FOREST AND STREAM 
39 
use of a ferret more for that reason than any 
other, hut still they persist in doing it. 
This man said that inside of three years there 
would not be any land in that town but what was 
posted. 
We all know if it was not for the farmer we 
could not hunt, then why not use him as we 
would like to be used and show him that it is for 
the sport and recreation we are after and not to 
cause him trouble, and very few will refuse to 
let you hunt. 
E. H. BAILEY. 
HUNTING IN THE ARCTIC AND ALASKA. 
ARSHALL SCULL is one of the outdoor 
writers who understands how to tell his 
experiences in print. His new book, “Hunt¬ 
ing in the Arctic and Alaska,” (John C. Winston 
Company, $2.50 net), will attract attention, first 
because it relates the experience of a most un¬ 
usual hunting trip, and secondly because the book 
is so thoroughly well done. It gives the summary 
of a season’s cruise down the Yukon River, 
through Bering Strait to Herald Island and 
Northeastern Siberia, and by Bering Sea to the 
Alaska and Kenai Peninsulas. Mr. Scull’s party 
was the first one successfully to accomplish a 
hunting trip into this part of the Arctic. There 
have been many successful trips made into the 
Arctic Ocean on the eastern side of North Amer¬ 
ica, but, because of the difficulties and great dis¬ 
tance to be covered, hunting trips north of East¬ 
ern Siberia have not previously been attempted 
or successfully concluded. In this book Mr. Scull 
tells the story of a big game hunt, of which the 
trophies included practically all the game to be 
met with in Alaska, the western Arctic Ocean, 
and the shores of Siberia. But he does more, 
for the adventures which befell the party over¬ 
shadow in interest the chase of polar bear and 
walrus. Incidentally he gives personal impres¬ 
sions of the important places in the interior and 
around the coast of Alaska. 
Mr. Scull’s party travelled altogether something 
like 17,000 miles, counting the trip across the con¬ 
tinent from Philadelphia and to Alaska and re¬ 
turn. Some of the readers of Forest and Stream 
may have had the pleasure of witnessing, through 
the medium of moving pictures taken by Captain 
Kleinschmidt, some of the thrilling incidents of 
Mr. Scull’s journey, but the trip was not a moving 
picture expedition, and was conducted along the 
'highest plane of true sportsmanship, and for the 
purpose partly of making collections for one or 
more American scientific institutions. 
FAVOR GAME PRESERVES. 
The Ohio State Agricultural Commission ex¬ 
pects to ask the legislature to allow an appropria¬ 
tion of $25,000, to be taken from the hunters’ li¬ 
cense fund, for the establishment of a game 
preserve in southern Ohio, in territory which 
includes Scioto, Pike, Ross and Winton counties. 
A special committee to investigate this project, 
reported to the commission Tuesday, favoring it. 
A strong array of feature articles are sched¬ 
uled for the big February number. It will be on 
sale on all newsstands. Do not miss it. 
The Rise of 
Give the English gentleman sportsman the 
privilege accorded the Oregon gunner, in bird 
shooting during the few months last past, and 
countless would be heard the exclamation “B’ 
Jove! Some sport.” 
At the season’s opening and for some time fol¬ 
lowing, the beautiful pheasant, accustomed to 
protection, was slaughtered almost at will, but 
quick to learn its unexpected peril, the bird de¬ 
veloped a cunning and a gameness satisfying both 
the amateur shot and the crack professional as 
well. 
All are familiar with the method of hidden 
traps as practiced by some eastern rod and gun 
clubs at a clay pigeon shoot. Substituting the 
round whirling clay for 'the brilliantly feathered 
rooster and the limited park enclosure for the 
entire Willamette valley, one will then realize 
the delights offered when the state of Oregon 
removed the ban on killing its great game bird. 
The China, the wild and undomesticated at 
heart, loves the cultivated fields and the adjacent 
shelter o'f low shrubs and other natural valley 
growths. Although he is met at times about the 
favorite dusting grounds of the upland quail, 
more often his red bobbing head is seen amidst 
the grain stubble and abundant fern fronds close 
the buildings of some valley farmer, as some 
clumsy sow or nibbling angora frightens him, 
ducking sharply away from a hidden spot in 
their fenced-in pasture. 
The Boy and I had awakened early. To-day I 
was to be initiated into the delights of China 
shooting. As I pulled on my high topped boots, 
I shivered with the morning dampness. To wad¬ 
dle about' in that wet growth and mud, which 
appeared from the open window and ever seems 
to affect this country out of doors, would surely 
grow webs between my toes at last, like all na¬ 
tive sons are said to have acquired. 
“Well Boy! bet I miss the first China,” I of¬ 
fered. He made no reply but with a knowing 
grin completed his preparation and swung open 
the door. 
Down a long sticky lane, leading to the big 
timbered pasture, we plodded some distance, then 
rolled over the rails and entered a big field to 
our right. It was a crop of knee high fern cov¬ 
ering a long gently sloping hillside. 
“Hold on till I pick up my ammunition,” I 
commanded, leaning my gun against the fence, 
and stooped to gather up some fifteen odd scat¬ 
tered shells that had merrily bounded from the 
pocket of my hunting coat as I displayed my ath¬ 
letic ability as regards fences. 
“All right,” Bang! the Boy replied and pulled 
at the same wink of eye. Down tumbled a 
plump bird. 
“What th—!” I commenced. 
“Wake up!” he cut me short. “They are liable 
to be anywhere.” 
And certainly he was right. Just as sure as my 
attention would be occupied with some special 
attraction of nature, I would raise a Clattering 
bird of bright colors, which would sail swiftly 
and smoothly away. If in the open I felt ashamed 
to miss but when at sharp angles amidst under- 
the “China” 
brush and trees, the eye and finger had to be 
unusually active. 
Sometimes several pheasants would rise to¬ 
gether and but one red head among the hens. 
How careful must be the aim, for to bring down 
a hen was to break the law. Rather ticklish 
shooting. They seemed wise to the fact and 
would continually and swiftly dart across each 
other’s line of flight. More often, however, the 
method of group flight would be different. Up¬ 
on approaching near to the place o'f hiding one 
would be suddenly stopped and brought to posi¬ 
tion by the quick rise of a single bird. As it set¬ 
tled another would rise and so on until all had 
flown. Possibly a rooster would take one of the 
turns; you never knew. 
Poor and bungling a hand as I consider my¬ 
self with the trap gun, I easily bagged two hand¬ 
some birds in the short few hours of that morn¬ 
ing’s walk. In the excitement of the hunt and 
the beauty of the damp sparkling morning, I had 
almost forgotten the Boy, though conscious of 
the report of his gun occasionally. He had cov¬ 
ered much more ground than I, as is so often the 
case when I hunt with others. And truly he had 
been repaid. Four Chinas and two valley quail 
bulged his gaping coat sides. 
Ridiculously feathered out he was. Long, 
black and yellow barred, tail feathers protruding 
in all directions. 
Nor is the pleasure ended with the day’s shoot¬ 
ing. No better wild game is placed upon the 
table or cooked in the camp of any hunter or 
lover of wild meat, than that afforded by the 
China pheasant. Rich, dainty and tasty. It is 
indeed a far better, a more suitable prize of good 
shooting than is a silver match case, a box of 
New Club or some untried pump gun. 
J. VAN VALIN, Salem, Oregon- 
WORLD’S RECORD ON A CARTER ROD. 
A. Carter & Co., fishing rod and tackle manufac¬ 
turers, 11 SouthMolton St., Bond St., W. London, 
call attention to the fact that the world’s record 
tuna of 710 pounds, the capture of which was 
noted in Forest and Stream some weeks ago, was 
brought to boat with one of their split cane rods. 
They also claim the world’s record of 4,000 
pounds of fish caught on two of their rods in 
eleven days. The announcement which Messrs. 
Carter & Co., make in another column of Forest 
and Stream will be interesting to Amerian ang¬ 
lers, particularly the statement in their card that 
they have been established in business over two 
hundred years. This means that they were sell¬ 
ing fishing tackle at least two generations before 
the American colonies had become independent. 
Messrs. Carter & Company will be glad to send 
catalogue to any American angler on request. 
