Sept. 33, 1892.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



247 



one of these crafts the ordinary Green Bay boat is an ark, 

 and it looked ticklish to see the frail craft careen as one 

 Stepped in. We realised early, however, that as usual 

 the country had developed the boat best suited to it. All 

 the Horioon shooter needs is bare transport for himself 

 and shells. He has no rough water to weath<^r, and the 

 worst of tipping over would only be a mud bath, while 

 every ounce he saves in weight off his tiny craft is of 

 vakie when it comes to pushing through banks of rice, or 

 pulling over a dry "carry" to a channel leading to the 

 further recesses of the wilderness of log and solid vegeta- 

 tion. 



We saw no one taking out deoojrs, and inquired about 



it. 



"Well, the fact is," said Mr. Lawrence, "you know it 

 is against the law to use decoys in Wisconsin. It is 

 often done, but we do not use them here." 



This was news to me. I knew the clause about build- 

 ing blinds beyond the natural cover, but had never 

 heard of the decoy clause. I do not find reference to 

 this in the Book of the Game Laws, 



We crosbed about a mile and a half of open water in 

 the main lake and came to a point where the channel 

 narrowed down to a couple of hundred yards in width. 

 On the east side of these narrows is the '"Center Point," 

 the best fly-way on the marsh, as the birds following 

 the big water above and below usually cross this point. 

 Here our friends left us and went two miles further 

 down the marsh. It was now toward evening and the 

 flight began in a short time. It was not diflioult to see 

 that the birds had been educated already in their young 

 lives. They crossed the point high and wide, and offered 

 little shooting. West of the channel, over the wild rice, 

 the flight was heavy and the shooting soon became 

 steady. This was mostly on teal, which were following 

 the long and winding "leads" of open water through the 

 rice. We saw very few mallards, somewhat to our sur- 

 prise, and but very few redheads, though the first bird 

 I killed was a young redhead. Pintails were much 

 more abundant and we saw some few travelers, mostly 

 pintails, come in over the marsh toward night and circle 

 about, after the fashion of new birds. It was evident 

 that, thoiigh the shooting was not of the heaviest, there 

 was abundance of birds on the marsh and more to be ex- 

 pected daily, until the great swarms of pintails in Octo- 

 ber and the late mallards of the last flight. 



At the club house we met that evening a joUv i>arty of 

 nearly a dozen shooters, just in from the uiarsh, and ate 

 an unconscionably large supper, with much hot coffee 

 and a running fire of comment on the day. Other shooters 

 had been more fortunate, some very "good bags were 

 brought in, Dr. Clark and' Mr. Lawrence as usual being 

 well represented, in spite of their long prospecting 

 journey to the lower edge of the preserve. I looked over 

 the records of the club for some years back, and found 

 that the shooting here has always been of a high order. 

 Between 600 and 700 ducks were killed on opening day of 

 this year, and turning back the pages of the game record, 

 bags of 62, 56, 44, 36, 76, 31, etc, caught the eye repeat- 

 edly. There were the usual blank days of course, but a 

 bag of less than 8 or 10 ducks was below the average for 

 the average shooter. As many as 50 gunners have shot 

 on this range at once, and it takes a good number to keep 

 the birds moving. 



[With the conclusion of this, next week, will be given 

 a map of the Horicon grounds.] 



CHICKENS Aim DUCKS. 



Sejyt ics'.— The Illinois season on chickens and ducks 

 opened last Thursday, Sept. 15. So far as the meager 

 reports go, nothing very startling in the way of sport 

 transpired in this immediate vicinity. Fox Lake open- 

 ing day was a sublime failure. A few parties are now 

 out after chickens. Dick Turtle has gone to a point 80 

 miles west, where he expects to find some birds. Chick- 

 ens were fairly plentiful around Ohillico the, well down in 

 the State, but the illegal shooting there was general. 

 From all accounts the law has been less observed this 

 year than ever before. Three-fourths of the Illinois 

 chickens were dead before Aug. 15. 



DK. THOMAS AND HIS DEER. 



The daily papers here continue to poke up Rev. Dr. 

 Thoma.s about his three illegal deer. I take the following 

 from the Daily Neivs of Sept. 13, Dr. Thomas was inter- 

 viewed as follows: 



By the minister's side on an easel was a handsome oil painting, 

 representing a group of deer drinking from a sparkling mnun- 

 taln stream. On a table close by were two large lithographs of 

 James J . Corber.t and John L. Sullivan as they appeared in the 

 great fight at New Orleans. Upon being told of tlie reporter's 

 mission the doctor laugbed heartily and said: "Yes. I did shoot 

 ■ three deer up in Wisconsin and if you have time I will tell you 

 all about it. 



"I took wy month's vacation," resumed the divine, "in the 

 wilderness ol: upper Wisronsiu. There were two others in the 

 party besides myself. Tlien. of course, we had our guides anrl a 

 team to convey the guns and necessaries of life. Of the latter 

 There was little variety. Salt pork, bread and coffee were our 

 main supplies. We started for the forest region from a little 

 lumber namp m the northwestern part of the State, and we did 

 not pitch our tent until we were over forty miles from any in- 

 habitants. We slept under God's canopy and enjoyed ourselves 

 hugely catching fish. We bad exciting times uauling in the 

 sptckled beauties, but we all longed for a good venison steak, 

 niceiy toasted on the coals of a camp Are. Of course fried salt 

 pork and black coffee boiled in an iron pot are not to be despised 

 by a man camping in the bracing air of the pine forests, yet, as I 

 said, we hungered for deer. We decided one night to watch a 

 lake whe e the guides told us deer would come to drink. We had 

 not long to wait, as I soon spotted as fine a specimen a« ever 

 graced the woods of Wisconsin. I raised my rifle, took good aim 

 and fired. It was a tru!> shot and the animal fell over dead. Just 

 imagine the feast we nad nest day! We ate aU that deer except 

 his hide, horns and tail. In our stay I kill°d two more d<=er, 

 which were treated in the same way, I can assure you we had no 

 intention of violating the game law, and I killed those deer 

 simply because we wanted meat to eat. In that section of the 

 country the inhabitants consider that under those circumstances 

 I was justified in shooting the animals. If it was breaking the 

 game law of the State it was without intent, and if the author- 

 ities so desire I have no obicotion to paying the fines." 



The worthy doctor has several times said that he would 

 just as soon pay those fines as not. If this is only a 

 bluff, it would seem time the bluff were called. To-day 

 I wrote to the State Game Warden of Wisconsin, and 

 inclosed him a copy of Forest and Stream, and just 

 told him, sort of careless like, that we had a man down 

 here who hankered after paying a few fines. Some in- 

 teresting correspondence is likely to result from this. 



If Dr. Thomas is correctly reported, he broke the law 

 in a double sense. He did not stalk and shoot his deer 

 in hunter-like fashion., but shot them in the water. If 

 this was in the day time, the deer were driven into the 

 water by the flies — a pest which has cost many a deer its 

 life when helpless against the summer butcher. The 



story says it was in the night. Sec. '7, Chap. 374, of the 

 Wisconsin laws forbids all hunting of deer at night. If 

 it was a dark night, we may suppose the divine used a 

 jack light. This is contrary to a further provision of the 

 same section. 



To tangle the worthy divine up still more, the News 

 interview makes him say in conclusion: ^'Altogether we 

 had a jolly time, and I intend repeating the trip after 

 more deer next stimmer." 



Dr. Thomas may be incorrectly reported in this. Ho 

 may kill more deer next summer in Wisconsin, but I 

 don't really believe he will. I am inclined to think he 

 doesn't thiuk he will, E. Hoitgh. 



175 MONBOK Strbbt, Chicago. 



AN AFTERNOON WITH THE RAIL. 



There is on Long Island somewhere between Oakdale 

 and Patchogue a little creek which I happened to stumble 

 on , or rather into, about a year ago. Some years since one 

 of our most prominent brothers of the gun and rod — who 

 emulates the example of the apostles, and is a "fisher of 

 men," knowing well how to land the old mossbacks who 

 lie under the political roots and wait for the unsuspecting 

 minnow to pass— had this little brule sown with wild rice, 

 a cereal until that time comparatively unknown on the 

 • South Side." 



Year after year Jack Frost did his work and the 

 ripe seeds dropped into the current and found lodgment 

 in the rich mud along the banks, and so the rice beds 

 spread east a,nd west until there was set for our friends 

 the sora a rich feast each autumn, at which he was often 

 joined by that Beau Brummelof wildfowl, the wood duck. 



Come with me on one of these soft September evenings. 

 Have Billy B. meet us with his sharpie at the bridge 

 where the old main road crosses the creek, about half 

 way to our home. 



"Step amidships, Mr. D, Here's your gun and 

 plenty of shells." All of which is answered by a half 

 nod, and we are off. 



"Look out!" from Billy. Crack! from the 1,3-bore, 

 as a small brown shape tops the reeds. A clean miss. 

 The bird drops, as these follows often do, before I can get 

 in the second barrel. But never mind, we are just com- 

 ing to a bend where the rice is thick and there must be 

 birds. Steady! Bang! "Mark east!" Bang! "Both 

 down, Billy." "There's another, Mr. D!" Bing! "Killed 

 him, too," and so it goes as we push along for a mile, 

 until we see the mouth of the creek opening into the bay. 



The sun is sinking behind the trees and casting a ruddy 

 tinge over the meadow and through the leaves when 

 Billy excitedly claims: "Down! Look up the creek!" I 

 obey and see clear cut against the northwestern sky two 

 black spots, which, carried by whistling wing, are com- 

 ing right for me. I jump my gun on them as best I can. 

 Both barrels seem to go off at once, and— "vainly the 

 fowler's eye." Two drams and foz, of No. 10 will not 

 stop a wood duck when he is scared. Too bad, but there 

 is my home light shining through the trees to the east'd, 

 and I know my little woman is waiting dinner for me, 

 not impatiently, but with anticipation, for she knows the 

 report of my gun and expects something good from the 

 creek with which to grace our table to-morrow. 



Have you a helpmate who can handle a gun and who 

 appreciates legitimate sport? If you have, you can un- 

 derstand with what pride and pleasure I place my string 

 of birds on a platter and present the trophy to my wife. 



Chas. S. Develin. 



New Yobk City, Sept. 14. 



and his friend Dr. Nason, of Hampden, Me,, are to make 

 a very enjoyable trip this fall. They hope to start about 

 Oct. 1. Dr. Nason has a brother who has charge of con- 

 siderable lumbering operatiouss in Aroostook county, 

 Me., and he has invited his brother and Mr. Coggin to 

 go into the woods with him on a two- weeks' hunts. 

 Staging some 25 or 30 miles lias to be done from Houlton 

 and then some 40 miles by teams before the first camps 

 are reached. There are several camps and the hunters 

 will alternate between them. They will be saved the 

 trouble of packing provisions, for the crews of men will 

 be at work and the hunters will mess and sleep at the- 

 camps. 



It is a wonder that no more of such hunting is done. 

 It is not at all difiicult to get in with the lumber people, 

 the bosses generally being glad to have the company of 

 the right sort of hunters, and besides there is the game 

 that hunters who are at all expert can fm-nish for the 

 camp tables. In Mr. Coggin'a case the hunters will be 

 doubly welcome, for the boss is a brother of one of them, 

 and will doubtless go with the party a good deal him- 

 self. Last year a party visited the same camps at about 

 the same time, and both moose and caribou were killed, 

 with all the deer the law would allow. Mr. Coggin 

 promises a good account of the hunt for the Forest and 

 Stream. 



A happy hunting party is to start from Boston about 

 the 24th of September for the region beyond Mooaehead 

 Lake, Me. The party will be made up of D, J. Puffer, of 

 Boston, and well known in the soda fountain business; 

 Mr. H. L. Buss, of the Chamber of Commerce grain 

 trade: Henry Li Page, of Medford, and* Mr. J. A. Col- 

 lins, with the Paft'ers. The Puffers are expert hunters, 

 and go nearly every season, but to Mr. Buss the experi- 

 ences will be rather new. They have their guides en- 

 gaged, and starting from Kineo, they will go back till 

 they find big game. Their guides report moose seen, 

 with deer and caribou plenty. Special. 



SOME MASSACHUSETTS SHOTS. 



Gardy Eames, of Reading, and Phineas Killam, of the 

 same place, hunted all day the first day of the open sea- 

 son, Thursday last, and did not get a grouse. In fact, 

 they scarcely fired a shot. It is true that Ed. Eames, of 

 the same town, fired 5 shots on the opening day and killed 

 5 partridges, but this is counted as most remarkable, and 

 the other hunters say that he knew where the flock was. 

 But Gardy Eames is one of the finest shots in the coun- 

 try, and he is also an expert with both dogs and gun, and 

 his friends say that if there are any partridges in the 

 woods, Gardy is sure of them. His shooting is some- 

 thing remarkable. A .22cal. rifle is something of a 

 favorite with him. He is a rather nervous man, and 

 probably in shooting at a fixed target he might make 

 some misses. But on a moving object "he is a wonder," 

 so all his friends say. Pennies snapped up a few feet into 

 the air are as easy for him to hit as would be targets of 

 the same size fixed to the ordinary rifle shot. A noted 

 sportsman and a good shot was recently told of the 

 shooting of Gardy, and he refused to believe it. He de- 

 clared that it was not possible for any man to hit pennies 

 snapped into the air 9 times out of 10, as it was claimed 

 Eames could do. Gardy happened to overhear the re- 

 marks of the gentleman, and quietly remarked that the 

 gun was at hand. The gentleman desired to see him 

 shoot. It was in a store that the conversation took place, 

 and there was a barrel of cranberries standing there. 

 Gardy proposed that some one throw up cranberries for 

 him to shoot at. It was done. He fired 3 shots and 

 punctured three berries. Curious to relate, two of the 

 berries were simply cut out in the form of a perfect ring, 

 the little .22cal. slug going completely and cleanly 

 through the berry shot at. The stranger was so much 

 surprised and pleased that he immediately purchased the 

 rifle at a good price, with the intention of practicing him- 

 self. 



J. A. Faulkner, of Lowell, E. A, Smith, of the same 

 town, and Geo. C. Moore, of North Chelmsford, left Bos- 

 ton Friday evening, on the Pullman train, for the Ingle- 

 wood Club camps, in New Brunswick. They will be fol- 

 lowed by Harry B. Moore on Monday. They go for large 

 game, the season on moose, deer and cai-ibou being 

 already open there. Mr, Leroy S. Brown, of the Ingle- 

 wood Club house committee, hears that large game is 

 very plenty in the club's preserve and that small game is 

 abundant. Each one of the party expects to capture a 

 handsome head and the chances are good that they will 

 have some fine shooting. The suggestion has been made 

 to Harry Moore that a step-ladder would be a good thing 

 to have at hand, in order that a moose standing 12ft. 

 high may be shot at on a level. The moose is discovered 

 and the guide at once places the step-ladder, when the 

 hunter mounts and shoots. Harry has made a memo- 

 randum of this suggestion, 



Mr. Wm. PI. Goggin, with Dwinel, Hay ward & Co., ^ 



AN ADIRONDACK DEER DRIVE. 



NoRTHWOOi), N. Y., Sept. 14.— We generally have a 

 hunt here on the flrst day of the running season. The 

 first came on the tenth of this month and we had our 

 hunt. The men who were to do the shooting were at the 

 stands by 6 o'clock, and George Peters who was to make 

 the first drive with his two celebrated dogs. The watches 

 waited nearly an hour before they heard a dog, then the 

 two dogs were heard to start in a small swamp back of 

 "Bill" Brant's. 



The men at the stands looked at their guns and then 

 looked at the surrounding trees and brush heaps, they 

 looked and listened for the game for an hour, then they 

 saw it. The dogs led toward Wheelertown and then 

 turned and took another course toward the watchers. 

 "It's a deer sure,'' said all to themselves, keeping a sharp 

 eye for the appearance of game. A big fox ran along the 

 line. Most of us said a bad word or two when the two 

 dogs came along on the fox's track fifteen minutes after. 

 Two expert doer drivers were sent after the other dogs 

 that had bgen tied up at Mr. Brant's. The men had re- 

 sumed their stations when Mr. Peters came back. He 

 was exhorted to go hence. 



It was nearly nine when the new drivers started after 

 the dogs. At half past nine two deer were jumped in the. 

 swamp where that blooming fox was started. The driver 

 who saw them start gotashot'at the spike- horn and broke 

 his leg. The unwounded one led two dogs away and was 

 seen no more. The spike-horn circled and led away like 

 the fox did, turned and came back. He almost went 

 through that deadly line too. Four men shot eight shots 

 at it and the fifth shot two loads of buckshot: one missed, 

 the other hit the poor deer all over. 



A deer ran the same day within 10yds. of a man who 

 was stacking corn. The deer is supposed to have been 

 the one that was started in Brant's swampgthat morning. 



Two bears were killed in the Old Pardee Clearing dur- 

 ing the morning of the tenth by Elmer Hamlin and Joe 

 Worden. One of the bears was caught in a trap, the other 

 was up a tree, the tree was cut down and the bear killed 

 with an ax — so Worden claims. Two parties are at Moose 

 Elver, from this place. Ea-smond S. Spears. 



A Tamed Caribou. 



Halifax, N. S., Sept. 9.— I was greatly interested in 

 reading notes in your last issue about the caribou being 

 so tame, and it reminds me that Oapt. Farquhar, of the 

 steamship Harlow, from Newfoundland, brought up with 

 him, by last trip, a fine sisecimen of this family in the 

 shape of a young buck, I should judge about 19 months 

 old. The animal was captured while swimming a lake 

 and is now for sale. Any one wanting him would do 

 well to write the captain at once. The animal is very 

 tame, can be patted and it likes to be patted, and would 

 be a grand acquisition to some park. The captain feeds 

 it on potatoes, oats, etc. H. Austen. 



To .Deliver Shot as a Slug. 



REPLyiNG to Mahlon Gore's question in your esteemed 

 edition of last date, I would modestly say that, for prac- 

 tical result, my experiences South last winter support the 

 following simple method: V/hen off ranging, with only 

 our small shot, take a half dozen shells and with pocket 

 ^nife encircle the same through to the innermost lining 

 and parallel with the shot side of the dividing wad. The 

 charge then when fired will deliver its shot intact and 

 perforate an inch board from 40 to 'TOyds. distant, with no 

 increased exposure to either gun or gunner. 



Geo. a. Field. 



Wild Bice. 



In regard to the wild rice seed inquired about recently 

 I should say that while Mr. Hallock is quite correct about 

 the abundance of this plant on the meadows on the Hack- 

 ensack River, yet it would cost more to get the seed from 

 them than to buy it. It is kept by all the large set dsmen 

 in New York, Philadelphia and Detroit. I think the 

 price is not more than $2.50 a bushel, although I may be 

 mistaken, but at any rate the seed can be purchased. A 

 few handfuls sown here and there on the banks in th6 

 shallow water, first steeped in water to make it sink, will 

 quickly spread and stock a pond or river. H. Stewart. 

 Hackenback, N. J. 



