144 



:forest aKd s'tream. 



[Aug. 19, 1898. 



CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 



[From a Staff Corre^ondentl 

 Early Snipe Affain. 

 Chicaoo, 111,, Aug. 9. — This year, as was the case last 

 year, the jacksnipe are down very early again. They are 

 abundant this week on the Kankakee bottoms. The cause 

 of their early migration is doubtless dry weather in the 

 North. 



Horicon Club. 

 Advices from Horicon Marsh, Wisconsin, state that the 

 redheads, spoonbills and teal have bred in such numbers 

 that the prospect for good sport on opening day is very 

 flattering indeed. On the upper club grounds Mr. Percy 

 Stone, the hustling manager who has had both clubs in 

 charge, has put up a substantial club house and made 

 many improvements. The upper club is now in far better 

 shape than it ever was before, and is as good as the lower 

 club in all respects and qualities, so far as one can see. It 

 has taken rapid work to get everything in shape, but the 

 buildings will all be up and finished by Sept. 1. A goodly 

 Chicago crowd will attend at both the lower and upper 

 clubs. 



Utes Are Out. 



This morning's Durango dispatches say the Colorado 

 Utes are out and are willfully destroying quantities of 

 game. 



Louisiana Deer. 



Advices from Opelousas, La., to the Western office of 

 Forest and Stream state that several deer have recently 

 been killed in the eastern part of St. Landry Parish. This 

 is in the close season and citizens object to it. 



The Idaho Law. 



Idaho swings away into line with her game law, a copy 

 of which is mailed me by Mr. M. L. Twogood, secretary of 

 the Boise Rod and Gun Club. Moose, caribou, mountain 

 sheep, mountain goat and elk are protected absolutely 

 until Sept. 1, 1897, a close season of a term of years. 

 Hide or head hunting, solely, of any sort is prohibited. 

 The hides of moose, caribou, elk, deer, antelope, mountain 

 sheep or goat are prohibited to be bought or transported, 

 at any time of the year. The open season on deer and 

 antelope is Sept. 1 to Dec. 1.. Certainly Idaho must be 

 feeling the loss of her game. The wilderness is nearly 

 gone. 



Unexpected Find of Wood Buffalo. 

 My Winnipeg friend, Mr. Thomas Johnson, writes me 

 in regard to„^ most interesting piece of game news as 

 follows; 



"I send you a cutting from to-day's Free Press (July 35) 

 which may interest you. Mi-. Mvmdie is a personal friend 

 and neighbor and the information is thoroughly reliable. 

 The Mr. Secord referred to gets his supplies from us, and 

 I shall see him in a few days and get f uU particulars. I 

 expect to get a musk ox head from him." 



The article from the Free Press will create the liveliest 

 surprise in the minds of those best posted on the total 

 buffalo supply. It seems that the Peace River herd was 

 not yet exterminated, after all. The cutting reads: 



Mr. James Mundie, a representative of the firm of Carscaden & 

 Peck, who has just returned to the city from a business trip in the 

 West, brings an interesting bit of intelligence concerning the wood 

 buffalo of the Korth. Three years ago when Mr. Mundie was at Ed- 

 monton, on a trip similar to the one just completed, he purchased the 

 head of a wood buffalo, and it was thought at the time that it was the 

 last one that would ever be seen, as the species was supposed to have 

 become practically extinct. Imagine, then, Mr. Mundie's surprise a 

 week ago on agam visiting Edmonton to find there one trader with 

 ten heads and another with twenty robes, and to learn that over 200 

 of the animals had been killed by Indians this season in the Slave Lake 

 and Peace Biver districts. In the- lot which Mr. Mundie saw at Ed- 

 monton was the largest head he had ever seen, and the robes were of 

 an exceptionally good quaUty, the hair being very dark and grizzly 

 The traders told him that some of the animals killed were of such a 

 great size that the Indians were unable to turn them over, and had to 

 split the carcasses in two in order to remove the robes. This is a 

 point worthy of note, as it has always been stated by those supposed 

 to know that the wood buffalo are smaller than the plain buffalo 



Mr. Secord, the trader, who brought in the robes from the North 

 had also in his pack 200 musk ox robes from the barren lands east of 

 the McKenzie River. Another trader brought in 100 ox robes Mr 

 Secord is authority for the statement that 200 wood buffalo robes will 

 reach Edmonton this summer from Slave Lake and Peace River 



The (luestion, where did those wood buffalo so suddenly come from' 

 now naturally suggests itself. The Indians and traders had long ago 

 given up hope of ever seeing any again. The theory, and a plaus- 

 ible one it is, which is advanced by the traders, is that the remnant of 

 the large herds that once roamed through the prau-ies and forests of 

 the far Northwest foimd a feeding ground secluded from the cus- 

 tomary haunts of the Indians, and safe from the Winchesters of the 

 hunters, and rapidly repleted theu- decimated numbers. Last wmter 

 the weather was unusually severe, and in addition to the terrible cold 

 heavy snowstorms prevailed, and thus the animals were driven south- 

 ward in seach of food, and wandered into the track of the Indians who 

 only too eagerly rushed among them and slaughtered them right and 

 left. The heavy catch of musk ox is accounted for in the same way 

 they having been driven south from theu- feeding grounds in the bar- 

 ren lands by hunger. Raw musk ox robes are seUing this year for S40 

 apiece at Edmonton. 



Mr. Mundie states that Mr. Secord's pack of furs was worth SIO 000 

 He had in the lot no less than 600 beaver skms, the finest that has 

 ever been seen in this country. In fact, all the fur that is coming 

 from the North this season is far better than ordinarily. 



Wild Celery. 



Mr. Arthur G. Baumgartel, of Holland, Mich., writes 

 me: 



"Would you kindly let me know through Forest and 

 Stream where I could get some wild celery seed, what it 

 would cost and about how much I should need to plant 

 an acre or two as an experiment. Ducks are getting 

 scarce here, and we want to do something to attract 

 them. We are feeding them corn this fall. Have some 

 wild rice here, but blackbirds get most of that. 



"I think planting hemp for the quaU a splendid thing, 

 and several of us here will try it, 



"We are trying to introduce the Mongohan pheasant 

 here. Received six bu-ds last week and they are doing 

 weU. • 



"If you could tell us where we can procure the celery 

 seed we would be very much indebted to you. I saw an 

 article on the wild celery by you in Forest and Stream 

 several years ago, but cannot find it now." 



If Mr. Baumgartel will write to ex-State Warden J. Y. 

 Wentworth, Fort Atkinson, Wis., or to Mr. Duane Starin, 

 Whitewater, Wis., he can perhaps get the information 

 he wants. These were the two I mentioned as gatherers 

 of the seed. I do not know of any one else who seUs the 

 wild celery seed, and am not sure that either of the above 

 is doing so now. Corn will be found a good feed for the 

 marsh ducks. 



I hope the Mongolian pheasants will do well. Our wise 

 'overnor here, John P. Atgeld, has decreed them a dan- 

 gerous bird, and vetoed a law protecting them. Hardly 



any other governor will do likewise. Idaho has passed a 

 law protecting the Mongohan pheasant. 



The Cost of Camping:. 

 An odd advertisement is that of the Hudson's Bay Com- 

 pany (incorporated 1670, the advertisement says), which 

 offers to outfit camping parties as below: 



We will provide you with sufttcient tea. coffee, bacon, ham, biscuits, 

 bread, sugar, salt, mustard, vinegar, butter, eggs, pepper, corned 

 beef, brawn, tongue, sardines, pork and beans, milk, tomatoes, mar- 

 malade, jams, rice, oatmeal, pickles, syrup, flour, lime juice, soap 

 and matches to last one man for one week at p.75, for a party of four 

 or more. We will furnish this, with the use of a camping outfit, 

 including a tent, a canoe or boat, an axe, lantern, can o); ofl, small 

 sheet iron stove, towels, corkscrew, can opener, teapot, coffeepot, 

 saucepans, frying-pan, spoons, forks, knives, plates and cups for 

 lour men, at a rate of $S per week, per man. This delivered at the 

 stations and with lowest possible transportation rates. 



Certainly cheap enough. 



Where to Get Coyotes. 



Some time ago' I pubhshed the inquiry of Mr. Martin L. 

 Cummins, of Washington, D. C, for some coyotes, stat- 

 ing that I had none on hand just now. The mail of July 

 22 brought me two letters about coyotes which I ought to 

 have mentioned sooner. The first is from G. R. Rucker, 

 M.D., surgeon to the M. K. & T. Railroad , Euf aula, Indian 

 Territory, and reads as follows: "Mr. Martin L. Cummins, 

 of Georgetown College, Washington, D. C, can probably 

 get two half-grown coyote wolves from Hon. Sam. Gray- 

 son, Eufaula, Indian Territory. They are gentle, but 

 make short work of all chickens in reach, and can make 

 more noise than half a dozen dogs." 



My other letter was from Mr. W. J. Dixon, of Cimar- 

 ron, Kas., very well known to the Forest and Stream 

 readers. It says: 



"Cimarron, Gray County, Kas.— I have written to Mi-. 

 Cummins. Can get him an assorted lot of two coyote 

 pups, tame, at $5 each. 



' 'Don't give away such snaps as this in future. I can at 

 any time get skunks, rattlesnakes or such produce on short 

 notice, with neatness and dispatch, and will give you 25 

 per cent, commission on sales. I fear that Mr. Cummins 

 will have 8,000 coyotes offered him at 50 cents each, and 

 this win ruin Gray county industries. 



"P. S. — Tell us about the new Winchester shotgun." 



The new Winchester shotgun is aU. right. Mighty good 

 gun for a lazy man, and I think our friend Dixon would 

 like it. But about the coyotes, 1 trust Mr. Cummins is 

 satisfied. If any gentleman wants coyotes, or anything 

 else. Forest and Stream can get it for him, if it isn't in 

 stock. 



It is There. 



Mr. Ezra E. Howard, of Edgar, Neb., writes: 

 "Hope you are having a successful campaign for the 

 Forest and Stream at the Fair, for the paper ought to be 

 in the hands of every man who shoots." 



The campaign at the Fan- is in the nature of a boom. The 

 paper is aheady in the hands of about every man who 

 shoots. There is one man down in Texas somewhere, I 

 believe, who does not read it, but he is known. 



Marked Personal. 



Mr. Wilbur DuBois, of Cincinnati, whom his intro- 

 ducing friend in his letter tersely describes as "one of our 

 sort," paid Forest and Stre.ajh a very pleasant visit this 

 week while on a flying trip to the Fair. "Mr. DuBois 

 would stay longer at the Fair," said Mrs. DuBois, who 

 accomf anted him, "but he doesn't want to subtract any 

 time from his fall duck hunt." 



The Fair is a great thing, and at first thought one would 

 think its wonders would attract strongly all classes. But 

 there are other things, and perhaps more useful things. 

 For some time 1 have been saving a Uttle poem taken from 

 the Atlanta Gonstitution, and it seems to come in so pat 

 here that I can't help subjoining it, with its lesson as to 

 what and where one may learn some things he maybe 

 couldn't learn even in the White City. 



WHEN A FELLER TAKES A DAT OFF. 



"When a feller takes a day off— set his soul to loafln' roimd 

 Where the hills climb up to heaven an' the rapid rivers sound, 

 'Pears like the world is newer, with its loveliness and light, 

 An' his eyes are seein' truer, and his heart a-beatin' right. 



"When a feller takes a day off there is lots o' things to see; 

 I kin hear the winds away off, jes' a-welcomin' of me; 

 An' the violets peep so purty I an' the rose I useter miss, 

 Feels the red a-rushin' round it, an' comes climbui' for a kiss. 



"When a feller takes a day off— O he learns a lot o' things 

 From the very doves a-flyin' with the music in their wings; 

 From the hills an' from the valleys, where the dreams and dews is 



found- 

 When a feller takes a day oft', an' his soul is loafln' round! " 

 909 Security BmLDiN&, Chicago. E. HoUGH. 



A Minnesota Conviction. 



Sioux City, Iowa, Aug. 8.— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 In these days of disregard of game laws it is refreshing to 

 hear occasionally of the conviction of some of the numer- 

 ous offenders, and thinking that my fellow readers of 

 your paper would like to hear of a successful prosecu- 

 tion, I give you the particulars as they recently hap- 

 pened at my home at Washington, Minn. 



One of our town butchers recently took it into his 

 head that a few prairie chickens would be a good ad- 

 dition to his stock of meats, and acting on that iaipulse 

 shot a few in the usual pot-hunter style, I presume. Our 

 local game warden, Mr. H. M. TwitcheU, however, got 

 wind of it, and a search revealed three plump chickens 

 hidden in a tub of brine, their feathers removed to conceal 

 their identity. Mr. Butcher claimed that they were tame 

 chickens, but as we boast of many oldtime hunters and 

 others as well who are thoroughly acquainted with the 

 bird we had no difficulty in proving what they were, par- 

 ticularly as our warden purchased them. The result was 

 a conviction and fine of §15 for each bird, which with the 

 costs amounted to over $50— rather an expensive hunt, 

 when you take into consideration the fact that some of 

 our lady experts ate the birds. But it did not end there. 

 Sir Pot-Himter undertook to get $50 worth of satisfaction 

 out of the warden on the court room floor, but after mak- 

 ing the sudden acquaintance of Warden TwitcheU's iist, 

 which by the way is a few sizes larger than a f uU-grown 

 ham, he concluded to postpone the luxury. The next 

 move will be a prosecution for resisting an officer while 

 in the discharge of his duty, and by the time it is all 

 settled it will, 1 think, prove a salutaiy lesson not only to 

 tliis particular offender, but to othei-s as well. This by 

 the way makes the second conviction this yeai-, the first 



having been of five parties for spearing game fish this 

 spring. 



The evil effects of the blunder in the Minnesota game 

 laws as regards ducks, geese, etc., are just cropping out; 

 you may be aware that the omission of the word "ex- 

 cept" reverses the law entirely, and now all day long we 

 hear a fusilade on every lake and slough within hearing 

 distance. We are quietly spotting the offenders, how- 

 ever, and several wiU receive a rude shock after Sept. 1, 

 for we intend to prosecute every one of them under the law 

 as it reads; those who respect the intention of the law, 

 however, will not be interfered with. W. R. HALii, 



California Deer. 



San Franoesoo, July 31. — I have been on my annual 

 fishing and deer hunting trip about 200 miles distant. I 

 got a fair share of trout and three deer to my rifle. It has 

 been illegal to kill deer in this State for two years last past. 

 As a consequence the game is more abundant than I have 

 seen it for over twenty years. No skins nor venison can 

 be sold under our present statute, and the open season in 

 most coimties extends only six weeks. Under these con- 

 ditions deer hunting ought to be good for many years. 



L. O. R. 



Chenango County Law. 



In our issue of July 29 we printed the New York State law and the 

 local county laws which up to that date had been filed with the Secre- 

 tary of State. Two days later, July .31, Chenango county laws were 

 filed, providing close seasons as follows: Skunk, mink, coon, March 1- 

 Nov. 1 ; muskrat. May 1-Oct. I. Partridge, squirrel, woodcock, Jan. 1- 

 Sept. 15. Brook trout and brown trout, April 15-Aug. 1. Fishing is 

 forbidden for five years in inlet and outlet of Genegantslet Lake. Ice 

 fishing is forbidden in Guilford Lake and North Pond in GuUford. 



Visitors to our Exhibit In the Angling Pavilion at 

 the World's Fair should not fail to examine the 

 stock of "Forest and Stream" books which will 

 be shown by the attendant. 



The Fop.EsT AND Stream is put to press each week on Tues- 

 day. Correspondence intended for publication should reach 

 us at the latest by Monday, and as much earlier as practicable. 



OFF-SHORE AT CAPE MAY. 



Out at Sea, Aug. 1.— Cape May is a veritable happy 

 valley for women and children and for the retired syba- 

 rite or the broker whose clientele "go broke! " This city 

 by the sea goeth like the friend of Charles Lamb, "lame 

 but lovely." 



The Franco-German poet, Heine, that sad, bad, glad, 

 quaint poet of Paris says that when the Persian armies 

 had darkened the sky and Xenophon's 10,000 world-weary 

 Greeks saw the sea, whose waves whispered to them of 

 home, and the tired soldiers shouted in concert: 

 "Greeting to thee, thou infinite sea ! 

 Like the tongue of my country ripples thy watw; 

 like dreams of my childhood seems the glimmer 

 Of thy wild, wavering, watery realm." 



And in some such spirit did I welcome the Favonian 

 breezes which bore Dan Dawson, the poet; the writer of 

 this screed at sea, and Dr. W. B. E. MUler on a morning 

 in August, in the cat yacht, the Dauntless, over the 

 bounding billows and away to the banks, where failing to 

 strike an east wind, the throbbing heart of the sea is sure 

 to give up its piscatorial treasures in generous fashion. 



"Polky" Schellenger is a character, and as he trod the 

 quarter deck of the Dauntless he felt every inch a sailor, 

 and he boasted, as is his habit, of how he had robbed the 

 sea of every kind of a fish that wears a fin, as he had 

 ' 'scooped" on land every bird that flies with feathers, and 

 had destroyed with his good double-barreled Parker all 

 fur-bearing animals from a catamoxmt to the big elk of the' 

 Yosemite Valley, Polky is nothing if not picturesque,, 

 and with his jaunty cap inscribed Dauntless, this nimble- 

 witted piscator looked like a mild-mannered freebooter 

 who had descended from the pirate kings. J. K. Polk 

 Schellenger is a talker from Wayback in Talkerville. He 

 told us what the great Democratic party had done for the 

 country, and J. M. S. replied that he himself had once 

 had an attack of that malady but beHeved it was not in- 

 curable, save in the case of Schellenger, who would never 

 give up his faith unless a hole was knocked in his occiput, 

 democracy taken out with a pair of pincers, and the skull 

 carefully trephined. Polky consented to this view of the 

 case and insisted that he "imbibed his present views polit- 

 ical with his mother's milk." 



Dr. Miller asked Polky what politics had to do with so 

 many "busted" banks. Schellenger said that subject was 

 a trifle too deep for a hot day, and he "must go and man 

 the tiller and take a bird's eye view of the piscatorial sit- 

 uation," giving as a j)arting shot to Dawson his opinion 

 that the Almighty made his commimications only through 

 a Democratic "medium." "Thas being the case.," said the 

 poet of lAjppincott's Magazine, sotto voce, "I think the 

 Almighty has been very quiet since the fourth of last. 

 March." 



But it was agreed on all hands that poHtics should be 

 tabooed, for as Polky expressed it, "we had come out for- 

 to fish." 



Dawson is nothing if not poetical, and he chanted us: 

 some beautiful rhymes of his own, from "The Seeker in 

 the Marshes and Other Poems," just published in Philadel- 

 phia, which seemed strangely in accord with the spirit of 

 the day, which was a "very bridal of the earth and sky." 

 Dawson was quoting from Byron, when "Hist!" cried 

 Polky Schellenger, dancing about the yacht like a 

 Cold Spring fiddler at a country dance. "See them white- 

 winged gulls a-diving off yonder, they're eating the little 

 mossbunker^ that have been cut to pieces by the voracious 

 jaws of the mackerel." 



The Dauntless was headed for the slow-flying gulls and 

 soon we saw a sight that thrilled the fisherman's pulses 

 like the strains of sweet music at night, when Polky takes 

 his Sunday girl to hear the opera of "Martha," on the Iron 

 Pier. The swift-moving mackerel made the briny deep 

 boil as they chased and cut up the inoff ending flying moss- 

 bunkers. One line was out astern and two out-riggers, 

 with their shining squids, leaping out of water like a live 

 bait minnow, This bait would deceive "the elect," 



