Nov. 25, 1899.x 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
4S0 
In Cuban Quail Fields. 
Havana, Not. i3v — Editor Forest and Stream: I was 
out again yesterday in another direction, also about half 
an hour by rail from this capital Although the day was 
quite windy, and I found the fields covered with a rank 
growth of grass and bushes, I got up four or five good 
j. rveys of quail and one of wild guinea fowl. These last 
when flushed always go in a bee line directly for the 
A'oods, which are here generally not far away and usually 
consist of small and thick growths of trees, intelaced by 
abundance of tangled vines, which render them nearly 
impenetrable. These also furnish the safe refuge of the 
quail when flushed. Indeed these are frequenters of 
inishy pastures near to cultivated fields, and a couple of 
-nap shots on first flushing are very generally all the 
sportsman will get to each covey. If he gets one covey 
scattered in open field in each day's spq^t he njay consider 
it good fortune. 
My first covey yesterday was in the very edge of im- 
penetrable cover, and flushed under my very nose. 
Under these circumstances two snap shots brought me 
nothing to bag and no satisfaction other than the pleasur- 
able anticipation in presence of the standing attitude of 
the do.g, which is always pleasurable excitement to the 
sportsman. 
My second covey flushed wild, but arriving at the spot 
a laggard bird rose and fell to my racket, turning up its 
toes within the brush, but came to bag. After industrious 
examination of several fields, Dash finally came to a 
stand, near to a high stone wall separating us from the 
next field, and I prepared for a pair of instantaneous 
snap shots before the wall could interpose between us 
and the whirring covey, which every sportsman knows 
reqtiifes a considerable amount of nervous control for suc- 
cessful work. The wall being on the crown of a hill. T 
well kncAV that from the instant the birds crossed the wall 
they would be out of my sight, so I patiently stood some 
distance behind the dog, because if t went up to flush 
them I would be so near to the wall and them that my shot 
would not spread out enough to catch them, or if so. 
would make hash of them. After waiting until quite 
rested and calm, while the dog stood as immovable as a 
statue, I cast a stone into the grass and bushes in front 
of the dog, when a startling whir made the atmosphere 
lively in front of us, and, as I expected, across the stone 
wall, not 10 feet from where they flushed, and I scored 
, .right and left, both birds dropping close on the oppo- 
site side of the wall. 
Elated by my success, I clambered over and retrieved 
Dne, looking some moments in vain for the other. Dash, 
however, soon struck its trail, and it rose in labored 
flight at some distance, and I brought it to bag at the 
expense of another cartridge. After flushing and killing 
.two more of the scattered birds, I then took the direction 
toward the farmhouse of a friend, where I was to break- 
fast. Crossing the bushy and woody hill where I had 
killed my first bird. Dash made a stand at the same clump 
of bushes. I approached, expecting to find the same 
covey returned to a favorite refuge, and judge of my 
surprise when a flock of wild guinea fowl rose with a 
thundering whir that made the woods ring. I had only 
quail cartridges in my gun, but as they got up near to 
me both barrels counted, a fat guinea turning up its toes 
on either side of me, which I retrieved and went on to 
my breakfast, well satisfied with my morning's sport. 
After enjoying a social breakfast with friends and rest- 
ing until 2 o''clock P. M., I again took to the field, fol- 
lowed by two friends without guns to see the sport of the 
afternoon. Dash soon located a covey in a field of few 
bushes, but thick grass. I flushed the covey and scored a 
right and left, and marked down the scattered birds in the 
same field, of which Dash successively located three, 
which I flushed and scored three straight kills. We then 
crossed through a piece of woods, and ui domg so flushed 
and bagged another guinea fowl. In the next field J 
completed my bag of thirteen for my day's outmg and 
then returned to the railroad station and took the tram 
back to Havana, arriving home in time for duiner, well 
satisfied with my daj-'s outing. 
De. Erastus Wxlson. 
A Seizure of Game in Trunks. 
Office of Board of Game Commissioners, Harrisburg, 
Pa., Nov. 16— Editor Forest and Stream: About Nov. 
I or immediately after the opening of the rabbit season 
in Pennsylvania, a party of six gentlemen, hailing from 
Mt Vernon N. Y. (names known), came into this 
State equipped for a lengthy hunt. Dogs to the num- 
ber of twenty, nine of which were bird dogs and tlie 
rest beagle hounds, came with them ; trunks were packed 
with hunting paraphernalia of all kinds, hunting horns and 
ammunition galore. They located at Stevensviile, Brad- 
ford county, and from this center covered a district oi 
many miles in circumference, going out with teains ^and 
hunting back or returning by team as they desired. All 
went merry as a marriage bell." game fell in abundance 
before their unerring guns, and no shadows fell across 
their pathway— at least, none that they were aware ot. 
Toward the close of their stay report said that quail and 
pheasants were being grassed by the hundred, and that at 
least two shipments had been made to their home in Mt. 
Vernon, N. Y. ; and of these shipments, the gentlemen 
making them and those aiding and assisting m the same 
are very likely to hear later on. Saturday Nov. il, 
came with rain and storm, and with it canae the time of 
departure of those gentlemen. Their be ongmgs were 
duly packed, their landlord and abettor, W. W. McCain 
of Stevensviile. was bidden farewell, and the party dividend, 
the dogs being taken to Wyalusing. Bradford county, by 
one of the gentlemen for shipment, and the remainder of 
the party striking the same road (Lehigh Valley) at 
Laceyville. Wyoming county, twelve miles further down 
the line. Checks were secured for their baggage-four 
trunks and one box-from Laceyville to New York and 
they settled down to a long ride and a quiet laugh at the 
dullness of the Pennsylvania game authorities, little 
dreaming that their every move was known to said 
authorhies. and that they were speeding as rapidly as 
steam could carry them to a sure fall for the entire 
party. 
At Wilkesbarre they were first brought to a realization 
of the danger of the situation when the officer on their 
track called the attention of one of the gentlemen to the 
facts as they existed, and demanded that the baggage be 
exposed to his search. Again on the train between 
Wilkesbarre and White Haven was the demand made 
of the same gentleman in the hearing of his friends, all 
of whom the officer knew were in the car. At Mauch 
Chunk the train was met by a search warrant in the 
hands of a duly authorized constable, and to prevent 
delay of the train and wrong to innocent persons the 
baggage, as described by check number, was removed to 
the depot and there broken open and searched, with the 
result that in the last trunk opened were found forty-five 
pheasants, eleven quail, one woodcock, five rabbits and 
eight gray squirrels. 
The act of June 4, 1897, absolutely forbids the carrying 
or shipment, or the attempted carrying or shipment, of 
the game birds or game mammals of Pennsylvania out of 
the State^ and says : 
Sec. 6. "No person or persons, compEtny or corporation, or 
the agent or the employee thereof, shall at any time catch, take 
or kifl, or have in his or its possession or luiaer, his, her or its 
control any of the birds or game mammals of this State, the killing 
of which at any or at all times is prohibited by the laws of this 
State, with intent to ship or remove the same beyond the limits 
of this State, or with intent to allow or aid in the shipment or re- 
moval thereof out of this State," etc., and finally says, "Wlio- 
ever shall offend against any of the provisions of this section 
shall be liable to a penalty of not less than $60 nor more than 
$100 for each offense, or by imprisonment in the county jail for a 
period of one day for each dollar of penalty imposed." 
The act of 1899, Sec. 3, says, among other tilings, that 
the constable or warden after demand may cause any 
building, inclosure or car to be entered and any appart- 
meiit, chest, box, locker, crate, basket or package to be 
broken open and the contents examined by said warden 
or constable and that "all birds, animals, fish or net or 
fishing appliance or apparatus seized by said constable or 
warden shall lie disposed of in such manner as may be 
directed hy the court before whom such case is tried." 
As the game in this case was liable to spoil in short 
order, being packed in bulk, and could not be sold in the 
State, it was given to the bj'standers by the said justice 
before whom complaint was made. And while the officer 
was confident that the entire outfit as seized by him came 
within the term apparatus, as a precautionary measure an 
attachment was issued with bond to the railroad company, 
and a hearing liad, as is usual in the case of non-residents. 
The killing of the birds in Pennsylvania was proven, and 
the attempt to ship out of the State, as shown by checks, 
after which judgment was given for $100 against each 
individual, the claim being made by the oflficer that this 
was the third shipment out of the State to his knowledge, 
and that a judgment for the maximum penalty should 
follow. 
An inventory of the several trunks was made, showing 
by letters found therein that the names of the parties as 
entered of record were the correct names, and revealing 
among other extensive shooting paraphanalia five fine 
Parker guns with one extra set of barrels, some of which 
are of splendid make, and all high grade. These, with the 
other belongings, will be held the proper time, and un- 
less redeemed will be sold for what they will bring, which 
amount will be credited on the judgment and an attempt 
be made to collect the balance from the property of the 
parties in New York. 
The Game Commission of Pennsylvania is determined 
to make it as dangerous as can be to violate their game 
laws ; and transportation of game out of the State will 
be prevented if possible. We hope this may be a lesson; 
and the Commission will have no sympathy for others 
who may fall as these have fallen. 
Joseph Kalbfus, 
Secretary of Game Commission. 
Deer in Connecticut. 
Editor Forest and Stream: ' "'^ 
Inclosed find account of a deer chase in Hamden, 
Conn. The clipping is from the New Haven Union of 
Nov 6: 
'"The quiet village of Hamden was yesterday again the 
scene of a most unusual occurrence. A wild deer was 
the cause of the excitement. The animal ran through 
fields, over roads and leaped brooks, followed by a crowd 
of over fifty eager nimrods. The good people of Ham- 
den were on their way to church when the procession 
passed through the town at a high rate of speed — first 
the deer, then a dozen dogs of all degrees, and lastly two 
score or more of panting citizens. The honor of first 
discovering the deer belongs to Tippo, the beagle owned 
by Edward Farrell, son of Prosecuting Agent Farrell, of 
Hamden. The dog aroused the suspicions of its owner 
by his peculiar action. He seemed possessed to have 
his owner go into the woods. Farrell has often heard 
stories of the intelligence of dogs, and how they have 
saved lives by bringing their owmers upon the scene oi 
trouble. With this thought in mind, Farrell followed 
Tippo into the woods and to his surprise the dog chased 
a beautiful deer out of the brush. Farrell, to his keen 
regret, didn't have a gun. The chase started near Will- 
iam Fennis' barn. The deer ran in a bee line for Far- 
rell's house, jumping two fences and passing within 20 
feet of the house. Vrom here on the deer took the road 
and the crowd kept increasing in a chase after the deer. 
She passed the Children's Home, and went on toward 
West Rock. The crowd which was chasing it dropped 
ofi' one bv one and residents of Hamden to-day stated 
that Walter Dillon, of Fair Haven, who kept up the chase 
after the others had given up, followed the deer past 
Springside Home and to the east of West Rock." 
Believing this to be but a newspaper yarn, I investi- 
eatcd it thoroughly, and found witnesses whose veracity 
cannot be questioned , Not only did the chase take place, 
but two deer, a buck and doe, have undoubtedly been 
seen a number of times, and within half a mile of wdiere 
mV. Thompson and family (nest-door neighbors of 
mine) were driving home from church, when Mrs. 
Thompson noticed a large deer feeding among a drove 
of cows on Mr. Robert Dickerman's farm. She called 
the attention of the rest to the animal, and all w-atched 
it until the cows, apparently, commenced to run after it. 
The deer loped along in an easy manner, and cleared 
fences and brooks quite handily. It jumped the wire 
fence bordering the road near the Thompson wagon, and 
crossed so close that the horse was stopped not 2 rods 
away. The deer then jumped the fence on the other side 
of the road and disappeared in the woods on Cherry 
Hill. 
A family named Lorenzen saw a deer feeding among 
the cows on Mr. Burton Gilbert's farm, and Itahan la- 
borers saw a buck and doe on Cherry Hill. 
Mr, Wilbert Thomas, an experienced deer hunter, 
found a deer track, followed it and found where the deer 
had lain down. Judging from the size of the track, Mr. 
Thomas thinks this deer must have been a buck. Mr. 
Thomas is cautious and skeptical on such matters, but he 
is thorough!}' convinced that deer are here at present. 
In this State deer are protected until 1903, and the fine 
for killing one is $100. Many farmers and others Have 
pledged themselves to report to the authorities any per- 
son who should kill a deer in this neighborhood. 
Reports have come from other parts of the State of 
deer having been seen, and it speaks well for the law 
when the animals begin to appear in a section where they 
have been practically extinct for years; especially is this 
so when that section is within five miles of the heart of 
a city of over 100,000 inhabitants. 
William H. Avis. 
HlUHWODD, Conn., Nov. 15. 4 
Not a Red-Letter Day. 
Much has been written of red-letter days, but the 
average sportsman is loath to mention certain days of 
continued bad luck; they might be called hoodoo days. 
These are days which are certainly not coupled in ret- 
rospection with those of unalloyed pleasure. Just such 
a day I experienced during the first week of this months 
and must tell of it. 
We have had a considerable run of weakfish and bass 
this summer. Black ducks are always plentiful, but it 
has been many years since canvasbacks have been here 
in such numbers as this fall. Mr. F. Brandreth, one of 
our best shots, succeeded in gathering three geese; this 
was something unprecedented in fall shooting. 
Now for the hoodoo day. We started off with five live 
decoys — three black ducks and two male mallards. We 
reached Yellow Bass Rock, which is about a mile from 
town and overlooks the outlet of Croton River. Here 
our troubles began. First I fell overboard, which in 
itself wouldn't have been so bad if the water had been a 
trifle warmer and the mud hadn't been a foot or so deep. 
I finally got out, and after removing several buckets 
of- mud from my shoes and trousers legs assisted in get- 
ting out the decoys. It was now about 5 P. M., and 
the flight of ducks was expected any minute. For each 
duck we had a half-brick on several yards of line. The 
first one out was a mallard drake. He swam across the 
bow of our duck boat, and his string caught in a loose 
nail on the bottom of the boat. This didn't feaze him 
in the least; he just put on a little more steam and 
started for the shore, brick, duck boat and all. We tried 
to untangle the string with an oar, but it wouldn't work, 
so my companion reached down and tried to disentangle 
it with his hand. His boot slipped out from under the 
stern, where he had it braced, and over he went, the 
box of four remaining ducks slipping off the bow as the 
boat righted. Now the ducks began to fly into the 
marsh fromi the Hudson. Our ducks in the crate set up 
a great quacking, which drew the black ducks beauti- 
fully to within 100 yards of us, and then seeing the mess 
of stuff floating about, veered of? to our more fortunate 
fellow shooters in the upper marsh, where a continuous 
fusillade spoke of royal sport. We swore, splashed and 
fumed, but by the time we got things straightened out 
it was 5:45, and too dark to shoot. This was the only 
real good flight of ducks we have had this season. We 
tried it several times after, with fair luck. A good nor'- 
wester will bring them down. I hope by the end of the 
s'^-son to be able to recount the doings on a red-letter 
day. Chas. G. Blandforb. 
Sing Sing, N. Y. 
Concerning the Weed. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
While many things are improved on as the world grows 
older, the days of the "fragrant weed" appear to have 
jfermanently passed away. From twenty-five to fifty 
years ago it was possible to get cigars that it was a positive 
delight to smoke. Not that all had the delightful fra- 
grance of the old Cabanas and some few other brands, 
for the country was flooded then, as now, with common 
rank tobacco, and it was seldom and with difficulty that 
a box of high grade cigars could be procured, even as 
late as twenty years ago. It has been at least that long 
since I smoked my last fine flavored weed, and when 
I found I could no longer get them at any price my ciga: 
smoking pleasures ended. 
Now, the puzzling question with me is whether the 
art of making those cigars is lost, or whether they are 
all secured, as some contend, by wealthy Europeans. 
Many knowing ones insist that guano has ruined all the 
best tobacco land in Cuba, and if they have been loaded 
with that rank fertilizer for the purpose of producing 
heavy crops it undoubtedly has imparted its nauseating 
qualities to the plant, which seems to be of such a deli- 
cate nature that no other part of the world could pro- 
duce it to compare with that of Cuba. Men of wealth 
habitually smoke cigars that I am compelled to throw 
away after a few short pufYs, and I am sure that if they 
had been a few years earlier and had smoked a real 
"fragrant weed" they could not possibly enjoy the quality 
of tobacco they are forced to smoke at the present time. 
None but "old stagers" know the difference between the 
now and then, and they probably never will. 
I am compelled to resort to cigarettes of my own 
make, and up to within a short time I have smoked tol- 
erable cigarette tobadco manufactured by a firm in Rich 
rriond, but after they had established a reputation and 
pocketed their millions the all-devouring "trust" ab- 
sorbed them, and since then I have tried in vain to find 
anything that I consider fit to smoke. 
DlDYMUS. 
St. AuguStinb* 
