There 

 the necessary space for a complete collection, properly or- 

 ganized and classified, can be obtained, and the garden can 

 receive the attention as an independent enterprise which its 

 development requires. It would not be difficult to select 

 such a park among those which are subsidiary to Central 

 Park, and there, with the present menagerie as a basis, we 

 could in time build up a zoological garden which would be- 

 come one of the grandest and most instructive resorts on 

 Manhattan Island. There is a latent disposition in the minds 

 of some of our wealthiest and most public-spirited citizens 

 to establish such an institution, and agitation of the matter 

 is, to my mind, the most feasible method of stirring them up 

 to immediate action. What worthier journal than the For- 

 est and Stream can be found to engage in this worthy 

 work? Tom Francis Daggett 



mt\t §xg Htfd %w\. 



Address all communications to me Forest and Stream Publish- 

 ing Co. 



A CAMP HUNT IN M1SSOURI.-II. 



f N recounting the incidents of a hunting excursion one 

 X must necessarily confine himself, in a large measure, to 

 events witnessed or participated in by himself, and this must 

 account for the frequent use of the personal pronoun "I" 

 in these letters. Every hunter who ever attempted to re- 

 count the exploits of a day's shooting will understand this. 



The second day of the hunt, Tuesday, Mr. Rhea and Mr. 

 Coeer, equipped with boat and reel and troll, set out for an 

 interview with the finny tribe, said to disport themselves in 

 the waters of a neighboring lake. They were the happiest 

 men in camp that night. Aud well they might be, for as 

 the dusk of the evening brought the straggling and hungry 

 hunters into camp they displayed to our delighted eyes one 

 of the largest and handsomest strings of game fish that ever 

 rewarded the skill and labor of two fishermen under similar 

 circumstances. A few days afterward they added new 

 laurels to their well-earned reputation as fishermen, and to 

 our supplies a still larger and handsomer string of the wide- 

 mouthed shining beauties. They had the satisfaction of pre- 

 senting to Col. Deal, who was with us, to take home with 

 him, a string of six black bass, or trout, as we call them, the 

 least of which was estimated to weigh four pounds. These 

 were selected from a large number of beautiful fish of smaller 

 size. But Coger was not happy. He had been beaten, fairly 

 beaten, at his own game that day. He had hooked and 

 safely landed in the boat, the famous "biggest trout of the 

 season. " There he lay, the monarch of the lake, with glaring 

 eyes, and fins erect, captured at last. A splendid struggle he 

 had made for life and liberty, but alas, the skill of the great 

 fisherman was too much for him, and there he was, a prize 

 worth a hundred of smaller size. A sportsman knows the 

 worth of such a catch. Coger knew, and in exultant triumph 

 he raises his great catch up by the line that he may realize 

 his grand proportions. But the old fish was caught, not 

 conquered. He was game to the last, and now's the time to 

 teach his captor a little trick all his own. A mighty flounce 

 sends him clear of the hook, clear of the boat, and as the 

 waters of the lake close over him Mr. Coger begins to think 

 he had let something go. And he had. 



Mr. C. E. Burton, of the firm of C. E. Burton & Co., the 

 great deer killer, whose memory haunts the bucks and does 

 of Lawrence county, concluded' I was lucky with turkeys, 



and he would go with me on a turkey hunt, while Coger 

 tackled the fish. So off we set on Tuesday morning to the 

 place where I had killed the four turkeys the evening before. 

 We soon found the one I had left in the bush. Sending my 

 dog Jo ahead on a scout, we soon heard the alarm signal, 

 put, put, put, of the remnant of the flock, as the dog rushed 

 among them and scattered them. That is the time for a 

 turkey hunter to be on tbe alert and use his eyes, for a good 

 turkey dog will nearly always chase one or more of the 

 startled birds iu range of the gun. A fine fellow flew past 

 us, but too far to shoot. I marked his course quickly, and 

 turned just in time to land at the feet of Mr. Burton another 

 that was flying almost, directly toward us. Experience or 

 something else had taught the others a lesson, and they would 

 not answer to call. We spent afterward several hours in a 

 fruitless hunt. Jo ranged the woods far aud near almost 

 with the speed of a greyhound, and crossed and recrossed 

 almost* every acre of the' forest for miles without flushing a 

 single turkey. We were returning disheartened when, not 

 far from the place where we had killed the one in the morn- 

 ing, the dog suddenly ran into a small flock of four or five. 

 One flew by us, but too far. As we were watching its 

 course another came almost over us. This I brought down 

 with a charge of No. 7 shot that I had put in to shoot a 

 squirrel. Mr. B. declared I was a lucky man. I walked to 

 where the dead turkey lay without reloading — an unfortu- 

 nate act, for just then the dog routed another, that came fly- 

 ing toward us. I happened to be under a leafy bush, and 

 fired a load of buckshot by guess through the leaves and 

 missed. Just then Mr. B. fired also and missed. The tur- 

 key turned through an opening in the trees and passed in a 

 clear space not more than thirty yards from us, offering a 

 beautiful shot. My gun was not loaded. With surprise I 

 asked Mr. B. why he did not kill it with his second barrel. 

 His reply was, "I had in a load of buckshot." From the 

 fact that he had carried buckshot to shoot turkeys with, I 

 must conclude that seeing so many turkeys must have given 

 him what hunters call the ' ' buck ague. " 



This conclusion is strengthened by the fact that subsequent 

 events developed that Mr. B. is subject to "buck ague" in the 

 woods. He was caught in the very act with the chill on 

 him. Mr. B. had entertained us with some marvelous yarns 

 of his exploits in deer killing in Lawrence county. He told 

 of a little deer that ran by him on one occasion, and of his 

 firing his murderous gun at it as it passed, and of some woods- 

 men actually finding the carcass of a dead deer in woods 

 some miles from the fatal spot some months afterward. He 

 carried with him then the gun of the bloody record. We 

 determined to get up a deer drive for Mr. Burton, and some 

 of the young fellows concluded to watch him and see how 

 he did it. Marshaling a few coon dogs from the neighbor- 

 hood, we all took stands around an old "deadening," the 

 lurking place of a few buck rabbits, while Mr. Burton was 

 stationed where the buck was most sure to come out. A 

 native was sent in to make the drive. Just before completing 

 the drive a bark or two from the coon dogs put everybody on 

 the alert for the exit of the buck. The eyes of the watchers 

 were on the great deer killer of Lawrence county. With a 

 quick glance around he drew from his pockets a bottle of 

 quinine and hastily swallowing a heavy dose, is ready for 

 the buck, with a dead thing on the buck ague. Around the 

 camp fires that night we enjoyed no little sport at the 

 expense of Mr. Burton and his quinine remedy for buck 

 ague. 



By the way, the party got the laugh ou your correspond- 

 ent on one occasion. There was a general dread among the 

 less experienced of the party in regard to getting lost in the 

 interminable swamps where much of the hunting was done. 

 This feeling was not shared by me, as a long experience 

 had made me feel pretty safe in the woods, particularly as I 

 make it a rule, in unknown woods, to hunt by courses and 

 landmarks. We were camped near a road that ran almost 

 due north and south for many miles and was the only road 

 of any consequence in the couutry. I boldly asserted that 

 no one need fear getting lost if he would hunt in reference 

 to that road. If he was to the west of the road, by traveling 

 directly east he would certainly strike the road, and if hunt- 

 ing on the east of the road a west course would necessarily 

 bring him to the road. A compass, the sun or the stars 

 would readily give one the points of the compass. It fre- 

 quently happened, however, that night and darkness would 

 overtake belated members of the party out hunting, and sig- 

 nal guns were fired at camp for their benefit. Two of the 

 party lost their course one night, and the Mississippi River 

 only convinced them they were traveling east instead of west 

 They got beyond the sound of our signal guns. The party 

 accused me of making my gun hotter one evening firing dis- 

 tress signals than I ever made it shooting at game. Three of 

 us had gone up the road about three miles from camp one 

 cold, cloudy afternoon, on a turkey hunt. Leaving my com- 

 panions near the road, I followed a dim path down into a 

 dense forest to the west of the road. This forest was known 

 to extend, without a human habitation, for ten or fifteen 

 miles. After following the path about a mile, my dog 

 struck the trail of a flock of turkeys, as I supposed, and ran 

 off at right angles to the path I was following. In momen- 

 tary expectation of getting a shot at the turkeys, 1 followed 

 the course the dog had taken for some distance, and not 

 seeing them, I turned to retrace my steps to the path I 

 had left. 



It was getting late, and thinking I could save time by it I 

 turned my course so as to strike the path some three or four 

 hundred yards nearer the main road than where I left it. 

 Owing to the darkness of the evening, the dimness of the 

 path and the fresh fallen leaves that covered it in places, 1 

 crossed the path without knowing it. I had failed to take 

 a compass with me and the sky was obscured by thick clouds. 

 It was cold and night rapidly approaching. 



In my search for the path I had left I came upon a trap 

 set for wild hogs. Despairing of finding the path, I set out 

 for the road where I had lef I my two companions. I knew I 

 was about a mile or mile and a half west of the road and 

 chose, as I supposed, a course due east. 



After a rapid walk of half an houi as near due east as I 

 could judge without compass or sun or stars, I found myself 

 back again at that identical hog trap. 1 had made a circuit 

 of perhaps two miles and came back to the very spot I started 

 from. I recognized the situation at once. I was not lost ; of 

 course I was not. I knew right where 1 was, but concluded I 

 would let my friends know also, and 1 wasted more ammuni- 

 tion right there letting my friends know where I was than I 

 wasted in all the hunt besides. A cold rainy night in an un- 

 known swamp, miles from any human habitation, is not an 

 inviting prospect. 



I did not venture into that swamp another cloudy day 

 without a pocket compass. H. E, Jones. 



Nashville, Tennessee. 



HUNTING AT ARMY POSTS. 



ABOUT a month ago a brief note was sent from this office 

 to several of the outlying posts of the regular 

 army, asking for information about the use of the Spring- 

 field shotgun, which is issued for use by the men in their 

 leisure hours. The object of the inquiry was to see how far 

 these guns were successful in the purpose of their manufac- 

 ture and issue in keepiug the company and post larder well 

 supplied with game delicacies in season. 



The responses from the army posts have been general and 

 prompt, and show that the members of Uncle Sam's scat- 

 tered frontier patrol force have not failed to take advantage 

 of the opportunities for field sport thrown in their way. 



The letters speak best for themselves, and the few we are 

 enabled to give in this issue show that from the Canadian 

 to the Mexican border there is always some manner of 

 healthful exhilarating sport to be had: 

 Editor Forest and Stream: 



Tours of the 9th is just received. Though by dint of hard 

 work the more energetic of us manage to make fair bags in 

 a season, this can hardly be called a game country. The 

 whole vast expanse is prairie, more or less broken with cover 

 for game only in the sparsely timbered bottom of the Mis- 

 souri River, or in the yet more sparsely timbered creeks and 

 ravines. A few red "deer inhabit these timbered bottoms 

 with the habits of a rabbit, lying perdu all day, feediug at 

 night; not when disturbed running away with vigorous 

 bounds, but sneaking off like a rabbit or wolf unnoticed. It 

 is only by rarest good luck that any of these are brought to 

 bag, though some of our indefatigable youngsters actually 

 walk them down where the snow is deep. 



We have the lynx, wildcat, wolf, swift or prairie fox, 

 badger and skunk, and I have Jseen the skins of one or two 

 raccoons offered for sale by Indians, but these predatory 

 animals are less numerous here than in any wild portion of 

 our country in which I have ever served. We have but one 

 indigenous game bird, the sharptailed grouse (Pedia'cetes 

 pliasianeUus). In August and September it gives the most 

 perfect sport, lying well to the dog and acting in all respects 

 like its cousin, the pinnated grouse. By Oct. 1 they begin 

 to pack, gather in immense flocks, sometimes of hundreds, 

 are very wild and will not lie to the dog. When snow covers 

 their favorite feediug grounds they go to the bottoms and 

 eke out an existence on cedar berries and the buds of the 

 builberry. Now they are great perchers and neariy all that 

 are bagged are ignominiousiy potted from trees. Yes, I do 

 it. It is a most toothsome bird, and if he will insist on stick- 

 ing to the treetops instead of the grass he must pay the pen- 

 alty. Their numbers of course depends on the conditiion 

 of weather during the breeding season. In 1885 my bag was 

 726 and in my huntiug book is this note: "It is estimated 

 that over six thousand grouse were killed by tbe troops at 

 Fort Sally between Aug. 1 and Dec. 31. The company 

 hunters came in loaded down every day, yet there is no ap- 

 parent diminution of their number." 1885 was a bad wet 

 season. My bag dwindled to 358 and the company hunters 

 came in usually with a round 0. 



It is a glorious country for rabbits, but a man on foot 

 might tramp the year round without seeing one. They live 

 in the rosebush thickets two to four feet in height. On an 

 alarm they dart away like lightning. I developed them ac- 

 cidentally by riding into such a thicket on horseback. From 

 that "coin of vantage" their movements could be seen, and 

 if any man wants to test his capacity as a shot, 1 recommend 

 him to try this game. It is the very perfection of snap 

 shooting. The little brown streak takes twenty courses iu a 

 minute, and to bag him you must have a quick eye, a steady 

 hand and a good horse. My rabbit bag of 1884 was 201, of 

 1885, only 91. The season closes so quickly that we have a 

 mere suspicion of duck shooting. In 1884 I bagged but 

 twelve, in 1885 but five, and this takes in both the spring 

 and fall shooting, The field plover arrives here about May 

 1 in fine condition, but one has hardly bagged a few dozen 

 when he finds females with eggs already formed. No sooner 

 do they get through their duties as parents than they clear 

 out. By the middle of August no plover is to be seeu. Cur- 

 lew breed about us, but being scarcely eatable they are rarely 

 shot at. 



During this last fall and owing entirely to the immeuce 

 emigration to this section of country, a few pinnated grouse 

 have been bagged, and to the great joy of all our sportsmen, 

 a covey of quail has located itself in the bottom below us. 

 With the advance of civilization we may have better sport. 



Richard I. Dodge, Colonel 11th Infantry. 



Fort Sully, Dak. Ter., Jan. 21. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In answer to your letter of Jan. 9, I will state that I have 

 only been here since the 14th day of June last, the garrison 

 now here relieving that of the Twentieth Infantry on the 

 date given, and consequently am unable to give as correct 

 and detailed account as I would wish. Early in the season 

 I made an endeavor to find out all I could about the game in 

 this vicinity in order to write to a friend in Chicago that it 

 would pay him to make me a visit, he was anxious to know 

 all about the larger game. I could not find at that time that 

 such game was in sufficient quantities in the immediate 

 vicinity of the post, to warrant my writing him that a suc- 

 cessful hunting trip, such as he wanted, could be made near 

 this place. During the winter several hunting parties have 

 been out, but with little success. One man though, belong, 

 ing to Company I, Eighteenth Infantry, who either under- 

 stands hunting deer or is more fortunate than others, has been 

 quite successful so far, killing seven deer. Citizens who 

 live at a distance from here have kept this place very well 

 supplied with venison. Wild turkeys are found in large 

 quantities at a distance from the post, but seem rather hard 

 to get as the supply has not been well kept up. Chickens 

 this year are very scarce, none been brought in that 1 know 

 of, nor have 1 seen one. Ducks are plentiful here aud many 

 have been killed. Quail are in abundance. 



The shotguns referred to in your letter, so far as my com- 

 pany is concerned, are in constant use, and much of the 

 smaller game is bagged with them. Carroll II. Pottek, 



Captain 18th Infantry, Commanding Post. 



Fort Gibson, Ind. Ter., Jan. 34. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I take great pleasure in replying to your request of the 9th 

 inst., but as I have only lately been assigned to this post my 

 information Is derived, not practical. My first hunt is to 

 take place day after to-morrow. 



The men inform me that there is quite a large supply of 

 small game here. The list includes quail, both California 

 and Messina; plover, meadow lark, curlew, rabbits, cotton- 

 tailed and jack, etc. ; and in large game we have deer, black- 



