S68 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[May 7, 1898. 
consciously violating some giame law he is unaware of." 
Inasmuch as there is no kind of game on which the 
gunner can legitimately exercise his skill until after 
the breeding season, it does indeed seem too bad for 
the downtrodden and oppressed American citizen. Let 
itie call the attention of our suffering fellow men across 
the line to the late story of the sitting hen in Forest 
AND Stream, There are many setting hens in Iowa, 
and I know of no law protecting them. I trust all read- 
ers of the newspaper referred to will rejoice exceed- 
ingly and go forth after the hen. 
Spring Venison. 
A while ago State Warden Brewster, of Grand Rap- 
ids, Mich., brought a case against W. O. HoMen, land- 
lord of the Park Place Hotel, of Traverse City, Mich., 
charging him with serving venison in close season after 
the five days limit. During the past week the case 
came up before Judge Corbett in the Circuit Court at 
Traverse City. The result is not encouraging in the 
precedent established. Holden admitted serving the ven- 
ison, but claimed he bought it in open season. Judge 
Corbett said in his decision that under the Michigan 
law a person may keep for his own and his family's use 
,all the venison on hand at the close of the season. "The 
law thus does not define that if one keeps boarders he 
shall not serve such venison to them as well as to his 
own famity." By this ingenious piece of judicial wis- 
dom Judge Corbett, having given into the hands of any 
landlord paternal care over all the earth that has the 
price, infers that Mr. Holden was not culpable in serv- 
ing this venison to his "family." Napoleon Bonaparte 
is said to have been very fond of large families, for mili- 
tarjr reasons, but it would appear that he must yield the 
palm to Judge Corbett, of Michigan, who has given us 
the last word in regard to the size of a legitimate "fam- 
ily." 
Invitation to the Klondike. 
I have been invited to a good many good corners of 
this big country in my time, but not until now to the 
big game country of Alaska, where above all places I 
should be delighted to go. Mr. A. G. Jordan, who is 
now temporarily stopping at Springfield, Mass., is just 
back from the Klondike region, and is now getting up 
a party which he is to pilot to the gold fields. I never 
have met Mr. Jordan, but to show how small this world 
is will explain that he was met on a railroad train by 
a friend of mine, Mr. Bruning, who was also a stranger 
tp him, but who seems to have introduced himself and 
myself too. Mr. Jordan has been up in the Stewart River 
regip^, he writes, and he goes on to s^y: 
"I have been in the Northern region about seventeen 
years^ and know most of the haunts of the game up 
there. I would have liked to see you, but have to get on 
East to Springfield. After locating my party all right 
up in the Klondike I, intend to devote my time to big 
game hunting, collecting curios, heads and horns. There 
is any amount of moose, caribou, goat, sheep, black, 
grizzly and silver-tip bear. Now, if you can get away 
this summer, I would be pleased to meet you, say at 
Wrangel, Alaska. I will show you what I call sport, and 
you will have all the satisfaction a hunter can feel." 
This is simple, plain and easy— all but the getting away. 
This new far land is very tempting, and it is without 
doubt the latest thing in big game grounds. Many will 
have the good fortune to explore a part of it, and all such 
are to be congratulated. I must thank my unknown 
friend, Mr. Jordan, very much for his invitation, al- 
though it makes me very miserable. There isn't a whole 
lot of fun living in a place where the only game is Eng- 
lish sparrows, and where grass is 10 Gents a bag. 
A Bofep^ Bear Preserve. 
I frequently hear, even at this late day, of the Forest 
ANB Stream story describing the hunts with that king 
of all bear hunters, Capt. R. E. Bobo, of Mississippi. 
As I stated later, the result of the Forest and Streaiv^ 
story was not altogether a pleasant one, especially to 
Capt. Bobo himself. The reports of the wonderful 
abundance of this large game in a country so little 
known, but so near at hand, brought the region into a 
prominence which in the minds of the local^hunters was 
an entirely undesirable one. Since then the timber 
buyer, land buyer and speculator have pushed more and 
more into that rich and favored country, the Delta of 
the Mississippi, and Capt. Bobo now Sees destruction 
threatening his ancient hunting grounds. The grounds 
themselves were and are to-day wonderful ones, and I 
presume it is easily true that there does not exist in 
America any area of four times the extent which can 
show an equal amount of bears, deer and turkeys. Here 
Capt. Bobo has lived for years, enjoying sport such as 
I presume no other man in America has enjoyed in this 
generation. The number- of bears that he has killed in 
his lifetime would, I think, not only pass the hundreds, 
but actually go into the thousands, and this I say seri- 
ously. He writes me mournfully now that "he only 
killed thirty-five bears this past winter!" This he calls 
poor sport. 
But what I wanted to get at is this: Capt. Bobo has 
seen the iDCSt of the open hunting days in his genera- 
tion. He has now joined the procession, and realizes 
that the time, for the open hunting in his country is 
nearly over. What it must mean to him to admit this 
any one can best understand who knows the man. I 
confess to a great personal sadness when I see Bobo, the 
bear hunter, come out and say that he needs a preserve 
for his bears. Yet this is what he says. 
In a letter received by me this week Capt. Bobo 
goes on to say: "I have a plan in which I wish you 
would help me out. It has always been my wish to keep 
the public out of this country, but as you know, that 
day has passed. The settlers are coming in droves to 
this rich soil, and it is no longer a hidden wilderness. 
The axman is on his way to the best hunting grounds 
of the world. The only thi^ig which can save this great 
hunting place is for a few rich men to put in what they 
call spending money, and create a home for this game. 
If we could keep out the lumberman and the home- 
steader, we could protect this game country, and it 
would alwai'S ofi^er a place for magnificent sport both 
in hunting and fishing. But something must be done 
and done quickly, or hunting here is a thing of the past. 
I have only killed thirty-five bears this winter. I have 
a ranch now on Devil's Lake, near where you killed 
your bear by firelight. I am sorry to see the game de- 
creasing and being scared away. Take up this idea for 
me and set the ball rolling. I would like to tell some 
men who want a genuine game preserve something about 
this country here." 
I presume I am approached on an average a dozen 
times a year by some one who wants help in estab- 
lishing a game preserve, such preserve to be arranged to 
his own personal profit. The idea of personal profit is 
not the one inspiring Capt. Bobo in this movement, 
which I am sure he makes only with reluctance. I al- 
ways answer inquiries of the above nature to the effect 
that I am a newspaper man and not a real estate man, 
and that Forest and Stream is a sportsmen's journal 
and nothing else. In this case I can only say that it 
would please me as much as Capt. Bobo to see his 
country protected, at least to a point equal to the dam- 
age caused in it by the well-meant exploiting of tlie 
country in Forest and Stream. If he can enlist the 
aid of some wealthy men, it will be matter of good 
fortune for the best interests of all sportsmen. There 
never was such a game country in America as this Delta 
country, even within the present decade. Bear hunting 
in that country, such as might be possible on a preserve 
of large acreage, would be bear hunting of a sort not 
known by very many men, rich or poor, nor by very 
many kings and princes, and under the regulations of 
a good preserve the sport would be as certain as the 
less exciting sport of deer shooting in Europe. Animal 
and vegetable life of all kinds is wonderfully proHfic in 
this rich, mild country of the Delta. It seems a wide 
thought to imagine it, but perhaps we may yet see a 
Bobo bear preserve in the history of American sport. 
If so, I will warrant in advance that it will be the most 
wonderful game preserve in America, so far as actual 
hunting of actual big game is concerned. The wild boar, 
if introduced in the Delta, would increase wonderfully. 
Wild boar and wild bear— the thought has something 
of fascination; a fascination never to fade from the 
mind of any man who ever heard the bear pack open in 
the woods and brakes of the Delta. 
Chicago, May 3. — [Special to Forest and Stream.]— 
The Maksawba Club's house on the Kankakee was to- 
tally destroyed by fire on Sunday, and many guns and 
much clothing were lost. The club will rebuild. 
Got Some. 
Mayor Harrison, of Chicago, took a little jaunt after 
jack snipe early this week among the Indiana marshes. 
He alleges that he slew eighteen jacks and a wad of 
sand snipe. While I do not wish to be engaged in 
any entanglements of a controversial or sporting nature, 
I would like to wager the price of a new hat that the 
Mayor of Chicago can skin the Mayor of New York, 
or any other city, in a mixed race on snipe, quail and 
trout. There may be others like our Mayor, but I 
don't think they can be found. E. Hqugh. 
1206 BoxcE Buii-DiNG, Chicago. 
Mttskr^t 4 Delicacy, 
I am not a regular reader of the Forest and Stream 
for two reasons: (r) I haven't the time, and (2) the 
yarns make me feel like a pup tied in the yaird when th? 
folks are on the front porch. After reading them I feel 
like growling at the job that holds me and taking a bite 
out of the jobber. In my days of rags and poverty I 
saw a great deal of hillside, meadow, spring;, wild marsh, 
creek, river and bay, and my present affluence is not 
sufficient to allow me to leave my domicile among mil- 
lions of people for "some vast wilderness where the 
wild man roams at his leisure and the wild beast howls 
for his prey." ■ - - • 
I have read about delicious venison steaks, but have 
said I did not like them because they were to me taste- 
less and dry; and thus opened the batteries of a deer- 
hunting enthusiast, who would have sworn by car- 
horse if he tackled it after a stomach-starving, heart- 
invigorating tramp through the woods. Let the dry 
venison fellows croak "Chump" i,n chorus, but give me 
muskrat. I will confess, however, that I have never 
eaten venison in the woods or cooked by any one ex- 
cept those who had only cooked it occasionally; con- 
sequently I am open to conviction. 
I have lived in a muskrat country and traded in their 
skins by the thousand; but it was not till 1 had left 
that I first met the animal with a knife and fork. My 
wife came from the other side of the same bay that I 
had been familiar with, and on her side muskrat was a 
drawing card at church suppers; and she knows how 
to prepare it fricasseed or in imitation of terrapin. Last 
winter some of her fi-iends sent us three; and I in- 
vited a young chap who is my neighbor to join us in our 
muskrat banquet. Wheii it was served I helped him 
liberally; and as we were both strangers to the tooth- 
some dish his face wore a somewhat troubled expres- 
sion at the generous portion I dealt him. My wife, hav- 
ing prepared it, received a similar supplj^ with a confi- 
dence that was assuring; and I helped myself. Sitting 
opposite my guest, it seems superfluous to say that I 
saw him and he saw me; but really we did, and there 
seemed to be an inquiry in the gaze that was mutual. 
After the first forkful there was a facial relaxation that 
dispelled constraint and brought a genial interest which 
was more like delight than satisfaction. I helped him 
again more liberally, and ms'^self without stint; and we 
gave what my wife terihed- a gastronomic exhibition, 
which we proclaimed was due to the excellence of her 
cooking. 
It is not necessary for me to say that the muskrat is a 
clean little fellow, and those who have met him outside 
of trap or snare know that he is game. On the table 
he is also game, and game worthy of an epicure, with 
a flavor somewhat like the wild ducks that have been 
shot in the marshes where he has fed. 
He should be skinned carefully so that the musk 
bags will not be opened, and he should be opened and 
cleaned. In cold weather it is no disadvantage if he is 
left out and frozen. He should then be soaked in cold 
water over night. Then the body should be cut in 
suitable pieces for serving when it is ready for the pot, 
in which a few slices of salt pork should be added. Put 
in water enough not quite to cover the meat; and stew 
slowly until about dr}'-, the pork keeping it moist and 
from burning. Pepper and salt about the same as chick- 
en while it is cooking, which will not be over one 
and a_ half hours. Bread and butter and jelly are all 
the trimmings required to make a veritable banquet at 
home or in the swamp. 
This new experience adds another to my troubles. I 
am unable to buy muskrats at the markets, and live too 
far away from their natural haunts to get them myself; 
but I hope that I shall be able to arrange for frequent 
meetings with the game, and I hope that many who 
read this may seek his acquaintance and be delighted. 
Muskrat, 
National Park News. 
MAMMOTii Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, 
April 21. — Editor Forest and Stream: The past winter 
has been a very mild one in this section of the coun- 
try. All the game has been doing well. I think there 
has been no loss from starvation, although thousands of 
elk have wintered in sections of the Park where the 
range is limited. 
Scout Morrison tells me he has snowshoed a little over 
1,200 miles the past season. He saw twenty-one buifalo 
in one band, four in Hayden Valley. I think these are 
the four I saw the winter before. There are a few buf- 
falo on Falls River, and three were seen on the old 
buffalo trail near the Fountain Geyser. Eight more 
were seen in one band on the east side of the Yellow- 
stone Lake, and several more in other parts of the Park. 
As the winter was so mild, the Yellowstone River was 
closed by ice onlj^ for a few days. It is a great winter- 
ing place for ducks, geese and water fowl. Morrison 
said he saw fifty swans at one time on the river just be- 
low the lake. I have seen hundreds of geese and ducks, 
but never more than about twenty swans. 
I found the roads from Gardiner to the Mammoth 
Hot Springs dry and dusty. I saw no game in the 
Gardiner Canon, bjit.on the flat across the river saw 
A YELLOWSTONE PARK BEAR. i 
Photo by Mrs. U. E. Klamer, July, l&m 
a few antelope. As the snow is well off Mt. Everts ex- 
cept for drifts, the antelope are moving back, on to 
Black Tail Deer Creek. .Even the elk are moving from 
their winter range to a higher country, Specimen Ridge 
and the high plateaus. 
I wg.s very much pleased on my return here not to se^ 
one coyote. Neither have I heard one. They have been) 
very successful in killing them off. The people at Gardi- 
ner liave killed quite a number with poison and guns, 
just outside the Park, while along the boundary soldiers; 
and men appointed have so thinned them out that they 
are qtiite rare. 
To show how little snow there is in the country, I 
can say that a team went through Golden Gate and on 
to Swan I.ak.e flat on March 21. There they could drive- 
around by keeping out of the drifts. Of course the drift 
at the Gate had to be shoveled out. 
There is so little snow throughout the mountains, it 
looks as if we were not to have very high water this 
spring. X s?iw a man from Jackson's Hole who says- 
there is very little snow there, and that the game is look- 
ing well. 
There are about twenty-one sheep on the upper Gardi- 
ner River, where the east fork comes in. They had been: 
down a.s fjir as the mouth of Gardiner River. 
Several large bands of blacktail— I ought to say mule- 
deer— twere around the springs all winter. I am tgldl 
of their getting into dooryards and doing other queer 
things, like looking into windows at flowers in pots, as; 
though they would eat them if the window was open;: 
but I can't tell such stories unless I have a photograph: 
to go with them. 
I inclose a photograph of one of the Fountain Hotel' 
bears, taken by Mrs. H. E. Klamer last July. She 
was witliin about 20ft. of it. I think this must be the- 
bear the cat drove up the tree; it is rather familiar, and! 
looks as though it wanted to investigate the kodak. 
Some of the troops have been sent from here to care- 
for Fort Missoula, and all the soldiers seem to want tc 
take a hand in the coming trouble. If they are removed' 
Congress, ought to provide for a number of scouts or 
Pa^-k; police. E. Hofer.^ 
Game in the Sawtooth Mowntains. 
OvANDO, Mont. — The Sawtooth Mountains belong to' 
the main range, connecting at the head of the Lemhii 
River about 100 miles south of Gibbon's Pass. I have 
been a guide in this country for twenty years and know 
every part of it. The Sawtooth Mountains beat the 
world for deer and goats, with bears and elk in goodly 
nijmbers. M. P. D. 
