Oct. 21, 1893.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



343 



CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 



[F^rom a Stajff Correspondent.] 

 The Saginaw Crowd. 

 Chicago, 111., Oct. 13.— This week's Forest and Steeaii 

 contains the first of the records of the "Saginaw Crowd," 

 which seems mighty good stuff. It is, however, stuff just 

 a year old. The "Saginaw Crowd" is at this writing out 

 in search of another year's record for Fokest and Stream. 

 Mr. Mershon, the crowd's chronicler, wrote to the editor 

 of Forest and Stream that the special hunting car of 

 the Crowd would be in Chicago Oct. 7, leaving the same 

 evening for the West over the Wisconsin Central. Being 

 on that date engaged in framing burning thoughts about 

 eleven miles south of here, I could not see the car nor 

 meet the Crowd, both and all of which I should have 

 liked to do. We will not have to wait a year, I hope, be- 

 fore hearing of this year's doings. 



A Hunting Car Disaster. 



Not all hunting parties of this season, it seems, are to be 

 careless and happy. It was a sad disaster which overtook 

 the merry party out in Dakota this week. In regard to 

 this the dispatches have the following to say : 



"New Rockford, N. D., Oct. 11. — A car attached to a 

 Northern Pacific train, containing a hunting party from 

 Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, was derailed two miles 

 south of here this morning and twenty persons injured. 

 Three of those hurt will probably die. A. J. Patch of 

 Dubuque suffers terribly from internal injm-ies and the 

 physicians hold out little hope of his recovery. W. C. 

 Earl's spine is so injured that should his hfe be saved he 

 will never be able to walk. Mr. Moody, of Colmar, has 

 not regained consciousness and is suffering from concus- 

 Biori of the brain. 



"The party was bound for the hunting grounds south of 

 here and were in the highest spirits. ^They occupied a pri- 

 vate car which was attached to the accommodation train. 

 It was fortunate that they were not with the express, 

 which travels at a much higher rate of speed. The man- 

 ner of the disaster was such that had the speed of the car 

 been greater, nearly aU of the occupants of the car must 

 have been instantly killed." 



Around Chicago. 



Mr. H. B. Young, of Chicago, wishes to go for a short 

 trip within 100 miles of Chicago, to a point where he can 

 get some fishing, also some shooting on ducks, squirrels, 

 grouse, etc. Queries for sporting localities come in aU 

 sorts of shapes, and all sorts of combinations are asked 

 for, it being a very common requirement that the desired 

 spot must be "within 100 miles of Chicago." I cannot 

 supply, as an Eastern reader requests, "good big-game 

 shooting near Chicago," but for our friend above we can, 

 fortunately, take a location out of the box. If Mr. Young 

 win go up to Mukwanago, on the Wisconsin Central, he 

 can get bass and pickerel fishing yet in the lakes near by 

 there, possibly catching a few fish, I should judge from 

 reports of this week, from Twin Lakes and other Wiscon- 

 sin waters. At Eagle Lake, six miles west of Muckwan- 

 ago, he may get a little duck shooting — almost certainly 

 he could get shooting there this rainy, stormy weather. 

 He can, in the hiUs not far from there, once in a while 

 get up a grouse, and if the squirrels have not migrated 

 since summer, he can go out northwest of ]\Iukwanago 

 and get a few. All of these things are possible and prob- 

 able, but if Mr. Young does not get all or any of them as 

 wished , I beg he will not come back and revile the writer, 

 for bills like the above are not altogether ea-sy to fill. 



Messrs, J. M. Jones and E. C. J. Cleaver asked to-day 

 where would be a good place to go duck shooting— it is 

 dry, very good duck weather to-day. The. flight must be 

 working down in this rough storm, but just how far down 

 it is hard to say. I left them hesitating between Spring 

 Lake, onthellhnois River, below Peoria, and Koshkenong 

 Lake, Wisconsin, with a leaning toward the latter, at 

 which place some very good bags have been made th's 

 faU. 



Some Thoughts. 



I often hear great admiration expressed for the editorial 

 page of Forest and Stream, which has been kept up, in- 

 variably excellent, invariably fearless and fair, all these 

 yeai-s. This comes to my mind again as I find the follow- 

 ing, from the Louisville Post, about editorials and news- 

 papers in general: 



"The Evening Post believes that every properly con- 

 ducted newspaper will properly discuss every public ques- 

 tion — will discuss it freely, fully and intelligently, and 

 wiU faithfully express public opinion, and force it on the 

 attention of aU concerned. Then if we turn to New 

 York we find that the most signally successful newspaper 

 of recent years makes a special feature of its editorial 

 work, and' numbers among its gi-eatest achievements 

 work that has been distinctively editorial work. Further, 

 it will be foimd that the newspapers which give most at- 

 tention to the editorial page have the most perfect and 

 complete news service. You find the best newspapers in 

 Chicago and excellent newspapers in St. Louis. New 

 York has no better newspaper than the Chicago Tribune 

 or the Chicago Herald or the St. Louis Glohe-Democrat. 

 Every one of these journals is stronger to-day than ever 

 in its history in its editorial discussion of cm-rent events." 



The above remarks certainly apply in force to the 

 sporting journals. Sporting journalism has changed in 

 its requirements in the past few years. Its journals have 

 to be better now. They need be little models of the 

 great daUies. The old ways are not good enough. I 

 have in mind a passe Chicago sporting journal, which 

 never has dared to have any opinions or beliefs, and 

 which, singularly coincident therewith, has not for a long 

 time dared to have any editorial page. Perhaps it was 

 afraid to, for fear it might say something. I don t see 

 why it should be afraid of that, and am disposed to think 

 rather that it didn't have any editorial because it didn't 

 have anybody who could write any. But still that is a 

 small matter, and what I wanted to call attention to is 

 the truthfulness and accuracy of the quoted statement 

 that the "newspapers which give the most attention to 

 the editorial page have the most perfect and complete 

 newsservice." This index does not fail in the case of 

 Forest and Stream, certainly, which is head and shoul- 

 ders above the others both in the one respect and the 

 other. 



Times Have Changed. 



The sporting journal which stays in the race to-day 

 must have belief and opinions of its own and by itself. 

 It must not be afraid of its clientage. It must be able to 



stand alone and to think by itself, and therefore be able 

 and eager to protect the best interests of its client.ige, and 

 to do it highly, fearlessly and unselfishly. You pick out 

 a paper of which this is not true, and you find left of it 

 only a common quarreling ground, and a news service 

 unworthy of the name. On the other hand, pick out a 

 paper of which it is true, and you find — well, you find 

 Forest and Stream. 



Forest and Stream took the World's Fair award, 

 diploma and medal. 



It Would Breaic Them. 



Last week Forest and Stream, which is published in 

 New York, had out in the West (for which alone I am 

 speaking), aside from the attendant of its World's Fair 

 exhibit, a staff rnan at Hm'on, Dakota, reporting one 

 event, another staff man in Minneapolis, Minn. , reporting 

 another event, and another staff" man at Burnside, 111., 

 covering a thu'd event. This was all the same time, and 

 in only one part of the country. It would break the staff 

 of any competitor of Forest and Stream to do this, and 

 no other competitor did do it. 



Forest and Stream took the World's Fair award, 

 diploma and medal. 



Ratlier Western. 



Once upon a time there was a man who said he didn't 

 read Forest and Stream because it was an "Eastern 

 paper." He reads it now and he knows better. He knows 

 so big a paper can't be sectional. 



This morning I took out of the Western mails sub- 

 scriptions to Forest ajjd Stream from Fort Wrangel, 

 Alaska: Portland, Ore.; San Francisco and Pasadena, 

 Cal. Rather Western. 



Forest and Stream took the World's Fair award, 

 diploma and medal. It will be a swift hand that takes 

 down that ribbon from the Forest and Stream's eagles. 



E, Hough, 



909 Sectoity BimDiNG, Chicago. 



VERMONT SMALL "GAME. 



Waterburt, Vt., Oct. — Editor Forest and Stream: The 

 only live game warden in this section has at last been 

 heard from. He resides in a neighboring town, and bobs 

 up serenely with the following letter, addressed to one 

 of om- local sportsmen, who has recently "imported" a 

 pointer and counts on making sad havoc among the 

 grouse: 

 Mr.— 



I hard that you Was coming out here To hunt patridges With that 

 Western Dog but it is a Gainst they law To hunt paridges With a dog 

 for I am Fish and game -warden. I don't care how much you hunt 

 round here but don't hunt with that Bird dog I thought that I wo aid 

 let vou Now so you would not git In to any trouble. If you had been 



A friend of I would not a warned you of your danger. 



Yours ti-uly, , Fish and game Warden. 



It may be well to state that the law referred to was 

 repealed some years ago, but news evidently travels 

 slowly in the particular neck o' woods presided over by 

 this warden. The game law is generally well observed 

 hereabout, for the simple reason that few care to do any 

 shooting before the opening of the season. Our birds are 

 found in thick cover, as a rule, and no good shooting can 

 be had until the leaves are falling. For this reason hght 

 bags have been the rule so far during the season. 



The grouse are never plenty here, but we seem to have 

 about an average supply this season, and fairly good shoot- 

 ing may be expected by those who know where to go. 

 Squirrels are unusually scarce, and I have not heard of 

 one being killed. Foxes numerous, and those who have 

 hounds are getting down to business. 



Last season's trout fishing was poor, as of course must 

 be expected in a region where the streams are stripped of 

 anything they hold in the shape of trout, without regard 

 to size, as regularly as the season opens. Of course no 

 streams can stand such fishing, and we consequently look 

 for the eaiiy extermination of the trout. I am aware this 

 view may seem wrong to residents of more favored por- 

 tions of the State, but it is a cold fact here, and one not 

 pleasant to think of. Rod. 



Rochester Shooters. 



Rochester, N. Y., Oct. 16. — In a late issue I referred 

 an Oswego correspondent who signed himself "W." to a 

 Mr. Truesdale, of this city, for good locality for gray 

 squirrel. Since my notes appeared I met Mr. Truesdale 

 one evening as he' was mailing a letter. He hailed me 

 and remarked that I was "to blame for that letter being 

 mailed," and said that five or six others on the same sub- 

 ject, but to different addresses, had preceded it. I offered 

 to settle for the postage, but this was not accepted, he re- 

 marking that he preferred to get even in some other 

 manner. 



He then told of a morning which he put in at Buck Pond 

 recently, failing to secure any ducks, but bagging seven 

 mudhens and five heU-divers. all of which were retrieved 

 by a small, part cocker bitch. I am reliably informed 

 that a Mr. Hartman, of Union Hill, about six miles from 

 this city, brought in seventeen woodcock as the result of 

 one day's shooting last week. Mr. Hartman is about sixty 

 years of age, and shoots a 14-gauge muzzleloader; is a 

 crack shot and evidently knows where to look for the 

 birds, as tliis is the heaviest bag heard from this season. 



A party of Rochester gentlemen, A. Erickson Perkins, 

 Geo. Wilder and Haywood Hawkins, started for North 

 Woods Oct. 10. Harold P. Brewster and L. L. Alien have 

 since joined the party. 



Another party started for Muskoka region Oct. 9 for a 

 three weeks' shooting and fishing trip. This -party wiU 

 stop at Cunningham's Inn, Lake of Bays, and includes 

 Charles E. Cunningham, John P. Caliban, J. A. Bryant 

 and Thomas Hammond. At the same time Charles W. 

 Voshall, Willard Upton, Joseph Seigfried and James 

 Wood started for Mr. Voshall's place, Idlewild, on Rice 

 Lake, Canada. O. S. Bee. 



Bank Growth of Wild Rice. 



Cincinnati, O., Oct. 11. — Letter from my old hunting 

 companion, Newt Martin, states that the northeast corner 

 of Honey Creek Lake, Iowa, has grown over with wild 

 rice so thick that he and his friend found it necessary 

 to carry their boat over the island in order to get to om- 

 favorite spot where Newt and I killed so many ducks 

 three years ago. He also states that he killed thirty-two 

 bluewing teal from my old stand which I built on that 

 particular trip. There was little or no rice at all in this 

 lake before this season. F. B. IVIagill. 



NEW ENGLAND GAME NOTES. 



The open game season is on in most of the game sec- 

 tions in New England, and to some extent the hunters are 

 abroad. But the great exodus to the World's Columbian 

 Exposition is interfering with hvmting trips to a consider- 

 able extent. 'Even those who annually make a pilgrimage 

 to favorite game sections are going to Chicago instead 

 this fall. But occasionally a sportsman is found with a 

 plenty of means and more of leisure, and such will spend 

 a good deal of the autumn in himting, having already 

 been to the World's Fair. Others are so fond of himting 

 that they have stifled the desire to see the AVhite City_ at 

 Chicago, and are spending their short vacation in looking 

 after the game bii-ds. A number of trips will also be 

 made into Maine after large game this fall by Boston 

 hunters. Indeed, some of them have already been there, 

 and one of the party has got into trouble, if we are to 

 believe a special Bangor dispatch to the Boston Herald. 

 That dispatch is dated Oct. 14, and says that E. E. Smith, 

 W. H. Butler, E. E. Sabin, George Kendall and A. Kitten- 

 hiel, of Boston, were arrested the day before by Game 

 Warden Corlis for dogging deer near Nicatous Lake. 

 Each has been fined $40 and costs by the Municipal 

 Court. Their guide, A. H. Macpheters, was fined $100 

 for keeping and using dogs for deer. It is said to have 

 cost each man about $100. 



Mr. Westley Jones of Roxbury has just returned from 

 his annual hunting trip to the Adh-ondacks for deer. The 

 trip was a dehghtful one. Ten deer are said to have been 

 killed by his party, who were quartered at the Eackabuck 

 Camps. The party also report that Mrs. Jones shot a 

 handsome buck with a .32cal. Winchester. As far as re- 

 ported she is the first lady to have brought down a buck 

 this season, and she is justly proud of her achievement, 

 provided it was fairly done. But if the poor brute 

 was driven into the water by hounds and held by 

 a guide while the lady shot him, it was simply 

 unladylike and crueL Mi-. L. W. DePass, Assistant 

 Secretary of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, and 

 C. W. Hodgkins have returned from their shooting 

 expedition to the Cape. Then- friend the Doctor was pre- 

 vented from accompanying them, at the last moment. 

 They report the birds more abundant than they had an- 

 ticipated, from the reports others have brought about 

 game being very scarce. They shot 314 birds in all, these 

 including only a moderate number of bu-ds as small as 

 peep. In the lot were eight ducks. They were rather too 

 early for duck shooting, those birds having just begun to 

 fly as the hunters came away. 



Local sportsmen have occasionally been out after part- 

 ridge, but generally thev report the birds very scarce, in 

 spite of the fact that the aU- round wi-iters for the Sunday 

 papers are covering these papers in spread-eagle style, 

 with yarns about the abundance of ruffed grouse this 

 season and the fun of hunting them. Such writers take 

 a dash each season at the game subject, and the way they 

 overdo it reminds one of the patent medicine advertise- 

 ment; everj^ case is a success. There is no such thing as 

 failure or rnoderation. To read these writers the novice 

 is led to suppose that the woods are full of game ready to 

 be shot, while the experienced hunter is simply disgusted 

 with the imtruthfulness of such writings. So far as the 

 editors of the daily and Sunday papers are concerned, 

 they are not particularly interested in the amount of fact 

 or fiction the writers use, provided then stuff seems to be 

 interesting and promises to sell papers. In one of these 

 articles published in a Boston paper on Sunday, Oct. 8, 

 the writer mentions a great many "rough" grouse shot by 

 a Boston sportsman, but also acknowledges that he did 

 not get any very big bags of quaU. Probably he did not, 

 and it is not Hkely that he would have been fool enough 

 to have told of it if he had killed any quail, since the 

 open season on these birds did not begin till Oct. 15. If 

 any quail were killed, and the writer of the article will 

 furnish information concerning the shooting to either 

 Geo. W. Higgin, president of the Massachusetts Fish and 

 Game Protective Associatson, 27 School street, Boston, or 

 to Richard O. Harding, secretary, 304 Washington street, 

 the person shooting them will be punished according to 

 law. The fine is |30 for each offense. So far as birds 

 seen are concerned, the prospects for quad shooting in. 

 Massachusetts are not good this fall. 



Late reports indicate that the big-game season has 

 started in with a rush in Maine. On the first day of the 

 open season, Monday, Oct. 2— Sunday being a legal close 

 day on game at all times — eight deer are reported to have 

 been brought into Bangor. On Tuesday, haK a dozen 

 more were landed, and venison is a drug in that market. 

 The woods are being scoured by men and boys with guns; 

 some with dogs. H. P. Perkins and Sid Robinson of 

 Bangor, brought in the first moose, from Little Sabois. 

 Since that time there are reports of four other moose 

 taken in Maine, with any^number of deer. Again the 

 game wardens are busy looking after deer and game birds 

 being illegally shipped to the Boston and New York 

 markets. Every possible means is adopted to get the 

 game to market. Boxes of birds go as personal baggage, 

 while deer and partridges are headed up in barrels. So fax 

 no illegally shipped game from Maine has been seen in 

 the Boston markets. But later it will come in. It is 

 next to impossible to keep it out entirely; but such ship- 

 ment is greatly checked. 



On the subject of enforcing the game laws in Maine it 

 is nothing more than the truth to mention that at several 

 of the fishing resorts, in the vicinity of Rangeley, deer 

 have been served regularly on the hotel tables nearly aU 

 summer. I have it from positive sources that such is the 

 case. I am not writing this because I believe it to be the 

 worst form of illegal game killing for the proprietors of 

 camps to permit of the shooting of deer out of season for 

 the use of their tables, but co show how poorly the game 

 laws are enforced by the wardens in some sections. 

 Indeed to take deer enough for table use in the woods 

 would not work much harm to that game in Maine, and 

 there is nothing detestable about it, compared with the 

 shooting of such game in hot weather by sportsmen who 

 have no use for it and only leave it to rot. But in spite 

 of aU the illegal shooting done there are more deer in 

 Maine for those who propose to take them legally in the 

 present open season than ever before. But concerning 

 moose it is doubtful if the report can truthfully be made 

 as good, while concerning caribou the reports make a 

 positive scarcity^ Special. 



Di^ Ducking Grounds in lowa.l 



Algona, la.— This is a poor season for ducks here, it 

 is owing to the general dried-up condition of things. S, 



