— — V— 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
t^SB, t$, 102, 
Shortly after the war he began quail shooting on the 
Cape (Cod). My father and 1 met him on the cars com- 
ing up from Orleans. From this chance meeting 
sprang a friendship and acquaintance of nearly forty 
years. 
Mr. Hapgood visited East Wareham regularly for many 
seasons — in fact, as long as he could follow a dog with 
any pleasure. I remember how kindly he would wait 
until I could get my muzzleloading gun charged up be- 
fore he would advance after a covey we had flushed and 
shot at. The same kindness of heart and thoughtfulness 
for others characterized his whole life. He was endeared 
to a wide circle of friends, many of whom have preceded 
him over the great divide. To know him was to love 
him, and no words of mine can express the affection I felt 
for him while living, or my sorrow for his loss. 
Walter B. Savary. 
East Wareham, Mass. 
Boston, Feb. 5. — Editor Forest and Stream: I inclose 
this tribute to Mr. Hapgood, given in the Boston Trans- 
script: 
Although in his eighty-sixth year. Mr. Hapgood re- 
tained his vigor and activity to, the last. Enjoying grate- 
fully and heartily all the good gifts of a benign Provi- 
dence, he always' desired that his fellow travelers on the 
journey of life should have it in their power to do the 
same. He was one of a class of men. not too numerous in 
the. world, who have far less desire to formulate or sub- 
scribe to any definite creed or form of belief than they 
have to live lives of helpfulness by speaking the encourag- 
ing word and extending sympathy and aid to others. He 
was a good citizen, a hospitable and loyal friend, and a 
kind neighbor. To the writer, who knew him for more 
than half a century, in many different relations, one of his 
strongest characteristics seemed to be thoroughness in 
whatever he undertook. A striking illustration of this 
trait is found in Jus "Genealogy of the Hapgood Family," 
a work of more than five hundred pages, upon which he 
spent years of time and almost endless labor, requiring 
great patience and persistence. 
Another equally prominent trait was the manner in 
which his warm-heartedness manifested itself in his daily 
walk, what Wordsworth terms "that best portion of a 
good man's life — his little, nameless, unremembered acts 
of kindness and of love." For many a year to come, at 
Chatham and Monomoy, where Mr. Hapgood was accus- 
tomed to make his periodical visits, will be recounted the 
many instances of his good will and kindness, substantially 
expressed and hardly known by any one outside the circle 
of recipients. B. C. C. 
Feb. 1. 
A New Elk from Arizona. 
A new species of elk has just been described from 
Arizona by Mr. E. W. Nelson, the well-known naturalist, 
who is perhaps more familiar than any other man with 
the birds and mammals of the extreme Southwest. So far 
as Mr. Nelson has been able to learn, its range is limited 
and has long been isolated, and it is almost extinct. Only 
two specimens are known to naturalists, both obtained 
by Mr. Nelson near the head of Black River in the White 
Mountains of Arizona. Of these, the type is in the 
National Museum at Washington, while the other, repre- 
sented by the skull and antlers of an old male, is in the 
American Museum of Natural History, New York. It is 
the skull of this last species which is described and figured 
in the paper which Mr. Nelson contributes to Vol. XVI. 
of the Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural His- 
tory, which has just been issued. 
It is an extraordinary thing that this species should 
have been made known to science just as it is about to 
disappear. But this is hardly' more extraordinary than 
the fact that of all the herds of elk which two or three 
hundred years ago ranged over the Eastern United States, 
but one solitary specimen has been preserved ; an old and 
faded mounted skin now in the Museum of the Academy 
of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. There are natural- 
ists of eminence who believe that the elk of the Eastern 
United States was a different species from the animal 
which thirty years ago was found in such great numbers 
in Iowa, Nebraska, the Dakotas and all over the plains, 
but it is possible that this question may never be settled. 
Of the Arizona elk which Mr. Nelson calls Cervus 
merftami, for Dr. C. Hart Merriam, the energetic Chief of 
the Biological Survey, who more than any other 
man has made known the mammals of North Amer- 
ica, Mr. Nelson says : "My first knowledge of its exist- 
ence was obtained in the fall of 1882, when some prospec- 
tors at Chloride, New Mexico, told me that elk in- 
habited the Mogollon Mountains near the extreme head- 
waters of Gila River. Nothing further was heard of it 
until the early months , of 1884, when T spent some time 
exploring the Indian ruins about the village now called 
Frisco on the headwaters of the San Francisco River, in 
western Socorro county, New Mexico. During January 
I made a horseback trip of about ten miles to the east- 
ward into the borders of the Mogollon Mountains, and 
saw a doe elk and two young bucks hanging by a hunter's 
cabin. At this time elk were reported to be not uncom- 
mon on the higher parts of the range, but the total number 
from all accounts must have been very small compared 
with those then found in Colorado and further north. 
"From 1885 to 1887, while living on my ranche at the 
eastern base of the White Mountains, near Springerville, 
Arizona, I heard frequently of elk living in the higher 
and more remote parts of these mountains, mainly along 
the border of the White Mountain Indian reservation, 
near the head of Black River (a tributary of the Gila), 
The .l.Qpal hunters reported them not uncommon in this 
area .where, during these hunting trips between 1885 and 
1888, I saw signs of their presence in various places. 
Their main range covered an area of about thirty by fifty 
miles in extent, at an elevation of 8,000 to 10,000 feet above 
sea level. This country forms the divide between the' 
headwaters of Little Colorado River and Black River, and 
the high Prieto Plateau, between the upper Black River 
and Blue River. At the time of which I write elk were 
far from numerous, but I never visited that territory 
without seeing signs, usually more or less recent tracks, 
and in fall the broken branches and barkless trunks of 
saplings where the bulls had been rubbing their horns. 
The most abundant signs were found about some beauti- 
ful meadows in the midst of the dense fir forest of the 
rolling summit of the Prieto Plateau, between the Blue 
and the Black rivers. Owing to the presence of hostile 
Apaches at that time, it was dangerous to linger in a 
country where we saw most of the elk signs, so we always 
pressed on to a safer distance before doing much hunting. 
Outside the Indian country they were not common enough 
for one to hunt them with any degree of certainty. From 
1884 to 1889 the white hunters did not kill a dozen elk in 
all this district. 
"Mr. W. W. Price, who made a collecting trip for mam- 
mals through the White Mountains during July and Aug- 
ust. 1894, states : 'So far as we could learn, this animal 
is now confined to a small area in the higher White Moun- 
tains. Several were seen and a fine male was shot at 
about 9,000 feet elevation on Aug. 10. They feed in 
the dense fir woods and glades which clothe the upper 
slopes of the mountains. A recent letter from my brother, 
F. W. Nelson, informs me that a local hunter found the 
trail of a bull elk near the head of Black River the pres- 
ent autumn (iooi), and followed it for two days without 
obtaining a shot at the animal. This- shows that the 
Arizona elk still survives and that it is pursued by local 
hunters, regardless of the legal prohibition.' " 
Merriam's elk has the nose darker, and the head and 
legs more reddish than in the elk of the northern Rocky 
Mountains, but paler than Roosevelt's elk from the north- 
west coast. The skull is more massive, with the nasal 
bones much broader and more flattened, and the series 
of upper molar teeth heavier and more curved. The 
antlers are most like those of the Rocky Mountain elk. but 
the tip is straighten 
It is a melancholy thing that this animal should be on 
the verge of extinction. The present game law of Arizona 
prohibits the shooting of elk at all seasons, but this law 
is not at all regarded, as shown above. Here is a case, if 
ever one was, where the establishment of a game refuge 
in a forest reserve might preserve from extermination a 
superb species which so" far as can now be foreseen has 
been discovered only to be lost again forever. 
European Widgeon in North Carolina. 
Chicago, Feb. 8.— Editor Forest and Stream: In the 
January number of the Auk Mr. R. H. Howe, Jr.. records 
a specimen of the European widgeon, which was taken 
on Currituck Sound, Nov. 23, 1900, and which he thought 
the first to be recorded from North Carolina. 
In the National Bulletin. Vol. V., 1800, p. 126, I 
recorded a specimen of this duck which was shct at Curri- 
tuck in 1879, and received by Mr. Geo. O. Welsh, of 
Lynn, Mass., who advised me at the time he received one 
or more adult or immature birds from the same locality 
nearly every winter. Ruthven D^ane, 
Ways of "the Gadwall. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Under the above heading in your issue of Jan. 25 the 
author of "American Duck Shooting" desires to know 
if duck shooters generally have noticed more gadwalls 
than usual during the fall of 1901. 
Speaking for the locality about Toronto, on the north 
shore of Lake Ontario, I might state that I know of three 
specimens that were shot here last October. 
In this vicinity the gadwall is only an occasional 
visitant, and during my observations, covering the last 
twenty-five years, I have not seen more than twelve or 
fifteen — mostly single ones. 
I have a very distinct recollection of the first gadwall 
I shot. It came and sat down in the water about 100 
yards from my decoys, and started to feed on the surface 
weeds, when a shot in another part of the marsh alarmed 
it, and in flying by me — without paying the slightest atten- 
tion to my decoys — I made a long shot and killed it. When 
I picked it tip I'saw at once that it was a strange duck, so 
I came to the conclusion that it was a hybrid between a 
pintail and baldpate, for it had a mark on the wings like 
the latter, and the bill more like a pintail. However, my 
father informed me that it was a female gadwall. On 
another occasion three gadwalls were flying past without 
paying the slightest attention to my decoys, when I sue- ■ 
ceeded in killing one. In just one instance I saw three 
gadwalls swing up to decoys as ducks generally do. I 
have made several inquiries among gunners, and the 
opinion seems to be generally held that gadwalls do not 
decoy well. 
The month of October, 1888, I spent at Whitewater 
Lake, in southwestern Manitoba, near the Dakota bound- 
ary, and there found gadwalls in abundance — more of 
them, in fact, than any of the numerous kinds of ducks 
then to be seen there. Small flocks of from eight to fifteen 
were all round the edges of the lake, and every now and 
then they would take a fly around, just for exercise as it 
were, and when they were on these flights they would 
take no notice of-their own kind that were sitting about, 
so it was not to be expected that they would look at 
decoys— in fact, none of the ducks seemed to decoy as 
well in the West as they do here in the East. 
We have had an unusual number of white owls about 
here this winter, also several flocks of grosbeaks, which 
would seem to indicate a 'colder winter than usual to the 
north of us. Jno. Townson. 
Toronto. 
Dock, Crows and Gull* 
Philadelphia, Pa., Feb. 4.— Editor Forest and Stream: 
An occurrence somewhat similar to the one noted by your 
Arizona correspondent concerning wounded ducks, crows 
and gulls was noted in this city a few weeks ago. When 
first seen the duck (sheldrake) was on thin ice in the 
Schuylkill River, and was in trouble either from wounds 
or having been frozen to the ice, probably the latter, as it 
was well within .the park and city limits, where shooting 
is prohibited. It was surrounded by a throng of crows, ap- 
parently holding an ante-mortem conference, when an ex- 
ecutioner appeared in the person of a large gull. After kill- 
ing the duck, which made a feeble effort to escape, the gull 
proceeded to eat it, the crows in the meantime keeping 
a respectful distance and picking up the small pieces 
dropped by the gull. Probably these crows were not so 
hungry as their Western cousins, as they were the very 
tame park birds. Ocean. 
Linnaean Society of New York. 
A regular meeting of the Society will be held at the 
American Museum of Natural History, Seventy-seventh 
street and Eighth avenue, on Tuesday evening, Feb. 25, at 
8 o'clock. Subject, by Eugene Smith. "Wild Life in the 
vicinity of New York City." 
Walter W. Granger, 
Secretary' American Museum of Natural History. 
All communications intended for Forest and Stream ' should 
always be addressed to the Forest and Stream Publishing Co., and 
not to anv individual connected with the paper. 
— <$> — 
Proprietors of shooting resorts will find it profitable to advertise 
them in Forest and Stream. 
Killing Powers of Hunting Rifles* 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
In the days when all rifles were loaded with black 
powder there were various opinions as to the merits of 
this or that rifle. At the time when I became ambitious 
to kill something larger than deer the nitro rifle was 
unknown. I wanted something which I thought would 
kill quickly. There was the double express or the re- 
peater. My choice was the latter,, a Winchester .45-90. 
I did not believe in a solid or non-expanding bu.let, and 
I experimented a good deal. with various hollow-pointed 
bullets, and the split-pointed Keene. Loading my car- 
tridges with 100 grains of powder and the latter bullet 
of 300 grains, I found by practical work that I have a 
pretty good gun. I killed with this ri"e and load three 
moose, five caribou, four bears and four deer. I used 
twenty-two cartridges to do it, and I am convinced that 
I fired three shots of the above number which were not 
needed. None of the above animals went 50 yards after 
the first shot. I will admit that I got good shots as to 
distance; never a shot at over 80 yards. Some of the 
game was running, and none of it on. open ground. A 
companion on a trip, using a rifle like mine, and car- 
tridges of my loading, killed two moose one afternoon, 
each with a single shot, at 295 yards and 175 yards. 
The first was struck just back of the shoulder, a trifle 
above center, dropped at once, got up and staggered 
sOme 20 yards and fell. The second, hit at base of ear, 
dropped in its tracks. 
Now I had reason to think I had a good game killer; 
yet I know of an instance where such a rifle, using the 
same bullet, failed most signally. A ^companion on # a 
hunting trip took a great fancy to my' rifle. Tlrs man 
was one of the best game shots I -have met ; he had 
killed over twenty moose, and had owned a good many 
rifles. I had a rifle like mine made for him, and he was 
very much pleased with its accuracy. The first moose 
he tried it on was (as he said) the largest bull he had 
ever seen. He had what he called a good chance. He 
hit that moose five or six times and lost it. With his two 
Indians he spent two days trying to find him. 
To-day the modern small-bore nitro rifle is trying to 
supersede that of black powder and larger caliber. The 
manufacturers of the former vaunt to the extreme the 
wonderful powers of their product. Without doubt 
Braithwaite, the noted New Brunswick guide, has had 
more practical opportunities of seeing the death-dealing 
powers of the small-bore on moose and such game than 
any other man in our Eastern States, or the. Provinces. 
The most eloquent maker of the small-bore might talk 
until he- was black in the face, and I hardly think he 
would make any impression on Braithwaite. 
Your very interesting correspondent, Mr. Irland, 
praises (sarcastically) the .30-30. As an exterminator of 
his friends, the moosebirds or gorbies (as he calls them), 
he says it is immense. The penetration and expan- 
sion of the soft-nosed buHet is most effective on the 
gorby. Since one of Mr. Irland's objects in visiting 
New" Brunswick seems to be the sending of as ma-iy 
gorbies as possible to the hereafter, why did he not try 
that moose gun on a few? I think that, as the effect of 
a .30-30 bullet on a soap bubble, so would that .577 have 
been on a gorby. There would not have been a trace of 
the gorby left. Not even a feather. In fact, there would 
not have been anything to send to the hereafter. 
Now, as to Braithwaite's moose gun. As to its kill- 
ing (so that no following is needed) every moose it hits 
anywhere from the tail to ears, with all respect to the 
renowned guide, I do not believe he ever saw or will 
ever see a rifle which will do so. Braithwaite knows a 
great deal more than I do as to the a"atomy of a moose, 
yet I think I could with a piece cf chalk mark fully 
twenty places between the points he names (the moose 
to stand broadside), which if struck by any bullet ever 
fired from a rifle, would fail to bring down the animal 
then and there. A very highly charged live wire would 
do it. but I do not think anything else wou'd. 
As to the ideal hunting rifle: As the world grows 
older, inventors of all kinds multiply (perhaps the only 
failures are the inventions to keep. up the p-amc supply, 
non-resident hunting licenses included). What would 
our ancestors have said had they been told that we 
could sit in our homes and talk with friends hundreds 
of miles distant? Also that messages could be sent thou- 
