25, 1886.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



167 



only what a pot-hunter would do, and what a real sportsman 

 would disdain to do. There is necessity for protective legis- 

 lation, if we intended to protect the game and make the 

 persuit of it possible in our game preserves for years to come. 



There is a spirit among real sportsmen which looks be- 

 yond the present, and that is highly creditable to thern. It 

 is hoped that this sensible view of the subject will serve as 

 a foil against the attacks of the hungry crowd who wish to 

 secure to themselves the butchery of game at the expense of 

 true sport. If the Adirondacks are to be regarded as mere 

 cattle yards for the keeping and slaughtering of venison, 

 then let the scheme of pot-hunters go through. But even 

 then a little common sense would suggest that some means 

 be restored to keep up the supply, iuttead of using the chief 

 means of extermination, The Fokest and Stream, a 

 paper always found on the side of the sportsmen's true in- 

 terests, eloquently defends the present law, and sounds a note 

 of warning which it will be well to heed. It is not without 

 significance that the oldest and wisest guides of the North 

 Woods arc so strongly opposed to the efforts which would 

 result in depopulating the forests of their most graceful as 

 well as their most valuable game. The cut on our sixth 

 page handsomely illustrates the situation which the deer 

 bounders would bring about, and to which the opponents of 

 the repeal of the present wise law are opposed. They are 

 against slaughter of the deer, as such, in every form. 

 There is a difference between hunting and slaughtering. 



HUNTING AT ARMY POSTS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Having had a longer experience with the game in this 

 vicinity than any other officer at this cantonment I have 

 been requested to reply to your inquiries. 



No large game can be said to be abundant Within less than 

 fifty miles of this place, except during October, when hun- 

 dreds of mule deer are crossing the TJncompahgre Valley 

 within a mile of the post on their migration from the high 

 mountain ranges forming the continental divide east and 

 south of us to the Dolores and other lower valleys west and 

 north of us. They are driven from the higher country by 

 the first snow storms iu October, and cross this valley by 

 regular trails which date back to the time that this country 

 was occupied by the Ute Indians. As proof of this, several 

 Indian "platforms" are still to be seen in pinon trees over- 

 hanging these deer trails iu the foothills on both sides of 

 the valley. Most of the deer cross the open valley at uight, 

 consequently not very many are shot while crossing. A few 

 small bands of deer remain in the wooded foothills within 

 five miles of the post during the whole year, and some fifteen 

 or twenty are killed every year within these limits by officers 

 and enlisted men from the post. 



The Springfield and other .45 calibre rifles are used for 

 deer .hunting. Deerhounds are not used. Stalking is the 

 only method in use here. The mule deer's senses are very 

 keen— especially his sense of hearing, and few men can hunt 

 with sufficient care not to startle him by some unusual 

 noise before getting within range. Consequently among our 

 numerous excellent target shots who hunt deer very few are 

 successful. 



There are no whitetail deer in this vicinity. Judging 

 frOm old antlers found in the foothills, elk were once com- 

 mon here. They are now extinct in all the country nearer 

 than that hunter's paradise, the Grand Mesa, fifty miles north 

 of us. 



A few grizzly bears, called here "silver tip," have been 

 killed within fifteen miles of this post, but they are rare. I 

 have not heard of any of them exhibiting any special 

 ferocity. 



Two "mountain lions," that is the high sounding title 

 given to the common American panther in this land of ex- 

 aggeration, have been killed within fifteen miles of here in 

 the past eighteen months. They seem, from the tracks 

 seen, more numerous than the bears. 



Mountain sheep, now protected by law, are found in the 

 mountains thirty miles south of us. They are said to be 

 quite abuudant. 



Antelope are said to be found about Grand Junction, 

 seventy miles northwest of us ; I have heard of none nearer. 



Of small game only cotton-tail rabbits are abundant. The 

 Springfield 20-gauge shotgun (.61-caliber and not .20-caliber 

 as some of your articles have made it appear) is well 

 adapted for rabbit shooling, and many rabbits fall victims to 

 it almost daily, from July, when the young rabbit3 are old 

 enough to eat, until April, when they begin to breed. These 

 rabbits, with an occasional deer, constitute the only note- 

 worthy addition to the food supply of the command that is 

 contributed by the game of the vicinity. 



Jack rabbits are much less numerous than the cotton-tail 

 The jack-rabbit of Colorado seems to be the same as the 

 great northern bare. It is gray in summer and white in 

 winter, a very different animal from the jack-rabbit of Cal- 

 ifornia tbat remains brown at all seasons. Unless one can 

 appreciate a strong wild flavor he had better not attempt to 

 eat a jack-rabbit. 



Ducks, mallard, teal and a brown duck of uudeterminpd 

 species, pass over in autumn, and a few small flocks stop on 

 the river near the post. Some are killed, but no large bags 

 are made. The Spiingfield thntgun is a poor gun for ducks. 

 The more successful duck hunters use 10 aud 12 gauge 

 double guns. Sandhill crane and a few English snipe are 

 sometimes seen here. 



The only other game birds are grouse. These are more 

 remarkable tor variety than numbers They are rapidly de- 

 creasing-. Sage grouse hnve been i-hot occasionally within a 

 few hundred yards of the post, but they have become verv 

 scarce. 



Ruffed grous", also called phea«ant grouse, are occasion- 

 ally found in pairs in the pinon and cedar woods on the foot 

 hills near the post. 



Willow grouse are more ahundant. They are found on 

 the higher grass-covered slopes from ten to fifteen miles from 

 the post. Blue grouse, called also spruce grouse, spruce 

 partridge, Canada grouse and, in Utah, fo d bens, are found 

 on the same slopes in summer and early autumn and higher 

 up in the spruce timber in winter. 



This is decidedly the finest table bird of the grouse family, 

 but it should be drawn instantly on being shot, otherwise it 

 acquires a disagreeable flavor from the spruce needles in its 

 crop and gizzard. The sage flavor of the much underrated 

 sage hen can be almost entirely prevented by the same pre- 

 caution. This bird, by the way, has no crop, but its large 

 gizzard will be found stuffed full of sage leaves so-called, the 

 "sage bush" is really a wormwood. 



Ptarmigan, called here mountain quail, are shot in tha 

 high mountains arpqnd Ouray thirty miles south of us, A 



very few upland plover are shot here in the spring. This 

 about completes the list of our game birds. 



1 have not heard of any wild turkeys being seen nearer 

 tban Fort Lewis, niuety miles north of us; nor of any quail 

 in Colorado except where they have been introduced in the 

 eastern part of the State. There are no prairie chickens in 

 Western Colorado. 



Brook trout of fair size, one half to two pounds, are 

 caught in the Uncompahgre River and its tributaries. They 

 are not abundaut. A dozen fish is here considered an un- 

 usually good basket for a day's fishing-. 



J. C. Worthin gtoh", Assistant Surgeon, U. S. A. 

 Cantontsment on the TJncompahc?hj5 Rtver, Colorado, March 11, 1886. 



CLUB RULES. 



FOLLOWING is the organization of 2 " the Beaver Dam 

 Ducking Cluh: 

 Its purposes are to afford opportunity to its members for 

 healthful recrealion and occasional relaxation from business 

 care and pursuit, and to cultivate gentlemanly intercourse and 

 pleasant social relations. 



I. The domicile of the club shall be in the city of Mem- 

 phis, Shelby county, State of Tennessee; its club house or 

 shooting lodge on Beaver Dam Lake, Tunica county, State 

 of Mississippi. 



II. Its membership shall be limited to thirty-eight active 

 and five honorary members. 



III. The officers of the organization shall be a President, 

 Vice-President and a Secretary, who shall act and discharge 

 the duties of Treasurer. 



IV. There shall be an Executive Committee, consisting of 

 the officers and two members, elected at the annual meeting 

 of the club. 



V. The President shall preside at all meetings of the club, 

 call special meetings at the request of three members, or 

 when, in bis judgment, the interests of the club require it; 

 and he shall also exercise a general supervision over the affairs 

 of the club. 



VI. It shall be the duty of the Vice-President to discharge 

 the duties of the President in his absence or at his request. 



VII. It shall be the duty of the Secretary to keep a record 

 of all meetings and transactions of the club; collect dues and 

 assessments; keep and have possession of all papers, funds 

 and property of the club. He shall pay all hills, when ap- 

 proved by the President, conduct all correspondence, and as 

 the agent of the Executive Committee employ, control and 

 discharge all employes of the club. 



VIII The Executive Committee shall alone authorize the 

 expenditure of the funds of the club (except the ordinary 

 current expenses), employ and discharge the assistants at the 

 club house; and make such cluh house rules as may be neces- 

 sary, which shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the 

 club house. 



IX, It is the duty of members to attend all meetings of the 

 club, and to observe all rules while at the club house and 

 shooting grounds; report derelictions on the part of em- 

 ployes to the officers; pay promptly the club house charges, 

 and manifest due consideration for the pleasure of the less 

 •experienced members. 



X. Honorary membership shall be conferred on those only 

 who have become distinguished in field sports, or have made 

 liberal donations to the club, and they shall be elected by a 

 unanimous ballot. 



XL The privileges of the club may be extended to persons 

 who have placed the club under obligations for favors, 

 courtesies, etc. , and to ministers in charge of congregations. 



XII. The election of officers shall take place, by ballot, at 

 the annual meeting, on the first Monday in September. 



XIII. The Executive Committee shall prepare and submit 

 to the club an estimate of the annual expenses, each and 

 every year, at the annual meeting in September, and no other 

 assessments shall be made during the fiscal year for which the 

 estimate is made, unless authorized by a majority vote of the 

 active members of the club. 



XIV. No member shall have any right to or ownership of 

 the property of the club; and on termination of membership, 

 all his lights, privileges, etc., shall cease. 



XV. All applications for membership shall be indorsed by 

 two members of the club, and presented at a regular meet- 

 ing, or at a special meeting called for the purpose, after ten 

 days' notice given by the Secretary to each member; and it 

 shall require a unanimous ballot to elect. 



XVI. The initiation fee shall be $100. 



XVII. Failure to pay dues or assessments, after thirty 

 days' notice by the Secretary, shall forfeit membership, with- 

 out further action of the club. 



XVIII. The privileges of the club can be extended only to 

 non residents of Shelby county, State of Tennessee, except 

 as hereinbefore provided. No member shall be permitted to 

 invite more than one guest at any one time. 



XIX AH club hou-e rules promulgated by the Executive 

 Committee shall have the same forse and effect as if ordeied 

 by the club, until rescinded by resolution of the club. 



XX. For any violation of the rules of the club or of the 

 Executive Committee, or for aoy conduct unbecoming a 

 gentleman aDd sportsman, a fine of twenty-five dollars shall 

 be imposed for the tmt offense; and for a s< cond violation 

 of any of the rules afoivsnid, the m mber shall be expelled, 

 and forfeit all rights, privileges and interest in the club. 



XXT. Tne Ext cutive Committee shall employ a manager, 

 who shall reside at the club house, whose duty it shall be to 

 keep the same clean and in order and the boats secure and 

 iu good condition ; pn pare meals; secure paddles for mem 

 hers and their guests, aud care for and exeici^e a gen. ral 

 supervision over the prop rty ot the club at the lake, and re- 

 pott promptly the flights of <r;itne. 



XX'I. Tne charges for meals at the c'ub bouse, and hire 

 for ti e paddlers. shall be fixed by the Exrcutive Committee. 



XXIII. It shall require teu membeis to constitute a quo 

 rum for business. A majority vote of the entire member 

 ship of the club shall be necessary for the expulsion of a 

 member. 



XXIV. Members of the club shall be held responsible for 

 the conduct and expenses of their guests while at the club 

 house. 



XXV. It shall be the duty of the Executive Committee to 

 prefer charges against any member for a violation of the 

 rules of the club. 



XXVI. A register shall be kept in an exposed place at the 

 club house, in which all members and guests shall register 

 their names, date of arrival and departure. 



XXViL The election of persons to membership in the 

 club, or for the expulsion of a member, shall be by secret 

 ballot. 



X JIT III. No member shall claim or have exclusive use of 



any convenience or fixture on or about the lake; except, that 

 he may provide his own boat. 



XXIX, Order op Business. 1. Kofi call. 2. Reading 

 minutes of previous meeting;. 3. Reports of committees. 

 4. Miscellaneous business. 5. Election of officers. 6. Ad- 

 journment. 



XXX. These articles may be altered or amended at any 

 meeting of the club by a three-fourths' majority of those 

 present. 



Habits of the Ruffed Grouse.— Brookfield, N. Y.— 

 Before market hunting became profitable and the spoitsraau, 

 so-called, became the "pot-hunter," grouse were of the more 

 stay at home kind, inhabiting the same thicket year after 

 year; or you could always flush him down near the swamp 

 where the young cedars and hemlocks are the thickest. I 

 have crept up quietly and cautiously, parting the branches 

 noiselessly, have seen the grouse in its home just in front of 

 ine on the south side of an old rotten hemlock log, half buried 

 in the soft, rich brown decayed bark and wood, basking in 

 the mellow summer morning's sunshine. I have watched 

 the mother grouse with her covey of thirteen, unconscious 

 of the picture she formed. For three consecutive seasons an 

 old ruffed grouse reared her brood in the same place. Could 

 I be mistaken in the identity? I think not, so many times 

 bave I flushed her, always within a few yards of the decayed 

 hemlock, just thirty-six paces from the spring-hole. Vou 

 may ask if my gun ever came into position — but fingers that 

 were trained to unloose those hammers became motionless. 

 Hunting one day in the vicinity I came arouud to that 

 charmed spot. Down near the spring-hole in the soft ground 

 were the foot prints of man and dog. Too well I knew the 

 story.— A. C. M. 



Swans in the Niagara River. — Ten large wild swan 

 were discovered swimming in Niagara River, just below the 

 falls, at an early hour yesterday morning, some of them 

 apparently in a wounded condition. Mr. Frank Nasoiy, Jr., 

 of this village, succeeded in capturing one of the beauties. — 

 C. E. Lewis (Suspension Bridge, N. Y., March 21). 



A WHITE QUAIL. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



. Immediately after my arrival here early in January, I was 

 informed that a covey of quail habituated'in a certain locality, 

 which among their members contained three pure white 

 birds. A. sportsman of the neighborhood who knew the 

 country well, very kindly consented to escort me to the ground 

 so soon as I had got my puppies sufficiently under control to 

 be of much service in the field, neither of them— five in 

 number— having ever seen a game bird before reaching this 

 lace. After giving them a little work and having them un- 

 er fair command we started over to the neighborhood the 

 birds were said to inhabit, and after a thorough search were 

 disappointed in not finding them, although seeing a number of 

 coveys and making a nice bag. As time wore on my anxiety 

 to at least see those birds increased, as I could still hear of a 

 white quail being seen by the negroes ; the three being now 

 reduced to one. After repeated trials first with one brace of 

 dogs, then with another, and always finding fair shooting and 

 no white birds, I concluded that either there were no white 

 birds at all or I was on the wrong grounds. Meeting with a 

 sporting doctor of the place he stated to me that he knew ex- 

 actly where they were raised and proposed that we should go 

 over and have a day's shooting and include this field in our 

 beat. Soon afterward, on a beautiful clear morning we were 

 on the ground and cast the dogs off in a field of cotton stalks 

 and patches of sedge grass in a different locality from that in 

 which I had formerly looked for them. He was hunting a 

 dropper, an excellent dog, while I used Macleod, a young 

 setter by Knight of Sno wdon out of Ailsa. His dog had the ad- 

 vantage on coveys while Mac was the superior on single or 

 scattered birds. Nearing the close of a fine day's shooting it 

 again looked as if we were doomed to disappointment even 

 with tne negro for our guide who said he had frequently seen 

 the white partridge, when, being some distance from the 

 others and divided from them by a small strip of woods, 1 

 heard both barrels go off in rapid succession and then a loud 

 hallo for me to come over there. On going over 1 learned the 

 doctor had realty got up a small covey, and among them 

 the white bird, and the last they had seen of it, it was going 

 over the top of a tall tree away off in the woods. A fruitless 

 search among the dry leaves failed to discover it, and being 

 late we started for home, moi'tified on my part that I had 

 failed to see the curiosity, but thinking earnestly of to-mor- 

 row and what dog or dogs I would take in pursuit of it. My 

 pet Shela was a little sick and off his feed. Mac-had had a 

 hard day of it and would be a little stiff in the morning, but 

 there was Prime, a noble and worthy son of the illustrious 

 Druid, and Ben, fitter brother to Shela and Mac, both fine 

 rangers, staunch before or behind as anything can be, with 

 excellent noses, and level heads. 



The next morning looked threatening for a storm, but off I 

 went, and after a brisk ride of three and a half miles, when 

 nearing the place where the white bird had been sprung the 

 previous evening, I cast off the dogs. Prime was to- the left 

 and going with a long, raking, easy stride, with head finely 

 earned when he suddenly wheeled into the wind, crouched, 

 then advanced a few steps and was rigid. Ben, off to the 

 right, saw him instantly and was firm as a statue. Without 

 speaking to the dogs and riding my horse some distance into 

 the field and tying it to a bush and inserting shells into my 

 gun I returned and walked past Piime when up sprung a half 

 dozen quail and among them the white bird; a brown one 

 dropped to the first barrel and the white to the second, a real 

 little beauty. After bagging sixteen more birds and two 

 hares for tae negro into whose stable I had put my horse, I 

 got back home just as the rain began to sprinkle, delighted 

 with my prize. John Davidson. 



Marshall County, Miss., Feb. 24, 1881. 



A Modest Wolf Story.— Lawrence, Has., March 8— Re- 

 cently a farmer living in thf southern part of this county 

 came into the citv with the report tbat he had discovered a 

 cave on his farm that was inhabited by prairie wolves, and 

 from what he coxnd find out they amounted to about. SOW. 

 He had killed a tew, but they would not come out, and he 

 was afraid to enter the cave. Preparations were at once 

 madp to raid the den. A large party arrived at the place 

 yesterday morning and turning the dogs loose, one or two of 

 tbem rushed into the cave and were at once torn to pieces. 

 A force of men then began operations and in a short time bad 

 a hole into the cave, back of the wolves. Two men entered, 

 and all the dogs that could be found, and advanced on the 

 rear of the mass of animals, who had by this time assembled 

 in the front part of the cavern. The dogs became frightened 

 and beat a retreat, and the men, after tiring a few shots also 

 got out. After an all-day's skirmish, the hunters decided to 

 make a dash and drive out their prey and kill as many as 

 possible. All drew back from the front and kept quiet, and 

 two men again entered in the rear. This time they succeeded 

 in causing a stampede, and in a short time the cave was 

 empty. The shooters did some good work, and by the time 

 they were through about ibOdead wolves strewed the ground. 

 The others escaped, and the party retu^raed. minus foiir dqgg. 

 A grand hunt is proposed, it is supposed tha animals 

 wintered, in the cave. 



