86 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Atjg. 20, 1891, 



country had the best shooting of aBy, and the shipments 

 from there were simply terrible. Last year Minnesota 

 and South Dakota were too dry and the shooting there 

 was very poor. This year matters are much better in 

 those States, the rainfall later in the season being more 

 abundant, and yet not excessive in the early spring. 

 Ottertail county, in Minnesota, ought to be a safe chance 

 this year. I should not be afraid to risk Ortonville. 

 Glenwood ia mentioned, but I do not think so much of 

 it. I hear from Minneapolis that the illegal shooting be- 

 fore the opening of the season has up to this time been 

 much less than usual. A case or two of convictions at 

 St. Paul helped matters in that neighborhood. 



For Iowa advice is much more difficult, as that country 

 was nearly depleted by market-hunters. If a party 

 should go to Ruthven, la., they could by judicious inquiry 

 get at shooting near there or around there. 



On the whole. South Dakota, after northwestern 

 Nebraska, is the safest country I know of to visit for up- 

 land grouse shooting this fall. Reports come in that the 

 season there has been favorable in every way. Near 

 Tracy the birds are described by a resident late from there 

 as very abundant. Volga, S. D. , is another good point, 

 and I don't think one would miss it there. Huron is 

 probably not so good, though much chosen as a starting 

 point. Last year the sharp-tailed grouse shooting in the 

 Turtle Mountains country, of Dakota, was magnificent, 

 and this year it should be practically as good. Hitchcock, 

 S. D. , is good this year also, I am told. 



In Illinois the shooting will be about as good or perhaps 

 better than in most of the States further west. There 

 will, of course, be this drawback here, that the shooting 

 has begun now, and will be practically over by Sept. 5, 

 though its opening date is Sept. 15. Nevertheless, Sept. 

 15 will show fine cornfield shooting, the hardest and finest 

 sort, and clear above grass shooting on cheeping grouse, 

 along the old Sangamon Marsh, 20 miles below Pekin. 

 Mason City, near there, is another point closer. There 

 will be some birds left not far from Jacksonville, not 

 many. Near Bloomington there will still be some shoot- 

 ing left by the early thieves, and this v;^ill be better yet 

 near Say brook, just below Bloomington. At Mt. Pulaski, 

 this State, there will be birds, and I think the boys there 

 try to keep the law observed. I have heard of birds along 

 the Kankakee, in Indiana, but could not recommend that. 

 Near Monience, 111., there were a few coveys this summer, 

 probably eaten before this. Near Yorkville, on the Fox 

 River, there was probably pretty fair illegal shooting for 

 awhile this year. 



I give any advice as to shooting country with a great 

 deal of reluctance, for fear that some good fellow off on a 

 vacation may through it be led into disappointment. It 

 is not possible to speak with certainty for any country 

 not personally visited, which is of course out of the ques- 

 tion at this date. More than this, one's success in a strange 

 country depends on himself. He must have the knack of 

 making friends, and a disposition to hustle, and an eye 

 for good gx-ound, and a knowledge of his game. More- 

 over good "chicken dogs" are scarce, either local or im- 

 ported along. The market-hunter never did a mox-e de- 

 plorable thing than when he killed off, through death of 

 raison d'etre, that magnificent hunting companion and 

 friend, the old fashioned "chicken dog." 



Another thing. The dates of the open seasons should 

 be looked up, not in rough and inaccurate newspaper 

 compilations, and not in the slips of alleged "game laws" 

 sent out by some of our sporting goods houses and manu- 

 facturing firms. I found the South Dakota date wrongly 

 given in one of these affairs to-day. Mr. F. S. Baird, 

 who is just about to start for that country on a shooting 

 trip, called my attention to it. "All these publications 

 have given that date wrong," he said, "you'd better write 

 in and have your paper correct it." 



"Is it wrong in the Book of the Game Laws f I asked. 



"Wrong everywhere," said he. 



I went to my desk, and found that the Booh of the 

 Game Laws had the date right, and just as he found it in 

 the Dakota statutes. By a fault of the indexer of the 

 statutes this reference is not paged in the back of the 

 volume as regularly. So here the Booh of the Game 

 Latvs was better even than a reference to the statutes, 

 which to the ordinary searcher would have been mislead- 

 ing. I do not know of any other compilation of the game 

 laws which is altogether accurate. It may be fallible, 

 but I have not yet heard of a mistake that it has made. 

 It is one of the most useful books a sportsman ever had in 

 his hand, especially just about now. I don't know what 

 I get for saying all this, but it is something which ought 

 really to be said. E. HouGH. 



WESTERN WILDFOWL GROUNDS. 



WEST of St. Peter, on the C. & N. W. R. R., is located 

 the town of Tracy. It is a very nice town and 

 many of the residents are fine sportsmen. Large prairies 

 are on every side of the town, and the location is one of 

 the best to start out from for some good shooting of any 

 place I know. 



South of Tracy is the celebrated Lake Shetek country, 

 where may be found great quantities of ducks and geese. 

 Should the sportsman be in the country daring a flight of 

 canvasbacks and redheads he would have very fine sport. 

 Lake Shetek is the head of the west branch of the Des 

 Moines River, and is located in the great "flyway" of 

 ducks and geese from British America to the Des Moines 

 Valley, and from there to the Mississippi Valley and from 

 there on to the Gulf. This lake country is a great breed- 

 ing ground for ducks and geese and all the snipe family. 

 Wild celery and rice are found in many of the lakes. The 

 native ducks decoy the flight ducks into the lakes when 

 on their way south. Sometimes the feed is so plenty that 

 they will stop a month or more. Then the sportsmen wUl 

 get as fine ducks for table use as can be found in any part 

 of the country. Good chicken shooting can be found 

 anywhere west of St. Peter. 



West from Tracy, in Dakota, we come to the great 

 duck, goose and chicken country of Dakota. North of 

 Watertown is located the Indian reservation. It is a 

 great country for lakes, and quite a breeding ground for 

 waterfowl. Great quantities of small grain are raised 

 ai'ound Watertown, and when the flight of geese come 

 down from the Devil's Lake country in North Dakota it 

 is a sight to behold. At any place west of Watertown 

 good shooting may be found. The Jim River country is 

 a great place for ducks and geese. Near Columbia the 

 Jim River forms quite a lake, and there is a grand chance 

 tor the sportsman to try his hand at pass shooting, the 

 b2St of ail shooting. The shooter who kills three ducks 



out of five on a duck pass may be classed as an A No. 1 

 shot. I have seen but few shooters that could do so. A 

 duck every other shot is good work. 



I think more white-fronted, snow and Hutchins geese 

 pass through Dakota than Minnesota and Iowa, but I am 

 satisfied that there are more Canada geese in Minnesota 

 and Iowa, and that more ducks pass through those States. 



The sportsmen from the East will not need to bring 

 loaded shells. Good ones can be found in almost every 

 town, and they are sold very cheap. Good teams and 

 drivers are always to be had at fair rates. These drivers 

 know where the best shooting grounds ai-e located. 



There has been a great deal of rain in the Dakotas this 

 season. The lakes and ponds are full of water. Splendid 

 grain fields are to be found all over the States. With 

 such large quantities of feed and water wildfowl shoot- 

 ing must be good. J. G. S. 



Washington.— Seattle, Aug. 9.— F. Schramm & Co., 

 the proprietors of the Rosemont cafe, pleaded guilty in 

 J ustice y on Tobel's court yesterday to a complaint charging 

 them with selling grouse in violation of the game laws of 

 the State. The rei)re8entative of the firm said the birds 

 had been bought and disposed of by an unauthorized 

 employe without the firm's consent, and upon the motion 

 of Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Caldwell, the minimiim 

 penalty, $10 and costs, was assessed. An interesting point 

 was brought out during an informal discussion by the at- 

 torneys that followed the disposition of the case. The 

 prosecuting witness, Josiah Collins, jr., said that when he 

 bought a grouse at the Rosemont there were a number of 

 prairie chickens hanging from the same hook. Mr. 

 Rademeyer, the firm's representative, said that they had 

 been shipped from South Dakota, and contended that he 

 should be allowed to sell them, Mr. Collins, who, besides 

 being a sportsman, is the author of the game law now in 

 force, insists that the simple act of disposing of game is 

 an offense, and that itis necessary to include gamebrought 

 without the limits of the State to guarantee the enforce- 

 ment of the statutes, which would otherwise be rendered 

 inoperative. Boyd & Chamberlain had their case con- 

 tinued until Wednesday next. They will contest the 

 case. — Post-Intelligencer. 



He had nis Medicine.— One of our most respected 

 citizens wanted some pratrie chicken last week ( 4.ug. .5). 

 We killed, dressed and sold him three prairie owls. He 

 said that they were very tough for young birds. He has 

 found it out; and we who vilely betrayed his confidence 

 and trifled with his feelings do not care to associate with 

 him. (His shotgun is good for 100yds,)— D. (Cimarron, 

 Kan.). 



"That reminds me." 

 THE ALLURING CHARMS OF LINKVILLE. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



The most unique locality to be found by the sportsman 

 is probably that surrounding the town of Linkville, in 

 Klamath county, Oregon. The town nestles at the foot 

 of a large mountain, and lies right on the bank of what is 

 locally known as Link River. This stream — which is quite 

 large — connects the Upper and Lower Klamath lakes, is 

 alive with thousands, and probably millions, of large fish, 

 which are constantly passing to and fro between the two 

 lakes, and are as constantly jumping out of water in sight 

 of the town. They are of all sorts and sizes. Some of 

 them appear to be cutting up these antics for the fun of 

 the thing, and some to shake some kind of an eel-looking 

 creatm-e which attacks them in the water and becomes 

 attached to their sides, causing the fish apparently much 

 suffering. It is no uncommon thing for large fish to be 

 taken there whose sides are all scarred up in consequence 

 of these attacks. 



It would not be surprising if many fish were thus des- 

 troyed. Probably there are not in the world two lakes 

 more numerously stocked with trout than the Upper and 

 Lower Klamath lakes. Judging by map measurement they 

 each average thirty miles in length by ten miles in width. 

 Many large streams empty into them, aflfording splendid 

 fishing and spawning grounds. Lying east of the Cascade 

 range of mountains, where genuine winter prevails in the 

 season for it, the water is better and the fish healthy and 

 solid — features which do not prevail on the western side 

 of the mountains, where an almanac has to be consulted 

 to accurately ascertain the season of the year. 



But, to revert to Link River. There is another and very 

 peculiar feature about its banks, they are a snake para- 

 dise. The blue ribbon— though it may have been consist- 

 ently worn by the sportsman for the last decade of his 

 life — will not prevent the seeing of tens of thousands of 

 snakes in a walk of a mile from the town. They are of 

 a harmless variety, and of aU colors and sizes, six inches 

 to six feet in length. On warm sunny days they lie 

 twisted together in heaps of hundreds, and it is not un- 

 common to see three thousand of them in fifteen minutes' 

 walk. If disturbed while taking their siesta in theii- 

 effort to get away they become twisted into the form of a 

 cable as large as a man's body and cannot move. Accor- 

 ding to an estimate made by one of the oldest and most 

 intelligent inhabitants of that vicinity, there are snakes 

 enough in that country to build a wall four feet wide and 

 four feet high at least a mile long. Some of the farms 

 there are fenced with walls laid up with round water- 

 worn stones. These walls constitute the home of thousands 

 of these reptiles. If one of these walla is approached, 

 from nearly every interstice a snake's head will be pro- 

 jected with forked tongue forbidding trespass on their 

 domain. What is singular about this whole affair is the 

 protection afforded to these reptiles by the inhabitants 

 there. They will not allow them to be killed or even in- 

 jured. Their children, familiarized with them from their 

 birth, have no loathing or fear of the reptiles, but pick 

 them up and play with them, as any other child does 

 with a toy, under caution of the parents not to hurt them, 

 The reasons given by the farmers and others for this pro- 

 tection are three. First, the fai'mers could raise no crops 

 without their in aid destroying various bugs, insects 

 and vermin which would otherwise overrun the whole 

 region with destruction of all living vegetation; second, 

 the reptiles smell sickening enough living, but their stench. 

 i» iptoleraWe when dead; and third, they devour and re- ! 



duce the number of frogs; and hereby hangs a tale, o'er 

 true. 



Perennially there descends upon Linkvdle and the sur- 

 rounding country untold millions of little creatures, 

 resembling a frog, and about the size of a small one, 

 which are reminders of the biblical frogs of Egypt. 

 Where they come from no one seems to know, but it is 

 probable that they come from the rivers and lakes and 

 Klamath marshes. Upon their arrival every door and 

 window has to be closed against them, or they will invade 

 the house in countless numbers and dispute possession of 

 every part thereof, even to the bed. There is no standing 

 upon politeness at these times. The entrance to, and exit 

 from, a house is done with instantaneous celerity, and a 

 resounding slam to the door which, under ordinary cir- 

 cumstances, would betray a passionate mood. Of course 

 the streets of the town are full of them. And now the 

 snake takes his annual feast, as that of the Passover. 

 And thus is nature's law of supply and demand fulfilled. 



Up among the mountains surrounding Linkville there 

 are large quantities and many kinds of game. Quail, 

 grouse, wildcats, mountain lions, deer, and an occasional 

 bear are there. It is a region where much hunting has 

 probably not been done, as it is situated sixty miles from 

 any railroad, and nothing but an abominable stage road 

 to make a connection. Thick cowhide boots are the cor- 

 rect thing for the sportsman there, as the rattler will dis- 

 pute his way. 



But if the sportsman desires to go afishing with the 

 most economical of tackle, he may provide himself with 

 an inexpensive pitchfork and pay a visit to Lost River, a 

 sizeable stream a few miles east of LinkvUle. There he 

 will find pickerel of enormous size, and so thick in the 

 river that they fill it from bank to bank. The inhabitants 

 never use any other kind of tackle. 



More anon. M. W. 



Alameda, CaL 



m mfd ^iv^r fishing. 



The full texts of the game fish laws of all the States, 

 Territories and British Provinces are given in the BooTt of 

 the Game Laws. 



AFTER MASCALONGE IN ELBOW LAKE. 



" I 'VE got to go to Park Rapids, Thursday. If you'll go 

 X along we'll go over to Elbow Lake and try the mas- 

 calonge. Will you go?" So said Stephens last Monday 

 night, and Thursday morning at 5 o'clock we were on the 

 Northern Pacific train bound for Wadena, where we 

 would take the Great Northern line for Park Rapids. 

 We had often talked of taking the trip to Elbow Lake, 

 in Minnesota, but lack of time to make the trip, which 

 included a sixty-mile di-ive to the lake over a road of 

 incomparable roughness, and a return over the same 

 road, had prevented. But the completion of the railroad 

 line to Park Rapids Aug. ] , brought the lake within 

 eight miles of the railroad. So Aug. 6 saw us off for a 

 few hours fish in the renowned Elbow Lake. We break- 

 fasted in Wadena. Here we met three "fishing cranks," 

 one of whom was an old acquaintance, and with the 

 other two we soon became acquainted, and then followed 

 an exhibition of rods, reels and lines, and relating and 

 comparing experiences. They all said they envied us our 

 trip and wished they could go. Stephens and I had our 

 light split-bamboos, and were going to use a small G line 

 with a No. 8 Skinner spoon. It was to be all experiment 

 with us. We had never caught a mascalonge, but we 

 had always said that if we could get where they were we 

 should use our ordinary trout tackle with the exception 

 of the spoon. 



At 9:30 A. M. we boarded the train for Park Rapids, 

 the county seat for Hubbard county and the present ter- 

 minus of the raikoad. Ti-ainshad been running only five 

 days and everything was of the essential essence of the 

 "newness of the new." The railroad runs through timber 

 nearly all the Way; hardwood, interspersed with tamarac 

 swamps at first, then the grand old pine forest. We 

 reached Park Rapids, where a genuine boom is in full 

 development, in time for a 3 o'clock dinner. We ordered 

 a team to be ready for us as soon as Stephens should get 

 his business done. Four o'clock found us on our way. 

 Elbow Lake is eight miles east of Park Rapids, and the 

 drive is a very pleasant one through the pme woods all 

 the way. Col. W. H. Martin lives on the shore of the 

 lake and we had plaimed to get a boat of him and stay all 

 night if he could keep us. We found Mr. Martin at home, 

 and after a few questions had been asked and answered, 

 were made welcome. We sent the team back with in- 

 ptruotions to come for us at 10 o'clock the next morning. 

 We soon had om- rods rigged up and on the advice of Mr. 

 Maitin jjut a piece of light copper wire about 6in. long at 

 the end of the line to fasten the spoon on to keep the fish 

 from biting off, which they will often do if no wire is 

 used. Mr. Martin has lived on the lake eleven years, and 

 not only knows all the country thereabouts, but also 

 where the gamy mascalonge abide. He gave us a few 

 directions and we were off up the lake, leaving orders for 

 an eight o'clock supper. The lake is very appropriately 

 named Elbow Lake, as it closely resembles a bent arm. 

 We tm-ned the bend and went slowly along the west 

 shore, keeping just out from the weeds. 



What was that which gave such a tug at the line and 

 caused my rod to bend so? - Had the spoon caught on a 

 log! No, for there was a succession of fierce jerks that 

 caused me to call out to Stephens, "I've hooked one!" I 

 had a very pleasant experience for the next few minutes, 

 which resulted in bringing to the side of the boat a fish 

 that could do more rushing and i)lunging and splashing, 

 when seemingly i)layed out, than any fish I had had on 

 the hook in some time. Get him into our landing net we 

 could not, so watchmg my chance I caught him in 

 the gills with my left hand and jerked him into the boat 

 — my first mascalonge, not very large, only 71bs., yet 

 my fu'st mascalonge, 



"He didn't jump lOft. into the air," I said. 



"No; nor jump over the boat," added Stephens. 



"Nor run at us with his mouth wide open gnashing his 

 teeth." 



"But isn't he a beauty?' 



And indeed the fish was very pretty, I had no idea that 

 mascalonge were such fine looking fellows, 



During the next hour we caught four more, tliree of 

 ihem being almost exact mates to the first, even to a 



