50 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Aug. 7, 1890, 



THE MAN IN THE HOLLOW TREE. 



TN Ms forthcoming second volume of "Historical and 

 J- Sporting Notes in and around Quebec," our valued 

 correspondent, Mr. J. M. Le Moine, of Quebec, has incor- 

 porated aversion of the "Man in the Hollow Tree" stories 

 of which Ave wrote in the Forest and Stream of July 5. 

 It is interesting aa adding one more to the variants there 

 given; and the Indian Scioui must be given the place 

 among the other hunters who have spun this ancient yarn 

 with themselves as the hero. Scioui was a familiar figure 

 of the past, endeared to the frequenters of the lovely Lake 

 St. Charles, north of Quebec. The shrewd old Indian 

 guide, trapper and angler, like his famous legendary 

 colleague Gabriel, must now be enjoying the "happy 

 hunting grounds" promised to him by his sachems. The 

 story, as given in Mr. LeMoine's pages, was told by 

 Scioui to the late Charles Panet, who was for many years 

 the respected member for Quebec county. 



One day in early spring time, Scioui, so his story runs, 

 had imbibed too freely of St. Pierre whisky, and lost at 

 night in the woods, duly followed the example of the 

 other bear story heroes and took refuge in a hole in a 

 tree some fifteen feet from the ground. 



"I succeeded in wedging myself firmly, as I thought, in the 

 vent of the tree without looking below me. Sleep soon, however, 

 overpowered me. All at once and without one moment's warn- 

 ing I slid down in the cavity about 12ft. and landed on a soft bed 

 of leaves. Hero I was entombed, helpless. Realizing mv desper- 

 ate position, I was just yielding myself to despair. It occurred to 

 me to invoke my patron saint; and taking a hastv and unsatis- 

 factory retrospect of my whole life I tried to kneel down to say my 

 prayers, but I found my memory failed me, and the only prayer 

 that I could recollect was Ora pro nobis, which I began to repeat 

 in a loud voice, when my ear was struck by a strange noise, as of 

 something scratching on the outside bark of the tree. Then a 

 fluffy ball of fur struck my head, nearly crushing life out of me. 

 1 gasped for breath and then yelled with pain and fright. A snort 

 and horrible growl were the only response. Terror sobered me 

 entirely. I realized my position. I had unwittingly invaded the 

 winter quarters of a bear, which at the time was away from home 

 in quest of food, no doubt. Bruin, on his return, bad according 

 to his well known practice, let himself down in his lair, tail first, 

 on top of me. Which of us two was the most startled I cannot 

 pretend to say. 



"Scared, be stood a second or two Btaring at me, then turned 

 , arid took to climbing the wooden walls of my prison while I 

 shouted at him. J still managed to retain some presence of mind. 

 One chance of escape then remained to me. 1 laid hold of the 

 animal's tail in his ascent, but soon found there was not enough 

 to hold on to. Letting go my hold. I instanly took a firm grip of 

 1 he long fur growing on his haunches. Never did I travel more 

 satisfactorily by train. In a trice I found mysely landed at the 

 front door of my prison. 



"Bruin seemed so pui out. at the occurrence that he did not stop 

 to look after his 1 are; he dropped down tail-end first along the 

 tree, ran like a caribou toward the lake and might he running yet 

 had the ice not melted last spring." 



A DUCKING BOAT. 



Editor Forest and, Stream: 



The following description of a kind of punt which I 

 used for duck shooting during several years may perhaps 

 be of service to some of your readers. It cannot in any 

 way be compared with the beautiful and graceful skiffs 

 and canoes of which engravings are given in Forest and 

 Stream of June 12, yet it fills a gap, for special purposes, 

 in a way which I have never seen equaled by any other 

 kind of boat. 



It was made for me in [1870, when I was living in 

 a part of Central India where there were numerous ponds 

 (called j heels) which abounded with duck and. other kinds 

 of waterfowl in the cold season of the year. Many of 

 these waters are small and have no boats or canoes upon 

 them. They are often so full of weeds that it is dangerous 

 for any one to swim in them after a dead duck, and in 

 some instances they contain alligators (called muggers), 

 which are likely to seize a dog if used for retrieving. 



The frame of my punt was made by a native basket 

 maker. It was 5ft. long, 3ft. wide and lOin. deep, with 

 rounded ends and a flat floor rising slightly toward the 

 bow and stern so as to glide easily over weeds. The wall was 

 of bamboo split into pieces about the thickness of a pen- 

 holder, and these were crossed diagonally so as to combine 

 strength with lightness. The floor was also of bamboo, 

 SjSlii into slabs half an inch to an inch in breadth. These 

 were fixed crosswise and rested in the center upon a 

 strong piece which extended from bow to stern. In each 

 side was a solid bamboo stick an inch in diameter, which 

 was bound firmly from the floor to the gunwale and acted 

 aa a tholepin. The inclosed sketch will give an idea of 

 what the frame was like. 



It was covered with a large tanned buffalo hide which 

 was soaked in water until pliable, and fixed on by stitches 

 round the gunwale. To make the leather waterproof, a 

 mixture of linseed oil 2qts., beeswax 8oz., resin 8oz. and 

 turpentine 8oz., melted together, was brushed on while 

 warm, and the boat was left bottom upward in the sun 

 and the mixture applied again and again until the leather 

 would absorb no more. It was then painted a light gray 

 color. 



The sculls, only 5ft. long, so as to pack inside, were 

 used for rowing, being fixed with rope loops which went 

 over the tholepins, in order that they might not slide into 

 the water when let go for the purpose of taking up the 

 gun. A board 18in. square was used for sitting upon and 

 for preventing the floor being bulged by a man's feet when 

 stepping in . 



The boat was so light that it could easily be raised above 

 the head with one hand, yet was not cranky in the waf er. 

 Being elastic, a fall from a railway truck, or from the 

 top of a camel's hump, did no harm. The shortness made 

 it very convenient for stowing in the luggage van of a 

 train or on a bullock cart. The buffalo hide resisted snags 

 which would, I imagine, have torn open a canvas boat, 

 and which I know from experience would have made a 

 birch bark canoe leak badly. With my weight, about 

 1601bs., the gunwale was only 4in. above the water, which 

 was advantageous for stalking wildfowl, as grass or rushes 

 3ft. high were sufficient to hide one's approach. 



I used to row in the ordinary way until within a couple 

 of hundred yards of the garnet then turn round and pad- 

 dle gently stern foremost, with the stock of the gun be- 

 tween my legs and the barrel resting on the gunwale, 

 ready to be seized when the ducks began to rise. 



I took the boat almost everywhere when traveling and 

 it lasted for four years, by which time the leather of the 

 floor had worn until hardly thicker than brown paper, 

 through scraping across mud banks and over the tops of 

 the water weeds. 



When marching about the country, as soon as the day's 

 business was over, I used to hire a villager to carry the 

 boat on his head and show me where the jheels were. I 

 have rowed across water two miles wide and never once 



had an accident. On one occasion the boat almost cap- 

 sized through my forgetting to raise the hammers to full 

 cock. I aimed at a duck flying past, and on the instant 

 of pulling the trigger found myself nearly head first in 

 the water. This seems to show that we unconsciously 

 meet the kick of a gum by leaning against the butt when 

 it goes off. The gun I then had was a rather heavv 12- 

 bore (about 7flbs. weight). I had used it for two years, 

 and until then had always thought that there was hardly 

 any perceptible recoil, when loaded with my favorite 

 charge for ducks, Bidrs. of powder and l£oz. of No. 4 shot 

 (170 to the ounce). 



It may appear selfish, but I confess that I always pre- 

 ferred being alone when going after either large or small 

 game. One feels so much more independent and free 

 than when accompanied by a friend, and, to my mind, 

 there is no greater enjoyment than paddling about alone 

 on a lake, with a bright blue sky overhead, looking down 

 at the beautiful water plants and watching the habits of 

 the wildfowl. How well those that are not used for food 

 know that they need not fear the gun. In places where 

 ducks and teal were difficult to approach, the egrets, 

 ibises, jacanas and coots, used to sit quietly while I 

 rowed within 20yds. A small binocular glass is very 

 useful, often enabling ducks to be seen among plants, 

 where they are otherwise hidden. With its help the 

 wounded ducks which dive can frequently be found 

 when they rise among the leaves with only their heads 

 above the water. I generally kept a few snipe cartridges 

 ready for shooting at their heads in cases of this kind, 

 because the spread of No. 4 shot causes some to be 

 missed. 



On some of the jheels, where the natives cultivate wild 

 rice and the "water chestnut" (Trapa bispinosa), they 

 use very cranky dugouts made of the trunks of palm 

 trees. They are very good for wildfowl shooting, a couple 



BAMBOO-BUFFALO PUNT. 



being placed side by side and a native bedstead bottom 

 upward being tied across them. The sportsman sits upon 

 this with a leg in each boat, while the owners squat on 

 their heels in the sterns and paddle or pole toward the 

 birds. These are so accustomed to the boats that they 

 allow of a near approach unless they have been fired at 

 before. 



A friend living in one place where I was stationed 

 bought, at a cost of £25, an inflatable vulcanized India 

 rubber boat from a London firm. It carried four men 

 easily, but after using it for two years the heat had such 

 an effect upon the rubber that the air oozed out rapidly, 

 although the seams appeared quite sound. When the 

 manufacturers were told of this, they replied that India 

 rubber always "perished" after being kept some time in a 

 tropical climate. 



Another friend had a boat made of copper. This was 

 very strong, but a great deal too heavy. On the whole. 

 I know of n© boat which combines portability and strength 

 for very rough usage so well as one of leather. If made 

 6ft, long, 3ft. wide and 1ft. deep it will carry two men, 

 and would, I believe, be very handy on the Western 

 prairies. It could be tied on a wagon and so carried from 

 one piece of water to another when hunters go out for a 

 day's duck shooting. J. J. Meyrick. 



Devonshire, England. 



SMALL-BORES AND SQUIRRELS. 



IN the year 1889, just at that period of a September 

 morning when the first signs of the dawn were visible 

 in the east, a youth clad in the garb of a sportsman might 

 have been seen stealing along the angular deformities 

 of a worm fence, which served as a dividing line between 

 cultivated fields and the largest tract of as yet almost un- 

 touched woods in the county. In one hand he carried a 

 sample cony of the latest edition of that effective agent 

 of civilization, a repeating lifle, the other was kept busy 

 applying a ham sandwich to where it would do the most 

 good. That youth, friendly reader, was the writer, and 

 if you will come with him in imagination you shall share 

 in his morning's sport, and perchance by doing so enjoy 

 for the passing moment what is next best to the real thing — 

 a hunt upon paper. Come, then, climb the fence with me, 

 and do not swear above your breath as the leaves of the 

 undergrowth part with a portion of their accumulated 

 store of water, and with apparent malice pour their con- 

 tribution down the back of your neck. It has ranted 

 hard almost all night,and before we shall leave this fence 

 200yds. in our rear our nether extremities will be satu- 

 rated, but who cares, if the leaves beneath our feet are 

 also soaked? There is less risk of alarming Sciurus, whose 

 ears are no less acitte than his eyes are sharp and his 

 limbs agile in carrying him to safety. 



Now we are well within the woods, and it isyet a Imost 

 too dark to fairly see the sights, though all about us may 

 be heard the tell-tale swish of branches bent under the 

 sudden impulse of a squirrel passing from one tree to an- 

 other, the heavy thump of falling nuts, and at least 

 three individuals squalling defiance to one another, or 

 perhaps singing in honor of the approaching day-god. 

 Do you hear that sudden shower of water? That is one 

 gone out on a slender limb for a nut. Hear that thump? 

 The nut was bad or too large to be held, anyway he 

 dropped it. Now listen! Hear that patter, patter, patter, 

 as if a light rain was falling? That is Sciurus "cutting," 

 and he shall be our first target. Carefully, now, the 

 noise has stopped, and we must stop too! Down drops a 



nut— or what is left of one. There he goes, after another! 

 see him on that twin hickory? Wait until he begins 

 work again— patience is a very large part of a successful 

 squirrel hunter's stock in trade. Now he is busy once 

 more; and we steal along quietly, gently moving aside 

 each protruding branch, cautiously working as near those 

 twin trunks as may be necessary, peering up through the 

 leafy tangles, eager for a glimpse of the little animal, 

 which, with his tail laid sociably along the curve of its 

 back, is rapidly emptying a shell of its juicy contents. 

 There he is, utterly unconscious that danger is near, the 

 nimble forepaws holding and turning a nut against a 

 pair of nature's chisels. A little more to the right, and 

 slowly the slender barrel is moved into line, the white 

 bead of the sight rests just on the butt of the ear; the 

 trigger is pressed, the whiplike crack follows. A center 

 shot, sure enough. Glorious sport? Well, I should re- 

 mark! 



All about here stand hickory trees, and it is unneces- 

 sary to move about much; better to sit at the foot of ' some 

 slender tree with a convenient root, and blend oneself 

 with the surroundings. Hark! yes, there is a squirrel in 

 that tree just in front— hear tha,t swish of wet leaves over 

 there, that's another. Now what is to be done? Move 

 slowly, attend to one at a time, the tiny report will not 

 cause much alarm, no shooting having been allowed in 

 this tract for two or three years, but moving about too 

 quickly will scare away game. There is the little scamp 

 way up in the top, and another , too, on that limb to the 

 left. Oh ! for the scatter gun — banish the thought, we are 

 out for sport, not merely to fill the pot. Long shot? yes, 

 full 25yds, from where we stand to that animal, and you 

 know that a 30gr. ball projected by 4gr. powder is not 

 heavy enough to kill game so tenacious of life as Sciurus. 

 Very well, my son, so say those who write from theory, 

 you shall see what can be done in practice. Whack! 

 missed him by jingo! The hiss of the ball so near his 

 peeked ears sends him clear up to the top of the tree; see 

 him coiled up in that crotch? The other fellow stopped 

 working a second, but hearing or seeing nothing, begins 

 operations again. Whack! what, "missed again? Where 

 did he go? Ah ! yes, there he is peeping around, that limb. 

 Don't move — the artful beggar recognizes something be- 

 neath him which looks singular — watch him grow out on 

 that branch, his black eyes staring at the object he does not 

 remember to have seen before. Fatal curiosity . Slowly, 

 very, very slowly, the rifle comes to the shoulder, the 

 round ring of the back sight comes before the eye which 

 has never moved from that other eye up there, the bead 

 settles just beneath that glistening center, and with the 

 report the animal pitches out and whirls over and over, 

 till it strikes the ground with a thump, convulsively kick- 

 ing out among the leaves its last atom of vitality. 



Now for that one upon the top — a small mark and a 

 difficult shot; the fourth shot brings him out badly 

 wounded, but he catches some slender branches and 

 gains from them a large limb which he knows will shield 

 him. Bullet after bullet follows his devious scramble, 

 without result beyond emptying the magazine, and the 

 squirrel reaches a portion thick enough to hide behind. 

 Hastily the magazine is filled, and then comes a game of 

 hide and seek; crippled though he is, that limb is always 

 between us. Cutting the top off a slender young hickory, 

 my coat is hung upon it and topped with my cap. Now, 

 as I move to the other side the squirrel moves around, but 

 noting the counterf eit scurries back. A quick shot strikes 

 close to his nose, another slaps into the bark just under 

 him; too hot for him, and up he goes; three shots now in 

 quick succession ; then a fourth, that brings him. There ! 

 he has caught by one paw, and swings dead or dying. 

 A careful aim now, and the limb, shattered by the bul- 

 let, releases its grasp, and the game little beast is ours. 

 So far all is well, but the vicissitudes of squirrel hunting- 

 are many. Over yonder, near that old fence, there is a 

 squirrel barking, and while it is generally useless to 

 attempt to stalk one all whose senses are especially alert, 

 let us try it this time, being out only for sport. Cau- 

 tiously worming through laurel and other undergrowth, 

 keeping a sharp eye in the direction of the sound, care- 

 fully scanning the trees about midway of the trunk, the 

 bushy tail jerked up and down in unison with the harsh 

 notes attracts the eye, and then is seen the whole body 

 aligned with the tree. Perhaps you think its sharp little 

 eyes have not seen you, but like a flash it has disappeared. 

 You notice that there are no trees very near the one upon 

 which it was, that the tree itself is a black oak; quite 

 likely, therefore, it is a den tree, and your game is safe 

 inside. Let us see. The closest inspection fails to find 

 any hole, neither does Sciurus materialize. Around and 

 around the tree we circle, straining eye and neck to find 

 the cunning animal, but uselessly; so we will sit down by 

 that old stump for a bit and let curiosity, so strong a trait 

 in Sciurus, do its work. 



Minute after minute passes, the practiced eye mean- 

 time searching each crotch and possible hiding place. 

 What is that little point, something like a rifle fore-sight, 

 in the back sight? Was that there five minutes ago? 

 There is another; ah! you rascal, there you are, eh? 

 Been there all the time, too. That is a bullseye worth 

 shooting at, with all the chances against the shooter. 

 Whack! wiz-o-o-o, and there goes the squirrel over the 

 leafy carpet, scared by the glancing lead, down the tree 

 it comes and hurries for another which offers security, 

 followed by a perfect shower of leaden pellets, until the 

 click of hammer upon firing pin gives notice that the 

 magazine is empty. Isn't that sport, and it didn't hurt 

 the squirrel either. 



It is now rather late to find squirrels feeding in such 

 numbers as may be seen in the early hours, but caution 

 must govern footsteps just the satne'J while the ears must 

 be alert for dropping nuts. A stop now and then is no 

 disadvantage; in the hollow yonder a nut thumps upon, 

 a limb, rebounds and hits the ground; in a few minutes 

 another falls. That is probably a squirrel. Now as we 

 get nearer the place the rasp, rasp of teeth, and with 

 patter, patter of shell, is evidence beyond question. 

 There he is out on the extreme end of a top branch, nib- 

 bling, nibbling, his long tail hanging straight down be- 

 neath him. Almost a straight up and down shot. 

 Whack! good shot, down he comes, all four legs spread 

 out; thump! he strikes the ground, and like a streak of 

 gray light, darts to another tree near by, vanishing in a 

 hole about 20ft, up the trunk. No, you must not swear, 

 remember you are out for — what — the sport. Well, it in 

 hard luck to be sure, but then if game had no tricks, and 

 could be shot with ease, where would be the sport? To- 

 night you will be telling the wife all about your morn- 



