414 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



("June 14, 1888. 



ammunition is so small and weighs so little, and the 

 smoke, noise and fuss that this really powerful little 

 weapon makes is so small that I think every lover of 

 sport in the forest and field will like this arm when he 

 comes to be acquainted with it, and to have it serve him 

 as it has the writer. 



Set or '*hah-" triggers are (in the writer's opinion) a 

 delusion and a snare on the hunting rifle. If you have 

 thetn you will set the trigger so that it will go easy and 

 then forget ahout it, then off goes the gun before you 

 want it to, and you have not only made a miss, but have 

 scared the game away; to say nothing of the danger of a 

 premature discharge.* If your rifle pulls off at 3 or 3^1bs. 

 it is easy enough, and if you use the same pull all the 

 time you can do better work both at game and at the 

 target. 



In conclusion, what I do not know about rifles would 

 fill a very large volume, but if what I have written will 

 help the young beginner, and teach him at once what I 

 have had to learn in the school of experience, and what 

 has taken many years of my life to find out, then my 

 object in writing will have been attained and I will be 

 content, IRON Ramrod. 



Somerville, Mass., May 24. 



GAME IN CENTRAL NEBRASKA. 



NO section of the United States is without some group 

 or groups of animal life that make it of especial 

 interest to the sportsman. The Red Desert of Wyoming 

 is the winter haunt of elk, deer and antelope (Cervus 

 canadensis, C. macrotis, Antilocapra americana). The 

 great desert of Utah and Nevada belongs for four months 

 every year to C. riehardsonii or O. columbianus, (Is 

 there any distinction between the two last named 

 species?) After leaving the realm of Cervidce and 

 Ursidce, of rifle and hunting knife, it seemed as though 

 sport with rod and gun in any portion of the plain region 

 must be very tame. But as I have lain concealed in 

 thickets of Salix lucida during the chilling hours before 

 sunrise and have listened to the anserine chorus borne on 

 the south wind from the waters of the Platte, I have 

 found it necessary to change my mind. The wood duck 

 is an occasional visitant of southern Idaho. It, as well 

 as the green-winged teal, is found at intervals in the 

 Sweetwater region of Wyoming. But all the genera and 

 every species of water fowl make the Platte valley in 

 central Nebraska a resting point in the annual migra- 

 tion from Indian Territory and Texas to the cooler 

 climate of the Upper Missouri and of the northern 

 lakes. 



The swift yet shallow Platte affords little opportunity 

 for the duckboat, but its willow-covered islands and 

 banks form natural blinds of which the most verdant 

 sportsman will not fail to take advange. 



As soon as the ice breaks, geese are here, and they 

 remain until the warm weather of May drives them 

 to their breeding grounds. This year the first flock was 

 observed about the 20th of February. The line of migra- 

 tion is constantly moving westward and the thickly 

 settled portion of the State east of Grand Island receives 

 scarcely half as many geese, brant and ducks as it did ten 

 years ago. 



From the river to the northern bluffs and upland corn- 

 fields is about three miles as the crow flies. The birds 

 leave the river at dawn, flying across the level bottom- 

 lands to their feeding grounds back on the rolling 

 prairies, and return about nine o'clock. They make a 

 similar trip late in the afternoon. When there is a 

 strong north wind they fly almost within stone's throw, 

 but on clear, still mornings they are out of rifle range 

 except close to the river. Many hunt them only with 

 rifles and some excellent wing shots are to be found in 

 this section. It is good practice to rest on the river bank 

 and pick off brants on tue sand bars from 300 to 500yds. 

 distant. Such practice is of great use to would-be ' 'crack 

 shots" and does but little injury to the living targets. 



The white- winged brant makes a shorter stay here than 

 does the goose. It is very abundant during the migrat- 

 ing season. The common gray goose is found in almost 

 as great numbers as the brant. The Canada goose is rare, 

 though three or four individuals are to be seen with each 

 flock of 1 'grays." 



Ducks are with us all summer, haunting the creeks, 

 sloughs and ponds that empty into the Platte. In former 

 years the mallard was abundant but of late it has almost 

 completely disappeared. Redheads are now plentiful, 

 woodducks and butterballs are not strangers, but of teal, 

 especially of blue winged teal, I have seen very little. 



In the matter of songsters the Nebraska of to-day 

 bears no relation to that of five or ten years ago. Each 

 timber claim and small fruit orchard has aided in at- 

 tracting thrushes, warblers and finches until it needs the 

 pen of a Thoreau, a Burroughs or a Muir to do justice 

 to the chorus that it is now our privilege to hear. Even 

 here where singing birds have been, until within the last 

 five years, almost unknown, there is a call for an Audu- 

 bon club. Something must be done to protect our visitors 

 or they will be e> terminated by ruthless hunters who 

 so ire neither lark nor thrush, who know no game law, 

 who will shoot a chicken on her nest. The boys and 

 young men of central Nebraska are certainly in need of 

 some severe lesson that shall teach them to realize 

 the wanton cruelty of which they are constantly guilty. 



Kearney, Neb., April 24. SHOSHONE. 



[These are synonyms. The species is now known as 

 Cariaeu-s columbianus, the Columbian blacktail deer.] 



Fort McLeod, North West Territory, June 1.— Large 

 game on the prairies in this vicinity is" getting scarce; a 

 few antelope are occasionally seen, but the large bands 

 have moved northward. Prairie chickens are plentiful 

 along the river bottoms, as are also wild ducks, Canada 

 geese and several kinds of waders in the sloughs and 

 coulees. The rivers down in the prairies are almost des- 

 titute of fish, excepting the common sucker, though 

 thirty miles west among the mountains good trout fishing 

 is to be had. A ride of twenty miles northwest takes us 

 to the Porcupine Hflls, where large game, such as black- 

 tail deer, elk, bear, etc., are quite numerous.— Stanstead. 



Re-Boring Muzzleloaders.— A correspondent writes 

 to know who re-bores the old-time muzzleloading hunting 

 rifles. He thinks that there must be many men who, 

 like himself, have these rifles and want to have them 

 bored out. If he is right, the gunsmith who can supply 

 their needs will do himself a benefit by speaking up. 



THE WILD PIGEONS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In your last number a correspondent asks 'as to the 

 whereabouts of those beautiful birds, the wild pigeons, 

 which used to be so abundant a few years ago. It is 

 thought here that the wholesale destruction of young and 

 old at their nesting places has resulted in nearly exter- 

 minating them. A few years since there was a roost 

 near Kilbourn City in this State; and men. women and 

 children, besides a large number of Indians, spent a week 

 or more in shooting the old birds and clubbing down the 

 young. The weather was intensely hot and nearly all 

 that were intended for shipment sooiled; several tons of 

 young birds which had been brought to the express office 

 and were found to be unfit to send off, were thrown into 

 the Wisconsin River. As this process is substantially 

 repeated in every State or Territory where a roost is dis- 

 covered it cannot but soon result in wiping out the entire 

 race of passenger pigeons, unless soon discontinued. The 

 excellent game law of this State now inflicts a heavy 

 penalty on harming or disturbing a. pigeon within three 

 miles of a roost, and it would be well if one like it should 

 be generally adopted. C. 



Whitewater, Wis. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I notice in last week's issue Mr. L. H. Smith, of Strath- 

 roy, Out., asks what has become of the wild pigeon. I 

 think the answer is that they have been annihilated by 

 the netters and trappers, who" not many years ago found 

 a ready market for them with certain so-called "game 

 protective clubs," the extent of whose game protection 

 was the needless slaughter of these birds at the trap. Not 

 many years ago, in every spring and summer. Michigan 

 was thronged with pigeons, but for the past four or five 

 years none have been seen. Occasionally a stray one will 

 be found in the northern part of the State, but they are 

 gone never to return. When in Missouri last fall I heard 

 the matter discussed by some sportsmen of that State. 

 They said the birds used to come there in clouds every 

 spring, but a few years ago their migration suddenly 

 ceased, and they we're asking the same question that Mr. 

 Smith propounds. Where I go salmon fishing in eastern 

 Quebec the same state of affairs exists; and I think with 

 out doubt the pigeon has met the same fate as the once 

 plentiful buffalo. W. B. Mershon. 



East Saginaw, Mich. 



An Elk Head for the Elks.— East Saginaw, Mich., 

 June 7. — It is to be regretted that there are not more first 

 class taxidermists in the country. Many a time a sports- 

 man secures a fine specimen in his pilgrimages about the 

 country that he desires very much to preserve for his 

 future pleasure, but the average taxidermist will put it 

 up in a way to outdo nature and make it almost unrecog- 

 nizable. East Saginaw is particularly fortunate in hav- 

 ing a veteran workman, Wm. Richters, who has been a 

 resident of East Saginaw for a number of years, and 

 this being the center and base of supplies for the deei 

 shooting territory of Michigan, each year several hundred 

 deer heads are sent to him for mounting. Of course the 

 number is rapidly decreasing, but last year he put up 

 seventy-five to eighty that were killed in Michigan. 

 Having had so much experience in this class of woik 

 and being a man of progressive ideas, he has got it down 

 to such a fine point that I think there is no one in the 

 country that can beat him. His latest piece of work is 

 the mounting of a fine elk head sent to the Brotherhood 

 of Elks at East Saginaw to be placed in their lodge 

 room. It came from Montana and is a magnificent speci- 

 men. The spread between the horns in the widest part 

 is 4ft. Uin. and the length or he ght of each is 4ft. 6iin. 

 Mr. Richters has just finished mounting it and it was on 

 exhibition to-day preparatory to being placed in perma- 

 nent position. It is put up in such a solid Manner that I 

 think it could bear the weight of a loaded wagon, and 

 looks as natural as life. Any of my brother sportsmen 

 that have a longing for a well-moimted specimen at any 

 time can rest assured that it will be properly taken care 

 of if sent to Mr. Richters.— W B. Mershon. 



\m nni Mirer Mi 



Maine. — Newfield, June 11. — Ruffed grouse wintered 

 fairly. I saw several on the 4th while fishing, and have 

 heard of a number of broods of young ones. — Lo. 



"That reminds me." 

 235. 



A FEW years ago Attorney-General T. M. M., of my 

 State, was with his family rusticating for a short 

 while in tLe country, at the bouse of a hospitable South- 

 ern planter, a relative of my own, where I was also a 

 guest. 



We had fine sport shooting partridges (Ortyx virgin- 

 ianus, I believe the savants call them) over my good set- 

 ter Noggs, of happy memory, who, poor fellow, died of a 

 well-defined cane of consumption at the age of seven, 

 after a most useful and honorable life. We also had very 

 good squirrel shooting in all the small creek bottoms, 

 where tuey greatly abounded that season. 



One evening near sunset the General picked up his gun 

 and strolled down to "the spring," about three luindred 

 yards from the house. He was accompanied by his young 

 hopeful, D., aged about five, and by the dog Noggs. 

 Several squirrels were discovered in the trees near the 

 spring, and the General emptied five or six shells without 

 bringing one to the ground, much to the disappointment 

 of the boy and dog. 



As they strolled up the hill they accidently kicked up a 

 rabbit (so called), which ran into the jaws of Noggs and 

 was captured. After the momentary excitement was 

 over and the rabbit secured, little D., who has a comical 

 trick of stammering in his speech, thus delivered him- 

 self, "Father, d-d don't you wish o-o-old Noggs c-c-could 

 c-climb a tree and c-c-c-catch a squirrel I" Coahoma. 



REMOVAL. 



The offices of Forest and Stream are now at No. 31S Broadway. 



THE AUTOMATIC REEL. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I have been much interested of late in reading the criti- 

 cisms, favorable and unfavorable, which have been 

 written for the Forest and Stream on the merits of the 

 automatic reel by various sportsmen. 



The automatic reel has now been in use for five or six 

 years, and now for the first time, apparently, begins to 

 arouse discussion. This has been surprising to me, know- 

 ing how ardent all true sportsmen are in seeking the 

 latest improvements in tackle, and I can only account for 

 it on the ground that it was not first called to the atten- 

 tion of anglers by the leading tackle dealers in the great 

 cities, nor coinniended by the sporting papers. 



There are two styles of the automatic reel in existence. 

 The first, patented by Loomis & Plumb, of Syracuse, N. 

 Y., was a system of clock-work wheels actuating a spool 

 by means of a spring. As first made, this reel was defec- 

 tive in mechanism and power, and those who judged of 

 the automatic by this first pattern pronounced against it. 

 Since then the Loomis & Plumb reel has passed into other 

 hands, and has been greatly modified and improved. 



Soon after the Loomis & Plumb reel was patented, F. 

 R. Smith of Syracuse patented an automatic reel, worked 

 by a spring but which dispended with the clock gearing 

 wheels, and was much stronger and simpler in construc- 

 tion than the Loomis reel. Several hundred of these 

 reels were manufactured five or six years ago and sold 

 to sportsmen scattered over the country, when the fur- 

 ther manufacture or sale was stopped by suit for in- 

 fringement. 



This reel is used almost exclusively by the leading fly- 

 fishermen of Syracuse, and by many others. When once 

 familiar with its working, the fly-caster would as soon 

 replace his Leonard or Conroy split-bamboo rod by 

 hickory or ash sapling of his boyhood, as to substitute a 

 crank reel for an automatic. 



"The world do move" and the world of the fly-fisher- 

 man has moved a great deal since this invention. Now, 

 what are the merits of the automatic over the crank reel? 

 1 speak from an extensive experience for five or six years 

 in fly-fishing for bass, from boats, on lakes and streams 

 and for trout in the Adirondacks. 



It should be understood once for all, that the automa- 

 tic is only adapted to fly-fishing or trolling the fly, but 

 for either of those purposes it is comparatively superior 

 to the best crank multiplying reel ever made. Why? 



Because, first: — Being heavier tnan the crank reels, it 

 balances the rod better, placing the center of equilibrium 

 and of action of the rod at the grip, and not from 13 to 

 18in. forward of the grip. 



You old fogies who think the Fowler gutta percha reel ; 

 the best for fly-casting because it is light: try the auto- 

 matic fairly and learn how much fatigue it saves to the j 

 muscles of the wrist and arm. 



Second — It is vastly superior because it brings in the line 

 rapidly, without effort, whenever desired, to replace a 

 fly, or for any other purpose. Will your old crank do it? 

 It saves time and patience and adds comfort to the sport. 



Have you ever drifted down stream, while casting , 

 toward the brush-covered bank from a boat and seen, too 

 late, that your cast was sending the flies into the brush, 

 to tangle, and perhaps to stay? Or have you ever, while 

 wading a trout stream, seen a trout rise under the roots 

 of a tree, and in your eagerness to reach his lurking place 

 get out a little too much line, get caught, and spoil all the • 

 sport in that pool in extricating your flies? Annoying, 

 isn't it? That need never occur with the automatic. 

 After the forward cast is made, if you see danger ahead, 

 lift the finger from the line an instant, flash! two, four, ■ 

 six feet reeled in and you are safe. Comforting, isn't it? 



Third — Will your old crank do that? 



You can play a fish better with the automatic than i 

 with the crank. I have heard it said it was not sports- i 

 manlike to kill a fish by a machine, and that you lost the 

 play of the fish on the automatic. That is all nonsense 

 and moonshine. You play the fish exactly as you do 

 with any other reel, with a strain on the rod, but with 

 this difference, and it is a vast difference: If the fish 

 makes a run toward you, you lower the tip, relieve the 

 strain and instantly the reel takes in slack faster than 

 the fish can come. No stripping of the line, no fever of 

 crank action, but quick, sure, effortless, the line flows in. 



Will your old crank do that? 



Perhaps you love fishing well enough to sometimes go 1 

 out for bass alone and "paddle your own canoe," Did] 

 you ever strike a big one under such circumstances while 

 using a crank ? Didn't you find it rather hard woik to J 

 play that fi-h with one hand and keep the boat in position 1 

 with the other? If he came for you, which did you aban-i 

 don, the fish or the oar? The fish, wasn't it? You would 

 not have lost him and had to . regret the loss if you had 

 overcome your prejudices and bought an automatic, for 

 that was as good as both hands, and a little better. 



Buy an automatic and try it fairly, get used to it, keep, 

 it well oiled, and my word for it, you will prize it above 1 

 all your other fishing possessions. It may bother you a i 

 little at first, before you get used to it, but do not aban- 

 d >n it on that account. The sewing machine has bothered 

 many an old woman, but is that the fault of the machine, 

 or does it furnish a good reason for not using it? 



I have known old fishermen wliose prejudices against 

 the automatic were so strong that they would not try it,J 

 but sitting a few days in the same boat with another who 

 used it, and watching the quicjcness and ease of its work,, 

 has convinced them of its superiority. 



A go id automatic reel, a good bamboo rod, a good water- 1 

 proof line, a good looped leader, a good assortment of 

 flies, good fishing and a good conscience will make any 

 fisherman happy . Rob Roy. 



St. Albans Bay, Vt., June 4.— From June 1 to date the 

 c itches of ba^s have been good ; quite a number of anglers 

 are here. I append an item taken from the St. Albans 

 Messenger of June 2, record of three local anglers for the 

 opening day. "The fish law wtn off June 1, and the 

 season was opened in great shape on that day by A. H. 

 Switzer, T. S. Miller and Worth Watson, with Joe Arm- 

 strong, of Samson's Lake View, as boatman. 'Joe' knows 

 where the bass can be found, and when this party struck 

 the St. Albans shore on Friday night they had captured 

 twenty-five bass, one pickerel and four dozen perch, 

 Four of the bass weighed a plump 161bs., and there waf 

 not a small bass in the lot of 25." — H. L. S. 



