NOV. T# 1898.I 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
409 
distance of 300yds.. near nightfall. He was accompanied 
lby Theodore Ripley, of Somemlle. who also secured 
Ihis two deer. Mr. Kelley. of W orcester, lias also secured 
19 big moose in the same region. John Foster. E. A. 
Foy, A. F. Fnurson and Z. S. Snyder, all of Boston, 
have also taken deer in the same region the past month. 
There may he added to the successful sportsmen from 
this section Judge Bolster, of Roslmry; Frank Ferdi- 
nand, of Boston; 7.. H. Sullivan, of Franklin: J. S. 
]\lcQuaid. of Webster, and James O'Donnell. of Hyde 
Fark. This party brought ou: six doer. B. J. Mowry, 
S, H. Mowry. and M. \V. Mowry. all of Boston, have 
also returned, bringing fenr deer and a moose. This 
animal was the property rf B. J. Mowry. 
The week's receipis of big game, up to Saturday last, 
at Bangor. Me., were deer, eighteen moose and four 
caribou. Another bear was also added to the returns. 
For the season, up to Saturday, the total there of big 
game receiver! was 1,567 deer, ninety-two moose and 
thirty-seven caribou. 
Nov. 12 — Boston and Maine sportsmen with rod and 
gun will be rained to learn of the death cf James F. 
Dwinell. For a number Of years he visited Maine regu- 
larly, and very often twice a year. He was fond of 
cas ing a fly on Moosehead waters, and few fishermen 
were mere successful than he, Still, his greatest treat 
was his annual visit to the Rangclcy and Uo on woods 
for partridge shooting. 1 ater he confined his fall trips 
almost altogether to visaing Upton, where. wi:h Lomin 
Sargeant frr guide, he wcu'd spend his time in the 
woods. Kind and generous a'mcst to a fault, no man 
-ever guided' Mr. Dwinell wi bout being the richer in 
pocket for the trip. All the sorrows and oecuniary losses 
of his humble woods friends were taken up wi h a 
generosity and judgment that made Irs guides feel the 
superiority cf the unassuming lover of the woods that 
they labored for. A mortgage on a humble home of 
one cf his guides, about to-be foreclosed, was once 
lifted, wi h the admonition to the guide that he should 
have ample time to repay; whi'e it is mere than probable 
that repayment was never exacted. 
Smelt fishing is very popular with the Boston rod and 
line sportsmen who have- had the good fortune to be 
initiated. The law that prevents netting smelt has had 
the good result of making the taking of smelt with rod 
and line in many of ihe off-shore inlets not only a 
possibility, but an erjoyment. that is increasing. Mr. 
Elmer E. Tilden. whose present home is at the beach, 
near Point Allerton. has made several good catches tlvs 
fall. His best one gave him 157 smelt for two and a half 
hours' fishing. He fishtd near the cu let of a creek or 
sluiceway running ort of a little inclosed pond, caused 
by the grading of the Nantasket Beach Railway. The 
day was a dark and rainy one. but the smelt were bi ing 
gloriously. When the sport was oyer. Mr. Tilden was 
so tired and numb with the cold drizzle that he could 
scarcely stand, hut his trophy was won and he, was 
happy. Mr. Charles S. Robertson is another dweller at 
the beach of occasion, who makes smelt fishing Irs Satur- 
day pastime, with some catches recorded that would 
make his friends open their eyes with wonder. 
A friend gives me an account of a Maine shooting 
trip, made by a couple of his friends who do not desire 
their names published. They went to Norcross, and 
thence by water thirty or forty miles; then eighteen or 
twenty miles into their camping place. Here they se- 
cured six buck deer and three moose. They claim to 
have found a hertl of moose in wh'ch there were eleven 
cows, besides the three bulls shot. They had no trouble in 
railing one of the big- bulls, cr rather their truide called 
him up within shooting d : stance. It is possible that the 
reading of this item carefully shows why the hunters do 
not desire their names published. The law allows but a 
couple cf deer to each man, and a moose apiece. 
Special. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
The Western D^er Season. 
Chtcaoo; TIL. Nov. n.— Our Wes'ern deer season is 
progressing merrily, and it is gratifying to be able to 
s ate that the deer seem to be abundant enough to give 
pretty much everybody a show for venison. The towns 
of Drummond ard Cable. Wis., are sending out a great- 
many deer, and from any one of fifty similar points in 
upper Wisconsin and Michigan from two to a dozen 
carcasses are shipped daily." We have no means in this 
country cf getting at the exact number of deer killed 
during the season. I presume there are 12.000 known 
hunters out in Wisconsin and Michigan this week, to 
say nothing of the residents and the market hunters 
who do not bother to take out licenses or men; ion their 
whereabouts. A good many of these hunters will not 
kill anything, but on the other hand some of the market 
men will kill' from twelve to forty or fifty deer during 
the season. It is perhaps within bounds to say that each 
hunter will average his two deer, and therefore I presume 
that something like 25000 deer will be killed tin's year 
in Wisconsin, and Michigan alone. This does not in- 
clude Michigan south peninsula. Of course, this is a 
mere guess, but I do not think i( very far out of the 
way. though to many it may seem large. 
There has been a flood of venison in the market of 
Chicago for some time, and of course there is no use 
saying that this stuff does not come out of Wisconsin 
and Michigan, because a great deal of it unquestion- 
ably does. It is not likely that all the underground 
railroad between Milwaukee and Chicaeo has yet been 
uncovered, and most of the deer shipped from our north 
woods are shipped to "Milwaukee." On one day last 
week there were seventy-five carcasses counted at Ash- 
land. Wis., all of which were billed to "Milwaukee." On 
the day before the American Fxpress Company handled 
for y carcasses at one load. The regulations of the law 
are contemptuously d : srefarded in prohahlv the very 
great majcri y of cases. Quite aside from the fact that 
the Wisconsin game warden does not catch all the 
Chicago veniscn which goes to Milwaukee, there is a 
great deal of vemson openly billed to Chicago which 
goes through without let or hindrance, and in spite of 
the pious protestations of die express companies, who 
have things pretty much all their own way. Thus from 
Chippewa Falls. Wis... Mr, J. V. Cunningham writes to 
the Milwaukee Sentinel: 
"I am by no means a crank, as I do not approve of 
the non-resident license of $25. but would be glad to 
invite any sportsman from any S ate to visit our north- 
ern woods and kill his deer, or even two. and take them 
home with him. wherever that home may be, in or out of 
the State. The law provides, however, that no deer 
shall be shipped out of the State. I counted at the Wis- 
consin Centra! Depot here, last night, nineteen whole 
carcasses shipped to Chicago, and not one owner accom- 
panying either carcass. To-night, at the same depot, are 
twenty-one carcasses and one saddle loaded on two 
trucks. The saddle is billed to Milwaukee, and all the 
rest to Chicago, and not one owner present. And this 
is only one station. It is safe to sav fifty carcasses are 
shinned openly each day oul of the State." 
I have not heard of any enforcements of the deer ship- 
ping law tn Wisconsin in this week, but there is to be 
recorded one attempt at the enforcement of the law. 
At Rhinelander. Wis., Deputv Shafer attempted to searth 
one car on which he was told the express company had 
a lot of venison. He was put off the car at the point of a 
revolver, the express agent being aided by the trainmen. 
They told him he must have a warrant, or he could not 
search the car. As a railway car has a habit of changing 
its locality, it may he seen what chance a man has to 
seize illegal game in transit. Most of our laws are skill- 
fully constructed, so lhat thev can be evaded. 
The season in Michigan did not open until Tuesday of 
Ihis week, but the hunters have swarmed all over the 
upper peninsula. The counties of Marquette. Ontona- 
gon, Goeb : c. Mackanac. Iron and Dickinson are getting 
perhans the best of this north peninsula rush. The 
crowd of deer hunting travel has practically swamped the 
railroads. The towns in upper Wisconsin and Michigan 
have given up the hope of getting their mai's regu'arly, 
so much are the trains delayed by the handling of this 
hunting traffic. Sometimes there will be 250 pieces of 
hunting baggage on one train. This sporting traffic is 
eagerly competed for by the railroads each year, and it 
seems to grOw from year to year, in spite of license 
laws and everything else. The deer supply thus far 
has held out wonderfully well, and with care this vast 
body of nine lands in the Northwest outrht to turn out 
an annual crop of many thousand deer. What the future 
will hold, however, is something which no man can tell, 
a^d it surely would seem probable that the great body 
cf non-resident hunters who each fall are out after deer 
would, within a few years, use them ttp, unless there 
shall be a stricter observation of conservative measures. 
It is stated that last year there were 3.500 deer killed 
in the upper peninsula of Michigan, that is to say. there 
were that many known to have been killed, not mention- 
ing the unrecorded. Incidentally it is stated, also, that 
there were twelve hunters accidentally killed during the 
season in the north peninsula last fall. Thus far I 
have heard of but few accidents this season, though no 
doubt we shall later learn of plenty. Near Lakewood. 
Wis., last week, Mr. M. A. Barnes had a close call while 
hunting deer. A friend of his who was out with him 
wandered off to one side for a time, and later coming 
up through the woods saw the gun of Mr. Barnes glint- 
ing through the leaves, and took a shot at it just for 
luck. He hit the gun, and scared his friend out of a 
year's growth. 
Among other items of interest gleaned in the deer 
hunting field this week I note one statement which is im- 
portant if true. It seems that a shipment of nineteen 
deer was received by a Milwaukee commission house, 
among these one big buck which "had a large soft bul- 
let all but buried in his antler." The reporter who de- 
scribes this phenomenon savs: "The lead was encrusted 
by the horn, and had evidently been fired by an old 
smoo hbore many years a°"0. The buck had carried 
it through the woods un'il he received the shot that laid 
him low." It has been popularly supposed that a buck 
sheds his horns every vear. and one is compelled to re- 
gretfully discredit the old smoothbore story. 
Competition in the venison business is so strong that 
dealers are reluctantly obliged to violate the law in 
order to project their business interests, even after they 
have their game in hand. Wisconsin law requires veni- 
son to be tagged, but the Milwaukee dealers have been 
removing the tags from the carcasses, in order to pre- 
vent rival dealers from learning Ihe place from which 
they have received their game. Deputv Zinn has told 
them that they must leave the tags on their venison. 
Another Game "Fence." 
It seems that the underground railway idea, lately 
developed at Milwaukee, is not absolutely new. Out at 
Omaha, there has been discovered another large case of 
"Mr. Hicks." The grouse and quail of the country west 
cf Omaha are shipped into that city by the thousands of 
dozens, and they bring good prices in any amounts 
that can be offered. The city of Omaha and vicinity 
uses but a fraction of this immense amount of game, 
which cannot legally be shipped out of the State. The 
fact is that Omaha, exactly- like Milwaukee, is nothing 
more nor less 'I 1 an a great clearing house for the Chicago 
commission trade. 
Sic'e-Ht a's. 
At Osage. Iowa, last week a number of shooters paired 
off and indulged in a big side-hunt. Nearly thirty men 
in all competed, there be'ng an individual gold medal 
offered for top score. They shot for points, and pre- 
sumably killed prettv much everyhing that came their 
way. the winning side scoring over 5,000 points. 
At Bowling Green, III., there will be a big side-hunt 
on Thanksgiving Day, with nearly fifty starters, the los- 
ing side as usual to pay for the supper. 
Wo'ves. 
The cow men in the recently opened 'Indian lands east 
cf the Black Hills are offering good bounty for wolves, 
and the professional wolfers are getting from $5 to $8 
a head. One wolfer has killed forty-three gray wolves 
and no coyotes this fall, nearly half of which was dope 
inside of ten days. 
Ducks. 
The duck flight is not yet over in this region, and the 
boys up in Wisconsin, are s ill hammering away. The 
season along the Illinois River is still in progress, and 
I heard from Lake Senachwine that the flight is good. 
The birds are scattered all the way frcm here to the 
Gulf. Mr. A. E. Grimes writes from Green Ridge. Mo., 
that ducks have been flying there in numbers for the 
past two weeks. He reports chickens and quail as 
scarce in that locality. 
Quail. 
Tt is a splendid quail year. Illinois,' Indiana and 
Michigan are showing plenty of birds. Three men, of 
whom Oswald von Lengerke was one, bagged seventy- 
six quail one day last week at a little coun rv town in 
this State. There has been a heavy snow this week in 
lewer Michigan and upper Indiana, but the birds should 
begin to move in a day* or so new. The weather has been 
very bad around Chicago this week, and we may expect 
a freeze-up at any time which will end the duck reason 
in these parts. a" r ' turn everybody's a.tentlon still more 
exclusively to quail. 
Wisconsin Game. 
Mr. Hascall, a Forest and Stream friend, dropped 
in to-day on his way back from Wisconsin. He says 
they are felling a pile of game up in Wisconsin this week, 
the deer coming into Milwaukee fairly by carloads. He 
saw some grand bucks, and was pleased to note but few 
does. He tells me that up at Green Bay ihe duck shoot- 
ing has been good lately. One gun killed t 1 5 ducks one 
day recently, and others have bagged ltl the neighbor- 
hood cf fifty daily. This is on the marshes, inland. 
Indiana Game. 
Fred Erb writes me frcm Lafayette on game and 
game law matters. He says: "You are about right, the 
game laws are not watched very close. It is best in 
Tippecanoe, Clinton, Benton and White counties. The 
first two named are the best in the State fcr quail and 
woodcock, and the last two are best for snipe, plover and 
chickens. These are all watched closely, and any gentle- 
man can shoot there and not have any trouble. Would 
like you to come and see for yourself. Indiana is one 
of the best all-round game States cf the country, if you 
could only get them up to having good game -laws. 
The State League don't seem to bother much about it. 
they only want 10 hold a trap shoct of some kind. I tell 
you they ha-\e got to wake up cr it will be only a little 
time before the game of this State will be done up. 
This last summer I was along the line between Illinois 
and Indiana, and to see and hear of the chickens that 
were shot and sent in to Chicago was a disgrace to 
sportsmen. I could have caught a lot of these violators 
in Illinois. I know a few wardens cannot watch all the 
shooters, but if they would watch the express companies 
that carry game from other States into ycur city, they 
could nail them all right. Our law whl never amount to 
much till the express companies stop carrying illegal 
game. They are the ores that cause all the trouble. 
Now, what is to be done?" 
There is u.t di truth and justice in the above. It 
is the grthi- t:-4»?ess companies that do most cf the 
mischief. *£ they were content to live as law-abiding 
members cf society, as the rest of us are asked to do, or if 
they were in any way sincere in their protestations of a 
wish to help ! ? >' wardens stop the illegal shipping of 
game, we should have the question of protection solved 
at once. This game that is being killed up in Wisconsin 
this week, of what earthly use would it be to the Chicago 
commission men if it were net carried here by the 
express companies? Now, you go to these people, and 
they say they are "heartily in sympathy" with you. and 
say they have "sent orders to their local agents not to 
receive any game for shipment." They would discharge 
any local agent who pretented to obey any such insfuc- 
tions. and the local agent knows it, so he poes right 
ahead taking and shipping the game, and the express 
companies know it, the dealers know it, and the wardens 
must also knew it. All the talk of the express com- 
panies aiding the wardens is in substance fol de rol. 
They carry tons of game into this city every mon h. If 
they would only really be sincere and would really try to 
live within the law. there would be a sudden end to all 
the marketing of illegal game; for nearly every Western 
State now prohibits the shipping cf its game to market. 
As to what we shall do, I imagine we shall do nothing. 
That is the American way. AVe love to be imposed upon 
by big corporations. 
"Non-Export." 
I wish that State Warden Chase S. Osborn, cf Michi- 
gan, would tell us what is his construction cf the non- 
export clause of the Michigan law. As to preventing 
the expressing cr other shipping of game cut of the 
State, the law is clear and cannot be enforced too strictly. 
But how about the man who comes over in o Michigan, 
shoots a few birds, puts them in his pocket and brings 
them home to eat on his own table or to give to his own 
friends? I am a good deal cf a crank, but hew about 
that man? His sin is one on which the game law 
authorities have always looked wi h a good deal of 
leriency. Indeed, a former warden of Michigan once 
told me — and the warden of Wisconsin ence told me the 
same thing — that if they caught anyone thus taking game 
home with him, they looked the other way and did not 
try to make a 'case, for ihev did not believe the law 
would hold water, but would be proved unconsti utional 
on test. I have earlier called attention to the fight made 
on this clause of the Ind'ana law by the late Judge Knick- 
erbocker, of the Tolles on Club, of Chicago. The In- 
diana law was knocked out. and ever since then sports- 
men~have openly carried their game out of that State. 
Indeed. I have always done this myself, and in common 
with all my friends never knew it was against any law at 
all. I have also lately cited the rulirg of the law de- 
partment of the State cf Texas, on the county export 
clause of the Texas law. It was held that one may not 
<hip, but he may carry or accompany his game. Cer- 
