136 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Jan. 25, 1908. 
t'ornia. I went down to the front of the railroad 
construction on the Mexican side on a work train 
recently. A gunner dropped off at a siding, and 
about two hours later, when he was picked up 
on the return trip, he had seventy-five quail in 
his bag. The bag limit in California is twenty- 
five birds. There is no limit on the Mexican 
side, no game law of any sort. But for the 
present game laws relating to ducks and quail 
do not go in Imperial Valley. There are too 
many birds. Allen Kelly. 
The Ruffed Grouse Scarcity. 
Elmira, N. Y., Jan. 12 —Editor Forest and 
Stream: I noticed in the report of the New 
York League meeting at Syracuse that it was 
proposed to limit shooting to one month (Octo¬ 
ber) cutting down the bag and license of one 
dollar on a gun. 
However, with all the gun license, wardens and 
restrictions that can be made, the whole thing 
would be a failure if the vermin is not kept 
down. I am no friend of old John Crow. He 
delights in hunting bird nests, and once found 
not an egg or young bird when in the nest will 
escape. 
The ruffed grouse is a hard problem for his 
friends to take care of. Not like the quail that 
can be caught up in the fall and turned out in 
the spring, hardy, full, vigorous, who would give 
a good account of our protection in the hard 
cold winter by raising large broods in the sum¬ 
mer for the fall shooting, the grouse must be 
left in his native coverts and take his chances 
while his friends can put out the lives of his 
most deadly foes, viz.: the bobcat and fox. 
I was very sorry to see that the State League 
meeting was not entirely a pleasant session. The 
sportsmen of this great State should work in 
entire harmony and all together for the greatest 
good to the greatest number, regardless of axes 
to grind or politics. E. H. Kniskern. 
■ ■■ - — * 
Worcester County, Mass., Jan. 11 .—Editor 
Forest and Stream: I have been much amused 
to read in Forset and Stream the scarcity of 
ruffed grouse and the theories of difference in 
people in regard to the cause. 
Late in November we were hunting a well 
known cover, when we met another hunter. 
Stopping to chat a few minutes, the old question 
came up, “Where are the partridges?” “Well, 
sir, said he, “I think I have killed twenty-four 
partridges this fall and twenty-two were cocks.” 
Here in central Massachusetts the cover is 
ideal for ruffed grouse—-old grown up pasture 
with thorn apple, wild grapes, apple trees, chest¬ 
nut and acorns aplenty, but the partridges are 
not here. 
This is not the only time I have seen a scar¬ 
city of partridges. In 1877 partridges were 
scarce; 1884 was another year of scarcity; there 
have been one or two since 1884. This year is 
the worst of my nearly fifty years’ of shooting. 
I think pheasants will be the coming game 
bird if the law will be put back protecting them 
for a few years. They lived through the winter 
of 1906 and 1907 all right, and bred last spring. 
At the end of last November I knew of five hen 
pheasants that were all right. The law allows 
the cock to be shot, which is not right. Put the 
law on them for a few years and we will have 
good pheasant shooting here in Massachusetts. 
A. G. Larkin. 
An Adirondack Deer Hunt. 
Waterville, N. Y., Dec. 18 . —Editor Forest 
and Stream: In company with my guide George 
I spent the last week of October on a deer 
hunting trip in the Adirondacks. 
We camped in a lumbermen’s abandoned 
blacksmith shop situated about three miles from 
Old Forge. The camp, which had a paper- 
covered board roof, was built of logs, some of 
the chinks being filled with moss. It had been 
rendered habitable by the addition of a large 
cook stove, one bunk filled with boughs and a 
second which boasted a feather mattress. We 
found a Mr. C. and his son Chet in camp on our 
arrival. The latter had been hunting in a slash 
of several acres in extent which nearly sur¬ 
rounded camp and had fired one shot at a buck 
“as big around as a barrel” and having a fine 
head. This deer had often been seen near camp 
and shot at repeatedly. 
After breakfast next day Mr. C. and George 
started off to drive some country in which 
deer abounded, Chet and I being stationed on 
runways. While this mode of hunting does not 
appeal to me as giving the game a perfectly 
fair show, the condition of the fallen leaves was 
such that still-hunting was out of the question. 
I had been waiting about half an hour, when I 
saw a deer leisurely approaching along the run¬ 
way. It was not more than fifty or sixty yards 
away when I fired the first shot, and while it 
was still in sight, I sent two more shots after it. 
After following its tracks for some distance, I 
caught sight of its back over a log. At the 
report it started off, though slowly. To make 
a long story short, half an hour passed before 
George, who had come up, finally found the 
deer dead. I had followed it too closely, start¬ 
ing it three times, and had finally lost the tracks 
which George had some difficulty in tracing to 
where the deer lay. It proved to be a large 
spike-horn buck; in fact, the largest spike buck 
George had ever seen. I should have been 
better satisfied with a good head, but was happy 
nevertheless. 
One bullet had broken a front leg, while the 
fatal shot had broken two or three ribs, though 
not entering the body. The path of this bullet 
extended in a decided curve from near the hips 
to the forward shoulder, the ribs being broken 
midway along the buck’s side. The deer died 
about 200 yards from camp. On the afternoon 
of this day George and Mr. C. both saw deer, 
but had no chance to shoot. 
On Friday morning we saw no deer. In the 
afternoon a party of four, consisting of a Mr. 
W. and the Doctor, with their guides Fred and 
Jack came in. Later Fred’s fifteen-year-old son, 
Alfred, joined us. The results for this day s 
hunt were two partridges, which Mr. W. and 
Jack shot. 
Mr. C. and Chet went out Friday afternoon. 
Saturday morning the guides drove again. I 
occupied my old stand on the runway along 
which a doe soon came running. When op¬ 
posite me she stopped, and stood motionless 
for at least fifteen seconds. I did not shoot, 
having visions of that big buck, and hoping that 
che doe might pass near the Doctor. In the 
afternoon we had two more unsuccessful drives, 
then separated and still-hunted with our re¬ 
spective guides. Ihe Doctor and Fred started 
two deer. 
Sunday it rained hard all day. At about 9 
o’clock P. M. we heard three shots which we 
answered, but heard nothing more. It was very 
dark at the time and the rain was descending 
in sheets. 
Monday was the only day on which the con¬ 
ditions were at all favorable for still-hunting. 
The leaves were soaked and noiseless, but a 
heavy fog shortened the range of vision. Mr. 
W., the Doctor, Fred, Jack and Alfred were to 
leave on this day. The Doctor did not have 
to go home empty handed, as he and Fred 
brought in a good doe. George and I still- 
hunted from 8 o’clock A. M. to 5 o’clock P. M., 
following the tracks of four different bucks 
besides sighting a deer with a very large flag, 
which we did not follow. As George said, 
“His tail was so big it mesmerized me.” 
George killed a small buck and I shot at a 
large buck at a distance of about 250 feet and 
missed. We followed this deer until his tracks 
led into a beaver meadow where we abandoned 
the chase. While following a buck and two 
does, we were startled by the crash of a falling 
stub. Either the fall of the stub or our move¬ 
ments had alarmed the deer, as they soon led 
off in long leaps directly up a mountain. We 
now made for camp, crossing more tracks which 
the failing light prevented our following. 
Tuesday the leaves were frozen, and it was an 
almost impossible task to hunt. We went down 
near First Lake of the Fulton Chain, where 
George attempted to drive a deer to me but 
without success. After George joined me we 
took a course parallel to the shore of the lake, 
I being in sight of the water and George further 
back in the woods. He started a deer which 
crossed behind me, plowing through the mud of 
a marsh which borders the lake. In following 
the tracks across this marsh, using fallen trees 
as a natural bridge. I slipped and went into 
the mud. It was surprising to see what an ap¬ 
parently impassable place the deer was able to 
cross. We did not succeed in getting a shot at 
this animal, but returned to camp. 
Wednesday morning we went down in the 
slash for a try at the big buck, but the leaves 
were as noisy as ever and we sighted nothing. 
Later in the day George got shots, but the 
bullets only cut hair, otherwise doing no dam¬ 
age. Thursday morning we again tried the 
slash, but were unsuccessful, so decided to give 
up the afternoon hunt, there being no prospect 
of success. 
We went to camp, packed up and went to Old 
Forge, where we hired a teamster with his 
horse and wagon to carry out our duffle and the 
buck. At the hotel I was much interested in a 
section of a tree which must have been at least 
eight inches in diameter, and had been nearly 
cut through by beaver. It had been cut in the 
woods near Old Forge in the early part of 
October. Several of the beaver shipped to the 
Adirondacks were liberated in the vicinity of 
Old Forge. 
I took the stage to Fulton Chain station, 
There were thirteen passengers in the stage, sc 
one of the men got out and walked about a 
mile to the station. Had he not done this, if 
is difficult to say what might not have happened 
At Utica I noticed that the number of hunter: 
who left the train was in excess of the numbei 
of deer taken from the baggage car. ^ I wa: 
well satisfied with my luck and the “time” I hac 
had. Solitude. 
