Sept. 8, 1893.] 



FOREST AND STREAM 



208 



a box of chickens consigned to Begley Bros. , of South 

 Water street. Investigation showed that the birds were 

 packed in an egg- case. After taking legal advice Mr. 

 Organ permitted the delivery of the birds, and the next 

 day asked the firm what they had done with tbeir prairie 

 chickens. They disclaimed all idea of ever having any 

 prairie chickens. They wouldn't think of such a thing. 

 The fact of the little surprise being explained to them 

 they weakened, and said they had given those birds 

 away. Mr. Organ told them to get them and send them 

 back to their consignor, J. H. Gulp, of Lees, lud. At 

 last accounts the birds were handed back to the express 

 company. No suit has been brought: rather a case of 

 misplaced mercy it would seem. 



I am told that my earlier expression, "the poor but 

 honest South Water street man," has caused offense on 

 the street in question. I am so sorry. If necessary, I 

 can withdraw the terms. 



A DIVINE'S THREE DEER. 



The Chicago Tribune of this morning, Sept. 3, prints 

 the following, which may or may not be correct: 



"After two months of visiting and rest, the greater 

 part of which was spent in the woods in northern Wiscon- 

 sin, the Rev. Dr. W. Thomas, pastor of the People's 

 church, has returned to the city. He reports splendid 

 fishing and hunting, killing three fine deer." 



Dr. Thomas is one of the best known divines of Chicago, 

 perhaps the most popular, IC he killed three deer in 

 Wisconsin, he violated the law, which permits the killing 

 of deer only between Nov. 1 and Deo. 1. I cannot think 

 Dr. Thomas would intentially break this State law, even 

 though he broke the sportsman's law of not killing a deer 

 in the red coat. I have sent Dr. Thomas a copy of the 

 Book of the Game Laws, in the earnest hope that he may 

 find somewhat of benefit in its pages. We have to do a 

 little missionary work in our business once in a while. 

 I have also asked him for a statement on this matter, 

 which I hope will come in the form of a denial. It is 

 evident some one has b'undered. A great many minis- 

 ters of the gospel read FoREST and Stream. No man or 

 minister was ever hurt by reading it, ard I can see bow 

 upon occasion any man or minister might be helped by it. 

 I am moved to add to the Book of the Game Laivs several 

 copies of FoRRST and StbejUI, noc for business reasons, 

 but in the way of doing a good work, 



OPEKiisa day on ducks, 

 Oiving to the discouraging reports which came down 

 from Horicon marsh just before the 1st, the party who 

 went up for opening day was not so large by half as was 

 expected. The reports proved ill founded, for the shoot- 

 ing was very good. Mr. Percy Stone again made top bag, 

 bis total being 40, of which 18 were mallards, 18 teal, 2 

 redheads and 3 pintails. The o^her bags were L. M. Ham- 

 line 29, C. B. Dicks 28, C. L. Hunter 18, Dr. H. C. Buech- 

 ner 15, Col. C. E. Feiton 8, J. Hale 4. Col. Felton took 

 out two pushers with him, and went into the West Bay, 

 where Mr. Stone and mypelf shot last year. He started 

 to move out, but got tangled up in the many channels, 

 and Messrs. Hamline and Dicks claim that they heard his 

 signals and rescued bim from his perilous position at 

 8 o'clock in the evening, after he had been lost all day. 



1 have not yet heard Col. Felton's story of it. As usual, 

 many birds were killed — not bagged. Messrs. Hunter 

 and Dicks were especially unforiiinate in this respect. 

 The total for 7 shooters was 152 ducks, an average of 33 

 birds per gun. There are many young birds still in the 

 grass, and numbers of snipe, though shooting at these 

 will not be good until the fiats are burned off. At the 

 '*upper club" marsh there were more shooters out, but no 

 word is in from there yet. 



Mr. Henry Eblers yesterday, the second day of the 

 season, killed on the Kankakee River above Diana Club, 

 52 ducks, mostly young woodducks. This was done in a 

 run up the river of several miles. 



The most remarkable bag of opening day, however, 

 at least so far as known, was made by Mr. Mussey at 

 Mak-saw-ba Club, where he has been putting in consid- 

 erable time of late. Mr. Mussey made a night trip to 

 Bogart's house, above the club house, got an early break- 

 fast, and by 9 o'clock in the morning had in his boat 31 

 ducks, mostly wood ducks. He then put up his rod and 

 went to fishing, and caught 12 bass, .5 of them small- 

 mouths. G oing down the river in the evening he killed 



2 woodcock, and sailed into camp with a card up, "This 

 is my Buty Day." 



Mr. Organ, at the same club, got only 2 ducks and 2 

 bass, but didn't work very hard for either. Mr. Kinney 

 bagged 2 ducks and 8 frogs, Mr. .John Watson and Mr. 

 Jack Wiggins bagged one duck, together, I am told. Mr. 

 R. S. Cox and his friend Mr. Dole bagged 14 wood ducks 

 and mallards, losing many that fell in a spotter-dock 

 pond. 



No word has come up from Hennepin Club, on the 

 Illinois River, of any shooting on opening day, but ten 

 days ago there was a very good and very early flight of 

 teal in there, and some local bred ducks were moving. So 

 says the veteran W. W. MeFarland. 



NORTHWESTERN DUCKS. 



A letter to the shooter and author, Mr. W, B. Leilingwell, 

 of Clinton, Iowa, from S. B. Carpenter, of Island Lake, 

 N. D., says that canvasback, redhead, mallard, pinlail 

 and teal are abundant in the extreme at that point, and 

 also that there are numbers of geese. The only advice 

 given is to bring plenty of shells. Mr. LefEngwell is 

 going, and he will take plenty of shells. 



Mr H. R. Summers, of Piiiladelphia, writes me in re- 

 gard to a locality for a fall trip: 



"I take pleasure in saying I hava been a reader of the 

 iFoREST AND STREAM for many years. The issue of March 

 10 contains a copy of a letter from a settler living in a 

 game country who would like to have some of the sports- 

 men come and stop with bim. The question is arising in 

 my mind where to go this fall to have a good time bunt- 

 ing, camping out, etc., which always improves my 

 health. I have two places in view, one in Washington, 

 one in Colorado. The chances are this season I will have 

 to go by myself, and after reading over the letter I 

 thought perhaps this might be a better place for me this 

 season than the ones I have in view. What struck me 

 very favorably was that they have a good garden, plenty 

 of vegetables, milk, butter, etc. With settlers and stock 

 raisers such things are generally minus. I am temper- 

 ate, do not drink or get drunk at home, abroad or any 

 other place. I inclose [recommendation of Kennedy & 

 Curtis, of this city." 



This running an intelligence office is going to get me 

 into plenty of troTible yet. I see Mr. Summers takes my 

 remarks about the qualifications for that immortal game 

 pocket cm grand mrieux. At any rate I very gladly told 

 him all I knew. Still reasoning that, being naturally 

 temperate, he could easily learn to do without vegetables, 

 I advised him with a leaning toward Colorado or Wash- 

 ington. To my mind there is nothing so delightful as a trip 

 among the mountains, and some of the very best of our 

 remaining game country certainly must lie in the far 

 Northwest, and where a visitor could get at it in four or 

 five weeks^ 



Still another man wants a vacation; this time Mr. J. C, 

 McDonald, of Chicago, who says: 



"As an oldtime subscriber and occasional contributor 

 to Forest and Stream I take this liberty. In late Sep- 

 tember or early October 1 wish to spend about ten days, 

 shooting and fishing. Would be satisfied with a few 

 ducks, jacksnipe and a ruffed grouse or two. Quail, I 

 suppose, would be out of the question in the localities 

 that I have in mind, southern Wisconsin. A dozen or 

 two black bass might be added to the above. Since 1885, 

 with one or two exceptions, I have hunted and fished in 

 the Grass Lake and Lake Marie sections, and you know 

 how the shooting has fallen ofi; in that neighborhood and 

 how the summer resorter has come in. We wish a 

 change and yet do not want to go far away. I have 

 wondered if we could not get some sport in the Muk wan- 

 ago section that you have written about. My wife usually 

 accompanies me on my trips. We would prefer life at a 

 farmhouse to tenting on the cold, damp ground. If you 

 can help us out you will greatly oblige." 



Mr. McDonald can find squirrels, rabbits and possibly 

 a rulfed grouse or so, in the woods about Mukwanago. At 

 the time of his visit he would be likely to find very good 

 duck shooting on the "Mill Pond" and on Eagle Lake. At 

 Potter's Lake, or the other waters mentioned in earlier 

 issues dcFcriptive of that locality, he should get good bass 

 fishing, or at least the poorer sport of catching pickerel on 

 the spoon. It is hard to get into a farmhouse, but there 

 are several local hotels. Mr. Eugene Chafin, at the head 

 of Phantom Lake, will rent him a tent or fix him up in 

 the new kitchen building on the lake shore. That would 

 be the best way to do. It is no good to go boarding when 

 you go sporting. The cookery of the camp has a flavor of 

 its own which money will not buy — not at a farmhouse 

 mostly, anyhow. 



The big sporting paper which helps people to pleasant 

 and successful vacations is doing good in the world. I do 

 not know of any paper which undertakes this, excepting 

 Forest and Stream, and the advice of most of them 

 would be a shaky sort to follow. The Forest and Stream 

 " tips" are at least careful, and worth looking into, though 

 disappointment may follow any advice, for any one of a 

 dozen reasons. For my own part, I enjoy doing what 

 little I can do in this line, and I should regret very much 

 to be the cause of a. spoiled trip or a wasted vacation. 



DEER COUNTRY. 



While on the Brule River, above Stager, North Penin- 

 sula (on C. & N. W. Railway) last week, we .saw a great 

 deal of deer signs, found one runway, one watering- 

 place and two licks. At Kearney's Spur, above Stager, 

 there is a deer lick not 10ft. from the railroad track. 

 Four deer had been at the lick the morning we left. A 

 barrel of brine, poured here two years ago, made this 

 lick accidentally. The deer have scooped out the earth a 

 foot or two in depth. I should think it would be a simple 

 matter to get a deer in thaii country in season. The 

 natives through thei'e have been shooting them all sum- 

 mer, chiefly by means of headlights at night. There are 

 10 deer killed out of season to one killed in season in 

 Michigan and Wisconsin. Deer are unusually plentiful 

 this fall. Perhaps this is due to the fact that last year 

 the flies were not very bad, and so did not drive the deer 

 into the lakes, where the summer butchers could get at 

 them. Comparatively few deer are stalked in our north 

 pine country. E. Hough, 



CURRITUCK BAY BIRDS. 



Norfolk, Va., Aug. 31. — I promised a few days ago to 

 give you an account of our annual trip to Currituck for 

 bay birds, and while the .shooting has always been good, 

 if j)08sible, I think, we enjoyed this our third annual trip 

 on the steam yacht Comfort more than any before. The 

 weather was fairly cool and there were no mosquitoes. 

 The nights were delightful and we slept the sleep of the 

 just. The Comfort is a beautifully equipped steam 

 yacht— 110ft. in length. 



We anchored about five miles from our shooting 

 grounds, on Sunday afternoon at 5 o'clock. Having 

 breakfast at 4:30 Monday morning, Aug. 29, we stepped 

 on board the E^se, a new yacht 56ft. long, which runs 

 fifteen miles an hour. In less than one hour we were on 

 our shooting grounds. We shot two in a blind, and the 

 result of the first day's shoot was as follows : Messrs. T. J. 

 Hayward (Baltimore), with Captain Dorry, were high 

 boat, having bagged 278 graybacks (dowitchers), yellow 

 legs and plover.' Messrs. ;H. P. Lucas (Baltimore) and 

 W. S. Kimball (Rochester, N. Y.) had the next best score 

 and counted in the wagon 317. Messrs. W. A. Marburg 

 and E, L. Bartlett (Baltimore) shot 120. Messrs. Walter 

 .Johnson (New York ) and C. Ridgley Goodwin (Baltimore) 

 are good fiahermen, and the latter can kill more canvas- 

 hacks at the Maryland Club in one day than any man 

 who is a member of that institution. They killed 75. E, 

 L. Birtlett, Jr., and T. Bert Hayward (Baltimore) brought 

 in a bag of 113. J. B, White (Norfolk), who had the beat 

 blind, being located where the dowitchers fed, bagged 

 314. This was a total from 7 o'clock in the morning to 

 noon of 1,032. 



Our spirits were -willing but flesh weak. So we only 

 shot about two hours yesterday morning. E. L. Bartlett, 

 Jr., and J. B. White were high boat, having bagged 106, 

 total tor the morning 360. Grand total for the two morn- 

 ings' shooting 1,388. 



Our birds are all frozen (in perfect condition), and we 

 are now on our way to home and friends' who will be 

 glad to greet us. Of all our experience during the past 

 ten years, we consider these trips the most enjoyable, in 

 fact there is no such sport to be had in America to-day 

 as our bay bird shooting at Currituck. YelloW'MEG. 



Minnesota Prairie Chickens. 



The Hallock (Minn.) Enterprise states that ducks and 

 jjrairie chickens are very abundant in Kittson county 

 this season. 



Black Game in Newfoundland. 



Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, Aug. 2,5. — Replying to 

 your inquiry, "If black game introduced some years ago 

 has bred successfully and now furnishes shooting," I am 

 sorry to say that so far as we know the experiment has 

 proved a failure. They have rarely been reported and 

 are not found in the haunts of the willow grouse; only 

 two that I have heard of have been killed by persons 

 in ignorance of what birds they were. Their natural 

 habitat in Scotland and Norway is among thick woods, 

 something like the haunts of your ruffed grouse, and 

 even should they breed successfully they will never be 

 the game bird that our willow grouse is: the latter is 

 found in open barrens and low scrub, lies well to a dog 

 and furnishes noble sport. Should black game become 

 plentiful (now the special section protecting them has 

 expired) they would be protected by Sec. I'of theactof 

 1889 under the words "other grouse,'" as they are of the 

 class with willow grouse, and could not be killed before 

 Sept, 15 nor after Jan. 15. T. R. B. 



A Big Bull. 



At the shop of Fred Sauter, the North William street 

 taxidermist, we have recently examined the head of an 

 unusually large bufl:"alo bull. The animal, which, judg- 

 ing from the condition of the skin, was killed not very 

 long ago, was evidently taken in winter and was just 

 about in its prime. Tne horns are still sharp, but have 

 begun to splinter a little at the sides. That the bull is 

 an unusually large one is shown by the following 

 measurements taken by the Forest and Stream: Dis- 

 tance between tips of horns, measured from the inside, 

 38iin.; circumference of horn at base, l4iin.; length of 

 horn, measured along outside curve fi-om base to tip, 

 23in. The wide spread and great length of the horns 

 is an unusual feature of this extremely fine head. This 

 specimen is reported to have come from Montana, but 

 details with regard to its capture are lacking. 



Kansas Shooting Outlook. 



Ottawa, Kan., Aug. 3,— The prospects for shooting in 

 Kansas are very good this fall. I have lately returned 

 from a trip West and saw considerable game, especially 

 in the vicinity of Great Bend. Quail, plover and jack 

 rabbits are numerous all over the State, but prairie 

 chicken are very scarce. A friend writing from Woodson 

 county says they are fairly numerous there. F. B. 



Nottaway County, 



.Jennino's Ordinary, Nottaway County, Va., Aug. '31. 

 — We have had a very hot summer as well as an exceed' 

 ingly dry one, though a dry summer means good on birds. 

 Deer are very plentiful indeed, and they are getting more 

 so every season. I was out after deer Aug. 29; killed a 

 fine doe and a large size fawn; the doe weighed ISOlbs. 



(gross). . ^- ^' 



Illinois Prairie Chicken. 



Chicken shooting commenced here Aug. 15, or be- 

 fore, in spite of the law and the fact that the birds were 

 too small to shoot. When the law is out there will be 

 but few birds for the law-abiding shooter. Quail shoot- 

 ing will be good as there are more birds than for years. 



En Ami, 



Have You Got S3,000? 



1 want a parfnpr to invest the above sum in a spoi-tsman's resort 

 that will, pav §5 000 every year net". Finest fishing ano hunting in 

 America, jor particulars address D. A. PORTJi.B, The Albert, 

 Denver, Colorado. — A.dv. 



\m §-it^r fishing. 



SUSQUEHANNA BASS SCORES, 



DttrinCt the first ten days of August the bass fishing on 

 the Susquehanna from Port Deposit to Harrisburg was 

 fairly good. About Aug, 1 fishing along the river between 

 Columbia and Port Deposit was very succeseful. Ferd 

 Demuth and J. L. Porter caught 44 fine bass at Fites Eddy 

 in one day and a half. Capt. Doble took 88 at the same 

 place in two days. On Aug. 11 Mr, Porter caught 11 bass 

 in the Oonestoga. Early in the month the Tuquan Club, 

 of Lancaster, spent a few days at York Furnace and made 

 some tolerably fair catches. One day Johnnie Bauin- 

 aardner had the misfortune to lose a fine leader and his 

 hooks. The fish doing the mischief gave such a violent 

 struggle to free himself tliat Johnnie declared to the rest 

 of the boys that he had hooked the "daddy of them all," 

 if he hadn't eucceeded in landing him. The actions of the 

 monster were carefully explained and ample reason given 

 why the fish got away. So far all right, but in the very 

 same place that afternoon Mr. H. C. Demuth concluded 

 to try for .Johnnie's "biggest bass in the river," and 

 secured it, leader and all. It weighed just fib., and 

 Johnnie's heart slumped to his boots. 



Aug. 11 Messrs. Augustus and Clifl: Hippie caught 11 

 bass, which run very nice as to size, averaging about 

 I Jlbs. This was at Bainbridge. From the 11th to the 

 20lh of the month there was no bass fishing owing to 

 rains up stream, which made the water high and roily. 

 On the 30th the fish commenced tobite again, and Barney 

 Doyle caught 11, and A. Hippie 9. On the 82d Smith 

 and Nagle took 16, Doyle 10, and Bare and Bean 7 in two 

 hours' fishing. Aug. 33 Skeen and Bare caught 9 bass. 

 Aug. 34 Bare took lO, Hippie 10, and McNeil 11. Aug. 34 

 Mr. Doyle went to the falls after "salmon" and caught 4, 

 the largest of which weighed 3flbs. The others were 

 small fish weighing but lib. each. On the 25th Messrs, 

 Ruth, Kuntzelman and son fished the riflies below Bain> 

 bridge and brought home 43 bass. They caught 45, but 

 lost two off the stringer. These parties were well sup- 

 plied with bait, having secured about 500 uiinnows, cat- 

 fish, crawfish , etc. , the day before, Aug, 36 Squire Mc- 

 Neil caught 8 bass, one a :3-pounder. Mr. Bare caught 8, 

 weighing Olbs. The largest run l^lbs. Mr. Barney Doyle 

 had been trolling for "salmon" for a week, off and on, 

 and to-day, 36th, caught 16 small ones. They were caught 

 with laraper eel and run very email, about lib. fish. 



Aug. 37,— Rains up river, water muddy, no fishing. 

 The best baits for bass during August were grass chubs. 

 We tried catfish without success. The best fishing was 

 in the riflies below town. BoN. 



Washes GTON, D, C. Sept. 5. 



