ATTfi. %1, 1891,] 



FOREST AND STREAM 



107 



The Woodcock's Twittek Again.— There is no dotibt 

 that the general impression is that the woodcock, as it 

 rises in flight, produces its whistle by the motion of its 

 wings, especially as the sound appears not to be of a vocal 

 character. But I have asked myself the question, if the 

 noise was caused hy the wings, why the bird sometimes 

 takes to fiiaht in perfect siJenoe? Upon the authority of 

 Mr. John S. Chilton, of Spring- Hill, W. Va., I am more 

 than ever convinced that the whistle is entirely vocal. 

 Mr. C. was a strong advocate of the wing-sonnd opinion, 

 and did not agree with the views of Mr. Trumbull until 

 one day, as his dog was attempting to retrieve a bird, he 

 heard "the exact sound as it was jumping about that it 

 makes while fiving. He thinks this test conclusive. 

 Some one, however, may say that the wings being more 

 or lees in motion while the bird was hopping, makes the 

 opinion that the sound is vocal still questionable. I think 

 not, however.— N. D. Elting. 



Killed by a Dead Snake.— Florence, S. C, Aug. 12. 

 — T inclose you a clipping from the Neivs and Courier, of 

 Charleston, S. 0.: "Little Rosanna Lynch, daughter of 

 Mr. John Lynch, was bitten by a piece of snake (a water 

 rattle) on Friday at Little Salem Church, in Florence 

 county. The people in the community were cleaning off 

 the church yards preparatory for a protracted meeting. 

 Mr. Lynch found the snS.ke and cut it in two and threw 

 it out of the wav, but unfortunately his little daughter, 

 about 7 years old, accidentally stepped on the head part 

 and w^as bitten on the foot near the heel and died that 

 night." The sad event occurred in my neighborhood 

 and the account is correct. It might be of interest to 

 some of your readers in showing that a snake cannot be 

 trusted until dead a week at least.— W. M. Bkown. 



Caiieier Pigeons Kil-led.— Ponkapog, Mass. , Aug. 15. 

 —I saw in your paper a sliort time ago something con- 

 cerning carrier pigeons being shot, and caught by cats. 

 •The other day a carrier was brought to me that had 

 flown against the telegraph wires. It lived a short time 

 and then my brother skinned and preserved it, Around 

 its leg there was a metal band with the h-'tters and num- 

 bers F. C G. 96 . Thinking that the owner wordd 

 wish to know about his bird I thought the surest way of 

 his doing it would be through the Forest a.nd Stream.— 

 J. H, BovfLES. A homing pigeon, apparently young, 

 was found floating in Raritan Bay, Aug. 15, exhausted 

 but alive. On one leg is a metal tag stamped " '91, E. C. 

 884." The owner may have it by applying to Miss Mabel 

 King, Water street, Perth Amboy, N. J. 



WooDorajCKS IN Trees.— Milwaukee.— Yesterday I shot 

 a very large specimen from a young straight tamarack, 

 the diameter about 35ft. up, where the woodcock clung, 

 was hardly Sin, He was evidently driven there by a 

 shepherd dog accompanying me and succeeded in reach- 

 ing that height by making use of the small regular 

 branches with fore and hindlegs.— H. D. 



White Muskrats.— Canton, N. Y., Aug. 15.— About 

 white musisracs: Some boys killed one on the Grasse 

 River about four miles above here one day this week. I 

 did not see it, bub quite a party of campers did. After 

 all iiad looked it over they threw it in the river and let it 

 float off. It is the first one I ever knew of in this section, 

 —J, H. R. 



km0 §dg mi ^tit^. 



The eulL text's of the game laws of all the States, Terri- 

 tories and British Provinces are given in the Booli of the 

 Oame Laws, 



NEW HAMPSHIRE MOOSE. DEER. CARIBOU. 



THE new deer law of New Hampsbire reads: "Act of March 

 26, lSi91.— Sec. 1. If auy person shall at any time, except be- 

 tween the fifteenth day of September and the first day of Novem- 

 ber, hunt, kill, destroy or capture vvi^h doga any moose, caribou 

 or deer, or between the first day of Janusry and the first day of 

 September in any manner hunt, liill. destroy or capture any 

 mooi^e, caribou or deer, within the limits of this State, he shall be 

 flncfl flfiy dollars for every such, animal so huQted, killed, de- 

 stroyed, or captured, or be imprisoned not excee 'ing six months, 

 or both. Sec If any person during the open season of any 

 year shall ca,tch, rake, kill oi' destroy more, than one moose, two 

 caribou, or three deer, lie shall be punished as provided in section 

 one of this chapter for every moose, caribou or deer destroyed in 

 excess of soid uumber, and if any person shall have in his posses- 

 sion more than the aforesaid number of moose, caribou, or deer, 

 or parts thereof, such possession shall he. prima facie evidence ol 

 baying unlawfully killed or destroyed the same." 



The text of the law as a hove is given in full in the July number 

 . of the Booli of the Game Laws. 



\A CHICKEN HUNT IN THE NATION. 



S ED ALIA, Mo, , Aug. 18.— A party of six of us left here 

 at 6 o'clock P. M, on the 14th inst. boimd for the In- 

 '; dian Territory to have a day's shooting with the prairie 

 chickens of that far-famed country. Our destination was 

 forty-four miles from the Kansas line on the main line of 

 the M. K. & T. railroad, a distance of 270 miles from our 

 starting point. We arrived there at about daybreak the 

 morning of the 14th. As had been prearranged every- 

 thing was in good shape, and the prospects for an early 

 start were flattering. Breakfast was soon ready, but we 

 got ver}' impatient waiting for the team that was to take 

 j us to the hunting grounds. Finally the master of cere- 

 I monies was prevailed on to go and liurry up the team. He 

 soon came back with a long face saying, "I have always 

 heard it was no use to try to hurry these natives and I 

 guess it's about right." In about an hour the wagon 

 came: and water, ice, guns, dogs and men were loaded; 

 and we were off to the stubble fields, which were about 

 three miles off. 



The day, up to 11 o'clock, was an ideal one; it was cloudy 

 and pleasant, with a southerly wind. We were un- 

 loaded about 2i miles from town, the driver pointing out 

 to us the fields in which we were likely to find chickens. 

 The wagon would have to go several tuiles around on 

 account of wire fences. He pointed out a house, about 3 

 miles to the north, where he said he would go and order 

 dinner for us. Everything being understood, we scattered 

 out and started across the prairie. We had four dogs, 

 none of which had ever seen a chicken, but each owner 



was backing his dog and was satisfied that his dog would 

 soon make a record for himself when we found the game. 

 We crossed a beautiful creek, and on the north side was 

 a very large field with wheat shocks standing all over it. 

 We took a quarter of a mile of this field and went straight 

 north. Every man kept his eyes on the dogs, expecting 

 every step to see his dog stop staunch and rigid on a covey 

 of young hens. On we went slowly, giving the dogs 

 time; and they hunted beautifully, but when we had 

 gotten to the north end of the field we had not seen a 

 chicken. Here we divided, three going with two dogs to 

 the east, and three with the other two dogs to the west. 

 The writer was with the west crowd. As we started west 

 through some high prairie grass an old cock got tip 

 wild and went about 300 vds., and was marked down in 

 ^some very high grass. We followed him up. The grass 

 was too liigh for the dogs to work, so we walked on, hop- 

 ing some of us would start him, and we did. He got up 

 within 20ft. of the writer, and made as much racket and 

 looked as big as an old gobbler. He came down though 

 in response to a load of No. 83, in 20ft, from where he 

 starteti. This gave us new hope; and going west on a big 

 ridge along the edge of a cornfield, we found a small 

 bunch and got three more. 



The other boys, who had gone east, heard us shooting 

 and oame to us. As they got within some hundred yards 

 of us one of our dogs made a beautiful point and was 

 nicely backed by the other. Several chicks got up scat- 

 tering and we bagged four. An Irish setter in the other 

 party made a fine stand about this time and her owner 

 killed a single. Soon another dog stopped and a single 

 was scored. We hunted on this ridge until eleven o'clock, 

 but failed to find any more birds. 



By this time the clouds had disappeared and the sun 

 came down very hot. We then started to the house for 

 dinner. Wo arrived there to find no one at home, nor 

 Avas our wagon in sight; but we soon found the well, and 

 the water was fine. In about half an hour our wagon 

 came up and the driver told us we would have to go on 

 about a mile and a half further to get dfnner. We arrived 

 at this next place about 13 o'clock, some of us as near 

 dead as alive from the heat. Here we had in a short time 

 a very good dinner, for which we paid 25 cents each. 

 Aftei- dinner we started west, and hunted faithfully until 

 night, but only found one more covey of chickens, souro 

 of w^hich we killed. Our principal work during the after- 

 noon was in one stubble field of two thousand acres. The 

 owner had threshed about 12,000 bushels of wheat and 

 had about 6,000 more to thresh. 



We got back to town about dark with 19 chickens all 

 told. We reached home the next morning at 8 o'clock. 

 Those who ai e anticipating a trip to shoot chickens in the 

 Nation, I would advise to wait until September or until 

 it gets cooler. Our trip was a failure so far as the hunt 

 was concerned. We found no chickens to speak of. That 

 there are chickens there there can be no doubt, but there 

 is lots of country for them to be in and I dare say that 

 ours is not the only party that will meet with disappoint- 

 ment this year. The country is the most beautifitl I have 

 ever seen, and I passed through several fields of corn that 

 were far ahead of anything 1 ever saw, and it would have 

 been hard for any one to have made me believe that corn 

 could grow so large and fine. There are legions of quail 

 there; we found covey after covey, and none seemed to 

 have less than 40 or 50 birds in them, the most of them 

 well grown. L. S. E. 



STILL-HUNTING DEER WITH BIRD DOGS 



Editor Forest and Sir earn: 



"Still-huntiBg deer with bird dogs,'' says "H. L." in 

 the Forest and Stream of the 13th inst., recalls to mind 

 my experience in hunting deer with a bird dog. 



Three years ago our party, consisting of Reams, Kizpr 

 and Foreman, of Osceala, and Thorn Moore and myself, 

 of this place, arranged for an October hunt in the "Green 

 Woods." Tiie Osceola party was to meet us at our camp. 

 Reams had written us to take along a good hound or two 

 and he would do the same. On the morning that we 

 were to start something turned nj) that Thorn could not 

 go, leaving me to hunt another companion and also to 

 look after the dogs. Our old standbys, Drum, Dan and 

 Gal, had made their last chase and I must look elsewhere. 

 Sport was a dog owned by a neighbor. He was a cross 

 between a cocker and an English setter and looked just 

 like an overgrown cocker, and his owner said he would 

 hunt anything, i loaded Sport into the wagon, and at 

 6 o'clock was ready to start to camp. I had no compan- 

 ion and did not care to drive the twenty miles alone. 

 .Just across the river I had to pass the house of a neighbor 

 boy, Percy Showers, who was only fifteen years old, but 

 a good ail round shot with the shotgun. Percy had 

 never seen a live deer, but I was willing to trust him; 

 so I threw my old Parker and a dozen buck shells into 

 the wagon for Percy and started. My young friend was 

 delighted when his parents told him he might go with 

 me, and away we went. 



When we reached camp. Reams first looked at my bird 

 dog and then at Percy, then he said, "Where is Thorn 

 and the hounds? You will play the devil hunting deer 

 with a bird dog and a boy and a shotgun." We did play 

 the devil, as the story will show. 



Our first chase was made on Winter's Ridge. Foreman, 

 Percy and myself were placed in line across the ridge 

 covered with very heavy timber, while Reams and Kizer 

 took the two hounds and Sport, our bird dog, to make a 

 drive. The leaves were mostly on the trees, and the 

 wind blew so hard that it was almost impossible to hear 

 the hounds if they should start a deer. The watchers 

 had stood upon the crossings for some two hours, but no 

 chase came. Thinking that no deer would be raised, 

 Percy and Foreman came over to my stand a.nd were 

 discussing the fadure of the drivers, when above the 

 noise of tlie trees and coming down the wind was heard 

 in the distance and very indistinctly the yelping of Sport. 

 Leaving Percy where he stood Foreman and I started to 

 other crossings. We had got but a short distance away 

 when we heard Percy's gun. I turned to see what he 

 had shot at, and had jmt time to get one shot at a four- 

 pronged buck as he went over some brush and out of 

 sight. I walked over to where the boy stood, and said to 

 him, "I'm sonry now I didn't stay here. I might have had 

 a better shot." Percy said in rei^ly, "I'm sure I hit him, 

 for he just stopped long enough to allow me to get the 

 sights on him, and I put the load right into his shoulder." 

 I walkerl over to where I had last seen the deer, followed 

 the trail some SOyds., and found the buck dead with two 



buckshot through his heart, two in his neck and one in 

 his shoulder. 



I bled the deer and laid him across a log, and tui-nedto 

 listen for the dogs, when I heard Sport giving tongue for 

 all he was worth. In less time than I can tell it, he came 

 up and took his position by the deer, the proudest dog 

 you ever saw. In a short time the two hounds came up 

 on the trail and attempted to claim the dear; but Sport 

 was master of the situation, for it was his game, and in 

 about one minute he had thrashed both those hounds and 

 had again taken possession of his deer. Sport had raised 

 the deer on the south side of the ridge and without 

 any help whatever from the hounds had driven it to the 

 boy with the shotgun, who did his work like a veteran. 



We made many chases with Sport, and he proved him- 

 self the equal of any hound as a hunter and a trailer of 

 deer; and I have never heard Reams speak of that meet 

 without praising the bird dog and the boy and his old 

 Parker, Frank Y. Harris. 



OLEARMEtiU, Pa., Aug. 17. 



A SHORE BIRD INCIDENT. 



''f'^HERE are some prospects for shooting in Massachu- 

 X setts when the law is off. The Restocking Com- 

 mittee of the Massachusetts Fish and Game Protective 

 Association have encouraging reports from the quail and 

 praune chickens they put out last winter and spring. The 

 committee has, in all, over 50 reports, and scarcely one 

 is unfavorable. They have reports of 13 broods of prairie 

 chickens, and all appear to be doing weU. Tiaere is a 

 complaint from one of the islands stocked that the birds 

 have flown over to the main land, as indeed the com- 

 mittee rather expected they would. The quail appear to 

 have reached a larger size "at this time than they had by 

 the middle of September last year. Mr. A. Tompkins, 

 of Waltham, has been "up to camp," eight miles up the 

 Sudbury River, and there in the meadows he saw, the 

 other day, two good broods of quail. The birds were 

 lai'ger than he expected to see and remarkably tame. He 

 got very near them and they did not seem to be alarmed. 

 Residents say that they have been in the meadows all 

 summer. Mr. Tompkins is quite sure that the quad are 

 from the birds that were put out last winter. When any 

 of the old birds are shot it will be known, for the birds 

 that were put out in that section each had a little section 

 of rubber tubing around the leg. 



Some of the boys are trying for shore bu'ds, summer 

 yellowlegs, plover, etc., but not yet with very marked 

 success. Two boys from the Chamber of Commerce — 

 they object to the use of their names and may hardly 

 like to be called boys — ^have been practicing with bird 

 calls and getting decoys ready for some time. Monday 

 morning they were ready. They both live at Beach- 

 mont, and down by the shore and across the creeks, a 

 mile or so is a good location for flights of shore birds. 

 They resolved to be there early. There are one or two 

 booths there to shoot from, and tlie first man to get in 

 has the booth at his command till he chooses to give up 

 shooting. Only one of the booths is of any particular 

 use, for the birds can be called down only to this one. 

 The boys started before daylight, and after some pad- 

 dling in an old boat with a broomstick and a shingle, 

 and the wading of one or two creeks, they were near to 

 the best booth. They started for it only to see another 

 man a few steps ahead of them making for the same 

 booth. Then began a race for position, but the stranger 

 got the booth just a few feet ahead of the Chamber of 

 Commerce boys. He rushed in with an exultant "Not 

 this time, my hearties!" He had the position, and day- 

 light was just breaking; so the boys were forced to take 

 the upper booth, from which only a few birds have been 

 shot. They began to call, and soon the birds came, but 

 each time to swoop down directly in front of the boys' 

 rival. He got several shots and a number of birds before 

 our friends gave up in disgust, not having got a shot. 

 They started for home and he invited them to come a 

 little earlier another day, and get there in time to get the 

 booth— if they were able. He also thanked them for 

 calling the birds down. The boys say that he is shooting 

 birds for the market, and that one has got to get to the 

 booth pretty early in the morning in order to beat him. 



Special. 



MICHIGAN DEER RESORTS. 



CRYSTAL FALLS, Mich., Aug. W.— Editor Forest 

 and Stream: I will give you the best points for 

 deer in this section. 



The vicinity of Fortune Lakes stands first. These 

 lakes, three in number, ai'e four miles from town, 

 reached by a good wagon road. Camp grounds are 

 splendid, runways between the lakes. The best place to 

 camp is at the dam at foot of last lake. The hunting is 

 excellent in every direction from this point. 



Chicagon Lake and the Brule are next in order. The 

 lake is ten miles from town, is five miles long, and the 

 Brule is only three miles from the foot of the lake. 

 Splendid camp grounds. Canoes can be rented from the 

 Chippewas for 50 cents to $1 jjer day. The best ground 

 is on the south and west side of the lake. 



Nest is the south side of the Mes-que-cum-e-cum, or 

 Paint River, with headquarters at Camp 4, L. W. & V. S. 

 Co. This camp is eleven miles by "road" from town. I 

 cannot recommend the road to a rheumatic patient. It's 

 rough. Between Camp 4 and the Chicagon River there 

 is lots of game. 



The Hemlock andMichigamme River districts are good, 

 but are being hunted to death now, so that by Sept. 25 

 the game will be scared out. The other places named 

 are easily reached and the deer are there. 



The liverymen will take parties on to any of these 

 grounds with their camp outfits at very reasonable rates, 

 $5 for the trip at the outside, The best equipped stable 

 for these trips is HoUister & Co.'s; they will meet parties 

 at train on receipt of message at any time. C. & N. W. 

 R. R. is the only line reaching this place. There is a 

 scarcity of guides here; the only ones I think of are Elon 

 and Milan Stowed, Marion Buskirk, H. G. Fiibley (lives 

 at Chicagon Lake) and Mr. Carr, care of J. E. Bower. 

 These are the only reliable ones unless an Indian will do. 

 The Cbippev^'as live at the lower end of Chicagon Lake. 

 I will see these parties at any time and engage them for 

 any persons you may suggest. 



I woidd like to take a couple of hunters out for a week 

 or two myself for sport and not for pay if I could get 

 away. When the season opens I will probably be in the 

 woods near Camp 4. "H. H, P 



