206 
especially since the dogs are getting worked into shape. 
Bnt if you rnnst go, yon must, I suppose, and the only 
thing is for you to come down again next year and get 
that bear you've lost. We'll get him sure. " 
BEAR COUNTRY, BUT NOT WIDE OPEN. 
I have no doubt that I was in the best bear country in 
America, and with the best bear hunter in America. 
"Whenever I write of "a good game country, such as this, 
I get many letters from those who wish to go hunting 
there themselves. It is always a pleasure to direct the 
Forest and Stream friends to any such pleasure. Thus 
I have sent a great many persons to Texas, and my once 
famous "game pocket" in Minnesota is a game pocket 
no more. But in a case like this, the best kindness is 
the plain truth, and I owe it to the inquirers to state 
the rather peculiar conditions in the case. Of course, I 
could not send any one to Mr. Bobo, and no one could 
for any money hire him to take a party on a hunt. 
Moreover, in that counry of Mississippi, there is a law 
forbidding non-residents to hunt there except on the 
invitation of a landowner. While I was there Mr. Bobo 
sent one party out of the country because they came in 
without any such invitation. Still another fact to be 
considered is that good trained hounds are a necessity 
for hunting in that cane country. Mr. Bobo's pack is 
the only one in that region. Yet another serious thing 
to be considered is the nature of tbe country, where one 
absolutely must have a guide, and a'good one. One can 
go into the mountains or into the pine Country, and go 
out hunting and find his way back to camp. In the 
Delta be cannot, do this. Unless the trails and hocks 
are known, he can get nowhere, and if he gets lost he 
is lost indeed, for he cannot travel a mile in a day on 
foot. We saw deer and turkey on our trip, and there 
are quantities of panther, cats, coons and all sorts of fur 
in there, but the stranger in that country could do 
little at sport if he were alone. 
• ' I will take a stranger into the woods, ' ' said Mr. 
Bobo, "and give him my horse and all my dogs, and I 
will bet hirn~he can't kill a bear in a month. " And this 
I should consider a safe proposition. 
THE SOUTHERN IDEA OF SPORT AND GAME. 
There is a curious difference between the North and 
the South in one respect, and I am disposed to think 
that there lies some of the reasons for the difference of 
the game supply in the North and in the South. In the 
North you can hire a man to do almost anything or go 
anywhere. You can get guides for any part of the 
Rockies, for the Wisconsin pine woods, for Maine, 
New Brunswick, the Adirondacks. But for the Delta 
of the Mississippi, I am almost glad to state, you can- 
not get guide, and I hope, with all courtesy to gentle- 
men who love to travel, you never may. The time is 
not for killing off new covers. It is time now to wish 
that some few may always remain closed. In the south 
the commercial way of looking at sport has not yet had 
any growth. Therefore I say that the South is the seat 
of the truest sportsmanship of America to-day, because 
there neither game nor sport is held generally as matter 
for barter or sale. Both are held as the. privileges of 
gentlemen, and this is the right way to look at it, too. 
The wild animal should belong of right to the man 
who is enough master of the chase to reduce it to 
possession, and. it should belong to no one else. Women, 
children and sick persons might have game given to 
them, but men who cannot hunt are not the men to have 
game in possession. I would not change the old, con- 
servative ways of the South if I could and hope they 
never will change, and I know all readers of this journal 
will be glad to rest their future acquaintance with the 
South upon its unasked and unpurchaseable hospitality. 
By this it should not be understood that there is a 
stone wall about the shooting of the South for Northern 
men who wish to sport like gentlemen. We shall pre- 
sently see that many delightful localities are open to the 
tourist sportsman. Not long ago Mr. A. H. Hanson, 
the general passenger agent of the Illinois Central Rail- 
way, located at Chicago, undertook to compile a mass 
of data as to good hunting localities, guides, etc., along 
the line of that road which passes through the best of 
the shooting country. He sent out letters to the station 
agents asking them to make inquiries, and while he 
heard of plenty of game, he heard of very few guides. 
"Those people have no idea of business, " lie said to 
me, in a perplexity almost amusing to anyone who know 
much of the South. "Here's one letter after another, 
all saying about the same thing. ' Mr. So. and So is 
quite a hunter in this place, and he say he will be glad 
to take out any visiting sportsmen. He has dogs, horses 
and everything needed. But he would not take any pay 
for this, and he would not like ,to- agree to go out at 
just any time he might be asked. That's it ; that's the 
same story ! They don't know anything about business !" 
OPEN COUNTRY. 
Mr. Hanson will, on deliberation, I think agree with 
me that the fact that these men don't know anything 
about business is the best thing in the world for his 
business. Dakota is shot out. Wiscosnin is fished out. 
The Adirondacks were tramped out long ago. The tide 
of sporting travel is settling back on itself. There will 
be plenty of it turn and go to the South. The longer 
the South has attractions, the longer it will go. Mean- 
time let us hope for a more sensible day in sportsman.- 
ship than that which has ruined the fields of the North, 
and the growth of better principles than those of the 
past. Perhaps the leaven thereto may be found in the 
ideas of these men who "don't know anything about 
business. " 
Mr. Hanson may be sure, however, that he has bear 
and deer country to which he can send inquiries in the 
practical certainty that they can get sport under prac- 
tical conditions. I have spoken of the long strip of 
wilderness in the Delta country lying bet ween Memphis 
and Vicksbuig. This wilderness is penetrated by the 
Sunflower, the Tullohatchee, Tallobusha and other 
streams. At the head of this long stretch of wild 
country the Illinois Central divides, one leg keeping 
along the Mississippi and the other going out further 
east toward the hill country. We made our hunt down 
the Western leg of the road and found the conditions 
there as I have frankly stated them. Now, if the 
stranger will take the Eastern leg of the road and go on 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
down toward Vicksburg, down the Tullohatchee coun- 
try, he can tap the same game country to much better 
advantage. The best place to head for is the country 
between Minter City and Dodd's Ferry. The railway 
point is Parsons. Mr. Clay, at Tutweiler station, has a 
pack of dogs. Captain James Dinkins, passenger agent 
of the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley road at Memphis, 
can give full advice about this pack and the bear and 
deer country above referred to. 
Captain Dinkins, by the way, was godfather for a 
large party of Northern hunters who were down in the 
Delta country last November, about the time we were. 
This party had Mr. Clay's dogs, and Mr. Gibson, a 
good bear hunter, was out with them. They got one 
bear and some deer in two days, and then went on down 
to Vicksburg. This was a party mostly made up of 
celebrities from Iowa, and was very large, being com- 
posed of the following, mostly from Dubuque, Iowa: 
Hon. D. B. Henderson, Gen. Jackson, Col. D. C. 
Glasser, Messrs. Geo. Perry. Jas. Morgan, Saml. 
Rider, D. E. Lyon, J. M. Glover, S. A. Atherton, 
Henry Mehlkop, E. W. Albee, Saml. Rice, Deacon 
Couch. Messrs. Frank Lindberg and John Olson were 
from Chicago. Messrs. W. H. Morris, John Cruise and 
Tim Noble were from Manchester, Iowa, and Mr. N. F. 
Lawrence from Cherokee, Iowa, Captain Dinkins went 
on down from Memphis with these gentlemen on their 
car and they had a very pleasant trip and saw plenty of 
cane. At Panther Burn some one fired a shot or two at 
the car, which caused Col. Henderson, who lost an arm 
in the war, to say it reminded him of old times. So 
large a party as this is, of course, very unwieldy in the 
field and not desirable for an actual hunting trip, but 
even for so large a party I imagine there are deer and 
bear enough to go round if the latter are approached 
delicately on the subject. There are deer and bear 
enough for any decent Northern hunters. Once there 
were deer and bear in the Adirondacks, but when hotels 
and guides made their killing easy, they disappeared. 
I beg Mr. Hanson to believe that he has cause for con- 
gratulation in the fact that hotels and guides are so 
scarce in this big game country. That is the reason he 
has some game still left. I hope he will make it harder, 
not easier, to get at the game. In spite of all his 
efforts, hunters will get at it and kill it all too soon. 
He need not worry about their not going down there. 
They will go all too soon. 
Later on I shall describe the duck country below New 
Orleans, something new for the Northern men, but we 
are not so far along as that to-day. E. Hough. 
THE SPORTSMEN'S EXPOSITION. 
The demand throughout the country for information 
concerning the exposition txr be given by the Sportsmen's 
Exposition Association (Incorporated) at the Madison 
Square Garden, New York, on May 13 to 18, 1895, has 
forced upon the management the necessity of issuing a 
regular weekly bulletin containing the informati on neces- 
sary to keep the public advised of the exhibition, and to 
guide the manufacturers, artists and private individuals 
who desire to make exhibits, either for business purposes 
in the manufacturing department, or for educational ex- 
hibition of private collections of objects of historical in- 
terest in the Loan and Trophy Department. The haste of 
some of the manufacturers to be identified with the ex- 
position is quite marked. When the exposition was first 
planned, a number of the manufacturers who were quite 
indifferent to the affair, are now hurrying in earnest and 
showing increased confidence in the advantages to be 
derived from being conspicuously represented, and are 
now among the most enthusiastic promoters. 
A brief glance at the prospectus issued a short time ago 
will outline the extensive character of the exposition. 
Fourteen distinct classes are provided for which will 
cover in every essential detail the general interests of the 
Sportsman. Every article used by the sportsman will be 
included. There are up to this hour of going to press 
thirty -four leading firms who have* taken spaces. Some 
of the exhibits will cover 50 square feet of floor space, 
in which will be introduced many new and interesting 
features. For months past some of the manufacturers 
have been busy preparing their elaborate exhibits, and 
have made importations from foreign countries in order 
to enable them to prepare entirely new material for the 
occasion. The marvellous beauty of the fire_ arms and 
weapons to be shown will be imposing and a revelation 
to the profession as well asjtothe novice. Both barrel and 
blade will show the skill of the designer and engiaver. 
Art in fine arms will here be demonstrated. The beauty 
and quality of ancient Damascus steel has been wrought 
and wrought until the production of the fire arms man 
ufacturer of to-day outrivals all efforts of the gun makers 
of the ages. The mechanisml and devices invented for 
rapid firing and safe control of the modern fire-arms will 
be an exposition alone. 
X The exhiits of the ammunition makers will show the 
master hand of the chemist and subtle power and 
strength of the explosive agents of the hour,which seem to 
be unlimited. Exhibits showing the power of the 
powders and the skill of the marksman will be illustrated 
by targets and diagrams. These displays will be gotten 
up by the most important manufacturers of this country. 
Gun implements showing inventions of unique and prac- 
tical character will attract the visitor, and not only in- 
terest the dealer, but the consumer. 
Those who attend the exposition will not be able to 
move very far among the mass of exhibits before finding 
near at hand the sailing craft of the primitive hunter, as 
well as that of the modern Nimrod. The dug-out of old, 
the bark canoe of the Indian, the sober toiling launch, the 
shining sails of the phantoms of the sea, those shafts of 
the silent waters which almost defy Father Time, all will 
be here, side by side, a record of the crafty savage and of 
intelligent man. 
The comprehensiveness of the other classes of the expo- 
sition is quite as complete, and includes fishing tackle, 
athletic goods, camping outfits, kennel supplies, cameras, 
horse "equipments, taxidermists' art and literature, 
trophies of the chase, ancient fire arms, valuable oil 
paintings, old prints, books, etc. 
The following lists will show the number and character 
of the exhibitors who have engaged space: — Winchester 
Repeating Arms Co,, E. I. Dupont de Nemours & Co., 
March 16, 1895. 
Union Metallic Cartridge Co. , Forehand Arms Co. , Hard- 
ware Publishing Co., Union Hardware Co., Colt's Fire 
Arms Co., Herman Boker & Co., Tver Johnson's Arms & 
Cycle Co,. Weibusch & Hilger, Limited; Forest and 
Stream, Von Lengerke & Detmold, American Field, 
Maine Central Railroad, William Lyman, Lefever Arms 
Co., Geo. O. Shields, (Recreation); Tatham Brothers, 
Hunter Arms Co.. A.. GSpaulding & Brothers, Shooting 
and Fishing, Bridgeport Gun Implement Co., Cushman 
& Denison, Remington Arms Co., Spratt's Patent 
(American) Limited, Schoverling, Daly & Gales, Cleve- 
land Target Co. , United States Cartridge Co, Gas Engine 
and Power Co., Parker Brothers, Sporting Goods Dealer, 
T. W. Fraine, Hazard Powder Co, The Webster Studio. 
Every week now adds to the number of exhibitors. The 
choice spaces are being rapidly allotted and now rmmber 
upwards of seventy-five, leaving but a limited number at 
the command of the association. A day's delay may find 
some very important exhibitor without space. It is un- 
fortunate that there are not a greater number of spaces, 
for it will be impossible to provide for all those who may 
wish to be identified with the exposition. 
The Association will arrange for reduced travelling 
rates from all points in the United States. The rates will 
be low, and will offer every inducement to attend the ex- 
position at a season of the year when travelling is de* 
ligtfhul. 
The importance of this exposition as a means of extend- 
ing the public interest of the manufacturer and the 
dealer cannot be over-estimated. Every step towards the 
education of the public tends to broaden the knowledge 
of the novice and quietly enlist new disciples into the 
ever increasing and changing ranks of the sportsman. 
The old followers drop off and the new step in, and 
whenever this fact is*realized in any profession, the five 
man of business grasps the opportunity offered to keep up 
with the advancing host, and finds himself and his in- 
terests keeping pace with the evolution of business and of 
the conditions. If to fancy that old successes can ac- 
complish much that is vital in that of the present, that 
man's confidence in himself is misplaced. If a narrow 
conception of the advantages of the Sportsmen's Exposi- 
tion is fostered, and an indifference to the efforts of the 
managers be indulged in, nothing can demonstrate more 
conclusively, (to change the old adage so as to read) 
"That none are so blind as those who will not bear." 
The Sportsmen's Exposition will not be a common-place 
affair. " The strong list of exhibitors certainly is a guar- 
antee that success is sure to crown the efforts of the 
promoters of the enterprise. 
New York, March 9, 1895. F. S. Webster, Sec'y. 
NORTHWEST COAST NOTES. 
COON lore. 
My old friend, Billy Newman, writes me that he is en- 
joying liimself "hugely" over in Washington. He is 
located somewhere in back of Skamokawa, the Capitol of 
Wahkiakum county, but his post office is Castle Rock, on 
the Cowlitz River. A few extracts from his last letter 
may be of interest to readers of Forest and Stream. Here 
is one: "And now I will give you one that lean vouch 
for; Daddy Scantogrease, who is about 68 years old, and 
who claims to be a veteran of the war of 1812 (?) but 
whose word I cannot well doubt, as he has been an elder 
in the church for over forty years, tells me the following 
coon story: Yer see, Bill, one time nigh onto forty years 
ago, when I was livin' back in old Injianni, I sighted er 
coon up in er oak tree a-eatin' acorns. I jist dropped the 
old Winchester onter him and blazed away. Well, by 
Boston, he jist sot thar a-eatin' them acorns jist the same. 
I emptied the old Winchester, but still thar he sot a-eatin' 
them acorns jist the samp. Then I emptied my Colt's re- 
volver inter him, but, by Boston' he still sot thar a-eatin' 
acorns. Then I got mad and clini the tree and killed 'im 
with a club. When I looked him over I found that he 
was jist plumb full of holes, but, by Boston, the tarnal 
critter had jist sot thar, and whenever a bullit ud hit 'im 
he'd jist plug up the hole with a acorn and jist go on 
a-eatin' acorns.' 
BEAR GALORE. 
And here is another that will interest "0. O. S.": 
"John Cooley and George Milton, two boys about fifteen 
years old, started out coon hunting. Young Milton had a 
22-calibre rifle, while young Cooler had a skookum-wood 
club. They found an old hollow cedar which they thought 
might be a coon tree, and commenced pounding on it, 
when, to their surprise, down came a good-sized bear. 
Cooley struck him on the nose and kept him from coming 
out, while Milton would load and shoot him with the 32- 
calibre short. They kapt this up until they killed him. 
When they pulled him out his head was smashed to a 
jelly. Now, if "O. O. S." or any other reader of old 
Forest and Stream has any doubt in regard to this story, 
they can drop a fine to Mr. Cooley, Justice of the Peace, 
Jackson District, Cowlitz County, Washington, father of 
one of the boys, and get his affidavit to it. I will also lay 
a wager with "0. O. S." that lean get the affidavits of at 
least twenty-five men in this county that they have dogs 
that will go out on the riffles and watch for and catch 
salmon and pack them ashore." 
GAME PROTECTOR. 
Our Legislative Assembly has adjourned. That is about 
the only decent thing it did during its forty days session, 
and after the usual sigh of relief, our citizens have breath 
enough left to express in plain terms their opinions of leg- 
islative assemblies in general, and Oregon legislative as- 
semblies in particular. For years the game laws of the 
State of Oregon have been only inconsistent and confused 
epitaphs to the stupidity and idiocy of defunct Oregon 
legislative bodies, as can be attested by Editor Reynolds of 
"Game Laws In Brief." Even when a good bill is pre- 
pared and submitted to the Assembly, it seems to be the 
bounden duty of that august body to doctor and devil it 
until its own father would not know it, before it can be 
passed. No one can tell you yet what changes have been 
made, not even the members themselves. 
Some of the members seem to have a faint recollection 
of some bill or other that was presented by the Hon. Mr. 
So and So, but, if their memory serves them right, cer- 
tain amendments were tacked on by the committee or 
suggested by the fHon. Mr. Jones, or Smith, or Clark, or 
some member of the third house, the purport of which 
they have entirely forgotten. It will be remembered that 
