6 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[JULT 8, 1893. 



MICHIGAN, MY MICHIGAN.-I. 



Chatty Notes from the Great Wolverine State. 



Lansing, June 12, — One of the oldest, most popular and 

 most fiourisliing sjjorting clubs of Michigan is tlie Lansing 

 Rod and Gun Club. Its membership is large and includes 

 men in most every position and circumstance in life. 

 Good management of the club affairs on the part of the 

 club officers, and good fellowship and honesty of purpose 

 on the ijart of the club membership, has laid the founda- 

 tion, broad and sti'ong, for the present and future exist- 

 ence of the club, and at no time during the past ten years 

 has there been greater promise of usefulness in sporting 

 matters than at present. In a f utar ■ paper I will tell you 

 something of its organization and ol' its individual mem- 

 bership, and try to interest you in o u- doings. 



The club has a weekly shoot at the State Fair Grounds, 

 but owing to a modesty on the part of its management, 

 and a slight x^rotest on the part of some of the members, 

 the record of the shooting is not allowed to be published. 

 This action is taken to prevent the outside public from 

 getting an erroneous impression as to the shooting ability 

 of the club members, some of whom are almost, if not 

 quite, expert shots, while others with much less opportu- 

 nity at the trap are extra good shots, but occasionally 

 score a miss. 



A few weeks ago the Michigan State tournament was 

 held here, and a continuation of the shoot by the Lansing 

 Rod and Gun Club was a very pleasant feature of the 

 meeting. The club has grown in usefulness and member- 

 ship very greatly in the past five years. Some of the 

 older members have dropped out, some have died, others 

 have moved a (vay, and an infusion of new blood has re- 

 sulted in a very great interest in sporting matters. 



Years ago the meetings of the Michigan State Sports- 

 men's Association were often held at Lansing, and the in- 

 fluence of these meetings, and the healthy sentiment 

 which their proceedings established, were productive of 

 much good, and fostered a feeling that has been instru- 

 mental in game and fish protection, and of a higher 

 standard of sportsmanship among those who enjoy a few 

 days during the open season in the field or by the stream 

 with the rod and gun. 



At Pine Lake and at Park Lake, a dozen miles away, 

 the fishing is good, better than for many years, and some 

 extra fine strings of bass and pickerel have been taken 

 this season. These lakes are resorted to quite largely by 

 the members of the Lansing Rod and Gun Club, and three 

 or four cottages have been built tliere by members of the 

 club. Some day I will tell you of their jolly doings and 

 give you in detail an inside history of the pleasant outings 

 and of the enjoyable fish and frog breakfasts which they 

 get up for special occasions. 



This part of central Michigan, including Pine Lake, 

 Park Lake and the Grand River region, was the home of an 

 extensive tribe of Indians ruled over by the old chieftain 

 Okemos. Around these lakes and for miles up and down 

 the rivei'S, on either bank, one may find abundant evi- 

 dence of the substantial appreciation as a fishing and 

 hunting region in which these lakes and rivers were held 

 by the numerous tribes of Indians, who hunted and fished 

 here long before the white man ever visited this section. 

 It is related that on one occasion the old chief Okeinos 

 visited the Senate chamber at Lansing, when the Senate 

 was in session; that the old fellow wrapped his dirty old 

 blanket around him and strode down toward the speak- 

 er's desk, and stopping at a desk then occupied by the 

 late Senator Zach. Chandler, began to grunt out his dis- 

 approval at the way the white man treated the Indian. 

 Senator Chandler stood the old fellow's insolence as long 

 as he could, and then, greatly to the amusement of his 

 fellow Senators, he took the old fellow by the neck and 

 booted him out of the chamber, down the stairs, and way 

 out into the street. It is quite needless to state that the 

 aged chieftain never insulted Michigan's great Senator 

 again. These Indian tribes have all passed awaj, but the 

 early settlers are here, and they tell us interesting legends 

 relating to the Okemos Indians and of their history and 

 doings, in a day long before Lansing was thought of, and 

 Michigan was in tlie ranks of the great unknown. 



The deer, the bear and the wild turkey foxmd a con- 

 genial home in this great primeval wilderness, and in 

 winter large yards of deer could be found almost any- 

 where in the dense woods, in the lowlands around the 

 lakes and along the rivers. There are many people now 

 living in Lansing, and in the country about here, who 

 remember this wilderness-like condition, and can pleas- 

 antly entertain us hour after hour with their stories of 

 hunting and camping, and of the early-day sports which 

 could be had almost in their own dooryard. "Michigan, 

 my Michigan," was quite as popular then among the gun- 

 loving people of that day as it is now with those who 

 must be content with following the sprightly little cotton- 

 tail or spending a few days in. November with the quail or 

 i-uffed grouse. 



Jones Lake, a couple of miles north of Lansing, is a 

 nice little body of water, deei) and cool and clear, and it 

 is the honie of some big fellows, that used to be and that 

 have been record-breakers in their day. The islands in 

 Grand River are quite numerous, and in extent vary 

 from the size of a good sugar-cured ham to a few rods 

 long and as many feet wide. The banks of the river 

 are quite jjicturesque in their varied loveliness of 

 woodland, farms and cozy villages, and the river winds 

 around the little hills and through the pleasant valleys of 

 central Michigan with a seeming holiday abandon, which 

 can only be well appreciated by a canoe ride in early 

 autumn, from the junction of the Cedar and the G rand 

 i-ivers to their far-away lake terminus at Grand Haven. 

 Every season parties of gay voyagers take this way of 

 enjoying nature and a week of caniping out, and at times 

 the river, thus enlivened, presents a busy scene of enjoy- 

 ment and pleasure, that can only be thoroughly appre- 

 ciated by those who are fortunate enough to be a member 

 of one of those gypsy-like parties. The little folks, in 

 particular, enjoy the fun. The river is shallow, can be 

 waded almost anywhere, and in early autumn, with good 

 fishing, an occasional duck and with running rapids, and 

 again dragging the boat over a shallow drift, there is 

 given abundant opportunity for exercise of mind and 

 body, which is long remembered as a bright spot in the 

 journey of life. Two of the most pleasant outings, made 

 right on this dea,r old river and camping on these same 

 little islands, were the best that I ever enjoyed in my 

 life. We boated, fished, camped, hunted and enjoyed 

 two vreeks, in early September, two years ago, in a way 



that has made me ever since wish to try it again at the 

 very first opportunity. 



Years ago great flatboats, loaded with the commodities 

 of trade and the necessities of a frontier life, were poled, 

 pushed and dragged over this same course, and the path 

 of this same lovely river was the only highway of com- 

 merce to the then unknown wilds of central Michigan. 

 Every now and then one meets with a pioneer of those 

 early days, and his interesting story of frontier home life 

 as it then existed is listened to with much pleasure. The 

 old settlers ai-e rapidly passing away. The Pioneer Society 

 of Michigan is getting together material to perpetuate the 

 work of those lieroic people, and at their yearly meetings 

 lipld in Lansing the old residents delight to tell the story 

 of their early-daj^ experience. The proceedings of the 

 society are published each year, and this book is the only 

 connecting link between the pioneer life of Michigan and 

 the people of the present day. Wild and weird are the 

 stories of their lives and hardships while clearing the 

 great forests away and making homes for themselves and 

 for us. The Indian, the bear and the deer are gone; the 

 old settler will soon follow after. Here and there up and 

 down the Grand River Uttle mounds mark the final rest- 

 ing place of some aboriginal. Occasionally these mounds 

 are opened and tliey are sure to give up their story of In- 

 dian life to the etlinological student. 



In the winter the woods and swamps of central Michi- 

 gan are filled with hare, and our people have jolly times 

 hunthig bunny with their hounds and beagles. The great 

 Chandler Marsh, a few miles north from our city, is the 

 home of the fox and the hare, and when this immense 

 swamp is frozen over, so that the hunter can get around 

 comfortably, it is a favorite place for winter hunting. 



Of our sporting men and their ways and methods, you 

 shall be familiar; and as time and inclination presents I 

 wiU acquaint you with their doings. Michigan people 

 are sporting people; it is born in them, and they delight 

 in camj)ing out and in hunting and fishing. They, are 

 usually well equipped for a full enjoyment of all of these 

 luxuries of nature, and whether in the woods or by the 

 sti-eam, they are in their native elements and at home. 

 If you have cast your lot in some far-away Eastern city, 

 and a business necessity has 'hemmed you in with huge 

 walls of brick and stone, where the sunlight can seldom 

 enter, you can little appreciate the beauties of a lavish 

 nature as it is spread before the happy people of central 

 Michigan. When you get a few days off, come and see 

 us. Inquire for any member of the Lansing Rod and 

 Gun Club and you will be cordiallj'^ welcomed. Do not be 

 afraid to come, for our people are open-hearted and they 

 will care foi' you to the best of their ability. Not that we 

 have the finest fishing and hunting in the State right at 

 our door, but such as we have, you are welcome to enjoy 

 equally with ourselves. Julian. 



CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 



IF'rom a Staff Cc»Tesponde7it.] 

 Arkansas. 



Chicago, June 10. — Mr. Jos. W. Irwin, of Little Rock, 

 Ark., writes me as follows about the game in his country: 



During my residence in Kansas near our mutual friend, WiU Carney. 

 I enjoyed some very line sliooting at waterfowl as weU as chicken and 

 quail, but aside from chicken and geese, Arkansas is the greatest all 

 around State I know for sport. If it should ever come in your way 

 stojj off here and I will show you some of it. Our quail are doing 

 nicely, as well as all kinds of game. Last winter we had elegant 

 mallard shooting here in what is known as pin oak flats, where they 

 go to feed la large numbers, and they decoy beautifully in the open 

 places in the woods. Our fishing has been poor up to date owing to 

 high water, but it is going down fast now, and next week it will be 

 fine. 



Wish I could tell you about a trip with Col. Felton and his friend, 

 Jlr. Jacus, from Buffalo last Becemher on a deer hunt, a few miles 

 from here. I laughed myself sick. We shot quail and ducks and shot 

 at a number of deer, Mr, Jacus firing six shots at one deer, and then 

 let him get away. They were a jolly party, however, and enjoyed 

 their stay very much. 



I shall be glad to give you any points of interest from this part of 

 the country, and shall do myself tbe pleasure of calling on you when 

 in Chicago. 



They are Corkers. 



My friend, Mr. C. W. Lee of the Chicago Canoe Club, 

 sends me a letter received lately by that body from a gen- 

 tleman in South Englewood, a suburb of Chicago. From 

 the meager details given by the writer in regard to the 

 two heads in question, they mixst be either autochthores 

 or corkers. The letter is, verbatim; 



To the Cluh: 



Gentlemen— I have brought to this city two (3) of the largest and 

 finest natural speciments ever seen by white man. They are immense. 



I killed last fall in the far North a Moose and Carabo. The largest 

 and finest of their kind ever killed by white man. I had their Heads 

 put up in good stile and intended them for the World's Fair, but I find 

 that I have to get back North at once, so that I must dispose of the 

 Heads, and knowing that some of the clubs pride themselves on col- 

 lecting the finest natural speciments they can find, I will give you a 

 bargain as I must nell at once. They would be quite an addition to 

 the beauty of your club room. The Moose weighted 2,000 pounds, age 

 between 60 and GO years old. The Carabo 1,200 pounds, age 00 years. 

 That will give you some idia of the size of their Antlers or Horns. 

 They are immense size and perfect in form— to see them is to want 

 them and to own them to feel proude. They cannot be matched in 

 this country. The club that gets tbem -will have the Boss. 



Please bring this to the notice of the sporting gents of the club and 

 the club may be the richer for it. Hoping to hear from you by retiu-n 

 mail. 



Wants Fur. 



Mr. H. A. Pierce, of North Fairfield, O., has a gr-eat 

 deal of confidence that I know a whole lot of things, for 

 he writes me as follows: 



Being a reader of Forest and Stbbam, I take the liberty of address- 

 ing you for a little information, seeing your kindness to others who 

 are after the same. Behig in poor health 1 have made up my mind to 

 take to the woods and put in the fall and winter trapping. Would you 

 kindly tell me where in Michigan or Wisconsin I ^voul<lbe hkely to find 

 the best place for a winter camp, with fur-bearing animals reasonably 

 abundant. I would like, if possible, to locate on a lake or chain of 

 lakes, so as to avoid as much as possible the packing of supplies on 

 one's back, and also get a little fishing this fall. If you do not con- 

 sider this asking too much I would be pleased to hear from you. 



I do not know any place in Wisconsin or Michigan 

 which I could girarantee for a winter camp for fur, or the 

 above conditions. If I wanted to trap I should build a 

 cabin boat and start down the Arkansas River, say near 

 the Kansas line, and hold up among the delta wet 

 lands in the Mississippi bottoms. I knew of a party who 

 made a successful trip. They found mink, otter and (at 

 that time) beaver, also deer and turkey. E. HouGH. 



In a, pleasant, chatty letter from Mr. W. W. Titus, 

 Waverly, Miss., one of those letters which, after it is read 

 to the end, a fellow wishes there was more of it, I find 

 the following in reference to quail: 



' 'I have wondered if the present wet weather would 

 harm the quail. I have aboxit come to the conclusion that 

 they are all right. Aroimd my house I have several small 

 patches of grain, and there are at least six pair of quail in 

 this, a radius of 800yds. of my house. I never go to the 

 post-ofiice but what I see a half-dozen old cocks or more, 

 and it is a distance of barely a half mile to the office. I 

 think that the quail will raise well this year if June is a 

 dry month. 



"I did not kill any birds about me last fall, consequently 

 have abundance of old birds as breeders. 



"As I sat on the back porch to-day after dinner some- 

 thing whirled over the palings and lit in the yard. I 

 looked, rubbed my eyes, and looked again. Yes, there 

 was no mistake, it was a 'sure-enough' cock quail. 



"He ran with spreading tail and raised crest to where 

 I had fed some chickens, and the 'grits' and corn they 

 had left seemed to strike his palate about right, as he was 

 eating busily. Not over four feet from him lay a three- 

 and-a-half months' old puppy in the grass. It was used 

 to chickens of that size, but this saucy cock quail struck 

 him as a new and different kind of chicken from what he 

 had ever seen. It slowly raised its foreparts and then 

 remained motionless, to all appearances pointing, turning 

 its head and looking after the quaU, when he ran up to 

 within thi-ee feet of the step I was sitting on. The cock 

 then ran back of the puppy a few feet, flew up and lit on 

 a picket. A moment later it and its mate, which I had 

 not seen, flew over into the oatfield. As I write I can 

 count from my window five diflEerent quail 'Bob White- 

 ing.'" B. Waters, 



Moose Easily Tamed. 



New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. — Near Mr. Nelson's place 

 on Fifteen Mile Stream last year some young men engaged 

 in lumbering caught three moose calves, which they took 

 there. One of them died, one the women folks fed and 

 raised, the other was raised near by by another lad. 

 These two were sold at six months of age to an American 

 who took them to Massachusetts or New York State. 

 They grew very rapidly and at six months were as large 

 as two-year-old trotting colts and tamer than calves would 

 be. Once before two moose calves were caiJtured near by 

 which were raised at Nelson's place until two years of 

 age, when they were purchased and sent to the King of 

 Italy. In fact, it is no trouble to get them in the spring, 

 and little trouble to raise them. After the first few weeks 

 they go to the bush for their living, returning home for 

 rest early in the morning, apparently feeding only in the 

 evening and night. J. F. 



Small Game in New Mexico. 



Eddy, New Mexico, June 23.— Our colored janitor has 

 two kids, both of whom are also colored. He also has a 

 young wolf. When it was brought in from the foot-hills, 

 it was about the size of a prairie dog, but now it has 

 grown into a long-legged, awkard, gawky, good-na,tured 

 brute, and follows its partners aroimd as any ordinary 

 puppy would do. It has become well acquainted with 

 some of the rest of us and whenever it comes near us will 

 jump on us, fondle us and Hck our hands and faces if it 

 gets a chance. In fact, in all its habits and movements 

 it is very much lilve its canine cousins. The group posed 

 before my camera the other day, for a few minutes, but 

 it was impossible to keep the wolf stiU for even a second. 

 The photograph herewith shows that he moved his head 

 a triiie, just at the critical moment, and yet the portrait 

 is a fan- one, all things considered. G. O. Shields. 



Quail in the South. 



I am happy to inform you that the quail were not ex- 

 terminated by the cold weather in A^rgmia and North 

 Carolina. My friends write me that plenty of them are 

 now whistling on the fences and in the fields. 



R. C. LowitY. 



An Appeal to the Charitable. 



will the one that opens this letter besur to give it to the Editor it will 

 be a great kind to a poor fellow 



Iiear sir 



i send you 12 cent what i want to say i have seen your grand paper 

 and know the editor must be a true isportsmaD. think over some ot 

 your hunts then thia^c yourself in this poo)' fellows place ho can not 

 walk a step, is very poor earns his living cano seating chairs liard 

 work and small pay think sitting all the time, he has the. greatest 

 love for fire arms and hunting of any one I ever saw. Knowing all 

 sportsmen have kind hearts I ask will yon please send Forest and 

 Stream to him for as long as you can iff you could see the care he 

 take of a few old copies he has far back as .81 and .86 he reads them 

 over lays them away again he has but a few years to live ttie di-'s. say 

 any way. think of the papers you throw away evi i I mk the 



pleasure it will give this poor fellow to have one V i tiiink 



sitting day after day seeing others go hunting. Pie.-i n j-aijer for 



5 years or for life iff you will, show this letter to some ot your friend 

 ask them ifl; they have a Marlin model 1891 .22Gal. rifle that will hold 

 18 rifle, 20 long 25 short Cartridges in sam rifle, that thoy can give to 

 him he so longs for one, any kind will do but like that best a .32.cal., 

 american arms Co hammerless revolver, or Foehl & Weeks, the Per- 

 fect safety hammerless, or smith & Wesson, or swift automatic safety 

 hammerless or X.L. BuU dog folding hammer 5 shot Merwin, Hulbert 



6 Co. make: C, fir Columbian automatic, or Columbian safety ham- 

 mer, or any other good revolver, all above are .y2 center lire also a 

 .22Cal., to take a long or long rifle cartridge, russian model handle, a 

 X L. Bull dog 7 shot 4}4 barrel folding hammer or any single or double 

 action .23 long revolver they will send him A Frank Wesson .auCal., 

 with reversible firing pin useing rim or center fire Cartridges in the 

 same rifle, then he can some time get a ..^2 or ,:iS barrel for it. have it 

 light weight. Please ask or write some friends for a book by Cireene, 

 the gun and its development, also gunsmiths manual. Atlas of the 

 New Jersey Coast, the pistol, and any books on hunting, fishing, 

 shooting. Natural history, taxidermy iif you only knew him as I do 

 you would send him a whole library think the pleasure tlie books that 

 are laying idle would give him, that have been read aod tl/rown by no 

 use to" them. Please make up a box for him imt in a .i:.'cal., mai lin 

 rep. rifle, a .-32 revolver, a .22 revolver, and any other ritle ,22 oi- ;w or 

 revolver they will, any books, papers, I will be veri-y thankfull to yon 

 as I know how he longs for them think of him as you go fishing, 

 send paper sure, iff you wfil not send F. 8. right alous; send a lot baclt 

 ones. I send 0 stamp, postage on S pounds, can you send some book 

 or send name that full description of aU guns, rifles, revolvers, or 

 some paper that has the addrese of makers of firearms so he could 

 get catalogues from them, dealers do not give any description of 

 them only some old kind S. & W. or colt 



he would like a marlin .32cal model 1891 useing rim or center fire Car- 

 tridge in same rifle to hold 20 short cartridge iff not but one send 

 .22cal. but I hope both, think the pleasure they will give him to look 

 at and use at target and crows, aud rats. Please seiid somethLng you 

 wili get your reward put in some cartridges and reloading tools for 

 he will load bis cartridges to .32 rifle and revolver makeing cost but 

 little, a .25cal., Stevens rifle would be nice for him. center fire he 

 could use 10. or 20 grains powder as he wish, do not think I ask 

 every thing, but name « hat I know lie likes best and you send what 

 vou can to him. iff you write him send letter, not postal I wiU send 

 you stamps. I send you stamps for postage onback F. &. S. a lot 

 only costs you 3 cents a pound 



I promish he will not sell pr give away anything you send him do no 

 forget him 



