April. 13, 189S.J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



S17 



ineii by sending it out in this way. It reached a taxiderm- 

 ist in less than three days after killing, yet it was thor- 

 oughly spoiled. A very large moose, with fine antlers, 

 was klUed by a Boston sportsman. The skin of this head 

 came veiy near spoiling; nearly all the hair came off the 

 ears and the neck had to be patched and filled out with 

 another piece of skin. It does not require much skill to 

 skin a head, and a few pounds of salt and almn are often 

 a necessity. C. M. Staek. 



Winchester, Mass. 



CHUKOR PARTRIDGES IN ILLINOIS. 



Macomb, IU., April S.— Editor Forest and Stream: The 

 five pair of partiidges {Oaccabis chucor) I imported from 

 Karachi, India, through the Hon. James Currie, U. S, 

 Consular Agent, arrived here in the very best condition. 

 Not a bird was lost on the way. They left Kaj-achi Feb. 

 14, arrived in liiverj^ool March 13 and arrived in New 

 Yoi-k March 28. It is truly wonderful that these birds 

 should travel 13,000 miles by sea and rail and arrive here 

 in such splendid condition. It only shows that they are 

 strong and hardy and have great power of endurance. 

 Col. Eamsdale, of the English Army in India, writes to 

 me that they will stand any climate on the face of the 

 globe. 



They are about two-thu-ds as large as our prairie chick- 

 ens. The cocks and hens are marked very much alike. 

 The cocks are larger than the hens. I shall keep them 

 inclosed this year and if they don't lay I shaU tm-n them 

 all loose another year and take my chances with them. 

 The 10 birds cost delivered here about $75. I hope tlie 

 sportsmen of the country will take an interest in these 

 beautiful game birds and introduce more of them, for I 

 beheve they will take the place of some of our game 

 birds that are fast disappearing. I give the following de- 

 scription of these birds, given by Murry, on the edible 

 and game birds of British India. W. O. Blaisdell. 



The chukor (Caecdbis chucor) is marked: Above pale 

 bluish, or a live ashy, with a rufescent tinge on the back; 

 sides of the chin, face, throat, fulvous, pale chestnut or 

 rufescent, and circled by a broad black ■ band from the 

 forehead through the eye along the side of the neck on to 

 the breast, meeting its fellow from the other side and 

 forming a large pale chestnut, or rufous pectoral gorget; 

 a pale white line behind the eye; ear coverts, chestnut; 

 sides of the lower mandibles and chin with a black spot; 

 breast, bluish ashy, slightly tinged with riTfescent; abdo- 

 men and under tail coverts buff; the flanks from the axil 

 deeper buff, each feather ashy at the base, with two dark 

 bands; the interspace is buff, and terminates broadly with 

 chestnut; wings concolorous with the back, the ends of 

 all the primaries except the fii-st marginal to nearly the 

 tip or outer web, with buff, some of the secondaries a.lso; 

 axillaries, buff; pale rufous except the central feathers, 

 which are concolorous with the back. 



Length, 14 to I6in. ; expanse, 21 to 35; tail, 4 to 5; wings, 

 6 to to 7. The female slightly smaller. Habitat, through- 

 out the Himalayas to the Afghanistan; common in Persia 

 and along the Arabian coast. Breeds from May to Julv. 

 They make their nests under the shelter of grass tufts or 

 bushes, and lay from 12 to 16 eggs. 



^mtie §dg md 0ut(. 



"Game Laws in Brief," United States and Canada, 

 ' ilhistrated, 25 cents. ''Booh of the Game Laws" (full 

 text), 50 cmts. 



NOTABLE SHOTS.-YII. 



Another Rooster Ricochet. 



Hastings, Mich. — The remarkable rooster shot in last 

 Forest and Stream recalls one that I made when a boy 

 with my first Winchester .44. My motlier wanted me 

 to kiU a yoimg rooster, but objected to my shooting it, on 

 account of tearing the body, but I insisted that I could 

 cut off his head ^vith a biillet. I found him sitting on a 

 fence with an orchard of apple trees for a background. 

 At nearly right angles, about 200yds. off, lived a neiglibor. 

 At the crack of the rifle down came the rooster, and on 

 picking him up I found that I had made a clean shot, 

 cutting off the head as well as could be done by the ax. 

 But I saw that the bullet had cut the bark in the crotch 

 of a free in direct line of Gxe. Knowing that my father 

 would object to that I at once put some wet clay on and 

 traced the ball to where it had knocked off more bark on 

 another tree. It had this time turned off sharp to the 

 left, directly in front of the house of our neighbor. Some- 

 what startled I walked across the road and entered the 

 front yard, and there in a crab-apple tree, directly in 

 front of the open door, opposite whicli two ladies sat sew- 

 ing, I saw where that blasted old buUet had entered the 

 body of the tree. I said nothing of the cause of my en- 

 trance, and after a few remarks returned to where I liad 

 left both gun and rooster. The pride of my good shot 

 had disappeared and I returned to my work a much wiser 

 boy. I once made a fine shot with'a Winchester which 

 gave me much satisfaction, but turned some ridicule and 

 much laughter on me. There were two of us plowing. 

 In the middle of the next field sat a woodchuck. We 

 were joined by a couple of neighbors, who, on seeing the 

 woodchuck, urged me to go to the house, get my rifie and 

 shoot it. At last I consented and walked a quarter of a 

 mile and back. The woodchuck was still there, and the 

 boys said that he had several times walked about and 

 eaten clover. There was no cover, and from where I 

 shot from a rest the distance w;ls oOOyds. I took a careful 

 sight through the open sights and pulled trigger. "You 

 have hit him!" shouted my friends. Sure enough he was 

 on his side. But knowing from sad exi^erience how a 

 badly wounded woodchuck will kick into his hole I 

 started as hard as I could tear along. As I got near I 

 saw that he was stone dead, and on getting right up to 

 him saw that he had been dead a day or two. Such a 

 yell came from the boys: they tossed "up their Iiats and 

 roUed on the ground. But in the midst of my chagrin 

 some satisfaction came from the fact that the 3iOgrs. ball 

 had gone through his head. A cousin had killed it and 

 then fixed it up for me that day while I took my noon- 

 day sleep. For a long time I got it right and left in 

 jokes, but it nevertheless added to my reputation as a 

 crack shot, Brtan, the Stii-l-Hunteb, 



EW YORK HARBOR 

 is justly celebrated for 

 its beauty, and to the 

 returning voyager, the 

 sight from the deck of 

 an Incommg steamer as she enters the lower Bay, espe- 

 cially during the early hours of a bright autumnal morn- 

 ing is one that is rarely equalled. 



Our waters used to swarm with myriads of wildfowl, 

 which were loth to leave until winter forced them. The 

 large increase in the number of arrivals and departm-e of 

 all sorts of craft during late years has made a difference 

 in regard to our web-footed sojourners. Continually dis- 

 turbed, they have largely deserted the Bay for the more 

 quiet waters of the Jersey and Long Island coasts. The 

 white-winged coot, however, still remains in fair num- 

 bers, and with a fresh breeze good sport may be had with 

 them froju a "quick-handhng" sailboat. 



To me the ideal method of himting these hardy fowl is 

 to follow tliem with a steam yacht or laimch. Steering 

 well to windward of a flock the gunner glides toward 

 them at a rate of speed they have not as yet learned to 

 gauge. When within 60 to 80yds. "a jingle of the bell" 

 and down you rush upon them, securing a fine shot at 

 reasonable distance as they rise. 



On one occasion it was my privilege to enjoy such a 

 trip as a gaiest on board the trim steamer Sentinel, bound 

 for the Horseshoe to lay over night that we might get 

 under way betimes next morning. 



Passing the Narrows with the flash of the sunset gims 

 from the forts, we seemed to fly over the calm surface, a 

 faint vibration of the yacht in answer to the throb of her 

 engines giving a delightful sense of motion. 



Far into the glow of sxmset we steamed. Overhead the 

 gulls were circhng high in air, a good augury for a breeze 

 on the morrow. At last the Horseshoe', a sounding 

 splash, the rattle of anchor chains, and we swing at rest. 



After dinner in the cosy cabin we take our cigars on 

 deck, and within feel of the grateful warmth of the fun- 

 nel are soon lost in contemplation of the quiet scene. 



Now and again from the southeast there floats over to 

 us, borne on the light air, the complaining voice of the 

 sui-f as it dies on the outer beach. To the west and north 

 the dark line of the Jersey shore bounds the horizon. All 

 is calm and peaceful. A loon calls! Far away in the 

 darkness we hear the pouf .' pouf ! of a school of por- 

 poise at play, and once the stilhiess is broken as a sturgeon 

 leaps. The romance of Cooper's "Water Witch" seems 

 to brood upon these waters, and the dark outline of an 

 anchored vessel inshore of us might well serve as the re- 

 incarnation of that fascinating craft, whose skipper was 

 wont to tempt the fair maid of "Lust in Rust" with smug- 

 gled laces and finery from foreign lands. 



The hum of a breeze in the rigging as I watch the 

 operation of ' "getting the anchor" next morning makes 

 the blood tingle with eagerness for the coming sport. As 

 daylight grows and objects become more distinct I ob- 

 serve a pa.ir of loons some distance out, and beyond them 

 the glass reveals a long fine of dark forms where the coots 

 we are in search of are feeding. 



One bell! We are under .way. As we jog along the 

 nearer loon with an uncanny laugh of derision takes 

 wing. With splutter of feet and wing-tips he urges his 

 unwieldy shape along the surface until, the proper hnpe- 

 tus gained, he rises and swings back on our wake to the 

 spot where his mate still floats. 



Selecting a handful of cartridges I move forward, and, 

 crouching low, make preparation for a shot. 



We are now plunging through tlie white caps that 

 glisten and dash against the bows, flinging their salty 

 showers to right and left as we strike them aside. The 

 coots are rising on every hand as we approach and their 

 dark forms are darting through the air ahead of us in all 

 directions. Yes, I see him! A single bird just out of 

 shot is swimming lustily, now rising on the swell, now 

 sinking in the trough, but all the time working to one 

 side out of our course. Now we are upon him, a flash of 

 white on either side, as he spreads his wings and next 

 moment he is buzzing off. Now! A streak of foam 

 shows for an instant as the shot cuts the water behind 

 him— missed! Again! all! Souse he goes into the waves. 

 A tm-n of the wheel sends our graceful craft down to 

 him, and, as he floats alongside, he is quickly gathered 

 into the net in the hands of a watchful sailor lad. 



Back again on our course. The wind sings with a deep, 

 low note in the muzzle of my gun; there is a wild ex- 

 hilaration in the onward dash of the yacht, as thouo-h 

 she actually entered into the spii-it of the moment. ° 



A sharp turn to starboard and we are bearing down 

 upon a flock. Once more the flash of white-baiTed 

 wings, two sharp reports and three more coots are 

 gathered. 



The hom-s pass like magic while the sport continues 

 until the dying away of the breeze compels us to desisr. 

 We are again headed for the Narrows and home and the 

 entry of a successful day is made in memory's log book. 



Good night, captain! Good night, sir! 



WiLMOT TOWNSEND. 



rel will be 26in. and a rifle with octagon barrel of this 

 length will weigh about 7f lbs. On account of lightness, 

 fiat trajectory and hard shooting, riffes of this model 

 shoifld prove very popular with himters. The cartridges 

 are standard sizes and can be procured in most localities. 

 Loaded with express bullets the ..38 would be a formid- 

 able weapon for almost any kind of large game and 

 especially valuable for deer hunting. 



A New Model. 



The Marlin Firearms Co. will put on the market next 

 month their model of 1893 safety repeating rifle, which 

 dift'ers in several important particulars from anv repf-ater 

 now manufactured. This model will be made in two 

 sizes, .32-40-165 and .38-55-355, and wiU be the only 

 repeater using tliLs ammunition. It will use cartridges 

 varying in length from the standard maximum to the 

 empty shell, and will also shoot the .32-18-98 and .38-20- 

 155 Marlin short-range cartridges, which are adapted for 

 indoor or short range work The standard length of bar- 



VENISON FOR A CHANGE. 



Beatrice, Neb., April 7. — It happened in this wise. I 

 was up in the Wyoming bad lands, those dreary, soul- 

 kilKng natural ruins, sketching, holding my claim and 

 killing what meat I had to- have. The Bighorn Moun- 

 tains lay to the west about seventy miles, snow-capped 

 and nearly always clond-covered. To-day, however, they 

 stood out bold and clear against the deep blue sky that 

 only the Western plains and motmtains can conjure up. I 

 wanted a sketch of the distant range; so packing my kit 

 and shouldering my Winchester, I headed for a big lava 

 butte, about two miles south of my "shack," which 

 afforded an excellent view. After finishing my picture I 

 sat lazily gazing over the duU stretch of butte country all 

 around me, broken everywhere by deep, narrow vaUeys, 

 covered with sage brush and cactus, furrowed by the 

 snows of many wintei-s, everywhere the same, sparsely 

 covered between the sage clumps with a short, hardy 

 grass which makes hay without the trouble of cutting. 



The sun was still an hour high, and threw long, slant- 

 ing shadows over the sere, natural meadow, where butte 

 or lava boulder interposed. 



There to the north is something moving, too small for 

 cattle, too large for coyotes! What then? The field glass 

 isfocussed, a.nd:two antelope show in the circle of the 

 lens. I'm out of meat at the ranch, and antelope steak 

 don't go bad if you have a good appetite. A long canon, 

 breaks up through the hillside, and I can get within 40yds. 

 Guess I'll eat 'lope for supper! 



I climb down off of the lava boulder and start at a 

 swinging pace along the bed of the gulch, my moccasins 

 make no sound on the sandy gi-ound, and I am out of 

 sight of the game. The canon gets deeper, narrower and 

 very crooked. The light here is just right to lend a 

 ghostly, chilly aspect to the fantastic lava cinders, and 

 makes the thickets of choke cherry, kiUikinick bush and 

 the nervous quaking asp look rather too suggestive of 

 bear, mountain fion or the gaunt specter of the cattle 

 country, the great .gray wolf. However, none of these 

 animals are seen, but on turning a sharp angle in the 

 cafion I come face to face with two splendid black-taU 

 deer! Our surprise is mutual. I forget aU about the rifle 

 with its ten deadly cartridges which I hold in my hand, 

 and stand gazing in mute admiration at the two superb 

 animals, which boldly return my stare at a distance of 

 twenty feet! The antelope are forgotten and my first 

 thought is, ' 'What beautififl creatures!" Almost the same 

 si^e, both heads surmounted by a stately set of antlers. I 

 am so close I can see every curve of the graceful bodies, 

 the color of the eyes, the dilation of the nostrils and the 

 quiver of the strained muscles as they stand stock stiU, 

 just as they stopped when they first sighted me. They 

 look too liandsome to kill, but a hungTy man with no 

 fresh meat in the house knows nothing of beauty. Slowly 

 the Winchester comes up until the sight covers the edge 

 of the white streak which covers the front ot the throat 

 and relieves the sameness of blue-black which predomi- 

 nates. The sight is steady as a stone waU — no "buck 

 fever" there. A touch on the trigger, a bright fiash, then 

 a roar that seems to split the hills, and doAvn goes my 

 fii-st deer with a broken neck. The other one makes three 

 startled jumps up the side of the canon, and calmly stops, 

 tm-ns broadside and looks back over his shoulder for his 

 mate. The empty shell flies out over my shoulder, another 

 cartridge slips into the barrel and a snap shot misses the. 

 second buck, sending him bounding up the steep side of 

 the canon like the wind. Then I fire again. He stops, 

 sways a little, and down he goesi 



I am alone with these two superb animals, beautiful 

 even in death. Alone in the ghostly, gruesome canon, 

 among the fire-rent ruins of unknown ages with my -first 

 deer. I hurry after the pack horses, for I have no inten- 

 tion of leaving any of my meat for the coyotes to snarl 

 over. What can't be used fresh can be jerked in the sun 

 for a less auspicious day when the only fresh meat is 

 smoked bacon! On the way home I pass within 30yds. of 

 the anteloiJe, but then antelope is not very good meatany- 

 Avay— not when you have blacktail deer and plenty of it. 

 I killed several more deer and some antelope too while in 

 those hills, and sometimes out of season, though not against 

 the game laws of Wyoming. If any of the readers of 

 Forest and Stream have ever been unfortunate enough 

 to "hold a claim" sixty-five miles from the nearest de^jot 

 of supplies, lived on "salt pork and soda biscuits," they at 

 least will excuse the unsportsmanlike killing of game in 

 summer to relieve the monotony of the everlasting bacon. 

 Though I had many chances and was out of fresh meat, 

 I never was guilty of kilHng a doe antelope or deer while 

 in the hilla. El Comancho. 



Texas Notes. 



La Porte, Tex., April 4.— There is a great variety of 

 birds here and there are a gi"eat many of some varieties. 

 Three weeks ago, from where I now sit, I could look out 

 on San Jacinto Bay, 100yds. distant, and see thousands of 

 ducks, but they have nearly all left for the North. Just 

 across the bay on the marshy islands the snipe is at home. 

 In then- season we have curlew and plover in countless 

 numbers, wild geese in goodly numbers, quail plenty, 

 chickpns rather scarce. Across the San Jacinto is the 

 country called the "big thicket," where abound wild tiu-- 

 key, timber wolf, deer and bear; also panther, it is said. 

 The cotmtry here is new and undeveloped H. W. B, 



New Jersey Flight. 



Perth Amboy, N. J., April 10.— Some hawks and a few 

 flickers have been killed at Morgan (Cheesequakes), and a 

 flight is looked for this week if warm westerly winds pre- 

 vail. Ducks have not been plentiful this spring. Enghsh 

 snipe dropped in at the head of the creek on Friday, and 

 a bag of 16 is reported from the Raritan marshes on Sat- 

 m-day. A few have been shot near Little Washington 

 South River, The birds are likely to stay until a storm 

 come§, J, L. K, 



