'4 so 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
Maryland '*D«ck Degfcncrates/' 
The Baltimore American says that John Henry Keene, 
a well-known lawyer and hunter of Baltimore, recently 
spent several days ducking. He returned with the 
opinion that the sport in Maryland is more than ever in 
peril. The illegal use of nets constitutes the greatest 
•danger. Mr. Keene said: "The epoch in the game his- 
tory of Maryland is unmistakably in its decline. The 
«poch of the pot-hunter degenerate is unmistakably an- 
nouncing its reapproach. Tf'some decisive action is not 
immediately taken, Maryland wild duck history must be 
shortly written. The duck degenerate has shown himself 
extremely fertile in most diverse directions. Formerly 
this midnight assassin prowled to his prey with a dark 
lantern and heavily loaded swivel. Stealthily he stole 
upon the quietly feeding rick of canvas, redhead, mallard 
and baldpate ; at one fire the dead fowl lay scattered in 
drifting heaps. 
The present svstem of the duck degenerate is that of 
imminent perdition and destruction, and the duck degen- 
erate now dominates every tried duck river and cove in 
Maryland. The new despoilers have appeared with an 
able body guard even upon the flats at Havre de Grace, 
Northeast River, and all the environments of that great 
feeding ground. No one throughout all Maryland, it 
seems, dares to molest or make the duck degenerate 
afraid. They pursue their own way with smiling seren- 
ity. Their instruments of torture are an imorovement 
upon the Indian fashion. They can, and do, rack every 
duck ground and feeding marsh in Tvl^ryland. The 
cowardly degenerate now snares the ducks by nets. These 
nets have meshes into and through which the tired duck 
dives for his food. The ground is first sown with corn. 
When the duck redives for the surface, his neck and 
head pointing upward, he comes with all his force and 
finds himself entangled in the meshes of the net. which 
close. The duck misses the opening into and through 
which he first plunged. Before the break of day the duck 
degenerate fishes the net, and thousands upon thousands 
of these captives go to the Northern markets. Seldom 
are they seen in our markets. The naphtha launch fiend 
does not stand upon a much higher plane than his brother 
degenerate. He sails noiselessly upon the feeding rick, 
so screened that he cannot be seen, and when in range 
pours his deadly volley into the quietly feeding brood. Is 
it strange that the wild duck deserts his favorite famous 
Maryland feeding grounds? 
A Bad State of Affairs. 
Saginaw, Mich., Nov. 17. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
Here are some samples of how the game and fish laws are 
not enforced in Michigan : I was fishing north this sum- 
mer and heard a hound running, and soon after two 
shots. My driver said that was deer, and informed us 
the next diiy that a doe had been divided up among them. 
I said : "Why don't you report these .things to the game 
warden?" and he =aid. "Not much, we all stand in and 
get some of the meat." 
Last week I Avas at Harrison on a shooting trip, and 
our driver said that three week.s before (and mind you 
the season had not even opened then), a party of five one 
Sunday went up to one of the lakes and drove in some 
deer and killd two, and said they could get deer all sum- 
mer any time they wanted to. I spoke about the trout in 
Cedar and Tobacco, and asked him if they got any large 
ones, and he said the big ones were all in Town Line 
Lake, but he said the only way to get them was to spear 
them ; and all summer long they could go up there with a 
party whenever they felt like it, light a jacklight at night, 
go out with a spear and fill up a boat in no time. He 
said : "We got one weighing four pounds awhile ago." 
The birds around Lake Station have been completely 
cleaned out, as I understand it, by two local hunters who 
hunt entirely for the market. This last week there has 
been a market-hunter from the south part of the State 
up around Evart. 
The other day a man stopped into th6 Country Club 
with a lot of quail and partridge for sale. 
W. B. Mershon. 
One of the Old Gtfatd. 
Elizabethtown, N. Y., Nov. 1^. — Another of the "old 
guard" has been summoned to answer the last roll call. 
Sam Saunders died at Schroon Lake last week. He was 
truly one of the old-timers. He was probably the most 
skilled blacksmith who ever operated in Essex county, 
and as a hunter and trapper his fame had reached far be- 
yond the limits of the Adirondacks. He began hunting 
in the now famous Boreas region "way back in the 
forties," having for a companion in those then lonely 
wilds our late departed friend, Elijah Simonds, of 
Elizabethtown, than whom a better hunter and trapper 
never lived in any age or any country. There was then no 
settlement in the Boreas region; in fact, no road, except 
"the poorest kind of a wood road." However, there they 
passed many happy weeks together, then both in the prime 
and vigor of fine j'oung manhood, killing "loads of deer" 
and other game. ' Elijah held Sam, as he always called 
his senior hunting companion, in high esteem, and Sam 
thought Lige the most wonderful man he ever hunted 
with. Sam made the best bear trap springs obtainable 
in the world, his hand-hammered axes ranked high and 
his fish hooks beat all competitors. Up to last summer he 
made fish hooks for New York parties. Sam was a good 
story teller and had hosts of friends and no enemies that 
we ever heard of. He was unquestionably the greatest 
character that Schroon Lake ever knew, and summer 
tourists will miss his quaint sayings. G. L. B. 
Notth Carolina Conditions. 
PiNEHURST, N. C, Nov. 20. — I am not a calamity 
howler, but for general, all-round queer conditions, the 
last twelve months beat the record. 
Last year it rained all the time down here ; and now 
it is as hot and dry as August. Yesterday it was 82 de- 
grees in the shade; and it has been that way for days. 
Result, birds are in the deep and thickest cover, where 
they panuQ^ ghgt, ■ ' p^!^^K Ei^gb, 
Some jame Wciuhts. 
Brooklyn, N, Y., Nov. 23. • Tn a two , ays* shootiilg 
trip in Connecticut my guide an 1 I bagged one squifrel, 
five quail and thirteen partridge. We flushed about si^cty 
partridges in our- two days* journeying. The weights of 
above birds were as follows ; One very large rnale part- 
ridge, I lb.- 12 62. ; four, x}^ lbs, each ; three, i lb. 7 oz. 
each: two, i lb. 6 oz. each; two, 1% lbs. each, and one 
weighed i lb. r oz.. and had one leg, part of its breast and 
its entrails shot away. Two quail were 8 oz. each, two 
were 7 oz. each, and one 654 oz, 
I enjoyed the trip amazingly, as the weather was fine, 
though rather warm, and culminated in a driving rain 
storm in the evening, through which we Avere compelled 
to drive seven miles to the boat. 
The success of the trip, however, offset the rain, and I 
do not care to thuik how I would have felt if the rain had 
descended -earlier and thus cut short the sport, 
W. N. E. 
New Jersey Dt(cks, 
Harvey Cedars, N..J., Nov. 21,— Mr. E. J. Davis kHIed 
7 brant in one shot on Wednesday, and 8 broadbills in 
one shot on Thursday, with a No. 12 gauge gun that he 
has been using .steadily for 2.3 years. Mr. Davis and Mr, 
Davidson got 265 ducks in four days, which thev shipped 
to their friends. D. M. White. 
New York Leagfoe, 
Tut annual nieetiiiR of tlie New York Fisli. Game and Forest 
League will be held at the Yales Hotel, Syracuse, N. Y., at 10:30 
A. M., on Dec. 4, 1902, and a full attendance is hoped for. 
The objects of this vV.'-sociation are to create and foster a more 
general public sentiment in favor of Fissh, Game and Forest "Pro- 
tection, to procure the enactment of laws for the protection of fish 
and franie, and for tlic preservation of our forests, and to promote 
the observance of such laws. 
In order to carry out the.se objects, we most earnestly a.sk the 
co-operation of all fish and game clubs and associations within this 
.State, who are not already enrolled in the League, and urge upon 
them the erreat desirabilitv of joininff forces with us in order to 
secure yet more united effort in attaining these obiects. 
The initiation fee of .'is.s. including as it does the dues for the 
year commencing on the first Thursd.iv after the first "Monday in 
neccmher, when our annual meeting takes place, Rives to each club 
the privilege of sending two delegates to the annual meeting. 
The game law.s of our .'^tate are at present in much better shape 
than they were a few years ago. 
The constant tinkering by the Legislature with the game law is, 
however, a serious menace to fish, game and forest protection. "Bills 
.are constantly being introduced which, aiming to grant exception.il 
privileges to certain localities, create a general feeling of distrust, 
and seriously interfere with the enforcement of good measures. 
The careful weighing of the merits or faults of proposed game 
legislatioj), by the persons most interested, the indorsement of 
what is deemed desirable, and the opposition to what is deemed 
objectionable, is the main business that comes before our annual 
meetings, and after election of ofticors for the ensuing year, attii 
one adiournment of the said meeting, our Legislative and Law 
Committee keeps careful watch, durins; the entire season, of all pro- 
nosed legislation affecting the eame laws. Tu order tliat thev may 
be fully discussed at the annual meeting, all proposed amendments 
to the present game law-s should if possible be forwarded to ftie 
rhairman of the Legislative and Law Committee, Mr. Charles TFt. 
Mowry, Journal "Ruilding, Syracuse, NT. Y., prior to tiie first day 
of Pecember, iqot. 
Applications for niembershin should^ be made to the secretary, 
who will gladly give any further infonnation Avfiieh mav be 
desired. Robert B. LawrKnce, President. 
Ernest G. Gould. Secretary. 
Hints ar.d Wrinkles. 
Readers are lnvjte<f fo send for publicalion t*rder Ib/s 
head hlrts crd wn'rfeles drawn frcm pradiral exj-et/enre, 
and nertaloJrg to fbootbg. f?shlrg, camping aod outdoor Hie. 
Simple'Remecies for Wocdsloafers. 
In the auttunn, after the leaA'es have fallen off most of 
the trees and vines, is the time when one is quite likely 
to be badly poisoned by poison ivy or poison oak, for at 
sucli times the leaves are not present to warn one who 
approaches these plants too closely, and many associate 
the poison with the leaves only and feel safe in touch- 
ing the vines. This is a mistake, as I know from per- 
Fon?.\ experience, I having been very severely poisoned 
during January, as well as at earlier times during the 
winter months, by touching these vines, both with naked 
and gloved hands. 
Some physicians say there is no satisfactory remedy 
for ivy poisoning, while others recommend sugar of lead 
imd other lofithsome concoctions. Here is .something bet- 
ter : It is tincture of Grmdelia robusta. a .simple old 
remedy that will dry up and cure ivy poisoning in a 
few days, arid it is no more unpleasant to use than arnica. 
Every person who goes tr-i the woods for a stay of any 
leneth should carry a four-ounce bottle of this remedy 
in his kit, as it is likely to save him days of needless 
agony. Beins: peculiarly susceptible to ivy poisoning, T 
liave gi\'en Crindch'a a thorough trial, and have found 
that it cures rapidly and surely. During last month, 
while in camp, three of our party were more or less 
severely poisoned, but a country druggist supplied us 
with this tincture, and it worked wonders in a few days. 
Mr. Hough has told Fore.s't anp Stream's readers of 
the good qualities of lime water and Unseed oil — ^lialf and 
half — for sunburn, and his advice is soitnd. Nothins' 
can be better, and a four-otince bottle of it. too. shotild 
be found in one's dittj' baer throughout the summer. I 
havp .ceen canoeists, esoecially those of the fair sex, so 
badly sunburned that they were in agony and could not 
nfove hands or arrns without the greatest effort, but this 
cooling lotion relieved them at once, and occasional ao- 
pHcations for a few davs effected cures. The only ob- 
iections to this mixture is that the linseed oil is absorbed 
bv one's garments, and is difficult fo remove from them; 
hence some old cotton thing that is soft should be worn 
next to the skin while one is anointing himself with this 
remedy. 
A third article for the difty bag is a primer box con- 
taining a mixture of equal parts of A-^aseline. glycerine, 
-lutttoit tallow, and Jnnan wax. bv weight. For roujh 
or chnnned fingers and fsccs it Js fine, as it is not sticky 
an<l oi\v,_ like some substances put up for simitar uses, 
niid it is healine and cooling as well. The first few 
days one is in the woods he, is almost sure to hammer 
hands all tQ piepes in w^y pr ai^othef, ^nd some- 
thing like this, to apply to hriiises and hurts is woi-ttl lis 
Weight in gold. 
Some old wOo'dsnieh i'e'commend eating a small quan- 
tity of raw venisoh as a physic, in an emergency, and 
others say that for obstinate cases of diarrhoea, or even 
dysentery, flour and water is a sure remedy. The bene- 
fits to be derived from the homely old remedy of heated 
flaxseed being known ; anyone suddenly taken with tooth- 
ache, earache, pleurisy, etc.. in the woods, can get relief 
frou] a cupful of nee or wheat, placed in a cotton tobacco 
Iiag and heated in a fryin-pan over the campfire, then ap- 
plied to the part affected while piping hot. Ever try it? 
Well, it is almost as effective in driving away pain as 
was Nessmuk's burning paper plaster for his friend, the 
doctor's attack of pleurisy while they were in the Michi- 
gan backwoods. It is also well to remeinber that vine- 
gar will relieve a burn, and as vinegar and burned fingers 
are often found in camp, the relief shoidd be at hand. 
Perry D. Frazer, 
— ^ — 
Samoa *Uma* 
The decision of King Oscar of Sweden in the question at issue 
between Germany, Great Britain and the United States lends a 
peculi-^r timeliness, to Mrs. Churchill's charming volume "Samoa 
t'liia, which IS just published. The King of Sweden was tlic 
arbitrator in the controversy between the three powers, and he has 
decided in favor of Germany and against the others. 
tew of us have any idea where Samoa is, who are its inhabitants 
what Its products. But the readers of Forest and Stre.am are better 
ott than mG).st people in thus respect, since thev have had the oppor- 
tunity of reading many of Mrs. Churchill's delightful descrii.tions of 
t.iose far oft islands. No one could be better equipped than she for 
writing of these people, since for four vears she resided among 
tiem, was a friend to their men and women, witnessed many of 
their peculiar customs, took part with them in their hunting'and 
nshing, and dug down into tiie wavs of their lives and the motives 
which animated these ways as deeply as it was possible for any one 
to do, in the time at her command. If we add to this the fact 
that Mrs. Churchill is a trained writer and has a peculiarly happy 
stj'Ic, It will be Seen that her volume ought to contain— as' in fact 
It does contain — mol'e about Samoa, and that more interestingly told, 
thaii any volume ever written about the South Sea Islamls 
•H years— during the very time that Mrs. Cluitidu 
111 resided there— the Samoan question was one of vivid active inlet- 
e.it, and for a number of years there was decidedlv mote than ii 
possibility that tlie_ country would go to war with Germany over 
Samoa. _ This condition of things has impressed the name at least 
of the islands on the memory of the American people, whb baVe 
now an opportunity to learn all about the interesting gfqujj. tt 
was liigh time that the study of these people should be taken ujl, 
for they are changing as rapidly, a.s all other primitive peoples 
cliange when brought in contact with the white race, which, tiot- 
withstanding all its boasted civilization, takes away from the savage 
much that he has of good, and gives him much that is bad in i^etufri 
Perhaps. there is no way in which the contents, of Mrs. Churchill's 
book can be better shown than bv giving the titles Of some Of the 
twenty-four chapters included in its joo pages. These Are: The 
Real Samoa, The Samoan Familv, The Samoan Housewife, Courtesy 
and Ceremonies, Kava, the Ceremonial Drink, Music and the Siva, 
Handicraft and Art, Fishers and Sailors, Shooting the Apolima 
Passage, The Weed th.at Catches Fish, Torches on the T^cef, The 
Palolo Anniversary, The Chase of Rats, Things that Creep and 
Crawl, Wreck of the Schooner Lupe, Samoan Fickle Brides, The 
Vampires of the Tuasivi, The Beach Comber and the Missionary 
Copra and Trade. The Tale of Laulu's Hunt, The Great Vaila 
Steeple Chase, The Sliding Rock of Papas'ea,, Some South .Sea 
Hoodoos, Papalangi Life. 
Here, then, we have descriptions of the region, its people, their 
ceremonies, their arts and occupations, the way in which they live, 
many of their old traditions, and a chapter on the life of the white 
people obliged tO reside on the islands. The field thus is a large 
one, and it is fittingly expressed in the title of the book, which 
means "All Samoa." The story is well told, and is of fascinating 
interest throughout. 
Mrs. Churchill's first chapter gives us in compact form the chief 
facts in the history of Samoa, as concerns the outer world, from the 
beginning up to the. time of its partition between Germany, Great 
Britain and the United States. The place became important to us 
because it lay on the border of the mig^ratory course of the sperm 
whales through the Pacific, and it thus was early a point of call 
for these New Bedford and Nantucket whaling fleets which fol- 
lowed the herd down into the Antarctic Seas. The strained rela- 
tions between the civilized powers claiming interests in Samoa were 
almost at their height in March, 1889, when the memorable hurri- 
cane took place in Apia Harbor, and three German and three 
American war vessels were destroyed or wrecked. The partition of 
the islands about ten years later put an end to the territorial quar- 
rels, and it is likely that before long Samoa will lapse into the half 
forgotten condition which it held for nearly fifty years after Wilkes 
made his treaty with the Samoans at Pago Pago, in 1839. 
The most interesting thing that can be learned about any primitive 
people concerns tlieir social organization, and this Mrs. (Jliurchill 
treats very fully. The Samoan has but one wife, but he may change 
his wife at anj' time, or the wife may change her husband. Mar- 
riage, therefore, is only temporary, lasting during the pleasure of 
the two parties to it. Children born during the existence of the 
marriage belong to the husband]s family, but if born after marriage 
has been dissolved, to the family of the wife. A child on reach- 
ing adult life may not marry into the family of either father or 
mother. As soon as weaned, the child becomes eligfible for adop- 
tion into another family, and by such adoption separates himself 
completely from his blood relatives, and becomes as much a member 
of the new family as though he had acquired membership in it by 
birth. But he cannot marry into the families of his blood parents. 
Thus his actual birth is remembered against him. Adoption is so 
common, that probably one-third of all Samoans,. men and women, 
are members of families other than those into which they were horn. 
The male child chooses a name for himself at eight or ten years 
of age, and at fourteen or fifteen he is tattooed and becomes a man. 
He may now marry, and go to war, and becomes a worker — one of 
the productive members of the community. Property is actually 
held in common, though nominally it all belongs to the head of the 
family — using the word in the sense of clan. The head of the 
familv is elected, but may resign, may lose his office by absence, or 
may be removed at the pleasure of those who elect him ; the elec- 
tion being by unanimous vote of all the members of the family, 
male and fem.ale. 
The Samoan housewife occupies a position of dignity and in- 
fluence. She is not less important than the man as a member of the 
community. She is eligible to certain honors, and great respect is 
paid to her. How her days are spent is interestinglj' told in the 
chapter on this subject. Her last duty of the day, after all the 
household has gone to bed, is to lift out of its wire frame the lamp 
which has been burning all the evening, and turning it down until " 
the flame is small, she places the lamp on the floor, that it may 
watch while all sleep. Why does she do this? 
"As a good Christian woman she is sure that there are no wan- 
dering demons of the night, such as her people used to believe in 
when they were heathen, and knew no better and had to keep the 
fire burning all night long to scare away the evil spirts. Of this 
she is sure in the broad light of day. But in the evening, when it 
is dark and still, she w'ill tell you there is no such reason now to 
keep the lamp on a glimmer, but after all it does no harm, she says, 
and it would be convenient if any one should awake and want to 
smoke, for then he could toast his tebacco leaf and light his cigar- 
ette at the flame. This night, and every night, there is not a 
Samoan house in which men are asleep, which does not give out 
the faint glow of a lamp turned low. And the demons of the old 
times never enter a house which shows this protection." 
Here is a charming little essay on Samoan music: "It is natural 
for the Samoan to burst into song on any occasion. The canoe 
melodies are as old as the life of the people. Women at work about 
their houses are always singing, men delving in their lonely planta- 
lions lighten toil with song. Xt the great games of cricket or sticlt- 
throwing, in which village contends against village, there is always 
a chorus of singers When the frequent processions move acros,'! 
the malae on any of their many errands, the presentation of a gift 
of food, the exhibition of ancient fine mats, there is always the 
music of singing. Every night at the lighting of the fires as the 
signal, itself » heathea survival, but now the signal for evening 
prayer, Vn^^% i? tHe s|n|ing of 3 If-ymn, pi» gundsy?, s>nc| pfte^ 
1 
