Oct. 6, 1894.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
295 
TEXAS AND THE SOUTHWEST, 
Col. T. H. Micheljohn, A. B. Critzer, Wm. Simnis, 
Constant Leroux and,Charley Campbell, all violent hunt- 
ers who have their abode in San Antonio, went in the 
neighborhood of Victoria in search of prairie chickens. 
It was a great party in more ways than one, as all are fine 
hunters and good shots. They did not find chickens as 
the entire country was flooded by recent rains. They re- 
port thousands of plover and curlews and a good flight of 
bluewings, and not being too proud contented themselves 
with the latter birds. 
Ducks at Corpus. 
A private letter from Corpus Christi gives me the wel- 
come information that the web-foots have seriously in- 
vaded the coast, the lagoons on Padre and Mustang island 
being literally alive with waterfowl. The crop of plover 
this fall is enormous, while the curlew and ibis overrun 
the entire coast. The shooting at the Oso has not yet 
commenced, but the local sportsmen are wishing for a 
stiff norther in which to inaugurate the duck season. 
Buffalo Again. 
A friend of mine living at Del Rio writes that he heard 
three cowboys, whose names he did not secure, converse 
about the alleged buffalo herd that it is claimed by several 
parties to have been seen in the valleys of Val Verde 
county. They spoke of the matter in a natural way, 
wondering why some one did not hunt them. They all 
three had seen the herd and agreed that it consisted of 
about thirty head, including a few calves. One of the 
cowmen stated that the animals were not very wild, 
he having ridden as close as 100yds. to them. 
Another Heavy Rain. 
Ordinarily the above heading means but little to people 
who live in a country where Jupiter Pluvius has his 
abode, but down here it means a good deal. It means 
good grass and water for cattle and game. It means 
money in the sportsman's pocket, and then he can hie 
himself to the wilds and once more press the turf as of 
yore and hear the beautiful note that Bob White clucks 
forth. In short, it means a good time for every one. 
Plenty of deer, turkey, doves, quail, etc., to say nothing 
of ducks and snipe. 
The 22d of September brought us a root-soaking, invig- 
orating and drenching rain, which lasted two days, filling 
every water hole and swamp and lake within a radius of 
100 miles of San Antonio. Our favorite resort, Mitchell's 
Lake, nine miles south of the city, has opened shop again, 
the first time in three years, and the boys are pounding 
away at bluewings and plover. 
A Rare Point. 
As a knot of San Antonio sportsmen were exchanging 
experiences the other evening at one of our fashionable 
clubs, the conversation turned upon curious points that 
had been seen by those present. I remembered a curious 
case where I saw four dogs on a stiff point on a covey of 
quail at exactly 12 o'clock at night. 
It was on Dec. 31, 1890, when a party consisting of 
Hon. S. G. Newton, Peter Shields, George Paschal and 
Oscar Guessaz went to Mitchell's Lake to hunt ducks. 
Each one had his dog with him, intending to take a turn 
at Bob White after the morning flight was over. The 
party arrived at about 4 P. M. , scattered over the lake and 
returned to the club house for supper. After supper, it 
being a bright moonlit night, "Barney," a good soldier 
whose duty it was to keep poachers out of the preserve, 
proposed a 'possum hunt, stating that the "woods were 
full of 'em." Accordingly we started, and in an hour we 
had a half-dozen fat and juicy 'possums to take back to 
camp. As we neared the club house, and about 200yds. 
from it, we missed the dogs, and not wishing them to be 
scattered all over the country, we proceeded to hunt. 
Presently we came upon one, then another, and finally 
the whole party of dogs was seen — all rigid as statues — all 
pointing as hard and as faithfully as they knew how. 
"What do you reckon they've got?" queried Newton as 
he stopped. 
"The 'Colonel' certainly has something," came the 
tremulous voice of Judge Shields. "I never knew the 
'Colonel' to lie in my life." 
"I'll bet a thousand they've got a possum," said Geo. 
Paschal. 
"Guessaz, punch him out." 
I did not like to disturb the dogs, they made such a 
beautiful picture. But I took out my watch and looked 
at it. 
"This is a splendid inaugural for the new year, gentle- 
men," I said, holding out my Waterbury for inspection. 
"A beautiful point the first thing in the new year is a 
good omen, and I doubt whether any other knot of sports- 
men have ever been so fortunate to see three setters and 
a pointer pointing at 12 o'clock at night." 
I then stepped gently forward between two of the dogs 
and a large covey of quail whirred away into the moon- 
light. 
A point on quail at 12 o'clock midnight on Dec. 31, 1890. 
Wasn't that nice? Texas Field. 
- Vermont Game Notes. 
Highgate, Vt., Sept. 26.— Editor Forest and Stream: 
My Forest and Stream pen I find on examination has 
become very rusty from disuse. Had I taken it with me 
into the northern wilds I might have kept its nib well 
polished by sending you occasional items. 
Your lusty "shouP' "Stop the Sale of Game" has been 
heard far and wide, and has become a strong plank in 
the platform of the sportsman's creed. It is a re-echo of 
the faint cry made by the writer in the Dominion Gun 
Club's alliance nearly a decade of years ago. It then had 
but few friends outside of that club of sterling sportsmen 
"The St. Huberts," of Ottawa, Ont. , but now thanks to your 
efforts, the great majority of gunners in that country are 
following your call— ready to do battle for the cause— all 
glory to the Forest and Stream say we all. 
Small game is plentiful this season in this section of 
Vermont. Good bags of ruffed grouse and gray squirrels 
are being made by the initiated — those who can shoot 
straight. One young sportsman brought in twenty-two 
grouse in two afternoons' outing. 
A large number of woodcock bred here, but most of 
them left on their southward migration before the begin- 
ning of the open season, Sept. 15. The recent heavy 
storm has, however, brought in a good flight of northern 
bred birds. They arrived here thin in flesh, but a few 
days in our succulent covers will put them in fine con- 
dition. Then Bruce M. will be on duty every week day 
until the next cold rain arrives, which will start P. minor 
again on his southern journey. 
One party a few mornings ago brought in three foxes, 
and as soon as the white frosts arrive the hounds will be 
out bright and early in full force. 
A buck doe and two fawns have roamed around quite 
near here this summer, so far unmolested. 
The sharp-tail grouse and quail that were turned out in 
this State last spring, if reports are true, have materially 
increased in numbers, as coveys of young birds are fre- 
quently seen. 
The Forest and Stream should start and lead the cry 
against the "posting" and making "private preserves" of 
woods and waters that have been stocked by the State 
with fish and game as a benefit to the general public. 
Stanstead, 
STILL-HUNTING ON THE OSWEGATCHIE 
As the time draws near for my usual hunting trip my 
mind goes back to last year's outings in the Adirondacks, 
and I feel constrained to tell my brother -sportsmen of 
the success our party had while at Sternberg's, St. Law- 
rence county, near the headwaters of the Oswegatchie. 
There were seven of us who arrived at the Inlet House 
at 4 P. M. on Oct. 8, and next morning at 7 o'clock started 
on our first hunt. A gentle rain had fallen through the 
night, and it was an ideal day on which to still-hunt the 
monarch of the forest, whose quick ear will catch the 
sound of a careless step or a broken twig at a seemingly 
impossible distance. 
My experience on this occasion was no exception to the 
rule, for after my lunch near a cool spring at mid-day I 
started over a rocky knoll toward a hardwood ridge, 
where later in the day I expected to find a deer feeding 
on the fallen beechnuts and perhaps surprise him with a 
.40-70; but while picking my way over the rocks I slipped 
on the treacherous leaf mold, and in trying to gain my 
equilibrium a small stick broke under my feet with a 
sharp snap, and the next instant I heard a thump, thump, 
thump, at my left and caught a parting glimpse of three 
white flags as they passed out of sight at least twenty- 
five rods away. 
Upon examination I found where the deer had been 
lying down in the edge of an old windfall about twenty 
rods from the broken stick. 
Space forbids my telling the many experiences of the 
day as related by the different hunters when gathered 
around the glowing wood fire after supper. It is enough 
to say that Clint O. paid the penalty that we had pre- 
viously agreed should fall upon the slayer of the first 
peer. 
The next day Will L. drew the lucky number and 
brought in a fine doe before 11 A. M., and on Wednesday 
he broke his previous record by reaching the hotel at 10 
A. M. with a fine spike buck on his back. Plenty of deer 
had been seen and several shot at by the members of the 
party, and many were the excuses invented for not hav- 
ing brought them to bag. 
Thursday morning Mr. Butry was called home by a 
telegram, and as the "kid," his son, could not be induced 
to hunt anything larger than grouse, our party was 
reduced to five active members. There had been no rain 
since Monday and the woods were getting too dry and 
noisy for still-hunting, so we spent most of Thursday and 
Friday canoeing and making snap shots with the Kodak 
of the beautiful scenery on the river and adjacent lakes. 
Saturday morning dawned windy with a light rain, 
which lasted until 10 A. M. , and made good hunting for 
the rest of the day. Three more deer were added to our 
string that night; the first, a spike horn stopped by a .40-70 
from the little Daly at 9 A. M., was credited to me; the 
second, a large doe at 10 A. M., to Rath, and last, but not 
least, a 150-pound buck at 4 P. M., to Goodman, making 
a grand total of six deer in six days, and every one killed 
in a sportsmanlike manner; that is, by still-hunting — no 
hounds or jack lights were used. 
On Sunday afternoon the team came in from Benson's 
Mines to take out Goodman and Ditmars, who had made 
arrangements for only ten days' absence from home, and 
were obliged to reach there Monday. 
We all came out to see them off. The luggage and deer 
were soon safely loaded, and as they drove away amid 
many expressions of regret, Dell cast a longing look be- 
hind, and, as he afterward informed me, then and there 
made a mental resolve that another year he would break 
a few more links from the "chain of business" and stay 
until the balsam-laden air should affect his appetite to 
such an extent that mine host Sternberg would deem it 
necessary to advance the price of board. 
The following week very little hunting was done; the 
leaves were so dry and crisp that the running of a ground 
squirrel could be easily heard at a distance of 50yds., and 
it was almost impossible to jump a deer near enough to 
catch sight of it, to say nothing of getting a shot. Our 
time was spent in cutting up and jerking the meat of the 
five deer already killed, shooting a few partridge and 
ducks, and in unsuccessful attempts at still-hunting in 
the early morning, when the dew rendered the work one 
degree less noisy. Lastly in being delightfully lazy. 
Rath, who by the way when on the tramp posses'ses the 
energy of a locomotive at 901bs. of steam and the tlirottle 
wide open, brought in from one of his twenty-mile con- 
stitutionals a large fox. 
Only one more deer was added to our string, a large 
doe, which, as sue was killed on Saturday morning, fur- 
nished us with fresh venison for our sportsmen friends at 
home, 
On Sunday the team came in to take us out to Oswe- 
gatchie. Oar journey home was an uneventful one and 
we reached there safely on Monday. Hector. 
Rail and Gray Squirrels. 
Elkton, Md— The reed bird and rail bird season opened 
in this county Sept. 3, but for the first two weeks of the 
season there were no big bags of rail on account of low 
tides; thirty-six birds by John Morgan being the best I 
have heard of. Reed birds are more plentiful than I have 
seen them for the last eight years. They are in splendid 
condition and are being slaughtered by thousands. The 
prospects for quail and rabbit shooting are fairly good this 
fall; gray squirrels are not near so plentiful as they were 
two years ago, but enough can be bagged to make a pot- 
pie, if you go about it the right way. E. S. G. 
GROUSE AND GRAY SQUIRRELS. 
There are three requirements absolutely necessary to 
the complete enjoyment of a hunting trip. Their import- 
ance from the writer's point of view is, first, to go where 
there is a generous supply of the game sought after: 
second, to be well fed, and third, to be comfortably 
housed. ' Of course there instantly comes to the mind of 
the reader all those minor features which go to make up 
the fullness of those perfect trips, the memory of which 
will linger till the last spark of life burns out, Without 
these minor features the trip may often be a success, without 
any of the three first mentioned it never can be. And 
now to tell you of a trip which will amply fill all these 
requirements. 
The ruffed grouse and gray squirrel shooting in the ter- 
ritory about Springfield 1 believe is not to be excelled in 
southern Vermont. Springfield village lies in a deep 
valley on the Black River, about four miles above its 
mouth, where it empties into the broad Connecticut. It 
is surrounded by hills on every side, which are plentifully 
covered with excellent grouse cover and heavy timber in 
which lurks the wily gray. Every grouse hunter knows 
that this bird flies the swiftest and strongest of any of our 
game birds, and the fact that he is rarely found else- 
where than in thick cover, which offers only snap shots, 
makes his capture a feat of which any man may well 
feel proud. To be a successful grouse hunter one must 
have a quick eye, a steady nerve and no small degree of 
skill as a wing shot. A good grouse dog greatly increases 
the chances for a good bag. 
In this part of the State we had a mild winter without 
many crusts or deep snows, and the hatching season this 
spring was exceedingly dry and the birds have done well; 
reports from every side indicating that the coveys are 
numerous and large. There are not many good grouse 
dogs in this place, which is all the better for visiting 
sportsmen. 
The gray squirrel shooting, which is always good here, 
is exceptionally fine this year, strings of twenty to a 
single gun having been made in an all day's jaunt, and 
two or three hours' work almost any day will bring to 
bag from six to ten, if a man understands his business. 
Still-hunting is the method employed by all the local 
sportsmen. 
First class foxhounds are owned in town and devotees 
of this sport can find ample opportunities for indulgence 
in their favorite sport. 
Witn the first fall of snow the rabbits (Lepus ameri- 
eanus) have to take it. Many of our local sportsmen 
own good rabbit dogs, and as the rabbits are very plenti- 
ful this form of sport offers great inducements to all who 
love the music of the hounds. 
There is a good hotel and Springfield is easily reached 
from New York and Boston, by the way of Charlestown, 
N. H. and stage. W. W. B. 
Game For Middlesex Fell. 
Melrose, Mass., September 19.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: Since the appearance of the note in your issue 
of loth inst. signed J. M. P. as to the colonization of the 
Mongolian pheasant in the above public reservation, I 
have made inquiry from a high official as to the move- 
ment, and find that the properly constituted authorities 
are greatly averse to such colonization on the ground that 
the pheasant wars with native birds. Now as this is news 
to me I would like to learn through your valuable papei 
what kinds of native birds the pheasant is on such bad 
terms with, and in what manner it is antagonistic. 
I have been a close observer of this variety of game 
bird for a number of years in England and have failed to 
see him show any combativeness to any other variety of 
bird except a few blows against a game chicken, but this 
was accounted for by the pheasants being hatched under 
game hens and growing up with the game chickens. 
Evidently . "familiarity breeds contempt." If it is true 
that the pheasant is antagonistic to native birds, either 
game or others, I should be sorry to see him colonized 
where he would do as much mischief as he might in the 
future in our Massachusetts reservations; it is well for our 
commonwealth that the proposed colonization of any 
foreign species be carefully investigated by competent 
persons or it may turn a greater curse than the gypsy 
moth or English sparrow. 
There seems to be a strong probability that the reserva- 
tions in Massachusetts will be gradually stocked with 
such native land and water fowl as there is any hope of 
successfully colonizing, after which some attention may 
be given to the introduction of desirable foreign species. 
Comedy. 
[The Mongolian pheasant is commonly thought to be a 
somewhat combative bird, and the cocks fight among 
themselves during the breeding season. At the same 
time, it is to be said that there seems to be in the country 
on the northwest coast where these birds are now enor- 
mously abundant, no diminution in the numbers of the 
grouse which are native to that region. We do not 
believe that the objection advanced by the authorities 
quoted in "Comedy's" letter is a valid one.] 
New Rifle Sights. 
We present herewith illustrations of two new Lyman sights. ' The 
first is a hunting,sight, similar to the original ivory bead except that it 
^^^^ has the windgauge principle added. Tnis 
IHkm addition will make the sight very useful for 
^^mJBBSSP ±n?ir\-*m long-range work, and will also render ic 
! . ''^ ;i' I .fr~bKuJ easier ot perfect alignment with tbe rear 
i M <™" M " > ''" mfarm. sight. It is operated by the thumb screw 
shown on the right side, 
one complet e revolut ion of which moves the sight ^S^^fcs. 
nearly a degree on the vernier. 
The second is a patent target sight with rever- Sm ( vJA 
sible aperture and globe which can be quickly IjHl ^& Bff; 
changed. The pin head is finer and better adapted ^tiSjLjBy 
for delicate target work than that in the Lyman ' -pjp ggBy 1 ^ 
combination sight. I S^- 
A New Hammerless. 
The long expected Remington hammerless shotgun is now ready for 
the market. It is made in two styles with automatic and non-auto- 
matic ejectors. The guns are fitted with damascus barrels, choke- 
bored, English walnut stocks, half pistol grips, rubber butt plates, 
checkered fore-ends, case-hardeiisd frames and mountings, automatic 
safeties, Purdy fore-end snaps, triple bolt, top snap, extension ribs 
with bite and flat matted ribs. 
The automatic ejector retails at from $67.50 to $347 50, according to 
grade, and the other at from §45 to §225. 
The low price of the guns, in connection with their workmanship 
and shooting qualities, will undoubtedly make them very popular 
with sportsmen. 
