8 9 6 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[June 6, 1908. 
was not above thirty rods. He seemed to hesi¬ 
tate, and then, as if an idea had struck him, he 
ran down to a fence that ran at right angles to 
the fence that crossed the hill where the burrow 
was, and a few rods below it. He crossed the 
first fence and ran up to the upper fence and 
crossed that, then up to where the burrow was. 
Keeping the fence between him and the wood¬ 
chuck. he jumped over the fence at the burrow, 
and the woodchuck, seeing him between it and 
the den, tried to reach the fence up which the 
dog first ran; but he did not reach it, and was 
caught and killed. Maybe this was not reason, 
but it approached very near it. 
I recall many incidents of intelligence in ani¬ 
mals which show their shrewdness. One night 
Bruno treed a coon, and as I could not see it, 
concluded to leave it. The dog, however, was 
loath to give it up, and when I had called him 
away, went back again and continued barking. 
I tried to induce him to leave, but seeing he 
was obstinate, told him that he might remain 
and that I would come again in the morning. 
I questioned whether he would stay, but to as¬ 
sure him took ofif my vest and spread it down 
by the tree, and told him to lie on it. I went 
home and in the morning got up early and called 
him, but he did not appear. I then took the gun 
and started to the tree. As I approached from 
the opposite side from where I had spread my 
vest, did not see him till I had nearly reached 
the tree. He then got up from off the vest and 
looking up the tree, gave a bark, as much as 
to say, “He is up there,” and sure enough he 
was. 1 patted and almost embraced him for his 
sagacity. As we valued him very highly and 
were very much attached to him, we seldom left 
him, as we feared someone might kill or steal 
him. 
Bruno would often go out hunting alone, and 
one night I heard him barking, and though the 
fur was not good, as it was late spring, to 
please him I went to see what he had. We had 
been having a great deal of rain, and the ground 
where he was being very low, was a pond. He 
was on a log to keep himself out of the water 
and was looking up a tree nearby. Casting the 
light from the dark lantern into the tree, I saw 
two balls of fire looking like two little stars. I 
knew at once that these were the eyes of a coon. 
A neighbor and his boy came out to see what 
the dog had treed. The boy had never seen a 
coon and was anxious to see its eyes, but it 
would not look at the light again. I told him 
that if he would come out again in the morning 
he could see a coon. I did not like to leave the 
dog, as there was no comfortable place for him 
on account of the water. But for the sake of 
the boy, I left the lanter.n on a log as near the 
tree as I could get, and went home. When I 
got there in the morning, the boy and his father 
had preceded me and called to me as I ap¬ 
proached, that the coon was there. 
The dog had been faithful to his trust. I knew 
he would not leave while the lantern was there. 
I did not shoot the coon because, as I have said 
before, the fur was of no value, it being good 
only in the winter months. 
B. F. Mack. 
The Forest and Stream may be obtained from 
any newsdealer on order. Ask your dealer to 
supply you regularly. 
Hunting Small Game. 
Milford, Conn., May 25.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: In your issue of May 23 the 
article on taking care of game recalls the way 
we kept prairie chickens when shooting on the 
Platte, Little and Big Sandy and Republican 
rivers, in Nebraska and Kansas. After shoot¬ 
ing a number of chickens we would draw and 
bleed, then pull a handful of green grass and 
stuff them full, pack in wagon and cover with 
green grass. In this way they would not sour 
and be in prime condition for two or three days 
or until such times as we could dispose of them. 
The rabbit hunt in Virginia by Mac brings 
fresh to my mind the sport I had in Kansas 
thirty years or so ago near the Republican River 
close by the town of Beloit. At that time they 
were laying a railroad from Beloit to a new 
town further west, Concordia. Along this road¬ 
bed at night the jack rabbit in large numbers 
would chase each other back and forth, up and 
down. We would lie in the ditches beside the 
banks and when a jack rabbit came by would 
bowl him over. I shall never forget that moon¬ 
light night and the sport we had. I got one 
beauty with jet black ears. It weighed nearly 
eight pounds. I sent his pelt back East to my 
father-in-law and he wrote asking if that was the 
size of the jackasses out West. 
It was no trick at all to ride horseback within 
good gun shot of them when lying in cover, 
with their heads between their paws, and ears 
lying back on their sides. But on foot it was 
impossible to approach them, and no dog except 
greyhounds could keep within a mile of them 
when once they got all four feet in motion; and 
it gives a well trained greyhound all he wants to 
pick one up, for they are tricky when running, 
springing to one side, letting the hound run by, 
then taking another course, and so on until the 
kill. 
The Virginia hunt ended with a lunch; so did 
ours, only at camp we had beans, baked in our 
ground oven. Our game was smeared with mud 
and baked also in the oven, fried fish, fresh 
from the river, and for bread we had pancakes. 
Dishes and tables might not have been so clean, 
yet our appetites were never found wanting. 
Then the, old pipe, and to bed. F. S. D. 
The Grouse Sc&rcity. 
LIingham, Mass., June 1.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: I have read many of your reports 
about the scarcity of the partridges and causes 
in the State of Massachusetts. The decrease has 
been exceedingly noticeable in this town. I 
should think the hawks could be blamed as well 
as any bird or animal. This spring, in walking 
in the woods, I have seen many. One day along 
a wood road I saw four, two of which were 
within gun shot. Other days I have seen more 
or less. I usually walk about one mile and a 
half by wood roads, and if I should see the num¬ 
ber stated what must be the number all around ? 
In the fall my father and I caught a hawk 
at his murdering game. When we first saw him 
he flew as if he was carrying something of good 
weight. We followed him up and he arose 
again, this time in his usual manner. We looked 
where it had flown from and found a partridge. 
The hawk had begun on his rich meal by eat¬ 
ing the brain first, but was forced to leave his 
meal on our arrival. 
One gunning season we started two hawks 
within a quarter of a mile. One was over a 
gun shot, but after the shot I guess he felt sick, 
judging by the way he rolled and the amount of 
feathers that came from him; the other one we 
killed. He had a handsome breast. 
I should not have urged any bill for a two 
year’s close season, because the hunters do not 
kill as many birds as the hawks and others. I 
would willingly pay one dollar for a gunning 
fee. It was cither a bad hatching season or the 
hawks that caused the scarcity of 1907. In' the 
1906 season there was the best shooting here for 
years. The average gain in birds over 1905 was 
33 per cent. E. Henderson. 
Pennsylvania State Sportsmen. 
An adjourned meeting of the Pennsylvania 
State Sportsmen’s Association was held at Brad¬ 
ford, Pa., the night of May 27, A. M. Seitz, of 
Glen Rock, acting as chairman. Dr. Kalbfus, 
of the legislative committee, reported, and also 
spoke on a number of recommendations for game 
laws and pointed out the need of legislation 
which would keep guns out of the hands of 
the unnaturalized citizen and foreigners who 
slaughter game birds in large numbers. The 
recommendation was heartily endorsed by the 
association. 
The question of seasons for game and the 
plan of a license of one dollar to hunt were 
approved. 
A resolution was offered and approved to 
appoint a committee to which all recommenda¬ 
tions of fish and game laws be referred; this 
committee to include representative men of all 
sections of the State and selected with care as 
to the climatic conditions, etc. This committee 
is to act in conjunction with the legislative com¬ 
mittee. 
A committee on game and fish legislation was 
also appointed. 
The Condition of Game. 
Knife River, Minn., May 23.— Editor Forest 
and Stream: We are now seeing a good many 
deer and quite a bit of moose sign. They have 
come through the winter in good shape and big- 
game hunting ought to be of the best next fall. 
There apparently is very little poaching going 
on. the shackers occasionally killing one for 
meat. Partridges are very scarce. The Legis¬ 
lature ought to pass a bill protecting them for 
three or five years, otherwise they are going to 
be almost entirely killed off here in another year 
or two. Fred Chase. 
Maine Sportsmen’s Excursion. 
The thirteenth annual excursion of the Maine 
Sportsmen’s Fish and Game Association will 
take place June 15-27 inclusive. Kineo, on 
Moosehead Lake, will be its destination. 
On Tune 16 there will be a rifle match between 
wardens and guides. 
On June 17 a tandem canoe race will be held. 
There will also be fishing contests for both 
women and men, and valuable prizes are offered 
for all events. 
The committee on legislation will meet on the 
night of June 17, while the general association 
meeting is set for the night of the 16th. 
