406 
should aci^jiniiany tna back to eamp wiih your creel 
sti'aining at its Vvithes With the weight, and your appe- 
titci sharpened as ojily the iiiouutain air can sharpen it 
At cainp a wonderful transformation has taken place. 
Order has come out of the chaos, and everything is in 
its place. The wild spot which through countless cen- 
turies was unprofaned of man now wears a homelike as- 
pect. The tents haA'e been pitched, balsam boughs laid 
down ift. deep, and the blankets spread upon them. The 
fire flames and crackles cheerily, and in the flickering- 
light the aspens now reach out their white and ghostly 
arms, and now withdraw tliem. Night is at hand. 
Francis J. Hagan. 
[to be continued.] 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST 
The Supposed Flight of "Wild Pigeons, 
Chicago, 111., May 20. — As a usual thing the average 
daily newspaper is an exceedingly untrustworthy source 
of information on matters pertaining to field sports or 
natural history. The average daily editor is always a 
very hurried man, and is sometimes a very ignorant man, 
so far as regards knowledge in the above lines, and once 
in a while he is a man deliberately seeking for a sensation, 
no matter how unfaithful that may be to facts. It would 
be difficult to say how many times there have appeared i:r 
the columns of the daily press more or less fabulous re- 
ports of imaginary flocks of wild pigeons, and indeed this 
is one of the stable items of "news" among correspon- 
dents in need of space money. When you see such an 
item in a newspaper, it will for the most part be safe to 
brand it as either deliberately untrue or grossly ignorant. 
It is easy to mistake a flock of blackbirds for a flock of 
pigeons under conditions of a certain cerebral excitation. 
Even a more deliberate attitude might lead one into sup- 
posing that he had seen a flock of passenger pigeons, 
when it reality he witnessed a flight of golden ploA'er. 
For one reason or another we hear of llocks of wild 
pigeons, here, there and everywhere, and we read in- 
genious theories as -to the present location of the great 
pigeon roosts in Central America, Africa, Australia or 
some other seaport country. 
It is supposed by scientists that the wild pigeon is 
practically extinct in the United States. Scientists do 
not, however, claim this to be literally true, and it is 
without doubt true that a few specimens of this bird have 
been seen within the last few years. In an issue of the 
Forest and Stream of last June, I gave the account of 
some gentlemen of Grand Rapids, Mich., who had on 
two separate occasions seen specimens of the wild pigeons 
at a recent date, and who cited the indisputable proof of 
mounted specimens of these birds which had been killed 
near Grand Rapids not long before the date above men- 
tioned. 
So much then, may be said for the accuracy of the 
.statement that the wild pigeon is not extinct, and if there 
be a few individuals, it is at least not impossible that 
there may be a flock or flocks of these birds. 
The truth of the Reedsburg, Wis., dispatch, reporting a 
large flock of pigeons at Lime Ridge, given in Forest and 
Stream of May 20, has also been investigated by Mr. H. 
B. Jewell, of Wabasha, Minn., who wrote to the post- 
jnaster at Lime Ridge and received the following reply: 
"Lime Ridge, Wis, May 16. — Hon. H. B. Jewell. — Dear 
sir: The clipping you sent to hand. The pigeon story is get- 
ting quite large ; nevertheless a part of It is so. There was 
a string, probably a mile long and single file. Now and 
then there would be an opening, and probably a hundred 
in each string. This is correct, as I can prove by the 
parties with me at the time. 
"W. H. Erenizer, p. M." 
Mr. Jewell says that the letter from the Lime Ridge 
postmaster is "certainly from headquarters," and he 
leaves the matter, as I must also, for the decision of the 
popular jury. There would certainly seem to be a very 
large element of truth in the dispatch. We have no 
right, scientific or otherwise, to brand as untrue any event 
because we have not seen it ourselves in the process of 
its happening. I should trust my informants at Grand 
Rapids absolutely in regard to wild pigeons, because they 
have grown up among them and have known them 
familiarly in the past. As much may be said for the old 
inhabitants of Wisconsin, where the bird was also known in 
countless numbers not many years ago. If this was a 
flight of wild pigeons, there is still mystery enough left 
regarding it. Where did the birds come from, and where 
did they go? 
Singing Moose No, H, 
Speaking of daily newspaper natural history, I believe 
I should be obliged to admit that, if I had first read in a 
daily newspaper of a singing mouse, I should probably 
have smiled in a superior way, and have thought that it 
was another case of opium dream. Yet not long ago I 
had very good proof of the accuracy of a statement in 
the New York Herald which mentioned a singing mouse 
that had been located in New York City. This item in 
the Herald calls out a letter from Mr. Charles H. Cragin, 
of Washington, D. C, who wrote to the Herald regarding 
a mouse or mice which he had heard to sing many years 
ago, and which he thought learned the trick from canary 
birds. Mr. Cragin's mouse is the fourteenth of which I 
have ever personally heard, and perhaps his comment 
may be not without interest as bearing on this curious 
little product of animate nature. 
"About thirty years ago my father devoted some o£ his 
spare time to raising canary birds for pleasure, and one 
room in the back building of the old home was given up to 
this object. After he had gotten all of the pleasure out 
of this work that he desired, he gave the birds a\yay, and 
the room, previously monopolized by the canaries, was 
thoroughly cleaned and used as a servant's bedroom. 
"Shortly afterward we were very much surprised to 
hear noises through the house, resembling those made 
by the birds. After some patient watching on my part, I 
was soon rewarded by actually seeing a mouse sit up, like 
squirrels do, and sing or' whistle — whichever one rnay call 
it — precisely as the canaries had done. These singers, or 
whistlers, continued to furnish us with their music for 
many months, and then it gradually subsided." 
Got Two Turkeys. 
Mr. and Mrs. Edward Kemeys, of Bryn Mawr, 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
Chicago, have hunted together in many parts of the West 
and South. Mrs. Kemeys has killed antelope and deer 
in Colorado and Texas, wild turkeys in the Indian Na- 
tions, and at least one bear in North Carolina. Air. 
Kemeys years ago killed a great deal of big game. 
Nowadays they care most for wild turkeys. They have 
gone to all sorts of places after this royal bird, very often 
without success, and they Avould be only too glad to go 
to any region, no matter how distant, where they thought 
they would be sure of getting a wild turkey. This spring 
they heard that they could probably meet success near 
Brandon, Miss., and last March they made another turkey 
pilgrimage to a plantation not far from Brandon. Here 
they hunted patiently for a couple of weeks. The method 
employed was that of sitting in a blind and watching a 
bait. Several times they found the bait of corn eaten up 
in their absence, but they seemed doomed to disappoint- 
ment, the only results for some days being a turkey hen 
which was killed by Mr. Kemeys. On the last day of their 
stay Mrs. Kemeys decided to go out for a final session at 
the blind. She had waited for more than an hour, and 
having given up all hope had violated all the canons of 
turkey hunting, coughing, moving about in the blind, etc. 
Yet at last, by chance, turning her eyes toward the bait, 
she saw a sudden vision of a giant gobbler standing with 
head erect, looking directly at the blind. An instant later 
he stooped and began to peck at the corn. Perhaps he 
heard the movement of the huntress as she turned the 
double barrel upon him, for again he stood at fidl height, a 
glorious apparition of the woods, this time just in time to 
receive the charge in the head and neck-. Mrs. Kemeys 
says that when she came up and saw this great bird lying 
with outspread wings upon the ground, it seemed to her 
the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. AH the pris-, 
matic colors in the plumage were shown fully in the 
bright sun which beat upon it, and so impressed was she 
with the beauty and consequence of her prize, that she 
instinctively called out exultantly at the top of her voice. 
Then she had the task of carrying the burden nearly a 
mile before she, got assistance. I saw the skins of these 
two birds, which were mounted here in Chicago, and I 
must say that never did any plumage appear more beauti- 
ful. It is rarely that we hear of the killing of a wild tur- 
key by any resident of this city, and the bird is so rare 
and so very shy that it may be well entitled as among 
the premier trophies of the American sportsman. 
Acqaifed Tetfitoiy* 
Mr. F. H. Lord, general passenger agent of the Chicago 
Great Vyestern Railroad, is just back from Minnesota, 
where his railroad has been annexing a new lot of terri- 
torjr. Mr. Lord tells me that the new railroad line will 
be called the Cannon Valley Division of the Chicago Great 
Western, It runs from Red Wing to Makato, Minn., and 
taps some good sporting country, for instance the famous 
bass water known as Madison Lake. As Mr. Lord is a 
devoted sportsman himself as occasion offers, it may be 
supposed that he will take a fatherly interest in this newly 
acquired territory. 
Fell By the Wayside. 
Mr. Percy F. Stone, of this city, has a summer cottage 
lit Oconomowoc, Wis., near which place he was born and 
1 lought up. This week Mr. Stone was up at his cottage, 
<• nd while there learned the facts of a little instance of 
liw-breaking which he has brought to me. It would seem 
that Mr. Ernest W. Chubb, of Milwaukee, who some- 
times writes in the sporting press over the name of 
Greenhead, has either through ignorance or intent broken 
the fish law of Wisconsin. Let us hope that the former 
motive is the real one. It is not right for any one to 
preach doctrine for others which he will not practice for 
iiimself. Mr. Stone handed me the following cutting of 
a dispatch which appeared in a Milwaukee journal of 
May 15: 
"OcoNOMOWoc/Wis., May 15. — ^Deputy Game Warden 
B. S. Young arrested two men yesterday forenoon on 
Silver Lake while in the act of catching green bass un- 
lawfully. They were brought to Oconomowoc and this 
morning pleaded guilty and paid their fines, $10 and 
costs. Ernest W. Chr:bb, one of the men, lives in Mil- 
waukee, and is a correspondent for Sports Afield, a peri- 
odical devoted to the interests of sportsmen. He some- 
times writes for other papers and magazines, always up- 
holding the law and crying down the game Avardens for 
not performing their duties. He advocated the law pro- 
hibiting spring shooting and favored the protection ex- 
tended tc fish. He is a great duck hunter and admires 
the wary green head, so much so that he chose the nom 
de plume Greenhead, when writing for magazines." 
• My infoimant tells me that Mr. Chubb and his com- 
panion were fishing in Mud Bay, a famous spawning 
ground of the black bass. They had taken seven bass 
when they were approached by the officers of the law. 
They threw these fish overboard, but five of them 
were dead and were picked up by the deputy warden and 
used as evidence. The men were fined something over 
$13, and had their boat and tackle confiscated. I am very 
sorry to be obliged to chronicle such news. 
Siberia Montana. 
It is matter of great regret to me that I was out of 
town the day this week when my old bear hunting com- 
panion and friend, Noel Money, passed through en route 
West. I got his message too late to catch him here. 
The last time I heai'd of Noel he was in France, bound 
thence for Siberia. Then he came back to London, dodg- 
ing Chicago very conscientioush^ Now, without any 
warning, he flits by in the night and leaves only a hail 
and farewell to mark his going. For the benefit of many 
friends of this good sportsman and good fellow, T may say 
that his address, to-day at least, is Marysville, Montana. 
Should I ever catch him there will be an accounting. I 
want to know if he still wears the buckskin trousers that I 
coveted. And I want to say to him again that Capt. Bobo 
has been saving up for him a set of good bear tusks, and a 
pure white bear claw which he personally took off from the 
bear which bore it. I don't mind a fellow's traveling about 
a hit, but this jumping from Siberia to Montana without 
any satisfactory intermezzo is something which ought 
not to be encouraged. E, Hough. 
480 Caxton Building, Chicago, Ht 
[May j>?, iBoO. 
Bob White. 
1 CAN .heat" the llot^s of Bob White from the window of 
niy office, loctited within 80yds. of a mill where thousands 
of spindles are turning out thread and hundreds of 
looms are making it into cloth. All through our section 
in the fields and forests he is to be found. Civilization 
does not caus^ him to move ■ his haunts. He loves the 
fields which the hand of man has taken from the woods, 
and in the grain which the husbandman has failed to 
garner he finds his choicest food. He loves oats, wheat, 
corn, peas and the seeds of the herbage which spring up 
after the harvest is gathered. Here he will stay for 
many generations. North Carolina. 
Proprietors of fisning and hunting resorts will find it profitable 
to advertise them in Fokest and Stkxam. 
■Where to go. 
One important, useful and considerable part of the Forest and 
Stream's service to the sportsmen's community is the information 
given inquirers for shooting and fishing resorts. We make it our 
business to know where to send the sportsman for large or small 
game, or in quest of his favorite fish, and this knowledge is freely 
imparted on request. 
On the other hand, we are constantly seeking information of this 
character for the benefit of our patrons, and we invite sportsmen, 
hotel proprietors and others to communicate to us whatever may be 
of advantage to the sportsman tourist. 
ANGLING NOTES. 
Fishctiltore in New Zealand, 
Last winter during holiday week, a telegram followed 
me from place to place which read: "Will arrive in Al- 
bany to-night. Can you meet me there ? Reply at Murray 
Hill Hotel," and the message was signed L. F. Ayson, 
Fish Commissioner for New . Zealand. As the telegram 
caught me in Albany, I had only to wait for Mr. Ayson 
to arrive, which he did a few hours after I received 
his message, and for about twenty- four hours I had a 
visit with one of the most earnest and enthusiastic fish- 
culturists it has been my good foi-tune to meet. Mr. Ay- 
son had been directed by his Government to examine the 
fishcultural establishments and fish commissions of the 
world, practically, and he had a year's time in which to 
make his tour. When I met him he had visited the prin- 
cipal fish breeding places in continental Europe and Great 
Britain, Canada, the United States Fish Commission in 
Washington, and various' hatcheries operated by the 
United States, State of New York and other States, and 
nowhere had he found attention given to hatching what 
ai-e commonly called commercial fishes, as in the United 
States. The methods, too, he found to be far advanced in 
this country, as a rule, over those practiced abroad, but 
this he believed he would find to be the case before he 
left home, and for that reason he had planned to visit the 
United States last, instead of coming directly here from 
New Zealand. He had timed his return journey so that 
he might take home with him a quantity of impregnated 
eggs of our fishes, notably the whitefish. The success 
already attained from introdvtcing into the waters of the 
Antipodes fish from Europe and America is remarkable, 
considering the adverse circumstances under which th*e 
experiments have been carried out; and the rapid growth 
of fish established in these new waters has been phe- 
nomenal, particularly' in the case of brown trout (fario), 
which grew to greater average size than in the waters of 
England, from which the original stock was obtained. 
The salmon (salar) experiments have been less success 
ful, as greater difficulty has been experienced in trans- 
porting the impregnated ova the long distances between 
the mother country and the colonies, and such as have 
survived and reached the smolt stage and descended to 
the sea have not returned in quantities encouraging, up to 
this time, to those having the matter in charge. Mr. Ay- 
son is of the opinion that the young salmon descend- 
ing to the sea are destroyed by sharks, porpoises and other 
sea fish, at the mouths of the rivers, but he is hopeful that 
the royal fish may yet become a source of pleasure and 
profit in the rivers of New Zealand. The brown trout 
has thrived in a most' marvelous manner, but shows a 
characteristic which is peculiar to the same fish when 
planted in the waters of tliis country, by declining to 
take bait or hire for a considerable period after the fish 
are established in any particular water. In fact, in New 
Zealand the large brown trout are almost always taken 
with bait of some sort, and rarely with the fly. Ten 
years ago my friend, Mr, Robert B. Maj-ston, editor of the 
London Fishing Gazette, sent me some eggs of the Hamp- 
shire (brown) trout, and when they were hatched I 
planted the fry in what is known as Halfway Brook, one 
of the best trout streams in New York, a large stream 
that has in its best days furnished native trout up to Slbs. 
in weight. The trout did well in the stream, and that 
they bred was evidenced by the catching of young fish 
several years after, and I then planted more brown trout 
in the stream. Fish of this species, up to over 3lbs. in 
weight, were brought to me for identification, but I had 
reason to believe that they were not taken legitimately, for 
nearly all were taken by one man, who was never known 
to fish with hook and line, but he netted and sold min- 
nows for bait. Men who fished the brook with hook and 
line, that is men who I know fished this way, did not 
get any big brown trout. Last year brown trout were 
taken occasionally with worm, and this year some big 
fellows were taken by using small minnows, and finally 
they were taken with fly. My own opinion is that they 
require finer fishing with fl.y than our own trout fontin- 
alis. and that few of the fishermen who fish this stream 
ever try the fly, but more have been taken this year in 
what is positiA'ely known as fair fishing, than ever be- 
fore, for every few days brown trout are reported from 
the stream, and I have little doubt if the stream 
is skillfully fished with fly as is done in England, that 
brown trout would be taken. Unfortunately, the brook ig 
