296 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[April 6, 1898. 



CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 



[Fi-om a Staff Correspondent.'] 

 Scolopaxical Territory. 

 Chicago, 111., March 31.— Mr. Ben O. Bush, of Kala- 

 mazoo, Mich., writes me under date of 27th: 



The festive snipe will soon be here, and would j'ou give me pointers 

 on good grounds in Indiana with addresses of persons with whom 

 communications may be held as to arrival of the birds. There is so 

 much good snipe ground in Indiana that a person could hardly go 

 amiss, but I want to find a place where I can give a friend from New 

 York some good sport for at least three days. 



Old man Koutts, who lives near Koutts's station on the 

 Chicago & Erie road, is near what is very probably the 

 best natural snipe marsh of the Kankakee. This is where 

 Ed Irwin comes every spring to shoot all the way from 

 Chautauqua, N. Y., and he has told me he knew of no 

 snipe ground so good anywhere in the coimtry. There is 

 some good bog just back of Thayer, across the Kankakee 

 River from Water Valley and Shelby, or one can go to 

 Shelby (on the Monon road) and walk aboxit two miles 

 east on the "Three I's" track, turning to the right on the 

 black hummock ground across the river. This is warm 

 groimd a,nd the snipe appear here earlier than anywhere 

 in the Water Valley country. There is a lot of snipe 

 ground aboiit five miles north of Shelliy, near the Fuller 

 Island section of the marsh. The above are good grounds, 

 but it is simply impossible to say when the shooting wiU 

 be good there, or how long the birds will remain after 

 they drop in. The jacksnipe is very uncertain. Ordi- 

 narily, however, April 15 should see some good shooting 

 at the localities above named. 



Query: Why do so many people call the snipe the 

 "festive" snipe? The editor of Forest and Stbeam asked 

 me this the other day and I couldn't answer. 



Chickens and Otiier Thiings. 



Mr. Frank Conger Baldwin, of Detroit, Mich., unneces- 

 sarily apologizes for writing me as follows. I am glad to 

 help any one as I can to sport who will not abuse the 

 privileges he may obtain. Jlr. Baldwin's letters is dated 

 March 26 and is asfoUows: 



Your dissertation in this week's Fobbst and Stream upon the sports- 

 man photographer has brought me to the point. It would be impossi- 

 ble for me to tell you how many incidents, pleasant and otherwise, you 

 have called to my mind. I have lugged a camera thousands of miles 

 and then ruined all mv work. I carried a 5X7 tripod outfit and twelve 

 dozen glass plates thi-ough thePiegan Reservation and 300 miles north- 

 west of Great Falls, Montana, only to And that all my exposures were 

 madeuponabatchof plates with faulty emulsion. But that subject 

 is too painful to dwell upon. 



I have over a hundred perfectly successful snap shots from a No. 2 

 Kodak, made during a pedestrian trip in Europe, and am now enjoying 

 my eighth (and B. V. my last) camera, a 5X7 folding Hawkeye. 



It is only fair that I should inform you that I am a fair type of the 

 all-round crank, delighting in all that pertains to water sport, from 

 trout fishing to handUng a racing canoe; a dabbler for ten years in 

 photographic mystei-ies and a devotee of shotgun and setter. You are 

 beginning to wonder why I do not come to my point. Well, here it is: 

 Can you tell me of some "pocket" where I and my cousin, a chap of 

 kindred propensities, can obtain good chicken shooting next fall? 

 Some place in southern Minnesota near the Iowa line would be desir- 

 able, or a good spot in lower Wisconsin would answer. We would 

 like to find a farmer who w^ould take lis in, away from the beaten 

 tracks of civilization. U there should be any convenient lakes which 

 would afford any duck shooting, it would be the more acceptable. I 

 would be wdling to try southern Illinois, but I fear it is too much shot 

 over now. 



I want to find some place where two weeks may be profitably spent, 

 and at the same time be attended with some degree of comfort, for I 

 am a poor hand at camping after Sept. 1. 



I would not advise Illinois for outsiders, especially if 

 the chicken law be made Sept. 1, as is likely. There are 

 some few prahie chickens left in the State, but they are 

 jealously guarded and mostly safely shot long before the 

 season opens— on that highly philanthropic, rational and 

 sportsmanlike ground so commonly urged, to the efiiect 

 that "if I do not shoot before the law opens, some one 

 else will." This same great rational principle actuates 

 the Governor of Wisconsin when he says: "I won't sign 

 a law stopping spring shooting unless Illinois does." This 

 noble and logical spirit also animates the spring shooter 

 of ducks, who says: "I'm not going to stop untU the 

 others do." Of course, all the others are going to stop 

 precisely at the same time, some time. When that time 

 comes we may have some birds in Illinois again. 



There are no prairie chickens of any consequence in 

 Wisconsin, and they cannot be hunted with a dog in that 

 State. Iowa is better, but uncertain, having good and 

 bad years. Ruthven, Iowa, used to be a splendid place to 

 go to. No one can at this date predict next fall's chicken 

 crop. If I wanted to be sure to have good chicken shoot- 

 ing next fall I would go clear up to northern Minnesota 

 and get off, say, at Hallock, or some of the stations 

 around there. One is then in a country sufficiently wild. 

 There are birds there or just across the Manitoba line. 

 Address of local farmers can easily be obtained. The way 

 to do is to pull out direct for the best central point, and 

 then hitstle quarters on the gi-ounds. The chicken situa- 

 tion in Iowa and lower Minnesota is much the same as it 

 is here. Northwestern Nebraska has stdl a good many 

 pinnated and sharp-tailed grouse. The coimtry there is 

 of the rough sandhill sort. 



Marked Personal. 



A gentleman from a Western State writes me a letter 

 which I would publish in full if it were not marked "per- 

 ' " It reads as follows, minus names and localities: 



Would you not like to make a trip this year to shoot doe birds? We 

 have not had a very good flight for two years, but look for a good 

 •one this season, and as we are right in the section of the country they 

 stop, if there is a good flight there will be fine shootmg. They only 

 light in a small section of the State, and we are right in the center of 

 It. Would hke to have you come out if you can do so, and if you like 

 can wire you when the birds come. We look for the flight to commence 

 about April 30. 



Life in the gay metropolis of the World's Fair this year 

 promises to be a busy one, and I fear I shall not be able 

 to go out and try this new sort of sport, but my friendly 

 correspondent— whom by the way I have never met per- 

 sonally — will confer a great favor on myself and many 

 leaders of Forest and Steeam if he will give us a de- 

 scription of this style of shooting as practiced in his sec- 

 tion of the coimtry. I do not remember to have seen any 

 such communication at any recent time. 



Couldn't Punt. 

 Mr. Oswald Von Lengerke, with some friends, went 

 duck shooting out on the Kankakee at Water Valley last 

 Saturday, and one of the party, who claimed to be an ex- 

 pert at the push paddle, managed to get the boat wrong 

 eiid to a»d wrong side up, It was only^ia a ditch, how- 



ever, and a good wetting was the most serious feature of 

 accident. Eleven ducks constituted the bag. 



Ducks are now up all over this part of the country and 

 far to the north. At this writing the weather is quite 

 warm and the snipe will soon be along. 



Growing Up. 



It occasioned me some surprise to learn that Mr. R. S, 

 Cox, of this city, had not long since gone West to Seattle, 

 Wash., to again grow up witli the countiy. Mr. Cox 

 takes with him his justly celebrated glad, bright smile, a 

 young and happy disposition, a good constitution and 

 several kegs of coin of the realm, which latter he will 

 lend out for a time for a consideration. I am pleased to 

 state also that Mr. Cox has resumed his old law partner- 

 ship with Teddy Haller, of Seattle, and the last letters re- 

 ceived from the firm would indicate that the duck shoot- 

 ing is very good this spring. A reunion of kindred souls 

 is a pleasant thing to contemplate. 



Mr. Elwood Hof er, well known for years to FOKEST AND 

 Steeam readers as the YeUow.stone Park correspondent of 

 the paper, in which capacity he did some really very fine 

 joxrrnalistic work, especially in his photographs of wild 

 animals at large in their native homes, is not to see the 

 mountains for a few months now. He is in Chicago, 

 where he will have charge of the cabin of the Boone and 

 Crockett Club. This will be as congenial an occupation 

 as he could have. Mr. Hofer formerly hved in Chicago, 

 and has a brother residing here now. He says Chicago 

 now seems to him to be a very dusty, dirty place. There 

 is no city so clean and sweet as the mountains. 



E. Hough. 



175 Monroe Street, Chicago. 



MICHIGAN FISH AND GAME INTERESTS 



[From the report of State Game and Fish Warden Chas. S. Hampton.] 

 Public Sentiment Supports the Laws. 



I AM gratified to state that the work of securing a proper 

 observance of the fish and game laws of our State, so 

 auspiciously begun by my predecessor, Hon. Wm. Alden 

 Smitli, has'been cro^vned with at least a fair measure of 

 success during the past two years. My experience 

 verifies the statement of my predecessor in his last report, 

 that the sentiment of the people as a whole is in favor of 

 the enforcement of our laws for the preservation of fish 

 and game. That these laws are often violated is true, but 

 it is equally true of aU our laws. And experience proves 

 that where the fish and game laws are violated with 

 impunity, and it is impossible to enforce them, there is a 

 corresponding disregard for all law. Indeed, I believe 

 that there are no laws in regard to any misdemeanors 

 which are more carefully regarded and cheerfully obeyed 

 than those for the preservation of fish and game. It 

 would not be creditable to the inteUigence of our people 

 if such were not the case. For all must recognize the fact 

 that the only way to preserve for ourselves and posterity 

 ' the wealth of animal life in lake and stream, forest and 

 field, is to restrict the destruction so that it shall not ex- 

 ceed the natural increase. 



The Effect of Better Enforcement of Law. 



The gratifying result of the better regard for the fish 

 and game laws, noted in the warden's report two years 

 ago, is even more apparant now. Notwithstanding the 

 large number of quail that were killed last year, they were 

 more plenty this year than ever before. In the coimties 

 where the warden's efforts have received proper support 

 from the people, deer have never been so plenty since the 

 settlement of the coimtry as they were this fall, and the 

 same is true of all protected game except partridge, which 

 have suffered from the extensive forest fires for three con- 

 secutive seasons. The increase of trout in our streams is due 

 as much to the restriction put upon their destruction as to 

 the remarkably successful work done by the State Fish 

 Commissioners in propagating them, and although, OAving 

 to defective laws, there was practically no protection of 

 our inland lakes until last year, the reckless spearing 

 and netting of fish has now been stopped, and a year or 

 two will prove the wisdon of the legislature in amending 

 the law. 



The Practical Value of Fish and Game. 



The great imijortance of our commercial fisheries is so 

 well understood by all, and has been so frequently pre- 

 sented in the repoi"ts of the State Board of Fish Commis- 

 sioners, that it needs no argument to show the necessity 

 of better laws than we have yet had for then- preservation, 

 and the most efficient system of enforcing such laws. 

 But preservation of game and of fish in inland waters has 

 usually been looked upon as being merely for the enjoy- 

 ment of lovers of the rod and gun. Without wishmg to 

 ignore the importance of preserving such sources of enjoy- 

 ment for our citizens, I desire to call attention to their 

 practical value. In neglecting the opportunities for fish 

 culttu-e offered by a thousand beautiful lakes and the 

 streams which traverse every township in Michigan, we are 

 throwing away one of the greatest resources of our State. 

 The amount of food fish produced by our inland waters 

 can be almost indefinitely increased by restricting the 

 catch, and seconding the Fish Commissioners' efforts to 

 stock them with the fish for which each lake and stream 

 is best adapted. It only requires judgment and self-re- 

 straint to insm-e a crop from oiir inland watere which will 

 very materially add to the income derived from the pro- 

 ducts of om- fields. , ^ j^j. m. 



Game is another unappreciated source of profit, ihe 

 interests of the sportsman and farmer are identical. The 

 latter should protect the game because he can make it 

 pay him; the former because of his love of sport. Every 

 true sportsman respects the farmer's rights to his inclosed 

 lands, and is anxious to assist him in putting a stop to 

 lawless shooting. And every sensible farmer should 

 realize that the law-abiding sportsmen are their strongest 

 allies in preser\ing and developing one of the most profit- 

 able soui-ces of income. Every patch of woods, every 

 copse and stubble field may be made to yield a revenue 

 by the intelhgent protection of game. The only reason 

 why our woods and fields are not alive with game is be- 

 cause of that same selfish recklessness which has destroyed 

 the pigeons, buffalo and other birds and beasts which were 

 once so abundant. If the farmer does not himself care 

 for sport, he can readily get a good price for his game, by 

 selling the privilege of shooting to those v/ho wiU not 

 abuse it. In the newer portions of the State, there are 

 vast tracts of land from which aU the timber has been 

 stripped, and which all attempts to profitably cultivate 



have thus far proved unsuccessful. The rapid increase of 

 deer under the protection offered by the confessedly im- 

 perfect system of the last six years, affords a hint of how 

 nature may restore a value to such so-called worthless 

 lands, providing a check is placed upon man's heedless 

 destruction. The limits of this report will not permit any 

 extended comments, but I consider the practical value of 

 fish and game a matter worthy the thoughtful considei'a- 

 tion of the legislature. 



PENNSYLVANIA GAME AND FISH BILLS. 



Cleaefield, Pa., March 27, — Editor Forest and Stream: 

 The long, hard winter that has hung so long over this 

 mountain region is beginning to break and the coming of 

 the robins and the bluebirds tells us that spring is near. 

 They call this an "old-fashioned winter." Well, I'm "not 

 stuck" on old-fashioned things, much less on old-fashioned 

 wintei's, and I shall be glad when the last snow drifts are 

 gone and the arbutus and the hepatica have taken their 

 place. 



Owing to the deep snow and the heavy crust the winter 

 just closing has been a very hard one on our game supply. 

 Rabbits and other small game have frozen by scores, and 

 the foxes and wild cats, owing to the inability of the 

 himters to pursue them, have had a royal feast. Deer are 

 reported faiiiy numerous in the green woods, and in spite 

 of the many himters and hounds of last fall and the hard 

 winter just ended some deer, at least, are left. The 

 sportsmen of this Alleghany region are exceedingly 

 anxious to see what the Pennsylvania Legislature will do 

 for us in protecting the deer and other game of this State. 

 So few of the statesmen sent to Harrisburg to make our 

 laws'have any time, outside of riding their own hobbies, 

 to look after the interests of their constituents that I fear 

 very little wih be done to help ns this year. The Penn- 

 sylvania State Sportsmen's Association at Harrisburg gaive 

 us to hope last fall that something would be done this 

 winter in the interest of game protection, but if that asso- 

 ciation can succeed in securing a good game law from 

 among the medley of bills offered they will do better than 

 we expect. What is necessary in a good legislator is to 

 know an evil and how to provide a remedy. Let the 

 members of the Legislature who know nothing about our 

 game and game laws and who are too smart to take ad- 

 vice from men who do, keep their hands off. One intelli- 

 gent, high-minded sportsman like Judge Greene, of 

 Oregon, can do more tha,n a carload of so-called states- 

 men who do not know the difference between a grouse 

 and a shitepoke. 



I see by the Philadelphia Press that a bill has passed the 

 House at Harrisburg to prohibit the killing of deer for 

 three yeai'S. That method of protecting di'er would be all 

 right if all our deer himtors were honorable men and dis- 

 posed to obey the law. But they are not. If such a law be 

 passed the honorable sportsmen of Pennsylvania will obey 

 it, but all through the deer ranges of this State there is a 

 class of outlaws who Uve in the backwoods who kill deer 

 at ficks during the summer time and in every other unlaw- 

 ful way during the fall and winter, who will pay no atten- 

 tion to this three-year law, but will go right on killing 

 deer while the rest of us have our hands tied out of respect 

 to law. But what would be gained by such a law, even if 

 it could be enforced? During the three years of protection 

 deer wotdd certainly increase in great numbers; bnt just 

 as soon as tlie law was olf there would be such a slaughter 

 of the innocents that the surplus would be Aviped out In 

 one season. I tried the same tlieory iu the protection of 

 our trout streams. As fish Avarden for our comity I stocked 

 many of the streams which, under the law, were then 

 protected for three years. But what happened at tlie end 

 of the three years? Hordes of fishermen came liere from 

 every direction, and those veiy streams were wlupped to 

 death inside of a month. 



You cannot protect our game and fish supply in that 

 way. It's all a delusion. The game and fish are here, and 

 if given half a chance they will protect themselves. I 

 repeat what I have suggested before; we must limit the 

 open season for all kinds of game, make the seasons for 

 all kinds of game as nearly uniform as possible, and as to 

 deer, limit the number to be killed in any season by any 

 one man, and keep hounds out of om- hunting woods and 

 camps. 



Then after this is done let the Legislature provide for 

 the enforcement of our game laws by the appointment of 

 game wardens who will do their duty and be paid for it. 

 Let the $30,000 that is proposed to be spent in taking the 

 Legislature on a junket to the World's Fair, or a portion 

 of it at least, be appropriated to the propagation and pro- 

 tection of the game and fish of this great State, and I am 

 sure it will do the people more good. I have thus written 

 very plainly because I am intensely interested m this sub- 

 ject; I am tired of this eternal demagoguery and tinker- 

 ing that residts in no practical good to any one. I trust 

 if the Legislature should succeed in pas.sing such a law as 

 the one suggested, that Governor Pattison will veto it. 



I am very grateful for such a paper as tlie Foeest and 

 Steeam, clean, able and independent; it furnishes a 

 medium through which we can at least exjjress our views 

 and have the assurance that they A\dU be read by a host 

 of the best sportsmen in the country. 



Frank G. Haheis. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



HoAv unreasonable are our Pennsylvania sportsmen! 

 Just now, with fair chance of getting a sensible game 

 law, a committee doing all that is possible, with the most 

 favorable conditions for legislatiA'e action, the committee 

 of sportsmen, the game committee of the loAver House 

 and individual members are beset Avith advice and com- 

 mands to amend the season to suit each and every one, 

 instead of standing by the committee. Avho are trying to 

 get a law that Avill protect om- game, give the 

 laAV-abiding shooters an equal opportunity Avith 

 the lawless, and have game plenty if the season is 

 short. One season for aU local game is essential; and 

 better to sacrifice the woodcock shooting than all the 

 rest. But from July 4 to Aug. 4 should satisfy woodcock 

 shooters. At that time no grouse are found in cock covers. 

 Dec. 15 is late enough for the game season to close, if 

 protection is what we are after. But sportsmen must 

 agree to get the best law possible, not Avhat each one 

 thinks is best or wants. It discourages the workers, 

 after having the consensus of sportsmen aU over the 

 State formulated, to have it antagonized. The suggestion 

 to divide the northern and southern portions of the State 

 I think is unconstitutioual. Juniata. 



