Jul* g, 1904.] 
41 
fessionals, and McKenny can build a bough bed that 
is as comfortable as a hair mattress. They are first-class 
men, and we take pleasure in recommending them to fel- 
low sportsmen. 
Moore carried a new .32 Winchester rifle, while Leigh- 
ton and the writer were content to cling to their .30s — 
these rifles being heavy enough for any game that inhabits 
the Maine woods, and far superior to those of large 
caliber when weight and accuracy are considered. 
We had three 18ft. canvas canoes, two light twilled 
duck wall tents, ten feet square, and each man carried a 
Phelps sleeping bag, sailor's bag also, in which were 
packed two pairs of heavy woolen socks, an extra set of 
woolen underwear, a sweater, and pair of moccasins, a 
small medicine case, well stocked; a small electric light, 
ammunition, cigars, pipes, and tobacco ; brandy and 
whiskey (in case of illness), extra handkerchiefs, towels, 
and toilet articles, and a rubber army blanket and hot 
water bottle, both very necessary. 
Our provisions consisted of flour, bacon, salt pork, lard, 
potatoes, onions, eggs, tea and coffee, sugar, salt, pepper, 
pickles, maple syrup, canned fruits, beans, baking powder, 
jelly, evaporated cream, -candles, and matches. Also a 
gun cleaner and gun grease. 
Everything being in readiness for our trip, we got din- 
ner, then trailed around the town until time to board 
the steamer. The scenery on the lake was magnificent ; 
the moon, bright and clear, lighted everything around us, 
and old Moosehead never looked more attractive. We 
reached Kineo at 7:30 P. M., and after supper took a 
stroll through the woods. Soon we heard a deer blow 
just ahead of us. We returned to the hotel at 10 o'clock, 
and after a smoke and a story from Leighton (both indis- 
pensable), retired for the night. 
The morning of the third we boarded the steamer 
which left for the head of the lake at 8 o'clock, reaching 
Northeast Carry at 10. The weather was perfect ; the air 
clear and crisp, and the foliage beautiful in its autumnal 
coloring. Our guides loaded our supplies upon a team 
which is kept here through the hunting season, and before 
noon we were ready to start down the West Branch 
waters. The Northeast Carry is two miles, for which 
there is a charge of one dollar for each canoe, including 
all luggage. 
_ We lunched at Allen's house on the carry, then con- 
tinued on, reaching Joe Smith's half-way house at 5 P. 
M. (where we stopped for the night), just eleven miles 
from where we put in canoes. 
While waiting for supper, we sauntered out for a little 
prospecting, and had not gone one-half mile when we 
saw three. deer. Returning at dusk, we partook of a fair 
meal, and retired early. The next morning, after set- 
tling with Smith (whose charge is $1.50 for each man), 
we started for another day's trip. We passed a crew of 
lumbermen going down river with supplies ; they were 
singing and apparently contented with their lot in life. 
But for them we would have been unable to continue 
our journey, as the river was the lowest it had been for 
years, rendering it impassable except for the channel they 
had dug for their batteaus. 
At Pine Stream Falls it was very rocky, the drop from 
top to bottom being sixty feet in the half mile; but we 
got through without injuring our canoes, after which 
came dead water and good paddling to Chesuncook Lake, 
three miles away. 
We passed five camping parties going down the West 
Branch, all having deer hanging in front of their camps. 
Obtaining additional supplies at a store on the shore 
of Chesuncook, we started for Umbasooksus Stream. The 
wind blew a gale, the lake, being eighteen miles long, 
piled the breakers pretty high, but we got through all 
right, pulled our canoes on shore, and emptied the water 
they had shipped, then kept on through the meadows, a 
distance of six long, hard miles, but a splendid .game 
country. While going through the latter place we saw a 
moose and two deer; also quantities of ducks. Our lug- 
gage being loaded upon a team, we started ahead, reach- 
ing Frank Smith's camps on the shore of Umbasooksus 
Lake, three miles distant, at 5 130 P. M. These camps 
are ideally located in the heart of the hunting country; 
everything is neat and comfortable as possible, and we 
were quite content to rest here over night. Soon after 
Our arrival we saw a cow moose and calf in the water, 
about twenty feet from shore, and while eating supper a 
deer stalked past the window; and later, while strolling 
about the clearing, we saw six more deer in the potato- 
patch. The following morning at 5 o'clock, as we were 
leaving our tent, two_ deer jumped out not ten feet away, 
proving this to be quite a game region. 
After a first-class breakfast, we settled Smith's bill, 
the charge being $5 for each man's canoe and luggage, 
and $1.50 apiece for board and lodging, then started 
ahead of team for Mud Pond, two miles away. We had 
but just left the yard, where two bucks jumped behind 
one of the camps. _ We were loth to leave this pleasant 
spot, so neat, inviting, and convenient to sportsmen, but 
our time was limited, so we jogged along, and on reach- 
ing our destination were greeted with the picture of a 
doe and her fawn feeding along the shore. 
This pond is one and a half miles long, and one mile 
wide; it is well named, mud being a foot under water 
from one end to the other. The country, however, looks 
very promising for game. Upon the arrival of the team, 
we loaded our canoes and started for the opposite shore, 
where there is another two-mile carry; here everything 
has to be sacked, there being no team on this side. 
We reached Chamberlain Lake at 11 A. M, and lunched 
on shore in a pouring rain; but soon after the sun was 
shining brightly, and we started in a fair wind for the 
dam at the foot of the lake, six miles away, reaching 
there at 1:30. The gates at the dam were opened, thus 
affording us plenty of water below the falls. 
After carrying around the dam and quick water 
(twenty rods), we were soon on our way to Eagle Lake, 
two miles distant, reaching there at 3 o'clock. This lake 
is fourteen miles long and five across; is surrounded by 
ridges, and a great game country, and said to be the 
most picturesque of any in the State. At the head of the 
lake we saw a big bull moose wallowing around in the 
water, and after looking us over, he leisurely stalked off 
into the woods. It is a ten-mile paddle through the nar- 
rows to the foot, but the water was like a mirror, so we 
decided to make the distance before dark. After paddling 
about six miles, without the slightest warning the wind 
suddenly arose and blew half a gale, showing how 
treacherous these lakes are at times. As we came into 
Eagle Lake, in the distance were seen Pleasant and Picket 
Mountains, under which are Harrow and Pleasant lakes, 
about five miles back of Churchill. 
_ The waves dashed high over our canoes, but we worked 
like Trojans, and reached the narrows at dusk, and pre- 
pared for our first night in the open air. The guides 
pitched our tents in a little grove, and building a roaring 
fire, soon after had supper ready, which we heartily en- 
joyed, for we were hungry as wolves. 
It was another beautiful moonlight night ; so after a 
smoke, we jumped into a canoe and paddled along the 
shore for a mile, and heard a deer snort and blow as we 
passed. After enjoying the scenery for awhile, we re- 
turned to> camp, and were soon in our sleeping bags. 
We were out early the following morning of the sixth, 
and continued through Eagle Lake thoroughfare, two 
miles, to Churchill Lake. We saw two deer going 
through the deadwater. Keeping along the shore for two 
miles, we found a camp ground used by fishermen in the 
summer with tables, seats, and a fire-place, all in condi- 
tion for immediate use; so we pitched our tents and de- 
cided to spend a day or two- in this famous hunting 
country. Everything in shape and lunch over, each man, 
with his guide, shouldered his rifle and started for a hunt. 
Leighton saw the largest moose his guide had ever run 
across, with antlers spreading over five feet, another 
smaller one, and two deer, but failed to get a shot. Moore 
saw two deer, and heard a moose crashing through the 
woods a short distance away, but refused to be tempted. 
The writer saw two deer and shot a buck. Pretty good 
luck for three hours' hunting! 
After supper we strolled along the shore for a while. 
The hunters' moon was again doing herself proud, and 
the night was beautiful. A cow moose called on the 
opposite shore, and kept it up well into the night. 
We started the next morning of the seventh for another 
hunt; the weather was clear and warm as a June day; 
trout and togue were jumping from the water in all direc- 
tions, some of which were very large. 
We went up Pleasant Stream, but saw no game. It 
was cold, and the water had frozen over, so we came 
down stream and took an old tote road into Spider Lake, 
three miles back from Churchill. It was the most pic- 
turesque old logging road I ever tramped over. No 
wood has been cut for fourteen years, and it was great 
for deer. 
Spider Lake is situated right under a ridge of low 
mountains, and Arbo and Libby have a set of camps here. 
During the day we saw altogether ten deer, and Moore 
got within seventy-five yards of a bull moose crossing 
to meet a cow, who stood on the opposite shore. Having 
what meat we needed, we agreed to shoot nothing except 
it carried a good set of horns, for deer were seen every- 
where. 
At 4 o'clock, Leighton and the writer went down the 
shore for a mile or two; seeing a clearing in the thick 
woods that had been used by some camping party, we sat 
down and got out our maps to trace our morning trips, 
when suddenly there was a blow close by, and looking 
up we saw a big buck deer, not twenty-five yards away; 
but before we could reach our guns he was off. Deer 
are certainly very plentiful all through, this section. 
Returning to camp, we proceeded to fill up on venison, 
broiled partidges, canned fruits, and other luxuries, and 
never was a dinner at the Touraine eaten with keener 
relish and enjoyment. Seated around the camp-fire a lit- 
tle later, pulling listlessly at our pipes, listening to the 
inevitable stories — some very good, others too ancient 
to be interesting — we were, at an early hour, glad to 
crawl into our sleeping bags laid on beds of fir boughs, 
and wondered where else a man could go to better rid 
himself of all business cares, and enjoy complete rest. 
"While the soul is free as the mountain air, 
And the heart in the bosom leaps, 
The stars keep watch through the silent night, 
As the man at the camp-fire sleeps." 
■ [TO BE CONTINUED.] 
The Bishop Canoes. 
The late. Nathaniel H. Bishop, one of the founders of 
the American Canoe Association, made several long 
and notable cruises in his day, some of which he re- 
duced to writing and published. - "The Voyage of the 
Taper Canoe,' " and "One Thousand Miles in a Sneak- 
box," are two of them. 
The first was taken in a paper canoe, made by Waters 
& Sons, of Troy, N. Y., called the "Maria Theresa." 
In this he paddled and rowed down the Hudson River, 
then down the coast, on the inland waters to the Gulf 
of Mexico. The other was a Barnegat Bay sneak-box 
called, "The Centennial Republic." This he took 
through the Erie- Canal, Allegheny, Ohio and Missis- 
sippi Rivers to the Gulf. 
Mr. Bishop's executor, James C. Bishop, in writing 
to me under date of May 22, 1903, stated : "I have in 
my possession the paper canoe and sneak-box in which 
my uncle made the voyages he has described in his 
books, and it will give me great pleasure to present 
them to the A. C. A., if your association would care 
' to have them." 
After some considerable time, the boats were re- 
ceived and are now being cared for by the Brooklyn 
C. C. at their house at the foot of Twenty-eighth avenue, 
Brooklyn, Gravesend Bay, subject to disposition by the 
A. C. A. 
The Association has no suitable place to care for these 
relics, and one, at least, is quite frail. It was suggested 
at the meeting of the executive committee at Rochester, 
N. Y., that they be presented to the American Museum 
of Natural History in New York City, to the Brooklyn 
Institute of Arts and Sciences, or some other similar 
institution. 
The American Museum, etc., will receive them "pro- 
vided we could occasionally make use of them, if need 
be, on some of our scientific expeditions." 
The matter has been referred to the board of gov- 
ernors, but as the vote is apt to be delayed and there 
may possibly be some difference of opinion, it has been 
suggested that the matter be laid before the members of 
the Association, so that a suggestion might be made 
of a proper disposition to be determined upon, and 
I therefore beg to call the attention of the members to 
the matter. , 
Respectfully, " -^^ J 
Robert J. Wilkin, 
President Board of Governors, a' C. A 
Brooklyn, N. Y., June 25. 
§ifl* §mge and $*Utt%. 
— $ — 
The Palma Trophy. 
In reply to a recent editorial in Forest and Stream, Gen. Bird 
W. Spencer, president of the National Rifle Association, writes 
in Shooting and Fishing, as follows: 
ih, r?,rp*™!n tter - ° £ fact '.the_ British Association asked us to amend 
the rules allowing special barrels on rifles of private makers. We 
bad r£fc? t0 V V but u aS ^.committee of the team captains 
1W nffj !i V° m , ake , a change 111 ^e conditions, and as H. M. 
rion t£t,t the , ba " el . s «sed, the National Rifle Associa- 
tion thought that it would be just as well for the team to' have 
^™A h w ♦? nfl 1 Wlth a barrel of a P"vate maker; and, in the 
With them io/ U use WaS changed ' the ^ ^ ould then h ™ the barrels 
"The writer of the article either is ignorant of this fact or 
purposely avoids it. He lays great stress on 'why did we take 
&?fr g . bUt , the reg ? Iar service rifle? ' a *d he also admit! 
that the British used special barrels. He quotes the old worn-out 
reason which has long since exploded, that they are service rifles 
as issued to the troops, because the Ordnance Department put 
some sort of a stamp on them. The stamping of the rifles by the 
Ordnance Department does not make them any more servicl 
rifles than they would be without the stamp. service 
Colonel Bruce knew this, and, when he learned the British were 
K g ? °a SP ?c Clal nfleS ' shouId have br °ught his rifles to the 
lront and said: So are we going to use special rifles, and here 
are the ones we are going to shoot, and I move that the team cap- 
tains modify the rules so that the British, the Canadians, the 
HnTth," ^ th 5 Arn f» cans a 'l shoot 'with special barrels/ 
Had this been done there would never have been any controversy. 
it is well known, that the British team shot with a rifle made 
by a private maker, in no wise a Government contractor, that they 
w !f„ e , exceedingly fine rifles, and were in no sense a service rifle 
this is our whole case, and there is not the slightest doubt but 
the committee of captains would have authorized the use of the 
ac"^n W b^ h e%he 0i n ia ^T el ^ ^ qUeSti ° n been bf0Ught ^ for 
n'PJ^ t 1 ? v Q ery liu . le use in discussing the subject as to whether 
I 1-nwhV"-* ™ 1C ? nfl - es ' , ad °P ted June 19, contained an 8 or 
fj£ • I ? ch , twlst ^ P e fact « that 0,000 rifles were made with an 8- 
inch twist, and that the original new service rifle contained one 
turn in 8 inches. Later on this was changed to one turn in 10 
inches and the 6,000 rifles above referred to are stored at the 
present moment m the Springfield armory. 
The writer is, of course, in error when he says that the cao- 
tams jointly or singly, had no power to abrogate or add to the 
^^aSSW^r^' " Pr ° bably Mutable 
f/'iw? "Srfted that so long a time was taken before replying 
Thl lur < from r the National Rifle Association of Great Britain: 
ihK, a m ? olo " el Cro / se 15 dated Oct. 26, 1903, and prob- 
ably reached us ten days of two weeks after that date: but the 
holiday season was just on, and it was a very difficult matter to 
get together a quorum of the executive committee of the National 
Rifle Association of America. We were unable to do that until 
ll , ter the liohdays but succeeded in getting them together on Jan 
19. At that meeting the president was instructed to reply to 
olone! Crosse s communication. Without attempting to conceal 
any of the facts the president did not wish to send his letter off 
to England until it had been personally passed upor. by each 
member of the executive committee, so that a copy was sent to 
each one and returned with his comments before the letter was 
sent abi-Gsa, This accounts for the delay in replying to the 
letter, which was unavoidable. v 
."The Pope barrels were taken along to England to meet a con- 
dition which was likely to arise, and which did arise; namely, 
Pattern " W " fleS DOt stricti y of th e service 
English Comment on the Palma Trophy. 
•T H j E / act that thf ? American National Rifle Association have de- 
cided to. return the Palma trophy affords evidence that they 
recognize what was made clear to every one in this country when 
the correspondence relating to the matter was brought to public 
T! t' POf^.on that now arises has also its embarraising 
P k1 ? ?• National Rifle Association of Great Britain have ' 
publicly stated that their recent action was not undertaken with a 
view to reverse the results of last year's match, but rather to clear 
up certain questions which, having been publicly raised, could not 
be ignored. A sporting trophy that reaches England under such 
circumstances is hardly likely, for many years to come, to carry 
much satisfaction in the possession, and it is difficult to say 
whether an American team would care to compete for it with 
recent incidents still fresh in mind, unless there existed a virtual 
certainty of success. All things considered, it would be odds 
against an American team shooting under difficult conditions of 
light and wind such as were markedly absent during last year's 
match To compete for the trophy and fail to gain possession of 
it would be an experience which few American rifle shots would 
care to iace, since no one could prevent invidious comparisons 
h-om being drawn between the results in the two contests - Al- 
though we should like nothing better than to see the same team 
visit us next year and carry off the prize, we cannot help fearing 
that military rifle shooting in America over the longer distances 
has suffered a check which may go far to. delay the resuscitation 
of interest for which so many have labored during the past few 
years, and that the Palma Centennial trophy will return to the 
same kind of oblivion which it suffered during the twelve vears 
ending in 1900.— Field (London). 
General Spencer is reported to have said that the American 
rifles were approved by the British National Rifle Association and 
quotes the Shooting Times as having stated that "the entire 
matter of the American barrels had been gone into by a select 
committee of the British organization, and by its unanimous consent 
the American team had been permitted to use them." General 
Spencer is substantially correct, as in our issues of July 25 and 
Aug. 1, 1903, we stated that the subject of the American rifle had 
been discussed by a committee of the British Rifle Association, 
who had agreed to let the rifle pass. All that we can say is that 
our informant as to what had taken place was one of the very 
committee that debated the matter, and we have no reason to 
doubt his statement. The American rifle, and the fact that the 
British N. R. A. had permitted an infraction of the rules that 
governed the contest, was the talk of the camp at the time, and it 
was referred to by several contemporaries as well as ourselves; so 
it is idle to pretend ignorance of any irregularity in the match. 
In these circumstances the British N. R. A. made themselves 
not only ridiculous in asking for information so long after the 
event, but they also proved that they had not properly protected 
the interests of the competing teams, which included representa- 
tives from France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Natal and 
Norway, as well as the United Kingdom and the United States. 
As far as we can judge, the only way out of the difficulty, and to 
render justice to all the teams that competed last year, is for the 
1903 contest for the Palma trophy to be declared void. — Shooting 
Times. ■ 
The U. S. Service Rifle. 
Springfield Armory, Springfield, Mass., June 21. — Forest and 
Stream Publishing Co., 346 Broadway, New York City: Gentle- 
men — Your letter of the 15th inst. to the Secretary of War has 
been referred to me to answer the following questions namely 
In June, 1903, were specifications for a United States service rifle 
with eight grooves, and an 8-inch twist, approved and adopted bv 
the United States Government? 3 
If so, were any such rifles issued to the regular troops at anv 
time in June, 1903, or subsequently? 3 
Would a rifle with an 8-inch twist, and eight grooves made bv 
private makers, have been accepted by the United States Govern- 
ment in June, 1903, or afterward as service rifles? 
To all of which I reply no. Respectfully, 
Colonel Ord. Dept., U. S. A., Commanding. 
