Feb. 17, 1912 
FOREST AND STREAM 
207 
A milfc from Tom’s home lived a man whom I 
was then helping in the hay field, and two morn¬ 
ings after the boy’s adventure I was sent to 
Tom’s father to borrow a chain needed for the 
extra yoke of oxen, and as it was just coming 
daylight, I borrowed the man’s rifle in the hope 
of seeing a deer while on my errand. 
As he handed me the rifle, he said: “Re¬ 
member now, that the rifle is heavily loaded; 
and if you get a close shot, hold eight or ten 
inches under, for it overshoots.’’ 
Following along the old Indian trail which 
skirted the south end of the grove, I hunted 
carefully and silently but saw nothing until, on 
coming to the top of the hill near Tom's home, 
I saw that a new field had been inclosed at the 
edge of the prairie; and the high rail fence ran 
Squarely across the trail I was following. 
I was too near the house now to find deer, 
and while yet the fence was three hundred yards 
away, I gave up hope of venison, and throwing 
the rifle barrel across my shoulders behind my 
head, I held it with one hand on the stock and 
the other on the barrel, and strolling slowly 
along the trail, dreaming of everything except 
danger, slowly approached the fence. The trail 
was deep, smooth and plain, leaving no need of 
looking up until the fence was to be climbed. 
Those of my readers who were familiar with 
the old-time worm fence, made of rails, know 
that its very highest rail was called a rider. 
This rider lay between the stakes which 
straddled the fence at each rail length, and was 
commonly so much higher than the upper rail 
of the fence that one could easily crawl through 
between them, rather than climb over. 
Precisely above the trail which the fence ran 
squarely across, on the upper rail and under the 
rider lay, stretched out, the largest and most 
beautiful lynx I have ever seen. Did I see him 
lying there? No. Strolling slowly along, for¬ 
getful of everything save Daniel Boone, Davy 
Crockett, and the buffalo and bear I hoped soon 
to kill, I came to the fence, and without paus¬ 
ing in my walk, raised my head to look, at the 
same instant that my hand came up to lay hold 
of the rail in front in the work of climbing 
through the fence. 
Positively not until that instant wdien my head 
and hand rose together did that brute move. 
Talk about courage! That was the bravest wild 
animal I ever saw; and in the stupidity of utter 
ignorance of danger I had called his savage 
bluff; outfaced him fairly and beaten him at his 
own game—without knowing it. Down he 
sprang to the sods of the breaking inside the 
fence and stopped broadside on within five rods. 
Of course the gun by this time’was cocked and 
laid across the fence rail, careful aim for his 
heart was taken, when at the roar of the big rifle 
the bullet shaved the tips of the long hairs above 
his shoulders and tore up the sods of the plowing 
beyond, and the now perfectly satisfied brute 
sailed over the top of a nearby thicket, the tall 
flags of hair above his ears still pointing bravely 
skyward, as though even yet the gallant little 
creature disdained to lower his colors. 
What a grand thing is reputation. To the day 
of his death that lynx—or link, if my neighbor 
still insists—must have rested assured that in 
the little frontier settlement was one young lad, 
at least, on whom an attempt to “run a bluff” 
was manifestly useless. 
Orin Belknap. 
Progress of the Hunting Season. 
The Secretary of Agriculture has received 
from the Biological Survey the following report 
on the progress of the hunting season in the 
United States; 
The month of January has been marked by 
abnormally low temperatures throughout most 
of the country, accompanied in many regions by 
heavy snowfall. In consequence of these ad¬ 
verse conditions, quail and other game birds suf¬ 
fered severely. While the measures taken for 
the preservation of the birds were inadequate, 
yet unusual interest w^as manifested in the threat¬ 
ened loss, and much activity was exerted in ef¬ 
forts to avert it. 
The National Association of Audubon Socie¬ 
ties called the attention of the public to the need 
of feeding birds and as a result of this and 
other appeals, many persons, chiefly farmers, 
scattered food and provided shelter. Grain was 
distributed in suitable places by game wardens, 
mail carriers and other public officers. In the 
District of Columbia more than a thousand quail 
were fed by the police, while the needs of non¬ 
game birds were supplied by many householders, 
especially in the suburbs. Virginia expended 
$200 through the Virginia Audiibon Society and 
the Game Protective Association. In Delaware, 
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, 
Missouri, Ok’ahoma, Montana and other States 
concerted action was taken by the residents of 
many localities in the distribution of food. 
In Illinois numbers of dead prairie chickens 
were picked up, and the same conditions doubt¬ 
less prevailed in other parts of the prairie 
chicken country. That provisions for feeding 
birds in severe weather should be made early 
in the season and should be more systematic and 
thorough, has been amply demonstrated. 
The elk of the Jackson Hole region, Wyoming, 
have thus far been in good condition and there 
has been no repetition of the losses by starva¬ 
tion such as characterized the two preceding 
winters. On account of the severe weather the 
Virginia Legislature on Jan. 30 passed an emer¬ 
gency measure closing the seasons for all up¬ 
land game throughout the State. 
The shooting season is more generally closed 
in the North than in the South .'\fter January 
deer shooting ceases in every State in the Union 
except Mississippi, where it cont nues until March 
I. Quail, wild turkeys and doves may yet be 
shot in most of the Southern States, but nowhere 
else, and woodcock in North Carolina, Tennes¬ 
see, Arkansas and the Gulf States. Waterfowl 
may be shot in any part of the United States, 
except the northern tier of States, New England 
—omitting Rhode Island—Utah and Oregon. No 
change in this respect will occur during the 
month, but at its close the open season will end 
in Mississippi, Colorado, California and Oregon. 
The termination of the open sale season in Il’i- 
nois on Feb. i closes the Chicago market to game 
from other States till next season. 
Nine State Legislatures are at present in ses¬ 
sion and several important game measures are 
under consideration. Easily first in importance 
is the bill codifying the New York game laws 
and e.xtending the authority of the newly created 
Conservation Commission of that State to cover 
certain powers formerly exercised by the Legis¬ 
lature. The Virginia Legislature also has be¬ 
fore it several game laws in which, among other 
things, provision is made for a State game war¬ 
den and uniform bag limit, both of which are 
new features in Virginia. In Maryland bills 
have been introduced that provide for a game 
and fish commission of three members to serve 
without pay, a resident hunting license, and uni¬ 
form seasons for the State. In Massachusetts 
forty game bills have been introduced. One of 
these is designed to establish a tagging system 
for marketing game, similar in its provisions to 
the Bayne laws passed by the New York Legisla¬ 
ture last year. Another provides for better con¬ 
trol of “self-hunting” dogs during the nesting 
season. A bill under consideration in New York 
authorizes the establishment of six game farms 
and provides an appropriation of $75,000 for their 
operation. A bill taking the robin off the game 
list has already passed one branch of the Vir¬ 
ginia Legislature with little opposition. 
Turkey Shooting. 
Sawyer, Idaho. Feb. Editor Forest and 
Stream: This is Sunday morning, up in the 
mountains near the Pend Oreille River. 
This morning when I sat down and picked 
up Forest and Stream to partake of the many 
good things which are served weekly to its 
readers, about the first thing that I read was 
the turkey hunt, described by J. W. Ihompson. 
That carried me back in my memory some fifty- 
seven years. 
That winter my father was making shingles 
in the Missouri River bottom; I was hauling 
them to Atchison, where they found a ready sale. 
It was just before Thanksgiving, the ground 
was covered with snow about four inches deep, 
the weather was a little cold for the time. 
I had been down with a load. On my return 
and about two miles from home, I noticed where 
a flock of turkeys had crossed the road. On 
examining the tracks I could tell they had not 
been gone very long. I hurried up the oxen, 
intending to return and follow those turkeys as 
soon as I could get home and my chores done. 
I was not long in reaching home, and boy-like 
it did not take me half as long to get my cattle 
fed and other chores done, and as soon as I had 
eaten my supper. I took my little rifle and dog 
and started for the turkeys. It did not take me 
long to reach the place where I saw the tracks. 
The moon was coming up; I had no trouble in 
following the tracks. I soon came to where 
they had been scratching. They were working 
down a slough that was fringed with tall syca¬ 
more trees. I had often hunted turkeys at night 
and I was going very carefully. Still, with all 
my care, I was startled by a big turkey flying 
out from a tall tree nearby. 
I stood quite still for a long time, and looking 
over the trees I finally saw one near the top of 
a tall sycamore, then I made out several more. 
I had to move quite a little to get the turkey 
between me and the moon. Finally I got around 
behind a big oak, and from there I could see 
the turkey very plainly. I had my rifle sighted 
so it shot about ten inches high, so by holding 
under the turkey I would shoot high enough to 
kill it. I fired, and down came the turkey, and 
the w6ods fairly rang with the other turkeys 
leaving the trees. Boy-like I ran for my turkey. 
It was a good gobbler, very fat, but not so very 
big. I reached home before the folks had gone 
to bed. I-EW WiLMOT. 
