440 
FOREST AND STREAM 
April 6, 1912 
tR^L. MATURE STUDY SHOOTING. FlSHmaiQttiHTnW;. 
Published W^eekly by the 
Forest and Stream Publishing Company, 
127 Franklin Street, New York. 
Charles Otts, President, 
Charles B. Reynolds, Secretary, 
S. J. Gibson, Treasurer. 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
The Forest and Stream is the recognized medium of 
entertainment, instruction and information between Amei'- 
icgn sportsmen. The editors invite communications on 
the subjects to which its pages are devoted. Anonymous 
communications will not be regarded. The editors are 
not responsible for the views of correspondents. 
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THE OBJECT OF THIS JOURNAL 
will be to studiously promote a healthful in¬ 
terest in outdoor recreation, and to cultivate 
a refined taste for natural objects. 
—Forest and Stream, Aug. 14, 1873. 
THE MISSISSIPPI IN FLOOD. 
William Perry Brown’s graphic description 
of the sunk lands of Southeast Missouri, which 
we print in another column of this issue, is of 
peculiar interest just at present. The Mississippi 
River is in flood, the sunk lands are a vast sea, 
and the Reelfoot Lake region, further south, is 
for the time being a part of the great waterway. 
There is a peculiar fascination about the great 
river when it is in flood in April. The sun 
shines warmly through a yellow haze, the river 
scene changes frequently, the floating debris at¬ 
tracts hordes of black birds, and these are car¬ 
ried along by the rapid current the' while they 
search for insects in the driftwood. Crows, too, 
find a rich harvest alongshore and in the stream, 
and belated wildfowl enliven quiet coves and 
backwaters as they rest ere resuming their north¬ 
ward flight. 
Muskrats splash about among the willows and 
seek sloughs and bayous when they are driven 
from their haunts by the rising waters. Rabbits 
huddle in groups on every sand ridge and fall 
easy prey to their winged and other enemies. 
Robins flit about, intent on their home-making 
duties, and even the kingfisher finds abundant 
food in the yellow flood. 
To the uninitiated a great flood is a terrible 
thing, and one to be viewed for the first time 
with bated breath. “Why do people live in such 
places?’’ they ask, just as other impractical ones 
question the attractiveness of the polar regions 
to the Eskimo. It is, their home; that is all. 
But if there is weeping and wailing, no outward 
signs of emotion will be found. Along shore 
men and women, surrounded by their goods and 
chattels, wait patiently for the water to recede, 
so that they may go back to their water-soaked 
homes and muddy fields and resume their efforts 
to make a living. It is, after all, a sort of mild 
excitement that appeals to them, and they watch 
the water rise inch by inch, knowing the in¬ 
evitable result of a flood stretching for miles in 
every direction. There is no haste, and they re¬ 
main until the last minute. There is, however, 
a knowledge born of long experience that guides 
them, and for this reason there are few fatalities 
in the great floods. They are inconvenient, but a 
thing to be expected, and no cause for worry. 
GAME REFUGES IN NATIONAL FORESTS 
Sooner or later many places in the West, from 
which big game has been exterminated, will be 
restocked with indigenous species. An increas¬ 
ing number of strong societies and a number 
of the Western States are manifesting a con¬ 
stantly growing interest in this subject, which 
shows an encouraging trend of public sentiment. 
Because elk are numerous and showy, efforts 
are being made by many bodies to reintroduce 
these animals in regions where once they w-ere 
abundant, and in a few cases these efforts have 
taken practical form. Certain societies, and the 
residents of certain States, have contributed 
money to pay for the capture and transportation 
of these animals from the vicinity of the Yel¬ 
lowstone National Park to distant places wdiere 
they are likely to do well and increase. 
An interested and efficient worker is Senator 
Joseph j\l. Dixon, who last February -introduced 
in the Senate a bill to set apart two tracts in 
IMontana as refuges and breeding places for 
game birds and animals. Both these are to be 
in charge of the Secretary of Agriculture. 
ft is many years since Forest and Stream 
first urged on Congress the setting aside of areas 
in the National forests as game refuges. The 
proposal received warm commendation by those 
who realized how fast our big game was being 
destroyed, but politics and the politicians al¬ 
ways managed to sidetrack the movement. Now% 
however, the signs of the times indicate that 
before long public sentiment will force Congress 
to act—that Congressmen of certain Western 
States in wdiich National forests are situated will 
be obliged to consider this a living issue. Those 
who are interested in game protection and propa¬ 
gation and the re-establishment of native species 
in localities where once they were abundant, can 
afford to w-ait until public opinion grows to a 
point where it will insist on Congressional action. 
When this time comes, the Congressman who 
attempts to oppose this public opinion will cer¬ 
tainly be pushed out of the way. 
Every reader interested in this subject, and in 
the not less important Federal protection of 
migratory birds, should tell his Senator and his 
Congressman how he feels about them. Repre¬ 
sentatives in Congress are usually willing to heed 
the requests of their constituents, but representa¬ 
tives cannot understand the feeling in their dis¬ 
tricts except as they are informed of it. Con¬ 
stituents should speak up. 
The. New York legislators devoted more or 
less of their valuable time to the introduc¬ 
tion of .bills of great importance—to the people 
of the township of Coalville, in Canal county. 
whose peace of mind and future happiness are 
wrapped up in the propositions to make it 
legal to take bullheads and suckers with spears 
or setlines at certain times in certain portions 
of Pollution Creek. It is conceded that it is 
the legislator’s right to introduce at least one 
bill each session, hence not even the well known 
conservation—or is it conversation ?—policy of 
the Governor shakes the determination of the 
talented lawmakers to regulate the manner of 
taking the people’s natural food supply, those 
great game fish, the sucker and the bullhead. 
« 
The New Jersey Chamber of Commerce was 
temporarily organized in Jersey City on March 
21. Among its objects will be the conservation 
of the State’s natural resources, and a commit¬ 
tee will be appointed to work for the betterment 
of conditions relating to water pollution and 
kindred subjects. There is an abundance of 
material to work on. The Passaic River is an 
example of the extremes to which communities 
go in the matter of befouling their surround¬ 
ings. 
»t 
Fourteen burglary insurance companies and 
the Burglary Insurance Underwriters’ Associa¬ 
tion sent a protest to the New York Legislature 
during its closing days against the Sullivan fire¬ 
arms law. It was urged that the law be amended 
in favor of law-abiding citizens, and the fact 
pointed out that the alarming increase in hold¬ 
ups and burglaries called for preventive meas¬ 
ures. No action was taken by the lawmakers. 
K 
A PRESS dispatch from Skowhegan, Maine, 
says that the criminal suit against Dr. Charles 
D. Brooks, of New Jersey, brought by Mrs. 
Harold Hight, has been withdrawn. The physi¬ 
cian has agreed to pay the claim of $1,950 and 
cost of suit. He it was who shot and killed 
Harold Hight in mistake for a deer last autumn. 
Mrs. Hight brought the suit on behalf of her¬ 
self and her son. 
•I 
Striped bass are to be introduced into the 
Columbia River this year. The eggs will be 
collected in the Sacramento River in California 
and sent to the Clackamas hatchery on the 
Columbia for hatching and distribution. Inves¬ 
tigations made on the Sacramento seem to show 
that salmon and striped bass may safely be put 
into the same waters. 
For the first time in a number of years cari¬ 
bou have recently been reported from North¬ 
eastern Maine, where a few have been seen by 
woodsmen. Caribou cannot be shot legally in 
that State now, and it is possible that freedom 
from pursuit is luring small numbers back to 
their former range. 
n 
The Russian Duma has established a closed 
season on sables in Siberia, which have been 
pursued so relentlessly during the recent years 
of high prices on furs that they are threatened 
with extinction. From February next until 
October, 1916, there will be no hunting of sables 
in Siberia. 
The New Jersey Legislature has passed the 
House bill which prohibits the use in hunting 
in that State of any shotgun or rifle holding 
more than two cartridges at one time. 
