402 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Dec. 12 1889. 



SPORT IN NEW MEXICO. 



ONE of the most beautiful and well-stocked streams in 

 New Mexico is the Brazos, an arm of the Chama. 

 About the !2tli of June the big fish begin to runup; 

 then is the time to be out, and the angler will surely be 

 well rewarded. On the 14th of Jung, last year, my friend 

 E, caught 88 huh averaging 1 Albs. Three-pound fish are 

 plentiful al thin season; but as time advances they ascend 

 from pool to pool, till they are only to be met with near 

 the headwaters, which is in an extremely rough country 

 and somewhat high up in the mountains; consequently 

 the inconvenience of getting then- is considerable. This 

 year we made very good baskets during June, the early 

 part of July, and September, when the fish began tocome 

 down. During the latter month my friend Mr. E. made 

 the best catch of the season, as far as our camp was con- 

 cerned, not in numbers, but according to weight. He 

 had over titty fish, the smallest being very little short of 

 half a pound, and the three largest weighing 121, respec- 

 tively 4*, 44 and %%, the rest ranging down, there being 

 several about 21bs., and so on. 



Late in August three gentlemen came to camp with 

 us, who were very anxious to engage in a hunt and see 

 a live bear in his natural state and proper place in front 

 of the hounds. We took a preliminary canter over the 

 mountains in search of (racks, which were found about 

 four miles from the main camp OH a small stream. 

 Owing to the scarcity of rain this year the so-called 

 stream had degenerated into an insignficant water-hole 

 and held only .just enough aqua impiira for ourselves, 

 our horses, three donkeys and the bear. However, we 

 could do no better, so here we camped. The river being- 

 only about a mile and a half below, we took our rods, as 

 well as the guns and nine dogs. On our arrival the first 

 evening it was too late to hunt with hounds, so 0. and I 

 went after grouse, while E. and J. took a turn at the 

 trout. A., who was out for his health, remained in 

 camp, promising to attend to the culinary department. 

 "We were not very successful, for although C. had an ex- 

 cellent pointer, the brush was so thick and the traveling so 

 rough that our shooting was certainly faulty; we called 

 it "bad powder." Be that as it may, we only got a brace 

 of birds out of at least twelve that were Hushed. The 

 other two did not do much better, for J. was unaccus- 

 tomed to the ways of the wily trout, and the big fish 

 were for the most part higher 'up the stream. He did. 

 however, hook one of about 21bs. and tried to throw him 

 out over the back of his head, w ith the usuaJ heartrend- 

 ing result. No matter. They brought back plenty for 

 supper and breakfast: and no one had cause nor excuse 

 to grumble as yet; indeed Mr. G. performed his part well, 

 and all went on swimmingly. 



Early next morning we started with the hounds through 

 fa-lien timber, stumps and thick undergrowth. The dogs 

 were all coupled exe mt Spot, a reliable old hound, who 

 hunts like a pointer and rarely ranges out of sight until 

 he strikes a fresh trail. I guess we traveled or rather 

 rolled, fell and stumbled along in this way for a mile or 

 more, Inn ing to go back every now and 'then to loosen 

 the dogs, who have a wonderful knack of tying them- 

 selves up in all kinds of sailor's knots and other fantastic 

 intricacies. Two will run in opposite direction around a 

 bush; the rest jump over them, dive in between each 

 others' legs and come up on the other side; and the 

 thing is done, which takes ten minutes struggling and 

 puzzliug to undo. During this performance a puppy will 

 usually escape, with one or two couples dangling" from 

 his neck, and go bawling through the wood as if on a hot 

 trail, until caught and replaced. 



After a mile and a half more or less had been traversed, 

 we came to a creek with very steep ascent on either side. 

 Here the old dog began to ye'll with all his might and we 

 let t he rest loose, in another three minutes the whole 

 pack were in full cry, going up the worst side of course. 

 They ran up for about half a mile and baved in some 

 quaking asp, but we were all too far behind to see any- 

 thing; and they soon went on again upward you may be 

 sure. All the time the rocks were getting rougher 'and 

 the way more precipitous, but on we toiled. G. and 0. 

 were left in the dim distance. E. was ahead and J. and 

 1 a few yards behind, were not a little interested in the 

 mineral we continually passed. However, he being 

 better versed in mineralogy than myself, was sooner 

 satisfied as to its intrinsic value and waddled on; thus it 

 came about that I was left behind toiling slowlv but 

 surely. When I arrived near the suinmii, E. and J. were 

 about oOOyds. in front: on getting there I shouted and 

 received no answer: they had gone! dogs and all, 

 goodness knows where. Thus I reflected. "Any animal 

 doubling on the hounds will have to come down the 

 pass 1 have just come up: and if he does not double 

 1 have no chance on earth of ever seeing him or mv 

 dogs till sundown." So I lit a pipe and while taking 

 in the situation, a fine pair of elk horns caught my eye. 

 They were lying on a rock at the edge of the' efitt', 

 probably having been placed there bv some Indian. 

 A short examination satisfied me that I had not 

 come all this way for nothing. Accordingly I shouldered 

 them, with the intention of hiding, and getting them at 

 a future date. But, alas! when 1 was well coiled tip in 

 them something rushed past me about 50vds. to my left 

 through the brush, and made for the pass'. I cannot tell 

 what possessed me, but for some reason or other, or no 

 reason at all, 1 thought it was a deer, so I took my time 

 getting to the brink of the precipice, for we were not 

 hunting deer. When 1 did get there 1 heard a "jap" be- 

 hind me, and here was a hound in close pursuit; and 

 about 800yds, below, disappearing into some scrub, was a 

 cinnamon bear with two tinv cubs. I tired two or three 

 random shots without effect! Then f>. tired three times 

 from the opposite hill, but the bear was too fast and too 

 far off. The old hound went on. and then came a pup. 

 both were tired and footsore, not having been out before 

 this since early in t he spring. The rest were in Jerusalem 

 for all I knew, many of them being young dogs and wild 

 from want of exercise: I reckon they overran the trail; 

 anyway, they did not put in an appearance until late 

 that evening. Having satisfied myself that the tired old 

 hound and pup would never overhaul that bear with her 

 two cubs to protect, I again shouldered mv elk horns and 

 rifle and began my descent, soon to meet 0. and J. , which 

 latter gentleman was somewhat excited at having seen 

 and shot at his first bear. -It was a Ulster," at least he 



said so.'and of course it must have been, but I thought it 

 was rather small. Someway below we met J. and E., 

 who had gone round and come down ahead of us, having 

 seen nothing. That evening I went out after trout, leav- 

 ing G. in camp, somewhat fatigued after his tramp: E. 

 and C. took a turn at the grouse, and J. went out explor- 

 ing generally. 



But the tale of the day has yet to be told, for shortly 

 after we had left in the morning the Mexican tending the 

 stock had run in to acquaint G. with the welcome fact 

 that a bear was within 50yds. of his tent and had not yet 

 seen him. Out he went with his little .44 Winchester, 

 and there sure enough was our old cinnamon, minus her 

 cubs, taking a bath in our drinking water to cool off a 

 bit after her run. This was too much for G.'s nerves, 

 and tip went his gun. Snap ! There was no cartridge in. 

 She heard the click and was gone. Oh, mortifying mo- 

 ment for 0. ! He fired into the brush, but that was the 

 last time the old lady visited the locality. 1 think had 

 she been hit she probably would ha,ve turned to fight at 

 such close quarters, That night the cubs came around 

 camp to hunt their mother. I wished they had found 

 her before, for they caused an awful commotion among 

 the stock. 



The next day we had another unsuccessful run, I think 

 after the same bear; but she had been traveling all night 

 and we ran all day without overhauling ber. An amus- 

 ing incident occurred to C. and G. They were again left 

 behind, sitting on a log in the road indulging in the fra- 

 grant weed, when G. suddenly jumped up and shouted, 

 "There's a bear!" ('. fell backward over the log in his 

 hurry to rise; and his gun flew over his head. He gained 

 his feet, however, in time to take part in the roar of in- 

 effectua 1 shots that followed the intruder. It was a small 

 brown bear, aud was walking steadily toward them about 

 25ft. away, when first observed, doubtless having been 

 frightened out of its midday slumbers by the distant 

 baying of the hounds. 



However, a great part of our object was achieved: and 

 if we had not been able to kill a bear for our friends, we 

 had shown them four in two days, running about wild in 

 their native woods. They were pleased, and so were we, 

 for the bears were thin and the hides poor: so there was 

 not much lost, unless it was the $20 bounty on their 

 heads, $o a head, which would most likely have been in- 

 vested for the benefit or misery of the crowd in that dia- 

 bolical concoction of sulphuric acid and tobacco juice, 

 blessed with the great name of whisky in New Mexico. 



The next day we parted, J. G. and C. to their gold mine 

 about thirty miles distant, and we to Stinking Lake, so 

 named from its sulphuric properties. Here we brought 

 to camp 45$t ducks, mostly canvasbacks, 18 coyotes, 2 

 Canada geese, which my friend E. shot right and left 

 with his 12-bore, a bald eagle, a pelican and numerous 

 other specimens. Those ducks must have had a rough 

 time, for the day before we left a large party from Den- 

 ver arrived with boats and decoys. But there were plenty 

 lor all, and more too. Had we gone in for slaughtering 

 them from the edge of the lake and on the water, the 

 number of slain could not have been counted, much less 

 used. But we prefer driven birds, for ducks flying over 

 a hide on a narrow strip of land, from one water to an- 

 other, go very fast and afford rare sport, besides requir- 

 ing a certain amount of practice, as any of your readers 

 are well aware who have tried it. 



Duck shooting is getting stale, and having all the 

 smoked birds we want for winter, we wend our way in 

 the direction of Sefior Patricio Chavez's ranch at the 

 head of the Galena Canon. We meet him on the road, 

 and he tells us where one of his steers has been recently 

 killed by a bear. The following morning the dogs are 

 off again: we soon find the bear's track and it is fresh. 

 Away they go, and after five miles scrambling and crawl- 

 ing over hill and dale, we come to a fine old cinnamon 

 treed about 500ft. below us. The dogs are all there, yell- 

 ing lustily at the foot of the gigantic pine, in which he 

 considers himself safe. There he sits and smiles a sweet 

 ursine smile at his pursuers, as a house cat will at a ter- 

 rier, as much as to say, "Don't you wish you could catch 

 me?" A glance showed that there is nothing for it but to 

 run a mile or more around the canon before commencing 

 the descent. However, we are in for it now, so stumb- 

 ling over anything and everything we roll to the bottom 

 amid a shower of loose earth and rocks, some unpleas- 

 antly large ones, too. The first man who arrived within 

 shot was Charlie, who fired at once, as the old fellow 

 showed signs of coming down to make a firmer acquaint- 

 ance with us; but this we did not at all desire. He fell, 

 shot through the brain, and proved to be a beauty, with 

 a long coat and a hundred pounds of lard on him. The 

 meat was also very acceptable, for lie had fed chiefly on 

 the sweet little nut known as the pinon, with the addi- 

 tion of the prime beef he so lately brought to his larder. 



The next day we got two black-tailed deer: but seeing 

 no more bear sign we moved into the Chama Canon: and 

 here we are with 2in. of snow outside and six turkeys 

 inside. There were more turkeys killed, but unfortun- 

 ately the boys hanged them up with the intention of 

 fetching them next day: the wild turkev has a strong 

 scent and the cats and coyotes got there' first. To-mor- 

 row I go to hunt a good winter camp and something 

 more rare in a sheep and cattle country than bears, that 

 is winter grass for my stock. When this is found, we 

 will make off camps till the end of this month, among 

 thepihons, where the Mexicans tell me our quarrv are 

 feeding in great numbers. I expect the foot of the 

 Sierra Valdais or Pedro Xal will find us during the cold 

 weather, wherever it may be. I will let you know with 

 what success we meet. So Odto&, fellow sportsmen, and 

 if you do not hear from me again before Christmas I wish 

 you all a merry one and lots of good cheer. 



New Mux mo. A. P. F. Coape. 



Weight of Oeouse.— Chews Landing, New Jersey, 

 Dec. t>.— Thinking that some fellow sportsman who p'e- 

 ruses the columns of "the Old Reliable" will be interested 

 in the following little item I jot it down. While shoot- 

 ing quail to-day a pair of ruffed grouse flushed about 

 30yds. from where I stood. I killed one and hit the 

 other hard, but 1 had only small loads of No. 10 shot, and 

 he got away. The one I killed proved to be a young 

 cock, and the largest 1 ever saw. weighing no less than 

 3lbs. loz. on two different scales to-night. I also killed 

 the largest hen quail 1 ever pulled a trigger on not lOOvds. 

 from where the grouse fell: she pulled the scale at "just 

 9oz. More than a dozen saw these birds weighed — 

 Rroor.FH V^x Ok . 



PHOTOGRAPHY AS A PASTIME. 



WITH the advent of the falling autumnal leaf the i 

 peregrinations of the amateur photographer, as he , 

 pushes his way through the trackless avenues of nature, I 

 become invested with surpassing interest. When old fi 

 Mother Earth begins to robe herself in the cerements of 

 crimson and yellow and the grand old forests drop upon , 

 her bosom the brown garments of decay, it is then that i 

 the knight of the tripod is in his glory. 



The wonderful growth of amateur photography as a , 

 popular outdoor pastime illustrates in a marked degree 

 the elevating tendencies of the modern devices for ] 

 health-giving recreation. To the lover of those polite 

 diversions that are devoid of the elements of daring 

 adventure and the prowess of reckless exposure the study 

 of field photography presents attractions that are incom- 

 parably superior to those of other outdoor pastimes. 



Photography enjoys an acknowledged supremacy over 

 all other outdoor sports in that it cultivates the finer in- 

 stincts and depends not for its fascinating features upon 

 any exhibition of physical hardihood or athletic train- J 

 ing. The pursuit of the pastime is beyond question en- 

 nobling and refining in its influence. It develops a keen 

 and artistic eye for the beautiful in nature. Through the 

 mystic and enchanting alchemy of the "darkroom" it 

 brings the receptive mind into close contact with the 

 great Artist who has filled the earth and sky with such 

 regal beauty. 



The whole realm of nature with its green fields and 

 woodland symposium of daisies and buttercups, its bab- j 

 bling brooks, where the laughing rivulets go clattering 

 with their silver heels over the stony depths and the J 

 nodding lilies drink in copious libations from the per- 

 petual fount — all this is the kingdom of the amateur 

 photographer. 



The pastime is one that not only conduces to physical i 

 exhilaration, but, through the fascinating mystery of its 

 results, it engages our admiration and enlists our ripest 

 mental endeavor. Other outdoor sports are largely cal- 

 culated for the development of the body without render- 

 ing to the mind any adequate recompense. Moreover, 

 such pastimes as hunting, fishing, lawn tennis and base- 

 ball combine elements of roughness that are incompatible 

 with the refined delicacy of the gentler sex. Photography 

 is a recreation admirably adapted to both sexes. 



Those who imagine that outdoor photography is a mere 

 sport are laboring under a lamentable misapprehension 

 of the scope of this delectable diversion. Photography is 

 a study; and to that fact it is indebted in a large measure 

 for many of its elements of irresistible charm. Pure 

 physical'exercise is not satisfying to the cultivated mind. 

 The pastime that makes only" brawn and muscle does not 

 adequately fulfill the requirements of .a perfect ideal 

 American pastime. 



To the young man or young woman who seeks mere' 

 sport, photography will be a vexatious disappointment. 

 Its tedious details' cannot be mastered in one summer, i 

 To the patient student who is willing to give to it a fairi 

 allowance of time and study it has a fund of pleasure that) 

 is constant and exhaustless. 



He who is gifted by nature with an instinct for discern- 

 ing the beautiful, and is endowed with some inventive 

 faculty, will find the rarest enjoyment in photography.* 

 No lunkhead ever made a success of it or thoroughly en-: 

 joyed it. Not every one who can wield a lawn-tennis 

 racquet can develop a good negative or make a perfect, 

 "exposure." The cameras which come under the "touch- 

 the- button" class are eschewed by the votaries of the art 

 and are relegated to their proper place on the shelves of 

 the toy shops. They are not designed to be used by per- 

 sons who have artistic talent. 



Those who contemplate joining the grand army of 

 amateur photographers should be admonished that the 

 only true satisfaction is to be derived from a camera that 

 has been made for the professional artist. The average 

 ••amateur outfit" is to be abhorred by those who would! 

 be en rapport with the beautiful art. Such outfits are 

 designed for the entertainment of boys, to be cast aside 

 at the end of a summer's campaign to repose in the bric- 

 a-brac of the garret. An investment of a twenty-dollarl 

 bill with one of those amateur concerns will bring in re-l 

 turn a cheap box, a cheap lens and a varied assortment! 

 of nameless chemicals, together with a cheap lot of toy! 

 appurtenances that will be of no use to the genuine artist.! 



If you want a camera it is advisable to go or send tol 

 a photographic stock house and purchase a good instru-l 

 ment that will be a constant source of pleasure. If you! 

 have fifty dollars to invest put twenty-five of it in a lens.l 

 The remainiug twenty-five can be judiciously expended! 

 in a box, tripod and plate-holders. A good formula for 

 developing the negatives may be obtained of any local 

 photographer. It is not advisable to purchase a box thai 

 is embellished with complicated mechanisms that are 

 constantly getting out of order. A plain box. with a re 

 volving front and swing- back, are preferred by artists oi 

 experience, who have studied the art with reference tc 

 accomplishing the best results. There are those vcho dc 

 not feel that they are properly equipped for a photo- 

 graphic outing until they own an expensive shutter witM 

 rubber tube and bulb." But some of the most skillful 

 amateurs prefer the old-time "cap" for ordinary exi 

 posures, while the instantaneous exposures may be "made 

 with a wooden drop-shutter, that can be made for fifty 

 cents. 



After all, the excellence of the results accomplishec 

 are dependent upon the skill of the artist. The time o? 

 the exposure must be regulated according to the ligh 

 and the character of the subject. To make indiscrimi 

 nate "shots" at all sorts of objects is the pastime of th< 

 schoolboy and not of the artist. The most beautifu 

 effects are obtained by a proper study of the lights anc 

 shadows of the landscape, coupled with a skillful expos; 

 ure of such duration as is best calculated to draw out al! 

 the beauties of the scene. The dark foliage of trees wil! 

 require a longer exposure than a house that has beeji 

 painted white. And in this connection it is proper I 

 remark that the most inane and insipid feature of tin 

 pastime is the photography of houses. No artist who ii 

 in love with the art will waste any of his precious nega, 

 tives upon houses, except, perchance, those that an, 

 singularly beautiful and rustic in their architectural con- 

 ception. " I 



Landscapes constitute the poetry of photography. The^ I 

 make up the rhythmic beauty of the photographic rneil 

 ody. A proper appreciation of the art is predicted uporl 

 the delicate impressionableness of the artist with refer I 

 ence to natural scenery. ' 



