Aug. 5 , 1905.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
1 1 
3tteer Experiences of a Fox Hunter. 
II. — An Unexpected Meeting. 
“I WAS using a muzzle-loader at the time of this inci- 
'ent,” said my uncle. “In fact, I don’t think I had then 
ver seen one of the ‘break-down’ style of guns, nor 
!y yas I particularly anxious to do so, for. I shared the gen- 
ral prejudice of the old hunters against the ‘new- 
angled things,’ as we rather contemptuously styled them 
Hj or some years after their appearance. They might be 
*11 right for city sportsmen to use on quail and wood- 
ock, we argued, but when it came to long-range work, 
uch as was necessary in duck or fox hunting, we reck- 
'iied that they would be worth no more than pop-guns. 
Even after . we saw how thickly they would spatter a 
arget with shot at truly surprising distances, many of us 
till remained skeptical, believing they lacked the pene- 
rative force of the old-style gun. It was only after prac- 
ical trials of those belonging to sportsmen from town 
rho visited my place, that I came to recognize^ their 
reater convenience and efficiency, and finally to purchase 
ne of the arms I had so long derided. However, even 
hell I did not lose my regard for my old-time piece, but 
till clung to it, and I trust it will ever remain one of 
iiy most valued possessions, for the good work it has 
' one and the pleasant memories a sight of it always in- 
pires. 
‘‘Well, as I said at first, I was hunting that day with 
he old gun; You’ve seen it — English twist barrels, plain 
It ralnut stock, strong, smooth-working locks, well bal- 
nced and weighing about 8j4 pounds ; no fine finish or 
tligree, but built for actual work, which it is still cap- 
|t ble of doing, in spite of the exposure and many hard 
mocks it was subjected to during the years of its use 
n the field. For foxes I always loaded it with a stiff 
harge of BB’s — I don’t know how many ounces, for I 
over measured either powder or shot in those da3^s, only 
rith my eye^ as I turned them out in my hand — and in 
iddition to the regular shot charge generally dropped a 
ound pistol bullet, about 150 to the pound, on top of 
ach load. These the old gun threw surprisingly straight, 
-.onsidering the amount of play they had in the barrel, 
ind with great force. Of course there was considerable 
tick about it, but I found that I frequently stopped my 
fame at long distances by means of them, and the fact 
hat I scored a. kill in the particular case of which I am 
peaking was due solely to this extra item of my load. 
“It was late November, but no snow had fallen. I had 
he fox going soon after light, hoping to be able to pick 
aim up on the heavy frost of the night, but though the 
logs whooped him along merrily for two or three hours, 
omehow he managed to steer clear of me. The sun was 
,iow well up, pretty much spoiling the running, and as 
he fun was fast dropping out of the chase I was think- 
ng of getting the dogs off the trail and starting for home, 
vhen all of a sudden I found they were coming toward 
ne. _ I was stationed in the uppermost of one of a suc- 
'.ession of fields making back into a hard-wood growth 
loward a range of hills, on my left being a low moun- 
:ain. I had expected the fox would pass between this 
detached peak and the hills, but finding that he kept to 
he opposite side of the mountain and would in all prob- 
rbility cross the fields some distance below my position, 
started full speed to intercept him. A cart road led 
jack through the fields past the base of the mountain, and 
;aking this I ran my prettiest, vaulting lightly over a set 
af bars between the first and second fields. But at the 
next fence a high gate closed the way. The fastening 
bothered me, and the wall on either side being piled high 
with brush, I started to scale it. On the opposite side of 
:he next field, which was only about a hundred yards in 
width, there was another set of bars behind which I 
intended to take my stand. I had just got astride the 
top rail of the gate, my left leg in front and my right 
'eg half raised to follow, when my eye caught a swift 
dash of red unde these very bars for which I was mak- 
ng. I was rigid in an instant, and the spot of red stop- 
aing just as suddenly, resolved itself into a magnificent 
:ox. There he stood, or rather half crouched, under the 
bars, motionless, and alert to catch the first sign of 
clanger. Apparently he had heard or scented me — prob- 
ably the latter, for the little wind there was was moving 
Torn me to him — and was trying to locate the danger 
before making a move that might betray him. For my 
part, though in a most unnatural position, I dared not 
move a muscle for fear of giving him the alarm. I sup- 
posed, of course, he must soon get his eye on me, but, 
;strangely enough, he seemed to be looking under me all 
the time. The ground descended sharply from the gate 
to the bars, and perched on the top of the high_gate I was 
at a much greater elevation than he was accustomed to 
see those who hunted him. The sun. too, was at my 
jack, and a fox’s eyes are no better than a man’s in, a 
strong sun, 
‘'The tableau probably was not of long duration, but 
every second seemed a minute to me. The strain was 
indeed terrible, and finding I must soon lose my grip 
altogether, I resolved to put an end to it. It was a long 
shot, but it would do no harm to try it, especially as the 
dogs, which for several minutes had been yapping in a 
puzzled sort of way back about a mile, had now ^ot 
straightened out, and would soon be on the scene. I had 
my gun, uncocked, in my right hand, which rested on the 
(op rail beside me. first m_ove was to work my hand 
back to the grip and softly raise each hammer in turn. 
Next.’ very cautiously, I lowered my right foot until it 
rested ch the^__^il beside the left. Then, poising myself 
as I threw the gun to my shoulder, I pulled both trig- 
gers in quick succession. I was nearly knocked back- 
ward from the gate by the recoil ; when I recovered my 
balance the fo.x was nowhere in sight. I jumped to the 
.ground and ran down to the bars. There he lay, just 
back of the rvall, kicking his last. One of the pistol bul- 
lets had hit just inside the left fore shoulder, and passed 
clear through him. Later, I measured the distance be- 
tween bars and gate, it was ninety-six yards. But of 
course this was much beyond the legitimate range of the 
gun, for while I found where several of the BB’s had 
struck him, it was the lucky bullet that did the work.” 
Templar. 
Cornish, IVIe. 
The California Blue jay. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I inclose copy of a circular that has been extensively 
put in circulation in northern California this year by a 
Sacramento sporting goods firm. It offers a series of re- 
wards for strings of bluejay scalps taken before Sept, i, 
1905. The reason for instituting the bird-killing com- 
petition is thus stated : 
“AVe believe that bluejays, skunks, raccoons and other 
varmint that prey upon the eggs and young of our game 
birds are more destructive to them than all other factors 
combined, and they do not use guns and ammunition in 
ihe annihilation, either. That’s what makes us mad. Now 
you do, and the more game there is, the more will you 
use, and the more we wdll be benefited. Bluejays, in our 
opinion, are the greatest natural enemy that quail have, 
therefore, we would like to see them exterminated first. 
The other skunks will receive our attention in due time. 
A'Ve wish to- educate our people as to the habits of these 
ill-mannered pests, so that it will become a sort of habit 
to kill them on sight for years after this contest has been 
forgotten.” 
This certainly shows that the sporting goods house is 
very enterprising ; yet I believe that the call for a decima- 
tion of bluejays is warranted. The bluejay is an arrant 
pest. Many miners and prospectors have told me of find- 
ing quails’ nests which had been visited by bluejays and 
V ho had destroyed every egg in the nest. Ranchmen 
complain, too, that the bluejay will visit barns and' 
chicken houses and tap the eggs of poultry in nests under 
cover. He is bolder than any other varmint, including 
chicken-hawk, raccoon or skunk, and not so easy to be 
caught as the quadrupeds, and will keep out of the way 
of a gun better than a hawk. 
I don’t know what progress this unique campaign is 
making against the blue feathered biped, but after seeing 
so many bluej ays and so very few quail as I have in 
several months of journeying through Plumas, Nevada, 
Butte and Yuba counties, I think something ought to be 
done to give the quail a chance. 
•I don’t believe in encoui-aging youth to ruthless 
slaughter, but in this matter of exterminating bluejays, I 
believe it is justifiable. I would go further, and ask the 
Audubon Society to recommend women to wear bluejay 
feathers in their millinery — they wmuld thus assist in an 
attempt to' extirpate an orinithological cannibal which the 
bluejay surely is. He does not stop at quails’ eggs, but 
the egg of any and every bird is natural food to him, 
except the eggs of his own kind of feather. All manner 
of song birds suffer from his unnatural penchant for 
eggs. He is a gourmand and makes havoc with a nest, 
whether it contains two or tw'-enty eggs, so long as they 
are fresh. 
Anyway, the bluejay ought to be killed off on general 
principles. Nearly every hunter knowLS he is a nuisance. 
He will spy a man with a gun a long ways off and give 
warning to deer. He and the squirrels will, by their 
screeching and chattering, warn everything around about 
for half a mile that there is a hunter around. But in 
doing that service for the denizens of the forest, the 
squirrel and bluejay are both hypocrites — they want the 
field of game to themselves. 
Of recent years, at any rate, grouse and quail and dove 
have almost entirely disappeared from the foothills of 
the Sierra Nevada Mountains, where they rim the Sacra- 
mento- Valley on the east, but the game birds have nearly 
all disappeared, while the bluejay is about' the only large 
bird that continues in evidence in numbers, excepting 
haw'ks. Even the w'oodpecker is conspicuous by his al- 
most total absence. AVm. Fitzmuggins. 
Camp Fires of the Wilderness. 
Mr. E. W. Burt’s happily entitled book, “Camp Fires 
of the AAfilderness,” has enjoyed a wide popularity, 
especiallj' in New England. It has been for some 
time out of print, but the many calls for it have led to 
the issuing by the Forest and Stream Publishing Com- 
pany of a new edition, which is a great improvement on 
the earlier one. 
The volume treats of a multitude of matters of the 
hu'ghest interest to the camper, who unless he is made 
comfortable by the exercise of a little expert knowledge 
and thoughtfulness, may find himself when in camp the 
most miserable of mortals. A man who has had experi- 
ence knows what to take and how to travel. He makes 
himself as comfortable as at home, while the free and 
independent life, the. exercise that he is constantly taking, 
the fresh air in which he works, eats and sleeps, combine 
to render his physical condition so perfect that every 
hour of every day is likely to be a joy. 
“Camp . Fires in the "Wilderness” is written for the 
benefit of those persons wdio wish to go into camp, yet 
are without experience of camp life. It comprises the 
results of Mr. Burt’s experience of travel, chiefly by 
canoe and on foot, through various sections of the coun- 
tr\’, and it may be read with profit b>" everyone w'ho en- 
joys camping. The author tells what to take into camp 
in the way of bedding, tents, camp equipage, cooking 
utensils, food, medicine and fishing tackle.. He gives 
advice about camp locations, camp ■ life, cooking and 
travel, and gives fresh and pleasing accounts of a number 
of trips that he has made. There' are given in the book 
partial lists of the fish and the wild animals of the Maine 
woods, and the last chapter tells the reader how to build 
a log cabin. The volume is very fully illustrated by 
half-tone cuts, some of which po-ssess especial interest. 
Mr. Burt’s book was very warmly received by the press 
of the country, and it may be predicted that the present 
edition, which has been wholly rewritten, enlarged and 
improved, with some additional pictures, will have a 
greater popularit}^ than the old one. The volume deserves 
a place in every sportsman’s library. Illustrated, cloth, 
221 pages, price $1.25. 
A Rifle for Game. 
New York, July 31 . — Editor Forest and Stream: I 
was glad to see the striking page advertisement of the 
Mannlicher rifle, which appeared in last week’s Forest 
AND Stream, for it has reminded me that if I shall suc- 
ceed in getting off for a. hunt this autumn, I mean to try 
that arm. 
I shall do this because of what has been told me about 
it, not only by several competent men who have used 
it in the Rocky Mountains and who have highly praised 
to me the strength with which it shoots and the slight 
fall of the bullet at distances considerably over 100 yards, 
but also because of what has been told me by two rather 
eminent African travelers — one an eminent naturalist en- 
gaged in the collection of specimens for a great museum, 
the other an explorer in one of the greatest game coun- 
tries left in Africa, that about Mt. Kihnanjaro. 
These men carried a very varied armament, that of the 
explorer ranging from elephant guns to rifles of very 
small bore. AVhile the hunting of different game required 
the use of rifles of different sizes, the explorer told me 
that in the fighting which he was forced to do wdth some 
of the native peoples, he and his men used the Mann- 
licher, and that it proved a most effective weapon. He 
also spoke of it as the great hunting arm for long-range 
shooting. 
My purpose is to use the rifle in the northern Rocky 
Mountains on mountain sheep, animals at which one 
sometimes is obliged to shoot at very considerable dis- 
tances, especially where the sheep are as wild as they are 
in some places where I have hunted north of the boun- 
dary line. Big Game. 
Primitive Man and the Beasis. 
If, as seems probable, the animal fear of men was ac- 
quired, and is not natural to- their minds, it is not very 
clear how the very early tribes of men, when the larger 
carnivorous animals were far more numerous than now, 
escaped destruction and survived long enough to impress 
on tire animal world the sense of fear by which man now 
dominates it. Regarded merely as a conflict between one 
class of animals and another, the result should not have 
been doubtful. Man ought to have disappeared from the 
face of the earth, or, in any case, to have retreated to re- 
mote strongholds in regions not frequented by the beasts. 
That he did not do so, but turned the tables on the^ bet- 
ter equipped offensive creature, is fair presumptive evi- 
dence that original man never was on a level with the 
animals in intelligence, but was equipped with the pre- 
dominant brain-power which has piit him ahead in the 
race ever since. Primitive man, literally speaking, “lived 
by his wits,” for he could have owed his survival to little 
else. Pie was not, for example, nearly so well equipped 
as, the monkeys for physical defense or fight, though their 
.survival is not altogether easy to explain on purely phy- 
sical grounds. Their power of . using their arms and 
hands as a means of swinging rapidly from branch to 
branch gives them an advantage oy,er all the tree-climbing 
cats. Their habit of throwing missiles is. also- very dis- 
concerting to other animals, though this art is only prac- 
ticed by certain monkeys. 
But their rapid and intelligent combination for defense, 
menace, and lookout duty has contributed quite as much 
to their survival- as their speed and activity. In tropical 
America even the monkeys are hard put to it to- escape 
the attacks of such active and formidable foes as the 
harpy eagle and the ocelot. But it cannot be proved that 
even the most debased or physically weakest of mankind 
has ever been the “natural prey” of that “natural enemy” 
which, according to Sir Samuel Baker, is the nightmare 
of nearly every species of non-carnivoro-us animal. The 
causes which make exceptions to this rule are temporary 
and narrowly local. Even the Greenlander and the Esqui- 
maux are the masters of the polar bear, and probably al- 
ways have been, though little better armed than primitive 
man, and the pigmies of the Central African forsts are 
mighty hunters. It may even be that the neighborhood 
of fierce animals aided the early development of man ; 
for the least developed races are largely found in such 
places as Tierra del Fuego, where, in the absence of sav- 
age beasts, savage man had no inducement to arm and 
equip himself. 
But man has had an even more potent ally than his 
own ingenuity which from remote antiquity has invested 
him in the mind of the animal world with something of 
the supernatural. He is ever accompanied by' the one 
element which the animal mind cannot create, cannot un- 
derstand, stands in constant awe of, and dreads by night, 
when its courage is greatest and that of man least steady. 
Fire, that pillar of cloud and flame which precedes not 
the aggregate human host, but the smallest fragment of 
the invading army, the constant and dreaded harbinger 
of human presence, springing up, as the beasts must 
think, automatically from_ the earth wherever man rests 
his body, guarding him in sleeping and waking, always 
associated with his abode, for ages terrified the 
beasts. — London Spectator. 
All communications intended for Forest and Stream should 
always be addressed to the Forest and Stream Publishing Co., 
New York, and not to any individual connected with the paper. 
