Dec. 2, 1899.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
449 
-I have been trying to get a wire to let you know I was 
ere, or going to be somewhere, sometime (they are 
acking up now). I think I am on my way to South 
hicago. Have been here in the yards all night and could 
Et no information about street cars or telegraph wires, 
id besides I could not leave the animals. Vick Smith 
iled to send the goats, so I have only elk, mule deer 
id whitetail deer (we are backing some more now), 
he raikoads have done everything they could to kill the 
nimals this morning, commencing at 3:30 A, M. — such 
mmps that I would shoot ahead or back a foot or so 
hile bnng on the floor. The poor animals had a hard 
me. If possible I will wire you from South Chicago if 
ere is any use in your attempting to come down. I want 
) go on East as soon as possible. (We are moving 
lead again by jerks.)" 
Si;ice receiving the above I have not again heard from 
illy and do not know whether he stopped this side of 
DUth Chicago, went on East or gave it up and went to 
eep. The odds are that he will deliver the goods at 
/■ashington in good order. It is always like a breath 
om the mountains when Billy comes through with his 
range wild pets, and I am sorry that I failed to see him. 
Mr. C. A. Zimniermann, of St. Paul. Minn., paid Chi- 
igo a hurried visit this week and made a brief stop at 
e Forest and Stream ofiSce. Mr. Zimmermann is well 
lown as the painter of the most popular ducking pictures 
er put on the American market. His home is on one of 
e most beautiful portions of beautiful Lake Minne- 
nka, which is well enough described as the "Enchanted 
land." Once a famous duck hunter, Mr. Zimmermann 
IS of late years practically given up the sport and taken 
the sordid pursuit of commerce. 
E. Hough, 
180 Caxton Building, Chicago, 111. 
Guns and Powders. 
The evolution of firearms has shown many startling 
isodes. From the time gunpowder and projectiles were 
vented there have been accidents ; but careful investiga- 
m has revealed the fact that except in rare instances 
cidents ha^ipen because of carelessness. Many illustra- 
ms of the results from the careless handling of fire- 
ms are constantly being made public, and frequently of 
;e the punishment of careless and reckless shooting has 
en urged. 
But a new menace has come before us in the pereon who 
ignorant of the proper use of firearms and ammuni- 
m, and in view of the late developments in ammuni- 
in he is a dangerous person in a community. 
Intelligent sportsmen are aware that firearms of to- 
y are vastly superior to those made twenty years 
o; they know they are stronger, lighter, and more 
mmetrical. They know, too, that there have been many 
anges in ammunition. There was the period of black 
iwders, but those powders had their faults. Nitro or 
lokeless powders were demanded and created. They 
;re acknowledged an improvement, and guns were made 
r those powders. When nitro powders were first in- 
□duced guns were burst when using those powders, but 
the peculiarities of nitro powders became better known, 
cidents became fewer. Not many years ago guns were 
)t warranted for nitro powders ; to-day nearly all guns 
e made for such powders, and guaranteed when properly 
ed. 
But there are many grades of nitro powders; most 
ortsmen know there are nitro powders which are called 
ilk for bulk nitro powders, which means a charge of 
ch. powder corresponds in bulk with a charge of black 
iwder. Other nitro powders of later creation are known 
dense nitro powders, which means a charge of such 
)wder equaling in strength or power of a charge of 
ack powder is less in bulk. Dense nitro powders meas- 
•ed the same as black powders or bulk for bulk nitro 
)wders means a very much more powerful charge of 
mse powder. 
The tendency at the present time is economy of bulk in 
nmunition. Modern rifle and revolver ammunition illus- 
ate thi^. They are more compact, but equal or superior 
power to ammunition using black powders. Economy 
: bulk is phophesied for future shotgun amrnunition. 
ich ammunition is growing in popularity. This means 
;nse nitro powders. The latest creations of powders for 
lotguns have "been of the dense kind. ■ 
American guns are made to shoot the various types of 
nmunition when properly loaded. Nitro powders of the 
70 types are safe when loaded by our factories. Guns 
e now made so the owner can with safety use black 
)wders, bulk for bulk nitro powders, or dense nitro 
jwders in the same gun, if properly loaded. 
It might seem from the foregoing that with firearms 
;rfected so as to shoot with safety any ammunition when 
■operly loaded, the condition of affairs was faultless. 
But this appears not to be the case. The gun maker 
ust make his products for all powders or retire from 
isiness; the powder maker must keep abreast of the 
tnes by adopting improvements or be distanced by his 
>mpetitors ; the cartridge maker must produce cases for 
e latest powders or see his industry crippled. To re- 
:at, we have at the present time one style of gun shoot- 
g many styles of ammunition. 
Manufacturers of guns, powders and ammunition make 
thaustive tests to prove the safety of their products 
jfore they are placed on the market. Later, accidents 
■e reported. Investigations have repeatedly disclosed 
lese facts: that nitro powder was used in an obsolete 
•m; a quick shotgun powder was used in a rifle or re- 
alver; a dense nitro powder was used in the same bulk 
; a black powder, or low power nitro powder charge, 
roducers give conspicuous directions how to use their 
roducts, but the reckless and the ignorant person heeds 
lem not. AH powders and shells are one and the same 
ind to them, to be used in any way; consequently, acci- 
ents happen! Then the one thought and purpose of the 
ictim is to sue and recover damages. 
This article is prompted by a suit for damages recently 
rought against a prominent company. A gim made by 
lis company was purchased by a well-known sportsman 
iveral years ago In course of time, after hard usage, 
e disposed of it, and after passing through several hands 
'ith similar usage, it was purchased by an Italian, who 
t once procured some reloaded shells charged with 57 
rains of one of the densest nitro powders made. This 
ammunition when fired burst the gun and damages are 
sued for. 
This is but one of many similar incidents that are 
frequently occurring. Unfortunately, the inclination of 
juries is to discriminate against corporatons or firms, and 
as a result the American firearm maker, the powder pro- 
ducer, and the cartridge company are being mulcted with- 
out_ justice at the present time. The main attack is 
against the gun maker, perhaps the least responsible of 
all. It seems like penalizing progress and putting a 
premium on carelessness. 
Concerning Big Bags of Ducks. 
^ St. Augustine, Fla., Nov. 18— Editor Forest and 
Stream: It's very disagreeable to growl and snarl, but 
the spirit moveth me to do a little of it at the present 
time, though it will probably be of no avail. 
Your efficient and interesting Chicago correspondent 
has roused the spirit by his reports of the doings of 
Chicago ducking clubs. While Forest and Stream and 
''me too" are wielding our powerful pens in condem- 
nation of the sale of game, and market-shooters in par- 
ticular, to shield ourselves against the bitter curses of 
posterity folks, these highly respectable men of wealth 
and leisure do precisely what is getting to be universally 
denounced by all true sportsmen, i. e., competing against 
each other for big bags instead of shooting for the 
pleasure of it. (N. B. — No member of a club should be 
allowed to shoot more than twenty-five ducks in one 
day.) 
Why is their slaughtering any better than the com- 
mon old Western way of choosing sides and peregrinat- 
ing through the country to see which side can slaughter 
most ? 
Here is the text I am jpreaching from: "Mr. Price 
(of the Duck Island Club) brought back ducks enough 
to last all winter. On one day he killed forty-odd, on 
the next day fifty, and on the next fifty-seven, nearly 
all mallards at that, and certainly a wonderful bit of 
sport for this day and age in Illinois." 
Here is a bag (or two-horse wagon load) of 150 big 
ducks for three days' shoot. 
"A few days ago Mr. F. H. Howe made a bag of 
sixty ducks in the club marsh. * * * jf ^^y man de- 
serves good shooting it is Mr. Howe, and everybody will 
wish him many such days in the future." Now, I con- 
sider myself one of the everybodies, and as uneducated 
opponents have sometimes said to me, "I deny the 
fact!" 
There are several other like items in my text which I 
will pass over. But, my brethren, I want to say that 
a man who knows better and doesn't do it deserves to be 
"wolloped," and I venture the assertion that these very 
men are drawing largely on their denunciatory vocabulary 
against all kinds of exterminatory proceedings on the part 
of market-shooters and other tribes. 
Somewhere among New York literary scraps I have 
seen a "game hog" stuck on a Neptune's trident and held 
up as a warning to slaughtering transgressors, but it may 
not have reached Chicago yet! And come to think of it, 
if the Chicago people had seen it they probably would 
not have been deeply impressed by it, for the very man 
who thus pictures himself as impaling the "game hog" 
on his trident is none other than that same Coquina, 
whose own personal record of a wanton and wasteful 
butchery here in Florida we shall never see surpassed. 
Chicago folks and others understand this very well, since 
I showed up his exterminatory peregrinations in your 
columns last summer. Didymus. 
An Ambitious Rhode Island Project. 
Providence, R. I. — Editor Forest and Stream: I have 
a plan of purchasing a large territory for a hunting and 
fishing club. This tract contains about seven square 
miles and is entirely surrounded by roads. There are at 
least five miles in length of trout streams which have 
yielded 'large numbers of trout for the last century. In 
addition to the streams, there are three ponds sutable for 
trout, having strong dams which have withstood all fresh- 
ets since my recollection. There is one natural pond, one 
mile in length and one-half mile wide, being one of the 
best places for black bass in this State. This pond is 
surrounded by a very wild country, some parts of which 
it is nearly impossible for a man to get through, making 
excellent cover for deer and other large game. There 
is another large pond, which I believe is particularly 
adapted for pickerel and perch. Partridges and 'quail 
have always been fairly plentiful. This tract comprises 
about twenty-five different farms, some of which have 
been abandoned. There are some houses on these farms 
which are in fairly good condition, suitable for the help 
required on the preserve to live in. 
My plan is to get two hundred gentlemen to take one 
share each of stock at $500 per share, to cover the cost 
of the land, fencing same with woven wire 8 feet high and 
strong enough to hold moose and other large game; the 
building and furnishing of a club house to be used by the 
members of the club and their families; horses and car- 
riages, etc., to be used on the place and to carry the 
members to and from the station and to different parts 
of the preserve; also the purchase of 400 deer, so that 
each member shall have the right to shoot two each 
year, beginning in November, 1900. I also wish to 
have one male and three female moose and let them 
accumulate before shooting any; also one male caribou 
or elk and three females, to be left to increase before 
shooting any; also 800 Mongolian pheasants, 1,600 
partridges, 3,200 quail. 800 gray squirrels, 100 jack rab- 
bits, 50 raccoons, 12 wild boar, 10,000 brook trout, 2,000 
pickerel, 2,000 yellow perch, 10,000 black bass and 400 
landlocked salmon, fishing to begin April i, 1901. My 
idea is that it will cost $10,000 per year to produce such 
food as the game requires and to keep the stock of deer 
and other .game and fish up to the above numbers; also to 
have men patrol it every day to see that there is no break 
in the fence and to keep ofT all poachers, and to assist 
as guides. I think the dues for the first year should be 
$25 each, and thereafter $50 per year. The feathered game 
could be got in time to cotnmence shooting Oct. i, 1900. 
I think it would be essential to give the fish a chnnc» to 
grow for one year. L. A. T. 
A Massachusetts Deer Episode. 
The Springfield, Mass., Union reports: D. H. Eaton, 
of Wilbraham, had an exciting experience with a buck 
deer on the old road on the Wilbraham Mountains this 
morning. Mr. Eaton undertook to play peek-a-boo with 
the deer, and the animal entered into the game with so 
much zest that Mr. Eaton barely escaped being seriously 
injured. 
Mr. Eaton started out this morning in quest of foxes. 
He had gone some distance, and was waiting for his dog, 
which is a fine hound, to strike a trail, when he heard 
a rustle behind him, and saw a large animal at some dis- 
tance sniffing the ground and apparently following him. 
He paid no attention at first, thinking it was a donkey 
belonging to Mr. Bowles, of Wilbraham. As the animal 
came nearer, however, he discovered it was a fine buck 
deer. 
Mr. Eaton stepped back into the bushes, intending to 
jump out with a terrifying war whoop at the animal, and 
have the pleasure of seeing it dart ofl: in fright. The 
first part of the programme worked beautifully, but when 
Mr. Eaton gave the war whoop the animal looked at him 
in mild surprise for an instant, then threw up its head 
and charged at him. Mr. Eaton was not long in vaulting 
over a fence nearby, but the deer also could jump fences, 
and landed on the other side about the time that Mr. 
Eaton did. Over the fence again went the would-be deer 
frightener and the buck followed. In his second jump 
Mr. Eaton lost his gun in the bushes, and the buck was 
now keeping him too busy to pick up anything but his 
heels. The vaulting match continued until Mr. Eaton 
was pretty well tired out, and then his hound came to 
the rescue. 
It grabbed the deer by the throat, and hung on for half 
a minute, when the buck made a plunge and threw the 
dog about 20 feet. It then started off on a run, and the 
dog followed. The last Mr. Eaton saw of the two they 
were disappearing on a run with the dog hot on the 
trail of the buck. Mr. Eaton says that the buck would 
surely weigh 300 pounds, and he was satisfied that he 
would have been seriously injured if his dog had not 
appeared on the scene. 
"That reminds me." 
''Show Us the B'&t/' 
"Great day for b'ar," said the gas man of Bulwagie 
Bay as, he watched a honey bee emerge from the hive, 
brush the morning dew from his eye and shoot skyward. 
"Guess I'll get the boys together and take a run over 
to Mt. Tom, where Colie Waitt saw a big lame bear 
while on his way to the Doorsajar House at Dead Waters 
with Brooks and his party, about a week ago." 
A messenger was quickly dispatched for the most noted 
bear hunters of the county, of which there are many. An 
hour later a party of half a dozen men, headed by Long 
Ben Babcock, of Pelfishere, were seen wending their way 
up the old Moriah Railroad toward Mt. Tom, each carry- 
ing a Winchester and a canteen. 
Big Lige Smith, of Mill Brook, said it was "the fust 
time he had ever hearn of any one carr3'in' cartridges in 
a canteen." 
As the hunters were nearing the old saw mill at Mill 
Brook they were startled by the appearance of a lone 
horsemen, who came tearing down the Mineville road like 
a racer on the homestretch. When the new arrival reined 
in his foaming steed he was at once recognized as big 
Bill Owens, better known as little Willie, the hermit of 
Eagle Clift", near Chapel Pond. 
"Boys," said Owens, excitedly, "I'm glad to meet you. 
I was on my way to look you up. Fact is, I had been ex- 
pecting you, and yesterday I went down to Roarin' Gulch 
and got a five-gallon demijohn of the finest applejack I 
ever sampled. I put it under the big spruce stump tree 
near the spring, where it would keep cool, because Brooks 
kicked about the ginger ale being warm the other day. 
Well, when I crawled out of my shack this mornin' I 
went to take a look at the demijohn, but there was no 
demijohn there. It was gone! gone! stolen!" 
"Them loggers from the Wash Bowl," muttered Mose 
Ritmsey, of Snappin' Turtle Creek. 
"No, it wa'n't no loggers stole that ar' whisky," said 
Owens; "it was a b'ar and an old whopper at that. Why, 
he makes a track bigger'n our Stevie, and Stevie is nigh 
onto twelve years old." 
"Show us the b'ar," said Cobe Green, of Birch Bottom, 
"and we'll have steak for dinner." 
"Hold on, boys," said the gas man from Btdwagie Bay; 
"I think it rather risky to shoot that ar' b'ar, owing to 
the nature of the stolen goods he has in, his possession. 
I think we ought to get a warrant and replevin that 
whisky." 
All sanctioned the wise counsel of the gas man, and 
quickly hied away to Roe's grocery, on the back road, 
where the necessary document was secured. They then 
started to replevin the Avhisky. 
They wended their way slowly over the old post road 
until they reached the ^watering trough near Sherman's 
old place, where they stopped to slake their thirst. 
As big Bill Owens raised the cocoanut shell cup to his 
lips he detected a strong odor of whisky. He dropped the 
cup, exclaiming: "My whisky! My whisky! That b'ar's 
been here and used the shell to drink the whisky!" 
A hurried examination of the .ground disclosed numer- 
ous tracks of a large bear, which had headed toward the 
Feeder Pond. 
The trail was easily followed through devious swamps 
and across numerous streams until the hunters arrived 
at an open field near Stove Pipe City. Near the edge of 
the field they saw the bear clutching the demijohn and 
dancing a jig on an old door that he had pulled from the 
cow stable of cross-eyed Ike Hull, one of the hunters. 
"There's the crittur!" shouted the gas man of Bulwagie 
Bav. "Now we'll soon have the demijohn." 
The party advanced within about 20 yards of the danc- 
ing bear, when they halted. The gas man then pulled the 
legal document from his pocket, and after quoting Black 
stone for a few minutes and trying to impress on the bear 
tlae enormity of the crime he had committed, in a few well 
