54 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Jan. ii, 1908. 
glorious days that have fallen to my lot, this 
one has a prominent place in the front rank. I 
have tried this method perhaps a dozen times, 
but have never succeeded in scoring one-half 
the number that fell to me upon this occasion. 
The successful partridge hunter when searching 
for his favorite bird, has both eyes wide open, 
especially when he is exploring unknown terri¬ 
tory. It is often the case that even in well 
stocked localities the wandering habit of these 
birds leads them away from their usual haunts, 
and a well trained dog in vain beats out every 
foot of the inviting looking cover without even 
a smell of them to reward his unwearied efforts. 
It is in such cases that a watchful eye is helpful. 
It should carefully scan each likely looking spot 
as one passes through the cover and should note 
the absence or presence of tell-tale signs that 
will almost surely lead one to a correct con¬ 
clusion. Should the absence or infrequency of 
these plain tokens show that there were very 
few or perhaps no birds here, at once seek other 
places and with ever-renewed faith and hope, 
try, try again. 
Should one, however, discover fairly plentiful 
fresh sign, one’s eye brightens as with quickened 
pulse, a firmer grip upon the gun and assuring 
faith that the silent tip is straight, one carefully 
searches each outlying patch of brush, each 
hedgerow or fence, and even all the unlikely 
looking places that could by any possibility hold 
the birds, until at last one stands with flushed 
cheeks and countless cold chills running up and 
down one’s spine, gazing with delight upon the 
living statue whose every hair assures that he 
has found them at last. Not the least pleasing 
part of this performance is the proud satisfac¬ 
tion, as one realizes that one’s well-earned skill 
in woodcraft has brought its reward. 
There are many of these silent tokens of the 
presence of birds scattered through the cover 
that the practiced eye will readily detect. . One 
of the most prominent of them, perhaps, is the 
readily seen wallow hole where the partridge 
has taken its dust bath. This depression in the 
soft ground is similar to that made by the barn¬ 
yard fowl for the same purpose, except that it 
is much smaller. The places best loved by the 
bird for this purpose are the sunny borders of 
covers or open places within them and where 
there is a bit of bare mellow ground, or the 
decayed dry remains of stump or fallen log, and 
often upon the side of a deserted ant hill. 
Many vears ago, I read a well told tale of the 
preternatural wisdom of my favorite that made 
a lasting impression upon me. According to 
the tale, there was once upon a time a wise old 
partridge that by some sad mischance had be¬ 
come infested with lice, and how to get rid of 
the annoying pests, bothered her; but she was 
equal to the occasion, for after sitting down and 
scratching her head, she took a good long think 
and then suddenly jumped to her feet, exclaimed 
“Eureka!” and at her best gait ran straight to 
a large ant heap, on top of which she began to 
scratch and wallow* to the dismay of its many 
thousand inhabitants, who at once flocked to the 
scene to give battle to the disturber of their 
peaceful home. No sooner had the infuriated 
host of ants attacked the intruder than the l'ce 
were discovered, when with joyful shouts the 
whole army began to devote its energies to 
securing the prisoners, and in almost no time 
the last one was dragged to the depths of the 
dark dungeon below. Then with a glad smile 
illuminating her cheerful countenance, our wise 
bird shook the dust of the ant heap from her 
feathers, and took her departure. The tale deeply 
interested me, and for two or three years I 
examined hundreds of ant hills in order to find 
out if there were other birds as wise as this 
one; but, although I found a number that had 
been used by the birds for their dirt bath, they 
were without exception uninhabited. 
One more item in this connection and we 
will dismiss the tale. Partridges are nevei 
lousy. 
There are other signs of the presence of these 
birds that the eye, trained to see them, will 
readily discover. Often there will be a discarded 
feather, their droppings, or perhaps a footprint 
upon a patch of sand, and, upon moist ground 
where the skunk cabbage thrives. The broken 
seed pods divested of their contents will in¬ 
variably tell you that the partridge has been 
there, for there is no other bird that eats this 
highly seasoned viand. 
[to be continued.] 
Missouri’s Predicament. 
St. Louis, Mo., Dec. 20 .—Editor Forest and 
Stream: We game protectors and believers in 
stringent laws for the protection of game and 
fish, and opposers of the sale of game under any 
circumstances within our State, or the shipping 
of game into our State from other States or 
Territories, heartily indorse Mr. Geo. Kennedy’s 
article, “Poor Old Missouri,” published in your 
Dec. 14 issue. The population of Missouri is 
nearly four millions. We know sixty-five thou¬ 
sand are advocates of good protective game laws 
under warden supervision. Four-fifths of thes^ 
protectionists are native bom Missourians. 
The school boy mess that the Fourth-fourth 
General Assembly foisted upon our State will go 
down to posterity as the most ridiculous patch of 
stuff that ever disgraced the statute books of a 
State. I am unable to frame a sentence suffi¬ 
ciently strong to express the condemnation that 
is placed upon this act by our State game pro¬ 
tectors, the National Audubon Association and 
all our sister States. The members of that As¬ 
sembly, who voted down the Walmsley laws, made 
Missouri and particularly St. Louis the dumping 
ground for all contraband game, and the viola¬ 
tors in other States and Canada are taking ad¬ 
vantage of the invitations to ship all their illegal 
game here. Our markets have been flooded with 
every species of game animals and birds since 
the season opened, and tons of foreign game is 
now displayed here. Poultry has depreciated 
twenty and twenty-five per cent., and there is a 
hue amf cry by the regular poultry dealers 
against game laws that flood the markets. 
Missouri farmers are wondering why it is they 
are receiving only six and seven cents for their 
poultry this year, whereas in past years they 
secured from ten to fifteen cents a pound. 
We gladly answer here. You requested your 
Senators and Representatives to kill the Walms¬ 
ley law, so you could kill and shin a little game. 
Restore the Walmsley law. Mr. Farmer; prevent 
the traffic in game and you will reap a harvest 
on poultry, and many a dollar from the liberal 
sportsman who will visit your neighborhood if 
you preserve the game for your own benefit and 
his sport. J- D. Ayres. 
The New York League. 
A letter addressed to Hon. James S. Whipple, 
Forest, Fish and Game Commissioner, Albany, 
N. Y., and containing charges against John D. 
Whish, secretary of the Commission, is reported 
to have been signed by a number of New York 
State clubs affiliated with the Fish, Game and 
Forest League. In the preamble complaint is 
made that at the meeting recently held at Syra¬ 
cuse, through the power of the minority of the 
League, which through its officers gained con¬ 
trol, the majority was set at naught and its rights 
and privileges disregarded and ignored, and that 
this was done under an alleged plan to hold the 
officers of the previous year in place for another 
year, disregarding the wishes and desires of the 
majority of the League. 
Mr. Whish is charged with conduct unbecom¬ 
ing an employee of the State of New \ork, with 
conspiring to hold the control of the League for 
another year, and with various other acts. The 
most important specification is number three in 
which it is stated that in refusing to answer de¬ 
mands for the roll call he wilfully trampled on 
the rights of the convention; that he repeatedly 
made the alleged false statement that he pos¬ 
sessed no roll of the convention, and could not 
therefore call the roll; and that during all this 
time the report of the credentials committee, 
which it is claimed, contained the roll of the 
convention, was in his immediate possession. 
Under the head of remarks it is set forth that 
the League has become a large and influential 
body of men, who are earnestly and gratuitously 
exerting themselves for the protection of fish, 
game and forests; that the organization is thus 
entitled to the full and cordial support of the 
Commissioner, who is asked to use every effort 
to protect it from assault and to visit merited 
punishment upon any person who shall perform 
such acts and do such deeds as may impair the 
usefulness of the League; that the League is 3 
public institution working in the interests of the' 
people to the same end as the Commissioner, and 
that each should have the full support and pro¬ 
tection of the other. , 
Mr. John D. Whish, secretary of the Fish 
Game and Forest League of New York, and sec¬ 
retary also of the Forest, Fish and Game Com 
mission of the State of New York, was askei 
by a representative of Forest and Stream t< 
make a statement concerning the meeting of th 
League recently held at Syracuse, and whic 
has been the subject of so much talk and corres 
pondence among New York State sportsmen. Mi> 
Whish's statement was as follows: 
“The letter signed ‘Justice’ in a recent numbe 
of Forest and Stream does grave injustice t 
me and is misleading on a number of point' 
The implication sought to be conveyed by thi 
letter is evidently that the officers of the Fis 
and Game Commission came to the meeting c 
the League intending to run it for some pai 
ticular purpose of their own. This is absolutel 
and unqualifiedly untrue to my knowledge. Th 
game protectors came to the meeting at tf 
suggestion, I might almost say on the invit; 
tion, of Dr. Honsinger. Commissioner Whippl 
went there to attend the meeting and to deliv< 
an address, and I went there as the secretai 
of the League. 
