Sg8 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Dec 3P* 1899. 
nomenon, aither, but whin you see thot cow climbin' thot 
sycamore three, tail fornists, thot will be a faynomenon." 
O. H. Hampton. 
On the St. Francis. 
To his notes on "Quail Shooting in the Blue Ridge," 
Mr. Lowry adds: 
Since writing the above I have received a letter from a 
friend who has for a number of years past been tr3'mg the 
birds 'way down in Mississippi. As he mentioned an ex- 
perience of his near McComb City, where he stopped at 
a house in which many, of the window panes were 
missing, and upon inquiring of the owner why they 
weren't replaced, he was informed that "he hadn't time 
to do it" (although he had been living there about seven- 
teen years), this put me in mind of a little experience 
of mine in Arkansas which perhaps may be worth telling. 
About ten years ago I happened to be in Memphis, and 
as I heard that there were a great many ducks over on the 
St. Francis River, about forty miles from Memphis, it did 
not take me long to get there. Well, I struck it in a 
blizzard, and found myself lodged at what by courtesy 
was called a hotel. This hotel had only one room for 
guests. There were three double beds and a large fire. I 
have always thanked heaven for that fireplace, for had it 
not been there I believe we would have frozen to death. 
Of course there were three or four windows in the room, 
each and every one of which had one or two panes of 
glass broken out, and the way the icy wind did whistle 
and roar through them was a caution. When I came to 
retire I found that I had five companions, some of them 
pretty rough looking felloAvs, none of whom I had ever 
seen before, and as we were all six of us expected to 
sleep in the three beds, we paired off accordingly. As I 
knew pretty well that we were going to have a freezing 
night of it, I went to bed with all my clothes on excepting 
my boots, and I believe my companions did likewise. 
After a useless eifort to keep warm, I finally arose and 
informed my companions that I was going to stand 
guard and keep the fire going for a two hours' watch, and 
should expect them to divide up and do likewise, which 
they agreed to, and in that manner we managed to pass 
the night. The next morning the landlord appeared, and 
of course asked us how we rested. As we none of us 
felt very good, one of our party replied in a pretty grave 
and surly voice, "Darn poorly."' 
"How is that?" said the landlord, 
"Why, look at those infernal window panes! If we 
hadn't have stood guard, and kept that fire going all 
night, we would have frozen to death ! Why. don't you 
put some glass in those window frames anyhow?" 
"Oh, it's too cold," said the landlord. 
"Well, why don't you repair them when the weather is 
•warmer?" 
"Don't need it then," said the landlord. "You fellows 
don't know how to make an Arkansas window pane any- 
way." 
"Why, how do you do it?" asked somebody. 
"Whv, stuff vour breeches in," said the landlord. 
In a little while breakfast was announced, and our half- 
frozen procession wended its way to a little outhouse made 
of boards, not tongued and grooved, nor sheathed nor 
battened, and each and every board had shrunk about 
half an inch from its neighbor, and as the door was left 
wide open, and neither of the two windows had any sash 
in whatever, with a temperature of about 20 degrees, we 
certainly had a cold breakfast. Now it so happened that 
the flooring of the little room had evidently been laid 
down green and left to season, and as not a nail had been 
put in it. the loose boards made rather a shaky floor. As 
I was trying to swallow some of their corncob coffee and 
cold pork, I felt a commotion under the floor directlj'- 
beneath my chair — the loose boards were shaking and 
raising and falling. Of course I turned to the landlord 
and Calling his attention to it asked him what it was. It 
did not take him long to enlighten us, for he seized one 
of those old-fashioned two-pronged forks in his right 
hand, and leaning over with it he thrust it through one of 
the cracks in the floor as far as it would go, whereupon 
there was a tremendous racket, with all sorts of squeals, 
and the landlord still leaning over and holding the fork 
which had passed through the floor, lifted his voice and 
thus addressed us: "Gentlemen, I wish to inform you 
tliat I don't allow any darned hawg to scratch his back 
under this hotel." Rodert C. Lowry. 
Paragraphs and Postscripts. 
From a Man ia Boston, 
I PASSED yesterday a couple of deer and a bunch of par- 
tridges and a few duck hung up in the door of a restau- 
rant, and it just gave me a con^atlsion. It seems as though I 
must pack' off for the Maine woods instanter, but I can- 
not do it, and thank you for your sympathy, which is 
about my only consolation, save that I do get Forest ans 
Stream, and out of it, as I have often told you, more com- 
fort and recreation than from everything else that comes 
to my desk. a ^mS 
His Philosophy* 
Wud ye be afther say in', Denny, 
Th' m'anin' uv yer way; 
Ye kapes yer dog a-slapin' 
By yer fire the night an' day? 
Don't yer know he'll live the longer 
In th' cowld an' crispy air. 
Than snoozin* on yer carpet flure, 
An* sheddin' dirt an' hair? 
Now. l\Tike, ye may be spakin' sinse, 
.An* I be showin' crazy; 
Better his loife be short an' swate 
Than long and rale onaisy. E. 
Tlie FoKEST AND Stream is put to press each week on Tuesday. 
CorrespoTidence intended for publication should reach tis at the 
latest by MonH^Y an4 3S much earlier as practicaW?, 
0^nie mid 0m 
The Big Buck of Witch Lake. 
The annual visitor to the Upper Peninsula of Michi- 
gan will note a good many changes as the years roll by. 
Your Uncle Sam's family is increasing in numbers very 
rapidly, and ere, many years more the wilderness will 
blossom like the rose, and the wild man and wilder 
animals that possessed this domain a century and a half 
ago will be known only in history. Some ten years ago 
the penalty for posing in a game of pedro (a favorite 
evening pastime' in some hunting camps) was that the 
loser had to take 40 acres of land in that country. Now 
that land is selling at from $5 to $10 per acre, and cord- 
wood brings $4.25 per cord . at Republic. It is only a 
question of a few j^ears W'hen all the hardwood and pine 
will be gone from lands adjacent to the railroads and 
considerable of the land will be cultivated. The soil is 
thin, but rich and dry. The country is dotted all over 
with lakes, the waters of which are soft, pure and cool. 
There are now four families located at Witch Lake, and 
at Witbec, two miles north, there are a few clearings. 
\ land company is cutting 'timber here, and there are 
some lumber camps at points west reached by a wagon 
road that extends thirty miles through the forest. These 
wagon roads are corkers. A companion and I took 
passage on an empty supply wagon returning from a 
camp on this Witbec road a few years ago, and man- 
aged by main strength to stay in the wagon. When it 
was not trying to spill us out behind as it crept up hill 
it was either in imminent danger of upsetting or following 
the galloping horses down hill, every now and then 
striking a rock or deep ruf, from which it would bound 
into the air a foot or more. On some of these roads, 
however, one may strike a level stretch that will allay 
his suspicions and soothe him to drowsiness if wearied 
from a long tramp or continuous watching; but ere 
long he will be rudely awakened, for something will rise 
up and smite him. 
We set our tents this year in the little covfe at Wit<:h 
Lake, a place I have partially described in the past. 1 
had for companions my old friends N. H. Gable, of this 
city, and. George Hedrick, of Fort Recovery, O. These 
two old soldiers are sportsmen to the core, and an out- 
ing means something more to them than the simple 
slaughter of game. We made our arrangements for the 
trip with less deliberation than usual, not even de- 
ciding to .go until Nov. 8, and left here at 12:29 A. M. 
on the loth, arriving at Floodwood, Mich., at 8:45 A. M. 
on the Tith. At this station, which is four miles south 
of Witch Lake, I ran forward and climbed oh the engine, 
so I could select the best vacant camp site and at the 
same time point it out to the engineer. As I clambered 
into the cab the train pulled out, and if the engineer and 
fireman thought me cheeky they held their peace and 
waited for me to introduce myself and my business. 
As we rounded the last curve at Witch Lake I saw 
that our first choice was awaiting us. The ground was 
covered with a heavy coating of grass that lay flat and 
didn't wear through during our stay. We had our bag- 
gage unloaded in a cut in a little ridge, and had to carry 
it only about twenty steps down into the hollow. We 
had our tent up, baggage inside and fire going before 
noon. We drove stakes on the outside of a frame of 
small logs to hold them in place, then filled the frame 
with earth and set our bottomless stove on this. Thus 
the stove settled into the earth and prevented fire from 
escaping, and was elevated to the right height. We 
made a wide bed in the same manner, except that we 
filled the inside to a depth of a foot with balsam feathers. 
We had to turn our bedding crosswise, then use two 
pieces for the length, lapping them, in order to cover the 
bed fuUj'. This bed was very alluring. It contained 
warmth, room, flexibility and fragrance, and was one of 
the most pleasant dreams of this delightful outing. 
For what care we for all the wealth 
That man can gain by toil or stealth 
When we have lost life's blessings - health and happiness? 
It was health and happiness we were seeking — a rest 
from the worry of everyday business cares — and at the 
same time a change of air and scenery. 
When the camp was put to rights and the afternoon 
was speeding by we concluded to have for supper pota- 
toes with the jackets on, but, lo and behold! we had for- 
gotten potatoes. In our hasty preparation we had men- 
tioned that we were going to a potato country, and there 
the matter was dropped. Mr. Layton Jay, with seven 
companions from Boone countj\ this State, was in camp 
nearby, so I called on him to borrow a small measure 
of potatoes until we could procure some from a settle- 
ment or town the next da^^ He received me as only 
a spprtsman would, and not only met my request, but 
gave me a portion of the hindquarters of a deer and 
declined any pay or repay. When Sunday morning- 
dawned I was glad it was so, for I didn't want to do any- 
thing but just rest. No so Hedrick. He was hopping 
around like a pine squirrel, and no sooner was breakfast 
over than he wanted to see the lakes and w^oods. 
The first week sped by, and although I hunted as faith- 
fully and intelligently as I ever did I neither saw nor 
heard a dec in all that time. I shot the heads off of three 
partridges, and could have killed more, but I was licensed 
to hunt deer, and our camp needed meat. Fowl, 
thousrh good and all right, wouldn't do in this case 
Hedrick "and Gable killed some grouse and rabbits, and 
caught several strings of perch. Mr. Jay's party was 
getting a deer or two nearly every day. Three or four 
of the party would go up or down the railroad a mile 
or so. then fellow a trail out into the woods, where they 
would form a skirmish line. A like party would start 
a few moments later, turn into the woods near camp, 
form a line and hunt toward the first party. Sometimes 
the members of one party would station themselves along 
the edge of a thicket or swamn, and the other would beat 
their way through. By invitation, I joined them the 
latter part of my first week, and got a stand nehrest the 
Michiggmme River, at the north end of a thicket. There 
were plain trails entering the thicket, and fresh sign 
in the trails, Before four mernbers of their party and I 
got stationed we heard the other party shooting about ; 
mile down the river, and fully expected to be compellec 
to kill something to avoid being run over; but, althougf 
the fellow who came along on purpose to beat th.<| 
thicket came my way, making, as much racket as posl 
sible, all the deer that were jumped slipped out to oaH 
side or the other. We didn't get any, and I did not S 
tempt to go with them again, for fear I might prove i 
hoodoo. j 
The first of the second week came, and Hedrick sat« 
he would go up the railroad three-quarters of a mile ail^ 
go out east along an old trail. I turned in a trail thd 
left the railroad about a quarter from camp, then hunteij 
north, intending to strike a burned section at a poinj 
where a ridge extended into the green open woods. ] 
knew some of Mr. Jay's men had gone up the railroac 
a mile or more, and might head a deer my way. i 
struck the place and walked up an old pine log and tool 
•a stand on the stump. From here I could see south, easi 
and west, also northeast and northwest, as far as mjj 
gun would carry, but directly in front, or north, tm 
ridge ^vas covered with tall, dense brush. I had beei 
there less than thirty minutes, when I heard the repor 
of a gun west of north from me, and about half a mils 
distant, and a moment later a large buck appeared tc 
the left of the ridge in front of me. He was about 20C) 
yards distant when he came in view and stopped td 
listen and survey the open woods in front of him. Ther^ 
was too tnuch brush between him and me to justify 
the risk of a shot, and as the ground in front of him! 
was more sparsely covered and he was headed that waj 
and. did not seem aware of any lurking danger I simply 
took hold of mj^self and waited developments. But ii 
was pretty trying after a whole year chained to business 
and a whole week in a deer country without seeing i 
deer. I had time to recall telling Forest and Streaj^ 
that I never had had the shakes, and all the time thal^ 
buck stood there looking into the woods. His range ol' 
vision no doubt took in all the woods from the ridg 
on which I stood to the portion on his right, which 
he had no doubt carefully scanned before he came to tht 
point where he stopped. It might have been the eh: 
vation, or my old green coat, or just my change c 
lutk that kept him from discovering me and darting 
back behind the brush-covered ridge. When he did move 
he did what I was waiting for — he simply walked straight 
ahead until his body showed in the open, and then I 
bleated and brought him to a sudden stop. 
Three seconds later, as my gun roared his deatf^ 
knell, he whirled and bounded oft behind some stands 
ing timber, and I got only a momentary glimpse of cl 
gray and white streak. Though I was ready for another 
shot in an instant, before the smoke from my gun scat- 
tered he was out of sight and hearing, and as I strained 
my eyes .md cars I said half-aloud: "Is it possible that I 
missed him?" He had time to run about half a mile, 
when I heard from that direction three shots in rapid 
succession, and then I was more than half convinced 
that I had missed him. I stood there on that stump for 
fifteen or twenty minutes, hoping against hope that an-< 
other one would come my way, and all the time reproach 
ing myself for bad shooting, bad luck or anything th; 
caused me to lose that big buck. For a big one hr 
surely was, though I sized him up at fully 150 yards. 
But most things have an ending, and when I had, 
lectured myself as much as seemed justifiable, I slid' 
off the stump and down the hill, going around a hoUowj 
or basin some 30 feet below the line the ball from my) 
gun made, and reached the spot from which the buclcj 
had disappeared. By careful search I found three hair- 
or parts of hairs. ' I knew then I hadn't missed hin 
and started on his trail with renewed interest. I had 
gone but a few steps before becoming convinced from the 
zigzag, irregular trail and overturned chunks of wood, 
broken brush, etc., that the buck had been hit hard, andjj 
^\ithin 200 yards of where he had stood I found him' 
dead. And now I saw for a fact that he was a big one;' 
and I also saw that what I had been condemning myself! 
for as a bit of bad shooting was in reality the verv 
thing I had aimed to do. My ball had struck exactly 
where I intended, a little above the center of the left 
shoulder, ranged downward gnd lodged against the skin 
of the right shoulder. I stood looking at the big fellowjj 
lying there until I had recalled the whole transaction, 
and then soliloquized thusly: "Well, that's another of 
those unexpected occurrences that don't repeat them- 
selves." 
When I had the buck ready to hang up and was cutting 
the first fork Hedrick came in sight, and I changed' 
my plan and proceeded to peel bark and cut two small 
poles to make a litter. At first Hedrick demurred. He 
said we would never carry that buck to camp whole. 
"Hain't he a big one!" was his exclamation. The 
hunter who scared him up and shot at the streak came 
along, and after looking him over and telling how big 
he looked as he went out of sight left with the parting 
remark that we had a job on our hands. 
But we got him out to the railroad and were lucky 
enough while resting to attract the attention of two 
3'^oung woodchoppers who were passing. 'Ihey wanted 
to see how heavy he was, and their curiosity, coupled 
with good nature and willingness to lend a helping hand, 
made light work for us the remainder of the way. Gable 
had heard of the kill from the other hunter, who had 
gone on to camp, and met us near the railroad to carry 
our guns. Qable, by the way, had rheumatism in hts 
right shouldtsr to the extent that it was not only very 
painful, but made the shoulder so lame as to be almost 
useless. It prevented his shooting, and annoyed him a 
great deal in fishing and managing a raft that he and 
Hedrick built on Witch Lake. But, like Barkis, he waa 
willin', and more than once declared this the finest 
outing in his experience. 
When the buck was hung- up at camp the word reached 
the settlement that the big buck had been killed, and 
Messrs. Gibbon, Spencer and their wives came to see 
him. Should these lines meet their ej^es I trust they will 
oardon me for the reference. Mr. Gibbon said he had 
been on the. trail of this fellow, but -Had not got sight 
of . him. Mr. Shellman and wife, and our neighboring 
camp of hunters also came, and the lowest estimate of 
the weight of the buck was 250 pounds as he hung, 
From the complirnentaries on the kill especially by 
