March 15, 1888.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



14 7 



ing sweet potatoes— and such potatoes. We forgave her 

 then, and forgive her again now for all the tiresome hours 

 we were compelled to listen, or rather hear her chatter- 

 ing tongue; and the fried sweet potatoes did it. You 

 who have never eaten a potato grown in the Creek Nation 

 and especially one of Mrs. M.'s frying, are not qualified 

 to mention the vegetable. How we did cause everything 

 put before us to disappear. The fragrant tobacco makes 

 the world look very peaceful to us all; we feed the hungry 

 dogs and they go to sleep at once. A turkey is taken to 

 Mrs. M. with the request that it be cooked for our to-mor- 

 row's lunch, for we have had one experience with Vanita 

 at the dinner hour. We pack everything we can, and 

 turn in and sleep the sleep of all good sportsmen under 

 similar circumstances. 



After breakfast next morning we finish the packing. 

 Brooks shaves himself and has no competitor in the dude 

 line. I learn this by his completely cutting me out with 

 a fair damsel in a trim-fitting corduroy suit, who fortun- 

 ately had an entire seat to herself as we changed that 

 night at Monett. Brooks of course could find no other in 

 the coach, after T, the only really eligible man in the 

 crowd, had been rudely sat down upon by her. 



Brooks leaves us at Spiingfield to spend a few days in 

 his old home at Fort Scott, taking the sorrowful dog Rube. 

 We awaken next morning at St. Louis. The boys want 

 to spend a day here, and I am in a hurry to be back to a 

 business needing my attention. We say good bye, and I 

 proceed on my way with the three dogs, and reach home 

 in good time the following morning. 



So ends the event of the year, that which we had 

 counted upon for weeks and weeks before going, and 

 will with pleasant memories look back upon for months, 

 and who knows but for years afterward. 



These yearly pilgrimages of the same chosen friends 

 and boon companions cannot go on forever. One by one 

 time obliterates a dear face or hushes the sunny, cheer- 

 ing voice of the best of friends. A thousand and one 

 things are possible and some more than probable to pre- 

 vent, that will make even the next round-up, on which we 

 are. already counting, not what the last was. Some may 

 be gone, and a pleasure will be blemished with regret. 

 Which one this will be may many years to come be called 

 upon to tell, and though taking our life's pleasure year 

 by year as we grow older, can we not hope, that many a 

 time again may the old clan gather at the call of the 

 spirit of the golden October days, and not a single leaf be 

 torn from the book of our fellowship. 



Wm. b. Meicshon; 



SMALL BORES. 



Editor- Forest and Stream: 



In reply to the query of "W. E. P.," 1 would say that, 

 from my experience, a 20-bore far surpasses a 10-bore, in 

 that it shoots stronger and kills at a greater distance. 



The gun I have used for the past three years was made 

 in Belgium about a century ago. It is doublebarreled, 

 weight 71bs., 36in., with flint-locks, which I had altered 

 into cap. The only objections I have to the gun is the 

 noise arising from loading it, the ramrod being very slen- 

 der, and, as in the case with all muzzleloaders, its inabil- 

 ity to go off at critical moments. I loaded rather heavy, 

 and would take my chances at anything that came within 

 notice in the woods. 



The shooting ability of the gun was chiefly limited to 

 gray squirrels, and 1 consider a gray squirrel to be as 

 tenacious of life and as difficult to bring to bag as any 

 game hereabouts. Three years ago I shot twenty-eight 

 squirrels and only lost three, and was but few times 

 called upon to use the second barrel. It is a curious fact 

 that very often a female squirrel will require at least 

 three shots to dislodge her, whereas a buck will generally 

 tumble at the first barrel. A good deal depends upon 

 whether you see the squirrel first or the squirrel sees you. 

 He often tiinables to a sudden surprise with more eager- 

 ness than if he were all expectant. 



I often used to go out with a 12-bore after partridges, 

 with a wind-un at squirrels. The gun was a $150 muzzle 

 English, made to order, with very little choke; and I 

 have spent many a good half hour sneaking up to get a 

 chance to tear the squirrel to pieces, only to see him 

 dodge around on the opposite side of the tree and vanish. 



I once had two splendid shots at a couple of squirrels 

 in oak trees bordering a path in the woods, but they van- 

 ished quicker than the smoke from the gun. The next 

 day while going through the same place with my squirrel 

 gun, as I called my 20 bore, I espied a gray in the top of 

 an oak, stretched out on a limb, basking in the sun. He 

 seemed to recognize me, and could not be prevailed upon 

 to sit up for a fair shot, and took great delight in my em- 

 barrassing position. The experiences of the previous day 

 prevented me from acting rashly. I surrounded the 

 enemy, deployed to right and left, advanced and re- 

 treated; but without result. Finally I determined to stir 

 him up, and at the first shot he left his stronghold and 

 tumbled down literally riddled with shot. From that 

 moment the gun reached the highest pegs in my estima- 

 tion, and has never yet shown in what respect my faith 

 was misplaced. 



I am not a bit prejudiced in regard to the gun, as I 

 have a fine breechloader which I prize highly; but I 

 would readily give way to the 20-bore in a squirrel hunt 

 were it not for the fact that my brother last winter blew 

 off four inches of the right barrel by reason of a little 

 snow in the end. T. Potter. 



WtLLIAMSTOWN, MaSS. 



Deer and Hounds.— Ellenburgh Center, Clinton 

 County, N. Y., March 5.— Editor Forest and Stream: On 

 the 2d inst. some hunters drove a young deer out into 

 the clearings with hounds and a boy caught the deer, but 

 the hound came up and despite the efforts of the boy 

 killed the deer. There are no constables near here, and 

 that kind of hunting is being done every winter. These 

 hunters could be easily stopped by some one in authority, 

 but no one has authority. Please inform me to whom to 

 go with this complaint. It will be soon the time when 

 they can go to the yards and crust hunt the deer and ruin 

 the' sport, now that the deer are quite plenty. — W. G. 

 [Peter R. Leonard, of Ogdensburgh, is the State Game 

 Protector and should be called in to punish the bounders.] 



John G, Worth, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, advises us 

 that he proposes to organize a party of hunters for an 

 expedition in the Rocky Mountains, to be guided and 

 supplied with transportation facilities by himself. 



GAM E IN THE YELLOWSTONE PARK. 



^YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PA-BEL, Feb. 2.—Edi!or 

 X Forest and Stream: Since writing the last notes 

 from the Park the weather here has been unusually warm 

 and pleasant, with occasional light snowfalls, but not 

 enough to add to the depth. The frequent chinooks have 

 settled the snow faster than it fell , clearing all the streams 

 of ice and uncovering a great amount of country where 

 the snow was thin. The greatest depth of snow reported 

 from any part of the Park is only three feet ou a level. 

 The streams fed by waters from the Park will be very 

 low next season, unless we axe favored with more than 

 our usual quantity of spring snow and rains. 



The game I reported as having left their winter range 

 in November for their higher feeding ground, has re- 

 mained further back in the mountains than ever known 

 before, and less went out of the Park. I am quite sure 

 not one hundred elk have been killed the past season out- 

 side the Park limits by the many hunting parties from 

 surrounding towns, when, as a rule, several hundred are 

 shot for meat and market. 



On Monday, the 18th inst., the Government scout, Kd 

 Wilson, and Sergeant Schrongler started out to look up 

 the buffalo in the Park, and report on the game seen. 

 The Sergeant was selected by Captain Harris as the best 

 man in the troop to accompany Wilson on the trip. A 

 supply of dried beef, crackers, tea, sugar, salt, and 

 matches, one blanket each, a small hatchet and their 

 snowshoes made up their outfit. 



Leaving the Mammoth Hot Springs they made to Yan- 

 cey's Station the first day. On the road they saw several 

 bands of elk on Blaektail Deer Creek, over two hundred 

 antelope on the high bench country to the north of the 

 road near Geode Creek. Up that creek to the south they 

 saw some t wo hundred elk in small bands. Elk were in 

 sight most of the day. The antelope on Mt. Evarts were 

 not seen. At Yancey's Station they rested two days. 



From here they followed the road to near Junction 

 Butte. Before crossing the Yellowstone River they saw 

 elk scattered all over the south sides of the mountains 

 across Lamar River (East Fork of the Yellowstone). At 

 Junction Butte they saw the sign where a large band of 

 antelope had been feeding. (This band has been reported 

 several times to the. Forest and Stream, j 



Leaving the Butte they traveled south to Specimen 

 Ridge. No trouble was experienced climbing the ridge, 

 and snow shoes were not required, as most of the country 

 was bare, with snow only hi immense drifts in the hol- 

 lows and slopes of the hills to the east. These drifts are 

 packed so hard that one can walk over them at any time. 

 Following the ridge for a few miles, the scouts soon came 

 in view of the country across the Yellowstone, around 

 Mt. Washburn and Tower Falls, where a great many elk 

 were seen in all the open country, and on the ridge run- 

 ning up to the mountain. On Specimen Ridge, as far as 

 they could see, were bands of elk in every direction, but 

 no buffalo nor fresh sign . Arriving at a high point at 

 the head of Amethyst Creek, camp was made for the 

 night. Having no lodge, a shelter was made of boughs, 

 and snow banked up for a wind break. A good supply of 

 wood made a comfortable camp-fire, as the night was 

 clear. 



The next day was spent looking for the buffalo sup- 

 posed to be somewhere on the Ridge, which was followed 

 up to the head of Chalcedony Creek. A great many elk 

 were seen, a few sheep and much old buffalo sign. A 

 camp was made on the Ridge by a large green pine, a fire 

 was built of buffalo chips, of which a great quantity was 

 lying around. A comfortable night was passed here by 

 having a good supply of pitch pine and chips for fuel. 

 Here, as on all the open ridges, there was no snow only 

 the drifts. The view was grand from the camp, the 

 mountain peaks showing in all directions, with hundreds 

 of elk in sight on the open ground over the valley of Soda 

 Butte Creek and as far as the eye could reach. 



From this camp the men struck south for Pelican Creek 

 and the Yellowstone Lake, crossing the head of Broad 

 and Deep creeks, and camped the next night near some 

 hot springs on a small tributary of Pelican Creek. More 

 snow and timber was encountered this day, and very 

 little game was seen after leaving Specimen Ridge. In 

 the timber between Deep and Broad creeks the deepest 

 snow was found — three feet of settled snow. Several red 

 foxes were seen on the Ridge and ducks hi all the open 

 water. Every running stream was free of ice. In run- 

 ning down a long hill to Broad Creek on his snowshoes, 

 Wilson lost his hat halfway down, and was going too fast 

 to stop, so he concluded to get along without it, and "gave 

 it to the sun and game." Their camp this night was on 

 the edge of heavy green timber, where there was no dry 

 wood but limbs, so that a good supply of wood was diffi- 

 cult to find. They spent a very disagreeable night, as 

 there was snow falling most of "the night, a high wind 

 blowing, and it was very cold; to add to their discomfort, 

 they discovered that most of their dried meat was unfit 

 to eat, thus putting them on short allowance. 



In the morning the weather cleared and they struck 

 out for Pelican Creek; when they came to the open 

 country, they fotmd a band of fully two hundred elk in 

 a small oxien space and ran up within forty yards of the 

 nearest ; the elk made for the timber to the right, between 

 Pelican Creek and the Yellowstone. The men could 

 have run them down on their snowshoes without much 

 of an effort and killed them with their snowshoe poles, 

 although the snow was but two feet deep in the timber. 

 Other large bands were in sight, on the open sidehills 

 toward the lake. In all over five hundred were seen here. 

 On Pelican Creek several otter slides were noticed. The 

 stock of provisions giving out the scouts decided to cross 

 the river and go to the Falls Hotel. Striking the river 

 about a mile below the lake they found it open, had to 

 follow up the river and shore of the lake almost to the 

 mouth of Pelican Creek before they could get out on the 

 ice of the lake, where thev succeeded in crossing to the 

 Cabin point on the west side. They followed down the 

 river for a little over a mile and a half to some heavy 

 green timber, where thev made camp, very near where I 

 made one of the camps 'while out for the Forest and 

 Stream a year ago. They saw many ducks in the river, 

 and heard buds flying all night. In the morning Wilson 

 left his coat as a mark and proof of their having been 

 here, for he did not want to pack the coat as the weather 

 here was so much warmer. Soon after leaving camp a 

 flock of seven swans were seen in one place. Others 

 were seen all along the river, and besides swan there 

 were teal, mallards, spoonbills, fish ducks, and many 



others not recognized, in great numbers all the way to 

 the Falls in the open water. 



At the Mud Geysers, elk sign was again seen. Taking 

 up the ridge from here they reached a high point from 

 which less than a mile distant they saw three buffalo. 

 Some other dark objects were seen, but too far off to be 

 certain of their nature, but supposed to be buffalo. The 

 three buffalo were in Hayden Valley near the edge of 

 the timber. This is where' objects, supposed to be buffalo, 

 were seen by the Forest and Stream Commissioner and 

 reported last year. Scattered all over the valley for 

 miles elk could be seen in large and small bands. 

 After wading Alum Creek, the men followed the wagon 

 road to the Falls. They saw one wolverine and several 

 otter slides where the animals had been playing on the 

 snow banks along the river. 



Through here there was much lynx sign where they 

 had hunted for rabbits, and possibly young elk. Foxes and 

 their tracks were seen wherever there was any game. 

 Only t wo mountain lion tracks were seen on the trip. Ar- 

 riving at the hotel the men made up for their fast. They 

 found the ice all gone from the two great Falls, where a 

 year ago there were mountains of it. The next day they 

 made a short run to Norris. 



Soon after leaving the hotel at the Falls they could see 

 elk across the river on the bald hills and in the open 

 parks. Also elk sign all around the Falls. 



The next day they left Norris for the Mammoth Hot 

 Springs, where they arrived safe, but a little the worse 

 for their trip. They saw no game in Swan Lake Basin, 

 as there was a snowstorm at the time they crossed it, pre- 

 venting their seeing any distance. 



They report seeing in all over three thousand elk — a 

 sight which alone would be well worth the trip. 



That they saw but three buffalo is nothing strange, as 

 it would be almost impossible to find them in so short a 

 time. There being so little snow in the Park this year 

 one is not quite sure where to look for them. H. 



WINTER SHOOTING AT MONTAUK. 



A FRIEND belonging to the life-saving station at 

 Nether Plain, Montauk, writes this: "We have had 

 not many hard storms this winter, but right cold weather 

 and plenty of it. It was very tough work to turn out of 

 our warm bed in the station house at 12 o'clock at night, 

 with the mercury nearly down to zero, to go out on our 

 patrols; but as that is our business we should not com- 

 plain. There has not been much gunning at Montauk the 

 past fall and whiter, as all the shooting there was for 

 coot, off the south side in. the ocean surf. There were at 

 one time in Great Pond some 4,000 or 5,000 broadbills, but 

 they did not make any shooting, as they sat off in the 

 middle of the pond and could not be approached." 



In former years the Avildfowl shooting at Great Pond 

 was unsurpassed, as the waters were then fresh (before 

 the salt tides were admitted), and the abundance of fresh 

 grass, valisneria, etc., attracted the geese and other fowl 

 there in great numbers. There was then fine shooting 

 on the shore between the pond and .Peconic Bay, the fowl 

 constantly flying too and fro from bay to pond. The 

 geese were then collected by thousands, and other fowl 

 very plentiful. In the fall season the surrounding grassy 

 plains were ali ve with immense flocks of plover that af- 

 forded excellent sport. 



The fowl shooting this winter in Gardiner's and 

 Peconic bays has been unusually good. These bays 

 have been frozen over in most places to the depth of 6 or 

 8ft., leaving, however, many open places where the fowl, 

 such as coot, old squaws, sheldrake and whistlers, 

 resorted for feed in great numbers. Some of the Green- 

 port gunners have killed hundreds of these fowl among 

 the open waters and the drift ice. One of them, Mr. W. 

 R., killed nearly sixty of them in one day, and hundreds 

 during a week. He told us that he paddled out in his 

 small skiff in their very midst, and as his boat was con- 

 cealed with ice and snow, he Avas enabled to shoot multi- 

 tudes of them as they arose from the water. He says 

 that SO unsuspicious were the fowl that he could approach 

 within an oar's length of them, and then would scare 

 them up and shoot as they arose in air. It was good and 

 profitable sport, as there was a ready sale for the game. 

 It seems strange that these fowl, that usually migrate 

 southward on the approach of winter, should linger here 

 so long in these icy waters, but such has been the case. 

 We do not learn that the quail have suffered much in 

 this region during the late severe winter. 

 Greenpobt, Long Island, March 5. ISAAC McLELLAN. 



WORCESTER SPORTSMAN'S CLUB. 



fl^HE annual meeting of the Worcester Sportsman's 

 JL Club was held at the library room of Horticultural 

 Hall on Wednesday evening, March 7. There were about 

 the usual number present, which includes the active 

 members of the club, and the utmost harmony prevailed. 

 The report of the secretary, E. F. Swan, was a model of 

 its kind, showing every detail of the club's business 

 throughout the year. His books and accounts had been 

 carefully looked over and approved by the Executive 

 Committee, and after the reading of the report the com- 

 pliments of the club were expressed by a rousing vote of 

 thanks. The report of the Treasurer was also very satis- 

 factorv, showing a surplus in the treasury of over $400. 

 During the fourteen years of the club's existence there 

 has never been an assessment. Whatever the club has 

 had in hand, any scheme which required more money 

 than was considered expedient to take from the treasury, 

 the funds have always been forthcoming by subscription. 

 More trap-shooting has been done the past year than in 

 any previous year in the history of the club. With a 

 membership of about one hundred and fifty there are 

 many who cotdd hardly be called sportsmen and who join 

 wholly for the social privileges. There are also a good 

 many who are thorough sportsmen who never shoot at 

 the trap. Among these there are some who think trap- 

 shooting receives rather too much attention to the neglect 

 of the more important matter of game and fish protection, 

 and it is to be regretted that this feeling is not without 

 cause. There is no serious lack of harmony in the club, 

 and this latter class have no wish to detract from the 

 pleasures of trap-shooting sO long as the more important 

 business is not neglected. There is every reason to 

 believe that the enforcement of the fish and game laws 

 will receive more attention than in the last two years. 

 To expedite matters in the election of officers, a commit- 

 tee appointed by the chair retired and made up a list 



