March 24, 1887.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



177 



charge for a "bullet of 848grs. it was probably as much as 

 such a light -weapon could take without too great a recoil. 

 I once possessed a rifle of 9ilbs. weight, which had a con- 

 ical bullet weighing 875grs. It hegan to kick severely 

 when fired with more than 60grs. of powder, but I used 

 it with perfect comfort when loaded with a round bullet 

 of thirteen to the pound and 90grs. of powder. 



Gerard speaks with astonishment of the penetration of 

 the Devisrne rifle, because, when fired into a lion's mouth 

 at fifteen paces distance, the bullet passed through the 

 body and came out near the hip. It is impossible to find 

 out from his narrative whether he ever used the Lepage 

 small-bore' rifle for the first shots. Nearly all the lions 

 appear to have been killed at night and within distances 

 of between three and fifteen paces. When there was a 

 good opportunity the brain was always the object of aim. 



Mr. Wilcox's letter is very interesting, as showing what 

 excellent work may be done with a very small-bore rifle 

 properly loaded, when in the hands of an experienced 

 hunter and good shot; but 1 strongly suspect that even he 

 would have done better with a larger weapon. When 

 living in Canada twenty years ago I was often in the 

 bush with professional hunters, using round bullets of 

 about 70 to the -pound, and certainly "thought that they 

 often' wounded deer which ran off without leaving any 

 blood by which they could be tracked. 



The Hon. C. A. Murray, who passed a long time in the 

 bush and prairies of the' States, about 50 years ago, par- 

 ticularly remarks in his narrative, that wMle with a 

 hunting party in the Alleghanies, his friends, who used 

 bullets of 60 or 80 to the pound, lost a large proportion of 

 wounded deer compared with those hit by his 16-bore 

 rifle. 



In an account of an exploring expedition made in the 

 Hudson's Bay Territory some years ago, written by A. 

 Ross, an employe, I think of the company, the following 

 passage occurs: " In observing the effect produced by 

 guns of different calibers, it was found that the rifles tak- 

 ing from 60 to 70 to the pound very frequently did not 

 kill, although they might hit, While rifles taking from 30 

 to 40 to the pound seldom missed killing on the spot. The 

 former out of twenty shots seldom kill more than seven 

 or eight animals, whereas of the latter, if twenty shots 

 are fired, fifteen are generally deadly." 



I myself have seen extraordinary instances of tenacity 

 of life when using bullets of a large size, and that, too, 

 among animals, some of which were smaller than the 

 Virginian deer. T willingly admit that a small bullet in 

 the right place is much better than a large bullet in the 

 wrong place; that most men can hit the right place with 

 more certainty when using a rifle that does not kick; that 

 a bullet of 100 grains or less can be driven with plenty of 

 force (I have seen one pass through a deer, smashing the 

 large thick bone, the humerus of both shoulders); that such 

 a bullet striking the brain, spine, heart or any large blood 

 vessel will kill quickly. It will generally do so if it pass 

 through the thick part of the lungs near the shoulder, in 

 consequence of their filling with blood and choking the 

 animal. On the other hand every hunter of much expe- 

 rience will admit — 



First — That the very best shots, even at standing deer 

 and within 100yds., will not infrequently hit several 

 inches from the spot aimed at, sending the bullet through 

 - the back ribs, the liver or tlie stomach. 



Second — That the very best shots will do the same at 

 deer galloping within 50yds. 



Third— That the right place cannot always be distin- 

 guished in thick brush, and the temptation' is great to 

 fire in such places at any piece of hide that can be seen. 



Fourth— That when the bullet does not hit the brain, 

 spine, heart or some large blood vessel, an animal can 

 and often does run until weakened by gradual loss of 

 blood. 



Fifth—That of two bullets striking the same place and 

 penetrating an equal depth, the one with the larger strik- 

 ing surface must necessarily cut through the greater 

 number of blood vesseLs and thus cause an animal to drop 

 the more rapidly. It must also be likely to include in its 

 course a blood vessel which a smaller bullet might pass 

 by untouched. 



In my own shooting the following instances of tenacity 

 of life have occurred when the bullets have gone as 

 closely to the right spot as they can be depended upon 

 doing with the most accurate rifles in the hands of good 

 shots: 



First—A gazelle (Gazella bennett i) shot at 100yds. through 

 both shoulders, an inch behind the center, with an ounce 

 round bullet, galloped 100yds. before falling. 



Second'— A black buck antelope (Antilope cervicapra), 

 at 200yds., was hit in the same place by a round bul- 

 let of 17 to the pound, which passed straight through, and 

 it ran 200yds. before stopping. 



Third— A black buckantelope, standing at 150yds., hit in 

 the center of the breast by an ounce round bullet, which 

 went clean through the body and came out through the 

 hindquarters, turned around and ran through some thick 

 buches. Found dead 80yds beyond. 



Fourth — A buck antelope at 150yds., hit by an ounce 

 round bullet too far back in the ribs, able to go at a slow 

 trot so as to keep just out of shot; ran two or three miles, 

 and finally escaped through my being threatened with 

 symptoms of sunstroke (it was nearly mid-day in the 

 month of July in India). 



Fifth— A buck antelope stalked three times in succession 

 to within 100yds., and hit each time with a round bid- 

 let of 17 to the pound, close to the center of the shoulder. 

 The three wounds formed a triangle, each side of which 

 was barely two inches long. The buck ran away, and 

 was stalked again to within 90yds. Just as I was pulling 

 the trigger he moved forward, so that the bullet passed 

 through the lo.ins just uuder the kidneys. He then can- 

 tered about half a mile and disappeared over a bank. I 

 crept cautiously to within 20yds., and saw him reclining 

 with his head up, and shot him in the back of the skull. 



Sixth— A large bull nylghair (Portux pietus) standing 

 obliquely at 100yds., shot with round bullet, fifteen to 

 the pound, an inch behind point of shoulder in direction, 

 going a little behind the heart, ran or walked through 

 thick hushes for about two miles. I tracked him and got 

 another shot as he was walking obliquely away at 70yds. 

 The most direct line to the heart was through the back 

 ribs. The bullet went straight, but rather too high and 

 the bull ran out of sight. After searching for half an 

 hour I found him dying about 200vds. away in the middle 

 of some thick bushes. 



Seventh— A barking deer (Cervus muntjac) shot through 

 the liver at 150yds., with round bullet, thirteen to the 



pound and 90 grains of powder, went a few steps and 

 dropped, apparently dead. He was on the opposite side 

 of a deep narrow valley in the Himalayas. I sent a 

 native to bring him across, when the little animal galloped 

 about 200yds. down the hill and went past a friend stand- 

 ing in the valley, w r ho sent a bullet from his 12-bore rifle 

 through the abdomen. This had no apparent effect. The 

 deer ran along the valley into some bushes, and on fol- 

 lowing the trail for some distance, f found him standing 

 in a shallow stream and shot him before he had time to 

 run again. 



Eighth— A large buck spotted deer (Axis maculatus), 

 standing at 160yds. in the Terai jungles near the foot of 

 the Himalayas, shot with a .45 Express rifle carrying 

 hollow bvdlets of 270 grains and 110 grains of powder. 

 The bullet struck behind the shoulder rather low, went 

 through both lung's, grazing the heart and broke into 

 fragments, the solid base remaining under the skin on the 

 opposite side of the chest. The deer ran away through 

 grass 6 or 8ft. high. I followed the tracks and found him 

 dead about 80yds. distant. 



Ninth — A black bear in the Himalayas, struck at 

 40yds. behind the shoulder with the same rifle. The 

 shock of the bullet knocked him clean off his legs on to 

 his side, but before I could reload (it was a single barrel) 

 the bear jumped up and disappeared in the bushes. At 

 every few yards there were large spots of blood and I fol- 

 lowed the track along the side of the mountain, over 

 boulders and through dense masses of stinging nettles far 

 higher than my head, for fully a mile, when it became 

 too dark to see the blood. The next morning I rose at 

 daybreak and returned to the search, but was unable to 

 find any further trace of the animal. It was almost im- 

 possible to mark any particular spot, as the side of the 

 mountain was a mass of loose stones from the size of a 

 mans head to 10 or 12ft. in height, with nettles growing 

 between them. 



Of course the above cases were exceptional, for almost 

 all animals hit in similar places by the same rifles dropped 

 on the spot or within a few yards, but those hit several 

 inches away from the right place often word long dis- 

 tances and had to be stalked and shot again, or occasion- 

 ally escaped altogether. 



It seems to me perfectly evident that if very small-bore 

 rifles had been used the number of similar cases would 

 have been greatly increased and that a far larger propor- 

 tion of the game would have been lost, to die uselessly 

 after hours or days of torture from their wounds. 



Fs it not quite clear that an animal which, after being- 

 shot through with a .45 express or a round bullet from 

 .66 to .74 of a inch in diameter, can run 80yds., would run 

 many hundreds of yards after being hit in the same place 

 with a little bullet, which, as Mr, Wilcox says, makes a 

 hole about ,'in. (.25) in diameter ? He would do so simply 

 because the smaller hole must let out the blood far more 

 slowly. Is it not also certain that an animal hit several 

 inches from the right spot with such a small bullet would 

 very commonly escape because the bleeding would be too 

 trifling to stop bun for miles? A hunter, with whom I 

 lived two months in the Canadian backwoods, told me 

 that he once sent his 7.0 to the pound bullet completely 

 through a deer lengthwise. The animal ran away and 

 could not be tracked, but a tew days afterward the 

 hunter found his carcass a long distance (I think he said 

 three miles) from where it was shot, and the flesh was 

 actually light in color from the quantity of blood grad- 

 ually lost while it was running. 



I have never for an instant doubted Mr. Wilcox's Rood 

 faith in all that his letter contains, but I do believe that 

 he lias frequently imagined that deer were missed when 

 they escaped, wounded by his little rifle. After seeing 

 as I have, a man, who had regularly hunted deer for 8-0 

 years, fire four or five times in one day calmly and 

 deliberately at short range without any apparent result, 

 and then kill a deer almost on the spot when the little 

 bullet cut through a large bloodvessel, I cannot help 

 believing that one or two of the others had been hit. It 

 is not an uncommon thing when tracking a fatally- 

 wounded deer on snow to find no blood for a considerable 

 distance from where they start. 



The fact of Mr, Wilcox bagging as many as those who 

 used longer rifles may be accounted for by his being a 

 better shot or better stalker. I think he points out the 

 great defect of his rifle in saying, "no matter if the 

 game takes a run, let it do so; do not crowd it, and after 

 a while proceed on the trail." In other words, wait for 

 some time to let it bleed well for fear it should run away 

 altogether. But it is often very inconvenient to wait- 

 when, for instance, a snowstorm is commencing, or when 

 a shot has been made in evening and camp is a long way 

 off. The spotted deer I mentioned as killed with the .45 

 express, was fom- miles from my tent and shot just after 

 sunset. If I had waited half an hour it would have been 

 too dark to see the tracks, and to have left the deer out 

 ail night would have almost insured his being eaten by 

 jackals. 



The saving in weight of ammunition by using an ex- 

 tremely small bore is hardly worth mentioning. A dozen 

 cartridges are an ample allowance for a whole day's 

 hunting when after deer. For shooting ducks or other 

 small game, the shells can be loaded with round bullets, 

 which, in a .40 rifle, weigh onlv 70 to a pound. Such 

 bullets go very straight if a thick felt wad between them 

 and the powder, and if spermaeiti or tallow be poured 

 all round the angle between the upper half of the bullet 

 and the upper side of the shell. If very delicate accuracy 

 be desired up to 100yds. or more, it is better to close the 

 mouth of the shell with a thick felt wad, and drive down 

 the bullet, with a greased patch, from the muzzle. 



J. J. Meyrick. 



Dublin, March 11 . 



Co weens on the Niagara.— Buffalo, N. Y, March 14. 

 —There seems to be no increase in the number of coweens 

 on the Niagara River this spring. Large bags have been 

 obtained during the past mouth by the river men, one of 

 whom informed me that he sold them at the hotels and 

 markets, usually getting from thirty to fifty cents per pair 

 for them. I shot twenty-eight coweens one morning last 

 week by drifting for them in white suits and wdiite boat, 

 with three decoys tied with long strings to the stern of 

 the skiff. The fishing promises to open early this spring, 

 as the ice in the lake is weak and with little of it.— W. 

 A. A. 



Wharton, Tex., March 9.— Hunting has been poor this 

 season. Scarcely any chickens, and no other game of 

 any account. — R. M. B. 



NEW YORK GAME LEGISLATION. 



ALBANY, March 22.— The game bills that have been 

 introduced during the past week are as follows: 

 Assemblyman Brundage's bill (No. 1,219) is as follows: 

 Sec. 1. It shall be unlawful for any person to catch, 

 kill, or expose for sale or have in possession after the 

 same has been caught or killed, any speckled trout, brook 

 trout or California, in the county of Steuben only from 

 the 1st day of May to the 1st day of August in each year. 



Sec. 2. No person shall shoot or spear any fish in the 

 Cohocton River or any of its tributaries within the county 

 of Steuben from the 1st day of April to the 1st day of July 

 in each year. 

 Sec. 3. This act shall take effect immediately. 

 Assemblyman Ainsworth's bill (No. 1,160) amends Sec. 

 1 of Chap. 104 of the laws of 1886 (amendatory of the law 

 of 1879) so that the time for hunting deer is extended 

 from Nov. 1 to Dec. 18, and the time for having in pos- 

 session from Nov. 15 to Dec. 1, and the time for selling 

 from Nov. 1 to Dec. % and the time for transportation 

 from Nov. 15 to Dec. 1. 



Assemblyman White's bill (No. 1,129) provides that it 

 shall not be lawful to shoot or kill any wild duck or ducks 

 between the 1st day of January and the 1st day of Sep- 

 tember in each vear. The violation is liable to a fine of 

 $25. 



Assemblyman Reeves' bill (No. 1,222) is as follows: 

 Sec. 1. Chap. 534 of the laws of 1870, entitled "An act 

 for the preservation of moose, wild deer, birds, fish and 

 other game," is hereby amended by adding at the end 

 thereof a section to read as follows: Sec. 42. All persons 

 are hereby forbidden to take up, molest, interfere with 

 or in any wise disturb, without the consent of the owner 

 or owners thereof, any net, pound, dyke, weir, seine, pot, 

 or other device for taking any swimming or shellfish 

 wi bin the waters of this State wherein it is lawful for 

 such net, pound, fyke, weir, seine, pot or other device to 

 be set, put, placed or arranged for the purpose of taking 

 such swimming or shellfish. Every violation of this 

 section is hereby declared a misdemeanor, and any per- 

 son or persons guilty of such violation shall, on convic- 

 tion thereof, be punishable by a fine not exceeding f 50, 

 or by imprisonment for a term not; exceeding 60 days, or 

 by both fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of 

 the court having jurisdiction of offenses under this act. 

 Sec, 2. Tins act shall take effect immediately. 

 Assemblyman Winne's bill (No. 1,225) is as follows: 

 Sec. 1 The Forest Commission is hereby authorized and 

 directed to set apart such quantity of land belonging to 

 the State in the Catskill region," now constituting a 

 part of the forest preserve, for the purpose of a park or 

 parks, not to exceed three in number, of such size asthey 

 may deem proper. 



Sec. 2. Said Forest Commission may establish all 

 proper rules for the protection of said parks and the game 

 therein. 



Sec. 3. Said Commission are authorized to purchase 

 and turn out in such parks such cleer or other game as 

 they may think proper. 



Sec. 4. No game shall be killed or pursued, trapped or 

 in any way destroyed within the limits of said parks for 

 a period of three years. 



Sec. 5. The sum of $5,000 is hereby appropriated to be 

 paid by the Comptroller, at such time and such amount as 

 the Commissioners may desire for the purpose of this act 

 and the Commission is authorized to receive private sub- 

 scriptions for such purposes. 



Sec. 6. This act shall take effect immediately. 



Assemblyman Chas. Smith, of New York, has intro- 

 duced the following bill (amendments in brackets [ ]) 

 which has been printed and recommitted to the commit- 

 tee on general la ws without retaining its place on the 

 order of third reading. 



Sec. 1, Sec. V, of Chap. 427 of the laws of 1886, is here- 

 by amended so as to read as follows: No person in any 

 of the counties of this State shall kill, wound, trap, net, 

 snare, catch with birdlime or any other similar substance, 

 poison or drug, any bird of song, or any linnet, bluebird, 

 yellowhammer, yeilowbird, thrush, woodpecker, catbird, 

 pewee, swallow, martin, bluejay, oriole, kildee, snowbird, 

 grassbird, grossbeak, hobolink, phoebe bird, humming- 

 bird, wren, robin, meadow lark and starling, or any wild 

 bird other than a game bird; nor shall any person pur- 

 chase or have in possession, or expose for sale any such 

 song or wild bird, or any part thereof after the same has 

 been killed; [but this act shall not apply to or affect any 

 person, company or corporation within this State, engaged 

 in the regular business of buying, selling or manufactur- 

 ing hats, bonnets and other wearing apparel upon which 

 dead buds or parts of dead birds are used or attached for 

 trimming or ornament; nor shall this act apply to or 

 affect any person, company or corporation within this 

 State, engaged in the business of buying or selling dead 

 birds or parts cf dead birds, to be used for the trimming 

 or ornamentation of such wearing apparel.] For the 

 purposes of this act the following only shall be considered 

 game birds: The antidse, commonly known as swan, 

 geese, brant, and river and sea ducks; the rallidas, com- 

 monly known as rails, coots, mudhens and gallinulesjthe 

 liniicolse, commonly known as shorebirds, plovers, surf- 

 birds, snipe, woodcock, sandpipers, tatlers, and curlews; 

 the gallinse, commonly known as wild turkeys, grouse 

 prahie-chickens, pheasants, partridges and quails. 



Sec. 2. This act shall take effect immediately. 



Assemblyman Hadley's Adirondack survey bill (No, 

 1,177) is as follows: 



Sec. 1. The superintendent of State Land Surveys, or- 

 ganized by Chap. 499 of the laws of 1883, is hereby directed 

 to proceed with the work of said surveys, in accordance 

 with requirements of said laws, and the sum of $15,000 is 

 hereby appropriated out of any money in the treasury not 

 otherwise appropriated for the necessary field and office 

 expenses of said work. 



Sec. 2. Before the field work shall be entered upon, it 

 shall be the duty of the superintendent of the State Land 

 Surveys to prepare a plan which shall be submitted to the 

 governor and State engineer by the said superintendent, 

 and when the said plan shall have received the approval 

 of the governor, the work shall be carried forward at the 

 earliest practical date, and the salary of the said superin- 

 tendent is hereby fixed at the same amount as that paid 

 to the deputy State engineer and surveyor. 



Sec 3. This act shall take effect immediately. 



Albany. 



The Travelers, of Hartford, sells insurance, not dividends no? 

 assessments.— Adv, 



