Jan. 28, 1905.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
"Oh, it's nothing but those d— d little bullets," and all 
would resume their slumbers. These "little bullets," from 
some sort of repeating rifle, were held in conternpt. It 
was a long time before the writer overcame this early 
prejudice against "little bullets" as contrasted with the 
large Minie bullet, whose voice was so familiar along 
the "firing line" in those days. 
I have in my possession two breechloading^ carbines 
that are new s'o far as use is concerned, sent to rne 
several years ago by a gentleman in Chicago, who had in 
the course of trade, I believe, acquired a considerable 
number of them. They were sent to me as curious ex- 
amples of the earlier efforts to manufacture effective 
breechloadiiig weapons. These carbines have on them 
the following inscriptions: (i) "Burnside Patent. 
Model of 1864. No. 18967." (2) "Gallager's Patent, 
July 17, i860. Manufactured by Richardson & Overman, 
Philadelphia. No. 12624." 
From the numbers inscribed on them, the manufacture 
of these carbines must have been carried to a consider- 
able extent; and yet they appear to be rather impracti- 
cable for actual service. They are provided with the 
common musket hanmier and nipple for percussion caps. 
In one a breech block is tilted up at the forward end 
with a chamber into which the cartridge was to be in- 
serted backwards. The other tilts up the breech of the 
barrel for thrusting a cartridge in by a forward move- 
ment. In either case it would seem difficult to insert a 
paper cartridge and bring the charge into proper rela- 
tions with the cap after closing the breech. Both are 
actuated bv a trigger guard lever. 
During the latter part of the Civil Wai", and possibly 
earlier, a few of the Federal cavalry were armed with 
Spencer carbines that carried six or seven cartridges 
in a magazine in the stock. These, I believe, were the 
most effective breechloading or repeating rifles of that 
period. 
The above are some of the reflections that led me to 
question the introduction of the Colt's revolvers, and 
especially the repeating rifles, as early as 1839- 
Coahoma. 
Concerning the dates in question, the Colt's Patent 
Firearms Manufacturing Company writes as follows: 
Hartford, Conn., Dec. 30, igo4.~Bditor Forest and 
Stream : Replying to your favor of the 29th inst, refer- 
ring to the Colt revolvers used by the Texas Rangers, 
:would state that in 1836 the Texas pistol, caliber .34, 
was introduced. This was immediately followed by the 
Walker pistol, caliber .44, named after a Texas Ranger, 
'which was considerably heavier than the first model. 
This last pistol was principally used by the Texas 
Rangers. In 1836 and 1837 the first Colt revolving rifles 
were placed on the market, caliber .42. A limited num- 
ber of these rifles was made prior to 1842, later changes 
were made in the model and large ninrbers were manu- 
factured. We trust that this information will meet your 
requirements. Colt's Patent Firearms Mfg. Co., 
L. C. Grover, President. 
A New Hampshire Deer Quandary 
The Fish and Game Commissioners and the shooting 
.fraternity are up against a peculiar case— namely, what 
are we to do with the deer? Comparatively few years 
since, when deer were introduced to the lower counties 
sportsmen favored the plan, also the protection _ at all 
times. The deer evidently were pleased with their new 
grounds and have increased considerably. For some 
reason they hang around quite near our cities and 
villages, and are frequently seen on the lines of our 
steam and electric car routes. . 
In a recent letter from a well-known fox hunter living 
in Wilton, the writer says: "This town is overrun with 
deer. Recently a herd of nine and another ^ of eleven 
were seen just on the outskirts of this village." 
In the recent report of our Fish and Game Commis- 
sion is the following: "The deer question m southern 
New Hampshire is becoming a serious one. They have 
increased rapidly, and are found within easy rifle range 
of our largest cities. The question now being considered 
■is. What are we to do with them? An open season is 
suggested. There are certain objections to such a move. 
The Commissioners' report further says : "If the time 
comes when an open season is made to hunt deer m the 
lower counties, there can be no question that many people 
■will be killed, for with the high power rifles now m use, 
it is impossible to tell where a bullet will stop." ' 
I will give my reasons why I think we would be better 
■off were there no deer in the State south of Plymouth, 
and I am sure a majority of our sportsmen agree with 
me. I am content to hunt birds and nothing larger than 
a fox in this section. When I want deer, I go north, 
v/here there are suitable places to hunt them. 
There are many law-abiding sportsmen m our lower 
counties who like to hunt foxes, 'coons and rabbits. Ihey 
own valuable dogs and take pains that they hunt only 
such animals. It is very discouragmg when one gets 
a promising voung fox hoUnd, which shows every indi- 
cation of being just what is wanted, to have this 
youngster jump a deer (as he is liable to any day). 
Where one such dog may take no notice of a deer, many 
of them will, and after once chasing one is very likely to 
repeat it. Owing to the presence of our deer, it is now 
difficult to buy a good fox hound at a reasonable price ; 
that is, one that will not chase deer. I have been trying 
for some time to get such a dog; have seen several and 
written to owners of others. My first question would be, 
"Will the dog chase deer, and has he ever done sO'? 
The usual answer is, "He has chased them once or twice, 
but he got a good licking and may not do it again. 
This once or twice settled the question as to my buying. 
An objection to an open deer season m this and similar 
localities would be as follows: There are too many 
houses too many roads with people traveling on them, 
too manv domestic cattle in the pastures, to make it safe 
to turn loose a lot of rattle-headed would-be deer killers 
Even up in our north country, where there are nnles of 
woods, and where there is an open season, the caretu 
deer hunter has to be over-careful; net that he will 
shoot someoue by mistake, but that someone may slioot 
hun, • • 1 ■! 
T fccer.tlv '^iv' an illustration ni a daily papei as 
fellows ; 
"Guide — Here, you blank blank city idiot, what are 
you shooting at me for?" 
"Sportsman— My dear sir, I am awfully sorry I took 
you for a bear. I don't see how I shot so badly as to 
miss you." 
It has been suggested that in case of an open season 
the deer hunter be restricted to a shotgun and buckshot. 
This would be a pretty poor outfit for still-hunting< deer. 
Where one was killed, a number would be more or less 
wounded. The object of an open season seems to be 
to reduce the number of deer. If such a season is deemed 
best, I think December the time The ground is usually 
covered with snow, there is less travel on our roads, and 
cattle are housed; also it is much easier to see a deer on 
snow and to know it is a deer, and one which is 
wounded can be followed. We wanted the deer (or 
tl'jought we did). Now we have them, we don't want 
them, and do not know how tO' get rid of them. 
When the law protecting deer at all times was passed, 
there was also one prohibiting dogs from chasing them, 
and it gave any one the right to kill any dog sO' doing. 
Owners of valuable hunting dogs are protesting against 
this law, and have good reason to. Anyone who dislikes 
dogs or who may have some personal grudge against 
the owner of one, can, out of pure cussedness, shoot a 
dog, and if it is brought home to him, swear the dog 
was after deer; and if it happens on bare ground, and the 
owner is not near-by, he will have trouble to- prove other- 
wise. 
I am sure that the majority of sportsmen acknowledge 
that a sheep or deer-chasing dog should be killed ; but 
they want reliable evidence that the dog deserves it. We 
th.ink it high time this promiscuous dog killing were 
ended. 
We have a law which says that all dogs must be 
licensed, and must wear collars with owner's name, ad- 
dress and license number plainly marked thereon. There 
are certain scallawag dogs which wander about at will 
night or day. While their owners probably have paid 
a dog license, these dogs seldom wear a collar, and are 
hard to identify. Such dogs usually are ready to get into 
mischief, and take special delight in enticing well be- 
haved, stay-at-home dogs to join them in their wander- 
ings. I think it would be well to double the price of 
the present dog license, and to place and enforce a good 
big penalty for letting a dog loose without a proper col- 
lar. Compel these shiftless owners to look after their 
dogs and there will be less complaint of damage to deer 
or sheep. C. M. Stark. 
DuNBARTON, N. H., Jan 18. 
The Shiras Bill 
State of Ohio 
Fish and Game Commission. 
Columbus, O., Jan. 17. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
Your inquiry under date of December 9, 1904, received. 
A Federal game law to protect migratory birds should 
be welcomed and earnestly supported by all persons, and 
especially sportsmen. 
Efforts made in our State to prevent the killing of 
migratory birds in the spring resulted in adding fifteen 
days to the open season. 
The best informed advocates of no protection to ^ 
migratory birds do not claim that it is in the interest of 
protection; they claim the privilege to join others in the 
alarming and injudicious destruction of them._ Those 
who are most interested in having good shooting, and 
who are best prepared to enjoy it, favor a closed season 
in the spring while the birds are migrating to the breed- 
ing grounds, and for this reason do not avail themselves 
of tile spring shooting permitted by our present laws. 
In this State, for selfish motives, one locality is ar- 
rayed against another, and the whole against all other 
States, permitting the wholesale killing of migratory 
birds during the winter and spring. For this reason we 
have failed to pass the necessary protective law, and 
must look to Federal protection or expect future destruc- 
tion of wildfowl. With very best wishes for your suc- 
cess, I am, 
Sincerely yours, 
J. C. Porterfield, Chief Warden. 
United Effort, 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
We all of us are familiar enough with the importance 
of organization. We know that the blow of a 100-pound 
hammer carries more force than one hundred blows by a 
i-pound hammer. We know that a regiment of trained 
soldiers can do more than the same number of men fight- 
ing individually; that to accomplish any work men must 
get together and all push at the same time and in the 
same direction, under proper guidance. But how seldom 
do we act on this knowledge, 
I am led to this reflection by reading your editorial 
in Forest and Stream of January 21 on the organiza- 
tion of the Lewis and Clark Club. As you say, "It is a 
good sign for this country when men of whatever walk 
in life associate themselves together _with the honest pur- 
pose of protecting those natural objects which since the 
settlement of America have been regarded as belonging 
to whoever should take them without regard to the time 
or the method of taking." 
For a good many years past there have been sports- 
men's clubs, many of them devoted merely to recreation, 
many others with the ostensible object of doing some 
good for their fellow men, or for those whO' are to come 
after them. There have even been State associations of 
sportsmen and national associations of sportsmen; but 
the interest felt in the subject of game and fish protection 
has never been strong enough to induce these men to 
get together and to work earnestly for the benefit of all. 
if it had not been for the splendid work and leadership 
given by Forest and Stream, little would have been 
accomplished in the last twenty years. In that time there 
has been a great advance, but it must be acknowledged 
that this is -due largely to you and to your leadership. 
In the editorial to which I referred, you speak very 
iustly of the good work done b^ the Boone and Crockett 
Club. Not only has this association stood in the front 
rank fcr the protection of our natural resources and done 
splendid work with legislators both oi State and of 
National Government, but it has also spread the doc- 
trines which it advocates among the people at large by 
means of the beautiful and interesting volumes that Jt 
has published from time to time. Take for example its 
last book, "American Big Game in Its_ Haunts." Only 
one who has read the volume, and who is to some extent 
acquainted with the large game of America, can appre- 
ciate how broad a field this book covers, and how full it 
is of interest to sportsmen and to naturalists and to game 
protectors. Mr. Kidder's chapters on his Alaska hunting 
open a new world to the ordinary stay-at-home sports- 
man, and unconsciously reveal an amount of pluck and 
endurance on the part of the author which must excite 
the admiration of those who themselves have not pene- 
trated the real wilds. President Roosevelt's account of 
the Yellowstone Park and his visit there a year ago last 
spring is one of the most delightful chapters that I 
have ever read, and should teach each one of us a lesson. 
Now, the Boone and Crockett Club, I believe, is lim- 
ited to one hundred members, and of that one hundred 
we may assume that a large majority are not very active. 
Probably the real work of that club is done by a small 
number of men, yet their accomplishments have been 
great, as is shown by their record printed in the volumes 
which the club have published. 
For the newly organized Lewis and Clark Club there 
should be a work quite as important as that done by the 
Boone and Crockett. What this work may prove to be, 
it is of course impossible to point out now; but if the club 
is in earnest, it will find its work. Is it not possible for 
these two clubs to work together, uniting with them 
other associations, if there are any, in whom they have 
confidence? It is conceivable that a committee of half 
a dozen men representing such clubs as these, backed by 
the influence of their several organizations, might carry 
a weight with legislators and others which would be 
overwhelming. 
The growth of interest in the protection of natural 
things is most gratifying, and when we see men of in- 
telligence and education feeling an enthusiasm for these 
matters, it seems as if a protest ought to be made against 
the waste of energy involved in mere individual effort. 
The same amount of vigor and push in combination will 
surely accomplish greater things, 
I venture to submit these views to you, to_ the members 
of the Boone and Crockett and the Lewis and Clark 
clubs, and to sportsmen generally. Outsider, 
On the Missouri Rivet Sandbats, 
About fifteen years ago I hunted wild geese on the 
sandbars of the Missouri River one winter when the 
weather was favorable for them; that is to^ say, when it 
was neither too' cold for them to find open water and 
food, or too warm for them to tarry in that region. It 
was then no difficult thing to dig a hole in the smooth 
surface of a sandbar so- that one could stoop down until 
his head was below the level, and going to one of these 
places before daylight, or toward evening, one's chances 
of getting a brace of honkers as they passed over from 
the wheatfields were good, while if he took with him a 
rifle he was reasonably certain of a shot if the geese 
happened to alight out of range of the scatter gun. I 
have seen geese so numerous in that region that flock 
after flock would come in, from the wheat fields and stop 
on the bars to rest until there would be thousands of 
them in sight, they generally selecting some low, flat bar 
300 to 500 yards from willows, drift or cover of any 
sort, and, with their sentinels on guard, rest and feed 
on the wild smartweed for hours, during which time the 
sportsman could only be patient and hope that some 
other fellow would happen along to stir the geese up 
and possibly give him the shot he coveted. As my 
favorite weapon was the rifle, and I often accompanied 
a young man who, it seemed to me, could hit a goose 
with his lo-bore shot at marvelously long range, by hid- 
ing in holes or "rack heaps" several hundred yards 
apart, our ha.g was not always an empty one at nightfall. 
A few weeks ago I visited these same sandbars on 
which in former years it was a rare occurrence to pass 
a day without a shot. The river was almost as low as it 
was during the winter of 1883-4, when I ifirst trod the 
bars, but not only did I see nothing larger than a crow, 
but there were no indications to be found, in a tramp of 
some fifteen miles, that any geese had been "using"- any 
of the most favorable spots since the last rainfall, some 
time previously. In a journey of upward of 100 miles 
by train which followed the shores continuously, only 
two small bunches of geese were seen, at total of about 
fifteen individuals. No ducks at all were seen, although 
it was not too cold for them Perry D. Frazer. 
A Foxhound's Voice Over the Telephone* 
For some time I have been trying to get a foxhoutid of 
the right sort. I wanted a small, well-built dog with a 
clear, rather light voice; a good starter and stayer, and 
one which would not chase deer. I heard of several dogs, 
and had some on trial which did not suit. I have two 
now which, as far as look and size go, seem just what 
1 want. They are about of a size, well marked black, 
white and tan. The dog is under three years, ^and nine 
foxes are said' to have been killed with him this season. 
The bitch is nearly twice the age of the dog, and said to 
be a good one. Both are claimed to be deer proof. I have 
had these dogs for several days, and it is provoking that 
there has been no chance to try them. I am ready to go 
out and so are the dogs, and I am quite sure I could 
find a fox track in a few minutes. Our last snowfall 
measured over twenty inches of very soft, light snow. 
A fox can paddle along in such snow, but a dog cannot. 
Both of mine sink so deep that only their heads show. 
Yesterday a neighbor who is interested in all kinds of 
hunting, called me up on the telephone. Both dogs were 
in my house at the time, and seemed to understand that 
1 was talking to a fox hunter. My neighbor asked, "How 
do you like the dogs— have they good voices?" I said, 
"You can hear one of them." I held the receiver near the 
iMtch and spoke to her and she let out a few hoots. My 
neighbor called out, "That one has a good voice; I can 
hear her plainly." 
I have a large megaphone which I made of tin. It is 
over fifty inches in length and twenty inches diameter at 
open end. Some two or three miles south of my house 
