8 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[July 2, 1904. 
they were of especial benefit, for then we caught all of 
our fish by means of set lines, and for this live bait was 
found to be the very best. In the northern woods, in 
November, the cold weather is liable to come very sud- 
denly, and the warm, sunny day may be succeeded in 
twenty-four hours by blasts almost as cold as those that 
come in midwinter, and v^rich lock the lakes in their 
stony embrace without much ado. When such a time 
came, and the ice was strong, we would cut five or six 
holes, and, taking about twenty feet of line for each, we 
would attach a strong hook and a small perch, and lower- 
ing it about eight feet in the water, leave the remainder 
of the line looped up to a stick placed across the hole, 
and so arranged that the slack line would run out when 
pulled slightly, thus allowing the fish to take the_ bait 
and run a little way with it before feeling the strain of 
the line or the prick of the hook. We were very success- 
ful in this way, and usually had at least two or three 
fish on our lines, which were sufficient for our needs for 
two or three days. Some anglers will, of course, con- 
demn this method, but there was sport in pulling the big 
fellows up through the ice, and so long as we caught no 
more than we needed to eat, criticism is not of much 
avail. Along the small streams, in which the country - 
abounded, we found still more sport, for there was the 
home of the speckled trout. Though out of the season, 
we must plead guilty, and admit that now. and then some 
disciple of that rare old Englishman would steal up and 
along the headwaters and occasionally provide us with as 
toothsome morsels as are ever served by the chef of the 
most famous restaurants. With venison, fish, and wild 
cranberries, together with potatoes, onions, pork and 
beans, bacon, tea, coffee, and the delicacies brought from 
home, we were able to set a pretty good table. But we 
had more than these; for, like some of the squatters, we 
lived a good deal on the resources of the country. In 
the thickets close to camp and along the creek bottoms 
were an abundance of partridges and rabbits, and it was 
very seldom that we did not have a supply of them hang- 
ing to the trees that stood by our camp. Generally they 
were bagged at the close of a day's hunt, when the tramp 
was almost finished. When near camp some of the ex- 
perts were wont to clip the head from a rabbit or par- 
tridge when a good shot could be had, but those of us 
who were less proficient, preferred to use other means. 
Occasionally in the afternoon we would turn out for a 
rabbit hunt, during which we usually managed to have 
considerable sport. The rabbits were the large species 
half way between the little cottontail and the jack, and in 
the winter they turn pure white. Before a hound they 
will lead off well, and at times make almost :as long- 
turns as a fox, but when chased by a dog that will not 
follow very close or very long, or when jumped up from 
under a log by a person, they will only run a short dis- 
tance. One day I know in a very short time we secured 
nine. The partridges were equally as easy prey, as often- 
times they ran along the ground, stopping every now and 
then or fluttered to an adjacent log and sat perfectly 
motionless. Some times with rapid flight they shot to the 
top of a tall tree. In such cases, unless their line of flight 
has been accurately marked, they are hard to locate, and 
wh#n high up it takes a keen eye and steady nerves to 
bag them with a rifle. However, we always found them 
quite plenty, and in such condition that they made a deli- 
cate dish for the table. 
This year we spent Thanksgiving in camp, and from 
the resources of the country we had venison, rabbit, par- 
tridge, fish, and wild cranberries— a bill of fare good 
enough for an emperor. Another form of amusement 
that was afforded us was trapping, and m this the Old 
Trapper was in his proper element ; here he- excelled ; 
here he was undisputed authority. Here he could give us 
all pointers, and then have a goodly supply of lore left 
Trapping is a fine art. It has a language of its own and 
the one who follows it will, on the creek banks, shores 
of the lakes, and anywhere along the water, read things 
that to the average mortal are nothing to be noticed. 1 he 
beaver, the otter, the martin, the mink, and the muskrat, 
have all abounded in this region, though the first two are 
now about extinct. Occasionally a few can be found in 
some isolated spot. At one time, near our camp, some 
beaver had a dam, but they were wary, and it was seldom 
that we caught a glimpse of any of them. They did most 
of their work at night, but on our approach— no matter 
how carefully it might be made— we would hear their 
quick alarm, and know that they had gone below, i hey 
seemed always to keep some one of the family on guard, 
and at the least suspicion of danger the sentinel makes a 
loud noise bv slapping the water quickly with his broad 
tail making a sound similar to that produced by striking 
the' water with the side of a paddle. This is repeated 
several times, and answered from several different quar- 
ters- then all is silent. Late in the hunt they had their 
dam' in nice shape. They had fallen some trees with the 
skill of the most expert woodsmen, some of them more 
than ten inches through, and they had fallen them too, 
exactly where they were needed. They had fortified the 
dam with stakes and brush, and had plastered it with mud 
until they succeeded in raising the water in the- lake 
several feet. They had also cut large quantities of green 
wood, and sunk it in the water for their winter supply of 
food It was at this point that the crafty Old Trapper 
commenced his operations. One afternoon he broke a 
small hole in the top of the dam and set a trap there, just 
under the water, and the next morning he had a monster 
of a beaver in it. After two or three days he repeated 
the operation and caught a smaller one. Then what was 
left of the family migrated to an adjacent lake, and there 
commenced their work anew, and this time unmolested, 
so far as we were concerned. One night, while watching 
a runway up river, I thought I saw a sea serpent coming 
up stream It was long and black, and kept appearing 
and disappearing in sections. My first inclination was to 
run back into the woods, and then my next thought was 
of my rifle and its nine shots, and I kept still. When the 
object neared me, I saw that the commotion was caused 
bv two large black animals swimming, one right behind 
the other, and they kept diving under the water every few 
feet only to reappear in a moment or two. I took aim 
and' when they were opposite to me, let go. One jumped 
out 'of the water to the opposite bank, and the other went 
under and I saw neither again. I did not know what 
they' were At night, when I told of the occurrence, I 
found they were otter. The next day the Old Trapper 
commenced operations on the river, and in a week's time he 
caught two magnificent specimens. He claimed they were 
the two I shot at, but I always thought I killed one of 
mine, but if I did we were never able to find it. The two 
he caught were black, glossy, and beautiful in appearance. 
When he came up to the trap, one of them was not dead, 
and it growled and spit at us like a monstrous cat. It 
showed great strength, and nearly escaped before we 
killed it. These, with twelve nice mink and some rats, 
completed the Old Trapper's string. 
We punished a part of the day after our cranberry 
picking expedition, by shootine at a mark. We tried 
every firearm we had in camp, from a little skeleton-stock 
rifle up to two shotguns, which were used with buckshot 
by some of the party. Finally we came down to shooting 
squibs. This form of ammunition is excellent for some 
purposes. It is inexpensive and easily prepared. One 
man can recap a large number of shells in a short time, 
and he can cast in two hours or buy for a small sum 
enough round bullets to last for several hunts. The 
bullets, of course, must be of the same caliber, as the rifle 
in which they are to be used. After the shell is capped, 
put in from 5 to 10 grains of powder, and if the shell is 
not bottle-necked, ram the ball in, and that is all that is ■ 
necessary. If the shell is bottle-necked, put a little tal- 
low on the ball after it is down, and that will hold it in 
place. These squibs make no noise to speak of, and yet 
they are very effective for short ranges. After exhaust- 
ing the target business, we all went out to watch, but 
were unsuccessful, except that we all succeeded in work- 
ing up a good appetite for supper. Before we retired that 
night, we were talking about watching for deer at even- 
ing, when the Colonel related the following: 
"Late one afternoon the members of. our party had gone 
out to watch on favorite grounds, while I remained in 
camp to- more completely put in order some camp ar- 
rangements. This being completed sooner than I antici- 
pated, and as the sun shone bright and warm for an 
October evening, the spirit seized me to take my rifle and 
quietly wend my way to what we called the valley trail, 
which I had discovered during the early part of the hunt, 
and there take a stand and watch for game. Seated on 
an old fallen tree, my attention was soon taken up with 
the antics of two red squirrels that were gamboling 
around the trees and in the leaves that surrounded me. 
I was thus occupied for some time, when suddenly it 
occurred to me that the deer trail was my main object. 
Looking up quickly, and along the direction the trail ran, 
I saw walking toward me a regular monarch of the 
forest, one with great antlers. The first move of my 
rifle brought him to a standstill, with head erect and eyes 
glistening in the evening's sun. It was but the work of a 
few seconds before a rifle ball went crashing through his 
shoulders, and there lay my first deer for that season, and 
a monster he certainly was. After bleeding and dressing 
him, I returned to camp, and in the joy of my success 
took the big dinner horn and blew such blasts that the 
entire party came hurrying in, expecting some bad news 
from the outside, but as my story was told them, up went 
a shout for my success." 
Then we slept. Carolus. 
Massachusetts Fish and Game. 
Boston, June 24. — Editor Forest and Stream: I inclose 
copy of the "Right of Search" law passed at the recent 
session of the Massachusetts Legislature. This measure 
was the one thing which the central committee urged 
upon members the past winter, and was included among 
the various recommendations of our commissioners in 
their report for 1902. 
It is believed that it "will aid the deputies in securing 
warrants in cases where search for game or fish is im- 
perative. Although the bill as passed is not as drastic 
as that recommended by the commissioners, it embodies 
all that could be secured this year, and received the in- 
dorsement of the Committee on Fish and Game. The text 
follows : 
Section 1. Any commissioner on fisheries, and game, deputy 
commissioner on fisheries and game,- member of the district 
police, or officer qualified to serve criminal process, may, with 
a warrant, search any boat, car, box, locker, crate or package, 
and any building, where he has reason to believe any game or 
'fish taken or held in violation of law is to be found, and may 
seize any game or fish so taken or. held, and any game or fish so 
taken or held- shall be forfeited: provided, however, that this 
section shall not authorize entering a dwelling house, or apply 
to game or fish which is passing through this Commonwealth 
under authority of the laws of the United States. 
Section 2. A court or justice authorized to issue warrants in 
criminal cases shall, upon complaint under oath that the com- 
plainant believes that any game or fish unlawfully taken or held 
is concealed in a particular place, other than a dwelling house, 
if satisfied that there is reasonable cause for such belief, issue 
a. warrant to search therefor. The search warrant shall designate 
and describe the place to be searched and the articles for which 
search is to be made, and shall be directed to any officer named 
in Section 1 of this act, commanding him to search the place 
where the game or fish for which he is required to search is 
believed to be concealed, and to seize such game or fish. 
That committee, to the regret of all who desired further 
protection of the lobster industry, turned down the 
recommendations of the. Commission for the passage of a 
"lobster meat" bill similar to that of Maine, prohibiting 
the sale of the meat without the shell, and the bill re- 
quiring that lobster fishermen be required to^ secure from 
the board a permit allowing them to engage in the lobster 
fishing business, which could be revoked at any time in 
case they were caught violating any law for the protection 
of lobsters. 
These moderate and salutary measures were defeated 
by the efforts of the fishermen, who do not seem to have 
the faculty of looking beyond the present. 
When Captain Collins was asked before the committee 
why he had not recommended a close time, he replied 
that he was desirous of trying other measures before in- 
flicting such hardship on the men dependent on lobster 
catching for a living. 
The bills above referred to were unanimously recom- 
mended by the convention of commissioners held in Bos- 
ton last summer, an account of which meeting appeared 
in the columns of Forest and Stream at that time. So 
long as lobsters continue to become more and more scarce, 
and prices constantly mount higher and higher, the ques- 
tion of their preservation will remain one of universal 
public interest, and, like Banquo's ghost, "it will not 
down." . . .". 
The work of the United States Commission m propa- 
gating has accomplished something-, but for all that, the 
problem of saving the crustaceans must as yet be recorded 
as unsolved. 
The rigors of the past winter, while entailing great 
losses to bird life, have wrought some good in awaken- 
ing an interest in .providing food for our feathered 
friends. It has also stimulated hosts of sportsmen to 
make laudable efforts to replenish the covers of our State 
by restocking. As a result, several new clubs have already 
been organized which are destined to prove valuable 
auxiliaries in carrying forward the work in which our 
Commission are earnestly engaged. Your readers have 
been informed of the formation of the Middleboro Club, 
which had its origin in the efforts of sportsmen to save 
the quail of that region from starvation. Another new 
organization has been formed in Rockland, and bast 
month a preliminary meeting of about thirty gentlemen 
was held in Reading, at which a committee was appointed 
to prepare a constitution and by-laws for a club of the 
sportsmen of Eastern Middlesex, embracing some half a 
dozen towns in the vicinity of Reading, including Wake- 
field, Sto.neham, Lynnfield, etc. 
In all probability some of our deer have perished dur- 
ing the winter, as well as our birds, for the reason that, 
owing to the deep snows, many have fallen a prey to 
dogs. The commissioners have received reports of a 
dozen or more veritable cases in which deer have been 
injured or killed by them. That dogs, unrestrained, are 
very destructive to deer requires no proof beyond ordinary 
observation, and the remedy rests mainly with their 
owners. 
The commissioners have completed the work of dis- 
tributing about 1,000,000 trout fry this spring, the number 
of applications for them and for fingerlings to be put out 
the coming fall being in excess of 360. It is expected 
that there will be not less than 90,000 fingerling trout 
when the time arrives for their distribution. 
An increase of more than 25 per cent, in the output of 
pheasants and hares over that of last year is expected. 
Reports from several towns in the western counties show 
the good results of stocking the streams in years past, 
which are gratifying to the commissioners as well as the 
sportsmen. 
Very good creels have been taken by the trout fisher- 
men of Springfield, Pittsfield, and other cities and towns 
in the central and western sections of the State. 
Some of your readers may not have heard of the beau- 
tiful gift recently received by Chairman Collins from the 
Department of Agriculture and Commerce of Japan. This 
consists of two very elegant Cloisonne vases, accom- 
panied by a highly complimentary letter from the Japanese 
Minister at Washington, K. Takahira, in acknowledgment 
of his "courtesy in transmitting various reports, and for 
the assistance rendered in the education of Japanese stu- 
dents in matters relating to high sea fisheries." 
Central. 
Mr. HalIo:fc Finds Game Plenty in Western 
Massachusetts. 
Plainfield, Mass., June 20. — I note this year a rejuven- 
escence of the beech trees in this section of Massachusetts 
where I am summering. For twenty years past there 
have been very few beech nuts, almost none, in this lo- 
cality, although the trees are healthy and numerous, quan- 
tities of them standing in groves, samples of which 
■ measure from- twelve inches to three feet in diameter. 
But now both old and young trees are well fruited. I ' 
send samples of burs herewith, which hold out a tempt- 
ing promise to the partridges (ruffed grouse), deer, and 
squirrels. Sagacious persons who love hunting are bank- 
ing heavily on an increase of game in these parts, espe- 
cially for the coming year, and the signs are certainly en- 
couraging. During the past week I have been doing con- 
siderable bush beating, keeping out several hours at a 
time, and ranging wide, and have flushed several broods 
of ruffed grouse able to fly a rod, besides crossing many 
deer paths much tracked up, and finding places where they 
have bedded in the ferns at the edge of the woods. 
Knowledge of the habits of these creatures enables one 
to find them without a dog, but they are in different places 
at different times of the day, and in varying weather. 
There ought to be good deer shooting in northwestern 
Massachusetts when the close time period expires. The 
annual report of the Fish and Game Commissioners for 
the current year publishes reports from forty localities 
in different parts of the State which speak of the rapid 
increase of deer. In many places they are becoming a 
nuisance. Droves of three to ten are seen together. One 
correspondent says he has seen as many as forty within 
the year. Charles Hallock. 
Adirondack Deer and Elk. 
Blue Mountain Lake, N. Y., June 21. — Editor Forest 
and Stream: Deer signs are about as numerous as usual. 
The talk about the deer starving in great numbers last 
winter is certainly not true in this section. To-day I had 
a talk with our courteous and efficient game protector 
for Hamilton county, Mr. Robt. O. Nichols, of Indian 
Lake, and he told me that he traveled his territory last 
winter on snowshoes a great deal, and later, when the 
snow crust would bear up the deer, he traveled on that. 
He saw but very few dead deer — five to seven being the 
largest number in a long distance — while in one day he 
saw 138 live deer. His judgment is that game wintered 
well as a rule. However, he said he could not speak 
from personal knowledge of the Moose River region, nor 
of the country around Long Lake west. From both these 
sections come reports of many deer dead from starvation. 
If this be true, it merely indicates a great abundance of 
deer in those parts. 
The elk seem to be thriving- hereabouts. Recently a 
band of seven were seen in a cow pasture feeding among 
the cattle. Some of the residents here have a mistaken 
notion that the elk are driving out the deer. This cannot 
be, for the elk are too newly introduced, and are as yet 
too few in numbers to drive out the deer, either by fight- 
ing or by consuming their food. But another cause has 
undoubtedly operated against the deer. This place is 
practically surrounded by lumber camps, most of which 
are now in operation their third season. Leaving out of 
account whatever deer are eaten in these camps, the 
tendency is for the deer to retire to less disturbed por- 
