Nov. 13, 1891,] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



S31 



It was' often too dark for me to see where they fell, but 

 my well trained retriever was sure to secure all that were 

 disabled, and to put them in a pile at my side. A good 

 dog is very essential, for he secures many geese that 

 would otherwise escape. A goose is a very strong, enei-- 

 getic bird, and in proportion to his size it takes more lead 

 to stop him than any other game bird I ever shot. I have 

 often seen them fly over half a mile after being shot, and 

 them drop dead. If a goose is only winged , it is of ten 

 very difficult to get him without a dog. 



In this vicinity the best goose shooting I find is in 

 wheat stubbles, I select a field as remote as possible 

 from buildings or roads. Near the center I dig a pit, 3ft. 

 wide by 6ft. long, with a jog or shelf at one end to sit 

 on, deep enough to leave my head below the surface 

 when sitting. Then I put in some straw or hay to make 

 it comfortable. In front of me at my feet is plenty of 

 room for my dog, gun, shells, etc. I take great pains to 

 scatter the loosened earth evenly in the stubble; if it were 

 left in a pile the geese would notice it and avoid the 

 place; but if they are flying low enough to shoot they 

 cannot see the pit until they are nearly over it, and then 

 it is too late for the discovery to be of any use to them, 

 provided the sportsman does his part well. I take care 

 to make all these preparations at a time of day when the 

 geese are on the lakes, for should I wait until they com- 

 menced flying out for food every flock that saw me at 

 work would be sure to give my field a wide berth. 



After the pit is ready and I have made all its surround- 

 ings appear as natural as possible, I set out a lot of sheet 

 iron decoys, shaped and painted to resemble a wild goose 

 so closely that they will deceive the oldest leaders until 

 they come very close to them. Everything is now in 

 readiness, and I get into the pit with my dog. Sport 

 understands as well as I do that it is essential to keep 

 perfectly quiet. I take a book or newspaper, together 

 with a large stock of patience, for sometimes I have to 

 wait for hours without getting a shot. But if any geese 

 come in my direction, they are quite sure to discover the 

 decoys from a great distance and to shape their course 

 with the intention of taking dinner with what appears to 

 them to be another flock of geese already feeding. On 

 they come, but they will not light: they swoop down 

 quite near the decoys, and discovering " the deception, 

 start upward in disorder, with clamorous cries of alarm. 

 Now is my time. I spring to my feet and fire two barrels 

 in rapid succession, usually bringing down several of the 

 noble birds, sometimes as many as eight. Sport is out as 

 soon as the gun cracks, and the birds that fall furthest 

 away and show the most activity are sure to receive his 

 first attention. The dead geese make good decoys when 

 set up in a natural position, the head being held" up by a 

 small stick set in the ground. A score of 33 in one after- 

 noon is the best I have made. But it is not often they fly 

 so good. 



I have killed at least six dift'erent varieties since I came 

 here. What is known as the Canadian goose is much the 

 largest and best kind for food; when full grown they 

 weigh from 12 to H31bs. One kind is quite beautiful, they 

 are rather small, of very graceful form and perfectly 

 white, with the exception of black tips on the ends of the 

 wings of the ganders. This variety usually appears in 

 very large flocks, and in the spring are the last to take 

 their departure for the north, A. N. Alward. 



Crow Lake, South Dakota. 



CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 



C CHICAGO, 111., Nov. 5,— The perils which may beset 

 ) the hunter when afield are evidenced clearly to the 

 minds of Chicago shooters this week. No man of the 

 shooting fraternity here is better known than Mr. R, B. 

 Organ. Without him we should be lost. Yet we came 

 near missing him this week, and the Minnesota pleastire 

 trip on which he started so blithely came to the point of 

 being his ultimate disaster. 



Once in a while a business man shows unconscious 

 ability as a newspaper writer and describes a thing better 

 than he would if it were his business to do so. ]VIr. 

 Organ's story of his adventure came to his friends here 

 in the shape of a letter to Mr. W, P. Mussey. This letter 

 tells the facts in so straightforward a way that it is given 

 in full: 



Minneapolis, Minn.. Nov. 3.— We broke camp near Pelican 

 Bapids, Sunday, P. M. Had a splendid time. No big shooting, 

 but killed quite a number of all kinds, from canvasback down to 

 the merganser. Our party consisted of Mr. Whitcomb, J. C. ,Ioys- 

 liD, W, H. Jacoby and your humble servant. 



Am sorry to say that our hunt came near terminating with a 

 death, and it was my misfortune to be the one that came so mar 

 going down to a watery grave or being frozen to death. Will re- 

 late ihe circumstances and then you can di-aw your own conclu- 

 sion as to bow near I was to the door. 



It happened as follows: On Thursday last Whitcomb and my- 

 self cut heavy poles about 20ft. long, went up about the center of 

 Lake Lizzie, where there is about 9£t. of water and 8ft. of mud. 



We put down six poles, three on each side, placed our dtcoys, 

 made a nice blind oy putting strine around the poles and then 

 weaving in rice and flags. Left the blind that night and intended 

 going back Friday morning. WTiitcorab and I started trom the 

 camp about 6 A. M. and only went a short distance when the wind 

 commenced to blow very hard, and as our boat was very smalt. I 

 turned back, put him ashore, and went to the blind with the in- 

 tention of shooting till noon, when we were to break camp and go 

 home. 



I had hard work to get to the blind as the wind was so strong 

 and within five minutes after I was in and had the boat tied down 

 on each side, it was blowing so hard that I could not get out with- 

 out rtinning in the trough of the sea, as the white caps were very 

 high. I was sure the boat would ride the waves providing I could 

 head her do^vn the wind, which I could not do unless the wind 

 changed. v 



1 decided to not attempt getting out until the wind abated, 

 which I thought it would surely do toward night, as the wind 

 usually goes down with the sun; but instead of going down it in- 

 creased, and I hardly thought it possible for it to get worse than 

 It was. I found out in my wait of twenty-six long hours that it 

 was only fooling the first twelve hours compared with the last 

 fourteen. 



About ii P. M. it got colder, blew harder, then rained, afterward 

 changed to snow and then to sleet. The water washed over the 

 side of the boat, which contained from 3 to Bin. most of the time. 

 I busied myself with a cigar box bailing out, was wet through, 

 chilled to the bone, nothing to eat, and not clothed to stand a 

 Minnesota blizzard. 



When I did not return at noon on Friday the boys in camp be- 

 came alarmed and went around on the east side of the lake and 

 fired signals to which I replied, and as soon as it was dark they 

 raised a light on a long pole at the lauding, which I could see 

 from my blind as late as 8 o'clock, then 1 fired the next to the 

 last cartridge I had. They heard the shot and knew I was alive. 

 They got a team, left camp about 3 A. M. Saturday, with Whit- 

 comb and Jacoby and a sectional boat in the wagon. They drove 

 around to the west side of the lake to what is called Hosterman's 

 Point, where there was a large clinker built boat. Tbev offered 

 the o%vner of the boat $2,5 to go to the center of the lake and get 

 me, which offer he most respectfully declined, and added that 

 they could not get him to go on the lake in sttch a storm. After 

 seeing the boat they knew it was perfectly safe, and they started 

 for the blind, which they found empty, as I had left there at 6:20 



A, M., about twenty minutes ahead of them. Coming to"the 

 blind and fiuding it empty they thought of course that I was 

 drowned or frozen. They prodded the bottom in search of me, 

 then hunted tht3 shore. Started for camp, and when within half, 

 a mile of camp saw a while flag up, which was the signal that I 

 had returned. I never expected to gei, out alive, as it was the 

 roughest night I ever was out. The wind was bo strong that it 

 blew many trees down, and ice froze over an inch thick. At 8 

 A, M. the wind did not blow quite so hard, so I decided to make 

 the attempt. As the wind had changed a little in my favor 1 cat 

 the boat loose and she swung around on the top of the waves, and 

 then I kuew for the first time that I was O. K. 



I expected to die, aiid you know there are some tbinfirs about a 

 fellow's business that his wife should kuow. I searched my 

 pockets for a pencil but found none. Before I started I took off 

 my vest, put my watch and money in it, made it fast under a 

 brace, tied my gun to the boat, and made a rope with a slip noose 

 fast to the rowlock, so that in case I had to go down my dead body 

 would be with the boat, as I have heard that it is unpleasant to 

 have to wait some days for a fellow to come up. 



T was very weak a few minutes before I started, but after I had 

 pulled twenty minutes it would have taken a Hanlon to beat me 

 that mile and a half. I got into camp about a half hour ahead of 

 the searchers, and was all right until I got into the tent, then I 

 was too weak to stand up. I am all right now with the exception 

 of a few bruises, swollen ankles, etc. 



Aru t^lad to hear that Kleinman dirt Elliott up. With best re- 

 gards to the boys, R. B. ORGAN. 



At last advices Mr. Organ was sick at Minneajjolis. 

 The shock which his system must have eustained is not 

 shown by the above simple story. Jn August, 1884, Mr. 

 Organ was nearly killed by a powder explosion while he 

 was loadmg some shells at Grand Crossing. It is a ques- 

 tion whether he has ever been the same man since. Now 

 comes this awful night, in which, thinly clad, he spent 

 26 hours on the edge of life, the thermometer meantime 

 dropping 69^ and threatening death from sheer exposure. 

 We shall feel that we have simply found Roll Organ 

 when he gets back here, though very thankful therefor 

 indeed. 



Far worse than the above is the fate of another 

 Chicago sportsman, killed lay the hand of a friend. The 

 dispatches cover that: 



Glbnwood Springs, Cnlo., Nov. Last Saturday ft. W. 

 Price, son of Dr. Price, of Chicago, and n member of the firm of 

 the Price Flavoring Extract Compatiy; A. V. Fleisebner, of the 

 same company, of Chicago; ai^.d .). B. Oobb, of the Denver Omni- 

 bus a-nd Carriage Compans ; wit h W . H. I fuhbard, of Soring Va Iley, 

 near Clenwood Springs, as guide. uuUit ted here and'started for'a 

 two weeks' hunt on the Big Muddy. List niglu they camped in 

 Jerome Park at the bead of Tnompson Creek, In Pitkin countv, in 

 a place called Dun's Dugnur.. Some time during the night Mr. 

 Price, who, it is claimed, was a somnamoulist, went outside of the 

 dugout, leaving the others asleep. Upon his return, as he crawled 

 into the room on all fours, Hubbard called out. "Who's ther* ?" 

 and called to the dog. but as the dog became frightened and no 

 answer was given, Hubbard exclriimed: "Bovs, I holiev© it's a 

 bea'! Give me a gun, quick !" Oobb ha.stilv handed him a 'iScal. 

 Colt's revolver, and without further thouglit Hubbard fired two 

 shots, one of which p^issed through the top of Price's head into his 

 body, causing his death in about tsvo houfs. The party relumed 

 immediately to Marion, where an engine was procured, and all 

 came to Glenwood Springs this afleraoon. Coroner G. Clark im- 

 mediately summoned a n'uryi and a verdict of accidental shooting 

 was rendered. 



Dr. V. C. Price, father of the victim in the above 

 deplorable affair, denies that his son was a sleep-walker. 

 George W, Price was twenty-six years old, recently mar- 

 ried. He was a prominent young business man, much 

 esteemed. Killed by his g-uide. 



Yesterday, in West Virginia, occurred another fatal 

 accident in the field, one of the sort which it is hard to 

 understand as possible to a man gifted with fair posses- 

 sion of his faculties, but one which happens all too often. 



Several men were hunting near Wilsonburg, when a 

 little seven-year-old child, being in the edge of the woods, 

 became frightened at the firing and la^y down behind a 

 log. One of the hunters mistook the little head for some 

 animal and fired, putting a bullet through the boy's 

 brain. The father of the boy was one of the hunting 

 party. 



Nov. 6. —Some good duck shooting within the past 

 week or so in the Illinois Piver country. Senachwine 

 Lake reports some heavy bags, and at Hennepin Club, 

 above there, the sport has been fine. On Oct. 16 W. W. 

 McFarland, at Hennepin Club, killed 95 ducks in one 

 day and 0, D. Gammon 75. Last week Messrs. McFar- 

 land, Gammon and Eich bagged 271 ducks in 4 days 

 down at the old reliable Hennepin Marsh. The Hennepin 

 boys are all delighted with their new club boat — hot and 

 cold water, washstands, and all that. Is it to this that 

 Charlie Gammon attributes the attack of inflammatory 

 rheumatism which has him now confined to his bed? 



The buft'alo is gone. Mr. Albert Bierstadt'a sorrow at 

 that should be mitigated. His painting, "The Last of 

 the Bufl'aloes," has lately been sold for $50,000. 



Quail very plenty in Indiana and lower Illinois. Good 

 bags are reported, notably one by Oscar Von Lengerke, 

 of Von Lengerke & Antoine. E. Hough. 



Lake Waitghbunsey is about thirty miles south of 

 Council Bluffs, as the crow flies, and two or three miles 

 east of a small station (Bartlette), on the "R. C." The 

 east shore of the lake is bordered by high bluffs, the margin 

 being shaded by drooping willow, ash and oak, underneatfi 

 whose shade there is a thick growth of rushes, sweet flag 

 and red-stemmed smart weed, which makes splendid feed- 

 ing groimd early in the fall for wood duck and teal, but 

 later when the shooting becomes general they leave the 

 shore for new feeding places farther out in the lake among 

 the bushels of smart weed, wild celery and other tender 

 aquatic plants. At night the ever gregarious teal and 

 wood dtick will collect around some large rat house to par- 

 take of a rich supper of celery and other tender roots and 

 plants brought to the surface by the industrious rats. 

 Mallards, too, get their share of the edibles and keep up 

 a continual quacking throughout the night. The west 

 shore of this lake is bordered by prairie grass, slough, red- 

 twigged maples and little silver-twigged willow. On 

 these boggy bottoms is the home of those palatable and 

 sprightly little grallatores known to gunners as jack snipe, 

 tiptail, yellow legs, etc. Farther over in the fields are 

 quail in great abundance, but the tall grass aud weeds 

 are hard to pull through and make this kind of hunting 

 rather laborious, however over there in the woods to the 

 east the quail and squirrel shooting is very good, and one 

 is now and then rewarded by bagging a pheasant. There 

 is no trouble about securing boats at this lake, as several 

 new ones have been launched this fall and rent for 10 cents 

 an hour. — Omalia Bee. 



Texas Wildfowl.— Port Lavaca, Nov. 3.— Mr. John 

 Dearlam of Long Mott brought the result of a day's shoot- 

 ing to town last week. It consisted of 200 ducks. Count- 

 less thousands aa-e in the vicinity. 



_ MAINE! GAME. 



'T^HERE.comes^upialwaiffrom Portland, Me., papers 

 JL that partridges can hardly be had in that city at 

 any price. Then the Portland Express attempts to ex- 

 plain the scarcity from the fact that the new game laws 

 provide that a man shall kill only fifteen partridges, and 

 then, if he wishes to sell them', be must take them to 

 market himself. The express companies, on this account, 

 have refused to take them, and have notified the hunt- 

 ers to that effect. This, that paper claims, reduces the 

 supply, and makes the lover of partridges pay high 

 prices if they will gratify their love for game. The 

 same growl comes from the Lewiston and Bangor mar- 

 ketmen. They say that the stage drivers, who, in pre- 

 vious seasons, have done a good business buying part^ 

 ridges along their routes and then bringing them to 

 town, are afraid to touch them this year. 



Mr. D. H. Blanchard, of Boston, who has been almost 

 every year into Maine for partridges for many years, says 

 that he has found them unusually scarce this year. He 

 has spent several weeks in that State this fall, in the 

 upper Moosehead region and in the Nicatous region, but 

 he found not one- third the usual number of partridges. 

 He believes that it is the excessive shooting of the young 

 birds, while yet in broods, that has so greatly thinned 

 out their numbers; and he believes that the open season 

 begins altogether too early. Oct. i would be early 

 enough. Then the young birds would be in full plumage 

 and better able to take care of themselves. 



The Boston marketmen are not getting partridges this 

 year, and though they have little to say as to what points 

 the supply has ceased to come from, yet it is quite cer- 

 tain that it is Maine that they have chiefly in mind- 

 Why, under the old law a man in Bangor by the name of 

 Abbott, as I remember, built a refrigerator, and one fall 

 he bought several thotisand partridges at 10 cents, 15 

 cents and 20 cents apiece, just as he could get them. He 

 put these in cold storage, and when they became worth 

 §1 a pair in New York, he sent them there by the car- 

 load, and realized thousands of dollars on his venture. 

 Under the new law he couM have had only fifteen birds 

 on hand at once, or at least he can transport only that 

 number, and that, too, openly. It is perfectly natural 

 that such men should fight the new law. They are no 

 worse than the generality of men if they do, but they 

 must find some other means of profit. There is little 

 doubt, however, but what a good many birds will be 

 quietly shipped to P^^rtland and Bangor aud then stealth- 

 ily out of the State. But the Commissioners have a bet- 

 ter law to work with than ever before, and they will try 

 to enforce it. 



There is no doubt about the scarcity of moose in the 

 Maine forests this year, compared with three or four sea- 

 sons past, and there is little doubt about their being iUe- 

 gally killed in several instances. But when one is asked 

 to believe all the stories that have been told about the 

 slaughter of moose in the close season in the Moosehead 

 Lake region, his good sense is reflected upon seriously, 

 especially if the listener be at all accjuainted with the 

 Maine woods, and the extent in which moose have existed 

 there during the past eight or ten years. Scores of city 

 sportsmen go into the Maine woods every season, and 

 their great desire is to kill a moose. To most of them it 

 matters but littte as to whether it be in the open or close 

 season, if they can only slay their moose. They will take 

 the chances of the fines, though using every jprecaution 

 against being found out till well out of the State. But in 

 spite of this lawlessness of feeling, that has existed for 

 several years, the number of moose killed in Maine this 

 year, up to date, has been unusually small. These men, 

 when they reach their city homes, are very likely to brag 

 of their exploits, but it is a curious fact'that not the usual 

 number of stories of moose slain are being told this 

 season. If these fellows have killed their moose apiece 

 this year, they ar'^ keeping unusually still about it. Some 

 moose stories are told, to be sure. One young gentleman, 

 who has hunted along almost the entire border of Maine 

 and Canada, tells of killing a moose, while he was back 

 in Boston previous to Oct. 1. But he claims that his 

 moose was killed on Canadian soil. 



Two other sportsmen mentioned the killing of a moose 

 during the last days of September in the region of Spen- 

 cer Lake. They were not intending to hunt large game 

 till it was legal to do so. But about the 28th of Septem- 

 ber, on one of those beautiful days that the season has 

 been remarkable for, they were sitting in camp, when the 

 guide called out, "Look at that moose!" Just across the 

 pond an enormous moose had come down into the shallow 

 and nearly dried out marsh to feed. The guide rushed 

 for the boat, and both hunters got in, with their Winches- 

 ter repeating rifles. The guide paddled them very 

 cautiously around a curve and into a bend of the pond 

 in such a way that the moose did not see them. They 

 were approaching close to an easy rifle shot. 



But one of the hunters relented, and said that there 

 was no moose for him till the open season. Tlie guide 

 sneered, in a whisper, and told the hunter that it was 

 the chance of his life. The hunter still relented. The 

 guide turned to the other hunter with the threat that if 

 one of them was not going to shoot, he should shoot the 

 moose himself. He requested them not to make a noise 

 thtrt would frighten the beast away. The hunters con- 

 cluded that they might as well shoot as to have the guide 

 do the killing. They came in sight of the monster just 

 as he scented them and began to tm-n his head. The 

 second hunter succeeded in putting a ball just back of 

 the fore shoulder, when the moose, an enormous buU, 

 staggered and toppled over. He came down with a great 

 splash into the muddy water, and lay lifeless. 



Then it was that the hunters regretted the work they 

 had done. With all the force they could muster they 

 could not pull the great beast out of the muddy water 

 and get him where he would float. They finally gave up 

 in despair. They did not like to go to other camps for 

 assistance. The weather was hot, as everybody remem- 

 bers, and nothing of the moose was saved but his head 

 and antlers, and the few steaks that were cut from the 

 quarters before the whole begun to spoil. They had no 

 ice at their camp— only a temporary one— and there was 

 none for miles. The moose was wasted. Those say they 

 are done with moose that must be left to spoil. 



The reports of deer killed in Maine, since the open 

 season begun, are beginning to come in, though it is 

 curious to note that not one has yet appeared in the 

 Boston market. At the Eastern Railroad Station the 

 other morning there were three fine deer tagged to a Mr, 

 H. F. Bailey. 



