May 1, 189l'.j 
FOREST AND STREAM 
S47 
REVERIES AND REALITIES. 
Over my desk liacgs a Winchester calendar. It depicts 
three ictnes of sportins; character. The largest of these 
three represents a sportsman in the act of shooting a wound- 
ed moose. On one side is portrayed a shooter about to 
break — we will give him the benefit of the doubt— a clay 
pigeon. Below appt ar two hunters shooting at an extremely 
lazy mountain goat— I know he is Iszy, for'he has stood in 
Just the same position for almost a year. One becomes nerv- 
ous by regarding these scenes for long, I suppose the 
human mind, always striving after the positive and absolute, 
becomes worried by trying to determine what is quite Insol- 
"Uble from the pictures, namely, what will be the effect of 
the different shots atout to be fired. 
This calendar has been a great source of distraction to me. 
At times when my eye rests on these scenes I am carried— in 
spirit— far from my work, far from the city with its roar 
anei din, and suddenly 1 find myself in a vale, a red deer is 
discernible through the trees; I shoot and it scampers off. 
Another bound of imagination and 1 am walking on muddy 
flats; two brown balls jumping from under my very feet 
tear twisting away; a rigbt and left ! I hear the two reports; 
one brown ball loses its i-oundness as it falls limp to the 
ground; but the other— alas I I watch it twist and turn and 
corkBcrew into the distance. The scene again changes. The 
green marsh converts into brown land and fences appear, 
and men, four brown boxes, arrange themselves in a semi- 
circle upon the ground. What are these? As I watch them 
a brown thing issues from one and skims gracefully toward 
the blue sky. Bang! The brown thing is converted into 
bits of broken clay. One after another the different and 
varied incidents of my various outings appear and disappear 
like scenes of the magic lantern. 
Of course, every speirt?man has similar excursions while 
sitting at his work. Tt is one of the glorious pleasures given 
I him by nature — her reward for his love. The same kind 
' mother of all sportsmen provides that only the happy phases 
of sporting appear at such limes — the successful days, the 
heavy bags, the large fish we have captured. And so, on 
each return to the humdrum of daily life from these voyages 
of retrospection, we are pleased with ourselves, and. as a 
consequence friends wilh all the world, 
Oue reads in the Fouest and Stream only the accounts 
of lucky hunting trips. Once only have I read irl its pages 
the experience of an unfortunate sportsman — a charmingly- 
written article, telling of an enjoyable trip the writer had 
after deer. He killed nothing, but had a glorious outing 
That account was a great balm to myself, and I doubt not 
to many other unlucky brethren of the gun. 
A fellow can take with him a grand gun, wonderful car- 
tridges, and hie him lo a firstrate locality, but if he wear 
not on his brow the magic wreath of luck — he will have a 
good time, no doubt, but his bag will not be uncomfortably 
heavy. I believe in one man possessing good lufk and an- 
other poor luck, just as thoroughly as I believe that the 
former is a poor shot and the latter a good one. There 
must be something to counterbalance, so it has been 
decreed, tbat the unfucky man shall be a capital shot. The 
' few opportunities he has, therefore, are improved ; he has the 
satisfaction of "hitting nearly everything he saw." "But," 
does someone say, "I am an exception, I am not a good shot, 
' neither am I a lucky one." Shake hands my brolher! Let us 
console each other! We have stickatitiveness though, 
haven't weV We will pursue coy fortune until finally we 
have captured her. Some day we will find a place alive — 
crawling with woodcock ; some time we will plant our leaden 
bullet behind the shoulder of a deer. Then we will import 
in-to that solemn forest a German brass band, trombone and 
all, and bid them play the requiem over the prostrate form 
and antlered head of the monarch of the American forest. I 
stood over him once, with but little satisfaction, however. 
Perhaps the incident might be of interest. 
My guide and I had tramped three days, and had not fired 
a shot. This day, the 4th, was rainy, converting the 2in. of 
snow into slush. It was dreary weather, and our spirits 
were low, for this was my last day, and the prospects seemed 
to point to a fruitless hunt Several times during the morn- 
ing, and always in the thickest woods, for it was raining, we 
encounteted my esteemed and respected friend, the ruffed 
giouse. Esteemed , for I have eaten him; respected, for I 
have shot at him as he thundered away into the depths of the 
woods. lu the wilds where unmolested by man, these birds 
are loolish and easily approached. We always fired at them, 
believing in the sage proverb that "a bird in the hand gath- 
ers no moss. " ° 
About 2 P. M. we turned toward camp, much disappointed. 
We were not far from that destination, when Pierre, who 
was trudging on ahead, suddenly stopped, raised his'ritie, 
and wilh it still at his shoulder, whispered, "Shall I shoot?" 
Thinking it to be another "partridge," I assented. His .44- 
40 Winchester snapped angrily almost as I spoke. 
"He's coming!" 
"What's coming, you idiot?" I replied, for 1 was not in a 
good humor. But t needed no answer, for bowling straight 
at us I caught sight of a deer. 
He certainly did look grand as he rushed on, his head 
thrown back, taking great bounds like a greyhound. He 
must have been 100yds. or so away when disturbed, so I had 
several seconds in which to ad mhe this grand piece of na- 
ture. But this was no time for admiration. Perhaps I had 
a momentary attack of "the fever"; perhaps I reserved in- 
tentionally my fire, I cannot remember. But that deer was 
not 1 oyds. from me when I fired, and launched by the mo- 
mentum of the rush he fell at our very feet. A moment the 
poor brute sti-uggled to regain his feet, then his muscles re- 
laxed, a quiver shook his body, and he was dead. 
I -tell you what it is, brother sportsman, when some non- 
sporting friend asks us why we kill harmless birds of the 
iii and creatures of the forest, we have few excuses to offer. 
It is the very height and pinnacle of happiness for hundreds, 
E^es, thousands of us, to shoulder an infernal machine anei 
talk into the woods to kill animals we do not need. I think 
:hear a chorus of angry protests: "I never kill an animal I 
lo not want; when 1 have shot what 1 need for camp I stop." 
This is the refrain. But oh, sportsmanlike sportsman, 
svhat need is there to go so far into the wilds for your out- 
ngs that it becomes necessary to kill for food? Because, is 
t not, that you may reach the home of the wild, though 
lomehss, auimal It is not the outing nor the grandeur "of 
he woods. They both can be enjoyed much nearer home 
han eilher you or I make our yearly preparations to go; 
leilher is it the pleasure of tickling our palates with dainty 
norsela of game that prompts us to shoot the, whirring 
[Touse and running deer. Goodness knows that where we 
jljoy one meal on juicy moose-meat we are forced to deaden 
»Ui' craving appetite for the next ten on salt pork. No. 
brother sportsman, it is nothing higher than the savage in- 
stinct, handed down from war-like forefathers, which 
prompts us to make these killing excursions. The day has 
passed for slaying each other, so what more natural than 
that we should seek out the next best thing to destroy. 
But I have departed far from luy stor^'. Perhaps the 
easiest and most comforlable way of dismi.sging the subject 
of killing from our minds is to place all the blame upon our 
forebears. It can not hurt them and it will ease our con- 
sciences. 
To return, then, the stag at our feet was a fine nine or ten 
year animal, with a good pair of antlers. 
On examiuation we found that the guide's bullet had en 
tered behind the shoulder, making a grove in the heart My 
bullet had broken his front shoulder-blade, entering on one 
side of his chest. 
I do not believe that that the stag had anv idea of charg- 
ing with intent to kill. Merely a 'coincident that he ran in 
our direction. Of course I knew the guide's shot, and not 
mine, had been the effective one, yet I trudged home that 
evening in a much happier frame of mind than when I 
started out in the rain and slush. J. K. K. 
Montreal, 
THE VERMONT LEAGUE. 
From Secretary John W. Titcomb's Annual Report. 
A reference to the constitution of the Vermont Fish and 
Gun League explains the objects of the League as follows: 
"To procure and enforce suitable laws for the protection 
and fjreservation of food fishes, game, song and insectivor- 
ous birds; the promotion of fish culture; the introduction 
of new .species and varieties of fish, game and useful birds; 
to disseminate informatiou relating thereto; and to procure 
the revision and codification of the laws on these subjects 
when necessary." 
■What Has the League Accomplished? 
To give a most concise answer, it is possible to say that 
every one of the objects of the League, as above-mentioned, 
have received attention successfully. Taking the first, 
second and last clauses of above, it may be said, truthfully, 
that most rapid progress has been made. In 1892 the laws 
were revised by a committee from members of the League 
appointed by its then acting President, which, as a chap- 
ter, was introduced in and passed by both houses of the 
Legislature, and all previous acts relative to the protection 
of fish and game repealed. While this chapter was not 
entirely perfect, it was a vast improvement upon the cum- 
bersome and conflicting legislation which then existed in 
the form of acts and amendments passed biennially for the 
ten- previous sessions. In 1894 a general revision of the 
Statutes necessitated another overhauling of the chapter 
of game laws by the Legislature. It may be said, to the 
credit of the Legislative Committee of the Leagre for the 
session of 1892, that the chapter then enacted stood well 
the test of the lievisory Committee of the Legislature 
of 1894. A set-back was received in 1894, however, 
in the legislation for the protection of fish in Lake Cham- 
plain, whereby an agreement, entered into between the 
State Fish and Game Commissioners and the Department 
of Marine and Fisheries of Canada, was nullified by the 
legislative enactment making seine-fishing in Lake Cham- 
plain practically free, and gave the Canadian authorities an 
opportuntty to license fishing in the Canadian waters of 
the lake, while the pike-perch were running up to spawn. 
This has been partially remedied by the Legislature of 
1896, if the Canadian authorities see fit to renew an agree- 
ment previously broken by V ermont. Perhaps at no time 
in the history of Vermont has the Legislature been so 
much occupied by bills for the protection or destruction 
of fish and game as during the session of 1896. Over 
thirty-five bills of this nature were introduced, and of this 
number eighteen became laws. Of the eighteen which be- 
came laws, Nos. 35, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 95, 96, 97, 98, 
131 and 139 of the acts of 189G, were drafted by the at- 
torney acting for the League. This is mentioned to in- 
form the members that the League is carrying out the ob- 
jects set forth in the constitution as well as its oflacial 
representatives know how to do it. Three measures rela- 
tive to the prohibition of sawdust and the constructions of 
fishways advocated by the Fish and Game Commissioners, 
and drafted by the League's attorney, failed to become 
laws. The legislative Joint Committee on Game and Fish- 
eries were confronted with a large amount of legislation 
which was not for the interests of the State at large, and 
it is to their credit that such legislation. was uniformly re- 
ported adversely by them. 
Taking up the third clause of the constitution, viz.: "The 
Introduction of New Varieties of Fish, Game and Useful 
Birds." The recent report of the annual meeting, held in 
November, 1896, gives the report of the Committeee on 
the Introduction of New Game. The writer will simply 
add that the Mongolian pheasants at his aviary have so 
far (Feb. 25) withstood the rigors of a St. Johnabury 
climate, which may be regarded as severe as in anj' portion 
of Vermont. The birds do not mind 20° below zero 
weather, and have had no shelter except what might be 
called a box laid on the ground, open on one side, and 
without a bottom. The boxes thus used are 6ft. long 
(with opening on side the entire length), 4ft. Wide and 2ft. 
high. The pheasants are insect feeelers, and there is only 
one question to consider as to their ability to withstand 
our severe winters. That question is as to whether they 
can procure food during the period that the snow is deep. 
The writer has been informed that the birds will bud 
when forced to do it. They certainly like some vegeta- 
tion as well as insects. They should be a friend of the 
farmer, in that they are insect-destroyers. Eight here the 
writer will digress to say a word for the song and insectiv- 
orous birds. Many people do not think it worth whUe to 
enforce the laws for their protection, while in reality these 
birds are a necessary protection to the farmers as insect- 
destroyers. The little harm some of them do in stealing 
fruit is amply atoned for m their destruction of noxious 
insects. The writer expects to raise two or three hundred 
Mongolian pheasants and crosses between the Mongolian 
and English pheasants the coming season. That the Mon- 
golian pheasants will withstand the climate and obtain 
food in the lake towns, is proven from the fact that their 
less hardy relatives, the English pheasants, have spread 
rapidly from Dr. Webb's preserve throughout several 
counties. 
The writer is very skeptical about the successful intro- 
duction of quail other than on preserves where they can 
be protected and fed during the rigors of winter, and there- 
fore does not recommend a further expenditure by the 
League in this direction. 
Of the capercailzie received last fall, one pair was sent to 
Gen. Ripley, of Eutland, and turned loose in suitable 
covers for them. The balance of the consignment are on 
Dr, Webb's preserve, where he has large pens, and hopes 
to be able to rear them in confinement and then elistribute 
for the benefit of the League. 
The black game were distributed last fall, five each to 
Gen. Ripley and Mr. Gelot, of Rutland and Middlebury, 
to be turned loose in the woods. Of the ten remaining, 
one or two died, and the balance are in confinement at 
Dr. Webb's preserve, to be propagated the same as the 
capercailzie. It is hoped that the artificial propagation of 
these two species will prove successful, as the cost of get- 
ting these birds from Sweden is very large. 
_ Turning to the fourth clause in the objects of the Asso- 
ciation, viz., ''To disseminate information," etc., the mem- 
bers of the League are familiar with the cloth posters 
containing a synopsis of the laws which are very generally 
distributed every year, being posted in public places 
throughout the State, as well as being mailed each mem- 
ber of the League. Pamphlets of the game laws have 
also been very generally distributed throughout the 
State as often as any changes have been made by the 
Legislatures. 
The midsummer meeting of 1894 was most enjoyable, 
and most successful in every respect. The social features 
of this and the annual meetings have always proved very 
desirable, in that they bring together once or twice a year 
men of similar tastes, all desiring the promotion of the 
welfare of Vermont, through the medium of the League, as 
well as in a general way. This interest is evidenced by 
the fact that there are no "dead heads" in the League. It 
is doubtful if any other organization of a philanthropic 
character can boast of a membership which is so prompt 
in paying initiation fees and annual dues, and is always 
ready to make subscriptions when called upon. The 
annual dues may be regarded as a subscription, in that 
many members never have an opportunity to enjoy the 
social features, and their only satisfaction ^'s in seeing the 
steady development of Vermont's fish and game interests 
through the work of the League. It seems desirable that 
the social side of the organization should be kept up, not 
only for the mutual enjoyment of the members, but also 
because it is on these occasions that so many new mem- 
bers are added. The vote of the League, at last annual 
meeting, to have a midsummer meeting in 1897, will be 
carried out, but the time and place has not yet been de- 
cided upon. 
A SUCCESSFUL ASSOCIATION. 
Editor Forest and Strea m: 
Thinking they may be of value in the line of suggestion to 
organizations for the protection of game and fish , "l venture 
to inclose herein a sample of the "literature" used by the 
Hillsborough County Game and Protective Association; and 
send you also, under separate cover, one of our large cloth 
posters 
The campaign of edu.;ation, as well as prosecution, we 
have been waging the past three years, has been productive 
of good results. 
These cloth posters are sent to every postmaster, also to 
sportsmen and hotel keepers, and are put up in post-offices 
and public places, as well as nailed on barns, fences, trees, 
and beside streams and rivers. The small card-board fold- 
ers being distributed, gratis, in all directions (within the 
county). These ideas (so fnr as our association is concerned) 
are original with us, and have proved so beneficial that they 
would seem worth a trial, at least, elsewhere. 
This association was formed in 1893, by that sterling, 
sportsman the late Col. John B. Clarke, of the Manchester 
Mirror, w^ho clearly saw the futihty of endeavoring to en- 
force the game laws by a State organization which tries to 
cover too much territory, "spreads out too thin," so to 
speak ; or, on the other hand, by purely local organization, 
which is too local in its sympathies to ensure prompt and 
fearless handling of violations. 
The association is not a "gun club," and has no trap 
shootiner attachment to offer as an inducement for member- 
ship. The only social feature is the annual meeting and 
dinner, which is held at some central point during the day- 
time, so that members may all attend, and yet reach their 
homes the same night. The annual dues being only $1.00, 
does not keep any true sportsman out, and provides a fund 
out of which are paid only printing bills and the $35.00 we 
offer in the shape of a reward for evidence sufficient to 
ensure a conviction. The result is, that we have a member- 
ship of over 100 earnest, active sportsmen. 
We do not claim to have entirely suppressed law break- 
ing, but we do claim to have made it dangerous to violate 
the game laws in this county. We have secured a long list 
of convictions, in every case being successful in our prose- 
cutions; and what adds to om- strength is the fact that local 
officers have (as a rule) nothing to do with a prosecution, 
the blow generally falling from a direction least looked for. 
Not a little of our success is due to Hon. Nathaniel Went- 
worth, chairman of the New Hampshire Fish and Game 
Commission, who is a member of our executive committee, 
and who personally attends to most of the cases. 
At our annual meeting in Manchester, April 0, we in- 
dorsed the Platform Plank of Fouest and Stream, ' That 
the sale of game should be prohibited at all seasons." 
If anything in our plans, or literature, should commend 
itself to you, and ycu should know" of any club or associa- 
tion who might like to receive copies, we shall be glad to 
furnish theni free, upon apphcation to George P. Kimball," 
Sec'y, Nashua, N. H. 
Commissioner Wentworth informs me that in his journeys 
up and down the State he has never seen nor heard of so 
many partridges as he has this spring. A mild winter has 
much to do with it, and we should have excellent sport in 
the fall. W. H. B. 
Forests aad Mining Claims. 
CnTLLicoTHE, O, ,A.pril IL— Editor Forest and Stream: In 
my travels through the West I have seen at various places 
where timber thieves had staked out, in good timber, mining 
claims (BOOxl, 500ft ), digged a small hole to make a feigned 
compliance with the laws governiog working of mineral 
claims, and then proceeded to remove and saw up all the tim- 
ber. This has been done in many parts of Colorado. In remote 
parts the thieves boldly cut and destroy timber ad lilntum. 
The timber reserves have no value except for then- timber, 
and are all practically valueless for agricultural or grazing 
purposes. L. B. Yaple. 
