490 
[Dec, 20, 1902, 
southward. Our shooting is nearly over now in this 
part of the world, and, indeed, it would be very well, in 
view of the scarcitj' of quail in Illinois and Indiana, 
were the shooting- to end at this date. We would not 
have any too many birds to stock us for next year 
even did we stop shooting now, if we were to catch 
a second bad season next year, though that is not 
like!}'. The more abundant and more regularly sup- 
plied covers of the Southern States naturally appeal 
to the Northern shooter, who has leisure for a trip 
into that country. The sportsmen of Saginaw earlier 
mentioned as having procured a large quail preserve in 
Mississippi, will possib^^ get together some time within 
the next thirty days and visit their new hunting grounds 
with a view to putting up a club house, etc. 
Mr. Ernest McGaffey and a party of four or five 
others of Chicago have returned from a trip to the 
timbered coimtry of Arkansas, where they hunted on a 
tract owned by the Paepcke Lumber Co. of more than 
100,000 acres in extent, all wild country. Among other 
results were two big wildcats, four deer, five wild tur- 
keys, an assortment of raccoons, etc., the hounds which 
were taken in, proving industrious in their way. Mr. 
McGaffey reports a very enjoyable time. 
Southern Mtgratfon of Sqaitrels. 
Col. R. E. Bobo, of. Mississippi, who is again in Chi- 
cago, tells me that this fall there came in across upper 
Mississippi a great migration of gray squirrels. These 
came from somewhere to the northwest, without doubt 
from Arkansas^ and hence must have crossed the Mis- 
sissippi River. At last accounts they were still tarrying 
in the Yazoo and Sunflower country, where the mast 
is good. Thesfe great migrations of squirrels are 
among the interesting phenomena of nature, and can 
to-day be, perhaps, better noted in the South than else- 
where. It has been reported in Forest and Stream 
that such a migration a few years ago started in 
eastern Tennessee and wound up in New Hampshire, 
Bobo tells me that sometimes the squirrels entirely 
leave his country, and again are very numerous. He 
has on four different occasions seen these migrations 
crossing large rivers, twice, I believe, the Mississippi 
River. He says this fall the squirrels crossed while 
the water was yet fairly warm, but has seen winter 
migrations when long submersion in the icy water left 
the squirrels almost utterly exhausted when they 
emerged from the water. He says that in these cases 
the squirrels simply crawl out on the bank or sand 
bar and lie there, nearly perishing, until they gradually 
become drj'. He has seen persons go along and pick 
them up by the tail, throwing them into sacks in any 
quantity desired, and has seen parties go out in boats 
to meet the swimming hordes, picking the squirrels up 
by the tails and throwing them into baskets or bags 
in the boat. U^hmijd 
Bobo and the Bear Hoot. 
It is late now to speak of President Roosevelt's bear 
hunt in Mississippi, but in view of certain inaccurate 
statements which have appeared in different parts of 
the country, Bobo wishes to be set right before the 
sportsmen, and is anxious that the Forest and Stream 
shall have what will perhaps be the only accurate state- 
ment of the matter published. There was just a little 
politics, after all, in the Mississippi hunt, which was 
not really organized under the advices of Governor 
L.ongino after all. As to this, however, we need not 
concern ourselves. A paper in Memphis printed the 
somewhat astonishing announcement that Col. Bobo 
had declined to enter the hunt at Smedes, and assigned 
an unworthy reason for this action. This story stirred 
up the hospitable Colonel's ire to the last degree, and 
he promptly came out with a card, which was printed 
in different Southern papers, stating that he claimed to 
be both patriot and gentleman and had no part in the 
awkward and uncouth attack made upon the Presi- 
dent of the United .States at the expense of himself. 
Col. Bobo printed the following card: "Mr. Stuyve- 
sant Fish wired Capt. A. A. Sharp to ask me to join 
the President's party. When I got the message I had 
been five days in the woods, hunting with personal 
friends from Champaign, III. I regretted more than 
words can express that I could not see any honorable 
way to comply with Mr. Fish's request, and I so 
wrote him. I should have been delighted to join the 
President's friends and to aid in extending him every 
courtesy, which would be due not only the man but his 
exalted office. The President of the United States is 
never slighted by any true American, and anything pub- 
lished to the contrary as coming from me, no matter 
by whom related, is so related under total misappre- 
hension and in error. (Signed) R. E. Bobo." 
There is no .special moral and no reflection intended 
in this somewhat delayed statement, except that the 
next time the President wants a bear hunt, it is to be 
hoped he v.'ill go to Bobo direct. The Bobo bear 
pack is by comparison the only one in the State of 
Mississippi. It is a pleasure to see it when it moveth 
itself aright on its accustomed grounds; and when 
Bobo goes out after bear, he gets bear. 
Western Men ia New Bfacsw cfc. 
I have already mentioned two or three Western men 
who were successful in New Brunswick. To these 
there is to be added Mr. George Henneberry, of Chi- 
cago, who was out with Adam Moore this fall on a 
successful _ trip, and who has the unqualified admira- 
tion of his guide, as witness a letter just received 
from Uncle Adam to-day. Adam says: "We have 
had a. very successful season. I have never known 
big bull moose so plenty. We got some very fine 
ones and were never more than a week in getting any 
man his moose. Until November there was no snow. 
On the 12th it snowed, and then we saw a good bull 
every day for foijr days, while the snow lasted. That 
new country we discovered last winter and which I 
opened up this season is a dandy. That's where Mr. 
Robinson, of Chicago, got his moose." 
Mr. M. -Westover, of Schenectady, N, 'Y., was an- 
other one of. Ada'm's customers this fall, and takes 
pains to write me under date of Dec. 8, saying that he 
had a most enjoyable fortnight with Adam. He met 
him at Perth and they drove to Riley Brook that 
night, went on to the forks of the Tobique the next 
morning, and on the second day's walk thence arrived 
at Nictor Lake. Mr. Westover interviewed seven dif- 
ferent bull moose, let go one at which he might have 
shot, but shot his moose and caribou, although wait- 
ing for a long time to pick out a good moose head. 
Something of my own experience comes back as I read 
the following sentence. "I am sorry I killed the 
moose, but we followed two bulls for several hours, 
and when we came up with them it was so thick we 
could not see much, and Adam judged much more by 
size and color than hy sight of the horns. I shot each 
animal but once, using the new .50-110 cartridge." 
Changed Habits ia Game Birds. 
Speaking of Minnesota quail, my friend, Mr. Mer- 
shon, of Michigan, a close observer, writes thus: 
"It is strange how the habits of these birds have 
changed. Northern Michigan is full of them, and in- 
stead of being an open field bird, they seem to frequent 
dense thickets. Their habits are more like those of 
the ruffed grouse. It seems to me they have become 
larger and hardier, and they are wilder, flying further 
after they are flushed, and being 'an entirely different 
bird than that which we knew here in southern Michi- 
gan twenty years ago. In fact, Saginaw was the ex- 
treme northern limit for a long while. In those days 
these birds were winter killed so often that it was 
only once in four or five years we had decent shooting. 
At times we would think they had entirely disappeared. 
Now we find them all around Wingleton, in Lake 
County. I saw lots of them north of Tawas this fall, 
and hear of them all over the State." 
I can say that my own experience bears out these 
observations on the habits of the Bob White quail. 
These birds, as I saw them in Minnesota, were an en- 
tirely different game bird from the quail of my earlier 
years in loAva, Kansas, Nebraska and other parts of 
the West and South. I believe that in these northern 
regions they surpass the ruffed grouse in shrewdness, 
shiftiness and general ability to care for themselves, 
and I believe that they in time become almost as hardy 
and as able to endure the northern winters, and will 
show fewer of those general and mysterious disap- 
pearances which sometimes turn up in regard to the 
ruft"ed grouse supply. 
Heav7 Seizure of Nebraska Quail. 
Dec. 13. — A shipment of 500 quail, packed in barrels 
with layers of poultry on top, was seized at Fremont, 
Neb,, by State Game Warden George L. Carter on Dec. 
ic. The shipment came from Verdigris, Neb., and was 
billed to Chicago. The name of the consignor is thought 
to be known to the State Game Warden and the impres- 
sion is that arrest and conviction will follow. This is the 
most important seizure of game reported from Nebraska 
for a long time, and the sentiment regarding it would 
seem to be one of mild surprise. There is no question 
that large quantities of game are shipped out of Nebraska 
regularly to the Chicago market. 
Found Dead ia the Woods. 
The bodj' of Nelson Fordham, a n:erchant of Virginia, 
Minn., was discovered in the woods of a part of the 
Mesabe range a week or so ago. This was at a point 
some ten miles from the railroad. Fordham had been shot 
through the body by some unknown party and the prob- 
ability is that he was another one of the victims of the 
deer-hunting season. No clew whatever to the shooter 
was discovered. Fordhanr's own rifle lay beside him and 
showed no sign of having been discharged. 
The Quail Season. 
The Illinois quail season is tapering off now very 
rapidly and few of the Chicago boys are now going out, 
owing to the bad reports brought in by shooters regarding 
the scarcity of birds. No one has been ha\ang very heavy 
shooting, although it is not to be said that the head of 
game is ciit down to a point warranting any special alann 
Granted a good winter and spring, we should have a fair 
supply of quail next year, at least let us so hope. 
Mr. Oswald Von Lengerke was down at Marion, III., 
in a very good quail country, a few days ago, but did 
not have any very heavy sport, although on one day he 
got 28 birds. He reports gre-at quantities of rabbits, with 
which, of course, he was not interested. Here is a tip 
for ^Qlne one who likes fun with beagles. 
At Tolleston. 
Mr. C. S. Deniris took a few friends to-day for an 
afternoon at Tollcston Club, south of Chicago. There 
seems to be no legal reason why the}' should not shoot 
a few blue rocks or pattern their shotguns on the barn 
door if they feel so disposed. There is talk of a quail 
preserve to be established by the Tolleston Club, that is 
to say, if there can be any such thing as a quail preserve 
for a club of any great extent and for a country so near 
to the gun bearing population of the lower Chicago pre- 
cincts. 
Mayor Goes to Oklahoma. 
Mayor Harrison, of Chicago, went as the guest of 
honor in a special car party which will take a trip in 
Oklahoma this week with a view to a little quail shooting. 
Different chiefs of the Indian Nations have sent the 
Mayor invitations, the story having gone abroad that the 
latter is a member of the tribe of Wishininne, and hence 
qualified to shoot in all the Indian territories. 
E. Hough. 
Hartford Building, Chicago. 111. 
Few Ohio "Wooifcock. 
MiAMTSBURG, O., Dec. 10. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
Woodcock are becoming very scarce in this section of 
Ohio and are seen only at rare intervals. - C. V. 
"I tloink I know/' saiH the amateur gunner, after 
his fifth straight rriiss, "why those birds are called 
'ducks.' " "What's that, sir?" inquired the guide. "Be- 
cause they duck out of the way. every tijn« » fellow 
shoots."*— Philadelphia Pres8j 
A Warfant to Attest Yowt Attention. 
Every week for years I have read with much interest 
the columns of Forest and Stream, and at last I feel it 
almost my duty to write a few lines concerning the de- 
decrease of our wild fowl. 
I have read the fine work of Mr. George B. Grinnell, 
''American Duck Shooting," and heartily agree with him 
in his suggested methods of stopping, to some extent, the 
decrease, namely: Limit the bag for the day and also 
for the season, and stop spring shooting. I have made 
a study of the game laws of the several States where 
the famous ducking grounds are located and find that 
ducks can, practically, be killed whenever seen; as the 
close season is the time the ducks are north breeding. 
You will readily see by consulting the laws and with a 
knowledge, born in all men, of the arrival and departure 
of the fowl, that in the matter of season, ducks are af- 
forded very little protection, except perhaps on the flats 
around Perryville and Havre de Grace, where the laws 
are more binding thaia in other localities. 
During my short existence, I have noticed a very 
marked and sad decrease in the hosts of fowl as they 
come down each fall, and although my observations have 
been confined to one locality, principally the Delaware 
River, around Marcus Hook, Wilmington, Billingsport 
and Essington, I have noted the decrease from time to 
time, and it only seems a question of a few years before 
they say good-bye forever. 
In "American Duck Shooting," I see an article which 
describes the shooting on the Delaware River, some years 
ago, between Marcus Hook, Pa., and Pennsville, N. J., 
and I note with appreciation the shame of the shooter, 
after a day of slaughter among the mallards. But such 
examples as this one are very rare; usually the shooter 
simply shoots until either his ammunition is exhausted 
or the flight of fowl ceases. I fail to see anj' sports- 
manlike qualities in such gunning, and I think thfe 
sportsmen will agree with me in the belief that the 
sooner such men as these are out of the way, the bet- 
ter duck shooting will become. 
I believe that by the time another generation has grown 
to manhood, the accounts of duck shooting will be told, 
much as are the thrilling accounts of hunting the bison 
to-day. While in Charleston, at the exposition, last win- 
ter, W. F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) informed a reporter of 
one of the local newspapers that in the early seventies 
he (Cody) had killed five thousand buffalo in eighteen 
months. While this is a little out of line with the text 
of my article, it serves to illustrate how quickly game 
can be exterminated, when so slaughtered, as recited 
above. 
Let all interested write to their representatives in the 
Legislature and recommend a course that will protect 
these beautiful as well as gamy birds from the certain 
destruction which now confronts them. 
Albert M. Barnes. 
Which? 
I HAD some sportsmen friends whose enthusiasm 
for shooting and fishing impressed me so deeply that 
I, who had known nothing of sport, became imbued 
with their spirit, and finally, as a raw novice, joined 
their ranks. I spent mucli money in obtaining a 
shooting and fishing outfit. For many years I took 
two to three weeks' time to indulge my passion for 
use of rod and reel, dog and gun. For many years 
I returned empty-handed. I furnished subjects for my 
friends' merriment. I was pointed out as the original 
man, well garbed, well equipped with the finest of rods 
and reels, who purchased his fish of the country tatter- 
demalion with a "pole," clothesline, pin hook and 
earth wortn. I was also the original hero of the 
episode in which the dude man with a dude dog and 
dude gun buys his game in the market after a return 
from a shooting trip, and a few moments before his 
advent within the bosom of his family. I was pleas- 
antly referred to as a "duffer," a "lobster"_ and other 
terms of endearment, which pass between friends when 
they esteem each other so highly that they can safely 
say unkind things. I was no good. I was simply so 
inefiicient that I was a laughing stock. Why? It was 
not necessary to kill anything to have true sport. 
Why then was I such an object of general ridicule? 
I got past the unskillful stage in time. I return now 
with good bags, the product of knowledge and skill 
acquired by application, weeks of practice, the experi- 
diture of mirch money and the suffering of much morti- 
fication from the contempt of my friends. But, strange 
to relate, I am now a game hog. I was an object of 
contempt, because I couldn't bag any game, and now 
I am a still greater object of contempt because I can 
and do kill something. 
If one listens to all the censure arid heeds all the 
whims of others, what would one do? Nothing. 
J. H. Bl-ACK- 
Fotestry for Fatmeis, 
Washington, D. C, Dec. 10. — The farmers of this 
country own about 500,000,000 acres of woodland, ten 
times the acreage of all the Federal forest reserves. Most 
of it consists of small wood-lots from which the owners 
derive their timber supplies for farm purposes. 
It was to help the farmer in caring for his timberland 
that the Bureau of Forestry several years ago undertook 
to furnish him, without cost, with the services of its 
foresters. The offer proved popular, and applications for 
assistance have far exceeded the ability of the Bureau, 
with its limited number of trained foresters, to answer 
them. During the season j ust passed the Bureau has ac- 
complished more than ever before in putting small wood- 
lots under forest management and in teaching the farmer 
how properly to treat his timber. Two experts have been 
employed in the North and South who have examined 
and have put under management several thousand acres 
of woodland. 
.A great deal of wood is consumed every year on the 
fann for fuel, posts, poles, and other uses. Ordinarily, 
the farther cuts what he needs without thought as to 
whether he is lessening the power of his forest constantly' 
to yield its snppUe#- The r«sult is that the forest becomeja 
