May 5, 1887.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



321 



Another Three- Antlered Buck.— Pinned up in my 

 office is an illustration, taken from FOREST AND STREAM, 

 of the horns of the "Old Hemlock Buck," which sported 

 three horns, a very rare number. Knowing that a head 

 was owned by Charles Richardson, of Rogersfield, which 

 had a, third horn, I got permission to take measurements, 

 which I send you: floras, proper shape and curve, 20in. 

 long from base to tip, 5in. in circumference 2in. from 

 skull; extreme width between horns, ITin. One horn has 

 five antlers and the other three. The third horn is 2iin. 

 from the base of each hom, in the center of the forehead, 

 directly between the upper half of its eyes, pointing 

 directly in front. Length of horn 3in. from* frontal bone. 

 Does with horns have been killed here, but this is the 

 only buck with three. The ice is 2ft. thick and people 

 are catching plenty of "shad" weighing from 1 to 51bs. 

 Deer are plenty and come to the shore of the lake near 

 the house, and occasionally one is driven across the lake 

 by dogs.— R. M. Shutts (Indian Point, N. Y.). 



Do Squirrels Hibernate?— From what I have ob- 

 served I think the striped squirrel is the only one that 

 hibernates in New England. The red squirrel and the 

 gray can be seen about any day through our long winter 

 foraging for rations; but who ever saw the striped squir- 

 rel or cliipmuuk in the winter? When he does show him- 

 self the old folks say: "Spring has surely come." I dug 

 one of these fellows out of his nest once and he had at 

 that time about a peck of beechnuts in his underground 

 home. While chopping wood I found a nest of young 

 gray squirrels; snow was on the ground (April 9), and the 

 weather was anything but warm. They were not many 

 days old as their eyes were not open. I tried to raise 

 them on "spoon victuals,'' as I had done with red ones, 

 but failed, owing, as I thought, to cold weather. Will 

 some one tell us if it is common for them to breed so early? 

 —South Shore (Massachusetts). 



mm and 0wf. 



Address all communications to the Forest and Stream Pub. Co. 



REMINISCENCES OF HAVRE DE GRACE. 



IT has been my good fortune, during many years of 

 travel and exploration, both in this country and 

 abroad, to visit many quaint and curious places, and not 

 the least interesting of these is the city of Havre de 

 Grace, Maryland, famous for duck shooting, and, more 

 especially, for its canvasbacks. Although for all practi- 

 cal purposes, and in point of population, a mere village, 

 Havre de Grace, like its more populous and important 

 namesake in France, boasts a mayor and a city charter ; 

 its inhabitants are not, therefore, villagers, but " city" 

 people — appearances to the contrary notwithstanding. 



But whether viewed in the light of village or city, cer- 

 tain it is that Havre de Grace is a most interesting place 

 to visit at all times of the year, but especially in the gun- 

 ning and fishing season. Although the city is located on 

 a trunk line of railway, forming a great link in the all- 

 rail connections southward, viz., on the P. W, & B. R. R., 

 about half way between Baltimore and Wilmington, it is 

 a curious fact that by far the greater number of its 

 inhabitants have never been beyond the boundaries of 

 their native place, and those few who have seen some- 

 thing of the outer world have, with few exceptions, 

 extended then- explorations no further than Baltimore, 

 or Philadelphia at the furthest. The latter city is the 

 great market for Havre de Grace ; the gunners and fish- 

 ermen ship all their ducks and shad to the Quaker City, 

 and always command good prices. During the season 

 some few stray invoices go to Baltimore and Washing- 

 ton, but little or nothing to New York, which draws its 

 supplies from elsewhere. 



In the spring and summer Havre de Grace is a most 

 charming place, with its abundance of shade trees, vel- 

 vety lawns and any quantity of flowers. Owing to the 

 humidity of the climate, vegetation of all kinds flourishes, 

 and roses especially grow in great abundance and attain 

 the greatest perfection. I know of only one other place 

 in the United States (Cambridge, Md.) where roses grow 

 to such perfection in the open air as at Havre de Grace. 



It is not flowers, however, but wild ducks, that have 

 conferred upon Havre de Grace the distinction which it 

 enjoys among sportsmen. Canvasbacks, mallards, red- 

 heads, broadbills (or blackheads), teal, greasers, blue- 

 wings and almost any other species of ducks are found 

 here in the greatest abundance (that is, early in the sea- 

 son), and of greater weight and better quality than else- 

 where. The gourmets of the City of Brotherly Love fully 

 appreciate this, and buy up every duck shot by the pro- 

 fessional gunners at Havre de Grace. These professional 

 gunners (and the majority of the male inhabitants fol- 

 low gunning for a living from October till April, and 

 then take to fishing from April till October) axe expert 

 shots, although I fear that some of them are still given to 

 the use of "great guns" on the sly — at least, when I was 

 there last March, toward the close of the season, often in 

 the stillness of the night I heard what sounded wonder- 

 fully like the report of a boat gun away down on the flats 

 of the Susquehanna. When I spoke of it in the morn- 

 ing, my host winked his eye and said it was probably a 

 heavily loaded train i-unning across the bridge to Perry- 

 ville; but I have traveled too much not to know the dif- 

 ference between a loaded gun and a loaded train. Too 

 thin! 



Be this as it may, I never saw any of these "big" guns 

 while I was there, except in a photograph, and never 

 heard them spoken of except in a derogatory manner. 

 Certain it is, that by far the majority of the gunners 

 shoot their ducks in an able and sportsmanlike manner, 

 with 10-gauge guns, 4drs. of powder, and loz. No. 4 shot. 

 That is the regulation charge. Chokebores are not in 

 favor, as they shoot too close at the 35yd. range, which is 

 the usual range for killing ducks from the sinkboxes. I 

 found most of the gunners using double-barreled breech- 

 loaders of English make, with cylinder ban-els, but those 

 fellows will shoot well with anv sort of a gun, and put 

 the sports, with their expensive Scott and Greener ham- 

 merless, to shame. "It is not the gun near so much as 

 the man the hitting depends on," as Mr. George Day said 

 to me when we were discussing the " sports," and what 

 Mr. Day doesn't know about ducks, and gunning for 



them, isn't worth knowing. He is conceded to be an 

 i authority on that subject by every man, woman and child 

 in Havre de Grace, and his advice is sought (and, I may 

 add, freely given) by every "sport" who comes there. 



Havre de Grace folk never call amateur gunners by 

 their right appellation of "sportsmen"; no, "sports" is 

 the abbreviated and euphonious title by which this class 

 of gentry is known there, and these "sports" add not a 

 little to the material welfare of the place. They nearly 

 all come from New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, 

 very frequently in their own luxuriously furnished 

 yachts, and, as a class, they are liberal both with money 

 and whisky. And as Havre de Grace is a "local option" 

 place, the import of this last-named feature of the sports' 

 liberality may readily be imagined. 



All the duck shooting at Havre de Grace (ignoring the 

 problematical existence of big guns) is done from sink- 

 boxes, and that style of shooting requires considerable 

 practice, as I know from experience, before one gets his 

 hand in. To he for several successive hours flat on your 

 back in a tin coffin, sunk beneath the water, with the 

 wings just even with the surface, is somewhat trying to 

 the novice who shoots from a sinkbox for the first time. 

 Bushwhacking or blind shooting is much less fatiguing. 

 But, as with everything else, one gets accustomed to it r 

 and, when the ducks decoy well, soon forgets incipient 

 rheumatism and sore limbs. But when, as sometimes 

 happens, the ducks, for some occult reason, will not 

 decoy, then the position in a sinkbox, with the water just 

 above the freezing point, is apt to become tiresome. I 

 know that I grew very tired and cold and sore, and 

 longed to get on shore to the flesh pots and warm fire of 

 my kind host. 



I f ound one double-barreled gun (a Remington No. 1 0, 

 left barrel full choke, right barrel modified cylinder, 

 made to order, A No. 1) as much as I could manage, but 

 the native gunners always take two guns with them in 

 the box, and rarely miss a bird for each barrel. If Mr. 

 Day or Will Pennington is in the box, with two guns, 

 four ducks decoying toward that box is four dead ducks, 

 sure. PifT, paff , puff, bang! four shots in quick succession, 

 and four ducks as dead as door nails, that is the way they 

 do business. I have seen them do it, and tried to do it 

 myself; but, somehow or other, I always got that second 

 gun in too late. I could work the first two barrels all 

 right on an incomer and a cross flyer, or on two cross 

 flyers for that matter, but that second gun was too slow, 

 and taught me how wonderfully fast a duck, when he is 

 mad or scared, can fly. A locomotive on a down grade 

 is nothing to it. 



With good gunners, whether these he native or 

 "sports," the habit is to use, at least, two sets of decoys, 

 anchored at a distance of about 35 to 40yds. from the 

 box ; one set being anchored in front of the box and the 

 other to the right or left of the same, according to the 

 disposition of the boxes of the other sports or gunners. 

 Where a " double box" is used, that is to say, two boxes 

 combined in one float adapted for the use of two gunners, 

 a third set of decoys is used, so that the box will have one 

 set to the left, one straight in front, and one to the right, 

 all anchored at a distance of between 30 and 40yds. I 

 have had no experience in a "double" box, but I can 

 readily imagine that shooting from that kind of a box 

 must be a difficult affair, for the simple reason that the 

 occupants of the two "coffins" in the box sometimes 

 must shoot at cross purposes. Even from a single box, 

 and with all the advantages in one's favor, shooting ducks 

 from a sinkbox is no easy matter and requires a good 

 deal of practice and experience before a sport will be apt 

 to achieve any degree of success. 



It is not for me to say what degree of success I met 

 with, suffice it to say, that I did probably as well as most 

 amateur gunners who come to Havre de Grace for sport. 

 Based upon experience, however, I should advise sports- 

 men to come early in the season, because in February and 

 March the ducks fly wild, on account of the incessant 

 gunning, and it is very much harder to make a good bag 

 of game in March than in November or December. While 

 I was at Havre de Grace last March comparatively few 

 sportsmen of any consequence were there, most having 

 left earlier in the season ; I was pleased, however, to see 

 there the good sloop Reckless, belonging in Phila j 

 delphia, the owners and captain of which are well and 

 most favorable known at Havre de Grace. 



For the information of those who desire to try their 

 luck at Havre de Grace, it may be well to state a few 

 facts relating to the conditions on which professionals 

 are willing to take out amateur gunners for sport. I, for 

 myself and friends, was fortunate enough to have friends 

 there who were glad to give us all the sport we wanted 

 for nothing; but the case is very different with recog- 

 nized "sports" who come from New York, Philadelphia 

 or Baltimore, and are supposed to have a poc etful of 

 money. To quote from the "Mikado," "it all depends, 

 you know." If a man comes there dressed in a fashion- 

 able hunting suit, with two or three hammerless guns of 

 latest pattern, the chances are that he will be "taken in" 

 as a sport and imposed upon accordingly. But if a true 

 sportsman goes there without putting on any style, he 

 will meet with generous and warm-hearted people with 

 whom he will soon make friends. And a more congenial, 

 whole-souled and liberal-minded class of people than I 

 met at Havre de Grace I have never met in the world, 

 and I have crossed the Atlant c Ocean nine times. 



If any of the readers of tin? article should ever desire 

 to try either duck shooting or fishing at Havre de Grace, 

 I should advise them to- communicate with my genial 

 host, Captain Henry O'Neill, the \> eeper of the li ht- 

 house at Havre de Grace; or else with my esteemed friend 

 and fellow-citizen, Mr. George Day, already referred to 

 in this article. As I once stated, what Mr. Day does not 

 know about ducks, and the secrets and arts of shooting 

 them, is not worth knowing. He could have taught Au- 

 dubon the true habits and classifications of the numerous 

 species of ducks winch frequent the Susquehanna and 

 the C esapeake. 



In conclusion, I would advise everv true lover of sport 

 who goes to Havre de Grace to cultivate a f iendly and 

 social relation with the charming men and women of that 

 place, and by doing so I ma safely venture to assure 

 them of a most pleasant time during their sojourn at that 

 quaint and curious old place. Louis Bagger. 



Meriden, Conn.— The Parker Gun Club, on motion of 

 J. F. Ives, has offered a reward of $25 for evidence that 

 will convict any person of violating the game laws of 

 this State. 



THE NATIONAL PARK. 



TITAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, Yellowstone National 

 ItJL Park, April 22, 1887.— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 A few days ago Capt. Harris, acting superintendent of 

 the Park, learned that a party living at Norris was 

 engaged in hunting and trapping for furs. He immedi- 

 ately set to work to effect their arrest. Temporarily dis- 

 abling the telephone wire between this point and Norris, 

 which had recently been repaired , he cut off all chance of 

 their being warned in time to hide any evidence of their 

 guilt. Securing the services of Ed Wilson, one of the ex- 

 assistant superintendents, the Captain started him out on 

 the night of the 20th, with two soldiers, Sergeant Swain 

 and one private. They traveled on snowshoes. Arriving 

 at the Gibbon, without making their presence known, 

 they followed up different trails and secured the traps set 

 for the capture of beaver and other fur-hearing animals. 

 They then arrested the parties, James and A. Kelly. 

 James is one of the freighters snowed in at Norris with 

 his teams. The other, Con Sheehan, left the Park iu 

 March, taking his horses out on the crust. In James's 

 possession they found beaver and otter furs. After arrest- 

 ing him they took possession of his horses, harness, sleds, 

 rifle, gun, traps, and all property belonging to him. 

 Kelly, who is in charge of the hotel at Norris, was placed 

 under arrest. To what extent he is implicated I could 

 not learn. Leaving the soldier in charge they returned 

 to the Hot Springs with James as a prisoner. He was 

 turned over to Captain Harris. 



It appears that James, on his last trip over the Grand 

 Canon, where he was engaged in hauling lumber, killed 

 three elk. This was some time in January. The snow 

 getting too deep for the teams to work, he put in some of 

 his time hunting small game and trapping. 



It is reported that other parties are implicated in the 

 killing of game. Who they are and what the extent of 

 their depredations your correspondent has not learned. 

 This arrest is the first one this season and shows that 

 Captain Harris is doing everything possible to suppress 

 all hunting or trapping in the Park. What action will 

 be takpn in the James case is not known, at least his 

 property will be confiscated. 



Captain C. B. Sears, the engineer in charge of improve- 

 ments in the Park, has appointed Mr. Al "Lamartine as 

 superintendent of work on roads and biidges. Mr. La- 

 martine has been in charge of working crews in the 

 Park for years constructing new roads under the direction 

 of Capt. D. C. Kingman. There is $4,000 of last year's 

 appropriation unexpended. This will be used in putting 

 the roads in repair, removing fallen timber and rocks, 

 and re-decking the bridges across Gardiner River. The 

 heavy travel over this part of the road has cut it up and 

 worn the bridge planks very thin, rendering them 

 dangerous. 



The $20,000 appropriated for this year's work is not 

 ava-'lable until July 1. This will be used in finishing the 

 road from Norris to the Grand Canon, making better 

 roads from beyond Golden Gate to Willow Park, and 

 along Gibbon River, the old road in these places being- 

 rough and narrow. They will be replaced by well graded 

 roads th rty feet wide. It s thought no new roads will 

 be opened this season. A good trail may be made 

 over Mt. Washburne, following the old trail up the north 

 side to the summit, then making a new trail from there 

 down on the south side of the mountain to the east or 

 Canon trail, joining that in an open meadow at the foot 

 of the mountain. This route, if opened up, will give 

 parties who desire to ride over it all the advantages of 

 the trail along the edge of the Grand Canon for some 

 four miles or more, then the advantage of a ride to the 

 summit of the mountain, from which, on a clear day, can 

 be seen the Ye lowstone Lake, steam from the Geyser 

 Basins the Grand Tetons, and hundreds of other peaks 

 and mountains. This point gives one an unbroken hori- 

 zon or about twenty miles in every direction, some of 

 the peaks in the Madison range being tire first to obstruct 

 the view. The construction of this road will depend on 

 the approval of Captain Sears. 



Part of one of the bands of antelope that wintered on 

 Mt. Evarts — about twenty — can be seen almost every day 

 from the town of Gardiner, which is within a few feet of 

 the Park line. The antelope come down on the hillsides 

 and flats to feed on the fresh green grass, often within 

 less than a mile of the town. The inhabitants often stand 

 in their doors and watch them with glasses. 



Several small bands of blacktail deer have been seen 

 on their way to their summer range in the Park. 



I saw one band of mountain sheep several times, each 

 time a little nearer to the great national game preserve, 

 ■where they can live, have their young, grow fat and enjoy 

 life until forced out by deep snows. 



We are having our spring snows now, making it very 

 unjdeasant for those who have to be out in them. They 

 wet one through in a short time if not well clad; they 

 come up very suddenly and sometimes last but a few 

 minutes, at others developing into a blizzard which kills 

 off many poor and weak animals of all kinds. Elk and 

 other game that have struggled through a very severe 

 winter will often die soon after one of these cold spring 

 storms. Getting a little green grass in the spring weak- 

 ens the very poor ones so much that they can stand but 

 little more exposure. 



The game has moved but little lately, except to go a 

 little lower for the fresh grass. 



We hear of no young animals among the game as yet. 

 I hope soon to be out where they are to watch their 

 movements. H. 



The Old Widow.— There is being exhibited in Henry 

 C. Squires's window at 178 Broadway, the remarkable 

 gun called "the Old Widow," which hasbeeu in constant 

 use by Dr. Carver for the last ten years and he claims to 

 have shot it 500,000 times without repairs or miss-fire. It 

 is a hammerless Greener, and notwithstanding its un- 

 paralleled service is now in good condition. Carver shot 

 it at Crystal Palace, London, in 1879, and used it every 

 day for four months in his exhibitions; he shot it before 

 the Prince of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, 

 Prince Leopold, the i mperor and Crown Prince of Ger- 

 many, the Emperor and Empress of Austria, and others 

 of the crowned heads of Europe. He won with it 207 

 consecutive matches in England, France and Germany, 

 and on his return to the United States, defeated Bogardus 

 in twenty-two matches. Mr. Squires informs us that 

 "the Old Widow" is t^ be exhibited in every large city in 

 Europe. It is well worth while taking the time to see 

 one of the most remarkable guns in the word. 



