I 
Forest and 
A Weekly Journal of the Rod and Gun. 
Copyright, 1900, by Forest and Stream Publishing Co, 
Terms, f4 a Vear. 10 Cts. a Corv. 
Six Months, $2. 
NEW YORK, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1900. 
j VOL. LV.— No. 24. 
( No. 846 Broadway, New York, 
The Forest and Stream is the recoimized medium ofentertain- 
ment, mstruction and information between American sportsmen. 
The editors invitccommunications on the subjects to which its 
pages are devoted. Anonymous communications will not be re- 
garded. While it is intended to give wide latitude in discussion 
of current topics, the editors are not responsible for the views of 
correspondents. 
Subscriptions may begin at any time. Terms: For single 
copies, $4 per year, $2 for six months. For club rates and full 
particulars respecting subscriptions, see prospectus on page iii. 
Our Cbristmas Unmber. 
The next number of Forest and Stream for Dec. 22 
will be the Christmas Number. It will have a rich fund 
of stories and sketches for the evenings of the holiday 
week. Among the titles will be the following: 
"Reminiscences." By Rowland E. Robinson. 
"Christmas Under the Palms." By Llewella Pierce 
Churchill. 
"The Northwest Corner." By Charles Hallock. 
"A Voice from a Farm." By W. W. Hastings. 
"Old Hogarth." By Fayette Durlin, Jr. 
"Out of Commission." By N. N. West. 
"The Christmas Dinner Father Josef Cooked." By J. H. 
Connelly. 
"How We Obtained Our Gun Rack." By A. C. Thatcher. 
"That Christmas Turkey." By Edward Banks. 
"My Grandmother's Kitchen." By Egbert L. Bangs. 
THE SILENCE OF THE MARSH. 
There is a lingering of color in the marsh lands. Soft, 
comfortable shades in duns and browns s.ill lurk among 
the sedge, these perfect mornings. A few flame-touched 
leaves cling here and there to the twigs of the wild plums 
that fringe the border of the upland slopes. All this rich 
coloring is picked out in strong relief by the wind ng 
water courses tha. thread the meadows — the veins through 
which life circulates here — glearriing in still reaches or 
flashing with momentary glint as of silver in the sun- 
shine, when a cat's-paw stirs the ripples to action. 
There is an unusual brilliancy, a strange transparency 
of the atmofphere that annihilates dis ance, exaggerating 
familiar objects with startling effect. In the still air far- 
away sounds are borne with marvelous distinctness. The 
rattle of oars, shouts and laughter from the , dis ant oyster 
boats seem near at hand, though in fact m les away.- 
Gradually a chill breathes in the balmy air as the hours 
pass. A restless gaggle of brant out on the broad waters 
cackle with an uneasy ring in their cries tha: presages 
coming change, till after lengthy debate they rise, circle 
slowly a few times and wing their way into the sunset. 
Quietly the night comes down on marsh and fen, slowly 
the breeze freshens the stars grow misty and d m. Pres- 
en ly the northeast wind is whispering among the reeds. 
A boisterous night of gale and pelting rains follows, beat- 
ing the fair scene into sodden dreary dullness by dawn. 
Masses of sand drive low before the now raging north- 
easter. A mist of rain sweeps the marsh at intervals, 
blotting out the very heavens as it swirls along. 
For weary days the marsh Ke^ in mute pro est beneath 
the howl of storm and lashing rain. Then comes a quiet 
dawn. Heavy clouds spread a canopy of gloom that 
wraps the desolate marsh wor'd in cheerless gray, now 
deepening, now shifting with wind effect as the changing 
air currents work their will above. Suddenly a shafc of 
thin yellow sunlight darts between the surging vapors, 
touching the chill waters and soggy sedge into life for an 
instant ere it fades. In the stillness of this "gray day" it 
is hard to realize the bustle and whirl of the active bird 
life ihat held sway here but a few short weeks since. 
Swarms of shore birds weaved and circled in erratic 
flight, their shrill and for the most part plaintive calls 
ringing far and near to the sounding bloong! bloong! ci 
the black powder and the incessant sharp dry coi'gh of 
nitres that played an irregular accompaniment from swn- 
riFe till dusk. One night this horde of feathered m'grants 
drew off toward die southland. We heard their farewells 
as they floated away under the stars. One day they will 
return in like manner and tliis dreary expanse will once 
again thrill to their joyous cries. But "it is a far cry" to 
^hat day; a long restful sleep must intervene. 
fqj the irnmed'atf present, in an occasional gleam 
white pinions, where a solitary gnll wheels in the dis- 
tance, we have the only living creature that meets the 
eye in all this great sweep of loneliness. 
It grows momentarily colder. By daybreak a soft 
coverlet of snow rests over all, the real "silence of the 
marsh" is come. In the winter nights to follow the yap, 
yap of a prowling fox will only serve to emprasize it. 
THE NORTH CAROLINA, FARCE. 
The game law of North Carolina provides that "No 
person shall export or tran.sport from the State any quail 
or partridges, whether dead or alive.-" . Some simple con- 
fiding individual imagined that when this prohibition was 
placed on the statute books the game would be preserved 
from the netters and shooters who pursue it for market. 
There is probably in the entire stretch of country be- 
tween the Atlantic and the Pacific no law which is more 
en irely a dead letter than this. North Caroljna quail 
are netted continuously and in immense numbers for 
shipment to Washington, Balt'more. New York and other 
markets. The traffic is conducted with little or no pretense 
of concealment. The transportation companies observe the 
law so far as giving it recognition in the'r general orders 
to agents, but practically the agents ignore it, and ship 
the forbidden game quite as a matter of course. 
Those who are fainfliar with the conditions in North 
Carolina, and who can cotripare the existing ,^tate of 
things with the abundance of a few years past, understand 
very well that the game supply is a rap'dly diminishing 
■factor. The State is rapidly losing its high reputation as 
a quail country. Sportsmen who repair to North Carolina 
for sport are finding out that the birds are not there. In 
some instances even those Northern sportsmen who pay 
the taxes on farms which in return are posted and, it is 
pretended, are preserved for their exclusive shooting, are 
cheated of their b'rds by the netters. 
The simple explanation of this state of affairs lies in 
the fact that while the anti-netting law is on the statute 
books, it has no public sentiment to enforce it. The ma- 
jority of the people in the quail districts do not care for 
shoot'ng, and recognize no particular personal advan- 
tage in protection of the birds. They are naturally 
apathetic. On the other hand, the netters do find profit 
in the industry, and they are active. It is precisely the 
condition that might be looked for. 
Can any one suggest a remedy? 
SOUTHERN PL ESER VES. 
The continually increasing scarcity of game in Arnerica 
is in no way better shown than by the way in which the 
shooting grounds of the South are gradually being taken 
up by clubs of sportsmen and used in winter a^ shooting 
places. Many of these are suflic'ently extensive to make it 
profi able to work them during the summer as farms, so 
that they may be made, to pay all or a part of the expense 
of maintaining the es'ate. That many Sou*^hern land 
owners find this a profitable way of disT)o=ing of the great 
tracts which they own i=: shown by the frequent adver- 
tising in the columns of Forest and Stream of pieces of 
real e.'^tate in the South ranging in size from a small cot- 
tage with its surroundine errounds to great tracts aggre- 
gat'ng, as in our i.^sue of Dec. 8 no less than tt.ooo acres 
or more than seventeen square mile.s. Many of these gr^at 
estates are abundan ly .stocked with game of all kinds, 
such as deer, turkeys, ducks and partridges ; often 
pheasants have been turned out on them and done well, 
and if they are close to the sea coast, fish, oysters and 
terrapins, besides good duck shooting, are usually to be 
had. 
Tha* there are buyers for just such places among 
Northern snortsmen is verv certain, yet in certa"n asnects 
it is namful to see them so'd and nassinsj ottt.of the hands 
of familes tliat have held them, often for gcrieratinn^. and 
in many minds the quest'on will ari^e. where .shall shoot- 
ing be had after all these places have been 'aken un? On 
the other hand it must be remembered that each presetTre 
of this kind is a permanent addition to -the protected 
wintering and breeding grounds of the country at large, 
and so is a step in the way of increasing our game. 
The added list of such properties, advertised this week 
in Forest Aig-o Stream shows that thert exists in the 
South a rapidly growing appreciation of the value of 
large tn»rt= of lanfj for iHs^M^p^an^ the frequent offer- 
ing of such properties shows equally a willingness on 
the part of Northern sportsmen to invest in tracts that 
are really desirable, since unless there were an actual 
demand for such places they would not be offered for 
sale. 
MAKE IT CRIMINAL. 
We are glad to see that our suggestion of legislating 
on the careless shooting of human beings for game is at- 
tract'ng attention and approval. We find in one of our 
New York exchanges the text of an amendment proposed 
to be incorporated into the general code, and running aS 
follows : ■ ■ 
Section 1, It shall be unlawful for any hunter or other person 
carrying firearms, to shoot at any object without knowing by 
actual sight and observation that such object is not a human 
being-, and any such hunter or other person, who, by so offending, 
shall kill any human being, shall be adjudged guilty of man- 
slaughter in the second degree; and any such hunter or person, 
who, by so offending, shall wound or injure any human being, 
without thereby causing death, shall be adjudged guilty of an as' 
sault in the second degree. • . 
Section 2. It shall be the duty of the Forest Commi.9sion to 
post notices reciting the provisions of this act, in the same form 
and manner, and in like public places, as notices for the preven- 
tion of forest fire.s are now posted by said Commission. 
While it is true enough that carelessness may not be 
abolished by statute, there certainly is good reason to 
believe that, as we have suggested before this, the very 
fact of such a law. if brought generally to the attention of 
shooters, will make even the careless man pausf before 
pulling trigger on an unidentified object. A few examples 
of punishment of careless shooters thus to be held up to 
public attention as criminally careless, will have a salu- 
tary effect. Make the careless shooting criminal shooting. 
FOREST AND STREAM PLATFORM PLANK. 
The sale of game should be forbidden at all seasons. — 
Forest and Stream, Feb. 3, 1894. 
And to an adoption of the Plank we are coming with 
a rapidity that is full of satisfaction. One after another 
the legislatures have adopted laws embodying the Plank, 
and one after another the several States are falling in 
line. 
The New York League discussed the Plank last week, 
and went so far in endorsement of it as to recomiiiend 
the absolute prohibition of the sale of woodcock, grouse 
and quail. 
In whatever measure the Plank may be adopted in 
New York, the operation of the principle that game i.s 
not legitimately an object of barter will prove advan- 
tageous here as it has proved and is proving elsewhere. 
Abundant complaint l^as been heard this fall from deer 
hunters in various localities on Vancouver Island con- 
cerning the running of deer with dogs. This is, of course, 
illegal, and calls for the interference of the local author- 
ities. The police have several times been called on to 
interfere in the matter, and it is hoped that before this 
illegal hunting has been abated. It is understood that 
many of the dogs are taken into the woods for the 
ostensible purpose of hunting grouse, but are really used 
to hound deer. It is said also that in certain parts of 
the island a number of these dogs have run wild, and 
killing their own food do not return to the homes of their 
owners, except when forced to do so by stress of severe 
weather. It thus appears that the difficulties of protecting 
deer from dogs and enforcing the statutes against hound- 
ing are not less than on the west coast than on the east- 
The British Columbia deer law should be enforced^ If 
this is done Vancouver and the adjacent islands which 
have always been so famed as deer ranges may Hong coj|- 
tinue to afford good hunting to local sportsmen. 
Here are some suggestive statistics of vermin killed, 
during one year on an 800-acre estate in New York The 
record comprises five foxes, eleven wildcats, two domestic 
cats running wild, twenty-seven raccoons, forty-seveo 
skunks twenty-one weasels, one mink, seventy rats, thirty- 
seven hawks, twelve owls, more thain one hundred wood- 
chucks, forty-five bluejays. twelve crows, a raven and an 
eagle. The bluejay and the eagle do not fall within the 
category of vermin as recognized by the statute, biit 
without Aem the list gives some hint of the tenadty witfe 
which the native itoc^ of th* t^tim^jJer wiM. Cffealw^ 
holds its own. 
