Aug. 25, 1887.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



87 



No sound was heard. Not a breath of air was moving, 

 but all was profoundly still. At last, when the light had 

 grown stronger, a.t the very top of a very high elm I saw 

 an object relieved against the sky, and I soon became sat- 

 isfied that it was a wild turkey. 



As I was now disgusted with deer bunting, 1 resolved 

 to make an effort for the lessor game. While the tops of 

 the trees were being lighted up, all beneath was yet dark. 

 I saAV a very large elm tree with a huge trunk, wbich I 

 thought was within shooting distance of my game, and I 

 lost no time in getting to a position where that tree would 

 hide me from the bird . 



With the extremest caution and as quickly as possible 

 I approached this big tree, and when I bad reached it 

 and carefully pecked beyond I was delighted to see tbe 

 turkey still in position, and that there was a clear space 

 between him and me, I quickly brought my rifle up 

 against the tree, but it was still too dark to see the sights 

 distinctly. The bird stood out against the sky, but I 

 could not tell whether he stood with his breast or his 

 back toward rue. He was evidently alarmed, probably 

 by the cracking of some twigs as I carefully made my 

 approach, and he stood up as st raight as a penguin, his neck 

 stretched out to the utmost. It was an anxious moment 

 while I stood there waiting till the increasing light would 

 enable me to see the sights of the rifle. I knew it was 

 about time for Min to leave his perch, and feared that 

 that time might be hastened by his manifest alarm. I 

 could not yet tell whether his breast or back was toward 

 me, but as soon as I could see the sights of the gun I took 

 a very deliberate aim at what I believed to be the center 

 of his body. Oh my! what a crashing he made falling 

 through the branches of that great elm tree, his wings in 

 then spasmodic flutterings striking every limb and twig 

 within their reach, and when he struck the ground it was 

 with a thud which sounded very loud to me at least. 

 That was the supreme moment of ecstacy to me. It 

 seemed to twinge every nerve and almost suspended the 

 throbbing of the heart. One would have supposed that 

 such a fall would have knocked every spark of life out of 

 him, but not so, for when I got up to him he had cleared 

 a space of ten feet at least of all the leaves and other 

 movable things, and was still tearing away like a flutter 

 wheel. 



Now, one who lacks experience in this matter can 

 hardly appreciate what a fuss a great wild turkey can 

 make when he has just simply lost his head and no more, 

 and that was substantially the case with my bird. When 

 he finally became quiet so that I could make a leisurely 

 examination, I found that he had stood with his back 

 toward me, and that his vertebra was exactly on a line 

 with the flight of the bullet, which had ranged up along 

 the back, scarcely breaking the skin and cutting off the 

 neck close to the' body. 



That, I think, was the largest turkey I ever killed, and 

 the thud with which he struck the ground was sweeter 

 music to mv ear than Patti ever sang. 



I regret that for the want of proper facilities that tur- 

 key was never weighed, and as I am not exempt from the 

 proclivities of a sportsman, I think it safer not to express 

 an opinion of its weight, either from myself or from 

 others. As that \vas the only game captured on that ex- 

 cursion, I must terminate my turkey story here. 



John Dean Caton. 



FRENCH WAYS. 



Editor Forest and Stream : 



Since my arrival in Paris I have been trying to find 

 something'in the way of sporting news that would inter- 

 est the readers of Forest and Stream, but so far without 

 much success. Sportsmen there are indeed and in plenty; 

 and among sportsmen I. of course include fishermen. The 

 fishermen of Paris are a well-known institution. For 

 who is there that has ever visited this city that does not 

 remember the blue-bloused ouvrier, with his long one- 

 piece bamboo-fishing rod and little footstool, on which he 

 stands patiently from sunrise to sunset? They line the 

 Seine from the Pont de Passey to the Pont National away 

 down below Bercey, which is as far as I have yet been; 

 although from what I have seen I have no doubt that they 

 line the river as far as Anteuil, in the same reckless pro- 

 fusion. I have watched them intently day after day 

 when I could and should have been more profitibly em- 

 ployed, but there is a singular fascination about their 

 patient idleness, and I cannot resist the temptation to 

 study them when in the vicinity. 



I have endeavored time and time again to find out 

 what manner of fish they had any hope of catching, or 

 what they thought could live in 'such filthy water; but 

 although they had been at all times extremely polite, I 

 could get no response save shrugs and smiles. It may be 

 that my French is at fault, as it is none of the best; or 

 perhaps, as I am inclined to believe, they have not the 

 slightest expectation nor desire of catching fish. I have 

 indeed seen them frequently ca + ch weeds, rags and old 

 paper, the debris which is usually found in rivers whose 

 banks are. as densely populated as are those of the Seine, 

 and once I saw an old man pull up from the bottom the 

 body of an infant done up in an old petticoat. Again, I 

 have seen them standing over and fishing in a rapidly 

 discharging sewer, the dirty, foul-smelling water pollut- 

 ing the river for at least 10ft. in every direction. I have 

 seen then on tire large, open floats fastened to the banks, 

 from which the women wash the soiled clothes, the water 

 here being discolored in all directions with soap and many 

 other foreign ingredients. Then again, most repulsive of 

 all, I have seen them fishing off the very pier on which 

 stands the morgue, in which there are usually from three 

 to eight bodies taken, perhaps, from the water. I have 

 watched them three or four times a week for the past 

 three months, and I solemnly declare that, barring the 

 rags, paper and the baby, I have as yet seen them take 

 nothing. But say they did, in the name of decency who 

 would want to eat it, knowing it came from where it did? 

 Think of our fresh, clear mountain streams and the 

 athletic trout, then ask yourself if you would care to 

 come to Paris to "go a fishing." This picture may seem 

 to you like exaggeration, but the facts are undeniable. 

 So much for the fishing. 



From what I can hear the hunting is not much better. 

 It is true that when the first of September has come you 

 can at any railroad terminus see crowds of, I was going 

 to say sportsmen, but will modify that and say men 

 going shooting. They are gotton up in the most gorgeous 



tyle, with leather hunting coats — on the first of Septem- 



er in Paris, think of it— leggins, heavy sole shoes, game 



bag, dogs, guns, hunting horn and valet to carry the 

 game. All this to bring home what? I will tell you 

 later; first let me tell you what it is necessary to undergo 

 before one can legally take his place in this noble army. 

 The following was thus told me by a personal friend, an 

 ardent sportsman in the best sense, and a thorough back- 

 woodsman. Imagine his disgust as he recited his exper- 

 ience. 



"First you must get a license. That you must have to 

 pull trigger in any part of France, whether you be French, 

 American, English or of any other nationality. To obtain 

 this you must have two well-known and respectable 

 tradesmen, duly licensed to trade (no matter the business, 

 a charcoal burner will do as well as another) who will 

 vouch that you are neither a lunatic nor gauster, 

 for these two characters seem to be the betes noirs 

 of the French Republic. Having obtained the ser- 

 vices of an obliging wine merchant and an equally 

 accommodating shoemaker, the three of us marched to 

 the office of the commissioners (equivalent to our magis- 

 trate). Having been didy introduced, I explained the 

 object of my visit. The functionary narrowly inspected 

 the credentials of my two friends and then apparently 

 satisfied turned to me and asked my name, residence and 

 profession. These are readily answered ; but the fourth 

 query was a sticker, ' Have you your baptismal certifi- 

 cate ?' As this interesting ceremony had been performed 

 about fifty years before, I did not have the document 

 with me, but could no doubt procure it from home 

 (America) if absolutely necessary. 'Are you married ?' 

 'Yes.' 'Any children ?' I was obliged to confess to two. 

 'Have you your marriage certificate ?' ' No, sir ; ' and I 

 humbly suggested that I called for a game certificate. 'I 

 must have these papers or how am I to know who you 

 are ?' Fortunately I remembered an old passport I had in 

 my desk at my apartments and suggested that it might 

 do. ' That will answer, show it to me.' ' I will go get it 

 at once.' 'No, come here to-morrow with your two friends 

 and bring it.' 



"The next day, about eleven, we three again went to 

 the office. 'The Commissaire is at breakfast. Call at one 

 o'clock.' We did so and the ordeal was renewed. My 

 friends' credentials were again carefully inspected and 

 my passport underwent a searching scrutiny. He, 

 however, at last beckoned to his clerk to bring pen, ink 

 and paper, and recorded my age, birth place and present 

 occupation. He then said, 'Stand on that,' pointing 

 toward a weighing machine. 1 Cent-soixante-cinq,' 

 shouted the clerk after intently studying the machine; 

 and my weight was recorded. The magistrate then 

 moved toward me and scanned my outward man with a 

 sort of photographic look. The color of my hair, eyes 

 and eyebrows, the shape and size of my fcrehead, nose, 

 chin, mouth and ears, all were carefully noted down. I 

 then confidently expected my certificate and deferentially 

 intimated as much. 'You must go down to the Pre- 

 fecture between ten and four to-morrow; here is a mem- 

 orandum; present it to the officer in waiting.' 



"I went accordingly, alone this time, and was obliged 

 to undergo another inspection, as this official did not 

 appear to have the same faculty of distinguishing color, 

 or the same power of phrenological description, and he 

 altered his fellow official's portraiture accordingly. Ulti- 

 mately, however, I received a piece of blue paper, some 

 lTxl5in.. was asked for and cashed in 28 francs, and 

 retired with the precious privilege of killing anytliing 

 gamy within the jurisdiction of the Prefect of the Seine. 

 . "After all this trouble I was told by one who had 'been 

 there,' that the chances were ten to one that I would 

 never be asked to produce it (as I found correct), and that 

 should I by any chance be asked the chances were the same 

 that the Garde Champe'tre would not be able to read it. I 

 have been out four times. My certificate and incidental ex- 

 penses amounted to 213 francs and shooting all the game 

 (?) I saw, I got one rook, two magpies, one lark and one 

 rat. I shall refrain, he continued, from going shooting 

 here any more, as I find that it is far more economical 

 to get your game as other Parisians do, at the poultry 

 shops." Mac. 



SNIPING ON SHINNECOCK BAY. 



HAVING decided to spend my vacation at the sea- 

 shore, I thought Shinnecock Bay would be the 

 most likely place to get some shooting. After shaking 

 hands with the landlord, the question of the day was de- 

 bated on and the guides thought the next day would be 

 a "good one" for a flight of the birds, as the wind was 

 commencing to blow quite fresh from the south; so the 

 services of Will were engaged on the spot and he said he 

 would wake me at 3 A. M., to have time to get something 

 to eat before starting. After a little shooting talk I went 

 to my room to unpack my traps and get things ready for 

 the morning. When the chairs and the floor were spread 

 full of things to my great satisfaction, I turned in for the 

 night, or, I should say, the morning, as it seemed as if I 

 had just found the soft spot in the bed when some one 

 thumped on my door, and when I answered Will said: 

 "It's quarter past 3, and if you don't get up the other fel- 

 lows will have the pick of the stands." I rolled out, 

 tumbled into my clothes and felt my way in the dark 

 down stairs, where the others were seated around the 

 table eating at the rate of forty knots an hour, and in a 

 few minutes I was not far behind. 



After we were through breakfast we made a few sand- 

 wiches, got a jug of water, and started for the boats; and 

 then commenced the race for the stands. As there was 

 no breeze, nothing was left to do but to pole, so at it we 

 went, or rather Will went as the writer felt "tired" and 

 lay off in the stern of the boat and watched the pink begin 

 to glow in the east and the light in the Shinnecock Light- 

 house fade. Finally we reached our stand, on a small 

 island leased by Will's father, put out the decoys and got 

 into the boxes. By and by, as the day dawned, we heard 

 a few yelpers off to the windward, and Will tried to call 

 them up, but I guess those snipe had pressing business on 

 hand, as they did not show up. I settled down in the box 

 to wait developments, when W. whispered, "Here comes 

 a flock," ond as they swung around to alight we both cut 

 loose and got seven birds, all small yellowlegs. Some 

 little time after this we saw a single willet coming toward 

 us, and as I saw it did not intend to come down to the 

 decoys, I said I guessed I would try a shot at him. When 

 I fired (the left barrel) the willet was almost directly over 

 us, and, as near as we could judge, about 80yds. high in 

 the air. At the report of my gun he dropped like a stone, 

 with one wing badly broken and shot through the body. 

 My gun is a 7|lb,, 32in., left barrel f choke, right barrel 



cylinder, and the charge was 3|drs. powder, ljoz. No. 6 

 soft shot. I call that a good shot (it might have been a ] l 

 luck), and when the Bonehill goes off there usually is a 

 bone bill in the neighborhood. High up in the air were 

 two large cranes following the line of the shore, and far 

 off to the left we descried the large bald-headed eagle of 

 Shinnecock Hills floating lazily through the clear atmos- 

 phere. As the sun began to get rather hot we decided to 

 pull up the decoys and go for the house. There was a 

 good stiff breeze, the little catboat lay down to business, 

 and we were soon at the dock. When I counted our 

 morning's shoot I found we had some sixty odd birds, 

 including willet, large yellowlegs, small yellowlegs, 

 robin snipe, two greenback plover and dowitchers. I 

 stayed down there two weeks, from Aug. 1 to the 15th, 

 but never had such a good day's sport as this. 



Shore Bird, 

 August 13. 



DUCKING METHODS. 



Editor Forest and Stream : 



I beg space to enter a protest against a manner of shoot- 

 ing ducks practiced in some parts of Maine, and a mode, 

 if carried out, that will do more to exterminate ducks 

 than anything yet that I have seen; it is a deadly and 

 more so than the battery or sinkbox. I refer to baiting 

 ducks in September and shooting dozens at a time. I 

 have seen forty killed by two guns at one discharge. 

 This is allowed by Maine laws, though netting is prohib- 

 ited; there is no difference between the two, barring the 

 noise, the number of ducks taken is only limited by the 

 size of the net or the number of guns. 



What disgusts me most is that the men whom I saw 

 shooting thus were not market shooters, but of good 

 means and fair wing shots. But they wanted their 

 money's worth of ducks and this was the easiest way to 

 get them, as also was treeing partridges and netting 

 pigeons. I do hope that something will be done in the 

 near future to discourage this slaughter. E. B. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I notice in your issue of April 7 that "H. M. P." asks 

 how to get the ducks, and asks for suggestions for a prac- 

 tical method of shooting ducks which settle in the middle 

 of a lake three-quarters of a mile wide; he adds that de- 

 coys and blinds made of brush stuck in the ground are 

 ineffectual; ducks have become shy of them. Doubtless 

 most duck shooters have had similar experience. I have 

 used a boat invented and constructed by Mr. H. A. Han- 

 num, of Cazenovia, N. Y., which meets the case and other 

 wants of the shooter most effectually. The shooters lie 

 down flat in the boat and are nicely hidden from sight of 

 bh-ds flying over by a canvas decking, so arranged as to 

 be a complete protection to the hunters and their effects 

 from rains and cold winds, which, by the way, is no very 

 small item at times. 



This boat is propelled either by one or both the shooters 

 working with the feet a system of levers which in turn 

 work a set of paddles, thus leaving the hands entirely free 

 for the use of the gun at any moment. There are no 

 motions in sight, nor is noise made. In using it nearly a 

 hundred times I have seldom failed to get the ducks, 

 especially when approached slowly. I have worked up in 

 this way and bagged old honkers when the same flock 

 about an hour before had been put to flight by a common 

 boat, about a quarter of a mile from them, on which 

 hunters were doing their best to work up to them, I 

 think "D. M. P." will find this a "practical method," and 

 a very satisfactory w r ay of getting some of the wary 

 ducks. L. B. T. 



Cazenovia, N. Y. 



A BLACKTAIL. 



WHITE STJLPHER SPRINGS, Mont., Aug. 15.— 

 Pitching hay isn't much fun, and to-day I thought 

 a holiday might be allowed me, fitly to celebrate the re- 

 turn of the open season. To-day I was lucky. A black- 

 looking piny gulch on the west slope of the Castle Moun- 

 tains looked inviting, and I made my pony climb clear to 

 the edge of the timber, where I picketed him. As I 

 picked my way up the little watercourse at the bottom of 

 the ravine, footprints here and there punched deep into 

 the moss showed me that I had "sized the place up" about 

 right, and that I was entering the summer home of the 

 blacktail. 



As I proceeded, the slopes of the ravine grew very 

 steep, and the bottom criss-crossed with fallen timber, 

 and I moved but slowly, lest my foot slip on the jagged 

 stones, which were easily displaced, making rattle enough 

 to defeat my schemes. However, when less than half a 

 mile into the timber, I heard a sound that made my heart 

 thump a little quicker— crash ! crash! — then half a min- 

 ute's pause, then again crash! crash! rattle! and the ani- 

 mal paused in view on the rocky slope of the canon about 

 120yds. distant. It was a big five-point buck, and he still 

 wore his yellow coat. 



Holding fair on the center of his left shoulder, as he 

 stood quartering, I touched her off, only to see him leap 

 off with his head lowered. I jerked another .40-60 

 into the gun and was about to open fire again when he 

 dropped and rolled down the slope with never a kick. It 

 was an easy matter to slide him down over the rocks to 

 the water, but his hprns suffered somewhat from contact 

 with the flints, as they were still in the velvet and quite 

 soft. A pretty pair they were, and of good size. He was 

 beginning to shed his thin summer hah", and the short 

 blue showed through in places; and as for his meat — 

 "* * * finer or fatter 

 Ne'er roamed in a forest or smoked on a platter." 



When I opened him I had the satisfaction of finding 

 my bullet hole through the thick of his heart, which ac- 

 counted for his abrupt stop. IPSARRAKA. 



Cape Cod Shore Birds. — Monomoy Island, Aug. 20. — 

 The southeast storm of this week brought along a small 

 flight of shore birds. Several flocks of black-bellied, and 

 one of green or golden plover, and some of the last were 

 seen in the fields about Chatham. Peeps have been here 

 some time, and last week a few jack curlew and winter 

 or greater yellowlegs came along. Shore birds have been 

 very scarce so far this season. We expect a flight of 

 grassbirds or pectoral sandpipers, also young beetleheade 

 or black-bellied plover soonv— Chester, 



