FOREST AMD STREAM. 
,|1a#. ij, igH. 
At noon they are all in, and the pack baskets that they 
strapped on are empty, with exception of one buck's 
head severed close above the neck— bear. Of all things 
Jacobstaff has doubted the propriety of leaving a fat 
quarry in the wilds for any length of time. When they 
arrived at the scene of the hanging up they found only the 
hoofs, backbone, and the head gnawed off close to the 
skull. A bear had preempted the whole property. Con- 
found him ! the fineset head of course, a 5-pronged gray 
head handsome and symmetrical. Hornung is incon- 
solable and swears he never will spare a bear's life in the 
future. He intended having it mounted providing he did 
not secure by his own eye a better one. But it will still 
do nicely on a panel. 
Thursday.— Mr. C. Austin and Mr. C. Austin, Jr., came 
in this morning with mail from home and New York 
papers as late as IMonday and very welcome. The guid?, 
Mr. E.j had wounded a doe late the night before and 
was going to hunt in some other direction ; said this doe 
would be safe if as badly hurt as he thought for a day or 
two. Jacobstaff informed him that we didn't want any 
more bear work and it would be the proper thing to secure 
that deer first. They laughed, said they were rarely 
troubled with bear and the bear that got away with Hor- 
nung's deer was two or three miles the other way. Well, 
they went after this deer. On approaching the pla:e 
where Eastman thought it would be found lying down 
dead, they heard a noise in the bushes ahead, and on 
approaching found their animal, but they broke almost on 
to a bear that heard them first; but he left the mark of 
his claws on the hip and hams of the deer. The noise 
rriade in the dry leaves saved the deer from further mu- 
tilation. An hour later and another good carcass would 
have been added to the loss of Stillwater camps. These 
may sound as good bear stories; but they are facts. 
After a hasty breakfast of slapjacks (they call them) 
and maple syrup made only a half mile from camp, we 
John Bird. Ruben Wells. 
AT THE CAMP. 
were off shortly after 7 -.30 A. M. Pretty noisy yet, but 
we have hopes. Tried a drive, but an hour and a half on 
a cold gray stone was enough for Jacobstaff, and he re- 
turned early to the genial warmth of the camp. 
Father McG. left us this morning, having received a 
telegram of the sudden death of one of his parishioners. 
Before his departure he took several views of the cam.p 
and camp life, among them one as we came in from a suc- 
cessful hunt which we inclose to you and hope to see 
with this article in the best sporting paper of the world. 
And now our time is about up, as we leave to-morrow, 
Friday, on the trail for home. How I dread this packing 
of our game over that carry — glad it does not weigh any 
more. But our friends must have some testimony of our 
success or they may believe this is all a fairy tale. We 
have had a most delightful eight days of camp life. It re- 
minded us of life in old Winsconsin forty years ago. It 
has done our old bones and sinews good. The smell of the 
balsam and the hemlock, the moss on the south side of the 
trees, the crisp brown leaves, the pure crystal water, the 
woodpecker's tapping and the piratical, scoundrelly blue- 
jay's saucy talk, all bring back the glorious days of long 
ago. We have gained six pounds of healthy weight in 
avoirdupois. 
Therewere in all in the eight days' camping, including 
those that came in for a day or two at a time, ten would- 
be shots, and eight good deer, besides plenty for camp, 
were divided up. It seems to be a good deer country. 
The animals are much smaller than those in the West, 
especially in antlers ; a five or seven-pronged buck is the 
exception. 
Good-by to Stillwater camps and the boys. May their 
shadows continue to grow. Jacobstaff. 
Game Pfesetves. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Didymus in the current number notes the fact that Dr. 
Webb has thrown open his game preserve and let the 
animals go free. The papers that first gave us an account 
of that told us why he had done so, the forest fires of 
the past summer have destroyed his feed and he was not 
likely to keep those animals penned up and let them 
Starve. Dr. Webb no. doubt thinks still, as he did when 
he first made his game preserve, that he had a moral 
right, as he had a legal one, to make it, and he may re- 
store it again when conditions allow him to do it. 
[ ' • . . : Ca9«a.,Puw,, , 
Among the Wild Geese. 
A MUSICAL crackling sound such as might be made by a 
hundred fairy glaziers working close at hand, roused the 
writer one morning lately, and at the same time he became 
drowsily aware that the ceiling of his room had descended 
unaccountably near to his pillow. Moreover, just on the 
other side of this ceiling heavy feet were making energetic 
attempts at a highland reel. All these singular phenomena 
were explained, however, when the foresaid writer, shak- 
ing himself free from the last traces of drowsiness, woke 
up and recognized he was in his berth on board the little 
shooting cobble Snowflake, snugly moored in the creek 
of a northern estuary; that it was a cold morning with 
last night's ice breaking like glass all around as the mak- 
ing tide_ lifted it from the sedges; and lastly, that his only 
companion on board was already up and doing. 
"Hullo !" said that individual, bursting into the cabin a 
few seconds later, "thought I would wake you up^ — nice 
sort of fellow you to come shooting! Sun been up an 
hour; sea black with geese; sky full of widgeon. Now 
get up, or, by heaven ! I will take the guns and scuttle the 
Snowflake under you." Thus admonished I did as I was 
bid, and found my admirable comrade, usually known as 
"the crew," had already got breakfast under way, while 
above, when I scrambled on deck, was a lovely winter 
rnoming, with the sun—which, by the way, was only just 
rising — shining crimson over the salt lagoons, and light- 
ing up with a wonderful fire the frosty haze on marsh 
and slob behind us. Needless to say, neither sky nor sea 
was quite as full of wildfowl as my friend had hinted, but 
there were undoubtedly many about, and I noticed the 
moment I came up a wisp of teal settle among the pools 
half a mile, away which roused my enthusiasm to the 
highest pitch. 
So we breakfasted forthwith ; rashers easy to cook and 
appetizing; home-made bread from the farm ashore; cof- 
fee, warming and aromatic with all the spices of Arabia; 
then all hands mustered on deck to get up the anchor and 
punt out into the open where it became possible to hoist 
the sail and slip away on a freshening morning breeze 
to the northward. 
We were after bean-geese, which differ from one or two 
other species haunting British coasts in winter time, in 
that they prefer inland feeding to salt water, and, above 
all, have a liking for the farmer's barley stubbles. Now, 
this year the barley has lain sadly long afield, herein be- 
ing the geese's opportunity— and ours. My companion 
knew of a derelict farm, and especially a field or two 
coming low down to the marsh land, where crops had 
never been properly garnered and consequently all sorts 
of wildfowl held high revel since the autumn flight began. 
He had seen geese there in the stubble himself, and care- 
fully noted the way they went seaward when disturbed 
by shepherds moving about on the uplands each morning. 
Could we but hide ourselves on their line of flight it might 
mean a couple of shots at least ; so in high glee we slipped 
up along the coast before a frosty wind that powdered our 
deck with minute crystals of congealed mist, and in haif 
an hour ran the ship in under a miniature headland where 
we made her fast. Then getting into our heavy boots 
and thickest jackets I took the big 8-bore, while "the 
crew" brought along the double barrel, and we set out 
silently^: uhder shelter of the sea wall, for the barley 
fallo\^ 
As will often happen, we met all sorts of tempting shots 
on the way, which oh another occasion we would have 
gladly taken, but were now obliged to ignore. Half a 
dozen teal rose from an empty creek, while a couple of 
ducks came so close overhead we could hear the whistling 
of their wings as they passed through the mist. Curlews, 
too, generally the shyest of birds, flitted spectral to and 
fro, and I saw my friend making grimaces as he looked 
hastily away from the tempting sight. 
The nearer we got the more cautiously we had to pick 
our footsteps, and then presently tny friend, who was a 
red Indian for keenness when on the trail, stopped and 
listened intently. When he looked up it was with an ex- 
pression of supreme contentment, and a hasty sign to fol- 
low told without words that his sharp ears had caught the 
sound of geese at work on the stubbles. So on we 
went again under shelter of the little marsh escarpment, 
scrambling forward in breathless haste for a bluff round 
which the birds generally came on their way to sea. At 
the base of the bluff lay a little watercourse with frozen 
reeds at bottom and some leafless willow bushes here 
and there. "The crew" led into this on all fours, looking 
in his heavy clothes for all the world like a frolicsome 
sloth bear, and I was seized with a desire to laugh. But 
the deadly frown which came on my companion's fore- 
head when he discovered my emotion was so awesome 
that I hastily suppressed all traces of it. 
And now the crisis was at hand. J. proceeded to worm 
himself along almost on his stomach up the left-hand 
slope to a knot of willows commanding the fields beyond, 
and I followed with my piece of ordnance as well as I 
could. We gained a vanatge point between those knotted 
stumps in safety, and peeping thence a sight to put even 
a hardened fowler's heart in a flutter met our eyes. 
The frozen stubble, with wind-blown barley shocks still 
lying about in pitiful neglect, lay silent under the winter 
mist, with here and there an ice-covered pool beginning to 
take a rosy hue as the sun crept up over the far-away 
hedges. Round the nearest of these frosted puddles, bat 
about eighty yards away, a dozen great brown birds were 
standing preening themselves. There was another of the 
same sort on a hillock still further off saying funny things 
with neck and bill pointed straight up in the sky, and be- 
yond him again, but far out of shot, a second smaller 
group of geese. Here and there about the stubble several 
score of green plovers were running and stopping in their 
mouse-like way. Altogether it was a pretty picture of 
wild bird life, and I lay as still as a stone for a minute or 
two, partly to get my breath, and partly to admire it. 
My comrade, who never lacked for breath and admired 
nothinc till the shot was fired, impatiently digged me in 
the ribf., however, at the end of that time, and whispered 
in my ear, "Now, then, with your blunderbuss ! Are you 
going to sleep?" . 
Very slowly I drew myself together,- and very slowly 
pushed the big 4-bore loaded with swan shot through the 
willow stems. But carefully as it was done, the barrel, 
touched one of them, and down came a shower of tink- 
ling icicles and powdery frost. The keen-eyed sentinel, 
who had perhaps been telling his sleepv comrades all, 
along that he was sure there were men about, uttered one 
hurried "'{"here, 1 told you so !" and lapsed into rigid • 
silence. Close together stepped the flock, up went their 
necks, a dozen eyes were fixed suspiciously in our 
direction. 
Now was our chance. There was a flake of snow in my ' 
e3'e and several blurring the ridge of the barrel, but I 
took the best aim I could for the broWn mass in the dis- 
tance and pulled trigger. The resulting noise was shock- ; 
ing in the absolute stillness of the morning, tnd the smoke 
hung among the twigs like a lace curtain, but there was 1 
joy in J.'s exclamation, "Good! Three dov»..i and a ruit- 
i;er— h'e still a bit."_ The latter bit of &dvice proved 
valuable. The remainder of our special c ivey swerved' 
away and were soon off to sea, while the plovers, with 
some ruffs we had not noticed, circled abotli tumuituously 
in mid air. But another party of geese, dlM arbed from a 
stubble further inland, came straight dom i toward ua. ■ 
1 put in a fresh cartridge in haste as they 1 wept past us 
sixty seconds later at a tremendous pace, letting fly at 
the leader— and completely doubled up the Dird next be-; 
hind him ! "The crew" failed to stop with t'le first barrel : 
of his lighter gun, but hit hard with the setond and that : 
bird we found subsequently dead on the beath half a mile 
away. My runner was secured without ary great difii- ; 
culty, so that we had six birds to show for cnr stalk, and, : 
1 need not add, felt highly pleased with ourselves. 
We had come out for wild geese, and had got some, 
which is better luck than the shooter of these watchful; 
birds can always count on. When we reached the boat, 
again after a heavy tramp with the spoil a suggestion of ' 
a second breakfast was carried enthusiastically, and there- 1 
after we coasted out to sea, and round the edge of the I 
mud flats picked up a couple of ducks besides a few fowl |i 
of lesser kinds to add variety to the main bag of a memor- 
able morning. , A. 
Massachusetts Assoctation, ; 
Boston, Jan. 16. — Editor Forest and Stream: The j 
Massachusetts Legislature has been very prompt in gettir.g 
down to business, and both President Jones of the Senate 
and _ Speaker Frothingham are strenuous for a short ' 
session. 
The chairman of the Committee on Fisheries and Game ; 
on the part of the Senate is Hon. Moody Kimball, of ; 
Newburyport, who was a House member last year, and is, 
a believer in the doctrines for which the sportsmen have 
labored the past few years. The House chairman is Mr. 
Hinckley, of Tisbury, who was also on this committee last 
year. Senator Pratt is also a member again this year 
and will be remembered as the president of the Mid-- 
dleboro Sportsmen's Club mentioned in a previous letter. : 
In his inaugural address Gov. Bates recommends legis- 
lation "for the establishment of forest reserves in the 
various sections of the State," and the appointment of a 
State forester. He says the purchase by the State of 900 
acres of so-called waste land for $6,000 in Rutland indi- 
cates that without extravagant outlay the land may be 
obtained for this purpose to the great advantage of "the 
Massachusetts of to-morrow." No doubt sportsmen will 
see reasons from their standpoint to give their influence: 
in favor of the plan. 
The annual meeting of the State Association was held 1 
at the Copley Square Hotel on last Wednesday evening 
(January 13), with President Reed in the chair. The 
treasurer's report was presented showing the total cash 
assets to be $2,55678. The report of Hon. George W. 
Wiggin, chairman of the Fund Committee, showed that : 
the fund invested in savings banks had gained an increase 
of $121.71 in 1903, it being now $2,550.74. , A vote of - 
thanks was tendered ex-President B. C. Clark; Maurice 
H. Richardson, M. D., and Mr. George O. Sears," for their 
liberal donation of $ioo each toward the expenses of the 
annual banquet at the Algonquin Club last March. A- 
similar vote was tendered the retiring president for his 
valuable services as the presiding ofiicer for the past; 
three years. Dr. A. R. Brown passed arotmd sheets 
with words to be sung to familiar tunes which proved a ; 
pleasant feature of the meeting. After the routine busi- 
ness, Vice-President A. B. F. Kinney told the thrilling; 
story of his shooting a grizzly, which was greatly en- 
joyed by all present. Two of our members at the meet- 1 
ing are in the present House of Representatives, Mr. S. 1' 
O. Staples, of S. Framingham, and Mr. George H. Moore, 1 
of Boston. Representative Herbert Thayer, of Franklin, 
was also present. Five candidates were elected to mem- ; 
bership and the officers elected for T904 are as follows : > 
President, Wm. S. Hinman; Vice-Presidents, James R. : 
Reed. Benjamin C. Clark, Joseph T. Herrick, George It. I 
Payne, Robert S. Gray, Irving O. Converse, A. B. F. Kiii- 
ney, Heber Bishop, B. V. Howe, A. R. Brown, Salem i 
D. Charles, A. C. Sylvester; Librarian, Edward W. ' 
Branigan ; Secretary-Treasurer, Henry 11. Kimlj;ill; Ex- * 
eoutive Committee — J. N. Roljerts, H. S. Fay, M. II. \ 
Richardson. C. W. Dimick, Rollin Jones, N. LeRoy, Gil- ' 
mer Clapp, Paul Butler, Frank I'allon, M. A. .Morris, N. * 
C. Nash, F. B. Crowhinshield ; Membership Committee — ' 
Thomas H. Hall. W. B. Hastings. R. V. Joyce; Fund 
Committee — G. W. Wiggin, B. C. Clark,^ A. D. Thayer. 
Central. 
Mf. Ki u ey's Beat. 
At the annual meeting of the Massachusetts Fish and 
Game Protective Association at the Copley Square Hotel^ 
on the evening of January 13, after President James Rus- j 
sell Reed had gracefully delivered his valedictory to end j 
his three years in the chair, and after William S. Hinman, ] 
of Auburndale, had been unanimously elected president, j 
the members pressed Mr. A. B. F. Kinney, of VVorcester, ; 
for a fulfilment of a long standing promise to tell themj 
how he got his grizzly. His good nature could not resist t 
the solicitation, and so, taking position near the head of ; 
the table, he began, leading up to the climax by graphic ! 
preliminary, somewhat as follows : •; 
I was born outdoors^ — that is, on a farm, and after j 
I learned that. I could do better indoors and h.ad aban-.i 
doned farming, I used to take an outing every year for ihe i 
sake of keeping my physique in good trim. Away bacji | 
about 1875, before the railroads had penetrated the great j 
Northwest, I used to go into that countiy, and it is tJw j 
i 
