Dec. 23, 1899.I 
the moose while the body was warm. He coneeived the 
idea ot wrapping himself in the hide to keep warm, the 
night being very cold. With the hair side in he rolled 
himself up in the hide, and soon fell asleep. In the 
morning he tried to move, but found that the hide had 
frozen stiff and hard. By no means could he extricate 
himself. Neither could he stand up nor walk. Here was 
a predicament. He did not give up to die, however. He 
well knew that his brother would be out after him at 
daylight, and would have little difficulty in tracking him 
to his place of imprisonment. In this he was right. By 
noon his brother had found him, much stiffened and un- 
comfortable from his cramped position in the frozen 
moose hide. The brother could not help laughing at the 
sight that met him, and at first proposed rolling "the 
whole business" into camp. But the man in the moose 
hide decided that a fire be built and that he be thawed 
out. Ihis was done, and both think the escape a narrow 
one. 
Boston, Dec. 18.— The Maine big-game season, which 
was fully closed Friday night, shows an increase in the 
number of deer shipped through Bangor by rail. The 
total number recorded there was 3,415, an increase of 
38 over last year. It is also mentioned that some 
more deer are yet to be transported, under special per- 
mit, and that this will make a still greater showing for 
the season just passed, although it is sixteen days shorter 
than last year. The total number of moose transported 
through Bangor for the season to date has been 138, while 
last year's completed shipments were 202. Doubtless 
there are still a few heads yet to be transported, under 
special license, the moose having been killed in open sea- 
son, and this is expected to bring the season more nearly 
up to that of a year ago. Recent reports from guides and 
woodsmen suggest that there are more young moose and 
cows in the woods than ever before, but that bulls with 
good heads are scarce. 
W. T. Farley, of Boston, and Dr. G. A. MxAleer, of 
Worcester, are just out of the New Brunswick woods, 
the Doctor with a fine moose and Mr. Farley with a big 
caribou. This is Mr. Farley's third caribou, though his 
hopes were great of- getting a moose this year. A good 
account of their trip is coming for the Forest anu 
Stream. Mr. and Mrs. F. H. Talcott, of Dorchester, 
have returned from an extended shooting trip in the Alle- 
gash region. Me. Both shot a fine deer or two, but neither 
got a moose. Mrs. Talcott shoots her own game, with- 
out male assistance. 
Sportsmen who fish the Rangeley Lakes will be pleased 
to learn of the engagement of Mr. N. G. Manson, of 
Camp Leatherstocking, Richardson Lake. He is to be 
married on Wednesday of this week to Miss Olive 
Hooper Lunt, of New York. The couple propose to 
spend mo.st of the -Bummer of 1900 at Camp Leather- 
stocking. 
Boston markets have now more deer on sale than a. 
few weeks ago, but not nearly as many as a year ago. 
There is decidedly less of illegal shipping here, but still 
returning sportsmen continue to send their deer by ex- 
press right into market, where they are sold. This 
speaks more of market-hunting than of real sportsman- 
ship, but still hunters of moderate means or economical 
turn persist that a hunting trip to Maine or the Provinces 
costs a good deal, and that if the money received, for a 
deer or two helps out, it is nobody's business. I saw a 
big load the other day backed up to a commission house. 
Soon 1 noticed that there was one bull elk among the 
lot, and next that the deer were rather small, with 
diminutive antlers. Later I learned that the whole load 
was from the Morton reservation or preserve in Ver- 
mont, The sixteen deer and one elk had been killed and 
sent to market. Further particulars are not obtainable 
here. Special. 
CHICAGO AND THE .WEST. 
1'. 
Storms }n the West. 
Chicago, III., Dec. 15. — Chicago for the last two days 
has been treated to the first snow storm of the season. 
Thus far the weather has not been very cold, nor has the 
snow fallen to any considerable depth, tlie storm having 
been but a mild one and the weather pleasant rather than 
otherwise. This snowfall has extended well below the 
central part of this State and Indiana, but is not con- 
sidered severe enough to be dangerous for the quail. The 
snow lies but a few inches deep here. 
Further to the north there have been very severe storms 
.this week. At Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls, Wis., on 
Wednesday, a very violent storm prevailed, with heavy 
wind, which drifted the snow in such way that both 
wagon roads and railroads were blocked. This same 
storm was exceedingly severe across Minnesota, the snow 
drifting to a depth of 15 feet in places, and some of the 
cities looked as though they had been under a blizzard 
for days. The storm, in fact, lasted for sixty hours, and 
has practically tied up the section over which it passed. 
It need hardly be said that this storm will be very in- 
jurious to the quail crop, excepting in sections where the 
cover is very dense. 
Quail and a Cfautcli. 
I was talking this week with Mr. Thomas R. Laflin, 
of Milan, 111., one of our best known shooters in this 
section, aiid he tells me that he 'has been having great 
sport this fall with the quail, which are very abundant 
in his part of the country, which is near Rock Island. 
Mr. Laflin tells me a peculiar quail story, which, on its 
face, seems so impossible, and which yet has in it so many 
elements of probability, that it deserves publication. He 
says that a man of his town by name of Miller is the 
original teller of the story, the facts of which hap- 
pened to Mr. Miller. The latter was driving along the 
highway this fall with a member of his family, when some 
quail were seen running along a hedge, which hedge 
passed close to a church, the church" being but a short 
distance from the spot at which the quail were seen. 
Miller descended from his wagon and fired at the running 
quail, killing one of them. At the report of his gun 
another flock rose a little way ahead of him, and started 
off. closely bunched together. They flew square into 
the white painted side of the church, striking it as though 
ihey would tear off the weather boarding. Miller picked 
vp iutie ot the q<iail dead. He said that he did not ex- 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
pect any one to believe the story, but that it was really 
true. 
Mr. Laflin told me that once when he and his brother 
were boys they were at work in the barn during a 
time when there was a heavy storm of snow and wind. 
They were startled by hearing a great noise on the side 
of the barn, as though it were struck by a number of 
heavy bodies. They went outside and found that a flock 
of prairie chickens had flow squarely into the barn, no 
doubt while blinded by the storm. Apparently the whole 
flock struck the barn, and thirteen were killed. 
I presume every one has seen prairie chickens killed 
by flying against the telegraph wires, at least every one 
who has lived in the West in earlier times. I once 
picked up two chickens which I saw killed in this way 
by flying against the wire. It was quite common for the 
section hands on the . railroad to bring in numbers of 
chickens which had killed themselves in this way. This 
was in Iowa, previous to 1880. 
One could understand that birds would fly against an 
almo,st invisible wire. Yet I have seen two quail killed 
by flying into the side of a barn on my father's place 
when I was a boy. I recall also that one time some of us 
youngsters trapped several quail, which we kept alive in 
the hay mow. When frightened by our coming into the 
mow these birds would get up and fly at full speed 
apparently in any direction that chanced, and eventually 
they all killed themselves in this way, except one, which 
managed to hit the hole left by a broken pane of glass in 
the hay mow window, and so escaped. The broken win- 
dow had been there all the time, but they did not seem to 
know it. 
Mr. Laflin does not vouch for the truth of his quail 
story, except to tell it as it was told to him. I may add 
that he is an old-time Western man and something of a 
hunter. Twenty-one years ago he spent an entire sum- 
mer in the mountains in what is now the Blackfoot 
reservation, there being onlj' three in the party. That 
was a rather wilder country then than it is to-day. 
Alaska Explorations. 
Mr. Harry W. Lee, of this city, is the author of the 
very spirited story of hunting adventure in Alaska which 
appeared in the Forest and Stream early this year. Mr. 
Lee left Chicago on May i for another trip to Alaska, 
from which he returned last October. He met the Herri- 
man expedition at Dutch Harbor. This time Mr. Lee 
did not go after big game, but devoted most of his time 
to collecting specimens of the bird life of Alaska. He 
met with great success, and his collection is highly 
valuable. 
Death of T. Benton Leiter. 
Mr. T. Benton Leiter, nephew of Levi Z. Leiter, of 
Chicago, died on Dec. 11, at Mt. Hope, Md., where he 
had been in a moribund condition for some time. He 
was only thirty-five years of age, but he had crowded a 
great deal of activity into his .short life. He was long 
prominent among the sportsmen of Chicago, a splendid, 
hearty young fellow, and an esteemed member of Mak- 
sawba Club. It was he who practically bought out the 
shares of the Maksawba Club, placing the club liolding 
of 5,000 acres practically in the control of Levi Z. Leiter. 
who has intended to drain the marsh lands and make 
them fit for farming purposes. Later Mr. Leiter went 
to Sheridan, Wyo., as manager of a wealthy gold mining 
property. He lost his fortune and his health, and of 
late has furnished a good example of the rapidity with 
which a man is forgotten by his friends when ill fortune 
assails him. 
Bound for Rockpoft« 
Mr. H. H. Hawthorn, with his friends, Messrs. H. E. 
Carroll, F. Channing and J. Slaker, all of this city, pro- 
pose to take their wives and go somewhere South this 
winter, probably starting toward the close of January and 
remaining six weeks. Mr. Hawthorn came to me to learn 
something about Rockport, Texas, and is so much pleased 
with what I am able to tell him about that country that 
he will take his party there. They certainly should have 
a most enjoyable time. 
For Didymas. 
For the benefit of friend Didymus, I should like to 
hang up a few more big bags of Western game, just to 
shake them before his eyes as it were, and make him 
plenty mad. To-day I was talking with Jesse Pumphrey, 
of Columbus, O., and he told me that he had just finished 
shooting quail for a couple of weeks in Fairfield county, 
O., with his friend, Dr. R. B. Miller, now of Chicago, 
but formerly of Amelia, O. Mr. Pumphrey said that they 
did not have such very good luck, as they only killed 600 
quail in two weeks. He said that they had much better 
luck last year, and during their hunt killed 849. He says 
that Dr. Miller is a very good quail shot. This is the 
same Dr. Miller who, with Dr. Carson, of this city, killed 
109 quail in one day at Neoga, 111., this fall, over 300 on 
the same hunt.' These be the facts. 
Traveling. 
Mr. Edward H. Ford, manager of the Economic 
Smokeless Powder Company, whose works are at Ham- 
mond, Ind., leaves some time in January for a brief visit 
to England, which was his native country, and where his 
family has preceded him by a few weeks. Mr. Ford is 
an able and conscientious business man, and I may add 
the best of company, for I spent a very pleasant day with 
liim not long since, on my first visit to a powder mill. 
Mr. C. J. Boor, of this city, starts to-night for southern 
Illinois for a week's shooting on quail. 
Season Closing. 
The quail season closes in Illinois next Wednesday. I 
do not learn of many Chicago shooters who have been 
out after quail this week, but a good many will go out 
to shoot the last day or so of the season. As has been 
so often stated earlier in these columns, the quail season 
of 1899 has been phenomenally good in this section. All 
indications seem to point to an abundant crop of birds 
next year also, as a good head of gahne is carried over. 
Granted a decent vrtnter and not too wet a spring, we 
shall see plentj- of quail next fall. 
StiH Hant. 
Col. C. E. Felton and Mr. W. P, Mussey shot q'tail 
309 
this week at Mattoon, 111., guests of Dr. Ferguson and 
Mr. Voss; but had rather a slim hunt, bagging only 
twenty-four birds in two days. My friend Col. Fenton 
succeeded in killing four birds in his two days, which I 
conceive to be conclusive proof of his skill with the 
shotgun. My challenge to Col. Felton for a quail race is 
at once hurled defiantly into the arena of his front yard, 
\ E, Hough. 
480 Gaxton Building, Chicago, IJL 
Quail in Michigan. 
Hartford, Mich., Dec. 2. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
The quail season has come and gone. In Van Buren county 
the birds were fairly plenty, plump and fat, having lived 
upon the uncut wheat stubbles where grain was plenty. 
The opening of the season found me nearly "hors du 
combat" with a sore thumb, but, nothing daunted, I took 
the trusty Parker and the stanch setter, Frankie, and 
sallied forth. Before I had gotten out of sight of the 
beautiful vilage, Frankie told me by the language that 
everp sportsman understands, that quail were close at 
hand. Soon after giving a few high-heading swiff s, she 
made a few careful moves forward, and became as rigid 
as a statute — the first point of the season. How I wished 
for a camera at that moment that I might have sent to 
the Forest and Stream the beauty of that point! I 
stepped briskly forward and got in line with the dog, 
when "whirred" into the air eighteen or twenty quail 
from not over two rods distant. Picking out the best I 
rounded the fairest birds; the report of right and left 
sounded instantaneously, and I missed with the first and 
killed with the second — sore thumb badly hurt. 
Picking up the first bird and putting it into my hunt- 
ing coat, I went toward the spot where I had marked 
the birds down. I had gone but half the distance I 
thought they had flown, when Frankie, who was well in 
advance, came to a sudden stop. Stepping forward and 
expecting to get a -splendid rise of a single bird, and 
not seeing any, though the dog was still stanch, I stepped 
forward again, but still there was no rise. I then turned 
back toward the dog and within 3 feet of its nose was a 
bird too badly crippled to rise. I claimed it the victim 
of the first barrel. 
Again I went forward to where we had marked down 
the bunch, and when near the spot my faithful friend 
came to another point. Advancing quickly abreast 
of the dog and a few feet to the right, out from under 
my very feet went a strong, swift bird toward cover a 
short distance away. A quick aim and sharp report, and 
another beauty was rolling in the stubble. Looking back 
and seeing the dog still at a point, I stepped in front of 
her, and out went another bird from under my feet, and 
from this mark down in the corner of the field I secured 
seven birds. Seeing that it was nearly noon, and that 
I must be home to dinner, I started homeward, and en 
route picked up two more quail and one woodcock, and 
felt perfectly satisfied with the shott trip and the ten 
birds secured without going out of sight of the village. 
On Nov. 30 I again put in the day with dog and 
gun, and found plenty of the birds left, some whole 
coveys not having been molested, showing that with a 
fair winter we will have plenty of birds for next season. 
During the season I have bagged about eighty quail 
and four partridges and several woodcocks, and not one 
break nor "mouthed" bird by my faithful setter. 
S. Cook. 
A California Decision. 
The written opinion of the Supreme Court filed in 
the Knapp habeas corpus case sustains the position taken 
by the Chronicle in every particular. Knapp had been 
convicted in Stanislaus county of violating an ordinance 
prohibiting the shipment of game elsewhere for sale._ It 
was held by the lower courts that a county had the right 
to restrict game killing and shipment for sale as a police 
regulation, from which Knapp appealed. After hearing 
argument he was promptly discharged by the Supreme 
Court, the filing of an opinion being reserved for a later 
d'ate. "Having taken the game lawfully and at a time 
when it is lawful for any one to shoot ducks the 
ordinance prohibiting their .shipment," says the Court, 
"is an unreasonable interference with the right of private 
property and an unnecessary restraint of trade." In a 
concurring opinion Chief Justice Beatty makes the point 
still clearer: "A county ordinance forbidding all per- 
sons under^ penalty to tran,sport game lawfully taken to 
the place where they desire to use or dispose of it is 
violative of the right of private property as defined and 
regulated by general law and necessarily invalid." That 
seems to be definite enough to convince any one that a 
county has not the right to frame a local law under the 
pretense of a police regulation which shall interfere with 
the right of a market-hunter to kill wild game and sell it 
wherever he chooses, so long as the killing is done within 
the requirements of general law. Twenty-one counties 
adopted the void ordinance. 
The general game law provides for closed and open 
seasons for the killing and sale of game, and it re- 
stricts the maximum bore of the weapons to be used in 
the slaughter of wild water fowl and small game to a 
No. 10 gauge; but one of the sections of the 
statute does the extraordinary thing of empowering the 
various county boards of supervisors to amend itself by 
shortening the statutory time in which game can be 
taken within the county boundaries. Unfortunately, 
the Supreme Court found it unnecessary for the pur- 
poses of the Knapp case to decide that question. It was 
content to say: "If such further restrictions upon the 
right to kill game may be made by county boards, such 
regulations must be reasonable, not oppressive, to any 
class, and must not contravene any established policy of 
the State." But the Court comes dangerously near 
settling the point in another part of the decision when it 
says: "The statutes of the State in regard to game 
prohibit the offering for sale of game during the time 
it is unlawful to kill such game. The State regulations 
upon this particular subject seem complete and restrict 
the rights of citizens so far as was necessary to prevent 
the unlawful killing of gante." 
Inferentially, the decision denies the right of cotrnty 
boards of supervisors to alter the stattttory Umitations 
of the game seasons, {ftesnmably because that wonM be 
