DEd 4, 1896.] 



FOH£St ANt) STREAM. 



hoped for a speck of land, it being comparatively high 

 there. If so we were O K for Gum Ridge. The hope 

 perished. In the mean time the sun had gone down, and 

 the forests that had been stretching away on either side 

 for the past twenty miles through water alone began to 

 take on a gloomy aspect. Higher yet another ridge was 

 Bcanned eagerly, and the engineer pronounces 1 'Land !" 

 but the keener eyes of the pilot discern only floating 

 leaves, which are drifted along the timber line. 



The lantern is now lit that the water gauge may be the 

 better watched in the fast-growing dim light, and the 

 pilot keeps calling back in unwelcome words, "No land, 

 no land." 



"Well, ding on ! Blast the luck; if you don't find land 

 soon we will throw over the anchor and go to roost. 

 Cracky ! Lawrence, all om* turkey range is gone to ruin 

 — ruin." 



"Hold ! Land ! land !" cries the man at the wheel. 



"Hurrah!" comes from the engine. "We've got 'em, 

 my boy. If that ridge is out, Gum Ridge, one mile above, 

 is also out." 



"So is Howlet Lake Island. So are the mounds. 

 We'll have meat on the Little Sunflower, and don't you 

 forget it." 



"Keep her pointed for Gum Ridge, Mr. Pilot, we'll 

 camp there." 



And at dark, with light barely sufficient to see, the nose 

 of the faithful little launch was cautiously pushed to 

 bank, the engine backed, came ahead, backed and came 

 ahead again, until a suitable landing having been made, 

 the bowline was made fast, and the stern pulled to bank 

 and tied securely, with the gunnel of the boat barely 

 overlapping the thin bank at what proved a snug and. 

 very enjoyable camp. 



With buoyant spirits we set to work to put our camp in 

 order. The Rochester lamp was lit, and lantern hung on 

 the outside; the ice was rolled out and snugly stacked 

 against a sapling on a thick bed of dry leaves and 

 covered with blankets; the refrigerator — a 16gal. stone 

 jar, packed in a flour barrel, with dry sawdust, secured 

 with a layer of plaster paris — was removed to land and 

 the interior filled with sundry articles to keep dry ; pro- 

 vision boxes were also moved out and stacked one* on top 

 of the other and securely covered to keep out rain and 

 varmints. Finally the Greenwing began to look quite 

 roomy, and we could move about in a limited way with- 

 out stumbling over our traps. Then the two boats, the 

 Amateur and Boss, were gotten ready with the proper 

 oars in each, the former occupying a place at the stern on 

 the larboard and the latter a similar position on the star- 

 board of the launch. Thus they are always tied, and 

 await in readiness any emergency that may call either into 

 use. Steam having cooled considerably, the boiler is 

 emptied of its noisy contents, and the surrounding woods 

 were made to roar. 



In the meantime the pot on the oil stove has begun to 

 boil, when a little tea is added and preparations made for 

 supper. The good things that L. always has in his basket 

 in addition to om- nice cup of tea with cream and boiled 

 potatoes with fresh butter make an excellent meal, which 

 ^e all enjoy with especially keen appetites, since, on the 

 way up, but a hasty lunch at noon or thereabouts had been 

 partaken of. William sat apart from us on a snug seat 

 between the engine and boiler, having his plate filled 

 third, and eating at the same time. This is as near social 

 equality as the two races get in this country. 



The alarm clock is next wound, set for 4 o'clock, and 

 hung in view. Next is the bed, which is a comfortable 

 one. There is just room for it in the boat. First boards 

 are laid to be flush with the seat running around the sides 

 and rear of the cockpit, then a heavy rubber blanket 7 

 by 9ft. is spread down to intercept dampness, next is a 5 

 by 7ft. cotton mattress 4in. thick, and on this are spread 

 several pairs of blaukets, to further soften the mattress, 

 and then come the pillows and a light covering. Lastly 

 a good bobonet mosquito bar is put up. Next the cur- 

 tains are all pulled down and fastened, and our rest and 

 protection for the night are assured. In the meantime 

 William has kept up a lively rattling of the coal forward 

 of the boiler to make room for a cot which ha3 been 

 brought for him. The Rochester is extinguished and the 

 lantern turned partly down and hung to show the little 

 clock, and we all turn in for an enjoyable rest, all being 

 tired with the early preparations for a start and the long 

 journey. In fifteen minutes William is first asleep, indi- 

 cated by heavy breathing, and he is the first on our trips 

 to turn L. clown at that, for L. is a sleeper from away 

 back, putting in his time early, often and late, when we 

 will let him. In time 1 join the others in unconscious 

 repose, and one day of the trip is at an end. W, L. P. 



[TO BE CONTINUED.] 



NOVA SCOTIA LICENSES. 



Tl ALIFAX, Nov. 27.-— Editor Forest and Stream; In 

 _LX your issue of Oct. 30 you mention that moose are 

 reported numerous in Nova Scotia. This I am happy to 

 say is quite true, yet if the practices you afterward refer 

 to in the same article were generally and successfully 

 followed, we would not long be able to say so. 



"There is reason to believe," you say, "that the license 

 law is not enforced with perfect impartiality. It ,is said 

 that in some localities it makes a difference what hotels 

 are patronized by visiting sportsmen, immunity from 

 prosecution for hunting without license counting as 

 among the advantages enjoyed by the guests of certain 

 inns." 



The charge implied in the above remarks is too serious 

 to be allowed unchallenged circulation in a journal pos- 

 sessing the influence of yours. You are doubtless aware 

 of the great difficulties surrounding the carrying out of 

 these laws. Often they are broken in the solitude of the 

 forest, and no evidence of the fact can be procured. 

 Often lawless people combine to ignore them, and too 

 often they are beyond the reach of the law before their 

 offense is discovered. Frequently so-called sportsmen 

 from your country and other foreigners have not thought 

 it beneath them to slip into our forests without license, 

 and to escape home before discovery. But when you im- 

 ply that this is done through want of impartiality in the 

 enforcing of the game laws, you convey a most erroneous 

 impression, The officers of the game laws received in- 

 formation this fall that two or three United States citizens 

 were hunting in Nova Scotia without license. Also that 

 a certain hotel keeper had manufactured for them what 

 he called a license, which, though not worth the paper it 

 was written, on, might still do duty as a genuine license 



among those who knew no better. Instantly orders were 

 sent to the locality to have the lawbreakers arrested; but, 

 as too often happens, they had escaped to the shelter of 

 the Stars and Stripes before the officers of the law could 

 lay their hands on them. On their next visit they will 

 have an opportunity of judging whether such immoral 

 conduct is made possible from want of impartiality, or 

 from the mere vulgar possibility of breaking law, which 

 is open to all who Like trying the experiment. 



Ia this country it is regarded as a point of honor among 

 sportsmen, to respect the provisions of the game laws. I 

 write to enlist your powerful influence in bringing about 

 the same sentiment among all your sportsmen, which we 

 have found conspicuous among some of them. 



The hotel keeper you refer to is now receiving the at- 

 tention of the authorities. The "advantages" you men- 

 tion have reached an inglorious end. 



C. S. Hakbinoton, Chief Game Commissioner, 



FIELD DAYS IN CONNECTICUT. 



SHOOTING in Windham county this fall, from a Con- 

 necticut standpoint, was successful, but at the same 

 time surprise and forebodings would at times seize the 

 sportsmen. Those who walked the woods in early sum- 

 mer saw unmistakable signs of large broods of partridges, 

 healthy and well along in feather and friskiness. The 

 hayfields and brier patches were filled with the call and 

 scurry of quail, young and old. The rich green of the 

 alder runs was silhouetted with the waving flight of the 

 woodcock. Rabbits and squirrels scampered about every- 

 where, and, alas! young foxes, thin-nosed but hungry- 

 mouthed, were galore. On the whole, signs indicated 

 good shooting, 



October came in good time, and then the reasons for 

 moderate bags. The brilliant scarlets and yellows, and 

 fading greens of the New England autumns, mixed on 

 nature's palette and spread by a bountiful but delicate 

 brush, are unsurpassed elsewhere, yet the hunter, how- 

 ever keen his eye, longs for the biting frost and the north- 

 west wind that will wither and scatter the leaves; for 

 only through the bare brown branches can the noble flight 

 of the grouse be followed with any certainty of aim. 

 This fall the frost hung modestly back in the north and 

 it was not till about the 20th of October that we had what 

 could be called good open shooting. Then the partridges; 

 what had become of the young partridges? Of the 39 

 shot during the month only a meager half dozen were 

 this year's birds. A friend counted 3 youngsters among 

 his 17 shot. The birds as a whole were old, large and 

 educated in tricks many and bewildering. 



Hunting over ground whose every brook and wood, 

 every rock and stump are familiar pages before a reader's 

 eye, we know just what game and how much to expect 

 in each cover. So as the days rolled on the stock grew 

 less and less, and campaigns and sieges had to be planned 

 for the circumventing of the birds now well known but 

 wild and wary. The partridges that led us so many times 

 down the run in the cannonading place (so named" by us 

 from a deathless fusilade poured upon a flight of wood- 

 cock and a flock of quail once started there years ago by 

 a certain party of enthusiastic but inexperienced sports- 

 men), then across into the scrub oaks, and then by a run 

 and a dodge behind a friendly laurel away back into the 

 woods, grew careless at last and with a whisk of indiffer- 

 ence calmly lighted in a bunch of nondescript bushes 

 across the road. Bang snuffed the battle with trembling 

 lips but firmly held flag and waited the command of "on." 

 Like Bre'r Rabbit the bird "lay low," realizing at last his 

 danger, and Bang had to make two or three exciting 

 dashes and turns before the partridge rose out of the 

 tangle of briers, and then he nearly escaped, for it was 

 not till both our guns were empty that he fluttered to the 

 ground with a broken wing. Bang appreciated the im- 

 portance of prompt and severe action, and raced after 

 the fleeing bird with eager mouth. A tail hold resulted 

 simply in a mouthful of feathers, but the next grab the 

 dog had him by the breast and then bore him in triumph 

 and oh, so proud, to our feet. All this happened in an 

 open pasture, and every move of the bird and dog was 

 easily seen. Gunners who go out for birds only and are 

 never moved except by score cannot understand the 

 thrilling interest of this incident, nor of the countless 

 others that have chaptered the hills and woods for miles 

 around. 



The woodcock shooting was very good for us this year, 

 and from certain cosy nooks a bird or two could be kicked 

 up every few days. We got forty-four. The quail never 

 in my recollection were so plenty, though about two 

 bevies out of three were much too small to shoot when 

 the season opened. The last few days of October, when 

 the woodcock had pretty much gone by and the partridges 

 had been thinned out to an alarming extent, we devoted 

 our time to the quail and shot forty-five. 



Retrospectively I think the young partridges were 

 killed by the "tick" and by four-legged vermin to an un- 

 usual extent, and what with the large numbers of old 

 birds shot, next fall we shall have to put up with indif- 

 ferent shooting as far as these birds are concerned. 

 Woodcock are fickle creatures, coming or not as they 

 please. Quail, if the winter is mild and open, next sea- 

 son will be almost voted a pest by the farmers. Every 

 few years, though, a bitter storm of snow and ice kills 

 them off by hundreds, and — well, let others read the 

 goose bone. 



Just a word about our dogs. Bang is a nine-year-old 

 Irish setter, and if he ranges a trifle too far for our thick 

 swamps, is an average dog for partridges and woodcock, 

 and an excellent one on quail. At home he is a grand 

 old gentleman and is worthy of all the love that is given 

 him. 



Let's new dog, Mont, is a marvel. Gunshy and bought 

 for $5, with care, patience and kindness he has been 

 developed in one short month into the most satisfactory 

 dog I ever shot over. Never deigning to lower his now 

 proud nose to the ground, he covers the ground slowly 

 but surely. His hunting is almost dogged (excuse the 

 word play), for be brooks no interference from his two- 

 legged companions in the way of interference or direct- 

 ing. He had the power this fall of apparently compell- 

 ing the partridges to lie awaiting our pleasure, not always 

 of killing to be sure, but of getting a shot. His one fault 

 was his staunchness. Time and time again I have seen 

 him absolutely refuse to "go on" and raise a bird, and a 

 single hunter would often have been in a quandary, but 

 a yell from Let saying Mout was pointing would quickly 

 bring Bang and naysalf from the other side of a swamp, 



and then it was an exciting moment as Bang, backing the 

 other dog while I got in a good position for shooting, on 

 the word, would rush in and raise the bird. 



Here is an incident: One morning Let and I had 

 walked up either side of a pointed alder run, and starting 

 nothing jumped over the wall intending to walk down 

 the road a quarter of a mile to our hunting cart and then 

 go to another cover. Bang followed us over the wallj but 

 Mont had disappeared, apparently into the bowels of the 

 earth, for he had been with us a moment before. 

 Whistling and calling were fruitless. I suggested that he 

 had sneaked back to the cart, a former habit that had 

 helped to reduce his price to the aforesaid $5, Let shook 

 his head, but we walked down the road only to find Rosa 

 hitched to a tree alone. We got in the cart and walked 

 the pony up the road, whistling for dear life, and after a 

 delay of about twenty minutes were at the place where we 

 had first missed the dog. To our amazement Mont came 

 down the road wagging his tail almost out of joint. Let 

 said, "That dog's been pointing." We got out of the cart 

 and walked up the road fifty feet, when Mont and Bang 

 both pointed toward the brush. Let kicked the brush and 

 we got three quail out of about a dozen as they rose. 

 Mont without the slightest doubt had been standing those 

 birds all the time, and at first with us calling him only a 

 few feet away. Mont can not be bought for $5 now. 



F'LIN. 



RUFFED GROUSE IN NOVEMBER. 



THE season was rapidly drawing to a close, and I felt 

 the desire strong within me for one more day's 

 hunt before the open season expired. In the vicinity of 

 home, however, the birds had got so scarce and wild 

 from constant hunting that to secure a single one was 

 well nigh impossible. 



Hearing from a friend that partridges were plenty in 

 the town of Durham, N. H., I concluded to put in the 

 next Saturday there, and the morning of the 22A saw me 

 bright and early bound for the station with gun, dog, 

 lunch and twenty-five cartridges. 



On arriving at Durham at 10:15, my friend told me the 

 best place for birds was a,bout three miles south of the 

 station. I loosed my pointer, shouldered my gun and 

 started. 



A walk of about a mile brought me through the village 

 and to the top of a hill, from which I could see quite a 

 distance on all sides. To the southward there lay a slope 

 covered with scrubby pines, beyond that a field, then a 

 thick growth of alders and a wooded bluff, and further 

 on thick woods. I concluded that this, if anywhere, was 

 the place for birds, and my instincts did not fail me. I 

 worked through the pine's, across the field and nearly 

 through the alders without a rise, and was beginning to 

 grow rather skeptical as to the resources of the place, 

 when reaching the edge of the alders with a rush and 

 roar four partridges got up at about the same moment. I 

 threw my gun to my shoulder and waited, In a second 

 or two a bird broke through the screen of alders to my 

 left, heading straight up the bluff. Just before he dis- 

 appeared behind the trees I caught him and saw him 

 close his wings as he went out of sight. I heard another 

 making off to the right, caught sight of him just before 

 he reached the woods, some 70yds. away, and downed 

 him, a clean double, I climbed the bluff, the dog re- 

 retrieved one, I the. other, and felt considerably better. 



Proceeding through the woods the dog flushed two 

 without my seeing them; they were pretty wild. 



Half a mile from the bluff I struck a road, and soon after 

 a small boy with a team, and rode some two miles further 

 south with him through patches of woods about all the 

 way. When I left the team it was 12:30, and I ate my 

 lunch, sharing it with the dog; and then headed back 

 toward the station. About noon the wind commenced to 

 blow, and I had quite a stiff breeze in my face when I 

 started back. Went some half-mile through several wood 

 lots without seeing anything, when I came to a clump of 

 bushes in the lee of a considerable stretch of timber, and 

 where the sun shone warmly. I felt that this must hold 

 a bird or two and sent the dog in. She soon flushed one 

 which came out booming, straight toward me, and so near 

 that I had to let him go over my head, and then turning 

 quickly shot. I saw that he was hit, but he kept on 

 bravely. Just before he got out of range the old Parker 

 spoke again, and this time he heeded the call* It Was a 

 cock, and a big fellow. 



After this walked along some distance without finding 

 any more. At length, going through a considerable tract 

 grown up with scrub pines and bushes, I started several, 

 and put in two difficult snap shot, without starting any 

 feathers that I could see. Here the dog also jumped a 

 rabbit, which made good his escape back into the brush, 

 closely followed by a charge of No. 8, 



By this time the sun had nearly completed his limited 

 circuit, and my ground was nearly gone over. But one 

 spot remained, a lot of some twenty-five acres at the 

 edge of a hard wood growth, well covered with alders. 

 Had worked nearly through the bushes when I heard one 

 get up. When I caught sight of him he was right in the 

 line of the sun, whose beams shone on his plumage and 

 scintillated from his wings as he moved them, so that as 

 he bore down upon me he looked as big as a balloon. I 

 drew a bead on the biggest part of him, as near as I could 

 tell with the sun right in my eyes, and let go. Having 

 no idea that I had dropped him I kept the gun to my 

 shoulder and waited for him to show up, but he didn't 

 come, and I only saw a couple of feathers drifting rapidly 

 down wind. I went into the bushes and found him only 

 about ten steps from where I fired. It was a cock, and 

 by far the largest bird I have got this season, weighing 

 just a trifle under 21bs. 



The sun was not quite down, but I had finished my 

 beat and moved on toward the station across the bleak 

 and wind-swept hills. Neither scenery nor temperature, 

 however, was able to depress my spirits, for my success 

 had been much better than I anticipated, and viewing 

 my game and recollecting several of my shots, which for 

 me were of the phenomenal order, I felt more than satis- 

 fied with the result of my day's outing. E. W. L. 



A Map of the United States.— A large, handsome map of the 

 United States, showing North and South Dakota, mounted and 

 suitable for office or home use and issued by the Burlington Route, 

 will he furnished responsible parties free on application to the 

 undersigned. Plating Cards.— For 15 cents in postage you can 

 obtain a pack of best quality playing cards on application to 

 the undersigned, P. S, Ersns, General Passenger and Ticket 

 A gent, C„ B, & Q. R. R„ Chicago, Xll,-4d*U. 



