S68 
FOREST AND STREAM, 
[April 8, 1899. 
The Rock Springs Lumber Company, 
Rock Springs^ Wyo., March 27. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: Referring to an editorial which appeared some 
time ago in your paper regarding the alleged killing of 
game by our company, we wish to state to you the exact 
facts in the case. Regarding the charges made against 
our company, our foreman at the camp writes us that 
he made use of a few elk during the open season, but 
that since Dec. i there has been no wild meat of any 
kind used by the company, although the tie choppers, and 
some others working for us, who are boarding them- 
selves, have killed a few elk for their own use since 
that time. 
You will easily appreciate that it was impossible for 
us, as a company, to stop this killing of elk by individuals, 
and as both Mr. Kendall, our president, and myself, were 
very anxious to have the law enforced, and this killing 
stopped, we wrote Mr. Schnitger, at Laramie (he was 
then State game warden), sajang that if he would have 
a deputy game warden appointed to stay at our camp, we 
would be willing to pay a portion of his expenses, if 
necessary, to secure his appointment. 
Mr. Kendall and myself are strongly in favor of any 
measure that will more fully protect the game of our 
State, and were among the few active sportsmen who 
were instrumental in having a much more rigid game 
law passed at the last session of the Legislature. 
I intend making a trip to our camp some time this 
week, and the State game warden, Mr. Albert Nelson, is 
coming with me, for the purpose of making a full investi- 
gation of the game question. 
Of one thing you may rest assured, that whatever may 
have occurred in the past, it was without the sanction of 
the officers of the company, and we intend giving every 
possible assistance to the game warden and his deputies 
to enable them to enforce the law to the fullest extent 
from now on. 
A. M. GiLDERSLEEVE^ Vicc-Pres. and Sec'y. 
Snowshoe Filling. 
Fox Point, Ont., March 30. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
Having made and used snowshoes for twenty-five years 
I may be able to give some of your readers a hint as to 
how the shoes should be filled to prevent "sagging" in 
wet snow. 
I have tried nearly every kind of filling, from cow- 
hide, horse, moose and caribou to bear and beaver; but 
must say that cowhide (two or three-year-old heifer) is 
the most serviceable. Caribou is good, but too thin for 
real hard work, only making a nice light, shoe for snow- 
shoe parties and such like. The others are not worth 
weaving in a pair of bows; unless it is a case of "Hob- 
son's" choice. I cut my filling lengthways of the grain; 
that is splitting the hide down from nose to tail, cutting 
the strips straight, and on no account round and round, 
as wherever cut across the grain it will stretch every time 
it gets wet no matter how much it is pulled through bone 
or stretched around stakes. It must be soaked soft to 
weave, and in doing that the hide will again contract, 
when after wearing one's weight stretches it and makes 
it loose. 
I find the best way is to have my filhng as soft as pos- 
sible, and then weave it in as tightly as^I can, and I've 
always had a snowshoe that won't "sag." 
I'm afraid if you were to get a pair of snowshoes for 
$2 here they would hardly last to walk out of the store 
with ; for from $3-50 to $6, about $4, one can get a good 
serviceable pair. If I've not made myself very clear, I 
shall be most happy, on the -receipt of a line, to answer 
any inquiries. Salmo Rex. 
Adirondack Deer and Snows, 
Woodsmen who come into the city from the Adirondack 
region since the snow storms of the last two weeks, report 
a peculiar state of affairs as regards the deer in that part 
of the State. The animals are starving by scores, simply 
because the snow is so deep they cannot get through it to 
the moss and grass. This condition of affairs, which de- 
fies the best the game laws of the State can do for the 
animals, is not confined to any one locality, but extends 
through all that section where the sun gets but little 
chance to melt the snow, and where banks of it are often 
found when spring is far advanced. Loggers and other 
people whose work takes them into the forest for any 
distance are repeatedly reporting the bodies of deer lying 
stiff, and in repeated cases it has been determined that 
they died of starvation. 
A righteous indignation has been aroused in the ranks 
of true sportsmen by reports that State employees along 
the reservoirs and feeders have been allowing their dogs 
to run loose and worry the deer. Here is found a case 
where the destruction will be many times as great, and 
for which there is no apparent remedy. At present there 
is 6ft. of snow on the ground in many parts of the woods, 
and in the settled parts 4ft. is the rule. This will not melt 
sufficiently to relieve the deer in several weeks, and the 
death rate among the animals will probably increase with 
every day.— Ut:ca Press. 
Properties to Rent. 
The advertisements of fishing and shooting properties 
for sale and to rent found in the columns of Forest and 
Stream no doubt appeal strongly to many of our readers. 
They cover a wide range, from cattle ranching and big 
game shooting down through birds, to angling, and the 
properties advertised extend from Canada to Colorado, 
and from North Carolina to the Rocky Mountains. The 
hunting lodge advertised by Mr. Edmond Kelly offers 
peculiar attractions since it is so completely equipped 
that he who should rent it would be obliged to take witii 
him nothing except his personal clothing and some pro- 
visions. The accommodations are large enough indeed 
to admit of two or three friends or families joining 
hands to occupy these quarters together through the 
summer. - - _ 
The new State game warden of Y/'yQWing i§ Albert- 
l^fjson, of Jr-kiSTO. 
To My Trout Rod. 
Dear comrade of my blissful hours, 
New joys again we'll borrow; 
If skies are clear or weather lowers, 
We seek the brook to-morrow. 
Where you and I, my comrade dear. 
Have wandered far together, 
In many a happy bygone year. 
In every kind of weather. 
For dreary skies we cared no rush, 
And oft despised their warning; 
And if they smiled, then with the thrush 
We trilled a song at rnorning. 
And where was care when we were out 
And by the stream a-fishing — 
Save when we hooked the day's first trout 
For more we fell a-wishing? 
Again, old friend, with cheery pluck 
We'll fling ihe barbed feather; 
Kind shade of Walton ! grant us luck, 
And we'll not mind the weather. 
George Douglas. 
Fishin' Time's Come. 
BY FREU MATHER. 
Although the almanac has insisted that spring was 
close at hand the east winds, with their fog and chill 
along the coast, have not encouraged us to put much 
faith in the calendar. The surest sign of spring that I 
have seen, notwithstanding the robins, blackbirds and the 
blooms of the daffodils and the skunk-cabbage, referred 
to two weeks ago, was several flounder fishermen cross- 
ing Fulton ferry a few days ago with their short, stout 
rods and their peculiar double-lidded green baskets well 
filled with flounders from Jamaica Bay, Long Island. The 
early birds are so anxious to get into their old homes in 
the orchards and swamps where they were bred, thai a 
few sunny days is cause enough to break camp and start 
for the North. Not so with the cold-blooded flounder, 
which has been buried in the mud all winter; it takes time 
and many warm days to stir up his appetite for sand- 
worms, and when the flounder comes forth, he does not 
go back as the bear and the ground hog are said to do. 
if their shadows are in sight, or out of it, I forget which. 
' But, after seeing the baskets of flounders the hum oi 
trolley cars sang, all the way home: 
"Spring time ob year am come at las', 
Ole wintab he'm done gone an' pas'; 
Fo' an' twenty boatmen all in a flock, 
Down by de ribber an' a-iishin' off de dock. 
Den dance, de boatmen, dance; 
O, dance, de boatmen, dance. 
Dance all night 'till de broad daylight, 
An' go home wid de gals in de mawnin." 
For several days after the floutider episode this verse 
took possession of my brain and every thought had 
somehow to be brought into its rhythm. This is not an 
isolated case, for often some air, not necessarily a favorite 
one, will serve me the same trick, until I am weary, but 
cannot banish it. No doubt others are also plagued in 
this way. 
Spring starts other things out of the mud beside 
flounders and snapping turtles. Unfortunately, it awakes 
persons who think they are poets, and they inflict line-, 
not 12 or i8-thread Cuttyhunk, nor water-proof silk, upon 
the public, and the temptation is strong to do it. Here 
is a bit that I once ground out mainly to show my 
knowledge of scientific terms, for there seems to be no 
other reason for its existence, and is merely reproduced 
as a "horrible example." 
Spring. 
Now the adolescent homo 
Seeks Lttmbricus in the shade, 
Toiling in paternal garden, 
Deftly turning earth with spade, 
While the Harpbrhynchus rufus 
Chants his lay in yonder glade. 
In this phrase I seek to tell you 
That the boy is digging bait 
For Salvelinus fontinalis 
Near his father's garden gate. 
Heedless if the school-bell ringeth 
Or the teacher marks him late. 
But I see that I've neglected 
Adding foot notes to each term. 
Hence I'll try to be explicit, 
And call on science to affirm 
That the Latin name Lumbricus 
Is another word for worm 
Salvelintis fontinalis — 
There is not the slightest doubt 
Boys from Maine to California 
All would join in mighty shout. 
Laughing at your lack of knowledge. 
If you don't know that's a trout. 
Andi likewise, the Harporhynchus, '7, " 
Which is singing in the bush, 
While his mate is incubating, ' J 
Pouring forth his soul in gush, " ? 
That's anoiher patronymic ^ 
For our brown or native thrush. 
Hence I only meant to tell you T.'. 
In the plainest sort of terms, , 
That this is spring and thrushes sing ' ! 
'Mid nature's budding germs, ' 
And boyish thought turns toward trout 
And agile angle worms. 
I^any P?opl^. do not (listingtiish ^etwe^i? poetry anc^ 
verse, but there is a great difference which was ex- 
pressed by the man who objected to having Shakespeare 
classed with the poets, because, said he: "His plays don't 
rhyme." Now, I never wrote a bit of poetry in my life, 
but have written lots of rhymes, mainly travesty, bur- 
lesque, parody and that sort of thing which is easy, be- 
cause it needs little originality. Let me show how this is 
done: 
The Fish and the Ring. 
In Rawlinson's translation of Herodotus, the following 
story is told: "Amasis, King of Egypt, sent Polycrates, 
of Samos, a friendly letter, expressing a fear for the con- 
tinuance of his singular prosperity, and, therefore, ad- 
vising Polycrates to throw away some favorite gem in 
such a way that he might never see it again, as a kind of 
charm against misfortune. Polycrates, therefore, took a 
valuable signet-ring — an emerald set in gold — and sailing 
away from the shore in a boat, threw the gem, in the sight 
of all on board, into the deep. This done he returned 
home and gave vent to his sorrow. Now it happened that 
five or six days afterwards a fisherman caught a fish 'so 
large and beautiful that he thought it well deserved to be 
made a present to the King. So he took it with him to 
the gate of the palace and said that he wanted to see 
Polycrates, and Polycrates allowed him to come in, and 
the fisherman gave him the fish with these words follow- 
ing: 'Sir King, when I took this prize I thought I 
would not carry it to market, though I am a poor man 
who live by my trade. I said to myself, it is worthy of 
Polycrates and his greatness, and so I brought it here 
to give it you.' This speech pleased the King, who thus 
spoke in reply: 'Thou didst well, friend, and I am doubly 
indebted, both for the gift and for the speech. Come now 
and sup with me.' So the fisherman went home, esteem- 
ing it a great honor that he had been asked to sup with 
the King. Meanwhile the servants, on cutting open the 
fish found the signet of their master in its belly. No 
sooner did they see it than they seized upon it and. 
hastening to Polycrates with great joy, restored it to him 
and told him in what way it had been found. The Kin.!:;-, 
who saw something providential in the matter, forthwitii 
wrote a letter to Amasis, telling him all that had hap- 
pened. Amasis felt certain that Polycrates would end ri!, 
as he prospered in everything, even finding what he had 
thrown away. So he sent a herald to Samos, and dis- 
solved the contract of friendship. This he did that, when 
the great and heavy misfortune came, he might escape 
the grief he would have felt if the sufferer had been hi,:; 
loved friend." 
There is a yarn that is very tempting to one who docs 
not take it as seriously as Amasis did, and so I wrote: 
The Trout and the Ring. 
The tale I sing is a song of .spring. 
And is true beyond a doubt; 
•The players are Miss Clara Carr, 
Myself, Uncle Jess and a trout. 
'Twas Clara's wish to take a fish 
From the bridge across the brook;' 
So I rigged her a line, both strong and fine, 
And baited her .Limerick hook. 
With a spring and a snap a speckled old chap 
Snatched the bait and made the line sing. 
I gave a shout at the sight of the trout, 
And Clara dropped her ring. 
We searched for days, in many ways; 
We raked and dragged and sounded; 
We sifted ooze, but 'twas no use, 
In short, we never found it. 
Many a trout was taken out 
Of the pool where the stream was crossed. 
And opened wifh care, but no ring was there, 
And we gave it up for lost. 
'Twas a year, I guess, when Uncle Jess 
Caught, a big trout on a fly; 
It was plump and round, and weighed a pound, 
And he brought it home to fry. 
His eye shone .bright as he told, that night, 
Of the ring lost a year ago; 
On the very spot where his trout was got, 
And never found, high nor low. 
"Now, what do you think?" asked he with a wink; 
"I'll bet you never could guess 
What was in that trout," "The ring!" tKey ^houtl 
"Nothin' but innards," said Jess. 
The story of Polycrates, which passed current in the 
centuries agone could not inspire a modern rhymester to 
go Iseyond a bit of burlesque, because the prose part of it 
has been overworked in many absurd yarns. 
Concerning Lent. 
Somehow it seems unfortunate for those who live in 
such northern latitudes as New York, that the lenten season 
should come at a time when fish are scarce, and con- 
sequently high. Now that lent is over the fishing season 
opens, and the markets will teem with fish in a few day.s. 
But speaking of lent and fast days, reminds me of a story 
told me by the late Daniel Fitzhugh, one of the "men I 
have fished with," but not in the first series, who told to 
Father Scotius and me, this: "There was an Irish ser- 
vant at a Cardinal's table in Dublin on a fast day. and 
there were seventeen courses of fish. 'Bedad,' said the 
waiter, 'if that's what ye call fastin' it's meself that ^ouid 
stand lent all the year round.' " ... 
As soon as lent has passed the shad begin to arrive in 
the Hudson, aUhough they have been coming from 
southern rivers since January, but shad at one and two 
dollars each are not popular. Then come the mackerel, 
and by the first of May fish are plenty and cheap in New 
York markets. Even the nutritious codfish is more costly 
in lent than at any other season, partly because of the 
increased demand and partly on account of the severe 
March storms, which often prevent fishing. 
Brook Trowt. 
To those who wish to-lciroW what the prospeets f©r 
trouting may be on certain streams there is but one an- 
swer, Qply !p,en Nyhq live near a particular strea^vn c^^^^^ 
