April ag, 1903.] 
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FOREST AND STREAM. 
S29 
partment of Agriculture, Mr. Sampson's work has the 
cordial support of the Department of the Interior, and of 
course of the President. 
The condition of the game in the forest reserves bor- 
dering on the Yellowstone Park is one of great interest, 
and on this subject the following letters will be of much 
interest ; 
Department of the Interior^ General Land Office, 80 
West 40th St., New York, April 10, 1903, Mr. Madison 
Grant, Secretary, 11 Wall street, New York cit}^- Dear 
Mr. Grant: — I have received your communication asking 
for a statement regarding the "state of things" in the 
Yellowstone Reserve, and herewith quote you the follow- 
ing letters in regard to same: 
"Feb. 2, T903. Hon. A. A. Anderson, Special Superin- 
tendent Forest Reserves, New York, N. Y. Dear Sir : — 
We have had an awful snow storm and the entire country 
is snowbound — have had only one mail since the 22d of 
January. There is seven feet of snow at the Scott Road 
Ranch, and 4J4 feet at the Lockwood Road Ranch, one 
and a half miles from Wilson P. O. 
"The elk are despernlc and arc breaking into the yards 
where there is ha}' everywhere. I started for the railway 
on the 27th and drove to the Lockwood Road Ranch the 
first day and returned the next. It snowed eighteen inches 
while 1 was there, and no one has crossed the Teton Pa:ss 
for four days. 
'T will start again as soon as the road is opened. 
"(Signed) Robt. E. Miller, 
"Forest Supervisor. 
"Elk, Wyo., March 6.— Mr. A. A. Anderson, Special 
Superintendent. Dear Sir: — I have started feeding the 
elk; to-morrow I will feed some south of Squirrel Creek; 
the next I will feed at Mr. Uhl's ranch, etc. 
'T saw Mr. Lovell as he came from Jackson and he says 
the elk are dying — people drive them away. You can hear 
dogs barking, and guns at night. I have also seen Mr. 
Romey, scout from the Park, two days ; he estimates 
a thousand elk will die. Elk go in the evening and try 
one hay corral after another. One drives them away from 
In's corral and they run to some other corral, and are 
driven off again, and so on. He claims hay can be gotten 
down here, and as it is not too late to help, leaving the 
calf elk there to be fed and driving the old elk to the foot- 
hills to feed, but it will take about twelve to eighteen men 
to drive the elk awa}'. 
"People at Jackson are sleeping at their hay stacks. 
Snow has not gone, hardly any up to date. My hills are 
pretty much fed off. 
"I have been trying to get elk fed for years, and it has 
come_ at last, and people all in here now say they should 
he fed, so I will have to help agitate the feeding question. 
In summer where they try to save one elk, in the winter 
they die wholesale by starvation, and it would be more 
h'.'mane to let the elk be shot in summer than to die by 
starvation in the winter. I shall write again in about ten 
days how I am getting along feeding the elk. 
"(Signed) Emile Wolff, 
"Ranger." 
The last report from the Jackson Hole country is moic 
encouraging, and the snow is commencing to disappear. 
From reports I have received I should judge that we will 
ln«e this year about twenty per cent, from starvation in 
this region. I hope this may never occur again, as it can 
be avoided by making proper provision in time for t!ic 
feeding of the calves of the elk during a severe winter 
like the present, which is not apt to occur more than once 
in ten years. 
I have not yet received a copy of the game laws of 
Wyoming, but am told that they have been amended so as 
to greatly help us in protecting the large game on the 
reserve. The open season has been shortened from three 
months to six weeks, commencing September 15. The 
killing or trapping of bear is prohibited during the closed 
season; the killing of moose is prohibited for ten years, 
and the killing of antelope for five years. 
Thanking the Boone and Crockett Club for the interest 
they have taken in the preservation of game upon the 
\ ellowstone Reserve, I remain, 
Yours very sincerely, 
A. A. Anderson, 
Special Superintendent. 
Mr. Anderson, it is reported, has himself advanced a 
very large sum of money for the purpose of purchasing 
h'ly to feed these starving elk, and other organizations, 
the Boone and Crockett Club and the New York Zoologi- 
cal Societj' among them, have also made contributions of 
money to this end. Mr. Grant referred to the presence 
cf Senator Brown at the meeting, and paid a high tribute 
to the latter's devotion to the cause of game protection, 
as shown by his successful efforts in behalf of the New 
^ ork anti-spring duck shooting bill just passed. 
At the request of the president, Senator Brown spoke 
briefly but most interestingly concerning the game pro- 
tective work that he had been engaged in at Albanjr. The 
big game, the wildfowl, the land birds and the fish are re- 
sources of the State which should be protected and in- 
creased if possible, for economic as well as for sentimental 
reasons. In these days we see too little of nature, and 
as time goes on we and our children will see less and less 
of it The work done by the Boone and Crockett Club 
and by similar organizations is work that is well worth 
doing. The time should come before long when the 
spring shooting of wildfowl should be abolished from 
Maine to Maryland. 
Mr. Harry De Windt gave an interesting talk illustrated 
by lantern slides, detailing the ditficulties and hardships 
of his famous trip from Paris to Moscow, across Siberia, 
the Bering Straits, Alaska and the United States back 
to Paris in 248 days. In the brief time allowed for his 
talk he held the absorbed interest of his audience. 
The meeting was one of very unusual interest, and 
broke up at a late hour. 
OIlio Bitds, 
MiAMisBURG, O., April II.— The duck flight has been 
smaller this spring than it has been for several years. 
Song birds are here in large numbers, however, and the 
p,utlopJt for a good squirrel season is promising. 
Clarence Vandiveer. 
A Little Hail Storm. 
Wymore, Nebraska, April 13.— Editor Forest and 
Sir earn: I notice in a late issue of Forest and Stream 
that I have an invitation to shoot ducks with More Anon 
on Currituck Sound. I am very much gratified, and will 
surely avail myself of the first opportunity to try some of 
those ducks; I know they will be easy. 
My trouble with More Anon seems all to have arisen 
from a misunderstanding, as such things generally do, as 
he now explains that the tornado only swept over the north 
end of the Sound, and that explains the fact that there 
arc still ducks in the Sound. A man who has weathered 
c-'s many western tornadoes as I have, naturally gets a lit- 
tle touchy on the subject, and when someone describes a 
little whirlwind, such as we see here every day in the 
spring, and calls it a genuine western tornado, I find it 
hard to keep still. 1 return the compliment to More 
Anon, and would like to have him spend a week with me 
some tirne, and I will take him a-fishing. 
Speaking of fish, reminds me of a hailstorm we had 
here a few weeksc ago about the tenth of May; the hail 
fell in a narrow strip, from forty to eighty rods wide, 
along a little stream leading into the Big Blue River, 
just east of our town; and the torrent of water and hail 
together that rushed down that little stream was over 
twenty feet deep, and when it reached the river it made 
the water so cold that the fish rushed for the shore to 
find warmer water, and in a bend of the river just below 
where the hail entered there was a sand bar of five or six 
acres, where the farmers had been scouring their plows; 
the furrows were irregular and ran in every direction, 
and when the floods of cold water and hail subsided, these 
furrows were full of fish of all sizes, mostly catfish, some 
of which vyeighed more tlian twenty pounds, and they 
were so chilled that they remained in the furrows until 
the water went down and left them high and dry. George 
Mitchell, a respectable farmer, near the sand bap put the 
sideboards on his wagon and hauled a load of the fish 
home and distributed them among his neighbors. A week 
and one day after the hailstorm, my wife and I were 
riding along the little stream Avhere the hail fell, and we 
found several places where the hail was still several feet 
deep, and I dipped up a bucketful of hail and took it 
home in the buggy, and my wife carried it around to the 
neighbors in saucers. A. D. McCandless. 
Snowshoes. 
GoDBouT, Quebec. — Editor Forest and Stream: In 
answer to Mr. C. M. Stark's query in Forest and 
Stream, February 21, as to where he could buy prepared 
hide for snowshoe.s, I would advise him to purchase it 
from the Hudson Bay Company's stores or through some 
of their agents. The best and lightest kind of hide for 
that purpose is caribou, which in the trade of the Hudson 
Bay Company goes under the name of parchment. It is 
prepared in different sizes and quality; for the ends of the 
snowshoes the thinnest kind is used, and , is usually cut 
very fine, about the size of coarse sewing thread. For 
the middle part heavy and thick skins are used and cut 
according to the fancy of the wearer, but the best way is 
to guide one's self on the thickness of the hide, cutting 
it so that when stretched it will be square. When the 
strips are cut too wide they will be flat on one side when 
stretched. The" hides as purchased in the parchment state 
are not ready for use, but require to be stretched on a 
frame after having been well soaked in water. The drying 
of the hide_ should be in a cool place, preferably in' the 
open air if in winter. After the strips are cut the proper 
way to stretch them is to wind them around two strong 
wooden pegs driven in a frame and then put a piece of 
hard wood between the strips and twist them tourniquet 
fashion. Snow.shoes laced- with this kind of filling won't 
sag when wet, but on the contrary will get very tight and 
springy. Good parchment caribou is worth about $3 
a pound, and on^; and a half pounds is sufficient for an 
ordinary sized pair of snowshoes. A good pair of well 
made snowshoes is worth in this part of the country 
from $8 to $10, according to size and the fineness of the 
work. I would not advise Mr. Stark to make his own 
snowshoes unless he has had previous experience, as the 
probabilities would be that his first pair would not prove 
very satisfactory. Will supply him Avith any other infor- 
mation he may require if he will address me. 
Nap. a. Comeau. 
Game^ in the "Woodpile. 
C. W. Stoddard, who up to a few days ago ran a 
restaurant at 1.30 Wall street, in the old postoffice build- 
ing, has been fined $75 for having wild game in his pos- 
session during the close season. 
Complaints were received by the Schenectady County 
Fish and Game Protective Association on December 17 
last that Stoddard was displaying game birds for sale. 
An officer of the Association found that grouse and quail 
was being sold by Stoddard, although it was the close 
season. 
The law, however, provides that game on hand after the 
close of the season (December 16 for quail), must be dis- 
posed of during the rest of the month. Stoddard was so 
notified. 
On January i of this year complaint Avas again lodged 
against Stoddard and Chief Game Protector W. H. Jack- 
son and an assistant visited Stoddard's restaurant. Stod- 
dard denied having any contraband game, but Protector 
Jackson made a search of the premises and discovered 
one of the help concealing game birds under a pile of 
wood in the cellar. Jackson took possession of the game 
and later turned the case over to the State Forest, Fish 
and Game Commission. 
John D. Miller, who is the attorney for the local asso- 
ciation, Avas retained by the State Commission to proceed 
against Stoddard to recover penalties in the sum of $160. 
The case Avas called in city court on January 31, and Stod- 
dard confessed judgment in the sum of $75. 
Stoddard Avas in financial difficulties, and he Avas granted 
an extension of time in which to pay the fine. When the 
OAvnership of the Wall street restaurant Avas placed in 
doubt last week, and Stoddard endeavored to sell out his 
business, he was called upon and compelled to pay the 
$75 fine.— Schenectady (N. Y.) Star. 
In West Virginia. 
Romney, W. Va., April 16. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
The law as to license for non-residents has been cut down 
to >$is, and the license is good in any county. The law 
also changes the time for Avild turkeys and puts rabbits 
and squirrels on the protected list, except to owners of 
land, where they may be destructive as to apple and other 
trees Avith reference to rabbits, and corn in reference to 
squirrels. We now have a new State game warden, Frank 
Lively, of Hinton, instead of Capt. E. F. Smith, who 
resigned to enter other business. Capt. Smith made a 
good official and all were sorry to see him resign, but his 
place, we think, will be ably filled by the new incumbent, 
and with the assistance of his deputies the law can and 
will be enforced. 
We have a beautiful club house, costing in the neigh- 
borhood of $25,000, about four miles above this town. 
Five or six of the members are from New York city, but 
the majority of the stockholders are of Wheeling and 
Pittsburg. Their manager is an able one and an all round 
sportsman, and is running the place successfully. They 
open the first of June and a large crowd is expected this 
year. 
I have heard of two flocks of wild turkeys this spring, 
and several nice coveys of birds being seen. A stringent 
enforcement of the game law in this county will bring 
about a large increase of all kinds of game. 
The fishing will be better this season owing to a dam 
in the river near its mouth having been washed out, thus 
enabling the fish to get up the stream. A strong law was 
enacted by our Legislature last winter in reference to the 
pollution of any stream or streams. This covers the case 
better than ever before, and Avill certainly be enforced. 
J. B. Brady. 
The Chinese claim to have discovered a method of fish 
culture Avhich is both quick and strange. They take a 
hen's egg, remove the contents through a small hole in 
the shell, and fill it with fish eggs. The shell is then 
sealed and put under a setting hen for a few days. The 
heat makes the spawn develop rapidly, and when the fish 
eggs are put in Avarm water they hatch at once. The 
Chinese are clever, but the chap who incubated this story 
was cleverer. 
— ^ — 
Brilliant Trout. 
The brilliant brook trout taken last week by Mr. 
Robert B. Lawrence and described in the last issue of 
POOREST and Stream, Avere sent to the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution at Washington for examination. The following 
letter will interest all who saAv the fish: 
Color, as is well known, is a most misleading character 
in trout, and cannot at aril be depended on in the identifi- 
cation of species. It has been the cause of a thousand 
Avordy battles in the past and is likely to originate as 
many more in the future. 
FdUor Forest and Stream: 
The brook trout forAvarded by you for determination of 
species is undoubtedly the common form native to the 
Avaters of the eastern United States, Salvelinus fontinalis. 
The color is the most brilliant we have ever seen on trout. 
The following account of trout found in northern Ncav 
York, and which Ave think must have been very like these 
from Flushing, is given by Dr. De Kay in his "Zoology 
of New York, Part IV., Fishes," Albany, 1842, pp. 236- 
238. Plate 39, fig. 126. 
"The Red-bellied Trout, Salmo erythrogasler. Creek 
Trout (?) of Doughty, Cabinet of Nat. Hist., Vol. I., p. 
134, pi. 13, fig. 2. * * * Color: Above, dark olive .green, 
Avith confluent blotches of a lighter color on each side of 
the back, resembling those on the common mackerel. 
Head, above, uniform olive green. Sides bronze brown, 
Avith numerous rounded rich salmon-colored spots, be- 
coming larger toward the tail ; these are intermixed with 
smaller crimson dots. The belly of a brilliant reddish 
orange, separated by a distinct line from the pearl color 
beneath. Membrane of the gill-rays and interior of the 
mouth Avith a black pigment. The first rays of all the fins, 
except the dorsal and caudal, opaque white, edged with 
black; the other rays of a brilliant flesh-red; inside of the 
pectorals black. Dorsal varied with dark green and 
opaque or horn color. Ventral with its black margin ex- 
tending over tAvo or three of its adjacent rays. Caudal 
broadly margined with bright red. Flesh incarnate red. 
Length, 1$% inches; depth, 3 inches; weight, xyi 
pounds." 
Dr. De Kay further states that "this beautiful species, 
Avhich has probably been confounded Avith the preceding 
(Salvelinus fontinalis), I first noticed at Indian Lake, 
Hamilton county; then at the outlet of Lake Janet, one 
of the Eckford chain, emptying into Lake Raquette; and 
subsequently in most of the streams in Hamilton, St. 
LaAvrence, Franklin and Essex counties. There is a beauti- 
ful variety of this species in Silver Lake, Pennsylvania, 
Avith head and opercles unusually dark. They sometimes 
attain the Aveight of four and even five pounds. Inde- 
pendent oi other considerations, as will be apparent from 
the description, the regularity and brilliancy of their 
colors seem to render it proper to designate them by a 
distinct specific name. * * * 
"Various causes have been assigned for the great 
variety in the color of the flesh of this and other con- 
generic species. One cause is said to be the difference of 
food ; such as live upon fresh water shrimps and other 
small Crustacea, being brightest; those Avhich feed upon 
common aquatic insects being next ; and those living upon 
aquatic vegetables being dull and darkest of all. It is 
A'ery doubtful, hoAvever, whether any trout feeds on vege- 
tables, the armature of their mouth very clearly pointing 
out the nature of their food. All that we know positively 
on the subject is that in our brook trout, those which 
inhabit ponds are dark colored externally; those in clear 
streams running over sandy bottoms are bright ; and those 
Avhich are found in salt or brackish streams are not only 
very bright externally, but their flesh has more of the sal- 
mon color. In the present species, which is only found in 
fresh Avater streams, not only the colors externally are 
extremely vivid, but the flesh is of a bright red approach- 
