266 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
fAraiiL 3, 1897. 
knie ^ng md ^ntu 
A PLEA FOR MODERATION. 
In the following paraoraplis I am about to present in Or 
new liglit a most time-honored custom of sportsmen, well 
aware that my opinions will oflppnd many a true gentleman 
to whom usage is law. I beg him to realize that the shoot- 
ing traditions which T attack had then- rise in times when 
usage sanctioned many excesses now outgrown; that while 
it is no longer, for instance, considered gentlemanly to lie 
drunli daily under the dinner table, the custom of unbridled 
slaughter of ducks, rail, gallinaceous birds, etc., continues 
inexplicably in vogue, this too in the face of threatened ex- 
termination of the game. Yet drunkenness has diminished 
without the agency of any corresponding menace. 
The time has come for sportsmen to decide whether they 
will seal the doom threatened to game by wholesale slaugh- 
ter, cold storage, etc. , and go on making "the highest possible 
*'bags," protected from open shame by the fact that they are 
all in one boat in this matter; or begin now, before it is too 
late, to practice in shooting and fishing the moderation which 
chai-acterizes the gentleman in all other walks of life. He 
would feel himself a confessed boor if he gulped down 
madeira or port by the quart, yet he calls it '-sport" to "bag" 
100 exquisitely beautiful fellow beings in one day, and gen- 
erally without a glance at tbeir beauty, as each new victim is 
ossed into the pile. 
What earthly claim to any target more sensitive than a 
clay-pigeon has the man who rates his day's sport by the 
number without any limit of birds shot. He could enjoy 
the fresh air or ihe 'landscape as well while shooting at his 
coal tar targets. 
The pleasure of getting a very few birds by delicate co- 
operation with a good dog or a long stalk, giving one time 
to feel the beauty of his wild .«urrounding8, to realize his 
kinship to the fox and hawk, with the growing excitement 
when he sees his chance approaching — these are hislegiti 
mate delights, not to be spoken of in the same day with the 
coarse joys of the fashionable bagmaker. 
A still more legitimate joy is that which the naturalist 
or artist feels when beholding safe in his hand at last the 
wonderful charms of a new bu-d or quadruped — beauties 
only to be studied from a specimen held in the hand. Yet 
it would be askine too much to demand that only naturalists 
should be allowed to shoot and fish, though the fact faces us 
all that the sportsman who sees the terrible effect of cold 
storage Ipgislation must school himself at once to a much 
more refined sport, to four birds a morning instead of forty; 
to taste his sport as he would his wine. Then would he 
more truly deserve the name of gentleman, and also the 
game migrht last. 
It is futile to hope to avert the baleful workings of whole- 
sale slaughter and cold storage, that unforeseen monster 
which has arisen in the bird lover's path. God grant that it 
prove not quite so hopeless to summon gentlemen to do their 
part. 
The self-styled sportsman denounces the large bags of the 
pot-hunter, and his snares and set lines Yet in cases where 
the grounds are free to both, it is plainly the pot-hunter, with 
his living to get, who is most excusable. 
The fact that there can always be game of the half domes- 
ticated kind in preserves offers little comfort to those for 
whom true sport lies, first of all, in its being a return to the 
romantic and primitive. Abbott H. Thatek. 
HOURS IN A BLIND.— IV. 
(Continued from page SiS.) 
The Dogs and their Work. 
The dogs used in this gunning are Chesapeake Bay dogs, 
brown or tan in color, and with coats long or short, straight 
or curly. They are admirable water dogs, and those which 
are well trained do work that is really marvelous. 
To me these dogs look like the pure bred Newfoundlands 
which we used to see years ago. before the Newfoundland 
had been crossed with the rough St. Bernard, to give him 
the size which is regarded as essential for show nurposes, T 
know that it is often said that the Chesapeake Bav dogs are 
a breed formed by crossing the Irish water spaniel with the 
Newfoundland, but I can see in the specimens that have 
coriie under my eve no trace of water spaniel character, ex- 
cent perhaps color, and every mark of Newfoundland. 
Even the color is not that of the spaniel, for we know that 
the orieinal Newfoundland was often tan colored. .or had 
tan points. The very small ears, the broad head, the short 
muzzle, the lack of feather on legs and abundantly feath- 
ered tail — the whole ensemile of the animal, in fact — to my 
mind point back to a-Newfoundland ancestry much purer 
than anvthing we are in the wav of seeing nowadays. 
I prefer to believe the tradition which relates that the 
Chesapeake Bay dogs originated from two puppies rescued 
from a sinking ship which had sailed from Newfoundland 
and brought to Baltimore, and that these dogs are New- 
foundland dogs of the old type, than which no more faith- 
ful, intelligent and vigorous breed ever existed. It may be 
that the race has not been kept pure, yet I think it has; for 
we see them generation after generation showing the same 
physical characteristics, the same splendid courage and en- 
durance, and the same intelligence and love for the water. 
I am told by a friend that these dogs can readily be 
trained to work to the gun in upland shooting, and that 
when so taught they display unexcelled nose and bird sense, 
and I regard them as most valuable dogs, and wonder that 
a breed so valuable has been so neglected. 
The amount of work that these dogs will perform is very 
surprising. From just after sunrise until sundown, in cold, 
blusterinsr weather, they will bring the ducks, swimming 
perhaps 75 or 100yds. for each one, or hunting through the 
thick cane for those that have fallen on the marsh. Often 
each trip to bring a duck is made in part over soft mud, 
through which the dog must wallow, as it is too thick for 
swimming and yet too soft for walking ; often the ice must 
be broken for a long distance to get to the bird ; often the 
ice is too weak to support the dog, who breaks throush 
every little while, and then must laboriously and carefully 
clamber out on the breaking ice in pursuit of a cripple 
which is moving along toward a distant marsh or toward 
open water. 
I have often seen a dog bringing a bird over thin ice lie 
down on bis belly with widely spread forelegs and drag him- 
self along inch by inch, thus spreading his weight over as 
great a surface as possible so as to avoid breaking through. 
Then, when a place was reached where the ice was stronger. 
he would carefully rise to his feet and trot alona: until the 
yielding ice again warned him that he must use especial 
care. In a case where several trials had shown a dog that 
the ice would not bear him, and that it was a waste of time 
or him to try to travel on it, T have seem him advance by 
bounds, springing out of the water and comintr down with 
all his weight on the ice, thus breaking a lane through it to 
the bird. In this pai'ticular case the dog's stifles were so 
bruised by continual blows against the sharp edges of the ice 
that next day he was extremely sore an.d lame in both hind- 
legs. 
Another bit of ice work done by another dog seemed to 
me to show great intelligence. A bird had been shot high 
in the air and had fallen h-^avily on thin ice 4nyds. in front 
of the blind. It had gone through the ice and did not reap- 
pear. Tbe dog sent out seemed disposed to cross the ice to 
the opposite marsh, but. called back, found the hole throuerli 
which the duck had gone, but not the duck, though it was 
evident that he smelt it. He made several casts about tbe 
hole, but did not catch any scent, and then wpnt back toward 
the hole, but when 3 or 4ft. from it stopped, looked at the 
ice and iDeean to scratch. In a moment or two he had made 
a small hole through the thin and soft ice, and, quickly en- 
larging it, put his mouth down into the water, nulled out 
the duck, and brought it to shore. I believe his finding the 
duck — ^which bad evidently had life enovigh to swim a little 
way under the ice — was pure accident; he happened to see 
it; but his digging the hole in the ice showed wisdom. 
These dogs have keen noses. They follow unerringly the 
trail of a duck through the thick cane, and can trail a crip- 
pled duck that has gone ashwre on the marsh to the spot 
where he landed by the scent that his body leaves on the 
water. I have seen this done many times. They under- 
stand perfectlv the live decoy ducks, and swim to and fro 
past them without in the least regarding them, though the 
decoys do not seem to like it if the dog comes too close to 
theni, and splash and quack at a great rate until he has 
gone by. 
If properly trained, I imagine that these dogs are the best 
retrievers in the world; but often they are not well 
trained. Some dogs will bring the duck to shore and then 
drop it, leaving the boatman to go out and bring it to the 
blind; others, after bringing them ashore, will bite their 
birds badly, or will carry them into the marsh and leave 
them there. I have heard of a dog that got tired and re- 
fused to go for his birds; but, being forced to go out, swam 
back to the marsh with the bird, carried it into the cane, 
and after being gone a long time returned to the blind with 
his paws and nose quite muddy. A search in the marsh by 
the boatman revealed the fact that he had carried the duck a 
little way in from the shore, and had then dug a hole and 
buried it so completely that only one wing and the legs 
showed above the earth that he had heaped on it. 
These dogs, like any others, require careful handling by a 
judicious trainer, and in addition, as they are great, strong 
"animals, they require a great amount of work. A properly 
trained dog, however, is an indispensable adjunct to the 
point shooter, and will save him a great number of birds in 
a season. Couples, 
■ [to be concldbed.] 
EXPERIENCES WITH STUMP BEARS. 
Editor Fm-est and Stream: 
I enjoy reading your paper very much. I find it both in- 
structive and amusing; and when I read the article on 
stump bears it reminded me of my experience with one 
more than sixty years ago. 
At that time bears were quite plenty in Vermont. "We 
often saw their tracks in the back meadow. One day I 
started to find the caVes and drive them home. It was after 
sundown and getting quite dark. I began to think about 
bears, and as I came to a stockyard fence T got a stake to 
fight with, if necessary. I walked on. "There be is— yes. 
there is a bear sure, just at the edge of the brush!" I had 
not found the calves yet, and couM not think of leaving 
them for the bear to feast on through the night, so I walked 
up to Mr. Bruin— I would either kill him or drive him off. 
When I was within 1.5ft. of him I knew it was a bear, I 
could see his eyes shine; but just before I was near enough 
to strike I saw it was a stump, black, of course, leaning 
toward me, -with two spots of snow on the top about fiin. 
apart for the eyes. I soon found the calves and drove them 
home. I got out of that scrape much better than one of our 
neighbors, who met a bear as he was going home one night. 
It was this way: Seventy-five or eighty years ago, when 
the country was new "up in Vtrmont," where I lived, the 
neighbors would have logging bees, to help one another in 
clearing off the land. Mr. Gordon had a very nice lever 
made of ironwood, which he always carried to roll logs with, 
and as he was returning home one evening he saw a bear 
close by the path, standing un with outstretched arms all 
ready to give him a hug. Mr. Gordon was a man who would 
not turn out for anything, so he walked up to the bear, swung 
his lever and struck with all the power he had. Oh! how 
that hurt— the man— not the bear. It proved to be a birch 
stump burnt black with the bark hanging off on each side, 
representing the bear's arms. Mr. Gordon said it did seem 
to him that his shoulders were put out of joint. 
Some of your readers may laugh at the idf-a of stump 
bears; let them laugh.. I would like to know whether they 
would have the courage to walk up to one. It takes just as 
much courage to walk uu to a stump bear as it does to face 
a real live black bear, and when I say this I know what 1 am 
talking about, for I have been there; yes, I have faced a 
large black bear in a pasture lot. 
This was the way of it : I was plowing in a back lot. A 
neighbor came to me (all out of breath from running) and 
said, "Take my gun and head that bear," 
"Where is he?" 
"He went into Mr. Pelsue's woods." 
I knew the bear would go for the mountain when he left 
the woods. There was a large sheep pasture between the 
woods and mountain; so I ran high up on the side hill and 
looked on the south side of the woods There was no bear. 
I turned and looked on the west side. There was the bear 
just out of the woods. I had plenty of time to walk back 
and be ready to meet him as he came up the bank through 
the small grov^. He only showed his head, dodged back 
and turned to run by me. Soon he came in sight again, 
now broadside. I took a fine sight and pulled trigger, but 
no report; it did not break the cap; so I pulled back the ham- 
mer and tried again ; this time there was a report, and as the 
ball struck the bear he turned round, showing his teeth and 
snarling. I did not have any ammunition to reload the 
rifle, so I started to break it over the bear's head, but he 
made good his escape before theiOther hvujters got near 
enough for a shot. He was the largest bear I ever saw. 
His track in the mud measured 7x9in. Tbe rifle I had was 
a muzzleloader And rhjad .been loaded a month for a chip- 
munk. II i -r _ - . . 
I am now eighty years old. but I would like another such 
chance with a bear and to have our Winchester. I would 
say, "Bruin, you will stop with me." 
I go to the Adirondacbs every year now and enjoy catch- 
ing the brook trout as well as I did when I was a boy. I 
often catch more than younger men of the nart/v. 
R 0. Allen, 
A MINNESOTA GAME PRESERVE. 
Peobablt there are not a thousand men out of the entire 
population of the thriving city of St. Paul, Minn., who could 
tell whether or not there was anv truth in +he rumor, occa- 
sionally heard, that President James J. Hill, of the Great 
Northern Railroad, is the owner of a game preserve where 
buffalo, elk and other large game animals are kept. Prob- 
ably not one man out of twenty whom one would meet and 
question regarding this game preserve could guess within a 
county or a State of its whereabouts, even had he ever heard 
,of its existence. This in the city of St. Paul, within twelve 
miles of which exists this preserve, one of the most consid- 
erable of those of the United States, and perhaps the largest 
acd most remarkable one west of the Alleghany Mountains. 
Tbe uncommunicative nature of the owner, and bis intense 
desire for privacy in his own personal matters, is the cause of 
this prevalent lack of knowledge upon the subject in his 
native city. It is generally known that Mr. Hill has, a few 
miles north of St. Paul, a large stock farm, and many would 
be of the opinion that the existence of this stock farm was 
the sole reason for the growth of a rumor of a game pre- 
serve. Over a dozen rnVn were asked about this matter 
before one could be found who was able to say positively 
that there was- really such a preserve, that there were buf- 
falo and elk' there, and that the estate was very well worth a 
visit . '. 
It had long been within tiie knowledge of Forest ANt) 
Stbeam that this preserve was a fact, and naturally the pur- 
suit of the FoBEST AND Stream's inquiry into the game pre- 
serves of the United States made it necessary to obtain the 
exact facts in regard to one so notable as this was thought 
sure to be. Proper application being made to Mr. Hill, the 
latter was courteous enough to allow the necessary visit to i 
the preserve, the news returns of which were quite beyond 
the expectations. 
Mr. Hill's great farm of North Oaks lies directly north of 
St, Paul, in the pleasant lake country which adjoins that 
city. It is not entirely correct to call it a farm; for it is 
more properly a country place kept up perhaps as much for 
the pleasure of the owner as for the profit. At times it is 
used as a summer residence, and there are several residence 
houses upon the propprty, besides many bams and other 
buildings of very great extent. There, are annually raised 
herp several hundred head of high gi'ade horses, fine cattle 
and other animals. The acreage which may be called de- 
voted to these farming pursuits is almost entirely put down 
in grass. The care of the many animals demands the em- 
ploy m^nt of a large number of men, and for the accommod^i- 
tion of these a great boardinghouse is kept up. The estah 
lishment may thus be seen to be a very large oup. The 
propertv is about four miles square in extent and includes ^ 
seven different lakes, some of them well on to a mile in 
greatest measurement. There are said to be something over 
8,000 acres of land. Over this the native timber of short ' 
oaks and other hardwood trees stands uncut and wild. The 
whole is a great domain handsomely adapted to the purposes 
of the owner, among which, Forest and Stream is now in 
position to definitply explain, was that of a sanrtuarj" for : 
some of the more important American game animals. 
There are now upon this tract no less than 28 head of ' 
buffalo, of which 22 are full Wood, 4 half breed and 2 three- 
quarter breed, ]4 of the entire number being cows. The 
first buffalo were put upon the place about six years ago. 
Mr. B. I. Hutchinson, the supprintendent of the place, was 
unable to tell where tbe buffalo were obtained, but thought 
it was near Kali<=pell, Mont., that some or all of them were i 
bought. He was not sure, but thought it might have been i 
from the Allard herd that thev were purchased. There has 
been rather mixed fortune with the buffalo since they came \ 
to the place. Four head were lo^t by disease, one story 
being that they got into a clover field and ate to the point of 
sickne.^'s of this unusual food. This occurred four years, 
ago. Five head, mostly of four-year-old bulls, have been 
killed, and it is thought" that of the eight pure-Wood bulls 
now on hand four will be killed this fall. It is believed that 
the animals will breed better if the number of males be re- 
duced, for the record of the past is not satisfactory. There 
were only two calves this vear. and there have only been 
eight calves in six years. The luck has been hard with the 
calves, for several of those born have died. Two calves and 
four adults died early in their experience on the farm, as 
above noted. A veterinary surgeon said that their death 
was due to the attempt macle to feed them chopped oats and 
other grain. They are allowed to run on grass now, with- 
out much attention, and are fed nothing but hay; nor are 
they given any shelter except that in the winter they are 
allowed to take refuge, if they like, in some covered sheds 
prepared for the purpose. The range allowed the buffalo is 
over 400 acres in extent, comprising meadows, open glades 
and timber, all surrounded by high fence. There is no sign 
of depasturage on the range, and the specimens show perfect 
condition. One large bull which was recently killed (and 
which broke down four paddock fences in succession when 
confined away from the rest of the herd) was found to be fat 
and in fine order. The carcass of a buffalo brings about 
$300 now on the market, aside from the head and robe. Of 
course, there is no wish to breed the buffalo for profit, and 
specimens are killed only when it is thought the herd will be. 
improved or not damaged by lessening the number of males. 
It is possible that some of the animals will be bought for the 
Yellowstone Park and not destroyed. It is a singular fact 
that Mr. Hill now has on his preserve probably more buffalo 
than are alive to-day in the National Park. 
All the grade animals of the buffalo herd are the offspring 
of one mother, an old Galloway cow which raises a calf 
almost every year to a full-blooded buffalo sire. This year 
there is one three-quarters blood calf. The experiment has 
not been tried of crossing the male Galloway upon the buf- 
falo cow. 'These grade animals foUow the characteristicj 
already determined as reported from other herds in captivity 
The grade animal is a superb creature, of great stature an( 
constitution, of fine outline, great beef quality and a robe a 
the finest and most attractive sort. So nearly as can_b< 
learned, the grade animals are the most certain of the entire 
