814 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



f July 19, 1888. 



CONVERTED TO A WING SHOT, 



IN the afternoon of the 24th of last November the rain 

 fell and froze as it came, covering the trees with a 

 light coat of ice. In the evening and during the night 

 there fell about six inches of snow. On the morning of 

 the 26th the sun rose with all his brightness, with a few 

 scattering clouds of pure white floating here and there, 

 and a light breeze which could hardly be called a breath 

 came gently from the south. Eight o'clock found Mr. 

 Chas. H. Pike, myself and my Gordon setter Trim on our 

 way to Grousedale, The scenery to the right of us, to 

 the left of us and in front of us was beautiful in the ex- 

 treme. The forest, in crystals of ice, gave to our view 

 all the beautiful colors of the rainbow in ever changing 

 motion. The dark green of the hemlock, pine, balsam 

 and spruce, interspersed everywhere through the forest, 

 together with the sparkling snow, covering hills, valleys 

 and lake, added a certain purity to the scene not to be 

 forgotten. The surroundings had so enraptured us that 

 we hardly realized the distance which had been covered, 

 a mile and a half from my house. 



Grousedale lies on the west side of Torsey Pond. At 

 the extreme south side of Grousedale there is a small 

 brook known as Birch Pun, which empties into Bear 

 Pond. To the left of Birch Eun is a white birch grove 

 interspersed with hemlock and pine; this grove is skirted 

 on the south with a heavy growth of briers. On the 

 north are about two acres of low pine growth, with many 

 mounds of wintergreen or checkerberries. To the north 

 of Birch Run is a heavy growth of timber, mostly hem- 

 lock, pine, birch and maple, which extends the entire 

 length of Torsey Pond, a distance of three miles. Half 

 way through this heavy timber is an old slashing where 

 the timber has been removed, perhaps twenty years ago. 

 This covers forty acres or more and is 'overgrown with 

 briers, small birch and hemlock. The entire place is the 

 home of the grandest of game birds, the lordly ruffed 

 grouse, and they are found in fair numbers. 



"We started in at the grove to the left of Birch Run, 

 Charles taking the right side following up the shore of 

 Bear Pond. I struck out to the left and had not gone far 

 when Trim struck scent and roaded fifty or sixty yards. 

 Thirty yards away an old cock grouse flushed wild, with 

 a roar of wings that nearly took me off my feet. This 

 spook of a bird, true to its instinct, made for the thickest 

 coyer. The impulse born of snap-shooting at grouse in 

 tluck cover took possession of me and I cut loose and saw 

 the small twigs of a hemlock, behind which the bird had 

 flown, scatter to the ground, and fifty yards beyond I could 

 see this wily old grouse going into the thick hemlock 

 timber. I called to Charlie who came up soon. We held 

 a council of war, then started across Birch Run, and were 

 just entering the heavy timber, when forty or fifty yards 

 ahead of us from the top of a large hemlock the bird shot 

 toward the ground and made up a deep gully; we marked 

 him down in the edge of the brier patch. Char he took 

 the right and I the left of the gully and Trim worked in 

 ahead of me. He had not gone far when he froze in his 

 tracks, and before I could get to him another grouse 

 flushed a few yards ahead. The cover was so thick that 

 only a streak of a bird could be seen until he came to the 

 brier patch, where he settled near where the first one was 

 last seen. In a short time Charlie had stationed himself 

 in the brier patch, when to his left and behind him our 

 old cock grouse arose with a deafening roar and made 

 down and across the gully. Charlie delivered fire but 

 scored a miss, this being the first time he had ever fired 

 at a bird on the wing. 



Upon hearing the report of his gun I turned in his 

 direction, just in time to see the bird, which looked as 

 large as a turkey, coming directly by me to the left. In- 

 stantly my gun came to my shoulder, and cutting loose, 

 I was rewarded by hearing that heavy thud, which is so 

 satisfactory, and yet causes just a little tinge of sadness 

 in the heart of every true sportsman. At command and 

 like a flash Trim was in search of the dead bird, which 

 he retrieved in grand style. At the word "drop" he re- 

 luctantly delivered his prize into my hand, and as I 

 smoothed down its beautiful plumage, talking to him of 

 its beauty and the care with which he must handle them, 

 he looked up into my face with his great brown eyes and 

 gave a short, soft "woof," which is his way of assenting 

 to whatever I may talk to him about. During this little 

 episode Charlie had flushed two more grouse, both of 

 them took a course due east through the heavy growth of 

 hemlock, and alighted in trees near the shore of Torsey 

 Pond. As usual, Charlie took the right, the writer to the 

 left, with Trim working well in front and between us. 

 When Charlie arrived close to the bank of the pond, one 

 grouse shot down from a tree 30yds. in front of him and 

 flew about 100yds. over the pond to a small island. We 

 let her go for the present, intending to drive out the other 

 bird and then attend to the one on the island, when, to 

 my surprise, I discovered the grouse we were looking for 

 in a tree about 40ft. from the ground and directly over 

 Charlie, who was looking toward the island and away 

 from me. The temptation was so strong for me to pay 

 him off for shooting a grouse in a tree over my head a 

 few weeks before, that although it was not altogether 

 sportsmanlike I cut loose and brought this poor helpless 

 bird down slap upon Charlie's head, which frightened 

 him so he turned white, and with quivering hps and 

 tremulous voice he blubbered out, "My goodness, I never 

 was more frightened in my life; I thought I was shot." 

 "Served you right," said I, "and paid you off in your own 

 coin." Charlie owns a treeing spaniel and prefers to 

 shoot grouse sitting on a tree, and has always declared 

 that he never thinks to shoot until the bird has gone out 

 of shooting distance. This circumstance was the means 

 of converting him from the error of his ways, and he 

 now says he will learn to shoot on the wing, "if it takes 

 all summer." 



After Charlie had fully recovered from his fright, we 

 started for the island, Charlie making a detour to the 

 right on the pond, which was frozen over, with full in- 

 tention of outflanking the grouse that had fifteen minutes 

 before left the mainland. I swung to the left with Trim 

 in advance. We were obliged to cross a wide marsh, 

 which in high water overflows. Near the island the ice 

 began to crack and being covered with about six inches 

 of snow prevented me from judging of the firmness of 

 my footing; however I hastened toward the shore of the 

 island, when the ice gave way at each step and finally 

 both feet went through into the mud, water and snow. 

 I mention mud first for it was there I stuck. At this 

 moment I heard the roar of wings, and 75yds. to my left 



the bird was making for the mainland. They fly fast, 

 don't they! Being completely stuck in the mud and 

 wedged in by ice it was impossible for me to wheel and 

 deliver fire. Finally I succeeded in extricating myself 

 and was nearing the shore when I heard Charlie ex- 

 claim, "What on earth?" Shortly he came up and we 

 started for the mainland in search of this wily bird, with 

 full intent to capture him if it took us until dark. It 

 was now about 2 o'clock. We sat down upon a log by 

 the shore of the pond and ate our lunch, then struck 

 into the heavy timber and when about 200yds. from the 

 brier patch Trim struck scent and shortly two grouse 

 flushed wild and made for the briers. The next instant 

 our friend the grouse from the island pitched down from 

 a hemlock in front and to the right. The cover being too 

 thick for a shot we hurried along to the briers, with Trim 

 ahead working the ground with great care. Presently 

 we were surprised to see our two grouse flounder out of 

 the snow 60 or 70yds. ahead of us and take a straight 

 course for Birch Run. On we went with faith that we 

 would capture the three birds before dark. We had 

 gone perhaps 50yds. when we flushed three more grouse, 

 which took the same direction high over the small growth 

 and swung to the right of the patch of small pines and 

 wintergreen mounds. We had gone but a short distance 

 when to our discomfort we were confronted by a small 

 stream eight feet wide which was only partly frozen 

 over. The writer attempted to cross, broke through the ice, 

 filled his boots with water and finally succeeded in 

 reaching the opposite bank with the fisherman's luck. 

 During this time Charlie went below a few yards and by 

 the aid of a long pole succeeded in gaining the opposite 

 bank with one boot full of water. 



The sun was now sinking, and we hastened toward Birch 

 Run. During our splashing in the brook we started our 

 wily old cock grouse, who made a rapid transit for the 

 run and grove of birch. On we went with fire in our 

 eyes and water in our boots. Presently, when within 

 40yds. of Birch Run, we espied our cunning friend in a 

 yellow birch budding. We advanced slowly behind the 

 small pines and when within 20yds. of the tree he caught 

 sight of us, and, with his peculiar cackle, shot out to the 

 left behind a low pine. I delivered fire as he came by the 

 pine and was overjoyed to see him tumble into the soft 

 snow. Trim was off in quick time and returned with this 

 wildest of wild grouse. 



It was now nearly sundown. Charlie struck into the 

 birch grove with his lips closed, blood in his eyes and 

 firmness in his tread, that meant business. Presently I 

 heard the report of his gun and the exclamation, "I got 

 him this time !" The fact was that he had caught a grouse 

 budding in a birch tree, crept softly up and delivered fire, 

 which resulted in splitting the bird into two parts, with 

 one wing on each part. Charlie declares that he shot it 

 on the wing, or that it ought to have been on the wing. 

 I worked around to the left perhaps 50yds. and bagged 

 another grouse. 



The sun had disappeared behind the mountains and we 

 turned our steps homeward, with not a large bag, but a 

 day's magnificent sport and Charlie completely converted 

 to a wing-shot. W. F. M. 



Kent's Hill, Maine. 



GAME PROSPECTS. 



TRONTON, Ohio.— There will be any amount of quail 

 JL for this fall's shooting; in my travels I see and hear 

 lots of them. — J. D. 



Beaver, Pa. — The prospect for quail shooting this fall 

 is the most promising for years. Thanks to Dr. Yarrow 

 for his able article. — G. A. S. 



New Westminter, B. C. — The general game crop now 

 looks favorable toward furnishing good sport the coming 

 autumn. — Stanstead. 



Salem, Mass., July 16. — Recent looking at old resorts 

 about Ipswich, has shown the arrival of pups, sanderling, 

 and scattering robin snipe (M, griseus), and summers 

 (T. flavipes). Saw 3 black ducks (Anas obseura) last 

 night.— X. Y. Z. 



EUSTIS, Fla., July 11. —The enthusiastic bird hunters of 

 this section are looking forward to fine sport with quail 

 in the fall, as there is every indication of a full crop this 

 season. On a recent trip a few miles out of town I saw 

 a great many. Pah after pah' were seen along the road, 

 and in some cases I could have touched them with the 

 whip. How well the little fellows know that they can show 

 themselves with impunity during the breeding season, 

 and how well they will show us the strength of their wings 

 this fall. There is a lack of good dogs here and it is hard 

 to get the birds up without them, as the cover in most 

 cases is very dense. Let those of our visitors who 

 want to enjoy some fine sport with them this winter 

 when the North is bound in the icy clasp of old Boreas 

 report with dog and gun to — Peeito. 



Commissioner J. H. Law op Ohio. —One of the insuran ce 

 journals has this to say of Mr. John H. Law, of Cincin- 

 nati, who has been active in enforcing the game and fish 

 laAvs in his State: "His ideas of professional duties and 

 responsibilities are high, and his every-day career is in 

 keeping therewith. The line between right and wrong is 

 sharply drawn, and there is no deviation. A man of fine 

 physique, quick and positive in every action, and know- 

 ing no fear; he is a terror to fire fiends everywhere, and 

 incendiaries who fall under his notice fare ill indeed. In 

 private and public life also he is not less active. Every- 

 thing looking to the betterment of this city and State has 

 his hearty support, while everything tending to their in- 

 jury has his unalterable opposition. His regard for the 

 law and his zeal in dealing with offenders were illustrated 

 while he was mayor of LoveLand, one of the suburbs of 

 Cincinnati, in which he resided for a number of years. 

 His fearless handling of offenders was a matter of public 

 comment throughout the community. Another illustra- 

 tion was in bis individual prosecutions of violators of the 

 fish and game statutes of Oluio, which at the time at- 

 tracted general attention. He is a thorough, practical 

 field sportsman (one of the first in Ohio), and was last 

 year appointed by Governor Foraker Fish and Game 

 Commissioner of the State. This appointment was made 

 regardless of politics, the appointee and Governor Foraker 

 being of different political faith."' 



A Pennsylvania Shooting Ground. — Bedford is a 

 beautiful summer resort in the mountains of western 

 Pennsylvania. In a walk of a mile from my mother's 

 house last season, without dog or gun, I put up four 

 coveys of quail. Two gentlemen from Bedford, Mr. Alex. 

 King and his brother Ned, came out the following day 

 with two dogs. I think a little bird told me, however, 

 that one of the gentlemen could not kill very well on the 

 wing, so when they returned in the evening with thirteen 

 quail, three grouse and one woodcock, I remember think- 

 ing that they would have had twice as many if both had 

 shot equally well, and five times as many if both had 

 killed one-half they shot at. But this is no reflection, for 

 the man who kills all the quail that get up before him in 

 that country is doing more than any one I have ever 

 seen, I should think this a capital place for sportsmen. 

 There have been enough birds there for years to make it 

 a good hunting ground. If any gentleman were to ad- 

 dress Alex. King, Esq., he would get an answer that 

 would satisfy him. The ridges, as called there, upland 

 timbered country, are full of grouse, peasants so-called 

 in that country, — W. 



Deer Killed with No. 7 Shot.— In the smoking room 

 of the Ponce de Leon Hotel, in St. Augustine, Fla., may 

 be seen a set of deer antlers, which were once borne 

 through the Adirondack forests by a magnificent buck. 

 This deer fell- to the gun of Dr. Horace Caruthers, who 

 contributes to our columns this week an account of some 

 of his experiences with dogs bitten by rattlesnakes. The 

 buck was shot with a charge of 3-|drs. powder and l|oz. 

 No. 7 shot, delivered from a Daly three-barreled 12-bore, 

 at 20 paces. This barrel had been loaded for grouse; there 

 were heavier charges for deer in the other barrels; the 

 Doctor's companions rallied him on having pulled the 

 wrong trigger by mistake, but he claims to this day that 

 he shot the grouse charge at the deer as an experiment; 

 and the best of it all is that the experiment was success- 

 ful. With true physician's instinct the lucky hunter 

 proceeded to dissect the game, and it was found that a 

 number of shot had passed through the heart. The pai'ty , 

 of which Mr. A. Weed, of Tarrytown, was a member, 

 found all the deer they wanted; and they shot only bucks, 

 letting the does go. 



July Woodcock Shooters Come to Grief.— Meri- 

 den, Conn., July 16. — In the statement of the following 

 facts regarding the illegal shooting of woodcock, I hope 

 to see in the next issue of your paper a warning to others 

 that are engaged in the same traffic. Through the un- 

 tiring efforts of Mr. Nelson Taylor of this town, Dennis 

 Miller of New Britain, and Asa Richardson of Kensing- 

 ton, were arrested and fined for shooting woodcock on 

 July 4. Much credit is due Mr. Taylor, who for years 

 has been trying to make an example of some of these 

 men, unworthy the name of sportsmen, who hunt 

 Sundays and out of season. Our club here, the Parker 

 Gun Club, of which Mr. Taylor is a member, take plea- 

 sure in paying him the $25 reward offered for the con- 

 viction of any person violating our game laws; and I 

 would urge other clubs to do likewise, as the most effect- 

 ual way to stop this thieving. — J. F. Ives. 



To Drive Out Mosquitoes.— In the day time wo could 

 fight the mosquitoes, bad as they were; but at night we 

 could not sleep for their tormenting us, notwithstanding 

 the precautions we took against their getting into the 

 cabin. When we were about to turn in for the night we 

 put up mosquitoe bars over the stern opening of the cabin 

 to keep them out; then we took about a table-spoonful of 

 Persian insect powder and burnt it on a small cotton rag; 

 in ten minutes not a uiosquito appeared in the cabin. It 

 appeared to us incredi ble that the burning of the powder 

 would so completely destroy them; but every time we re- 

 peated this the mosquitoes were destroyed, and with no 

 disagreeable smell or effect on us. Perhaps this is noth- 

 ing new, but it may be useful information to relieve 

 others from the mosquitoe torment. — Purves. 



The New York Deer Park is to be in Ulster county. 

 The lot selected, 193 acres, is on the banks of the moun- 

 tain stream, Neversink River, one and a quarter miles 

 from Big Indian station on the Ulster and Delaware 

 Railroad, a few miles from Kingston. On this lot— No. 

 67 — the Commissioner has provided for fencing in fifty 

 or a hundred acres, with a lodge of logs for the neces- 

 sary keepers and breeders, and with sheds for protection 

 of the deer in rough weather. And here the Commission 

 will begin early next fall the project of propagating the 

 deer which have already felt the depleting process of the 

 hunters and sportsmen's rifles. It is probable as the one 

 park or farm proves a success, more will be established, 

 and two more are indeed to be at once planned. 



Hunting Hatchet. — I do not like the idea of double 

 blade— nothing to drive nails with — or to dig, for that 

 matter. I am getting up a hatchet; as soon as complete 

 will send you outline sketch with dimensions for publica- 

 tion if you deem it worthy. — G. A. S. 



THE YELLOWSTONE PARK PETITION. 



ADDITIONAL lists of signatures to the Yellowstone 

 Park petitions are as follows: 



NEW YORK. 



W. W. Cone, W. S. Pearsall, Isaac Gardner, H. H. Crooker, H. 

 C. Bourne, E. J. Wilsey, W. E. Butts, W. L. Elmer, P. W. Free- 

 man, Frank II. McKinnon, Henry R, Bennett, Geo. Knapp, A. F. 

 Getter, John A. Crawford, George Burch, H. S. Willis, John C. 

 Willi-;,' Gr-n. Littlerent, EC. McKinnon, L. L. Soonberger, J. K. 

 McKinnon, Fred Smith, Carl A. Gustafron, W. P. Bennett, Wm. 

 Fuller, Nathan Baxter, Ethel Burch, John. G. Barnaby, A Gard- 

 iner, Arrin A. Priest. 



Theo. L. Cuyler, H. A. Tucker. A. J. F. Behrends, J. Winthrop 

 Hageman, Chas. H. Hall, Geo. E. Reynolds, R. S. Storrs, T. De 

 Witt Talmage, SethLow. 



The following letter received by the United States Cartridge 

 Co., Lowell, Mass.. from Mr. F. S. Lindsley, Supt. American Wood 

 Powder Co., West Houokan, N. J., speaks for itself: U I am per- 

 fectly willing that you should use my name to indorse your 

 shells, and especially your new primer for American wood pow- 

 der, and I heartily recommend your shells to wood powder shoot- 

 ers. As a matter of fact I have recommended your paper shells 

 for the last eighteen monchs, and have in that time snot thou- 

 sands of them and given away thousands of them loaded with 

 wood powder." 



