228 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
March 23, 1895. 
fishes all day ; wet to the skin from morning till night, 
and when he comes in at night, later, rosy and happy and 
hungry, one has not the heart to be critical if there is a 
tinge of improbability about his adventures. 
' 'Next spring James will regret his inability to go a-fish- 
ing, and I will be sympathetic, and so on to the end of 
the chapter." L. Yale. 
A Combination Arm- 
Mr. Myrick's article on combination arms brings to 
memory a small double gun I used before tbe advent of 
the magazine gun in our part of the country. One bar- 
rel was smooth-bored, and a 50 cal. round ball fitted it 
very neatly, with a tbin patch: the rifle barrel was 36 cal. 
It had 26in. barrel, bar locks, and was well finished. Tbe 
barrels had been put together correctly, that is they were 
the same distance from centre to centre at the muzzle 
and breach. The sight was on tbe centre of the rib, so 
the rifle shot a little over balf an inch to the right, while 
the shot bai'rel would shoot a little to the left. 
One morning while out prospecting, I went down to an 
elk lick a mile below where we camped. In one of the 
licks stood a large cow elk about 100 yards off. I in- 
tended to break the neck or shoot through the brain. I 
held steady at the butt of the ear and fired. The elk, in- 
stead of dropping in its tracks, staggered back a few 
steps. I had shot a little too low (and, as Mr. Myrick de- 
scribes in his article on far away shooting) broke its jaws. 
I then fired the smooth-bore at the neck. When the rifle 
cracked , it dropped . 
Since the advent of tbe magazine rifle, I want nothing 
better for an all around rifle than my 38-55, with my tele- 
scope, although I use my 22 Stevens with Lyman peep 
and front sight of home manufacture. Last Thanksgiv- 
ing, in the presence of Mr. Strahl, I shot at a coyote 200 
yards off hand; it ran fifty yards and fell dead. The 
bullet had passed just over the heart. Lew Wilmdt. 
Prairie Chickens in Confinement. 
Noethwood, N. Dak.— I have trapped eight prairie 
chickens and have built a comfortable coop for keeping 
them. They get screenings, wheat, and plenty of snow 
for feed, but they are very much excited and scared every 
morning when I present the feed to them. 
Can you give me any points as to how to make it com- 
fortable for the birds? And have not prairie chickens 
been successfully tamed before? If they do not thrive 
with me I would rather let them loose again. T. G. 
[If you will give the birds some range and not show 
yourself too often to them, they will probably in time 
become quite tame, more so even than domestic fowl.] 
Chicago Men in Florida. 
Mr. A. G. Spaulding, of Chicago, is representing the 
tackle trade in Florida in great shape just now. Report 
has it that he is catching more trout (weakfish), bigger 
trout and fatter trout than anybody else at Tampa. All 
of which redounds to the credit of A. Gr. Spaulding & 
Bros., who no doubt, furnished his fishing outfit. It 
would, be grievous now to hear if Mr. Spaulding were 
using the plain cane pole and ring-necked hook of the 
Southern coast country. E. Hough. 
Prairie Chickens for Hawaii. 
St. Paul, Minn. — The Hawaiian Islands are going to 
raise prairie chickens, and they have selected specimens 
of the hardy Minnesota stock for a nucleus. A. dozen 
prairie chickens were netted in the northern part of the 
State several weeks ago for this purpose Pending certain 
forms to be observed, the chickens were kept in confine- 
ment two weeks before they could be shipped. For this 
reason it may be doubtful if they stand the long voyage 
well. Of the shipment the Pioneer Press says: 
"George Markert, a well known insurance man of St. 
Paul, last week shipped to A. S. Wilcox, of Honolulu, 
Kania, Hawaii, a dozen live prairie chickens, six males 
and six hens, to be put in the national game preserves of 
the islands for breeding purposes. The game birds of the 
Islands at present are mostly brant and a species of quail 
similar to the California quail. A few Japanese pheasants 
have recently been bred with success, and it is believed 
that prairie chickens can be successfully propagated in 
Hawaii. The birds sent were ordered through William C. 
Smith, Mayor Smith's nephew, who is a resident of Hon- 
olulu, and will be kept under the protection of the Ha- 
waiian government until coveys have become numerous 
enough so that there will be no danger of their ex- 
tinction by sportsmen.' 3 
Virginia Game Killed by Cold. 1 1 
Petersburg, Va.— Reports from all parts of the State 
confirm fears that partridges and rabbits have been de- 
stroyed wholesale by the intense cold and deep snows 
which have prevailed this winter. Whole coveys of birds 
have been found frozen, and rabbits also in great num- 
bers, reduced to skeletons by hunger. J. L. K. 
Quail for Virginia- 
Lynchburg, Va., March 8.— Since my last letter, Mr. 
Jas. M. Cleland has sent him from Tennessee sixty 
pairs of birds which he had placed on ten different farms. 
Mr. Cleland put these birds in pairs in paper bags and 
placed them. He says after the birds picked their way 
out they appeared perfectly contented. Other efforts in 
restocking are being made. F. M. D. 
Wild Pigeon Days- 
Reading 9 of "Backwood's" experience with wild 
pigeons, reminded me of an experience I once had. It 
was in the town of Maine, 111., on the Desplaines River, 
about sixteen miles from Chicago. One morning on the 
4th of June, 1858, (I remember the date, as on the 22d we 
had a freshet) when I went out of the house I saw large 
flocks of wild pigeons making for a piece of old growth of 
timber, directly opposite the .house. Getting my gun, I 
secreted myself behind a bunch of bushes; the pigeons 
continued to come; I fired two shots and had all the 
pigeons I wanted. But they kept on coming. I could 
not begin to tell how many there were, but they must 
have been tip in the millions. I could hear them in the 
woods, breaking limbs and fluttering over one another. 
Now, can anyone tell how those birds knew there was 
plenty of food in that place for them at that time? I 
lived there three years, and that was the only flight of 
pigeons we had. But there was plenty of other game on 
the prairie. 1 have had six deer hung up at once; then 
there were geese, ducks, plover and prairie chickens all 
very easy to get. Now they tell me there is not one to 
be seen. Ross. 
A Woodcock Day. 
"Hello!" 
"What now?" 
"Fun; do you want some?" 
"Where?" 
' 'In the Auchmoody woods. ' ' 
"Are you sure we can find it?" 
"Indeed we can. Three days ago Captain Bodine (of 
American Rifle Team fame) and I went there. _ We went 
over a good deal of ground but didn't see a bird. But I 
wasn't satisfied. I felt all through my skin that wood- 
cock were somewhere in those woods. So I called old.Fred 
into the wagon and we started alone. Well, we had fun, 
for we found lots of them in a particular part of the 
forest. Come, fetch out your dog and jump in." Who 
could deny Zeke Elting, the life-long patron of your 
Forest and Stream, the generous, intelligent sportsman 
who never took a selfish advantage — never "stole a 
march" on his companion in the field. At least that was 
my experience. Zeke kept a good hunting wagon, clean, 
well-fed dogs and a plump, reliable horse. These accom- 
paniments, with his own qualities, made it a luxury in- 
deed to go with him on a hunt. So I went. 
It was about nine miles from town that we had to go 
to reach the grand old woods. As soon as we entered 
them I seemed to scent birds, so "cocky" was the ap- 
pearance of all around us. They would rise at the next 
step. No. "Zeke, with all this fine ground and not a 
sign of a cock, how can there be enough for sport any- 
where in the woods?" 
Zeke smiled and said, "Wait a bit; just come on, 
they're here somewhere." I was doubtful. 
Whirr. "Here they are," said Zeke, his black eyes 
sparkling, and the dogs seeming well aware of a change 
of pastime. 
Bird after bird now whistled before us, almost invari- 
ably dropping to the hammer's strke. "We don't have 
to fire, Nelse," said Zeke, in his gleeful, 'facetious way: 
"Just point the gun at them, they'll come down of them- 
selves, knowing it's of no use." He made this suggestion 
from the fact that we shot unusually good that day. _ But 
Zeke was no slaughtering sportsman, and soon said we 
had enough. So, with empty guns we broke for the open, 
as woodcock rose unharmed in our path, and took to 
wagon. Thirty-three birds were the reward of that day's 
trip. N. D. Elting. 
N ebraska Game. 
Omaha, Neb. , March 10.— The intense cold spell waa 
extremely destructive to the quail, especially in the ex- 
treme northern portion of the State, Sanford K. Brown, 
a well-known sportsman from Jackson, says that in his 
neighborhood whole covies were found frozen, and he is 
apprehensive that there will not be sufficient seed left to 
insure anything like an average crop next season. It was 
such reports as these that evidently induced the Senate to 
amend the new game bill in regard to Bob White, abso- 
lutely prohibiting the killing of quail for a period of 
three years. The Senate also changed the clause protect- 
ing the fish, making spearing permissible. It seems that 
spearing fish is a favorite mode of "angling" among the 
ruralists of the western part of this State, but as long as 
they seldom catch anything but buffalo, the change will 
be little commented on. 
Geese and ducks continue to come in, but straggingly, 
and as yet but indifferent bags have been madf by any 
of the shooters. The main issue of the wild fowl seldom 
reach this territory before the middle of March. 
Colonel Sheppardand a party of four have been camped 
on the Platte for a week. They have bagged some few 
speckled fronts and pintails. Frank Parmalee and party 
are camped on the Platte near Silver City, and yesterday 
evening nearly a barrel of bluebills reached this city, all 
killed in a snow flurry in the morning. John J. Hardin, 
A. Hospe and Jack Knowles are in the sand hills near 
Paxton — a famous ducking grounds. They will have 
ample sport with the canvasbacks and red heads. 
Sandy Griswold. 
A Story of Gen. R. U. Sherman. 
In your issue of March 3 is a most appreciative notice 
of tbe late Gen. R. U. Sherman. Uncle Dick, as we used 
to call him. The writer we'll remembers being one of 
that famous first committee on game laws of 1876, ap- 
pointed on motion of Mr. Sherman, and of which he was 
made Chairman by the speaker, Mr. Husted, on account 
of his pre-eminent fitness among all the members of the 
Assembly for the position. While it was remarked that 
a Republican speaker had named a Democratic chair- 
man, the appointment was greeted with unanimous ap- 
proval, and the committee (there were nine members, if 
I remem'oer) proceeded to amend and codily the mass of 
heterogenous legislation in the game laws of previous 
years. It was no easy task, but the untiring efforts of 
Mr, Sherman brought order out of confusion, and after 
weeks of la^>or, and many sittings of the committee, be- 
fore which all interests were heard, a bill was finally 
drafted and introduced by Mr. Sherman, and if I re- 
member rightly, passe i substantially as it came from the 
committee, and with the fond hope expressed that the 
game legislation of New York was settled for many years 
to come. Alas! every year since has seen any amount of 
tinkering, until one would hardly recognize in the New 
York game laws of to- lay the labors of the committee 
of 1876, 
I wonder how many of that committee are yet alive! 
Perhaps the Forest and Stream might call the roll. 
During that session, Mr. Sherman was the recognized 
leader of his party on the floor; he led the minority with 
a consummate tact, and they followed him implicitly. 
He was gifted with a gr -at deal of quiet humor, and not 
being a lawyer, was ever ready to get his legal friends 
in a tight place if possible. 
I quite well remember, when on one occasion Speaker 
Husted and Robert Strahan, Chairman of the Judiciary 
Committee, both lawyers, were forced to admit the for- 
getfulness of a plain constitutional provision. A bill had 
been introduced by Mr. Husted, abolishing the office of 
justice of sessions (the justices of the peace elected to sit 
with the supreme judge in criminal trials). The bill was 
referred to the committee on the Judiciary, a committee- 
composed entirely of lawyers, and by them, in due time 
through their chairman, reported favorably to the As- 
ssembly and put upon the calendar. When it name up 
for passage, Mr. Sherman, who had waited until nearly 
time for the final vote, rose with Blue Book in hand, and 
gravely moved as an amendment that all provisions of 
the Constitution in conflict with the act be repealed, and 
read the article showing tbe office to be of constitutional 
origin,^ and entirely beyond legislative control. _ The 
' silence that followed was broken by the speaker rising to 
explain that he had introduced the bill at the request of 
a constituent without looking into its merits, and the 
Chairman of the Judiciary Committee hastened to say 
that the committee had reported it without looking into 
its merits, out of respect to Gen. Husted, who had intro- 
duced it. Meanwhile the countenance of dear Uncle Dick 
smiled serenely, and the Assembly audibly enjoyed the 
discomfiture of its legal lights, who had apparently for- 
gotten a plain constitutional provision. 
All three are now with the great majority, Strahan 
first, then Gen. Husted, and now Mr. Sherman. May his 
memory be ever green. W. 
Shooting ior a Record. 
Germantown, Pa., Editor Forest and Stream: I noticed 
the enclosed slip in the Philadelphia Times of this morn- 
ing. I cannot believe that these gentlemen were out 
merely for 'sport," as I ungerstand the word, and yet 
from the account it would appear that they killed every- 
thing that came their way: 
Until the arrival of J. Frank Turner, G. W. Bergner, of Phila- 
delphia, held the record atTarnpa Bay, Florida, for quail shooting. 
His record on snipe shooting is the best, being 117 birds in a single 
day. Ihe recent entries of the game record at the Tampa Bay 
Hotel are: 
February 11— Dr. D. Karsner, Germantown, Pa., 50 quail, 7 doves. 
February 11— J. Frank Turner, Philadelphia, 2 doves, 5 English 
snipe, 5 quail. 
February 11— J. F.'Turner, Philadelphia, 15 quail. 
February 16— Dr. Karsner and Mr. Turner, 26 quail, 3 doves. 
Looked like rain; did not go to hunting grounds. 
February 19— J. Prank Turner, Philadelphia, 31 quail, lhawk. 
February 19— Dr. Karsner, Germantown, Pa., 38 quail, 1 snipe. 
Rained hard first half of day. 
February 22— Dr. Karsner and Mr. Turner, 26 blue bill ducks. 
These were shot from one of the electric launches on Tampa Bay. 
February 23 — Dr. Karsner and Mr. Turner, 58 quail, 9 doves, 3 
plover, 3 snipe. Found 9 coveys. 
February 25— J. Frank Turner, 4 quail, 1 dove, 1 rabbit; Dr. Kars- 
ner, 6 quail. 2 doves. Killed from wagon on way to hunting ground. 
February 26— Dr. Karsner, 88 quail, 2 doves, 1 rabbit; Mr. Turner, 
101 quaii. 8 doves, 1 rabbit, 1 jacksnipe. The doctor was handi- 
capped by shooting through burned woods. Mr. Turner beat the 
guide during the morning's shoot, and his record on quail is the 
largest for a single day's shooting. 
Still keep up your warfare on the game question. You 
can stop it. It will take time, it will take fearless advo- 
cacy, but it must come to an end. A. H. S. 
ANGLING NOTES. 
'ICE fish." 
About twenty years ago I first heard of the "ice fish" 
of Lake Champlain, and found upon an introduction that 
they were the smelt w r hich it is presumed must have 
worked their way up into the lake from the St. Law- 
rence. 
A few weeks ago a friend brought me a box of these 
"ice fish," and most delicious I found them on the table. 
Returning from the meeting of the Adirondack Guides' 
Association with Mr. W. F, Rathbone, we noticed from 
the car windows as we neared Port Henry that out on the 
ice there was a collection of fishing huts and fishermen, 
and I was at once reminded of the ice fish. We re- 
mained over for a day at Port Henry and made a visit to 
the fishermen. 
The smelts, to call the fish by their proper name, are 
caught with hook and fine through holes cut in the ice. 
The bait is the eye of a smelt or a piece of flesh cut from 
the 1 fish near the tail, a strip as long and as wide as the 
little finger of a man's hand. The fish are caught close 
to the bottom in water from 50 to 60 feet deep, some of 
the men fishing with a single hook, and some with two 
hooks, one abov6 the other all placed below the sinker. 
A peculiarity of the fishing is the manner in which the 
fish are brought to the top of the ice after they are hooked. 
The line is tied to the end of a stick about eighteen inches 
long. This is moved around and around over the hole as 
if one were stirring the water with the line; suddenly the 
fisherman gets a bite, and his right arm shoots up and. out 
to its full extent, and the left hand, also extended, 
catches the line, the stick then catches the line below the 
left hand, and this is repeated until the lme is reeled in 
on the end of the stick and the left hand, and the smelt 
is brought to the top of the ice and the hook pulled from 
its mouth. The men were catching the largest smelt that 
I ever saw, as they had fish on the ice that would run 
three to the pound, and I was informed that when the- 
run of large smelts was on they were caught up to a 
weight of half a pound, and one had been reported weigh- 
ing a full pound, but my informant, an old fisherman, 
was inclined to think it guess weight, as he had never 
seen a smelt weighing a pound. 
I saw smelts that I thought were nearly fifteen inches 
long. These big fellows are not caught in the first of the 
fishing season, but when I was there large and small fish 
were caught at the same time. It is said that smelt are 
caught only in the vicinity of Port Henry and West Port, 
and there only at this season. No one that I questioned 
knew anything about the spawning of the smelt in the 
streams, nor did they know that they ran up the streams 
in the night to spawn. I presume if the matter was in- 
vestigated it would he found that the fish do run up some 
of the streams after the ice goes out. If the smelts were 
baited to hold them in one spot it is fair to presume that 
they would be found in other parts of the lake than 
those w here they are now known. In Sunapee Lake N. 
H., the smelts are baited by anchoring a bag of meat or 
bread, or chopped fish, and thus they are held in one 
place and land-locked salmon are also attracted by the 
presence of the smelts. 
I think the Lake Champlain fishermen make a mistake 
