184 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Sept. 3, 1893. 



least to be admired. Specimens of all of these varieties 

 are in the collection of the Museum, many of them being 

 made up into skins, and a select number of mounted ones 

 in the exhibition cases. In the department of oology also, 

 there exist in the same institution a fine series of their 

 eggs, which are highly instructive and interesting to the 

 student of that subject. 



[TO BE CONTINUED.] 



Mammals of Iiower California. 



An interesting paper, by Dr. J. A. Alien, taken from 

 the Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 

 has just been issued. It treats of a collection of about 

 250 specimens of mammals collected in Lower Califor- 

 nia, chiefly during the month of May, 1893, by Messrs. E. 

 C. Thurber and A. W. Anthony. The gi-eater part of the 

 specimens were collected in the San Pedro Martir Moun- 

 tains, but some were taken at various points between 

 San Diego, California and San Pedro Martir. This last 

 locality is about 150 miles south of the United States 

 boundary. Much of the region is very arid, but about 

 midway between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Cali- 

 fornia is a territory about 60 by 20 miles in extent, which 

 consists of an elevated mesa rising to a height of 8,000ft., 

 from which spring low mountain ranges to a height of 

 more than 11,000ft. 



Tlie collection embraces twenty species and sub- 

 species, several of which are new. A very large propor- 

 tion of the specimens belong to the genus Sitomys, and 

 this is treated as a whole, several northern forms iDeing 

 considered. The paper is one of unusual interest. 



'mii^ §Hg md §uij. 



Visitors to our Exhibit in tine Angiingf 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, 



SHOOTING OUTLOOK IN MAINE. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Tourists, vacationists, fishermen and business men who 

 have lately returned from northern Penobscot county and 

 from protracted visits in Aroostook, Washington and 

 Hancock counties all unite in saying that deer are very 

 plentiful and tame this year-, and that the hunters will 

 have fine sport and plenty of it when open season begins. 

 During the past three weeks more than a htmdred resi- 

 dents of the backwoods towns have called at my office 

 and all tell the same story— deer and plenty of them 

 everywhere. That wise old hunter from the wilds of 

 Patten, Greenleaf Davis, says deer are more abundant 

 around his camp than they have been before in ten years. 

 "Sock" Darling dropped in last week and said Nicatous is 

 alive with them. His mild-eyed and handsome brother 

 "Jed" Darling, the Izaak Walton of Maine, tells the same 

 story about Enfield, and George Archer, of Amherst, 

 trump their tales with the biggest yarn of all. Right here 

 in Bangor deer have been seen in the fields often, and out 

 in Holden, four miles away, I have a patch of peons that 

 is badly damaged by a pair of deer that have i-emained 

 near by all summer. Only yesterday I saw a pair of 

 hounds chase a small buck across the Bar Harbor rail- 

 road track, less than three miles from Bangor. So on the 

 whole you can safely wager that the "woods are full of 

 them." 



Of caribou and moose no such hopeful forecasts can be 

 made. Deep in the woods beyond Katahdin Iron Works 

 and thence up around the head of Moosehead Lake Game 

 Warden Atwood tells me he finds traces of moose. In 

 fact, he saw several while on his journeyings, bu^t they 

 were not so plentiful as they were three or four yeats 

 ago, and the chances are that the monarch of Maine 

 forests is dying out. Maine still has a vast expanse of 

 wildernes to patrol and protect which would take all the 

 time of a thousand watchful men. Indians, Canadians 

 and not a few Yankees make an annual practice of crust 

 hunting them winters for their hides. It is illegal to be 

 sure, but few, if any, are caught. So the moose is going. 

 Regarding caribou reports are more conflicting. Matz 

 Sjorsted, who for years kept a sporting camp beyond 

 Katahdin Iron Works, says that caribou are ijractically 

 extinct. He is a thorough woodsman and the soul of 

 truth. From northern Washington and Hancock counties 

 report comes that caribou are fairly plentiful. Jack Tay- 

 lor, the crack sliot of the Boston Olobe, says so, and a 

 half a dozen equally truthful men agree with him. Jack 

 Darling has seen one or two around Nicatous; Smiley, of 

 Patten, also finds a few, and Harlow, of Greenville, says 

 he can shoot caribou enough in open season to keep the 

 Kineo House supplied. My own opinion is that caribou 

 are both scarce and shy. If a man wants to shoot one 

 he must go deep into the woods and hunt long and 

 patiently. 



Thomas D. Wentworth, the new fish and game com- 

 missioner, appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the 

 death of E. M. Stillwell. is a jewel. Every day shows 

 that he is the right man in the right place. But the 

 poachers and expressmen hold him in mortal terror, and 

 that several poachers who have been running their deer 

 meat through to Boston in close trim, have gone out of 

 the business, all on account of Commissioner Wentworth's 

 "pernicious activity." This is said to cast no slur upon 

 Mr. Stilwell of blessed memory, or upon Commissioner 

 Stanley, who lives in Dixfield and seldom comes to 

 Eastern Maine except to care for trout and salmon fry. 



Early this week two leading men of Eastern Maine 

 were pulled up for illegal killing. They pleaded guilty to 

 the arresting oflicer and promised to settle out of court if 

 their names were "kept out of the papers." One of 

 these men is a member of tiie newly organized Fish and 

 Game Protective Association of IMaine, so the warden 

 who makes the complaint assures me. Last week a 

 guide who lives in Greenville received a letter from 

 Boston parties, saying they would arrive at Moosehead 

 early in September, and asked him to hire two other 

 good guides, one of whom must know how to call moose. 

 Why they want to call moose in close time does not ap- 

 pear on the face of the returns. Those parties show as 

 little knowledge of Maine game laws as another Boston 

 shooter did who /came to Moosehead last year, and having 

 heard about moose calling, went out and began in his 



most persuasive tones to call : " Moosey, Moosey, Moosey." 



Of Maine birds, partridges or ruffled grouse are not 

 over plenty and very shy, snipe and woodcock are about 

 the same as usual, while upland plover are very scarce, so 

 that the crows are actually getting fat upon the grass- 

 hoppers that belong to the plover. Tom Foed, 



Bangor, Me., August 26. 



PENNSYLVANIA DEER HUNTING. 



BxjSHKiLL, Pa. — ^As the weU intended effort of the Fish 

 and Game Association in Pennsylvania to pass new and 

 much needed laws has utterly failed in its object, the 

 thought arises in the mind of old sportsmen, can or will 

 there be any steps taken this fall to have the present law 

 enforced? 



My remarks are intended to apply directly to the 

 hounding of deer. The law is clear on this point, and 

 yet is a dead letter. Those engaged in this business can 

 be counted on the fingers of one hand, as far as Pike 

 county is concerned. They are well known in this sec- 

 tion, have no fear of the law — boast of the fact, brag of 

 their exploits and take to the market each fall 10 to 15 

 deer each. No less than 80 deer were killed last fall by 

 this gang of pot-hunters in Pike and Monroe counties. 



The facts ca,n be proven. One can find these men on 

 the stands every day in the week, and no one seems ready 

 to act. 



What do the sportsmen of this gi'eat State intend to do? 

 Judging from the past, one word would seem to give the 

 answer — nothing. In my recent driving tour through a 

 large part of this county I took much trouble to ascertain 

 any facts regai-ding the prospects of game for fall shoot- 

 ing. 



The heavy fall of snow last winter did not seem to have 

 any direct effect disastrous to grouse; in fact the snow 

 holed the foxes for much of the winter, thus preventing 

 one cause of decrease; a dry spring and summer, with 

 few forest fires until very late, has been of gfeat benefit 

 to the birds, which seem plenty, the young being well 

 gl'own and healthy. By one of the best woodcock hunt- 

 ers I was inf oi'med that few birds were found this year. 

 The extreme drought lasting for four months had driven 

 them into the bog meadows, where the rattlesnakes had 

 gathered, and hunting was decidedly impleasant in con- 

 sequence. 



Passing along the turnpike my driver informed me that 

 the man in the road ahead of us was one of the best fish- 

 ermen, belonging to one of the large associations in this 

 coimty, and as he was at the head of the fish department 

 he would no doubt show a iine creel of trout. I must 

 confess my astonishment at the contents of the creel. 

 Thirteen trout, the size such as I never saw taken from a 

 stream in this State. It was indeed a sight, a healthy 

 looking man carrying a large creel containing such fish, 

 which I later on was told weighed undressed lOoz. to the 

 lot, less than loz. per fish. Oh, ye gods and little fishes! 

 Let us hope that there are few such among us, i.e., fishes. 



EBGECmiB. 



AN EARLY MOFJNINQ EF>IS0DE. 



In the gl'ay Octobet dawn, when the gaunt body of the 

 dead cottohwood was penciled against the eastern sky, I 

 rolled my blankets round me "injun fashion" and sat 

 motionless as a carved image amid the rocks and bluffs of 

 the creek bank. Benie, my partner, had another niche 

 on the other side of the trail; and we were waiting and 

 watching for deer. There is nothing in the whole sport- 

 ing calendar M'hich makes a man's nerves tingle, nor 

 lends the excitement to deer shooting, like this lying in 

 wait, where you can see and not be seeh, and vvatch your 

 game leisurely approach. If you ate the least bit excitable 

 then look out for "buckfever,'* for yoU will silrely have it. 



The chill air of the morhihg made our position uncom- 

 fortably cool, but We had to remain or perhaps expose 

 ourselves to the vigilant eye of the game. The day was 

 still too young for steady shooting, when we took our 

 position, but the even tone of gray was soon broken by a 

 faint pink flush on the mist overhead, and a crimson 

 gleam shot athwart the sky, giving us plenty of light for 

 good aim and lighting the monumental peak of grand 

 old Kara with a flood of color long before the valley 

 knew it was yet day, A few late birds began to chirp 

 and flutter among the willows, a "camp robber" jay 

 splattered the shallow water of the creek into spray and 

 started little rings across the pool in ever widening circles. 

 A belated muskrat rasped among the cat tails and tules 

 of a little spring pond across the stream^ dived and reap- 

 pearing swam to a half sunken branch of driftwood and 

 combed and oiled his silken coat to his entire satisfaction 

 before taking the water again for home. A coujjle of 

 coyotes sneaked along the hillside, looking back with 

 their pecuUar sidelong glance, or stopped to listen to the 

 grouse that clucked and hooted above us on the hillside. 

 A fresh, new smell was in the air, and the little creek 

 droned its rippling song in a quiet monotone which 

 furnished a fitting melody for the birth of a new day. 



A black spot on the trail! Yes. No. Y-e-s, it is a 

 deer. Two. Now we move a little, drop our blankets 

 and "clear for action." They do not appear to be in 

 much of a hurry, but come slowly down the trail, nip a 

 bunch of grass here, taste a kiUikinick bush there, stop a 

 bit to look and listen, then come on. Our eyes see noth- 

 ing save the noble pair, whose antlers we fain would win 

 to grace our halls. Every nerve is tense, every muscle 

 strained, as we wait their coming. The sweat beads 

 gather on the forehead and still we wait. Oh, how sIoav 

 they come! Don't they know the sun is up? Why don't 

 they scud for the timber instead of munching among the 

 tules? Ah! Out of the pond; on the trail; among the 

 willows. In a moment now. Behind the shoulder "where 

 the red and the white meet." The first one is down. 

 Away goes the other with great leaps that are the poetry 

 of motion, his white flag waving defiance as he clears a 

 little plum thicket at a single bound. In a minute he is 

 clear of the fringe of willows and running like the wind 

 up the long slope of prairie foot-hill toward the mountain. 

 Two Winchesters commence to throw lead with clock-like 

 regularity. Ounce balls purr and hum all around him, 

 throwing little dust patches up in front, behind and at his 

 sides, and stiU he ruus. The hills echo back the reports 

 until the sound is like a volley of musketry. Buzzl 

 Hum! Pm--r-r! Thud! Down goes the flag; he stumbles, 

 stops, staggers a little and braces his feet far apart. His 

 head sinks lower and lower, his body sways a little, then 

 a spasmodic leap and he goes to gi'ass all in a heap — 

 dead! 



Away we rush like Indians, Benie for one and I for the 

 other. Our keen blades have bled them and we leave 

 them where they lie and go after the pack horses to bi-ing 

 them in. Soon we have them hanging in camp dressed, 

 and sit down to a hunter's bi-eakfast which Harry has 

 prepared, and have to then tell aU about the whole thing 

 for his benefit. 



Every time I hang up my hat I gaze into the glass eyes 

 of one of these same bucks and I see a bird making rings 

 on a quiet pool, a muskrat smoothe his shining fur and an 

 old whitetail buck racing for life up a long prairie hillside 

 with the Winchester singing his death chant, and feel 

 again the breath of morning, pine-scented, on my cheek. 

 A thrill of keen enjoyment and self-satisfaction pervades 

 my animal being, and the thought crosses my mind that 

 it is well to have lived for that morning among the 

 gypsum buttes of the Black Hills. What a flood of mem- 

 ories these things bring, ransacked from the cobwebbed 

 pigeon-holes of our minds! El ComancHO. 



MY FIRST WING SHOT. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



The accounte of notable shots In several recent 

 numbers of your valuable journal impels me to write an 

 account of my first "wing shot." 



When I was a boy, almost no wing shooting Was done 

 in our section of northern Ohio, and the ambition of 

 most boys was to become good rifle shots. This 1 suc- 

 ceeded in, and was very proud of my skill. 1 also Used A 

 shotgun a little, a single gim with a very long barrel 

 with which very good shooting was done, but my pride 

 was the rifle. Sometime in the late '50s we had sonle 

 visitors from the South, who were sportsmen, full of 

 stories of wing shooting; and the ambition of some of the 

 boys — myself among the number, was excited to a high 

 pitch. We were determined to try wing shooting. When 

 our visitors went away, they left a double-baiTeled shot- 

 gim, muzzleloader, cylinder bore, 10-gauge, what would 

 now be called a cheap gun, then a very fine one. This 

 was loaned around, and kept pretty warm for a time. 



A custom Avith the boys of our neighborhood then was, 

 to club together on Christmas and other holidays and 

 liave a grand hunt or rather a grand frolic, as usually 

 very little was obtained, because of the noise we made. 

 However, we enjoyed it. On the Christmas of which I 

 write, I planned to get possession of the double-barrel 

 shotgun. When we started in the morning I killed a 

 squirrel with my rifle, then exchanged it for the shotgun, 

 and my first shot with it wjis at a rabbit on the run, this 

 I killed, but that was not thought much of. Wing shoot- 

 ing was what we wanted. After our noonday lunch, we 

 went to a dense thicket, known to be a favorite resort of 

 partridges (pheasants we called them) and rabbits, but 

 the noise made by boys and dogs was enough to frighten 

 most of the game away. However, I passed thi-ough the 

 thicket as much in advance as possible, and took a 

 position in a corner of a field that was cleared down into 

 the thicket, partially dividing it. I stood back from the 

 corner a good shotgiln range from each fence. The doga 

 were giving tongue to my left. I turned facing the 

 sound when I heard the whu-r of a parti'idge's wings and 

 the sound of alighting on the fence on the other angle, 

 now behind me. I turned to the right as quickly as 

 possible but the bird did not wait for me, it started across 

 the corner of the field, I kept on turning until I was 

 facing the same way I was when I started, having tm-ned 

 clear around before I got sight of the bird; fired, and it 

 fell dead against the fence. I have made many wing 

 shots since— some very good ones— many poor ones, have 

 killed turksys, geese, ducks and grouse, but never since 

 have 1 made a wing shot that I was so proud of as that 

 my fli-st one, and I doubt if I ever made a better shot 

 after years of practice. ' E. B. 



Ottawa, Kan. 



BOSTON NOTES- 

 IT has come to be almost an axiom that when Qovemor 

 Russell goes on an outing he goes a-fishing. The Gover^ 

 nor last went to Buzzard's Bay, where he was met by Sen- 

 ator John Simpkins, himself a fisherman, and is the guest 

 of Joseph Jefferson. The party was made up of President 

 Cleveland, Governor Russell, Joseph Jefferson, Senator 

 Simpkins, Dr. Bryant, Dr. McBurnv, of New York, and 

 A. H, Woods, of Boston. It is reported that they tried 

 the fishing in Peter's Pond, in Sandwich, near Marah- 

 pee, as well as the ealt-water fishing. 



Mr. Harry Whitmore, of the Boston Herald news staff, 

 with his wife, al'e the guests of Mr, Hal Haskell, son of 

 E, B. Haskell, of the Boston Herald, at Allerton Lodge, 

 on the shores of Mooselucmaguntic Lake. There are also 

 some other people in the camp, including a Mr. and Mrs. 

 Webb, of Portcand, I am told. This is Mr. Whitmore's 

 first visit to the Rangeleys, and it is expected that,_ with 

 Mrs. Whitemore, they will be charmed with the region. 



The easterly storm of ]\Ionday, a week ago, di'ove in 

 large flocks of shore birds, and the grmners were thei-e ia 

 meet them. Some good bags were made at Chatham, 

 where there are a number of Boston and other gunners. 

 A. H. Smith is reported to have killed 40 birds in a short 

 tune Monday morning. The sudden and peculiar disap- 

 pearance of Capt. Gould fi-om the hotel at Chatham is 

 StiU the subject of conversation among the sportsmen who 

 have so many times stopped at his house. He was a 

 favorite with the sportsmen who have visited Chatham, 

 He is is reported to have sent some letters since his disap- 

 pearance stating that he shall never return. His friends 

 are satisfied that he is suffering under some mental 

 trouble, 



Mr. Claude H, Tarbox, with A. P. Aldrich & Sons, 

 grain merchants, of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, 

 lias had great success with shore buds. He is living in a 

 cottage at Plum Island, oft' Ipswich Bay, with his wife, 

 and they delight in entertaining their friends. He was 

 on hand after the storm of Monday. He was satisfied 

 that there would be a big fiight of birds in the morning^, 

 and with his gun he took to the meadows about as early 

 as he could see. He did not bother for decoys, but some- 

 how he enjoyed the benefit of the decoys of another 

 gunner, who reached the meadows at about the samC' 

 time. His friend had placed his decoys in a likely spot 

 and was hidden behind a stack of marsh hay, whistling, 

 for the birds, when our friends cautiously approached 

 within reasonable distance, hoping to get a shot as soon 

 as the owner of the decoys had emptied both barrels. Mr. 

 Tarbox ambushed behind another stack of hay. Soon a. 

 big flock of birds hove in sight and ma-de dii-ectly for the 



