Forest and Stream. 



A Weekly Journal of the Rod and Gun. 



Tebms, $i A Year. 10 Gis. A Copy. 1 

 Six Months, $3. ( 



NEW YORK, AUGUST 4, 1892. 



J VOL. XXXIX.-No. 5 



I No. 318 Broadway, New York. 



CONTENTS. 



Editorial. 



The Lone Tree. 

 PaD-Anglioan Sport. 

 Versatility. 

 Snap Shots. 



The Sportsman Tourist. 



Camps of the Kin.e;flshers.-VTn 

 Natural History. 



Notes on the Sandhill Crane, 

 Game Bag and Gun. 



Chicago and the West. 



A Gun Camera. 



Sea and River Fishing. 



Potomac Notes. 

 Chicago and the West. 

 Lake Buell. 



Days with Canadian Trout. 

 Salmon of the Grand Oasca- 



pedia. 

 New England Anglors. 

 Whiteflsh and Grayling. 

 Salmon Feeding in Fresh 



Water. 



"Doc'' Replies to "Old Man." 

 Fishculture. 

 Impregnating Eggs of the 

 Rainbow Troiit. 



The Kennel. 



New Kennels at Nashville. 



The Kennel. 



Pro?. Mills and His Traducers. 

 Northwestern Field Trials 



Club Derby. 

 Deformities in St. Bernards. 

 Hamilton and Rochester Show 



Notes and Notions. 

 Points and Flushes. 

 Dog Chat. 

 Kennel Notes. 



Answers to Correspondents. 

 Canoeing. 



News Notes. 

 Yachting. 



Eas'ern Y. C. 



Beverlv Y. C. 



Lake Y. R. A. 



New York Y. C. Cruise. 



Y'achting at Chicago. 



July Regattas. 



News Notes. 



Rifle Range and Gallery, 



New Jersey Rifle Shooting. 



Trap Shooting. 



In the East Tennessee Valley. 

 Battle Creek Tournament. 

 Drivers and Twisters. 

 Matches and Meetings. 



Answers to Queries. 



For Prospectus and Advertising Rates see Page 108. 



THE LONE TREE. 



The last of its kind it stands alone in the midst of the 

 wide, flat prairie. Immediately at its foot the cut bank 

 breaks away, and beyond is the bed of the river, a 

 broad expanse of white sand, interrupted here and there 

 by narrow channels, through which the water flows. 

 From the tree's top can be seen for miles east and west 

 this verdureless bed of sand, and under the light of the 

 morning and the evening sun its channels gleam and 

 shine as if crooked bars of silver were laid across 

 the colorless waste. 



Here, many many years ago, stood a great grove of 

 these trees, this one the furthest from the river. As 

 time went by the course of the stream changed, and as 

 it changed, the rushing waters, swollen by the melting 

 snows which lay deep on the distant mountains, eat 

 away the soil from beneath this grove, and one by one 

 the tall trees bowed their lofty heads and fell into the 

 stream. There they were rolled over and over and borne 

 away by the current toward the Gulf, or were buried 

 in the sands carried along by the hurrying torrent. Now 

 there is left only this single survivor, a solitary senti- 

 nel overlooking the plain. 



How long has it stood there? What has it seen since 

 the time, when as a tender sapling it first pushed its pale 

 green leaves above the grass toward the light? The deer 

 and elk have brushed it as they passed, and birds have 

 built their nests in its branches while they were still soft 

 and green. As it increased in stature, it got to know all 

 the animals of the plain and all the birds of the air. 

 Each day it saw the buftalo come stringing in to water, 

 and it watched them from the time when the herd first 

 appeared a long way oft', as a little dot against the distant 

 sky, and then grew and became longer and longer, but 

 still only a black line, until at last it could see that they 

 were animals following one after another. Soon the 

 herd reached the water, and drinking and climbing up 

 the bank fed a little and then lay down. Eagged old 

 bulla and little yellow calves alike rubbed their sides 

 against the tree's rough gray bark, and after a while this 

 bark near the ground was no longer rough and gray, but 

 smooth and brown and shining, and in its crevices were 

 left tufts of brown hair and wool, which the lark bunt- 

 ing and the white-winged blackbird and oriole found and 

 snatched away to make soft beds in which their delicate 

 eggs and their feeble, tender young should lie. 



It learned to know the Indians, too, those wild rovers 

 of the plains, who sometimes raced across the river bot- 

 tom, piercing the fat cows with their feathered shafts, or 

 rode slowly at the head of a great camp, with women and 

 children and dogs and travois, and halted in its shade to 

 make their camp. It had looked down on the women, 

 hard at work dressing hides or drying meat, while black- 

 eyed babies lashed to their boards stared about with 

 solemn, unwinking eyes, and boys romped and shot 

 arrows and chased each other about, and men reclined 

 in the shade of the lodges and smoked and talked. 



It had stood there long and had grown to be a great 

 tree, still green and vigorous to its top, while such of its 

 older fellowg as were still standing were wind-8Wept 



dead above, and each had only one or two living branches. 

 And these its old-time comrades were growing few in 

 number now, for each year the bed of the river was 

 creeping nearer and nearer, and each spring those that 

 stood nearest the bank were undermined by the waters. 

 So at last it stood alone, a sentry keeping watch over the 

 plain. 



All the sights and sounds of the prairie it had seen and 

 heard, but one day the tree saw a new thing. Far off on 

 the horizon dark objects were coming as of old, but with 

 them other objects which were white. Nothing like this 

 had ever appeared before. As the shapes drew nearer 

 and nearer they seemed still more wonderful, Indians on 

 foot, but with white faces and beards, spotted long- 

 horned buffalo followed by great white ill-shaped lodges 

 — a train of wagons. These people called this the Lone 

 Tree and camped under its shade, and the next day passed 

 on, but that day and for many days after this the tree 

 wondered at what it had seen. Afterward it saw many 

 such comers, and travelers came to know the lone tree, 

 and were glad when far off they saw it standing like a 

 slender spire against the sky. 



VERSATILITY. 

 The versatility of the typical American is admirably 

 illustrated in his recreation as well as in his work; and 

 an instance is afforded by the description Mr. Brelsford 

 sends us of his gun camera, and the interesting specimen 

 of work accomplished with it. The sportsman of Wash- 

 ington's day was taught to shoot, to ride, to cast the fly 

 and speak the truth, in these later times a wider versa- 

 tility and more varied accomplishments are demanded — 

 among them the knack of photographing. That this ac- 

 complishment is possessed by a goodly number is abund- 

 antly demonstrated by the collection of pictures already 

 received in the Forest and Steeam's Amateur Photog- 

 raphy Competition. The ingenuity of the sportsfhan of 

 to-day is shown in Mr. Brelsford'a gun camera, devised 

 by himself, and the capital specimen of work done 

 with it is something which is creditable not alone to 

 the individual who accomplished the feat, but to the 

 American sportsmanship of the day. The pictures 

 already received by us in the amateur contest give 

 promise that the completed series will be a pleasing 

 presentation of outdoor life with rod and gun as reflected 

 by the camera; and the Fokest and Stream's sports- 

 men's photograph exhibit at the World's Fair will deserve 

 study and win appreciation. 



IS THE SNIPE A ''WATER FOWL" 9 



The question whether a snipe is or is not a water fowl, 

 which is now agitating Chicago sportsmen, is not likely 

 to be decided except by the courts. 



The Illinois law of 1877 designated "any wild goose, 

 duck, snipe, brant or other water fowl," in a subse- 

 quent section referring to these as "any of the wild ani- 

 mals, wild fowls or birds mentioned in section one." 



In 1879 the law was amended to read, "any wild goose, 

 duck, brant or other water fowl," also using in another 

 section the term "wild fowl" as synonymous with "water 

 fowl." The present law retains in Sec. 1 the reading 

 "wild goose, duck, brant or other water fowl;" forbids 

 snaring "any wild goose, brant, duck, rail or other water 

 fowl," and forbids the sale at certain seasons of "the ani- 

 mals, wild fowl or birds mentioned in Sec. 1." Evidently 

 the law of 1878 included snipe among "water fowl," and 

 the law of 1889 includes rail among "water fowl." 



Manifestly the question is as to the intent of the legis- 

 lature; the diificulty of determining this lies in the fact 

 that the term "water fowl" is not susceptible of exact 

 scientific definition. The lexicographers give us no help. 

 It is quite certain, however, that the systematists in or- 

 nithology, who make the artificial classification into 

 land and water birds, do recognize the snipe as belonging 

 in the latter class. Nuttall many years ago, and more 

 recently Baird, Brown and Ridgway in their great work 

 on North American birds include the snipe among "water 

 birds." If we use synonymous terms the snipe may fairly 

 be called an "aquatic fowl." To this of course it may be 

 objected that fhe term "water fowl" is used in this case in 

 a special sense. Is a "water bird" of the systematists a 

 "water fowl" within the Illinois law? 



Many of our terms used in sport are hundreds of years 

 old and come to us from England, and in English books 

 on sport we may find hints on this somewhat obspure 



point. As Col, Bond and Mr, Bortree are bringing up old 

 authorities, we offer them this from a work printed in 

 1792, 'The Sportsman's Dictionary; or, the Gentleman's 

 Companion for Town and Country;" we find under the 

 head, Fowl, the following definition: 



"Of water fowls there are two kinds, fuch as live off 

 the water and fuch as live on the water without f wimming 

 in it, but wading and diving for it with their long legs: 

 the other webfooted and fwim as the fwan, goofe, 

 mallard, &c," 



In describing the manner by which "waterfowl" are 

 to be taken with "fnares and fprings," "woodcocks, 

 plovers and fnipes" are mentioned. This doubtless will 

 count on Mr, Bortree's side, although Col. Bond may well 

 enough claim that the including of "woodcocks" shows 

 the 1793 classification to be antiquated and not "a late 

 authority." 



SNAP SHOTS. 

 It has been offJcially determined anew that one may 

 not camp out in the wilds of New York city. There are 

 inviting and umbrageous woods, running brooks and 

 stretches of old farms run to waste, where the catbird 

 calls in the hedges and Bob White pipes on the stone 

 walls; but the would-be outer, who yields to these entice- 

 ments and pitches his camp is destined to cruel inter- 

 ference. An oyster opener, out of work because oysters 

 are out of season, and unable to pay rent, took to these 

 woods with his family last week, and pitphed his tent in 

 the wilderness. At the end of a three days' outing the 

 police captured them, and the children were turned over 

 to the Aid Society to be cared for until the return of the 

 oyster season shall provide work and wages for the 

 father, "Nessmuk" once told us of an amusing attempt 

 he made years ago to camp out for the night in Central 

 Park, a project to which the police put a speedy and 

 ignominous end. 



"The pen is mightier than the sword," and than the 

 shotgun and rifle and bowie knife and revolver. Armed 

 with all of these, many a bold and courageous man would 

 fail to "reduce to possession" the mighty and ferocious 

 game he so comfortably and so expeditiously slays with 

 his pen, when he sits down in the shade to work up an 

 animal story for a Sunday newspaper. 



A NOVEL fishing news item was given in the press 

 dispatches last week, reporting the capture by fly-fish- 

 ing of four salmon in the Hudson at Mechanics ville, 

 July 29. Ttireeof the fish were killed by Mr, Chas. Van- 

 denburgh and the fourth by Mr. John Dyer, both of Balls- 

 ton Spa, The weights were 8, 9, Hi and I31bs, 



Newspaper publicity makes strange bedfellows. Two 

 items in juxtaposition in one of the dailies last week re- 

 corded the heroism of a father who rescued his son, who 

 had fallen into the water while fishing, and the fining of 

 a Beaverkill (N,Y,) trout spearer who had speared a 5flbs. 

 trout. 



The Fort Myers (Fla.) tarpon record for the season from 

 Jan, 1 to June 28, 1892, as printed in the Press of that 

 town, shows a recorded catch of 300 fish, ranging from 

 4ft. Sin, to 7ft., and from 581bs. to 184lbs.; 108 were over 

 6ft., and only six were under 5ft. 



"Kingfisher" might be said to belong to the "realistic 

 school" if that term were not applied to writers of fic- 

 tion, and the "Kingfisher" chronicles are understood to 

 be faithful relations of actual experiences. There is no 

 disputing their claims to realism. 



Dr, Tarleton H. Bean, of the United States Fish Com- 

 mission, and angling editor of Forest and Stream, has 

 just been appointed to the charge of the Division of Fish- 

 Culture, a position which will give him larger opportuni- 

 ties in a chosen field. 



The Amateur Revolver Championship now rests with 

 Mr, Geo, A. Jantzer, who yesterday won it from Dr. 

 Louis Bell. ' Mr, Jantzer must do better work the next 

 time, however, or he cannot hold it. 



"The Camp Keeper," which appeared in our issue of 

 July 7, it should have been stated at the time, was drawn 

 from an amateur photograph by Mr, A. Ames Hewlett , 

 of Syracuse. 



