2 32 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



IMaech 16, i«9a. 



"Johnny, Get Your Gun." 



OsCKOLA. Mills, Pa., March Q.— Editor Forest and 

 Stream: In the fall of '91 I left my mountain home in 

 Clearfield coimty, Pa., with my gim, and went to Adams 

 county for a few days' quail shooting, as we have veiy 

 tew up here. On the second day I was out with a young 

 man named William La Rue, and with my first shot I 

 killed one quail and two woodcock. I could have killed 

 with my second barrel, but missed fire, and so I know I 

 killed them all at one shot. The same afternoon my 

 friend and I sat on a bank and watched 15 woodcock 

 working in the swamj)y ground about 30 or 40ft. from us. 

 When we got tired watching them we flushed the birds 

 and I killed with both barrels. We had no dog, and that 

 afternoon I killed 13 woodcock ajid 9 quail, and if you 

 ever get into Bowers' Bottom you will have to do some 

 very quick shooting. 



Now I think Johnny has got the gim and should hold it 

 imtil some other sportsman can claim it. 



Pheasants and quail, what few we have up here, are 

 having a hard time of it this winter. The snow has been 

 veiy deep and weather very cold, but as yet I have not 

 found any dead birds. 



This is my first appearance in the Foeest and Stream, 

 although I have been a reader for some years, I. C. J. 



Game in North Carolina. 



Henderson, N. C, March 1.— The quail, partridges, 

 wild turkeys and other game birds in North Carolina have 

 indeed had a hard time of it during the past winter — 

 many thousands of them were frozen outright during the 

 unprecedented cold spell and deep cover of snow and ice 

 which endured the first thirty or forty days of the year. 

 The markets of the State were glutted with impoverished 

 game, often unfit for food. The sporting fraternitv are 

 laid vmder lasting obligations to Senator Leach, of War- 

 ren county, who bravely came to the rescue and had a 

 law passed to prevent the destruction of the feathered 

 tribe, esteemed by the sportsman, in certain counties in 

 North Carolina. It is a pity that for "political reasons" 

 many coxmties were not covered by this humane law, but 

 the sections thus protected will doubtles offer the most in- 

 viting fields for shooting the coming autumn. The law 

 was stringently enforced in Warren and Vance counties, 

 and am]3le breeding stock for the coming summer pre- 

 served. Sportsman. 



Indians and Big Game. 



Cora, Wyo., Feb. 23. — Bands of elk and deer are in 

 sight nearly all the time, and reports come of bands of elk 

 numbering as high as 3,000 gradually drifting south 

 toward the Colorado Desert, some fifty miles from here, 

 where they will stay until the snow goes off in tlie spring. 

 Then the elk, deer and antelope will start back toward the 

 mountains as fast as the snow will permit. When they 

 have gotten back to the foot of the range, they are stop- 

 ped for a time on account of the deep snows in the moun- 

 tains and at just the time of year when the females have 

 their yoimg, and hence it is that they suffer a terrible on- 

 slaught from the noble (?) red men, pensioners of Uncle 

 Sam. 



The Indians flock into this locality from Fort Washiki 

 and Fort Hall, and their modus operandi is for the bucks 

 to mount cayuses and ride along the timber or brush 

 patches where the elk. deer or antelope conceal their 

 young, and as the creatures wiU not readily leave them 



after grizzlies, I will convince him that they are as'easily 

 killed as the one Messrs. Perry and Wilson done up as re- 

 ferred to by Francis J. Hagan in Forest and Stream of 

 Jan. 13. Mr. Hagan's bear and mine could not have been 

 the same, as they were in opposite directions from Big 

 Piney, and his was of the kind that gives leg bail for 

 securitjr, while mine disputed the ground by reason of 

 possession and prior right and contested his claim, as he 

 supposed, to the higher courts in the happy hunting 

 grounds. Ira Dodge. 



An Otter on the Juniata. 



Thompsontown, Juniata County, Pa. — Some time* ago, 

 since the big flood of I88y, I wrote you of the reported 

 appearance of an otter in our vicinity. Only two or three 

 persons had seen him, although a "slide" and unfamihar 

 tracks were in evidence. These signs were on the banks 

 of a deep pool. Itermed at the mouth of a small creek by 

 an immense drift deposited by the flood. That his exist- 

 ence was not a myth seems to be now proved by the fact 

 that recently an otter was killed three miles from the spot 

 up the river. 



A young girl living near the river had her attention 

 attracted by the unusual barking of the dog, and hurrying 

 to the spot, the bottom of a lock of the abandoned Juniata 

 Canal, she found him facing an animal unknown to her. 

 By means of a pole she soon dispatched it, and it was 

 afterward identified as a young otter. He had probably 

 come into the old lock in search of food. 



The occurrence of the otter in this locality is noted with 

 much interest. He is such a stranger that we are not 

 sure of his identity when he does drop in on us. Whether 

 he came to the Juniata from the northern counties in the 

 Susquehanna (we are twenty -five miles above the former's 

 junction with the latter) or by the same waterway from 

 the Chesapeake Bay, we should like to know. Wliich is 

 the most likely? We never heard of the appearance of 

 the animal far above us. Onyjutta. 

 Mahoh 6. 



California Canvasbacks. 



Scott and Thomas Cooke, two other hunters who have 

 formed part of his party. They have been kflling ducks, 

 widgeon, sprig, gray geese and brant since early in 

 November, along the Sacramento River and in the ponds, 

 sloughs, swirls, creeks and bayous. Mr. Hoffman esti- 

 mates that he alone has kflled 8,000 ducks, while each of 

 his companions has gone up in the thousands. The w-ater 

 is so high now that it is not a good season for himting. 

 There is plenty of game, but scarcity of food has driven it 

 away. Mr, Hoffman and his party have taken a rest, 

 although there is yet nearly three weeks before the close 

 season begins. 



"I have heard it said from time to time," said Mr, Hoff- 

 man, "that canvasback ducks were almost gone in Cal- 

 ifornia, and that there were now none to speak: of any- 

 where. Those who think so ought to come up to Eaiight's 

 Landing and take a look aroimd there. 



"Although I haA^e done nothing else but hunt for 10 

 years, I have never seen to many canvasback ducks as this 

 year. They are amazingly plentiful, and they are as fat 

 and fine as they can be. The majority that I killed were 

 canvasbacks. They have been feeding on tulle weed, a 

 bulbous vegetable that grows in shallow water, and on the 

 new wheat which is growing all about there, 



"I have seen droves of canvasbacks and mallards on 

 Senator Fair's 1,400-acre Yolo ranch lately each two to 

 three miles long and a couple of hundred yards wide. Of 

 course there might be narrow places in them, a hundred 

 yards in extent or so, where there were no ducks, but as 

 a rule the two to three miles would hold good. 



"The ducks are too fat, as are all the wild fowl up there. 

 In my cooking I would cut them open and take out some 

 of the fat and throw it away, else they would be to greasy, 

 I don't kill any buttei--balls at all. I leave them alone. 

 Mallards are very thick and the wild geese are extremely 

 plentiful and are feeding on wheat, to the detriment of 

 the ranchers." — San Francisco Examiner. 



Maine Fish and Game. 



Portland, Me., March 7. — ^In Augusta this week I find 

 Fish and Game Committee divided on opening Sejjtem- 

 ber. The Rangeley and adjacent interests favor; eastern 

 interests oppose. Lumbermen oppose everywhere. The 

 Governor has not yet made any appointment for eommis- 



sioner. I am told lie is delayiog until he knows if a bill 

 will he passed providing for submission of all special legis- 

 lation to commissioners and that if it does he wiU ap- 

 point a lawyer. The mass of special legislation asked for 

 has been overwhelming. We are not likely to have any 

 license law. 



Unless there come heavy rains the Sebago fishing is 

 likely to be poor, as the lake is very low, but we are ovei- 

 hauling om- tackle just tlie same, and making ready to be 

 there when the apple trees bloom. 



I hear that deer have wintered well. Up to three weeks 

 ago it was the best winter for protection from crusting 

 we've had for years. This is the month when most crust- 

 ing is done, and doubtless there will be the xisual amount. 



C. D. S. 



Game Sold in St. Paul. 



St. Paul, Minn., Feb. 20.— All the restaurants and 

 shops in town are selling all kinds of game now, which 

 is out of season, from quail to deer, but the game warden 

 does nothing. P. V. 



That Tennessee Gun Tax Suggestion. 



HiGHGATE, Vt. — Editor Forest and Stream: I note in your issue of 

 the 2d a letter from R. B, Morgan, better knowB as '"Dick Morgan," 

 the dog breeder. The gun tax question is evidently used hy him as a 

 pretense to get into your columns and give vent to personal malice 

 against the writer. My only object in paying any attention to him or 

 his letter is through a desire to prevent other gentlemen from being 

 imposed upon by him as I have been. 



To show the utter untruthfulness of the article I will notice one 

 item. He says that I expressed a box of ammunition there weighing 

 2281bs. ; this is so worded as to give your readers to understand that 

 it was all ammunition in that box. That box is and was a heavy, 

 sti'ong wooden case, and its contents when shipj^ed there were my 

 hunting coats, vests, fiantaloons— two pair — hip rubber boots, leather 

 hunting boots, a heavy double blanket, one thick quilt, two rides, one 

 target, pistol, camp axe, some books and magazines, pistol, rifle and 

 12-gauge shot cartridges, together with a miscellaneous lot of other 

 articles that a sportsman would be likely to take when going away on 

 a four mouths'" cruise when he expected to camp out a portion of the 

 time. I bought while at Morgan's two bags of shot; one bag of 251bs. 

 he took possession of soon after it arrived, and a portion of the other 

 bag I gave away. 



The balance of his letter in truthfulness is on. the same level as his 

 ammunition yarn, W. P. Leach. 



A. J. HOFPJiAJSi, a native of Knight's Landing, Yolo 

 Cotmty, one of the most, noted bird hunters of that part of 

 California and who has done nothing except himt for 10 

 years, is at the American Exchange, accompanied by John 



We are advised by several correspondents who sent money for a 

 gun advertised by Jordan Mott Fowler, of Jersey City, N. J. that the 

 I express company through whom the money was sent has failed to find 

 I the party. The postal authorieties return letters sent to the address 

 and stamp them "Fictitious." 



which to spend the winter, and has often to be content with a hole in 

 the side of some wooded bank, where shrub and fallen timber conceals 

 and covers the entrance. The badger burrows to a great depth in any 

 dry position on the prairie, and does not seek to close the entrance, 

 but as the burrow is generally surrounded by the waxberry bushes, 

 which stop the drift, the whole soon becomes closed by snow. 



There are very few raccoons in Manitoba, but the number seems to 

 be increasing, as the grain fields now afford food in summer, 

 especially when the fields are near the woods which the animals fre- 

 quent, for raccoons seldom venture far out on the prairie, as they are 

 poor runners and are easily overtaken by a dog or wolf if upon open 

 ground. Raccoons are generally found near rivers and feed on dead 

 fish that may be cast ashore or on frogs when these can be found. 

 Even in Manitoba raccoons love to winter in hollow trees, when those 

 can be discovered large enough. Porcupines are not very common 

 and are smaller in size and darker in color than those found in the 

 eastern provinces. As the porcupine feeds principally on the bark of 

 trees it frequents wooded districts and spends the winter under 

 ground. There are more woodchucks in Manitoba than many sup- 

 pose, but as they never leave the thick woods they can be heard much 

 oftener than they are seen. The skunk is the most luxurious of all 

 the hibernatmg animals of this country, and not only prepares a 

 warm bed of soft grass at the bottom of his burrow, but closes the 

 entrance from the outside with a bunch of the same material, thus 

 effectually excluding the cold. Otlier animals that spend the winter 

 underground all store up a supply of food, on which they subsist 

 during the cold season. 



.75 Monroe Street, Chicago. E. HOTJGH, 



"Worcester Fur Club 



Worcester, Mass,, March 6,— Although the two hunts 

 held by the Worcester Fm- Club during the season just 

 closed were discouraging in the extreme the total score 

 of the club's members for the season would indicate that 

 the poor showing made on the occasion ot the "big hunts" 

 was not due to a scarcity of foxes. 



Returns received by President Kinney up'to date show 

 a total of 131 pelts taken by members of the club, 



Charhe Howe, who has not been just up to an edge for 

 the past few seasons, struck his gait at last, and tops the 

 list, but by a single brush, A. C. White, who has been 

 high gim among the Worcester men, tied w-ith E. T, Whit- 

 taker for second place. 



White can console himself for the lost leadership, how- 

 ever, with the knowledge that he added during the year 

 to his stock of experience some things which the others 

 missed. For one, he located the North Star, the Dipper^ 

 and another constellation of at least local prominence,' 

 Then he discovered a pond that grew an ice of surprising 

 clearness and of wonderfully refreshing powers. He 

 knew how to build a brush fire before. 



Sam Smith, of Hopkinton, who led the club for a sea- 

 son, had to be satisfied with third place in company with 

 W. J. Harrington. 



The score of the club is as follows: Charles Howe, 10; 

 E. T. Wnittaker, 9; A C. White, 9; S. A. Smith, 8; W. J. 

 Harrington, 8; H. C. Newell, 8; Lyman Baker, 7; J. M. 

 White, 7; N. WiUard. 6; George Bates, 5; J. T. Adams, 5; 

 E, B. Burbank, 5; C, Pierce, 5; H, Kinsley, 4; F. E. Har- 

 rington, 4- H. Adams, 4; J. R, Thayer, 4- E, H. Gate, 4; 

 E, J, Bates, 3; J. E. Fuller, 3; Albert Hobbs, S; Wilton 

 Rand, 3; A, B, F. Kinney, 2; O. F. Joslin, 1; George 

 Waite, 1; W. L. Taft, 1; W. R, Dean, 1; W. Perry, 1; 

 D. M. Earle, 1. Hal. 



while being approached, it is a very easy task to kill every 

 one found. If when they kill an old cow, the young is 

 yet unborn, it is cutout and taken to camp and considered 

 by them a very dehcious dish. One Indian can kill as 

 many animals in a morning's hunt as his squaws and 

 papooses can take care of all day. It will readily be seen 

 that the old and young are both killed, whether the young 

 are taken by the Indians or left to starve or be devoured 

 by beasts of prey. 



The hides of these animals, after being made into buck- 

 skin, are traded to the small trading posts for Jamaica 

 ginger, lemon extract, or cheap whisky, all of which in- 

 toxicate alike, and are sold in violation of the United 

 States laws. One man pm-chased BOOlbs of buckskin last 

 year in this way. This means 400 to 500 head of full- 

 grown animals and fuUy that number of young de- 

 stroyed. 



Can some brother sportsman suggest a way to prevent 

 this wholesale destruction which will ultimately exter- 

 minate our game? Ira Dodge. 



Mr. Dodge Will Wage War. 



Cora. Wjoming,— Editor Forest and Stream: Some 

 time ago I promised to furnish you some game notes, but 

 owing to mj bear fight on Nov, 2 last, I have been imable 

 to obtain much personal knowledge concerning the same. 

 After I wote you an account of my fight, the doctor at- 

 tending me discovered that my wounds were very much 

 worse than he at first thought, and it was Jan. 2, two 

 months later, before I could be moved home. Since then 

 I have been confined to my bed most of the time, but now 

 that the pieces of bone that have been floating about in 

 my face and hand have been removed, recovery is a 

 matter of a short time, excepting a stiff hand and a very 

 disgfiured face. I received in all about one hundred bites, 

 viz., nine on my right leg, eight on the left, twenty-six on 

 the left hand and wrist, twenty-one on my face, and too 

 many on my right hand to count. If that wouldn't make 

 a man mad what would? I intend to wage war against 

 the grizzlies next spring, and many is the one that will 

 make the woods resound and bite his paws before I am 

 even, and I shall probably do the work with my little 6 

 lbs. .50-100 Maynard that stands against a large fir tree 

 where the affray occurred. 



If Mr. L. S. KeUey, of Chicago, wiU join me on a himt 



AMONG THE WILDFOWL.-XX. 



"got them that TIME." 



