422 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[June 13, 1889. 



THE NATIONAL PARK. 



YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, June 1.— Editor 

 Forest and Stream: On Thursday, May 30, Capt. 

 F. A. Boutelle with K Troop, 1st TJ. S. Cav., arrived here 

 from Port Custer. On the next day Capt. B. Bomus with 

 A Troop of the same regiment reached here from Fort 

 McGinnis. The two companies had been several days on 

 their journey, marching with wagon transportation. 

 Capt. Boutelle will be the Acting Superintendent of the 

 National Park, relieving Capt. Harris, who has fearlessly 

 and faithfully performed the duties required for nearly 

 tlu-ee years. Capt. Harris with his troop will leave the 

 Park on Monday, the 3d, to commence their long march 

 to Fort Custer, the regimental headquarters, from which 

 they have been absent longer than it is usual for a troop 

 to be away on detached service. 



Capt. Boutelle is well posted in the duties lie will have 

 to perform, and under his charge the Park will be care- 

 fully protected and preserved. He will have about 120 

 men at his command, a greater number than have ever 

 been at the disposal of any former superintendent. 



Capt. Bomus with his Troop A will go into camp at 

 the Lower Geyser Basin; from there men will be detached 

 and stationed throughout the southern part of the Park 

 and Gevser basins. 



Since the sale of the Cottage Hotel to the Yellowstone 

 Park Association, that syndicate now holds all the hotel 

 leases in the Park with the one exception of John Yan- 

 cey's, at Pleasant Valley, on the Cooke City road. 



Travel has been quite steady since the loth of May, 

 from eight to sixteen daily, increasing toward the last of 

 the month. A_few camping parties traveling with 

 wagons have been making the rounds. The weather has 

 not been all one could wish for a pleasure trip; frequent 

 showers of rain and snow have fallen, though not enough 

 to make the roads heavy. 



The game has been back from the line of travel for sev- 

 eral weeks. A few elk have been seen by tourists. Ante- 

 lope have returned to the Hayden. In the upper end of 

 the valley a large band of elk are camping, the cows just 

 beginning to drop their young. 



Work on the Government wagon roads is being pushed 

 vigorously. Large crews of men and teams are at work 

 in the Swan Lake Basin and the Gibbon Canon. Lieut. 

 W. E. Craighill, of the Engineer Corps, is giving the 

 work his personal supervision. H. 



THE HUNTING RIFLE. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In my younger years I never used a larger caliber 

 habitually than the old 90 to-the-pound round ball. With 

 this caliber I always had marked success, and upon most 

 kinds of game from squirrels to deer, and on one occa- 

 sion a large gray wolf, which I shot through the heart, 

 killing him instantly. I killed several deer, all I ever 

 fired at. and all with that caliber, and I never shot but 

 one the second time. I killed a large number of wild 

 turkeys, never failing but three times, wounding upon 

 each occasion, but not striking a vital part. Upon one 

 occasion I shot a black squirrel with that caliber of rifle. 

 He had run up the body of a tall tree without linibs for 

 at least 40ft., and stopped when about 30ft. from the 

 ground. It was upon the occasion of a squirrel hunt, and 

 I aimed for the heart as nearly as possible, in order not 

 to injure the scalp. As soon as I fired the squirrel ran 

 up the tree, and the young man accompanying me re- 

 marked that I didn't touch him. When the squirrel had 

 run up about loft, further he sprang into the air and fell 

 to the ground some 12 or 15ft. from the foot of the tree, 

 and as dead as a salt mackerel. An examination showed 

 that the bullet had actually torn his heart out, the lai'ger 

 portion of it hanging outside with parts of the liver. 



Nearly thirty years ago, I bored the grooves out of a 

 Sharps carbine, and fitted to the enlarged bore what is 

 now called an "auxiliary" rifle barrel. The caliber of 

 the latter was somewhat less than the present .32, prob- 

 ably about .28. I prepared for this cartridges similar 

 to those then used in the Sharps rifle, and made and fitted 

 to the weapon a good telescopic sight. The length of 

 this little rifle was 21-iin. It proved to be one of the best 

 hunting rifles I ever used on small game up to 200yds., 

 and that is about the limit that small game is often killed. 

 I have never found any game from deer to wolf , down to 

 squirrels, so hard to kill as woodchucks, but with this 

 little rifle I killed large numbers of them, but it was 

 necessary to strike a vital point of their anatomy, which 

 the telescope sight enabled me to do. I was several times 

 called to shoot vicious beeves, especially dangerous bulls, 

 and invaiiably dropped them the first shot with this little 

 rifle. Of course, this was at short range, and the bullet 

 was placed in the center of the brain. My experience 

 with this little weapon in particular, satisfied me of the 

 efficiency of small-caliber rifles for the generality of 

 small game, providing the projectiles are properly placed. 



Of course, a rifle requires a good marksman to make it 

 effective. A telescopic sight is indispensable for the best 

 work, and is a wonderful aid to the new beginner, or any 

 indifferent marksmen. I do not say this because I some- 

 times make those sights, for I do not solicit the work, as 

 my physical condition renders it inadvisable for me to 

 attend to it. I have for many years owned a 151bs. target 

 rifle, muzzle-loader, having the present .44 caliber, and 

 mounted with a telescopic sight. Of late years I have been 

 engaged in fishculture in New Jersey, and, in the absence 

 of a smaller rifle, have used this one for destroying 

 herons, minks, muskrats, snapping turtles, watersnakes 

 and other intruders upon the premises. Upon one occa- 

 sion I shot a large hen hasvk with it, on the top of a tall 

 tree, more than 200yds. distant. The hawk flew with 

 violent movement of the wings nearly 300yds., and 

 dropped dead. Upon going to him I found that the 

 bullet had passed squarely through the center of his body 

 from right to left, just back of the butt of the wings, 

 neither of which had been injured beyond the cutting of 

 feathers. Taking him to the house, I passed the smaller 

 end of an ordinary broom handle through the hole made 

 by the bullet, easily, to the extent of a foot or more. I 

 sent an account of the matter to the Forest and Stream 

 at the time, and it was duly published. I recall the 

 matter now as relating to the matter of large and small 

 calibers. I have several times shot hawks in precisely 

 the same manner with the old 90-to-the-pound caliber, 

 and at least once with the little .28 caliber, instantly kill- 

 ing them in each instance. 



I hunted foxes several seasons in western Massachu- 

 setts in company with another man who used a shotgun. 



On one occasion I saw him shoot a large fox at a distance 

 of about 130yds., firing both barrels. He dropped in- 

 stantly at the second shot, and was dead in a few moments. 

 We skinned him on the spot. But one shot had struck 

 him, and that evidently pierced the heart. The size of 

 shot was BBB. Soon after this we were hunting the 

 large white hares common in those mountain swamps. 

 This man had heavy fox charges in his gun (BBB shot), 

 and fired one at a hare. At the same instant we heard 

 his hound give a piercing yell, some distance beyond the 

 hare, and in the thicket from which he had just been 

 started. I remarked that he had shot his dog, and, as we 

 heard no more from him, we passed around the thicket 

 and soon found him dying. In five minutes he was dead. 

 A single shot had struck him between the point of the 

 shoulder and the neck, probably cutting an artery. He 

 was a fine hound, and his owner would not have taken 

 $50 for him before his untimely taking off. 



I think I have given some evidence of the deadliness 

 of even very small projectiles, as well as the occasional 

 unaccountable exceptions with large calibers. I have 

 merely sent you a little of my personal experience, hoping 

 it may interest your riflemen. 



It may not be improper to say here that I am now 

 mounting a .32-40 Marlin with a telescopic sight, for a 

 gentleman in Arkansas, to be used on deer, antelop'e, etc. 

 I have made and mounted these sights upon several Mar- 

 lins and Winchesters of this caliber, for use on the plains, 

 and should mount many more of them if physically able 

 to do so. It seems to me that small calibers are coming 

 more into use of late, though perhaps not more than 

 thirty to forty years ago. Milton P. Peirce. 



Columbus, Ohio. 



FISHING NEAR NEW YORK. 



VTI. — SOUTH SHORE OP* LONG ISLAND. 



THE most extensive fishing waters near New York are 

 those of the south shore of Long Island. Beginning 

 with Gravesend Bay at the island's eastern end, and in- 

 cluding Sheepshead Bay, Jamaica Bay, Hempstead Bay 

 and the vast stretch of water known as Great South Bay, 

 these waters offer such a variety of fishing to the angler 

 as no other waters near by afford. Good catches of 

 striped bass, weakfish, kingfish, bluefish, snappers, sea 

 bass, blackfish and flounders may be made in the portion 

 of the south shore bays nearest New York, and the fisher- 

 man who can take the time and afford the journey 

 necessary to fish Great South Bay and the ocean outside 

 of the spit of sand which forms the bay's southern bound- 

 ary, can be sure of sport that is truly royal. 



GRAVESEND BAY. 



The nearest of the south shore waters to New York is 

 Gravesend Bay, which reaches in behind the westerly 

 hook of Coney Island. The first stopping place is at Bath 

 Beach, which is reached from the Battery via ferry to 

 Thirty-ninth street, South Brooklyn, thence Brooklyn, 

 Bath & West End Railroad to Bath Beach station . Pound 

 trip fare from Battery, 35 cents. Leave on South Brook- 

 lyn ferry from foot of Whitehall street to connect with 

 trains at Thirty-ninth street at 7:30, 8, 8:30, 9:30, 10:30, 

 11:30 A. M., 12:30 P. M., and every half hour to 7 P. M. 

 The first two trams do not run on Sundays. Returning 

 trains leave Bath Beach every half hour in the after- 

 noon 



Near the station at Bath Beach is the place kept by 

 Richard Green, who has twenty rowboats for hire at $1 a 

 day or 25 cents an hour. No raise in prices Sundays. He 

 also has a 35ft. cabin centerboard sloop, which he will 

 hire at $8 a day for parties of ten or under; over ten per- 

 sons $1 each extra. Boatman, $2 a day extra. Green 

 keeps all kinds of tackle, and shrimp and clam bait. The 

 fishing in the bay near his place now is for blackfish, 

 tommies and flounders. Weakfish aren't looked for be- 

 fore July 1. Meals and lodgings can be had cheaply 

 near by. 



The next station beyond Bath Beach is Bensonhurst 

 (Locust Grove). Fare, one way, from Battery, 20 cents: 

 no excursion tickets. Here is Walter Meserole's place. 

 Meserole has seven rowboats for hire at 75 cents a day, 

 weekdays, $1 Sundays, or 25 cents an hour. He also has 

 two open sailboats at 50 cents an hour, $2.50 a day, and 

 $1 a day extra for skipper, if required. Locust Grove 

 dock here is a well known fishing resort, good catches 

 being made by the fishermen who fringe its edges every 

 fair day. The same varieties are caught as at Bath 

 Beach. The first hqpjrr of the flood is considered the best 

 tide here. There is fine crabbing and lobstering in season 

 off the dock. Meserole serves meals d la carte at reason- 

 able prices, and will furnish lodging for 25 cents. 



Two stations beyond Bensonhurst is Club House Station 

 (round trip fare, from Battery, 40 cents), from which it is 

 a short walk to Gravesend Beach, where Captain James 

 Still well, a cousin of the veteran Adrian Still well of 

 Fort Hamilton, has kept the Stillwell House for thirty- 

 seven years. He has thirty-five rowboats. Flat-bottomed 

 skiffs may be hired for 50 cents a day, round-bottomed 

 boats for $1 a day, no advance in price being made Sun- 

 days. Captain StillweU's patrons are now catching a few 

 blackfish and flukes, and the fishermen expect the weak- 

 fish to take hold every succeeding day. The fishing here 

 is good, comparing favorably with that of the most 

 famous resorts on the south shore of Staten Island, and 

 the weakfish are large and gamy. Right off Coney 

 Island is a favorite spot, and Captain Stillwell will point 

 out the best shoals when fishing in shoal water is profit- 

 able. The Captain keeps all kinds of bait always on 

 hand, but no tackle. 



At Gravesend Beach may also be found John Van 

 Wart, who has his mail sent in care of Captain Stillwell, 

 and who will take you out in his beautiful and weatherly 

 yacht the Loretta S., 35ft. long, for $10 a day for a party 

 of ten or under. Van Wart sails outside and knows 

 where the big sea fish hide, so he is a good man to go 

 along with. 



At Gravesend Beach is also the Torquay House, kept 

 by George Curnow. Curnow has twenty-five rowboats, 

 at 50 cents a day for flat-bottomed, $1 a day for round- 

 bottomed; boatmen $2 a day extra. He also has two cat- 

 boats and one cat-rigged skiff, at from $2 to $4 a day, 

 according to size. Curnow keeps all kinds of bait, sup- 

 plies tackle to those who forget their own, and furnishes 



a bed for 50 cents or a square meal for 40 cents to fisher- 

 men. 



Beyond Club House Station, and just before reaching 

 Coney Island on this route, is the West End Fishing 

 Station, where there are twelve rowboats for hire, and C. 

 Riley's, where there are sixteen rowboats. Prices per 

 day at each 50 cents. Neither of these places is cele- 

 brated for cleanliness or handiness, but they are men- 

 tioned that this record may be complete. 



SHEEPSHEAD SAV. 



Sheepshead Bay is reached by all trains that run to 

 Manhattan Beach, it being the last stopping place before 

 reaching that prominent pleasure resort. Ferry may be 

 taken from James Slip or East Thirty-fourth street to 

 Long Island City, where the trains of the Long Island 

 Railroad (Manhattan Beach Division; are taken. Or the 

 Bay Ridge ferry may be taken from foot of Whitehall 

 street, and Manhattan Beach trains from Bay Ridge. The 

 excursion fare is 40 cents from Long Island City, and the 

 same from foot of Whitehall street. The summer time 

 table goes into effect to-day (Thursday), and cannot there- 

 fore be given here. 



There are a number of fishing resorts near the railroad 

 station at Sheepshead Bay, all of which seem to be well 

 patronized. All fish that can be caught anywhere in the 

 land-locked bay of the south shore may be caught here, 

 although of course not in such numbers as further east- 

 ward in Hempstead and Great South bays. 



Anton Hinsman's place is a convenient one. He has 

 twenty-six rowboats, mostly of the flat-bottomed variety, 

 for hire at 50 cents a day every day in the week. The 

 few round-bottomed boats that he owns rent for $1 a day. 

 Boatman, $2 a day extra. Hinsman also has a 28ft. 

 cabin sloop in which he takes fishing parties outside at 

 $8 a day. Bait and tackle can always be procured here 

 if desired, and lodgings and meals at 50 cents each. The 

 fish caught now by Hinsman's patrons are blackfish, sea 

 bass, flounders and fluke. Weakfish have just made their 

 appearance, a Mr. Connell of New York having caught 

 two good-sized ones on Friday of last week. 



Near Hinsman's place is that of George B. S. Sickles, 

 who succeeded to the stand kept by J. C. Dick for a long 

 time. Sickles has thirty-two rowboats, nearly all flat- 

 bottomed, at the same prices as at Hinsman's, except 

 that he only charges $1.50 a day extra if a boatman is 

 desired. Sickles keeps on hand all kinds of bait and 

 tackle. 



W. Esmark, a few steps further along shore, has six- 

 teen boats, for which he charges a running scale of 

 prices, from 50 cents to $1 50 a day. He also has a 32ft. 

 centerboard cabin sloop yacht, nicely fitted up, in which 

 he takes parties outside for fishing at $6 a day week days 

 and $8 Sundays. This sloop fishes at the Monument, on 

 mussel beds, Swash Channel, East Channel and the mus- 

 sel beds off Gedney's Channel. On Thursday of last week 

 the sloop's party caught seventy blackfish, averaging 

 21bs. in weight, and two bluefish. There is good fluke 

 fishing now inside the bay, Esmark says, and he says 

 there is no bait higher esteemed by flukes than the little 

 "killies." He always keeps bait on hand, including 

 killies, clams and fiddlers. Esmark is an authority on 

 all the best spots in the bay to drop a line, and if he is 

 away from home it makes no difference, as his wife is 

 just as well posted as her husband. 



J. Colwell charges 50 cents a day for his forty flat-bot- 

 tomed boats, and $1.50 a day for his four round-bottomed 

 ones, or from 25 to 50 cents an hour for a shorter time. 

 Off Col well's Dock on Friday of last week Colwell him- 

 self caught a sea bass weighing 51bs. and a blackfish 

 weighing lllbs., the largest of which there is any record 

 in the vicinity. The Forest and Stream man saw these 

 fish, and will vouch for their being the largest of their 

 kind he had ever seen. Colwell always keeps bait and 

 tackle on hand. 



Close by here is the Conger Eel Fishing Club, the mem- 

 bers of which are Messrs. C. M. Bomeisler, A. D. Hulbert, 

 W. H. Van Deventer, Horace Holden and G. S. Hanks. 

 The club owns the Rhoda C, a 34ft. sloop, in which they 

 sail outside to fish. On Saturday last they went out to 

 the banks with no other bait than clams, and caught 

 4801bs. of fish. Mr. Bomeisler, who lives at the Navarro 

 flats in New York, caught one blackfish that weighed 

 121bs., on the banks off Seabright, with rod and reel, 

 using a rod weighing 15oz. Mr. Bomeisler had quite a 

 tussle with the big fellow. The club will make another 

 try of it in the Rhoda C. on Saturday, June 22. The 

 sloop can be hired on days when the club isn't using it 

 (except Sunday) at $8 a day. She is not allowed to go 

 out on Sundays. 



At Tappen's Hotel, Sheepshead Bay, there are ten flat- 

 bottomed rowboats for hire at 50 cents a day, and ten 

 round-bottomed at $1 a day, or 25 cents an hour for all 

 kinds for less than a day. Tappen also has a 32ft. cabin 

 sloop for hire at $8 a day to go outside, and four catboats 

 at $6 a day or $1 an hour. He has bait and tackle always 

 on hand, can furnish lodgings at $1 a night and good 

 meals a la carte at reasonable rates. Tappen says the 

 fluke are very plenty now in the bay, and will bite eagerly 

 on killies or sandworms. Off Rich's Point on Friday last 

 Stephen Williamson, of Gravesend, caught a striped bass 

 weighing 151bs., and another party caught one at the 

 same place on Monday of last week weighing lllbs. 

 These are the current reports about Tappen's Hotel. If 

 the fish were really taken with hook and line, it was a 

 catch to be recorded alongside the 19-pound bass taken 

 last fall in Hell Gate and the 20-pound bass taken about 

 the same time at the Great Kills. 



[Erratum. — In last week's article the foot of Jersey 

 avenue should have been printed as the place to hire 

 boats at Communipaw, instead of the foot of Montgomery 

 street, as it appeared.] Seneca. 



[TO BE CONTINUED.] 



A Sucker at Either End.— While visiting a resort in 

 the Adirondacks recently I was interested in examining 

 the tackle one gentleman used in capturing lake trout. 

 The rod was about 5ft. long and as stiff as a horse's tail. 

 A huge triple multiplying reel was suspended at one end, 

 and at the other two deeply-grooved wheels revolved, 

 keeping in place the 300yds. or so of line (?), made from 

 good-sized copper wire, as it was alternately pulled out 

 by the fish and in by the fisher. A gang of a dozen 

 hooks impaling a sucker of a pound or two completed 

 this abominable contrivance. Why not add a galvanic 

 battery to stun the fish and a donkey engine to run the 

 reel? And this is called trout fishing! — F, D. 



