Jan. 19, 1893.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



4 9 



hnje mid 



''Game Lmos in Brief," United States and Canada, 

 illmtrated, S5 cents. "Boon of me Game irtios" {ftai 

 text), 50 cents. 



THE BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB. 



The amraal nieeting and first dinner of the Boouti iind 

 Crockett Club Avere Iield AVednosday. Jan. II. at the 



MetropolitaiL Club, in Washington. " Tlie occasion was 

 one of unusual interest from tlie fact rhat the elub is to 

 have an exhibit of a hunter's camp at the World's Colum- 

 bian Exposition in Chicago next summer. Ainoiiii' the 

 members present were lion. Tlieodore Roos(>veU,. Prof. 

 Arnold Hagxie. Mr. W. Hallett Phillips. Mi-. Royal C;ir- 



game. Its members have not spared time nor trouble in 

 advocating beneficial legislation, and opposing injurious 

 measures, in Congress, and there is little doubt that the 

 better feeUng whioJi now exists among big-game hunters 

 in this country is largely- due to Hie good influ.ences ex- 

 erted by the Booue and Crockett Club. 



SOME WOODS PRANKS. 



K.v.NfKAKKE. m.—Edi.toj- Fonifit and Stream: Business 

 pre%ented me from taking my a.nnual hunt with my 



companions I^si f:iH. 



To-day one ot lliose companions. K., an old Jtiimter called 

 on me to report the result of the hunt. Tlie partv -killed 

 nineteen deer, jabout two to'the liunter. He relatedltonie 

 many amusmg incidents of tVie hunt. Rarely an expedition 

 of tliat kind, an expedition for a,nn.isenK-nt purely, a camp 



< A1!1N OF THK liOO^E A,Nn ClJui.KKTT CLUH XV THK UolJl.n'S KAlti. 



Frmi the "Ilhmtrated \Vorl4\>< Fair.'' 



roll. Mr. Winthrop Chandler. Mr. Owen Wister, Hon. H. 

 Cabr.t Lodge. Mr. W. Austin Wadsworth. Cupt, Frajik 

 Ei Uvards, of the First Cavalry, (3ren. A. W. Greeley. Dr. 

 j|J. AVest Roosevelt, ilr. Gordon-Cununing. Mr. J. Chand- 

 ler, Mr. L. NichoUs. of Boston, and Mr. Geo. Bird Grinnell. 

 ■Among the invited guests were the Honorable Secretary 

 of the Interior, Hon. Thos. B. Reed ajid Hon. B. Storer 

 and Mr. Caspar W. Whitney. 



The business meeting was called to oi-der at 6:45 in the 

 Metropolitan Club, the president. Mr. Roosevelt, occupy- 

 mg the chair. In the absence of the secretary. Mr, Arciii- 

 l>ald Rogers, a temporary secretary was appointed. The 

 -first business in order was the election of officers for the 

 ensuing year. On motion of Mr. Austin Wadsworth, 

 seconded by Mr. Nicholls, itAvas voted that the tempoi-ary 

 .secretary be authorized to ca.st a, single baUot for the club 

 for president and for secretary. The old officers were re- 

 nominated and so elected, Hon. Theo. Roosevelt, Presi- 

 dent, Mr. Archibald Rogers, Secretary. 



The President outlined the work which he had done in 

 preparing the groimds of tlie exliibit at Clu'cago. find 

 caasing to be erected a log cabin of the ordinary tyjie. 

 ■His action so far as he bad gone was appi'ON'ed by the club. 

 On motion it was voted tliat the chair appoint a co.m- 

 jnittee of five to have direct cliarge of the exhil)it. and 

 Messrs. Austin Wadswurtli, W inthrop Chandler. AV'ister, 

 Deering and Grinnell were named tu form this committee 

 with full power to take such action as they may deem best. 



The question of a publication (^o be issued by lite club 

 was discussed at some length, and this matter was bonded 

 over to the eonnnittee with power to act. The meeting 

 then adjourned. 



The dinner was served at 7:30 o'clock, and was greatly 

 enjoyed hy all, the party not leaving the dining room mitil 

 after 1 o'clock. The pie-<.-e de resltilancc of tlie meal was a 

 saddle of elk. killed some time ago in 3Iontaua. and sent 

 i>n by Mr. Elwood Hofer, who accompanied it by a saddle 

 of mountain sheep. Tlie dinner was quite informal, tliere 

 being no set speeches. Only one health was drunk, that 

 of the Hon. John AA^. Noble. A\-hose great interest in our 

 public preserves, whether national parks, forest reserva- 

 tions or marine reservations, was referred to in a few 

 earnest remarks by Mi: Roosevelt. The Hon. Thomas B. 

 Reed responded briefly but feelingly for Mr. Noble. 



Much interest is felt by members of the Boone and 

 Crockett Club and wUl be shared by other big-game hunters 

 in the exhibit to be held at Chicago next summer. Tlie 

 grounds assigned to the club consist of a small isLand ad- 

 jacent to a larger island near the grounds occupied by the 

 A.gricultural building at the fair. On these grounds, as 

 has been said, a commodious log cabm, with a mud and 

 stick chimney, has been erected. Camps of various types 

 will be placed near this, with jierhaps. examples of ordi- 

 nary canvas tents and of Indian tepees. Tlie cabin will 

 be firrnished in the style of an ordinary htmter's or ranc'li- 

 raan's cabin in the West. A prairie "schooner will stand 

 not far off, riding saddles and pack saddles will be hdng 

 about, hunting implements will hang upon the walls, hides, 

 skins and horns wiU be tlirown upon the roof or tacked 

 against the sides of the building. In short, an effort will 

 be made to reproduce as nearly as possible the ordinary 

 3abin of the Avestern country Asdth winch all big-game 

 tiunters are so faiiiihar. Among the arms Avhicli it is 

 hoped to secure for exhibition are the rifles ot Davy 

 Crockett, Daniel Boone and Kit Carson, It is possible that 

 there may be some mounted heads of large game exhibited 

 within the buildmg, but this is not certain.' It is thought 

 that the committee will be glad to receivi^ for exhibition 

 here a few articles, it' they have a real historical value, 

 but no attem]3t will be made to prepare anything like a 

 j-omplete exhibit of arms or e^'eii of historic weapo^iis. 



The history of the Boone and Crockett Club is not a long 

 me, but during its existence of four years it has accom- 

 ~" ibed some verj" good work and has done much to ini- 

 upon many classes in the community the importance 

 preserving our National Pai-ks, om' forests and oui- 



of four wcek,s, passes without many amusing, ludicrous 



incidents. 



.b)i'. oru. of the party, was a "fresh hunter," not accus- 

 tomed to tiinbei-. and fearing that he might become lost, 

 not able to find the way liack to camp, tookLiike with him 

 as a guide, the imderstanding being,' Joe was to do the 

 shoot ing and l-uke the guiding. However, Luke had his 

 gun with him. 



While they were stealtliil.\- proceedmg through the 

 timber, a large buck sprang from his bed, looked'at Joe 

 and lAike. stretched out one hind leg, raised its flag and 

 leisurely jujuped into tlie brush, Joe not raising his^ gun. 

 Shortly a doe s])rnng up and Duke dropped it. and Joe ran 

 rapidly to it. and said: •• Hello, Luke, I got my deer. Did 

 you get yours?" 



Tiie guide i)art of the story recalls to my mind an anec- 

 dote, that trimspir(3d wlien K. \vas not in the hunt. We 

 had a gentleman with us not: accustomed to hunting, nor 

 to timber. He would not \cntui-e Car from cainp alone, 

 but em|)loy(!d a giiide, ;i -iMtlM;'." to go with him. The 



signed to the members of the party, the marsh containing 

 the head falling to the lot of Doc. His attention was cas- 

 ually called to the old sign of the buck leading into the 

 marsh, with the remark that it was possible that the buck 

 had stopped in the marsh. Doc proceeded to beat the 

 marsh while the boys took a good position in the timber 

 where they could take in the whole scene. He went 

 cautiously as he had been advised, step by stej). Soon he 

 was seen to stop, crouch, get upon his hands and knees, 

 crawl along, then rise on, one knee, take the military 

 position, fire kneeling, aaid fire, look, then drop on his 

 side, reload (we had muzzleloaders in those days), as- 

 sume the same position and again fire, look at the buck 

 which appeared midisttirbed, then lie down , examine the 

 sights of his gun to see if they had been moved (for he 

 Avas a good shot). He repeated these movements until his 

 bullets were expended, fifteen I believe, then arose to his 

 feet, went to the buck and found that he was sold. Ah! 

 the pranks the old hunters will frequently play off on the 

 young hunter, yes, and on occasion on an old one, 



A number of years ago one of my old companions, I 

 will call him Bill, would occasionally hunt in the night 

 with a head light, having one route he travelled. The 

 boys procui-ed for the occasion an old nail keg, bored a 

 couple of holes in it for eyes, put a lighted candle in it, 

 covering the top of the keg so as to hide all the fight, 

 except the eyes; and placed it in a suitable place on the 

 route a shoi-t distance from the camp. 



Such a. dummy will deceive an unsuspecting old huntet, 

 when it is set up in a suitable place. In hunting on suiSli 

 occasions Bill used a No. 9-gauge shotgun heavily charged. 

 After dark he started out on his beat. The night was 

 dark and .still, air heavy, tinibei' dense. 



Soon the boom of his" gTin was heard, ciuickly followed 

 by another shot, the shots sounding under these conditions 

 hke the firing of artillery. Bill returned with a broad 

 grhi on his face, saying, "Boys, you got me tins time." 



I will close by saying, gentlemen it is your tm-n next— 

 write. H. L. 



BLACK DUCK SHOOTING. 



Neav Haven, Conn.— One day on returning from wood- 

 cock shooting just west of Allingtown, wdiich is about two 

 miles west of New Haven, I stopped at the foot of the hill 

 on the Derby road near West i-iver. Looking down the 

 long, nearly straight stretch of the river where it flows 

 close to the high steep bank on the west side of the meadow% 

 I saw in the "bend" of the river, about sixty rods below, 

 a flock of the black or dusky ducks — Anas obscura — appar- 

 ently feedmg on the wild oats that grew luxuriantly along 

 its banks. The svild oats grew so tall aU the way to the 

 bend as to conceal the shooter by his stooping "^ a little. 

 When I got within about twenty rods of the bend I tied 

 my dog to a tree, then went carefully down to the bend, 

 and crept slowdy through the wfilcl oats, inch by inch, 

 pokmg them aside with my gun. till I got near enough to 

 rather dimly see the ducks througb the oats. I Availed till 

 I got two or three of them ui range, and rhen jiuUed. As 

 they always do when startled, they seejued to spring 

 straight up about fifteen or twenty feet and then fly straight 

 away^ I let go the other barrel and brought down two. 



AVithout waiting to see the effect of my first shot barrel. 

 I ran for " old Gyp," my dog. The race'to the bend was 

 made in good time. I stripped as ciuick as they skin an 

 eel, and plunged into the river, where I saw butjtwo ducks. 

 I took them by tlu.^ tips of the wings between tuv teeth, 

 and s^va.ra lia'ck' and th)-ew tliem on the bank. " I then 

 swam back to tlie other side of tlie ri\ er. and secaired^one 

 mow among the oats, badly wound(>d. 1 then hmited' the 

 dog ba.ck and forth along the fringe .of w ild oats, clad'.as I 



!00NK AND CUOCt-LKT'l Cl.l.il! ISLAVlL 



Site of th« Boone and C'.iockett Cabin. 



gentleman carried on his watch chain a very small aoixi- 



paa, as a charm I believe. 



AVhen returning towards camp the gentleman took the 

 charm in his iiaud, looked at it wisely, intending to convey 

 the idea that he "knew some things as Avell as others," 

 saj' ing to the guide, •■camp is yonder," pointing. 



• The natiA'e dryly replied, "I'reckoii that trick is kerect, 

 case I see the tops of the tents over thaT." AVhen we were 

 seated for dinner, the native with an expressionless coun- 

 tenance, said. "Gentle-men, what inought tliat trick be Mr. 

 C. has hitched to his watch guard? It pints out camp ker- 

 ect^evei'y time." 



K. says, ' 'L. , do you remember tlie trick the boys play^ed 

 on Doo many years ago when he~first commenced hunting 

 deer?" 



Doc was with others hunting deer where open glades 

 and marshes were interspersed throughout the timber, the 

 marshes being grown up with tall grass. Those places, es- 

 pecially the marshes, were a great'resort for old bucks in 

 the day time as hiding jolaces. The boj^s killed a large buck 

 in one of the marshes, and to have some fun with Doc at his 

 own expense, he not being jiresent, cut off the head of the 

 buck and pLiced it on an ant-hill so as to appear as natural 

 as possible of a liiick resting in its bed. then they took the 

 carcass into tho. thnber. The stems of the grass around 

 about tlie head %\-ei^e large but not enough of them to Ifide 

 the buck's head. The wind was blowing gently, waving 

 the grass, so tliat to the anxious inexperienced hunter, the 

 head of the buck witli a little imagination would appear 

 to be steadily turning in different directions. 



After dinner the boys started out with Doc. The duty 

 of beating the dift'erent glades and marshes was duly as- 



was in nature's any bathing suit, but found none. I 

 noticed that Avlien Gyp came to a certain spot he was in" 

 clined to work into the meado%A" where the grass and 

 bushes might hide one, but thought it best to fii'st beat the 

 belt of oats to the river, but could find no more. AA^hen 

 the dog came to that particular spot, he again began to 

 work inland. "Aha," said I, "good dog. you understand 

 your part of the sport better than I," and let him follow 

 his own nose. AV^ithin a few rods he found the duck con- 

 cealed in a cliunp of loAV bushes, w^hich we secured. 



I carressed old Gyp in the most endearing manner, 

 which he fully appreciated by affectionately smiling with 

 a most approving look. He seemed to think that Ave Avere 

 two of the best felloAvs in the Avorld. and Ave Avere just 

 then, or at any rate the happiest. I took the tips of the 

 duck's Avings, as I did before, and SAvam back to the other 

 side of the river. It took much longer to put on my 

 clothes than it did to take them off, as might be expected. 

 By the time I got back to the Avagon I shordd have thought 

 that my load was heavy if it had been anything else, but 

 it being black ducks it seemed light enough. The unex- 

 pected termination of my day's sport Avas very satisfactory 

 indeed, as I ahvays took some pride in shooting the wary 

 black duck. These little side incidents tend to spice up a 

 day's shooting, and are always pleasant to recall. 



B. F. Arlington. 



A Thought Ahead for Posterity. 



The Forest and Stream is as .slick as a new pin in its new dress, and 

 of a sweet smelling savoi- unto its readers. I sometimes Avonder what 

 this earcli will doVithout the Forest and Stream, for you people 

 can't live forever, don't you know. O. O. S. 



