128 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Feb. is, 189T. 
r^arding these cases, and has no doubt grown -vyeaiy of the 
work of prosecuting for nothing, the gportomen behind the 
first cases haying long since ceased to produce any funds. 
These cases were naishandled from the start, and thus the 
cause of game protect on much injured. In spite of the 
wrong manner in which the} were brought, howeyer, they 
might still have won had there been any united action upon 
them among the city sportsmen who secured the first seiz- 
ures of the freezer game. The men who began the action 
had not funds enough or patience enough to carry on the 
work for fun, and therefore, so nearly as can be at this 
writing determined, the cases are now left to take care of 
themselves. This means that they will in all probability be 
dismissed in due time. That means again that the sports- 
men of Illinois have lost that best chance thf y ever had to 
deal an effective blow at (he cold storage interests in 
this State. This case if won by the sportsmen would have 
been a precedent of inestimable value in later litigation 
of similar nature. Warden Blow, Attorney Baird, Attorney 
Laddand Mr. Bortree, who were interested in the begiuoing 
of the cases, seem to have been able to st"rt the ball rolling, 
but not to keep up the motion to the end of the alley. It is 
only the end of the alley that counts when it comes to fight- 
ing the whole cold storage interests of this State. Let us 
hope the St, Louis cases will be prosicuted more vigorously 
and persistently than the Xewaunee cases, which did not re- 
sult in the actual fining ot the guilty party to tbe value of $1, 
although it resulted in much talk. In the ordinary game 
law case there is a blinding flash, a deafenins; report and a 
dense and heavy volume of smoke. But there isn't any 
leaden messenger of death sent crashing through any game 
dealer's business system, Would this might be elsewise. 
E. HotJGH. 
TRAINING ADIRONDACK DEER DOGS. 
[We print tbe following letter, which has come to us from an Ad- 
irondacks writer, not because we consider tbat it pictures a. particu- 
larly enticing: form of "'sport," Init because we helieve that it de- 
scribes accurately the mode there employed for teaebinjr dopfa to 
work on deer. It is the midwinter making ready for tbe luldsummer 
tragedy of dogs, lake, boat, deer and Deer-layer with hisi-ope.] 
* * * Those pups have got to betraired to run deer 
this year, and there is just one way to do it, but fortunately 
that way has more sport to tke hour than any kind of 
doings we know of. When the snow gets good and deep, 
say along in late January, just after the ttiaw, we strap on 
our snowshoes, half a dozen of us, and with one rifle in the 
party and a couple of likely pups we go off up-stream 
somewhere in one of the big swamps in which the deer are 
yarded. It don't take long to have a buck going; though it 
is better to start a doe, because they blat louder when the 
dogs get hold of them. Then the best shot in the party 
draws down on the started deer as soon as he can and bores 
a hole in its pouch or breaks a leg — anything, so that the 
beast will still be able to run away and bleed well. 
The pups are then put on the trail, and we never saw a 
pup that couldn't follow such a one as that It's more fun 
to see two pups on a trail like that, and to hear their joyful, 
far-reaching bay, than it ever is in the fall, because the cold 
air some way gives the bellow a clearer tone, and the leaves 
of the trees, since there aren't any, do not obstruct the 
traveling of the sound at all. I like to lean up against a 
tree at such a time and listen to the sounds about me— the 
cracking of the trees, the swaying sigh of the bracches, 
the ehic-a-dee dee-dee of the birds and the eager shouts of my 
companions as they flounder along the trail behind the dogs. 
Then comes the deer's last effort; you hear it plunging 
through the bushes, hear the crust crack beneath ii, and at 
last comes the sound that tells of the end of the race — the 
deer's blatting when the dogs seize It— that's a sound to make 
a fellow's heart bound, 1 tell you. One never hears it in the 
fall running, because then the dogs cannot get in their fine 
work, and the deer do not cry out when in the water, even 
hit with an oar. 
When the deer yard has a lot of the animals in, half a 
dozen races or so are had in a day — not long ones, but 
enough to give the dogs a taste of it. Ano her day lilce that 
and the pups will run the deer without their being wound d 
first — at least that is the experience of all the Adirondack 
woodsmen 1 know. 
Of course it is against the law to run deer in the winter, 
but how can we tram our dogs if we don't? A dog trained 
in the tall on bare ground i^n't true, nor will it hold the trail 
till the deer goes to water. It is all right that we should do 
so, to our minds, because the city chaps kick a bare groucd 
trained dog out of t^amp and get the crusler, an-l pay the 
owner well. Lem Lawson. 
Seabebry Settlement, N. Y. 
Forest-Fire Lanes and Fires. 
Philadelphia, Pa., Jan. dO.—Miim^ Forest and Stream: 
Apropos of the recent articlp in youi- paper upon a bill which 
had been introduced in the Legislature of New York provid- 
ing for the cutting of lanes through the woods to prevent the 
spreading of forest fires, I can only say that, in my humble 
opinion, your views are, as usual, entirely correct. Aside 
from the diflticulty of disposing of the trash and light stuff 
which such a cutting would be sure to leave upon the ground, 
aside from the difHculty of keeping su h a swath free from 
second growth, aside nom the unsightly character of such a 
blot upon the lace of nature, the whole scheme would not 
only entail enormous expense, but would be worse than use- 
less. The framer of that bill had eviaently not seen fire run 
through green land, where the pines and spruces grow thick. 
I have. 
Last spring — which was an especially dry one in the Prov- 
inces—! was fishing a branch of the Tusket River, in JSlova 
Scotia. Late in the afternoon a fire — ^which some idiot had 
started wiih the intention of a ' new burnt" for moose hunt- 
ing in the autumn, and which had, I think, exceeded his 
wildest expeetations—carne roaring down through a tongue 
of heavy pine timber which extended from the edge of the 
barren lidge which ran parallel with the river almost to the 
water's edge. About 200yds. back from the river, on the 
opposite side and across a bog, the pine and spruce timber 
began again. As my guide and I were in no danger, being 
some distance above the fire, and fearing that we might get 
into trouble if we left the water, we stood and watched it. 
The sight was one of the grandes't I have ever seen, and the 
roar of tbe flames was something appa'iing. As we stood 
gazing a cloud like, dun-colored mass of vapor, which we took 
to be smoke, but which I suppose was a volume ot gas gen- 
erated by the intense heat, went sailing away across the river, 
and just before it reached the tops of the pines on tbe otber 
side of tbe water, between 200 and 300yds. away, burst into ^ 
flame with a loud roar, and in less time than it takes to write 
it the fire was raging in the tops of the trees on the east side 
of the river. 
Now where, I ask, ia there any merit in the lane theory if, 
in case of fire, large bodies of gas can travel through the air, 
and, bursting into flame, can ignite timber standing hundreds 
of yards away? The idea may look very well on paper, but 
in practice I feel sure it won't work, Wadleigh Brook. 
In the Gatineau District. 
I liEAD with a great deal of interest the letter entitled 
"Camp Blair," by A., of Haddam, Conn., in Forest and 
Stream. To one w^ho has lived for some years on the con- 
fines of the Laurentides and who each day looks from a 
distance of a few miles on the beautiful Chelsea Hills, and 
whose chief delight is a day or a week, as the case may be 
and circumstances permitj wandering among their lakes 
and streams and hills, gathering wild flowers, catching 
trout or bass, shooting rufled grouse, or simply ' just doing 
nothing," according as tlie time or season will permit, these 
experiences of others have a peculiar charm. 
The natives and residents of this Gatineau district are not 
many of them as anxious for the observation of the fish 
and game laws as we would like to see them. 
There are still too many of them who can see a good 
deal more sense in galfing a barrel of trout off the spawn- 
ing beds in October than in whipping a stream all day in 
May or J une for a basketful, and they have other like 
playful pursuits, and that is the reason why we expect 
those who know better to set them a better example, and 
there was one reference in A.'s letter Avhich I did not like. 
He arrived in camp, from his own story, on the after- 
noon of Sept. 10, and "for four or five days * * * with 
trout, and partridges enough to supply the table," etc. 
Now, is A. aw^are that in the Province of Quebec the close 
season for ruffed grouse extends to Sept. 15, and that he 
has been breaking the game laws, which I will do him the 
credit to say, from the general tone of his letter, I can 
hardly understand that he would willfully do. 
St. Hubert. 
[While we are slow to make excuse for law violations in 
the woods, we can in this instance say for A. that his 
oflfending. was due to that ignorance which excuses no 
man.] 
Game in Western Pennsylvania. 
Gkeenville, Pa., Dec. 19 —Editor Forest and Stream: 
Game in this part of the State is becoming scarcer year by 
year, and it is high time that something is done to protect it 
while there is a little left. My own observations for the past 
eigbt years or more prove this fact to me. In the first place, 
the long woodcock spason has played havoc with ruffed 
grouse, because hunters, under the pretext of woodcock 
shooting, kill the young grouse, and when the grouse season 
opens most of the grouse have already been killed off. 
The woodcock which are bred in our covers on account of 
the long season are killed off, So that very few are left to 
return to their breeding grounds in the spring. I think that 
scarcely a dozen were killed south of town the last season. 
Quail are becoming more common than a season ago. 
They were all frozen out four seasons d^o, but if the winters 
are not to be too severe they will increase so that in few sea- 
sons they will be plenty.. 
Duck shooting is not what it should be; j'^ear by year the 
decrease of water fowl along the Shenango River and the 
marshes near Conneaut Lake is clearly to be seen. I think 
that the spiiog shooting is the fault of this and should be 
prohibited, not only in this State, but in every State, if we 
wish to have water fowl shooting. 
Squirrels are scarce, in fact in some localities they are a 
thing of the past. Rabbits are not as plenty as they might 
be on account of the ferrets, which are used by many of the 
hunters. 
I think that the hunting season should be shortened and 
the sale of game prohibited. It is better to have a brief sea- 
son with an abuudance of game than to have a long season 
and no game. H. P. B. 
Shootingf -with Two Eyes. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Posbibiy my experience in learning to shoot with both 
eyes open will benefit E. R. I found that the muzzle at- 
tracted the attention of my left eye to such a degree that 
it was impossible for me to sight the gun properly with 
both eyes open. 
To overcome this trouble I simply grasped the barrels 
with my left hand at such a place on the fore end that the 
hand acted as a blind, thus shutting out the muzzle from 
the left eye. This will bring the left hand where it prop- 
erly belongs — well along the barrels. 
After a, little practice E. R. will find that both eyes are 
free to fo'low the game, but that only the right eye will be 
used in sighting the gun. Legality. 
The Virginia Game Supply. 
Pink View, "Va. —The open season has closed with more 
rabbits left over than has been known since 1878, and 
with more wild turkeys and pheasants than usual. Bob 
White has also increased very much; the little fellow has 
one more year to increase in unmolested, by which time 
I think he will be again with us in his old-time plenty. 
Fox hunting has been attended with but little success 
this season. Last summer's storm left so much fallen tim- 
ber that sly reynard has things very much his own way.- 
Squirrels are very numerous along the Rappahannock. 
W.L.O. 
New Tork Seasons. 
Cato, Feb. 6. — Editor Forest and Stream: In Forest and 
Stream to daj, over the signature of the president of the New 
York State Association, is the proposed demand for the one 
open season for grouse, woodcock, rabbits and squirrels, 
Sept. 15 to Jan. 1, This is the best law we could have, as a 
great many grouse are killed by rabbit hunters in January 
and February. I think the increase of grouse in this section 
last fall was due to the short open season on rabbits in 1895. 
J. K. R. 
New Jersey Game. 
Thtd coming year's prospect for game in the section where 
lam now- several m les west of Freehold, N J.— is very 
encouraging, as there are near us one large whole covey of 
quail and several quite large remnants of other coveys also. 
A greater number of rabbits has been left over than the local 
hunters were at first aware of.; so, taking it all in all, the 
outlook is very bright. L. * 
Iowa Needs a Warden Force. 
Nevada, Iowa, Jan. 22. — Editor Forest and Stream: In 
Forest and Stream of Jan. 23 your correspondent, who 
signs himself as One Who Observes the Law, gives a true 
statement of the condition of the game and game laws of 
Iowa. We have excellent laws for the preservation of 
game and fish, but the game laws are practically a dead 
letter. As E. H. S. states in the same issue, Mr. Delevan 
has done excellent work in enforcing the fish laws, but 
could do much more if he had more assistants and more 
liberal appropriations. What Iowa needs for the preserva- 
tion of her game and fish is a fish and game warden for 
each county. Each county warden should then have the 
power to appoint a deputy in each township in his county. 
The deputy should be some farmer interested in field 
sports, and could be paid by giving him one-half the 
amount of fines collected for game law violations in hia 
township. 
_ If our sportsmen's clubs would take hold of this matter 
at once and all work together, something might be accom- 
plished. Our member of the Legislature from this city, 
Representative J. F. Reed, is a great lover of field sports, 
and is a reader of Forest and Stream. If this letter 
should fall under his observation I hope he will give it 
more than a second thought. Nevada is the county seat 
of Story county, the home of both Representative J. F. 
Reed and Senator Boardman, both of the State Legis- 
lature; also the home of our county sheriff", Mr. A. K. 
Banks; and yet no respect whatever is paid to the game 
laws. Game, both in and out of season, has bfeen exhib- 
ited in our meat markets and sold in open violatibn of the 
law. J. 0. Briggs. 
Square Muzzle Gun. 
Guns have been in use about 600 years, and in all that 
time manufacturers have not deviated from making them 
with a cylinder bore. About twenty-five years ago experi- 
menters found by making the inside of the barrel a little 
smaller right at the muzzle (called a choke-bore), it in- 
creased the effectiveness of a gun's shooting very much. 
A few days ago. Dr. A. S. Kennedy, of this city, thought 
he would try an experiment on his choke-bore Winchester 
repeating shotgun, by making the round barrel square at 
the muzzle. He had previously talked of the plan with a 
number of gun experts, and though none of them had ever 
heard of such an idea, they were all unanimous in the be- 
lief that a gun with a square muzzle would soak a load of 
shot all over a sap-brush. 
Well, the very first shot was an immense surprise, for 
no round-muzzled gun had ever been known that gave 
such penetration, and made such a close, even pattern at 
the same distance, as did the gun with a square muzzle. 
The whole secret lies in the fact that the four flat sides 
of the barrel, beveling inward toward the muzzle, simply 
shovel the load into a compact bunch, as it leaves the gun, 
without the tearing pressure made by a round choke. 
The doctor has applied for a patent on square-muzzled 
shotguns, and though he has had no opportunity yet to 
test the same principle applied to round nozzles on hose 
pipes, he believes it would greatly increase the distance a 
stream of water could be thrown. — Auburn {If, T.J Adver- 
tiser. 
Winter Game Notes from Iowa. 
Nevada, la., Jan. 28.^ — We have had a very mild winter 
up to the night of the 23d, when the thermometer indica- 
ted 22° below zero; last night the mercury reached 24° 
below. This will be pretty hard on the quail. On Jan. 5, 
while out rabbit hunting, I was very much surprised to see 
six mallard ducks arise from a small pool of open water. 
I have since heard others speak of seeing wild ducks in 
this vicinitJ^ I do not remember of ever seeing or hear- 
ing of ducks staying here so late before this winter. Rab- 
bits have been more numerous than ever before. There 
have been thousands of them killed in this county. One 
of my neighbors shot two out back of my house on some 
vacant lots one night, and a few days later shot another in 
the minister's garden, just across the road from my house. 
I have seen a good many rabbits in town this winter my- 
self, but do not shoot them, as I think it dangerous to dis- 
charge firearms in the city. 
There are a gOodly number of prairie chickens left over 
from last season, and the prospect is good for very fair 
chicken {pi:pnated grouse) shooting next autumn. 
' J. C. Briggs, 
The Winter in North Dakota. 
Fort Ransom, N. D. — We are having a fearful winter 
out here. The last week of October we had a terrific snow- 
storm, consequently lots of small birds got caught; the 
meadowlark in particular, and hundreds of them perished. 
Grouse are all on the Shyenne River, feeding on the rose- 
buds and other berries, as there is no feed on the prairie 
for them — everything is covered with snow, even the hay- 
stacks. 
How the jack rabbits live I do not know; but they took 
all my apple trees except the stumps. Prospects are good 
next year for grouse and chickens. They were strong and 
wild on Sept. 1, and not many were shot. H. 
Vermont Deer. 
Waterbtjry, Conn., Feb. 5. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
Some few weeks ago the writer sftw an article in some 
paper stating that the Yermont Legislature were consider- 
ing a bill to open the season on deer in that State for a short 
time next fall. Can you inform me if the bill passed, and 
if so what time was designated as such open season? 
Charles E. Hall. 
[The season will be the month of October; only deer hav- 
ing horns may be taken; one person may take oaly two deer;- 
one carcass may be transported.] 
Specimen Copies. 
Any subscriber who would like to have a specimen copy 
of this paper sent to a friend will be accommodated by send- 
ing us, on a postal card, the name and address to which he 
would liKe the paper sent. 
That article by Pellets in Forest and Stream of Jan. 
16 gave me the kind of keen pleasure which is the best kind 
to have ttiese hard times, namely, that kind which produces 
one hearty laugh after another. George Kennedy. 
