April 13, 1907-! 
FOREST AND STREAM 
575 
"HAD BEEN DREAMING OVER THE EAST COPY OF FOREST AND STREAM.” 
The Boston Sportsmen’s Show. 
Boston, Mass., April 6. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: The New England Forest, Fish and 
Game Association, Harry Dutton, President; 
John E. Thayer, First Vice-President; Richard 
E. Follett, Second Vice-President and General 
Manager; Walter L. Hill, Secretary and Treas¬ 
urer, are now giving their second sportsmen’s 
show in Mechanics’ Building. This is the fifth 
show of the kind held in this city, and although 
not the best, is still a creditable display. While 
not strong in fine trade exhibits, there is a 
display of merchandise that rightfully belongs 
to a show of this character, and which is useful 
and interesting to sportsmen. In this respect 
the management has certainly shown good judg¬ 
ment. 
The opening day, March 30, saw everything in 
. an unfinished condition, but after the second 
day, system and order prevailed and criticism— 
which at first was rampant—has now quite 
ceased. The attendance beginning in the middle 
of the first week has been heavy, Saturday 
breaking all records. 
In the show of last year fly- and bait-casting 
found great favor with the public. It proved 
I such a popular attraction that it has been con¬ 
tinued this year. Large crowds gather about 
the lakes in the big hall and vigorously applaud 
those who excel. Interest in the events seems 
to increase each day. A large number of trout 
have been placed in the lake and they rise to 
the fly readily, seeming to be ravenously 
hungry. On Friday evening event No. 10 con¬ 
sisted of trout fly-fishing for accuracy and form 
j in landing fish from a canoe; ten minutes al¬ 
lowed for landing fish, each man of course 
playing and netting his own fish. Barbless 
hooks were used, which meant that the fish had 
to be kept coming all the time. Messrs. Cal. 
McCarthy and F. H. Talcott, of Boston, con¬ 
tested the event, which resulted in a tie. On 
Saturday evening they were again pitted against 
each other with five minutes allowance for land¬ 
ing fish. So closely were the anglers matched 
! that the judges could not decide, and Mr. Mc¬ 
Carthy won the event by the toss of a coin. 
The hooking, playing and netting of the fish 
aroused intense enthusiasm among the specta¬ 
tors, many of whom seemed never to have wit- 
11 nessed a feat of this kind before. 
The long distance casting has brought some 
surprisingly good amateurs to the front, who 
have done exceedingly well, considering their 
inexperience. Two young boys 16 years of age 
have proven themselves especially good at the 
1 sport. They are Frederick Walter Hill and 
Francis A. Niccolls, Jr. The former covered 
96 feet and the latter a slightly less distance. 
Mr. E. R. Owens, of Kalamazoo, Mich., the 
well-known expert on tournament casting, has 
charge of the events, and his work has been 
I more than satisfactory. The committee who act 
as judges are all well known Boston anglers. 
1 They are: Dr. Frank M. Johnson, Chairman; 
George H. Payne, L. M. Howe, William L. 
Quimby, Thomas F. Baxter and Francis A. 
Niccolls. 
The showing of fish is very good, particu- 
| larly strong in brook trout. Other specimens 
; are Atlantic and land-locked salmon; brown, 
rainbow and hybrid trout. It is said that 
muscalonge, pike-perch, pickerel, garpike and 
some other fishes will arrive early next week. 
These will add greatly to the exhibit. The dis¬ 
play is nicely made in a succession of well-built 
tanks across one end of the building. A trout 
hatchery in active operation has an audience at 
all hours of the day. 
One of the strongest features of the show 
are the daily lectures in Paul Revere Hall. The 
speakers are men and women of fame and repu¬ 
tation on the subjects they present, and their 
talks have proven of the greatest interest to the 
public. A list of the subjects, together with the 
sneakers, will show how well chosen are both: 
“Tiger Hunting,” by William Lord Smith; 
“Salmon Life in Canadian Rivers,” by Prof. E. 
E. Prince; “Neptune’s Nursery in Lakes. Rivers 
and Sea,” and “Life Histories of Familiar 
Fishes,” by Prof. E. E. Prince; lecture by 
Ernest Thompson Seton; “Animals in Cap¬ 
tivity,” by Mary V. Worsted; “The New York 
Zoological Park,” by Mary V. Worsted; “The 
New York Aquarium,” by Charles H 
Townsend: lecture by Commander Robert E. 
Peary; “The Acclimatization of Native and 
Foreign Water Animals in the United States,” 
by Dr. Hugh M. Smith, Washington, D. C.; 
“The Fisheries of Japan.” by Dr. Hugh M. 
Smith. It will be seen that these are subjects 
covering a wide field and of real interest to 
lovers of nature and sportsmen generally. The 
biograph beginning every night at 9 o’clock 
with its scene of fishing, hunting and logging, 
always has an appreciative audience. 
At the old sportsmen’s shows, given in 189S, 
1900, 1902, there was always a profusion of 
game. Elk, deer, raccoons, and other wild 
game were there in dozens, in large wire-fenced 
yards, where ad could see. The present show 
has a weld assorted lot of animals, but aside 
from the buffaloes, they do not seem many. 
Corbin Park and other wed stocked preserves 
are not far from Boston, and it would have been 
comparatively an easy matter to have brought 
down a larger collection, which they no doubt 
could have had for the asking. In this day and 
generation buffaloes are always an object of 
interest. There are six splendid specimens 
there, and close to the pens are two lines of 
beautiful pictures showing the days of their ex¬ 
termination by both white man and Indian. The 
rest of the animal display is not impressive, ex¬ 
cepting the beavers, which are always most in¬ 
teresting. 
The exhibit of waterfowl is excellent, as is 
also that of pheasants. Quite a number of quail 
and some pheasants are said to have escaped 
from the cages and are scattered about the 
building. The exhibits made by the Bangor & 
Aroostook, Maine Central, Boston & Maine and 
Grand Trunk railroads are very strong and well 
chosen. The Grand Trunk especially, in show¬ 
ing up the Algonquin Park and Temagami 
regions have a good card, as this far northern 
country is arousing at present much interest. 
Newfoundland and New Brunswick are also 
there with pictures and specimens of game and 
fish to show what may be had within their 
borders. The Megantic Fish and Game Club 
with a log cabin of its own—which contains 
many objects of special interest to the sports¬ 
man—makes a fine showing. The interesting 
subject of forestry is well taken care of, and 
there is much to be seen that will help to teach 
the public the necessity of preserving from the 
“lumber grabbers” what is left of our once vast 
forest regions. 
The exhibition of trophies is fair. The gen¬ 
eral decoration of the interior-—especially of the 
big hall—is not impressive and could be much, 
improved. The management has shown excel¬ 
lent judgment on the subject of entertainment. 
In former years athletic events and games 
formed a feature which was not agreeable to 
sportsmen. Sticking close to the object for 
which the show is given is surely the right thing 
to do, and, moreover, it is what sportsmen ex¬ 
pect to see. It is manifestly impossible to make 
an exhibition which will please everybody or one 
that is not open to criticism, but a fair analysis 
of the Boston show will find many features to 
commend, even though it is lacking in some 
important essentials. Hackle. 
A Gathering in the Far North. 
St. Johns, N. F .—Editor Forest and Stream: 
The bl.zzard had been raging all night. At the 
dawn it increased in intensity, and now nearing 
sunset, it at last showed signs of abatement in 
its fury. The world outdoors was in the grip 
of the storm king and the fierce arctic blasts 
swept the land y 'The snow was piled higher than 
the highest fences, the roads were all blocked 
and impassable. 
Despite the frowns of the rude norther, and 
the rough treatment meted out to all comers, 
by his merciless and all conquering hordes, in 
an unpretentious cottage in the suburbs of a 
far northern city, there gathered together a jolly 
company of sportsmen, with a sprinkling of the 
softer sex, who, all things considered, spent a 
very jolly evening. Each seemed to be vieing 
with the other in relating their best tales of 
adventure by flood and field, to swell the volume 
of general entertainment. Among the notables 
assembled was the Editor of Forest and 
Stream, who seemed to exercise a general 
supervision over the programme. When any 
disorder would arise from such causes as six 
or seven of the company trying to tell shooting 
and fishing stories at one and the same time, 
he would wield some kind of an invisible editorial 
extinguisher, a kind of magic pencil, and the 
offender would immediately look blue and sub¬ 
side. Grizzly King was there with his top 
raillery in prose and song. E. F. L. Jenner told 
about Matteou and Viddler so vividly that they 
appeared like old friends. These were super¬ 
seded by Uncle Nick and Old Billy, and all the 
other much-to-be-envied residents of Camp 
Don’t Flurry. Then shooting and fishing yarns 
trod on each other’s tails, till C. H. Ames took 
the floor and talked about reindeer and caribou. 
By the bye, did you ever notice that whenever 
there is any kind of a scrap on about fishing 
or shooting or reindeer or red gods, C. H. is 
