Feb. 11, 1886.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



47 



tailed and white-tailed ; antelope, mountain lion, black bear, 

 wild pie, etc. 



South of us, about seventy miles, is a mountainous "no 

 man's land," through which' Indians from both sides of the 

 Rio Grande hunt ; and although dangerous to hunt there in 

 small parties, it pays very well to do so, provided, as above 

 hinted, you can protect yourself. We have a party out there 

 at the present time. . 



I notice you wish a statement as to merits of the Spring- 

 field shotgun. It is a very good gun for a single loader, but 

 in our troop not much used, as we have four double-bar- 

 relled guus of good make, which the men prefer to use, as a 

 general rule. 



For large game we use the carbine habitually. Personally, 

 I prefer the carbine as a hunting weapon, as it is very good 

 practice for its mote serious use 



Geo. H. Morgan, 

 First Lieut. 3d Cavalry, Commanding Post. 

 Camp Pena Colorado, Tex., Jan. 26. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In reply to your communication of the 9th iust., I would 

 respectfully state there is an abundauce of deer, turkey, 

 geese, ducks, blue quail, etc., around here in their season, 

 and the shotguns referred to are used extensively by the 

 whole command. E. H. Lisctjm, 



Captain 19th Infantry, Commandi ng. 



Fort Kinogold, Tex., Jan. 23. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Your letter of the 9th inst. has just been received, and in 

 reply I have the honor to state that game— wildfowl and 

 quail — is plentiful in this neighborhood, and the men in 

 spare time bring in a good quantity. The Springfield shot- 

 guns are used when double-barreled guns of larger bore can- 

 not be obtained. The guns issued not carrying sufficient 

 charge. J. H. Bradford, 



Captain 19th Infantry, Commanding Post. 



Fort Brown, Tex., Jan. 28. • 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Your note of 9th inst. is at hand, and in reply would state 

 that tbe large game, such as deer and antelope, have almost 

 entirely disappeared. A. few deer have been killed in the 

 vicinity of the post, and they by hunters and trappers. The 

 only small gaine we have are ducks (mallard and teal) and 

 the' willow grouse. The ducks are not very plenty, and we 

 only get them during the fall flight south. The grouse are 

 with us the year round, and occasionally give good sport. 

 This part of Nebraska is filling up so rapidly with settlers 

 and farmers that I believe the grouse will increase. The 

 corn, wheat and oats fields give the young birds cover from 

 hawks and other destroyers of small game. The Springfield 

 shotgun issued by the Government to the troops is used by 

 the. enlisted men almost exclusively, and with fair success. 

 For a person who has been accustomed to an 8i-pound 

 Scott double gun the Springfield would not be a success. 

 The Springfield is a better gun for the enlisted men, for the 

 reason that few of them are good wing-shots. 



Jack rabbits and the small bush rabbits are found in 

 some places along the streams. The bush rabbits are plenty. 

 ' There are no email in this part of Nebraska. D. 



Fort Robinson, Neb., Jan. 20. 



lEdilor Forest and Stream: 



Replying to your letter of 9th inst., 1 would state that 

 (there is plenty of game to be had in this region, such as deer, 

 prairie chicken, wild geese and ducks. The Springfield shot- 

 gun is much used, and is good at short distance only. The 

 rifle is mostly used in deer hunting. Supply of deer and 

 •chickens unlimited. J. N. G. Whistler, 



Fort Bupord, D, T. Jan. 28. Colonel 15th Infantry, Com'd'g, 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Yours of Jan. 9 to hand this morning. There is no game 

 -on Mackinac Island, or in the immediate vicinity of this 

 post. Geo. K. Brady, Brevet Lieut. -Colonel. 



Fort Mackinac, Mich., Jan. 20. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



The commanding officer directs me to acknowledge the 

 receipt of your communication of the 9th inst., and in reply 

 to say that the supply of game in this immediate vicinity is 

 limited to a few rabbits, and in the spring and fall to migra- 

 tory ducks. The Springfield shotguns are used frequently 

 by the men, and they seem to meet with fair success in their 

 use. E. B. Robertson, 



First Lieutenant and Adjutant, 9th Infantry. 



Fort D. A. Russell, Wyoming, Jan. 21. 



quail. It is very doubtful whether they can survive the 

 severe winters. 



Owing to the thick growth of willows along the banks of 

 the Missouri River, it is veiy difficult to get at deer, and if 

 dogs are not used, they will probably be abundant, for many 

 years to come, though hish water is apt to drive'them to the 

 bluffs in the spring, and they are then an easy prey for law- 

 less pot-hunters. It is to be hoped that with the admission of 

 the Territory as a State, more stringent game laws will be 

 adopted and faithfully executed. 



Ducks and wild geese are shot in passes generally, though 

 often boats are used on the lakes and wading done in the 

 wet marshes. Mallards, teal, widgeons, scaup, redheads, 

 spoonbills and other varieties are met with, but the two first 

 named make the longest stops with us and afford the most 

 sport. Marvelous stories are told by many of our sportsmen 

 of the wagonloads of ducks killed "every fall at Long Lake, 

 which is' about thirty miles southeast of the post; but the 

 writer not being a wagonload sportsman cannot speak of his 

 own knowledge on that subject; he can vouch, however, for 

 the satisfactoriness of tbe early fall duck shooting in this 

 neighborhood. The air is dry, clear and bracing, the scenery 

 varied and enjoyable, the birds plenty. What more could 

 be desired? Qtjien Sabe. 



Fort Abraham Lincoln, D, T., Jan. 25. 



THE OAL FOR ME. 



Danvis, Jan. 8, 188o.— Editor Forest and Stream: Mrs. Lovel's rag 

 bag lately gave forth the inclosed. S. L. appears to have been 

 singing with some rhyme and more reason, to himself in the woods, 

 for the lines are scrawled in pencil on the margin of a crumpled copy 

 of the Yermonter that he had evidently carried in his pocket for gun 

 wadding. Yours truly, H. Mumpson. 



THE gal that treats my dawg aright, 

 Oh, she's the gal for me ! 

 When I come off the hills las' night, 

 Consid'able tired, for me. 

 And my dawg, the same was he, 

 I saimdered into Pepperells' 

 An' sot ri' daown mongst supper smells 

 To rest me for awhile. 

 'Twas there the slickest gal I see 

 An' she hed jes' the cutest smile 1 

 An' she shed it onter me. 

 On ter the crane the samp pot hung 

 A huhblin' merrily, 

 An' as towards her it she swung 

 So low an' sweet a rhyme she sung, 

 A kitehin saint seemed she, 

 With lips an' cheeks like piny blows, 

 An' hair like yaller silk, 

 An' pas' describm' eyes an' nose. 

 An' when she fed me samp an" milk, 

 Till heart and stomerk was full 's a bee 

 O' sweets in a July basswood tree, 

 Then thinks sez I to myself sez I, 

 "You air the gal o' the world for mel" 

 Jes' then ol' Drive come sneakin' in, 

 An' curled hisself the fire beside, 

 An' she commit a weeked sin — 

 She kicked him with her pooty foot 

 An' cried, "Git aout, you nasty coot ! 

 Haoun' dawgs I never could abide." 

 Kicked the dawg 't hes fellered wi' me 

 Till it aio't me an' him, but we I 

 Then thinks sez I to myself sez I, 

 "You ain't no gal for me. Good night ! 

 If we was wed an' hed some chicks 

 You'd be a givin' them yer kicks 

 When you wa' n't kickin' of my haoun'; 

 An' if he an" them wa' n't handy raoun'. 

 Like 's not you'd be a cuffln' me. 

 The gal that treats my dawg aright, 

 Oh, she's the gal for me." 



Truly not yourn, S. L. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In reply to your favor I would say that game in the neigh- 

 borhood of this post consists of deer (common red), antelope, 

 jack rabbit, cotton-tail rabbit (a variety of hare), geese, 

 ducks, prairie chickens, plover and snipe. Elk and buffalo 

 have practically disappeared. 



In their season ducks, prairie chickens and plover are 

 abundant and furnish sport and an agreeable change in the 

 ;army ration for all. N A§& 



Wild geese in immense numbers frequent the wheat fields 

 of Burleigh county, on the&|p8Pfide of the river (we are on 

 the west side) and a few drffFover the post during the fall 

 months. 



The Springfield breechloading, single-barrel shotgun has 

 been furnished to the enlisted men of the army for hunting 

 purposes, and they do good execution. The Parker, how- 

 ever, is the general favorite among sportsmen out this way. 

 The. writer has used a number of different makes, but has 

 found the Parker the most satisfactory for general shooting. 



Setters are generally employed — Gordons, red Irish and 

 ZEnglish. A good retriever is a necessity in duck season, and 

 is often extremely convenient during the early chicken 

 -shooting, as the wounded birds can readily conceal them- 

 selves in the thick prairie grasses found everywhere in the 

 •cooleys, ravines and dry creek bottoms, which are the haunts 

 of the coveys in the early autumn. Later in the season the 

 ichickens frequent wheat stubbles and "sod" cornfields and 

 the berry patches along creeks and springy runs. 



The writer was surprised one day last autumn, while 

 wading through a reedy bayou (an old bed of the Missouri 

 River), by finding evidence of beaver. Afterward several 

 houses, with a winter's supply of food piled up in the creek 

 near by, were found. Very few of these animals are left in 

 this section of the country." Raccoons are beginning to put 

 iu au appearance, and an attempt has been made to introduce 



NOTES FROM SOUTHWESTERN KANSAS. 



A VERY severe blizzard visited this section of the country 

 recently and the telegreph has already told you of the 

 great loss of human life in the western counties. Several 

 hunting parties who went down into the Indian Territory 

 before the blizzard, have been heard from, but there was no 

 great suffering among them. They were prepared for severe 

 weather. The great suffering occurred where parties were 

 living in board shanties on claims, with no fuel except 

 buffalo chips, and seventy-five to one hundred miles from 

 railroad stations where coal was to be had ; or parties out 

 hunting claims, or movers without any shelter whatever but 

 their wagons. The indications and predictions of an open 

 winter induced many land hunters and home seekers to go 

 into these western counties without protection against severe 

 weather. The result is what might have been expected. The 

 storm came in a lew hours and woe to the animals being 

 caught out doors. It was impossible to distinguish objects a 

 few yards distant. Several persons who perished were 

 found within a few yards of houses where they would have 

 been in complete safety. It is but fair to say that such a 

 blizzard is almost unknown in Kansas, which a residence of 

 twenty years enables me to assert. 



I fear the quail have nearly all perished. The farmers 

 tell me they have found a large number dead. However, as 

 they have not been much hunted the past season, enough 

 may survive for seed. Quail are considered rather small 

 game here. When a person wants to take a hunt he 

 organizes a party of four or fise. They hire a man who 

 owns a team and tent, and the party starts for the Territory. 

 It is only twenty miles to the line, and they go as far as 

 their inclination leads them. Our markets have been well 

 supplied with deer and turkeys, though by far the greatest 

 amount of game brought to this market is shipped to Kansas 

 City and other points. Average number of market hunters 

 have been down there all winter, and the amount of game 

 shipped is immense. Game is very plentiful, though getting 

 shy. Deer and turkey are the principal game, though bear 

 are numerous in some sections. 



It has been extensively advertised that Oklohoma is free 

 from cattlemen and ''boomers," and that even huuters are 

 kept away by the military unless favored with a special per- 

 mit. Now I am not a "boomer," nor tbe son of a boomer, 

 but have a natural "nose for news," so a hunting party was 

 interviewed upon their return from a two weeks' cruise in 

 Oklohoma a few days ago. They said they had no difficulty 

 in driving through the alleged military lines, and were not 

 molested during their stay. They said "the brush was full 



of boomers," but saw no permanent settlements. The coun- 

 try has been written up and written down owing to the cir- 

 cumstances under which the party describing it saw it. As 

 this party described it as a regular Eden, it is to be presumed 

 they had a good time. 



What has become of the geese and ducks? A few years 

 ago they were very plenty upon the Arkansas. This year 

 not a quack nor a honk has been heard. Tenderfoot. 



Wellington, Kansas, Jan. 17. 



THE LYMAN SIGHT. 



Editor Forest and Stream • 



In your paper of Jan. 21 "Backwoodsman" has said a 

 little more about the middle sight, and has given a rule for 

 using my rear sight. I have said enough on thc middle sight 

 question in the Forest and Stream of Dec. 31, but I must 

 object to this rule. "Backwoodman's" system of aiming 

 could only apply to rifles of the flattest trajectory, and with 

 any rifle it would not give very accurate results at short 

 distances. The center of the aperture of my rear sight has 

 a degree of light which is about the same as the light which 

 is present outside of the sight. This light gradually dimin- 

 ishes as the rim of the sight is approached, and quite near 

 the rim the light is rather poor for aiming purposes ; so that 

 if a partridge is to "lose his head" the chances are that the 

 shooter will have to fire more than once. 



This center of stronger light partly explains why the eye 

 takes care of itself when no attention is paid to the sight, 

 and why it naturally finds the center of the aperture. 



The ordinary small peep sight gives a degree of light which 

 is several shades dimmer than the existing light outside of 

 tbe sight. In the Forest and Stream of Dec. 31 Mr. "L," 

 in reply to "Backwoodsman," gives an experience with my 

 sight which I was pleased to see, and it is, no doubt, the ex- 

 perience of many. The last remarks about aperture might, 

 however, mislead. His mathematics are correct, but it will 

 not do to figure from the - 3 \r of an inch, which is the full size 

 of the aperture, for with an ordinary bead front sight one 

 cannot aim nearer than j$ of an inch from the rim of the 

 rear sight to the center of the bead of the front sight, and in 

 trying "Backwoodsman's" method at fifty yards, by aiming 

 from one extreme of the aperture to the other, the bullet 

 holes will be only about three inches apart. In other words, 

 with the fixed purpose of getting as far away from the bulls- 

 eye as possible with the front sight on, one cannot place the 

 bullets further than about one and a half inches from the 

 center of the bullseye. 



As regards the point blank range for a hunting rifle I think 

 that from fifty to seventy-five yards, depending on the tra- 

 jectory of the rifle, is far enough for ordinary hunting. 



Now, with any rifle sighted with a bead front sight and 

 my rear sight and no middle sight iu the way, shooting 

 becomes a simpler matter than many suppose. All that is 

 required is to see that the front sight is on the object and up 

 to seventy yards no allowance need be made. For a longer 

 shot hold the front sight a little high, and as the neck of the 

 sight is not as wide as the bead, this sight will not cover 

 enough of the object to interfere with the aim. For a long 

 shot which is occasionally needed in hunting, elevate the 

 rear sight by turning the knurled sleeve, which, if one is in 

 a hurry, can be done instantly and without looking at it, or 

 if there is time to look at the graduated sight stem any exact 

 distance can be obtained. William Lyman. 



THE WEATHER AND THE BIRDS, 



CHOLD weather and driving storms I am afraid have killed 

 J off the few quail that were left hereabouts last fall : 

 Never during my shooting experience have I found so few 

 of these birds as last season ; the year before, a drive of a few 

 miles would take me to fields where I could any day find 

 several coveys; during two days hunting in November two 

 of us with three good dogs found but a single flock after a 

 faithful tramp over this same ground; so too in Maryland 

 and Delaware; a week's shooting did not give us as many 

 birds as we often bagged in a single day; how are we to ac- 

 count for this? The winter of 84 and 85 was not a severe 

 one and a number of coveys were fed and cared for by my 

 "game keepers" — the farmers boys — and came out all right 

 in the spring; what became of them and their broods I can- 

 not tell. Many wild turkies were killed and more seen than 

 during any former season. The timber men tell me that 

 there are a great number of grouse in the woods. 



Spicewood. 



Centbalia, Pa., Feb. 6. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Farmers in this vicinity report the finding of whole coveys 

 of quail frozen stiff, in some instances they say a half bushel 

 measure could be filled without moving out of their tracks, 

 showing that entire flocks must have been destroyed. Prairie 

 chickens began flying south from Northern Kansas and 

 Nebraska much earlier the past season than common, and 

 the flight lasted much longer, showing that an unusual hard 

 and cold winter could be looked for. A passenger reports 

 seeing 2,500 sheep in one pile frozen to death, near Coolidge, 

 in the western part of this State, also states that he saw 500 

 head of cattle frozen stiff in one canon close to the Kansas 

 line. When the cold weather annihilates stock in such 

 numbers as the above, there is little hope for the small 

 game. Farmers from Missouri report the quail all right 

 where they have shelter like underbrush or timber, but those 

 in hedges or caught on the prairies are all frozen. The bliz- 

 zard has been extremely severe with us in this part of the 

 Missouri Valley, and the ice is over two feet thick on the 

 "Big Muddy," and teams, sleds, etc., have been crossing for 

 three or four weeks with wood, freight, etc. The jack snipe 

 season generally opens here about the 20th of March, but it 

 will be much later this season on account of the large amount 

 of frost in the ground, and no sign of a let up. 



The writer will forward you a sample of the new Leaven- 

 worth piseon, now being perfected and pronounced the 

 grandest flying target of the age, by all sportsmen who have 

 examined it. W. C. H. 



Leavenworth, Kan., Feb. G. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Quail were very plenty last fall, but owing to the severe 

 winter so far they are suffering badly. I have as yet found 

 none frozen to death, but know of several coveys that have 

 been materially diminished in number by something. 



Chickens are more numerous than ever and are living fat 

 on the corn still in the fields. Rabbits plenty but snow too 

 deep to hunt with any satisfaction. Sportsmen in this part 

 of the State are not in favor of abolishing sprintr shooting. 



C. B. 



Anita, Iowa, Feb. 1. 



