182 FOREST AND STREAM. 



THE SWAN LAKE CLUB HOUSE. 



shooter, bagged 117. On the 27th of that month the 

 Wood boys bagged 166, and on the 28th 189. Six years 

 ago Long and Tim Wood killed 390 ducks in one dav. 

 On one day of 1882 seven, boats brought in 580 ducks in 

 the evening. Such has been the slaughter. It would be 

 easy to add stories of a similar sort. Tim Wood one 

 day bagged 116 ducks out of 160 shots, counting shots 

 fired at cripples. J. R. Long bagged 68 ducks with 51 

 shells, all shots flying. Frand Wood bagged 72 teal in 36 

 shots. These are only a few scores, of only a few 

 shooters. They Avill serve to give some notion of the 

 quality of the shooting on these grounds, and the wis- 

 dom of the Swan Lake Club in getting control of them. 



The above scores were all made in the fall, and the 

 Wood boys tell me that the fall shooting is always the 

 best on Swan Lake marsh. 



At the foot of the big bluff stands the club boat house, 

 24x50ft. in size, and stocked full to overflowing with 

 sportman's material. I counted 34 boats in place in the 

 boat house. These are of widely different models, but 

 alike in that they are all large, high and heavy, com- 

 pared to the boats of the Kankakee country, and there 

 is a strong tendency toward the wide iron boat. Such of 

 the boats as are not built of iron are heavily sheathed 

 with it. This is rendered necessary by the large amount 

 of ice encountered in the best shooting season. The ice 

 would soon cut through a wooden boot. A boat made 

 wholly of iron is lighter than a wooden boat covered with 

 iron. The marsh men, like Tim Wood, say they wouldn't 

 have any kind of a boat but an iron boat, and claim that 

 it doesn't leak so easily as one with a double skin. They 

 may have them if they like. For my part nobody could 

 give rae an iron boat. ' I have had an extensive experi- 

 ence in getting spilled out of boats, and I have discovered 

 that an iron boat upside down in the water, will leak 

 faster, and more of it, than anything else on earth. Of 

 course, a boat looks better right side up, but when it 

 comes to using one bottom side up, a wooden bottom 

 looks far more cheerful than an iron one. An iron boat 

 can be built with compartments, so it will not sink, but 

 that makes it heavy, I presume, however, each club 

 selects the boat which seems best fitted to its needs. 



The great size of the Swan Lake boats is rendered 

 necessary by the fact that they are not used solely upon 

 a grassy marsh, but must often go on a journey of four or 

 five miles over wild and angry river, whose currents, 

 running every way out of the banks, go swirling down 

 through the trees with tremendous force, all the more 

 dangerous for heavy floating ice, and yet worse if a heavy 

 wind has got a sea upon the wide reaches, which may in 

 high waters be two or three miles across. The Illinois River 

 is a big stream, and its volume of water in high Btages is 

 more than quadrupled. A light, low and fragile boat 

 would at times be extremely dangerous for the hunter to 

 use. Naturally, the boats are mostly intended for row- 

 ing, and are paddled or pushed only upon the marsh 

 proper. 



Mr. Oliver has a marsh boat known as the Monitor 

 model. It sits low on ttie water, and is decked over, 

 kayak fashion, clear up to the cockpit, which is arranged 

 with a sort of buggy-top extension sides, so that it can 

 be put down or up, and with a little arrangement be 

 fashioned into a blind. The total is a very heavy, flat, 

 low-lying boat, which naturally suggests its name. 



It was at Swan Lake, too, that I saw for the first time 

 one of the so-called • rat house" boats said to be invented 

 by Fred Taylor, although it was in use before he in- 

 vented it. This is more like a sink box than a boat. It 

 is a flat, Monitor-built box, arranged with a well, into 

 which the shooter puts his legs. Over his head, or stick- 

 ing up above the boat about as high as a rat house, is a 

 frame made of rods and wires, and covered with rushes. 

 This frame, which is round on top, runs on little wheels, 

 which play on a little railroad which runs out behind the 

 "house," on top of the boat. The shooter sits covered 

 up by his rat house until his birds get into the right 

 shape over his decoys, then with a shove of his elbows 

 he sends his rat house rolling back behind him on its 

 railroad track, and discloses himself to the startled gaze 

 of the ducks. This contrivance is towed out to the 

 stand intended to be occupied by the shooter, and the 

 towing boat then puts out the decoys. A plug is pulled 

 out of the rat house boat, and it sinks. The water rises 

 up over the hull, and the shooter's legs are below the 

 water, in the protecting well. Only the artificial rat 

 house shows over the water. In this sits the shooter, 

 while his companion goes off and leaves him. If the 

 companion forgets to come back, or if the water happens 

 to rise during the day, or if the well springs a leak, the 

 abandoned shooter can't do anything much but think, or | 



may be talk. As to moving the rat boat, it mu9t first be 

 emptied of the water which has sunk it. I don't know 

 how they do this, unless they bore a hole in the top of 

 it, or wait till the water falls. This device, ingenious as 

 it is, is practically of little account. 



Most of the decoys used by the Swan Lake men are 

 made by Ellison, of Lake Senachwine, and they are good. 

 The rest of the club house furniture is also strictly busi- 

 nesslike. The boats are run down to the bank of the 

 creek by means of an elevated railway of some length. 



The following, posted conspicuously, are the 



HOUSE BULES. 



1. There shall be no shooting on the grounds of the club on 

 Sunday, and no shooting on the marsh after sunset. 



This rule includes trap shooting. 



2. No persons except members of the club or guests will be 

 allowed to shoot on the marsh. This excludes all pushers, 

 except the Wood Brothers, who will refrain from shooting if 

 requested. 



3. Rifle shooting on the marsh is prohibited. 



4. Pushers and places shall be drawn for by lot, each evening 

 for the next day's shooting. None but members of the club shall 

 participate in such drawing, and it shall not he obligatory after 

 drawing the number to chose a pusher, but members may push 

 for themselves. 



Members who expect to arrive on the morning trains may par- 

 ticipate in the drawing, provided the superintendents receive 

 notice before 9 P. M. the day previous. 



Any person for whom a pusher is chosen in his absence must 

 pay his wages for all of the succeeding day, unless other employ- 

 ment is obtained for him. Pushers chosen must be paid for the 

 day, unless otherwise agreed. 



The choice of each member must be announced before 9 o'clock 

 P. M„ but by unanimous consent the choice of places mav be 

 deferred until the next morning. 



5. Decoys must not be left out in open water over night. 



6. Dogs will not be allowed in the club house. 



7. No loose ammunition shall be taken into the club house. 

 Shells must be loaded elsewhere. 



8. Any person who takes a loaded gun into the club house will 

 be fined live dollars for each offense. 



If any shall be guilty of this offense, he is requested to report 

 tke same to the treasurer and send him the amount of the fine. 



The superintendents are required to report to the treasurer all 

 violations of rules. 



9. No person shall use any of the property of other members 

 except on presentation to the superintendents of a written order 

 from the owner. 



10. Members are liable for any damage to the property of the 

 club that may be occasioned by themselves or their guests. 



11. Rooms m the club house will be assigned by the superin- 

 tendent in charge. 



13. Invited Guests.— Membersmay invite their personal friends 

 to the club house at any time, provided such invitation shall be 

 extended to only one person in each season (spring or fall) and 

 that the visit of such person shall not be of longer duration than 

 one week, and provided, also, that the member extending the in- 

 vitation shall, in all cases, accompany his guest and bo responsi- 

 ble for all obligations incurred. 



The wives and children of members may be entertained as 

 guests at any time when it shall not interfere with the convenience 

 of members, but this privilege shall not bo construed as confer- 

 ring upon the sons of members the rights of a shareholder. 



The directors are authorized to issue invitations without limit 

 to guests from May 1 to Aug. 11 of each year. (Members may ob- 

 tain invitations for their friends upon application to the secre- 

 tary.) 



Following is the list of names of Swan Lake Club. It 

 will be observed that there are several members resident 

 outside of Chicago. Mr. L. C. Smith, the well-known 

 gun maker, is one of the members. He gave Tim Wood 

 a gun which he uses and prizes very liighly: 



President, John Milton Oliver; Vice-President, G. A. 

 Schwartz; Secretary and Treasurer, S. R. Jewett; Direc- 

 tors, S. B. Chase; E. W. Bangs, J. M. Oliver, G. A. 

 Schwartz and S. R. Jewett. Members, O. F, Aldis, J. F. 

 Allis, Geo. C. Ball, E. W. Bangs, S. B. Chase, J. W. 

 Cotton, H. Elwood, I. L. Elwood, of DeKalb, 111. : J. J. 

 Flanders, G. J. Gibson, of Peoria, 111. ; John D. Gray, of 

 Syracuse, N. Y.; C. L. Griebenow, N. S, Jones, F. J. 

 Kennett, Geo. Karsten, E. A. Kimball, Dr. J. K. King, 

 of Clifton Springs, N. Y.; E. A. Lancaster, E. J. Lehman, 

 W. R. Linn, Chas. B. McDonald, D. S. Marsh, of New 

 London, Conn.; Edward Norton, J. M. Oliver, Herman 

 Petersen, A. M. Schiilo, Geo. K. Schonberger, G. A, 

 Schwartz, Joseph Schuster, Morris Sellers, L. C. Smith, 

 of Syracuse, N, Y; R. W. Cox, Wirt D. Walker, George 

 Smith, P. E. Stanley, John L. Stockton, H. R. Syomds, 

 H. C. Hayte, A. Montgomery Ward, W. H. Warner, of 

 Syracuse, N. Y.; L. D. Webster, Frank and Tim Wood, 

 of Henry, 111., E. S. Worthington, A. N. Young, Sam R. 

 Jewett, W. B. Chatfield. 



The club intended for mention next week is the Henne- 

 pin Club, a very live and interesting little body which is 

 a near neighbor to the Swan Lakers. E. Hottgh. 



No. 175 Monroe Street. 



A Combined Shotgun and Rifle has been devised by 

 Prof. Wm. B. Hall, of Lancaster, Pa. The rifle barrel, 

 which is above the shot barrel, is a .45-60, the shot bar- 

 rel is 12-bore, and the weight is 81bs. We hope to have 

 an opportunity to see the new arm. 



[March 1, 1889. 



CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 



CHICAGO, ill, Feb. 28.— Mr. E. E. Flint, one of the 

 best known "all-arounds" of this city, is absent on 

 an extended southern trip, which will include Louisiana 

 and Arkansas, and add to his already rich sporting ex- 

 periences. 



Messrs. W. P. Mussey, T. Benton Leiter, and a son of 

 L, Z. Leiter, W. H. Haskell and another one or two 

 Chicago sportsmen, will probably start next June on a 

 trip which promises to be of interest, and w T hich is ex- 

 pected to be some two or three months in length. John 

 G. Worth, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, said to be a cattleman 

 and mountain man of experience, is to be their guide and 

 outfitter, and will conduct them where they please 

 through the northern mountain country. The intention 

 is to rendezvous somewhere in Wyoming, then join a 

 cattle round-up and work north, seeing cattle fife; then 

 to visit the Indian reservations and see Indian life; then 

 to visit the Yellowstone Park, and from there to work 

 back. Hunting and fishing will be pursued all along the 

 line. Lf preferred, the home camp will be laid in the 

 Big Horn Mountains. It is expected to meet bear, elk, 

 deer, furred game and feathers, to take any quantity of 

 trout, and see some of the noblest scenery of the conti- 

 nent. The trip will be made horseback (for about three 

 days), and will be the means of gaining an intimate ac- 

 quaintance with the Wild West and its customs. I don't 

 know anything about Worth, but I know the Chicago 

 boys are all right. They wanted to know if any New 

 York folks wanted to come in. The company is not yet 

 so large as they wished. 



Mr. A, Montgomery Ward was, a week or two ago, 

 planning just about such a trip as the one outlined, and 

 which also was to last two or three months. He was be- 

 wailing the fact that he couldn't get any one to join him 

 on so long a trip. 



Mr. John L. Stockton, as enthusiastic a sportsman as 

 ever trod shoe leather and as good a one, is planning for 

 a Washington Territory and Alaska trip this summer, in- 

 stead of going into northern Wisconsin, which is his 

 usual summer ground. In these trips he is always joined 

 by Mrs. Stockton, nearly as enthusiastic as himself in love 

 for the outdoor air. 



Mr. Ruthven Deane, of this city, to-day received a letter 

 from his friend Mr. Wm. Brewster, of Cambridge, Mass., 

 who with Mr. Chas. B. Cory, of Boston, is now on Enter- 

 prise River, Florida, which states that the bag to the two 

 guns runs thirty to forty snipe, with small exertion at 

 the shooting. On one Mr. Cozzens, of New York, joined 

 the party, and the three bagged ninety-one snipe and 

 twenty quail. Ducks are reported in swarms, and the 

 writer states he never saw anything like the number of 

 bluebiU, widgeon, pintail and gadwall. 



Mr. Brewster is the collector and owner of probably 

 the finest ornithological collection in the United States, 

 the result of untold labor and large outlay of money. 

 Mr. Cory -is one of the officers of the Ornithological Union, 

 Mr. Deane himself has what is doubtless the best ornitho- 

 logical collection of this portion of the country. He has 

 some 1,500 skins of birds, and among his mounted collec- 

 tion there is a singularly large number of albino speci- 

 mens, for which he has always been on the look-out. He 

 has been one of those who have shot at the Fox Lake 

 albino redhead, but failed to get it. Mr. Deane tells me 

 his friends are being fortunate in their collection of 

 specimens of Florida birds. Mr. Brewster has secured 

 some fifty skins. E. Hough. 



ADIRONDACK DEER. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



We hear something sometimes to the effect that in the 

 Adirondacks deer are on the increase. There may be 

 some who believe this, but the credulity does not com- 

 pliment their judgment. Think you it possible lor game 

 to increase in the Adirondacks in the face of the fact 

 that new railroads have entered the wilderness from the 

 west, the north, and the east sides within three years, 

 making access to the heart of the wilderness by these 

 routes easy and rapid? Wagon roads have also been 

 opened in every direction; trails have been cut out, so 

 that the woods are in many locations more like private 

 parks than the primitive forest. Hotels have multiplied; 

 there is hardly a lake of any size in the woods which 

 does not have its summer hotel, with its proprietor 

 anxious for patronage, booming the merits of his par- 

 ticular place in all possible ways, inviting to his table 

 by the promise of "the best hunting and fishing to be 

 found in the entire forest." The woods have been adver- 

 tised and popularized. Ten years ago not one person 

 took his outing in the Adirondacks where now twenty 

 spend from one to six weeks there. What do these 

 people expect to find: health? Yes, some go for that. 

 But the motive of most is to gratify the sporting instinct. 

 Again, club houses have sprung up, expensive permanent 

 camps have been built at large cost by wealthy men who 

 can afford the luxury. What of this as to the gamer 

 Much every way. The man who goes to the woods and 

 does not kill a deer is disappointed. The legitimate sports- 

 man in open season kills some, the trout fisher in May 

 and June very often has "hedgehog" for meat, the small 

 farmers on the border kill deer at all seasons, the lumber- 

 men have no scruples in the matter if deer get in their 

 way. The accursed dogger gets more than his share 

 every time, legitimately or illegitimately, in season and 

 out of season; if he wants a deer he gets him, does are 

 killed heavy with young, fawns are killed in the spotted 

 coat, deer are shot, trapped, crusted, drowned, allured 

 to salt licks and then shot. If the people who hunt 

 would stop when they have killed enough for present 

 needs something would be gained. It is a marvel that 

 any remain. But they are going, and that rapidly. Not 

 one deer can be jumped now in the Oswagatchie region 

 where there were five years ago. What is to be done? 

 One of two things I advise: Either do away with all 

 law and the infinitesimal observance thereof, and lets 

 surround the woods and kill the last of the race, or else 

 wake up and pass some laws that are laws. Laws that 

 will protect the deer and not protect some particular set of 

 fellows in their peculiar method of killing deer. The 

 present laws are not enforced better because of two 

 reasons. (1) The lack of a proper sentiment demanding 

 their enforcement on the part of the people, (2) The 

 lack of an adequate number of game constables to cover 

 the territory, and well enough paid to get good men who 

 can afford to do their work thoroughly. Whatever laws 



