Forest and Stream. 



A Weekly Journal of the Rod and Gun. 



Tehms, ?4 A Yeab. 10 Cts. a Copy. I 

 Six Months, $2, j 



NEW YORK, DECEMBER 23, 1886. 



j VOL. XX^^I.-No. 33. 



} Nos. 39 & 40 Park Row, NwYork. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



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New York City. 



CONTENTS. 



Editorial. 



Snow Buntings as Game. 



Senate Bill 2436. 



A Merry Christmas. 



The Hill Fund. 

 A Merry Christmas. 



The Boy Who Saw Ah-Tee-Ask 



A Memory of Good Hope. 



Angling. 



A Moose. 



Travels in Boon Gah Arrah- 



biggee. 

 "Ha Ha Fly." 

 Naturai/ History. 



Long Island Bird Notes. 

 Game Bag and Gun. 

 Western Game Notes. 

 Belgian Hares and Grizzly 

 Bears. 



Lessons of the Trajectory Test. 

 Learning a Lesson. 



Game Bag and Gitn. 



A Moose Hunt. 

 Sea and River Fishing. 



Gut from American Silk 

 Worms. 



FiSHCULTURE. 



Other Fish to Fry. 



New York Fish Commission. 

 The Kennel. 



The National Field Trials. 



Winsted Dog Show. 

 Rifle and Trap Shooting. 



Range and Gallery. 



The Trap. 



The Toronto Tournament. 

 Yachting. 



Cruise of the Coot.— xxx. 

 Canoeing. 



Humber Canoeing. 



Wide vs. Narrow Canoes. 

 Answers to Correspondents. 



A MERRY CHRISTMAS. 



THE Forest and Stream presents to its friends this 

 week, with many salutations of good cheer, a rich 

 treat of Christmas time entertainment. It is a Uteraiy 

 Christmas dinner. 



Capt. Beardslee draws upon his store of leminiscences 

 of the Southern seas, and gives us some pictui-es of hfe 

 on a ninety-day gunboat. This extract from the log of 

 the Aroostook is a graphic account of a life whose perils 

 and privations, wliose excitements and pleasures must 

 ever remain \inknown to most of our readers. They are 

 fortunate in havmg so able and entertaining a historian 

 as Captain Beardslee to record for them the phases of this 

 life on the other side of the world. 



From the mountains of f ar-oif Colorado our correspond- 

 ent "Bom-geois," equally well known as a lawyer of high 

 standing, an author whose writings always please, and a 

 devoted sportsman, sends a charming essay on angling. 

 He is one of those "simple wise men" of whom George 

 Dawson wrote; men who are the more successful in the 

 ordinary walks of life because of theu* love for the forest, 

 for the stream, for the life of out of doors— one of those 

 who not only look at the pages of nature's book, but 

 looking reads, and reading comprehend what is there 

 written. The beauty of this sketch wUl be felt by all, but 

 there is about it a more subtle charm, a something wliich 

 can be felt but not characterized, and which is like the 

 delicate, fragrant bouquet which rises from some rare old 

 wine. And though tliis intangible charm may escape the 

 many, it will be fully appreciated by the few who are 

 wholly in sympathy with him. 



Told at night in a rough blanket shelter , as the warriors sat 

 around the flickering camp-fire, told with all the aids of ges- 

 ture and intonation which lends so much added force to In- 

 dian narration, the story of the Boy who saw the Spirit 

 Father was most impressive. And if in cold hard type it has 

 lost much of its original force, we may still be thankful that 

 another chapter from the Pawnee Bible, a fragment of 

 the rehgious belief of a once great nation, has been put 

 on record and preserved. The war party had been gone 

 from the village for several days, and had almost reached 

 the western boundary of Nebraska. Here in a camp care- 

 fully concealed among the desolate sandhills, the Koo-la- 

 lioosh told his PeeJcoic~tah-Jcah this tale of long ago. 

 The merry rollicking narrations of the misfortunes of 



the rabbit hunters of the Quaker City forms an agreeable 

 contrast to the more grave and dignified character of 

 some other contributions. "J. M. S." is a pleasant writer 

 of pleasant tales— a jovial, happy-go-lucky sportsman 

 who is siu-e to find the fun, game or no game. 



Col. Cecil Clay recounts the adventures of mighty 

 hunters, slayers of the giant game of our Northern 

 foi'ests, and no hunter of big game can read his account 

 of the death of the great moose without being thrilled. 

 How graphically he paints the scene! We see the 

 quiet lake, the dark forest, the bm-ned hills, the red 

 western sky. The sun sets, the stars peep out, and sud- 

 denly over the ridge appears the big bull. AU of us who 

 are hunters know how the men felt in tliat canoe, how 

 they held their breath as they waited for the rifle's crack, 

 and how wildly their hearts leaped as the huge beast 

 reeled and fell. Ah, it must have been a great day. And 

 the tale is so earnestly told that we feel as if we had oiu:- 

 selves taken part in the scene. 



Fi'om the posthumous papers of the late Joseph Goater, 

 Mr. Bellew has fittingly sent us for this number certain 

 passages descriptive of one of the national festivals of the 

 Boon Gah Arrahbiggees. The savage rites and barbai-ic 

 contentions of these heathen holiday-makers contrast 

 strangely with the humanizing observances of our own 

 mid-winter festival. There is in Mr. Goater's drawing of 

 the himpsa tree contest the incongruous suggestion of a 

 Sunday school Christmas tree bedecked with dolls; and 

 may it not be a reasonable aspiration to indulge the hope 

 that in that far away isle the heathen sport of the himpsa 

 may yet be supplanted by the gift-laden Christmas ever- 

 greens so dear to American homes? 



No feast is complete without good counsel; for our 

 gathering "J. C. B." plays the part of sage. And last of all 

 comes the minstrel with his hunting lay, faithfully pic- 

 turing the garrulous old guide whose monotone has wooed 

 the drowsy god to scores and scores of weary campers 

 with his never ending iteration of 



how and where, 

 Description of the cows, the calves, the bulls, 

 The weight of each, the number shots he fired, 

 The distance of each shot, each shot's effect, 

 Till, half the camp asleep, he slumbered too, 

 And dreamed the hunt again. 



THE HILL FUND. 



A NOTICE of the movement in behalf of the destitute 

 family of Lyman O. Hill, the Maine game warden 

 murdered by deer doggers, has already been given in 

 our columns. The first response from Forest and Stream 

 readers was a subscription of $100 sent to the fund 

 treasm'er by Augustus Hemenway, Esq., of Readville, 

 Mass. This the Forest and Stream Publishing Company 

 supplement with $25, and it will give us great pleasure to 

 receive and acknowledge in the Forest and Stream such 

 subscriptions as may be sent to us. Money received by us 

 will be forwarded to the Rev. H. F. Harding, of Hal- 

 lo well. Me., who has been selected to act as treasurer. 

 Among the many appeals for aid which come from a 

 score of difiierent sources at the Christmas season, this 

 one in behalf of the Hill family is deserving of considera- 

 tion, and we hope to chronicle a generous response. 



"Nessmuk's" Poems. — The exact date of publication of 

 "Nessmuk's" poems cannot now be given; the book will be 

 ready for delivery to subscribers in the latter part of Jan- 

 uary. As already stated the price has been advanced to 

 $1.50, and we cannot now receive subscriptions at the one 

 dollar rate. The portrait of "Nessmuk," which will go as a 

 frontispiece, has been pronounced by his friends to be 

 the best likeness of him ever produced. "Nessmuk" him- 

 self is in the office as we write this. He will start on 

 Friday as a guest on the steam yacht Stella, of Brooklyn, 

 bound for a cruise down the Atlantic coast and around 

 into the Gvilf . 



The Mid-Winter Holidays bring to a close in many 

 States field sports of the year, but in the South the 

 season for deer and birds extends, as a rule, until Febru- 

 ary or March. The severe snow storm in the South may 

 have upset the plans of many intending tourists, though 

 the snow has now disappeared. 



Economical Fox Hunters.— The West Chester, Pa., 

 Hunt, the other day, ran a fox to earth after a chase of 

 three hours, then dug him out and carried him home "to 

 fight another day." 



SNOW BUNTINGS AS GAME. 

 npHE chief objection to side-hunts is that they encour- 

 age the destruction of illegitimate game. This might 

 be easily remedied by withholding credit in the score for 

 potting such animals as ought not to be killed ; and in fact, 

 the baggmg of unlawful game might even be made to 

 score a due scale of demerits. In some localities, particu- 

 larly in New England, participants in side-hunts are given 

 credit for almost every bird they can, by any possibility, 

 bring to bag. The Essex Sportsmen's Club, of Gloucester, 

 Mass. , had a side-hunt the other day, and according to the 

 Cape Ann Advertiser, among the game bagged were forty- 

 eight snow buntings. The only two things to be said in 

 excuse for potting snow buntings is: First, that they count 

 points in a side-hunt, just as slain nursing does coimt in 

 the rivalries of competing Adu-ondack deer butchers; and 

 second, that they are good for food, just as in some of the 

 far-away isles of the Pacific the natives eat, or used to 

 eat, human babies. Neither of these pretexts, however, 

 will excuse the Essex Club, for in Massachusetts it is ex- 

 pressly forbidden to kill snow buntings, under a penalty 

 of $10 for each offense. In this instance the total fine 

 called for is $480. This sum certain of the members of 

 the Essex Club owe to the State whose laws they have de- 

 fied. The men who shot the birds made no secret of it; 

 they reported their prowess to the rest of the members, 

 and, we presume, brought in the little feathered mites as 

 proof positive of their prowess. Their names are there- 

 fore known, and as the club calls itself a "sportsmen's'' 

 organization, the officers. President J. E. FuUer, Vice- 

 President D. B. Riggs, Secretary C. W. Chipman, and 

 Treasvu'er E. S. Andrews, will probably be glad to furnish 

 all the aid they can to secure the conviction and punish- 

 ment of those who committed the detestable outrage. 



SENATE BILL 8436. 



THE bill reported in the Senate by Mr. Manderson, 

 from the Committee on Territories, May 17, 1886, is 

 entitled, "A bill to amend sections 2474 and 2475 of the 

 Revised Statutes of the United States, setting apart a cer- 

 tain tract of land lying near the headwaters of the Yellow- 

 stone River as a public park." The biU provides for the 

 protection, preservation and government of the National 

 Park. The deplorable condition of affairs in that great 

 domain has been made known in these columns. The 

 bill S. 2436, if made law, will provide remedies for 

 present abuses. The Senate should understand the senti- 

 ment of the people respecting this subject. The biU 

 ought speedly to pass both houses of Congress. 



That the pubhc appreciates the Yellowstone Park more 

 and more every year, and is solicitous for its care is be- 

 coming daily more evident to us, and we hope that the 

 general press will join the Forest and Stream in the 

 effort to present this matter in its true light, so that it 

 may be fully understood at Washington. 



The Park Railroad biU, which received such a set-back 

 last week in the House of Representatives, is not Hkely to 

 come to the front again. The defeat which the schemers 

 suffered was crushing, the vote being 170 against 65 in 

 its favor, although by a transposition of two figures the 

 types gave it last week as 107 to 65. 



A Combination Sore to Work. — One law-breaking 

 fool with a buUet in a rifle, and another law-breaking 

 fool with a leg to put the bullet into. Send them out 

 deer hunting on Long Island on Sunday, and the chances 

 are ten to one that the buUet will find its way into the 

 leg. It happened so last Sunday. Leroy Hill, a hotel 

 keeper of Ronkonkoma, had the rifle, Michael Downey 

 supplied the leg. They were hunting deer. Downey hid 

 behind a tree; Hill saw him, took him for a deer, smashed 

 one of liis legs and lodged another bullet in his side. We 

 extend to these two Sunday deer hunters the sympathy 

 due those who encounter misfortune while in the com- 

 mission of a double misdemeanor. 



The National Field Trials will probably close this 

 week. The report given this week shows very clearly 

 the need of new rules to govern a very peculiar course of 

 action pursued by some of the handlers. If field trials 

 are good for anjrthing at all, and are to justify the time 

 and expense devoted to them, they must actually execute 

 their mission of testing the merits of competing dogs. 

 Merit caimot be determined under such conditions as 

 governed the Ben Hill-LiUian heat. ^ 



