s 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Jan. 24, 1889, 



THE CONNECTICUT ASSOCIATION. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



On Jan. 9 Caterer Besse, of this city, served twenty- 

 four partridges (ruffed grouse) at a banquet of the Veteran 

 City Guard Corps. In behalf of the Connecticut Associ- 

 ation of Farmers and Sportsmen for the Protection of 

 Game and Fish the writer had Mr. Besse arrested for a 

 violation of Connecticut's game law, which reads: 



Section 2,580. Every person who shall huy, sell, expose for sale, 

 or have in his possession for any purpose, or who shall hunt, pur- 

 sue, kill, destroy, or attempt to kill any woodcock, quail, ruffed 

 grouse, called partridge, or gray squirrel between the first day of 

 January and the first day of October, tho killing or having in 

 possession of each bird or squirrel to be deemed a .separate offense, 

 shall be fined not more than twenty-five dollars, provided that no 

 person shall be imprisoned more than thirty days for failure to 

 pay any fine under the provisions of this section. 



Mr. Besse claimed that he bought the ruffed grouse in 

 New York city, and produced a bill from a New York 

 dealer in game dated Jan 7. Mr. Besse testified that 

 in his opinion "the ruffed grouse had been killed some 

 six weehs, for their backs and legs were decayed," 

 This was rather rough on the Veteran City Guard Corps, 

 being fed on "decayed'" game. We also listened to some 

 expert testimony from a wholesale dealer in game and 

 poultry. Among other gems of his I will quote one: "A 

 partridge would hang in this [court] room for two weeks 

 before it would show the least sign of decay. 1 ' As the 

 temperature was about 80° you will see the above state- 

 ment will not but speak for itself. The drift of this line 

 of argument was evidently to show that the grouse in 

 question were killed in December. Judge Henney took the 

 correct interpretation of the law and fined Mr. Besse, and a 

 bluff was made to appeal to the Superior Court. 



Hahtford, Conn., Jan. 16. A. C. COLLINS, Pres. 



DOMINION GUN ALLIANCE. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



An energetic effort has recently been made here in 

 the Canadas to band the different gun clubs together 

 and form a Dominion Gun Club Alliance for the purpose 

 of encouraging legitimate sports with the rod and gun, 

 frame new laws and to enforce the present law protect- 

 ing our game and fish during the close season. To facili- 

 tate matters in organizing the Alliance, representatives 

 were called for from a few of the leading clubs (one club 

 in a place) and a meeting was held Dec. 21 in the Toronto 

 Gun Club rooms, Toronto, where the Alliance was organ- 

 ized and the following officers elected: President, Judge 

 Chad wick, Guelph; Vice-Presidents, George Pearsall, 

 Toronto; Phil. Thompson, Ottawa; Secretary, E. W. 

 Landys, Toronto; Treasurer, Alex Ramsay, Montreal: 

 Executive Committee, called scouts, N. P. Leach. C. H. 

 Wallace, Lewis Trotter, Montreal; A. W. Throop, Otta wa ; 

 W. B. Wells, Chatham; Fred Martin, F. G. Verity, To- 

 ronto. 



Nearly ail the gun clubs in the Dominion are ready as 

 soon as requested by the secretary to elect their repre- 

 sentatives and join the Alliance, then the present scheme 

 — I inclose you a copy — will be amended so as to form a 

 suitable code of by-la ws. 



As each Province makes its own game laws, the gun 

 clubs in the Province of Quebec and in Otta wa city wall 

 quite likely form into an eastern branch of the Alliance, 

 so as to be able to look more closely after the game inter- 

 ests in their own Province. 



The intelligent portion of our citizens are convinced 

 that unless more stringent measures are taken at once to 

 protect and propagate our game it will become, like the 

 buffalo, a thing of the past. 



Gentlemen, no more apathy in this matter; throw aside 

 all envy and jealousy so as to work together harmoni- 

 ously; convert or turn out, if any, pot-hunters in your 

 clubs; be alive to help on this movement, unless you are 

 prepared to put aside your gun and give up the sport that 

 we love so dearly. St ansteap, 



Toronto, Canada, Jan. 13. 



THE PROPOSED SCHEME. 



For some time past there has been considerable discus- 

 sion going on among sportsmen about the working of the 

 Dominion Gun Alliance. To-day our readers are presented 

 with the scheme which the Alliance proposes. Copies 

 will be sent to each gun club for their consideration, 

 when the matter will be digested and the delegates from 

 the different organizations instructed accordingly, so that 

 when the general meeting is held everything will assume 

 a definite shape. The objects of this Alliance are for the 

 purpose of enforcing the Dominion and provincial laws 

 protecting our game and fish and also for the purpose of 

 promoting and encouraging legitimate sport with the 

 rod and gun. All gun clubs joining the Alliance shall be 

 entitled to one representative for every ten active mem- 

 bers in good standing on the club's books. The represen- 

 tatives may elect the officers of the Alliance by proxy. 

 The representatives shall also assist in carrying out the 

 general purposes of the Alliance. The officers of the Al- 

 liance shall consist of one president, two vice-presidents, 

 one secretary, one treasurer, who shall perform the usual 

 duties belonging to their offices. There shall also be an 

 active or working committee of five elected, called 

 "Scouts," whose duties shall be to attend to the interests 

 of the Alliance and to see that proper laws are made for 

 the best propagation and protection of our game and fish. 

 They shall also work up as far as possible a general pub- 

 lic interest in fish and game protection, etc. , etc. 



All amendments to our present laws shall first be passed 

 by the "Scouts," then sent to the representatives, and if 

 adopted by the majority sent to the president, and if ap- 

 proved by him, with his signature attached, the scouts 

 shall use their best endeavors to have them become law. 



All actions for prosecuting violators of the fish and 

 game laws shall be entered by one or more representa- 

 tives in the name of one of the scouts, or the president. 

 All fines so collected shall be sent to the treasurer of the 

 Alliance. 



Each club may be assessed by the scouts, with the 

 president's approval, for the sum of $10, to be used for 

 business purposes of the Alliance, and to defray costs of 

 prosecuting violators of the game and fish laws.' 



Each club shall be known by its number, which is given 

 it when it joins the Alliance. The charter clubs dra w lots 

 to determine their numbers. 



The president shall appoint two scrutineers to act with 

 the secretary in counting votes sent in by proxy. 



Newly-elected officers take their offices one month after 

 the election takes place— the last week in December. 



Resignations must be sent to the president, who may 

 appoint a person to fill the office during the remainder 

 of the term. 



Tournaments held under the management of the 

 xVlliance may be governed by the local laws of the club 

 where they are held, provided that at least three traps 

 are used and set to throw the targets at least 45yds. from 

 the trap, and only the center trap set to throw straight 

 away. To raise funds for the Alliance it would be advis- 

 able for the president to appoint a day for a grand tour- 

 nament, to be held on the different club grounds, and a 

 sum equal to one-half the entrance fees to be divided 

 into ten prizes. Class shooting at thirty artificial targets 

 such as are in general use, by the club;' ties to be shot off 

 within one week, or as the president may direct. Results 

 to be wired to the president and secretary. Entrance $1. 



The president to appoint, at the scouts' suggestion, the 

 umpires and scorers, who must be disinterested persons. 

 All entries must be sent to the treasurer, at least five 

 days before the tournament. 



Appeals from the umpire's decision may be made to 

 the president, whose decision shall be final. The cash 

 iven for prizes to be one-half the entrance money, the 

 alance to be paid into the treasury for the benefit of the 

 Alliance. 



LYMAN'S WIND-GAUGE SIGHT. 



THE rifle sights invented by Mr ; William Lyman have 

 done more than any other adjunct to the rifle to 

 facilitate good shooting. They have been of the greatest 

 possible aid in shooting, and, as the correspondence in 

 these columns frequently shows, they are in high favor 

 among sportsmen. To his other sights Mr. Lyman has 

 now added a new device, a wind-gauge sight, which is a 

 niarvel of ingenuity and compactness. 



The wind-gauge sight is the result of much study and 

 has mauy original features. The principle of sighting is 

 tin same as that of the combination sight. A detachable 

 cup. however, is substituted for the small aperture which 

 is m the combination sight. The elevation of this sight 

 is rapid and positive, being obtained by turning a knurled 

 sleeve which has a triple thread. At every 1 revolution 

 of the sleeve a spring snaps into a small notch, which 

 enables the shooter to quickly adjust the sight without 

 looking at it, as is sometimes" necessary in hunting. In 

 very accurate adjustment, as in target shooting, a micro- 

 meter scale is used, which is at the top of the knurled 

 sleeve. 



The wind-gauge operates from the left hand side of the 

 sight, and is the most simple, compact and durable device 

 ever employed for the purpose. The lower graduated 

 marks show the windage. 



The upper part of the sight folds clown forward when 

 not in use, as is shown by the dotted lines in cut. Al- 

 though the sight folds forward it is not easy to knock it 

 out of position when shooting, for unless it is pressed for- 

 ward more than 90 degrees, it will spring back to its 

 place. 



The form of the base of this sight is such that it tits the 

 shape of the hand, and is quite as much of an improve- 

 ment as the pistol grip for grasping the rifle easily and 

 holding it steadily. The symmetry of this sight adds 

 much to th<3 good appearance of a rifle. 



New Hampshire Deer Season, — Charlestown, N. H.. 

 Jan. 21. — In the letter you publish headed "Protection in 

 Central New York," I find the following most remarka- 

 ble statement, or misstatement, made by Mr. S. K. Ful- 

 ler, viz.: that "no other. State ( with the exception of New 

 Hampshire) or Territory in our latitude allows the killing 

 of deer in August, or prohibits it in the month of Novem- 

 ber." No w. New Ham pshire does neither of these things. 

 I aided in the revision of her statutes in 1878, and they 

 have been published in Forest and Stream annually 

 since. The open season for deer begins Sept. 1 and lasts 

 until Jan. 1, and since the revision of the statutes one or 

 two amendments have been made by which practically 

 all of our shooting (except ducks and plover) begins the 

 1st of September. I cannot imagine how Mr. Fuller 

 blundered on to such an idea.— Von W, 



Pittsburgh, Pa., Jan. 14.— -The officers of the United 

 Hunting, Fishing and Camping Clubs of western Penn- 

 sylvania for 1889, are: Pres., F. K. Gearing; Vice-Pres., 

 Wm. Scandrett; Sec, J. W. Hague; Treas., M. F. Cassi- 

 day; Directors, Geo. Weaver. W. G. Schirmer, L. G. 

 Schattenbrand, J. C. Wiegel, Hon. B. C. Christy, Hon. 

 M. B. Lemon, Ed Melich, Dom Maguire and Jacob Mo- 

 schell. This association has done good work in the past 

 year and has better indications for the future. The 

 annual report will be published in April. — J. W, Hague, 

 Secretary. 



ST. LOUIS NOTES. 



QT. LOUIS, Mo., Jan. 10.— The weather in this locality 

 kJ has been more like spring than winter. The past 

 week has been a most remarkable one, and ail settlers 

 say they have not seen so open a winter for years in these 

 arts. Sportsmen were predicting that ducks would un- 

 oubtedly begin to come up from their southern quar- 

 ters, and they have certainly predicted most truthfully, 

 for several fair bags have been made in the vicinity by 

 gunners from this city. 



Several days ago a gentleman from this city bagged a 

 few snipe over on Wet Prairie, 111. He says he saw a 

 good many, but they were wild and very hard to ap- 

 proach. 



Superintendent Damsel, of the Adams Express Co., did 

 something last Wednesday that will make him very 

 popular with sportsmen throughout this broad land. The 

 company's agents along the line of the Frisco Railway 

 were ignorant regarding the closing of the open season on 

 deer on the 15th of the present month, and received veni- 

 son for transportation to commission houses in this city, 

 when it was too late to deliver it before the season closed, 

 Tuesday evening's trains brought in quite a lot of venison, 

 which could not be delivered until the next day, the 16th 

 which would have been a violation of the law." Superin- 

 tendent Damsel when he heard of the matter gave orders 

 to have it all returned to the country merchants who 

 shipped it. The shippers will no doubt be considerably 

 surprised when it is returned to them, and some perhaps 

 will feel very indignant toward the express company for 

 the action taken by its superintendent. If all the express 

 companies were to follow the example of the Adams 

 country shippers would be more careful, and would post 

 themselves on the game laws of this State. 



Some unknown party in the vicinity of Eureka, about 

 twenty-five miles west of here, on the Missouri Pacific 

 Railway, who is opposed to hunters invading his domain, 

 has distributed poison throughout the surrounding coun- 

 try, which is playing havoc with field dogs owned by 

 6port3men of Eureka, and about ten days ago three of 

 them died from the effects of the poison. 'and now comes 

 word that two more have turned up their toes to the dai- 

 sies. The Eureka sportsmen are making an effort to 

 learn, if they can, who this party is. and should they suc- 

 ceed in finding out. will make it warm for him. 



Unser Fritz. 



Halifax Sportsmen Take Notice.— New Glasgow, N. 

 S., Jan. 16. — Editor Forest and Stream: A terrible story 

 of game slaughter comes to us from Newfoundland. It 

 appears that an Englishman named Musgrave went to 

 the island in July, returning in September; during that 

 period he killed eighty caribou, brought them, or at least 

 the antlers and some of the hides, to Halifax and shipped 

 them there to Great Britain. I am informed by a reliable 

 party who saw Musgrave in Halifax, who showed Mm 

 the antlers and hides. Perhaps your Little Bay corre- 

 spondent can give us some fight on the subject. If it is 

 a fact that the above number of caribou were killed by 

 one party, it is high time that some of the St. John sports- 

 men took the matter up with the government of New 

 found land to prevent such wholesale slaughter of game. 

 Mr. Musgrave is now encamped at Mooselands, near 

 Tangeir; he is waiting for snow in order to make a raid 

 on several moose yards he has discovered. He can rest 

 assured that should he attempt any such a repetition of 

 his Newfoundland experience among the moose and 

 caribou of this Province he may find it expensive sport, 

 Let the Halifax sportsmen keep a sharp lookout for him 

 and we will do the same here. True sportsmen are wel- 

 come at all times; but game butchers we can do without. 

 —Globe Sigh t. 



THE NEW YORK LEGISLATURE. 



[Special Correspondence of Forest and Stream.! 



ALBANY, Jan. 21.— The only bill introduced in the Legislature 

 of interest in tne game line was one by Assemblymen Cronin 

 making it unlawful to catch menhaden^ or other fish, by any 

 means except with hook and line, in the waters of Jamaica Raj-. 

 Any offender against this act shall be liable to a fine of $100 or 

 thirty days' imprisonment, or both. It is complained that those 

 who take menhaden by nets for their oil, take a great many game 

 lish of all kinds which they do not hesitate to use in the process. 

 There are also complaints that the deep nets drag the oyster beds 

 and do much harm. A similar hill to this has been here before. 



Forest and Stream. Box 2,832. N. Y. city, has descriptive illus- 

 trated circulars of W, B. Lefflngwell's book, "Wild Foul Shoot- 

 ing," which will he mailed free on request. This riook is pro- 

 nounced by "Nanit," "Gloan," "Dick Swiveller," "Sybillene" and 

 other competent authorities to be the best treatise on the subject 

 extant. ' 



"That reminds me." 

 255. 



ON a calm still day in October, I was in a boat waiting 

 for the evening flight of ducks. I had not had a 

 shot for an hour, and as I lay in my boat I fell into a 

 doze. The whir of wings roused me, and looking cau- 

 tiously through my blind, I saw very near a big mallard 

 drake, standing on a muskrat house. My gun was lying 

 on the seat, with its muzzle the other way. I slid very 

 slowly and quietly, feet foremost until I reached it, and 

 turned it in the right direction. I then tried to rise to 

 my feet but a heavy weight oppressed me, something was 

 holding me with superior force; I turned my head and 

 found that I had slid under the seat of the boat. Before 

 I could crawl out Mr. Quack had left, F. McC. 



Pittsburgh, Pa. 



Kimball's Smoking Tobacco and Cigarettes are 

 justly the most famous and highly prized made in this 

 country to-day. Their preeminence was attained years 

 ago, and it is maintained in all respects. The Vanity Fair 

 trade mark is known universally as a stamp of excellence; 

 it stands for the highest perfection in delicate and dainty 

 smoking products. - 



Lafayette, Ind,, Aug. SI, 1888.— V. 8. Vart.ridyr On., Lmvett, 

 Mass.: Dear Sir— I am pleased to be able to give you a most sat- 

 isfactory account of the paper shells you sent me. I ha ve used 

 Schultze powder altogether for the last seven years, with Eley's 

 shells, and yours are the first perfect substitute I have found, and 

 I shall take care to recommend their use. (Signed) W. Graham. 

 Champion Shot of England.— Adv. 



