Oct. 19, 190 1.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
307 
A Misunderstood Dog.? 
Boston. Oct. 12, — The gunners for shore birds are 
having a good time of it. The recent heavy gales, and 
slightly cooler weather have been conducive to good 
flights of birds, and the gunners have been at hand. A 
reliable Scituate report says that Ed Edison shot forty 
coot Thursday morning, and a boy of thirteen shot seven 
the same morning. This is early for so good flights of 
coot, and the gunners say that it counts well for a good 
season. Anisquam gunners are already getting some 
good bags of birds. Shore birds do not seem to come 
into the Boston markets as much as usual. The market- 
men seem to think that they are sold on the spot— at 
Chatham, Scituate, Marshfiield and other points — agents 
of New York market houses being at hand. Chatham 
reports mention seme big bags of birds since the recent 
gales. T. S. Tomlinson, of Boston, came up from Chat- 
ham on Monday, with a good bag of birds. He remarks 
that he never had better shooting, but the gunners are 
thick down there. 
H. S. Barker, of Boston, has just returned from a two 
weeks' shooting trip to Newfoundland. He shot two 
caribou, the largest bearing 33 points on its antlers. He 
reports caribou very numerous. His place of encamp- 
ment was near Howley, at the head of Grand Lake. He 
believes that Newfoundland is soon to become an excel- 
lent hunting ground for sportsmen. Good hunting is 
reported in the Moluncus region, Maine. P. W- Curtis. 
E. W. Knight, and Charles -E. Brett, of South Paris. 
Maine, have Just returned from a hunting trip there, the 
result of which was a total of five deer killed. Reports 
from the Dead River region, are of deer abundant. A 
Boston party has already brought out three — two bucks 
and a doe. The close time of five years is ol¥ from deer 
in .Androscoggin county, and the slaitghter has begun. 
Two have been shot near Monmouth, and one near 
Sabatis. Many huntei-s are after them. Partridges arei 
also reported to be plenty in some parts of the samel 
county. Monmouth gunners have taken a good many t 
A sad story is told of a clergyman, in that part of thef 
country, who went out the other daj'. with dog and gun. 
Partridges were to be his game. He had not gunned 
much for twenty years, but had suddenly become en- 
thused. He borrowed a birddog, a valuable spamel. 
This dog had been trained to "tree partidges." The dog 
having dene little or no work for the season was wild 
with delight to be out; soon smelled a partridge, and was 
off like lightning, with the partridge up a tall tree in 
the thick woods. The day was hot. The dog leaped and 
frothed at the mouth; barked, growled and whined, jump- 
ing into the air all the time. The sedate clergyman could 
see nothing in the tree; he had heard nothing. The dog 
refused to be comforted, but only leaped, barked and 
frothed the harder. "Is he mad?" the man asked him- 
self, 'Another jump toward the tree, accompanied with 
a howl, and a whine followed. "Certainly he is mad!" 
The gunner drew up the gun and put a charge of shot 
into the neck cf the poor dog, and he was dead in a 
minute. Just then a partridge flew out of the tree over- 
head with a big boom. The best that can be said for 
the man is that he paid honorably for the poor, little, 
faithful fellow, who lost his life for being too much in 
earnest. Clergymen, or anybody else for that matter, 
who believe in mad dogs., should never go hunting with 
such noble animals. Special. 
Furs of the Upper Yukon I' 
Consul J. C. McCook writes to the State Department 
from Dawson City, Sept. 9: Dawson is the central mar- 
ket for a vast extent of fur-bearing country, stretchmg 
from the Mackenzie Basin to the coast range and from 
the Porcupine to the Hootalinqua. In this area, per- 
haps 1,000 men are engaged in hunting and trapping, 
exclusive of the Indians; and from Dawson, fully 40,000 
peltries are annuallv exported to the great fur markets 
of London and New York. The industry yields a reve- 
nue every year of nearly $350,000. 
The season is now at hand when the hunters and trap- 
pers are moving their outfits to the various rivers and 
streams where they will winter, and men are leaving town 
almost daily for their long sojourn amid the "great white 
silence," In most cases, the work of reaching their des- 
tination is of an intensely arduous nature, as they must 
pole their canoes to the head waters of the swiftest 
streams, make long portages, and penetrate pathless 
woods. But no hardships daunt these Yukon trappers, 
and they well deserve the success they so frequently 
achieve. 
In the local fur market, London quotations govern 
These are fixed twice a year— March and August— by ; 
board of princioal dealers m that city, and prices ar. 
gauged according to that scale in all parts of the worlc 
except Russia. The present rates, compared with las 
year's prices, show an increase on bear, beaver, otta 
and mink, and a decrease on silver-gray fox, martei., 
wolf, and wolverine. On most other peltries, quotations 
are the same. A wide difference is often noted between 
the maximum and the minimum figures; this is due to 
variations in the shade and quality of the fur, and to the 
time of the vear in which the animal was caught. For 
instance, pelts of bears caught in .the spring, just after 
the hibernating orocess is over, are worth much more 
than those secured in the fall, because their fur is soft 
and thick, instead of harsh and thin. In all pelts, winter 
fur commands often three times as much as suinmer fur 
in price, and in most cases dark-colored fur is worth 
much more than the lighter varieties. 
Local dealers sav the pelts in this vicinity are of better 
quality and obtain higher prices than those taken along 
the Lower Yukon and on the Alaskan coast. The hair 
is softer and more glossy in appearance. 
In varieties, marten are the most numerous and black 
fox the scarcest. The latter is the most valuable of all, 
a good pelt readily bringing $.?oo; and muskrat is the 
least costlv, being worth only 4 cents. 
The favorite rivers among the trappers are the Pelly. 
White Stewart and Porcupine, while game hunters pre- 
fer the' Klondike and Forty Mile, because of their accessi- 
bility to a ready market. The Big and Little Salmon. 
Hootalinqua. Chandel?^r, and §elwyn rivers f^re al50 fre- 
quented by many trappers, -while a goodly band is scat- 
tered along the Yukon itself. The Peel and other streams 
flowing into the Mackenzie Basin are also considered 
choice trapping grounds. 
The annual production of the different varieties of 
pelts, their market value, and special facts distinguishing 
their distribution, are given as follows: 
Bear. — Black, silver tip, brown, grizzly, and cinnamon; 
found all over the country from March to November; 
number shipped 3.000; pricej $10 to $25. It takes an 
exceptionally fine skin to bring more than the maximum 
figure quoted. 
Beaver. — On ail streams, but chiefly numerous on 
White. Pelly, and 'Stewart rivers; number shipped, 2,500; 
price, $3.50 to $7. 
Mink. — On all streams; number shipped, 1,500; price. 
$1.50 to $3. 
Marten. — On all streams; number shipped, 25,000 to 
30.000; price. $3.50 to $12. 
Otter. — On Pelly and .along the Yukon, most of the 
pelts coming from below Dawson; number shipped, 200: 
price, $4 to $8. 
Foxes. — Red; number shipped, 2,000; price. $1.25 to 
$2.50. Cross; number shipped, 650; price, $3 to $10. 
Silver gray; number shipped, 25 to 40; price $100 to $200. 
Black: number shipped, 5 to 7; price, $200 to $300. 
Lynx. — Mostly from along the Dalton trail; number 
shipped, 2,000; price $1 to $2.50, 
Wolves. — Black and gray, mainly near the mountains; 
number shipped, 2,000; price, $1. to $2.50, 
J. C. McCooK. Consul. 
Dawson Citv, Sept. 9. 
An Experience with Bear. 
i Editor Forest and Stream: 
"A Quest of Bear" in the Sept. 28 number of Forest 
\ND Stre.\m. brings to mind an outing of two of us 
;ome forty years ago. to the forest in McKean county, 
r*ennsylvania, in pursuit of game animals. 
S Having hunted in the same locality for two falls be- 
fore, we had noticed plain and well-beaten trails lead- 
ing from one laurel thicket to others, and that bear con- 
stantly followed those paths; but their capture either on 
bare ground or snow by still-hunting was next to an 
impossibility, for they kept constantly under cover of 
brush or thickets too dense to be approached without 
giving them ample warning. 
Before the next hunting season came around, we pur- 
chased a Newhouse bear trap, and with the rest of the 
b:iggage taken into camp the following October was a 
horse, supposed to be more valuable for bear bait than 
for any other purpose. 
The morning after arriving at camp the beast was 
led out and planted within 50 feet of the trail, and the 
trap was set with suitable clog attached. Every week 
thereafter up to January, one or the other of us visited 
the spot, and as the ground was covered with snow quite 
a portion of the time we had no difficulty in observing 
the marked reverence a bear has for horse kind. 
Bears had followed the trail nearly every week we were 
in camp, while not one had left it to examine our bait. 
On our way home we met an old woodsman, who earn- 
estly inquired how we had made it with the old horse- 
baiting bear. When told, he said, "I knew you could 
not get a bear to go near it before next March or April, 
'-r they will not taste of it so long as there is any mast 
01 other eatables left in the woods that they can pro- 
cure." 
Shack must be very scarce over the Rocky Mountain 
range in the western Montana, else Bruin in that section 
of the country has quite different tastes from those 
found in the Eastern States. 
Now a word or two in regard to bear steak. Having 
sampled cuts from several different animals of the black 
bear species, I have only once found a piece but that re- 
tained that strong bear odor to such an extent as to 
make it nauseating to the majority, and that piece was 
from a cub that had fattened up on chestnut and beech 
mast; I tried to feed it to my two dogs, but they refused 
to eat of it. even after I had served it up fried or boiled 
in suitable shape. They seemed to detest it as much 
as the bear did the horse bait. . Old Shicarry. 
Sigfns of Luck, 
DuNBARTox, N. H., Oct. 11. — There are many signs 
obsen-ed in the country which are said to predict good 
or bad luck. Yesterday a neighbor of mine and I went 
after birds. This man is a first-rate hunter and a good 
shot. He is the sort of man I like to go with. He has 
been my companion on all of my hunting and fishing 
trips of the past few years. We have always had what 
some of my friends are pleased to call "infernal good 
luck," whether after birds, deer, bears or big fish. Yes- 
terday was unseasonably hot and hard on both dogs and 
men. The leaves have not as yet fallen, and it is hard to 
see a bird or to tell where it goes. We fooled away all 
the forenoon looking after a large flock of quail, which a 
neighbor had asked me to try and exterminate, saying that 
they had eaten up all his peas in a field near his house. 
Like all New Hampshire quail, they were hard to find, and 
although we hunted over all the ground in the vicinity 
of where they were said to be. we never found a sign. 
About I o'clock we both came out where our horse was 
tied at the roadside; all of us, including the dogs, were 
hot. tired and somewhat discouraged. My companion 
said. "Our luck has never failed us before, but I think 
it will to-day, for I have seen signs which mean bad 
luck." He said he had seen three squirrels, and they 
were all running from left to right, and that means bad 
luck. I had also seen two rabbits, which my dog had 
started, and they had run the same way (I never shoot 
either rabbits or squirrels; do not consider either worth 
killing). It was a question whether or no to give up and 
go home, but we decided to try a certain cover I knew 
of. Our luck had always held good, provided we worked 
hard. Well, we went to this cover, and in a very short 
time we bagged eighteen woodcock and one grouse. There 
is nothing ifke sXkWk to it in aU things, particularly in 
hunting, ' CM, ST.^^^.K. 
Sttnfise on the Bay* 
In darkness and silence, close moored to the edge 
Of a low-lying isle, green-covered with sedge, ; 
In our snug, little boats we cosily lay, 
And eagerly wailed the coining of day. ! , 
The splash of an old-wife, just rising for flight. 
The whir of a broadbill, first herald the light. • - f' ] 
Hark! The scream of a loon far out in the bay! "'"! 
The shadows are flitting, 'twill soon be the day. 
A gunshot re-echoes froiji Love-Lady's Isle, 
The wild geese are coming, file following file; 
The widgeons and redheads fly high in the air, 
The sea-fog is lifting, the day will be fair. 
Faint outlines of beach and dim islands appear, 
Dark forms that were distant look now to be near; 
Beyond the white sand dunes weird ships seem to keep 
A phantom-like course o'er the shadowy deep. 
Yon tall, friendly lighthouse yields but a faint ray, 
The dawn is fast breaking, the night steals away; ' 
Low in the far East there's a glow in the sky, 
Growing steadily brighter, slow mounting on high. 
The fierce god of day his strong arm is bending, 
His javelins golden far upward is sending; 
Bright o'er the smooth bay a pathway is seen, 
In crimson and amber and silvery sheen. 
Warmth stirs the cool air; where the still waters glow 
Light ripples are forming, and soft breezes blow. 
From out the great sea bursts the radiant sun, 
Bltte and gold arch the skies — glad day is begun! 
J. T. Edwards. 
Game Dealing- and Opittm Smttgfgflingf. 
The Duluth correspondent of the St. Paul Pioneer 
Press reports that Deputy Game Warden Green, of 
Duluth, is having all kinds of trouble these days. Some 
of the butchers of that citj^ are selling ducks and par- 
tridges, which is illegal this year, and thus far he has been 
unable to apprehend any of the oft'enders. Every day 
some two or three friends of the game laws give the 
deputy game warden, friendly tips that the illegal traffic 
is in progress, each unconscious of the fact that the 
others were giving him the same kind of information. 
Mr. Green is a very active and efficient deputy game war- 
den and his inability to bring about a conviction worries 
him. He says : 
"The discovery that some of the butchers have ducks 
and partridges in their possession coidd undoubtedly be 
made without difficulty, but the law allows a person to 
have 100 of either of these birds in his possession. What 
I need to reach these fellows is information that they have 
sold the birds. I hope to enlist the friends of the game 
laws of the city to put a stop to the illegal traffic in game 
birds in Duluth." 
It is said that one butcher of this city recently sold 
seventy-two ducks in one day. The butchers are very 
foxy and will not sell a bird to anybody except an old and 
discreet customer. The birds, under the circumstances, 
bring fancy prices, almost whatever the butcher may see 
fit to ask. Dealers are reported to be paying as high as $2 
a pair for ducks, and $1 a pair for partridges. A hunter 
who could lay down 100 plump partridges in some quiet 
spot, to be discovered later by some butcher, probably 
could get from $60 to $75 for them. Nothing like such 
prices ever prevailed before, and they are due to the ille- 
gality of the traffic. The traffic in game birds in Minnesota 
now offers tempting profits, and in this respect takes its 
place with opium smuggling and kindred pursuits. 
Fttture "Work for the Coroner* 
HiGHWooD, Conn.— Editor Forest and Stream: While 
driving along one of New Haven's suburban thorough- 
fares I was mystified to observe a bareheaded boy, of 
about fifteen, step into the middle of a front yard, place 
a small, tin can upon his head, peacefully fold his arms 
across his breast, strike a bow-legged attitude, and fix an 
expression of Jack-o'-lantern repose across his face. 
"What ails him?" thought I. 
The mystery dissolved when another boy of the same 
age stepped out, lifted a rifle to his shoulder, took delib- 
erate aim, fired, and sent the can spinning. Then both 
grinned like apes, and looked round for applause. The 
next day I informed the shooter's father of his liability 
for impending funeral expenses, and of his son's excellent 
chances of looking through iron grates. A look of 
oarental pride diffused the breadwinner's face, and his 
answer feased me. He said: "It beats the devil, but 
Andy's great fc shootin' off a gun!" 
Unless some hibernating policeman wakes up long 
enough to gather in these foolish youngsters, it looks 
like a future^job for the coroner. W. H. Avis. 
New Hampshire Deer* 
I SAW recently in the New York Weekly Tribune 
(which gave all the game laws) something which may be 
somewhat misleading. In speaking of deer in New Hamp- 
shire, it said "Protected at all times." There was, how- 
ever, a very small figure attached which explained that 
the above meant in certain counties. Now, in the lower 
section of New Hampshire deer (until recently) have 
been unknown. To-day they are apparently increasing, 
and are frequently seen. In such sections they are pro- 
tected (as they should be) at all times. The northern 
parts of this State — Grafton, Coos and such counties — 
have open seasons from Oct. i to Dec. 15. 
C. M. S. 
Game in Connecticwt* 
Danburv, Conn., Oct. 10. — The hunting season opens 
too early hereabouts. We have had a late spring, and 
birds bred later than usual. Partridge and quail are 
rather small-looking and undeveloped. I killed two 
grouse and four quail yesterday, and left two bevies of 
quail entirely, they being too poor-looking fledglings to 
kill. The season ought to open Nov. I and close Dec. 31. 
I vvouW like to \\^9X ixom Otlj^rs OXi the subject. 
ChaS. F, BlR0CKEl4, 
