Oct, aS, iSgg.] 
end does not catch him the middle and the Tear end will 
hit the water, bounce or glance, and catch him certain." 
You try it. My word for it, the idea is a good one 
and new to me. 
I asked myself this question at night: What was lack- 
ing on this birthday? I could find no flaw. And how 
many such perfect days of full enjoyment are given a 
man in a year — say a lifetime even, if you will — when you 
enjoy every moment, and not a single thing agley? I 
bave seen few enough. Pink Edce, ■ 
In the Deer Woods. 
Portland, Ind. — Editor Forest and Stream: It is fitting 
that your columns should be advised of the intents and 
purposes of a party of nineteen nimrods wdio left here 
the morning of the 2d inst. This party went by special 
car over the Penns3dvania, C, M. & St. P. and N. P. 
route to Helena, Mont. Their time limit is forty-five 
days. There are some very good hunters in the party, 
and if they succeed in reaching a big-game country they 
will no doubt bring home something to sho^v for the 
trip. As tor me, I feel as I imagine a hunting dog feels 
when chained to his kennel while neighboring dogs are 
barking in the nearby woods. All I can do is to live over 
the past and plan for the future. Dr. Mackey is the only 
member of my club who went on this trip, and now 
when I meet the other boys something is said about a 
trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in November. 
. Of course I am getting the buck fever pertty badly, and 
may break "the chain" ere the deer season opens. 
I never had the buck ague — these shakes that cause a 
.'ihooter's gun to wobble all over the mark — and when I 
read of a hunter having one of these nervous chills I 
think of a day's shooting near Witch Lake, between 
Floodwood and Pepublic. on the Chicago, Milwaukee & 
St. Paul's North Star road. The day was an unusually 
exciting one, albeit I did not have an unusual amount of 
game to show for it. 
Some of 3^our readers have been over the ground, and 
know where the spring is at the east side of the railroad, 
a mile south of Witbec Station. At this point I left the 
railroad arid started east, but ran on to fresh tracks on 
the first high ground I struck, and spent some time look- 
ing from the top of a stump over a burned section that lay 
to the east. After satisfying myself that the deer were not 
in the clearing, I went on a few steps, and was letting 
my nerves down to their normal pitch, when they were 
set tingling by a large buck breaking cover to my right 
and going at racehorse speed across my front. He was 
following an old graded timber road, while I was on a 
hill some 25ft. above him and about 75yds. distant. He 
laid his antlers back over his shoulders and gave me the 
prettiest exhibition of speed I have ever seen in deer. I 
.shot three times, but nmst have OA^ershot him. Then he 
was lost in a turn in the road. 
I thought of Mark Twain's jack rabbit. Of course I 
found fault with myself, and said that I should have held 
lower and further forward; but the next thought was 
that it was no use to speculate, for I would never have 
the same opportunity again. So I went down into the 
old road and followed it to where it turned to the left, 
then started east across a deep basin that was spanned by 
fallen timber. I was about midway, and picking my 
steps among the slick poles som,e 15ft- from the ground, 
when a deer broke brush on a hillside in front of me. 
This was a second surprise. This deer was not more 
than 200vds. from where 1 had just fired three shots from 
my .38-40. The hill was covered with small brush, and 
I "could see the outline of the deer at the sunmrit. I 
fired at what I thought was its shoulder and saw it go 
over the hill. I then finished my trip over the dry basm 
;ind found plenty of blood where the deer had stood. I 
trailed that deer by blood drops more than a mile. 
Finally I came to a ridge that was paralleled on the 
right by green timber; but the ridge and to the left had 
been cut over. I trailed up the end of the ndge, and 
near the top came to a large pine stump. Here the deer 
had doubled on its trail, and I concluded it had lam 
down not far away. To get a view I stepped on a spur 
root then on top of the stump, bringing up my gun to a 
"ready," Here was my third surprise of the morning. 
Lying on top of the ridge and at a spot which proved to 
be just fortv-five steps distant was a large buck, and he 
was looking at me. There was nothing to screen him 
but a few small sprouts. His right shoulder was toward 
me and his right eve was the most tempting mark I 
ever drew bead on. I hit his eyeball in the center, I 
had no time to think how cruel it was. It was a morning 
of surprises. G. W- Cttnninc.ham. 
The New Jefsey Snipe Law, 
New Jersey, Oct. 20— Editor Forest and Stream: 
Perhaps you can inform the public of the meaning of 
the same laws of New Jersey, made by the great minds of 
the sportsmen and statesmen who hold forth at ireiaton. 
In the spring when the breeding time is on, and the 
birds have mated, wild and thin, not being m a condition 
to eat, the game laws of New Jersey permit the killing of 
the English snipe, but in the autumn the season closes on 
Oct I A very few birds were killed during that month 
on the meadows of the upper Passaic River, Pine Bi-ook 
(of Frank Forester's fame), Hanover, Neck and Whip- 
ping meadows. The past few days the above named 
=,tretches have been fairly alive with birds. I believe a 
bag of twenty-five could be easily made m one day by a 
moderate shot. They are big, fat, lazy fellows, and have 
to be fairly kicked out of the grass The game wardens 
are on the alert, and quite rightly, for it is their place to 
rnforce the law.' right or wrong. Are there not enough 
sportsmen in New Jersey to see this law repealed?— for it 
is simplv an outraging one; H. N. Munn. 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
Greater NewiYork Robin Shooters. 
Had the librettist of "Mikado" been a resident of Fort 
Hamilton when he wrote the Dicky Bird song, with its 
chirp, chirp suggestion, his lyric might have touched the 
highest point of realism. 
It is no operatic influence, howev^cr, which endears the 
dicky bird and his fellow chirper, the robin, to the resi- 
dents of Fort Hamilton. It is guns. On account of the 
tales of danger which come floating into town no attempt 
has been made to investigate, but if reports be true, a 
trip to market is a hazardous experiment and a peep over 
Knoth's back fence, certain suicide. A pen picture of 
daily life in Fort Hamilton is vividly portrayed on the 
page of a houseowner's diary. He writes: 
Thursday, Oct. 19. — Had a narrow escape this morn- 
ing; at 7:30 was awakened by the rattle of musketry on 
my left, rather heavier than usual; went to the window 
and raised the shade and just as I did so a double charge 
of buckshot carried away the sash. 1 was uninjured, ex- 
cept for a cut- on the head and black eye. Neighbor 
Thompson was in the yard next door with a smoking 
gun in his hand. "Beg your pardon, old man," he said, 
laughingly; '"did I hit you? Awfully sorry, you know. 
There was a robin on your window sill." Think I will 
buy a gun like Thompson's to-day and shoot robins on 
his window to-morrow at dawn. 6:30 P. M, — Some of 
the feathers of my wife's theatre hat were clipped off 
clean by a round of shot on the street at noon. I told 
her to leave the hat as it was. It would be a good thing. 
Have bought a gun like Thompson's. 
Now it will be seen what a state of affairs exists in 
Fort Hamilton and all because of the robins. Before con- 
solidation, when New Utrecht and all other places on the 
road to Coney Island were independent towns, the author- 
ities permitted unlimited bird shooting. Every fall robin 
potpie was plentiful in the homes of suburbanites who 
knew how to shoot. When Brooklyn absorbed the outly- 
ing towns, the law which forbids discharge of firearms 
on the city streets, albeit they are cornfields or uplands, 
went into effect and for a while the birds lived in peace in- 
stead of pieces. With this fall a revival has arrived, and 
the householders who came from the city and who are un- 
used to buckshot have filed objections of a most strenuous 
character. , 
It must not be supposed that the people object to robin 
shooting on general principles. They don't. It is only 
when the shooters hit other things beside robins that the 
news residents make trouble, and here is where Knoth's 
back fence gets into the game. William Knoth keeps the 
Park Hotel on Fort Hamilton avenue, near Sixty-seventh 
street. Round about it is a summer garden, where the 
mounted police of the Fort Hamilton precinct are said to 
cool their fevered brows on torrid days, while their steeds 
cool off in the wagon shed. From the fence Avliich en- 
circles the garden it is stated an excellent view may be 
obtained of several shattered window panes and a variety 
of clipped twigs, for Knoth's Hotel, according to the 
accounts of nearby residents, is the rendezvous of a 
band of bird hunters. Every morning, so the i-esidents 
declare, a small army of shooters gather near the gas 
tank close at hand and commence to bang away at robins, 
sparrows and everything else that flies. As might be sup- 
posed, the windows, not being good dodgers, suffer 
most. If any one happens to be behind a window when 
a load of buck shot travels that way it is hard kick. 
Kjioth, it is said, is well supplied with shotguns, and 
every one who visits his hotel is invited to have a whack 
at the robins. The residents of the neighborhood have 
notified the Fort Hamilton police, but as yet the author- 
ities have not given the order to "cease firing." 
An old veteran of New Utrecht, who is accustomed to 
shooting robins every year and whose place of business is 
in the city, out of range, is indignant at the summary 
action taken by the people. 
"What if they do shoot off guns indiscriminately down 
there, he argued, "it's a good idea_. What is it that 
suburbanites complain of most after six months' existence 
out of town? It's nothing to do; lack of excitement. Say. 
what better excitement does a man want for himself and 
children than dodging shot? It makes a man thoughtful 
and courteous, too. If he knows there is a strong possibil- 
ity that he will be shot in a few minutes do you suppose a 
man will neglect to bid his wife good-by when he leaves 
her in the morning? No, you can just wager he won't. 
So that helps. As for the danger, while I admit a man 
is much more likely to be hit who isn't aimed at than one 
who is, I don't believe that the proportion of people in- 
jured in Fort Hamilton is more than one in ten. Children 
are not nearly so likely to be shot as their elders, be- 
cause they are shorter and the bullets fly over their heads. 
On Sundays I really think, though, some check should be 
put on the sport when it is carried to excess on the streets. 
I would not blame any mother for being angry if after 
she had dressed her children up in their best for Sunday 
school an ounce of buckshot, striking the road, dashed dirt 
all over them. There is right on both sides in this as in 
everything." 
Meanwhile the robins flourish. They seem to thrive on 
bullets and their saucy "chirp, chirp" is heard daily in the 
woods and fields.— Brooklyn Eagle, Oct. 20, 1899. 
S40 
Rhode Island Notes. 
Providence, R. I., Oct 21. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
S. L. Peck, of East Providence, killed another fox on the 
i8th in Rehoboth. This makes six foxes that Mr. Peck 
has killed this season. 
]\Iessrs. William E. Viall and W. B. Hazard, of this 
city, have just returned from a successful week's hunting 
trip in the Adirondacks, and among other evidences of 
their good luck and marksmanship have brought back 
two handsome bucks, weighing about isolbs. each, shot 
near Great Moose Lake. W. H. M. 
DON'T SHOOT 
oQttt you SEE youf deer— and see 
that it is a deer and not a maa. 
Shooting: Rcsofts. 
We exercise a good deal of care to publish in our adver- 
tisements of shooting resorts only such announcements 
as are responsible. In this way we seek to make our re- 
sort column advertisements such as may be depended upon 
by those who are looking for desirable shooting ground- 
Of most of the points named we can give additional in^ 
formation and shall be giad to do so upon request 
California Game. 
Redlands, Cah, Oct. 12. — Editor Forest and Stream,: 
The long, hot, dry spell that for months has prevailed in 
this section has at last been broken by a cold rain in the 
valley and snow in the adjacent hills. 
Notwithstanding the heat, shootev-s have been out for 
quail. On Sunday last L. D. and W. C. Whittemore. 
Will Martin and Bruno Breakhill killed fourteen quail 
and eighteen rabbits. Six other shooters got twenty-four 
quail. Two shooters, whose names I refrain from giving 
because they violated the Riverside county law, killed 
fifty quail near Moreno. They violated the law which 
linuts the bag of quail to twenty to the gun, and also 
violated the anti -exportation clause by bringing their 
game to Redlands. 
Two of the Whittemore brothers saw an immense flock 
of ducks pass over Redlands yesterday. They are re- 
ported numerous near the coast. A flock was near Lake- 
view a few days since. Reelfoot. 
Loading Bttckshot. 
Charlotte, N. C, Oct. 20.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: I send vou by even mail a No. 12 shotgun shell 
loaded with buckshot for deer shooting. The peculiar 
loading of this shell may interest you. I have never read 
in your paper of a similar method of holding the shot, 
nor have I ever before seen it, and it may be a valuable 
suggestion to many of your readers who contemplate 
deer hunting this season with a shotgun. The buckshot are 
first chambered, four to a layer and three layers, then paraf- 
fine is melted and when very hot it is poured in the shell 
over the shot. When it cools it forms a nearly solid mass. 
A voung man who has used this load says it will open 
at about 30yds. and at a distance of from 45 to 60 will put 
from 8 to 10 shot in an object the size of a deer. 
B. W. Sperry. 
Pheasants fof Indiana. 
IxDiANAPOLis, Ind., Oct. 7.— Fish and Game Commis- 
sioner Z. T. Sweeny is preparing to stock the State with 
Chinese pheasants. As a beginning he has purchased 
100 pairs from a pheasantry near Cincinnati, and these will 
be distributed in fifty Indiana counties. Domestic hens 
are to be employed in hatching eggs of these pheasants, 
for whose protection during the winter particular care is 
to be taken. Next year the State will make more ex- 
tensive purchases. Mr. Sweeny says these birds are as 
hardy as quail, and he expects in a few years to make 
Indiana a great pheasant State. 
A Camp "Wood Fire for Broiling. 
"A WOOD fire is not generally suitable for broiling." 
So— friend Simpson? Easy to make it so! 
Throw a big log across two little logs, a few feet apart. 
Slant a few stakes against one side of the big log and 
build your fire on them. Slant your broiler against the 
other side. The coals fall through the stakes and broil 
your game, and you likewise if you make too big a fire. 
Would that I had right here the trout I thus broiled 
far up the Tusket River in Nova Scotia! '^D? breed am 
small, but de flavor am delicious!" ,T. P. T. 
Fined for Killing; a Moose. 
Bangor, Me., Oct. 21.— Alfred Muller, a restaurant 
keeper of Brooklyn, N. Y., was to-day fined $Soo for kill- 
ing'a moose out of season. The game was killed at Shin 
Pond, on the line of the Bangor & Aroostook R. R. 
Muller was arrested Tuesday by Warden Neal. 
''Jack, the Young Ranchman 
Mr. Geo. Bird Grinnell, whose books on Indians 
are well known, recently turned his attention to a new 
field, and has written for boys a book with the above 
title, which has been published by Frederick A. Stokes 
Co., of this city. The volume purports to give the ex- 
periences of a New York boy on a ranch in the Rocky 
Mountains, and to describe certain phases of life in the 
cattle country as it existed twenty years ago, before the 
extinction of the buffalo, and before the wild Indians of 
old times had been brought together and confined on 
their reservations. 
The plan of the book is simple. Jack Danvers, the 
hero, goes out to the Rocky Mountains with his uncle, 
who owns a cattle ranch there, and is put in charge of 
Hugh Johnson, an old Kentuckian, most of whose life 
has been spent in the further West, trapping, hunting 
and fighting Indians. With Hugh he rides about over the 
prairie, learns how to sit on a horse, to throw a rope 
to shoot a rifle, to study the habits of game, to hunt, and 
generally to practice the craft of the old-time men who 
used to travel the prairie and the mountains. Inci- 
dentally he comes to learn something of the cattle busi- 
ness, sees the branding and breaking of horses, and ac- 
cumulates a small stock of tame wild animals, captured 
while young, of which the most important and most 
interesting is a wolf. 
Mr. Grinnell's long experience of Western life should 
enable him to picture that life truthfully, and his knowl- 
edge of game and hunting ought to make him a com- 
petent instructor of youth in these matters. The story 
of Jack's adventures is simply and plainly told, and 
while the boy has no thrilling adventures of the dime 
novel style, his life as portrayed here is full of inter- 
est and excitement. In the course of his summer he 
succeeds in killing a number of 'different sorts of game, 
chief among which is a mountain lion. Wolf coursing 
with greyhounds is one of the sports in Avhich Jack takes 
part, and it was by digging out a wolf's den that he ob- 
tained the puopy, which he finally tamed and brought 
hack to his Eastern home. Something is told of the 
Indians, traces of whose former presence are often seen. 
In one of Jack's adventures he discovers a mysterious 
cave, the contents of which we shall not reveal. 
Scattered all through the volume is more or less of the 
'latural history of the regions treated, and the ways of 
. he coyote, the antelope and some other mammals and 
; birds are pleasantly touched on. _ 
I 
