Nov. 18, 1886.j 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



S28 



touching upon bird protection now began to appear in 

 large numbers and correspondence from many quarters 

 om-ed in upon Letters were received from the Sel- 

 orne SocietT.-, of England, asking an uitei-change of 

 plans, ideas, etc, and oifering us their codpe.iMlion. 



"The Audubon Society has growm to immense propor- 

 tions under the fostering care of the Forest and Stream, 

 and ah-eadj^ numbers [Nov. 1, 1886] more than fourteen 

 thousand members, with a working force of three lumdred 

 local secretaries, who arc scattered over the United States 

 and various foreign countries. 



"We have received and accepted oifers of assistance 

 from persons and societies whose approval is anost flatter- 

 ing to OTu- hopes of great success; the American Himiane 

 Association has, through its president, given valuable 

 assistance, and a talented lawyer of New York city has 

 offered his legal services whenever such shall be needed. 



"It seemed advisable to complete our year's work by 

 issuhig a second Bulletin, entitled 'Protection of Bu-ds 

 by Legishition,' which is before you. 



"To simi up, we feel justified in claiming the fairest re- 

 sults for our labors. Nothing could promise better for 

 tire future than the great public sjnnpathy and assistance 

 which has come from all good som-ces to encourage us 

 and to help us in pushing the work still fm-ther." 



"COON" CATS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



It appears to be a disputed question whether there is or 

 is not such an animal as a "coon"' cat, or whether the ani- 

 mal so termed is a cat of the Angora breed. I have seen 

 two which were called "coon" cats, both during the 

 summer of 1885. The first was at a drug store on School 

 street, Boston. It was a cat of about 81bs. weight, of the 

 color of a coon with similar stripes on the body, sharp nose, 

 long whiskers, and large bushy tad, striped like that of a 

 coon. The animal was sociable, and apparently liked 

 petting as do other cats. The clerk said it was a "coon" 

 cat, that is, a cross between a coon and the common 

 domestic cat. Two weeks later I saw another cat of the 

 same kind, but not so large and of somewhat lighter 

 colors, at the jjrmcipal hotel in Bath, Me. It was corned 

 by an ex-mayor of the city, who lodged there. I did not 

 meet the oAvner, but a gentleman residing at the hotel 

 said it was an Angora cat, but "some called it a 'coon' 

 cat." He said he liad seen other similiar cats in Maine. 

 Contiurung my trip through that State, I heard of several 

 "coon" cats, and the same story that I heard in Boston, 

 that they were a. cross between a coon and a cat. But 1 

 never found any, although I made offers for the piu-chase 

 of a kitten. It was always old Uncle Zeke or old Aunt 

 Sally, or some other mythical personage in some back- 

 wood place, who was reported to breed "coon" cats, but 

 I had no time to search for them. In New York recently 

 I saw two Angora cats, the male all white, and the female 

 dark, in the hands of one of the Forest and Streaji ad- 

 vertisers, who advertised Angora cats for sale. In con- 

 versation the breeder said that "down in Mame ijeople 

 raised coon cats.'' But I could not learn whether the 

 "coon" was or was not an Angora, and the breeder had 

 never seen a cat of the colors of those I saw in Boston and 

 in Bath. 



Now the existence of cats closely resembHng coons is a 

 certainty. But are they Angoras ? Or are they a ci-oss 

 between the cat and the coon? which I am not tncltQedto 

 credit, despite the stories that are told about it. Probably 

 some of the Forest and Stream readers who have roamed 

 all over Maine on then- shooting and fishing trips maj' 

 have some facts worth communicating. If there is such 

 a thing as a genuine "coon" cat, or an Angora cat resem- 

 bling the coon, where can it be found? G. D. C. 



Habtford, Conn., Oct. 30. 



[This subject of impossible hybrids has been referred to 

 before, and it is hardly necessary now to discuss the ques- 

 tion at length. It is an elementary fact, well knovra to 

 intelligent persons, that an animal "of one species cannot 

 breed with an animal of another species. The coon-cat 

 belongs to the hoop-snake and dog-rabbit collection of 

 monsttosities wliich exist only in the vulgar beliefs of 

 ignorant persons.] 



Land Birds at Sea, — G-loucester, Mass., Nov. 9.— 

 About October 15 of this year, while the Gloucester fish- 

 ing schooner Martha A. Bradley was at Chetegan, Cape 

 Breton, a iiiffed grouse (B. umhellus) flew off from shore 

 and ahghfced on the schooner's mainboom. One other of 

 these birds came aboard another schooner at anchor 

 near by. I have seen several other species of land birds 

 this season that have flown around or alighted on the U. 

 S. F. C. schooner Grampus. Some I did not see close 

 enough to identify. Among those that were close enough 

 to name may be mentioned the goshawk (^. atrieapillus); 

 Coopers hawk (A. coojoerii); -winter yellowleg {O. nielan- 

 oleuca); turnstone (S. interpres), and cherrybirds {A. 

 cedrorum); there were three of these. I have also seen a 

 warbler (Gf. tricha), and a tree sparrow {S. monticola). 

 I also remember having seen a crow on the bowsprit of a 

 schooner at Ptibnico, N. S. Excepting the crow just 

 noticed and the ruffed grouse at Cape Breton, all of these 

 instances occtn-red off on the "blue water," from 40 to 250 

 miles from Cape Ann. — X. Y. Z. 



Woodcock in City Hall Park.— The following note 

 has been kindly sent to us by Mr. Wm. Butcher: "New 

 York, Nov. 5, 1886.— Mi-. Wm. Butcher. Dear Sir: At 

 five minutes past eight this morning a woodcock alighted 

 in the City Hall Park, mata lawn. Its flight was so 

 irregidar that I could not be sure of the direction from 

 which it came, but I think it crossed Broadway from the 

 northwest. — ^W. J. Kenyon." 



Captitee of an Eider Duck.— New York, Nov. 16.— 



Editor Forest and Stream: I beg the courtesy of entrance 

 into yom- columns to record the capture of a young male 

 American eider (Soinateria dresseri) on Nov. 8. at Center 

 Moriches, Long Island, N. Y. The bird was shot by Mr. 

 Benjamin Hallock. The skia is now in my collection. — 

 L, S. Foster. 



Attention is called to our advertising columns this 

 week, where an unusually attractive display of holiday 

 gift announcements may be found. The few weeks im- 

 mediately _ preceding Christmas are usually very busy 

 ones, and it is always well for intending purchasers to be- 

 gin their buying well m advance of the time when they 

 need their articles. A wide range of choice is afforded 

 by our columns and they should have a careful scrutiny. 



§m7te §Hg mid ^tttf. 



Address all conmuniC'ations to the, Foreat and Stn-eam Piiti. Go. 



LOUISIANA FIRE-HUNTING. 



\JU HILE not a regular subscriber I have been a fre- 

 _ T T quent reader of your valuable and entertaining 

 joiu-nal for years, and the sight of the familiar vignette 

 on a neAvs stand never fails to cause me to feel for 

 the necessary nickels wherewith to buy. Having derived 

 so much pleasure from following yoiu hunters and fish- 

 emien through forest and stream , and having lingered 

 aromid their blazing camp-fu-es with so much zest, I con- 

 sider that I owe them a debt of gratitude that I can best 

 repay by giving them an account of our sport here in 

 northern Louisana, more especially as our favorite uiethod 

 of hunting deer is by fire light, called "fire-hunting," which, 

 as we follow it, I have never seen correctly described in 

 your journal. 



We fii-e-hunt on horseback in parties of two, the fore- 

 most man carrying the light, which is a large tin head 

 lamp made for the purpose, the other following closely 

 behmd has tlie horses to hold when "eyes" are fotmd, 

 and has to carry the game. Tlius equipped, the hunter 

 with his fire-cap on, his gun across his saddle in front 

 and his pocket compass in his hand, knowing the loca- 

 cation and general direction of some road or stream, by 

 uAcans of which he can find liis way back to camp, takes 

 his coru-se out into the night. Around him is a small 

 circle of light. The bodies of the forest trees at twenty- 

 five steps are distinct, at forty they give back only a dim 

 outline and beyond that a deep black pall, a hemisphere 

 of intense blackness closes the horizon on all sides. On 

 he rides, slowly, avoiding rotten brush and logs and 

 thickets, his eyes scanning the black curtain aroimd him, 

 until at last a bright spark flashes for an instant, not long 

 enough to fix the eye, but still enough to cause the elec- 

 tric tin-ill of a find, enough to cause his hand instantly 

 to tighten his rein and check his horse and make him 

 grasp his gun more firmly. In a moment it flashes out 

 again bright ami clear. The excitement is over. It was 

 only a lightning bug, signaling for its mate. A glance 

 at his compass and on he goes again. There! another fiash! 

 Another pause and a steady look! Eyes they are, but 

 they are low doMni: they are close together; they are red, 

 and yes. there is the unmistakable aureole arottnd them. 

 It is a coon. We don't want him. But look at the wild 

 pea vines and the bhiestone on the bank of this slough. 

 This is splendid deer woods. We will surely find one 

 directly. Expectation is on tip-toe. And now, oh cattle, 

 with yom- aijpetites sated, lying quietly among the vines, 

 chewing your cud and at peace with all the world, if you 

 value life and happiness, tiu-n both your mild dim orbs 

 full upon us as we approach. Then we will know you. 

 But if you he still with the light reflecting from the side 

 of one eye only, we may be young hunters and allow our 

 eagerness to cloud our judgment and a terrible blast of 

 buckshot may bring your pleasant ruminations to a sud- 

 den close. This is the risk. But we are old hunters and 

 our motto is, "Don't shoot until you know your game and 

 then shoot to kill," 



On we ride, our "pillar of darkness" moving as we 

 move. At last there are "eyes." Perhaps a sudden turn 

 around some thicket has brought as close up, and there 

 just behind that bush are two bright, pure wliite orbs, not 

 of fire, but looking more like two full moons, as big as 

 No. 12 giui wads, set about six inches apart. Look closely 

 and you will see the outUne of horns and ears above them. 

 Now is your chance to shoot. You cannot dismount. If 

 yom- horse will stand a gun, all right. But if he won't, 

 just brace yoiu-self in yom- stin-ups and clamp yom- knees 

 tight, raise yotu- gun steadily and pull about two inches 

 below the eyes, and let the free cii-cus that follows adver- 

 tise itself. Sometimes, in cases like this, your companion 

 has lots of frm at remarkably cheap rates;' but if you have 

 done yotu- duty you have got meat. 



But usually when found the eyes are at a distance. 

 Perhaps your attention is attracted to an indistinct semi- 

 luminous spot or line on the black cm*tain. You check 

 your horse and take a steady look. It looks like a small 

 slice out of the "nrilky way" "not larger than your finger, 

 and seeming to waver. But your experience teUs you 

 that it is the shining eyes of some animal. Then you dis- 

 mount and leave yom- horse in charge of your companion. 

 You cast your eye to the ground to sele'ct the smoothest 

 walking, and from the smoke of yom- lamp you take the 

 direction of the wind, so that the game will not hear you 

 or smell you. His eyesight you may obscure, but his ears 

 and nose are acute. You advance twenty steps. The 

 luminous Mne becomes brighter, and you can see but can- 

 not fix the eyes. They seem to come and go. But now 

 you know it is a deer, and that he is seventy-five or eighty 

 yards off. Very cautiously now. The wavy motioii 

 begins to disappear and eyes are more steady. ' At sixty 

 yards they are distinct, but they seem small and too close 

 together. And now be very careful. The breaking of a 

 twig or a single mistep, and he is off. Now at last yoti 

 are at forty yards. The eyes are nearly full size and there 

 is about three inches of pm-e black between them. Now, 

 bring your gun perfectly steady until the foresight rests 

 on the black curtain about four inches below the eyes. 

 Then give a steady, quiet puU on the trigger. You may 

 be a splendid snap shot in the day time and able to stop a, 

 pair of snipe right and left as they rise four times out of 

 five; but if you try your snap shooting in that black cur- 

 tain you will be apt to imagine that some of the boys 

 drew the shot out of yom- gun. When the gun fii-es there 

 is a thick bank of smoke in front of you, through which 

 you can see nothing, but for an instant you listen. If the 

 shot was a clear miss, or if the neck was broken and the 

 deer fell dead in his tracks, you wdl hear nothing. But 

 if only woimded he will ran over brush or logs or any- 

 thing in his Avay, so that yoti can tell the du'ection he has 

 gone. Follow the direction of the sound and you will be 

 apt soon to see the welcome sight of his white belly 

 turned up in death, or see his eyes again where he feU. 



Now call up your companion, take out the entrails, and 

 tie the deer upon the horse behind his saddle. If it is a 

 gentle horse accustomed to this kind of service, all weU. 

 But if not, there is a chance for another circus when 

 after blindfolding the horse to get the deer up and let 

 your companion moimt him, you remove the bandage 

 from his eyes, and he finds a pair of horns dangling around 

 his flanks. This show is much more interesting to the 



hunter than the first, but his companion seldom joins in 

 the men-iment. It is probably on account of the rather 

 selfish and one-sided nataire of both these exhibitions that 

 most fire-hunters of experience prefer gentle animals to 

 hunt on; for while it is undoubtedly exceedingly amusing 

 to the rear man to see the hu.nter's horse whirl around 

 and make oft' through the woods Uke an express train on 

 down grade when the gun fires, and to see the desperate 

 gTasps of the himter at bridle and mane, yet he has no 

 one to laugh with him; and so also a good Texas pony 

 with his first deer tied on, bucking around a fifty-yard 

 circle, and the rear man yelling "Whoa" at every jump 

 makes a first-class "one-horse" show. But this time the 

 hunter has all the laughing to do: and so as I said before 

 the selfish nature of the sport causes hunters of exper- 

 ience to prefer gentle horses for night-hunting. 



Fvom this description of fire-hunting it will be seen that 

 it requires some practice to become a successful hunter. 

 In the first place it is requisite to know the eyes of differ- 

 ent a nim als when you see them. The eyes of dogs, 

 wolves, sheep and goats resemble the eyes of a deer very 

 closely, but there is nevertheless a slight difference tha't 

 experience alone can teach. The eyes of a wildcat or a 

 panther are the same color as a deer's eyes, but can easUy 

 be known by appearing to emit rays of light, having 

 more the appearance of a star. The eyes of a coon or a 

 mink are red, very bright, and have the ray-emitting 

 characteristic also. The eyes of rabbits and hogs do not 

 shine. The eyes of cattle are veiy dim, but there is 

 sometimes a bright reflection froni the side eye that is 

 liable to get the yoimg hunter into trouble— likewise the 

 cow. Of night birds, the whipporwill only has the shin- 

 ing eye, which is a very deep brilliant red. 



In the second place, the hunter must be able to "navi- 

 gate" the woods at night without getting lost, and he 

 must know the kind of woods m which he is most likely 

 to find deer, and also understand their habits sufficiently 

 to know when they are most likely to be out in 

 their feeding grounds. In addition to this, he must 

 know how to approach his game, and when he is close 

 enough. All these things require practice, good judg- 

 ment and skill. And then he must be a steady, careful 

 shot, and thoroughly accustomed to the dift'erence be- 

 tween day and mght shooting. 



But to one who is accustomed to this kind of hunting 

 there is no other so fascinating. The night ride with the 

 black curtain aromid you; the constant expectation; the 

 thrill of a find; the noble ten-pointer dead where he 

 stood; the day spent in camp recoimting the night's suc- 

 cesses and failm-es; or shooting squirrels or quail or ducks 

 in the immediate vicinity. All this gives a zest and 

 rehsh to fu-e-hunting that I have been able to find in 

 no other pastime. 



Om- hunt of this fall will serve to exemphfy. On the 

 18th of September we started from Bastrop in the parish 

 of Morehouse for a hunt near the junction of the Saline 

 and Ouachita (Washita) rivers in Arkansas, about forty- 

 five miles distant. Our outfit comprised twelve persons 

 besides the cook, two fom--mirle wagons loaded with 

 corn, pi'ovisions, tents, bedding, etc., and three or four 

 buggies. We reached our destination, Carroll Springs, 

 about 3 o'clock on the 19th, Sunday, and having prom- 

 ised our wives that we would be good bovs, we did 

 not propose to hunt that night. But as the sun 

 went down, and the di-agons and bu-ds and beasts 

 commenced to outline themselves in the treetops in 

 the gloaming, a spirit of restlessness and impiety 

 began to assert itself until it took the form of an 

 imcontrollable desu-e for venison steak for brealcfast. 

 Accordingly three of the boys saddled up and started out 

 with the understanding that the first man who kiUed a 

 deer should blow his horn and the others would then 

 come to camp. When I speak of three hunters I mean 

 three couples, for each hunter before comuig out procures 

 a man to follow him in hunting. In less than thirty 

 minutes the first gun boomed out, and a moment after 

 the soft, mellow swell of a horn told that venison steak 

 woidd be served for brealcfast. A few minutes later 

 another gun waked the echoes of the sleeping forest and 

 very soon another. In little more than an hour all hands 

 were in and we had three deer hung up in camp. We 

 hunted five nights, retm-ning home Saturday, and our 

 total was thirty-tlu-ee deer in camp. The we^alher was 

 deUghtful, but being Avarm we had to "jerk" our meat. 

 Do all your readers know what this means? If not, let 

 me draw the pictm-e of the first duty after breakfast. We 

 all walk out to the pole where the deer were hitng when 

 brought in last night and examine and criticise the shot 

 m each. Now boys, get to work. You four do the skin- 

 ning, you four cut up (i. e., cut aU the flesh off of th 

 bones), two of you salt it and put it on the scaffold; when 

 that is done aU hands go and bring in a good armful of 

 wood and build a iu-e imder the meat. It must be watched 

 and tiu-ned during the day and the fii-e kept burning. By 

 evening it is thoroughly dry and is then put up in sacks 

 for futm-e reference. 



We were a pleasant party of old friends and neighbors 

 who had hunted together for years, except one young 

 feUow, a very ardent sportsman, and a crack shot at bu-ds, 

 who, listening to om* tales of the many deer we had missed 

 and the bad shooting we had done in times past, came to 

 the conclusion that we were rather a poor lot of hunters 

 anyway, and did not hesitate to express the opinion that 

 it was utterly beyond the range of possibifity for him to 

 miss as large an object as a deer within 40"yds. of him. 

 His idea of location was so good that he felt sure he could 

 kiU a deer at that distance after seeing the eves, even if 

 his fight should go out before he could shoot. ^ He was a 

 fine fellow, an indefatigable hunter, and a fearless woods- 

 man, but he Avas yoimg. His score at the end of the Aveek 

 was two deer out of about twenty shots. 



And so our days of sport were passed. Those who felt 

 like fishing rigged up rod and hue and coaxed the perch 

 and trotit (black bass) out of the little lake formed by the 

 springs. Those who felt like shooting squhrels or "birds 

 found them abundant all ai-oimd us. And those who 

 liked to sleep off the fatigaies of the previous night and 

 be fresh for the night to' come, courted the di-OAVsy god 

 with blanket and pillow under the shade of some adjacent 

 tree. _ Do yom- readers think this Avas not sport ? We who 

 tried it did. Fire-Hunter. 



Brooklyn Gun Club.— Brooklyn, Nov. Q.— Editor 

 Forest and Stream: In an article which appeared in 

 your paper of last week you spoke of the Brooklvn Gun 

 Club as having only 700 acres at SmithtOAvn; it" should 

 have read 7,000 acres.— Henry F. Aten. 



