48 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Jan> 21, 1899. 
not prevented from coining down from the higher altitudes 
and ranging in the parks, where they conld get through 
the winter fairly well, and come out in the spring' in fairly 
good couditioii. 
Now much of the most fertile and desirable park land 
is being taken up by ranchers, and when the deer look 
down from the foothills into their favorite winter ranges 
what meets their gaze? , Smoke curling from the sod-cov- 
ered cabins, corrals, hay ricks, with high fences surround- 
ing them, and herds of cattle and horses. Is it any won- 
der that hundreds starve every winter, and in the spring 
m,onths hundreds more die of scab, caused by insufficient 
food during the winter? The remedy is plain. Let the 
Government adopt the suggestions offered by the Jackson's 
Hole Gun Club and take this whole section under the 
fostering care of the Yellowstone Park Commission. 
Pi-operly protect it on the north east and west, and from 
what I have observed during ray stay in the country, I 
have no hesitancy in guaranteeing that the comnnmity 
known as the Jackson Hole settlement will look well to 
their end of the line, as the3' have no use for dude sports- 
men, who usually shoot at anything moving, poachers, or 
red or white I ndians. S. T. Davis. 
A Week in Delaware County* 
Earlv in October, when the foliage was at its best, and 
the days clear and cloudless, with just a little snap. T be- 
gan to grow more and more restless, and soon realized 
that a few days afield was the one thing essential. A trip 
to the mountains which surrounded the tipper Delaware 
seemed the most attracti\'e. and failing on companions, 
with such short notice. I decided to play the "lone hunter." 
My pointer dog Don had not as yet arrived from North 
Carolina, where he had been for some time with a friend, 
but I knew of another dog, at my destination, which I 
could have for a few days, and the rest of the time would 
not go amiss with the squirrels. 
Early the following Saturday found me aboard the cars 
and dressed for business. It was raining hard, but I had 
the best of hopes for a pleasant afternoon. 
I arrived at the farmhouse i« time for dinner and re- 
ceived a hearty welcome. During dinner the clouds broke 
away and a fine afternoon followed, the trees glistening in 
the sunlight, and never was air any purer. 
Putting the gun together and slipinng a few shells in my 
pocket, I started up the quarry road, wliich was very 
steep and led to very nearly the top of the mountain. It 
was now 3 P. M., and a fine time for squirrels after the 
rain. 
As .soon as I reached some large chestnut trees, with a 
■sprinkling of pines, I stopped and stood enjo5ang the sur- 
rounding beauties. The rush of a released branch back to 
its natural position, a shower of rain drops, and I was at 
once on the alert for squirrels. I- soon spied him juinp- 
ing from one treetop to another; a .sharp report; swish! 
swish, down he came, from branch to branch, and with a 
dull thud reached the ground. He had been feeding on 
chestnuts, as I had supposed, wdiich were unusually thick 
this year, and of course was as fat as butter. After plac- 
ing him in my pocket, I remained perfectly still and re- 
peated the same performance in a tree on my left. .A third 
squirrel could restrain his curiosity no longer, and he too 
was added to the bag. It was just dusk, and as my pre- 
vious trips to this locality had been in quest of fish, and 
therefore spent in the river, my knowledge of the moun- 
tains was limited, so I hurried down toward ■ home. I 
lost my way several times, but got in after it was pitch 
dark. My friends fearing I was lost had just about made 
up their minds to look for me. 
My host was a genial old gendenian, known to his little 
nephew, who lived at the house, as Uncle Jackson. In the 
evening he was very anxious to play with me at his favor- 
ite game. He had the reputation of being the champion 
of the neighborhood. They called the game pitching rings. 
Each of us took two rings about a foot in diameter, and 
threw them at a stake at the other end of the large room, 
the rest of the household constituting the audience. We 
kept pretty even, and finally the score waS' tied. It was 
my turn, 'if I could only make ringer, which counted 
three, and go out. I took careful aim. and over tlie stake 
it went. , , 1 
The old man was next, and ])roved thoroughly equal 
to the occasion. If he could only put one over mme it 
would cancel it and only his would count. He toed the 
line and slowly remarked: "Uncle Jackson's going to do 
his best, by iolly !" With a slow swing of his long arm. a 
jerk upward with his head as the ring rose in the air. aiid 
the same head motion reversed when it descended, he "did 
■ his best" and landed a ringer, winning the game and re- 
taining his championship honors, amid the deafening ap- 
plause. "Uncle Jackson said he was a-going to do his 
best and he did it." was all he said between his chuckles. 
The next day, Sunday, I spent quietly enjoying the 
perfect weather and my favorite pipe. 
Early Monday morning I arrived once more on the 
mountain top, after almost an hour's tramp, and was soon 
seated on a log— a la "Nessmuk"— awaiting results and us- 
ing my eyes and ears to their best advantage. 
A couple of squirrels were bagged, and I started down 
the mountain for dinner. When about half-way dovyn 
out went a partridge like a cannon ball, and letting him 
have my right, he "bit the dust" in Indian style. The 
report started an unusually fine gray, which skipped along 
a log for the nearest tree. Of course that called for the 
other barrel, and I was well pleased with the double shot. 
As I was out for a week, I considered I had reached the 
limit on squirrels for one day, so spent the afternoon ex- 
ploring new grounds for birds, but without adding any- 
thing to my bunch hanging in the cellar. 
The next morning, while "noiselessly creeping through 
the woods, I heard the unmistakable hoarse chatter of 
grays and looking ahead saw three frisking around on 
the ground feeding. In their mid.st was a partridge, which 
immediately got up, fanning the leaves in every direction 
with its wings. , . „ , ,1 
The squirrels' thereupon kindly disappeared, and al- 
though I held down the usual iog for some time, only one 
which had been hiding in the top of a pme put in an ap- 
pearance. After sneaking down the opposite side of the 
tree, he succeeded in getting quite a distance before bemg 
discovered, and eventually escaped. I took lunch m the 
woods this day, and bagged the usual number of squirrels 
before returning at sunset. During the afternoon an old 
pg,^|.^£j^gg ■^^r\th even more thsn the usual cunning led m.p a 
long chase. I succeeded in finding liim by still-hunting 
several times, but he ahvays took care to keep plenty of 
trees in the way,<so I concluded he was a little beyond my 
skill, handicapped as I was by ab,sence of dog or com- 
panion. 
That evening I stumped it to the village to join the circle 
around the grocery store stove, pick up any information 
about the country, and also to .see the owner of the pointer. 
After listening to the bear and wildcat stories, I saw my 
man, and he agreed to- be on baud in the morning with 
the dog. Soon after breakfast Enness appeared with his 
dog and wanted to visit the motmtain top first, where T 
had seen a few birds tiie day before. We hunted this 
locality without success, and crossed the mountain, 
descending the other side toward the river. My com- 
panion Avinked slyly and said: "Let's go down to the 
river and hunt through the sAvales; a friend of mine who 
owns the other half of this dog told me he had seen a 
couple of woodcock in one of them, and was going to look 
for them next week, but T guess it will be after us." We 
soon reached the edge of the stream, Avhere there was a 
large willow swale, so Enness plunged in with the dog 
Avhile I walked along in the opening on the outside. 
The next instant Sport came to a point, and presently 
a partridge burst out on my side, offering a fine shot as 
he .started up river stra^ghtawaJ^ We sometimes make the 
worst misses on the easiest shots, and I scored a bad one, 
the bird pitching in the swale again further up. The sport 
continued all the morning with fair .success, the man on 
the outside alwa3'S getting the shot, the brush being too 
thick inside to see very far ahead of the dog. 
At lunch time we sat on a log in the .sun and brought 
out the chicken sandwiches and cake. Sport had to be 
contented with the bones, which he hurriedly swallowed 
and then sat patiently looking at first one of us and then 
the other-. "You'll eat to-night, old boy," remarked his 
master, and the old dog licked his chops and was just as 
ready to renew the hunt as we were. 
We had eaten our lunch on an island, a long strip of 
land Avhich divided the stream for a short distance, and 
was submerged, in the spring, during high water. One 
end was covered thickly with young willows about loft. 
high, the middle was a mass of driftwood, turned silver- 
gray by long exposure to the weather, and the other parts 
of the island were partially clear with a few tall trees and 
occasional bunches of weeds. 
Just before lunch we had put np one of the woodcock 
we were looking for, and after both .scoring a couple of 
misses he had apparently disappeared. While looking for 
him, I accidentaly stumbled into a couple of partridges, 
the dog being some distance away. Choosing the largest, I 
swung ai'ound and doubled him up in mid-air; one of 
the cleanest kills I ever made; he never stirred after hit- 
ting the ground. 
Hunt as we might, that woodcock was not to be found, 
although we had marked him down carefully near the 
driftwood. We at last came to the conclusion that he was 
hiding in tlus, and had eaten our lunch while waiting for 
him to come out. In about ten minutes after the search 
had been renewed, the dog came to a point and hardly 3ft. 
from his nose was the old cock. Sport trembled with ex- 
citement at his close point, but remained steady. My 
companion was close behind him, and fired point blank 
before the bird had hardly had time to rise loft. Tlie 
result was thatittooktwoof ustopiekit up and fit the three 
parts together, after taking out the wad from its breaSt. 
"Well," said Enness. "I could not see him escape again; 
I now feel satisfied at any rate." As far as I was con- 
cerned, well. I had not intended to have that bird dressed 
for stewing. 
The sun was well down. so v/e parted for the night. As 
Sport was not as young as he used to be, and as this was 
his first hunt this' season, he was too lame to be of any 
use for the rest of the week, during which time I hunted 
squirrels. Toward the latter part of the week I suddenly 
ran across a large black one, feeding and moving slowly 
along the ground. Just then he saw mc, and I immediate- 
ly drew a bead on him. After the report I stood motion- 
less for a few minutes, my eyes glued on the spot where he 
had been. Presently I walked over there and stirred the 
leaves all around, but no squirrel. Another mysterious 
disappearance. "Well, Mr. Squirrel," I said, "if you don't 
mind, I'll take a seat and we'll see who can keep still the 
longest." He did pretty well, for it was twenty minutes 
before I heard a branch shake, and directly behind me at 
that, in exactly the opposite direction. I call that pretty 
good sneaking. When I fired he had evidently run to- 
ward me up the log I afterward sat on. This was a fallen 
tree, .Slanting well upward, and pointing directly from hira 
toward me. How he did this and kept out of sight I do 
not know, and only lay it to squirrel sense. Turning 
quickly 1 let him have the right, but he did not stop, so 
had to use the left to finish him, as he seemed much harder 
to kill than the grays. To me he was a rare prize, and 
I now had eleven squirrels and several partridges, besides 
the unhappy woodcock. Altogether they made a pretty 
bunch. . , 
Bidding my friends good-by and resolving to try it again 
next year, and with my own dog, I caught the evening 
milk, and getting off a few stations down the road boarded 
the New York Limited from Chicago, which did not stop 
at our town. On the train I met a congenial spirit, and 
as the old man expressed it, was as "praoud as praoud 
could be" when I reached home with my trophies. 
HORTZ. 
New York. 
Dogs for Detecting Boxes of Illegal Game. 
New York, Jan. 11. — Editor Forest and Stream: It 
ought to be a simple matter to train dogs for finding illegal 
' game in disgrrised packages. -If I we-re a game warden my 
first steps would be to get a setter pup. Then some game 
would be packed in a box and the box placed in a row 
with other packages. The pup would be brought into the 
room, and when he stopped to smell of the game box he 
would be given a piece of meat, and the contents of the 
box would be shown to him. This repeated a very few 
times would train him on game. The next step would 
be to rule out boxes of domestic fowls. In order to do 
this, I would pack fowls in a box, and if the dog paid 
them any attention he would be reprimanded a little, and 
the reward refused him. Any smart setter or pointer pup 
■should enter into the sport with enterprise and enthu- 
•sia-sisi. RoET. T. Motjei?. 
The Cuvier's Annual 
The annual meeting of the Cuvier Club, of Cincinnati 
was held on Jan. 7, with a large attendance, to hear re- 
ports and elect the officers for the year. The event of the 
evening wa^ the presentation of a beautiful gold watch to 
President Alex. Starbuck. Then followeckMr. Starbuck's 
re-election to a new term of the presidency, and Judge 
Peter Swing made the neat presentation address, in which 
be paid merited tribute to the rare qualities which have 
distinguished the Cuvier's executive during the year He 
said ; 
"Mr. Starbuck— -It is my pleasure on this occasion to 
say something to you in behalf of the members of the 
Cuvier Club. We all look upon your devotion to this 
club as being remarkable. It seems to us that almost 
every thought that you have is for it. You have brought 
to bear in the position you hold a fidelity and ability that 
challenge our admiration, and with it you have brought a 
personal charm of an elegant gentleman, firm and manly 
in every act, and yet pleasant and considerate to everv 
one, and we all look upon you as a manly man. As 'a 
slight token of our regard for you, as our president and as 
a man, we ask you to accept from us this present, and 
with it take this wish, that as it measures of the com- 
ing time with Its tick, tick, tick, each moment may bring 
to you increasing happiness and success until the end, and 
may no naughty bad man ever take this one away from 
you. 
„.The ofifice^s elected were: President, Alex. Starbuck; 
i^irst Vice-President, Jas. M. Daugherty; Second Vice- 
President, Henry Hanna; Third Vice-President, P E ' 
Roach; Trustees, P. E. Roach. Henry Hanna and Alex 
Starbuck, elected for three years. 
The annual report of President Starbuck discussed bird 
protection, forestry, fishculture and the other public in- 
terests with which the Cuvier Club is concerned. 
President Starijucfc's Report. 
After reviewing the situation as to song and insectivor- 
ous birds, President Starbuck continued; 
As an exception, however, to this we are pleased to state 
that the past season our toothsome game bird. Sir Robert 
White, or to put it without the royal insignia. Bob White, 
has, owing to the moderate winter of 1896 and 1897, large- 
ly multiplied, and as a consequence the Nimrods. the past 
season, secured fair bags of them. They were found in 
reasonable numbers in the stubble fields, by sheltering 
hedge and thorny glade, and where the buckwheat was 
reaped or where the oats in swaths were laid. We are 
fearful, however, that the recent cold weather, which not 
only visited us unusually early, but came with such an icy 
breath that it has doubtless slain more of the birds than 
the breechloaders of the sportsmen. The earth once a 
mantle of frozen snow, starvation inevitably is the result. 
Ducks, snipe and field birds in general are reported on the 
rapid decrease, and when we read that 28,000 birds, ille- 
gally shipped, Avere seized last year in Chicago alone, the 
cause of this depletion is plainly manifest, 
Pot-Honting Sportsmen. 
Again, the insatiate greed of some pot-hunters Avho 
fraudulently pose as sportsmen kills many thousands of 
the delicious birds for refrigeration and solely to use after 
the open season has closed. This but adds to the decrease, 
and notably so. This is not alone true of the birds, but 
it is also true of almost every liAang thing that builds or 
swims or burrows in our Avoods or streams or fields. The 
spirit of wanton destruction that has exterminated the 
buffalo is at work in every State and county in America. 
Fish are caught out of season, nets, are used when rod 
and hne alone should be permitted, trapping goes on re- 
gardless of the times for mating and the rearing of young 
birds and animals. This will doubtless continue till the 
fowl Avith the golden egg is finally killed, if Uiis wicked 
Avarfare is not very soon checked. 
We regret that a number of our city magistrates for a 
long period of the time have dealt so leniently with the 
violators of the game laws, and as a consequence drive the 
wardens to the suburban 'squires, Avho are not so much in 
.sympathy, nor so politically interested with the offending 
parties. The public understanding of all this Avould fully 
allay the bitter feeling that is so often engendered against 
the efficient warden. Flis salary comes alone from the as- 
sessed fines, and when they are remitted or made merely 
nominal, he seeks justice Avhere it is dealt out A\-ith a 
more impartial hand. 
Unfortunately for us, the prosecution 6i the violations 
of the game laws in this county, in the early part of the 
season, Avas quite feeble indeed, a sort of opera bouffe per- 
formance, and all OAving to an inefficient warden. He, 
however, knew Avhere to find the pay-roll. A change of 
officials, Ave are pleased to state, Avoriced much better, but 
still there is much to do in perfecting a thorough system in 
policing the county, to make it a terror to all who defy the 
game laws. The force of this county should at least con- 
sist of twenty deputies, located at advantageous points, so 
that no part of the district should remain uncovered by 
them, and each should be in close touch Avith the adjoining 
deputy. As the chief deputy of this county can appoint as 
many as he desires for the work; the system of surveil- 
lance can easily be accomplished, and should be put in 
force without further procrastination. 
Consider once that 75 per cent, of the game birds of this 
country have been destroyed during the past fifteen years 
and you will then fully realize that it is high time to dis- 
pel your sympathy for these violators, who are so rapidly 
decimating our edible birds bj'- illegal traffic during the 
close season, and otherwise. We are gratified to learn 
that the Game and Fish Com.missiofiers have planted, the 
past year, a large number, of black bass, marble catfish and 
other edible fish in the different streams throughout the 
State, and report that this year they Avill be better pre- 
pared for both propagation and planting. What they mo: 
stand in need of is a larger appropriation at the next ses- 
sion of the Legislature, so as to enable them to accom- 
plish, double the amount of work in fish and game pro- 
tection, propagation, etc. If our representatives and 
.senators wish to see our game, fish and insectiAforous birds 
protected and a large increase in our food fishes, as well a?, 
a generous distribution of the Mongolian pheasant, the 
coming bird of America, they should vote, for 3 generoy? 
