B&S FOREST AND STREAM. 
New Brunswick Notes, 
On Monday last Billy Chestnut and Harry Atherton 
invaded the Upper Keswick hunting grounds in company 
with Rainsford Allen and Ihe reformed Maine guide Ed 
Church, who went along to help consume the provisions. 
At early candle light Friday evening the burghers of this 
place were aroused by the rumbling of a ponderous farm 
wagon that trekked slowly up the front street and then 
outspanned in front of the drug store of Prof. Mack. 
Seated on a high pile of straw were the returning hunters, 
while the interior of the wagon was decorated by a huge 
bull moose and a medium-sized caribou. Both moose 
and caribou had been shot on the morning of that day. 
Messrs. B. D. and D. H. Longenecker, of Brooklyn, 
arrived from the Cains River solitudes yesterday after- 
noon, where they had been hunting with Frank Bartlett. 
They brought out a moose and two caribou. 
The question of the weight of a large black bear was 
approximately adjusted by the city hay scales this week. 
James Parks, of the Narrows, brought in the carcass of 
a bear that had formerly displayed a fondness for mut- 
ton. The dressed meat of the animal weighed 240 pounds. 
William Crawford, of New York, went home the other 
day from a successful hunt on the Nor'-West. Mr. Craw- 
ford obtained a large moose. While in the woods he saw 
nine moose, fifteen caribou, three deer and a bear. 
Mr. A. P. Allison, of Chicago, if he has the ordinary 
American fondness tor records, ought to be well pleased. 
Ill one day's Inmting in the northern part of this prov- 
ince he secured a bull moose, a bull caribou and a very 
large black beart .- , . ' 
The Bangor Commercial records that a party of sports- 
men w^hich arrived there on Saturday from Newfound- 
land brought twenty-three caribou heads and hides as 
trophies of a trip in that region. 
Ed Church is strictly impartial on the subject of am- 
munition. Last week he lowered a moose with seven 
shots from a .45-90 rifle. When Billy Chestnut picked 
up the empty shells they were found to include a .45-70. 
.40-85, .40-82 (smokeless) and .40-65! Church claims that 
all these things are good for moose in his rifle. ■ 
It was a mistake on the part of your correspondent to 
say that having shot his complement of moose and cari- 
bou, Mr. P. N. Graham was "marking time" in Braith- 
Avait;e's land. On the contrary, the guide took Mr. Gra- 
ham . up the North Pole Branch after bears and they 
gathered in a specimen of that kind of game measuring 
nearly 7 feet in length. Henry's next party, which goes 
in to-day, is composed of Dr. S. T. Davis and Mr. A. G. 
Kepler, of Lancaster, Pa. By addressing W. T. Chest- 
nut, of this city, either Braithwaite or Church can be se- 
cured for a snow hunt in December. 
Mr. A. H. Jackson and friend, of New York, recently 
came down the Nepisiguit with two caribou and three 
bears. 
George Armstrong's patrons seem to be specially fa- 
vored this season. Dr. C. B. Tiley, of New Haven, 
Conn., took out about the best moose head of the lot, the 
spread being 58 inches, blades 13 inches and points 26. 
Mr. Orren Scotten, of Detroit, also secured a 58-inch 
head under Armstrong's guidance, as well as a good 
specimen of caribou. Mr. W. E. Halsey, of Brooklyn, 
scored a 57-inch head. Other fine specimens were taken 
out by E. Childs and C. M. Camp, of New York. 
Mr. E. L. Ellithrop, of Pittston, Pa., appears to be 
endowed with that mysterious quality known as hunter's 
luck. The first day he was at Adam Moore's camp he 
shot the biggest moose that has been taken on the Nictor 
this season. 
Among successful moos? and caribou hunters not here- 
tofore referred to maj'^ be mentioned Prof. Chas. E. Wait, 
of Knoxville, Tenn.; C. J. Mcllvain, Jr., of Philadelphia; 
F. W. Ball, Newark, N. J.; Dr. John Bryant, Boston; 
John Caswell, Prides Crossing, Mass.; A. W. Hooper, 
of Winchester R. A. Co., and his friend Dr. J. E. Stet- 
son; Dr. Ward Brinton, New York; John Roberts, Bar 
Harbor; C. A. Eaton, LaAvrence, Mass.; D. S. Burley, 
Newburyport, Mass.; Dr. H. M. Neale, Upper Lehigh, 
Pa.; Benj. Curtis, New York; R. L. Pierrepont, Brook- 
lyn; W. G. Peckham, New York; Dr. J. Madison Tay- 
lor, Philadelphia; C. M. Hapgood, Easton, Pa.; John 
E. Toulinin, Boston; D. E. Skinner, Detroit, Mich. 
Mr. S. L. Crosby writes me that he has received from 
J. G. Prouty, Spencer, Mass., two very tine heads of 
caribou shot in Newfoundland, and that up to date he 
has received about fifty caribou heads from that island. 
Mr. Crosby adds: "Moose heads are coming in rapidly 
from New Brunswick. We are also getting a good many 
from Nova Scotia and Quebec, but no extra fine ones. 
Maine, too, is showing up nobly. More moose have been 
killed than for the same period last season, and some of 
the heads are really fine." 
Mr. A, Lichtenein, of New York, has returned from a 
four days' trip in the Keswick country, with Rainsford 
Allen as guide. Despite the liquid nature of the weather, a 
large caribou was secured by Mr. Lichtenein. 
Information from apparently reliable authority has been 
received that a moose with a horn spread of 72 inches 
has been killed by Messrs. Holman and Hiram Good, two 
noted hunters of Maple Ridge, near Milville. As a rule 
these mammoth moose exhibit a shrinking modesty in the 
presence of the tapeline. Further particulars are awaited. 
Henry Braithwaite tells a good caribou story with re- 
gard to his recent trip: "I went over to a small clump 
of spruces in the middle of Squaw Barren to call caribou. 
At the first squawk I saw a big pair of horns walk out 
of the bushes about 300 yards away. It was a bull caribou 
and he came straight for us, followed by a cow. Mr. Gra- 
ham wanted to shoot, but I told him to wait, there was 
no hurry. When the caribou got up about 70 yards away 
Mr. Graham opened the ball. He didn't hit the caribou 
just right, so I threw down my horn, jerked the case off 
my rifle and took a hand in. The caribou sheered off 
and we had a running fight of it till he reached the woods. 
The ground was all tracked up and I was afraid of losing 
him, so followed him up real sharp and at last found 
him lying dead in the bushes. I then went back to the 
clump of spruces where I had left the horn and rifle cover, 
and I'll he hanged if there wasn't another big bull cari- 
boti in possessioin of the premises. He was smelling oyer 
the horn trying to figure out which end to blow to bring 
back the cow we had scared away!" 
Willi? an4 M-Qsej Chase, aged fifteen ?in4 twelve years 
respectively, were out partridge shooting on the bush 
end of their father's farm in the parish of Sheffield. A 
bull moose appeared and scared Mosey up a tree. Willie 
stood his ground, rannned down the family bullet on top 
of the load of shot and brought the moose to the ground 
by breaking his shoulder. With a second shot he killed 
the mocse entirely. Then Mosey came down the tree and 
ran for a horse, wherewith the carcass was dragged home 
in triumph. Some folks talked of prosecuting Willie for 
shooting a moose without a license, but these were soon 
snulTed out. It was agreed that when a moose had a 
little boy up a tree his big brother had a right to shoot. 
F. H. RiSTEEN. 
FsfiDERICTON, Nov. 1. 
Long Range Shooting with the 
Shotgun* 
The hitting of an object at long ranges has ever ap- 
pealed more forcibly to the imagination than has shoot- 
ing at closer quarters. From time immemorial an inde- 
scribable charm has attached to the practice, and whether 
with sling, long bow, cannon, rifled firearm or shotgun 
there has through all ages existed a desire to send a mis- 
sile to the furthest possible limit. But this has not been 
a mere aimless wisb, for men have ever striven to hit the 
mark in such long range practice. Toward the successful 
accomplishment of the endeavor science has lent inval- 
uable aid ; arms of all kinds, great and small, have been 
so perfected that the shooting at distancees unthought of 
in former days has now been 'rendered remarkably pre- 
cise. Such remark, however, is applicable only to arms 
throwing a single projectile, for in the matter of range 
the shotgun has for long remained practically at a stand- 
still. This appears all the more singular if we compare 
such inaction with the progress made in the mechanical 
construction of the weapon, So far as mechanism is con- 
cerned, the history of the shotgun during the past few 
years reveals one continued process of evolution. The 
breechloader, hammerless action (which term by the 
way is somew^hat of a misnomer), cartridge ejecting 
mechani.sm and single triggers are striking testimonies 
to the inventive genius of our gun makers in the last 
half of the nineteenth century. But this is not all; re- 
markable strides have been made in the matter of the 
propulsive agent as well as in all the other components 
of the charge. The ignition and combustion of the pow- 
der is now perhaps more regularly eft'ected and controlled 
than ever before, while the method of waddijig the charge 
is so exact that far less variation in driving power is ex- 
hibited now than was the case when old hats, gloves and 
newspapers were commonly requisitioned as gun wad- 
ding. 
Whenever the question of increasing the range of the 
shotgun is mooted we are certain to be reminded that 
limitations exist in the matter of driving a charge of loose 
shot, the conditions governing its flight being so totally 
different from those connected with the flight of a single 
projectile. Thus we find that in the march of progress 
not alone has the rifling of firearms been improved, but 
the form of the bullet has been considerably altered so 
that it may lend itself more and more to long range shoot- 
ing and accuracy of flight. Accuracy of flight and low- 
ness of trajectory are inseparably connected, and thus, 
pari passu, with each increase in the range of a rifle we 
see a corresponding flattening of the trajectory. 
The method of boring shotgun barrels known as chok- 
ing is certainly a great advance, and when just now it 
was remarked that the shotgun had remained practically 
at a standstill in the matter of range, due cognizance was 
taken of the choke. Indisputably, the choke is an ad- 
vance on the cylinder, but with proper accessories, shot 
concentrators in one form or another, our forefathers ac- 
complished w-ith their cylinders just abotit as much as 
we with our chokes can "do now. Moreover, it is certain 
that the choking of guns in some form or other was 
practiced early in the present century. All praise, not- 
withstanding, to the enterprise of certain of our gun 
makers, notably Meesrs. Greener and Pape, for re-intro- 
ducing and perfecting the choke-bore. I, in common 
with many wildfowlers, ow^e much to their enterprise in 
this respect. Still, I hold the opinion that there is yet 
room for improvement in the boring of shotguns designed 
for long range shooting. By reason of the severe treat- 
ment received in passing the choke, a considerable per- 
centage of the shot pellets so lose shape as to be robbed 
of at least half their effectiveness. The length of range 
of small shot increases or falls in exact proportion to the 
time it can be kept together on leaving the muzzle of the 
gun. The longer the charge travels as a compact body, 
so much the longer will the velocity of individual pellets 
be maintained when disintegration of the mass takes 
place. At best, however, the extreme choke effects its 
object in clumsy fashion, for by crushing so many of the 
pellets out of shape the general efficiency of the charge is 
appreciably lowered. Ideal shooting would be that in 
which every shot pellet placed in a cartridge case could 
be recorded within a certain clearly defined space on a 
target. The alterations of shape or defacement of the 
pellets from friction or other cause would be so slight 
that all w-ould travel at practically the same velocity. 
Consequently, stringing of the shot would be reduced, to 
the minimum and more satisfactory shooting result- at 
long ranges. It may be urged that, as duck guns will 
kill fowl at. say, 120 yards, this surely might be considered 
a sufficient distance at which to shoot. But, in admitting 
that duck guns will stop birds at that or even greater 
ranges, I must say it is only occasionally they do so, 
even when aimed at large gatherings of_ fowl, and as- 
suredly there is room for increasing their effectiveness 
and reliability at distances much shorter than the above. 
If this cannot be secured by barrel boring pure and sim- 
ple, we must then look to its accomplishment by means of 
some accessory. 
In some respects the' -wife shot cartridge and similar 
devices are much superior to the choke, inasmuch as they 
minimize that friction and pressure exerted on the shot 
which so reduces its effectiveness. In fairness to the 
choke it must, however, be remarked that to some extent 
friction and pressure is observable in the cylinder; it. in- 
deed, would appear to be inseparable from the discharge 
of shot in loose form. The wire cartridge undoubtedly 
tends to preserve the rotundity of the pellets, for, ;n addi" ' 
[NovC-iiy 1899. 
tion to the pr'otectiori afforded by the wire casing, the 
pellets are largely relieved from indentation, one by an- 
other, by the packing of fine dust, which fills every inter- 
stice of the cartridge. This same remark applies also 
to the packing of solid grease which fills the tallow car- 
tridges described in the "Instructions to Young Sports- 
men," by Col. Hawker. 
Apart from tlie foregoing considerations, there can^ I 
think, be no reason for doubting that if gunners more 
earnestly considered the question of the flight of shot, 
long range shooting would be more often successful. In 
taking a long shot, how many, for instance, give a 
thought to the question of trajectory? Aim well ahead 
they may, but the necessity for aiming high is often enough 
forgotten altogether. — Henry Sharp in London Field. 
In Rhode Island* 
Providence, R. I.-, Oct. 28. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
The poultry raisers in the, south county are experiencing 
considerable trouble from the depredations of foxes. One 
raiser of turkeys has but nine left out of a flock of 
seventy-six young ones. It was only a very few years ago 
that a limited number of these canny animals were to be 
found in the wooded places of Rhode Island, but now they 
are exceedingly numerous and cause much perplexity to 
farmers. The animals came over first from Massachu- 
setts, where numbers of them had been let loose by 
sportsmen in order to propagate the species and thus make 
good hunting. It was not known that the increase in 
numbers would be so astounding, and that the boundaries 
of the Old Bay State could not inclose them. Of course, 
the bushy-tailed, sharp-nosed little animals, that are tradi- 
tionally cunning and keen, knew a good thing when they 
saw it, and thus left Massachusetts to come over into the 
promised land of all good things, Rhode Island, so that 
now "the woods are full of them." 
Although it is somewhat early in the season for wild 
ducks to come near the shore, there is considerable fun 
among the large numbers to be found in Mount Hope 
Bay and in the upper part of Narragansett Bay. 
Dr. Nelson R. Hall and Chauncey Driscoll, of Warren, 
returned from a three weeks' hunting tour in the Maine 
woods Friday, bringing with them two deer and the heads 
of two moose. The moose shot by Mr. Driscoll is one 
of the largest killed in Maine this year, the antlers meas- 
uring 44in. across, with webs of the horns 8in. wide and 
seven and ei,ght tips respectively. The party employed the 
veteran guide, Maurice York, and hunted in the vicinity 
of Little Millinocket Lake. ' 
The big moose was tracked all day, and after the hunt 
was practically abandoned the guide gave the moose 
call, which brought the big fellow from a neighboring 
thicket but a hundred feet distant. Driscoll lodged a 
bullet in the animal's spine, which laid him low. Driscoll 
saw sixteen moose during the trip, and Dr. Hall but one. 
There were 1x1 deer sighted by the party during the 
trip, four of which were killed. 
The first cases brought to prosecution by Game Com- 
missioners under the new law were those on which Albert 
Bufiington and Albert H. Smith were arraigned last 
Thursday in the District Court at Harrisville, before 
Judge Remington, in which they were charged with 
snaring. They were arrested in Gloucester. Both pleaded 
guilty and fines of $20 and costs were imposed, 
The Commissioners are working on a new line this sea- 
son. Heretofore offenders have been pursued and prose- 
cuted by constables deputized for the purpose and known 
as such. This year the Commissioners have adopted a 
policy of having the work done by deputies who are un- 
Imbwn, and having everybody interested keep as quiet as 
possible about what is being done. The deputies have, 
been following illegal shooters so closely that there has 
been scarcely any shooting in the closed period this year. 
The snaring has been about as it has been in preceding 
years. 
The Commissioners meet with an obstacle to successful 
work in dealing with snaring because of the law, which 
is now peculiar to Rhode Island, that allows a man to set 
snares on his own land. Such laws have now been 
abolished in every other State, Connecticut being the last 
to discard it. The Deputy Commissioners engaged in ob- 
taining evidence are likely to make a number of other 
arrests within a few days. W. H. M. 
The Old Farmer's Almanac is Abreast of the 
Times. 
Boston, Nov. 3. — Editor Forest and Stream: I send 
you by this mail a copy of "The Old Farmer's Almanac" 
for 1900, with a marked reference to an article on game, 
and also inclose herewith a proof coy of the same: 
INCREASE OF DEER IN NEW ENGLAND. 
Tlie increase of deer in tlie New England States in recent years 
has presented a point of great interest to persons fond of forest life. 
In Maine the increase has been remarkable, and within that State 
tliere is now an immensely greater number of deer than there was 
sav thirty years ago. 
The chief cause of this increase is undoubtedly the enforcement 
of proper laws regulating hunting. Having been lor some years 
protected from indiscriminate slaughter, deer have multiplied to an 
extent beyond the most sanguine expectations. By the laws referred 
to it is sought to protect them from being himted after the snow 
has become too deep and heavy for their escape, and to continue 
this protection through the breeding season and until the fawns are 
grown large enough to take care of themselves. The open seasons 
vary somewhat in the several New England States and adjacent 
British Provinces, which have open seasons, but generally they 
may all the said to be included within the period from Sept. 1 to 
Jan. 1. Even in the open season one person may kill but a very 
limited number. These laws are not only on the statute books;- 
they are enforced and meet public approval. The enforcement of 
the various game laws, supported by a hearty public sentiment, wilt 
early result in there being still greater numbers of deer and of the 
many other kinds of game, for the support of which in. luxuriant 
abundance the beautiful country of New England is so well 
adapted. 
It, seems to me that it would be worth while for you to 
reprint it with credit to the Almanac, as showing that 
the farmers now appreciate the work Ave are all en- 
gaged in. James Rttssei.i, Rkkp, 
The -Fo&KT ANU Stream is put to press each week on Tuesday. 
Correspondence intended for publication should reach us at ,th? 
Jgtest by Monday ?n4 mvtch wUer as practicable. 
