Maech is, 1897.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
209 
GOLDEN PLOVER DAYS. 
Rochester, N. Y., March Z.— Editor Forest and Stream: 
Tour reproduction of 4iidubou's pictures of birds is not 
the least of innumerable favors which you have done that 
part of the public that loves animated nature and field 
sports. As a member of that body, I wish to testify my 
gratitude for the rare pleasure which your enterprise has 
enabled me to enjoy in contemplating the work of the great 
naturalist. 
The bird represented in the last picture published — the 
American golden plover— has long had a singular interest 
for me, and as I gaze on the counterfeit presentment which 
your artist has so admirably reproduced it awakens recollec- 
tions that extend over many years, and beyond the Atlantic; 
for 1 have a distinct remembrance of seeing plover in a bag 
of game that was shot in Ireland a good many years before I 
was. old enough to sight a gun — and I began young. The 
County Wexford (Ireland) was, and may be still for aught I 
know, a favorite place for the golden plover, and I absorbed 
some mighty interesting stories of sport with the bi rds on 
its fertile fields. 
1 exulted with the sportsman who told me of picking up 
thirty-six gray plover after getting in both barrels at the 
"plump" of a tiock, and 1 sympathized v?ith him as he re- 
lated the incidents of an evening when, carrying a single- 
barreled duck gun (made by AngUn, of Wexford), he stalked 
an immense flock of plover on a meadow by means of a 
punt and a ditch that ran through the field, only to have 
the cap miss fire when the gun was aimed at 10,000 of the 
birds. 
There was good sport to be had with plover up in this 
quarter of the State in my day, and although I have not 
&een a flock of the birds for a long time, tne music of their 
plaintive call has not altogether faded from memory, and I 
-would walk a mile or two— or wheel ten miles — any day to 
isee a flock whirl by in its graceful gyrations. It is not for 
the purpose of ear'ning the reputation of an "old inhabitant" 
that I recall the autumn day, so far back that that part of 
this city now covered wiih houses was a nursery, when 
with my "cuttj' gun" — a single-barrel — I lay in wait toward 
sundown for an expected flight of plover, and when a fine 
flock went over me had my gun miss. 1 used G. D. caps. 
A man who was beside me got in both barrels at easy range, 
and as the birds divided at the shot I thought that he had 
brought down the whole flock. Strangely enough, he did 
not touch one of them. It has been a mystery to me ever 
I since, for they were nicely bunched as he "hred. It was not 
far from that field that one day, as I was going out in an 
early snowstorm, a plover got up from beside a roadway 
'ditch and I brought it down with a long shot. It was very 
fat, and why it had remained here so late was a puzzle to 
me. 
I have heard from men who lived here when Rochester 
was but little more than a village that plover came every 
fall in countless numbers, and I can well believe it, for I saw 
them in pretty fair numbers myself. At a comparatively 
recent period large numbers of- the migrating birds have 
heen heard going over the city, and were either attracted and 
confused by the lights or were present in thousands, for 
their whistling could be heard for hours. 
Thus it is that your picture of Audubon's plover brings to 
mind many an incident that long had slept, and many of 
tnem are not unpleasant to re-awaken. Mtin. 
PENNSYLVANIA'S PROPOSED LAWS. 
Stevensville, Pa. — Editor Forest and Stream: I desire 
through the press to express a few thoughts in regard to 
the proposed Pennsylvania game laws soon to be brought 
before our legislators, with the hope of eliciting opinions 
from other sportsrnen throughout the State before the bill 
comes up for final' action. Every good question has two 
sides, and while one side of the game law question has 
been thoroughly discussed, the other and equally as impor- 
tant side has been totally ignored. 
Now while some features of the new law are in tlie right 
direction, and as such are to be commended, others are so 
much at variance with the thoughts and opinions, and so 
curtail the rights and privileges of our citizens, as to savor 
strongly of old English laws and class legislation, and as 
such would not command the respect and obedience of 
many of our people. 
I am neither a market hunter nor a game dealer, and in 
my humble way have done my full share toward game 
and fish introduction and protection; but I don't want to 
enjoy a right nor a privilege under our laws that is not as 
fully accorded to the poorest and humblest in our Com- 
monwealth. In the interest of common sense and fair 
play, what difference can it make in game protection 
whether the legally captured groase, quail or woodcock is 
exchanged for tea, coffee or sugar, and by transportation 
goes on the table at Delmonico's to tickle the palate of a 
gastronomer; or finds its way through somewhat difierent 
channels into the shooting coat of the millionaire sports- 
man, to be served to his friends as proof of his own prow- 
ess? In either case the game supply is lessened to just the 
amount of the game taken; and whether it is taken by the 
pot-hunter and the yaller dog, or the well-dressed sports- 
man and the silken-haired setter, the injury to the game 
supply is the same. 
A bill similar to the one now under consideration was 
introduced into our Legislature about a year ago, but after 
passing both branches was vetoed by our worthy Governor 
(much to his credit), who showed the courage of his con- 
victions in the face of the most powerful organizations and 
oppositioxi in the State. 
That our present game laws need revision I do not deny. 
Summer woodcock shooting and September squirrel shoot- 
ing should never have found a place on our statute books. 
Eepeal them and add bounties on all vermin, whether 
furred or feathered; call for an appropriation sufficient to 
pay for the introduction and protection of a few new 
hardy species; let the State appoint suitable game wardens 
to see that the laws are not violated, and in spite of all 
legitimate shooting during our present open season game 
will more than hold its own against its enemy, man. In 
the"rui'al districts," where the game is reared and fostered, 
where the farmer's boy jealously guards the secluded fence 
corner or the brier-tangled thicket, where the wary grouse 
secretes her treasures; or the orchard, or the wide-open 
meadow, where the quail sends forth his cheery greeting to 
his patient spouse on her weU-filled nest; or the rocky hill- 
side interspersed with sumacs and alders, where the stupid 
cony rears her shivering young, the proposed law would be 
a dead letter, or if observed at all it would be through fear 
and not through respect for the law itself. What 
boy, with the sense of fairness for which every 
boy (and especially the American boy) is noted, would 
patiently guard and wait from the early spring, or the 
long midsummer, till the merry days of brown October, 
for the game to grow from feeble childhood to vigorous 
manhood, only to find its way into the game pocket of 
some well-dressed, well-dogged, well-gunned, wealthy 
sportsman? The grouse, the quail, the rabbit, means to 
him (when the season is fairly open) so many dimes for 
powder and shot, for pens, paper, pencils, stamps, and a 
hundred little things that are luxuries to the poor, and 
are of much greater value to him and more highly prized 
than the game that he cannot afford to eat and is not per- 
mitted to exchange, even for the necessaries of life. Would 
he save and protect for others that which he could not 
himself enjoy? 
Would you, my fine city sportsman and misguided game 
protectionist? If not, can you ask more from the boy than 
you expect from the man? Further still, I deny the right 
of the State to say what disposition I shall make of that 
of which I am legally possessed, providing such disposition 
does not conflict, nor interfere, nor in any way infringe on 
the rights of others. 
Make the open season as sh,ort as you please, make the 
penalties for violations of the laws as heavy as you please, 
but grant to everj^ one under the State laws the same equal 
rights and privileges that they enjoy under the Constitu- 
tion. W. W. McCain. 
DECOY STORIES.— II. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
In a recent issue of Forest ato Stremi a correspondent 
gives an interesting account of the pugnacity of an eagle in 
attempting to carr}'^ off a wooden decoy. 
Last November oin- party of five enthusiastic duck shoot- 
ers were encamped on Lake Nipissing. The weather had 
been simply detestable. It was rather mild and it rained 
every day, and a most impenetrable fog hung low 
down over the water, with not enough wind to move it. 
The ducks were not moving, and there were many vacant 
spaci s on the sides of our house-boat which we had fondly 
anticipated to fresco with bunches of mallards and. black 
ducks. When the fog would lift enough we could see a 
small bunch of bluebills out in the open water. They kept 
up a tantalizing acquaintance with us, but from constant 
shooting and disturbance gave all points and suspicious- 
looking "contraptions" a very wide berth when provoked to 
flight. This of course brought out various stratagems and 
devices to circumvent the wily Blue Williams. Two of the 
party, Harry K. and Will J., with infinite pains and trouble 
had constructed a good blind right out in the channel, where 
they smoked and impatiently watched their flock of decoys. 
That evening around the supper table at the usual experience 
meeting, and one of the very pleasantest features of our out- 
ings, Harry K. told us that, while watching the decoys dur- 
ing the afternoon, he heard a rushing souna, and upon look- 
ing up quickly he saw a large hawk descend from the sky 
with almost incredible swiftness and fasten his claws into a 
solid cedar decoy and lift it a clear 8 or 4ft. from the water, 
when he suddenly dropped it and flew away. 
The next day and at the same place they noticed three 
widgeon drop in among their decoys and suddenly disappear 
under the water, when like a flash the same hawk dashed 
down and again grabbed a decoy, lifted it clear of the water 
and dropped it, tben seize another, drop it, and make a dash 
at a third, and again flew away. This particular hawk evi- 
dently could count up to three, as he made three determined 
efforts to secure a meal. 
The next day my brother and myself had gone about a 
mile distant from the locality of the previous day's encoun- 
ter, and had got snugly hidden in a grass blind, waiting very 
patiently for a bunch of black ducks that we had raised to . 
return, when we suddenly heard loud cries of alarm and dis- 
tress above and opposite our decoys. Looking up quickly, 
we saw a great awkward blue heron coming toward us like 
the wind, with a large hawk right on top, worrying the 
agony out of him. We both sprang to our feet, which 
seemed to add to the poor crane's fright, for he dropped into 
the tall grass with an awful squawk. His tormentor pau-ed 
a moment in surprise. My brother, who had been as in- 
tensely interested as mysf If, quickly caught the pirate with a 
charge of No. 5 chilled shot and ended the marauder's 
career. A local taxidermist set the bird up in good shape, 
and as he now looks down on me from his perch over my 
desk with those vindictive yellow eyes of his, I find myself 
wondering at the total of his record of game killed during 
his life. This specimen looks more like a falcon than the 
ordinary hen hawk, which at first we supposed it was. 
Hawks were unusually plentiful last fall, an occurrence 
which several of your contributors have noticed. 
KOSHEE. 
GRAVBNH0BST, Ont. 
Elk in Jackson's Hole. 
Memphis, Tenn. — I send you a clipping from a Boise 
City, Idaho, paper of February date in regard to the elK in 
Jackson's Hole, thinking that such news would do your 
many readers good, and also showing how important it is 
to incorporate or include Jackson's Hole in the limits of the 
Park. I have been out there and know that much of the 
Park game is killed in Jackson's Hole. The game invari- 
ably winters in -Jackson's Hole, as this place is more pro- 
tected from the blizzards and winds than the Park proper. 
Alfred B. WrNGFiELD. 
The report says : "Thirty thousand elk are wintering in 
the Jackson's Hole country of Wyoming, according to the 
estimate of the game warden, who says that in one herd 
which he saw there were 1.5,000 of them, stretching over a 
distance of six miles. The sight, he said, surpassed any- 
thing he had ever seen, and utterly amazed him. The elks' 
trail over the snow was like flint ice, he said, so hard had 
the snow been packed down. The animals are seen by 
thousands a.ny morning, moving along the Snake River from 
the Great Swamp to the Gros Ventres hills, and at night the 
wails of the calves straying from their mothers may he 
heard." 
"Lancaster's Art of Shooting." 
This work has been advertised as for sale by the Forest and 
Stream Publishing Co. The consignment of books sent 
for us from England was shipped on the steamship Cambria, 
which was disabled and towed into port in the Azores last 
Saturday. Until further notice we shall be unable to supply 
the hook. 
BROWNIE'S REVENGE. 
One afternoon in the golden fall, 
Dame nature's f§te for great or small, 
In the land where sportsmen's hearts accord. 
Of "sky-tinted water," VEtoile duNord, 
Where woods take holiday attire, 
And glorious thoughts thrill youth and sire, 
A sportsman, worthy of the name 
By gentle magic of his fame, 
Was tramping the lowlands up and down; 
"Brownie" they called him, ail clad in brown. 
Now 'mid beacon flres and colors blending 
Of sumac, branch and vine, ne'er ending, 
Through reeds and rushes of brownish red, 
And nut-brown cattails with nodding head. 
With dogs in rapid course he keeps in view. 
As faithful their circling way pursue; 
Watchful and cautious he threads his way, 
With eagle eye for winged prey. 
And stealthy now, by brambly thatch perchance, 
The canines of royal blood advance ; 
Sharp cracks the nitro, left and right. 
As swift from cover bursts in flight 
A pair, cut down both quick and neat, 
At once retrieved and at his feet; 
Now he strokes the brown plumage of scolopax, 
Admired by the eyes of retriever Max; 
While, nervous and restless, pointer Don 
Anxiously awaits the word "Hie on." 
Then lies the way by slough and pool, 
'Neath bending willows and shadows cool; 
Where beauteous landscape doth surround, 
On moss-grown log a seat is found, 
Where oft his majesty the grouse 
In muffled thunder calls his spouse; 
A place to puff the fragrant weed, 
In quiet, peaceful rest indeed. 
Now on by trail through sedge and grass, 
Toward wild rice fields and a famous pass; 
And here in the open did Brownie spy 
A .stranger sportsman passing by; 
"What luck," cries the stranger, curious no doubt, 
For the other's game pockets were bulging out; 
And the voice, as it echoed o'er the silent marsh, 
To Brownie's ears sounded coarse and harsh; 
And giving the fellow a second glance. 
He guessed at once what he'd met by chance; 
Then -sotto voce— "Think I know that jay, 
He's none of my kind, but I'll meet him half way.' 
For Brownie was a type of sportsman true, 
Never talked of himself, as some you hear do; 
And to boast of tilings his, and the score and the kind 
Of game he had bagged, never entered his mind; 
A natural woodsman and flrst-class shot. 
He hunted for sport, and not for the pot; 
In touch with nature's every whim. 
And ttie autumn bird warbling its parting hymn, 
When marsh and meadow take somber hue, 
And days seem short and far too few; 
Never sold a head of game in his life. 
Gave the most to his friends and the rest to his wife. 
He was rotund and Jolly and full of fim. 
And carried a sixteen featherweight gun. 
In quiet voice he now replied, 
Assuming tone quite dignified. 
And his conjecture found quite true, 
As distance shortened between the two; 
For the hunter whom now he stood 'oef ore 
Was of ttie genus "pot," with a big eight-bore; 
And Brownie, though not of a critical kind, 
Sometimes abruptly spoke out his mind; 
Although with the other not inchned to discuss. 
He referred to the eight as a big blunderbuss. 
And made other remarks that might have lent 
Further material for argument; 
For he had no use for one who would stoop 
To kill all he could at "one fell swoop." 
Now the stranger was not in a pleasant mood; 
Neither in tune or accord with the solitude 
Of marsh and meadow, and the fragrant scents, 
Or ttie turtle dove cooing on yonder fence; 
Neither light nor beauty, joy nor song, , 
Had charmed the way as he passed along. 
To kill for meat was his heart's desire. 
And nothing else could his soul inspire; 
And the first thing this fellow proceeded to do 
Was to tell of the bags he had made, not a few, 
And the kills he had made with his wonderful gun: 
'Twas the greastest "shootin' iron" under the sun. 
Just then up the marsh there appeared in sight 
A lone pair of teal coming in for the night; 
Swift they come, down wind with bullet-like speed, 
Heading on for a favorite place to feed; 
Bang! bang 1 roared the eight as the pair whistled by; 
Crack! crack! the sixteen. Brownie neat "wiped his eye," 
And as Brownie's dog Max went the blue wings to retrieve 
He said to the other: "One would scarcely beUeve 
That a little sixteen's up to that kind of biz." 
Then he turned and strode off, with a grin on his phiz. 
Wapahasa. 
Quail Shooting at Karnak. 
Kaknak, Egypt, Feb. 1.— Day before yesterday with my 
guide de la ehasse and a number of boys i went after quail, 
which are just begining to appear. 
I flushed fifteen single birds, bagged six and shot down 
thirteen. Compared with our birds, they are easy. They 
flip up like rails from the corn grass. I hunted in half- 
grown wheat. 
In a couple of weeks they will he very plenty in the lentil 
fields, and it is said that a fair shot can bag a hundred birds. 
The way in which these birds fly would make an Ameri- 
can quail blush to the roots of its feathers. Ramon. 
Georgia Quail and Turkeys. 
Thomasvtlle, Ga. — The Mitchell House here has a pre- 
serve of 10,000 acres especially set apart for the use of its 
guests, and nearly every day some of the guests bring in 
good bunches of quail. One shooter bagged five turkeys at 
a sh.ot last week. Sayvtllb. 
