Oct. 7, 1893.1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



^97 



ing toward Forest and Stream, and things are coming 

 on wheels. Toward the close of the week the denizens 

 of the Western office plunge their arms to the elbows in 

 these big envelopes and grab out good things easy. 

 The wind is blowing toward Forest and Stream in 

 every department. She sails, as Hon. Vii-gil says of Col. 

 ^ueas, his boat, with a following wind. The scraps of 

 paper show it. E. Hough. 



909 Sbcdbity BmtDiNG, Chicago. 



Game Notes from North Dakota. 



Cando, Towner County, N. D., Sept. 25.— The shooting 

 has been of the best here this season. Commencing early 

 it lasts a long time; and we who live here enjoy a season 

 of himting sm-passed in length by but few localities in 

 the United States. It is becoming one of the best of 

 prairie chicken counties. This year they had a fine season 

 all through, from nesting on, though the nesting season 

 was later than usual. Pinnated and sharptailed 

 grouse were about equal in numbers this year. Of ducks 

 we are having and have had shooting to satisfy any one. 

 Many varieties and nearly all the species of the duck 

 family are represented, excepting of course the strictly 

 sea ducks. All the sloughs had more or less water all 

 summer, and wherever there has been water one could 

 count on finding the ducks. Mallards, pintails, shovel- 

 lers, bluewing teal, gray duck and widgeon are the most 

 commonly shot. There have been a good many canvas- 

 backs and redheads this year, more than I have seen here 

 before. Some lesser scaup and ruddy and greenwing 

 teal are got, but not many. 



In some of our best shooting here there would be but one 

 answer to the controversy relating to the most sports- 

 manlike way of shooting ducks started in Forest and 

 Stream recently, and that would be a wing shot, for it 

 is the only kind obtainable. In hunting our sloughs we 

 have to wade in and put them up out of the grass and 

 water, the water being from a few inches to waist deep, 

 and the grass breast high, and only a shot that kills gets 

 the birds. One can also have all the pot-shooting desired, 

 though, by following the course of the coulees and edges 

 of the open sloughs. 



Geese are coming down from th.e north and will be at 

 their best from now on. The prospects are for a long 

 goose season, as they are coming down two weeks earKer 

 than usual, and there is plenty of feed and water here, 

 which are the two requisites to goose comfort and happi- 

 ness. The only drawback to their full enjoyment of 

 these will be the fooling decoys, a pit, man and his means 

 of destruction— the gun and ammunition. I shall be able 

 to give results later. Elmer T. Jtjdd. 



A Western Game Country. 



Chicago, 111., Sept. 29.— A friend of experience hands 

 me the following as being worthy of his indorsement in 

 view of his late journeyings in the country mentioned: 



"The best place I have found this fall for shooting deer 

 and partridge, with a good chance for bear, is in northern 

 Wisconsin and Michigan, on the Ashland division of the 

 Chicago & Northwestern Eailway. Away up the line, as 

 far north as Watersmeet, deer are plenty — more so than 

 usual. All along the line there are runways where the 

 deer cross sometimes d\iring the day, but more often just 

 at night and early in the morning. There is excellent deer 

 hunting in the vicinity of Lake Vieux Desert. At Twin 

 Lakes, Long Lake and Sand Lake deer are plenty. Pioneer 

 Lake, which is in the immediate vicinity of Twin Lakes, 

 is a favorite home of the deer; in fact, witliin every direc- 

 tion within fom- or five miles of the club house, good deer 

 shooting can be had by those who know how to do it. 

 Watching in the runway is my favorite method. It is tire- 

 some in the extreme, but if one really wants to shoot a 

 deer at close ronge let him go to a good runway (there are 

 lots of them), sit down a short distance from the traU, 

 where he can see in both directions, stay there all day, 

 and he is sure of a good shot. This is especially true if 

 there are other hunters in the woods, as it keeps the deer 

 moving. 



"From Eagle River a trip should be made up the river 

 to the lakes, and there will be little doubt of getting a good 

 shot. Excellent hunting is to be had in the vicinity of 

 Three Lakes, and the same may be said of the line aU the 

 way to Aniwa. Deer and partridge are plenty at Pelican 

 Lake. At all of the points mentioned good guides and 

 boats can be obtained at reasonable rates. Excellent 

 hunting is to be had in the vicinity of Three Lakes, and 

 the same may be said, in general, of the entne territory 

 penetrated by the Northwestern line in northern Wiscon- 

 sin and the north peninsula of Michigan. 



"The lake region is a veritable paradise for fishermen, 

 trout, bass, pike and muskallonge being taken in large 

 numbers." C, W. N. 



Caribou. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



A correspondent in a late paper gives Ins opinion that 

 caribou are not as plentiful in northern Maine as for- 

 merly. This opinion apparently is based mainly on the 

 fact that in a locality mentioned fewer are seen. To one 

 who has passed the hunting season in that region annu- 

 ally for many years the statement seems misleading. 

 Doubtless in the instance mentioned, the scarcity of 

 caribou may be accounted for by change of route of 

 travel because of persistent hunting. It is well known 

 that caribou are great roamers, coming around at regular 

 intervals on the same beat, having favorite resting places 

 wheje quite a halt is made. When such places become 

 well known and are easy of access the game is merci- 

 lessly slaughtered, so that the game shuns the place for 

 other stamping ground. The backwoods hunters easily 

 locate them anew, and the most experienced hunters 

 vindicate my opinion that caribou are increasing and 

 extending into sections where they were not formerly 

 found. In the best region, that of Aroostook county, as 

 I think, under favorable conditions, the hunter will 

 surely find the game plentiful, especially if he puts him- 

 self under the guidance of some backwoods hunter. 

 There are guides and guides. 



In the article alluded to above, it is stated that caribou 

 ai'e shy and hard to get. This does not square with my 

 experience; on the conti-ary I consider them the easiest 

 to bag of ail big game. Given an equal number of car- 

 ibou and deer in a township, the average hunter in a 

 season wUl get three caribou to one deer. Pine Tree. 



Reed Birds in Pennsylvania. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I read in your paper of last week with some pleasure a 

 letter from Fred Mather on the impropriety of killing bobo- 

 links or reed birds at any time during the year. It may 

 rejoice him to read, and perhaps astonish you at the same 

 time, that it is unlawful to kill this little bird at any period 

 of the year in Pennsylvania. Yet it is true, notwithstand- 

 ing all publications to the contrary, and the fact that 

 people shoot reed birds between Sept. 1 and Dec. 1 with- 

 out fear of arrest. I must say, however, that the protec- 

 tion (?) given was not intentional, but was the result of a 

 member of the Legislature two years ago trying to make 

 a law for something he knew nothing about. He wanted 

 to protect insectivorous birds, and offered an act which 

 was passed unanimously to that effect. Among the birds 

 wliich it is unlawful to kid "at any time of the year" 

 appears the name of the bobolink, and the protection of 

 this bird was made the more undeniable by the usual 

 formula at the end of the act that all laws and acts incon- 

 sistent or conflicting with the foregoing are hereby re- 

 pealed. 



I wrote to the framer of this act, and he answered me 

 that any one but a fool would know that a bobolink and 

 a reed bird were entirely different birds; and so the act 

 stands on the books to-day unrepealed. 



W. E, Meehan. 



Adirondack Small Game. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I notice in your issues of 9th and 16th inst. report from 

 sportsmen on the game supply, and they are rather 

 gloomy, especially in the North and East. 



Last winter was a very severe one for birds in the Adi- 

 rondacks. There were about four weeks of extremely 

 cold weather, with scarcely any snow, and what snow 

 there was, was covered witli a hard crust. This was hard 

 on the partridge, for those are the only game birds we 

 have in this section. However, as many as a dozen dif- 

 ferent farmers report the starting of one and two coveys 

 of partridges while cutting hay near the woods, and I 

 know where there are five broods myself. 

 _ I have not visited their haunts yet, for it is not my 

 time. My time is after the frosts come and the leaves are 

 nearly off, when the birds are scattered and are foimd 

 more evenly distributed. Now they are in coveys and 

 will be till the falling leaves make them wild. 



If any sportsman wants to come and stay with me a 

 week, come board free, but don't come till October. I 

 will not guarantee birds as thick as quail in the South, 

 but I never at that time of year had any trouble finding 

 enough, but being a poor shot, could not get them. Deer 

 are quite plenty. Adirondack. 



"That Reminds Me," 



A Reminiscence of William. 



He was tall and lanky, with a longish beard and mua- 

 tachios, a drooping nose and a hanging under hp, a high 

 and narrow forehead surmounted with a stock of hay- 

 colored hair. Altogether his tout ensemble reminded one 

 forcibly of the picture of a satyr; but the kindly light of 

 the blue eyes, and certain little puckers of humor about 

 the capacious mouth, proclaimed the hidden existence of 

 a genial soul. 



The blue dungaree pantaloons were generally rolled 

 part way up the cowhide long boots. Certain threadbare 

 patches on the shoulders of the weatherbeaten brownish- 

 gray coat gave evidence of the chafing of gun and axe- 

 handle, and the darkish greasy stains on the wide gray 

 felt hat showed just where the big hand, thrust into the 

 hat, had snatched the hot fiying-pan or coffee pot from 

 off the blazing camp-fire. 



I had been sleeping late one September morning in his 

 shack. I was tired, for I had been, the day before, 

 clambering about some tough parts of the mountain, 

 shooting dusky grouse. I was still in bed, but awoke 

 when he stumbled through the half open door, capsizing 

 the water pad and nearly killing the cat with one full 

 swipe of his weU grown feet. Snatching the old muzzle- 

 loading musket from the corner, he roared out "Bear!" 

 and vanished. 



Hours passed and the sun was low when WiUiam 

 returned, tired and hungry, and without bear meat. He 

 had followed bruin, so he said, from thicket to thicket, 

 and through swamps and over hills, sometimes catching 

 a ghmpse of black fur, but never getting a show to shoot, 

 till at last he lost him in a rocky gorge and was forced by 

 the approach of night to give up and retm-n empty 

 handed. 



I sympathized feeUngly as he sorrowfully stood the 

 old gun in the corner. Happening to pick it up I saw 

 that the lock was missing, "Why how is this; you have 

 no lock to the gun?" Glancing up at the shelf I saw that 

 the lock was there, wrapped in an oiled rag, where Wil- 

 liam himself had placed it the night before after cleaning 

 the gun. "HeUo, William, you forgot to put your lock 

 on before starting!" I shouted. The blue eyes opened 

 wide in a perplexed stare and the under lip dropped a bit 

 further down. Then the little puckers deepened as the 

 eyes closed somewhat, "What the blank's the odds?" he 

 drawled, "the bear didn't know that," Mazama, 



VANCoimiR Island, Sept. 20. 



One-Armed Wing Shooting'. 



Cortland, N. Y., Sept. 30.— Through the kindly offices 

 of Dr. M. B. Ingalls, of this village, I have discovered a 

 one-armed grouse shooter, Preston by name, who is evi- 

 dently a wonder. Preston's right arm is off above the 

 elbow, and he is said to practice wing shooting exclusively. 

 He lives at Hart's Gulch, a somewhat famous locality, 

 seven or eight miles northeast of Cortland. Dr, Ingalls, 

 who is a close reader of Forest and Stream, and there- 

 fore a very truthful man, tells me that Preston was out a 

 short while the other afternoon and bagged five grouse. 

 He claims that some good grouse shooting may be had 

 thereabouts this fall. 



But you should hear the Doctor, with a modesty that is 

 refreshing, tell of an afternoon he spent in company with 

 Preston a season or two since after the wily grouse; of the 

 half-dozen birds they bagged ; of the neat double scored 

 by the one-armed shooter; of the wild bit of scenery their 

 vision feasted on, and then, finally, of the baked potatoes, 

 hot biscuits and new honey they absorbed when the tramp 

 was at an end. It's a tale that makes a fellow wonder 

 who wouldn't be a sportsman, anyway? M, C. H. 



Rabbits and Ferrets in New York. 



Cortland, N. Y.— Does the law still forbid hunting 

 rabbits with ferrets? A party at the late county fair here, 

 who exhibited these pink-eyed rodents, in reply to my 

 query as to how he managed to find a sale for them, said 

 "Oh, that's easy enough; I've sold eight ah-eady, the law 

 has been changed so that rabbits can be hunted vnth 

 ferrets, providing the rabbits are not netted." Is this 

 true? If it is, the rabbit is doomed to speedy extinction in 

 central New liork. Give the game hog an unrestricted 

 privilege to lug a ferret around in his pocket, and you 

 practically license him to take bunnie by any method he 

 may devise. M. C, H. 



[The law does not forbid the use of ferrets.] 



1^^ dtjd 



visitors to our Exhibit in the Anglingr Pavilion at 

 tine World's Fair should not fail to examine the 

 stock of " Forest and Streann " books which will 

 be shown by the attendant. 



ANGLING NOTES. 



The Saginaw Crowd. 



Mr. W. B. Mershon writes that his party— the well- 

 known Saginaw Crowd — will leave for their Western trip 

 the first week in October, going as usual in their own 

 himting car. We hope to publish next week the first 

 chapter of the story of the Crowd's 1892 excursion, with 

 illustrations from photographs. It will be good reading. 

 Of the prospects for having sport Mr. Mershon writes: 

 "I think we are going to have some quad shooting around 

 here and get reports of a good many coveys that have 

 been seen recently. Also good news from our old ground 

 at Dakota. I hear of three making a bag of sharp-tailed 

 grouse on opening day." 



The Central Route to Chicago. 



■ Now that the travel to the World's Fair is beginning to assume large 

 proportions, the wisdom of the New York Central management in pro- 

 viding for it, so far in advance, is becoming apparent. 



The new equipment, comprising elegant Wagner palace sleeping, 

 drawing-room, buffet and dining cars, handsome new coaches and 

 powerful engines, has proven ample to handle the increased business 

 without any discomfort or delay. The great 20-hour flyer, the Empire 

 State Express, and the other limited trains of the Central are the won- 

 der and admiration of the world of travel. 



Red&ced rat« excursion tickets to Chicago and return are on sale at 

 all offices. — Adv. 



$18.00 Excursions to Columbian Exhibition. 

 Pennsylvania Railroad. 



Monday, October 2, and Friday, October G. Tourist Agent on 

 train. Special coaches for ladies and families. Allegheny Hountains 

 by daylight Only one night on train. Leave New York 9:00 A. M. 

 arrive in Chicago following noon, — Adv. 



N. H. Fish Commission at Sunapee. 

 The Fish and Game Commissioners of New Hampshire, 

 Judge Shurtleff , of Lancaster; Col. Wentworth, of Hudson 

 Centa-e, and Mr. Griffen, of Henniker, have made ejc- 

 tensive additions to the State plant at Soo-Nipi Pai-k. 

 The lease made by Dr. Quackenbos to the State having 

 expired on Sept. 32, it became necessary for the board to 

 renew, in order to continue fishery operations on Pike 

 Brook. This the Commission has done, greatly to the 

 advantage of the State, as well as of the property owners 

 and lessees in the Pai"k. The lease has been renewed for 

 ten years, with privilege of renewal for a third term; but 

 Dr. Quackenbos has relinquished his claim to the annual 

 rental for the ensuing term, therefore virtually present- 

 ing the State of New Hampshire with |500 for permanent 

 improvements on the leased property. This sum doubles 

 the amount appropriated by the last Legislature, and haa 

 enabled the Commissioners to erect and equip in Soo-Nipi 

 Park the finest hatchery building in the State, having a 

 capacity for nearly one and a half million trout and 

 salmon eggs, 



Mr. Alonzo J, Cheney of Wilmot, and Wm.W, Hubbell 

 of Newport, both well known Sunapee guides, have been 

 engaged to conduct the work of securing stock fish from 

 the lake. Their faithful and experienced service has been 

 unprecedentedly succe,ssful. Akeady some hundred large 

 brook trout, mostly females, weighing from 21bs. to 5Albs, 

 each, are ripening in huge tanks in Pike Brook on which 

 the hatchery is situated; and near them are corraled 

 about twenty-five landlocked salmon fi 'om 6 to 141bs. in 

 weight. Thus 1.50,000 brook trout eggs are insured by one 

 week's earnest attention to duty on the part of Cheney and 

 Hubbell, who have been directed a portion of the time by 

 Judge Shmtleff in person, and assisted by Mr. jDaniela, 

 who has charge of the Winnepiseogee hatchery at Laconia. 

 Furthermore, the two Pike brooks which enter the lake 

 through Soo-Nipi Park, and whose wealth of young sal- 

 mon and trout has for two years been shamefully aban- 

 doned to vagrant fishermen, have been closed by the new 

 commissioners, and the fish property in these streams, 

 which cost hundreds of dollars annually to stock, is once 

 more under the protection of the law. AH this has been 

 accomplished despite malicious predictions of failure 

 through the incompetence of men thoroughly conversant 

 with the work as the retired officials, and in the face of a 

 petty opposition which sought to cripple the important 

 operations at this queen lake of our American Switzer- 

 land, No efforts will now be spared to develop to the 

 utmost the resources of Lake Sunapee. 



Natural Flies for Salmon. 



There is scarcely a salmon fiy known that is an exact 

 imitation of a natural insect, and by exact I mean in a 

 quaUfied sense, for the best imitations are not exact, 

 aMiough they are exact enough to deceive the fish. The 

 standard salmon fly is a conventional insect, and for 

 all practical purposes it does not seem to have been neces- 

 sary to fashion it after any Uving insect with a name of 

 its own. Much has been written about why salmon take 



