FOREST AND STREAM. 



29 



rights, without the prehminaxy of some sort of a search 

 warrant, would stand a test of constitutionality. Mr. 

 Hague's argument in favor of the enlargement of the 

 powers of the fish commission, namely that the commission 

 already has all the necessary offical machinery and that 

 one warden for both fish and game could do the work of 

 two, one for game and the other for fish. undoul:)tedly fia-s 

 weight in local circles. 'Du' expense for wardens would 

 he only half what it should be under the plan now talked 

 of by the State As.sociation. 



One proposed amendment to the game laws A\diich was 

 drawn in this city the other day and is probably in the 

 hands of a legislator by this tune deals only with dates. 

 The law stands as it is with the following changes: The 

 season for woodcock which by the present law begins July 

 4, and ends Jan. 1. is changed to begin Sept. 1 and end 

 Jan. 1 : the season for squirrel which begins now Sept. 1 

 and ends .Ian. 1. is changed to begin Oct. 1 and end Jan. 

 1; the season for nift'ed grouse or phea.sants which now 

 begins Oct. I and ends Jan. 1, is changed to begin Nov. 1 

 and end Jan. 1. Tlie quail season, from Nov. 1 to Dec. 

 15. is not changed, n_or is the season for rabbits, Nov, 1 

 to Jan. 1, This lii iugs in the three kinds of small game 

 most sought after in this State, pheasants, quails and 

 rabbits, on tlie same day, Nov. 1. September is taken 

 from the squirrel hunters Ijecause lawless hmiters take 

 advantage of the sqmi-rel season to shoot young pheasants. 

 October is taken from the plieasant hunters because law- 

 less hrmters take their dogs out to kiU quails while osten- 

 sibly hunting only for ])heasants; while many a rabbit 

 falls at the hands of October pheasant hunters. 



It Avill be surprising and a great disappointment to the 

 law-abiding sportsmen — and no other kind deserve the 

 name of sportsmen— if some change is not made. The 

 scarcity of game last fall is a warning tliat something 

 must be done. Nearly every si^ortsman is willing to leave 

 the work to the State Sjiortsmen's Association, but grave 

 fears are expressed that the committee is mo\lng too 

 slowly. There is always a rush of bills toward the close 

 of tlie legislative session, and that fact is what pre- 

 vented a Avholesome change from being made two years 

 ago. If the sportsmen should fail again this session we 

 would have two more years of the present game laws, as 

 the Legislature meets but once every two years in this State. 



One enthusiastic sportsman wants a bill introdiiced to 

 make it a misdemeanor to shoot any game bird excejrt 

 while on the wing. Everybody agrees A\'ith him as to 

 quail, but m this liart of the c(.)nntry the isjjortsman's code 

 is construed to i^ermit the taking of the grand old i-ntfed 

 grouse any w ay you can get him. Howevej-, thei-e are 

 none too niany of the magnificent game bhd left in this 

 section . and perhaps a httle special legislation in his beha If 

 would be a good idea. As to shooting quails sitting, the 

 consensus of o|)inion is that the man who will do it will 

 throw stones at lus grandmother and call it sport. M. 



OUR '92 NORTHERN WISCONSIN HUNT. 



Van Buren, Ind. — We were camped on the old ground, 

 on which and near which our old hunters. Cox and Doyle, 

 have hunted these ten or more years, about four miles 

 west of what is known as Beecher Lake, on the hne of the 

 Milwaukee Northern Railroad. Beecher Lake is very 

 aptly named, as the sons of the great preacher built a log 

 house near it, and used it for several seasons to spend then- 

 vacations and enjoy the atmosiDhere of the locality, it 

 being highly favorable to those who can enjoy ''nature's 

 own breathing." Lake Superior exerts a, great influence 

 on this locality, as catarrhal, bronchial and asthmatic 

 troubles are veiy beneficially affected by even a. month's 

 sojourn there in the fall months. This the writer cheer- 

 fully and truthfully asserts as his indiAddual experience. 



The party this time consisted of Carr, Wright and the 

 Avriter, with the old ones, C. and D. We arrived at camp 

 in a rain, in time for the season to open and be there 

 when it opened. The weather continued dark, cloudy, 

 Avith storms of rain or suoav until Nov. 17. when it rained 

 all the afternoon and part of the night, finishing Avith a 

 Avet snow of about four inches on everything the next 

 morning. When the small pines were bent to the ground 

 the tops Avere fastened by the sleet, which made the hunt- 

 ing very disagreeable, for it Avas almost impossible to get 

 through the Avoods. Just imagine a tract of pine Avoods 

 that had been cut OA-er ten or twenty yeare ago. and 

 groAvn up Avith young innes from one to three inches in 

 diameter and as thick as they could stand, then loaded 

 with, sleet and snow, and Avhat kind of hunting grormd 

 AA-Qiild you be on? 



This drove us from camp on ThanksgiAdng Day, as it 

 Avas very laborious, tedious and uncertain hunting under 

 those conditions; and while A\'e did not get so many deer 

 as Ave thought Ave Avanted Avhile there. Ave are thinking 

 now that perhaps Ave got as many as Ave deserved or Avere 

 entitled to. The first deer kilied A\'as by Wright, a nice 

 175-pound buck. Avith four points. 



As the river Av as being used to "driA-e" posts, ties and 

 poles, the waters were kept so high it Avas impracticable 

 to bridge same for al:)out two weeks. After that Ave had 

 our "foot log" and used it daily, as our best hunting was 

 acrtiss tiie riA'er. 



Mr. Overman arri\'ed at camp at 4 P. M. from Indiana, 

 bringing election ucavs. Two days later Mi-. Carr had a 

 telegrani calling him hmne. We were sorry to part with 

 him, as he had ju-oved a good conqjanion in ('amp, and 

 had shiit his 1ivsl ileei', Imt unfortunately lie had lost tins, 

 for next day it Avas not to be found where he had hung it. 

 This was the first instance of theft any of us ever lieard 

 fft in Wisconsin. We can't think any himtcr took it. 



Mr. O. proA'ed himself a mighty Ninu-od. The first da y 

 out he almost ran over a big buck. The fourth day he 

 ,«hot a big one. and under peculiar (•ii-eumstances. About 

 a mile south of camp was a lake of oO to 4Jt acres area, 

 nearly round, and fully 100ft. beloAv the general surface. 

 Avith ti in her to the waters edge. The l:>anks werp gvne- 

 raUy at an angle of 45". It is a beautiful sheet of water. 

 Mr.'O., })assing on the west side of the lake, saw a deer 

 in sleejiiug attitude down near the water's edge, and soon 

 he had, as a good hunter Avould have, his .40-8:2 ■ Winches- 

 ter trained that way. He subsetiuently appeared in camp 

 and OAvned up that lie could not hang his buck. Help 

 Avas called in by^ signal, and he was made htippy. It was 

 his first deer, though he had hunted in Colorado, New 

 Mexico and Arizona, and had killed antelope, mountain 

 sheep and Rocky mountain hon. 



On the day after our sleety suoav, Mr. Cox found about 

 lwi-1 miles north \vest of cmr camp, and about one mile 

 north of the river, lying on the snoAv, and somewhat 



coiled, a snake, frozen stiff. When reporting his find at 

 night, he Avas mildly chaffed. The next day he had the 

 snake Avith him , arid it Avas carefully measured Avith a 

 tape line, by the Avriter, in jwesence of all, and its length 

 was 86iia., and fully ?Ain. around its body at the largest 

 place. HoAv it came there, or where from, was. and is, a 

 my.stery to us: \\ e left it hanging near oiu- camping place ' 

 Note that tlie snow fell in the night and the thermometer 

 AA-as 33 at daylight: and it was found on the snoAv, A^dth 

 no A'isible depression where it lay, and as far as could be 

 seen no possible jilace for it to come from. Yet there it 

 Avas. 



The result of this hunt Avas ten deer, five bucks (one of 

 which Avas ' 'a. spike"), one doe and four fawns. 



We had no fishing in river on account of its being used 

 so much, and found grouse very se-ar-ce. but plenty of 

 white hares, a fcAV of which we shot, as well as a, few 

 porcupines and a pair of Canada grouse, all of A\ liicli are 

 duly mounted, and shot only as siiecimeus. TItc Ijirds 

 above are A^ery^ rare, and this pair were secured and 

 mounted in good shape, and can be seen at the business 

 room of Matt Doyle. S. F. J. 



SOME NEW BRUNSWICK TRAPS.-II. 



The fi.sher trap (shoAvn in Fig. 2) Avas sketched on the 

 Tobique RiA^er, N. B. The (me show n in the illust)-ati(in 

 (Fig. 2) is a characteristic one. A hoUoAv spruce 3ft. in 

 diameter had blown doAvn. leaving a tall, ragged stump. 

 With an axe an (jpening A\-as made in the side of the 

 stump about 3ft. from the ground. Instead of making a 

 clean cut across the stump (as if the tree A\'ere being 

 feUed) a thin section Avas left standing in the middle. If 

 this front post cannot be left in this manner, a s(>|>arate 

 stake needs to be driven iusteail. Inside the post there is 

 just .space for a bed i_)iece, 3in. thick, :>in. wide and over 

 3ft. long, to be laid on edge across the front of the open- 

 ing. Next was cut a "fall." of Hr. 4in. thick and ]5ft. 

 long. The large end is shaved doAvn to the same thick- 

 ness as the •■Ited-piece" and laid upon the top tlua-eof . 

 The other end of the "fall" rests upon the ground, as the 



stump stands iqjon a hillside, but generally a forked stick 

 is necessary to hold the pole in a horizontal position. The 

 manner of the setting of not only this, but all the smaller 

 deadfalls is Avith the "standard" and "bait-stick" instead 

 of the "figure— 4." 



For fishers the "standard'' is a .stick +in. tlnck and 5 or 

 6in. long. The "bait-stick" is 9in. (or longer) and OA^er 

 Un. thick, Avhittled flat at one end, but with a fork at the 

 other. The bait, a fowl's head, a piece of sqrurrel, etc., 

 is impaled upon this fork and securely tied there with 

 string or cedar bark. The "fall" is then raised several 

 inches, the "bait-stick" is thrust mto the interior of the 

 stump^ with the flat end resting upon the "bed-piece," the 

 "standard" is set upright upon the flat end of the "bait- 

 stick" and the "fall" is lowered mrtil it rests upon the 

 upper end of the "standard." Noav the trap is set: but 

 the "bait-stick" must be so delicately balanced that 

 it Avill not spring of its own accord, yet Avill A'ield to a 

 slight tug at the bait. These sticks are set u].) in the 

 middle of the opening, close to the post. A large slieet of 

 bark was laid across the top of the trap for a. c(jvering 

 and i^oles Avere placed upon the "faU" to Aveigh it down. 



Traps for black cat are built also after the nuumer of 

 the sable trap. afterAvard described, although they are. of 

 course, larger. Tappan Adney. 



TREES AND MEN. 



The trout hog and ])ot-hu]iter jnay tin<l enjoyment only 

 hi wholesale destruction carried e\ eii 1o the hunt i;>f exter- 

 mination, and too many of this class .wr otfeiisively eoii- 

 spiciious in. Avrongiy named sportsmeJi"s clubs, whose pro- 

 lessed oliJe<-t is to protect and de\(4op fish and game. 

 These, together with a mercenar>- class recruited largely 

 from the ranks of those engaged in tlie sale of fisluiig 

 tackle, ammunition and other agents oi' destrnction, and 

 who delightjto mascpterade in the garb of s] lortsmen asually 

 capture the machinery of the sportsmen's clubs, and as a 

 result depleted streams and empty cox erts and a niggard- 

 liness that attempts nothing in the direction of restockmg 

 either. 



The best element in the guild of sportsmen has long 

 since learned that the greatest benefit and pleasure of an 

 outing are not to be measured by the destruction wrought, 

 nor the profit estimated by the doUars imd cents avIucIi 

 the contents of creel or bag might bring if sold in the 

 market. 



No ! Despising these, which are at best bnf incidents 

 in a broader and higher aIcw, the greater pteasm-e and 

 Isenefit tliat come to him wlio goes afield with eyes and 

 ears open, and Avhose heart is not withered by a\'arice, 



count for more than jnere wanton slaughter. HcAvhose 



being is so attuned. ' 



•'Finds t<_>ngues in ti'ees, books in running' brooks, 

 Sermons in stones" — 



He reahzes that the world is but a, vast schoolhouse and 

 all are pupils. In the every-day walks of hfe he encoun- 

 ters some born Avith the grin of Momus, Avho can see only 

 the ludicrous; some Avith a bent for the serious, who never 

 smile: some who, surmounting every obstacle, ascend to 

 the summit at a single bound, and others who never be- 

 come more than drudges or drones by the wayside. 



He considers how much he has to be thankful for to 

 Avhom it is given to be any of these as occasion demands, 

 and how deserAung of commiseration and 8ympa,thy him 

 who '-an appear btit in a single role. 



To the thoughtftd and observmg the book of natu.re is 

 eA'er interesting and instructive, its varied leaves stored 

 Avith amplitude to hold enraptured the greatest intellect, 

 Avhile not repelhng the most calloAv youth. All stat;iona 

 and conditions bring tribute to her shrine and learn from 

 her lessons as diverse as are her devotees. Many an mter- 

 esting parallel to the every-day affahs of life are discerned 

 in her manifold aspects, and to none do they come with 

 more frequency, force and pleasure than to the lovei- of 

 rod and gim avIio w(n-thily bears the name of sjjortsman. 

 True to the words of the king of English ]Joets, he "finds 

 tongues in trees." He saunters forth gun in hand in the 

 delightful stillness of arituum tiuie, and his pathAvay leads 

 him along the hillside Avdiere he comes to a. solitary spread- 

 ing tree. It is isolated from it feUoAvs, manftiUy breast- 

 ing the sto]-ms that break over it, its roots striking more 

 deeply and holding more firmly Avith each encounter, ful- 

 filling its allotted destiny a.part from its felloAvs. Type of 

 theSlierjuit of ancient days, thinks he, a man of fixed prin- 

 cijiles to wdiicit he was ever deA'oted and loyal, Avho lived 

 apart from his felloAvs, Avho cotmted not the Avorld's 

 praise- nor feared its censure — and on he pa.sses to a grove 

 of conifers. 



Here he finds a brotherhood of trees in close commu- 

 nion—the antithesis of the one on tlie hillside— each in 



closest relation but not encroaching upon the other, the 

 soughing of the wind in their branches typifyingthe orisons 

 of their human companions and their balsamic fragrance 

 permeating all and Avaf'ted heavenward like the incense 

 of good deeds ascending from the human brotherhood to 

 the great Avhite throne on high. 



Again he sees great giant trees toAvering above all sur- 

 roundings, like the noted ones of the Avorld, and othei-s 

 unpretentious, bitt fruited Avith abundance hke the most 

 valued members of society, the unobtrasive men of good 

 deeds. 



There, to be shunned, are noxious trees whose pestilen- 

 tial exhalations have no redeeming quahty, and they re- 

 nrind him only of the vagabond contingent and enemies 

 of their kind; others stately^ and fair to look upon that are 

 rotten witliin: trees of great height and vast proportions 

 that challenge his attention and command the tribute of 

 his admiration, that are snapi)ed astmder by the Avhirl- 

 wind and throAvn to earth, pulling doAvn and crushing 

 everything in their course like many a proud man Avho 

 started out iqion the journey of life in conscious strength 

 and buoyant with the hope of great achicA'^ement, who at- 

 tained to high and envied station, bitt Avho in a moment 

 of madness encountered the gale of temptation and fell 

 with an appaUing crash that .shook the pillars of society 

 and brouglrt ruin and disgrace in his path. 



i\ gain, lie is surrotmded by others that seem fitting com- 

 l)anions to the dilettanti wlaose every thought is of the 

 ])resent. and who idAvays promise themselves a golden tt)- 

 morro\\', Ijut who are swejjt into ofilivion by the Avinds of 

 adversity, leaving behind not even charcoal embers as a 

 remendir.Mnce. as does the consuming forest fire. The 

 toA\>.'riiLg (lak and clinging vine, type of con jugal love and 

 highest earthly afl'ection, escape not his attention uoi- tbe 

 lesson it teadies of bearing one another's burdens. 



Some lie sees are hke other members of the human 

 family a\1io haA-e a grand destmy, ^yhi\e others of as great 

 intrinsic value liA'e ami die ttnknown: some are great in a 

 worldly sense. Avhile liAnngby their association Avith CA'ents 

 of importance, and others, like the good ones of the 

 Avorld, are best knoAvn atid appreciated Avhen beyond its 

 praise. 



Putting forth bud and blossom they' AveU typify youth 

 and giA^e preniiise of a. great future, clothed with densest 

 foliage of mid-summer, the days of manhood and stretag-th 

 in the sere and yelloA\' leaf, the autumn time of life, wlien 

 is garnered the harvest of years, and Avheu their naked 

 brandies are assaded by' the merciless winds of winter and 

 giA e liack liut sad. pensive strains in remonstrance, htj 

 has a viA'id picture of cheerless and defenseless old age, 

 desolate and forlorn, Avhen the charms of life are but a 



Fig. 3— FtsHEP. Tkap. 



