396 
Maine Deet Not Being Protected. 
Worcester, Mass., Nov. 3. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
In making this statement, I cast nO' reflection on the 
State Commissioners or their wardens. I believe they 
are fully alive to the importance of Maine’s protecting 
its large game, and doing the very best they can under 
their limited conditions. Careful observation on my 
trips to the Maine woods has convinced me that more 
deer , are killed by campers and lumbermen during the 
close season, than are killed by licensed sportsmen 
during the open season. 
I am sure I voice the sentiment of the licensed sports- 
men when I say we have a claim on the State of 
Maine for allowing this to be done. What Maine wants, 
and will have to have, in order to better protect its 
large game, is a law to prohibit campers and natives 
alike from taking firearms into the woods with them 
during the close season. I am fully convinced such a 
law would be worth as much as twenty-five paid 
wardens, and would not cost the State a cent. Such a 
law would have the hearty support of all true sports- 
men, and would not be objected to by any other than 
those who take the rifle into the woods to supply meat. 
Visits to the Maine woods for the last thirty years 
have convinced me long ago that there is no game or 
animal there that is dangerous to campers. To-day, 
there is no State in the Union, nor in North America, 
where, in the same length of time, and for the same 
amount of money, a man can get as good fishing and 
large game shooting as he can in the State of Maine. 
The State has an abundance of large game, which, if 
properly protected, will furnish legitimate sport for a 
long time to come. And it is the duty of the law- 
makers to see that they have laws to protect it; and 
when they have a law to prohibit campers and natives 
alike from taking firearms larger than a .22 rifle, or 
a .32 revolver into the woods, without written permis- 
sion from the State Game Commissioner, Maine will 
have a law easy to enforce and a great game protector, 
A. B. F. Kinney. 
Venison in Season. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
The communication of Mr. Charles Hallock, on the 
unfitness of venison for food during the months of Oc- 
tober and November, deserves the respectful considera- 
tion and action of all true sportsmen, of whom I 
am which. The deer meat in those montlis, being 
strong as the fragrance of a billy goat to windward — as 
graphically described by Mr. Hallock — should not tickle 
any palate which is pitched in the proper key of gustatory 
appreciation and discrimination. 
But the phase of this mephitic subject of the open 
game season which is difficult to comprehend, is, how the 
public has been consuming this billy-goat venison all 
these years without any consciousness of its spice island 
fragrance. 
If the American gourmet has no discrimination of 
nose or palate — and that is the only conclusion we can 
draw from his consumption of venison all these years 
without detecting the wrong of it — I am constrained to 
believe that he is past reformation, if indeed he be worthy 
of any trouble to reform him at all. 
What is the use in bothering with a gentleman who is 
eating offensive dainties and does not know the differ- 
ence? If educated to the higher criticism of venison, as 
enjoyed by Mr. Hallock and myself, he might even then 
prefer his venison in the same old startling manner to 
which he was long habituated. There are men who 
would break away from a dish of canvasback duck, and 
the things thereunto appertaining, to revel in the delights 
of Limburger cheese and chitlings — and they may be 
right at that. Who knows? 
Therefore, Mr. Hallock and I may be wrong about the 
deer meat, because our palates may be out of focus, our 
noses discredited and our notions oblique. 
But, nevertheless, we can continue to take our deer 
when they are sweet of body and pure of mind. Eheu ! 
Square Head. 
Wtidfowl in Maryland. 
Stockton, Md., Oct. 30. — Once more the wildfowl are 
moving south, and goodly numbers of black ducks and 
mallards are stopping on our marshes; in fact, there 
are more here now than I have seen at any one time 
for years. The marshes are in fine condition, every 
pond on them being fairly choked with rich duck grass. 
Out on the shoals the same conditions prevail, a rank 
growth of grass making the wide stretches of shallow 
water look like meadows. There are some geese here, 
and more are coming every day, but the large open- 
water fowl have not arrived yet in any considerable 
numbers ; brant and redheads should be well repre- 
sented about the first week in November. 
We have a way of g'uessing the weather, that I find 
from years -of experience about the safest guess work 
of any of the many ways. That is, the direction the 
wind is blowing when the sun crosses the line in Sep- 
tember will be the prevailing wind for the next six 
months. This fall it crossed with easterly winds, which 
are fine ducking winds, sometimes they are a little, 
boisterous, but down here they never freeze or get 
very cold; then fowl are always restless, fly low, and 
make good decoying. . _ . 
We will iise a power launch this season, the first 
and only one in Chincotegue Bay in use for that pur- 
pose. With it we can get on the ground in half_ an 
hour, shoot until dark, and back again in same time 
wind’ or calm. This will be far better than living on 
the boat, as it puts you home to a fine, hot, 6 oTlock 
dinner and comfortable rooms and beds. O. D. Foulks. 
r 
Adifondacfc Moose and Elfc. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
The following extract from a letter received by me 
to-day from D. Frank Sperry, Esq., an old-time “guide, 
philosopher and friend” of Old Forge, on the Fulton 
Chain Lakes, in the Adirondacks, may possibly interest 
some ’of the readers of Forest and Stream. Mr. Sperry 
is a staunch advocate for the protection of the Adiron- 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
dacks and the game therein, and when, some three years 
ago, just after his return from a trip to Alaska, the bill 
to restore moose to the Adirondacks was before the 
Legislature, he proved a most valuable assistant in pro- 
curing signatures to a petition in favor of the bill, travel- 
ing to_ Adirondack settlements far and near on snow 
shoes in the dead of winter. He is a sportsman in the 
highest sense of the word. 
“The moose (i. e., liberated by the Forest, Fish and 
Game Commission-) are thriving where they can dodge 
greenhorns. They have wandered some thirty miles or more 
from the locality where they were liberated (i. e., not far 
from Old Forge), and there are none now near our local- 
ity. There is no disposition to drive them off or kill 
them, as every one, campers, residents and guides, are 
very anxious to have them and the beaver back in the 
Adirondacks once more.. I have never known of a case 
of a moose being killed that- I think was an intentional 
killing. But we had one case of four elk shot by a miser- 
able hound simply because they had been given to the 
Brown’s Tract Guides’ Association, and this ‘cuss’ was 
down on the association and there is no doubt that he 
killed them. We offered $500 to get proof of who killed 
them, but there were no witnesses. The sentiment has 
changed in regard to the protection of game in the last 
five years wonderfully. I would like to tell you about 
the beaver we placed in the woods last -spring, three on 
the headw'aters of South Branch of M.oose River and four 
on the South Fork of the main inlet to Big Moose Lake. 
They are all doing well and laying in supplies for win- 
ter.” John N. Drake. 
Duck Shooti' g 111 Illinois. 
We are enthusiastic over shooting as are the many 
other hunters throughout America, and so we listen with 
interest to many stories told us by the older hunters who 
hunted here thirty years ago with muzzle-loaders. The 
great thing was to shoot them when there was a big 
flight. I was told once about a man who was near-sighted 
and could see the large ducks, such as canvasbacks, 
mallards, etc. He would tell the boys to “Let go at ’em,” 
but when smaller ducks would come along he would say, 
‘'Don’t shoot ; them’s too small.” 
It is somewhat different now, as the hunter is very 
glad to take any Lind that choose to come his way. My 
faiher, who has done a great deal of shooting in his 
time, and has shot along the Atlantic coast and- bays, 
moved to the northern part of Illinois on the Fox River, 
where he could settle down somewhere near good shoot- 
ing grounds, where, the boys could always have some 
shooting and bring the ducks and game home where all 
could enjoy the game, and also where he can watch the 
flight of ducks from the window. W. C. H. 
Birds Taken by Rod and Line. 
While trolling for bass outside the mouth of Water- 
ville River Mr. Connell captured a puffin, which took the 
bait (a spoon) under water, got hooked, and was safely 
brought to boat. On the same day Denis Currane, Mr. 
Connell’s fisherman, who was with him in the boat, was 
fly-fishing for bass, when a puffin took the fly and was 
hauled in. Shortly after Currane took another in the 
same way. It appears that there was a big shoal of sprat 
at the spot, on which many puffins were feeding. Currane 
cast his fly, which was an ordinary white one, over the 
shoal of sprat, hoping to get bass, when instead he caught 
those puffins. This made three puffins, all captured by 
rod and line from one boat in a comparatively short time 
— a strange, if indeed not unparalleled occurrence. — 
London Field. 
A Chance for a Wild Hog. 
Houston, Tex., Cct. 14. — Editor Forest md Stream: 
The second annual hunting and fishing excursion, now 
being organized by the general passenger department of 
the Southern Pacifie Railway Company, will leave Hous- 
ton, Tex., Nov. IS, remaining in camp and on trail in 
southwest Texas until Jan. i. The party will be composed 
of thirty prominent northern and eastern capitalists, 
bankers, business and professional men, aside from 
guides and camp servants. Col. T. J. Anderson holds 
out as an inducement to take the trip the fine chance the 
hunters will have to run into a drove of the wild hogs, 
which add zest to the game in Matagorda county. 
Adirondack Deer. 
Keeseville, N. Y., Oct. 27. — From all sections of the 
Adirondacks come reports of successful deer hunting. 
The popular resorts are well filled with hunters and _ a 
number of deer have been killed daily. The average kill 
of deer in the entire Adirondack region has averaged 
about 1,200 to 1,500 carcasses for several years past, and 
the score this year is likely to be up to the average. 
While hunting in the vicinity of Ampersand Pond, near 
.Saranac Lake, Saturday, John Moody, of Saranac Lake, 
shot a ten-pronged buck,, weighing more than 200 pounds. 
Stray Carrier Pigeon. 
Schenectady, N. Y., Oct. 30. — I have had reported to 
me by Mr. Philo Avery, of Esperance,_ Schenectady 
county, N. Y., that a couple of weeks previous to Oct. 9 
a homing pigeon with a metal tag marked “P. F. 7240” 
came to his place, and now has a nest with two eggs. He 
would like to be put in communication with the owner. 
Everett Smith. 
Sale of Partridges in Quebec, 
Aylmer, Que., Sept 28. — -According to an, order in 
council passed dated at Quebec, Aug. 29, the law for the 
buying of, the. sale of, or having in possession for the 
sale of partridges, has been extended to Oct. i, 1908. 
N. E. Cormier. 
THE MANY-USE OIL 
Prevents rust on hot, cold, wet or dry guns. Thin oils will- not, 
— A dv. 
' Gstr.c in New Jersey. 
. I t.E 1 e vark Call thus sums up the shooting 
r(.:so-..:rtr,s of New Jersey: 
-J.Lel greatest drawback to gunning in New Jersey is, 
the incica.sed acreage of “posted” property. In Passaic, 
Bergefi, Morris and Sussex counties a large majority 
of 41 ..C acreage is advertised against gunning or tres- 
passing. Large areas are leased by clubs, or preserved 
by individual owners, and in these counties there is 
little free shooting ground. Warren and Hunterdon 
are said to be over 70 per cent, free, and there- is little 
land posted in Monmouth county, except along the 
shore-. Ocean county is almost entirely free shooting 
ground. Essex and Union are almost out of the ques- 
tioiii;. except for popping over rabbits in open, lots. 
Huds:«m does not count either, and Mercer county is 
pret 4 y%ell staked off by private owners, while Burling- 
ton co-unty presents a great expanse of free shooting, 
with little game to the square mile. It was said by an 
old gunner last year that a man would have to travel 
forty miles up the Lackawanna Railroad to find any- 
thing better than a “no trespass” sign to fire a load of 
shot at. 
South Jersey will afford some fine shooting this year 
it is said, but few Newarkers think of going there for 
quails or rabbits. It seems like foreign country to 
people" from this end of the State, and they have long 
become reconciled to giving it up to Philadelphians, 
who formerly made laws for the regulation of shooting 
in Salem, Gloucester, Cumberland and Cape May 
counties. 
It Ls; possible to get some excellent quail shooting 
along, the line of the Camden and Amboy division of 
the Pennsylvania Railroad this year, and along the 
Freehold and Jamesburg and New Jersey Southern road 
ill Monmouth and- Ocean counties. The High Bridge 
branch of the Central offers attractions also. 
No, matter where you go it is always good to be 
polite to landowners, obey orders and avoid destroying 
property. . 
The Flavor of Game. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Mr. Charles Christadoro wrote not long ago of the 
advantages of hanging up game until it had the right 
flavor. I sent the note to a friend, and append his 
letter. He certainly knows, and can give most people 
points on cooking game. J. P. B. 
The- letter follows: 
To add to the tone and flavor of moose and deer 
meat, it should be hung in a cooler, such as beer and 
fresh meat is kept in for cooling purposes, until a coat 
of greenish-blue wool covers it. Take care that it is 
kept cool enough so that the meat does not become 
tainted. Two or three weeks’ time is necessary to 
bring it to the proper tone. Be careful to keep it from 
freezing, as this will ruin the flavor. 
Moose meat when cured in this manner is the gamiest 
of all large game, and a steak from it cannot be sur- 
passed.' An open pie made from this meat is most 
delicious of all. Try one. 
It matters not where the custom originated; this 
way of ripening game is the best and, I think, could 
only’ have come to perfection here in Minnesota, where 
ample moose furnish plenty of meat for experimenting. 
A friend of mine, Capt. Wm. White, of mining fame 
in this country, who is a connoisseur along these lines, 
together with myself, has experimented until he claims 
the method perfect. 
The principle is that the juices are all retained with- 
in the meat. The longer it can be kept without tainting, 
the. better the flavor will be. H. H. S. 
Ei Cuitiluck Cor ditioES. 
CUKSITUCK, N. C., Oct. 31.— Since writing you a few 
{days ago the game conditions have wonderfully im- 
proved. A sharp northwester came down from the lakes 
..i.u vvich It every variety of duck, goose and swan known 
at Currituck yesterday. I crossed the feeding grounds 
of the canvasback, redhead, ruddy duck and blackhead 
and it seemed to me there were at least a million, at any 
rate there were as many as, at any time during the past 
few yeais. For three days there has been a great flight 
of black' ducks and mallards coming from the northwest 
and southwest, as it was three years ago when we had 
the best mallard shooting we have had in twenty years, 
if ever. Canada geese also came with the ducks until 
the Sound seems filled with them. A few swans have 
also arrived. On the whole, the prospects for the open- 
ing day, Nov. 2, are very bright. More Anon. 
Song of the Mountain. 
Son of all the cities, 
With their cultvire and their code, 
What brings you to my doorway 
By, the lone and starry road? 
You may come with seven pack-mules, 
You may walk or steam or ride, 
But you’ll never, never know^ me 
Till you come without a guide. 
You may come with rod and level, 
With compass and with chain, 
To parcel me for profit 
x\nd barter me for gain; 
You may tell my age in jeons 
By the scars on drift and slide; 
But you’ll never, never know me 
Till you learn how I abide. 
You may range my slopes for silver; 
You may wash my sands for gold; 
You may tally every jewel. 
Till my gems have all been told; 
You may cross my wildest canon. 
You may top my last divide. 
But you’ll never, never know me 
Till you watch me, wonder-eyed. 
You must sleep for nights together. 
With your head upon my breast. 
The companion of my silence. 
The receiver of my rest. 
You may come with all your wisdom. 
To subdue me in your pride. 
But you’ll never, never know me 
Till you love me like a bride. 
.^Bliss Carman in the Reader’s Magazine. 
