144 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Sept. 10, 1891. 



smallest albuquo taken weighed Solbs., and altogether we 

 hooked and landed SlOlbs. of fish. The kelp off the lower 

 coast of San Diego county seemed alive with members of 

 the finny tribe. 



Thus ended a most delightful outing of four busy men. 



Santa Catalina is one of the largest of the group of six 

 islands standing above the level of the Pacific Ocean like 

 patron saints of the southern California coast line. Their 

 names recall the days of the Mexican occupancy of this 

 State, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, Santa Catalina, San 

 Nicholas, San Miguel and San Cleinente. J. Z, T. 



San Diego, Cal., August. 



ENGLISH PHEASANTS IN AMERICA. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Having reared English pheasants during tliis summer 

 on a sufficiently extensive scale to be able to form a fair 

 opinion, I unhesitatingly assert that there are no more 

 difficulties to be encountered in their management here 

 than in Eui'ope. I have now over 1,000 as fine yotmg 

 birds from 3 to 3 months old running about in my pens as 

 one could wish to see, which have been reared with no 

 more than the ordinary trouble and expense. I know 

 thiat the winters here are not too severe for them, as I 

 imported 300 birds last November which had no further 

 protection than an open barn, in which only half the 

 birds used to seek shelter. After all, it is but natural, as 

 their oi'iginal habitat is jusc under the snow line on the 

 bleak mountain slopes that stretch across Asia. In fact, 

 I believe they suffer far more from great heat than great 

 cold. 



My management of them in no wise differed from the 

 way it is conducted in England, and the birds have pros- 

 pered well in every respect. Pheasant poults are cer- 

 tainly delicate for the first two months, but afterward 

 are far more hardy than any fowl. The rearing was car- 

 ried out under my supervision by men who bad never 

 seen a pheasant before, which proves my belief, that 

 with a little general practical instruction, intelligence is 

 far more necessary than experience. I have been most 

 agreeably surprised to see how extremely well the late 

 hatchings have come on, that is to say of eggs put down 

 late in June. 



I hope that this most splendid of all game birds will 

 soon be common in our coverts, which a little time and 

 patience will easily effect, for everything is suitable here 

 for their installation, I have heard of efforts in that 

 direction having been made formerly with a lavish ex- 

 penditure of money and a minute outlay of common 

 sense. Result, general dissatisfaction and despair. I 

 was assured this time last year that the establishment of 

 pheasants in America was a mere chimera. That when 

 imported they would not be able to withstand the rigor of 

 our winters: that when spring returned they would not 

 lay; if they did lay, the eggs would not be fertile; and, 

 finally, if these hatched the broods would quickly die off. 

 I have effectually and conclusively proved the contrary in 

 every particular. 



Another remark I have frequently heard made is, that 

 shooting at hand-raised pheasants is pretty much as ex- 

 citing as potting at fowls in a farmyard. This is a great 

 mistake, for it is impossible, even after generations of 

 confinement, to eradicate the wild nature of the pheas- 

 ant. With every week their innate desire for liberty 

 grows stronger, tUl at two and a half months old they are 

 fully as quick on the wing and as chary of intrusion as 

 their wild-reared companions. I feel sure that it only 

 requires the fact to be well known that pheasants can be 

 as easily reared for shooting here as in the old country, 

 to make every lover of sport eager to add them to the 

 list of the natural game birds of his State, I shall be 

 always happy to give all the information in my power to 

 any inquirer. Vernee de GtnsE. 



Mahwah, N. J. 



Chen Rossii in Montana.— In October, 1890. Mr, John 

 Sinclair, of Great Falls, Montana, killed a specimen of 

 this rare goose, which he preserved and still has. Mr. 

 Sinclair was out shooting with some friends near Benton 

 Lake, about 10 miles north of Great Falls, and saw seven 

 of these little geese resting on the beach of the lake. He 

 attempted to approach them but they rose before he had 

 come near enough to shoot with any prospect of doing 

 much execution. However, he fired at them with heavy 

 shot and succeeded in knocking down one of the birds, 

 which he secured.— Geobge Bird GrIxVNEll (Great Falls, 

 Montana, Aug. 29), 



Hunting And Fishing in thm Nobthavest. -Are you plan- 

 ning for an outing tuis summer? Have you ever lootetl up the 

 famous resorts of tbe Northwest V It is not an exaggeration to 

 say that the best hunting and fishing grounds in >Jorth America 

 are found in the territory tributary to the Northern Pacific Rail- 

 road. The lake park region in Minnesota affords pickerel, pike, 

 bass and msscaloDge: rock bass are found in numerous sli-eams, 

 and deer, elk and bear abound in the forest regions; antelope are 

 found in North Dakota. The Snowy. Bitter Roo', Grazy, Rocky 

 and Cascade Mountains are the home of moose, elk, caribou, 

 cougarp. Rocky Mountain sheep and goat and other laige game, 

 wbile all of the Northwestern States abound in feathere'i game. 

 Rocky Mountain trout and grayling are caught in the YeJlow- 

 atone. Gallatin, Madison, Jefferson, Clark's Fork and Green 

 rivers, affording unrivalled sport. An interesting pamphlet, 

 "Game Preserves of North America," can be obtained tree on 

 application to ChAs. S. Fee, G. P. & T, A. of the Northern Pacific 

 R. R. at St. Paul, Minn. Descriptive publications Goncerning 

 Yellowstone Park, Pacific coast and Alasks will also be mailed on 

 receipt of application, referring to Forest ant> Stream.— ^4dy. 



Spohtsmbn Attention !— If you want fine sport and plenty of 

 feathered game, go to northern Iowa. The shooting is excellent 

 and you cannot fail to enjoy the ti'ip. Or If you desire to go a 

 little further, the prairie and lake region of Minnesota Is equally 

 good for both flsh and game, and the distance not much greater. 

 Both are reached by the Chicago, St. Paul & Kansas City Railway, 

 the leading line for sportsmen and tourists between Chicago and 

 the Northwest, as well as the West and Southwest, and a favorite 

 route with all who have traveled over it. Tourist tickets now on 

 sale. For any further information call on or address F. H. Lord, 

 Genera] Passenger and Ticket Agent, Phenlx Building, Chicago, 



Forest and Stream. Box 2.833. N. Y. city, has descriptive illus- 

 trated circulars of W. B. Leffingwell's book, "Wild Fowl Shoot- 

 ing," which will be mailed tree on request. The book is pro- 

 nounced by "Nanit," "Gloan" "Dick Swlveller." "Syblllene" and 

 other competejit fltutljorities to be tjae best treatise on the stitijest 

 extant, ^ 



The full texts of the game laws of all the States, Terri- 

 tories and British Provinces are given in the BooTi of the 

 Oame Laws. 



TWO WEEKS OUT OF PU RGATORY.-II. 



FRIDAY, Nov. 7.— Ice water and a creosoted towel 

 preceded a 6:30 o'clock breakfast. Having set a 

 trap at the caribou relics, we went over west of ridge, 

 then along on south side through an open grove of spruce 

 planted in mossy ground and filled with wild swees air. 

 Rounding east end of the ridge, we came back on the 

 north side to the boat. Walked only 10 miles, but were 

 going pretty steadily from 8 A, M, to 4 P. M. Saw but 

 one fresh track, which was on the north side of the hill. 

 Shot a partridge, but the bullet carried with it everything 

 but the feathers. Mac went to Beaver Bog, and on the 

 way over, just beyond Maple Hill, they heard a deer, 

 hidden by some fallen tops, slowly walkaway from them. 

 Later, while watching at the bog, a deer came out across 

 the pond from Will, who, having no rifle, fired two shots 

 with a revolver and snapped it seven times before the 

 animal decided to move on, 



Saturday, Nov. S.—By the time we were dressed rain 

 began falling and it was decided to keep camp for the 

 day. The rain, however, stopped by 11 o'clock and the 

 guides went off to spot the caribou trail, returning in time 

 lor lunch. In the afternoon Mac went up the hill from 

 the south side of Mud Pond, while I traveled over the 

 southwest spur of Black Mountain. Both parties had the 

 same luck and retmrned by half past four empty handed 

 and empty stomached. Had a chance to observe more 

 closely the peculiar vices of the moose wood, which sur- 

 passes in pure cussedness every gro wth of the forest. The 

 striped moose wood, a straight growing tree, has bai-k a 

 little lighter in color than the mountain ash, with white 

 streakings in it. But the moose wood shrub of con- 

 demnable memory, has gray bark, resembling the moose 

 maple. The wood is tough and flexible and the branches 

 spread after the manner of a candelabra in a Jewish syna- 

 gogue. Owing to its peculiar habit of growth a single 

 shrub will cover more than its fair space of the footstool, 

 and when they cluster thickly, as is usually the case on 

 the top and upper slopes of hills, they adminiater a con- 

 tinual flogging to the face, hands and legs of the passer 

 through. At this season of the year the full leaf buds of 

 a reddish buckskin color point every twig and serve as 

 snappers. In the economy of nature they seem to fulfill 

 no better purpose than the mosquito and black fly, though 

 perhaps the evil spirits of these little pests winter in the 

 moose wood twig and so keep their cruel instincts alive 

 all the year around. Still-hunting without a soft and 

 quiet footway of snow is a constant tax on every energy 

 and faculty, and in its practice several additional senses 

 could be made use of, not to mention of direction, which 

 a stranger in tbe Maine woods had better get the loan of 

 if he attempts it without a guide. Beyond the physical 

 labor of carrying a gun over miles of the roughest sort of 

 side hill and swamp there is the added exertion of doing 

 it all without noise. The walking must be on the toes, 

 so far as possible, and every dry stick on the ground 

 must be avoided by the feet, every snapping twig by the 

 legs, and every dead branch by the head and body. Fmr- 

 thermore, the eyes must be always ranging the circle of 

 the woods, and tbe ears kept alert for any unusual sound, 

 and no time can be wasted in listening to the cracklings 

 due to the wind or to the groanings and squeakings of 

 interlocked trees. An odd sight at noon time when the 

 wind was strongest was the heaving of the forest floor. 

 The spruces and balsams appear to have shallow, wide- 

 spreading roots, and when the trees rock the mossy earth 

 about them rises and falls like low rolling waves. 



Sunday, Nov. .9.— Just after daylight the eastern half 

 of the clouded sky showed broad bands of deep rose 

 color, and the top of the hill at the north shone in red- 

 dish illumination, a mixture of golden sunlight and rosy 

 cloud reflection laid thick upon the cedar green of the 

 spruces. At 7 o'clock the sky was still overcast and the 

 west wind brought with it a snowy feeling. The temper- 

 ature must have been about 38° Fabr., but a mendacious 

 toy thermometer registered over B0\ At 8 ;30 I started 

 for Black Mountain, while Mac took the buckboard road 

 toward Seven Pond. When we got in the woods the 

 rain and sleet began falling, the wind had stopped, and 

 the flat, frozen leaves made such noisy traveling that we 

 returned to camp. That enemy of every moving thing, 

 the moose wood, was peculiarly discomforting, and the 

 twigs, snapping against cold ears and fingers, stung as 

 sharp and deep, but luckily not so lastingly, as a guilty 

 conscience. Bundled up with jackets and rubber coats 

 we went out on the pond. The rain froze on the rubber 

 coats, and every motion scm-fed off little scales of white 

 ice, giving us the appearance of leprous Hottentots, 

 While exercising it was delicious to breathe the tonic air, 

 but later sitting still in the boat, a minim of alcohol 

 would have been more welcome than the whole valley 

 f uU of tonic air. By 11 o'clock we were back in camp 

 and guessing how much longer the rest of the party 

 would forego obtainable warmth and comfort. While 

 on the pond it was pleasant to hear the small waves 

 breaking up the edging ice with a metallic swish, and the 

 minature hailstones which, falling in the water, copied 

 the quiet gurgle of a summer brook. 



Now, at noon the wind is blowing gusty and hard, 

 driving the sleet at a thin angle with the earth and 

 rapidly weight to mail-covered hut roofs, trees and every- 

 thing exposed. Later the sleet changed more into fine 

 hail which, impelled by the still rising wind, cut the face 

 like little splinters of broken glass. By 3 o'clock the 

 weather moderated, and the downfall changed back to 

 sleet and then to driving rain. An hour later Mack re- 

 turned, having gone south from the one-mile tree and 

 crossed back of Maple Hill. They followed what was 

 called by courtesy an old buckboard road, but a hard ex- 

 perience proved it to be lengthened hagus, long drawn 

 out. The barricaded streets of Paris, during the Com- 

 mune, were still the streets of Paris, so was this a buck- 

 board road. From the Seven Pond road to the swamp is 

 said to be li marine miles, this tmit of distance is defined 

 by the natives as being what a well-fed hound will cover 

 before starving to death. From the swamp they came 

 over Maple Hill, stopping for lunch in a grove of mam- 

 moth cedars and then followed the Beaver Bog trail to 

 Tim Pond. The boat having blown down the shore Mao 



shivered on the bank for half an hour till Will fetched it 

 to him, and then they both rowed, or rather drifted, to 

 camp through a dangerously high sea. After a final 

 drenching as the skiff beached broadside they got to the 

 drying cabin fire. As Mac appeared in the doorway, 

 with slushy leathfr coat, wet leggings and ice coveied 

 gun, he was the picture of water-soaked happiness. Hia 

 red face was wreathed in smiles and around the smiles 

 was a brown halo of knitted worsted, the back of the 

 halo being drawn down over the tops of baby- pink ears. 



Monday, Nov, 10.— By 8 o'clock I had started on the 

 spotted line for Beaver Bog. The day was clear and cool 

 and the leaves, wet with yesterday's rain, were frozen 

 into a thin, icy flooring that put still-hunting out of the 

 question. As we neared the bog the bard %V( od disap- 

 peared, and in place of leaves the ground was carpeted 

 with soft moss, overlaid in spots with the delicate ever- 

 green vine of the snow berry (so G, called it), and the 

 rabbit paths, holding frozen slush, showed white lines 

 running in every direction. The forests consisted of small 

 black spruces, with an occasional white one, draped with 

 the hanging moss on which the caribou feed. In the open 

 places the sunlight silvered this thready moas, and among 

 the surrounding greens and grays were seen spots of rich 

 red, the fruit of the mountain ash. The trail ends at a 

 winding stream of dead water, a narrow pond thrre- 

 quarters of a mile long, near the shore of which we found 

 fresh caribou tracks that looked like horseshoe prints. 

 In tbe neighborhood of Maple Hill we had also noticed a 

 number of deer tracks made in the early morning. Ju-st 

 after reaching this lagoon and while watching on the 

 shore a deer, hidden by the thick growth, appeared within 

 a few rods, l3Ut, the wind blowing toward him, the only 

 satisfaction I had was listening to three short whiRtles of 

 alarm before he took bis back track on the full run. 

 Though the ice was too thin and rotten to tempt the cari- 

 bou we decided to watch a little while, and went south a 

 little distance along the bank and sat down on a hummock 

 till we were saturated with the warm November sun. So 

 comfortable was the couch among the brown leaved 

 brush and so quiet was the prospect that I soon knew 

 slumber was sitting near waiting the chance to share my 

 hummock. Perhaps the sun frightened him away. 



After lunch we started back, waited and watched at 

 Maple Hill without seeing anything, and reached camp 

 before dark. Mac, who had got in at the same time, had 

 spent the day on Black Mountain. All that he brought 

 with him was one partridge and the memory of a mossy 

 watch ground, squirrels and falling mountain brook. 

 One squirrel in particular hugely pleased his fancy. The 

 small oit of curiosity on the further end of the log bench, 

 and sitting on his haunches with one tiny paw aero s bis 

 breast, made Mac an obeisance of welcome. Realizing 

 that the hunter was after large game, and scenting the 

 odor of benevolence that emanated from his neighbor, 

 the squirrel proceeded with his study of human nature. 

 Having filled his little brain with all the knowh dge 

 mere observation could compass, he turned to the ligriter 

 task of eating cone seed. Bat soon the distant call of the 

 matured squirrel warned him that he had other and less 

 congenial work to do; and so, with an unuttered sigh and 

 an "All right, old lady; I'll be there in a minute," he 

 grabbed some twigs for the winter house buiidmg and 

 trotted off. 



Tuesday, Nov. 11. — To-day was a rubricated one and 

 Mac is now sitting before the fire almost hidden in a cloud 

 of glory and well-fed content. The pond being but thinly 

 frozen, the quartette started for the bog, via the buck- 

 board road; and after a hard and rapid tramp reached 

 Beaver Pond a little after ten o'clock, I turned to the 

 right and having just sat down on an inviting hummock, 

 was watching G, at a little distance extemporizing: a bridge 

 when both were agreeably startled by two rifle shots from 

 the other end of the pond ; a little interval and then three 

 or more shots in close succession, followed soon by two 

 more shots. Of coui'se we decided to investigate, and hur- 

 rying toward Mac and Will found them standine beside a 

 magnificent four pronged buck that lay convulsed and 

 kicking on the margin of a narrow stream. A final shot 

 in the neck stopped his pitiful struggles, which would 

 have ended sooner had not the creature been of such un- 

 common size and strength, The eyes, as the life left 

 them, shone with a pale-green light more delicate and 

 pure than any color I have ever seen. After the body 

 had been hauled up upon dry ground there followed the 

 customary process of dividing into bide, meat, etc. , and 

 this disagreeable work gave opportunity to visit the shore 

 of the stream and wonder at all the still beauty round 

 about. The forest was roofed with gray clouds, the 

 spruces were of a dull green, quite different from the 

 day before, and the dead trees, with their hanging moss, 

 were devoid of all silver lustre, only the ground moss and 

 brown bushes being unaffected by the lack of light. A 

 multitude of pitcher plants were also noticed, their ma- 

 genta chalices all filled with ice. 



After the deer was dressed we had luncheon about a 

 fire and discussed the shooting, the shooter and the shot, 

 Mac had already reached the watch ground when he saw 

 the deer walking slowly across the outlet, thirty or forty 

 rods away. In the hope of a better shot he quipted a 

 beating heart and watched the deer pass into the woods 

 to reappear a few moments (though Mac says hours) 

 later, within easy shooting distance, on the opposite side 

 of a stream. At the first shot the deer bumped his back 

 as if wounded, and startpd to run up along the stream, 

 a second shot made him stand and gave opportunity for 

 a third shot that brought him down, the remaining shots 

 were fired as he lay on the ground, and would not have 

 been needed had the creature possessed Ipss vitality, 

 The estimated weight of the deer was over 200 bs, , and 

 dressed was all two men cared to carry home. The 

 antlers, spreading^ IBin., were thick and evenly bent and 

 looked almost artificial in their pymmetry. We went to 

 the bog for caribou, and the getting of the buck, and 

 such a buck, was a piece of most extraordinary luck. 

 We started back about 2 o'clock, and before the end of 

 the journey each man believed he had the hardest load 

 to carry. The guides were heavily weighted with the 

 meat. Mac earned the head and hide and sometimes the 

 gun, wbile I had only three rifles to take care of. I was 

 just as certain that Mac had the easiest load as he was 

 that I had it, but it is worthy of note that neither of ua 

 comforted the other by saying so. At one resting place 

 a little weazel, pure white in color, came up to snuff at 

 the packs of meat. The three mile walk was tiring in 

 the extreme, and having loafed a good deal on the flrs 

 part of the journey, besides stopping to corral a big ow 



