416 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
me of the old routine of business and city life. No more 
dressing for dinner, no more social functions to attend, 
but just my own inclination, a little fishing, good hearty 
food and such Johnny-cake and flap-jacks as Tom could 
mak;, and long nights of refreshing sleep. Such sleep! 
on these fresh springy beds of fir balsam, until I f eh 1 ke 
a young lion. Of course we broke the monotony of being 
lazy in camp by short trips down the Allegash, where I 
learned to shoot the three-mile rapids of Chase s Carry 
and to pole the canoe back most of the w;^ay with the iron 
shod pole. Ah, that was sport indeed; but it took some 
Snsiderable persuasion before I got Tom to sit in the 
bow and let me arm.him down. As he said It s a d ffei 
eiit proposition to sit m the bow of a canoe down there 
with some one in the stern that you do not place much 
confidence in.' However, beyond a little duckmg one da^ 
which did neither of us any harm, and a small nole m 
Se bow of mv canoe, no harm resuhed from the experi- 
ment This with chasing cow moose round m the lake 
to take their pictures— and they did not seera to want 
them taken, either, they would not stajid-and an occa- 
sional try for a loon or great northern diver made up the 
routine of our life. Soon the hunting season would begin 
and we knew we should have to get to work September 
was drawing to a close when 1 was tempted to^ kill a 
moose in spite of the law, but remembering my father s 
advice and what Tom had said in regard to shooting m 
close season, I calmly watched a huge bull with eleven 
points on a side walk away to the woods, Tom saymg, 
'Never mind, Fred, there are others.' _ , , , 
"On^ rainy afternoon while lying m our tent where 
we had been reading and being tired, my eyes were fast- 
ened on the changing foliage directly m front of the tent, 
when suddenly across my line of vision walked a tre- 
mendous animal of the cat species. With a startled cry 
I was on my feet. 'What's the matter with you? said 
Tom 'Look here, Tom,' I said as quietly as 1 could, i 
just saw a large gray-brownish colored cat which must 
have been nearly two feet high and almost four feet long, 
so right by the tent down toward the lake. Well, take 
your rifle, I'll take the ax, and we'll beat the woods out 
to the point, and if he went that way we may get a shot, 
but if he went back the other way we will not stand any 
show at all.' We beat the narrow neck of land running 
out into the lake but saw nothing, and went back to camp 
disappointed. Soon the rain ceased falling. Tom said, 
'Take your rifle and rod and we will go fishing. We were 
skirting along in shoal water on the lee shore to be out 
of the wind, when Tom said, 'Fred, put down the paddle 
and take your gun, I beheve I can see your cat. He 
worked the canoe round till it pointed directly at a small 
gray object at the foot of some large boulders on the 
shore. Sure enough, it proved to be the cat sitting on 
the rocks watching us. When we were withm seventy-five 
yards Tom said, 'You had better try a shot, I think he is 
getting ready to vamoose.' As all of you know who have 
ever tried it, it's hard shooting from a canoe, but by good 
luck I succeeded in hitting him the first shot, and with 
one bound in the air he fell dead. We found on reaching 
shore that it was a large-sized Canadian lynx weighing, 
Tom said, about forty pounds. 
"After preparing the skin so it would keep, we started 
out on Sept. 29 for a two weeks' hunting trip to Soaper 
Pond, which is about seven or eight miles from Churchill 
Lake. Arriving there we cleaned up the little camp we 
found on the shore of the pond. It was about nine by 
ten feet in size, door about feet high, and had one 
small square of glass eight by ten inches for a window. 
However,, it answered our purpose and was very comfort- 
able. On the first night of October Tom called m one 
small bull, but as he said it was a poor specimen we did 
not bother with it. The first week we saw nine bulls and 
lots of cows, but none of their heads suited me. 
"On the 9th day of October we found a herd of caribou 
on Upper Soaper and I succeeded in killing a good bull 
having seventeen points on a horn. We took the head, 
hide and a small piece of the loin. Tom took off one 
hind quarter and hung it up on a spring pole in case we 
should get out of meat. The killing of that caribou 
brought me luck indeed, for going there again on the 
afternoon of the nth to call moose, we found that a bear 
had found the carcass, and not satisfied with that he had 
even stolen the quarter of meat we had hung on the 
spring pole. There was the mark of his claws on the tree 
where he had taken hold of it to bend it down. We soon 
found where he carried the carcass, in under a leaning 
cedar tree on the edge of the woods. Tom carried the 
canoe up to within twenty yards of the carcass, set it 
down on the ground, spread our blankets in the middle, 
then trimmed out some of the underbrush with his knife 
and stuck the branches in the ground around the canoe. 
'It's going to be a fine night to call. If he don't come 
down to feed before midnight he won't come to-night; 
and we'll try the moose,' Tom explained. Just as the sun 
was sinking behind the trees we heard back on the ridge 
the unmistakable . sound of some heavy animal coming 
down the steep hill. 'Quiet now and into the canoe,' said 
Tom. I have often thought since that that bear must 
have been foolish, for he came within a hundred feet of 
us and stopped and began to snuffle as though he saw 
there was something wrong. He circled to the right, then 
to the left, snuffling all the time, trying to smell us, and 
always just out of sight, then back to where he was at 
first. 'Keep quiet,' whispered Tom, 'if he don't smell us, 
and I don't believe he can, for there isn't a breath of air 
moving, he will come out. Don't shoot until I tell you, 
and remember, you have got to shoot low in the night or 
you'll overshoot.' Well, that bear trod around there for 
more than two hours, never coming in sight, then lay 
down and went to sleep. Now, boys, you may think I 
am rubbing it in, but I assure you it's exactly what hap- 
pened. That bear lay there within one hundred feet of 
us and slept for more than three hours, and he actually 
snored; snored as bad as any man I ever heard. Once 
I wanted to try and creep up to him and try and get a 
shot, but Tom said no. There we sat in that canoe shiv- 
ering with the cold, our backs cramped from leaning 
against the thwart, until suddenly he awoke and we could 
almost hear him yawn and stretch himself. Then, as if 
he had forgotten the danger that threatened him, he 
walked boldly down to the carcass, and rising on his 
hind feet stood upright like a man, looking directly at us. 
I had him covered, and at Tojn's low whispered 'Now,' 
pulled the trigger. The scream he uttered told Tom I 
had hit hirp. 'All out, com? on 1' cried Tom, and I after 
him. Tom sprang upon the leaning cedar and scratched 
a match and held it in his hands to throw the light for- 
ward into the bushes where we could hear him groaning,, 
but he lost his balance and fell almost on top of the bear,, 
which was trying to drag himself away with both hips 
broken. 'Don't shoot,' cried Tom, and in a moment he 
stood beside me with his coat torn across the left arm 
where bruin had made one swipe at him as he went down. 
By a torchlight of birch bark I finished the bear, and 
found I had got a fine black bear weighing about 200 
pounds and having an elegant skin. 
"Later I secured two very good buck deer heads, and 
although we saw sixteen bulls I did not secure a head. As 
it then was getting late in October and the chances were 
every day growing less for calling moose, we decided tO' 
go back to the home camp at Churchill and break camp 
and go home. Spending only one night at camp, we were 
up for breakfast before daylight, and everything was 
packed for an early start for civilization. Going down 
to the canoe landing with a load, Tom all at once dropped 
his bundles and said, 'There's a woman coming from 
somewhere. I heard her voice.' Sure enough, in a mo- 
ment a canoe broke through the dense fog, which was 
rising from the water, and in it were two men and a 
woman. It proved to be Dr. M. and wife, of Boston,, 
who, with their guide from some southern part of. the 
State, were making the Allegash trip. The doctor said 
he had been told one could make the trip and stop at 
camps and houses each night, so he was without tents, 
and had but little provisions. Thanking us for our offer 
to help him as much as we could, he asked us if we could 
tell him anything of Chase's Carry, and if we thought he 
and guide could run the load. The guide had a worried 
look. Tom said, 'Well, r.iister, it's a pretty nasty place 
down there as you'll find, but if your guide knows his 
business he will get you through all right, barring acci- 
dents. In low water, in August, one can go down there 
and pick up whole kits, from knives and forks to rifles 
and fly rods, where people have swamped.' Thinking 
he had roasted the guide enough he said, 'Sir, if that load 
belonged to me and I did not want to give her a cold 
bath I would walk her down the path you'll find on the 
right hand side of the river; and then if you don't think 
your guide can get down alone you can walk back and 
help him.' The doctor's wife seemed pleased about some- 
thing at about that time. We watched them off with a 
few words of advice to the doctor; and for a good- 
.natured fling at the guide, Tom said, 'Don't feel so bad, 
old man, the first three miles is the worst.' 
"Three days it took us to get back to Kineo again. 
Then back to old New York, for which I think we all 
have an affection, bad as she uses us sometimes. And 
that, boy.s, finishes the account of my trip to Maine." 
There was silence for a few monents while all seemed 
to be thinking, until Sam said, 'Well, boys, I am going 
to Maine." "So am I," said Joe, "and we're obliged to 
you, Fred, for telling us about it." "Don't mention it, 
boys, and I wish you as good luck as I had, and now I 
must be going. Good night." J. H. B. 
The Skin Hunters of the Plains. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Reading Charles _ Aubrey's account of the buffalo set 
me to thinking again of the white skin hunters and their 
wasteful methods. Their manner of killing them gave 
them about one animal out of every three that they killed, 
the wolves got the other two. The buffalo guns they 
used ("as heavy as a crowbar" well describes them), with 
their bottle-neck 50 caliber shells, would kill a buffalo at 
1,500 yards, if it hit him where he could be killed; but 
often it did not. 
I was coming from the antelope hills on my way to 
Fort Elliott one hot afternoon in June when I overtook 
four skin hunters mounted on rather poor Texas ponies. 
They were out after buffalo that could here be seen in 
small herds grazing in all directions. There were half 
a dozen hunters in sight. These men had a camp with 
wagons miles from here on some stream where there was 
water. Only one of them had a buffalo gun, the rest had 
Winchesters. They would do the driving, he the shoot- 
ing, and in a short time after this he did it. The nearest 
buffalo, about fifty of them, were grazing off to our right 
and front about a mile away. The drivers went for them 
while the shooter and I kept on to where the buffalo 
would be likely to pass; and getting there he and I staked 
out our horses, while he took his stand in a buffalo 
wallow. He wanted me to take a stand here also; I had a 
Marlin rifle, but I told him that I only did my shooting 
from the saddle, his method was too wasteful ; and lying 
down behind him I prepared to take in this show.- I had 
seen others like it before. The buffalo, when started, ran 
past us about 500 yards away and the hunter opened on 
them, firing at least a dozen shots before the last of them 
were out .if range. 
He got three, and I was surprised at him getting so 
many, the only spot in which they could be hit to kill 
instantly could be more than covered with the rim of one 
of our hats, there was small cuance of his killing them 
there, while they were on the dead run 500 yards away; 
yet every shot he fired no doubt hit a buffalo somewhere'. 
These big balls going through too far back would kili 
the animal in time. 
"Well, you have three out of a dozen. The other nine 
are lost to you," I told him. "Why don't you men run 
those buffalo? I could have got six out of that bunch 
with this horse of mine and might not have fired over 
six shots to get them, either." 
"Oh, we can't run them on these horses we have. It is 
well enough for you fellows to talk of running them. If 
we had some one to buy us $200 horses, then get us an- 
other like him as soon as we had killed up the first one 
then we could run them." ... ' 
"You have a curious idea about us and our horses. This 
horse of mine cost $135. The highest that is paid for any 
of them, is $150, and not many of them cost that much 
And as for the killing him up, I take mighty good care 
not to do it; if I did I would not run many buffalo on 
the plug that would -be given me the next time. If I 
were in this business I would, .have at least two good 
Indian buffalo ponies; they cah be got for $30 a piece all 
yon want of them." ' 
"Yes, but after we have sold our hides and have stocked 
up for the next month, we don't have many $30 left." 
What they did have left would be hkely to be divided 
between firewater and a monte bank. I did not tell him 
so, though. 
"You won't follow uo these wounded buffalo, will you?" 
"No; what is the use? They will run half a day before 
they drop." 
These men had about 250 hides on hand now. About 
$200 worth when I -ot to Fort Elliott, $50 for each man 
for a hard month's work. The skin hunters had a hard 
life of it and often finished it with their boots on at the 
conclusion of a drunken row. Their greatest fear was of 
hostile Indians, they had a far more dangerous enemy 
than the Indian — the post trader's whiskey. 
Cabia Blanco. 
Game Watdens and Collusion. 
Portland, Ind., May ig.— Editor Forest and Stream: 
Certain remarks in your editorial under the heading 
"Moieties for Protectors," caused me to smile. I have 
had some experience with game wardens in their native 
element, and there is more or less inclination to- graft, the 
same as in other lines of business. Those who frequent 
the game sections are well aware of the temptations and 
inclinations in that direction. I am inclined to the opin- 
ion that very little game is smuggled without collusion 
with some so-called game warden. I have met both the 
good and the bad, also the indifferent. A big fat deputy 
sat in our tent on the occasion of one of our last trips to 
the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and told us of taking 
$25 from a party the year previous and allowing them 
to ship five deer out. He said "it was only $5 apiece." 
But he had an assistant where our train stopped before 
crossing the State line and we did not bite. He also 
offered to sell us some venison, which was contrary to 
law. Last fall, when two deputies came on to us before 
we had tied our coupons on the four deer we had hung 
up,_ placed us under arrest and confiscated our game, then 
staid to parley, the first thing we thought of was money, 
and one of our party in response to that thought said 
"don't give them a cent." _ While I am pursuaded that 
there are honorable men acting as game wardens, I would 
not for a moment think it possible there was no excep- 
tion to the rule. The tip has led to graft, until a divi- 
sion of the spoil is found in the woods as well as in the 
city. _ C. W. Cunningham. 
[This is based on an apparent misconstruction of what 
we wrote. We did not say that there are not dishonest 
wardens, but that under the New York system of sharing 
in the penalties recovered it was not practicable for war- 
dens to be in collusion with law breakers for the purpose' 
of making business for themselves and profiting by a 
division of the recoveries after court proceedings. 
There are, of course, unfaithful and dishonest wardens ; 
but then let us not forget that there are others who are 
uncompromisingly honest and inflexibly straight.] 
The Canadian Camp Club. 
The directors of the Canadian Camp Club dined at 
the Metropolitan Club, this city, on the evening of 
Thursday, May 18, and elected officers for the permanent 
organization. ~ The club was organized largely through 
the personal efforts of Dr. G. Lenox Curtis, of New 
York. Dr. Curtis founded and organized the Canadian 
Camp, of which the club is an off-shoot. 
The camp is purely a social body, and has a member- 
ship of over 700 of America's principal sportsmen and 
authors of woods life. The camp has proved a pro- 
nounced social success. Its dinners, which consist 
principally of big game, have won a world wide repu- 
tation. The officers elected for one year are: 
President, Dr. Robert T. Morris; First Vice-Presi- 
dent, Charles Wake; Second Vice-President, Dr. G. 
Lenox Curtis; Secretary, James A. Cruikshank; Treas- 
urer,_ Girard N. Whitney. The Executive Committee 
consists of Dr. G. Lenox Curtis, Chairman; L. O. Arm- 
strong, James A. Cruikshank, W. T. McCulloch, Dr. 
Robert T. Morris, Charles Wake, Girard N. Whitney, 
and the Hon. Julius H. Seymour. 
The Canadian Camp Club now has some 250 members, 
the limit being 500 members. It has secured a tract of 
land extending from Hudson Bay to Lake Huron, a 
distance of 600 miles, most of which is through virgin 
and unexplored territory, and abounds in large game 
and fish. This is the largest club of its kind in existence 
and its members are selected from among the best 
known sportsmen, naturalists and explorers. The club 
is erecting camps throughout the entire tract at inter- 
vals of a day's journey. Its principal camps are situated] 
on the picturesque Mississaga River near Slate Falls 
and at the watershed near Winnebago. 
Cold Storage in Illinois. 
One would hardly look for anything pertinent to the' 
game supply in a legislative measure entitled "An act to- 
regulate public warehouses and the warehousing and in- ' 
spection of grain" ; but an Illinois bill to amend a law of 
that title contains a provision, which if it becomes law, 
will have a direct effect upon the cold storage of game!* 
This is a requirement that the warehouse man shall on; 
or before Tuesday morning of each week make out and) 
keep posted in a conspicuous place in the office of his* 
warehouse a statement of the amount of butter, eggs,^ 
game and poultry in store in his warehouse at the close? 
of business on the previous Saturday, setting forth par-j 
ticulars of when the game was placed in storage and the-' 
kind of game. A similar statement must be sworn to by 
one of the principal owners and the bookkeeper, and fur- 
nished to the warehouse inspector. A further provision^ 
requires that there shall be furnished daily to the in-' 
spector a correct statement of the amount of each kind 
and inspected grade of butter, eggs, game or poultry re- 
ceived on the previous day, also of the amount delivered 
or shipped by the warehouseman on the previous day' 
and in addition, there shall be furnished the inspector any 
further information that may be necessary to enable him 
to keep a full and correct record of all butter eees c-amp- 
or poultry received and delivered, ' s^^' 
