Sept. 22, 1887.] 



FOREST AND STREAM 



168 



"Going woodcock shooting to-day?" he asked, with a 

 peculiar emphasis on to-day. 



"Not to-dav," I replied. "May try them to-morrow. 

 Have quite along walk up the valley.'' 



"Well, you'll see some woodcock at this time in the 

 morning. I saw two coming down." 



Soon I came up with a teani; not a milkman evidently, 

 for he had no cans in his wagon. But there was some- 

 thing suspiciously covered under the seat. He had met 

 another team. Both were placing their teams outside of 

 the roadway and one had begun detaching his horse from 

 the wagon. I accosted them with: 



"Going up the road my way?" 



"No," gruffly, "going back." 



"I did not know but what you were going my way, 

 and if so, I might be after riding with you; provided we 

 could agree." 



4 Not oy a dum sight ! You're out after woodcock, 

 and it's agin the law to shoot them Sunday. I wouldn't 

 carry you, not if I was going up the road I" 



But I had discovered what I was sure was the butt of a 

 gun under the old buffalo robe in the bottom of the wagon 

 belonging to the spokesman of the two. I was satisfied 

 that I knew the errand of my two earnest defenders of 

 the game law, and a moment after my convictions were 

 fixed when I saw the old quilt or horseblanket in the 

 other wagon move. There was a clog under it. I had 

 surprised two gunners rather early in the morning. Evi- 

 dently they had not expected to see anybody till they 

 could get well out of the road with their teams. Then 

 they would "try the woodcock." I resolved to try them 

 further: 



"But I have a long walk. Evidently the boy who 

 was to meet me has failed to start. Wouldn't you give 

 me a lift for four or five miles if I would give you a 

 couple of dollars?" 



The eyes of the man who had said but little glistened 

 at the mention of a couple of dollars, but the other put 

 an end to the conversation: 



"No, we're not particularly anxious to earn money. 

 But you'd better be purty dum careful how you shoot 

 woodcock about here on Sunday !" 



My curiosity was satisfied and I bid the men good 

 morning, but they only returned the salutation with a 

 grunt. I learned the next day that there are a number 

 of excellent shots and first-class sportsmen at Lewiston 

 and Auburn, and that they not only respect the game 

 laws of the State, but that they also require it of others. 

 Hence I came to the conclusion that the chaps with the 

 wagons beside the road at 5 o'clock in the morning were 

 really poachers, and that they either thought they had 

 found a poacher them: elves, or that they feared that I 

 was on the watch for them, and that the gun I carried in 

 a case was only a ruse to allay their suspicions. I trudged 

 onward. Evidently Horatio had made a mistake, for I 

 was now at least four miles out. But the novelty of this 

 early morning walk, intermixed with a spice of the work- 

 ings of the Maine game laws, was inspiration enough to 

 keep up my courage. The woods was dense on both sides 

 of the road. There was not a house in sight. Indeed, I 

 had not seen one for three or four miles. Tbere were no 

 teams on the road, and, judging from the tracks, none 

 had been along since the evening before. Should I not 

 see a grouse ? These were grouse woods, and the morning 

 was crisp and frosty. Ah ! here are ripe blackberries 

 beside the road. One leap and I am across the ditch. 



"Whir-r-r! Buzz-r-r I Whir-r-r !" One, two, three, 

 four, five! Actually five grouse were right in the brush 

 before me ! I heard the noise of their wings suddenly 

 cease. They had flown only a rod or two to the cover. I 

 could find them in a moment, and I knew it. Was ever 

 a poor fellow tempted to unlimber his gun from its 

 case? 



But I moved on a few rods further. Up popped an- 

 other temptation, straight into the air. "A woodcock, as 

 sure as you are bom; but oh, it is Sunday morning!" 

 Besides, those fellows with the wagons, where are they? 

 The bird showed me a chance for a fine shot, only to be 

 followed by another, a moment later. Truly I was in the 

 midst of tlie game 1 had been dreaming of for six months, 

 but alats! it was Sunday morning. I was now satisfied 

 that Horatio had failed to come to time, but I was re- 

 solved to get a team at the next house, if possible. Soon 

 I came to the open fields and a house hove in sight. At 

 this house the farmer's horse was lame; but at the next 

 house I succeeded in enlisting a good old tiller of the soil, 

 with really a fine mare, for a trip eight miles further on 

 up among the hills of old Hebron. I learned from him 

 that the potato crop was a failure; that the apple crop 

 did not amount to much; tliat partridges were quite 

 plenty. He had heard about "them 'ere woodcock," but 

 be hanged if he had ever seen cne, though he liad lived 

 on the same farm for thirty years. Still a couple of fel- 

 lars came up from Lewiston, the day that the law was 

 off, and with "one of them pesky red setter dogs, be 

 hanged if they didn't get six of them long-billed critters. 

 But it's no use for me; I can't see 'em, and besides I haint 

 fired my old gun for fifteen years, and there she stands 

 loaded, just as I left her. Guess I shall five her off some 

 day. Don't s'pose that she's rusted, do ye?" 



I thought that she might be, but just then I was more 

 particularly interested in admiring several trees loaded 

 down with Baldwin apples, and noting the beautiful pic- 

 ture they made in the glorious morning sun. Eight miles 

 further and I was at my destination. Was that breakfast 

 good ? Ask one who has tried fifteen miles of outing on 

 • a glorious morning in September, and then sat down to a 

 well-filled table, Horatio had started after me, but at 

 a 1 out the same point where I had engaged the services 

 of the farmer he had become disheartened, and thinking 

 that I was not coming, he had turned back, reaching 

 home before me. The boy was a little chagrined , but 

 his atonement in the shape of telling me where there were 

 several flocks of partridges, not yet disturbed, was ac- 

 cepted. We longed for the next day to dawn, but even 

 before that day was done, together with my brother and 

 Frank and Budge, we had visited Streaked Mountain, a 

 walk of five miles out and back. Here are Hebron 

 Heights, Buckfield Heights and Paris Heights, some 

 2,000ft. above sea level, and yet not more than 50 miles 

 from the coast line, which line is plainly visible on a clear 

 day, even to the extent that the masts of a vessel may be 

 counted with a good glass. On our way, both up and 

 down, the dog Peter, a most beautiful and affectionate 

 Irish setter, but untrained, started flocks of grouse. Still 

 we longed for the morrow. It came at last, and with the 

 early birds we were off with guns and dog. Little Frank, 



only nine years old, distinguished himself by waking as 

 early as any of us, and insisting upon going with us. He 

 is a chip of the bid block. He is famous for a record of 

 some fifty brook trout caught this summer, without the 

 assistance of any one. Still it might be mentioned that 

 his Uncle Eolly did scare all the trout in the brook at 

 Frank's grandfather's in Sumner —scare them all up 

 stream and away from the bridge, against the summer 

 vacation, when Frank should be up there and ready with 

 hook and line. He scared them up the river in order that 

 some other boys might not get them. ' 



We had been out but a short time when the setter put 

 up a flock of partridges, and came to a handsome point, 

 for a green dog. My brother secured the bird, but at the 

 noise of the gun the dog lost interest, not thoroughly gun 

 shy, but it took some urging to make him believe that 4he 

 noise was not rather loud. Soon another bird sprang 

 from a tree right in front of me, giving me a snap shot in 

 the brush, which only drew a f ew feathers. But we made 

 a glorious morning of it. My brother secured two birds, 

 with one for myself and one for Horatio. Little Frank, 

 though .carrying no gun, was as full of enthusiasm as the 

 best of us. We were home to a late breakfast, fully deter- 

 mined on a full day's sport; but alas for labor thp,t must 

 be done. The express had not come to time with some 

 material, and we were obliged to spend the afternoon 

 upon what might have been completed early in the day, 

 but for the stupidity of a stage driver. But Lewiston -was 

 reached in season for the 11 :30 train, and the morning- 

 found me back to business. Thus I spent Labor Day, my 

 only holiday for many months, and if I have spun a long 

 yarn about it, I have tried to show the readers of our good 

 Forest and Stream how that woodcock are actually on 

 the increase in Maine, and how that the game law is being 



;enerally obeyed in Androscoggin and Oxford counties. 



)ne tiling may be observed in regard to the grouse, and 

 that is that they are more plenty than usual, but that they 

 are remarkably shy for that State, affording, when flushed, 

 only the most difficult of snap shots. Special. 



A TEXAS CAMP HUNT. 



ON the 15th of August, Mr. Lusk and myself, with a 

 negro boy, Joe, as cook and driver, left Belton with 

 a two-horse wagon and a two-horse hack, loaded with all 

 the necessaries pertaining to a camping outfit, for a three 

 weeks' hunt, on the head waters of the Llano River in 

 Kimball county, Texas, distant 175 miles. We arrived 

 at the Kuykendall ranch on the head of Cherokee on the 

 third day out, having on the trip killed several squirrels 

 and caught some fish. Here we rested for a day. We 

 were informed by the Kuykendall brothers, who have 

 large pastures inclosed with wire, that there were several 

 bunches of deer in the pastures, so early next morning 

 Alvah K. and myself set out for the top of a high hill 

 one mile distant. The hill is partly open at the top with 

 bunches of live oak, and below the summit is covered 

 with scrub live oak and sumac, about as high as a man's 

 head. We had passed over the top and were looking 

 down into a valley below, which was partly prairie and 

 hammocks here and there, when we saw about 80yds. 

 away four fine bucks, intently looking at us. Alvah was 

 armed with my new Winchester .45-75, and I had a Sharps 

 carbine .50. We both fired about the same time, and as 

 we were shooting down hill, overshot, and both missed. 

 The deer and cattle then ran with a terrible noise over 

 the rocky groun i, and I fired at the hindmost buck, but 

 with the same result. To say we felt badly will not de- 

 scribe it, we asked ourselves the question, why did we 

 fire so hurriedly? why did we not drop down and take a 

 rest on our knees? I abused myself more than I did the 

 gun, for I was aware I had fired too hurriedly. There we 

 were looking at the fast receding deer, going south with 

 the wind. 



We then made a wide detour to the west, hoping to 

 come up abreast of the same bunch, but after tramping 

 many miles we returned to the ranch to find a good dinner 

 of baked squirrels that had been killed in the pecan grove 

 near the ranch. After a rest James K. McL. and myself 

 started out about 4 o'clock in another direction. Some 

 two miles south of the ranch we came across three bucks 

 that ran off before we got near them; we then divided 

 and followed up until dark, but failed to come up with 

 them or any others; so tired and hungry we returned to 

 the ranch. 



The next morning we started to the San Saba River, 

 eighteen miles distant. We left home without a squirrel 

 dog and camp dog, but Mr. Lusk in some mysterious 

 manner went to a w. dow's house on the bank of the creek, 

 who had three clogs, and after talking with her for some 

 time, he was seen coining to the wagons with a fine black 

 dog called Faro. And I must say this dog was a valuable 

 adjunct to the camp in keeping off cattle and running 

 lizards and prairie dogs while on the march. We were 

 sadly disappointed on reaching the San Saba River to find 

 it almost dry; the long drought had told severely on both 

 streams and grass. The fish had gone with the water to 

 deeper holes below. 



We remained on the river Sunday and moved our camp 

 to a pond of water some fifteen miles S.W. in the more 

 open prairie, hoping to find deer around the pond; but 

 after hunting one day without success, I sent the wagon 

 back to the ranch and concluded to hunt there for some 

 days and not go further west, as the drought had dried up 

 the streams and burned up the grass. I took the hack 

 and Joe and star' ed for Mason, to attend to some busi- 

 ness, d stant thirty-five miles. The only water I found 

 on the road was at Barton's Spring, sixteen miles east 

 from Mason. Here we rested for a time, watered our 

 horses and put out for Mason over a hot sandy brushy 

 road. Arrived at Mason we left at daylight the next 

 morning for the ranch, which we reached at dark through 

 a heavy rain, the first for two months. It continued to 

 rain all of the next day which kept us in doors. 



The second day Mr. Lovell K. and myself concluded to 

 look up a small herd of antelope that used on the open 

 foothills some miles north of the ranch, and try it on 

 horseback. We had to travel four miles east to get out 

 of the gate, where we turned directly to the north. For 

 Be vera! miles the country is very rocky and covered with 

 scrubby live oak and sumac. We had gone about two 

 miles near Hext water hole, when we caught a glimpse 

 of two deer, we could not tell whether bucks or does. I 

 dismounted and gave my horse to Lovell, and followed 

 in the direction the deer had taken, about one and a half 

 miles to the top of a hill mostly covered with rock and 

 cactus. While waiting for my horse, which was coming, 



I noticed Lovell's horse shy off, and he called to me that 

 there was a large rattlesnake. I went to him and after 

 smashing down a bunch of cactus with stones we killed 

 the snake which had on nine rattles which we cut off. 



We hunted the open high rolling prairie until dark, 

 but found no sign of the antelope, and returned to the 

 ranch to find hanging in the yard from a pecan tree a fine 

 Spike buck, killed by Mr. Jas. K., south of the ranch. 

 We enjoyed a portion of that deer for supper if we were 

 not at the taking. 



The following morning we concluded to hunt singly, 

 three of us after deer, 'the rest for squirrels. I started 

 south and tramped for miles without seeing anything but 

 jack rabbits until evening. As I was returning to camp 

 a heavy rain set hi, and I got under a live oak tree for 

 shelter, and while there, saw the caudal appendix of a 

 fine buck which was going on a trail in the direction of 

 the ranch, I followed, regardless of the rain, and tracked 

 him in the soft earth to near camp, when darkness set in, 

 and so I returned as I went, except that I was more tired 

 and somewhat hungry. AH had returned before me 

 empty-handed, except Lovell, who had just come in and 

 informed us that, as he was returning, he had killed a 

 fine six-prong buck, and wounded another, about two 

 miles down in the pasture. Joe took sacks to carry the 

 meat and a lantern, and mounting a horse set out with 

 Lovell for the deer. In about two hours they returned 

 wnth the meat and as fine a pair of antlers as ever graced 

 a buck's head. 



The next morning we moved camp further down the 

 creek and camped in a pasture belonging to W. J. Kuy- 

 kendall, a generous and truly hospitable gentleman, and 

 whose good wife was so mindful of our wants that she 

 sent us butter, milk, tomatoes and peaches enough to last 

 some time. Then several good jovial hunters came to 

 our camp and spent the night with us, and after a splen- 

 did supper we sat around a blazing camp-fire made of 

 five oak stumps and dry elm logs, told stories of hunting 

 and camp life, - and how the deer were plenty years ago, 

 and when the buffalo were numerous in the winter. , 



The next morning being Monday we hunted faithfully 

 both early and late, but got nothing, though we sighted 

 several deer. On Tuesday morning while we were pack- 

 ing up in the rain to start home, a man came to the camp 

 and informed us that two deer had been in his corn dur- 

 ing the night, not one-fourth of a mile from us. The 

 temptation was too great, and we suspended operations 

 for a while, shouldered our guns, and took a look at the 

 field. We found where they had jumped the fence, and 

 going to the brushy prairie, followed their tracks for 

 some time, but failed to come up with them. We there- 

 fore returned to camp and struck out for home in the 

 mud and rain, and reached the Colorado in the evening, 

 to find it booming and very muddy. Great logs were 

 going down with the drift, making it dangerous to 

 ferry, but we crossed in safety, and in looking back saw 

 our Mr. Lusk's dog Faro running up and down the stream; 

 he had failed to get on the boat. He tried the river a 

 short dis ance and went back, but after we had gone some 

 distance Faro came up to us, perfectly delighted to see 

 us. He had swum the broad swift river. We returned 

 home on Thursday night, the 1st of September, having 

 been gone seventeen days, during which time we had not 

 slept in a house or eaten at a table except at the ranch. 



While we were not as lucky as some hunters, yet we 

 were not discouraged. J AMES Boyb. 



Belton, Texas, Sept. 6. 



HUNTING IN THE SHOSHONE. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



What object Mr. Archibald Rogers can have in rushing 

 into print to accuse one of whom he knows nothing, of 

 having violated a most necessary law, I cannot think. 



Because I happen to speak of elk steak at Heart Lake, 

 Mr. R. is kind enough to take it for granted that the game 

 was killed in the Park. Almost any sportsman could tell 

 Mr. R. that the only way to secure really eatable meat on 

 a hunting excursion, is to hang it in the sun and then 

 smoke it a little. If strung up in a cool place where the 

 outfit camps, meat so treated will improve in keeping fof 

 two or three weeks. 



Mr. R. next cries aloud about the cruelty of trapping 

 bear. In the article I refer to, I mention that on my last 

 trip I shot eight, all in the open. My party only trapped 

 two out of twelve. But it seems to me a little late in the 

 day to cry out about the needless cruelty of it. Almost 

 all the fur-bearing animals are trapped in a precisely 

 similar way. The traps used are almost identical with 

 bear traps, o ly of course they are of all sizes. These ani- 

 mals, too, are often harmless, and if Mr. R. had been much 

 in the West, he would know that the bounty offered for 

 bear skins in all sections of the country indicates the com- 

 mon opinion, a very decided one, that bruin must go. 



As to bear trapping entailing more destruction of game 

 than the usual method of hunting. If Mr. R. will allow 

 mo to say so, he speaks ignorantly. Let him ask any man 

 who has hunted bear and he will undoubtedly assure him 

 that at least three out of five are shot at a bait, at early 

 morning or evening. All bear hunters kill game in order 

 to kill bear. You do stumble on him sometimes. Four 

 of the eight killed by me in '06 I so shot, but this was un- 

 usual luck. 



One more correction Mr. R.'s letter requires. Heart 

 Lake is not anywhere near the center of the Yellowstone 

 Park, but eight miles from its southern border. 



I trust the next time Mr. Rogers writes to your paper 

 he will be sure of his facts and a little more courteous in 

 his spirit. W. S. Rainsford. 



Sept. 14. , . 



The Fisher's Island Hares.— Hoboken, N. J., Sept. 

 14. — In answer to yoiu- query whether there are any 

 European hares on Fisher's Island, I am hardly able to 

 give an intelligent answer to-day. Our club members 

 found but few last season, not over a dozen have been 

 shot by us since we put them there. I have bagged two 

 only, and have shot of tener there than any other member, 

 I believe, yet I find they are rarely met with, the reason 

 being that the people on the island insist upon confound- 

 ing them with the wild rabbit that has done so much 

 damage in Australia, and, in consequence of this, destroy 

 them with every possible means. A few, I suppose, can 



I be again found this tall, and I hope to meet one or two of 

 those noble fellows, if only for the grand sight of their 



I magnificent burst of speed. — Max Wenzel. 



