564 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



iJuira: 29, im. 



much all over the world to advance the prowess and the 

 reputa-tion of American enterprise and resource. Ihese, 

 too will all think, unless I miss my guess, tha,t while the 

 Winchester Co. knows how to make guns it also knows 

 who to send out to display them. Col. Addis is quite 

 safe to ti-ust away from home, and I trust he may see 

 many more World's Fairs in similar capacity. 



The U. M. C. Exhibit. 



Around the corner from the Winchester space Is the in- 

 staUation of a firm known as widely, I suppose, as any ot 

 this or any other country, a name in the mouth ot every 

 shooter, from the match shooter to the country boy. JNo 

 one calls it the Union Metallic Cartridge Co., however. 

 It is "U. M. C." at the trap, on the cars, in the held, 

 or anywhere else, whether we speak of the new 

 green cases, or the smokeless cases, or the old 

 Itraw-colored Club shells, or of any one of a hundred 

 other products familiar in shooting lore. Here you can 

 see them aU, every one, more than you dreamed ot, and 

 in apple-pie order. Twenty-five feet of a double case, 

 perpendicular and horizontal, again the glitter of brass 

 and glass, and some nice red paint on some of the big 

 rifled cannon ammunition, again the sheen of copper and 

 of iron, with careful and thoughtful and pleasing arrange- 

 ment to give it all a just display— and there you have the 

 XJ. M. C. exhibit, necessarily plain, severe, simple and not 

 elaborately decorative. No attendant was m charge 

 when I was last at these cases, nor did one seem needed. 

 The U. M. C. goods speak for themselves. E. Hou&H. 



909 SeCukity BtntDiNG, Chicago. 



The Maine Association's Work. 



The Maine Sportsmen's Fish and Game Assocciation has 

 made a movement in the right direction. This week Mr. 

 B F, Fowles of Boyd Lake, a member of the last Legis- 

 laWe, starts for Porus Island, which is situated in 

 Pamadumcook Lake about midway between Mattawam- 

 keao- and Chesuncook Lake. The west branch of the 

 Penobscot River is the outlet of Chesuncook Lake, and 

 ilows through or out of Pamadumcook Lake. This is one 

 of the greatest fish and game sections of Maine, and the 

 large amount of illegal hunting is notorious. Mr. Fowles 

 has a thorough knowledge of the section, and the manner 

 of hunting is familiar to him. He will first have to 

 build a "post camp" on Porus Island. The Bangor & 

 Aroostook Railroad will pass the foot of the lake and all 

 this fine hunting grounds will be brought of easy access. 

 It will be seen that this is no small undertaking. At this 

 time of the year, he writes, the deer and moose are 

 virtually at the mercy of the poacher. They frequent the 

 water to avoid the flies and become an easy prey to such 

 as hunt them in violation of the law. Mr. Fowles will be 

 able to do much to stop the slaughter of big game by his 

 influence with the hunters, and will not hesitate to apply 

 the law if needed. The association has hired him for an 

 indefinite time, and well demonstrate the question 

 whether the laws can be enforced in that section or not. 

 If Mr. Fowles wants assistance it will be sent him. — 

 Augusta Journal, June 17. 



Rhode Island Association. 



The Rhode Island Game Protective Association held its 

 annual meeting at the office of A. L. Andrews. T. W, 

 Penney, the organizer of the association, and its first 

 president, was again elected to that office. It was voted 

 to have the game laws printed and distributed in the 

 State, and to appoint game wardens in those towns where 

 the town councils have not chosen such ofiicers. The as- 

 sociation has the right to do this under its charter. As 

 the excessively severe weather of the past winter killed 

 many birds, the association intends to exert itself to pro- 

 tect "the remainder. Every effort wiU be made to stop 

 unlawful shooting, and to punish the market-hunters. 

 The full list of officers elected is as follows: President, 

 T. W. Penney, Johnston; Vice-Presidents, Jolin T. Fiske, 

 Jr., Pascoag; C. Fred. Crawford, Lincoln; Newton Dex- 

 er, Walter S. Ballou, Providence; Secretary, L. P, 

 Langworthy, Providence; Treasurer, F. S. Rand, Provi- 

 dence; Managing Board, T. W. Penney, Newton Dexter, 

 R. H. Wilson, P. J. Hulbert, William A. Campbell. 



Massachusetts Grouse. 



Baldwinville, Mass., June 17. The grouse have win- 

 tered well and as we have had no rains for a month the 

 chicks should be numerous and strong, which I guess they 

 are, as attested by several lively broods almost within 

 gunshot of the house. We are awaiting the opening of 

 the bass season with as much patience as we can com- 

 mand. The trout fishing is about done for. NiMS. 



"That Reminds Me." 



Why the "Blue Racer" Died. 



"Lordy-me!" and "Lighthouse Charley" sank into the 

 broken chair by the door, "Lordy-me! Lordy-me!" 



"What is the matter now, Mr. Baldwin?" inquired the 

 storekeeper from the back room, recognizing the old man's 

 voice. 



"Matter 'nuif ," says he. "It's a-gettin' so naow thet 

 what with ther patent this en ther patent thet, thet er or- 

 dinary human beuv won't hev nuthin' ter deAV but crawl 

 inter some ground hog's hole en die. Folks 'II hev ther 

 eatin', sleepin', thinkin' en talkin' dun by turn cranks en 

 cogses bimeby. Stepped inter Deacon Woodruffses this 

 mornin' en asked him when he was a-goin' ter cradle thet 

 rye er hisn. *Mos' all dun!' sez he, ez kule ez er hop frog 

 under a lily pad (en me a-doin' of his cradlin' er good 

 thirty year en more) en pinted up ther lane; en danged ef 

 ther warn't a bustin' big macheen affair, tu hosses a-pullin' 

 of it, slashin', whii-lin' en slinging' ther gi-ain. When it 

 got dm-ned good en ready it passed aout them bimdles er 

 rye, all tied en fastened like a man 'd do. Fact!" The 

 old man relapsed into gloomy silence. ' 'No use er workin' 

 agin turn-cranks en cogses," he began again reflectively; 

 "en, Lordy-me! what kin er body expect, when the wizist, 

 ol'est en Ivnowinest er snakes is gettin' outdid by new- 

 fangled tricks, no wonder ef menkind gits fuled." 



"Vk'iiat's that about snakes, ]\Ir. Baldwin? I hadn't 

 heard anything new," the insinuating storekeeper paused 

 in driving the busy red ants out of the sugar bar- 



rel, for he knew the old man's weakness for reptiles. 



"Hum," grunted Lighthouse Charley, "fer folks alivm 

 right en taown, under ther telegraph wires en next door 

 ter railroad, yer dew hear ez little ez er deaf hen lou 

 'member thet ole blue racer up ter Farms, don t yer.^ 

 What, en you a Wheeler's Farms lad! Well, daown back 

 er my shack thet you boys call their 'lighthouse, m thet 

 stretch er faller graound 'tween me en ther Howsertonic 

 River, ther's a big heap er rocks. Never knew haow they 

 cum ther, but ther thar anyhow, en some six er eight 

 years ergo ther blue racer lef Woodbridge taown en 

 tuck up quarters en them rocks. Every one knowed 

 him, by hearsay at least, en when I fust seed him i 

 knowed right away who he were. He Avere ther hand- 

 somest snake yer ever see. All over a dull leady blue en 

 with jes' a collar er white round his throat. I don t be- 

 lieve he were mor'n five foot long, but he were a hum- 

 mer. Harmless ez er kitten, but how he could fly. Whj^ 

 ef thet sarpent hed been human he'd er been follerin 

 ther races sure. Seemed ter cum er sportm blood 

 natural. He used ter lie out by them rocks waitm_ 

 fer somethin' ter cum ty ter race with. Ginupracm' 

 with me en ther boys after a little. They wuz allers so 

 durned scared thet they couldn't give him no kind er 

 tussle. Jes about twilight he'd git ready ter mosey out 

 en beat sumbody on ther road. Dogs, cats, ground hogs 

 en minks, I've seen him leave 'em all behind en then 

 crawl up in them rocks en larf like er good un. I give 

 him a tussle with thet young buckskin colt er mine oncet, 

 but he did us clean, en how pleased he wuz. Sociable 

 like he seemed, lew, en used ter cum up ter the wood- 

 house door sum days when I wuz sawin' en try ter 

 swing faster then ther saw. En the other snakes! Why 

 I thought er black snake knowd er heap, but this chap 

 beat him all holler. Seen him race a hoop snake one 

 time, en goin' down hill; the hooper bent himself up en 

 rolled so ez ter gain time, but ther racer warn't asleep en 

 he jes stiffened out en w6nt end over end till he farly 

 spun, en left thet wheel snake back in ther dust. Crossin' 

 ther crick one spell he got beat, I 'member, quite bad. I 

 wuz a loadin' salt hay en see him cum down ther lane 

 jes ez I wuz leavin' fur hum. Over by ther edge er ther 

 crick lay er big water moccasin on er log en when he 

 see ther blue racer he shook his tail, shivered en started 

 ercross crick. Now yer know a snake can't stand ernother 

 shakin' tail at him thet way, en the racer jes frothed en 

 set out ter beat ther chap. Water wuz a new track fur 

 him though, en the moccasin distanced him by a yard or 

 so. Tell you thet snake felt small when he cum hum. He 

 never cum out fur a week after thet, en when he did he 

 wuz a curus sight. The cunnin' rascal put fur ther crick 

 en I after him. The water snake wuz waitin sure 'nuff , 

 en I yelled 'go' when they got inter line. It wuz close et 

 fust, but my snake drawed aAvay from the other bimeby 

 en won by nigh a rod. When he cum back I seed him 

 make fur the rocks, en bein' curus ter know what trainin' 

 he'd been doin' I foUered. That cussed sharp rascal; he'd 

 bin er sl^epui with his tail tween tu stones till he'd flat- 

 tened the end out like an oar. Spect he'd bin er watchin' 

 the boys paddle ther shad scow en caught the idea from 

 thet. After thet he never hed no more fuss. Beat every- 

 thing, cars, steamboat, en I believe he'd a beat er bow 

 arrer, but he's gone now, poor feller, en ther's never er 

 snake like him no more, never a snake," and then Light- 

 house Charley mournfully twisted his red bandanna, till 

 it resembled a fiery serpent. 



"But how wuz it he went away? Where is he now?" 

 asked Gregg, winking at Benhoin's hired man. 



"Wal," renewed the venerable snake student, "thet's 

 more'n I know. Might ez well ask whar Jedge Miles is 

 thet died las' week, er Doctor Heady. Lord only knows. 

 But I waz present when the racer giv up, en I felt like one er 

 the f ambly wuz gone. Yer see, knowin' him so well I got 

 considerable set up 'bout thet snake an used ter tell folks 

 now en then sum er his clever ways, en one spell las' 

 month er peddler from York way wuz passin' en I told 

 him what a Avonderful critter I hed down in the rocks. 

 'Pooh!' sez he, 'ther's a snake up our way thet kin 

 naterally warm the spirit out en any your Farms riptiles 

 en enny kind er race.' He wuz so dang-sizzled brag 'bout 

 his snake thet I got mad, and ended by bettin' a ten dol- 

 lar note thet the blue snake would mow down any squirm- 

 in' thing thet squirmed, let him choose the race track. 

 Mr. Peddler 'greed, en las' Thursday he cum iu with er 

 box under his arm. When he let loose his goer I couldn't 

 see much ter brag on, 'peared ter be nothin' but er little 

 gray swamp-snake, only he hed big floppin' things like 

 rs up by his head, thet made him monstrous homely, 

 i,' sez I, layin' out my ten, 'let her go.' The blue racer 



ears 



'Hi,' , 



cum outen ther stun-pile, tuck one look at ther stranger 

 en jes sniffed at the idee, an then they started, my snake 

 lettin' ther other hev jes a start so's not to leave him 

 tu fur behind. Down through the cornfield they went 

 hummin,' seemed to e'en a'most bum the rail fence when 

 they wizzed under it, ther wuz goin' so h©t. Over the 

 hiU they tore, en commin' down, the racer did his end 

 over end trick, enter my surprise the little chap jes' flapped 

 them big ears like wings and fairly flew like a swaller, 

 gaining on the big one every flop. I wuz scared en saw 

 his leetle game then. 'It's a wing snake,' I yelled ter ther 

 racer, 'tak*^ ter ther crick en you'U hev himl' " 



"He beared me en' went fur the water like er shot. I 

 could see ther spray fly when thet paddle tail er his'n 

 struck. 'Hurray!' I whooped, 'they're cumin', en we 

 win!' en I wuz reachin' fur the bill, Avhen the worst you 

 ever see took place. Thet low-down, deceivin' little 

 squirmer from York turned them wings er his'n inter two 

 big reA'olvin' paddles, en cum doAAm the crick like thet 

 side wheel boat from Derby. Pass the racer? Why, he 

 left thet honest ole time sculler ez fur back ez ther Housa- 

 tonic express 'd leave er pup dog. The peddler smiled 

 like er angel en sez he, tucktn' my bill away, 'Whenever 

 ther's any snake flesh around thet kin move er little, I'd 

 like ter stir my twister up er bit,' en he boxed his wing 

 snake up en lef. 



' 'Found ther ole racer out by ther rocks ther next day, 

 stone dead. I never see sech a hopeless look ez wuz on 

 his dead face, never. Sech a reel I-done-my-best, but-yer- 

 rung-in-er-crooked-pack expression ez would make er oak 

 log ciy ter see. Yes, ther ole feller's gone, en he wuz a 

 noble snake, er democrat ermongst sai-pints, en he died 

 of er bi oken heart." 



There was stillness in the store as the ancient hermit 

 reached over the counter for the bottle and the store- 

 keeper gazed absently out on the village green and list- 

 ened to the sober but tnathful soliloquy of the clock. 



H. Prescott Beach. 



Game Laws in Brief." June, 1893, revised. Game and Fish laws 

 of all the States, Territories and Provinces. Correct, reliable, hand- 

 somely illustrated. Published by the "Forest and Stream." Sold by 

 all dealers. Price S5 cents. 



THE BASS WE DID NOT GET. 



"As the grape comes to the vine, 

 The fruit to the tree; 

 As the wind comes to the pine 

 And the tide to the sea," 



So CAME the longing to me to go a-fishing, but I did not 

 see just how I was to get aAvay. Many times during May 

 and the first week in June I had told Jack that I believed 

 the fish were biting good in some of our favorite lakes, 

 but he always said, "I wish you would keep still; you 

 know I cannot go, and you drive me wild Avith your sug- 

 gestions. Clear out and let me alone. " I knew he wanted 

 to go just as badly as I did, but he felt that business de- 

 manded his attention. His birthday came the second da,y 

 of June, and I gave him an elegant rod- for which he had 

 often expressed admiration and a longing to be its owner; 

 and that brought him to time, I think, for on the second 

 morning after, when I returned to my room from break- 

 fast, I found this on my desk: "Say, old man, don't you 

 Avant to go down to Tom's to-day? We'll go down in the 

 canvas boat and have him bring us back to-morrow night. 

 Get ready and come right over town. — Jack." 



I was ready in a very short time, but we did not go in 

 the canvas boat after all; for just before we were ready to 

 start, Tom, who is Jack's oldest brother, drove into town 

 and said that we must get right in and go back with him. 

 We did so, and greatly enjoyed the drive from Detroit to 

 Tom's place on the shore of Lake Melissa. We were 

 greeted with the pomp and splendor of early June on 

 every side, and as Ave passed between Twin Lakes they 

 looked like mirrors of finely burnished silver set in frames 

 of living green, Avoven by the magic of the springtime. 

 If we had gone in our canvas boat we Avould,have crossed 

 Detroit Lake, descended Pelican River to Muskrat Lake, 

 crossed that and gone through the locks into Lake Sally, 

 and rowing the length of this lake entered the river and 

 made a short run into Lake Melissa and around the east 

 shore for a mile to our destination— a most delightful 

 trip, with excellent fishing all the way and Avith as beau- 

 tiful scenery as can be found anyAvhere in northern Min- 

 nesota. We reached Tom's place at noon, and soon after 

 dinner went out on the lake for black bass. 



"Forth upon the Gitche Gumee, 



On the shining Big-Sea-AVater, 



With his fishing line of cedar, 



Of the twisted baric of cedar." 



Thus Avent Hiaw^atha a-fishing in his AA-^onderful canoe, 

 and Avith his fishing line "of cedar," to catch Mishe- 

 Nahma "in the big-sea-water," while we went forth on 

 plain, prosaic Lake Melissa (which name means a bee, I 

 believe, in the original), with spHt-bamboo and light steel 

 rods, modern reels and Natchaug silk lines, in a boat 

 aroimd which no scrap of romance could possibly be 

 twined, so flat-bottomed, tub-like and unAvieldy a craft it 

 was; and we simply wanted to catch Micropterus clolo- 

 mieu, of weight not over 61bs. nor under 5. The day was 

 perfect for June, and deep blue sky, wood-lined shore and 

 beautiful lake, combined with the companionsMp of the 

 one friend tvhom you would choose from all the Avorld for 

 a friend and outing chum, made everything as nearly 

 complete as possible from our point of view. 



But the fish! Ah, those bass! Not one did we get that 

 day. Every famous point and bay was visited in turn, 

 and the only one who struck a bass was Tom, and he lost 

 the fish just as Jack was getting ready to net it. It was 

 a big one, at least 71bs., I judge, but this must be taken 

 with proper caution, as from Avhere I sat I did not get 

 sight of the fish; I only saAv the swirl in the water as it 

 went off and judged from that. 



Greatly disappointed, we went to supper, and then went 

 forth again after pike-perch. Did Ave get them? Well, 

 yes, rather. In an hour we had 23 fine pike-perch on the 

 string and also had witnessed as fine a sunset as artist or 

 poet could wish to see. 



Through the twilight we strolled to Tom's place lugging 

 our twenty-three pike-perch, Avhich made a load. It was 

 late Avhen Ave went to bed, and as Jack stretched himself 

 out by my side he said, "Well, old fellow, Ave've had a 

 nice time even if we did not get a bass, but to-morrow 

 we'U fetch them." 



Tom's knock on the door aroused us in the morning, and 

 as soon as we came down he said, "You felloAvs are not 

 going back to-night at all. Here you stay until Friday 

 night, then I'll take you home. This morning I'll put a 

 boat on the wagon and take it and you over to Meadow 

 Lake, you can fish there until noon, then, if the bass are 

 not biting I'll come and get you and put you in any lake 

 that you say." 



Jack took Tom's side in the argument, so I gave m and 

 to Meadow Lake we went. The wind had been blowing 

 hard all the morning and soon increased to a gale. It was 

 very hot and after an hour's trial Ave knew that there Avere 

 no bass in that lake for us that day. We kept trying all 

 the forenoon, however, and as we started for dinner 

 could show a total catch of one pike and one catfish. We 



felt properly humiliated, for Avere we not famed fisher- 

 men, noted especially for the bass we had lured? I had to 

 laugh at Jack's vivid description of a scene he witnessed 

 one day when he came to the lake with two men who 

 drank freely and finally became so muddled that they 

 could fish no longer. As they were going to camp over 

 the same track we were going, a red squirrel ran across 

 the road and up a tree. One of the drvmken fellows 

 chanced to see it and bawled out, "Hi, there! see Char- 

 ley! there's one of them blamed bass going overland." 



After dinner Tom took us and the boat over to Lake 

 Sally, but the Avind Avas blowing so hard that we soon 

 gave up all idea of fishing and put in the afternoon in 

 drifting with the waves and exploring the east shore of 

 the lake. Jack and I always enjoy ourselves under all 

 circumstances, so we had a good time even though we 

 did not fish. All the wealth of the Northland as repre- 

 sented by leaf and fern and flower was spread out for our 

 pleasure, on this afternoon, when landing we strolled 

 along the shore and ascended a wooded bluff. 

 After supper we.went forth again, and Tom went along. 



