Jan. 17, 1889.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



617 



PROTECTION IN CENTRAL NEW YORK. 



UTIOA, N. Y„ Jan. 12.— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 The Black River Fish and Gams Protective Associ- 

 ation, organized last month by gentlemen particularly in- 

 terested in hunting and angling in the counties of Oneida 

 and Herkimer, held its annual meeting in Holland Patent, 

 Jan. 10. The following officers were elected for the en- 

 suing year: President, Dr. D. A. Crane, of Holland 

 Patent; Vice-President. Fred B. Spriggs, Utica; Secre- 

 tary, Wm. E. Wolcott, Utica; Treasurer, Herbert A. 

 Pride, Holland Patent: Directors, Mortimer M. Mayhew, 

 Marcy; Friend Bristol, Bion H. Kent, Remsen; Frank C. 

 Wolcott, Trenton; Wm. L. Fowler,' Simeon R. Fuller, 

 Herbert A Pride, Holland Patent. 



On motion of W. E. Wolcott, who is secretary of the 

 TTtica Audubon Society, the following clause was ordered 

 inserted in the Constitution: ''This association is opposed 

 to the destruction of song birds for millinery or other 

 purposes, and the influence of its members individually 

 and collectively will be exerted for their protection." 

 1 S. R. Fuller submitted the following, which was unan- 

 imously adopted; 



Whereas, It is the sense of the association that the opening sea- 

 son fcr deer ought to begin on the 15th day of September and end 

 on the 1st day of December, and we believe that from the 15th day 

 of August to the 15th day of September is entirely too early for 

 the opening of the season during which they may be killed, for 

 the reason that all deer, especially dots, are in poor condition 

 during that time; and whereas, many fawns die from the lack of 

 care and sustenance when deprived of the mother, and many decl- 

 are wounded and die that are never recovered— in proof of which 

 we cite the report, of ex-Game Agent Brinckerhoff of 1883. in 

 which lie states that a record kept for some seven fears showed 

 that on the Fulton chain of lakes tne proportion of deer killed be- 

 teen the 1st dav of August and the 15th day of September, is one 

 buck to ten does; also the fact that at North Lake, the first week 

 of the present season, of nine deer killed only one was a buck; and 

 the report of ax-Ageut N C. Ptielps for 1885, which says that two 

 Bisby Lake guides saw some twenty or tturty carcasses of deer 

 rotting on the Canachagala Stillwater during the floating season; 

 and whereas, the proposition to prohibit the killing of dies, but. 

 allow the killing of bucks, as advocated by some, while good in 

 ttn-ory, would be impractical and ineffectual, for the reason that 

 the carcasses could be easily mutilated so that the sex could not 

 be identifier:: therefore, we believe that the only effectual 

 remedy is to prohibit the killiug of all deer previous to the 

 15th of September. Wo believe in extending the open season 

 through the month of November, for the reason that the 

 deei are then in the best, enndition, and venison will keep and not 

 be wasted during that month, as it is during A'igust and a part of 

 September. And to show that we are not alone in this i pinion 

 is the fact that no other State (with the exception of New Hamp- 

 shire) or Territory in our latitude allows the killing -if deer in 

 August, or prohibits it in Ihe month of November. We hi-lieve 

 that the open season for partridges and woodcock had best begin 

 on the 15th of September, and close on the first day of November, 

 for the reason that until September 15 partridges have not attained 

 their full growth, and are yet together in broods, making their 

 killing easy and unsportsmanlike. Under the present law, wood- 

 cock are being rapidly exterminated, and the shorter the season 

 for them the better. We also heartily indorse tha resolutions 

 off -ire:! in the B >ard of S ip3rpisor3 of Oaeid.i comty by Mr. Salz- 

 mau, of Forestport, prohibiting anv one person from having in 

 possession, or corporation carrying more than lOlbs. of speckled 

 trout belonging to one person, and never that amount unless ac- 

 companied by the owner. The foregoing being the sense of this 

 association. 



Resolved, That our members of Assembly and Senator be 

 respectfully requested to use their influence and their votes 

 to amend the game laws of this State so that the open, season 

 for deer shall begin the fifteenth day of September and close the 

 first day of Decemner; and the open season lor par-tridire and 

 woodcock open on the fifteenth day of September and close on 

 the fir.-.t day of Novemher throughout the State. 



The association will be incorporated. The resolutions 

 offered in the Board of Supervisors of Oneida county by 

 Chairman F. X. Salzman, alluded to and indorsed in the 

 above, were unanimously adopted by the board. They 

 were worded as follows: 



Wliereas, The waters of this State inhabited by the speckled or 

 brou trout are many of them oecoming rapidly depleted, because 

 of the larg.- quantities of these fish caught to be sold in the 

 market; and 



Wliercas, In justice to those who angle discreetly and with a 

 view to preserving the species, as well as to those who have aided 

 in stocking the waters, we deem it wise and prudent to limit, tiie 

 taking of said trout to such numbers or quantity as may be 

 readily consumed by tne angler and nis family; therefore, 



Resolved, That we, the Supervisors of Oneida county, believing 

 in the proper and efficient protection of this game fish, do hereby 

 petition your honorable oody to pas3 a la w- prohibiting any person 

 from having in possession more than lulbs. of dead speckled or 

 brook trout at one time, and prohibiting any person, corporation, 

 association or company from carrying or transporting, or having 

 in possession for the purpose of transporting, more than lOlbs. of 

 said fish belonging to o .e person, and never that amount unless 

 accompanied by the owner. Also, that any person, corporation, 

 association or company violating any of the provisions of said act 

 shall be deemea guilty of a misdemeanor, and in addition thereto 

 liable to a penalty of £25 for each pound ot fish in excess of the 

 amount stated. 



Resolved, That the clerk of this board submit a ropv of these 

 resolutions to our representatives in the Legislature of this State. 



The sportsmen of Oneida and Herkimer counties are 

 thoroughly aroused to the vital importance of more effi- 

 cient and thorough protection for fish and game. 



An organization has been formed in Forestport, Oneida 

 comity, N. Y., known as the Forestport Gun Club, and 

 articles of incorporation have been filed. The directors 

 are Philip C. Hovey, C. F. Weeks, H. W. Boyce, F. J. 

 Stanburgh, Frank Sprague, J. K. Abbott and R. E. 

 Boyle. This association has for its prime object the pro- 

 tection of fish and game. Poets A. 



HOW BEARS ARE SHOT. 



Editor Forest and Stream : 



"Kelpie," in your last issue, is both interesting and 

 amusing. While my experience with bears is not very 

 extensive, I can tell of one at least that received a head 

 shot. In May of 1887 Col. E. Hutton, of Huttonsville, 

 and my old guide, Isaac Cool, of Webster county, West 

 Virginia, were in the Ganley region looking out land and 

 shoeing a Philadelphia party a tract that the Colonel 

 had for sale. Tbey stopped at my cabin on the north 

 fork of the Ganley, altitude 3,400ft., and on the night of 

 the l4th there fell a nice tracking snow. Now, they had 

 but one gun with them, and it was the Colonel's day to 

 carry it. Poor Cool's heart was heavy, for he thought 

 they might jump something. After breakfast they started 

 for Elk River, and on the right-hand prong of Leather- 

 wood, about a half mile from the cabin, Cool struck fresh 

 bear sign leading right up the creek. He asked for the 

 gun, but I suppose the Colonel did not hear him, for he 

 did not get it. They had not gone 200yds. when Cool 

 saw the bear above them in a thicket of "rip-shin." stand- 

 ing looking over a log, and he called the Colonel's atten- 

 tion to it; but the Colonel could not see from where he 

 Btood, and, knowing that the bear would not stay there 

 always, he reluctantly handed the gun (an old Marhn) to 

 Cool, who took rapid aim and fired. Down went bruin. 

 They ran up the mountainside about 70yds. , looked over 

 the log and found the bear making frantic efforts to re- 

 gain his feet; so Cool, brave fellow, fearing he might get- 



away, jumped upon the log and placing the muzzle be- 

 hind his foreleg flrpd again. The autopsy, which was 

 held on the spot, showed that the first shot had taktn 

 effect just under the eye, ranging back, knocking out and 

 breaking off several teeth in the upper jaw, crashin; 

 through the "little bones" of the neck (second and tbir< 

 cervical), passing on through the muscles and out at the 

 back of the neck. When the result of that shot was dis- 

 covered there was some talk of "wasting lead." They 

 had but seven cartridges in the outfit when they left the 

 cabin. 



The Colonel sent the hide and head on to Philadelphia, 

 and it now serves as a rug in his pleasant home, a mile 

 above Huttonsville. The rug is the finest I have ever 

 seen of its kind, glossy black, and the fur 4in. long. 



G. A. S. 



Beaver, Pa. 



CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 



BLINDS AND WRINKLES. 



CHICAGO, 111., Dec. 7. — Chicago sportsmen have in 

 different ways done a. great deal toward contributing 

 to the comfort, convenience and success of other sports- 

 men. Prowling around the resorts of the shooters of 

 this city, I have fallen upon a number of devices con- 

 trived by Chicago people, which have already taken or 

 will soon take places among the little indispensables of 

 the sportsman's kit. 



The other day I was down to the English Lake Club, 

 and I happened to notice that the shell boxes of all the 

 boys had the same kind of a fastening, a sort of snap- 

 hook, similar to a harness-snap, such as can be caught 

 into a ring or staple of any kind, and easily detached 

 again by pressing in one side, which works on a spring. 

 Examining these neat little nooks more closely, I found 

 that each was also a shell-extractor, the base of the hook 

 being arranged for the purpose which it subserves per- 

 fectly. This invention was evidently one "made on the 

 ground." These duck clubs hunt by means of boats. 

 Their shell boxes are made of stout tin, and serve as 

 boat seats. By means of this little catch, the shooter is 

 provided with a perfectly secure fastening for the lid of 

 his box, less troublesome than a padlock, and one which 

 in case of a tight shell is always ritrht at hand, and never 

 lost in the other pocket. Mr. C. E. Willard, now of the 

 Blatchford Cartridge Co., is the inventor of this simple 

 and handy little contrivance, and by inspection of the 

 article in 'hand it seems that Mr. Willard has applied 

 for a patent upon it. 



Down at the Cumberland Club I saw pasted up a little 

 cut and descriptive card of "Gammon's Decoy Reel and 

 Weight," and at once recognized an idea I had seen in 

 practical working in all the sporting goods houses and on 

 the ducking marshes. It consists of a bar-weight, run 

 along the bottom of the decoy in the usual way, except 

 that it revolves upon a swivel in the middle and has at 

 each end a knobbed post, around which the line is passed. 

 In taking up the decoys one does not have to wrap labor- 

 iously from tail to head, and may be have the whole icy 

 business slip off just as the job is completed. He simply 

 slraightens out the line, gives the reel a whirl on its 

 pivot, and the deed is done well and quickly, so that 

 nothing remains but to fasten the line in the little catch 

 provided for it. Nor is this all, for this is one of the things 

 which work both way.--. In putting out the decoys the 

 shooter does not unwind the line at all, but simply un- 

 fastens the end and throws the decoy overboard just as it 

 is. The ground- weight dropping down through the 

 water runs the line off the reel, which whirls on the 

 swivel. When the line is long enough to reach the bot- 

 tom it stops unwinding.* This handy affair was evidently 

 the work of a man who had suffered from cold fingers on 

 a duck hunt. I had to think a moment before it occurred 

 to me that the inventor was nobody else but Mr. C. D. 

 Gammon, an ardent and successful duck shooter of this 

 city and a member of different clubs. 



Mr. J. M. Clark, of the John Wilkinson Cn., has got out 

 a style of lancewood bait-easting rod, which is thought 

 by many to be superior to about anything of that kind 

 seen in these parts. It is a short, well- wound and well- 

 balanced lod, with features the casting angler would 

 appreciate. 



Speaking of rod c : perhaps we have many of us seen the 

 "serrated ferrule?" It is made with projecting teeth, or 

 legs, which run down along the end of the joint, and are 

 wrapped like a guide. This adds greatly to the strength 

 of the rod, and they say that a serrated rod never breaks 

 at the joiDt — which, as any angler knows, is the weak 

 place in most rods. It is also claimed that this ferrule 

 gives a stiffness and imparts a regularity in the arc which 

 cannot otherwise be gained. Well, it was a woman in- 

 vented that. She was a workwoman, up in Spalding's 

 fly-tymg room. I may be mistaken, but I believe Spal- 

 dings took out a patent or a caveat on this idea, and they 

 have made thousands of dollars out of its practical appli- 

 cation. Nobody ever heard of their giving the woman 

 anything for the invention, however. If they have not, 

 now is a good time. It is not too late. 



Another Chicago irvmtion, whose final completion 

 and perfection I have been watching with a great deal of 

 interest, is one which I think is destined to make some 

 thing of a stir among the shooters. I refer to the Hunter 

 cartridge loading machine, which is this month put 

 before the public for the first time. The inventor, Mr. 

 Geo. D. Hunter, was for thirteen years in the draught- 

 man's and mechanical departments of the Vandalia Rail- 

 way, and was also general foreman of the Belt Railway 

 of Chicago. He has patented a number of railway appli- 

 ances, among others a spark arrester, which remunerated 

 him handsomely. He just sits around and invents things. 

 Mr. Hunter is not so much of a shooter himself, but his 

 brother, J. H. Hunter, of Washington, D. C, is a great 

 trap shot. One day the two brothers were talking to- 

 gether while loading some shells by hand, aud J. H. 

 commented on the fact that no machine seemed to ex- 

 actly fill the bill for the individual shooter who wanted 

 to load his own shells. George D. said if that was all, he 

 would sit down and invent one that did. And I believe 

 he has done its. The machine loads a wonderfully neat 

 shell. The shell bush is so tight that wads of almost any 

 size can be crowded into a paper shell without bulging 

 it. and the latter can be forced out of the bush easily. 

 One shell is crimped while another is loaded. The ram- 

 mer works against a solid rubber cushion, so that the 



powder is rot crushed, though great power can be applied 

 at will; and yet so close to the rammer is the fulcrum 

 pivot that the loader can be used on the lightest kind of a 

 table without any rocking motion. The loader is a neat 

 little affair, and so small and light that it can be carried 

 in one side of any grip, and taken along on a shooting 

 trip. The mechanical principles are new, and the whole 

 concern, the invention of a skilled machinist, is so per- 

 fectly workmanlike that it is fun to play with it; Mr, 

 Hunter tells me be has put over $11,000 into this little 

 machine and the machines necessary for its manufacture. 

 He will soon get that back, for he has a good thing, 

 Moreover, he has a lot more sense than these other fellows 

 have who have been spoken of, and is. I see, advertising 

 his article in Forest and Stream. Nothing like help- 

 ing yourself while you are helping your fellow sportsmen. 



In regard to those duck blinds I promised to write 

 about; a description of them will be right in this same 

 line. Only an observer of the methods of our duck 

 shooters would need a book instead of a column to tell it 

 all— and that would be a better and more practical book 

 than anybody has ever worried out yet about duck 

 shooting. 



The Fox Lake "canvas blind" is said to be the inven- 

 tion of Ed Howard, though I presume Georgre Beckwith 

 or some other old pusher of that district may have helped 

 him. It is made of burlap , or coffee sacking, in full 

 width about 3ft., I believe. This material is of just about 

 aB good a color as you could find for a shooting coat. 

 Shooting on that lake is done from a boat, anchored in 

 water from 4 to 10ft. deep. The blind is made to entirely 

 inclose the boat, and is constructed of two sides, each of 

 which folds in the middle. To construct one side, take 

 two light slats, each half the length of the boat, and nail 

 these end to end along the top of the burlaps for that 

 side. Take two more slats — an inch and a half by three- 

 eighths is heavy enough— and nail them on the bottom 

 edge. You can then double the whole side over upon 

 itself, and roll it up into small compass. Make the other 

 side of the blind io the same way. When your pusher 

 goes out with you, he has six long and slender poles in 

 his boat, long enough to stick down in the mud and pro- 

 ject from the water about 3ft. or so. As this blind is 

 most valuable in open-water shooting, and as the water 

 is often quite deep, the poles should be nearly as long as 

 the boat, or 10 to 14ft. Two of these poles are thrust 

 down into the soft mud of the bottom, and tied together 

 at the top with a string. The bow of the boat is run in 

 under these poles, and two more are then put out at the 

 stern in the same way, and then one on each side of the 

 middle of the boat. The ends of the top slats of the 

 blind are now tied to the poles at bow, stern and middle, 

 the blind being allowed to unroll and fall down into the 

 water. About this time you begin to notice that the blind 

 breaks tne wind off from you a very great deal. The 

 chief remaining trouble is that it flaps in the wind. You 

 obviate this by inserting on each side, and at intervals 

 just, close enough to make all stiff and taut, short sticks 

 called "spreaders." These sticks are just long enough to 

 go from tne top to the bottom slat, ami are provided with 

 brads or nails in each end, which you jab through the 

 burlaps. The blind now is tightly stretched, and shows 

 but very little tnotii n. You now push your boat out at 

 the rear, put out your decoys, and then, coming back in 

 again, tie the tops of the stern poles together just as you 

 have the bow poles. The effect is to draw the blind 

 together tightly at both ends, leaving but a small slit at 

 bow and stern, which will be found useful in watching 

 an incoming flock, From the outside the blind now pre- 

 sents the appearance of a long, cigar-shaped mass of in- 

 distinct coloring. The waves wash up at its bottom, so 

 that it seems to blend with the water. No motion within 

 is perceptible. Wiihin the blind all is warm and cosy; 

 the boat is anchored stiffly, and the side-poles prevent 

 much rock. The tops of the walls are drawn in a little, 

 and are just so high that one needs to stand on his knees 

 to see over the top. Slits are cut for peep-holes on the 

 decoy side of the blind. The cover is perfect. 



A great many redheads and bluebills are shot from 

 these blinds on Fox Lake. Sometimes a few flags or 

 bunches of grass are fastened along the sides, but this 

 does not seem to make much difference with the ducks 

 named. Redheads and bluebills, especially the latter, 

 are notoriously good decoyers. I do not know how such 

 a blind would work with mallards, which are shyer, and 

 more suspicious of anything bulky or unnatural. With 

 these birds it is a good rule to have a blind as light as 

 possible, and to keep perfectly motionless. The canvas 

 blind is, however, a practical and very comfortable one 

 for deep-water duck: shooting. 



I was talking with Mr. John Taylor about this canvas 

 bliu.d. Mr. Taylor is the superintendent of the English 

 Lake club grounds. He said the canvas blind did not 

 work on their marsh. He showed me a "willow blind," 

 which he said was better. This was of Mr, Taylor's uwn 

 make, and consi-ted of a long roll of peeled, dried willow 

 rods, about four feet long. These weie fastened together, 

 top and bottom, by twine strings which ran the whole 

 length of the roll. The blind could be rolled up or un- 

 rolled, just like a Venetian blind. It was tuilt in sec- 

 tions, and could be used about a boat, or upon an open 

 m-:adow. Composed of a single row of willows, about a 

 quarter of an inch apart, any movement made would be 

 more or less plainly visible; the blind, however, was 

 described to be fairly effective. The peeled willow rods 

 soon assume a gray and weather-beaten appearance. A 

 blind of this sort is very portable and very durable, and 

 is handy in the spring, when cover is light. 



Mr. Taylor showed me another blind which, though 

 not so durable, was in his estimation much superior to 

 the willow blind. This was made in just the same way 

 as the latter, except that in place of the willow rods tall 

 marsh grass or "cane" is used. I should think this would 

 make an excellent blind. It is stretched on short stakes. 

 The blind I saw was 34ft, long, enough to go quite around 

 a boat, yet it was rolled into so small a roll as to take 

 up very little room in a boat. 



Mr. Reed, of the Hennepin Club, went down on the 

 marsh not long ago with a contrivance he called the 

 "Koshkenong blind." He thought a good deal of it, but 

 the boys said it was no good. It was made of the light 

 galvanized wire fence netting, and intended to be 

 stretched about the boat, while the netting is covered 

 with grass and reeds stuck through the meshes. Theo- 

 retically, this should be a good blind, but practically it 

 was said to be too mathematical on the corners to suit 

 the mallard duck. 



