Nov. 23, 190 1. 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
407 
Boston gunners, who are after ducks. Black duck shoot- 
ing is reported to be fair on the inland meadows and 
ba.ys in the vicinity of Monomoy. 
It has cost a Boston sportsman $33 in fines for at- 
tempting to pass out a box of partridges, the result of 
his Maine hunting trip. They were seized at Bangor. 
A peculiar specimen of a deer head came out through 
Bangor the other day. It was taken at Greenville, and 
belongs to Mr. Henry Allen, of Natic, Mass. It is the 
head, evidently, of a good-sized buck deer, but has antlers 
more like those of a moose, being considerably palmated. 
Boston gunners are getting some quail shooting within 
from twelve to twenty miles of the city. James H. Jones 
has been out several times in the vicinity of Lowell and 
Billerica. He has the best success in the morning, or 
early in the day, when the birds are in the fields feeding. 
He skirts along the edge of the woods, just inside, till 
his dog points the birds; when their flight is pretty sure 
to be in the open, giving a chance for good shots. 
Special. 
Spring Shooting* 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I am receiving letters from many counties in the State 
asking for advice as to how to proceed to get a law stop- 
ping spring shooting of wild fowl. I had intended to 
give the patient readers of Forest and Stream a resting 
spell on the duck question, but the results are so great 
in Jefferson, and the appeals so urgent for information 
as to how we did it, that I ask the indulgence of Forest 
AND~ Stream and its many readers once more. The 
greatest opposition to the county bill was from Clayton 
and Alexandria Bay. I inclose clipping from Clayton 
correspondent to Watertown Daily Standard, Oct. 24: 
"The Brown-Tallett duck law is winning over some of 
the early opponents to the closed season in the spring. 
There is now the best duck shooting in years, and it is 
attributed by the obserA-ing and fair-minded sportsmen 
to the natural increase in numbers. Eel Bay is a favorite 
resort for hunters, who are bagging some fine braces in 
the vicinity of Dr. Sargent's cottage. In two years there 
will be some old-time shooting if the law is in operation. 
It has been suggested, Mr. Brown, that it being a good 
thing for Jefferson county, why shouldn't it be a good 
thing for the State? Therein lies the only argument for 
those who so vigorously condemned the law at its pass- 
age " . 
Although this law met with great opposition, and we 
had a hard fight to push it through, I do not know of a 
shooter in this county who is not entirely satisfied with 
the result this year. All over tliis county where there 
was suitable water and feed we have such an abundance 
of duck and snipe as none of us ever saw before. I inclose 
a letter (one of the many received), also my answer, 
which can be applied to every county in the State. It is 
the duty of- evei-y sportsman to do all in his power to 
create a public sentiment in favor of game protection, 
for without public sentiment in favor of these laws wc 
cannot pass them, or enforce them when passed, 
W- H. Tallett. 
"Auburn. N. Y., Nov. 6.— W. H. Tallett, Dear Sir: 
I take the liberty to write and ask your advice and assist- 
ance in passing a law prohibiting the sale of game in 
New York State, and also to stop spring duck shooting 
in Cayuga county, and also in New York State, if pos- 
sible. I do not hesitate to write you in regard to this, 
as I know of the good work you have done for Jefferson 
county, and I think you can give me some pointers in 
regard to stopping spring shooting, and co-operate on 
stopping the sale of game. The condition of weather 
and water was such that few ducks were killed here last 
sprmg, and the result is that we have had the finest duck 
shooting this fall for past fcAv years. In regard to sale 
of game, this nice duck shooting has caused from six to 
ten duck shooters, or rather market shooters, to fix 
their boats with canvas, etc., and for the past six weeks 
they have stayed on the shooting points of our two ponds 
in Montezuma marshes both night and day. They have 
sold hundreds of ducks and have frozen out the sports- 
men who like to get out about once in two weeks and get 
a little duck shoot. Our people here are unanimous in 
favor of prohibiting the sale of game, but some may 
•oppose prohibiting spring shooting. I am getting some 
petitions printed, and shall circulate one here, and also 
write to every county and see if each county can not get 
such a petition to their Assemblymen. With united 
effort we can get this bill through. My motto is, 'No 
Spring Shooting. No Sale of Game. Law Open on All 
Kinds of Game from Oct. ist to Dec. 1st or 15th, and no 
guns in the woods at any other time.' 
Truly yours, Jos. N. Knapp." 
"Jos. N. Knapp, Auburn, N. Y., My Dear Sir: I 
am pleased to know that there Is one man in Cayuga 
county who wants the spring shooting of wildfowl and 
the sale of game stopped. There are sixty-one counties 
in this State, represented by fifty Senators and one 
hundred and fifty-two Assemblymen. The sportsmen of 
each of these sixty-one counties are responsible for the 
action of their representatives at Albany. If the repre- 
sentatives of any county are opposed to these laws it 
shows one of two things, either that his constituents are 
spring shooters and market hunters, or that the sports- 
men have failed to do their duty. 
"You had better do as I have done here in Jefferson. 
Form an association with yourself as president. Then 
pull off your coat and get into the fight. You will get 
very little help from the rest of them. (That, at least, 
has been my experience.) Get your arguments before the 
people through the local press. Convince the people 
that you are right and the other fellow is wrong, and they 
will help you. Ask every man of influence you know to 
write the members. Get out a neat circular-letter, have 
them sign it. and mail it yourself. After you have placed 
your arguments before the people, and you feel that a 
majority of them are with you. ask them to sign a peti- 
tion, and you will be surprised at the number who will 
respond. 
''Confine your efforts to Cayuga county. Pin your 
members dowm to the fact that you want these laws for 
Cayuga county and they will work all the harder to get 
\him fon the r?st of th§ 3tate. There etr? sportsmen 
enough in each county of this State, who, if they would 
get into the fight, could secure the support of their 
members to stop the spring shooting of wildfowl and to 
stop the sale of game at any time of the year. 
"W. H. Tallett." 
Watertown, N. V , Nov. 8. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
Deer Huflting Casualties. 
Chicago, 111., Nov. 15. — In commenting last week 
upon the opening of the deer hunting season, it was 
stated that we should presently begin to hear of the 
customary numbers of casualties in the deer hunting 
country. The fatal list begins even so early and runs 
into appalling figures before the second week of the 
season has gone by. What the total of killed and 
wounded men may be in the deer hunting country of 
Wisconsin, Michigan and Maine no one can at this time 
determine. Probably there will be at least 100 victims 
in these three States. 
From Ashland, on November 12, came report that 
two men were killed in Bayfield and Douglass counties 
by stray bullets fired by unknown parties, and traveling 
unknown distances. Similar news comes regarding a 
killing near Mason, in Bayfield county. In addition to 
these, there is the matter-of-fact statement that the woods 
of Ashland county alone contained in the early part of 
this week more than 3,500 hunters. Unconfirmed advices 
state that more than ■ 1,000 licenses were taken out at 
Bayfield 
The writer today heard of another fatality which took 
place not far from Bayfield. Two hunters were out after 
deer and sat down upon a log to rest, one of these inen 
wearing a fur cap. The customary idiot with a rifle 
came by, and seeing the fur cap, fired upon it, shooting 
the hunter through the head and killing him instantly. 
Near McGregor, Minn., on Nov. 11, County Commis- 
sioner J. C. Jones was accidentally shot and killed. He 
was hunting with a party from Chicago. Dne of these 
Chicago men was removing the shells from a rifle, and 
while so engaged accidentally shot Mr. Jones through 
the chest. Death was instantaneous. 
Two days ago a strange accident happened near Ste- 
phenson, Wis. A hunter by the name of George Rich- 
ardson shot at a deer, the bullet passing through the 
body of the deer and striking a tree. Thence it glanced 
and struck a hunter named William Everhardt, first 
passing through Everhardt's wrist, then striking his gun 
stock, glancing up and entering his mouth through his 
cheek, lodging in his neck. The wound is a serious one. 
It shows well enough the danger of flying lead. 
Advices from Wisconsin newspapers read like the 
casualty list of a battle. One special item to a Chicago 
paper reads as below: "The wounded hunters reported 
today are George Richardson, near Stephenson, Mich., 
seriously; Charles Gardner. Recdsburg, shot in the head, 
probably fatally; Adam Pleate, 11 years old. Junction 
City, shot through the body, will recover; Arthur Voyer, 
Stevens Point, will recover." 
Yet another news item in a Chicago paper this morn- 
ing is as below: "The first fatal shooting of the deer 
hunting season in Lake county occurred on Tuesday, 
when, in the company of Attorney-General Douglass, of 
Minnesota, a Minneapolis hardware clerk named J. E. 
McLean, was killed by George Jentisch." 
There was some talk among a group of Chicago sports- 
men today to the effect that the sportsmen of the State 
of Wisconsin' are agitating a measure for the suppression 
of the use of a certain small bore rifle in the woods. 
Deer in MiDnesota. 
The season opened in Minnesota with a very large 
number of men preparing for deer hunting. The number 
of licenses issued by County Auditor Johnson, of St. 
Paul. was. on the lOth of this month, only 172, and of 
these there were only two non-resident licenses. This is 
not in excess of the number issued last year. By this 
time the issue of licenses is doubtless very much larger 
than at the date specified. 
Reports from the Iron Range territory, from Beltrami 
county, St. Louis, Cook and other good game counties, 
state that moose are abundant. The five days open 
season on moose in Minnesota is almost prohibitory for 
the non-resident. 
The high power rifles are popular ones in Minnesota 
this fall. The .30-30S, .303s, .30-40S, etc., are in demand 
far in excess of all other arms for deer hunting in Min- 
nesota. This demand has been existing in the local 
sporting goods stores for more than three weeks past. 
One of the notable hunting parties to go out in Minne- 
sota this week was that of Consul E. H. Hobe, who had 
as his guest Baron Straale, Secretary of the Swedish and 
Norwegian Legation at Washington. The party went 
into the Iron Range country, and will try to secure a 
moose. Among others on the special train were Gen. 
Brandt and Gen. Gjertsen. of the Governor's staff; Presi- 
dent A. L. /Vlness, of the Scandinavian-American Bank, 
H. J. Boyesen and Dr. H. Sneve. 
Veslcrn Men in New Brooswick. 
Mr. Alfred Marshall, Mr. Harry Lee, and Mr. Nash, 
all of Chicago, are men who have been slated to take 
trips in New Brunswick this fall, though none of them 
has so far started for liis trip. Mr. I. W. Morton, of 
St. Louis, and his daughter Alice were out with Henry 
Braithwaite and Tom Pringle on the Miramichi, and 
each got a good moose, the head of the young lady's 
moose having a spread of 48 inches. This party saw 
30 caribou in one day. Henry and Mr. Irland left on 
JTov. 5 for a month on the Miramichi, well outfitted for a 
hard siege. Adam Moore, who will be remembered by 
everyone who visited the Sportsmen's Show here last 
winter, left for the Upsalquitch Lake country on Oct. 
24, with Mr. George P. Bishop, of Cleveland, Ohio. 
Mr. Bishop had killed a caribou and the two were then 
looking for moose and bear. 
Mr. W. H. Allen, of Peniac, N. B., had out three par- 
ties, covering twenty-six days, this fall, and the parties 
each got moose, Mr. Allen stating the average spread 
of antlers to be 52 inches, certainly a very good showing. 
Three caribou w^re also kill^, but none of th^§e had very 
good heads. All the guides of that coutitry seem to agree 
that big game is as plentiful or more so than was ever 
known before. Allen has a special commission from the 
Government to kill two pairs of fine specimen moose for 
exhibition purposes. The exhibit which was here at the 
Chicago show has been sent to England. It is not alto- 
g*her likely that the New Brunswick men will favor us 
again this winter, but they say that in the following year 
they may come to see us once more in case there should 
be a Sportsmen's Show. 
. Western Ducks. 
At last we have got a little cold weather. Snow fell 
for a few moments in South Chicago today and the tem- 
perature is low over a considerable area to the north of 
us. The main flight of ducks is now well below this 
place, on the marshes on the lower Illinois River country. 
This includes pretty much all the northern flight except 
the last flight of mallards, which ought to be along within 
the next few days if the cold weather holds above here. 
Very good shooting has been enjoyed at the Hennepin 
Duck Club and at the best of the preserved marshes 
near that point. The members believe that a spurt of 
mallards is about all there is left of the season for them 
now, but there are considerable numbers of birds hang- 
ing around in that neighborhood. 
Swan Lake Club has had considerable fair shooting, 
several bags of a dozen to two dozen having been made. 
ToUeston Club, just at the southern edge of Chicago, 
has had as good sport as any shooting club of the city. 
Indeed, the numbers of ducks rafting- off the lake front 
in Lake Michigan are greater now than have been known 
here for several years. A great deal of hammering of the 
birds is done at long range from the different city piers 
along thirty or forty miles of the lake front from Fort 
Sheridan to South Chicago. Once in a while a very 
decent bag is made in that way. A great many of 
these Lake Michigan ducks work across the sand dune' 
country and drop in to feed on the Tolleston marsh. 
About the only shooting the Calumet Club has had_ has 
been upon these travelers passing between Lake Michi* 
gan and the Little Calumet marshes of the Tolleston 
Club. 
A Legal Duck Blind in Illinois. 
A great deal of discussion arose today among members 
of a little gathering of sportsmen over the construction 
of the Illinois statute in regard to artificial blinds. The 
Game Laws in Brief says: "It shall further be unlawful 
at any time to kill any wild goose, brant or other water 
fowl, from any fixed or artificial ambush beyond a 
natural covering of reeds, canes, flags, wild rice, or other 
vegetation above the water of any lake, river, bay, inlet 
or other water course wholly within this State." ^ It was 
stated by one sportsman that State Game Commissioner 
A. J. Lovejoy had made a ruling that he would not per- 
mit the use of any artificial blind whatever. Mr. Love- 
joy may perhaps be wrongly reported in this, and it is 
not stated herein that he has made any such ruling. This, 
however, left open the question as to what was the edge 
or limit of a natural covering of reeds, etc., above men- 
tioned. Some thought that a blind could be built only 
where the covering was thick enough to hide the boat. 
Others pointed out that jio blind would there be neces- 
sary. Yet others, and these seem to have the best of the 
argument, since there has been no test case so far as known 
to decide the matter, hold that if the shooter could find a 
single spear of bulrush, reed, c;me, flag, wild rice or other 
vegetation, he could legally build his artificial blind_ at 
that point, provided that such vegetation was growing 
from the bottom, and projecting above the surface of the 
water. This gives the shooter pretty much all the liberty 
he needs in the artificial Wind business. The law is not 
of severe consequence at many parts of Illinois except 
on Fox Lake, and it was probably put upon the statute 
books because of the open-water blinds which were 
destroying the duck shooting of Fox Lake. These blinds 
were made of burlaps, attached to poles, and the boats 
were anchored inside of practically a solid wind-proof 
blind. 
How to Make al'BHnd. 
By the way, if you want to know how to make a very 
good and practical blind, take a section of woven wire 
fence made of light wire, in a length a little more than 
double that of your boat. This woven wire can be rolled 
up and carried in a fairly compact bundle. It is heavy 
enough and stif? enough to stand up in the water. Place 
this around your boat, fastened by stakes, and then exe- 
cute your blind by weaving cane, rushes or grass into 
the meshes of this fencing. You had better ask Game 
Warden Lovejoy about the place where you set this blind, 
however, else you might get into trouble. 
Small Bores. 
Mr. Robert P. Allen, of the New Brunswick Guides' 
Association, under date of Nov. 6, wrote as below: "I 
address you at the request of our mutual friend, 
Henry Braithwaite, who is anxious to enlist your ser- 
vices in promoting a cause which is very dear to his heart. 
He wants you to have a whack at these small bore rifles 
which seem to be so popular with the sportsmen across 
the line. Henry declares that they are unsuitable for 
big game, and is prepared to cite cases wherein they have 
proved to be a dead failure. He has had three parties, 
consisting of six gentlemen and a lady, out so far this 
fall, and the casualties consist of three caribou killed and 
sixteen moose killed and wounded, as the war corre- 
spondents say. No less than eleven moose were hit by 
.30-40S and could not afterward be found. One was seen 
a few days later by a lumberm.an, dragging one hind leg 
behind it, and he made an unsuccessful effort to ham- 
string it with an axe. Henry claims that the .30-40 does 
not make hole enough in the moose's anatomy, conse- 
quetly it does not leave a blood trail by which it can be 
successfully tracked. He is talking of agitating for a law 
to prohibit the use of small bores for big game, and wants 
you to discourage their use. Henry thinks that the per- 
centage of eleven wounded moose to five dead ones is 
altogether too large, and that something will have to be 
done soon or the devil will be to pay." 
The attitude of Henry and his friend, Mr, Irland, in 
regard to large bore guns is a generally known one 
amonpr the sportsmen of the gj^t. Doubtlfsi tj^f^-e is 
