FOREST AND STREAM* 
[Jvix 2.3, 1004, 
Barking Squirrels. 
Portland, Indiana. — Editor Forest and Stream: Rifle- 
man asks if your readers have "any knowledge of this 
matter." His inquiry has the ring of sincerity, and 
merits an answer in kind. 
I have several times written of this section of the 
country, as to its native timber, etc., but I realize that as 
the years flit by new readers pick up Forest and Stream, 
and the old story may well become a twice told tale and 
not suffer in the telling. 
Fifty years ago eastern Indiana was a forest of oak, 
ash, hickory, and elm principally. Burr-oaks — some of 
them five feet in diameter and fifty feet to the first limb, 
with shellbark hickory, and elms were found on the black 
soil flats; white-oaks, red-oaks, hickories, ash, beech, and 
a variety of other timbers covered the clay upland. 
Squirrels were abundant, for . the hickories, oaks, 
beeches, buck-eyes, and lins furnished food, and from 
about 1862 to 1872 I shot more squirrels than any other 
boy in my neighborhood. I traded a watch, for an Ideal 
squirrel rifle. My father's deer rifle carried too much 
lead to suit hie. The muzzle of my gun came to a level 
with my shoulder when loading, and my height was about 
5 feet 9 inches. It was full stocked and the molds ran, I 
think, 80 balls to the pound. While it was my custom 
to shoot at the. side of a squirrel's head, I did, on occa- 
sion, shoot them through the body. These were usually 
old squirrels that thought themselves hidden when they 
could not see me. 
Manv and many a time have I drawn a fine bead on the 
upper edge of the limb directly under a squirrel's throat, 
and at the crack of my rifle the squirrel would be thrown 
a foot or more above the limb and fall to the earth dead, 
while a barkless white spot on the limb showed where the 
ball struck. This could not be done when the limb was 
either too large or too small. If too large, the ball 
glanced upward into the squirrel; and I found it a good 
plan, when shooting at long range at a squirrel on a large 
limb, or on the trunk of a tree, to aim between the squir- 
rel and the tree, providing the animal lay close to the tree. 
When the limb was too small, the rifle ball might shatter 
the limb and the force of the explosion go downward and 
not jar the squirrel enough to injure it. The barked 
squirrels that I examined had a lump in the throat, but I 
never took the trouble when dressing them to diagnose 
the immediate cause of death. G. W. Cunningham. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I am the "anonymous" villain who stirred up your 
correspondent Rifleman, by nefariously trying to bust 
his trust in the Daniel Boone legend. Your correspondent 
seems to have fine scorn for anonymous writers, and 
therefore it may be presumed that Rifleman is his full and 
proper name. . , 
My anonymity was accidental. The article on Squirrel 
Barking" in the Evening Post was signed with my full 
name, but the signature was dropped by accident m the 
make-up. Shooting and Fishing reprinted the article 
over my signature, giving credit, however, to the wrong 
journal. „ , . . ., 
Rifleman's personal sarcasms are not relevant to the 
main question, and I need riot waste space in emulation 
of his style of controversy. It amuses or pleases him, 
no doubt, to regard me as a very ignorant person, and it 
does not hurt me. But when he intimates that I invented 
my account of the shooting of a squirrel , with several .44 
bu llets— revolver, not' rifle, by the way— I must assure 
him seriously that he is in error. The facts are precisely 
as I stated them. . 
My purpose, as any attentive reader would have seen, 
was not to discredit the markmanship of Daniel Boone. 
There is no reason to doubt that Boone could drive a 
nail, snuff a candle, .or knock the bark from under a 
squirrel with a bullet. But I doubt that the shock given 
bv the bark knocked off by a bullet is sufficient to kill . a 
squirrel, and I give the results of actual tests to justify 
my doubt. . , , , . 
I accept Audubon as authority on the color, form and 
habits of birds, but I do not feel bound to accept all that 
he wrote as gospel truth. Perhaps he romanced a little, 
like some naturalists of these days I reserve the VJ™i- 
lese of taking a liberal portion of salt with, his tale of the 
man who was lost in the Everglades, for instance It is 
true that the magazine writer who used Audubon s 
description of Boone's shooting did not name the writer, 
and that I failed to recognize it, not being able to carry 
all that I ever read in my head, ready for instant use 
As quoted in the magazine, the story goes further than 
the account given in the "Lifeof Audubon." Ingebfc 
the feat of barking a squirrel is explained as hitting. the 
bark close to a squirrel's hiding place, to drive him into 
view," or words to that effect. According to that ver- 
sion Audubon saw one squirrel killed by the shock. The 
magazine writer has Boone keep up the firing for several 
hours, and procure "as many squirrels as he wished. 
Of course Rifleman may believe anything he chooses to 
I would not, if I could, deprive him of the consolation of 
faith in all the fairy tales written about shooting. But 
I have heard many men tell of seeing togs done which 
never were done, and I am unable to believe all the 
stories. 
A very popular writer and lecturer on animals relates 
as Of personal experience and observation many remark- 
able things concerning wolves, deer, bears, foxes, dogs, 
rabbits, and birds, and the world is full of Riflemen who 
believe that the eminent naturalist has seen all that he 
describes. I don't. In fact, I know absolutely the con- 
trary, for I told him some of the stories which he has 
adopted as his own, and I know where he got others. 
They are good stories, and they sound better told in his 
way. It is a privilege of literary art to confiscate good 
stuff and give it an air of verisimilitude by making it a. 
part of the author's own experience. That is, so it 
appears. 
There is a queer kink in the Audubon-Boone business 
which the editor of Forest and Stream — or perhaps 
Rifleman, who appears to have the books handy — may be 
able to straighten. I have only the "Life of Audubon" 
at hand, and that is hopeless in the matter of dates. 
Daniel Boone emigrated from Kentucky to Missouri in 
1795, when Audubon was yet a schoolboy in France. The 
"Life" seems to put Audubon in Kentucky somewhere be- 
tween 1812 and 1820, when Boone was anywhere from 77 
to 85 years of age and a resident of Missouri. How, 
then, did Audubon "make frequent hunting trips" . with 
Boone in Kentucky, and how did 'he have his "first inter- 
view with Boone" near Frankfort? Boone died in 1820 
at the age of 85, in Missouri. Was his eyesight unim- 
paired up to the day of his death ? 
After untangling the Boone dates, I would be pleased 
to hear from Rifleman on other points of my myth-bust- 
ing screed. Does he believe that Morgan's men, running, 
could hit squirrels at 300 yards, as Professor John Fiske, 
another great writer, solemnly avers? Does he insist. on 
the absolute veracity of eminent writers on South Africa, 
who say they have repeatedly seen mounted Boers kill 
running antelope at 1,000 yards ? What does he think of 
Natty Bumpo's feat of tossing two potatoes in the air and 
putting one bullet through both? How about shooting 
at an ax-blade in front and cutting off the head of a 
chicken behind with the rebounding bullet? Does Rifle- 
man know by experience what angle a lead bullet takes in 
the rebound from a smooth steel surface? . ^ 
I am not quite so skeptical as the man who said: 'I 
believe mighty little that I see, and nothing that I hear," 
but I don't take rifle stories or hunting yarns wholly on 
faith. Allen Kelly, 
Ex-Captain California Sharpshooters. 
New York. 
McConnellsville, Pa., July 15.— I wish to express my 
appreciation of last week's copy of Forest and Stream. 
I think it the best copy for a long time. I was glad, in- 
deed, to see the genial face of L. F. Brown, whose "Mus- 
ings" I have missed of late, but hope he will continue to 
muse, and let the readers of Forest and Stream hear 
from him. - . *;,.. ' . , _ , 
Rifleman hit the spot in his article on Squirrel Barkers 
and Myth Busters." If the aforementioned myth buster 
can be found, and still does not believe in squirrel bark- 
ing, let him take a trip down here into the wilds of Ful- 
ton county, and I will agree to find him -plenty of natives 
to do the trick to his entire satisfaction. 
Leslie W. Seylar. 
Quail in a San Francisco Park. 
Never did pictured assassination of Cock Robin create 
more horror in any nursery than was occasioned in Police 
Judge Conlan's courtroom when the . stiffened carcass of 
a quail was passed up yesterday to the bench for inspec- 
tion and then registered as. Exhibit A m the case of 
Joseph Ferrari, charged with wilfully slaughtering, the 
bird in Golden Gate Park. His Honor and all other true 
sportsmen present shuddered as they viewed the corpse 
and listened to the testimony for the prosecution. • 
It was Policeman J. H. Kavanaugh who pressed the 
charge While patrolling the park he chanced to glance 
adown the bosky dell, and there he saw the defendant 
deliberately wring the neck of the feathered treasure and 
then thrust it into his coat pocket. To arrest him was 
the work of a moment, and to haul him to prison con- 
sumed no more time than was absolutely unavoidable. 
Ferrari, who is a produce dealer, pleaded that die was 
acting a Samaritan part, instead of that of a cold-blooded 
poacher, when the patrolman collared him. A large dog 
of unknown ownership had chased and captured the bird, 
Ferrari said, and was proceeding to pluck the feathers 
from it when he (Ferrari) went to the- rescue and drove 
away the quadruped, took the captive, then feebly -panting, 
in his hands and had put it in his pocket to restore -its 
breath when the hand of the law fell heavily upon his 
shoulder. He denied the neck-w ringing. •• , 
Sharp questioning from the bench shook up -Mr.- Fer- 
rari's defense until it was a very rickety structure, indeed, 
and as he was pronounced guilty as charged and promptly 
fined $100, satisfaction was reflected on every face- m the 
chamber except his own. . , ..." ,. 
"To kill quail out of season is reprehensible, even when 
they are running wild," quoth the judge "but_to Slaughter 
the birds that are preserved m Golden Gate Park is van- 
dalism as well." . .' u -Kfl: 
Clerk "Jack" Rice Was overheard remarking to Bailitt 
Laws that while he had not much use for British institu- 
tions as a whole, he thought that the anti-poaching 
statutes of that effete nation might be copied into the 
California Criminal Code without disfiguring it. 
Mr. Ferrari got nothing but humiliation in return for 
the $100 he paid into court. Possession of the remains 
of his victim was denied him, so he cannot have even the 
poor satisfaction of. subjecting them to taxidermic art 
and preserving them as a souvenir of the most indiscreet 
act or his life. — San Francisco Call, July 1. 
Game About Fort Yellowstore. 
Travel in the: Yellowstone Park has begun again, and 
promises to be heavy this year. Visitors to that beautiful 
region will probably see more game than in previous 
years, for the animals that have spent the winter and 
spring about Fort Yellowstone seem loath to wander 
away into the high mountains, as is usually their custom, 
and about the 20th of June three mountain sheep were 
seen close to the road between the Mammoth Hot Springs 
and Gardiner. This is very unusual for the time of the 
year, but owing to the fact that more and more care is 
constantly being exercised to prevent the general grazing 
of stock on the reservation, there is now good grass 
where for a number of years there has been little or none. 
If the game is undisturbed and has abundant food it may 
very well remain on the lower lands until the flies drive it 
up to the peaks. 
The domestic buffalo herd near Fort Yellowstone is 
flourishing wonderfully, and the total number of animals 
is now thirty-nine; eleven calves have been born this 
spring, and one wild calf — a female — captured, so that 
the increase in calves is twelve, with a possibility of two 
or three more. In other words, in two years Major 
Pitcher's herd has almost doubled in numbers. This is 
extremely encouraging, and is the best possible testi- 
monial to the wisdom and judgment with which the 
herd has been handled. 
This domestic herd was not started a moment too soon, 
for there is little prospect of any increase in the wild 
herd. They have hidden themselves in a section which 
is quite unsuited to, them, and within the year at least six 
have perished from starvation. Last winter the snowfall 
on their range near Pelican Creek was very deep, and a 
stack of hay which Major Pitcher had put up for them 
was covered so completely that it could not be located 
even by the Government scouts when they went in to try 
to capture wild calves. 
Rensselaer County Club. 
West Sand Lake, N. ¥., July 4.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: The annual report of the Rensselaer County 
Rod and Gun Club shows a continuation of the good 
work undertaken by the members, and so efficiently and 
successfully carried out by . the. officers and the general 
committees. President J. R: McLaren writes in then- 
annual report: 
At the request of the Legislative Committee, Senator Barnes 
introduced a bill prohibiting the sale of trout caught m the 
streams of Rensselaer county, which was passed m the Senate, 
introduced and passed in the Assembly by Assemblyman Stevens, 
and was signed and made a law by the Governor, April 13, 1904. 
The uniform fall shooting laws passed by previous Legislatures 
have given good satisfaction, and it is conceded by competent 
authorities that; no county of the State has better laws for the 
protection of fish and game than our own. 
It is known that deer have increased in number during the last 
ye Last September and October, at a considerable expense, efforts 
were made to prevent the illegal snaring and selling of partridge, 
and through the efforts of Protector Ferguson and members of 
the club, three convictions were made and fines collected, aggre- 
gating $187.45. . . , , „ 
Fourteen shipments of fish were received and planted, as follows: 
Rainbow trout, 5,000 fingerlings; brown trout 5,000 fingerlings, 
1 000 yearlings; brook trout, 5,000 fingerlings, 1,000 yearlings; lake 
trout, 5,000 fingerlings, 2,000 yearlings. . _ 
At the request of the club the town boards of the following 
towns have requested the Forest, Fish and Game Commission to 
close the following streams, which have been stocked with trout: 
Schodack, branch of Moordenerkill, Poestenkill Fly Creek, Sand 
I ake Geirhardt and Uline or Bowman brooks. The request has 
been ' granted and the streams closed for a term of years from 
May 1, 1904. . , 
A goodly number of large rainbow and brown trout have been 
caught the past spring, showing . that these varieties are adapted 
to our waters. Eight Mongolian pheasants were received in April. 
The secretary's report shows that regular meetings 
have been held on the first Tuesday of each month. 
Forty-eight new members have been added. The receipts 
aggregated $104.50; disbursements $12.40; balance in the 
treasury June 1, $32.40- , , 
A close season was, at the request of our club, made 
on deer in our county by the .Legislature of 1903 for five 
years. Within the last week, it has been brought to my 
notice that deer have been seen in -thickly settled farming 
communities in several different localities in the county. 
.. J. R. McLaren, President. 
All communications for Forest and Stream must be 
directed to Forest and Stream Pub, Co., New York, to 
receive attention. We have no other office. 
