Nov. 27, 1890.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



375 



DEER AT TIM POND. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



A few days ago I returned from a trip to northwestern 

 Maine, where I had gone in the certainty of getting fresh 

 air and exercise, and in the possibility of getting venison 

 by other means than hounding. Myself and a friend 

 with two guides reached Julian Yiies's camp at Tim 

 Pond, 10 or 15 miles from Stratton, on Oct. 29. The first 

 two or three days we bagged nothing but partridges and 

 rabbits, and then to change the luck we loafed a day in 

 camp while the guides started out to try their single for- 

 tunes. One of them returned within three hours, having 

 stumbled upon two large buck caribou less than a mile 

 from the pond, both of which he got. A couple of days 

 later the same guide brought in a medium sized deer, 

 and toward the end of our stay my companion shot a 

 magnificent five-prong buck that would weigh 2001 bs. 

 or oyer. Besides the four large animals secured I missed 

 a fair shot at a deer and bad another one come within a 

 few rods of me in the thick spruce growth. My guide 

 also saw a deer which he did not get, and the other guide, 

 when without a rifle, had a deer stalk by within easy 

 range, while the fourth one of the party had my experi- 

 ence with a heard but unseen deer. The quantity of 

 fresh tracks, deer and some caribou, proved we had not 

 exterminated the game, and any one who could be in 

 that country when the snow first comes to stay, as it 

 probably has done by this time, would have an excellent 

 chance for good hunting. 



We were in camp but two weeks; the first few days a 

 crunchy and then a crusty snow made noisy traveling, 

 and the rest of the time the ground was covered with 

 frozen leaves, yet in spite of these very unfavorable con- 

 ditions the party had the above recorded luck, aud fur- 

 thermore the game was gotten in a respectable and honest 

 fashion. Any one not an actual invalid will, I think, get 

 a more lively pleasure out of this sort of hunting than out 

 of a lifetime of hounding. 



The camp at Tim Pond consists of a dozen log huts 

 which are well filled in the fishing season, but at this 

 time of the year the solitarily inclined vacationist will 

 meet there only such company as he takes along with 

 him. The proprietor, as our comfortable and inexpensive 

 experience testifies, will see to it that his guests are well 

 fed and plentifully supplied with firewood at a reason- 

 able figure per day. Wiihin a few rods of the camp the' 

 original forest begins where the only roads are spotted 

 lines and the traveling in summer so difficult that few of 

 the guests ever go away from the Pond or buckboard 

 road, I say this last lest any one may think that the 

 camp of log huts implies a pathed and picknicked forest 

 with all the charm of wildness rubbed out. The country 

 will be found rough enough to suit the taste of the most 

 robust hunter, while the comforts of the camp will not 

 prove disagreeable at the end of a long day's tramp. We 

 were very fortunate in the guides who cared for us, 

 Grant Fuller and Will Myers, energetic a.nd obliging- 

 men, and both thoroughly familiar with the woods and 

 all that is in them. 1), o. L. 



New Yokk, Nov. 50. 



BOSTON'S SPORTSMEN. 



THE Harry Moore party, recently mentioned in the 

 Forest and Stream, has returned from its hunting- 

 trip to Durham's Creek, North Carolina. They are back 

 again to business with faces somewhat embrowned bv the 

 southern November sun. They report wonderfully fine 

 weather, almost too hot for hunting. Dr. French was 

 unfortunately delayed in Washington, so that he was with 

 the party for only two days of hunting. The hunters 

 went on the trip after deer, wild turkey, email, opossum 

 and coon. The hunters obtained each class of the game 

 intended. The pigeon and lark shooting was also excel- 

 lent — game that they did not expect. They got six deer 

 in all; one deer for each man except the Doctor, But 

 curiously enough the deer were all killed by one man of 

 the party, Geo. C. Moore, except one killed by one of the 

 guides. Still they all hunted from the stands, with the 

 chances supposed to be about equal. The deer were 

 driven by dogs, and shot by the hunters from the stands. 

 As luck would have it, the deer were all killed as noted 

 above, it is also singular that the only wild turkeys killed 

 by the party were two, shot by Harry Moore, He says 

 that of ail the game he ever undertook to hunt, the wild 

 turkey of North Carolina is about the most difficult. 

 They will go into the top of the tallest pines and there it 

 is impossible for the hunter to see them. The best one 

 Mr. Moore shot was with No. 3 buckshot, a very long dis- 

 tance. It seemed to be impossible to approach nearer, 

 and he took the chances. 



Mr. Moore describes the possum hunting in the night 

 as something about as full of fun as it is possible to 

 imagine. They brought home several alive, as well as 

 taking a good many for the table. They also mastered 

 Mr. Coon in several instances, though he is a much more 

 difficult game than the possum. 



Bears continue to be a remarkably popular game with 

 the Boston sportsmen who go down to Maine this fall. An 

 unusual number have been killed and brought here. 

 Bear steak is on the regular bill of fare at some of the 

 popular hotels in Boston. Some of the dudes have tried 

 it and declare that it is great for one's courage It has 

 been dangerous to propose it to members of the Brokers' 

 Board of late, however. Johnnie Smith, brother of the 

 proprietor of the New England House, has just returned 

 from a bear hunt in Carthage, Maine. He had the good 

 fortune to secure three fat cubs. The first dav they sur- 

 prised the old bear and her three young. Two of the 

 cubs were shot. The other, with the mother, escaped. 

 The next day the old bear was again surprised. The other 

 cub was shot, and the old bear wounded, but not suf- 

 ficiently to prevent her escape. 



C. E. Davies and G. B. Eames, two noted Boston hunt- 

 ers, have gone into the western part of Massachusetts for 

 a grand hunt after birds. Mr. Eames is president of the 

 Beading Gun Club and also prominent in the Reading 

 Kennel Club. Mr. Davies is president of the latter club. 

 They take four trained pointers with them. They left on 

 Saturday for Fitchburg, from which place they will start 

 on their trip. They have estimated their kill "at twenty- 

 eight partridges and twice as many quail a day. 



We are probably to hear the wolf cry from Maine 

 again this winter "because the deer are plenty." One of 

 the Maine papers locate them at KTinkfieldand another at 

 Madrid. In one case three were seen and in the other 

 two, Th§ papers say they have been shot g$ but not 



killed. One of the Kibby Valley hunters is reported 

 killing a very heavy deer the other day. The head and 

 antlers weighed Solbs. It is safe to say that deer hunting 

 in Maine is not quite up to expectations this fall, for rea- 

 sons that will be given in the Forest and Stream later. 



Special. 



SWAN LAKE. 



WE were surveying a line for a levee in a very un- 

 _ settled part of Coahoma county, Miss. The settler 

 who lived nearest the scene of our work was Mr. McGhee, 

 a gentleman of the wilderness, whom the water had run 

 across the river from Arkansas. McGhee had cleared up 

 a fifteen-acre field, built a two-story log cabin (ground 

 plan about 14x18) with a spacious portico around it, and 

 was engaged in raising cotton and robbing bee trees. It 

 was beside this palatial castle that we pitched our tent, 

 having some trouble in finding room enough among the 

 corn stubbles to spread our downy pallets (each of which 

 consisted of an armful of hay and a blanket). We 

 boarded at Mrs. McGhee's rural restaurant. 



The route to our work led us across the bed of Swan 

 Lake, on the north bank of which lies the renowned 

 Garland Field, noted for its abundant supply of game. 

 The lake was dry at that time, and its bottom was partly 

 covered with grass, which afforded very good pasturage. 



We frequently saw deer at a distance up the lake, so we 

 concluded to kill one. We took a gun out with us one 

 day, and were gratified that evening on our campward 

 march at seeing a couple of deer about half a mile off, 

 near the elbow bushes on our side of the lake bed. I pro- 

 ceeded toward them, walking a few yards within the 

 bushes. When about opposite them, I crawled to the 

 edge under cover of a large willow tree, from which I 

 had an excellent view of a large doe about 60yds. off and 

 a half -grown fawn at her heels. The doe was broadside 

 to me. They had apparently heard me, for they both had 

 their noses high. It was a magnificent spectacle to one 

 who had never before seen a deer in its native haunts. I 

 plugsred a load of buckshot at the doe and off she galloped, 

 clor-tly followed by the fawn, at which I sent the other 

 load. They both escaped. It afforded me some satisfac- 

 tion, however, to say that I had shot at a deer, notwith- 

 standing the fact that she didn't fall. It had become dark 

 by the time I rejoined my companions, which made our 

 tramp back to camp a little rough, as we had to follow a 

 blazed trail through a mile or two of woods and cane. 

 There were spots of moonlight on the trees, which we 

 sometimes mistook for blaze, thus losing our bearings 

 about four times. On such occasions one of the crowd 

 would stand still while the others circumnavigated around 

 him at a distance of about a hundred yards, feeling the 

 white spots until they located the smooth ones. We fin- 

 ally made camp about 9 P. M. 



Next day we left the gun behind. While crossing Swan 

 Lake, both morning and evening, we saw three bears 

 some distance off, apparently nosing the ground quite 

 unsuspiciously. Upon the strength of that two of the 

 party started out before daylight the following morning 

 to get a bear. When the remainder of the crowd reached 

 the lake, about two hours later, we were astonished at 

 seeing the bears in the same spot again. We wondered 

 why the hunters hadn't scared them away. (We didn't 

 expect them to kill any.) This was explained thus: 

 Having a telescope along we drew a focus on Messrs. 

 Bear. There they were, plain as a white fence— not the 

 bears, but three enormous black hogs, rooting with as 

 much composure as that with which the bears of yester- 

 day had been nosing the ground. After that we didn't 

 hunt bears any more in "them diggin's." Tripod. 

 Mississippi. 



OHIO GAME FIELDS. 



pvAYTON, Ohio, Nov. 24. — William Wolstencroft, 

 JLP Wade Wilson, Eolla Heikes and Edward Eike have 

 returned from their hunt in the sand thickets of Lucas 

 county, this State, and Wolstencroft and Wilson pro- 

 ceeded at once to their homes in Philadelphia, well 

 pleased with their success in the field. During the week 

 that they were out the four gentlemen bagged over 600 

 quail and 100 pheasants, and knocked over an occasional 

 rabbit for the farmers. They were not bothered with 

 fences, and were in a territory of hazel and huckleberry 

 bushes, a buckwheat region, and thickets around the 

 swales w-here pheasants abound. The hunters were as- 

 tonished to learn that a deer had been killed there last 

 fall, and another one seen while they were there, only 

 twenty miles from Toledo. 



William Bradford, George Volker and Clayton Miller, 

 of this city, in three days' hunt in Wellston, Jackson 

 county, killed 25 dozen quail and 51 rabbits, and brought 

 back with them a brace of blue ticked, well-trained two- 

 year-old beagles that are well trained rabbit dogs. These 

 gentlemen had expected to hunt at Gallia Furnace, Gallia 

 county, but the superintendent of the thousand-acre tract 

 had reserved the shooting privileges for his friend, Mr. 

 Al Wickersham, of Jamestown, who is there this week. 

 It is a rough, heavy- timbered mining country, and the 

 forests and dense undergrowth are filled with wildcats, 

 foxes, coons, possum, squirrel, pheasant and quail, and 

 occasionally a keen hunter can bring in a wild turkey. 



Clark Denious, of Washington, C. H. and S. S. Troup, 

 in three days in Fayette county got 178 quail and 25 rab- 

 bits. Michael Stockert, who had the privilege of shoot- 

 ing over a section of 640 acres of grazing land in Clark 

 county, found an abundance of birds for several days' 

 sport within a quarter of a mile of the house, therefore 

 did not need to disturb coveys over the rest of the farm, 

 but left them for a hunt after Thanksgiving Day. 



A prodigy among hunters is discovered in the farming 

 section southeast of this city, half way to Bellbrook, in 

 the person of Miss Ollie Owens, a modest girl of 13 years 

 of age, daughter of a farmer. She is a fine wing shot 

 and works a brace of her own dogs to perfection in the 

 field. She dresses in vwandiere costume of navy blue 

 flannel, uses a 12-gauge Remington, loads her own shells, 

 carries game bag and ammunition by a broad shoulder 

 strap, is self-reliant and does not get rattled, keeps her 

 dogs within short range, covers field or copse closely and 

 is always accompanied by one of the family, usually an 

 uncle, who is himself fond of hunting. When seen in the 

 field by a Dayton party Friday she had bagged 9 quail 

 and her tenth was a bird that the Daytonian?, had missed, 

 and as it came her way she knocked it over, her dog re- 

 trieved it, and as she put it in her game bag she grace-* 

 fully saluted the astonished gentlemen. Brown. 



WORCESTER FOX HUNTING. 



WORCESTER, Mass., Nov. 22.— The annual hunt of 

 the Worcester Fur Company occurred on Thurs- 

 day of this week. The game they were after was foxes 

 and they succeeded in capturing six, and all reporting a 

 fine day's sport. The club had with them about thirty of 

 the members residents of this city, also Ledyard Bill, of 

 Paxton; Leander F. Herrick, of Millbury: Estes Knight, 

 of Oxford; H. C. Newell, of Ashburnham; Frank Sweet, 

 of Auburn; Edward and Leonard Taft, of Meriden; A, D. 

 Norcross, of Monson; Judge Huber Clarke, of Willi- 

 mantic, Conn.; and Dr. S. P. Holbrook, of East Douglas. 



The events of the day closed with the annual dinner at 

 the Bay State House, at which a large number of notable 

 persons were present. At the head table with A. B. F. 

 Kenney, president of the society, and E. S. Kuowles, 

 secretary of the company, were His Honor, F. A. Har- 

 rington, mayor of this city; Hon. Joseph H. Walker, of 

 this city and a member of the Fifty-first Congress; also 

 Hon. John R. Thayer, of this city, recently elected 

 to the Massachusetts Sena.te. At the other tables 

 were about fifty guests, among them were Col. James 

 M. Drennan, Webster Thayer, a member of the Board 

 of Aldermen, Capt. David M. Earl, all of this 

 city, also Richard Luther, of Leicester; Chas, Prine and 

 Paul Wheeler, of Rutland; W. P. Brigham, of West 

 Boylston; JohnM. White, of Millburn; S. E. Bliss, of 

 North Brookfield, besides the others mentioned above as 

 present at the hunt. The men of the party were full of 

 stories of the hunt and many interesting experience of 

 the haps and mishaps of the day were told, A fuller 

 report will be given next week. 



NOTIONS ABOUT LOADING. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Your correspondent "W. A. W." recommends for a 

 12-bore shotgun SMrs. powder and l^oz. shot for ducks. 

 I agree with him that heavy charges of powder will give 

 a larger bag of game than light charges.* I have experi- 

 mented much with light and heavy charges. For many 

 years I have used in a No. 12 gun 4 to 4|drs. powder and 

 l^oz. shot, and in a No. 10 gun 5drs. powder and Ljozi of 

 shot. Of course the recoil with such charges is heavy, 

 but I overcome the recoil by padding the sleeve of my 

 hunting coat about three-fourths of an inch in thickness. 

 When hunting prairie chickens in my shirt sleeves, I had 

 a vest prepared with a sleeve for the right arm, also 

 padded. Thus prepared the heavy recoil would not be 

 noticed. Some of my sporting friends following my ex- 

 ample had the padding made of sponge such as is used in 

 cushions. H. L. 



Illinois Game.— Lexington, 111.— While James Turpin, 

 of Lexington, III., was hunting on the 17th of this month 

 he saw a very large bird, which proved to be a gray 

 eagle. He shot and broke one wing, and finally captured 

 it and brought it to town. It weighed lOlbs. and measured 

 8ft. from tip to tip of wings. Doctor Hanson bought the 

 bird and will have it mounted. It is the only eagle seen 

 in our vicinity for years. The law and our farmers are 

 doing much toward replenishing the prairie chicken and 

 quail. There are few farmers who will let hunters go 

 upon their lands to shoot. We have had scarcely any 

 water fowl here this fall. The ponds are all dried by 

 tile and the streams are so low they would hardly swim 

 a duck. — S. 



The United Hunting, Fishing and Camping Clubs 

 op Western Pennsylvania.— Pittsburg, Pa., Nov. 22.— 

 The regular quarterly meeting will be held at the rooms 

 of the Pittsburg Rod and Gun Club, No. 512 Smithfield 

 street, on Saturday evening, Nov. 29, at 7:30 o'clock. 

 Delegates from all clubs are requested to be present. 

 Visitors from all fishing and hunting clubs not members 

 of this association, are requested to attend. The officers 

 of all clubs, and all sportsmen, and all who are interested 

 in the protection of fish and game, are invited to attend 

 and bring their friends. Prominent sportsmen will be 

 present. Important changes in the fish and game laws 

 will be proposed.— J. W. Hague, Sec'y, 186 Fifth avenue. 



NEW YORK GAME AND FISH LAWS. 



THE Codification Committee gave a hearing at Albany last 

 week, at which a Dumber of sportsmen and others were pres- 

 ent. Hon. H. A. Reeves, representing the, net-fishermen of Long 

 island, protested against the proposed amendment semiring nets 

 in Peconic and Gardiner bays to be taken up three nights in the 

 week. Hon. Geo. E. Towne made similar claims for the net fish- 

 ermen of Lake Erie. State Fish Commissioner Henry Burden, of 

 Troy, asked for proper protection of fish in the Delaware River 

 by preventing the netting of shad and bass. He urged a law 

 making the capture of salmon in the Hudson under ."lbs. unlaw- 

 ful. Also one compelling fishermen in the Hudson to take up 

 their nets for at least one day a week to allow the fish to get to 

 the spawning grounds. The use of seines at the mouth of the 

 Croton River, now so prevalent, should be stopped. 



W. H. Thompson, of the St. Lawrence Anglers' Club, read a 

 letter from the president of the St. Lawrence Game Club deplor- 

 ing the illegal use of nisrht set lines, and spoke of the lax enforce- 

 ment of the fish laws. Mr. Kellogg, attorney for the club, said 

 the restriction against violating the law seemed to be slight, as an 

 offender, if caught, could pay his fine and yet come out ahead 

 financially. Hence the laws n re not observed. The fine against 

 netting should be at least S100, and for using dynamite the pen- 

 alty should be three times as great as for any other illegal fish- 

 ing. 



The destruction wrought by the use of nets in the Hudson River 

 was described by Howard N. Fuller, representing people along the 

 Hudson who have had ample opportunities to witness the extinc- 

 tion of fish in waters which should supply the thousands of poor 

 people along the banks with a plentiful supply of fish of the most 

 desirable species. The State has built fishways, put in salmon fry 

 and employed salaried protectors at a large expense; vet the law- 

 has permitted the use of nets, resulting in the utter deprivation of 

 the beneficial results that should have accrued from such improve- 

 ments. The Hudson has been depleted of fish by netting, especi- 

 ally where fykes are used; in other words, from Troy dam to 

 Pougbkeepsie. Mr. Fuller advocated a law prohibiting the taking 

 of fish in the Hudson River with nets, except shad, herring, min- 

 now for bait, or fish to be used in the propagation of fi~bculture. 



The most interesting part of the hearing was with respect to 

 deer hounding. Mr. Seymour Van Santvoord, nf Trov, advocated 

 a law prohibiting hunting with dogs— and he thought the Com- 

 mission might go a little further by prohibiting the killing- of 

 deer in water. Nine out of every ten deer, he claimed, were 

 killed in the water-, after they had been hemmed in with no 

 chance of escape. He stated that a failure to adopt a law pro- 

 hibiting hounding would eventually end in the extermination of 

 deer in this State, Such a law is upon the statute books of seven- 

 teen States and Territories, and in States were such a law is not 

 enforced, deer bunting is a thing of the past for want of game. 



Dr. Samuel Ward said he w r as a firm advocate of deer houndiDg 

 and the tilling of deer on the runway, hut he would have no ob- 

 jection to a provision in the law prohibiting the killing of deer in 

 The water, although he knew some sportsmen would object to it. 

 The inhabitants and summer visitors of Franklin county were 

 unanimously in favor of hounding deer, holding that it was most 

 sportsmanlike tn Hill deer on the runway after due warning, ft 



