i?EB. 4, 1899.3 
FOHEST AND STREAM. 
ter,' 'eggs' and other things equally misleading. I am 
told that there was a cold storage house operated in 
the western part of this State the past season, supposed 
to be an egg storage, but was really a fence for the ille- 
gal shipping of chickens. They would either be packed 
in butter tubs and be billed out as 'butter,' or in egg 
cases, with a layer of eggs on top, and be billed out as 
'eggs,' and consigned to St. Louis and Chicago commis- 
sion houses, 
"^yhile attending the Du Pont tournament in Omaha 
last fall, I heatd one matket-hunter from the northwest- 
ern part of the State remjirk that Up to that time, whteh 
wfas the 22d day of September, Jie had killed Q33 chickens. 
This I figure would be an average of about fifty a 
day, and enough birds to furnish 100 of the sons of fair 
Nebraska who go afield purely for sport with a day of 
honorable, healthful and invigorating recreation. An- 
other characteristic of these market-hunters is their ut- 
ter disregard for the closed season, it being an undeni- 
able fact that ; chickens are slaughtered from the time 
they are able to cover the grass in their feeble attempt 
to fly. The same element so disastrous to our chicken 
supply also carries on operations through the quail 
shooting season. Last November, in company with n\y 
friend. C. E. Latshaw, I niade a trip to the western 
part of the State for a few days with the quail, we de- 
ciding on Wilsonville as pur destination, believing it to 
be the best point in the State for quail. Arriving there 
at noott on the 25th, vi^e Were asstired that we would 
have tlo success, as market-hunters had shot the birds 
out. We, however, proceeded to our favorite haunts, 
where birds were always plentiful, only to find a few 
scattered birds, and they very wild. On returning to 
town, we called on the express agent, and asked him 
if it were not true that a great many quail had been 
shipped out under fictitious labels. He answered us 
very gentlemanly now, that not being the State game 
warden, he, of course, was not expected to open every 
package coming into his office, to see if it was dressed 
poultry or otherwise, but admitted that since the season 
opened their produce business had greatly increased. 
Another of the clever schemes resorted to by the market- 
hunters, and especially those living near the markets of 
the State, is to pack their birds in Targe trunks and carry 
them as baggage. • Being disappointed at that point, we 
went to Cambridge, where we killed a nice bag of birds 
the two following days, and on our return to the hotel, 
preparatory to starting home, we were approached by 
numerous parties, presumably scalpers or local market- 
hunters, asking us in confidential tones what we would 
take for our birds. On receiving rather chilly answers 
that our birds were not for sale for any amount they 
could offer, they would slip aside with a countenance sug- 
gestive of 'Well, perhaps I make a mistake.' Our ex- 
perience was the experience of all other sportsmen I 
have talked with, and their indignation is so great it is 
quite likely that ere long we will be in better position to 
protect the birds of our State." 
The Hudson Bay Knife. 
Mr. Bradford A. Scudder, of Taunton, Mass., wishes 
to have further details about the Hudson Bay dagger re- 
cently mentioned in these columns. He remarks : 
"Will you kindly favor me with the weight and length 
of blade of the old Hudson Bay Company's knife, de- 
scribed by you in this week's issue of the Forest and 
Stream. T should like the maker's name and the address 
of the New York firm- by whom the one you received 
was imported. I judged from your description that the 
above is a sheath knife. Am I correct in so supposing? 
It is rather difficult to find just what one desires for a 
special purpose in a knife. I had been searching for a 
heavy knife to be used as a sort of machete in cutting 
through: bushes and briars along the trout streams, and 
from your article judged this would be the one par 
excellence. If you think this knife would be about what 
I desire, kinly inform me." 
At this writing the knife is at my residence, and T 
cannot give its weight and measurements. I think the 
blade about ift. in length, very heavy and strong, the 
whole weighing, I should judge, between 2 and 3lbs. I 
can assure Mr. Scudder that it would be admirable for 
the purpose he suggests. As to the firm_ of whom 
these knives can be obtained, I cannot give the name, as 
the knife was a present to me from Mr. C. S. McChesne}'. 
If the latter were addressed, I am disposed to think he 
would tell where the knives could be obtained, as he is a 
thorough sportsman himself, and always anxious to do 
another a good turn. Mr. McChesney's address is Troy, 
N. Y., and if he should happen to have a large mail in- 
quiring after- knives, I hope he will forgive me. I have 
not yet been able to find Mr. McChesney's gold seal 
rubbers with leather tops, and he may dislike me for 
that, but I will get them yet sornewhere. 
' The Food of Quail. 
I discovered the following information in regard to 
the food of quail as given in the columns of an - ex- 
change. I presume it not to be strictly accurate to say 
that quail never eat grain, for I have found wheat and 
corn in the crops of quail ; but it was wheat from old 
stubble fields and corn scattered upon the ground, and 
not taken from the ear. The claim that quail do dam- 
age to any standing crop is of course absurd. The item 
reads : 
"Don't Kill the Quail. — Two quail were sent to the 
Agricultural -College by a farmer who wrote that he 
killed them because they were eating his grain. He 
wished an examination of the crops of the birds made, 
which has been done, and the results made public. In 
neither crop was found any grain, but in one of them 
were about 4,500 seeds of the false nettle, a very trouble- 
fiome weed, which goes to show that the quail, instead 
of being an enemy of the farmer, is in reality a great 
help. Prof. Barrows, of the Agricultural College, says 
that quail eat a very large variety of weed seeds, be- 
sides grasshoppers, chinch bugs and other injurious in- 
sects. He once examined a quail's crop and found it 
filled to its utmost capacity with span worms and meas- 
itring worms, both of which are among the farmer's nu- 
merous enemies." 
Pat-fcuk-ktts. 
Once upon a time I bad occasion to tell somewhat of 
the doings of Pah-kuk-kus, the evil spirit which made so 
much troUfble for us on our Blackfoot hunting trip. 
Later on I have described how in all probability 1 caught 
Pah-kuk-kus in a steel trap, which he caiTied off, never 
again to be seen. This would appear to have settled the 
spirit in question, but I "have reason to believe that I 
brought him home with me in an Indian parfleche, which 
came from the Blackfoot country. I am disposed to this 
belief by certain recent happenings in my own house- 
hold. There is a moose head on the wall of my dining 
room, which was put up with apparent security, and 
which hung on the wall untroubled for many months. 
One morning the mistress of the manse happened to be 
standing directly beneath this moose head, when without 
any warning whatever, and without the least jar or dis- 
turbance to give any pretense of reason therefor, this 
moose head turned itself loose. Nothing but a heavy 
coil of hair saved the lady from annihilation, as the nose 
of the moose struck her directly on the head. Not much 
later, I was one day putting up a buffalo head on the 
wall of the same room. I was standing on a short step 
ladder, and had hung the head, as I supposed, securely 
on a stout spike. I had just withdrawn my hands and 
was about to descend the ladder, when all at once the 
head jumped clear off the nail. Instinctively I put out 
my hands and caught the heavy head, suffering a sprained 
thumb, which bothered me for a long time. Last night 
I was wakened from my slumbers by the sound of some- 
thing heavy falling. I discovered that a picture of some 
snipe, which had been hanging for months in that same 
fated room, had concluded to let go, and try it on the 
floor awhile. The corner of the frame was well smashed. 
I am personally entirely satisfied that Pah-kuk-kus has 
followed me ever since I got him by the foot in the Two 
Medicine country. My mistake was in supposing that 
you could destroy a spirit, or mitigate the maliciousness 
of this particular spirit, which is well known to live for 
the purpose of making trouble for hunters. 
The Old Dog. 
A while ago I had occasion to say something about the 
"old gun," and now I must make obituary mention of the 
old dog. The gun was my gun, but the dog was old 
Jack, the long-time solace and pride of Mr. W. B. Mer- 
shon, of Saginaw, who writes me about him: 
"We have had a death in the family. Now do not get 
worried, but read a little further. It is old Jack that has 
departed from this vale of .sunshine and tears. He has 
been a gay old dog. I have had a pile of fun with him, 
and I do not believe there were many better, all-round 
partridge and quail dogs when he was in his prime. His 
fashionable name was Jack of Naso, No, 7044. My old 
friend. Bob Schultz, of Zanesville, O.. gave him to me 
when he was a puppy, for he was born in June, 1887. 
He has lived an aristocratic life of ease for the last few 
years. 
"It seems too bad that a dog grows old .so soon. Here 
I am, in the prime of life, at least so I consider my- 
self, and yet I have seen three generations of good, old 
dogs pass away. 
"Poor old Jack! He was as staunch as a rock, aujd 
had a nose on him that could locate honestly half 
a mile away; at least it seemed so to me. for I have fol- 
lowed his stiff-legged walk with his nose up, taking me 
across two or three fields, saying just as plainly as he 
could that the tainted air that was jiist stirring in his 
direction was telling him that we would be up with 
the birds before long. 
"I remember once his taking up a scent along a fence 
corner, and putting his nose in the air, disappearing over 
the hill. By the time I reached the. hilltop he was 
fast on the birds, a long ways ahead, though a friend 
of mine with his dog had just passed there, a great deal 
nearer than old Jack was to the "birds when he took up 
the scent. I called back my friend, and together we put 
up the covey. I remember so well how nicely they 
scattered, and what a trimming out we gave them. 
"Oh well ! if I keep on at this rate I will think of 
hundreds of reminiscences equally as pleasant. Peace to 
the old fellow's ashes. 1 do not believe 1 will ever get 
as good a dog again," 
I remember Jack very well, He was an old, very old 
pointer, and so crippled with rheumatism that he would 
weep and moan every morning when he tried to get up. 
We would have left him at home, but that seemed to hurt 
him worse than to take him along. We would put him 
tenderly down on his poor, old, stiff legs, and he would 
waddle and whine, and whine and waddle, complaining 
over the cruel years which handicapped his powers, but 
none the less putting the last flickering spark of his 
energy into the best way to show us a little of the sport 
that he loved as well as we. He had as much bird sense 
as any dog I ever knew, and though he could not "range" 
at all, he always went to the place where the birds were, 
and I think we killed more birds over him than over 
the younger dogs. Jack was one of the big, strong, stay- 
ing, old-time meat dogs, and I mourn sincerely with his 
owner over his loss. There are not any too many such 
dogs in the world. I hope he finds plenty of sport in the 
happy hunting grounds. 
He Speaks in Gold, 
The French have a saying, "He speaks in gold," which 
means highest approbation of the wisdom of one's ut- 
terances. So much we might say for this editorial utter- 
ance of the Fox Lake Representative, a Wisconsin news- 
paper : 
"There is no question but that something has got to 
be done to protect the game if it is to be preserved for 
future generations, and at a not very distant day either. 
The pursuit of game should be indulged in only as a 
sport, and the sooner that market-hunters are abolished 
and the sale of all game prohibited, the sooner will that 
blissful condition be realized. We know that this a pretty 
decided step ahead of the ideas of the country sports- 
men in general, but we stand firmly on that platform 
and believe that the man who uses the game of the coun- 
try as a means of making a living should adopt some 
other means for a livelihood. It has got to come if 
future generations ever get any shooting." 
"George Barton, a Trask River trapper," says the Tilla- 
mook Herald, "caught a curious animal in one of his 
traps. The animal, or duck^ was a.bout 3ft. wide by 1^ ft 
long. Its back was covered with feathers. The stomach 
held a flush of scales. Its tail was like a fish, and its head 
was ornamented with a bill and comb, while its forefeet 
were webbed, and the hind ones were just like a dog's," 
In my confession of faith I believe in the fantail deer, 
the pine-nut bear, the horn-tailed snake and other things 
not usually accepted as lead pipes from a scientific stand- 
point, but one has to draw the line somewhere. Has any 
gentleman lost a pet ornithorhyncus which has wandered 
from his fireside in a fit of absentmindedness? 
E. Hough. 
1200 BoycE BtJitDtWG, Chicago, 111. 
New Brunswick Notes. 
The Provincial Government seems to have definitely 
decided to make no exhibit this year at the sportsmen's 
show in New York. Doubtless the fact that a general 
election is at hand has a distracting effect upon the 
honorable gentlemen, if indeed it does not chill the,ir 
sporting blood. The main reason, however, why this 
Province will not be represented is that the Government 
claims to have been unfairly used at the Boston show last 
March. Hon. Mr. Dunn had the assurance of the 
management that the New Brunswick exhibit would not 
be subject to duty, yet the customs officials pounced 
upon the outfit at Vanceboro and would not allow it to 
proceed until nearly $400 had been collected. The goods 
exhibited all came back to the Province, but the money 
has never been refunded. 
Righteous indignation is a good thing in its place, but 
should only be indulged in by people who are well sup- 
plied with common sense. The Fredericton Board of 
Trade is evidently carrying a rather slim stock of the 
latter commodity. At a recent session it solemnly 
adopted a long string of resolutions, calling upon the 
Government to pass regulations to have all moose, cari- 
bou and deer heads taken out of this Province branded 
so that they would not be credited to other localities. 
The immediate occasion of this outbreak was that at a 
celebration held in Boston over the big moose shot in 
this Province by Dr. Bishop, the press reporters de- 
scribed the animal as hailing from Maine. It is unlikely 
that the Government will do any branding — unless they 
can capture the press reporters. 
Woe to the man who claimeth a record; when he 
waktth in the morning, behold! it is gone. It appears 
after all that Dr. Bishop's moose is not the best speci- 
men taken on Miramichi waters, as the moose shot by 
Capt. Chauncey P. Williams, of Albany, heretofore 
credited to the Tobique, was really killed on the Sou*- 
west Miramichi. Capt. Williams' head, spreading as it 
does 63in., with ipin. palms and 32 points, is undoubtedly 
the best all-round specimen secured up to date in this 
Province. A moose was also shipped from the Canaan 
country by the well-known guide James Ryder in the 
latter part of December, with a spread of 62in. A 
sportsman, described by the St. John papers as T. March, 
of New York, is credited with taking out another 5ft. 
head. 
Henry Braithwaite has received a license from the 
Quebec Government to capture six live caribou for 
shipment to Lincoln Free, of Easton, Pa. Henry will 
I'roceed to the scene of action in a few days. 
Arthur Evans, of Zionville, on Dec. 31 shot a very 
large bull moose on Cain's River. The head has been 
shipped to Mr. John G. Prouty, of Spencer, Mass. 
It is vmlikely that any radical changes will be made 
in the game laws at the approaching session of the Legis- 
lature. It is probable, owing to caribou being so plenti- 
ful, that the limit on these animals will be raised to two 
Some English sportsmen complain that they are not 
allowed to kill enough game in view of the great ex- 
pense involved in making a trip across the pond. It 
is suggested that the Government might adopt a sliding 
scale in regard to ihe license fee, permitting the sports- 
man who paid $20 to shoot one moose and one caribou, 
while a payment of $30 would entitle him to one moose 
and two caribou, and a payment of $40 entitle him to 
two moose and two caribou. From a revenue stand- 
point such a system would doubtless prove a great suc- 
cess; whether the game supply could stand it is an- 
other question. Frank H. Risteen. 
Fredericton, New Brunswiclc, Jan 28. 
Winter Food of Red-Shouldered Hawks« 
MiLFORO, Conn., Jan. 20. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
During the last days of December I caught a pair of red- 
shouldered hawks in a steel trap. The trap had been set 
for a mink, which had been seen back of the barn, and 
which was suspected of having killed some chickens in 
the hen house near by. The male bird was first taken. 
• When I found him he was about to escape, as the trap 
had broken his leg and he had eaten away most of his 
shank ; one strong tendon still holding him. The trap had 
been baited with fresh pork. My first catch in this trap 
had been a bluejay, and all that I found of the bird was 
its skull and beak. Surrounding evidence indicated that 
the hawk had made a meal of the luckless bird. 
The second day following I visited the trap in the 
morning, and was surprised to find only the iron bar 
which had served to hold the chain to which the trap was 
wired. Looking over the neighboring ground, I saw a 
large hawk hop clumsily along, and then fly laboriously a 
short distance, with the trap and chain dangling behind. 
After some slight difficulty, I caught the bird, a fine plu- 
maged female, of the same species as the first, and un- 
doubtedly his mate. 
I determined to mount the pair, and after taking off 
tlie skin, I examined the crops and gizzards, and was 
greatly surprised to find, beside the remains of small 
birds and field mice, the nearly complete bodies of two 
fingerling trout. Close to the trap lay the spring sources 
of a- celebrated trout brook. J^L G. 
Michael Demar, of Long Island City, had for twenty- 
five years owned a horse to which he was greatly at- 
tached. Mr. Demar had requested that if he should die 
before the horse the animal should be led directly tchind 
the hearse when the burial took place. Mr. Demar was 
buried yesterday, and the old horse, draped in black, £oI= 
lowed his master's body to the grave. — New York IjmeSg 
Dec. 17. - ' : 
