May 13, 1899. J 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
S67 
River above our camps. As they had taken possessioin 
of cabins belonging to our outfit, which we use as out- 
lying camps for winter travel, Mr. W- F. Hill and my- 
self went up to investigate. These men were perfectly 
open about what they were there for, and on our ordering 
them off, telling them that we would allow no hunting 
above our main camp, one of them said that he had 
been telling the boys all along that they had been too 
bold about the killing of game. In reply Mr. Hill told 
him that being bold or not made -no difference, as we 
had the names of all the hunters, and evidence enough to 
convict them of violation of the game laws. These men 
made no trouble about going, saying that they were not 
looking for a row. 
While these men were up the river one of them told 
that he had fifteen elk carcasses at one place in the woods, 
but as the company had cut doAvn the price per pound 
he was not going to bring them in. For reasons which 
we though good we did not attempt to prosecute either 
the com.pany or the hunters before the Justice of the 
Peace at Big Piney. We had some thoughts of taking 
those of the officers of the company that we could get 
hold of to Jackson for trial, but it would have been a 
big undertaking to have hauled prisoners over the divide 
on toboggans. ' This fact is all that saved Mr. Giklersleeve 
and Mr. Biscom from arrest. 
By the middle of December we had kicked up such a 
row that the company commenced to buy beef, though 
some elk meat was still hauled into their camps. All 
through the fall and winter some of the teams that brought 
up supplies for the company took back loads of elk meat 
to the railroad. Part of this meat was killed by men at 
the company camps, the balance by outsiders. This meat 
was taken to the coal camps of Diniondville and Kem- 
meser and sold, part of it being unloaded at Opal. At 
the hotel at Evanston elk meat was on tlie menu. 
Along about the end of January, 1899. a team belonging 
to Ira Dodge, who was supplying beef to the logging 
camps, brought up a load of elk hindquarters and dumped 
them off at Boulder Creek, five miles below the camps. 
This meat lay there for some (fays, when a team came 
down from the logging camps and hauled it up. At this 
time there were large numbers of hindquarters stacked 
up at Cora, ready to be taken up to the logging camps, 
but so much attention was being drawn to the affair that 
no freighters could be got to haul them up. 
I want to say flat-footed that if the Rock Springs 
Lumber Company had been let alone there would have 
been mighty few elk left on upper Green River to-day. 
It was a common saving that if the lumber company had 
the right to have elk killed everyone else had the same 
right, and the result has been that around Cora and below 
the biggest slaughter of elk that has been known for 
years has taken place. 
It seems very strange that Mr. Gildersleeve knew noth- 
ing of this state of affairs. Everyone in the country 
was talking of it, the Governor and the State game war- 
den were both notified, and when Mr. Nelson went to 
Rock Springs in November I requested him to see Mr. 
Kendall and have something done to stop the slaughter. 
This Mr. Nelson promised to do, but the only result that 
I have heard of was a letter to Jackson's Hole, saying 
that Mr. Gildersleeve and Mr. Kendall were high-toned 
gentlemen, incapable of any wrong-doing, and that I 
was talking through my hat, so to speak. 
I am glad to say that we have been able, by direct 
threats, to save the elk herds on the head of the river. I 
moved about a thousand head of cows and calves back 
onto the Big Gros A'^entre, in order that the elk should 
not be too crowded. Then, by keeping the elk driven 
up and the hunters down, we have protected the elk. 
After the snow gets deep the elk herds can be handled 
and driven like cattle. Consequently, anywhere between 
. the Big Bend and the lakes one can now see big herds 
of elk sunning themselves on the south slopes, at peace 
with themselves and all the world. 
I feel perfectly sure that no matter what has occurred 
in the past, the Rock Springs Lumber Company will 
from now on obey the law. But their good behavior will 
resemble that of the bad boy in the reform school; it 
will be a matter of necessity, not of choice. 
Wells P. O., Uinta Co., Wyo. Wm. WeLLS. 
On the Wing In Quebec. 
Sherbrooke, Que., May 5. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
Since writing you from Drummondville, Que., a few days 
since, I have had occasion to visit this thriving city, 
which is known as the metropolis of the eastern town- 
ships of the Province of Quebec. Gun clubs flourish and 
many fine shots have their residence here. Many of the 
city dwellers of the Forest and Stream class are build- 
ing cottages on Little Magog Lake, some eight or ten 
miles north of this city, where they go with rod and gun 
to pass the open season, as well as a part of the heated 
term. This lake is made from the expansion of the 
Magog River, which in turn is the outlet of the waters 
of the fam.ous Lake Memphremagog, lying part in Ver- 
mont and part in Canada. At and in this city the Magog 
joins the noble St. Francis, the waters of which pass north 
through Drum.mondville, which is some seventy-five miles 
from here, and on till they join the mighty St. Lawrence 
River, near Quebec. The St. Francis years ago was one 
of the red men's great thoroughfares in this section of 
country, and where now is the thriving city of Sher- 
brooke, with its busy factories, electric street railways 
and four other railways, the Indians' wigwams used to 
stand almost within the memory of the "oldest inhab- 
itant." 
Since writing last to Forest and Stream, I have vis- 
ited Brome Lake, also Orford Lake, near Magog, and 
if reports were true, in the former lake large quantities 
of pickerel were being taken before the open season. 
That is to be regretted, as Brome Lake is one of the fin- 
est bodies of water for its size in this Province for fish- 
ing purposes, and is visited every summer by hundreds 
or sportsmen and summer tourists from Montreal, as well 
as from fifty miles in any direction, with an occasional 
party from Vermont. 
I was also at Lake Memphremagog the present week, 
at and in the vicinity of Magog; there is good fishing 
almost every year and the fish warden has within a few 
months made trouble for several law breakers. There is 
also a fish hatchery here. This lake is .g'ome thirty miles 
long and a fine steamer, the tady of the Lake, makes a 
daily return trip between Newport, Vt., and Magog, Que., 
during the heated term, commencing generally its regular 
trips in June or July, and running till into September. 
The scenery is fine and the trip an ideal one to take. 
On Monday of the present week, as I was on a train 
between Actou, Que., and Wickham, on what is known 
as the White Horn range of hills, near where the moose 
I wrote you about recently stopped the two men on a 
handcar, the engineer of our train gave the danger signal, 
which caused everyone to rush to the doors or windoAVlS 
of the train, and there were three fine deer beside the 
track running ahead of the train. They soon took to the 
fields and made for the woods, distant about one-eighth 
of a mile, scaling two or three high fences with the great- 
est of ease. I never saw a finer reproduction of a pic- 
ture than the larger one of the three was to Forest and 
Stream's recent supplement picture, ''The White Flag." 
The many lovers of Izaak Walton's sport are enxiously 
waiting the i6th, as they can begin to bring in their bas- 
kets of pickerel. 
In closing allow me to say to your worthy correspon- 
dent Pine Tree that I surely did not intend my remarks 
on Bloody Brook to be slighting or offensive in the 
least, and I was pained much to find it so taken by him, 
I thank him for his historical remarks regarding that most 
painful episode and assure him that I can appreciate his 
feelings, as my ancestors back some three generations 
were of New .England stock, though my remarks were 
somewhat awry regarding that painful Deerfield mas- 
sacre. Wm. Brown. 
Happenings at Gassett's. 
One occasionally comes across some queer specimens 
of humanity, so different from the common run of man- 
kind that the circumstance makes upon the mind a life- 
long impression. One of the queerest, and also one of 
the most shiftless of geniuses that we ever met, and we have 
run up against a number, was an old bachelor named 
Gassett, living out on an Illinois prairie a number of 
years since. He was one of the slowest moving persons 
we ever saw, and had such an uncommonly even temper 
that he seldom, if ever, got riled; but in spite of his 
abominable shiftlesseness, by dumb luck and nothing else, 
seemingly, he managed to get and tq hpJ.d possession of 
a large farm of rich, rolling prairie. 
Having heard about that section as a first class prairie 
chicken country, we struck out for it with our hunting im- 
plements, and by chance coming across the old fellow, 
made a bargain with him for board and lodging, in con- 
sideration of his having the game that we got and also 
our assistance occasionally in his farni work. On these 
conditions we domiciled at his cabin for several months; 
and what we made by the bargain, or he did, we are un- 
able to say, but this much we can vouch for, that we had 
a first class, jolly good time while there. 
Once in a while, notwithstanding his usually good luck, 
things would pan out against him. One day a high wind, 
a bit of a cyclone, struck his farm, overturning a big 
stack of straw and killing an old horse and several pigs 
and sheep. "Waal," said he, "sence them critters had tO" 
get killed, it's mighty lucky it's done now in the fall, 
and not after they was all wintered through." 
Being asked whether it would not be a good plan to 
dig the animals out from under the straw and bury them, 
he answered: "No-o, guess they are 'bout as well off 
under that stack as anywheres; too much work to dig 
them all out and then dig a hole big enough to put them 
all in." So the overturned stack was a sepulcher for 
the whole business. 
Shortly after this Gassett decided to accompany us on 
some of our gunning trips, since we happened to be fair- 
ly successful in that line. So, to put his gun (an ancient, 
ramshackle, muzzle-loading affair) in order for business, 
he took it to the village smithy. Being assured that the 
gun was not loaded, the blacksmith, a very quick-tem- 
pered individual, started in to fix it. Wishing to remove 
the cylinder from the barrel, he removed the barrel from 
the stock, and placing the breech in the fire, began to 
pump the bellows, when bang! went the barrel, sending 
a charge past the smith and close to him, and blowing a 
big hole through his coat hanging on a nail near the door, 
and another hole about the size of the top of a teacup 
through the side of the shop. 
"Thought you said the blasted thing wasn't loaded, you 
, cussed old fool," said Vulcan. 
" 'Tain't now," said Gassett in his most drawling tones. 
Seizing the gun barrel and swearing a blue streak, Vul- 
can pulled it out of the fire and hurled it with all his 
might through the open doorway across the street and 
into an adjoining field. Then he told Gassett in language 
more forcible than polite that he had a great mind to pitch 
him out after his gun barrel. Gassett picked up the 
stock, went out and got the barrel, took them home 
and botched up the ancient fowling-piece himself, mak- 
ing it barely safe, and used it while we were there, and 
as good luck would have it, he didn't happen to get his 
head blown off. 
But once during our sojourn with him, in spite of his 
usual snail-like movements, we did see him move about 
as lively as we ever saw anyone. And this is how it hap- 
pened: At quite a little distance from the cabin were 
several hives of bees. As the hives were large and there 
were myriads of flowers on the prairies, the insects would 
naturally store up large quantities of honey; but Gassett 
would not use any of the honey himself nor let anyone 
else have it. When asked, he would mvariably say; 
"Them bees'll need every bit of that honey to keet) 'em 
through the cold weather." 
Now, those big stores of honey were tempting to his 
housekeeper, and she often asked us if we would get some 
of it out of one of the hives and have the stolen .sweet- 
■ ness all to our two selves. So one night — a clear, frosty, 
moonlight one in early November, a night so cold the 
bees could not fij' — we proceeded with a knife and a big 
tin pan to rob one of the hives of great chunks of the 
full comb. Then replacing the' hive and hiding the pan- 
ful of honeycomb in the previously agreed-on place, we 
retired tor the night. _ 
The next day, \vhieh was a very warm cue for that 
time of year, Gassett happened to pass near that hive just 
after noon; the bees swarmed otit and pitched, on him 
with a vengeance, With yelling and thrashing of arms, 
and dancing, by some other sense ratller than tliat of see- 
ing, it must have been, he made a rush for the cabin, 
with a swarm of the enraged insects buzzing around and 
all over his bare head. 
H^e was stung so badly that his eyes were closed for 
a couple of days, at the end of which time his head and 
features assumed their normal proportions. "I don't see 
what in thunder possessed them bees to pitch into me so," 
said he, "Guess they must have got mad about suthin 
or other, for I never got stung by 'em afore in ray life." 
He never found out, at least not while we were there. 
A. L. L. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
Wisconsin Game Law. 
Wisconsin i^ making steps toward the higher walks of 
game protection. She has not absolutely prohibited spring 
shooting, but has come pretty near to it, allowing the kill- 
ing of wild geese only. The license idea goes marching 
on in Wisconsin, and a $10 non-resident license law was 
enacted, carrying the customary clause of a $1 resident 
license. It is getting so nowadays that one can't travel 
around much in Western States on shooting trips unless 
he takes his check book along. The moral is obvious: 
Raise your game at home. As to the resident license. I 
question whether such a law can yet be very well en- 
forced in our rural communities. The average farmer 
does not like to pay a dollar for every one of his boys 
who wants to go out after a rabbit in the cornfield. Yet 
all this is in the way of agitation and of progress. I 
imagine we will come to have excellent game laws, and 
very well enforced, at about the time we have no longer 
much game left to bother over. 
The Lake Surprise Coantry. 
We have often heard of the famous Lake Surprise can- 
vasback region near Galveston, Texas, of which I made 
mention first in these columns some six or eight years ago. 
This is no doubt the best canvasback country left in 
America, although it has had many demands made upon 
it. A few years ago this country was bought up by Mr. 
Moody, a Galveston banker, and since then has been fairly 
well preserved, although the owner has gone on steadily 
marketing the canvasbacks, This week I received a call 
from Mr. Frederick Badger, of Boston, Mass., who, for 
three -"ars, has spent some months each winter in the 
country near Lake Surprise, having written to me regard- 
ing this country before he went there. Mr. Badger tells 
me that Mr. Moody bought out Bud Stevenson's right 
in the Lake Surprise marshes for $10,000, and got it 
cheap at that. My old friend, Bud, with whom I used 
to trot a friendly race now and then on jacksnipe, is 
now farming. Billy Griggs, the Northern market shooter 
who was in there at the time of my A'isit, has not been 
there for two years. The canvasback shooting last win- 
ter was not so good as usual, and the falling off is at- 
tributed to a singular cause. The half-wild hogs of that 
section are as fond of the wild celery root as are the can- 
vasbacks, and these hogs will drive in 3 or 4ft. of water 
and root out the bulbs. In this wav a great deal of the 
feed has been destroyed, so that the canvasbacks have 
left the place in some degree. Mr. Badger says there are 
other lakes near hy Lake Surprise, which are also leased, 
though not so air-tight as the Moody preserve. He 
says this region is only about thirty miles from the High 
Island country, on Cade & Co.'s ranch grounds, of which 
also we have heard in Forest and Stream. This whole 
sea marsh is a great game country, and, as I remefnber 
it, it contained the greatest numbers of wildfowl that I 
have ever seen in any portion of the land. 
Mr.. Badger, by the wav, though now degenerate and 
living in Boston, was at -one time a Westerner, and lived 
in the good old Judith Basin. He also punched cows 
for awhile on the ranch of Governor Roosevelt near 
Medora, though Governor Roosevelt was not Governor at 
that time. 
In Town. 
Mr. W. H. Mullins, of Salem, Ohio, manufacturer of 
the famous Mullins metal boats, was in town this week for 
a 'day. Mr. Mullins is a big and fine looking man, but 
some time ago had the serious misfortune of breaking his 
knee-cap, an accident which came near making a cripple 
of him. and which for a long time prevented his shooting 
or fishing. He tells me that he is now ju.st beginning to 
feel sure about this injured member, and is beginning to 
think about a Western trip after big game. 
More About Gum, 
Apropos of my recent story in Forest and Stream on 
the gum hunters of the wild regions of the earth, I have 
to-day a letter from Assistant Commissioner J. H. Mcllree 
of the Northwest Mounted Police, Regina, N. W. T., in 
which he remarks: "I saw in Forest and. Stream of 
the 8th inst., an article of yours on 'Gum.' I happened 
to see in a New Zealand paper an article on the Kauri 
gum industry, and thinking this might interest you, I have 
cut it out, and enclose it to you herewith." 
"rhe paper to which Mr. Mclllree refers is the New 
Zealand Herald and ' Auckland Weekly News, and the 
article, beautifully illustrated with half-tone cuts, described 
very fully the -wild business of gum collecting in that 
far-away part of the world. As I have taken great in- 
terest in this new sort of hunting, which seems the coun- 
terpart of the work of the trapper, the ginseng gatherer 
and perhaps the prospector, I cannot forbear going further 
into this subject than I was able to do before seeing the 
exhaustive handling which it has received in the journal 
just now at hand. Thus, regarding the age of this curious 
product, I read as below: 
"The kauri gum industry is not only one of the most 
important industries in northern New Zealand, but is one 
of the most interesting in the world. ' Kauri gum is 
classed as a mineral, though in reality it is a vegetable 
product, being the resin which exudes from the kaitri 
pine \Dammara Australis). It is found to-day clinging 
to the trees in the forests of the north; it is found em- 
bedded in the soil on hilsides, and in swamps on country 
where not one tree is to be seen to the square mile, and 
where forests certainly have not existed for several hun- 
dred years;, it is found in old swamp formations that 
have been covered by marine clays for at least four thou- 
