Jan. 19, 1888.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



508 



in front of the hotels in El Paao t On several occasions I 

 have noticed albinos in the lot of dusty cooped up little 

 birds. 



Chas, H. Raymond, and his brother, Geo. B. Raymond, 

 of Morris Plains, N. J., had a very successful duck shoot- 

 ing visit this year to the San Domingo Ducking Club, at 

 Magnolia, Md. The club is opposite the famous Maxwell's 

 Point and is finely located. The bag consisted of red- 

 heads and a few canvasbacks. The birds were shot over 

 stools. 



The duck shooting at Carroll's Island has been fan*. 

 There are always ducks enough around Carroll's Island 

 and Grace's Quarters, which is on the other side of the 

 Saltpetre River from the island, but the trouble is to get 

 them to fly. 



It would keep one busy to keep a record of the acci- 

 dents that have occurred with guns since the season 

 opened on Nov. 1. I have made cuttings of all I came 

 across, and have now sixty-three victims on the list. The 

 last item is furnished by four boy hunters of Little Rock, 

 Ark. In less than an hour one had both legs shattered, 

 one lost an eye and another was minus a hand. Three 

 out of four is a fair average. Of course, only about one 

 accident in about twenty is reported, and as I do not read 

 the newspapers more than I can help, I must have missed 

 many more items of mishaps in the shooting: field. My 

 only wonder is that instead of 63 it is not 6300. I have 

 been careful to notice the people I have accidentally met 

 out shooting thiB fall; of the twenty-one I came across 

 seventeen had muzzleloaders, and in every instance the 

 hammers were down on the caps. I saw a man tumble 

 out of a wagon, both hammers of his muzzleloading gun 

 became imbedded in a frozen rat, the muzzle pressed 

 against his side, and it was loaded with buckshot for 

 bear. The man was sixty-five years old and perfectly 

 sober, so it is to be presumed the "old boy" had sized the 

 hunter up for a fool, as the gun did not go off. It is 

 waste of breath to talk to people not to point guns at you, 

 to stop monkeying with locks, and carrying hammers 

 down on the caps. They know it all up to a stage in the 

 game when either themselves or their friends know noth- 

 ing. The Wise Acre. 



DEER JUMPING. 



YOUR columns contain many interesting accounts of 

 deer hunting by a variety of methods — "hounding;," 

 as our Northern brother sportsmen term it (we in the 

 South call that "driving"), "still-hunting," "fire-hunting," 

 and "clubbing" in the water. This last method is un- 

 known among us. 



There was one other method in vogue in Mississippi 

 during my early childhood, which I have never seen any 

 description of nor allusion to, probably because a great 

 abundance of game, combined with " the proper sort of 

 cover, was necessary to success, and these conditions in 

 proper combination having ceased to exist, this method 

 of deer hunting has gone out. 



The method was called "driving," too, but not with 

 dogs. The hunters simply deployed in a long, open skir- 

 mish line, and rode through the open pine woods on 

 horseback or muleback. In the localities thus hunted 

 the long-leaf pine woods were almost entirely free from 

 undergrowth and the ground well covered with a species 

 of coarse grass two or three feet high. The hunters w T ere 

 spaced about 50yds. apart in the line, in the center of 

 which rode the "captain" of the hunt, usually an old 

 veteran, selected for the occasion, whose business it was to 

 control the movements of the line of hunters, settle dis- 

 putes about "who killed the deer," and occupy the place 

 of general commander. 



As the party rode in this order the deer were "jumped 

 up" as they lay in the grass in easy shooting distance of 

 one or more of the hunters, who usually carried shotgun^,. 

 It seems also that the deer, when jumped, very generally 

 run up or down the line, so that few escaped the shower 

 of buckshot poured forth at them. 



It was never my fortune to participate in one of these 

 hunts, as the ground lay in a county about 100 miles 

 from the town in which my father lived, and the county 

 authorities put a stop to the incursions of outsiders into 

 their hunting grounds while I was still a boy. 



My father' and uncle, however, who emigrated from 

 Virginia, to Mississippi in "the thirties," were both keen 

 sportsmen, and it was then custom to join a party from 

 our county every fall and go over to Scott coun ty for 

 two weeks' deer hunting; and they never failed to bring 

 back venison. They always went on horseback, accom- 

 panied by a wagon with a negro driver and a servant or 

 two carrying guns, camp equipage, etc. 



On one of these annual hunts, and the last one I be- 

 lieve, both my father and uncle were prevented from 

 attending by business affairs. My eldest brother, then a 

 lad of sixteen, and a fine shot, was sent to represent 

 them. He joined the party in the camp the night before 

 the hunt was to begin, and conveyed to old Captain Jen- 

 nings, the customary "captain" of the hunt, the regrets of 

 my father and uncle that they were neither of them able 

 to' attend. The. captain was much disappointed by their 

 absence, and when my brother modestly stated that he 

 had come to represent his elders the old gentleman 

 smiled and asked him ii he could shoot a deer. He re- 

 plied that he was pretty good at partridges and rabbits, 

 and he supposed he could kill a deer, which belief the 

 captain did not seem to share. 



The next morning when the hunt was formed not 

 much attention was paid to Fred, the boy, but he found a 

 place in the line somewhere. In the course of the first 

 day's driving he had the remarkable fortune of killing 

 four deer without a single one being disputed by another 

 claimant, a larger number than was killed by any one 

 else. This of course raised him high in the captain's 

 esteem, who thereafter gave him the place of honor on 

 his right. In the whole hunt Fred bagged eight deer, 

 and was excelled by only one of the party of some dozen 

 or fifteen old hunters. That gentleman killed eleven. 



Fred of course came home an inch or two taller than 

 when he left. Coahoma. 

 Memphis, Tennessee. 



Massachusetts Association.— The annual meeting of 

 the Massachusetts Fish and Game Protective Association, 

 for the election of officers, was held at the Fremont 

 House, Boston, on Jan. it. The officers elected were; 

 President, Edward A. Samuels; Vice-Presidents, Chas. L. 

 Woodbury, Walter M. Brackett, Chas. Whittier, John T. 

 Stetson, Henry H. Kimball, Walton C. Taft, Horace T. 



Rockwell ; Treasurer, Frederick R. Shattuck; Secretary, 

 Arthur W. Robinson; Librarian, John Fottler, Jr. ; Ex- 

 ecutive Committee, Henry J. Thayer, Warren Hapgood, 

 With S. Hills, Edward T. Barker, John P. Woodbury, 

 I vers W. Adams, John Fottler, Jr., Benj. F. Nichols, 

 Henry C. Litchfield, Geo. W. Wiggin, Benj. C. Clark, 

 Isaac Y. Chubbuck; Membership Committee, Henry J. 

 Thaver, Edw. E. Small, Waldron Bates; Fund Commit- 

 tee, Wm. S. Hills, Danl. T. Curtis, Benj. C. Clark. The 

 year just closed has been one of the most prosperous in 

 its history; the association having increased very materi- 

 ally in numbers, and in financial resourses. The out- 

 look for the coming year is moat promising, and it is 

 hoped and expected that much good work will be accom- 

 plished before the beginning of another year. 



The Lyman Sight.— Somerville, Mass., Jan. 14.— Ed- 

 itor Forest and Stream: I was pleased to notice in the last 

 issue of Forest and Stream that the price of Lyman 

 rifle sights has been reduced. This will place these valu- 

 able sights within the reach of all, and I think will bring 

 them into general use. For a hunting sight in dark 

 weather or in the woods I am satisfied that they have no 

 equal. As an instance of their superiority over the ordin- 

 ary open sight I will state that I, one day in September, 

 made a run of fourteen red squirrels with a Maynard 

 ,32-cal., 10gr., c. f. rifle, in thick hemlock woods where 

 it would have been impossible to see them distinctly with 

 any other sights that I know of. I have no desire to 

 "puff" the goods of any one, but I want all of my brother 

 rifle shooters to know of everything in this line that is 

 good, and 1 think that the name of Wm. Lyman will long 

 be remembered for this great invention that he has given 

 us. — Iron Ramrod. 



THE YELLOWSTONE PARK AS A FOREST 

 RESERVATION. 



[From the Nation, New York, Jan. 5.] 



WASHINGTON, Jan. & 18S8.-Of the varied beauties of the 

 Yellowstone Park much has been said in praise. The splen- 

 dor of the Grand OaCon, the grandeur of the lake and of those 

 scientific curiosities, the geysers and hot springs, have been 

 described over and over agaiu untiL every oue is more or less 

 familiar with, the natural marvels of this wonderland. Now that 

 the once famous pink and white terraces on the shores of Rotoma- 

 ltaua in New Zealand have ceased to exist, the similar deposits in 

 the Yellowstone Park stand unrivalled. Notwithstaudingall that 

 has been written, based upon sentimental considerations, in favor 

 of a maintenance of the Park by the cent ral Government, the 

 most forcible argument for its preeervatiou is an economic one 

 far outweighing all others in importance. It is one which has 

 received but slight attention outside of a narrow circle of the 

 friends of the Park who realize the- true value of the region. 



The object of first importance in maintainb g the Park is the 

 preservation of its forests. Forest preservation is rightfully 

 attracting increased attention in all parts of the country, and it is 

 now very generally admitted that a rigid enforcement of the 

 proper restrictions in the cutting of timber is demanded for the 

 public, welfare. Owing to many conflicting interests m the more 

 settled communities, additional protection by legislation is by no 

 means a simple problem. Nowhere is this better sbowu than m 

 the struggle in New York State to preserve the timber of the 

 Adirondacks against, the encroachment of lumbermen. 



The Park is a natural reservoir admirably adapted by its 

 topographical structure for the storage of water. No region of 

 equal area iu the heart of the Rocky Mounts) ins presents so many 

 favorable conditions for receiving, storing and distributing a 

 liberal water supply. For the preservation of this winter the dense 

 forest whioh covers this region is of incalculable value. The 

 central portion of the Park is a broad, elevated volcanic plateau 

 between 7,000 and 8,500ft. above sea level, with an average elevation 

 of about .S.UOOft; it is accidented by broad depressed basins and 

 scored bv deep gorges and narrow valleys. Surrounding it on the 

 south, east, north and northwest, are high peaks and mountain 

 ridges rising from 2,000 to 4,000ft. above the general level of the 

 inclosed table land. Across this plateau from the southeast to 

 the northwest, with a very sinuous courso, runs the Continental 

 divide, separating the waters of the Atlantic from those of the 

 Pacific. Several large bodies of water, notably Yellowstone, 

 Shoshone, Lewis and Heart Lakes, form such characteristic 

 features on both sides of this divide, that the countrj has 

 deservedly received the appellation of the lake region of the Park. 

 Hundreds" of smaller lakes occupy irregular depressions either in 

 the lava flows or hi shallow basins of glacial origin high up iu the 

 neighboring mountains. Scattered over the plateau, in striking 

 contrast with the greater part of the Rocky Mountains, occur 

 numerous pouds, marshes and meadows, which hold very con- 

 siderable amounts of water throughout the greater part of the 

 year. More than 3,500 thermal springs bring up their waters from 

 below to swell the surface flows, while innumerable cold springs 

 coming out from beneath the rocks add their share to swell the 

 current. 



Careful observation of plateau, mountain and valley, sho^vs 

 that about 84 per cent, of the Park region is forest-clad. The 

 bare portions of the Park are mainly areas above the timber line, 

 steep mountain slopes, and wet marshy bottoms. The forest is 

 essentially coniferous. A few groves at, aspen (Populm tivm uioidos) 

 add brilliancy to the autumnal foliage, but are so insignificant 

 that from an economic point of view they may be discarded. 

 Quite two-thirds of the trees are what are known as black pine 

 iPiurn murixntana), and one may travel lor miles over the gravelly 

 ridges of the plateau without encountering any other species. On. 

 moist ground at high elevations, and where the snows lie later in 

 the season, this species gradually gives way to the balsam (Albies 

 suhalpina) and the spruce (Finns engclmanni). Over large areas, 

 of course, the three species occur more or less mingled. In a few 

 favored localities the statelier tree, the red fir (Pscudotmga doufl- 

 las.ii). is conspicuous by its size and vigor. The black pine rarely 

 attains any great size, trees more than 2ft. in diameter being ex- 

 ceptional, while over considerable areas they are so diminutive 

 as to be locally known as "lodge-pole" pine. The young forest is 

 generally made up of shapely, graceful trees, but the maturer 

 growth is not specially attractive. The charm of the forest is 

 found in the natural groupings and park-like character of the 

 trees in the more open country, many of those on the mountain 

 slopes being of exquisite beauty. For grandeur and imposing 

 appearance they are not, however, to be compared with those of 

 the Sierra Nevada or Cascade range-. 



Precipitation of moisture throughout the arid region of the far 

 West is governed in part by mountain mass and in part by the 

 great altitude of single ridges. Across the Pai k plateau and the 

 Absaroka Range to the eastward the country is unsurpassed 

 in average elevation by any area of equal extent, and is so 

 situated as to form one of the storm-centers of the north- 

 ern Rocky Mountains. The moisture-laden winds coming up 

 from the southwest precipitate rail and snow upon the 

 plateau and the western slope of the Absaroka Range, in- 

 numerable streams bringing the water from the mountains 

 back into the Park. In consequence, the climate of the 

 region is exceptional, the amount of snow and rainfall being 

 higher and the mean annual temperature lower than over the 

 adjacent country. Unlike the greater part of the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, heavy rains occur frequently through the summer, and 

 snowstorms are of common occurrence any time between Sep- 

 tember and May, the snows lying upon the ground well into 

 midsummer. The region is one of the grandest reservoirs, send- 

 ing its waters thousands of mileB to both oceans. A closer 

 examination of this water supply shows its preservation to be a 

 question of vast, economic interest. Two rivers, the Yell. iws tone 

 and Snake, carry off the greater part of these waters; the former 

 draining more than one- half the area of the Park, aud the latter 

 the entire western side of the divide. Yellowstone Lake, the 

 great reservoir for the river which gives its name to the Paik, is 

 a body ot water of great beauty, measuring twenty miles in 

 length, with a breadth across its greatest oxpause of lif teen miles. 

 It has a very irregular outline, with an indented shore of nearly 

 100 miles, aud an area of 121 square miles. Not only is the Yel- 

 lowstone by many times the largest lake in North America at so 

 high an elevation above s;a level (7,741ft.), but it ranks among the 

 first in the world at high altitudes. Up >n the western side of the 

 divide, less than six miles from the Yellowstone, aud separated 

 from it bv a ridge not more than 200ft. m height, lie Shoshone and 

 Lewis Lakes; the former with an area of twelve square miles, 



and the latter four and one-half square miles. Heart Lake, at 

 the eastern base of Mt. Sheridan, measures three square miles. 

 These reservoirs pour their waters into the Snake, which also 

 finds its source near the southeast corner of the Park. 



In the autumn of 1886, with a view to obtaining some data upon 

 the amount of discharge, the largest bodies of water were accur- 

 ately measured. Not only was the time selected the d ryes t period 

 of the year, but all lakes and streams stood at a lower levtl than 

 at any time during the previous five years. Yellowstone Lake 

 stood 20in. below the high-water mark of early summer. The 

 measurements may be said, therefore, to have hi en taken at the 

 minimum discharge. Measured just below the outlet of tne lake, 

 the discharge of the Yellowstone River was found to be 1,525 cubic 

 feet per second, or, in other words, .14,000,000 imperial gallons per 

 hour. The outflows from Shoshone, Lewis and Heart lakes com- 

 bined yielded 104 cubic feet per second. The Lamar, Firehole, 

 Gibbou and Madison rivers were ganged, and careful estimates 

 made of the Gallatin and Falls rivers, based upon the size and 

 flow of the streams and Ihe area of the country drained. Accord- 

 ing to estimates ot Dr. William Hallock, ot the United States 

 Geological Survey, who kindly undertook the ganging of the 

 streams, it was found that the minimum discharge was equal to 

 one cubic foot per second per square mile over an area somewhat 

 more than 4,000 square m:ics. and that the amount of water run- 

 ning into the Park and leaving it through the five main drainage 

 channels would may a river oft. deep and 190£fc wide, with a I ur- 

 rent of three miles per hour. While this may not i ad icute a large 

 supply as compared with certain bignly favored areas, yet it is 

 for the arid region of tho West an exceptional and excessive 

 amount. 



ij) au arid and sparsely timbered country and one of unequally 

 distributed rainfall, forests and moisture maintain reciprocal 

 relations. Experience has shown in Europe, and unfortunately 

 already in America, the injurious effect of disafforesting a country 

 near tue head waters of large rivers. One instance will suffice to 

 illustrate this protecting influence of the forest. The report of 

 the recent Forestry Commission of the State of New York says, 

 speaking of tue sources of the Hudson River, "that the summer 

 flow of the Adirondack rivers has decreased within tue memory 

 of men now living from SO to 50 per cent. Mauy of the small 

 streams whicu a quarter of a century ago were abuudautly sup- 

 plied with water .luring tue entire summer are now dry during 

 many montus." 



Remove the forests from the sources of the Yellowstone, and 

 Stake, and the region would i ecomo a barren waste. Tue snow, 

 un.ier the scorci ing rays cf the Son, Would rapidly dfc appeal, 

 and eaily spring freshets and floods, carrying devastation before 

 them, wou.d strip the rocks bare of the meagre soil with , tr.eh 

 they are now covered. Under the influem e of the forests the soil 

 aud vegetation are p otected, which in turn act as a sponge, regu- 

 lating the flow and slowly supplying the springs and streau s. 

 The climatic benefits derived from tne forest- protected region can 

 scarcely be overes imated. From the cool, wet surface of this 

 broad storehouse of water, the dry wiudy coming from the west 

 absorb immense quantities of moisture, whicn is again pre- 

 cipitated over the agricultural and grazing Jands to the ei.st- 

 ward. Not only should fene present reservation be carefully 

 guarded, but tue aroa of the Park should be enlarged to tue east 

 an J south, so as to take in a dense forest region useless for agri- 

 cultural purposes aud destitute ox mining resources. It embraces 

 a rough aud mountainous country abounding iu streams, the real 

 source and feeders ot Snake River, Yellowstone River auu Lake. 



The proposed increase extends the boundaries twenty-five miles 

 tu the eastward and nine miles to tne southward cf the present 

 ill-defined limits, whioh were established at a time wheu the 

 region had been but little explored. By this ei 1 ugementnot only 

 the eutire western slope of rue Absaroka Range, with its moun- 

 tain torrents flowing into the Park, but the timber lands near the 

 heads of streams which run eastward (the waters of which dram 

 into the Big Horn, an affluent to the Yellowstone) will fail within 

 the protected area. To tne southward, on the opposite side of the 

 Continental divide, the country, although less rugged, is equally 

 well supplied with (Breams, springs and lakes, whose waters 

 uniting make a broad, deep river of the Snake before it fairly 

 leaves the mountains for the plain below. 



A proposition looking to the enlargement of the National Park 

 has already been brought before the present Congress by Senator 

 Vest, of Missouri. No obstacles exist to-day agaiost for ever 

 setting apart this additional territory adjacent to the Park. If 

 leit atone it will soon be invaded by the lumberman, charcoal- 

 burner, and rail way -tie cutter, the advance guard of a rapidly in- 

 creasing population. The preservation of the Park is a necessity 

 to the nation, but to no part cf it more than to the Territories of 

 Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. Arnold Hague, 



MONTANA GAME LAW. 



AMENDMENTS approved March 9, 18S7, amending act of March 

 8, 1883. 



An Act to amend sections 1, 2 and 5 of an act entitled "An Act 

 to protect game, fur-bearing animals and fish," approved March 

 8, 1883. 



lie it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of 

 Montana: 



Section 1. That any person or persons who sha'l wilfully shoot 

 or otherwise kiU or cause to be killed any buffalo, moose, elk, 

 white-tailed deer, black-tailed deer, mountain sheep, Rocky 

 Mountain goat or antelope between the first day ol December and 

 the fitteenth day of August of the ensuing year, shall be deemed 

 guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be 

 nned in any sum not less than twenty dollars nor more than fifty 

 dollars for each offense committed. 



Sec. 2. That Section 2 of an act entitled an act to protect fur- 

 bearing animals and fish, approved March 8, 1888, be amended to 

 read as follows: Section 2. That any person or persons who shall 

 wilfully shoot or otherwise kill or cause to be killed at any time 

 any of the animals mentioned in Section 1 of this act for the pur- 

 pose of procuring the head and hide only, or for speculative pur- 

 poses, or for market, or for sale, shall be deemed guilty of a mis- 

 demeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum 

 not less than fifty nor mere than two hundred dollars, or by im- 

 prisonment in the county jail not less than one month nor more 

 than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. 



Sec. 3. Tuat Section 8 of said act be amended to read as follows: 

 Sec. 5. That any person or persons who shall wilfully shoot, or 

 kill, or causo to be killed, any grouse, prairie chicken, pheasant, 

 fool fien, sage hen, partridge, or quail, between the 15tn day of 

 November and the 15th day of August of the uext ensuing year, 

 shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction 

 thereof shall be fiued in any sum not less than $25 nor more 

 than $50, and all persons are hereby prohibited at all times 

 from killing any of the birds descrioed in this section for specu- 

 lative purposes, or for markets, or for sale; and any person or 

 persons who snail hereafter kiU for speculative purposes or offer 

 for sale any of the kin<i3 uarucd m this section shall be deemed 

 guilty of a misdemeauor, and upon conviction thereof shall be 

 fined in any sum not less than |25 nor more than $50 for each 

 offense commuted. F. R. Armstrong, Speaker of the House. 



R. C. Hickman, President of the Council. 



Merit Must Win.— Merit will win the confidence of stock 

 owners, no matter what may be said to the contrary, we thought, 

 upon learning the important part H(JMPa!lEvs , Veterinary 

 Remedies were playing in thousands of stables throughout the 

 country. We were further gratified to learn, irom an authentic 

 source, that over four years ago the Board of Cavalry Equipment 

 of the United States Army had concluded to recommend for 

 exclusive use in the service, the Specific Veterinary Medicines 

 made by the Humphreys' Medicine Co. These Veterinary 

 Specifies have t een thoroughly tested, not only throughout the 

 United States, but in other countries, and "that their superior 

 merit claims for them the highest place among the standard 

 remedies of the day" is the ready testimony of thousands whose 

 experience renders them eminently well qualified to speak.— Ex- 

 change. _____________________ 



A Fisherman's Diaev.— The late Mr. Alfred Denison 

 kept a fishing; diary, from the records of which it appears 

 that in the course of M years' angling at Nesside (Holme 

 water), on the Ness, and at Makerstoun and Birgliarn Dub, 

 on the Tweed, he killed 4,601 salmon to his own rod. In 1883 

 he landed 235 fish which weighed 2, 70S pounds. In 1885 he 

 killed 180 fish on tne Tweed in the autumn which weighed 

 2.651 pounds, and 120 which weighed 972>^lbs. on the Ness 

 daring the summer. His best day on the Tweed was in 1873, 

 at Makerstoun, above Kelso, when he killed 16 salmon and 

 lost 4. Ou the Ness, in August, 1873, he had 16 nsii in one 

 day and lost 3. Mr. Denison, who belonged to the Stock- 

 bridge Club, always fished the Test for a few days m the 

 early part of the season, but salruon angling was his greatest 

 deJght, —London Truth. 



