362 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[April 27, im. 



'^^ni^ ^nd §nr(. 



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

 illAistrated, S5 cents. "Book of the Game Laws" {full 



text), 50 cents. 



QUAIL IN PENNSYLVANIA. 



Thompsontow, Ta.— Editor Forest and Stream: There 

 are some cases in which words are iaadequate, for exam- 

 ple, in commendation of the clea,n, decent, courteous 

 Forest and Strbasi. But then it don't need it. Again 

 other kinds of words fail to characterize the combined 

 cussedness of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, as exhib- 

 ited in the recent proceedings on the game laws. In my 

 opinion the formulated bill was about as near the best 

 that could be prepared, to suit every one, yet a member 

 told me that one afternoon during its consideration it 

 seemed to him that half the members of tke House had an 

 amendment to oif er. Most ridiculous of aU, an amend- 

 ment passed to stay quail shooting for three years. 



Why such an amendment was offered is incomprehen- 

 sible unless through ignorance, on the supposition merely 

 that the past winter was fatal to quail life. I know that, 

 during the winter, a general howl went out that quail had 

 perished by wholesale, as they did during the winters of 

 1848-49, 1856-57, 1866-67, wliich were the only winters 

 which wrought total destruction. Very many of the in- 

 tervening winters were very much more severe than last 

 winter, and yet the quail survived. 



I was out during and after the zero weather and after 

 the snow drifts, and found the quail strong and abimdant. 

 Since spring has opened I find the quail more numerous 

 than a year ago, when they were more plenty than any 

 year since 1876. I have the same information from 

 friends in other parts of the State, who use the same 

 means of informing themselves that I do, and are simi- 

 larly interested, making protections and feeding when 

 necessary. A three year stay may result in an abundance 

 of quad this and aU of the three years, and a total destruc- 

 tion when the stay is off. If any part of the State is 

 without quail, it is more from the lack of natural shelter 

 than from the weather. The migratory or semi-migratory 

 habits of quail from sheltered portions of the State is 

 euflacient to restock sections where the birds have been 

 destroyed. I find by actual count within the past ten 

 days four times as many quail on my own land as were 

 left Dec. 15, 1893, 



Win the rabbit shooters respect the quail law any more 

 than they have done heretofore after Dec. 15, while the 

 rabbit shooting was allowed? 



I presume the information of town and city sportsman, 

 if not simply guessed at, was derived from farmers who 

 are supposed to know all about the game upon their 

 land. Such information is very um-eliable, as any shooter 

 has frequently found out while getting permission to 

 shoot, as all regardful sportsmen will do. The land owner 

 is very likely to aver that there are no birds on his place. 

 One ludicrous case occurred to me. I stood facing the 

 farmer, who stood upon a high porch, assming me that I 

 could himt, but would find nothing. Suddenly he said, 

 "Your dog is snake-charmed." Turning around, I foimd 

 Blanche, daughter of Bismarck, rigid at a bimch of old- 

 fashioned shrubbery not thirty feet from the house. 

 From eighteen to twenty birds got up, and while retriev- 

 ing a rabbit jumped out and tumbled over. I had a 

 splendid day on that farm. For years I have not asked 

 whether there is game, only for permission to shoot. 



Juniata. 



WITH A YOUNGSTER IN THE WOODS. 



Having agreed to go as guide with a party on a moose 

 and cariljou hunt, I thought I would take in my own 

 moose and caribou himt on the same trip. My grandson, 

 Naty C. Fogg, who is only fifteen years old, and who has 

 acted as a guide at my camps the past season, and having 

 had the best success in fishin^ and hunting of any yoimg 

 guide that I ever knew, I was thinking all the while that I 

 would let him go with me on my moose and caribou hunt; 

 but did not mention to him my intentions. As soon as he 

 was sure that I was going he began to quiz aroimd, and 

 finally said to me, "What's the matter with me going 

 with you on your hunt?" But I did not answer him de- 

 cidedly at first; I wanted to find out how anxious he was 

 to go, as I knew such a trip would be rough on a boy of 

 his age. 



We finally agreed to start for Patten on Dec. 12, and the 

 party of sportsmen were to join us the last of the week. 

 The point I was going to take the sportsmen to was 

 Gowednehunk Lake, fifty miles to the west of Patten, and 

 there were lumber camps within five miles of the lake. 

 After engaging a team at Patten to take the party along 

 when they arrived, we started on to the Trout Brook 

 farm, thirty miles from Patten. Here we found about a 

 foot of snow and a sharp ice cr\ist on it, which made it 

 almost impossible to still-hunt. We stopped here the 

 remainder of the week, and, not hearing from oiu- party, 

 on Sunday I told the boy that he had better go to Mr. 

 Dudley's camp, which was within five miles of the lake we 

 were intending to go to, and stop there until I came. He 

 went in company with some men that were going to work 

 at the camp. The next day I concluded that the party 

 was not coming, and I took my hunting sled, that I had 

 made while waiting for the party, and started, getting to 

 camp about 2 P. M. When I got to camp the cook 

 told me the boy had kUled two caribou, and had been in 

 for his dinner and gone back to finish dressing and take 

 care of them. When he came in he told me his experience 

 in the hunt. He had first foxmd their trail, and the crust 

 made such a racket with his snowshoes on that he took 

 them off and followed in their path. As he came out into 

 the old tote road he heard a rustling, and out came six 

 caribou into the road and ran from him, and he opened 

 fire on them and shot several times before they roimded a 

 turn in the road. And when he came round the turn he 

 saw two that were hard hit and had given up the race, 

 but as his gun was a .38-40 he had to shoot them again. 

 They proved to be two cows, and he counted six ball holes 

 in one of them. 



We were not prepared for camping out unless the party 

 came, as everything was left for the team to bring with 

 the exj)ected party, but we got a single blanket, some 

 j)ork and bread and some tea, and an oyster can to boil it 

 in, and a woodsman's tin plate for a spider or fry pan, so 

 the tin plate and oyster can were oui" cooking tools, and 



we started on our snowshoes with each of us with a small 

 pack on our backs for Gowednehimk Lake. 



I knew that there was an old logging camp standing on 

 the shores of the lake where we expected to stop a couple 

 of nights. We foimd the camp all right, but with no 

 doors or windows nor any place to build a fire. We tore 

 up the floor, so as to build a fire on the ground, and then 

 made a large hole in the roof for the smoke to go out, 

 and made ns a place to sleep, or rather stay, with the old 

 boughs that were in the berths. But when we buUt a fire 

 we soon found that the smoke hole we made was of but 

 little use. The wind coming from the lake would whirl 

 down the smoke hole and fill the camp fuU of smoke. 

 We shed lots of tears that night. I got but little sleep. 

 The boy managed to sleep most of the time. If it had 

 not srnoked I could not have slept, for I had to keep 

 watch of the fixe as there was danger of the camp taking 

 fire and burning us up. As soon as there were any signs 

 of daylight the oyster can was filled with water and the 

 tin plate, with a split stick for a handle, was filled with 

 slices of pork for frying. One dipper answered for both 

 of us. The bread we had was frozen hard as a rock, but 

 we thawed it before the fire and dipped it in the pork fat 

 and drank our tea. Then we were ready for a criiise. 



But I have forgotten to tell you of the caribou we saw 

 on the lake when we first got there. I liad told the boy 

 that I expected to see caribou on this lake, and when we 

 first got there and he went out to the lake to cut a hole 

 for water, he came back and said he had seen two 

 caribou some mile and a half up the lake. We took our 

 guns and went out, it was cloudy and a few iiakes of 

 snow were falling. The boy's eyesight was better than 

 mine and he said that he could see three, but I could not 

 see anything. He pointed out where they were on the 

 opposite side of the lake, so we went across and followjed 

 the shore on the opposite side. He then said one was 

 going out into the lake, I could now see the game; he 

 made a halt and the boy said that he had laid down. 

 We followed close to the shore. After a while the cari- 

 bou got up, and when he did so the boy laughed and said 

 it was a fox, and sure enough it was; and the other two 

 came out from the shore and started up the lake on the 

 run. I did not laugh much at the boy, for the first sight 

 I got of them I thought that they were caribou, and as 

 the old saying runs, "They loomed up like a sktmk in 

 the fog." 



On our cruise the next day we saw the tracks of seven 

 moose, three at one place and two attwo other places; but 

 we did not follow any of them as I thought they were 

 cows and smaller moose. We returned to camp that 

 night to put in another such a night as I have described; 

 but during the day we had had several snow squalls and 

 the weather was getting much colder. I told the boy that 

 we would get out of this the next morning and he was 

 agreed to it. The wind was now having such fun witii 

 the snow on the lake that at times we could not see six 

 rods; but one thing was in our favor, the wind was on 

 our backs, and we tripped across the lake Hvely for a boy 

 and an old man, but the boy reached camp first, his legs 

 being the nimblest. 



During the night the camp caught on fire. I, of course, 

 awoke and I took my hands at first to throw snow on the 

 fire, the wind stiU howling. I checked the fire a little and 

 found that my fingers were freezing. I warmed them a 

 little and then had to go to the roof of the camp to put 

 out the fire. There was over a foot of snow on the camp, 

 but the fire was on the inside and too high for me to reach 

 from the ground. 



The next morning we started back, as I thought I knew 

 where there was a better site for us to camp and get a 

 bull moose. We stopped at the lumber camp a few days 

 to make up our sleep and look aroimd a little. I was sure I 

 could find moose easily enough on the same ground where 

 my brother and I killed two last year; but I wanted a faU 

 of snow to kill the sound of the crust. While we were 

 waiting we followed several droves of caribou and started 

 them without even seeing them. 



On Monday of the last week of the open season we took 

 the same kind of supplies and camp kit I have described 

 and started for another old camp. It was a warmer camp 

 and a better place for a fire, but the weather was very 

 cold and there was a high wind. We took our himting 

 sled with us this time. We had our choice to follow an 

 old road or go on the ice on a brook, The caribou tracks 

 were plenty on the brook and it looked as though a drove 

 of twenty had gone up the brook several days before, and 

 two had gone some time during that night. Each of us 

 had on a pair of wool mittens and buckskin mits outside, 

 and were well bimdled up, but the boy froze his cheeks and 

 ears. When we got to camp we left our sled, etc. , ate om- 

 Irmch and started to look for signs of moose. We went 

 about two and a half miles to where I expected to find 

 them, and discovered new tracks. The wea.therhad mod- 

 erated some, but it was still cold. I told the boy that it 

 was so cold and late in the day that we would go to camp 

 and try the game the next morning. I told him that it 

 was a bull all right. We started for camp and had not 

 gone over fifty rods, the boy being some rods behind me, 

 when I heard him shoot. I turned round and asked him 

 what he was shooting at. He said, "I guess I have killed 

 your moose. There was some big animal looking at you, 

 and I fired at him, and by the way he went his shoulder 

 was broken." 



We went a short distance and foimd a big brdl caribou, 

 but he had shed his antlers and it was healed over where 

 they came oft', so he must have shed them in November 

 or the fix-st of December. We bruit a Httle fire and soon 

 had his skin off and dressed his carcass and started for 

 camp. I did not forget his hide, as we only had one pair 

 of thin blankets. We collected wood for the night, boiled 

 om- oyster can full of tea, and had oui* bread and fried 

 pork, but we changed the tin plate for a fry pan we found 

 hanging in the old camp. We spread out our skin for an 

 Tinder blanket, and with a good hardwood fire we got 

 along very well, but it was frosty just the same. 



The next morning we started for the moose; the wind 

 had changed and I thought I knew just where he was, 

 and went to the place against the wind. I was afraid 

 that we had started him the afternoon before. We wore 

 our snowshoes, but intended to take them off as soon as 

 we were sure that we were on his fresh track. He had 

 been feeding for some four days on not more than two 

 acres of ground, and we had passed within a short rifle 

 shot of him the day before, but the wind blew so hard 

 that he did not hear us, or, if he did, he did not scare and 

 did not scent us. When we firat struck his yard I kept to 

 the outside, as he had crisa-crossed in aU directions, and I 



expected the boy to keep in sight of me. I had not gone 

 ten rods when I saw him looking at me. I brought up 

 my rifle and pointed at his breast. It missed fire. The 

 moose wheeled, but I was too soon for him. He got 

 about ten rods and fell, when we came up to him lying 

 stretched out on his side. The boy stood and looked at 

 him a minute and then said: "I wish we had a camera; 

 I guess our game bag is all right, if it is hard himting." 

 The first move now was to start a fire and get the moose 

 on his back for skinning. Soon as we got liim skinned we 

 selected some meat for a roast or lunch. We had some 

 salt with us, and roast moose meat we found good for 

 hxmgry people. It took us quite a whUe to dress him and 

 quarter him for hand-sledding out. Then we took the 

 hide and some steak and started for camp, with the an- 

 ticipation of a good supper and a warmer bed. When we 

 were ready for bed we put the wool blankets on us and 

 the moose hide for an outside comfortable. We slept 

 warm, but the hide in the morning, wliich was flesh side 

 up, was frozen like a rock. 



The next day we tramped a trail from the brook to the 

 moose and caribou, and hauled the caribou and two quar- 

 ters of the moose. At night we thawed out om- moose 

 hide and turned it hair side up. This prevented it from 

 foeezing. 



The next morning I sent the boy to Trout Brook to get 

 a team to come in and get our game, and I went and 

 hauled out the remainder of the moose. During the night 

 a very large moose had passed by within a few rods of the 

 one we had killed. I went to Trout Brook Farm that 

 night. The boy had engaged a team, and the next morn- 

 ing he went back with us to follow that big moose for a 

 while. But it was ten miles from the farm to the moose, 

 so he did not have long to follow the game as he had to 

 get back to the farm that night. He did not take his 

 snowshoes and he only followed about a haK mile and 

 came back, and said it was too hard work to follow with- 

 out snowshoes; but I thought he did not care to follow 

 such an ugly looking fellow unless I was with him, and 

 if it had not been so near close time I should have gone 

 with him imtil he did kill one. 



Saturday night brought us to Patten with our moose 

 and three caribou. It was jiist six days from the time we 

 had started for this moose and big caribou until we landed 

 them in Patten, forty miles from where we killed them. 

 I have made up my mind that I wiU never go into the 

 woods in December without taking plenty of bedding and 

 provisions on the start. I should have done so this time, 

 but was expecting a party to foUow with all necessaries, 

 but unexpected business prevented them. On this hunt I 

 did not travel over much of a territory, but I saw the 

 tracks of foiu-teen different moose, mostly cows and small 

 moose, that I did not distm-b at all; we only followed the 

 one I kiUed. 



I find that there are many more moose in Maine than is 

 believed by many or the most of our people, and every 

 means of preventing them being killed in close time should 

 be put in operation. While I was on this hunt I heard, 

 from what I consider a good, reliable party, of seven 

 moose being kiUed last winter. I am going to investigate 

 the matter, and if that number was killed at that place I 

 can find them out. J. Dablino. 



IiOWKLL, Me. 



TURKEY HUNTING IN MIDDLE GEORGIA 



LIVINC4 at Macon, the central city of Georgia,, where 

 many sportsmen live and likewise many pot-hunters, I 

 have found my favorite game (quail) gi-eatly reduced in 

 numbers. I have bagged only about 150 birds this past 

 season. The game season for Bibb county closes March 1, 

 in some adjoining counties April 1 and in some May 1, the 

 last being subject to State law and the others to local 

 county laws. 



My largest bags were eighteen and nineteen, both hav- 

 ing been made on score of two out of three shots bagged. 

 My shooting this season has been a httle better than every 

 other shot bagged; and as we have much underbrush and 

 covert shooting, I consider this very satisfactory. 



I have been shooting 28in. , 16-gauge Parker hammerless. 

 This bore, with 36grs. E. C. powder and loz. No. 8 shot, is 

 par excellence for quail shooting. 



Now to the turkeys. A few miles below us, on the 

 Ocmulgee River, on which Macon is situated and along 

 which the E. T. , V. & G. R. R. runs, wherever the swamp 

 is large enough turkeys abound; and on nearly every 

 large creek flowing into the river from the east side, for 

 some miles up the creek and in the old fields and pine 

 woods adjacent thereto, they range in the fall and winter 

 in goodly numbers, though not often in large flocks. In 

 the county below and east of this (Twiggs) there are some 

 veiy successful turkey hunters, and I have several friends 

 among them who invariably ask me to go down and take 

 a hunt with them whenever I meet them. I took one 

 unsuccessful hunt last fall, the rain having broken up om' 

 hunt. We hunted them then with a pointer dog, and gen- 

 erally are successful in that way. 



W. H. F. (the very efficient sheriff of Twiggs and splen- 

 did fellow generally) is one of the most successful turkey 

 hunters of aU my acquaintances. Several years ago he 

 killed sisty in one season, or during the year. One season, 

 out of large number kiUed, he had ten successive gobblers 

 that averaged 201b8. gross weight. One day he killed six 

 and could have killed more, but had as many as he wanted. 

 Such success does not always attend the turkey hunter, as 

 he sometimes walks or rides many weary miles and does 

 not see even a feather. I can testify to that experience 

 a number of times myself. 



They tell a good joke on Will about kilUng two bronzed 

 turkeys. He was visiting his plantation and while on the 

 way found a fine fiock, killed two, went to his plantation, 

 had the turkeys dressed and next day carried them home. 

 On the following day his brother dined with him, and 

 while they ate this brother remarked that a great many 

 people claimed that vsdld turkeys were not as fine eating as 

 the domestic turkeys, but he knew that no tame turkeys 

 could equal that delicious fowl as he then enjoyed it. 

 Well, shortly after Mrs. W. called to see Will's good wife, 

 and while there she informed Mrs. F. that WiU had killed 

 two of her turkeys. "Oh, no," she says, "that can't be 

 so, Mr. F. killed two wild turkeys a few days ago." But 

 her visitor insisted that they were her bronzed tiirkeys. 

 As soon as her Kege lord came home she asked him 

 whether or not it were true, and why he had not told her 

 They were two miles from home. But WiU has not hearci 

 the last of it yet. 



W. H. F. was in the city not long ago and arranged tc 

 meet me at Adams Park station on E, T. V. & G. R. E 



