Sept. 13, 1888.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



145 



pec ted. The skin, like many others, was dressed by 

 Uncle Abram by a process which he professed to have 

 learned from the Indians, which he never disclosed, and 

 made into whip lashes by him, which were quite cele- 

 brated and afforded him a scanty livelihood. 



The "setters" in his shop were brought fresh to mind 

 by the interesting tales of "Uncle Lisha's Shop;" but, 

 alas! they have no historian. J. H. D. 



FOUGFTKEErSTE, N. Y. 



THE CONNECTICUT ASSOCIATION. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Friday afternoon, Sept. 7, the Connecticut Farmers' 

 and Sportsmen's Association for the Protection of Game 

 and Fish held a meeting in this city and made full ar- 

 rangements for a strict enforcement of the game laws. 

 As a great amount of illegal shooting occurs in the last 

 two or three weeks of September the officers of the as- 

 sociation were anxious to perfect arrangements that 

 would interfere with this unlawful shooting. The as- 

 sociation feels now that with its large number of officers 

 actually interested in the work, that the result will be 

 accomplished. The following directors were appointed: 



Hartford county, Hon. Geo. P. McLean, Hartford; 

 Middlesex county. Dr. J. W. Alsop, Middletown; Tolland 

 county, Hon. E. O. Dirnock. Rockville: New Haven 

 county, F. W. Whitlock, Waterbury; Windham county, 

 Geo. A. Reed, Chaplin ; Litchfield county, H. A. Stannard, 

 Norfolk; New London county, Z. R. Robbing, Norwich; 

 Fairfield county, Hon. J. C. Chamberlain, Bridgeport. 



Mr. Charles E. Parker of New Britain was elected vice- 

 president, and an executive committee composed of Dr. 

 N. W. Holcombe, R. S. Dennis, Allen Willey, H. E. Pratt 

 and C. M. Brooks of Hartford, and B. A. Johnson and E. 

 G. Babcock of New Britain, were appointed. The exec- 

 ative committee, acting through its chairman, Dr. Hol- 

 combe, together with the president, A. C. Collins, will 

 take active steps to prosecute every violation of the law. 



Any one knowing of any unlawful acts, contrary to the 

 statutes relative to game, should at once notify the as- 

 sociation through the officers mentioned. The association 

 deserves the hearty co-operation of all farmers in the 

 State. It is probable that the association will soon be the 

 largest numerically of any game and fish association in 

 the country. Whole gun and game and fish clubs are 

 coming in bodily and the prospects of the association are 

 very roseate. C. 



Hartfokd, Oonn. 



GOLDEN PLOVER. 



OAKDALE, Long Island. Sept. 1.— Editor Forest and 

 Stream: While in my blind to-day I saw the larg- 

 est flight of golden plover (greenbacks) that it has ever 

 been my fortune to behold. The birds were moving in 

 large flocks very high up. I must ha ve seen eight or nine 

 hundred, one bunch having at least four hundred in. 

 | This certainly explodes the theory that these beautiful 

 birds have been all killed off or exterminated. 



I piped down three single ones near enough to bring to 

 bag with the left (choke) barrel; and hung them up in 

 my blind to feast my eyes on. Several others came quite 

 near, as I talked to them in my sweetest and most persua- 

 sive notes, but to my disgust they would change their 

 minds and soar heavenward, and with a farewell note 

 shut the door of a fleecy cloud behind them and enter the 

 blue vault of heaven, far away from an unhappy sports- 

 man, sitting in his blind up to his knees in mud trying in 

 vain to make love to them . 



The shooting was poor, and when the setting sun sank 

 to rest in its crimson couch, I picked up my decoys, gath- 

 ered in three golden plover, five meadow plover and one 

 yellowleg, and bidding a good-night to the dreamy 

 waters of the South Bay, bent my steps homeward, a 

 happy and contented man, and at peace with ah the 

 world. F. 



EXTRAORDINARY SHOOTING. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



A guest of mine in the Laurentians inserts the follow- 

 ing in my Camp Register. If any of your correspondents 

 can beat it you are quite at liberty to publish their records. 



G. DE MONTAUBAN. 



[COPY.] 



I hereby certify that the accompanying picture is a 

 correct outline of the revolver X. L. No. 3, Hopkins & 

 Allen Mfg. Co., pat., March 28, '71, with which, at Lake 

 Clair in the Seigneury of Perthius, Province of Quebec, 

 Canada, using cartridges .32-cal. center-fire metallic, 

 short, in successive shots on the forenoon of Thursday, 

 Aug. a2, four (4) loons, at a distance of about 80yds.; on 

 the afternoon of the same day, seven (7) ducks, at a dis- 

 tance of about 55yds.; and on the afternoon of Friday, 

 Aug. 24, three (3) partridges, at a distance of about 30ft., 

 were missed by me, the subscriber. (Signed) J. J, R. 

 his 



Witness: Nazaire X Tessier. 



mark. 

 Per G. de M. 



A New Book on Wild Fowl Shooting.— There is an- 

 nounced for publication the last of this week a new work 

 on Wild Fowl Shooting, by Mr. William Bruce Leffing- 

 well of Clinton. Iowa. We have had the pleasure of look- 

 ing over a part of the proof sheets of this work, and can 

 say that it is a work which should form part of the library 

 of every gunner. A review of the work will appear in 

 these columns, probably next week, and we shall then be 

 able to furnish the volume to intending purchasers. The 

 book is illustrated, and is handsomely bound in half 

 morocco. Price $3.50. 



Gallager. — Fostoria, 0., Sept. I,— Editor Forest and 

 Stream: In my communication, "Let her go, Gallagher." 

 on page 66, issue of Aug. 16, the types made me call the 

 name GaUoger; it should be spelled Gallager. Give all 

 due credit to the inventor, as his gun was one of the first 

 of the successful ones to compete with the Sharps carbine, 

 then used by the cavalry of the United States. It was also 

 one of the first military guns using a metal cartridge. — 

 W. B. Harrison. ' 



The Wild Rioe Crop. — Hope. Ont., Sept. 3. — Editor 

 Forest and. Stream: The rice is something of a failure 

 this year. I do not expect to get so large a quantity as I 

 have other yeai's. It cannot be accounted for, but once 

 in about eight years the crop is light. About eight years 

 ago I did not get a barrel.— Chas. Gilchrist, 



YELLOWSTONE PARK REPORT. 



WE have received advance proof sheets of the Report 

 of the Superintendent of the Yellowstone National 

 Park to the Secretary of the Interior, for 1888. 



Office of the S ppe kin t undent 1 

 Yellowstone National Park, > 

 Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyo., Aug. 15. ) 



SIR— I ha ve the honor to submit tor your information the 

 following report of the operations of the. office of the Super- 

 intendent of the Yellowstone National Park for the fiscal 

 year ended June 30, 1888, and to the present date, 



When my last renort was rendered, Aug. 20, 1887, the 

 hotels of the Park were filled with tourist visitors, and 

 many camping parties, with every description of outfit, 

 were scattered throughout the Park. All possible efforts 

 were niade to see that these numerous visitors were made 

 acquainted with the rules and regulations established for 

 their guidance in the Park, and that they were observed 

 and respected. In the enforcement of these regulations 

 several arrests were made, and in one or two instances, 

 where the offenses were flagrant, the offenders were sum- 

 marily expelled from the Park. In the exercise of the 

 authority which is devolved upon the office of the Superin- 

 tendent of this Natioual Park great care has been taken to 

 keep strictly within the limits sanctioned by law and to 

 avoid all appearance of a harsh and arbitrary exercise of 

 authority. No person has ever been expelled from the Park 

 who had not admitted the commission of the offense for 

 which the. penalty was enforced: and whenever there has 

 been reason to believe that the offenses were committed 

 Without intention or through thoughtlessness, or when a 

 sincere regret was perceived, the persons have boon permit- 

 ted to go unmolested, after suitable instruction and admo- 

 nition. This explanation is made in view of the unwarranted 

 and unjust comments of the Montana newspapers, which, 

 copied by Eastern exchanges, have tended to disseminate 

 the idea that the National Park is subjected to harsh and 

 arbitrary military rule, and that visitors are liable to humil- 

 iation and annoyance from a capricious exercise of power. 



While these strictures of the press were geuerally ex- 

 pressed in vague and indefinite terms, they appeared to be 

 founded chiefly upon the two following cases: John Noack, 

 who was arrested at the Upper Geyser Basin. Sept. 18, 1887, 

 for writing upon the geyser formation, in violation of the 

 rules and regulations: and Frank Oh at field, who was arrested 

 near Heart Lake. Oct. 2, 1887. for killing an elk. In the 

 ease of Noack, he was arrested by the soldier on duty at the 

 Upper Geyser Basin, pursuant to his general instructions to 

 enforce the rules of the Park, in the act of writing his name 

 on the formation. Both he and his companion having of- 

 fered the soldier money, the latter to clear himself of the 

 suspicion of being improperly influenced, thought, best to 

 send the young man to the office of the Superintendent, 

 For this purpose he was permitted to proceed by the regular 

 stage, a soldier following on horseback. When Noack came 

 to my office, he admitted his offense, stated that he had been 

 treated by the soldiers in a courteous and considerate man- 

 ner, but instead of manifesting any regret for Ins miscon- 

 duct, professed to consider himself ill-treated in having his 

 pleasure trip interrupted for so slight a cause, and threat 

 enerl to have the affair published in the newspapers. As 

 it was apparent, in this case, that the rules of the Park 

 had been willfully violated, and as the young man's 

 speech and manner evinced a contempt for authority, it 

 was thought that the provisions of Rule X. of the rules and 

 regulations of the Park would properly apply to his case- 

 But as it was not desired to subject him to the unnecessary 

 humiliation of being escorted out of the Park by a military 

 guard, he was given twenty-four hours in which to leave the 

 Park, and was informed that at the expiration of that time 

 he would he liable to arrest and expulsion, lie was sub- 

 jected to no physical restraint at any time, and left the Park 

 on the morning following his interview with the Superin- 

 tendent by the usual stage to Cinnabar. 



The ease of Chatfield has been fully reported to the De- 

 partment, by letter, a copy of which is appended to this 

 report (marked A). In this case there were absolutely no 

 extenuating circumstances, and no leniency could nave been 

 shown without bringing into contempt the authority exer- 

 cised by your Department over the National Park. 



In my last report it was stated that the volume of travel 

 to the Park at the date of the rendition of the report had 

 fallen somewhat short of that of the previous year. Visi- 

 tors continued to arrive, however, in considerable numbers 

 until the last part of September, when travel became so 

 light as to warrant the closing of the hotels of the Park 

 Association and placing them in charge of their winter 

 keepers. Visitors who arrived after the 1st of October were 

 accommodated at this place at the Cottage Hotel, under the 

 management of the lessees, Helen L. and Walter J. Hender- 

 son, and through the Park were cared for by the winter 

 keepers of the hotels as well as their limited facilities per- 

 mitted. 



The efforts to discover and bringto justice the perpetrators 

 of the stage robbery within the Park, on the evening of July 

 4, IS87, which were initiated immediately upon the occur- 

 rence of the robbery, and continued unremittingly, were 

 finallj r successful, and I append to this report two letters, 

 marked respectively B and C, which were addressed to your 

 Department, reporting fully the incidents connected with 

 the arrest and conviction of the guilty parties. Although 

 the punishment decreed in these eases appears to be entirely 

 inadequate, to the gravity of the offense, yet in view of the 

 uncertainty which seems to exist relative to the administra- 

 tion of justice by the established courts within this reserva- 

 tion, it is perhaps a subject for congratulation that the per- 

 petrators of the robbery were not permitted to escape all 

 punishment. 



On the loth of October the work on the roads, which had 

 been diligently prosecuted during the summer months by 

 Capt. Clinton B. Seai^s, Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army, 

 was discontinued and the various working parties discharged. 



Although but little snow fell" in the Park during the fall 

 and early winter the temperature was at times quite low, 

 the climatic conditions being very dissimilar to those of the 

 previous season, as may be seen by reference to the meteoro- 

 logical record which is hereto appended and marked D. 



This record has been kept pursuant to army regulations, 

 under the direction of the medical officer at Camp Sheridan, 

 Acting Assistant Surgeon G. L, Cline, U. S. Army, and may 

 be accepted with confidence as being accurate and correct. 



The first snows of the season indicated favorable condi- 

 tions for the hunters' work; and at this time scouting ope- 

 rations were vigorously conducted for the protection of all 

 game within the Park limits. Fortunately the efforts of the 

 troops were seconded and furthered by other causes. The 

 snowfall being light, the game tarried in the inaccessible 

 mountain regions, safe from ordinary hunters, much later 

 than o.sual, and the excellent law passed at the last session 

 of the Legislature of Montana, prohibiting the killing of 

 any of the large game animals "tor the purpose of procur- 

 ing: the head or bide only, or for speculative purposes, or for 

 market, or for sale," although not always strictly enforced 

 by the local authorities, served to exercise a discoui-aging 

 effect upon the class of professional hunters, so that many 

 of them quit the business in disgust. 



As a result of these several causes the game of the Park 

 has been free from molestation, and I am confident in the 

 belief that little if any has been killed since the arrest and 

 expulsion of Chatfield in the month of October last. 



Upon the closing of the Park hotels and cessation of tour- 

 ist travel, the daily trains of the Northern Pacific Railroad 

 from Livingston to Cinnabar were discontinued. Trains 



were, however, run once each week until interrupted in 

 January of the present year by severe storms. Subse- 

 quently, upon the opening of certain coal mines in Cinnabar, 

 Mont., a tri-weekly service was established, and continued 

 through a large portion of the spring. 



During the early part of the winter it had occurred to me 

 as extremely desirable, if possible, to secure some accurate 

 information concerning the winter haunts of the buffalo 

 which are known to be i u the Park. I accordingly consulted 

 with my scout, Mr. Edward Wilson, as to the practicability 

 of a snowshoe trip into the regions where it was believed 

 they would be fouud. As Mr. Wilson felt confident that 

 such a journey could be successfully made, I secured the 

 willing services of Sergeant Charles Scbroegler, Troop M, 

 First Cavalry, as a companion for Mr. Wilson, and these 

 two men left Camp Sheridan on the lHth of February, 1888, 

 taking with them a pack of provisions and one blanket each. 

 They proceeded the first day to Yancy's Hotel, iu Pleasant 

 Valley, and from there struck into the wilderness, scouting 

 the whole length of Specimen Ridge; from there via Ame- 

 thyst Mountain to Pelican Creek; down this stream to the 

 lake; across the lake and down the Yellowstone, via Hay- 

 den's Valley to the Park Association Hotel at the Grand 

 Canon. After a day's rest at that point, the party returned 

 to this post via Norris, on the. 23d of the same mouth, after 

 an absence of ten days. The hardships of an expedition of 

 this character can only be realized by those who are ac- 

 quainted with the winter aspect of the mountain solitudes 

 into which these brave and hardy men ventured. The snow 

 at this altitude being very soft and light, the use of sledges, 

 such as are used in Arctic explorations, is impracticable, and 

 the traveler is confiued to such quantity of provisions and 

 appliances for comfort as he may rind it possible to carry on 

 his person. Snowshoeing through the Park between the 

 different hotels, where comfortable shelter can be procured 

 every night, is comparatively easy, but where rest is forbid- 

 den by the absence of warmth and shelter, the difficulties 

 are such as can only be overcome by hardy and resolute men. 



In its principal object, that of gaining accurate informa- 

 tion concerning the numbers and location of the buffalo in 

 the Park, this expedition was not entirely successful. The 

 herd of buffalo which had passed a portion of the previous 

 winter along Specimen Ridge was not encountered, and the 

 only buffalo found on the trip were three which were seen 

 in Haydeu Valley. Valuable information was, however, 

 obtained relative to the wiuter ranges, habits and condition 

 of the large game of the Park, so that the results could not 

 be considered inadequate to the toil and labor expended. 

 Immense bands of elk were encouutered in every portion of 

 the Park visited, and both men expressed themselves as 

 being loth to make an estimate as to numbers, fearing that 

 they might be suspected of exaggeration. From the testi- 

 mony of these men and other reliable information, there 

 can be no doubt that many thousands of elk, deer and 

 mountain sheep winter in the Park every year, and that 

 their numbers are constantly increasing. But few carnivor- 

 ous animals were encountered on this trip, and the tracks 

 of but two mountain lions were seen on the whole expedi- 

 tion, so that the fears of those who think the game animals 

 may be exterminated by the carnivora may be considered as 

 without present foundation. Early in April it was dis- 

 covered that a band of buffalo were located in Haydeu 

 Valley and aloug Alum Creek. A second snowshoe trip by 

 Mr. Wilson, accompanied by Mr. Edward Hofer, an enter- 

 prising correspondent of the Forest and Stream, was fruit- 

 ful in result, eliciting the fact that a herd of buffalo num- 

 bering at least one hunched had passed the winter on the 

 divide between the waters of the Madison and Yellowstone 

 rivers and in the adjacent valleys. Numbers of these ani- 

 mals have been seen during the spring along the Fire Hole 

 Biver and its tributaries, and extended investigations have 

 shown that they range in considerable numbers from Alum 

 Creek, in Haydeu Valley, across the divide between the 

 waters of the Yellowstone and Madison rivers and the Con- 

 tinental Divide to Fall River Basin, in the southwestern 

 part of the Park. From the numbers seen and from the 

 quantity of ''sign'' observed over an extended area, the num- 

 ber of these animals that range in this portion of the Park 

 cannot be estimated at less than two hundred. This conclu- 

 sion is not iu accordance with an opinion expressed iu my 

 last report, but it has been reached after careful investiga- 

 tion, and is believed to be correct. The large number of 

 young calves and yearlings which have been seen leads to 

 the belief that a natural increase is in progress, and that if 

 proper protection is afforded the species will not, as has been 

 feared, become extinct. 



Early in May last information was received here that the 

 Excelsior Geyser in the Midway Geyser Basin, which had 

 been quiescent since 1882, was again active. This geyser was 

 discovered in eruption on the 30th day of April last by one 

 of the winter keepers of the hotel at the Upper Geyser Basin, 

 it continued to give exhibitions of its powers with great 

 regularity at intervals of about sixty minutes nntif the 

 latter part of July, since which time its periods have been 

 more irregular— a possible premonition of another long 

 period of quiescence. H the accounts of the previous won- 

 derful performances of this geyser can be relied on, its char- 

 acter has somewhat changed in the lapse of years. The 

 duration of its eruptive energy this year has not been ob- 

 served to exceed two minutes, and the height of its column 

 of water has seldom reached 200ft. 



The winter snowfall through the Park being lighter than 

 usual, it was possible to travel the roads with vehicles as 

 early as the middle of May: and by the 1st of June numbers 

 of tourists, probably attracted by the reported activity of the 

 Excelsior Geyser, were daily visiting the Park. Early in 

 June the hotels of the Park Association were put in opera- 

 tion, and by the 15th of that month the season was fairly 

 opened, the volume of travel showing a marked increase 

 over that of the previous year, an increase which has been 

 sustained up to the date of this report. 



During the month of April, Capt. Clinton B. Sears, Corps 

 of Engineers, U. S. Army, was relieved of his duties in con- 

 nection with the construction of roads in the Yellowstone 

 National Park, by Major Charles J. AUen, of the same corps. 

 Major Allen visited the Park during the month of June, but 

 the appropriation for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1888, 

 having been exhausted, and the new appropriation not 

 being available, no work, except necessary repairs, was prac- 

 ticable. 



FOREST FIRES. 



It was stated in my last report that at that date no forest 

 fires of any magnitude had occured in the Park during the 

 year. It is with gratification that I now add that the forests 

 of the Park have continued to the present time safe from 

 the destructive effects of fire. The immunity from this evil 

 which was enjoyed during the summer of 1887 may be at- 

 tributed in some degree to the abundant showers which pre- 

 vailed, but it is believed also that it was in a great measure 

 due to the care and vigilance exercised by the troops 

 charged with the protection of the Park. This care and 

 vigilance will be constantly exercised in the future, but it 

 would be presumptuous to infer that it will always be 

 effective to prevent the occurrence and spread of fires. 

 THE BOUNDARIES OF THE PARK. 



Among the many needs and wants of the Park no more 

 important or pressing necessity exists than that of an official 

 and accurate survey of its boundaries. 



The act setting aside and dedicating the National Park 

 described the area reserved in loose and indefinite language, 

 and made no provision for a survey of its lines. 



I am informed that a bill is now pending in Congress, 

 which provides for a change and an enlargement in the area 

 of Park, and a stuwey of its boundaries, but nevertheless, 



