384 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



May 4 



CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 



[F)-om a Staff Correspondent.] 

 Out of Tune. 



Chicago, 111. , Ai>ril 29.— There are more dukes, dudes 

 and dagoes in this neck of the woods just now than there 

 are jacksnipe, by a good many. The former have to l)e 

 here May 1, and the latter don't. The weather is hard on 

 all alike, but the birds, having wings, axe havmg a shade 

 the beat of it, for they can get away, and have no Colum- 

 bian sentiment to restrain them from doing so. Any 

 biped that is able to get out of tliis climate and does not 

 do so, is possessed of more sentiment than horse sense. 

 Your jacksnipe has plenty of horse sense, and he has left 

 the World's Fair behind him, to open or not as it may see 

 fit, he meanwhile flitting to Alaska or Siberia, or some 

 place where the climate is milder than it is here. 



The man who makes the weather is getting himself dis- 

 liked, and this not only by the World's Fair tourists, but 

 also by the hardy sportsmen who still feel the need of an 

 occasional leg-stretchuag tramp, in spite of the allm-e- 

 ments of the graveled ways of the White City. The con- 

 tinued and truly abominable rain, cold and windiness of 

 the recent Chicago weather, liave knocked our sweet 

 bells out of tune. They have delayed the work at the 

 Fair, promise to mar the pleasure of next Monday's fes- 

 tivities, and worse than that, have ruined the snipe shoot- 

 ing. It is this latter fact which constitutes the basis for 

 the greatest national kick. I suppose we may as well 

 make up our minds to it. The cold rains have flooded 

 the snipe bo^, chilled the budding aspirations of the 

 tender worm, and therefore have scattered the longbills 

 far and wide. The grass is now high and green and the 

 marshes full of water. AVhen the first warm days come 

 the jacks will collect and go on north, but will tarry here 

 no longer. A few grass plover and golden plover will 

 then be all that is left to go a-gunning after. 



Ten days ago the big Leesburg marsh, six miles north 

 of Wa,rsaw, Ind. , was in fine shape for shooting, and the 

 birds were there in such numbers that bags of fifty and 

 sixty to the single gun were not unusual. Then came 

 the cold storms and made this marsh, hard bottomed and 

 pleasant as it usually is for walking, more like a fisli pond 

 than anything else. This week the lightest bag of the 

 Warsaw men was 109 birds to one party, of these only 55 

 being jacks, the rest j)lover and rail. 



As mentioned earlier, it has been the greatest season 

 for jacksnipe we have had for many yeai"S. The flight of 

 ducks was also good. The run of' bass in the Illinois 

 rivers has not been so heavy for ten years. The streams 

 are now all very high and roily; which is a good thing, as 

 it protects the bass when they ought not to be caught. 



Local Timidity. 



At Momence, on the Kankakee, hundreds of bass have 

 been taken. The residents raised a great cry about illegal 

 fishing and insisted that the Kankakee Association was 

 not doing its ''duty." The Association paid a warden $40 

 to go down and relieve the strain at Momence, but the 

 warden this week says the violations are not amounting 

 to much. The main offense is that of spearing, and 

 although he saw some spearing, he did not see a 

 bass or other game fish speared. The worst spearing is 

 done through the ice, and on the early run, when the 

 water is high and roily. At that time the bass run close 

 in shore, and there is no doubt that many are then killed 

 with the spear. Next spring it would be well for the 

 Momence men to summon up some local funds and some 

 local nerve, for it is not likel}^ that the Kankakee Associ- 

 ation will do so mucli by them, The Association has 

 spent over $100 at that point. Momence has contributed 

 less than $40 in all, and did not help the warden at all 

 this time, as I understand. The usual local fear of "being 

 known" in a prosecution exists there to the usual damag- 

 ing extent. 



About the Grayling. 



Mr. J. B. BatteUe, of Toledo, 0., very well known to 

 the angling readers of Forest and Steeajm, is in Chicago 

 for a few days. Mr. BatteUe is veiy fond of grayling 

 fisliing, and teUs me that that lovely fish, though not 

 nearly so plentiful as it once was, is by no means yet ex- 

 tinct. The An Sable, once famous and long thought de- 

 pleted, is much protected by its inaccessibility, but still 

 has some grayhng. It is a rapid, large stream, and can 

 b.- worked only by floatmg down in a boat. No stopping 

 l)l,ices are at hand on the best water, and the angler must 

 camj) out. He can keep on going down stream, but he 

 never can come back uj) again. This sort of trip is haz- 

 ardous and hard, and the summer tourist can't stand it. 

 Hence the grayling are much protected by nature. 



Mr. BatteUe also tells me that he thinks the South Pen- 

 insula is going to have fine trout fishing in many of the 

 old logged-out sti-eams which of late every one "has left 

 unfished. After the loggmg drives ceased the streams 

 again ran wild very rapidly, and restocking aided the 

 wild fish, so that the supply is now good. 



Elk in Michigan. 



Prof. Adolf)he B. Covert, taxidermist to the University 

 of Michigan Museum, at Ann Arbor, is in Chicago in 

 charge of the magnificent exhibition of mounted animals, 

 his own work, in the Michigan Building at the AVorld's 

 Fau". Prof. Covert, who by the way is a long-time For- 

 est and Stkeah friend, blundered into the exhibit now 

 comfortably installed in the space occupied by the paper 

 in the Anglers' Pavilion, and was later so good as to 

 wash the faces and comb the liair of some of the Forest 

 AND Stream: movuited heads which appeared a trifle the 

 worse for travel. We feU to talkmg, and I learned some- 

 thing which I suppose wiU be news to a great many. 

 Prof. Covert says tha,t there are stiU a few elk left in 

 Michigan. 



"I am confined in the showing of specimens to those 

 animals actually found in the State. Not only were elk 

 once abundant in Michigan, but there are still some left. 

 Another supposition is that there are no sharp-taUed grouse 

 in Michigan, yet that bird is to be found in certain parts 

 of the North Peninsula at certain seasons of the j^ear. In 

 my work I often hear of things of interest t« shooters 

 which 1 hardly feel at liberty to tell, and of course I 

 should not wLsh you to name the locaUties in this case." 



Certainly I should not care to publish the localities men- 

 tioned, but there is no reason m the world to doubt the 

 entire accuracy of Prof. Covert's statements, and I fancy 

 the facts will be news to many interested in the fauna of 

 the middle West. 



Cross-bred Buffalo Die. 



A special to the Omaha Bee from^Laramie, Wyo., has 

 the following: 



"J. H. Hudson, who started a buffalo ranch on the 

 plains fortj^ miles from here last fall, has been forced to 

 abandon the project of exhibiting a cross-bred bunch of 

 bison at the World's Fair. His breeding stock was a 

 thoroughbred buffalo bull and eight specially selected Dur- 

 ham cows. The calves died soon after birth and in each 

 case the mothers followed within ten days." 



The above is contrary to the experience in the C. J. 

 Jones herd. The PoUed Angus was the domestic breed 

 most used there. 



Not a Pleasant Siglnt. 



The papers are making comment on a remarkable gar- 

 ment sent to the World's Fair as part of the Dakota 

 women's exhibit. It is a cloak, made entirely of the 

 feathers of the prairie chicken. It is thus described: 



"The cloak is a curious piece of workmanship and was 

 made by a Dakota woman, who spent ten years in getting 

 the material. Some idea can be gained of the number 

 of birds it took to furnish the material from the fact that 

 all the feathers are of a lovely and peculiar hue and only 

 three or four found on each bird. Each feather is helcl in 

 place by no less than eight stitches. The value placed on 

 this garment by the woman who made it is $1,000." 



I shotdd think that cloak would be rather a sad sight. 



No Lodge Poles. 



Just at this wi-iting the most anxious man in Chicago is 

 "Billy"' Hofer, of the Hunter's Cabin at the Fair. Mr. 

 Hofer has got down to where he finds red tape in large 

 chunks on his claim, and it frets his practical Western 

 soul to see how long it takes to do nothing at the Fair. 

 Not long ago, not over a month, at least, he ordered a set 

 of lodge poles from a Bulgarian artist in wood. After 

 many days they came. They were, as he had specified, 

 about bin. in diameter at the end, but unfortunately it 

 was at the wrong end. At the big end they were about a 

 foot across. BUly tried to explain that he didn't want to 

 build that sort of a lodge, but the Bulgarian resented 

 this, and as a result Billy lias no poles at all. I advised 

 him to go down to Whiting, toward the sand hill country, 

 and cut a wagon load of poles for himself, but he wiU 

 probably get arrested if he tries to do that, and will then 

 meet some more red tape. Meantime the cabin is com- 

 plete, and all its surroundings ^vill be in perfect harmony, 

 especiaUy if Billy gets his poles without getting into jail. 



Sights at the Fisheries. 



Mysterious things are doing in the U. S. exhibit in the 

 east" annex of the Fisheries, and what these may be the 

 curious can only gaiess, for the gates are barred as yet. 

 In the main Fisheries the work is far along, and the air 

 hums Avith the intense energy ^of the work of preparation. 

 Norway is now instaUed, and able indeed is the hand that 

 guided her exhibit in its place. The marine paintings by 

 the artist Laurit?. Haaland grow on one more the more 

 one studies them. 



The Netherlands exhibit is an odd one. It shows the 

 herring fisheries of Holland in miniature. A herring boat, 

 manned by red-capped sailors, is shown upon a rolling sea. 

 The waves of the sea are realistic, but they do not move. 

 Apparently the sea is made of green onyx, though it may 

 be Castile soap. Anyhow, it has waves and the boat sits 

 in them, full rigged, and over her gunwale the sailors are 

 puUmg a net, and in the net are little shiny herrines, 

 about as long as yom- little finger naU. Moreover, piled 

 up in a comer of the space are divers kegs of herring, the 

 labels on which make you hunery. 



France has not yet made her installation, nor has 

 Great Britain anything in place except the Irish model of 

 the Baltimore School of Fisheries, of County Cork. Aus- 

 traha has her work nearly done. Among the many things 

 of interest here is a great xjhotographic view of Wooloo- 

 mooloo fish market, Sydney, New South Wales. Pictm-es, 

 brilhant shells and odd beasts and birds meet one at ail 

 hands in this reflex of the antipodes. 



Canada has a large space, and has filled it admirably. 

 The angler wiU linger long and lovingly before the Cana- 

 dian cases. The fishes are elegantly mounted, and one can 

 feast his eyes upon the bass, the 'lunge, the painted trout, 

 and lastly the beau saumon in all his silver glory. Few 

 things in the Fisheries wiU lead Canada, and the instaUa- 

 tion IS artistically j^laced. 



Eastern men will view with interest and pride the show- 

 ing made by old Gloucester port, up Massachusetts way. 

 The product and the record of that salt sea city are dis- 

 played in good, heai-ty fashion. 



The private exhibits will also be of much interest. 

 Substantial barrels and cases littered the floor of 

 A. Booth's space when last I saw it, but one may expect 

 a great showing from this great Chicago house. John R. 

 Neal & Co., of Boston, Mass., have a really comprehenssive, 

 elegant and tastefully gotten uj) display. They have 

 models showing the East coast fisheries in aU stages, and 

 there are two fuU-numbered sets of paintings, one show- 

 ing the haddock and another the cod fisheries, which are 

 not only instructive but interesting from their life and 

 action. 



In the Anglers' Pavilion. 



The house of the anglers is backward, but in shape for 

 rapid completion in its interior arrangements. Col. Gay, 

 of Pennsylvania, has his glass houses all done, and his 

 fountains cocked and primed. The Osgood Boat Co. has 

 a number of its tidy craft in place, and the Acme people 

 are close by with theirs. Mr. Comstock shows a Protean 

 tent in the Osgood space. The Horton Mfg. Co. have a 

 grand case showing then steel rods, and dos a dos to 

 them are A. G. Spalding & Bros. , with a case of lovely 

 Kosmic rods, whose value runs into the thousands of 

 doUars. Near by the Oliio State exhibit folks are screwing 

 up some mighty hfe-Uke looking fish, and others whose 

 houses are not yet ready, are rapidly bringing system out 

 of a riot of raw material. The Waltonian Mfg. Co. were 

 to have had their fly-tiers in place to-day. The Natchaug 

 Silk Co. wiU put in some of their braiding machines, 

 showing the process of making then- silk casting Unes. 



The "Forest and Stream" Exhibit, 



The very first exhibit in the Pavilion is that of Forest 

 AND Stream. You wiU see the rustic letters and the big 

 moose head of the sign royal of the greatest sporting 

 paper of America, the first thing to the right as you step 

 into the building. Before you (unless the edicts of red 

 tapedom decree otherwise, as is now rumored) you will 



see against the wall the vast case containing the largest 

 tarpon ever caught on earth, or in the sea. The authorities 

 may technicaUy object to Forest and Stream having the 

 biggest fish on earth, but they can't technically help 

 Forest and Stream from being the biggest shooting 

 paper on earth, and if the tarpon comes down, something 

 else goes up. To the left of the big fish is a case showing 

 bound files of the Forest and Stream from its birth up to 

 the present year. They are bound in red leather, and it 

 is worth the jirice of admission to look at their backs, thoy 

 are so prett5^ There are also to be seen many other 

 books, aU from Forest and Streaji Pub. Go's book house. 

 These are not aU bound in red leather, but are good if not 

 spectacular. There are dog books, shooting books, boating 

 books, angling books, natural history books, camping-out 

 books, all sorts of books. It would have been a great 

 scheme to bind them aU in red leather, but we can't have 

 the earth. 



The five decoration for the top of the Forest and 

 Stream space is of mounted heads, the mountain sheep, 

 buffalo, white goat, antelope, Virginia deer and caribou 

 being shown, the two latter dominated by a set of elk 

 antlers. The background color is Pompeiian red. Other 

 exhibitors have copied the Forest and Stream idea and 

 used this same color, but the Forest and Stream was the 

 first to select this color and show it in the ]mviUon. It 

 forms a fine backgroimd for the white-framed pictures 

 which form so valuahle a part of the exhibit. These pic- 

 tures cover the walls completely from the line of the 

 mounted heads down to within reach of the hand. They 

 are unique, beautiful, admirable. The pictures arc all 

 bromide enlargements from actual photographs submitted 

 in the Forest and Stream amateur photography tourna- 

 ment. They show many striking scenes m the life of out 

 of doors. Beneath the caribou head are two pictures of 

 caribou, one of a herd just crossing a river and one of 

 three little individuals in a little forest glade. The latter, 

 in balance, composition, light and shade, could not be 

 surpassed by a painter after years of study. How the 

 photograph was made remains a mystery. 



Under the antelope head is a photo of a band of ante- 

 lope, wUd, bunched up and ready to run. The foot hills 

 country is all there, and you know you have seen the 

 actual thhig. 



On the left are grouped the upland pictures, on the 

 right the marsh pictures, and on each side of the center 

 are the first and second prize pictures of the amateur 

 tournament. Horicon Marsh of Wisconsin, the sea coast of 

 Texas, the groves of Indiana, the blue watt\ra of the 

 Atlantic, the woods of the North — aU are laid luider con- 

 tribution. Many have asked me, "What has a newspaper 

 to exhibiti"' Much. There is no exhibition on earth that 

 equals that of the patience, the tirelessness, the enter- 

 prise and' the energy showm. by the newspapei s of America. 

 Tlie result of these things for itself Forest and Stream 

 can show. These things do not always mean success, 

 but Forest and Stream can show this most desirable 

 result of aU— success. 



The "Forest and Stream" Western Office. 



Friends and correspondents of Forest and Stream in 

 the West or elsewhere sliouldnote the fact that the West- 

 ern office of Forest and Stream Publishing Company is 

 now located jiermanently at 909 Security Building, 

 Chicago. This is diagonally across the block from the 

 former place at 175 Monroe street. The Security Building 

 is the latest of Chicago's model oflice buildings. It is 

 situated at the corner of Madison street and Fifth avenue, 

 hence in the most desirable part of the citj' for the pur- 

 pose of a newspaper office. The building is tall, light, 

 quiet, marble lined throughout, with speedy elevators, 

 equipped perfectly, and indeed faultless for the purposes 

 intended. The increasing hushiess of Forest and Stream 

 in the West called for better facilities for its handling, 

 Tbe bright little quarters now secm-ed wiU serve admir- 

 ably as a home for this part of the work, and it is hoped 

 that all who knew 175 Monroe street, and also a great 

 many more, will come to know 909 Security Building. 

 Tliey will aU be very welcome. E. HouGii, 



909 Seouhity Bdildins, Chicago. 



Texas Jottings. 

 Give a Creole a chicken and a handful of rice, and he 

 wiU do wonders. 



■ • • 



The Chief is of the opinion that good gumbo is the re- 

 sult of a combination of mustard plaster, tobacco sauce 

 and cantharides. 



• • • 



Doubtless aU travelers have noticed that in the South 

 the chimneys are built on the outside of the houses. This 

 is very generally the case from Cairo south. Did the 

 Northerner ever think of the reason for this? There are 

 reasons for all such general types in the buildings of any 

 locality. The Southerner ^viU explain that in liis country 

 there is more room outside of a hotise than inside, and lio 

 puts the chimney outside to make more room inside. Also, 

 it is much cooler in the house with the hot chimney on j 

 the outside, it not being very often desirable to utUize all 

 the heat possible, as in the North. After hearing theaej 

 i-eaUy valid reasons, the supercilious Northerner usually 

 has to admit that he "hadn't thought of that." ' 



• • • 



The terms "ved fish" and "red snapper" are used indis- 

 criminately in New Orleans restaurants, but I am not 

 posted enough to say that this is correct. The red snapper 

 is caught on banks out in the guU. Gah^efiton has a red, 

 snapper fisheries company. The "red fish"' runs in sclioole, 

 in bayous, and takes the minnow weU, fighting strongly.; 

 Tins latter was told me by "Bud" Stephenson, of Stephen- 

 son's Lake, Texas. 



• • • 



It is one thing to be able to spell the Southern namesj 

 and another to be able to pronounce them. Thus I heard' 

 some mention of deer lumting in the "Chafalah" oi 

 "Chafaly" (accent on last syUable) swamps, and was for a 

 long time ignorant that the river in question was th« 

 Atchafalaya of our school boy days. You never heat 

 anybody down in Louisiana speak of any such river as 

 the Atchafalaya. That is a Northern river purely. An 

 other instance of similar nature befel us at Opelousas. A 

 gentleman who was introduced to us, and who was verjj 

 kind to us, getting up a .shooting party for us, sending hi] 

 horae and buggy over to us, and in short treating us as ii 

 he had known us long and favorably, this gentleman 

 everybody caUed Mr. Wyo. Yet, if I am not again mia 

 taken, his narne was reaUy Mi-. WaUior. It's a funnj 



I 



