576 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Oct. 9, 1909. 
by his surroundings. A few months ago I sur¬ 
prised a ’chuck some little distance from his 
hole in a field where the grass was short. He 
flattened himself down as close to the ground 
as he possibly could and waited for me to walk 
by which I did not do, as my object was to 
make a picture. I set up my heavy tripod, and 
tele-photo camera and, by means of the sights 
and ball and socket joint, quickly took accurate 
aim, and squeezing the bulb made an automatic 
exposure of three seconds with the lens dia¬ 
phragm set at U. S. 16. As the light was strong 
this gave a full exposure on a non-halation 
double coated plate and the result was a goo 
negative. The camera is a 4 by 5, with a high 
grade lens of six inch focus, to which was added 
a tele-lens, making the equivalent focus thirty- 
six inches. The exposure was made at a dis¬ 
tance of about forty yards, and knbwmg that 
this would produce a very small image on the 
sensitive plate, I reversed the plate holder and 
walked wdtply tpward the ’chuck with the in¬ 
tention \o{,- making a second exposure at a 
shorter distance, but when still about thirty 
yards away he made a run for his hole and an¬ 
other ’chuck, which was sitting up on his 
haunches nfear. by, ran in with him. 
It is often possible to approach within twenty- 
five yards of a ’chuck when he is partly hidden 
in .a thicket,, but very difficult to photograph 
them in such plaqes on account of the obstruc¬ 
tions aid feeble light.' I have taken snapshots 
at ’chucks in thickets at distances as short as 
fifteen feet with the fast lens (six inches focus) 
the result always b.etng a failure. 
The ’ch'Uck has a'diabit of sitting at, or close 
to his hole, very stilPas long as the hunter does 
not..-approach too closely, ' and this makes him 
a ffiir mark for the hunter ^with a modern high 
velocity rifle or a high power tele-photo camera. 
The accompanying pictures were atl^made with 
a six-power tele-lens, about fifteen! being se¬ 
cured in five days, under not very favorable 
conditions, there being some rain and much 
dark cloudy weather. 
'TVip>r^» wprp 
4-Vi r 00 T 
Mann, of Milford, Mass.; Dr. Henry A. Baker, 
of Boston, and myself, and we spent a most en¬ 
joyable ten days at Martin’s ancient hostlery, 
three miles east of North Ferrisburg, Vt„ which 
is the nearest railway station. The present pro¬ 
prietor of the hotel is Stoddard B. Martin who, 
with his good wife, met us at the railroad sta¬ 
tion on the evening of our arrival about the 
middle of last May, and from that time on until 
the end of our vacation they did all in their 
power to make every minute of our time pleas¬ 
ant and profitable. 
My best score for one day with the camera 
was three good pictures and for the rifle nine 
’chucks. These scores may be taken as a fair 
indication of the comparative difficulty of photo¬ 
graphing and of shooting wild game. 
E. A. Leopold. 
A glance at the records of the auditor gen¬ 
eral's office shows that during the last four 
months 1,581 wolves have been killed in the 
State of Minnesota. The cubs killed number 
689, and the total bounty paid in this time has 
been $8,757. The slayer of the full grown wolf 
receives $7.50 and of a cub $3 in bounty paid 
by the State. The highest record was won by 
Carlton county, with 153 wolves and 80 cubs. 
In the Squirrel Country. 
Terra Ai.ta, W. Va., Sept. 25 .—Editor Forest 
and Stream: If I remember correctly some 
of the mainline correspondents of Forest and 
Stream are opposed to squirrel hunting. I 
think they are very absurd. Recently I en¬ 
joyed a two-days’ gray squirrel hunt, and I 
cannot see that even the slightest tendency to¬ 
ward harm came of it. If the pursuit of 
squirrels be condemned on the ground of their 
scarcity, I then agree with the hypercritical 
park frequenters; and insist that the seeking of 
birds be stopped on the same ground. If the 
objection be made because of the tameness of 
squirrel hunting, then I wish to file a minority 
report. Did you, gentle reader, ever hear the 
grays cutting in the hickories? The grouse 
never lived that could furnish a wilder thrill. 
We were on Limestone Mountain, eighteen 
miles from Terra Alta, the other day, when I 
heard the nuts falling for the first time in 
eighteen years. We were there for squirrels. 
All of us had seen them at some time or other 
eatjng peanuts in the parks. We knew .how 
cute they were. WL recalled with sufficient 
sentiment how they amuse the children. Yet 
we went out with the avowed purpose of killing 
them. This may be a shameful confession, but 
it is true. 
We stuffed the seat boxes of Bill Spiker’s 
old surrey full of shells and let the flea-bitten 
gray mares loose on a road that will some day 
be a famous auto sightseers’ course. In three 
hours we were putting our guns together at the 
edge of the tall timber. Four thousand acres 
of it was ours to hunt over. The tract belongs 
to O. C. Crane, cashier of the Terra Alta Bank, 
who was one of our party, and James S. Lakin, 
president of the West Virginia State Board of 
Control. ' If there can be found in West Vir¬ 
ginia better squirrel territory, I should be glad 
to know of it. Mr. Crane went off with a 
farmer, who “ ’lowed he could kill more 
squirrels than all of us, seein’ as how we didn’t 
know where to go.” 
Frank Brenneman, traveling salesman, C. A. 
Miller, cashier of the First National Bank, at 
Terra Alta, and I, a combined squirrel shooter 
and country editor, went in the direction the 
obliging farmer pointed with his finger. I soon 
lost the other two hunters and mounted a 
stump, from which I could watch six or eight 
huge hickories. Within three minutes I heard 
the report of a gun which I took to be Crane’s. 
It was followed quickly by another noise re¬ 
sembling Brenneman shooting a squirrel. I 
was high with hope and continued so for almost 
an hour. The wood was still as death. Then 
suddenly I heard a slight commotion in the 
leaves. I pushed off the safety, screwed my 
neck around noiselessly and saw a moving 
form not more than thirty feet from- me. It 
was Brenneman. 
At six o’clock we met at the farmhouse. 
Miller and Brenneman had each a squirrel. 
Crane, his farmer friend and I had none; but 
we played Pedro and California Jack until mid¬ 
night. We were satisfied. We meant to slay 
the squirrels next day. 
In the morning I made the wretched mistake 
of going to the woods without drinking a fill 
of water; and so about noon I was all dried up 
and marooned on a ridge from which I could 
here the angels singing. Crane was with me. 
“Lots of springs about here, aren’t there?” 
I asked. 
“I hadn't noticed any,” he said, and I knew 
he was not thirsty. 
Then I began to lure him toward the valley, 
where I knew Panther Run galloped toward 
Cheat River. I was sure we could find squirrels; 
down there. I said: “We’ve tried the ridge; 
and the flats. Now let’s go to the gulch. We’l! 
get ’em there.” 
It took me an hour to work him to Panther 
Run. When at last we were on its bank, I said; 
“Mr. Crane, if you and Jim Lakin can span 
this stream, I think I'll drink from it awhile.’ 
I drained Panther Run, then I was truly sorry 
that we had come down that endless hill. Cram 
was as cheerful as ever and did his best to seen 
not to know why I had been so determined t< 
leave the ridge. We walked up Panther Rut 
a mile, up a branch a mile, through a laurc 
thicket half a mile. A particularly thick growtl 
of laurel was now just before us. We were al 
most , ready to turn back. The tangle was ,s< 
' d5nse-.it looked as if not even a squirrel could 
get through it. Crane, on his kneegand hand-, 
looked tor a full minute intoAhe labyrinth 
“What is it?” I asked. 
“A hickory and oak grove, I do believe,” h 
said. 
And we rushed the tangle and beat a hoi 
through it and came out in the sunlight on th 
edge of a beautiful hardwood grove. “Fin 
limb—hark!” 
I heard it, too, as Crane held up his hand 
Drop, drop, * clatter! It was a plain case o' 
heaving bosom with me. Crane, who had kille 
and seemed outwardly calm. Drop, dro; 
clatter! Down came the nuts. There was nt 
the least wind. 
We stalked the game for a full hour. The 
we learned that a singular combination of rai 
and sun had set the acorns to dropping 1 
places. So squirrel-like was the sound, th:, 
ieven after leaving the grove we went back an 
sent a few loads of shot up where the aeon 
were coming from. They continued to con 
and no squirrels ran. 
We walked toward dinner for two hour 
Miller and Brenneman were there, squirrelles 
But we were satisfied. We had hunted. Norm 
man is a natural hunter. 
Three wild turkeys and some grouse we 
seen on this trip. Ihere really are grouse 
this Alleghany Mountain country. It is sa 
that ten thousand were killed and so; 
by pot-hunters in Preston county last sej 
son. This year the new forest, game ai 
fish laws will probably give.the man wl 
likes to eat his “pheasant” a chance. I s 
probably, for unless actual prosecutions und' 
the new laws are pushed, the game hogs wj 
refuse to fear the enactments. By the new lav 
the sale of game and its purchase or shipmei;. 
are prohibited. It is now necessary to havei 
permit in writing from the owner of the la 1 
one hunts or fishes over. A resident licem 
of $1 and a non-resident license of $15 are 1 
A. Viquesney, of Belington, is the St:: 
den. He is probably as good a man fc 
job as could have been found. He ow> 
