t>EC 30, 1899-] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
6^0 
our lady callers, I was led to infer that there was more 
honor in capturing one big noble looking buck than a 
number of ordniary deer, but agam t recalled that: 
when last camped on this spot, and I killed seven deer, 
among them a hne 12-point buck, we had no lady callers. 
I skuined out the forequarters, recovered the ball, and 
have further proof of what a .3S-40 Winchester can do. 
The hole in each shoulder blade was almost an inch in 
diameter, and one blade (I don't remembtr which) was 
split over half of its length. I give these mcidents 
for the benefit of such of your readers as they may in- 
terest. As for mc, when the chase is ended the story 
is hnished. I don't enjoy the butchering part, only so far 
as it proves the success o£ an exciting or skillfully con- 
sumniaied bit ol sport, 
A couple of days later, on my return from a morning 
hunt, I found the camp shrouded in mystery. I was 
certain something unusual had happened, but asked no 
questions. Gable and Hednck had been hshmg and 
were sitting near the stove. Gable had torn his panta- 
loons below the knee, and finding nothing better with 
which to patch them had used a portion of a canvas 
bag, and to hide the contrast had rubbed the patch with a 
piece of charcoal. But that wasn't what made him 
fidget on his camp-stool and look at Hedrick several 
times before speaking. Finally he blurted out: "Let 
George see it." Hedrick arose from his stool, and 
going to the side of the tent brought up from behmd 
his trunk an old game sack, and out of its innermost re- 
cess took a fish over 30 inches long, and laid it on the 
ground. Looking up at me, he asked: "What kind 
of a fish is that.'"' Then I laughed, for I saw the point. 
Seeing that iny companions thought it no occasion for 
levitjr, I answered "a lawyer." Neither of them bad 
seen a lawyer fish, and were afraid they had taken some- 
thing the law protected, yet it was such a prize that they 
were holding it for identification. Ihey said they had 
baited iheir hooks, and run their poles in the muck in 
the lake, and expected to have some more lawyers in the 
morning. The following morning Hedrick went to 
Floodwood to get tickets stamped, and order checks 
for baggage preparatory to leaving for home that even- 
ing, and I went out with Gable to get the lawyers. Sure 
enough, there was something tugging at two of the lines, 
and we hauled in two more lawyer fish, one over 30 
inches, the other about 24 inches. 
This brings me to the evening of our outing; but be- 
fore closing I want to mention seeing a good many fresh 
scrapes and horning of bushes. I brought home a sec- 
tion of a cedar bush that had been horned only a short 
time. J don't know ' at what time the deer up there 
shed the velvet, but my opinion is that a great deal of 
the horning and scraping 1 saw on this trip, which began 
Nov. 10 and ended Nov. 24, was done long after the 
velvet had left the bucks' horns. 
And now adieu to Witch Lake. The land is finding 
owners that appreciate its ^ruitfulness, and the wilder- 
ness alone has any claims on the non-resident. Possibly 
when the autumn of 1900 is a thing of the present, I may 
be so fortunate as to find an asylum in a wilderness 
where T can commune with nature and not feel that I am 
disturbing some land lord's cattle. The friendship of the 
settlers T have met in the deer woods is so genuine that 
it should be respected. G. W. Cunningham. 
Massachusetts Game Interests. 
Boston^ Mass., Dec. 15. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
The convention of sportsmen held here j'esterday was 
representative of the sentiment of the State. The meeting 
was called at the Copley Square Hotel, under the auspices 
of the Massachusetts Fish and Game Protective Associa- 
tion, and some thirty delegates were present. Among 
the speakers were President George W. Wiggin, of the 
Association, and Mr. A. D. F, Kinney, of Worcester, who 
said : 
'T am here to-day at the head of a delegation from 
Worcester with a dozen men interested in the matter. 
Our proposition is a unit. It is this, that something must 
be done to protect what few birds we have, and that 
something must be done speedily. What we believe is 
that the sale of game must be prohibited. [Applause.] 
We go still further, and believe that the season should be 
shortened. [Applause.] We believe that the month of 
December should be included in the close season. It is a 
fact that the better class of sportsmen of Massachusetts 
have been making an efTort for the last twenty-five years 
to make this outdoor recreation of hunting a popular one. 
They have given their money and they have given their 
time for the accomplishment of this end. It is a common 
thing for ^ young man to be seen with a gun, dog and 
hunting suit, and society does not think it strange. So- 
ciety recognizes the fact that he is out for a healthy moral 
recreation. Men of my age have been trying to make 
that kind of recreation popular. Instead of young men 
spending their time in. billiard halls and similar places, 
they can go into the woods, which they could not do if the 
recreation was not popular. We have also made it popular 
for young men to shoot at the trap. We have improved 
their arms and their legs and they have taken to this 
recreation so well that there is nothing more left to 
attract them into the brush. 
"But they are not guilty of the destruction that 
has been going on for the last few years and depleted the 
game birds. Another class is responsible. It is the class 
that is so expert that it can kill more game in two days 
than a young man of the other cla'^s can kill in an entire 
season. They are induced to do that for the few dollars 
they can get. It mav be said that foxes, skunks and other 
vermin are responsible for the decrease of game. That 
is not true. In Worcester county, twenty-five years ago, 
there were as many slainks and foxes as there are now, 
and there was more game in the covers twenty-five years 
ago than there is now or has been since. I have positive 
knowledge that there is not one bird where there were 
twenty or twent5'--five that number of years ago. 
"We have ^imnlv accnmpliphed the almost total an- 
nihilation of the bird. Nnvv we should begin at the root 
of the evil inst^d of lo^-^ing off fip branchei. as we have 
in the pi'^t. Many wi'1 =av prohibition of the =ale pi 
^nme cnnnf^t be a''comnli'=hed. T have no symnathv with 
that ■'^fatement. I kjiow that right with right men behind 
it will prevail. It is morally right to protect the garte 
and induce young men to get out into the covers and en- 
joy this moral recreation." 
Mr.' Kinney's views ..were seconded by Capt. J. W. 
Collins, of the Sta'te Commission; "Mr. L. F. Her rick, of 
Worcester, and Jno. W. Ad^ams, of Rutland. A commit- 
tee of five, consisting of Messrs. A. D. F. Kinney, J. R. 
Read, H. S. Fay, G. H. Palmer and C. C. Munn, pre- 
pared a set of resolutions, which ran as follows: 
"For the purpose of effecting a general organization of 
all associations in the commonwealth interested in the pro- 
tection of fish and game, insectivorous birds and forestry, 
we recommend the adoption of the following: 
"That each association in the commonwealth choose one 
delegate to represent it, and form a central committee with 
full power to act in securing legislation and taking such 
other steps as are necessary, and that H. H. Kimball be 
asked to act as secretary until said committee is organized. 
"We recommend open season on rabbits, squirrel, wood- 
cock, ruffed grouse and quail, to commence Oct. i and end 
Dec. I, and that close season on Mongolian pheasants be 
extended five vears from Feb. 15, 1900. 
"Wc recominend that the sale of all game birds, except- 
ing water fowl, be prohibited. 
"That the laws be amended so as to provide suitable 
fishways to permit the passage of food fish to their spawn- 
ing beds. 
"That the central association use means to secure all 
funds to bring these measures before the Legislature and 
secure their passage." 
The Association will continue its effort to enlist the 
co-operation of individuals and societies throughout the 
State and the outlook is for a strong movement this winter 
to secure the amendment demanded in the resolutions. 
Quail Shooting in the Blue RiHge. 
EvEKY year when the air gets clear and fresh and the 
white frost glistens upon the grass in the early morning, 
my mind begms to dwell upon the brown fields and sedge 
grass and cover in which my little friend Bob White hides 
himself ; and as I have not seen the little fellow for many 
a long month, my heart warms toward him, and I begin 
to look about for a place in which I may find him most 
abundant. Well, of course, there is but one thing to do, 
and that is to consult the columns of Forest and Stream, 
and tucked away in a little corner thereof I found a few 
lines telling of the Hotel Wheeler, located at Henderson- 
ville, in western North Carolina. 
Now it so happened that 1 had a lot of business to 
attend to almost in that very section of the country, busi- 
ness which called me to Asheville, and as I found Hen- 
dersonville was only twenty-two miles distant, as soon 
as I had attended to business I took the train, and on 
Saturdav afternoon, Nov. 25, 1899, I found myself safely 
delivered at the railway station at the charming little 
town. 
Of course I supposed that the Hotel Wheeler was like 
almost any hotel in these North Carolina moimtain points, 
and my surprise was great when I found myself in a per- 
fectly new house Avith every modern convenience. The 
hotel is a new creation, and commenced business only 
last sunmier. It is located on a hilly site on the outskirts 
of the little town of Hendersonville, and has a most 
charming view of the distant mountains from its piazzas. 
Hendersonville is some 2,600 feet above the sea, and is 
frequented by the aristocracy of Charleston, Louisville 
and Cincinnati, as is evident by the charming villas and 
country houses which one finds located in every direction, 
not only in the village itself, but for miles away in the 
surrounding country, and indeed no more charming place, 
no stronger air, nor purer water can be found anywhere 
than in this beautiful rocky region of western North 
Carolina, 
Well, let us go back to the quail shooting. I found that 
mine host, Mr. W^heeler, was a first-class shot and a cap- 
ital sportsman, and as he possessed two fine dogs, Nellie 
and Flora, it did not take us long to perfect our plans for 
a daily hunt for quail. 
Of course, being a mountainous country, all the farming 
is done in numerous little valleys, which are visible every- 
where, and which are watered by the coolest, clearest of 
rivulets that I ever saw. The fields have been planted in 
corn, wheat and rye, affording abundant food for the 
birds, which are indeed plentiful. So bright and early on 
Monday morning the team was ready for Mr. Wheeler and 
myself,' and after a delightful ride of some five or six 
jniles we entered the fields and put the dogs to work. As 
Mr. Wheeler knew where every covey was located, this 
was a great advantage to us, but somehow or other we 
thoroughly hunted through several large fields without 
finding a bird, at Avhich I became greatly discouraged; 
but we found later on that some boys with rabbit dogs had 
been ahead of us. which accounted for the absence of the 
birds. But. by and by. I having gotten tired with tramp- 
ing so much, "Mr. Wheeler announced that he would take 
the dogs and see what he could find, so away.he went, and 
I seated myself uoon a rock by the roadside and lit a 
cigar and waited for develooments. It was not long be- 
fore I beard from Mr. Wheeler, and there awav across the 
valley I could see the pointer Flora stationed upon the 
hill=iele pointing a covey of birds. Of course I didn't lose 
much time in endeavoring to reach her, but I had gone but 
a short di=tance when I found my oassage barred by a 
wide and deep creek, which was bridged bv a single log. 
Now if there is one thing that I never could do in all my 
life, it is to walk a log across a stream. I never yet 
failed to fall in. no matter how big the log was. or how 
small ; and as the embankment was fully ro feet high and 
the water verv deeo, I stn^d ap-ha^t, and finaliv de- 
termined to v/riggle across. Now, for a man as stout as I 
am (I weish 220 pounds) to attemnt to wriggle across a 
log by sitting down unon it and letting one's self up by 
OTie's hnnds a few inches at a' time, is by no means an 
ea=y ta.sk. especially when one is in a miphty big hurry to 
reach a covey of nuail. and ahhoncrh the distance was onlv 
about 25 feet, it did seem as if I should never "get there." 
However, I "gnt there" at la-t. fnd then . commenced a 
galloping over the cornfield. Brnthpr snort^men. did you 
ever try to rtm through a cornfield in which the corn 
stalks vrpxe- sta"'^ir>" nn ar^I I'-'-np- across yf^nr tt-arV? Jf 
so. v'-'" i^now wlipf t'-'at kind of hii='ness is. B"t finally the 
cornfield was belund me. and T ff^'md myself awav up 
against a ditch about 3 feet in width, the other side of 
which was a very rotten board fence surrounded and 
protected by barbed wire, and worst of all, this fence, in- 
stead of standing up straight, had toppled over toward the 
ditch, and there 1 was in plain sight of the dogs and the 
covey of birds, and my friend urging me to hurry forward. 
I rushed up and down the fence and the ditch trying to 
find some available place to get over. At last I discovered 
a partly detached board on tne bottom of the fence, and by 
wrenching it off and scratching and digging a hole under- 
neath, dog fashion, I managed to get under, much to the 
amusement of friend VVheeler, who was convulsed with 
laughter at the way I made the sand fly. 
But through all this delay there stood the faithful 
pointer hard and fast upon that covey, but it didn't take 
us many minutes to flush it, and as we both made doubles 
wc were well satisfied. The birds flew up the mountain 
sides, and Wheeler followed them, and as fast as_ he 
flushed them they flew back again, and lit along the ditch 
banks so that we had no little sport then and there. 
Well, luck seemed to be coming our way, for it 
wasn't long before we found another covey, and during 
the three or four hours' shooting that we had, we found 
ten coveys of birds and bagged thirty-two quail. We 
ought to have had fifty birds, but somehow or other both 
of us seemed to lose our grip and shot very badly. Now 
•why is it that almost all sportsmen will have certain "off 
days" in which even the best of shots can hardly hit the 
side of a house? Is it the light, or one's nerves, or 
what is it? I might go out into the fields to-day_ and 
would make the finest kind of a bag and hardly miss a 
shot, and again to-morrow it would seem as if for hours 
I could hit nothing. 
Well, every day for the next three or four days, the 
weather was delightful, and Wheeler and I tried the differ- 
ent meadows and valleys with which that country seems to 
abound, and we found them all full of birds. They cer- 
tainly are plentiful, and ten to fifteen coveys a day can 
easily be found with a pair of competent dogs. 
If "any of my fellow sportsmen, readers of Forest and 
Stream", want "a most delightful Fpot, both as to an abun- 
dance of game, comfortable hotel and charming country, I 
think that Hendersonville cannot be surpassed, and as I 
have had some experience with the .summer climate of 
these North Carolina mountains I think it is highly prob- 
able that I shall nay them a visit during the hot months. 
I know that all of my Northern friends seem to think that 
to go South in summer time is to court a hot climate, but 
I can assure them that the climate of the mountains of 
the Blue Ridge of North Carolina at those high elevations 
cannot be surpassed in summer time, that is, if one wants 
dry. bracing air. cool nights and no flies or mosquitoes 
whatever, and fine speckled trout fish-ng. 
Robert C. Lowry. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
Shooting with the Saginaw Crowd. 
(Continued from page 489.) 
On the second day at Grassmere the weather proved 
still cool and cloudy, and not badly adapted to hunting 
purposes. The party paired off much as before, less Mr. 
Huumphreys, who was obliged to return to Saginaw on 
the morning train. Mr. Mershon and I again shot to- 
gether, but as he also was obliged to go home that 
evening, his train leaving about 4 o'clock, we arranged for 
a short day, and visited again the country over which w'e 
shot on the day previous. We too had proof enough in 
our own experience of the fickleness of shooting for- 
tune. As on the previous day we had shot in exception- 
ally good luck, killing practically every decent shot we 
had; to-day the reverse was true, and we did some very 
patchy work indeed. First point was won by the setter 
Queen, and Mr. Mershon gave me the shot. I missed 
with the first barrel, and my friend killed the bird an 
instant later. We went on into a willow thicket, and 
again saw Queen pointing. This bird rose full in view 
of both of us, going up very high to clear the thicket, Mr. 
Mershon nicked it with his first load, and I turned it 
over with mine an instant later, Mr. Mershon's second 
barrel again catching the bird. He was sure that it fell 
stone dead, but from my vantage point I could see that it 
lugged off and fell more than 100 yards further on. In 
this case old Bob's invariable success at retrieving re- 
ceived its first setback, for search as we might we never 
found this bird at all. At about the place where I thought 
it was, Bob began to road, and supposing that he was 
about to pick up the bird, I let him get a bit too far 
ahead, and another grouse went out ahead of him, out of 
my reach. 
This was the beginning of our bad luck, and to make a 
sad story short, I may say that we lost two other grouse 
that day which were cut up and fell at no great dis- 
tance. "We had less than a dozen birds in Our pockets at 
night, £tnd our shooting reputation was only saved by a 
little piece of work which we did on a bevy of quail. 
The=e birds were nut up in the thicket by the dogs, and 
alighted at the edge near some grass. Thev went up 
rapidly, and out of seven which rose we killed =ix in 
very short order. After that Mr. Mer.shon killed a 
couple of grouse, long, hard shots in heavy cover. We 
went home that night rather crestfallen, though we. d'd 
not find any one of the narty vi'ith success very inuch 
better than our own. Still, by this time eyerv one was 
bringing in the birds, and the arch over the door of the 
old car began to have auite a snorting look with the lonc 
festoons nf grouse and quail which were hune un to cool 
in the chilly air. Take and Harrv ao-ain nlaved their narts 
nobl}^ and at nieht the trials and disannointments of the 
day were forgotten. The Saginaw Crowd has just as 
good a time in the round un at night as it does scattered 
over the country in the day time. 
The Thffd Day. 
The shooting not proving so gond at Gras.smere as was 
anticipated, the car was dronoed down to the .south and 
ctorped at Akron earlv in the morning .of the third day. 
Here a half-hour later we were ao-ain met hv Mr. Merr 
shon. who cam» on the tr^'n. On the ('vcning orevinus 
we had been inined bv Dr Surnner. of Rochester. N. Y., 
who was to r>r'-'ve s verv d^^'^irab'e comoanion, and one of 
the fittest to Join this shootinp company. 
At Akron we were in the hands of our friends. Dr. 
