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FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Deo. 14, 1895. 



MAINE MOOSE MEASUREMENTS. 



Phillips, Me., Dec. 7, — In reading a communication 

 from H. H. S.,of Aroostook county, headed "Miss Milhau's 

 Moose," in Forest and Stream, 1 notice that you desire 

 the authentication of the statement that the antlers on 

 the moose killed by Mr. A. A. Barker,of Newport, R, I. , had 

 a spread of 5ft. lin. H. H. S. has certainly fallen into a 

 habit of exaggeration which is so common among writers 

 of sporting news for the papers this year. His statement 

 is not quite as bad as that made by the Bangor News re- 

 cently that the antlers of a certain moose had a spread of 

 9ft., but he is just a foot out of the way. The antlers 

 were measured by the postmaster at Presque Isle and 

 found to have a spread of 49in. 



Dressed the animal weighed, including the hide and a 

 bob sled on which it was hauled, l,8601bs,, and it is doubt- 

 less the largest ever killed in the State. The horns are 

 38in. long, the web being 12in. wide, with 15 prongs on 

 one side and 13 on the other. He measured from the tip 

 of his nose to a point between the horns 2ft., and from 

 that point to his tail 9ft. The animal has been presented 

 to a historical society in Newport and is being mounted 

 whole. 



It may be interesting to your readers to know a little 

 more about this really wonderful animal. Col. Barker 

 was accompanied by Mr. Jos. D, Robinson, of Presque 

 Isle, and the two spent two weeks on and near Greenlaw 

 Mountain, near Machais, with Leon Orcutt and Roscoe 

 Flint as guides. They had remarkable good fortune, 

 taking out with them two moose, two caribou and one 

 deer. It required eight horses to haul the game. 



There was nothing especially remarkable about the 

 game aside from Col. Barker's moose. It was an awful 

 job to get him out whole, but the Colonel was bound to 

 do it and afterward said that he would have spent $1,000 

 rather than to have failed in doing it. The animal was 

 shot in the densest part of the forest and had to be hauled 

 many miles over the worst kind of a road. A crib or 

 sack was made and the moose put in it in a kneeling pos- 

 ture and then secured. The crib was then placed on a 

 sled and hauled to Ashland, where the sled was ex- 

 changed for a cart. The moose was shipped by rail 

 from Presque Isle to Newport. Winchester, 



[The moose killed by Dr. T. D. M. Cardeza, of Philadel- 

 phia, near Chesuucook Lake, had antlers which measured 

 from tip to tip 63in.] 



IN OLE V1RGINNY. 



The Old Dominion has been famous for its game and 

 hunting and fishing grounds ever since the days of Capt. 

 John Smith and Pocahontas. It is no less famous for its 

 hospitable people, and your correspondent was especially 

 struck by this on a recent morning when, feeling a yank- 

 ing to fraternize, he mounted his silent steed and rode to 

 Alexandria. 



Arriving at that once very flourishing city, recently re- 

 awakened after a long period of quietude not enjoyed by 

 her enterprising business men, but now in company with 

 most of our cities quietly waiting for the present depres- 

 sion to pass away, I saw on one of the prominent corners 

 a handsome Irish setter, through which I introduced my- 

 self to its owner, Mr. M. J. Page, who told me that game 

 iB scarce, especially partridges. For information such as 

 I wanted Mr. Page referred me to Creighton's store, head- 

 quarters for Alexandria's sportsmen. At the store I found 

 the proprietor, Dr. William F. Creighton. Having intro- 

 duced myself and stating that the object of my visit was 

 to become acquainted with the hunters of Alexandria 

 and report to Forest and Stream some of their recent 

 experiences, the Doctor said, "Why, yes, there sits Harry 

 Simpson now reading your paper, and let me introduce 

 you to Lieut. James Smith, and this is Mr. Lucas, and 

 here is my son Frank." 



The Doctor went on, "Among our other sportsmen 

 mention George Ayres, Walter Nails and Henry Schiic- 

 ting." 



Alexandria's nimrods, like all of their brethren of the 

 Eastern United States north of the Carolinas, feel greatly 

 the loss of the quail shooting. These birds were found 

 frozen by the dozens after the severe weather of last 

 February. It is hard for the fraternity to lose its quail 

 shooting even for a season. The only sport now in that 

 line is to take the dogs, of which Alexandria boasts a 

 goodly number of well bred and trained, out for practice. 

 The sportsmen are refraining from killing off what few 

 quail are left, so that one of the most entertaining features 

 in the shooting line in the Old Dominion is off the boards 

 for the present season. As to the vicinity of Alexandria, 

 her sportsmen are now negotiating for birds to stock up 

 with from North Carolina. 



At Mt. Vernon, the tomb of George Washington, Supt. 

 Dodge is raising some Mongolian pheasants. A few of 

 these birds have been seen outside of the preserves. It is 

 to be hoped that they will to some extent at least stock 

 the surrounding country. 



Some of the most successful shooting done during the 

 season is that of Harry Simpson, who is the champion 

 woodcock huntsman of the place. The other day he went 

 out and secured nine of the largest, plumpest birds seen 

 for some time. The highest number killed in one day 

 this year was thirteen— just a baker's dozen. Two years 

 ago the highest record was made when twenty-eight 

 woodcock were shot. Mr. Simpson says he has killed in 

 all about 300 woodcock this season. The season in Alex- 

 andria and Fairfax counties is from July 1 to Jan. 1. 

 "Chip" gives a great deal of credit to his dog, a small Irish 

 setter, without which it would be impossible to find the 

 birds in the lowlands thick with vegetation. Very good 

 grounds are readily accessible to hunters from Alexan- 

 dria, but Simpson says it takes hard work in some of the 

 marshes. Many a time a man flounders around and 

 wishes himself well out of it all; butalittle firmer footing 

 and an easy shot which is rewarded by a good plump 

 bird revives his spirits, so that he keeps working all day 

 and at its close, though very tired in body, is the happier 

 for it. 



There is very good rail and snipe shooting in the big 

 marshes below Alexandria, and in what are known as the 

 Double Ditches, six miles below the city, very good shoot- 

 ing is to be had in season. 



As an example of what has been done in the rail shoot- 

 ing line, we give, the following: In tbe month of Septem- 

 ber, 1888, 1,300 rail were killed by one gunner in the 

 marshes near Alexandria. Besides the rail, quite a num- 

 ber of reed birds and blackbirds were shot. From 116 

 shots 115 rail were picked up. 



Dr. Creighton may be styled the nestor of sportsmen in 

 Alexandria, having taken a great interest in dogs and 

 gun for the past forty-five years. His first experience 

 was a visit to Uncle Jim's down in Maryland, where he 

 shot his first rabbit. Shooting the rabbit and wounding 

 it, he says he dropped the gun and ran for the game, 

 chasing it up and down, over ditches and brush rows, till 

 finally he secured his prize. Uncle Jim watched the 

 sport, shouting, "Where's the gun," but the boy didn't 

 stop for man or gun until the game was captured, and 

 then they had quite a time finding the old weapon among 

 the high weeds. 



Not long since there passed away to the happy hunting 

 grounds old Shot, 17 years old when death overtook him, 

 one of the best dogs ever shot over. A picture of his boy 

 and old Shot is highly prized by the Doctor. I send you 

 a photo of Harry Simpson and dog Flirt, a noble animal 

 and excellent hunter. She carries but one eye in the 

 picture, the other having been accidentally shot out. 



Dr. Creighton has a curiosity in the way of an old 

 horse pistol fitted with a gun stock. He says the boys 

 and he have had lots of fun with this firearm. It is good 

 on singing cats late at night. 



The cbunties around Alexandria abound with rabbits. 

 Some turkeys are found down around the big dike, but 

 just now we are sighing for the good old quail Bhooting 

 as of yore. Bart. 



GAUCHO AND SAM'S DUCKS. 



Shreveport, La. — Editor Forest and Stream: I have 

 just had one of the greatest day's duck shooting of my 

 life. Numerically I could have done more, as I left my 

 blind and we took up the decoys at about 3 P. M. But 

 quantity is not quality, and when a fellow bags seventy- 

 seven ducks from 9 A. M. to say 3 P. M. he ought to be 

 satisfied. 



I wish it distinctly understood that I claim no credit 

 whatever for having killed these ducks — not a bit of it, 

 They came up to see my decoys — not so much to see me, 

 I presume — and I was there all ready to receive them, 

 and with my little 20-gauge Parker I simply killed as 

 many as I could, finding it a most excellent fowling piece 

 on any duck when inside of 35yds. I had in my blind a 

 spare gun — a 71lbs. Parker, in which I shot 48grs. of E. 

 C. and 1 loz. chilled No. 5 shot, loaded in U. M. C. £fin. 

 smokeless cases. This gun and load is hard on a duck, 

 very; it is only a question of getting the load and duck to 

 connect, and anywhere inside of 50yds. the duck is tak- 

 ing a great many more chances than the shooter, see? So 

 I shot both guns and missed about as many with one as 

 the other. 1 found I had to lead my cross shots further 

 with the 20, but was surprised at the way it closed them 

 up when under 40yds.; beyond that distance it could not 

 be compared in effectiveness to the heavy 12 bore with its 

 crushing load. 



And all this is in very bad form, for I should have com- 

 menced talking about my host and not starting off at 

 break-neck pace howling about my guns— but que voulez 

 vousf I like a gun awfully much, especially a good 

 honest make of gun; so — well, you all know the gun I 

 prefer and I won't say another word about it— 



Now I'll tell you something of real live interest, and it's 

 true, and that's the strong part of it. Dead earnest every 

 word, and if any one doubts me let him come here and 

 verify my statements. 



There lives in this town of Shreveport, La., a man 

 whose name is Sam Enders, and Sam was reared and 

 educated among the ducks. He was always first in his 

 class; stood head, gave the ducks general instruction, so 

 now they come his way from force of habit, or perhaps 

 through hypnotism— quien sabe? But they come, and 

 that's what other fellows try to accomplish, and you all 

 know how they succeed; perhaps you know better if you 

 have tried it yourself. I for my part speak from experi- 

 ence. 



When Sam was a little boy he went to school and the 

 first word he learned to epall was "duck"; when he got a 

 little bigger tbe uppermost thought in his mind was to 

 circumvent "duck"; so he roamed the marshes over, 

 learned what a duck's palate most craved, imbibed all he 

 could from books relative to ducks, studied their habits 

 and idiosyncrasies, and ever since has been slaying 

 ducks. It is not recorded anywhere that even a single 

 duck or drake has ever harmed Sam. Nothing of 

 the kind; only being of a playful turn of mind he 

 just likes to fool ducks. The more sagacious the duck 

 the more keen becomes Sam, and the surer the demise of 

 the said duck. We all have our playful moods; Ram is 

 having most fun when decoying ducks. Some are sad- 

 dest when they sing; Sam is gladdest when the wing of 

 the mallard sweeps overhead. Alas! poor duck, now so 

 stone dead! W 7 hat made you fool with Sam's decoys? 

 That's it, you see. Sam's decoys are simply irresistible; 

 they are magnets around which the duck family revolves; 

 they attract a duck from miles away, and he cannot resist 

 their silent but eloquent appeal to come in their midst and 

 be one of them — i. e., one of the dead ones lying around, 

 with a wire stuck through their throat; so that even after 

 death Sam makes a duck lie to his living mates, and 

 causes the unsuspecting to voluntarily court their own 

 destruction. 



And then again, in the way of deep-laid schemes Sam 

 has a folding jack-in-the-box sort of blind that just fools 

 a duck every time. There are sagacious, wise and learned 

 ducks that have, through a varied stage of experience, 

 accumulated much, wisdom. These are "highflyers;" tall, 

 circling chaps, ducks that disdain to be allured by ordi- 

 nary mortals and give them a wide berth. These lofty, 

 cloud-cleaving ducks simply glance from their exalted 

 position, and, having soul-searching eyes, they perceive 

 that down in the depths below their lies concealed a biped 

 called man, who, though still and silent as a statue, clad to 

 resemble his close surroundings — a veritable tramp in ap- 

 pearance — yet there he is; and that shining thing he holds 

 in both hands is veritably a most dangerous trick. So, all 

 in all, the brainy duck, wise in his generation— perhaps 

 riddled on a former occasion — hies him hence, and goes to 

 some other bunch of ducks where there is no fagot of 

 willows in the vicinity, circles about, quacks in satisfac- 

 tion, and proceeds to guzzle sweet grasses, seeds and dainty 

 snails, flaps his wings, and were he a rooster would crow, 

 to show his contempt at all such fools who are inveigled 

 by simple, plain decoys. 



But look here— what of this? Sam's decoys are princi- 

 pally live ducks— nice big fat fellows, who air themselves 

 gracefully swimming about— real live ducks, who can talk 



to the aforesaid high flyer— and his blind is fitted with 

 hinged sides that enfold him so completely that the eagle 

 glance sees nothing but a bunch of willows. So who can 

 blame even a full-fledged, decorated, self-taught and col- 

 lege-graduated duck for descending from his- elevated 

 plane and flying square into a load of shot— proceeding 

 as it does from the bunch of willows that op Q ns up with- 

 out warning? Really, it is too bad— so bad indeed that 

 few ducks get away, and as none refuse to come in, you, 

 my gentle reader, can plainly see that what I said about 

 Sam to start with is about correct, and no exaggeration 

 at all. But then, you see, when other infants were play- 

 ing in their cradles Sam was sucking at a duck's wing; 

 when, later on, other boys were playing marbles Sim was 

 studying pictures ©f ducks; when, after this, lads were 

 courting lasses, Sam was skirting duck marshes, gun in 

 hand, not so much depending on his weapon, but bent on 

 learning the habits of all the duck family, and that's 

 where his head was level; for, as I said before, it is easy 

 enough to kill ducks, but awfully hard to get there at the 

 killing. So what with his folding blinds, persuasive, al- 

 luring decoys, unerring aim and great duck sense Sam 

 gets all the ducks he wants and so do all his friends; for, 

 after the fun of killing them comes the pleasure of giving 

 them away. So you see just what an awfully.nice thing 

 it is to know such a fellow as Sam Enders. 



And now they are forming a club — a ducking club — the 

 members of which will have about as good duck shoot- 

 ing as any one on earth. So if any of my readers would 

 join, let him write to Mr. Sam Enders at Shreveport, La., 

 and he will give him full particulars — and believe me, 

 there are very few such places in America or out of it. 



" 'Nuff said," a word to the wise, etc. Gaucho. 



DR. BISHOP'S MOOSE. 



Boston, Dec. 6, 1895. —The big game hunters continue 

 to complain of bad weather. There has been a remark- 

 able lack of snow in Maine, the ground being bare nearly 

 all of November, and for several days into December. For 

 this reason the moose, deer and caribou have escaped a 

 good deal of destruction, for the hunters have been most 

 remarkably numerous. Not so the partridges. As near 

 as I can learn these birds have suffered severely at the 

 hands of the hunters in the woods this season. In the first 

 place there have been more hunters to the square mile 

 than ever before, and more square milts of the backwoods 

 have been thoroughly hunted over. All the hunters I 

 have talked with admit of having taken a great many 

 partridges. In the absence of snow and good deer hunting ; 

 they have been obliged to content themselves with par- 

 tridge hunting. Can the birds stand this extra hunting, is ■ 

 the question. 



Novel ideas enter the brain of the deer hunters, as well 

 as the stay-at-homes. Mr. R. P. Woodman, who has re- 

 turned from a rather unsuccessful deer hunt at Parlin 

 Pond, in Maine, tells me of a novel hunting outfit he 

 came across while there. Mr. Woodman's health did not 

 admit of his doing bis usual amount of hunting himself, 

 and so he had to be contented with listening to the ex- 

 ploits of others. A brother of Gov, Buswell, Mr. 

 Woodman understands, with a friend, landed at ParJin i 

 Pond, via Canadian Pacific, with a camp on wheels. It \ 

 was also provided with runners, so that it could be used | 

 on snow. It came by rail easily, but it took a number of I 

 horses to haul it over an old logging road to where the 

 hunters wished to camp, It was provided with cold 

 storage and cooking apparatus. The hunters have left it I 

 and will occupy it another season, moving it to whatever i 

 location they wish to hunt. 'It seems that at first the 

 hunters owning the movable cabin were looked upon as 

 rather "new" and inexperienced, and it was considered | 

 that the big game was generally safe where they would I 

 be hunting. But when one of them came upon a flock 

 of partridges and really shot the heads off from five of I 

 them in rapid succession, opinions began to change. He 

 at least was conceded to be a good rifleshot. On the moi-n- 

 ing of the first snow the other one was advised to follow 

 down the old logging road, the person suggesting this 

 direction not having the least idea that he would come 

 upon big game. But he had scarcely covered a mile when 

 three deer passed across the road — a doe and two bucks. 

 The hunter brought down the first buck and quickly 

 turned and shot the other. This exploit raised him con- 

 siderably in the estimation of the guides and campers at 

 Par lin Pond. 



The Morrisons, of Bar Harbor, seem to have been suc- 

 cessful hunters this year. Six deer and a moose are re- 

 ported to have been killed by them in the region around 

 Ox Bow. Their load of game passed through Bangor re- 

 cently, and that was where my informant saw it. Their 

 names are Dr. C. C. Morrison, Dr. E. J. Morrison and M. 

 C. Morrison. 



Dr. Heber Bishop, of Boston, is certainly the champion 

 moose hunter of the present day. He came out of the 

 woods yesterday with two handsome buck deer and an- 

 other moose. This moose makes the third one within a 

 year, and eleven in all that have fallen to his rifle since 

 he began to bunt. He has tilled three within a year, in 

 fact. One he killed on the 31st day of December last— the 

 one that showed fight, and described at the time — one 

 taken in Nova Scotia in Sepcember last and the one men- 

 tioned above. The Doctor this time hunted in the A lie- 

 gash region, 42 miles from Presque Isle, the end of the 

 Bangor & Aroostook Railway, though a branch is build- 

 ing to Ashland, 18 miles from the camp occupied, by the 

 Bishop party. Mr. C. C. Williams came out with the 

 Doctor with a deer tohi3 credit. Dr. G. A. McAleer, of 

 Worcester, was also of the party, and Mr. W. T. 

 Farley. Both of these gentlemen were still in the woods 

 at this writing, both having located moose. Mr. Farley 

 had already taken a handsome buck deer, but was not 

 satisfied. Mr. Bishop says that he has no doubt but what 

 Mr. Farley and his guide, who were hunting near, started 

 the moose he shot, which was following a cow at the 

 time. The Doctor's guide, Herb Neal, of the Megantic 

 region, was out with that gentleman looking for moose 

 when a cow moose-came "thundex-ing through the woods," 

 Both were sure that another was following, and they al- 

 lowed the cow to pass, when quickly a spikehorn bull 

 hove in sight. He paused, threw up his head, giving the 

 Doctor a fine shot, side on. At one crack he fell in his 

 tracks. The deer shot by the Doctor were both handsome 

 bucks, one with a 22in. spread of antlers and the other 

 with a spread of 2 lin. and a most remarkably symmetrical 

 form. The skin of this deer the Doctor is to hav 

 mounted whole. Very peculiar weather was experience 



