46 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[fEB. 5, 1891. 



"I sold the white deer to Mr. Tebbetts in September of 

 1887," said he. "It came to tne in a shipment of venison 

 made from Abrams, Wis., by Ij. F. Hale, who was en- 

 gaged in shipping large amounts of Tenison. He made 

 no comment about it, only saying in a letter to me that 

 he 'had shipped to me a white deer.' I therefore do not 

 know how or by whom the deer was killed. It was shot 

 directly through the heart by a small ball, about as big as a 

 buckshot. There was another one of these white deer 

 killed in the same region the following year (18g8). That 

 one went to Janesville, Wis., but I don't know who got it. 

 Perhaps Mr. J. W. Blanning, who knows most of the shoot- 

 ers of Janesville, could tell what has become of that deer. 



"When I sold the white fawn to Mr. Tebbetts the coat 

 was pure white. The eyes were a light blue. The hoofs 

 were white, as white as any white-hoofed horse ever had. 



"I have been interviewed often about tha.t deer and one 

 newspaper man wanted to know if I knew of any bad 

 luck that had ever happened to the killers or handlers of 

 this white deer. I can't say that I do. I am doing pretty 

 well, I thank you, and I guess Mr. Tebbetts is. Those 

 mallards? They are from the far south mostly just now. 

 It is colder b^low us, in Missouri, than it is here. The 

 bulk of our ducks last fall came from northwestern Neb- 

 raska. Yes, that white deer is certainly a curiosity. It's 

 too bad Mr. Tebbetts didn't have better luck getting it 

 mounted. The body is shown too heavy." 



Barring this criticism, and a slight over-slimness of the 

 neck, which a close observation shows, the white fawn is 

 certainly a beautiful, as well as a singular, animal. It is 

 kept under a tight glass case and its snowy whiteness does 

 not show a trace of darker color. No chemicals have 

 ever touched the hah*. It is a genuine spirit deer. 



And now will our friends over the country please tell us 

 of such other genuine white deer as they personally know 

 to have been killed? 



Speaking of albinoes, Mr. Roe told me of another case, 

 this time among birds, and equally unquestionable. Mr. 

 Roe lives at Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago, and there are 

 some oak trees upon his lawn. In one of them a pair of 

 crow blackbirds built their nest, and in due time hatched 

 their young. Hearing a great outcry one evening Mr. 

 Roe went out to the tree. He found one of the young 

 birds had flopped out of the nest. To his surprise, it was 

 quite white! At the moment a neighbor called across the 

 fence, " Here is another of your birds o^er here." They 

 picked it up, and it also was found to be white. These 

 two young albinoes were kept by Mr. Roe carefully for 

 about a week, when they both died. They proved beyond 

 doubt that there can be such a thing as a "white black- 

 bird." 



Feb. l.—Mr. Wolfred N. Low, of this city, tells a pleas- 

 ant story of a little hunt from which he and a few friends 

 are but recently returned. The party consisted of Mr. 

 Low, Mr. Charles Johnson, another attorney oF this city, 

 Prof. Bastin and Sam Booth, of Chicago, and Mr. Geo. J. 

 Low, a relative of our friend and resident of Little Rock, 

 "Ark, At their hunting station these gentlemen were 

 joined by Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Highto wer, both, I believe, 

 of Cherry Valley, Ark. The p-irty bunted between the 

 St. Francis and L'Angudle rivers, ia Arkansas, about 

 eight or ten miles from Cherry Valley, which point is 

 accessible via the Memphis branch of the Iron Mountain 

 road, out of St Ljuis. Mr. Low is full of the trip, and 

 says he never was really in a game country before in his 

 life, though he thought he had been. The party com- 

 puttd they saw forty deer each day of the four they spent 

 in the woads. Mr. Mitchell killed a deer. Prof. Bastin 

 killeii two, as did also Messrs. Johnson and H ghtower. 

 The hunting was over the overflowed timbered country, 

 and the walking in the water mnde it hard hunting. The 

 most of the deer was found in the overflow, often in 

 water knee deep, and Mr. Low learned for the fu-st time 

 that a deer is an aquatic animal. Tney need not have 

 resorted to the water, apparently, for the dry ridges were 

 abundant. Thus situated, and having the misfortune to 

 be carrying a shotgun, Mr. Low had the hard luck to lose 

 his only chance, a long shot at a deer which got away 

 crippled. 



This St, Francis country must be a great game country. 

 Oar friends on this trip killed all the quail and ducks 

 they wanted. Mr. Low counted eight squu-rels on one 

 tree. Sign of wild turkey was seen every day, though 

 they did not hunt that bird. On one drive, Christmas 

 day, with the hounds, five deer were started. On the 

 whole, it would seem that this is a hunting ground better 

 than any we have around here. Out of Little Rock, they 

 say, it is equally good. And the gentlemen of this party 

 say that the generosity and hospitality they met were 

 simply charming. Say what you like, there is no idea of 

 real hospitality in the North, You have to go South for 

 that. 



Feb. S. — A curious relic is shown by the Jenney & 

 Grraham Gun Co. , of this city, in a specimen of the old 

 Porter revolving rifle, a box full of which was lately 

 secured by Messr-^. Griffith & Semple, gun deslers of 

 Louisville, Ky. During the war a certain gentleman 

 who in those days would have been called by a North- 

 erner just a plain rebel, bought twenty-five of these 

 guns, then thought to be an advanced arm , and thought 

 to arm his friends with them in ca^e the Yankees came. 

 He buried the box in a cellar. Time passed and they 

 were f orgotten, only to be discovered lately when some 

 excavations were making for a new building. The arm 

 looks antiquated enough now, and probably few will 

 remember having seen o ne like it. E. Hough, 



Blooming Grove Park.— -The sixteenth annual meet- 

 ing of the Blooming Grove Park Association, which owns 

 or controls 25,000 acres of beautiful woodland and a 

 finely-appointed club house in Pike county, Pa., was held 

 last week. The president, Andrew J, Post, reported that 

 500,000 brook trout eggs had been placed in the streams, 

 and that only the day before 35,000 lake trout eggs and 

 10,000 landlocked salmon eggs had been received at the 

 Park club house from the United States hatcheries for 

 distribution in the waters of the Park, Among the im- 

 provements made were various additions to the club 

 house and twelve miles of drives. The report of Treas- 

 urer Wm, P, Roome showed the association to be in an 

 excellent financial condition. Its assets foot up f 98, 738,- 

 14, made up of the real estate, valued at $41,000; the 

 club house, servants' quarters, stables, kennels, barns,, 

 and other outbuildings valued at $35,150, and hatching 

 ponds, personal property, and cash make up the balance. 



The Coon Hunteks' Symposium: has been unavoidably 

 postponed. 



NOTES AND NOTIONS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I have spent a good many years fighting, hunting, trap- 

 ping, mining and ranching in the West, and have from 

 time to time sent in to you sketches of experience in the 

 old days. Some of these you have printed and some you 

 have probably placed in the waste paper basket, where 

 very likely they belonged. 



In my somewhat extended experience I have heard and 

 seen a good many queer occurrences that I sometimes 

 feel like telling about, but it is not always easy to write 

 of these things. The rope and the rifle come handier to 

 me than the pen. I have also more or less information 

 as to places where game is abundant at the present time. 

 This you would no doubt like to have, but I cannot give 

 it to you. There are too many hunters in the country 

 now. 



Of course the old West no longer exists, and wherever 

 farmers and cattlemen have gone in the game has been 

 destroyed. It makes my heart sore to think that I can 

 never again eat "fat cow." There never was any meat 

 80 good. Of course mountain sheep and elk meat are 

 good, but like a good many men who are going down 

 the hill of life, I believe that "old things are best." 



I am each year more astonished at the increasing num- 

 ber of men who are coming to spend their vacations in the 

 West, and the more I see of this tendency the more I 

 wonder that there is any game at all left alive in the 

 mountains. Most men who go out West to hunt devote 

 themselves after the first year or two to some special kind 

 of game. Bears of course are the favorite game, but 

 moose, elk, sheep and white goats— and of course deer 

 and antelope— are taken in. 



It is years since any one has gone buffalo hunting, 

 although a few— perhaps half a dozen — have been 

 killed by accident within the past two or three years. 



Some of these Eastern men who go West do valuable 

 work there both by example and precept. Your paper 

 has had several accounts of the good work done by the 

 North Wyoming Game Protective Association, which 

 was organized and is operated by stockmen on Gray Bull 

 River and its tributaries. Hon. W. D. Pickett, Mr. Arch- 

 ibald Rogers, Mr. T. Paton and Mr. Belknap are prom- 

 inent workers in this association. A good example was 

 set by another Eastern man a year or two f-ince. This 

 was a case where the instincts of the gentleman and the 

 sportsman overcame the savage desire to kill, and to kill 

 something now, wh'ch is common to us all. A couple of 

 years ago Mr. Chas. M. Donnelly, a New York man, I be- 

 lieve, found himself within OOyds. of four bison not far 

 outside the boundary line of the National Park, and 

 although he had his rifle with him, he refused to take the 

 life of even one of these great beasts. A man who is 

 capable of an act like that certainly takes a high view of 

 his duty toward himself and toward others. 



Speaking of killing buffalo reminds me of the last at- 

 tempt made by Buffalo Jones to capture live buflfalo for 

 his ranch. The story has been told in your paper more 

 than once, and yet there are some points that have never 

 bef^n brought out. 



Up to this time, Jones had captured a good many calves 

 and had been successful in rearing them; and. being rather 

 puffed up, I fancy, by his success, he now determined to 

 take in all the buffdlo there were left, young and old 

 alike. Well, he tried it, and after a fearfully hard, labor- 

 ious, trip he partially succeeded. 



The trip was made from Kansas to Texas for the pur- 

 pose of rounding up and capturing the bunch of buff^,lo 

 known to exist there. Tne expedition was careluUy 

 planned and no provisions thit would tend to make it 

 successful were omitted. Of course they had plenty of 

 the best hor-ies that could be got, lots of grain, and good 

 men. Besides these aids, they drove down south with 

 them a bunch of tame butt'alo. It was thought that 

 after the wild ones had been run until they were pretty 

 tired, they could be rounded up among the domesticated 

 buff ilo and could be held in theii' companionship without 

 much trouble. Well, the expedi^Son went down into the 

 Panhandle, found the buft'alo and started after them. 

 They had four teams, and, using. tilnpse as relays, for forty- 

 two days they followed these fjuft'alo without stopping, 

 except 'when it was so dark that they could not see the 

 trail. There were only two ^liaces where the buffalo 

 could water, and they ran between these, circling around 

 and covering an area probably not more than 100 miles in 

 diameter. The teams folio sved the trail on the keen 

 jump, and as soon as one team was tired its place was 

 taken by another. When it got dark they would halt and 

 camp, but when the moon rose, or at the first streak of 

 gray dawn in the east, the mules were harnessed and the 

 chase began again. The buif ilo would drop down to rest 

 only a mile or two beyond the camp, and as the wagon 

 approached, would start up again and rush away before 

 it. The draught animals could never have kept up this 

 chase if they had not been fed all the grain they could 

 eat; how the buffalo stood it so long I do not understand. 



During the last few days the pace became slower, and 

 often the pursuers would be within one or two hundred 

 yardjs of the herd. Now the buffalo began to separate. 

 One would edge oft" from the herd and try to slip away by 

 himself, and when this took place the horsemen would 

 follow, rope and hobble him or her, and then continue in 

 pursuit of the herd. At last it became possible to drive 

 the wild buffalo in among the tame ones, but they could 

 not be held there. Suddenly, without any warning, one 

 of them would start away from the bunch and could not 

 be turned back to it. If caught and hobbled it would 

 sometimes stand for a few moments with all its feet 

 spi'ead out stiffly, then it would begin to tremble and 

 presently would fall over on its side and die, apparently 

 of rage. Of the full grown ones so captured and hobbled, 

 all died. It was noticed that the soles of the feet of these 

 buffalo so chased were worn down to the qHiick and were 

 bleeding. 



It is said that Jones saved alive 11 adult cows and 7 

 calves out of this bunch, but I believe that all the adults 

 afterward died^ The S ilent Man. 



CuREiTUCK,— Norfolk, Va,, Jan. 31.— I am a member 

 of two clubs in Currituck Sound, both having shares of 

 stock for sale. Our duck, goose and swan shooting is 

 very good, and our bay bird shooting is no doubt the 

 finest in the United States, if not in the whole world. 

 The members of these club^ are scattered all over the 

 Union, from Maine to Virginia. I shall be glad to give 

 any sportsman information concerning these clubs.— J. 

 B. White. 



THE NEW YORK GAME LAW, 



FOLLOWING is the text of the bill which was pre- 

 sented to the New York Legislature last Thursday: 



An Act for the protection and preaervatioB. of birds, fish and 

 game. 



The, Peovle of the, State of N&w York, rcjpresented in Senate, and 

 AssemMy, do mact as follows: 



CHAPTER THIBTY-ONB OF THE GENERAL liA.W^.— THE 

 GAME LAWS. 



ART. I.— BOARD OF COSUnSSlONEHS OB" FISHEEIES. 



Section 1. Short Title of Chapter.— This chapter shall he known 

 as the game law. 



Sec. 2. Commissioners of Fisheries, How Appointed.— The gov- 

 ernor shall appoint three commissioners of fisheries, who shall 

 constitute the board of commissioners of fisheries, 



Spo. 3. Terms of Office of Commissioners.— Bnt one commis- 

 sioner shall be appointed from any judicial department and each , 

 commissioner shall be a resident of the department from which 

 he is appointed. The terms of office shall be, at the time of the 

 first appointment, one, rwo and three years respectively; but aa 

 the term of each commissioner shall expire, appointments shall 

 be made for the full term of three years, hut in case of vacancy, 

 escept by expiration of term, the appointment shall be made for 

 the unespii'ed terra. 



Sec. 4. Cooamissionera to be Paid Sum inljieuof Expenses.— 

 The commissioners shall receive no compensation for their ser- 

 vices, but shall each be paid the sum of six hundred dollars annu- 

 ally for travel and contingent expenses, payment of such sum to 

 be made quarterly. 



Sec. 5. Office and Clerical Force.— The board of commtssionera 

 shall have its principal office in the capitol at Albany and shall 

 hold meetings at such office on the first Friday of January. March, 

 May, July, September and November, and at such other times and 

 places as the commissioners shall appoint, for the transaction of 

 business. It shall be allowed a clerk at a salary of two thousand 

 dollars, and such other clerical assistance as shall be actually 

 needed, together with the neceessary contingent office expenses. 



Sec. 6. Duties of Board of Commissioners.— The duties of the 

 board of commissioners shall be to propagate and distribute food- 

 fish and to keep up the supply thereof in the various waters of 

 the Stale, and for this purpose it shall have the conduct and con- 

 trol of such hatching stations as are now owned or operated by 

 the State and such as may be hereafter established. The com- 

 mission shall also have the care of the lands under water which 

 have been designated, surveyed and mapped out. pursuant to 

 law, for oyster beds, and power to grant franchises of such lands 

 according to The provisions of laws now in force or which may be 

 hereafter enacted. It shall also possess the powers and perform 

 the duties given and imposed by this chapter and by other provi- 

 sions of law. 



Sec. 7. Board to Report Annually to Legislature.— The board of 

 commissioners shall annually make a full report to the legists^ 

 turn of all their ofBcial operations for the year ending on the 30th 

 of Septembfr previous, with such suggestions and recommenda- 

 tions as thes shall deem useful. 



AHT. n.— GAME PROTKCTOHS, rOWEBS AND DUTIES. 



Sec. 20. Game and Fish Protectors, How Appointed.— The board 

 of commissioaers of fisheries shall appoint twenty game and fish 

 protectors whose powers and duties are hereinafter defined, and 

 who shall bo known as game profoclors. 



Sec. 31. Terms of Office of Game Protectors.— Game and flsb 

 protectors so appointed shall hold office during the pleasure of 

 the board of commissioners, which may summarily remove any 

 of their number and appoint another in his place 



Srt. . 22. Chief Game and Fish Protector —The board of com- 

 missioners shall from time to time designate one of such pro- 

 tectors as chief proti-cr.or, who shall remain such during the 

 plen.8ure of the board, and who shall have the direction, supervi- 

 sion and control ot the otlier protectors. 



.Sec 28, Protectors to Give Bonds.— The chief protector shall 

 give a liond to the board of commissioners with sureties in the 

 snm of §1,000, and och of the other prot«ictors a bond with sure- 

 ties in rne sum of S500 conditioned for the faithful discharge of 

 his duties, such bond ro tie approved by the commissioners. Any 

 action 1 hereon shall be brought in the name of the people. 



Sec. ?A. Compensation nf Protectors.— Compensation of the 

 chief protector shall be $3,000 per annum, payahl» monthly, and 

 he shall he allowed his aciuaJ expenses of travel in the perform- 

 ance of bis duty, not exceeding SI,0O0 per year; each other pro- 

 tector shall receive $500 per annum, payable monthly, and an 

 allowance for expenses not exceeding S3O0 per year, and the chief 

 protector or other protector shall receive one-halt of all penalties 

 collected in actions brouiyht upon information furnished by him. 



Sec. 25. Office of Chief Protector to be in the Capitol.— The chief 

 protector shall be assigned rooms in the capitol as his headquar- 

 ters, and he is authorized to emnloy necessary clerks at an expense 

 not to exceed eight hundred dollars oer annum. 



Sec. 38. Duties of Protectors. — T&e game and fish protectors 

 shall enforce all the fish and game laws of the State, and the provis- 

 ions supplementary thereto, made by boards of supervisors for 

 the additional protection of fish and game. 



Sec. 37. Kecords and Reports.— Each protector shall keep a daily 

 record of his official acts, and at the close of each month shall 

 make a summary of such record with such statements in detail as 

 shall be necessary tor the information of his chief and report the 

 same to the chief protector. 



S c. 28. Payment of Salary and Expenses.— I'ayment of salary 

 and traveling expenses to protectors shall omy be made upon the 

 certificate of the chief protector, that tne protector has made 

 such report and properly performed his dutv. 



Sec. 29. Reports by Chief Protector to the Board of Commission- 

 ers. The chief protector shall report to the board of commis- 

 sioners any negligence or dereliction of duty or incompetency on 

 the part of any of the protectors with the facts relating thereto, 

 and he shall report quarterly to said comm'ssioners the operations 

 of his department, during the preceding quarter, and shall make 

 such further reports as may be required by the board of commis- 

 sioners. 



Sec. 80. Special Protectors.— The board of commissioners may, 

 in its discretion and pleasure, appoint or remove a person, recom- 

 mended by any board of supervisors or by auy incorporated so- 

 ciety for the protection of fish and game, as spAcial protector, 

 who shall possess the same powers that are conferred upon the 

 State protectors; such spe ial protectors shall receive no compen- 

 sation from the State. They shall make similar reports to those 

 required from State protectors. 



Sec. 31. Powers of Sheriffs, Constables and Deputy Sheriffs.- 

 Peace officers shall have the same powers as are conferred upon 

 game protectors for the enforcement of the provisions of this 

 chapter. 



Sec. 32. Nets to be Destroyed by Protectors.— It is the duty of 

 every protector to seize, remove and forthwith destroy any net 

 pound or other device for taking fish found in or npon any of the 

 waters of this State, where fishing with such nets or devices is 

 prohibited or illegal, or upon the shores or islands of such waters, 

 and such nets, pounds or other devices are declared to be a public 

 nuisance and may be abated and summarily destroyed by any 

 game protector and no action for damages shall lie or be main- 

 tained against any person for such seizure or destruction. 



Sec. 3.3. Expense of Seizure of Nets.— The expanse of any seiz- 

 ure, removal or destruction of sach nets, pounds or other devices 

 shall be a county charge against the county 1n which the same 

 shall he seized and shall be paid as other county charges are paid, 

 on the certificate of such pr ttector, stating the time and place of 

 such seizure and destruction, the names of the persons employed 

 therein, the time spent thereabout and the money advanced, if 

 an y, and to whom, and shall be verified by the oath of such pro- 

 tector making such seizure and destruction. Such certificate 

 shall be final. 



AKT. Itt.— QUADRITPEDS. 



Sec. 40. Deer Close Season.— Wild deer shall not be caught, 

 shot at, hunted or killed between the first day of November and 

 the fifteenth day of August following. No person shall kill or 

 take alive more than two deer in auy season. 



Sec. 41. Deer or Venison, When Not to be Possessed.— "Wild 

 deer or venison shall not be possessed between the sixteenth day 

 of December and the fifteenth day of August following, and pos- 

 session thereof, between the first day of November and the fif- 

 teenth day of December, shall be deemed a violation of this sec- 

 tion unless it be proved by the possessor that such deer or venison 

 wa« killed within the lawful period for killing the same or one of 

 the State, 



Sec. 42. Does and Fawns not to be Killed.— No wild deer, unless 

 It have horns, shall be caught or killed at any time, nor shall any 

 wild deer killed in this .S-ate, unless it have or had hirns, nor any 

 part thereof, be possessed at any time; possession of does and 

 fawns shall be. presumptive evidence of a violation of this section. 



Sec 43, Traps; ^Traps or any devi-cewhat.S06>er to catch or en- 

 tice deer, including salt-licks, shall not be made, set or used, and 

 deer shall not be cmght. hunted or killed by aid or use thereof, 

 nor shall deer be hunted, pursued, shot at or killed by means or 

 use of artiflciallight or by what i.s commonly known aa floatini( 

 or jacking. 



