Attg. 31, 1895.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



183 



Birds and Insects. 



Brownsville, Tenn. — I have noted with much interest 

 the reports in several issues of the scarcity of summer birds 

 in the North. "Von W." recently calls attention to the 

 great number of insects in his section, and imputes their 

 presence to* the absence of the birds. I have been, in an 

 amateur way, a student of our birds for thirty years, and 

 I never saw as many in our forests and fields; half of 

 them are total strangers to me; never saw such before and 

 don't know whence they come. Of catbirds, robins and 

 several others which are familiar I have never seen such 

 numbers as have mated with us. I have heretofore been 

 attributing their stay to our immense crop of fruit. I 

 had noted before the absence of insects, and was seeking 

 for the cause, when "Von W.'s" article appeared, which 

 is a satisfactory explanation, and I am certain the birds' 

 presence is accountable for the insects' absence. Could 

 any argument for bird protection be stronger? 



■B. CM. 



The Deer's Cry. 



It is a good while that I have been sending random 

 scrawls to Forest and Stream, and very rarely in that 

 time have I needed to "wrassle" with the printer. But as 

 I am interested in the question propounded in a recent 

 letter (issue of Aug. 10), I write to knock out a negative 

 which got in "unbeknownst." A shot which renders a 

 deer helpless, in the matter of escape, is the one which, 

 according to my observation, usually makes him bawl. 

 The master Tennyson suggests something of the same 

 kind in "Enid": 



"Sent forth a sudden sharp and bitter cry, 

 As of a wild thing taken in the trap, 

 Which sees the trapper coming through the wood." 



A calf, too, will bleat when frightened by dogs or 

 otherwise, even though not hurt. Aztec, 

 Mexico. 



Game Birds at Home. 



Wabasha, Minn., Aug. 16.— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 Through the courtesy of the author I have lately received 

 a copy of "Game Birds at Home," so favorably mentioned 

 in your issue of Aug. 10. The work has a peculiar 

 interest to me, more particularly for the reason that I was 

 the author's companion in many hunting trips in this 

 vicinity about twenty-five years ago, when the pinnated 

 and sharp-tailed grouse were in abundance, and Bob 

 White's merry whistle was heard. in even our door yards. 

 And never shall I forget some of the wonderful shooting 

 done by the author, for as an all-round wing shot I have 

 never met his superior. And many were the points I 

 learned from him that were of great benefit to me in later 

 years. I also "am satisfied that my lot was cast in the 

 nineteenth century." H. B. Jewell. 



'little §ug mid §tmt. 



GAME SHOOTING RANGE. 



Halifax, N. S., Aug. 16 —Editor Forest and Stream: 

 Your issue of Aug. 17 contains an article by "Dick of 

 Connecticut" in which he accuses me of acting in a man- 

 ner neither "humane nor sportsmanlike," also of com- 

 mitting an "odious" act. Now, with all due deference to 

 Master "Dick" I think he might have let me down a little 

 easier, seeing that I have such a mistaken idea of sport 

 from his standpoint. Might I ask our friend if he ever 

 shot a moose; if in fact he ever went moose hunting. I 

 would almost wager not. 



Again, is the aim of the sportsman in his part of the 

 country to shoot game for food? In this part of the 

 country it is the lumbermen and market-hunters who 

 shoot their game for food purposes. Whenever Nova 

 Scotian sportsmen go hunting they take sufficient food 

 from home to render the precarious supply of moose meat 

 unnecessary. I would honestly be sorry for "Dick" if 

 he was landed in the woods with only a moose, which he 

 had not yet shot, to feed upon. 



He says I could have no certainty of hitting the moose 

 200yds. off when it was running away through cover. 

 Now, our boys here have a fringe of bushes and low 

 spruces, above and through which the animal was plainly 

 visible for a length of time, which enabled me to fire two 

 shots at him, and I have practiced long and faithfully 

 with my rifle so as to take just such shots as the one in 

 question, and I am so far confident of myself that I am 

 reasonably sure of hitting very close to my mark; and in 

 this particular instance I did hit him; and according to 

 my guide's opinion the shot had entered one side of the 

 animal and come out of his breast in front. He says he 

 could tell by the color of the two patches of hair, men- 

 tioned in my article of Aug. 10. It thus went through 

 the lung and would kill, although not instantly; the moose 

 could well travel ten miles. 



During the calling season it is more often the case than 

 not that you need to shoot your moose by moonlight, any- 

 where between 8 P. M. and 6 A. M., at say 50yds. away. 

 Now I defy anyone to make a sure shot in such precarious 

 light at even a shorter distance than 50yds. And yet 

 "Dick" can hardly call his own countrymen, numbers of 

 whom have shot their moose under exactly similar condi- 

 tions, unsportsmanlike. 



Can the New England sportsmen, who go "floating" for 

 deer, be mora sure of their shot, if even so sure? 



Another exuse still, I know men who have spent season 

 after season in the woods trying for their moose, and have 

 never had a chance for years (one man, I know, spent 

 seven consecutive years); and yet when a chance presents 

 itself, must they, for the sake of being humane and 

 sportsmanlike, refrain from shootingj unless they are 

 absolutely sure of their shot? Oh! I would like to see 

 "Dick" under just such conditions. I know men who 

 would be so rattled at the sight of the game that they 

 could scarcely hit the side of a house at 50yds. 



He compares sport here with sport in Europe. Now, 

 deer hunting in Scotland is all the experience I have of 

 European sport, and it cannot be compared to moose 

 hunting. Why, I remember, when as a boy I was living 

 near the estate of the Duke of Argyle, seeing deer almost 

 on the roadside, and all they cared for us would be to 

 move on a little, and again commence to feed. I would 

 much like to see a moose act so. 



And to justify shooting at a second moose, when we 



already had one, I would only say there were two in the 

 party and we naturally each wanted our head to take 

 home. 



I was hunting on one occasion with a man who shot a 

 moose which was so well concealed by the surrounding 

 foliage that the only visible portion was one ear, moving 

 back and forward. He shot and killed that moose. 



Mr. C. M. Stark, of Dunbarton, N. H., whose numerous 

 articles in our journal are so much appreciated, and who 

 is, I believe, an acknowledged sportsman, shot a moose 

 under circumstances precisely similar to the case in point; 

 and I think I can rely on him to uphold my action. 



I must deny most emphatically the assertion that I fired 

 at my moose, as "Dick" says, from a spirit of mere wan- 

 tonness, also that "the moose shot at was out of the 

 range established by humane reasoning or the conventions 

 of sportsmanship." If ' 'Dick" has ever hunted either moose 

 or caribou, he must know how often your only chance of 

 getting your animal lies in your ability to shoot and kill 

 at distances up to 500yds. , and occasionally further even 

 than that. 



In "Dick's" article he quotes me as "confessing" to this, 

 that and the next thing. I confessed nothing in my arti- 

 cle. I stated facts, and facts of which I am not yet 

 ashamed. He expresses surprise that I uttered no "word 

 of regret." Pray, what had I to regret? I was happy, 

 very happy, in having killed one moose, any way, for that 

 ■season. 



I can close my reply on the same terms as did "Dick," 

 with a wish to hear the views of other sportsmen on the 

 subject; and if any (who have some experience, mind you) 

 speak, we will see what we shall see. Tiam. 



Chattanooga, Tenn., Aug. 20.— Editor Forest and 

 Stream: In reading your number of Aug. 17 I notice a 

 comment or criticism of "Tiam" in his "A Moose Para- 

 dise" by one signed "Dick of Connecticut." This sport- 

 ing gentleman expounds or promulgates, or rather advo- 

 cates, very fine principles. But where on this God-favored 

 globe will you find a human being, sportsman or no sports- 

 man, who will not shoot at a wild moose in the woods 

 when he jumps one, providing he has not got the buck 

 ague so badly that cannot shoot? Mr. "Dick of Connecti- 

 cut" asks for the opinions of the sportsmen upon the pro- 

 priety of "Tiam's" action. Has Mr. "Dick of Connecticut" 

 ever run up against a moose in the woods? If so, did be 

 shoot at it? If he did not, why did he not shoot at it? If 

 you ask me to solve this problem I would say if he did not 

 shoot it was because he had the buck ague so badly that 

 he could not pull the trigger. 



I am neither philosopher nor critic, but human nature 

 is the same the whole world over. I have hunted almost 

 all kinds of game included in the furred, feathered and 

 amphibious tribes that inhabit this grand old country of 

 ours. I never jumped an animal of any game variety 

 when I was hunting in proper season that I did not shoot 

 at it, and do my darned level best to kill it. Now, the 

 idea of spurting about a man jumping a moose and shoot- 

 ing at it just because he had one down is preposterous. 

 "Dick of Connecticut" or any other mortal would have 

 done just as "Tiam" did. 



I journeyed through the Yellowstone Park in '93 with 

 a party of fellow hunters and you can bet your last shil- 

 ling that I gave my rifle into the safe custody of Uncle 

 Sam's representatives, the bonny boys of the 6th Cavalry. 

 I could have allowed them to seal it with a little string or 

 piece of tape and sealing wax with the holy and awe-in- 

 spiring insignia of the United States of America on it, but 

 I was fearful lest that might not answer the purpose. I 

 was well convinced that my lack of confidence in myself 

 was well taken during my trip through the park, as on 

 one occasion when I walked up within 50yds. of a beauti- 

 ful silver-tipped wolf. This was the most beautiful creat- 

 ure I ever saw in the woods. I knew his fur was very 

 valuable. I was twenty-five miles from the nearest 

 soldiers' encampment; so do you think that piece of linen 

 tape with sealing wax and the United States seal would 

 have remained long on my trusty rifle? Not muchl all 

 would have disappeared in half the time it took to put it 

 there, bang would have gone my gun and I would have 

 been the possessor of a rare specimen. The fur of a sil- 

 ver-tip wolf, almost as valuable now as the hide of a sil- 

 ver-tip bear. As the old saying goes, "Man proposes and 

 God disposes." You cannot tell just what you would do 

 until the drama is over. 



Is not that true, reader? A. B. Wingfield. 



A Tale of Woe and Praise. 



Lexington, GreeneCounty, N.Y., Aug. 20. — Editor For- 

 est and Stream: To be laid up and have your head bandaged 

 while all around the reports of guns are heard is a lesson 

 in patience. Such is my luck just now. The partridge 

 season has opened, and thanks to you, Mr. Editor, for 

 your kind and prompt answer. For the benefit of those 

 who might find themselves in similar difficulties some 

 day I will just tell my tale of woe and praise. 



Some time in July I went up into the Catskills to spend 

 my summer vacation and to do a little shooting if pos- 

 sible. For, having read in the Game Laws in Brief that 

 the law was off partridges Aug. 16, I figured out that I 

 would have about two weeks of shooting, having to be 

 back in the city Sept. 1. 



As soon as I arrived I started out without gun to locate 

 the birds, so that I would afterward know where to look 

 for them. This I kept up for three weeks, and had found 

 quite a number of coveys. On the morning of Aug. 15 — 

 the day before the open season — I was informed by the 

 supervisor of the town of Lexington that the board of 

 supervisors had passed a law last year to change the law 

 on partridges so that the open season would commence 

 Sept. 11 instead of Aug. 15. The printed records of the 

 board were brought as proof, and there it was — black on 

 white. When I asked the supervisor what the reason 

 could be for this change he answered innocently, "We 

 don't want the summer boarders to shoot our partridges." 

 I ventured to ask the gentleman to publish that in his 

 advertisement, so that they mightjknow before what they 

 had to expect. 



Now, here I was and what should I do? Should I go 

 out shooting the next day and run the risk of being 

 arrested. Thinking it over and over, I finally concluded 

 to wire to the headquarters of the sportsmen, and that I 

 did. Four hours had hardly elapsed when I received the 

 following dispatch: "Aug. 15.— Partridge season opens 

 12 o'clock midnight to-night. —Forest and Stream." 



That settled it, The supervisor said he had no objection. 



The other townspeople, who had heard of the dispute and 

 had come to hear the answer of Forest and Stream, 

 allowed when they heard it that it must be so after all; 

 and I — well, I went hunting the next morning; and 

 when I held my first partridge of the season in my hand 

 I thought if a partridge could be sent to New York as 

 fast as a telegram this nice fat bird would go to Forest 

 and Stream, "the headquarters of the sportsmen." 



Eev. E. C J- Kearling. 

 [As set forth in the Brief the New York game law now 

 in force repeals all county supervisors' special laws, those 

 of Greene county included.] 



NEW ENGLAND SHORE NOTES. 



Boston, Aug. 22, — Shore bird shooting is better. One 

 or two very good flights of summer yellowlegs have 

 been seen in the vicinity of Plum and Castle Islands, at 

 the mouth of the Ipswich Eiver, and some of the gunners 

 have made one or two good hauls. Mr. Harry Powers, 

 of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, with his friend Mr. 

 Dodd, was out the other day in their stand on Castle 

 Island. They had out their decoys and were looking for 

 yellowlegs. Soon a big flock came in sight, but very 

 high up in the air. The hunters did their best at calling, 

 but soon saw that the birds had stopped in a bewildered 

 sort of a manner. Another caller's shrill whistle was evi- 

 dently bothering the birds. They soon settled down, 

 however, in the direction of another stand, where the 

 other calls came from. Two shots were given as soon as 

 the birds had touched the water, and two more barrels as 

 they rose and turned. It was plain to Mr. Powers and 

 his friend that the other gunners had made a splendid 

 shot and taken a good many birds. But the flock was 

 broken up and bewildered. Two stray birds came down 

 and were secured by the defeated gunners, who then 

 went along to learn of the success of the gunners at the 

 other stand. They found whom they expected: Mr. 

 Charles Canterbury with his friend Mr. Henry, both of 

 Boston. Mr. ..Canterbury is regarded as an expert gun- 

 ner, and he does a good deal of it. It is said of him that 

 he has made shore birds more of a study than almost any 

 other man in Boston, and that he can call almost any 

 game bird that is ever to be found in the sections where 

 he guns. 



In. the above instance Mr. Powers says that it was a 

 beautiful sight to see the flock of yellowlegs called out of 

 the air, and then, with their two barrels each, for the two 

 gunners to take seventeen birds out of the flock. It seemed 

 to be a case of pure skill. It was evident that the birds 

 were old ones, from the fact that the flight is not the first 

 one, which was due in that vicinity as early as July 15. 

 The flight has been further seen. Mr. Claude H. Tarbox, 

 with his friend Charlie Bailey, have had shots at the same 

 birds on Plum Island, where they have stands. They 

 secured ten birds the first time out. But the crack bag 

 out of the flock has just been made. Mr. Tarbox saw a 

 gunner get on to the train a few mornings later, with a 

 bundle of birds that he estimated to contain from seventy- 

 five to one hundred. The gunner he did not know, but 

 as he came evidently from the shooting grounds near the 

 mouth of the Ipswich River, there was no doubt about the 

 identity of the flock. On Wednesday Harry Powers's wife 

 wrote him that the gunners had got ten more of the birds 

 at Castle Island. He calculates that the flock will stay 

 around for some days, and he will get another pull at 

 them if possible, 



Massachusetts Quail and Maine Grouse. 



There are reports of a good many quail in Massachusetts. 

 The gunners believe that the close time during the whole 

 of the year 1894 has been productive of good results, and 

 they are anxiously looking forward to the the 15th of Oc- 

 tober, the beginning of the legal open season. A number 

 of broods are mentioned in Reading and in Stoneham. 

 In the western part of the State also a number of broods 

 are located. The woods of Plymouth county are men- 

 tioned as having more quail this year than usual. Par- 

 tridge, or ruffed grouse, are scarce, if all reports are true; 

 at least the birds have not been seen. Not so in Maine, 

 however. Reports for partridge shooting in that State 

 are very favorable thus far. I have letters from one or 

 two guides in the Rangeley region, and both mention that 

 partridges have not been* as plenty for several years. A 

 gentleman who has been up the Penobscot for a long dis- 

 tance, on business that took him into the woods a good 

 deal, tells me that he saw more partridges than he has 

 ever seen before on trips of the same nature. Special. 



The Buck-egg- Fake. 



Not long ago Forest and Stream published what ap- 

 peared to be a reasonably complete refutation of the 

 reports of great destruction of wildfowl eggs in the North- 

 west for commercial purposes. These reports have been 

 industriously circulated, apparently backed by good 

 authority, to the effect that millions of duck and other 

 wildfowl eggs were gathered, in Alaska and the British 

 possessions and from there shipped to eastern points for 

 manufacture into egg albumen cake. Senator Mitchell, 

 of Oregon, in a speech favoring an appropriation for in- 

 vestigating the subject, reiterated the charge in strong 

 terms, and the National Game, Fish and Bird Protective 

 Association earnestly backed up the demand for Congres- 

 sional action. The inquiry of Forest and Stream ex- 

 tended to agents of all the transportation companies, the 

 various revenue collectors and others, who deny that any 

 shipments of eggs have been made, or that there is any 

 foundation whatever for the story. But now comes the 

 Seattle Argus with an emphatic reiteration of the charges 

 and a promise to gather proofs. Upon the face of the re- 

 turns so far reported Fores r and Stream has the best of 

 the argument. Evidence and not talk will be required to 

 change that aspect of the case. If it exists it should be 

 forthcoming. — Road and Inn. 



Loose Hounds and Rabbits. 



White House, N. J., Aug. 19.— Jno. Burdette living in 

 this place keeps two hound dogs. They have been and 

 are allowed to run at will and have been killing rabbits in 

 this section all summer. Will you please refer this to 

 the game protector of this State or advise me what to do 

 to get rid of them. C. W. Daggett. 



[Communicate with the Fish and Game Commission, 

 whose president is H. P. Frothingham, Mount Arlington. 



