Oct. 10, 1889.1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



227 



now, they cannot be exterminated owing to the nature 

 of the couutry and the fact that they seek almost inac- 

 cessible places. However, we sometimes find tbem in 

 fair numbers, and from outside reports as well as those 

 from our local sportsmen, I think the birds are more 

 numerous this fall than for many seasons, and we may 

 expect fair shooting later, when the cover is not so 

 thick. 



The duck shooting on Lake Champlain is reported very 

 good, and Burlington sportsmen, as well as others along 

 the shore, are making great bags. A Burlington paper 

 reports that three Burlington shooters while at the sand- 

 bar grounds near that city, killed in the morning shoot- 

 ing of two days eighty- four ducks — mostly black ducks — 

 and fifty-seven plover. Ducks, plover and other birds 

 are reported there in great abundance, heavy flights now 

 coming from the north. 



Our fishermen were forced to lay aside their rods some 

 time ago. as the heavy rains have put an end to the bass 

 fishing. F. E. A. 



Water-bury, Vermont, Oct. 3. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



The delta extending back 50 miles or more from the 

 Gulf, north and west of here, abounds in sloughs and 

 lagoons, and about these white egrets are plentiful at this 

 season of the year. A great many of them are being 

 killed simply for the plumes. One soulless wretch who 

 lives about 14 miles from the city has a cow skin that he 

 throws over himself, and then by crawling on his hands 

 and knees is enabled to approach within easy shooting dis- 

 tance of the unsuspecting birds. He is slaughtering hun- 

 dreds of them and shipping the plumes to France where, 

 it is said, he gets much higher prices for them than can 

 be had here. 



Sickle bill curlews are also abundant on these marshes 

 and afford fine sport to lovers of wing shooting. I have 

 lately traversed the State twice, from north to south on 

 different lines of road, and have found quail in great 

 numbers everywhere. Coveys of 15 to 35 birds are found 

 in almost every bunch of cover or on nearly every feed- 

 ing ground, and grand sport may be enjoyed by any one 

 who will come here for it. G. O. Shields. 



Galveston, Texas, Sept. 24. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Ducks are now coming in to our lake. Teal have been 

 here for some time. The prospect for fall shooting is 

 very good. I expect to go on my regular fall hunt about 

 Oct. IS or .20, and will try and send you a few camp notes. 

 Our game law, as amended by the last Legislature, Sec. 3 

 of Chap. XL V. provides : That no person shall kill, wound, 

 ensnare or trap any bison or buffalo for ten years, moun- 

 tain sheep for eight years, any ibex or mountain goat for 

 ten years, any deer, elk, fawn or antelope within this 

 State for any purpose whatever at any time; except that 

 those which have horns may be killed between July 1 

 and Dec. 1 for food purposes, as provided in Sec. 4, Chap. 

 XLV. (i. e. immediate use). No protection to ducks and 

 geese, except as to nets, which are prohibited. They 

 might as well make open season all summer. This horn 

 business won't work, for every deer killed is sure to have 

 horns, but they will, of course, be small, broken or not 

 good in some way and left in the hills too rough to pack 

 out, etc. A. A. K. 



Berthoujd, Colorado, Oct. 1. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



The hunting season in the Adirondacks is now at its 

 height. Many sportsmen from the city still linger among 

 the grand old hills, and the resident or native hunters are 

 fully awake to the opportunities which are presented 

 each day. Many guides and hunters say that there are 

 not as many partridges and squirrels in the woods as 

 there were at this time last year. However, those who 

 go out for partridges have fair success. But the deer 

 hunters are having the most fun, and have thus far been 

 quite successful. At least twenty deer have been killed 

 in Elizabethtown thus far, and the hunters are confident 

 that niany more will fall before the season closes. The 

 greatest enthusiasm "prevails, and the hills and valleys 

 are lined with hunters almost evei-y day. Observer. 



Elizabethtown, N. Y., Oct. 5. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



This is the time when the hunters of the peninsula 

 begin to stop the war on the shore birds, and to look for 

 likely coveys of partridges on which to make a descent on 

 opening day. Partridges are more plentiful than usual 

 this year and good bags are expected. All of the shore 

 birds have left except the willets, which are beginning; to 

 flock, and by the time this reaches you will be on their 

 way south. Willets are becoming scarce of late, being 

 shot all through the breeding season when they are tame 

 and decoy well. Squirrels are not very plentiful this 

 year. I saw to-day two flocks of ducks, vanguards of 

 the multitudes soon to follow. B. W. L. 



Eastville, Virginia, Sept. 28. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I was out Sept. 28 to try a new canvas boat in a pond 

 near here, and found, to my surprise, that the ducks had 

 begun to arrive. I would not venture to say where they 

 came from, but 1 got a widgeon, three shovelers and a 

 blue-winged teal in the course of a few hours. I found a 

 number of snipe, and had a happy time till I exhausted 

 my shells. Not expecting such game I had taken only a 

 few. I was decidedly pleased with my Acme folding 

 boat. It is a real piece of mechanism, and promises to 

 be handy and serviceable. But where did those ducks 

 come from? Aztec. 



Sax Luis Potosi, Mexico, Oct. 2. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



The gunners have been out the last week and the game 

 has come in. There are plenty of fine partridges in the 

 market windows, with a few woodcock. The partridges 

 seem to be mostly old b rds and are in fine condition, 

 while the woodcock alt seem to be rather poor. It is re- 

 ported that quail are being shot already, but if so the 

 shooters keep out of sight. Cohannet. • 



Providence, R. I., Oct. 3. 



Mr. E. B. Nicewaner, of Baltimore, sends us these ex- 

 tracts from a letter received from his son, E. G. Nice- 

 f waner, C. E. f who is with a Pennsylvania Railroad Co. 



survey party in the Alleghany Mountains, near Johns- 

 town, Pa. The letter was written Sept. 27: "There has 

 not been a day that I have not wished to have you along 

 since we have been in camp. Yesterday we ran across 

 fresh signs of bear droppings and footprints; to-day we 

 not only saw bear tracks, but deer and otters. I inclose 

 quill from a little porcupine we ran across. Every day I 

 see trout. There is a pool in the creek alongside of camp 

 that has some 12 and 14-inch ones in it. The water is so 

 clear that they can be seen darting from rock to rock. 

 We have for an axtnan a young fellow who hunts most 

 of his time, and he told me to-day that one day last spring 

 he caught 360 trout from 8 to I6in. long. How would you 

 like to get a whack at them? Pheasants are as thick as 

 sparrows. Every half hour we flush from one to six. I 

 know where a dozen are feeding already, and if I only 

 had the proper sort of gun I would have good sport. It 

 is a common occurrence to see one running along the 

 road. Another of our axmen, who lives about 800yds. 

 from camp, told me w here a flock of turkeys use every 

 day. I am going up there to-morrow evening: his little 

 boy saw them to-day. If you could only slip up here and 

 be with us for a week, what a time you would have." 



Deer hunting on Long Island has been great this year. 

 The season down there is for the first ten days of October, 

 Sundays excepted. The game has an area of 300 square 

 miles to roam over. Points of attack are from Ronkon- 

 komo. Say ville and Smithlown. The deer are dogged. 

 The law has been generally well observed. The only in- 

 stance of its infraction corning to our notice was in the 

 case of a man who appeared before a Sayville justice and 

 informed on himself. He had killed a deer before the 

 time was up, said he had to in self-defense, the varmint 

 raided his cabbages and ate up his vegetables. 



From many localities in New England ruffed grouse 

 are reported plenty, the broods large and the birds well 

 grown. Woodcock are also fairly plenty, but not up to 

 last year's shooting. A good flight, which should have 

 already begun at this writing, has been predicted by all 

 the knowing ones. 



The rail have "struck on" in the marshes of Long 

 Island and Connecticut, and some big bags of plump 

 birds have been scored. On the Hackensack, N. J., 

 marshes, by the way, the credit of being high boat has 

 been won by a Hackensack lady. 



ON GALLATIN RIVER, MONTANA. 



ON the 4th of September my brother and I started out 

 froni Bozeman, Mont., for a hunt in the Rockies. 

 We left after dinner, with seven pack and five saddle 

 horses and team and wagon. Our guides were Ira Dodge 

 and John Kirby, the cook, Blackstone. Our course was 

 almost south. The wagon left us at Squaw Creek, about 

 thirty miles from Bozeman. Here we packed the horses 

 preparatory for starting over the mountain trail. This 

 Gallatin trail is one of the roughest in the Rockies, and 

 we found it a "holy terror."' I had seen rough roads, but 

 never thought a horse could go over such a trail as this 

 proved to be. The first eight miles is fearfully rough, 

 but after that it is a fair mountain path. 



We got to the hunting grounds in two days after leav- 

 ing Squaw Creek, having caught fish and shot grouse en 

 route. With a .22cal. rifle one can get all the camp meat 

 they need, and with a rod and line and grasshopper, or 

 most any kind of fly, all the mountain trout, whitefish 

 and grayling. We saw lots of elk and mule deer, and 

 two grizzlies and a lynx. We succeeded in getting some 

 venison, and it proved an agreeable change to fish and 

 grouse. I was fortunate enough to make the acquaint- 

 ance of two grizzlies; broke a front leg of the first one, 

 but he got into the timber before I could get in a second 

 Bhot. The second bear I succeeded in killing. My guide 

 and I were riding along on top of a high mountain 

 about sunset, looking for game, when we saw the bear 

 crossing an open park about two hundred yards off. 

 We rolled off our horses, leaving them to take care of 

 themselves (which they did by galloping off in the oppo- 

 site direction) and stalked to about 75yds. of him. He 

 was moving slowly and swaying his body from side to 

 side. The first shot struck him in back of shoulder and 

 went through him. He uttered a fearful growl and 

 reared on his hindlegs for an instant, then coming down 

 on all fours he struck the ground a fearful blow with his 

 paw, making the dust fly in fine style. Then wheeling 

 he came for me at a gallop, growling all the while. Shot 

 No. 2 struck him in the shoulder and went half his 

 length in a longitudinal direction, coming out near his 

 spine. This brought him on his knees; but recovering 

 himself he came for me again; but No. 3 fixed him and 

 he fell dead about 20yds. off. He proved to be a 7001bs. 

 bear, fat and fur in fine condition. The hide measured 

 6ft. 8in. It is now being mounted as a rug. I have also 

 the head of a mule deer, which I hope soon to add to my 

 other trophies of the chase. 



I met my wife at Cinnabar and went on to the Mam- 

 moth Hot Springs Hotel. The next day my brother and 

 guides with extra man and teamster (Charlie Tommond) 

 and outfit met us there and we started out for a seven- 

 days' trip through the National Park, making the trip on 

 horseback and camping at nights. The Park well de- 

 serves the interest the Forest and Stream has taken in 

 it, for it embraces both grand scenery and the moat won- 

 derful natural curiosities in the world. 



This trip, combining as it did the hunting on Gallatin 

 and the sight-seeing in the Park, is one of the most en- 

 joyable of the many similar ones I have taken. The Gal- 

 latin ie a rough country to hunt over, but to sportsmen 

 vyho are willing to climb and rustle a little, it is worth a 

 visit. The scenery is grand, water fine, grass good, and 

 fish, fowl and mammal fairly plentiful. In conclusion I 

 would like to say that sportsmen desiring good reliable 

 guides and hunters will find them in Ira Dodge and John 

 Kirby, of Bozeman, Montana. They combine both the 

 hunter aud the genial camp companion. H. W. H. 

 Hohokus, N. J. 



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

 trated circulars of W. B. LeffinswelTs book, " Wild Fowl Shoot- 

 ing," -which will be mailed free on request. The book is pro- 

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

 other competent authorities to be the best treatise on the subject 



CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



There seems to be a great abundance of small game 

 this fall in this State, and others to the south of it. At 

 Jerseyville the quail are more abundant than they have 

 been for years. The town was full of them when I was 

 there, and two were caught in a drug store, into which 

 they had wandered. They could be heard whistling all 

 about. They had begun the movement which in that 

 country is regular with them every fall, a sort of migra- 

 tion from the fields to a warmer and better cover. Mr. 

 Guinnotte, of Kansas City, says the northern Missouri 

 quail nearly all migrate to the South and West in cold 

 weather. Mr. C. W. Parent, whose name will be famil- 

 iar to many Chicago shooters, now lives at Marshall, Mo., 

 and he tells me there are more quail about that place 

 than he ever saw. He says if any of the Chicago boys 

 will come down he can assure them of all the shooting 

 they can ask. The vegetation is too high for quail shoot- 

 ing until after heavy frosts have cut it down. The best 

 season, therefore, is late November or December. From 

 what I learned in Jerseyville, I should think one need 

 ask no better shooting at quail than can be had right 

 near there. The whole country is full of quail there. 

 That bird is reported unusually plentiful in the Indian 

 Territory and in Kansas this fall. 



Mr. Al. Bandle, of Cincinnati, called my attention to 

 an error in the open season dates published in another 

 sporting paper. The open date there is given, "Quail 

 aud ruffed grouse, Oct. 1 to March I.'* It should be Oct. 

 20 to March 1. We telephoned across the river and con- 

 firmed this. 



I learn from the West that Messrs. J. A. Ricker and a 

 friend from Evanston, Wyoming Territory, in company 

 with others from Laramie City, Denver and Kansas, 

 have left for a big-game hunt in Idaho. I do not know 

 any of the party except Mr. Ricker, my old friend and 

 business partner. He is about the most consistently en- 

 thusiastic sportsman I ever knew, and about the best and 

 biggest-hearted fellow on earth, I expect. I hope he will 

 find that bear he lost long years ago. 



Nothing much is doing right now in shooting circles in 

 Chicago. We must have rain or our duck shooting will 

 suffer. Mr. E. C. Cook and Mr. Montgomery Ward were 

 lately clown on their marsh at the De Golyer Club, and 

 got a nice lot of snipe. They report their local mallard 

 supply as very satisfactory. 



I have not heard of any more prosecutions under the 

 game laws as yet in this State. Over in Wisconsin, N. 

 0. Hanson, a pound-net fisherman of Oshkosh, who was 

 netting in Lake Winnebago, got caught for $97 and lost 

 his nets, worth $1,000. That's the way to snake 'em. 

 Now let the Wisconsin wardens watch Lake Koshkenong 

 and see that the canvasback shooters this fall keep their 

 sneakboxes "inside the natural cover of the rushes." 

 That part of the law has been violated on that lake openly 

 enough already. E. Hough. 



ON A STAND. 



rHAD been on several deer hunts and had always been 

 very unsuccessful, not even catching sight of a deer 

 on any occasion, but decided to try my luck once more. 

 On a very cold and wet morning at 5 o'clock I was 

 aroused from my peaceful slumbers by a very unpeace- 

 ful noise at my door, and with the greatest trouble hav- 

 ing- gotten a piece of stale bread about the size of my 

 hand and a microscopic piece of half-cooked ham I 

 started out into the cold, wet morning feeling rather the 

 reverse of an enthusiastic deer hunter. After a walk 

 (or rather a swim) of two miles through the drizzling 

 rain and through mud up to my knees we came to the 

 river, where I was placed on a stand by the driver and 

 told to wait there till he returned. I tried first to sit 

 down, but stuck in the mud, and so had to get up again. 

 I next tried leaning against a tree, but the mosquitoes 

 which are in millions by the river, having in the mean- 

 time collected their forces, attacked me. At first I stood 

 on the defensive, pulled my coat over my head and. 

 smoked for all I was worth, but it was of no avail, the 

 smoke instead of driving them away seemed rather to 

 attract them, and at last my patience being exhausted I 

 attacked them and slew about five hundred in five min- 

 utes, at the cost, however of making my hands so sore 

 I could hardly hold my gun. At last I gave it up and let 

 them do their worst; and they did it, too, for in about 

 three or four minutes I was bitten completely beyond 

 recognition. About this time, the rain, which had been 

 drizzling till then, came down in earnest, and in spite of 

 all my exertions to keep a little dry I was soaked to the 

 skin and remained in that state for the rest of the time. 

 After I had stood there about six hours, the driver 

 arrived and said he had started two deer, but they had 

 gone in the wrong direction (as they always do). I had 

 not heard nor seen a sight of dogs or deer the whole 

 time, nor had most of the others. When the driver 

 arrived I started for home, and in about an hour and a 

 half arrived dreadfully hungry, wet and tired, and 

 registering oaths that I would go on no more deer hunts 

 in Bath county, which oaths I certainly for the future 

 intend to keep. * C. H. R. 



THE PEND D'OREILLE COUNTRY. 



C^OLVILLE, Wyoming, Sept. 9. — Editor Forest and 

 ) Stream: I left here on the first of August, 1888, 

 and went about twenty miles up the Pencl d'Oreille 

 River from the mouth. There we made a log house and 

 stayed for the winter, and did not get back till last 

 April. The country is full of black-tail deer, white-tail 

 deer, caribou, black and silver gray wolves, beaver, otter, 

 mink, fisher, black, brown, and silver-tip bears, besides 

 any amount of salmon and mountain trout. When we 

 first got there we put in all of our time catching fish and 

 salting them; we caught l,2001bs. and put in brine for 

 market, and as soon as the fur got good we commenced 

 hunting. I killed three silver-tips, nine black, thirteen 

 brown, and one bear about the color of slate, that weighed 

 2081bs. dressed. I showed the skin to the Indians and 

 old hunters, but they had never seen one like it. Besides 

 I killed and trapped seventeen caribou, twenty-one 

 wolves, fifty-two beaver, nineteen otter, twenty-seven 

 fishers. I never kill deer except when I need meat, so 

 that we did not bother them. My partner got seven 

 silver-tips, fourteen black and five brown bears, eight 

 caribou, nineteen wolves, thirty-six beaver, twenty otter, 

 twenty-three fishers and three mountain sheep. There 



