470 
^FOREST AND STREAM, 
[Dec 14, 
requires these mirrors to be kept constantly burnished. 
The result of all this is that, although the attending con- 
ditions, as well as all instruction for warfare, require an 
enem}' to be approached with the utmost secrecj'^ and 
caution, yet nevertheless, we were enabled by means of 
these useless brass ornaments to detect our men and to 
assure ourselves that they were soldiers at a distance 
which, as I have stated, was practically incredible. (I 
eventually made a report of this circumstance to the 
Lieut. General commanding the army, but up to the 
present writing we are still wearing the same unneces- 
sary gewgaws and keeping them just as bright.) We 
pulled out of camp about i o'clock P. M., and headed for 
the same ranch as nearly as w6 could by the directions 
of our lost men who had stayed there. After consider- 
able winding about to avoid ravines, etc., we reached it 
about 5 o'clock. This ranch is situated at the confluence 
of the North and South Moreau, and is a well-known 
station throughout all that countrj-. 
Sunday, Sept. i6. — This morning the mule previously 
referred to as having been sick was too weak to proceed 
further, so we left him with the keeper of the ranch to 
care for until he should improve. We set forth about 7 
o'clock for the Sulphur on our return to the post. We 
reached the Flying "V" Ranch about ii o'clock, and 
watered our animals at the stock-pump. An incident 
that came under our notice here served to impress us 
with the duplicity that seems inherent in the "genus 
homo." We had on one of our wagons an odometer 
for the purpose of taking measurements of the various 
distances passed over by us in our various wanderings, 
to be used eventually in making a map of this wild land. 
The keeper of this ranch espied this instrument and 
evinced the keenest interest in obtaining the accurate 
distances between the points of our journey. Lieut. K., 
who had charge of this division of the duty, went to 
some considerable pains to furnish this man the desired 
information. Capt. K. eventually told the man that 
these distances would do him no good as they were so 
different from those usually claimed by the residents of 
the country that no one would believe him when he 
showed them to people (the man had carefully recorded 
each one in a memorandum book). "Ah," said the fel- 
low, "that isn't what I'm getting them for. I'm going to 
get up big bets with the cowboys when they are in 
money, and then when all the money is up we'll measure 
the distance, and I'm satisfied that'll fix them with that 
little wheel of yours." In other words, the knave was 
going to bet with the cowboys on the distance between 
roints and use the knowledge he had thus obtained from 
us to rob them. Lieut. K. felt rather crestfallen over 
the use to which his scientific data was to be put. We 
reached the Sulphur at 2:30 o'clock. A.fter dinner we 
all set out up stream with our shotguns. Capt. K. and 
Lieut. K. were both on the same side, while I was on the 
other. Capt. K. shot a chicken. At the reoort of his 
piece a fine flock of spoonbill rose from the creek just 
ahead. I shot one as they swerved my way — the only 
bird I got that day. The others got eight chickens and 
two ducks. The dog hunted solely on their side and I 
got no shots. 
Monday, Sept. 17. — This morning it was cold. Ice had 
formed on our water bucket to quite an appreciable 
thickness, and we built a fire before our tent to eat our 
breakfast by. We set forth at about 7 o'clock, as usual, 
and went over the tops of many hills in' search of Elm 
Creek, where we intended to camp that night. We 
chanced to pass a "round-up" camp, and as we knew 
nothing of the rou.te I rode over and interrogated the 
cowboys concerning it. The information they gave us 
was so erroneous that we eventually crossed the Elm and 
had gotten several miles on the other side before we 
realized the fact. This stream had given such good 
promise of sport with ducks when I explored it on the 
way over that we were anxious to give it a fair trial by 
camping on it, and putting in our spare time in mean- 
dering its banks with our shotguns, so we concluded to 
turn back and return to it, which we promptlj' did, even 
though it added several miles to our march for the da}' — 
already considerable. We went into camp on the Elm 
about 2 P. M. Ducks were immediately discovered, and 
Capt. K., taking his gun, secured three while we were 
unsaddling. After eating rather of a hasty meal, 
we took the hunting wagon and set forth. We met with 
great sport with the ducks. They were sufficiently abun- 
dant to exactb' suit us ; that is, there were a few on every 
good pool that we came to, and no large flocks on any 
pool, and the majority were mallard. While these con- 
ditions perhaps might not contribute so large a bag of 
game as though there were larger flocks upon which an 
ardent meat hunter could crawl on his face, hands, and 
knees, for fifty or sixty yards, and then enfilade while 
on the water, yet it was sport rather than large bags of 
game that we were after, and we found far more of it 
in walking boldly up to the edge of the pool and taking 
fairly out of the air, as they were rising, what our skill 
and ammunition entitled us to, than in the other method, 
(Of course we were not alwaj'-s so liberal; human nature 
is weak, and when, after walking for miles without hav- 
ing seen a duck, as was the case on the Antelope, to 
come upon a flock of a hundred or such a matter, nicelj^ 
bunched — well, as Mr. Hough says, the part of our early 
instruction that we need most to remember is, "Lead us 
not into temptation.") We killed twent3'-four ducks that 
afternoon, mostty mallard, and niostb' after the manner 
of a true sportsman. One little incident occurred that 
was rather am.using. I shot one mallard that fell on a 
sandy shore just below a cut-bank about five or six feet 
in height. We were busy in picking up some others, 
reloading, etc., so that when we came to pick him up 
he had disappeared. On glancing around, howev-er, I 
soon discovered him crawling into a hole in the cut- 
bank a little further down. As Capt. K. was rather 
smaller and lighter in avoirdupois than myself, I held 
his hand and let him down from the edge of the bank 
while he thrust his hand into the hole nearly up to the 
elbow and pulled the mallard out again. We had scarcely 
started on again when a large rattlesnake was startled 
by us down at the foot of the same cut-bank and glide-d 
into a hole similar in most respects to that into which 
K. had just so obligingly thrust his arm. I looked • ^. 
at K.; his face was a studj'-, but he said nothing, while 
JJeut, -K, humorously cq^^j-^^ulntp^ him nn his h»v>ng 
his rabbit's foot with him that afternoon. On this day's 
march we saw antelope in considerable numbers, and for 
the first time in my life I saw a badger m his native 
surroundings. 
Tuesday, Sept 18. — This morning, instead of setting 
forth in good season for our next camp, as was our 
usual practice, we concluded to remain a few hours and 
enjoy still further the fine field for sport that surrounded 
us. We started up stream a-foot, leaving word for the 
-wagon to follow us in course of time to pick up our 
game and to eventually carry us back to camp. Capt 
K. shot four fine mallard before I killed a bird, and I 
was beginning to be rather discouraged, especially as 
Yacoob had run in and flushed some ducks once or twice 
that might have given me a shot. My luck soon 
changed, and I shot three mallard and a widgeon drake, 
thus tying him. K. shot a single teal, and then, as we 
appeared to have struck a long, dry reach, w^e gave it 
uo, and getting into the wagon drove back to camp, well 
pleased with our morning's sport. We ate dinner about 
II and at 12 pulled out with the troop for the 
Belle Fourche. As Ave passed a small chain of water- 
holes called the West Elm, I saw a few teal. I dis- 
mounted and, leaving my horse to be led along, got 
into the hunting wagon and started to hunt the stream. 
Lieut. K. joining me while Capt. K. marched on with 
the troop. In the course of an hour or less we suc- 
ceeded m bagging six teal, making our grand total for 
the past ten days 156 birds (both duck and chicken). 
We reached the Belle about 4 P. M. After supper Capt. 
K. rigged his fishing tackle and set out to fish. I took 
my shotgun and joined him. He caught two fine skip- 
jack, a rather difficult fish to take, and lost several more 
after hooking them. It soon began to grow dark. 50 I 
went back to camp, leaving hifn fishing. I found Lieut 
K. had also gone fishing. So leaving my gun and tak- 
ing my lantern I went back to where I had left K. I 
found that he had now five nice fish, three skip-jack, 
one catfish, and. one pike— as it is called here, though 
I suppose it is not properlj^ a pike, though it evidently 
belongs to that family. We fished a spell longer, but got 
no more bites, and returned to camp at about 9 o'clock. 
We found Lieut. K. in bed. He had caught a fine chan- 
nel cat and was very proud of it, as well he might be; 
it was twenty-two inches long. 
Wednesda}-, Sept. 19, — ^This morning on getting up 
we packed up our sportsman's implem.ents, donned our 
strictly military garb and set forth for the post, which 
Ave reached at about noon We found that Stout, the 
soldier that we had lost on the first march out. had re- 
turned to the post that same day and reported tu xne 
Sergeant left in charge that he had been taken sick, and 
that the Captain had alloAved him to return. He then got 
his traps together and at the first faA^orable opportunity 
had decamped. This remoA-ed from our minds all 
anxiety about our not having found him Avhen he Avas 
first lost at the Belle. Had he deserted from that place 
Avithout reporting back to the Sergeant, as he m.ight 
readily have done, Ave Avould never liaA'e known but that 
he had m.et Avith some accident and perished there, and 
we should ahvays have had a feeling of remorse at not 
having made a more A'igorous search for him. As it was. 
he removed the only possible cause for regret connected 
Avith a trip which, A\dthout the aid of these notes, Avill 
always linger in my memory. 
Not All of Hunting' to Hunt. 
Boston. Dec- 5. — Editor Forest and Stream: We havf 
just returned from a hunting trip to Maine. We found 
Indications of plenty of deer, but OAving to dry condition? 
the game could not be approached very easily. If A\^e only 
had had a slight amount of snoAv Ave could haAT gotten 
our limit Avithout hard Avork. 
My boy Ed. shot tAvo nice bucks. He is only sixteen 
years of age, and never handled a rifle previous to this 
trip. I have to stand lots of chaffing from my friends, 
for I failed to shoot anything larger than a partridge. 
But the mere killing of harmless animals is not the only 
source of pleasure that one can deriA-e from a trip to the 
Avoods. Almost CA-ery step that one takes along an old 
logging road reveals features of Avoods life that are highly 
interesting. Here on the left is a large beech tree with 
the bark all gnaAved off about one foot from the earth. A . 
hedgehog Avas cA'idently sampling its juices some time 
yesterday or day before. Going along a little further we 
found the cool green moss and dead leaves all paAved 
up by some night-prOAvling buck, evidentlj^ searching for 
a choice bite of something that Dame Nature planted 
there for such as he. We find the Avoodpecker family all 
busj' pegging aAvay just like so many cobblers-. Listening 
to the pileated woodpecker, one ometimes thinks that 3 
carpenter is "working nigh to hand. 
My attention Avas attracted to a large bird flA'ing back 
and forth repeatedl)-. I crept up quite near, and found 
that the bird was tugging at something on the ground. 
I recognized it as a moose bird. It had found the spot 
Avhere one of our party had killed a buck, and was re- 
plenishing its locker Avith the refuse. I sat there for an 
hour, and soon had a flock of moose birds about me, all 
bus}"- filling up on the entrails of the deer.* They Avere 
apparently fl}'ing to some hiding place and depositing the 
supply just as the squirrel puts in his food for the cold 
season. It Avas refreshing to me to be able .to sit there 
in that deep Avoods and find bird life so tame that I could 
almost put my hand upon their beautiful heads. 
We have traveled for days along beaten paths Avithout 
seeing a deer. We Avore moccasins, and were as silent 
as specters, not even breaking a tAvig. When Ave would 
find fresh signs, and AA^ere on the alert for a possible shot. 
Ave 'Avould be startled by a series of snorts from some 
Avatchful buck which Avas possibly Avatching us for min- 
utes before he could get it through his head Avhat Ave Avcre. 
Thus the days Avent by. 
We city toilers do not spend enough time in the woods. 
Let us go to the fields and streams and get nearer to 
nature. As Nessmuk put it : 
And Kings are poisoned and sliotilders bowed 
In the smothering reelc of mill and mine; 
And Peath stalks in on the struggling c^o^\-d — 
But he shujis tbe shadow of oak and pun;. 
One gf gi^f party }5lUft^ }i t)ii^k.a!5flut fiyf fnll^g frojJi 
our house. We Avent to assist him in carrying it out. It 
Aveighed 173 pounds, and it took us from 4 o'clock P. M. 
until 10:30 before we reached home. We made a torch 
from birch bark, placihg a lot of the bark betAveen a split 
stick. I never want to engage in such back-breaking 
AA'ork again. Jay Pfe. 
The Maine Season. 
Boston, Dec. 7. — Hunting deer in two feet of snoAv 
in the Maine Avoods may be a pastime, but most of the 
hunters caught out under such conditions declare that 
they have had enough of it; that their trips will be 
earlier hereafter. Stories of hunters exhausted in the 
snoAv continue to come in. One Boston deer hunter tells 
of starting from camp in the morning, in the vicinity 
of North TAvin Dam, over ground perfectly familiar. 
He shot his deer before noon, and turning for camp he 
attempted to drag the animal, since he Avanted to leave 
for Boston next daj'. He dragged his venison till he 
could do so no longer. Then he began to struggle to- 
ward camp, for night AA^as coming. On he plodded, till 
nearl}' unconscious he passed a lumber camp. The men 
called to him, and that is about the last he remem.bers 
till next morning. His rescuers say that he Avas stag- 
srering along in a manner that excited their suspicions, 
but that he made no ansAver Avhen spoken to. They 
took him in charge, and got him into their camp and- 
doAvn by the fire. He Avas not frozen, but thoroughly 
exhausted, and soon fell into a sound sleep that lasted 
till morning. A little longer exposure Avould have 
caused him to fall in the suoaa', and death would have 
resulted. 
At Moluncus, Me., last Friday morning the mercury 
indicated 4 degrees beloAv zero, but the disagreeable 
wind that had been bloAving from the northAA^est nearly 
a Aveek had subsided. Warmly clad, we did not mind 
the cold, but spent the day in the Avoods. We did not 
attempt to break through the snoAv on the trail of deer. 
This method of hunting Avould have been useless, besides 
being exceedingly laborious and difficult. The deer had 
already taken to the SAvamps and deep woods, AA'here 
every spruce and hemlock Avas loaded with snoAv. The 
hunter could see but a few feet under this load of snow, 
and attempting to penetrate it, he Avould get a little Avin- 
ter in his face and down his neck at eA'ery step. Our 
hunting had to be done by folIoAving the lumber rpads 
and tote roads, where the horses and .sleds had broken 
a track, or up and doAvn the frozen streams on the ice. 
vvith a guide in the SAvamps, on snowshoes, to drive out 
the deer. If one imagines that the deer will stand to be 
shot at. under such circumstances, thcA" are much mis- 
taken. Only a flurry of snoAv and a flit of their tails 
could be seen, though sometimes they Avould bound 
along the frozen stream or logging road for a short dis- 
tance. Snap shots were the best to be had, and in this 
way our deer Av.ere secured. 
k great deal ha^ been said about deer and the lumber- 
men and lumber camps. We Avere told that the deer 
Avere very plentv about some lumber works a few miles 
h-am Moluncus. We Adsited these Avorks on Sunday, 
when the men Avefe not there, being at their camp, tAvo 
or three miles below. Here we were greatly surprised. 
The deer had been in in large numbers. Roadways led 
from every direction to the places where the trees Avere 
felled, and back to the roll-way or pile of logs. In these 
roadways the tracks of deer Avere surprisinglv abundant: 
all made the night before or during the morning of that 
day. One could easily believe that a Avhole drove of 
them had been along. At the place Avhere the horses 
were fed at noon everv atom of cracked corn and .grain 
of oats had been tricked up, the deer boring down into 
the snoAv Avith their noses for the food. EAery spear of 
hay had been eaten, although the lumbermen at the 
camps told us that considerable had been left The 
men had built a fire and boiled their tea the day before. 
Here the deer had also been at AA'Ork. The tea grounds 
had been throAxm out on the snow, and this the deer had 
rooted OA^er. They had even rooted in the ashes of the 
fire, doubtless cooled before the animals got there. The 
lumbermen and guides told us that the deer love to 
broAA^se on the fallen evergreen tops about their AVorks. 
keeping outside or back of the tops in the day time, 
but coming out into the sled roads in the night. The 
opportunity is great for the lumbermen to destroy deer, 
and in every Camp there is a number of rifles and men 
n-ho knoAV how to use them. The camps all have veni- 
son during the open season, for every man claims the 
right to tAvo deer, xmder the laAV. We were told that the 
deer are not troubled by these lumbermen after the close 
season begins, and I hope that it is true. 
The deep snoAv of a Aveek ago, in the Maine Avoods, 
has been followed by another storm of even greater pro- 
portions. This early coming of deep snoAA's has doubt- 
less saved thousands of deer to the New England States. 
Hunting has been rendered nearly or quite impossible, 
and the Maine season closes on Dec. 15; only a few 
days hence. At Moluncus camp keepers and guides 
Avere estimating that thousands of deer were saved for 
stock that AA'ould have been legally killed but for the 
remarkably early approach of Avinter and deep snoAVS. 
Asked if the deep snoAvs are not bad for the deer, they 
Avere inclined to laugh. They claim that deer are eft- 
tirely masters of deep snoAvs, unless coA^ered Avith a 
crust that Avill not bear them, and will cut their legs, if 
they attempt to move about. These guides say that there 
Avere deer yards about that section last AAunter over three 
miles long. They declare that in the event of a fall of 
deep snoAV. CA^ery deer sets about treading down the 
same, in their paths or yards, and that by the end of the 
second or third day they are able to riin about their 
paths Avith ease. 
Boston, Dec. g. — Since the last deep fall of snow last 
Aveek, hunting has been covered Avith great difficulties. 
The season closes on Saturday next, and there is little 
possibility that any change of Aveather can render hmit- 
ing better. So much the better for Maine and her stock 
of deer. Already the slaughter has been great enough. 
For the season 3,810 deer have passed through Bangor, 
with still another Aveek to be accounted ftjr. Shipments 
this we^kAvill W9^ude all the old deg-r in sitock, and U>e 
Bangor my possibly m^^, ^-^'^ 4,9^ mar^i 
/ 
