108 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Aug. ii» igoo. 
size and splendid coaf The sea otter he thinks is nearly 
extinct. One schooner was- out three months on a hunt 
and did not get a hide in the whole time. 
It is not like Billy Hofer to get much excited over 
anything, or to get any kind oi bug in his hat, but he 
seems to have caught the Alaska microbe pretty bad. 
Wishes he could live up there and all tliat sort of thmg. 
Yet this is not wronderful, for Alaska is the nearest to 
the real thing in Western goods that there is now left 
in the world, and it naturally catches the notion of the 
old-time Western man. Billy Hofer has been in the 
West for twenty-eight years and has seen it change very 
much in that time. 
Billy says that Ed Howell, the one-time notorious 
poacher of the Yellowstone Park, is now in tho, Philip- 
pines, Always a very plucky and venturesome f;ellow. 
Howell and another daring soul took ship for the Philip- 
pines some time ago in the hope of finding some "good 
mineral country," as the Western saying goes. They got 
oift away in front of the military lines prospecting and 
at last accounts had been arrested and told not to get 
too gay, but to wait till the subjugation business liad 
gone on a little further. Howell seems to have the luck 
of getting into trouble with the militarj'. 
Odd enough is this little old world of. ours. Now. there 
was Capt. Geo. S. Anderson, Superintendent of the Park 
at the time Howell was taken, and no cheerful lover of 
the latter, nor the latter of him. The whirligig of fate 
finds both these men from the Yellowstone now in the 
Philippines. It is Cap. Anderson no longer now, but 
Col. Anderson, and there is no better soldier in the 
army than this same. Report has it that Col. Anderson 
is in perfect health and is looking splendid, rather tak- 
ing well to the dreaded Filipino climate. I do not know 
whether he sees Howell or not, but I reckon they 
wouldn't dislike each other so mucli now as they did 
when they were in different lines of business out in the 
snowy Yellowstone. 
E! Hough. 
HARTiroRit BuitDiKO, Chicago, III. 
Tracking Big Game in Burmah. 
It was once well said by a great sportsman that killing 
a salmon in a Canadian river was a sport as superior to 
killing one in Scotland as shooting a lion in Africa was 
superior to shooting a stag in the Highlands. Probably 
to those who have had experience of it, tracking and 
shooting big game is in an equal degree a more exciting 
sport than having them tracked or shooting them off- 
hand. Yet it is strange how few big-game shooters actu- 
ally track for themselves the animals which they eventu- 
ally shoot. Many are quite content to leave the tracking 
to the shikari, only taking a hand by using their rifles 
when they are finally brought up to the game. 
The art of tracking, for such it is, is not by any means 
difficult to acquire. It consists chiefly in good powers 
of observation rather than in some occult .skill with which 
m6st young fellows seem only too ready to credit the 
shikari. I do not wish to detract in any way from the 
usefulness and general advantages derived from the ser- 
vices of a good tracker, and, of course, a man who knows 
the particular country .in , which he is shooting is indis- 
pensable. It is rather to supplement those advantages 
by inducing the sportsman to take part in the operations 
that I venture to offer these remarks, An Englishman 
usually has better eyes than a native, if he only knows 
how to use them from practice, and his power of observa- 
tion, if only cultivated, will have a wider and deeper 
range than that of any native, Tliis is a matter, however, 
to which the saying nascitur non fit most strongly applies, 
but given a man with ordinary intelligence it may with 
rare be greatly sharpened and improved. 
In the forests of Burmah, where our scene is laid, I 
■never cared about tracking big game except during the 
monsoon, for during the rainless months the ground did 
not take a sufficiently clear impression to indicate whether 
t.raGks_ of game were old or fresh. The beginning of 
the rains was the best time ; then, all the forests having 
been burnt over, there were no leaves on the ground to 
rattle like half a dozen kettle drums as one moved along, 
and the slots of deer or spoor of elephants showed freshly 
on the ash strewn ground or on the sprouting grass of tht- 
hillsides, This was the time to get up on to the hills, 
which the bison then much affected, and. camping among 
the pine forests at about 3,000 feet above the plains, to 
keep a close eye on the ridges of the hills for the tracks 
of bison, banteng elephant and smaller game, though 
the latter we usually shot as we chanced on them, with- 
out troubling to track them. A man who knew the coun- 
try was indispensable, and if he could track well so much 
the better. 
Supposing tracks of bison to have been found, the first 
matter to settle was how recent they were. We knew 
that it had rained on the previous night at about IJ 
P. M. We could, therefore, easily decide whether the 
herd had passed along before or after this event. The 
veriest tyro could, of course, decide that matter. Puddles 
tn the hoof prints or a muddy deposit in the part where 
the hoof cut deepest would be certain indications of the 
herd having passed before the rainfall. To decide how 
long before the rainfall would be a more difficult matter, 
and we should be helped to a conclusion on this poini 
by examining the grass growing along the path or track 
where the herd passed. This is a much better clue than 
any I know. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that, 
granted the herd has passed within a few days, one can 
tell within a few hours. Carefully take a piece of grass 
from which an animal has bitten off the top. and comnarc 
It with a piece of crass freshly plucked and bitten off bv 
yourself You will! immediately see the difference be'- 
tween the two. No microscope is required. You might 
also take another sample of grass, if it can be. found, 
which you know to have been cropped by an animal, some 
time oreviously. Now, on comparing the three, the piece 
freshly plucked is .seen to be ereen almost to the-. end. 
where there is a slightly whitish mark caused by your 
teeth when it was bitten ; the second piece is dried almost 
brown for . perhaps the sixteenth of an inch from the 
end; the piece last plucked is in a similar state, but for 
.abont the eighth of an inth from the end. where it is 
dried and brown. 1 well recollect on one oecasion romine 
on quite fresh trades of a/blson unfortunately, thefe had 
been no rain within the- pfrcviovjs ,twentr-fotjr hours at 
least, so that the tracks only told us that the animals had 
passed within that period. However, on examinmg the 
grass irom which the animals had grazed as they passed 
we came to the conclusion that they had gone along just 
in front of us; indeed, the shikari asserted that he could 
smelj them, which was, no doubt, true. We did not go 
'300 yards further before we came upon two line full- 
grown bison— a cow and a bull. This I felt to be a great 
triumph for our prescient power, and the occurrence has 
dwelt in my memory ever since. The experiment may be 
.U'ied in any meadow where cattle are grazing, and any 
one who makes it will quickly observe what he may not 
perhaps have observed before. 
It is an advantage' in tracking to notice whether the 
animals are walking, trolling or galloping, the prints of 
the hoofs being differently placed in each motion. One 
should also have a good idea of the number of animals in 
a herd which one is following up. This may be arrived 
at in two ways; firstly, by noting the tracks of each 
individual animal where the herd has broken up to feed ; 
■ secondly, by counting the number of the forms in the 
grass where the herd has laid down to rest. The latter 
should correspond with the members of the herd, though 
allowance should be made for one beast which does not 
lie down, but keeps guard, standing while the remainder 
rest at ease. Knowing the number of the herd, it is at 
once easy to find out whether a part of it has at any point 
divided from the main body, as is not at all unusiial. 
The larger animals in a herd are very fond of breaking 
off from the main body, the old bull retiring by himself 
sometimes, though it seems that the herd is always re- 
united within a day or two. Again, notice the size of the 
tracks, as by these both the size and sex of the animals 
are indicated. 
A really good shikari, up to liis work, should be able to 
explain every sound which he may hear. Thus he should 
be able to distinguish the tapping of a deer's horns against 
a tree from the friction of two boughs rubbing together, 
the fall of a branch from one voluntarily pulled down. 
The advantage of observing the smallest detail when after 
game is very great, as perhaps this little incident shows: 
I once put a bullet through a huge boar (in Burmah we 
shoot tliem) as he was grubbing in thick jungle. As 
we were following him up by his tracks the .shikari, lean- 
ing on his bamboo stick, which seemed to me always 
to have the power of a magic wand, divided the long 
grass in which we were and directed my attention to a 
hoof print. "You see," said he, "this lioar is very savage." 
"How do you know?" I replied. "Oh," said he, "look at 
his footmark." The footmark was in such a position as 
to show that the boar while going along had turned to 
look back to see whether he was followed or pursued. 
I did not notice it until pointed out, but the shikari saw 
it at once. We had inferred from this that the beast was 
wounded, and ready to charge anything which came in 
his way. Few would perhaps credit that so much could 
he read from a single footprint, but the experienced eye 
at once detect it. In fact, as the tracker goes along he 
ought to be able to read as in a book every little detail 
which may in any way assist him to •work, up to the final 
tragedy which he hopes for. He. above all. should be one 
who "finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, 
sermons in stones, and good in everything." — Corre- 
spondence London Field. 
Long Island Woodcock, 
Hauppauge, L. I., Aug. 6. — The woodcock season 
opened last week, and a few stray birds were shot. They 
were evidently birds which had spent the season in this 
vicinity. There has been no liight of birds which have 
nested further north. These birds will come along later. 
The fact that it is the open season for woodcock has 
furnished an excuse for ppt-hunters to go over the fields 
with their dogs, and many birds which may not be 
lawfully killed have no doubt fallen victims to the 
farmers' sons and summer boarders. 
East Rockawav, L. I., Aug. 6.— Woodcock have ap- 
peared in this section of Long Island, and several birds 
have been shot since the open season began. These are 
the first woodcock that have been seen in this vicinity 
in twenty years. It is supposed that the dry weather has 
caused the birds to leave the upland and seek food in the 
springs and ponds nearer the bay, They are not often 
found in the salt creeks, but seem to prefer the head of 
the creeks which are fed by fresh water. The birds, killed 
were small and immature, altogether too young for 
market. Many sportsmen think it is a mistake to have the 
open season begin earlier than October or just before the 
native birds leave and the birds which have nested further 
north arrive. Another bad feature of the present law is 
the excuse which it gives pot-hunters for being out with 
dog and gun. 
Bears in Traps; 
Central City. W.- Ya— Editor Forest and Stream: 
Would you favor me by stating Governor Roosevelt's 
reason for thinking that it is unsportsmanlike to shoot a 
grizzly bear in a trap? I infer that he would kill it, but 
how? By knifing or clubbing it? Is not the reasonable 
way to humanely slay the beast with gun, and run no 
unnecessary risk of being injured by close quarters with 
him? What's the use of M'hite men playing Indian 
medicine man? N. D. Elting. 
The question then discussed was fi6t what to do with a 
trapped bear, but whether it was sportsmanlike to trap 
"bears for. the purpose of shooting them "for sport." The 
bear appears in two aspects, first as vermin to be de- 
stroyed in any practicable way of getting rid of it; and 
second, as an object of pursuit by the sportsman, Gov- 
ernor Roosevelt was not discussing the methods of doing 
away with the bear as an enterprise of ridding the land 
of an undesirable inhabitant. He was writing of bear 
hunting as a sport, and his argument was that it was not 
sportsmanlike under those circumstances to trap a bear 
; and shoot it in the . trap. He had in mind not the woods- 
man intent on bear boiinty nor the frontier 'farmer bent on 
destroying.an ursine hog -thief but the sportsman who i-; 
looking for a grizzly blear head to hang up in his home as 
a tFophy of his prowess as a bear- twiriter. 
AndyJ Hoffman's Luck. 
An-dy is a pioneer of West Virginia, and a: crack rifle 
shot. Thirty years ago this part of the country abounded 
in rabbits and ruffed grouse. One day Andy went out 
a short distance from his house to an orchard with his 
rifle and three balls. There was- some snow on the 
ground, and rabbits seemed to be sitting under every 
briar bush. He shot three, but he was not satisfied, and 
so dug the balls which he had shot out of the ground, 
shaped them up by pounding and cutting and shot three 
more rabbits. 
At another time, with a shotgun, he got every grouse 
out of a covey of eleven in this way: They were under 
a log, and at the first fire he got seven. With a good dog 
he treed the remaining four, which he brought to bag. ^ 
Grouse now are very scarce in this part of West Vir- 
ginia — not one-fiftieth as plentiful as in New York. I 
have hunted here for twenty years and seen but half a 
dozen. N. D. Elting. 
Manitoba Prairie Chickens. 
Winnipeg, Man., Aug. 2. — Thousands of chickens this 
year — all well-grown and strong. Prospects for good 
shooting were never better. A. W. nu Bray. 
Chautauqua Lake Muskallongc 
and Black Bass. 
I,AKE\\oOD, N. Y'., June 21. — Editof Forcsl and Stream: 
.'Vlthough Chautauqua Lake is one of the very best waters 
in America for mu.skailonge and black bass, it has never 
received the attention from anglers that it deserves. Be- 
yond the farmers living on its banks and a few summer 
boarders at the various hotels, the grotind is never 
touched, unless we include some dozen professional fish- 
crnu n who act as guides and oarsmen when required. 
Muskallon.ife are plentiful and no fisherman ought ever 
to go a day without getting a few of these mighty mon- 
sters. We never do, and have caught as many as six- 
teen in a single day. Small-mouth black, bass are also 
very, very plentiful, averaging a larger size than any 
other water we know of. 
Chautauqua Lake has its peculiarities, like all oth«r 
waters, which must be studied before the best results can 
be obtained. When we first fished this water we could 
not get a bass out of it and told a guide that there were 
none there. He laughed at the idea and made the fol- 
lowing proposition; That we should pay him 25 c^nt-S 
each for all the bass that we got over 2 pounds in weight 
instead of his regular wages. We accepted and made a 
start at 4 P. M. At 7 P. M. we came in witli a debt of 
.$4.50 lianging around our neck. The fact was we had 
Ijeen trying muskallongc ground instCcid of bass, which 
is separate and distinct. We give a chart with this arti- 
cle of the lower end of Chautauqua Lake, .showing the 
grounds where each fish is generally found. 
Chautauqua Lake is situated in the northwestern corner 
of New York State, eight miles as the crow files trom 
Lake Erie, at an altitude of 1,400 ft. above sea level and 
800 ft. above the surface of Lake Eric. We shall not at- 
tempt to describe or extol its beauties. This is an article 
on fishing, not a pen picture of scenery. sO we shall 
confine ourselves to practical hints about its fishing from 
experience of the past seven years. 
We will now take a list of the different articles wc 
carry as an outfit for this water: 
Rods— For muskallonge, a 7J'^-foot greenheart rod, 10 
ounces, our own pattern of butt. (Cut herewith.) For 
bass, a 7p2-foot split bamboo, 'Sl4 ounces, same pattern 
of. butt. 
Lines — For muskallonge, 100 yards 15-lhread linen line 
(green). For bass, too yards black silk enameled line. 
■ size G. 
Spoons — For muskallongc wc carry a set each of Skin- 
ners No.s. 4-)<), 6 and 8 silver, brass and copper. We have 
always obtained the best results with No. t>. The small 
ones (4^4) are first-class for working over the weed beds 
and along .some parts of the shores. The 8's are some- 
times good on dark. dull, cloudy days. 
We have a mounting of our own for this wat-er which 
lightens the spoon very materially and is very beneficial 
in getting out a decent length of line in this shallow', 
weedy water. We take the hook (without feathers) and 
run a piece of brass, merchant wire, gauge No. 15, around 
the bottom of the hook A. then up and through the 
eye in opposite directions, B; then give two or three 
turns around one wire with the other. C. which makes 
a firm fastening and a rigid hook. 
Now on the wire string tube D, after that the washer 
E. and over this the spoon F, Finish off by putting on 
a good swivel, G, turn the wire around itself, H. so as 
to make a good fastening, and then feather it again. 
The spoon should miss the points of the hook about 
half an inch when in repose. This mounting nms lightly 
and misses more than half the weeds thai a suspended 
hook catches. Any one fishing Chautauqua or an3- of the 
bays leading out of the Bay of Quinte, Canada, will 
fully appreciate this. Furthermore, more fish are hooked 
on the rigid hook— one seldom misses a strike. 
Live bait fishing can be followed if the angler wishes, 
but more fish arc caught by trolling scientifically. Your 
spoon should never be more than 2 or 3 feet under .the 
surface for muskallonge. With the ordinary mounting 
of spoons only 50 or 60 feet of line can be used in Chau- 
tauqua, but with our special mounting we can easily run 
70 to 80 feet, which is an advantage, as you get your 
boat well away from the fish before the spoon passes over 
him. If one spoon does not take, try another color or 
size. They will always take one of the rombinatioti wc 
have given. . . , 
Bass-Fishing— We Carry Nos. 2 and.3 Skinner casting 
spoons, sih'.er and white enamel, for live bait and troll 
with them; also a plentiful supply of Delaware-belles 
(trolling bait), light and dark. The light one is a ape- 
.cially mounted . and made Parmacheerie-bdle fly sur- 
mounted -v^dth a ?{o. 2 -or No. 3 silver Skinner spoon t 
