Jak. 6, igoo.JI 
FOREST ANr>- STREAM. 
9 
Luth, after whom the city of Duluth was named. Father 
Hennepin, it seems, Avandered up to the St. Anthony 
Falls, was there taken prisoner by the Sioux, and carried 
200 miles to the northwest. Here he was met, in the most 
casual way in the world, by de Liith, who had come in by 
way of the head of Lake Superior. They shook hands in 
a matter of fact sort of fashion, separated, and later on 
met at Mackinac. This brings into prominence the fact 
that these early adventurers knew all the portages making 
from the Great Lakes into the Mississippi Valley, and 
they easily followed them out under the guidance of the 
Indians. Dc Luth had made the portage from the head 
of Lake Superior to the St. Louis River, and thence 
across. Pere Marquette made his first trip over the 
Fox River portage. La Salle made his journey down the 
St. Joe and Kankakee portage. The Chicago portage 
into the Desplaines River was known to all of them, and 
it is said that sometimes the canoes could go straight 
across without a carry "when the lands were drowned." 
Still further to the east were the Sandusky portage, the 
trails south of Lake Erie, by which the Ohio River was 
reached via the Maumee, the Miami, etc. Bloody trails 
indeed were these for many long years, and their history 
is very thrilling. 
We don't care for these things so much now. Indeed, I 
have even heard that noble trout stream at whose mouth 
good old Pere Marquette kneeled for the last time in 
prayer disgraced by the corrupted name of "Peer Mar- 
ket," with the accent on the "Peer." So rapidly does 
history slip away from us, even history of so dear a sort as 
that of the first white men who set foot upon this Western 
soil, or canoe upon our "V\['estern waters. 
A Handsome Chcistmas Gift." 
While I was at St. Louis this week, I called at the 
5torc of tile RawHngs Sporting Goods Co., Avhich is 
headquarters for the local sportsmen. Mr. Rawl mgs was 
just putting up a beautiful light-Avcight Diamond Daly 
gun, which was to be sent as a gift to Maj. George H. 
McCann, of Springfield, Mo., to reach him in time to be 
placed in his stocking Christmas morning. On the .silver 
stockplatc of this gun are inscribed the names of the 
donors, and very notable names they were too, as fol- 
lows: W. J. Bryan. M. C. Wetniore, Sam B. Cook. 
J. J. Hogan, F. H. Grubbs, H. S. Jewell, F. A. Wishart. 
II. W. Salmon. The political prominence of these gen- 
ilemen is more than national. Col. Bryan will again be 
candidate for President of the United States. Mr. Wet- 
more is president of the big new tobacco company of St. 
Louis. Mr. Cook, Mr. Salmon and others are prominent 
politicians of the South, and Mr. Wishart is likewise a 
well-known railroad man. All these gentlemen last fall 
made a trip to the Wetmore preserves of Taney county. 
Mo., and were so handsomely treated by Maj. McCann 
that they wanted to send him a little souvenir of tlae 
occasion. The gun is a beauty in every respect. 
Mr. Rawlings reports trade as very good this fall, and 
attributes piuri of that fact to his use of the Forest .wd 
Stream. He says, however, that the shooting season 
might liave been better in Missouri and Arkansas. My 
friend, Mr. Horace Kephart, of St. Louis, made a camp- 
ing trip down the river near Ste. Genevieve, but he did 
not have very good luck. Among other little happen- 
ings, an accident to his gun got the inward workings 
of the latter full of sand, which it took him two or three 
weeks to extract entirely. I need not say that the gun 
was a rifle, for Mr. Kephart is nothing if not a lover 
of the single ball arm. 
Mr. C. A. Higgins, G. P. A. of the good old Santa 
Fe Railroad, is just back from a trip to Arizona and 
New Mexico. Mr. Higgins says my grizzly is still 
staked out, waiting for me to come and kill hhn, and 
really I must step over and do that some day. At one 
stage of my career I chased long-footed bear all over 
New Mexico, but I could never come up with them. 
In Texas. 
CHieA.eo, IlL, Dec, 26. — ^Mr. Geo. A. Raisbeck, of KeW 
York City, is in Chicago to-day on his way east from a 
very pleasant trip in the best sporting country of the 
South, which is to say, southwestern Texas. Mr. Rais- 
beck visited his old friend, Mr. L. G. Collins, a large land 
holder and rancher, and the party included the above 
and Mr. Forest Clark, of Al'rce, Texas, another cowman, 
with a pack train and plenty of Mexicans. The party 
hunted on the Santa Rosita arid King ranches below 
Alice, and Mr. Raisbeck acquired his first idea of the 
size of a Texas "pasture." Getting separated from Ms 
friends, he Avas lost in a "pasture" for six hours. A 
company of Texas rangers was ordered out to find him,, 
which they finally did, following the usual cu.stom of 
riding a line across the mesquite, scattered some hundred 
yards or so apart. The leader of the rangers was Arm- 
strong ; the cowpuncher was with Col. RooscA^elt at the 
storming of San Juan Hill in Cuba. Mr. Raisbeck Avas 
A'cry glad to be found, for he says he had no notion before 
that of the size and numbers of the great North Amer- 
ican diamond-back rattlesnake. The party Avas out in 
the King's ranch country for a couple of weeks, and got 
tlirec deer, six wild turkeys and one "leopard cat" 
(ocelot). .The latter animal is groAving rare in that 
country. .'A few javelinas are left, but the party saAv 
none. They killed a great many quail. The New York 
man says he finds Texas a pretty big country, especially 
if you are lost. Mr. Raisbeck travels nnich in the West 
for sport, and his trips to Kabekona Camp in Minnesota, 
very successful ones, haA'^e been often reported in these 
colunuis. 
Gone West, 
Mr. Hofer (which is Billy Hofer) reached Chicago 
this week on his way back home after a short journey in 
the eft'ete East. Billy Ha^cs at Gardiner. Mont., on the 
edge of the YelloAvstone Park, as everybody knows, but he 
traA'els now and then a bit himself, besides entertaining 
travelers. Billy grows no older, nor doth his ardor abate 
for young bears, cats, deer, sheep, etc. As a taker of 
wild animals he ha.s perhaps no equal in America, and 
the people of the country may witness in the National 
2oo at Washington yearl}' increasing proof of his activity 
and success. 
Quail KttI Themselves. 
In confirmation of Mr. LaHir^'s story of recent publica- 
tion in these columns of a flock of quail which flew into 
the side of a church and killed themselves, Mr. Paul 
North, of the Cleveland Target Company, of Cleveland, 
O., writes mcTis below: 
'T just picked up Forest and Stream of Dec. 23 issue 
and noticed your letter mentioning Tom Laflin's story 
about quail killing themselves by flying against a house, 
and I write to confirm the story by relating an experience 
I had this month. 
"While hunting at Spencer, C, with two friends, 
Messi-s. Aldrich and Stefhns, a covey of quail was 
flushed bv Mr. Stefiins. who wounded one bird that 
kept with the covey, but they settled. Going to where we 
had marked them down, the dogs pointed the wounded 
bird, which we picked up. 
"Another bird flushed wild, and none of us shot at 
it. as it flushed too far aw3.y. 
"It flew straight toward a house at least 300 yards 
away, and to our surprise went against it full force, mak- 
ing a noise like a baseball striking the house. Mr. 
Aldrich Avent over and picked it up and said it had bound- 
ed back 6 or 7 feet. The breast was split open with the 
force of the bloAV. It was a new one on me, and I ac- 
counted for it on the idea that Mr. Steffms had hit 
it as well as the one we found, but had hit this one on the. 
head, so as to destroy the sight. 
"I can at least believe Laflin's story after my own ex- 
perience. Some of Tom's stories, however, need a lot of 
prooJ\!'" E. Hough. 
480 Caxton Bdilding, Chicago, III. 
' New Jersey Game Interests. 
From the Report of the Fi.sh and Game Commission, 
Legislation. 
Tiicre is no State in the Union, and there arc very few 
countries in the world, where fish and game are not ac- 
corded some kind of protection. Fish and game are ever 
moving about, and consequently it has always been deemed 
proper that there should be general laws protecting them 
and thus saving them from being exterminated. For if 
each landowner were to do as he likes on his own prop- 
erty it would be but a very short time before fish and 
game would entirely disappear. States recently admitted 
to the Union have laws more stringent as a rule than the 
older States, for experience has shown that it is never too 
early to begin protecting fish and game, and that the 
sooner a reasonable code of laws is enacted and enforced 
the iDetter it is for the propagation of all species of useful 
wild animals. It would be difiicult to find any State 
where beneficial effects are more likely to result from 
proper protection of wild fauna than New Jersey. We 
have fields and Avaters in abundance where the wild fauna 
will thrive, and the benefits to be derived from their 
proper protection are almost incalculable. Not only do 
the shad and sturgeon and the hundreds of fish which fre- 
quent our coasts afford a means of livelihood for hundreds 
of fishermen, but our fresh waters and our woods and 
fields are sought by hundreds of sportsmen who ma- 
terially contribute to the wealth of the State, for the 
liberality of the average sportsman is well known. _ 
For some years New Jersey has assumed a position in 
the first rank among States Avhich accord proper protec- 
tion to fish and game, and which enforce the laws thus 
called for, but with all the flattering comments which 
have been heard from every part of the country it must 
be admitted that some of our laws are still crude, and 
every person at all conversant with the subject will ad- 
mit that there is room for material improvement in our 
fish and game laws. Our laws for the protection of fresh- 
Avater fish have been on our statute books for a number 
of years and there has been little demand for their modi- 
fication. These laws are simple and easily understood, 
and they are in the main reasonable; there should be no 
reason why the laws protecting game should not be 
likewise. 
It is manifestly impossible to frame a game law Avhich 
Avill be satisfactory to all, and the complaint will prob- 
ably CA'-er be heard that there was more game when there 
was less legislation. That is undoubtedly true, but the 
fact should be remembered that New Jersey's popula- 
tion has increased greatly of late years, and that not 
only are the guns more numerous and more deadly, but 
that with the spread of civilization the area where game 
Avill thrive has become annually more reduced. The in- 
crease of gunners has been in an inverse ratio to the de- 
crease of game covers. This fact Avas well recognized 
some years ago, but of late it seems to have been prac- 
Hcally lost sight of, for the history of legislation for the 
past few years shows that the gunners are afforded more 
liberties, and that the seasons for killing game have been 
increased when just the opposite should have resulted. 
Our present game law is not only peculiar, to sa5''- the 
least, in its provisions, but it is difficult in its enforce- 
ment. The law provides for some kind of shooting from 
the first of July to the first of January, and the violator 
of the law and the pot-hunter are given abundant op- 
portunities for killing game out of season. The true 
sportsman, who obser\'es all laws, those pertaining to 
trespass, as well as those providing for open and close 
seasons, needs no game laws, for he knows that if ga(ne is 
shot during the breeding, season, or when it is immature, 
there -will soon be an end to his sport. The Indians of 
Canada. Avho are affected by no game laAV, are far more 
observant of proper seasons than are the white settlers. 
The Canadian laws nearly all provide that their provisions 
shall not apply to the. aborigines, for the latter have been 
taught by experience when to kill and when' to give 
game a chance to thriA^e. It is the violator of the law, the 
man who cares not whether any game is left for another 
year, as long as he has license to kill the present j'ear, who 
cares not Avhether he destroys the farmer's property or 
AA'hcther hai"vests are ruined by his ruthless slaughter of 
birds, who makes game laAvs a necessity. This ii; the man 
Avho goes out in July under the nretense of hunting 
woodcock and kills the sitting partridge and the graA'id 
squirrel,; and this is the man whom it is necessary for 
the laAV to reach. Our law simply protects and assists him, 
for it ODens to- him for six months cA'^ery year the season 
for killing all kinds of game. His capacious Dockets, 
which the law prevents the warden from examining, are 
undoubtedly more frequently filled Avith' game which 
should not be shot than with lawful prey. 
When the first fish and game laws were enacted _ in 
this State the necessity for ample protection had so im- 
pressed itself on the minds of the legislators that the 
penalties prescribed were severe. It was presumed that 
every citizen would recognize the necessity of protection 
and that consequently every citizn would make it liis 
duty to bring the offender to the bar of justice. That this 
presumption was erroneous, time has amply proven, for 
the average citizen shrank from being made the instru- 
ment of punishment for an offense which in itself did him 
little injury. Less than ten years ago_ a statute of this 
State imposed a penalty of six months in State prison on 
the hapless mortal who took a yellow perch at the Avrong 
time of the year; at present perch may be taken at all 
times, as long as a net is not used in their capture, and 
the highest penalty that can be inflicted on the most un- 
scrupulous and destructive violator of the laAV is not more 
than a fine of $50, or imprisonment for ninety days in 
default of the payment of the fine. There has been a 
proper reduction in the severity of the penalties, but not 
as much as your Commission would consider proper. If 
the penalties of the laws of to-day were to be reduced 50 
per cent., even Avith the present machinery for the en- 
forcement of the laws, we beheve that it would conduce 
to better preservation of fish and game, for severe penalties 
frequently act as a deterrent argument against the eu^^orce- 
ment of the law. 
The members of your Commission have devoted a good 
many years of application to the study of the problem of 
proper protection, and they have had the advantage of an 
extensive correspondence with men who have marie the 
wild fauna a life studj'. Legislatures in the past have 
frequently ignored the recommendations of fish and game 
commis.sions, but unfortunately the general public has al- 
Avays held the Commission responsible for the existence 
of obnoxious' or unreasonable laws. In order that this 
impression may not continue, your Commission desires to 
present for your consideration a code of fish and game 
laws .-^uch as your Commission feels confident would meet 
with the vicAvs of CA'ery person interested in the pro- 
tection of fish and game. The changes suggested are 
neither numerous nor novel, nor are they the result of 
the observations and experiences of New Jersey Commis- 
sioners alone, but they are the best fruit of the study of 
naturalists the Avorld over. Your Commission can, how- 
ever, but suggest; the practical application of the best 
ideas lies wholly' in your hands. 
The first change which suggests itself in the game 
law, taking the latter seriatim by sections, is a better 
definition of the terms "wild deer" and "English pheas- 
ants." The law passed last winter providing a close 
season for three years for deer is an excellent measure, 
and no argument has been adduced for its being dis- 
turbed. It was evidently the intention of the Legisla- 
ture in providing protection for deer to exclude from 
this provision deer kept in inclosures. In the few pre- 
serves in New Jersey the deer are private property, 
brought hither from other States or reared in confine- 
ment, and in every instance the owners pay taxes on 
these deer just as they do their cattle. The law per- 
taining to ring-necked pheasants has been the subject 
of some confusion, and the question has been frequently 
asked "What is an English pheasant?" If the place of 
origin of the species should be indicated in the name, 
then Avhat is known as English pheasants, golden pheas- 
ants, ring-necked pheasants and nearly all other kinds 
of pheasants should be called Asiatic pheasants. The 
appellation "English" is due to the fact that these birds 
have been raised for manj' centuries in England and 
that they Avere brought hither from that country, and 
consequently the term English pheasant Avould apply 
Avith equal propriety to nearly every one of the many 
different varieties of the bird. What is at the present 
day generally designated as the English pheasant is the 
Phasianus c.olcliis, whose principal distinctive marking is 
the broad collar of purple extending from the head 
almost to the shoulders. Crossing this bird with the 
Chinese variety of pheasants has produced what is known 
as the Phasianus torquatus; the principal difference in 
appearance between this bird and the English bird is 
that the Phasianus torquatus has a broad white collar 
in the purple coloration of the neck, the white separat- 
ing the rufous coloring of the body from the purple 
neckband. These two birds have been inbred, being 
fertile inter se, until there is a gradation of species be- 
tween Phasianus colchis and Phasianus torquatus. The 
latter bird, although the pure Chinese bird is also fre- 
quently designated as torquatus, is the ring-necked 
pheasant of the NeAv Jersey law. The EngHsh bird is 
tamer, not so hard a flyer, less given to moA'ing from 
the place where it was reared than the ring-necked; the 
English bird very seldom reproduces its own species and 
requires great care in handling during the breeding 
season, AA'hereas the ring-necked female Avill not only 
hatch out her eggs, but will also take care of her young. 
The latter bird was introduced in this State by your 
Commission; the English is reared only in preserves and 
is hardly more entitled to be called a game bird than is 
our domestic fowl. A plainer definition of these terms 
in our laAV Avould avoid a great deal of confusion. 
The present Ibav permits the killing of English snipe 
only during the months of March, April and Septem- 
ber. On the principle that birds should be killed when 
they are in the best condition for the table this law 
should be changed so as to include October, or at the lat- 
ter month might be substituted for September, for the 
birds are hardly full grown in the earlier month, whereas 
in October they are large and Avell fed. 
The consensus of opinions of both persons Avho shoot 
reed and rail birds for their oAvn table consumption and 
those who kill them for the table is that the birds are 
hardly fit for the table during the month of August, and 
there is little doubt that a majority of the persons most 
interested Avould prefer the laAV as it stood two years ago, 
opening the season for these birds on Sept. i. 
The obiection to the law protecting insectivorous 
birds is that it is entirely too general and sweeping. 
After enumerating certain birds not to be killed, the 
AA'ords '"or other insectivorous birds" are added. The 
que.-^tion naturally arises as to what constitutes an in- 
sectivorous bird. Ts 'a. bird to be regarded as insectiv- 
orous AA'hich feeds on insects for tAvo or three Aveeks eA'ery 
year? Uider the provisions of the present law persons 
might be prosecuted for killing shore birds, for these 
feed to a great extent on aquatte InsftctS, and a prose- 
