OOT. 34, im.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
upon not a big buck, but a big black bear. The beast 
reared on his hind feet and showed fight. The hunter 
took good aim and fired. The bear fell and rolled over, 
but was up and off again in a few minutes. He was fol- 
lowed by the blood 'way up the Cupsuplic Stream, but 
finally given up. Mr. S(vett, the owner of Swett's camps 
at the Big Richardson Pond, has killed his deer. His son, 
hxmting with him, has also kUled his deer. 
Over the Sandy River and the Phillips & Rangeley rail- 
ways the deer are being brought in good numbers, The 
Franklin & Megantic also opens up one of the best big 
game sections in the State. When it is considered that 
all the big game mentioned above has been taken without 
a particle of snow and at a season when the forests are 
carpeted with leaves that rustle as only dried forest leaves 
can rustle, the killing is all the more remarkable, and 
speaks a good deal for what will be done on the first track- 
ing snows. A deer is a remarkably wary animal, and 
hard to approach within either sight or gunshot, and for 
so many to be taken it only shows how abundant they 
are. It is true that not every hunter who goes into the 
Maine woods shoots a deer. On the contrary, not more 
than one hunter in ten succeeds in shooting big game 
himself. The hunters are numerous as well as the game 
being transported to Boston and beyond. On the Boston 
& Maine train, with twelve deer, mentioned above, it 
occurred to me to count the number of guns and rifles in 
sight. A friend, to whom I made the suggestion, counted 
thirty-six. Not satisfied with this count, we numbered 
again, and the result was over fifty gun cases being trans- 
ported. There is one feature peculiar to the present hunt- 
ing season: the guides and Maine hunters are all spend- 
ing a great deal of time after deer and other big game. 
At almost every noted camp there is a large deer or two 
hung up, possibly a moose or a caribou. No sooner does 
the hunter get into camp than he is ofl;ered a deer to take 
home for a rather moderate price. If the weather is bad 
and he does not care to hunt, the game is to be had for a 
little money, and all the honors of shooting big game can 
be carried home. The unsuccessful hunter has his remedy 
offered to him at every hand. 
Speaking of Maine guides and hunters, their name is 
legion. Every man and boy is a hunter now. The sale 
of rifles in Maine is something remarkable. The agents 
of manufacturers are traveling through the State with 
rifles for sale. These they offer on the installment plan, 
selling the rifle for an e±horbitant price, of course. By 
this means the farmers and farmers' boys get hold of the 
guns and rifles and the big game must suffer. It scarce- 
ly seems possible that the game can stand up under such 
exaggerated hunting, not only from the citizens of Maine, 
but from the practiced and amateur sportsmen of almost 
every other State in the Union. The railroads — the Bos- 
ton & Maine, the Maine Central, chiefly — are pushing the 
fish and game interest of Maine to its utmost and the in- 
crease in passenger traffic on these roads is remarkable. 
Even after the summer vacation season is oxer there is a 
big sporting traffic going on, and it promises to last this 
season till the close time on big game. Special. 
A party of Boston sportsmen left Oct. 17 for the Maine 
•woods to spend two weeks in camp at Chase Pond, near 
Eustis. The following gentlemen were in the party: 
Hon. H. S. Milton, Col. William Rjberts and O. H. Hal- 
lett, of Waltham; Chas. Riekenberg and Ohas. B. Locke, 
of Boston; Harry E. Haynes, Wm. H. Butler and Dr. A, 
Kettembeil, of Brookline. 
Ducks at Havre de Grace. 
Havee de Grace, Md., Oct. 5.— The ducks have com- 
menced to visit m. There is quite a number on the Sus- 
qnehanna Flats, and the prospects for sport look better 
than they have for many years. If any of the readers of 
Forest and Stream would like to come the 1st of Novem- 
ber to have a few days' sport shooting out of a box or 
sneakboat on the Susquehanna Flats, and if they will drop 
me a letter to that effect, I will kindly hire them an out- 
fit for one, two or three days' sport, as we have nearly all 
sizes of gunning yachts that will accommodate from two 
to six, with double and single boxes. The box-shooters 
generally bag from eighty to 150 ducks the first gunning 
day, and I have known as many as 500 ducks to be killed 
by one man in one day; but that was many years ago, 
when ducks were plenty. If any of the readers of 
Forest and Stream would like to have a few days' sport 
shooting on the Susquehanna Flats I will use every effort 
to make them as comfortable as possible in our yachts; 
and if they will write to me I will charter them an outfit 
very reasonably, as I know all the owners of the gunning 
outfits in and around Havre de Grace. 
Capt. E, B. Gallup. 
Stirs to Memories of the Old Days. 
A CHANCE issue of the Forest and Stream has fallen 
into my hands; and reading the relations of the sports 
of different hunters fires me with the enthusiasms of 
years gone by. Forty years ago, when I lived in the State 
of Illinois, the country was a wilderness of prairie; and wild 
ducks, geese, sandhill cranes, swans, prairie chickens, 
quail, rabbits, deer and wolves were numerous. Then I 
was young and full of life, and had glorious sport with 
the gun. 
In 1865, when I came to Iron county, Missouri, game 
was still plenty— deer, wild turkeys, pheasants, squirrels, 
and quail by the ten thousand. 
But alas! this is 1896. There is no game any more in 
the former supply. The old-time associates have gone. 
Old friends are dead or have moved away, and nothing 
now is left but an old man with a heavy heart. 
And yet 1 thank the Forest and Stream for the pleas- 
ant reverie of this hour which its pages have prompted, 
as they have carried me back to the old, old days. 
C. T. 
Missouri. 
Snaring in Massachusetts. 
Mr. Henry J. Thayer, secretary of the Massachusetts 
Rod and Gun Club, writes : "May I, with your permis- 
sion, take excei)tion to that portion of an article in your 
last issue referring to a prosecution by the new rod and 
gun club as for a violation of the Sunday law? The case 
was for snaring ruffed grouse, and is, I believe, the first 
successful prosecution in this State; and it was accom- 
plished only after about three weeks' persistent work." 
We trust that this may be only the first entry in a long 
list of successful prosecutions by the club for snaring. 
Call Ducks. 
Murphysboro, 111, — I live wnere for thirty years we 
have enjoyed the best duck shooting in the world, until 
the drainage district was organized three years ago. I 
have hunted Big Swan Lake and Little Lake and the 
glade land belusv them, commencing with the old muzzle- 
loader soon after the war and now with the best improved 
guns and methods of wildfowl shooting, and I believe I 
can give some information about call ducks. 
Don't you ever think that you have to import ducks to 
make caUers? On the contrary, put $3 in your pocket, 
stroll down through the market and look at the coops of 
ducks exposed for sale, and if you know a mallard duck 
when you see it you will have no difficulty in picking out 
eight good representitive drakes. Then look out for four 
hens, getting those as near the color of the wild duck as 
possible, and if you can find any small rather light brown 
hens, with a white stripe on the cheek, don't fail to secure 
them. Here in Illinois we have plenty of them, and I 
suppose you will find them in almost any market. They 
have proved to my knowledge the best and most inces- 
sant callers that I ever bandied. But no great matter if 
you don't get them; it is all in handling decoys. 
After you get on the shooting grounds it will be neces- 
sary at first to confine your ducks for a few trips; that is 
done in various ways, some by anchoring by the leg, 
others by a collar around the neck, depending upon the 
nature of the ground. After you have all your drakes and 
two of your hen ducks placed in a conspicuous and at the 
same time natural position, take your two hens that you 
have left and anchor them behind a log, or tuft of grass, 
or brush blind where they cannot see the drakes, and they 
, will call whenever they hear the drakes or see wildfowl 
or even a woodpecker fly over. After a few times out 
you can turn loose all the drakes and only confine the 
hens. 
Mr. Mather asks who ever heard a pin-tail or sprig-tail 
call. Well, if he will come to southern Illinois in March 
or February I will convince him that they not only call, 
but are fully capable of making themselves heard. 
BOCKSHOT, 
Game in Western Pennsylvania. 
BuRGETTS'i'OWN, Pa., Oct. 10.— Sqiiirrels are the only 
game in season at the present time, and they are very 
plentiful; bags are made from five to twenty-five to one 
gun in a day. Signs for rabbits and quail are very bright. 
The ruffed grouse is nearly a thing of the past in western 
Pennsylvania, one or two in a day's travel being all a man 
can start in the same country where ten years ago one could 
start them up with from ten to twenty in a bunch. The 
fishing in the vicinity of Burgettstown this fall has been 
exceedingly good. Two men caught 251bs. of baSs in 
four hours, ranging from 1 to Stbs. ; this is good for this 
stream. 
Why cannot the sportsmen of Pennsylvania have as 
good game laws as they have in Maine? We could have 
just as many deer if we had the laws. Daer preserva- 
tion has been argued pro and con in the Forest and 
Stream, and the only sol ution is to quit killing and mar- 
keting of does. Over 100 deer were brought to the mar- 
kets of Pittsburg last season, and 90 per cent, of them 
were does. There are plenty of deer in the mountains of 
Pennsylvania for stocking purposes if given any oppor- 
tunity, and they would soon become very plentiful. If 
there were a law to prohibit the killing of does for 
five years we could get deer within three hours' ride from 
Pittsburg. 
If anything is to be done for tbe ruffed grouse in this 
part of the State it must be done soon, for there are not 
enough left to stock the covers. We hope' that this will 
be the means of having some one with more ability than 
we have take it up where we leave off. We would like to 
hear from some old hunters of their experience in Penn- 
sylvania in late years. Let us see what we can do toward 
getting better game laws before it is too late. 
Ruffed grouse and quail have already made their ap- 
pearance in Pittsburg market. The law is supposed to 
protect them until Nov. 1. J. K. 
Minnesota Game and Fish Protective Association. 
St. Paul, Minn., Sept. 24: —Editor Forest and Stream: 
Under the revised constituLion of this Association, Section 
3 of Article 3 has been inserted in order to secure the 
support of all local rod, gun and protective clubs for the 
Minnesota Game and Fish Protective Association, in order 
to further protect the game and fish of this State. 
As a sportsman you will recognize the value of concen- 
trated effort. There is more to be gained by educating 
our citizens as to the real value of our game and fish pro- 
ducts as a food supply, and in having local protective 
clubs to deter persons from violating our game and fish 
laws, than attempted prosecutions in some districts where 
it is hard to get a conviction because of present public 
sentiment. 
The secretary of every local club allied with this Asso- 
ciation is made a corresponding secretary and may be 
called upon to act at any meeting of the State Associa- 
tion. 
We ask you to bring this matter of co-operation before 
your club at an early date. Wm, L, Tucker, Sec'y. • 
Newfoundland Deer Seasons. 
The Newfoundland open season for deer (caribou) as 
given in the current edition of the Brief is divided into 
two parts, the first extendmg from July 15 to Oct. 7, and 
the second from Nov. 10 to Feb, 1. This, Secretary Emer- 
son, of the Game Society, writes us, "is lookad upon at 
present as merely experimental, as a wide difference of 
opinion existed among experts and others who gave their 
testimony before a select committee of thu House of As- 
sembly as to the time when the rutting season really com- 
menctd. After this year we shall probably be in a better 
position to know whether the present law on the statute 
book is the best we can get for the preservation of the 
caribou." 
The season before had been from Sept. 15 to Feb, 15. 
The new schedule will of course be more inconvenient 
for foreign sportsmen. 
An Adirondack Guide in Canada. 
Eltzabethtown, N. Y., Oct. 15.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: Horace Braman, well known as a Keene Valley 
N. Y., guide Emd a successful def r hunter, has gone to 
Upper Canada to spend a month hunting moose. 
G, L, B 
Vermont Game Birds. 
Sheldon, Vt,, Oct. 10.— A few fall ducks have arrived, 
but no Wild geese. The flight of woodcock has been a 
light one. Our native-bred birds migrated before the 
season had fairly opened, so our woodcock shooting has 
been so far nearly nothing. There are plenty of ruffed 
grouse. They stick during the middle of the day to the 
swamps and dense thickets, so while we have had plenty 
of shooting, no heavy bags have been made, 
Stanstead, 
'm mid ^iv^r ^kffing. 
MEN I HAVE FISHED WITH. 
XVH.— Antoine Gardapee. 
It is possible that there may be another way to spell 
this name. Antoine never spelled it, but then he couldn't 
spell any other word; so we just take it as it sounded, 
After the time when he killed the doe that was with my 
buck we often met. Early in October I dropped into his 
cabin and found him overhauling a lot of steel traps, put- 
ting in a rivet here and there, filing the catch to hold the 
pan stiffer or to make it go off easier, as seemed best. 
His back was to the open door, and I watched him a few 
minutes before announcing my presence by knocking on 
the door frame of his little log shanty. He whirled around 
on the box which served as a bench and said: "Come in! 
You jess a man I want for see. Whar you be'n so long 
tam? I was go for look you up." 
"I've been working hard for the past week and have 
not been up the river until to-day, when my partner, 
Guy on, wanted a day off ; so I thought I'd drift over your 
way and see if I couldn't get a deer, but haven't seen any 
fresh sign this morning. About a mile down the river a 
big flock of geese got up and came over my head very 
low, and if I had had a shotgun I might have got three 
or four, they were so thick; but here's one that dropped." 
"You don' eat heem, he's a t'ousan' year ol'; look a 
here," and he tried to tear the skin under its wing with 
no effect. "I'll tole you, give a-heem to ol' Miss'r Knight; 
he's tough too. How much a-mineral Charley an' you 
clean up dis a-week?" 
"Oh, we had a big week and cleaned up about fifteen 
hundred. Why?" 
"Yas, all drif; nex' week you don' get noding, hey?" 
"Perhaps so, but that's miner's luck; we can't expect to 
get as much every time. It's the biggest week we've had, 
and only five days at that." - 
"You like-a dat work — no?" 
"No, I don't like it; but it helps a fellow to live." 
"I tole you. You go 'long o' me dis winta an' trap. 
You haf good time an' make more dan dig fur de lead. I 
no dig fur lead." 
And so it happened. He was getting ready to spend 
the winter in the wilds of the Bad Ax county to trap. 
After hearing his scheme I agreed to go with him and we 
started in to get ready. He had all the steel traps neces- 
sary for small animals and was an expert at making 
dead-falls for the larger ones. We drifted down to Du- 
buque, where we put our boat and other things on a 
steamer for Prairie du Chien. From that place we took a 
supply of provisions, mainly of flour, coffee and sugar, 
for Antoine said we would not need pork nor lard because 
we could get fat from coons, ducks and perhaps other an- 
imals. Our outfit was simple, but it loaded our boat and 
two heavy tarpaulins protected the provisions. It was a 
hard pull up the Wisconsin River some twenty miles to 
the mouth of the Bad Ax River, but we took it easy and 
the second night we camped a mile or so up the Bad Ax. 
This camp is memorable because of a storm which wet us 
to the skin, but the provisions and the ammunition were 
kept dry. 
We went on up the little river some fifty miles, more 
or less, hauUng over or around falls, when we hid our 
boat and a portion of the provisions and started on foot 
to some spot which Antoine seemed familiar with, for he 
said he had been over the ground before. The way he 
stored the provisions was curious. After dragging the 
boat back from the river we hung it bottom side up be- 
tween two trees and then put out lines from each side to 
prevent it turning over. Then we cut poles and made a 
shelf on the seats, covered these with a tarpaulin and 
stored our provisions in the boat. 
"Now," said Antoine, "Miss'r Bear, Miss'r Coon and 
Miss'r Mouse, you doan git no flour and you doan git no 
sugar, an', Miss'r Rain, you doan spile noding." 
We took our rifles, a frying pan, axe and some flour, 
coffee and salt, and started up the river into the Bad Ax 
country, which some man with no regard for historic 
names has had re-christened "Vernon county," a change . 
that destroys the individuality of the county, for there 
might be forty Vernon counties in the United States, but 
there would be only one having the old name which 
savors of the settlement of the region by the whites and 
had the merit of being unique. I have no idea how the 
old name came to the river and afterward to the county, 
but will predict that some man with a little poetry in his 
soul and a love for originality will arise and have the his- 
toric and beautiful — I say beautiful advisedly — name of 
"Bad Ax" restored to the county. I really don't know if 
the river has been renamed, but hope not. 
We selected our camping spot some few miles above 
the fork of the river, on the east branch, where several 
small streams came in. There are, no doubt, names for 
all these now; we had no map and no name for anything 
but the main river, yet we named them for our own pur- 
poses, that was necessary in order to be understood, and I 
elaborated a map on my powder horn which showed all 
the streams, swamps and hills to the best of my ability. 
This horn was left in Potosi, as of no further use. Just what 
I would give to see it hanging on a wall of my den to-day 
1 cannot say. We measure the things of the moment by 
their utility or their cash value, but those of the past 
which formed a part of our lives become treasures beyond 
price when they serve as links to connect us with a time 
far removed. A sword that was "held by the enemy" for 
over a quarter of a century is on my wall. It may be sold 
for old junk, but not before I am put to bed with a spade 
and sodded over. 
Let's see; we were talking about an old powder horn. 
It cost only the time to bore out the tip, fit the bottom 
and to polish the thing — a mere nothing — but it's so easy 
to get off the track. I was only going to say to the boys 
to-day Never throw away anything that you can keep. 
