362 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Oct. 26, 1895. 



The Litchfield Park Fence. 



The fence around Litchfield Park, TupperLake. Frank- 

 lin county, N. Y. (Adirondacks), was completed about 

 Sept. 10. It was built under contract by the Page Woven 

 Wire Fence Company, of Adrian, Mich., and is proving 

 eminently satisfactory for a game preserve fence. 



It is of galvanized coiled elastic steel wire, with twenty 

 horizontal strands tied together by vertical strands every 

 12in. The spaces between the horizontal wires are 3in. 

 wide for the first foot, beginning at the bottom of the 

 fence, and gradually widen toward the top. 



It has no barbs and is strung from tree to tree, being 

 fastened by staples. Posts are used only in the absence 

 of trees. 



All irregularities in the soil underneath are filled with 

 green logs, stones, or other suitable material. 



The fence is about 8 ft. high and is over eighteen miles 

 in length. It is absolutely dog and deer tight. No dog 

 can get through unless he digs a passage underneath. 



The Page people put on two large gangs of men and 

 drove the work with great rapidity, closing it out a month 

 ahead of the contract time. 



The fence runs through the roughest Adirondack coun- 

 try, through swamps and over mountains. At one place 

 it crosses the bay of a lake, a distance of 150yds. ; at an- 

 other it runs over the crest of a mountain nearly 1,000ft. 

 above the level of the surrounding country. 



The wire is, as it were, corrugated before using, and its 

 elasticity is so great that if a tree falls upon the fence, 

 when the tree is cut away the fence springs back into 

 place and only requires re-stapling. 



The area inclosed is about two and a quarter miles wide 

 by six and one-half long, amounting to between 8,000 and 

 9,000 acres. 



The owner now has a small band of elk or wapiti in the 

 park, in addition to the deer native to the Adirondacks. 

 He is negotiating for more elk, also for mountain sheep, 

 blacktail deer, moose, and for some European game, such 

 as roebuck, fallow deer, etc. 



The First Moose. 



Boston.— The notice in your-valuable and instructive 

 paper, notifying all your readers to report their luck of 

 rod and gun, was observed by the writer, who has been a 

 reader of your paper for a great many years. I inclose 

 these paragraphs from the Globe relating to my deer of 

 this year: "It was the good fortune of the correspondent 

 of the Globe to reach here last night just as the lucky 

 hunter who captured the first moose of the season arrived 

 with his prize. The lucky sportsman was also a Boston 

 man, Benjamin Taft, well known in insurance circles. 

 With his guide, John Powers, of Millinocket, he has been 

 encamped at Soudnehunk Falls since Sept. 20. He located 

 his quarry Monday night, Sept. 80, by the familiar moose 

 call with the birchen horn, and early Tuesday morning 

 went for him and brought him down. Sitting upon a log 

 in the chill of the morning, he is undoubtedly truthful in 

 saying that it was the cold and not 'buck fever' that 

 caused his legs to tremble beneath him, and as the majes- 

 tic monarch of the forest approached him, sitting con- 

 cealed behind a bush, it is to his credit that his bullet, 

 aimed at the skull, struck full in the face. The moose is 

 said to have stood fully 6ft. high at his haunehes, and 

 guides who saw him estimated his weight at l,2001bs. 

 His antlers, though not so large as some, and indicating 

 an age of 6 years, showed a spread of 40in., depth of 

 blades 22in., spread of ears from tip to tip 30in., length 

 of head from ears to tip of nose 28in. and length of felt, 

 a very fine one, 16in." Norcross. 



New Hampshire Game Seasons. 



Centre Barnstead, N. H., Oct. 14.— Editor Forest 

 and Stream: A few words in regard to our game laws. 

 The open season on gray squirrels and rabbits in New 

 Hampshire begins Sept. 1, on partridges and woodcock 

 Sept. 15. Here is where we find a great mistake in the 

 law, for there is a chance for a man to go hunting for 

 squirrels and rabbits and at the same time to shoot every 

 partridge that he comes across as long as he does not get 

 caught in the act. This gives that kind of a sportsman 

 fifteen days' advance of a true sportsman. I believe that 

 the law on squirrels, rabbits, partridges and woodcock 

 should be of the same date. 



Another reason why we do not have more partridge 

 shooting in this State is that there is so much snaring; but 

 we are pleased by the steps which one of our Fish and 

 Game Commissions has taken in regard to bringing the 

 violators to justice, and hope that this good work will 

 continue. If it does, we feel that we will have more par- 

 tridge gunning in years to come. F. S. E, 



About Nitro Powders. 



Aurora, Mo.. Oct. 13.— Editor Forest and Stream: In 

 reply to P. H. D. , while I am not rich so I can shoot all the 

 time, few amateurs shoot more in the field or at the trap 

 than I do. I always use 31drs. when hunting chickens or 

 ducks, and have yet the first time to have the head of 

 shell pull off or firing pin burst through. I have never 

 seen an accident on our club grounds with nitro powder. 

 I do not think P. H. D. would meet with good success at 

 the trap with 2^drs. of any nitro made in America except 

 the W. A., and that would be too large a load; it would 

 equal about 4drs. of nearly all the nitros now on the 

 market. A. E. Gibson. 



Nextl 



PERSIA, la.— I have seen a gun broken while using nitro 

 powder. The frame was broken in two just in front of 

 the trigger guard. The shooter was not injured, as the 

 breech did not open. I think too large a charge was fired, 

 and the same thing might happen with an overcharge of 

 aiy powder. We have been shooting nitro here for two- 

 years, and no accident has occurred except the above. 



Drop. 



California Game Abundant. 



Stockton, Cal., Oct. 8.— The hunting season promises! 

 to be fine this fall, with more quail than for a number of 

 seasons past, owing to the abundance of good cover, which 

 has not been destroyed by sheep or cattle as in former 

 years. The ducks are very plenty and good shooting is 

 expected. Geese are always plenty and are not much 

 hunted. S. N. C 



Clipping 1 Partridge Heads. 



Mr. Dick of Connecticut seems to discredit the stories 

 about clipping off the heads of grouse with single bullets. 

 That was the way that I potted grouse after I laid down 

 the old scatter gun, which was in my early youth. I 

 never thought that it was a very great feat of sharp- 

 shooting, however. I sometimes scored misses, but they 

 were exceptions, not the rule. I had frequently seen it 

 done by shooters with the old flintlock rifle before I car- 

 ried a gun. 



I have noticed some remrks of your correspondents in 

 reference to Tiam's moose shooting. It may be rather 

 late in the day to bring up that subject again, but I have 

 this to say, that Tiam may be a good shooter, but if he 

 had been a model hunter and sportsman he would have 

 let up after killing one moose, and that one likely to spoil 

 on his hands before he could get it out of the woods. 



Antler. 



Grand View, Tenn. 



Graveyard Rabbits. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I read Mr. Chas. Hallock's "Words for Buncombe" with 

 more than passing interest, and as I am cutting some 

 capers in the way of an obstructionist, I thought it a good 

 opportunity to add to my already copious honors. He 

 says, in Forest and Stream of Oct. 12: "The left hind 

 foot of one of these graveyard rabbits, carried in the 

 trousers pocket, will always bring good luck. The coun- 

 try negroeB affirm it and stand prepared to prove it." It 

 will, it will, but it must be more than a simple killing in 

 a graveyard if the foot is to have its mystic potency. The 

 rabbit must be killed at midnight, the moon full (and it 

 is easy for the moon to get full in a moonshine country), 

 and if the rabbit is killed with a silver bullet its left Trilby 

 is a thousand times more potent in bringing good luck 

 and warding off evil. Dick op Connecticut. 



A Stray Deer. 



A large deer was shot by George Palmer' who resides 

 about four miles north of this village, on Thursday morn- 

 ing of this week. On going to the pasture for his cows in 

 the early morning he discovered the deer among the herd 

 of cows and from the animal's antics he came to the con- 

 clusion that the deer was wild game; so in company with 

 his neighbor, John Johnson, he started in pursuit of the 

 venison. They followed the deer for about three hours 

 through several pieces of woods and finally a well directed 

 shot from Johnson's rifle, in the hands of Palmer, brought 

 down the buck. Those of our townspeople who saw the 

 carcass say it was a very large one. Whether or no it was 

 a wild deer strayed form the Adirondacks, or one escaped 

 from some private park, we are as yet unable to say. — 

 Sherbune (N. Y.) News, Oct. 12. 



Ducks on the Ithaca Marshes. 



Ithaca, N. Y.— The Ithaca marshes have afforded, and 

 are still affording, some pretty interesting snipe and duck 

 shooting. A number of really good bags of ducks have 

 been recorded within the week. We haven't, of course, 

 the number of birds on which to score big bags that many 

 more favored localities can boast of. At the same time, 

 the local gunners have become reconciled to the existing 

 conditions, and the shooting of half a dozen birds, here 

 considered an exceptionally good morning's work, now 

 arouses all the ardor and enthusiasm which the bagging 

 of twice or three times that many formerly did, This 

 being the case, why draw invidious comparisons between 

 the pleasure of present and past shooting experiences} 1 



M. Chill. 



Wet Matches. 



Bethlehem, Pa., Oct. 13— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 Seeing in your last issue how Jock Darling had to dry his 

 matches to make a fire, reminds me of something that 

 may be of value to somebody in the same prediciment. 



Take a wet match by the stem, rub the head in your 

 hair a few moments, and it will light as good as a dry one. 

 Try it. John F.* Rauch. 



[This (receipt is a good one as far as it goes, but it fails 

 when the matches are thoroughly soaked, and would not 

 have answered in Darling's case. Try it for yourself 

 and see. When the phosphorus becomes thoroughly 

 soaked a rub or two will clean it off the match stem and 

 leave you nothing to strike.] 



The Credit for Eheu, 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I don't want any credit that belongs to another. Your 

 sprightly contributor A. B. Wingfield says he's much 

 obliged to me for suggesting the adaptability of Eheu as 

 an exhaust for great mental excitement. I didn't discover 

 the word; O. O. S. brought it out of the misty eras, and 

 Mount Tom borrowed it from O. O. S. when he couldn't 

 give expression to his feelings in any other way. It's a 

 good word, and I would be proud of having discovered it; 

 but I wouldn't rob O. O. S. of the credit that's his due. 



Dick op Connecticut. 



An Off-Hand Shot. 



My neighbor Miles is descended from truth-loving Puri- 

 tan ancestors. But rumor saith he hath departed from 

 the ways of his forefathers and likewise from the paths 

 of rectitude — yea, that he often getteth miles from the 

 truth. 



It is a reprehensible act to deceive a common, every- 

 day, twenty-five-dollars-a-month-and-found citizen; but it 

 is "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked," to 

 lie to a deacon and a magistrate. 



Besides holding both these offices, another of our neigh- 

 bors, George C. Esq, is a farmer of some avoirdupois 

 and worldly substance, and was once a prominent mem- 

 ber of the N. B. Board of Agriculture. He is a very nice 

 man, but some of the boys can teach him a thing or two 

 about guns. 



A few days since the herein before-mentioned back- 

 slider from Puritan principles traded a superannuated farm 

 horse for a fine muzzleloading shotgun. He didn't par- 



ticularly need the gun, but he did wish to get rid of 

 the horse. Deacon George saw the gun and was inter- 

 ested. He knows little, and cares less, about firearms; 

 but this particular gun represented the price of a horse, 

 and he must find out about it as much as possible. 



"Ah! a very nice gun," said he, with the air of a con- 

 noisseur, "what is it worth?" 



"Well," said Miles evasively, "I would take $100 for 

 her." 



Somewhat hesitatingly came the next question: "Is it a 

 breechloader?" 



"Yes," lied its owner, anxious to make it appear to his 

 brother farmer that he had marketed the horse to extra 

 good advantage. 



Again the Deacon returned to the charge. "How do 

 you load her?" 



This would have nonplussed most of us. We would 

 have pleaded absent-mindedness, taken back water and 

 corrected our former misstatement. But Miles fixed his 

 eye, with an air of abstraction, on that of Will Smith and 

 felt in one and another of his pockets. At last he said, aa 

 if to Will, "I believe I must have left that breech key 

 home, but," added he, his countenance brightening a lit- 

 tle, "I guess I can explain the operation to the Squire 

 without it." 



Turning the gun over he drew the Deacon's attention to 

 a screw in the center of the horn cap on the end of the 

 pistol grip. "Now," said he, "you take the breech key, 

 press down on that little button" ("and the gun does the 

 rest," interrupted Will), "give a turn and swing that little 

 horn magazine cover right around. You can then push 

 six cartridges into the magazine. The first pair goes into 

 the barrels, the rest lie in pairs behind. Working the 

 hammers causes the cartridges to feed into the barrels 

 automatically. You can fire six shots without recharg- 

 ing, and," added he meekly, "that is about as many as 

 you want for a day's shooting now." 



The Squire looked at Will. "Declare, great invention, 

 isn't it?" "Yes, sir," said Will, enthusiastically, but he 

 wasn't thinking of the same invention as was the Squire. 

 And when the latter says, "Declare, no mistake, boys, 

 Miles got a great gun for that old horse— fires six shots 

 without reloadin'," the uninitiated think he refers to a 

 Winchester repeater. But a select few, of whom the 

 writer is one, knew better. And while we acknowledge 

 and even take off our hats to the ability, the presence of 

 mind and the non-indentable adamantine cheek that 

 enable our friend to make so good an off-hand shot with 

 the weapon of Ananias, we tremble lest some day he be 

 killed by the recoil. L. I. Flower. 



Trenton, N. J.— In looking through my Forest and 

 Stream I often see where some writer tells us how 

 eagerly he opens his paper as soon as he gets it, to see the 

 good things he knows it contains. Now I go at it a little 

 differently. My paper is delivered in the afternoon and 

 it is safely laid to one side until after business hours, and 

 after I get home and my family is safely to bed, then 

 with the old briar root in mouth and easy chair drawn up 

 to the light, slippered feet gently resting in another chair, 

 I can safely say that nothing outside of quietly sculling 

 down on a bunch of mallard ducks gives me more enjoy- 

 ment. Speaking of ducks, I want to tell you what befell 

 my companion of many a gunning and fishing trip. I can 

 only relate as he tells it, as he was the only witness. One 

 morning, last week, he decided to go up the creek and 

 look for ducks, and as I could not go, he went it alone. I 

 can imagine him on the creek in his duck boat, low of 

 free-board, narrow of beam, bending low as he quietly 

 sculls along, fingers on triggers and every nerve, vibrating 

 with the excitement of expectation, when suddenly he 

 hears the whir and up jumps a bunch of six fine mallards. 

 Up jumps our gunner and bang goes the first barrel; bang 

 goes the second, and as a rule that would be all; but there 

 is another bang as my friend strikes the water and finds 

 himself floundering around in about 10ft. of water. 



He tries to explain it to me by telling how, while not 

 wholly recovered from the recoil of his first barrel, his 

 foot slipped as he discharged his second. But the only 

 sympathy he gets from me is an injunction not stand up 

 in your boat when shooting ducks; it is something he will 

 never let me do when out gunning with him. Did he 

 get his ducks? He says he saw six get up, and after he 

 had got the water out of his eyes and his boat righted up 

 he could only see three flying around. We have had con- 

 siderable sport. Jersey. 



CAPE BRETON FISHERMEN. 



At Louisbourg one may study the Cape Breton fisher- 

 men at his leisure in the little villages on the right hand 

 and the left — Big Lorraine, Little Lorraine, Baleine, Main- 

 i!-dieu (bread of God — pronounced manadoo), Gabarus 

 (called Gabberoose) — that have been his home for genera- 

 tions. 



In nationality he is usually Scotch or Irish, a descend- 

 ant of those emigrants whom the policy of Pitt sent to 

 these shores to fill the places of the deported Acadians. 

 In religion he is the most uncompromising of dissenters. 

 The Presbyterian churches flourish here, while the Eng- 

 lish and Roman churches languish. Fishing is his voca- 

 tion; he is also a good seaman, but has little faculty for 

 anything else; therefore, when the salmon, cod, mackerel 

 and herring, on which he mainly depends, seek other 

 shores or the deep sea for their summer outing, he, with 

 the "missus" and the "bairns" in the little one-story, un- 

 painted cabins picturesquely nestled in nooks and coves 

 of the coast, are put on short commons. There has been 

 but half a catch this summer. I asked a wrinkled veteran 

 with a skin like a sea cusk's the reason why. 



"It's them cussed Americans," he growled, "p'isenin' 

 the fish." 



"Poisoning the fish?" echoed I. 



"Aw, p'isenin' 'em. S'posin' I leave a dead critter in 

 my pasture yon. The other beastes ain't a-comin' there 

 to feed, be they? Naw, they smell bluid. An' cod an' 

 mack'rel an' herrin' '11 smell bluid too, an' if ye dress fish 

 an' heave the heads and innards an' tails overboard on to 

 their feedin' groun's as the seiners do, they ain't a-comin' 

 ther' to feed, be they? An' without fish men can't live 

 here. We've got to leave the country." 



"Well," said I, hopefully, "taxes are less here than in 

 the old countries." 



