470 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[T)MC. 31, 1891. 



SPORT IN NORTH CAROLINA. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Every sportsman should appreciate the just remarks of 

 jour correspondent Alex. Hunter. There is a good 

 reason why the owners of hand should post it as a warn- 

 ing to those persons who seem to think that such owners 

 have no rights that a man with a gnn or a fishing rod is 

 bound to respect. No doubt the game is no man's 

 property in particular, but the land on which it happens 

 to he is, and according to the common law, as soon as a 

 bird or a fish is captured and reduced to possession, it 

 becomes a chattel and the property of tb.e owner of the 

 land. 



In this State it is forbidden by law for any person to 

 carry game out of it. And as many land owners care- 

 fully protect the game and fish, it is only just that their 

 interests should be considered. It is only in this way 

 that the game can be kept up and extermination pre- 

 vented. There is an abundance of it for all if the sport 

 is not carried to excess. But when a party who has been 

 l)olitely given permission to hunt or fish has taken all he 

 can possibly carry and has sold them, or given them 

 away to others who have not and would not be invited 

 to hunt or flsh, it goes a long way to exasperate the 

 giver. And this often occurs. I know it is diflicult and 

 even painful to refuse permission for a stranger to enjoy 

 himself on one's land, but in time this experience tends 

 to harden the feelings and makes a refusal more easy. 

 There are numerous good preserves, which might be 

 rented for a reasonable sum, and kept stocked so that 

 the sport would be much increased in years to come. It 

 would not be difficult to get several tracts adjoining of 

 several thousand acres in a block, and secure a monopoly 

 of the game, and by spendmg a little money the stock 

 might be replenished yearly and so kept \ip to a satis- 

 factory point. 



There has been so much promiscuous hunting and 

 fishing in this State that the supply has fallen oft' very 

 much of late. T have spent a few hundred do)lars in ail 

 in the past few years in stocking my waters with trout, 

 but there has been so much fishing that there are fewer 

 fish now than at first. To fish every day through a three 

 months season, and take all that can be caught in a ten 

 hours day, will soon reduce the stock, if only a few are 

 engaged in it. So that strangers hearing of the fine 

 fishing here or there, must reasonably know that all 

 cannot be accommodated freely. And this is the inevitable 

 result which follows a description of the good sport that 

 has been enjoyed in any place. It is the only safe way to 

 avoid disappointmesit to follow the suggestion given by 

 Mr. Himter, and secure privileges before making a 

 journey, H. Siewaet. 



Hin HLAjsrns, N. C. 



AS TO LIMITATIONS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



For years past, although only twenty-four. I ha\-e been 

 an enthusiastic gunner, both in field and at the trap, and 

 follow your game columns with gi-eat interest. Now, a 

 subject often mentioned therein of late is handled so 

 iilogically th^t I «m moved to "take a hand."' This sub- 

 ject 16 '"'Where is game going to?" Sportsman after 

 f>))ortBman in your paper rails at ike market hunters who 

 kill a hundred ducks in a day and then turns round and 

 describes how he and a friend killed one hundred and 

 fifty, and concludes by saying that the market hunter 

 should be iDut down at once and forever. His own game 

 he gives away to friends, and the average sportsman 

 seems to think that that justifies any slaughter. Now, 

 Mr. Editor, I appeal to you. If a hundred ducks are 

 killed, can it i^ossibly matter whether it is a man or 

 woman, white or black, who killed them? The duck 

 supply is lessened by just one hundred birds, and the 

 sportsman who kills one hundred and one does more 

 haini to the cause of game preservation than the pro- 

 fessional who kills one hundred. Now we have a fair es- 

 timate of how many sportsmen wish to shoot, and wo 

 know there are nothmg like a hundred birds per 

 man per day, and it is utterly selfish to kill that many. 

 I inclose to you the Forest and Stream of Dec. JO. 

 The gentleman who signs himself "Sand Hill" killed, 

 with a friend, .on three separate days, 107, 93 and 121 

 birds — teal, widgeon. maUards, sprintails, butterballs, 

 canvas and snipe (a few of the latter). This foots up a 

 total of 327 birds for two men in three days, or over fifty 

 for a day for each man. They may be rattling good fel- 

 lows, but they took more than their share, and would 

 doiibtless acknowledge the same if they would reflect on 

 the matter. When the birds fly thickly the temptation 

 to run up a big score proves very attractive, but say 

 what one will, these same long scores are what do the 

 damage to our game supply. I hope that others, better 

 writers than myself, will take up this matter vigorously 

 and try to raise a spirit of moderation. 



Frank Lawrence Donohue. 



AN INCIDENT OF CAMP LIFE. 



Editor Forest and, Stream: 



December 14 found me making the rounds to my traps. 

 In the course of the day I saw tracks of caribou since ray 

 last trip, and once jumj)ed five before I got in sight. I 

 knew it was useless to try for them, as the frozen snow 

 made it too noisy. After returning to camp and having 

 a late dinner I concluded to enjoy my last Forest and 

 Stream by the fireside. It was getting too late to read 

 by daylight and the hour was 4 o'clock. As 1 laid down 

 the paper I glanced out of the window facing my seat, 

 and saw five caribou coming toward the camp on my 

 main trail. They were coming, too, at a lively gait. I 

 sprang for my rifle on the hooks over the head of my 

 berth, and grabbing a few cartridges from the window 

 ledge, ran to the door in season to give a bleat, and 

 stopped the two rearmost ones, a bull and cow. The 

 flock had turned oft! the trail at right angles when within 

 something over a hundred yards from the camp, and all 

 but these two had passed out of sight in thick cover. As 

 they stopped I fired almost on the instant at the cow. I 

 preferred her as the bull had shed his antlers and I knew 

 the cow was the better meat. As I fired both jumped 

 away and instantly out of sight. I did not doubt she 

 Avas hit, although I aimed more by faith than actual 

 vision, as it was so dusk I could but faintly discern the 

 sights. Putting on my hat and blouse and strapping on 

 my knife belt, I hurried to the spot and saw a wad of , 

 hair and a few drops of blood on a cedar sprout. Taking ' 



up the trail I saw at her second jump a spurt of blood, 

 and at every other jump there was an increased flow. I 

 found her dead about twelve rods from where she had 

 stood. I intended it for a shoulder hit, but it was a trifle 

 too far back, the bullet striking it on a raised portion of 

 the bone, which turned it backward through the lungs. 

 By the time I got the skin oft' it was so dark i postponed 

 dressing out till the next morning. I packed in the meat 

 before breakfast, at which repast tender, juicy steaks 

 formed the piece de resistance. It is the fattest " caribou 

 I ever shot; the fat on the rumj) being an inch or more 

 tMck. _j Hunter. 



ALWAYS CARRY A COMPASS. 



''piiAT was just what I did not do the last time I got 

 -L lost. The reason I did not take one was that I 

 vstarted for a short row up the lakes to look for ducks and 

 it seemed superfluous to put my compass in my pocket. 

 Coming down Sissons's River about sunset I left my boat 

 and walked perhaps sixty or eighty rods across a tongue 

 of land, and through a dense cedai- swamp, to the head 

 of Hanly's La ke, where I expected to get a shot at ducks. 

 Returning, I had walked some distance before I realized 

 tliat I was off my com-se, as I should otherwise have 

 reached the river. The sun had set and it was cloudy. 

 I wasn't fool enough to trust to the moss on the trees to 

 show a northerly direction. I had thumb-nails and 

 knives enough but they were as useless in this emergency 

 as an old-fashioned warming-pan. If I could not find 

 my way it meant a tramp of miles' hard walking, and 

 perhaps a midnight lunch, or worse. I had lost my 

 course and did the best thing possible under the circum- 

 stances. I sat down on a log and considered. 



Tliere was a faint red glow above the horizon in a cer- 

 tain direction. I decided that it was probably in the 

 northeast. I took the chances, struck out and in five 

 minutes reached the shore within four rods of my boat. 



Just why I choose this course I could not have easily 

 explained. I think that a certain familiarity with the 

 woods had much to do witli it. But the moral of all 

 this is that so simple a precaution as that of taking a 

 compass is not to be neglected by the wise, for there is no 

 dependence on substitutes. I can make a fire with my 

 riflo (though Gordon Gumming couldn't), but that is no 

 reason why I should leave my match-box at home. 



~_ Kelpte. 



A WILD RICE SCHEME. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



There are few things in your recent numbers more in- 

 teresting to me than the article by Messrs. E. Hough 

 and "Nipissing" on wild rice. Wild rice is to game what 

 bread is to us; given food enough and the game will 

 hold its own against ordinary destruction. As a matter 

 of fact there is an immense desert region extending from 

 tlie Lake of the Woods nearly to the A tlantic and north 

 to Hudson Bay, which is practically duckless excepting 

 in one or two sections where duck food, or especially 

 wild rice, is found. There cannot be much doubt that 

 the rice would grow in most of this country, for it is 

 found as far north as Lat. 504 in Manitoba. I would 

 propose, therefore, that each sportsman next fall, and 

 each sporting fisherman who goes abroad early next 

 spring, take at least a few handfuls of rice and scalter it 

 in a dozen new localities. In this way we should in a 

 few years have rice beds scattered all over the Lauren- 

 tian wilderness and the eft'eot would be seen, perhaps, in 

 the arrested decrease, if not the increase, of our duck 

 supply. Wild rice is advertised for sale in this paper, and 

 a letter on best time and locality for planting has also 

 appeared. ErxNest E. Thompson. 



A North Carolina Quail Country. — Edenton, 

 Duukenfield House, Avoca, N. C, Dec. 27. — The article 

 that appeared in the Forest and Stream in regard to 

 the sporting resort of Avoca, has caused a good deal of 

 talk among sportsmen, and i'or their benefit I would like 

 to say a few words on the subject. From a sportsman's 

 standpoint this is a fair place" for sport, but principally 

 I'or quail. The birds are large and fly very strong. There 

 are some turkeys here and they can be shot by roosting 

 them along the creek. Also a few deer. The Duuken- 

 field House is comparatively new, and the host and 

 hostess, Mr. and Mrs. S. W. Everett, are very genial 

 peoijle. ]\Ir. Everett goes with his guests and has dogs, 

 for which he charges a small fee per day for their use 

 and his services. He is a good all-round sportsman and 

 a good shot. He also "calls" turkeys. There is nothing 

 here except the hunting. The climate is delightful. 

 Dr. Copehart, the owner of the house and the plantation, 

 is a hospitable and genial Southern gentleman, and both 

 he and Mr. Everett will do ail in their power to make 

 guests have a pleasant time, Avoca can be reached from 

 Norfolk (Norfolk & Southern R. R.) to Edenton, and 

 thence four times a week by steamer M. E. Roberts. — H. 

 W. Hamlyn (Hohokus, New Jersey). 



"That remiuds me." 



A FEW days since I was walking along and talking to 

 a small boy when a woodcock arose just in front of 

 me. I remarked to the boy, "There goes a woodcock.'' 

 He said, "Boss, dat ain't a woodcock, it's a snipe. Me 

 and my brother used to kill lots of them near a spring up 

 home. One morning I took my gun and walked down 

 there to see if I could get a shot, and I found one of these 

 birds with his bill stuck in the ground with the mud 

 froze around it.'' 



Here is another: A few days since a party were out 

 deer hunting, when one of them sliot a deer and wounded 

 it. The dog ran it to a creek and swam in after it, and 

 beat the deer across. When the deer came up he tried 

 to catch it, hut the deer started back. The dog sprang 

 at it and grabbed it by the tail, and piilling it to the shore 

 tipjjed the deer's tail up, thereby putting its head under 

 water and drowning it. How is this for canine intelli- 

 gence? And it was a "yaller hound" too. Tyrone. 

 Avoca, N. C. 



Thk Viar,vRT Tkaxn of'tbe ilouon Route tietwoen Chicago and 

 CinouinaLi otters tlie best and most luxurious oervice obtainable 

 between these points,— Arlv. I 



Angling Talks, By George Da wson. Pi'iee 50 cents. Fly- 

 Rods and Fly-Tackle. By H. P. Wells. Price $$.,50. Fly^ 

 Fishing and Fly-MaMng for Trout. By J. H. Keene. 

 Price ^'1.30. American Angler's Book. By Tliad. Norri.^. 

 Pi^e $5.50. 



The FlTLL TEXTS of the game fish laws of all the State.^, 

 Territories and British Provinces are given in the Book of 

 the Game La ws. 



TROUTING IN THE CASCADES.-lIl. 



THE MOLALLA COUNTRY. 



IT was nearly high noon. I had been fishing an 'hour 

 and a half, had a nice basket of beautiful trout and 

 must go to camp; but it was like taking a fellow from 

 a picnic to a funeral. Creeping regretfully up the bank 

 I struck the trail and was soon in camp. ' Mike had en- 

 joyed himself hugely. The first thing of interest had 

 been a pine squirrel that went up a leaning tree and out 

 on a limb, wnere he sat and scolded until Mike, losing 

 his temper went up after him so far that he had to fall 

 oft" to get back. Then a covey of young quail, just big 

 enough to fly a little, entertained him. I was fishing at 

 a pond under a bank, intent upon my flies, when I was 

 startled by a splash, splash, almost in front of me. Mike 

 had nosed out a rabbit, which either intentionally or by 

 accident took to the water, pursued and pursuer going 

 over my head almost simultaneously. Of coxu'se the 

 trout in that pool had no more use for flies. Had trout 

 been scarce it would have been annoying. As it was, it 

 was only amusing. 



I fully agree with the Indians that it is beneath the 

 dignity of a brave to do camp drudgery. The warrior in 

 time of peace should content himself with himting and 

 fishing and not interfere with the squaw's vested rights. 

 Billy is no squaw, but appreciating the fact that he had 

 not yet secured his credentials as an angler, he made a 

 virtue of necessitj^ and soon had the trout cleaned; and 

 my wife proceeded to prepare dinner, while Ira and I 

 lounged around on the grass. The trout were cooked 

 my favorite way. The smaller ones were selected and 

 nicely cleaned. A thin slice of bacon was placed inside 

 of each, they were placed in a wire broiler with strings 

 of bacon over and under them, salted and peppered, and 

 carefully broiled over a hardwood fire. Ira and Fay were 

 with us at dinner, and we had an enjoyable time and a 

 joUy good dinner. 



Tbe camp had been completed and everything was in 

 shape, even to Ira's straw tick. After dinner I an- 

 nounced my intention of making a bed more to my taste. 

 Billy, fully agreeing with my views of what constituted 

 a good camp bed, particularly for one inclined to be 

 rheumatic, as was Billy, we set to work and soon had 

 constructed two fine beds of cedar and hemlock boughs. 

 A bed of roses will not compare with such a bed for 

 sweet perfume and genuine comfort. Without it one 

 lo-es much of the romance of camp life. 



We have no poisonous reptiles in this country unless, 

 perhaps, at the mouths of some of the low passes in the 

 Cascades. I have never seen a rattler in the wild state 

 west of the Cascades, but it is a good plan to run a tarred 

 rope around your tent to keep out garters and other rep- 

 tiles which, even though not poisonous, can be dispensed 

 with as bedfellows. 



•'Nessmuk's" ideas about fire places in Woodcraft" 

 are most excellent. A sheet of boiler iron two feet square 

 improves his fire place and is a great convenience. By 

 tibing the boiler iron as an attachment to the common 

 woodsman's fire place I am sure you will please your 

 wife (if you are lucky enotigh to have one), as it makes a 

 cooking place nearly as clean and handy as a Charter Oak 

 stove. 



After dinner Ira and Fay started home, Ira, of course, 

 manifesting some misgivings about leaving my wife in 

 the lonely woods over night. He even suggested that she 

 had better go back with them and he would bring her 

 out in the morning. But she concluded to take the 

 chance and remain in camj). You see it was a bad time 

 of day for him to raise the question. The sun was shining, 

 the birds were singing and there didn't seem to be so 

 much danger as she had anticipated. Had the suggestion 

 come a few hours later, when the shadows, the crickets, 

 the night-hawks and the owls announced the arrival of 

 the time when beasts of prey, hobgoblins and sprites 

 saunter forth on their missions of mischief and aeath, 

 her decision might have been different. 



It was close season for deer, elk, grouse, pheasant and 

 quail, and therefore I had left "shootin' irons" at home 

 to make it easier to resist temptation. This was strictly 

 a trouting trip, but I had already decided in my own 

 mind that I would pay that country a visit in August 

 when the water would be low and I could whip the 

 Molalla itself. Besides it would then be open season for 

 game, 



I never like to fish during the middle of the day, even 

 ii the trout are disposed to rise. It is an unnatural pro- 

 ceeding, when we consider that fish, like other creatures, 

 have their regular hom-s for feeding, relatively speaking. 

 So we walked over to the little house that sat snugly o» 

 a low bluff near Bull's Creek, a small tributary to MilJi 

 Creek. Introducing ourselves and making known our 

 wishes, we were cordially received by Mr. Hall, hie wife^ 

 his three modest daughters, and his kid of a boy. Yes, 

 we could get not only milk and eggs, but plenty of wild 

 honey and huckleberries. I suppose these good people 

 were about as glad as we were to have neighbors. 

 Besides, we were not on a sponging trip, and the few 

 silver pieces we oft'ered them in exchange for their 

 luxuries probably looked as big as wagon wheels to their 

 eyes. Hall also manifested a strong disposition to ex- 

 change frontier yarns for a little information about what 

 the great world was doing outside. 



We of the city, who visit these forest haunts only when 

 the weather is favorable and natm-e has her verdant dress 

 on, imagine that we would love to live out our lives 

 there. But there is another side to the picture, which 

 we, as social beings, should not overlook. Weary of life's 

 turmoils we gladly turn from the hum and buzz of the 

 busy street to the solitude of quiet nature. We listen to 

 the songs of birds, the ripplings of the brooks, the whis- 

 perings of the winds in the treetops while we drink in the 

 balm-laden air, not as a part of our life labor, but as rest 



