Aero. 18, 1893.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



1S9 



)f most American rifles. Other things being equal, the 

 onger the stock the less is recoil felt; and it can hardly 

 je too long, provided it does not catch in the clothing 

 s-hen raised quickly for a snap shot. A. length of lliin. 

 'rom the trigger to the center of the butt suits moat men 

 inritharma of average length, if they do not wear very 

 jiiick clothes. 



The Winchester .50-95-300, as made for the English 

 market, has a shotgun butt and weighs about 8f lbs. I 

 Qave found this accurate at a target and without any 

 lisagreeable rpcoil. The '86 model, taking the .45-90- 

 300 cartridge, if fitted with the same kind of stock, could 

 rje tired with perfect comfort at 8+lba. weight. 



I will here say that the Winchester ,45 90 shell seems 

 ;ome more nearly perfect for ordinary large game than 

 i,iiy other shell in the market. Being cylindrical, it is 

 i^sa liable to stick or require swedging than those of 

 jonical or bottle shape. It holds sufficient powder to 

 jive a very tiat trajectory and great shock, yet not 

 anough to spoil accuracy at ranges below ISOyds., as is 

 che case with the 125 grain expreps shell. With a hollow 

 bullet, properly proportioned, it is powerful enough for 

 »rizzly bear, and is not too powerfiil for ordinary deer. 

 "Aztec" states that "even .88 bullets, unless carefully 

 placed, will spoil half a deer's meat. I am puzzled to 

 account for his experience, having never known .45 solid 

 bullets, striking in any position, to tear to any extent 

 worth noticing. Even .45 hollow bullets, if the hollow 

 be of the proper size in proportion to the powder, tear 

 badly only when hitting the haunch. When placed in 

 the shoulder they make a small hole at entering, a large 

 Vine in the lungs or heart, and spoil the flesh for perhaps 

 :in. in diameter at the opposite side of the chest. As 

 few people eat the lungs this is of little consequence, 

 'mt, at the worst, by submitting to the los^ of 3 or Slbs, 

 eat the chances become infinitessimal of having a 

 stern chase or of losing the deer itself. 



As to the danger to people or cattle from using large 

 [•;barges of powder, the .50 or ,45 hollow bullets if they 

 \ niss the game are usually knocked out of shape on 

 I itriking the ground and then stop quickly. The solid 

 30De of much smaller size is far more dangei'ous. I 

 liave seen even a .38 125^rs. bullet, driven by only 14grs. 

 jf powder and fired without elevating the sights, make 

 its first graze and knock up a small cloud of dust at fully 

 400yds. from the muzzle, and the ,38 56-255 would ijroba- 

 biy be dangerous up to a mile. I believe that the dimin- 

 ution in large game in America is to a considerable ex- 

 tent due to the use of rifles of insufficient power, I came 

 to this conclusion when out with hunters using very small 

 bores years ago in Canada, and it was confirmed by my 

 own experience with small game in this country. I tried 

 .22 rim-fire cartridgps, chiefly at rabbits, from a very ac- 

 curate Maynard barrel, was very successful at first, but in 

 the long run lost a rather large proportion of wounded 

 which escaped into their burrows, although hit in the 

 neck or shoulder. This was not from insufficient pene- 

 tration, for the bullets passed completely through in any 

 direction. I then resorted to a .30-14-75 rifle, have used 

 it for three seasons, and lost one badly wounded animal, 

 which staggered alaout six yards to a burrow. Another 

 rabbit escaped which seemed slightly wounded, but all 

 the remainder which have been hit in three years have 

 been bagged. Exactly the same principle applies to large 

 game. A hunter with a .32 or .38 40 rifle may hit three 

 or four deer in a day before securing one if the bullets 

 happen to strike a little way from a deadly spot. 

 Had he us* d a .50 95 or a .45-90 cartridge, the first deer 

 hit in the same place would have been killed quickly and 

 taken to camp, the others being left unmolested. 



This subject was dist^ussed most fully and ably several 

 years ago by Mr. Van Dyke in the '-Stiil Hunter," a book 

 which it would well repay any one commencing his 

 hunting career to study carefully. J. F, Misyrick. 



Devonshire, England. 



The Quail Shooting Club. 



Mr. Coleman, who has been organizing a club to secure 

 quail shooting privileges in North Carolina, "dirt cheap," 

 sends us this note of the temporary organization of the 

 club. He tells us that his advertisement in Forest and 

 Steea-M has been answered from all parts of the country 

 Rnd last Monday a letter about it came to him from Lon- 

 don, England. He writes under date of Aug. 17: 

 Editor Forest and Stream: 



Members of the North Carolina Quail Club met last 

 night, and formed a temporary organization, by electing 

 Mr. A, Coleman President ; Mr. Cbas. J. Gayler (of the 

 Inquiry Department, N. Y. City Post Office) Secretary 

 and Treasurer; and Mr. James Moylan (civil engineer) 

 Of .Jersey City, Chairman of Committee on Transporta- 

 tion, etc. 



The membprship, for the present, will be limited to 

 100, and the yearly membership fee to |15, every dollar 

 of which will be devoted to paving for the lands now being 

 leased by club members in North Carolina. The club 

 will control over 30,000 acres, or some 46 square miles, 

 of the choicest shooting grounds in the United States, 

 and will be ready for sport by the opening of this seasons 

 shooting. 



Those wishing to join must send in their names to the 

 Secretary if they want to avoid disappointment, as ap- 

 plications are coming in from Maine to Illinois. Send 

 names and inquiries to Chas. J. Gayler, Sec'y, Room 42, 

 Post Office, New York. 



North Bakota Game. 



Galesburg, Traill Co., No. Dak,, Aug. 11. — I fear 

 your Mr, Hough's treasured game pocket will be at a dis- 

 count this year. From observation and report I judge 

 the Dakotas to be one vast game pocket about now. 

 Game has not been so plentiful these ten years. The 

 f loughs and lakes are full of water. One need not travel 

 far to make a good bag. The open season begins Aug. 

 30. " J. P. W. 



The Favorite Line.— Tbe Shenandoah Valley route to the 

 8 mh. corapnsed of the Norfolk & Westprn and East Tennessee, 

 Vireinia & Georgia Rail ways, is the Fportsman^s favorite line. 

 "■ The WHshint-'ton & Chiitlanooga Limited,'' which is a polid ves- 

 tibnled fast flyine train, consisting of Pullman, drawing mom, 

 slfeying cars, day coaclies and Pullman dining care, leave Wash- 

 ioeton 11:15 P. M, every day in the year, aTrivingr Chattanooga 

 next aftemoon. makinff closn cinneoHon foi- all SoifhPT-n 

 points. :Nrv. B. \V. Wh.ems% General Passenger aod Tickf^t Afteiit, 



E. T., V. iSrG. R'y. IvnoxvUle Tfu.n,, will Jurtii&li free any infor- 



ma tion desired, -jldu. 



gm dtid givi^v Salting. 



Tfie BOOK OF itCB GrAMK LAWS has all fl.sh and {lautc laim 

 of United States and Canada. Price 50 cents. 



FISHING UP "SALT RIVER." 



Ik the Blue Grass of Kentucky,— Aug. ll.— Editor 

 Forest and (Stream: Your instructions to "go up Salt 

 River" fell upon most willing ears, and I am now pre- 

 pared to tell the great a,rmy of would-be officeholders who 

 may be relegated by unappreciative voters to go "up Salt 

 River," that if they will actually go up or down the real 

 Salt River, as it exists here in Kentucky, they will never 

 regret the journey, provided they have one drop of real 

 sportsman's blood in their veins and half an eye for the 

 beautiful in nature. It is indeed a pleasant stream, and 

 why should not a river flowing through the blue grass 

 region of this most favored State be a gem among water 

 courses ? 



Salt River has its start either in Mercer or Boyle county. 



Every man hereabouts is a partisan on that subject. 

 If Cove Spring is the starting point, then Mercer county 

 has the honor of starting the historic stream ; but the 

 country thereabouts is so full of purling brooks and de- 

 lightful bits of clear, rippling runways, that the claims of 

 the Boyle county men that Salt River has its start in a 

 strong, cold, limpid spring if. their county may be right 

 after all. 



In this region of the State at this season of the year no 

 canoeist could ask for more sylvan scenes than those 

 along Salt River. The blue grass pastures stretch away 

 from either bank, and from the brink of Salt River many 

 a fat shorthorn gets a cool refreshing drink, many a 

 fair-faced, fine-limbed fawn-like Jersey comes down 

 with swelling udder to draw in a supply of Salt River 

 nectar and turn it out into the brimming pail at even 

 tide as the richest and creamiest of high grade milk. 

 Many a standard trotter, with a pedigree running back 

 for generations, comes cavorting down to the borders of 

 the much-talked-of stream, draws in a dainty drink of 

 natural ale and turns for a frolic over the river pasture, 

 presenting a picture to make the horse lover's eye dance 

 with joy at the spectacle. The old home of Leonatus is 

 visited up the bank, and the fliers of the Ohinn and Morgan 

 stock were raised in good part on Salt River water. 



If there is a fondness for the historic and the weird in 

 your nature, then come and look up the legends of Salt 

 River. Its banks saw the earliest settlements of the 

 white pioneers, and the border war between the whites 

 and Indians waged long and bloody across these fertile 

 fields. There are still the beautiful woodlands of walnut, 

 blue ash, hickory, poplar and sugar-maple. There were 

 more woodlands then and through them rang out the 

 whoop of the maurauding rpdskin, bringiug dismay into 

 tho cabin of many a hardy Kentucky woodsman. There 

 are Indian stories by the dozen clinging to the banks of 

 Salt River, but there is nothing of a political significance 

 about them. They are simply stories of love and hate, 

 war and rapine, of brave deeds and fair maidens, and 

 another decade will see these stories die out from the 

 memory of the oldest of their narrators. The Indians 

 have gone; those who have heard their storied lore are 

 fast following after. 



Some ten miles below Harrodsburg the river passes 

 into Anderson county. This is, par excellence, the home 

 and original birthplace of "ola-fashioned-sour-mashed- 

 copper-distilled" whisky. Eighteen or twenty whisky dis- 

 tilleries, turning out from 200 to 300 barrels per day, are 

 operated in Anderson county, and most of them are sup- 

 plied with water from Salt River or its tributaries. Tne 

 river runs through this county in a' northwesterly direc- 

 tion, and then passes into Spencer county, traverses its 

 entire breadth, and entering Bullitt runs through it and 

 finishes its course at the farther boundary of the county, 

 and empties into the Ohio River, 



It is not a long river. With all its graceful curves and 

 sinuous meanderings it is not far from 100 miles long. 

 At Harrodsburg it is perhaps 80ft. wide, at Shepardsville, 

 the county seat of Bullitt county, it has broadened out 

 into a stream of 400ft,, fair to look upon, and with a 

 carryina: capacity far below the crowds who are yearly 

 sent to float upon it. In lalk that is, for really there is 

 next to no travel on the clear, sparkling waters. If one 

 wishes to navigate it he may come up its channel for a 

 dozen miles to Pitt's Point in the small steamboats fitted 

 to the work. In flood times boats have pushed up as far 

 as Shepardsville, but this is generally a fording point. 



In connection with the fish in the water, the dams 

 come in for much attention. There are some half dozen 

 or more at various points up the stream. Some of these 

 are strongly built of hewn timbers and stone and give 

 promise of permanency, and at all ordinary stages of the 

 water it is impossible for any fish to pass over, through 

 or undei them. No fishways are provided, and the re- 

 stocking of the stream has attracted little attention; yet 

 it is an amusing fact that some years ago a practical (?) 

 member of the Fish Commission turned out in this stream 

 not far from its head, a few cans of salmon fry, telling 

 the people that they would doubtless descend the river 

 to the sea, but would as surely return to its headwaters 

 to spawn. 



The soil in Bullit county grows more flat, and some- 

 times, where loamy, it is very productive. The trees are 

 being cleared off and the slopes turned into arable land. 

 The light whitish clay soil is washed into the stream after 

 heavy rains, to the destruction of the [fish and the disfig- 

 urement of the river. 



When the delegations arrive from the various political 

 divisions of the country they will find that Salt River has 

 a number of watering places awaiting their enjoyment. 

 There is "old Paroguet Springs" near Shepherdsville (the 

 buildings all burned). A very fine sulphur spring at 

 Newton's or Milton's near Van Bureu, and in Anderson 

 county the "Boiling Spring," where is also located S, O, 

 Hackley's distillery. There are many very pretty villages 

 along the track of the stream, and no doubt some of the 

 corner lot owners would, gladly see the hamlets expand 

 into cities even though thf* census roll was swelled with 

 names taken from the minority ballots in the polling 

 places of the people. 



But after all what is a river good for f scept to fish in 

 or from. Some people will sav that a river cf goi^d pixre 

 wholesome water, such as this, is useful as a supply of 

 drinking fluidi Welly those people are free to their opimon. 



but those people and those opinions are not found along 

 this particular river. Others will argue that a water way 

 is useful first and foremost as a means of communication, 

 a sort of aqueous highway provided for those too lazy to 

 build good roads and then to breed fast horses to drive on 

 them. Salt River has not enough water to figure much 

 on a highway of commerce, but it has water enough to 

 furnish homes for the "finny tribe"— water snakes, soft 

 and hardshell turtles, crawfish (some hard shells and some 

 called peddlers), log-perch,sun-perch,goggle-eyes, hickory 

 shad, eels, gars, carp (planted or escaped from ponds), 

 suckers, some few white perch, yellow cats, black bass 

 (called in Salt River "jumpers" or "jumping-perch"), I 

 don't know whether small or large mouth, but I think the 

 former), and the lish which was named by Fokest and 

 Stream the crappie, called here "Newlight" or "Camp- 

 bellite," calico perch, silver perch, bachelor perch, etc. 

 Of course down toward the mouth there are other fish 

 such as are found in the Ohio— buffalo, sturgeon, etc. 



At Shepardsville there is a rocky fall in the river cor- 

 responding to the Ohio Falls, though not so long nor with 

 so much fall; it is doubtless a continuation of the strata 

 that make the falls at Louisville. Some years ago there 

 was a high dam at thisi point, and it was told me by citi- 

 zens living near that in the spring the fish trying to pass 

 up stream were hindered by this dam, and accumulated 

 in such quantities that horses would not cross the stream 

 (the fish striking their legs), and the citizens would gather 

 with teams and by using a short seine (some said pitch- 

 forks) would in a few minutes fill their wagons and haul 

 them away. 



The favorite fishing there and all along the river is 

 for blue cats. Although there are some true anglers 

 (e (/., Tom Floyd and Isaiah Yocum at Taylorsville), the 

 fish are caught on trot-line<i, and taken by "cooning," 

 which is done in this way. During the spawning season, 

 and while watching their young, in July and August, 

 catfish burrow under broad rocks, clearing out beds 

 under the rocks, and paths and entrance ways to the 

 edges of the rock— two or three entrances. The fisher- 

 man locates these rocks and remembers them as a pilot 

 runs the river, by an overhanging bough, a stump or 

 some object on the bank; and having stopped all the 

 holes but one, he reaches under with his hand. The fish, 

 usually a large one, will seize his hand, and the fisher- 

 luan quietly works his hand so as to grasp the fish by the 

 gills and yanks it Cut, leaving the eggs or young unpro- 

 tected and to be destroyed. Sometimes a long iron rod 

 with a short, sharp hook at the end is used; when a fish 

 is felt and located, the hook is put over it and with a 

 short jerk fastened in the fish and it is thus drawn out. 

 "Cooning" requires nerve, for a man might find some- 

 thing not a fisn, and when the hand is seized it must not 

 1 e jerked back, as this would take the skin oft" or make 

 ugly scratches. I have never heard of fly-fishing in Salt 

 River; worms and other baits are used for cats, perch and 

 suckers; minnows for bass and crappie. 



Away from Salt River it will not be necessary to travel 

 far to get a shot at deer, and as for smaller game, it may 

 be found all through the section. 



You have asked for something of the history and sur- 

 roundings of Salt River. I have given them to you, and 

 you may begin to think that the candidate who ia sent up 

 Salt River is given a very pleasant journey after all. He 

 flods fishing and frolic, boating if he is water fond, and 

 the finest trotters in the world if he is one of that univer- 

 sal army of worshippers at the shrine of perfect horse- 

 flesh. There may be other so-called Salt Rivers, not so 

 pleasant to travel upon, but this, the only original Salt 

 River, is not of that sort. The tongue of the rabble makes 

 it a place of unpleasant anticipation and regretful remin- 

 ifcence. Nonsense; everything here assists in replacing 

 the galling past with the all- satisfying present. The fiat 

 of Jehovah has made it an elysium, and if the mob will 

 still insist upon declaring otherwise, it is only one more 

 illustration of the absurdity of the alliterative jingle, 

 Vox popvM vox Dei. Blue GrRASis. 



BLACK BASS IN ILLINOIS. 



J)&. S, P. Bartlett of Quincy, writes that bass fishing 

 at all points bids fair to be the best known for years in 

 the State. Large strings are taken at (juincy every day, 

 but the fish are mostly of the smaller size. To quote from 

 the letter: "One thing is certain, I have never witnessed 

 such a sight in my life as I did Sunday on the bay here. 

 It seemed to me that every available log or sandy beach 

 for its entire four miles of length was occupied by a man, 

 woman or child with a fishing pole, and everybody caught 

 fish.'- 



"The water ia fairly within its banks and affords an 

 excellent opportunity for this sport, and Sunday is always 

 a big day nere with' the working men and their families 

 for a day's outing. The rivers are full of minnows, small 

 hickory "shad, and other food of the bass." 



The following from the Chicago Tribune will serve to 

 show what fishermen are doing in another portion of the 

 State: 



"Fox Lake, 111., Aug. 6.— (Special.)— Fishing at the 

 lake this season is breaking the record. They are being 

 caught by the bushel, and the women are outdoing the 

 men at the sport. Guests at Hotel Lippincott had their 

 catches weighed and counted. It was fovmd that W. E. 

 Goodman of Evanston caught 150 bass, weighing 2101bs, 

 Tuesday, and- 146 bass, weighing 2251bs., Thursday. 

 Mr, Munson and the women in his party cauglit 

 110 fish, weighing 163lbs., one bass weighing Bibs, '6oz. 

 Mr. De Sabe caught over 2501bs. of fish Thursday. At the 

 Oak Glen Club it was reported that Henry C. Davis, 

 brother of George R. Davis, caught 93 black bass in four 

 da,ys." 



Slaughter of Small Bass. 



Mr. W. L, Powell, Treasurer of the Pennsylvania 

 Fish Commission, sends an account of the depletion of 

 Maiden Creek by fishermen who catch busbies of yearling 

 black bass with small hooks, A veteran angler fished 

 this stream recently with a fly-rod and in the course of a 

 day took 60 bass ranging from 4^ to 6in, in length. All 

 of them were lip-booked and were liberated alive. The 

 creek was full of yearling bass during July, and news- 

 paper accounts mentioned their capture by the bushel, 

 bv means of hooks so small as to be readily swallowed by 

 the fish. The absence of big bass even in moderate num- 

 bers is notorious, but in the light of this information it is 

 mdily explained. 



