74 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Jan. 25, 1896. 
was recently told that you were a splendid fellow and that 
I would like you if I got on the right side of you. Now 
do not try to tear us up by the roots, let us go on awhile 
and see if we do not amount to something. 
Maurice E.. Bortree, 
President of the National Game, Bird and Fish Protective 
Association. 
[We print Mr. Bortree's letter partly because he asks us 
to and partly because of the interesting revelation it 
gives of Mr. Bortree himself as president of the "National" 
Association. The chief officer of an institution which 
aspires to recognition as being national in its sympathies, 
scope and influence, must be possessed of certain qualities 
fitting him for the place. Among these are elevation of 
thought, breadth of horizon, personal dignity and an up- 
lifting consciousness of the greatness of his cause. All of 
these qualities or any one of them would forbid his fall- 
ing into such coarse and vulgar personality as marks cer- 
tain passages of this letter. The fact that Mr. Bortree 
has written a letter of this character should be taken into 
careful account in making up our estimate of the spokes- 
man of the association which he here assumes to repre- 
sent.] 
TROPHIES AND CAMP LIFE. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
As I am a constant reader of Forest and Stream of 
course I derive an immense amount of pleasure therefrom, 
and the accounts of hunting and fishing trips are for the 
most part thoroughly enjoyable, but occasionally I read 
of some exploit of arms which is enough to wring tears 
of blood from any thoughtful sportsman. I refer partic- 
ularly to the recent account of the Western duck hunters 
and their slaughter of 4,102 ducks, and also the Long 
Island duck shooters' seore of 264 ducks. These are not 
the only ones, as a perusal of Forest and Stream for 1895 
will show. 
How in the face of everything that is just and fair and 
honorable a man or a party of men can commit such 
depredations on game, as well as against their fellow 
men, in this day and age, is a question I have seen pro- 
pounded in this paper for years, and I have never yet 
seen it answered except in bitter denunciations of such 
transgressions against a written or an unwritten law. 
But I suppose until game is exterminated such men will 
be found, utterly regardless of other men's present or 
future sport and heedless of the damage they are com- 
mitting upon their own. While there are always a few 
who will indulge in and defend such practices, I know 
and rejoice in the knowledge that the vast majority of 
the sportsmen of America are not of the class who uphold 
these wrongs. 
But, to speak on a more pleasant subject, having read 
an unusually great number of reports from big game 
hunters who have visited Maine this past season, I am led 
to make a few remarks. I observe from a careful perusal 
of many of these interesting bits of reading that a great 
number of hunters seem to consider the trophy or head of 
deer or moose the prime object to be sought in a hunting 
trip. If Mr. A. shoots a moose with a spread of antlers of 
54in., Mr. B., who hears of it, can hardly be satisfied 
until he has taken a better one. The mere fact of having 
shot a fine moose or deer counts for little. Now, while 
the desire for a nice head is all right in a way, and while 
I am only giving my opinion, and do not wish to criticise 
any who are actuated by the true love of the sport, still I 
think those who go to the woods simply for heads fail to 
put upon game its true value. 
As it seems to me camp life in forest and on stream or 
lake where game and fish abound is the true essence. I 
do not mean to be understood as putting camp life alone 
ahead, but living in the grand free woods, shooting plenty 
of deer, moose or other game, making sumptuous fare 
from the meats and fish so taken, and finally staying just 
as long as you can; all this, I believe, is what gives to 
game its real and highest value. Of course if you are 
fortunate enough to secure good heads, they will be prized 
for the associations. 
I have been with a party to the Maine woods in October 
for several successive seasons. We have each time got 
deer in abundance to use and some to take home to 
friends. To be sure the chance of getting good heads at 
that time of the yearns small, but we believe that our 
game will afford us a higher degree of sport at that season 
than if we waited for snow and all made a try for a fine 
set of antlers. Some may not fancy the camp life and 
will use it only as a means to an end, and such sportsmen 
will of course choose the manner of hunting or object 
in hunting from which they derive the most enjoyment. 
However, I am sure that anyone who as keenly enjoys 
as do I every phase of woods life and hunting could not 
be satisfied alone with the killing of a fine head of game. 
L. A. J. 
A QUERY. 
In these days, when game is steadily growing scarcer, 
we are becoming a trifle "finicky" as to what constitutes 
true sportsmanship. There was a time when ' 'dogging" 
deer and "shining" deer were considered perfectly legiti- 
mate acts — the ex-reverend "Adirondack" Murray ap- 
proved of them, anyhow — but hyperfinical sportsmen 
have of late condemned such methods because they do 
not give the game a fair chance for their lives. It may 
also be said that they give the pot-hunter a better chance 
than the highly moral sportsman has. The latter knows 
when he has killed enough and quits; the former keeps 
on killing as long as there is anything to kill, and then 
brags about hio big score. 
There is one practice, however, which is common to all 
classes and distinctions of huntera, one that I have never 
seen questioned in these columns or elsewhere in print. 
Having in mind the torrent of ridicule and — I had almost 
said abuse — and scorn which was poured down upon the 
devoted head of poor Dr. Ellzey after his statement that 
the black bass are not addicted to saltatory performances 
in the air, I shall take very good care not to set myself 
up as a court of final appeal regarding this practice afore- 
said, but will meekly ask a question and then proceed to 
compare it with a practice which is generally condemned 
as unsportsmanlike. 
This is the question: 
Is moose calling any better than deer ' 'shining?" 
I have been a party to moose calling in the long ago, 
and my recollection is that it was a mighty cold and 
tedious piece of business. Also, that the only part which 
I took in it was to do the shooting after my guide had 
succeeded in calling a moose up to me. 
The conditions necessary for successful moose calling 
are these: 
1. A caller who can imitate the cry of the cow moose 
with some degree of faithfulness. 
2. The presence of a bull moose within hearing of the 
call. 
3. An inclination in the bull strong enough to over- 
come his natural caution and lead him to the supposed 
cow. 
4. Sufficient skill in the use of the rifle to enable the 
hunter mortally to wound the bull when he comes in to 
the call. 
Now, as there are very few moose hunters who have 
acquired the art of calling, the great majority must de- 
pend upon their guide or some other hunter to do it for 
them ; consequently their part of the business is covered 
by the fourth condition only. True, it requires no mean 
skill to hit a moose in the evening twilight, by moonlight 
or in the gray of the early dawn, but the animal usually 
comes up within short range and his bulk is so huge that 
the shooter has only to keep cool — he is pretty sure to be 
cool in body if not in mind — and the game is his. 
Considering that the bull moose is not himself during 
the rutting season, that his judgment is warped and his 
caution largely destroyed by the raging passions within 
him, has the sportsman very much to be proud of when 
he has slain one which has been called up to him by 
another person? 
The conditions necessary for successfully "shining" 
deer are these: 
1. A party to paddle who can noiselessly handle a 
canoe or boat and who otherwise knows his business. 
2. The presence of deer in or near the particular water 
on which the "shiners" are. 
3. Sufficient curiosity on the part of the shinee to cause 
him to await the close approach of the shinors. 
4. Skill enough on the part of the shooting partner of 
the firm of shinors to fatally wound the shinee, whose 
blazing eyes only, reflecting the light of the "jack," can 
be seen. 
As in moose calling, the part played by the shooting 
partner is covered by the fourth condition, but he must be 
a more skillful marksman than the moose hunter to bring 
down his game with certainty. 
The "shiner" has much the pleasanter time of the two, 
because his hunt takes place when the weather is still 
warm, and has he not as much reason to feel proud of his 
game as a moose caller? Has he not done just as much 
to insure success? 
If there be a great similarity in these two methods of 
hunting, so far as the shooter is concerned, and if "shin- 
ing" is unsportsmanlike, then what is moose calling? Is 
it all right? F. A. Mitchell, 
Manistee, Mich., Jan. 15. 
CALL DUCKS. 
Cold Spring Harbor, N. Y. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
In your issue of Jan. 4 I ventured to explain what call 
ducks are, and it has brought me so many letters of 
inquiry that I wish to say: I have none of these birds, 
and do not know who has any for sale. Mink killed all 
mine. A change in my business haB forced me to part 
with all my pets, and I have not a wood duck, teal, man- 
darin or pintail left. Should opportunity offer, I will 
again take up this fancy of domesticating our beautiful 
wildfowl and will import some call ducks, which are not 
wild, but so tame that they may be picked up from the 
ground, if kindly treated. 
The letters that my note called out show what interest 
is taken in call ducks all over the land, for they came 
from Texas to British Columbia and from Montreal to 
California. I notice, however, that all wanted them for 
actual work, and some wanted to know about ' 'anchor- 
ing" them. This might make them wild; but the female, 
if alone in a box, will call all day long from any place. 
Three years ago I sold a few pairs at the Poultry Show in 
Madison Square Garden to people who wanted them for 
pets, for, as I said, they are dwarf mallards, and valued 
like bantams in proportion to their smallness. None of 
these persons raised any young, or if they did they lost 
them, or they were all drakes. 
One writer questions my statement that only female 
ducks make a loud quacking call and cites the mallard as 
one where the drake calls. This is contrary to my ob- 
servations. A drake mallard has a call that on a still day 
may be heard 100ft. or more, but it is comparatively soft 
and not like the loud harsh "quack" of the female. 
Who ever heard a pintail call? I have kept them for 
years and never heard the call but once. As the giraffe 
is an animal without a voice, and the pintail is a long- 
necked bird, I had come to consider them to be related 
somehow in the distant past before the process of evolu- 
tion had gone so far as to develop hoofs from webbed feet. 
The voices of our wildfowl have received no attention in 
Forest and Stream, and perhaps this may start some one 
to write of them. Did you ever hear a pintail, sprigtail, 
or whatever you call it, make a sound? Fred Mather. 
Calibers for Big Game. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Mr. A. H. in your issue of Jan. 11 appears to be in the 
same state that I am in, viz, : expecting to have a chance 
of a shot at big game at some future time, and I fully 
agree with all his views. 
I have studied the subject from all points presented by 
the rich stores of information of Forest and Stream and 
have come to this conclusion: I shall take a double- 
barreled shotgun, 12 cylinder bore, fitted with a Lyman 
shotgun rear sight, loaded with 3^ to 4drs. of good pow- 
der and a well fitting patched round ball of soft lead. 
This load will carry about 100yds. point blank, and I 
should like to see the animal that will stand the shock of 
such a missile, and will not bleed to death in a very short 
time from such a wound. 
It would of course be necessary to experiment with 
such a combination at home before starting, so as to get 
the hang of the business and to know what the gun and 
the load will do. Besides such a gun gives one a chance 
for a shot at ducks or grouse with small shot if desired. 
What say others to such verdant views of a 
Green Amateur. 
Game in Louisiana. 
New Orleans, La., Dec. 28.-- Editor Forest and 
Stream: This iB the only week that finds me home since 
last February. It was a pleasure to receive Forest and 
Stream and enjoy its readings during my few leisure 
moments on the road. 
I have had the pleasure of several good days' sport 
fishing and hunting this summer and fall, never at any 
time making large bags, partly on account of not having 
the proper dogs, chiefly on account of bad shooting, on 
one occasion having one quail in nineteen shots. 
Birds are plentiful, especially quail and snipe. Wood- 
cock have arrived and some good bags are reported. One 
at Rayne, La, , numbered fifty-one. 
One of the best days on snipe which came to my 
knowledge resulted in a bag of eighty-four, killed by Mr. 
H. Hebert, of Jeanerette, La. He started at 8 A. M. and 
returned at 2 P. M. for dinner the same day. 
Ducts in Acadia and Calcacieu parishes are numerous, 
and the professionals have already put in their appear- 
ance. 
One day recently was one of the pleasantest of my 
life. We were shooting quail. The bag was small, 
though we found enough birds to have killed fifty. Our 
dog, Spot, was the champion of fl ushers. Our little 
friend Master Armand Leland kept up with the dog, 
while Mr. F. A. Cousin, Jr., and myself located the 
flushed coveys, then kicking up the birds singly while the 
dog was held back. We bagged fifteen quail and one 
cottontail. After our return to New Orleans, at the 
pretty home of Mr. Cousin, we enjoyed a dinner fit for 
kings, which was awaiting our neglected appetites. Mr. 
Cousin is one of New Iberia's leading trap shots, and he 
also can shoot quail. He possesses a good and lively dis- 
position which alters not on or off the field. Anodrac. 
A Grouse-Hunting 1 Incident. 
Fitchburq, Mass. — While ruffed grouse hunting with a 
friend a very singular thing happened. I Was taking the 
edge of a cover, with my chum about a gunshot inside, 
and the dog covering the ground between us, when two 
birds flushed wild ahead of us and flew back through an 
apple orchard which joined this cover and sailed into the 
woods behind us. After working the woods through, I 
told my friend that we would go back and come up over 
the same ground, he going out in the orchard, and then 
if they tried that trick over again we would be enough for 
them. We went around and started in again, and had 
gone only a short distance when the dog made game and 
drew to a point. I walked in, and up got an old biddy 
and flew straight ahead. At the report of the hammer- 
less down she dropped with that ever welcome thud. We 
had sent the dog to run down a winged bird that morn- 
ing, and consequently he was a little fresh; so I put him 
to heel, and started leisurely along toward where I thought 
the bird fell. When I was nearly there, up jumped the 
bird right at my feet as lively as ever. Quick as a flash 
the gun spoke, and she was down again. "I wonder if 
she will stay down now!" I exclaimed to my friend, who 
was just over the wall in the orchard. As it was quite 
open here, I went on to pick up the bird, keeping the dog 
at heel. When I arrived at the place where the bird had 
fallen the second time, I called, "Herb, come here." What 
did we see? Not one bird, but two, lying there side by 
side, flat on their backs, toes up, dead as a hammer, and 
the span of my hand would touch them both. Omar. 
Mongolian Pheasants in Illinois. 
Macomb, 111., Jan. 12. — Editor Forest and Stream: Mr. 
Simpson, of Alexis, Warren county, 111., turned loose on 
his farm four miles west of Alexis seven pairs of Mon- 
golian pheasants three years ago, and now there are large 
flocks of them, which can be seen gathered together any 
day a short distance from his farm. This looks as if this 
beautiful game bird has come to Illinois to stay when we 
take into consideration that Judge Denny only put eleven 
of these birds out in Linn county, Ore., twenty years ago, 
and now the State boasts of having millions there. 
The Chuckor partridges that were turned loose in the 
spring have not been heard of since the 1st of September. 
They are somewhere in the country if they have not been 
killed. We knew of one being killed nine miles from 
where he was turned loose. He was among a man's 
domestic chickens and was taken for a prairie chicken. 
W. O. Blaisdell. 
" That reminds me." 
Pattern Good, but Poor Penetration. 
St. Augustine, Fla., Jan. 16.— Two of our darky mill 
hands had a quarrel about Christmas. One of them 
became so enraged he drew his pistol and shot the other 
one square in the forehead. The pistol was . 38cal. The 
bullet, instead of entering the darky's skull, flattened out 
almost as flat as a penny, and was afterward cut out with 
a knife. The darky was laid up for a few days from the 
shock, but soon recovered and is now at work. 
This may seem like a tough story to tell, but we have 
the bullet here in our office to vouch for it. E. H. R. 
The Forkst and Stream is put to press each week on Tuesday 
Correspondence intended for publication should reach us at th • 
atest by Men lay and as much earlier as practicable- 
^ A Stray Shinplaster 
Comes to us once in a while for a copy 
"ftc of "Game Laws in^Brief;" but shin- 
plasters nowadays are scarcer than Moose 
tin New York; and 25 cents in postage 
stamps will do just as well. ^ 
