162 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
iPfiB. 2S, 1899. 
Zigzag Experiences. 
rV. — A Ludicrous Meadow Lafk. 
Tempo — The sea fowl shooting season of a few years 
ago. 
Dramatis PersoncB — ^Two Massachusetts sportsmen of 
which the writer was one. 
Scene — The shooting box of Captain Andrews situated on 
the coast of Virginia, south of Cape Henry, amid the 
vast regions of sand and water adjacent to the At-, 
lantic Coast, where human habitations are few and 
far between, - and where myriads of sea fowl make 
their winter home. 
The stress of weather prevaiHng during the early morn- 
ing hours sent many visitors to our decoys at Shell Point 
and many a prized canvasback and goodly redhead were 
added to "their score before the furious gale subsided, and 
the morning flight was over. 
Soon thereafter my companion proposed that we re- 
turn to headquarters and exchange our heavy guns for 
lighter arms and seek the scalping, scaipmg snipe m many 
of the swales and marshy patches with which this coast 
abounds. j- -j ji 
Accompanied by our boatmen and gunners, we divided, 
into two parties, and journeyed northward toward one of 
the life saving stations some four miles away. 
This proved to be one of the days when I was at my 
best and I killed about everything I shot at, and made 
several long distance and diflicult kills that won the ad- 
miration and praise of mv boatman— especially a meadow 
lark that fell to my gun soon after the starting out. 
Meeting by appointment at the life saving station, my 
con-panion's game bag proved to be empty, although his, 
ammunition pockets had been materially lightened during; 
the journey. 
Candor compels me to admit that this was a very tin- 
usnal experience for him, who offered as an explanation 
the impaired vision resulting from the seething, cutting 
sand with which the air is filled, and which produces sand 
ophthalmia, a very prevalent disease in these parts. 
But =and or no sand, he was made the butt of much 
iestin-^ and good-natured chafing, for wasting so much 
good ammunition and failing to score. This- was per- 
sisted in until he became somewhat touchy and said 1 had 
better opportunity to kill than he had. and that he could 
beat me at the game if I would exchange routes with him 
on our return trip. This was finally agreed to, each to 
follow the tracks left in the sand by the other when I 
assured him that if a life saving boats was to take wings 
he couldn't hit it 1 j -r^- ^ 
I had not proceeded far on the return before the drifting 
sand had so filled his tracks that the trail was as hard to 
find as the place cn his now bald head, where l\e vised to 
part his hair. AVe finally struck a bee line for Little isl- 
and, the home of Captain Andrews, showing but indis- 
tinctly in the hazy distance. . 
I added several more of the cork-screwmg birds we 
sought to my score, and arrived at our destination a litUe 
in advance of my opponent. _ , , ^ r _ 
The Captain being a jolly man, enjoyed the story ot my 
companion's discomfiture, and said he must touch him 
up a' little. On his arrival the Captain complimented him 
upon the large bag of birds which I told him he had 
^^^Not having killed a single bird on his return this 
proved the last straw, and he broke m just when I had 
iaken the meadow lark, which I had shot several hours 
before, from my pocket. "There." said he; grasping, the 
bird, "the Doctor may tell big stones and think he is a 
great shooter, but I will bet a bottle ot Extra Dry 
that he can't hit this dead bird when I throw it up mto 
Now a bottle of Extra Dry just about this time 
would be mo^t acceptable, and the boquet would be much 
more choice if the sparkhng nectar was drank at my cora- 
l5anion's expense, so I said, "It is a bet ! Let her go ! _ 
" He tosfed the bird up. when it immediately took wing 
and struck a lightning gait, going toward North Carolina 
I threw my gun to my shouier. sighted as wel I thought 
as I ever sighted a bird in my life, and bang !— — 
bang! ! but so far as I know that bird is going 
^^Then on whom was the laugh? And who Pjjd^f^^jhe 
WoKcEST^R, Mass. ^ 
The Ways of Quail 
They were sitting together, as usual, in a popular re- 
sort in Paterson, discussing the pleasures to be had from 
die use of rod and gun, when one of them remarked. 
*'I received a letter- last week from a doctor in Tennes- 
see who has done little for the past ten or fifteen years 
than study the habits of quail and other birds He 
save me some information which fully agrees with my 
own observations, and which may account in a measure 
for the scarcity of quail in some seasons, when, accord- 
itrg to all rules, there ought to be plenty of them. 
^•Suppose you tell us something about the domestic 
arraneements of the quail," said the young neophyte, 
who had only recently purchased his first gun 
"Ot course we all know," began the veteran student oi 
natural history, "that in the latter part of April or the 
first of May. according to the forwardness or backward- 
ness of the season, the quail mate, there being only one 
cock to each hen. But that seems to be abou. as far as 
the naturalists have pursued this subject. But there is 
frequently trouble before the process of matmg is ac- 
complished. Cock quails are like men, they take a fancy 
to"a particu ar hen and they think they cannot live with- 
out her 'When two cocks evince a likmg tor the same 
hen there is trouble, and it is only when one of the cocks 
is severely thrashed that the other withdraws. When 
there are 'just as many cocks as there are hens there is 
less trouble, for finally each fmds a mate and sets up 
housekeeping. When there are more hens than cocks 
there is no trouble, for the unmated hens go oft by them- 
selves and do not interfere with the rest. But when there 
are more cocks than hens there is serious diriictilty. A 
bachelor cock, who has been disappointed m his love af- 
fairs goes about from household to household, assault- 
ino- the hens, frequently injuring them in his violent pas- 
sion, and breaking up the hcusehold by destroying the 
•eggs. Too many cocks are a nuisance and serve to de- 
stroy the young birds. If a cock, who has an embryo 
family, is killed, his nearest male neighbor will take care 
•of the widow and subsequently of the little ones, but it 
is very seldom that a widow will put up with a bachelor. 
She seems to prefer scmebody who is somewhat ac- 
quainted with housekeeping and the duties of a husband. 
It is on this account that in some places men who have 
preserves have a number of the cocks shot off just after 
the mating season has begun; they know that a surplus 
of cocks is injurious, and that a few less than the equal 
proportion is just as good as the full number." — Pater- 
son (N. J.) Chronicle. 
I The Woodcock Flight, 
North Ferrisburgh, Vt., Feb. 16. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: In the Forest and Stream of Feb. 4 I see 
Old Reader, of Hamilton, Ont., speaks of the scarcity of 
-%voodcock in the Niagara peninsula the past fall. 
The last ten days of September I was in the Adiron- 
dacks and travelecl over what has formerly been the best 
■of woodcock cover. The cover is still the same as for 
the past twenty-five years, little or no land clearing having 
been done in this section. A few cock were bagged 
each day, but I have since been informed that the flight 
birds which before this have stopped on these grounds in 
large numbers in October failed to put in an appearance 
this fall, and no shooting was to be had after about Sept. 
^8. 
It hardly seems possible that this can be the result of 
overshooting entirely, but I am of the opinion tliat in mi- 
grating the line of flight has changed. 
I am much in favor of the Lacey bill now before Con- 
gress, and hope to see it become a law. But I think the 
result would be far more satisfactory for each State to 
place far more rigid protection on its game, and get the 
increase from the supply on hand than try restocking 
after this supply is exhausted. 
The pheasants in this State are just now where a rapid 
increase in numbers might have been looked for, but the 
short-sighted representatives of this State who met at our 
last Legislature gave an cp:n season on pheasants of 
fifty days, beginning Oct. i. The farmer should now post 
his land against all shooting, and unless this is done the 
pheasant will .soon be a thing of the past. 
We also find with the rapid decrease of "ruffed grouse 
the open season was lengthened fifteen days when it really 
should have been shortened a month or more, at least this 
is the opinion of Ferris. 
The Menotomy Club. 
Boston, Mass.. Feb. 13. — The third annua! banquet of 
the Menotomy Fish and Game Club took place in Meno- 
tomy Hall. Arlington, Mass., Friday night, Feb. 3. 
The hall was decorated to represent a Maine forest of 
firs. At one end was a hunter's camp with its pine lean- 
to containing the usual camp paraphernalia. In front was 
the regulation camp-fire blazing brightly, and suspended 
over the fire on the white birch cross-piece was the boiling 
kettle. The frying pan was not far away. Perched in a 
spruce near the camp was a large great horned owl, which 
in the Maine wilderness had swocpad down on J. W. 
Roneo, carrying his hat away and scaring him nearly to 
death. 
At the extreme end of this miniature forest was a stand- 
ing deer, which was nearly spoiled for the' taxidermist by 
"having been "set up" after being killed in such a manner 
that A. Bart Hill emptied a full magazine Winchester 
twice at it with different holding each time. 
On the walls were hung many trophies killed on the 
club's preserve, which is in northwestern Maine and the 
Province of Quebec. 
The table was set in a clearing. President N. J. Hardy 
called for order at 8:15 with a camp hatchet. After a 
visit to the spring near the door the members and guests 
fat down to the tables. After the banquet cigars were lit 
and story telling commenced. Nearly all the members had 
a word to say. 
A. A. Tilden spoke of the formation of the club. Walter 
B. Farmer of a successful moose hunting trip, as did 
Everett L. Pope and otliers. Alfred S. Swan of trout 
culture. A pantomime on President Hardy by Dr. Sted- 
man was cleverly done. Music by the orchestra, singing 
by the glee club, and other entertainments wound up the 
evening. Zero's Sportsman. 
The Hudson Bay Knife* 
Hamilton, Ont.— The accompanying outline is drawn 
from the Hudson Bav knife, as supplied to the trade by 
Canadian jobbing houses. We believe that any of the 
Sheffield cutlers could supply them, but as they do not 
carry ' stock made up, considerable delay must be ex- 
pected. Any reader of the Forest ano Stream should be 
able to secure one of these through his local dealer by 
having his tradesman order from the New York agency 
of Messrs Alfred Field & Co. the "Hudson Bay Knife 
No. 01432." V. 
Duck Hunters in the Great Storm. 
Greenport, L. L, Feb. 15.— Herman Kuehne. Edwin 
Tuthill. and Daniel Brown, of East Marion, who were 
carried' out to sea on Monday in two small boats, which 
had got caught in the drift ice. reached their homes to- 
day, after a most trying experience. After getting caught 
in the ice the men. who had been duck hunting, drew their 
boats up on the largest floe and arranged them so as to 
form a sort of shelter. On Tuesday the floe drifted in to- 
ward shore at Montauk, and launching their boats, the 
three duck hunters rowed for Gardiner's Island. They 
mana"-ed to reach the island, but not until early this morn- 
ing °They were cared for by the United States en- 
gineers encrao-ed in constructing fortifications on the 
island. The crew of the tug Alert, sent in search of the 
gunners, brought them home,— New York iimes, Feb. 16. 
Quail Weights, 
Stevensville, Pa., Feb: 11. — In answer to Didymus' 
inquiry as to weights of quail. I have shot and weighed 
quail in Pennsylvania, New York. Michigan and Can- 
ada, and the heaviest birds I ever bagged were reduced to 
possession right here in the northeastern corner of Penn- 
sylvania. The heaviest birds I ever scaled in Michigan or 
Canada were 7 to 7^02-. while the last three birds I 
bagged here the past season weighed respectively 714. 8 
and Sj^oz. I noted also that the heaviest birds, instead 
of having the clear white distinct head pencilings of the 
supposed cock quail, had the mere modest, brownish-white 
markings of the supposed hen. Nom de Plume. 
The Ohio Rabbit Law Destroys Quail. 
FiNULAY, O.. Feb. 9. — The weather here is at present 
very cold. 18 degrees below zero, with about Min. of 
snow, so the quail should not suffer, as they can gain ac- 
cess to food without much trouble. The supply left 
oA^er is sufficient, and with a good breeding season we 
should have good shooting here next fall. But what we 
need most is protection on rabbits. This would save 
many quail from the destructive pot-hunter, since the 
present law offers an excuse for being seen out with a gun. . 
J. C. B. 
The .303-CaIiber as a Wha!e Gun. 
Mr. E. T. Ezekiel. resident manager of the North 
American Commercial Co. at Wood Island. Alaska, re- 
ports to the San Francisco agents of the Savage i\rms 
Co. the interesting fact that, he Villed a whale with the 
Savage .303 mushroom bullet. This is applying modern 
equipments in a way quite unexpected. If the repeating 
rifle had been invented a half-century earlier and adapted 
to whale hunting, the American whale fishery would have 
been exhausted long before it was. 
Proprietors of fishing and huntine resorts will find it profitable 
to advertise them in Forest and Stream. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
Chicago Fly-Castiog Club Aanuat Banquet. 
Chicago. 111., Feb. 18. — ^The Chicago Fly-Casting Club 
held its eighth annual banquet and business meeting at 
the Chicago Athletic Association Monday evening, Feb. 
13. thirty-six members and several gues.s being present. 
The tables were handsom.ely s-pread and the mentt was 
ample and artistic. The entire occasion was one uf dig- 
nity and interest, and it is rarely one sees at any banquet 
an assemblage so high in average of personal appear- 
ance. The fly fisherman is above all things a man and 
a gentleman. I think I never saw a better looking lot 
of men together. The post-prandial programme was re- 
plete with good things, the several speakers being espe- 
cially felicitous in their nominating speeches. 
President Fred N. Peet was in the chair, and Secret3.«-y 
George A. Morrill took care of the records. The busi- 
ness meeting began at about 9:30. the routine reports of 
the secretary and treasurer occupying but a brief time. A 
nice balance is shown in the. treasury. The report of the ' 
executive committee was approved. Under new mem- 
berships the names of Mayor Carter H. Harrison and 
Mr. John I. Caldwell were brought up and added to the 
list of the club by unanimous vote. Mayer Harrison has 
a wide fame as a fly fisherman, and he is not only an 
ardent, but ah expert fly fisher. He was one of the most 
frequent visitors to the Michigan streams in the grayling 
days, has whipped the best of the Canadian waters to the 
Eastern seaboard, and has shown himself by no means 
unwilling or unable to land bass on the fly rod along the 
historic Kankakee. His name is no ordinary one, and 
the club is to be congratulated on its accession. 
In the election of offixers, Mr. Itha A. Bellows was 
chosen to the position of the presidency, Mr. E. R. Let- 
terman being elected vice-president and Mr. George A. 
Murrell being continued for the third year in the posi- 
tion of secretary and treasurer. Mr. Murrell's conscien- 
tious performance of his duties may perhaps be made 
lighter by the fact that he was voted $ico salary for his 
duties last year, and also $100 for the ensuing year. A 
rattling good captain was chosen in Mr. Harry G. Has- 
call. Mr. Fred N. Feet was chosen for the three years' 
term on the executive committee, in this case the club 
following the usual precedent of placing the retiring pres- 
ident on the board. Mr. Perce voiced the general wish 
of the members of the club in moving a standing vote of 
thanks to Mr. Peet for his effective work as president 
during the past year. 
■ A very important feature cif the meeting was the report 
of the com'mittee which was earlier delegated to look 
into the matter of a fishing preserve for the Chicago Fly- 
Casting Club. This report was simply a motion for con- 
tinuance, as the cold weather has prevented^ any active 
investigations, but it is the intention of the club to push 
the matter this soring, and it is now ahncst to be pre-- 
dieted that the Chicago Fly-Casting Club wi\\ within die 
year be the owner cf house and grounds ot its own om 
some fishing water within reach of Chicago. This move- 
ment will not lessen interest in the club contests or the- 
tournament work, but it certainly is a step in the right: 
direction. The Chicago Fly-Casting Club is working on 
legitimate lines, and represents a most commendable 
spTrit in sportsmanship. Mr. Bellows, the new president, 
is an enthusiast and a hustler. He has good aid, and the 
c'.ub has the stimulus behind it of the general prosperity 
in business m.atters. The year of 1899 will be a great 
one for the Chicago Fly-Casting Club. 
Flics for Michigan. 
Mr. Norman Fletcher, of Chicago, an angler of very 
wide experience, both in the North and South, is good 
enough to send me the following note in regard to 
flies suitable for the waters of Micliigan, and i liape this. 
