FOREST AND STREAM. 
147 

REMARKS. 
It is quite worthy of mention, showing the care that had 
been taken by the officers of the Association, that nota 
single accident occured, and there was scarcely any of that 
confusion incidental to a first match. If words 
of praise are by no means out of place in regard 
to the conduct of the officers, who had many new 
points raised for their decision, incidental to the 
opening match, the conduct of the men is also to be ap- 
plauded. We did not notice a single case of intoxication, 
nor the least indication of gambling. Some parties were 
on the grounds early intent on starting] ‘‘ pools,” but such 
requests were promptly denied and squelched on the spot. 
Perhaps it would be better next year at the grand national 
contest to make the time in September. Then the davs are 
longer, and the shooting may be continued for fully nine 
hours. But very possibly the managers were right in mak- 
ing the match come off at as late a time as possible, in order 
to give the men the fullest opportunity for practice. It 
would be wise too to separate in the future all the military 
contests from those of a more general character, as likely 
to avoid confusion. Another suggestion we would make, 
since we want our matches to be as thorough as possible, 
is that all the meteorological conditions of the day be deter- 
mined accurately, such as barometrical and theometrical 
measurements, direction of wind, andthe miles in an hour 
the wind is blowiag. From data of this character greater 
accuracy in shooting must follow. 
SHARPSHOOTERS’ MATOH. 
The sharpshooters, match is one only to be attempted by 
experts, as at distances over 600 yards, the utmost nicety 
and skill is required, which can only be obtained by long 
practice. Members of the Association have practiced but 
little at long range shooting, and though all the shooting 
donein this match by our own men was very good, doubt- 
less next year, when they have devoted more time to it, 
they will show improvement. Mr. Adam’s score, 48, an 
average of 8 1-7, (25 at 800 yards, and 23 at 1,000,) in a pos- 
sible 56, for such a long range is very good shooting. Mr. 
Adam, of the Canada volunteers, has already shown his 
skill in England and Scotland, and is one among the many 
good Canadian marksmen. We cannot but congratulate 
Mr. Adam in his victory, and the modesty with which he 
carried off his well-earned prize. In fact all the Canadians, 
(there were three winners out of the nine contestants for the 
sharpshooters’ match,) acquitted themselves with credit, 
Mr. Ormand’s score of 26, at 800 yards, five bull’s eyes and 
three centres, is magnificent shooting, better even than his 
shooting in 1871 at Wimbledon for the Rolapore challenge 
cup, though he only made 13 at 1,000 yards. In these long 
ranges, the additional 200 yards makes a vast difference. 
Mr. A. J. Roux, of the Twenty-second Regiment N. G.,.N. 
Y., score 41, (21 at 800, and 20 at 1,000 yards.) is also deserv- 
ing of most honorable mention, winning as he did the 
second prize. Mr. Adam shot with a Rigby. _ Both the 
Rigby and Metford are muzzle-loading rifles, excellent guns, 
are loaded with great accuracy, and are furnished with the 
most carefully adjusted double sights. The least disturb- 
ances of the wind are corrected by means of sliding sights. 
Onthe whole, the shooting at long range was excellent, and 
exceeded our expectations. Possibly the beauty of the day, 
the absence of sun-glare, and there being scarcely a breath 
of wind, added materially to score-making. We are more 
than pleased that a brother rifleman from Canada carried 
off the prize. It will cause a proper amount of emulation, 
and incite our own men to practice. In this match a very 
magnificent pipe, presented by Mr. Kaldenberg, came in 
among the prizes, though not printed in the catalogue of 
prizes. Mr. Adam was offered his choice of a medal or 
pipe, and selected the medal. Mr. Roux, having tle choice 
then as second prize of the pipe or silver medal, took the 
pipe. Mr. Ormand then received the third prize, the medal. 
QUESTIONS OF ARMS. 
The great use of rifle range is that it must demonstrate 
whether an arm is good ornot. Skill may have a great 
deal to do with the merit of a high score, but as the 
weapons used come into the hands of not only experts, 
but of second and third class shots the use of Creedmoor 
or any other range must determine the average excellence 
of any gun. The Remington rifle has been fully tested 
and has been found to be excellent, not only as a military 
but as asporting rifle. Im many of the matches, as may 
be seen on examining the scores, the Remington has held 
its own with the most delicately adjusted arms. Rifles 
like the Rigby and Metford have most carefully adjusted 
sights, were allowances all made for effects of wind blowing 
across the linc of fire, &c. The use of all such adjustments 
are perfectly in order, aud should be encouraged in every 
way. If arifie as was remarked by Punch in speaking of 
the complicated arrangements of the Wimbledon expert, 
“had asteam engine at one end and a windmill at another,” 
so much the better, if in a range of a thousand yards, the 
marksman can improve his score a single figure. There is 
not then the least doubt that when the Remington rifles 
have adjusted to them these finer sights, that they will not? 
only shoot quiet as well, but possibly out-shoot either the 
Rigby or Metford. In comparing it asa military -arm. 
with the arms used by either the English, French or German, 
we must declare that it is to be superior as to accuracy. 
Its penetration was also remarkable, shown by a shot 
passing through three feet of solid packed dirt, perfora- 
ting a thick block of wood, and then falling spent with its” 
shape still almost perfect. Subsequent general matches 
yet to come may bring in prominence some other rifle, 
when the Forest AND STREAM will be the first to assert its 

claims, but for the present, for all work, we are inclined to 
think that with a steady hand, and clear sight, whether the 
marksman be asoldier or a sportsman, the Remington has 
clearly proved itself the best arm of to-day. The Sharp 
rifle, especially in the press match, showed its excellence, 
and is a weapon of great merit. In judging of all rifle con- 
tests, our readers not familiar with the subject, should al- 
ways bear in mind that a windy day always effects the 
shooting. In concluding our remarks on the first Ameri- 
can rifle contest, we believe that the time will come when 
Creedmoor will be far too small for the concourse of 
people who will assemble from all parts of the Union, to 
witness this National pastime. 
Se ee 
THE GAME OF COLORADO. 
pai ot a 
The’ game of Colorado consists of buffalo, elk, black 
and white tailed deer, mountain sheep, antelope, cinnamon, 
black and grizzly bear, wild turkey, sage hen, blue or 
mountain grouse, willow or pin tail grouse, ptarmigan or 
mountain quail, ducks of all kinds, except canvas back, 
geese and brant, swan, curlew, of several varieties; and in 
the spring and fall snipe and plover for a few days, as they 
migrate north and south. We have also afew California 
and State quail imported for breeding purposes. 
The following fur-bearing animals are numerous:— 
beaver, otter, mink, martin, weasel; red, gray, black, and 
silver-grey fox, beside many varieties that are supposed to 
bea cross of the different distinct species; also, a very 
small animal of the fox kind, known here as the swift, the 
large grey and white timber wolf, white and grey coyote 
and black prairie wolf, panther or California lion, lynx, 
wolvereen, catamount and wildcat, badger, skunk, ground 
hog or woodchuck, and other minor species. 
The finer fur-bearing animals, such asi] beaver, otter, 
mink, martin, etc., are all taken in pole, hole, and steel 
traps. The wolf, fox, and kindred animals are often poi- 
soned with strychnine, but traps of many descriptions are 
sometimes employed, and many animals are shot. 
Thousands of acres of forest are yearly destroyed by 
accidental fires, and thousands more are stripped for lum- 
ber and wood, but the forests being all in the mountain re- 
gions, where the land is of little or no use for other pur- 
poses, is allowed to grow up to timber again, so that no 
estimate of any correctness can be made of its increase or 
diminution. However, there is no scarcity except in the 
immediate vicinity of settlements. 
Success in either hunting or trapping depends more 
here than elsewhere upon the experience of the person en- 
gaged in it, and his knowledge of the country, for the rea- 
son that game is not generally distributed throughout the 
territory, but certain species are confined to certain locali- 
ties. No stranger need expect much success unless accom- 
panied by an experienced guide. 
Remarkable bags are often made, but create little re- 
mark here, as they are mostly made by professional hunters, 
who prefer the profit to the notoriety that would direct 
other’s attention to their hunting grounds. Itis nothing 
uncommon for two hunters to load a large freight wagon 
with deer, antelope, or buffalo in a day or two after reach- 
ing the hunting grounds. Grouse and such game may be 
killed at the rate of from one to four or five dozen a day to 
the gun, provided the hunter has the time and the patience 
to hunt up their locality. 
The larger animals are very extensively hunted during 
the season for both local and foreign markets. It is’ esti- 
mated that not less than two hundred thousand buffalo 
were slaughtered for their hides alone last year, and so long 
as the price of skins make it a profitable business, and the 
buffalo remain, this waste and destruction will go on. 
Were the game laws of the territory enforced all 
would be well; but except to keep game out of the mar- 
ket during the close season, there is no attempt made in 
that direction. 
The good hunting grounds are so numerous and so 
widely scattered for the different varieties of game that no 
very correct idea can be given in such an article except ina 
general way. Ducks, geese, etc., may be found very close 
about Denver. Willow grouse are widely distributed, and 
may be found in most any direction from town by travel- 
ling from ten to twenty miles. They are much more diffi- 
cult to capture, and are afar better bird than the prairie 
chicken of the States, and are not found in the mountains 
at all, while the blue or mountain grouse are only found in 
the mountains, and are the finest eating bird of the grouse 
kind, but offer poor sport to any except ‘‘pot shooters,” 
they being excessively tame. Ptarmigan are only found 
very close to the snowy range, and are very good for the 
table, but might as well be killed with a club as shot. Buf- 
falo are sometimes found within thirty miles of town, but 
usually aride of from fifty to two hundred miles east, 
either via the Union Pacific or the Kansas Pacific Railroad, 
will be necessary for any great success. Antelope are often 
found within ten miles of this place, but are more plenty 
as you leave civilization behind in either direction. White 
tail deer are not plenty. They are only occasionally killed 
along the water courses and in the low hill country some 
thirty to fifty miles to the east, and seventy from here. Black 
tail deer confine themselves to the mountainous regions, 
except when severe storms prevail; they then come to the 
foot-hills, where they may be killed in quantities. They 
afford fine sport, whether in mountain or valley, are very 
numerous, and are often hunted within twenty miles of 
town. Bear are distributed throughout the entire moun- 
tain country. Mountain sheep are very seldom killed, ex- 
cept on the high mountains, and from twenty-five miles dis- 

tant to as far as the Rocky mountains extend, Elk are 
found most numerous in the Middle and North Forks from 
seventy to one hundred miles distant, and on the Laramie 
Plains, and farther west along the line of the Union Pacific 
Railroad for three or four hundred miles from Cheyenne, 
especially in the vicinity of Fort Steel, and as far north as 
the Wind River mountains and Montana Territory. 
Very few dogs of any breed are owned here. Some point- 
ers and setters of doubtful blood, and occasionally a grey 
or stag hound, are kept for running down wounded game; 
but no fox hounds are in the country, nor could they be 
used to any advantage on account of the prickly pear, 
which would cripple them in an hour’s run. 
Hotel accommodations outside of the principal towns 
are very limited, and in order to make a success of hunting 
or fishing it is necessary to take with you transportation, 
subsistence, and bedding. 
Jn conclusion, if you or any of your friends desire sport, 
and can stand the fatigue that we all have to endure to find 
it, come on, and any one familiar with the country will not 
withhold all information desired, including your obedient 
servant, le ieee, (2) 
DENVER, Colorado, October, 1878. 
Sie A Es gee 
CANVAS-BACK DUCKS IN WISCONSIN. 
ae pees 
JANESVILLE, Wisconsin, September 22d, 1873. 
Eprror or ForEst AND STREAM:— 
Forest AND STREAM is just the paper we have long 
needed, as an organ for the sportsman and angler. I am 
happy to see the vacancy so well filled by your interesting 
publication, which cannot help but be a success. 
Our shooting hereabouts is principally confined to ducks, 
and we claim to have the best ducking grounds in the 
Northwest, and the only grounds where the famous can- 
yas-back is found in any great number. This ground is 
at Lake Koshkonong, Wisconsin, a body of water about 
nine miles long, from two to four miles wide, quite shallow 
and filled with wild celery. The shores are indented by 
numerous bogs and sloughs, and lined with a heavy 
growth of wild rice, and here in the spring and fall are 
found nearly every variety of water fowl by the million. 
It has been disputed by Eastern sportsmen that our can- 
vas-backs are the same as are found in the Chesapeake; 
but that they are the same is true beyond a doubt, and can 
be proven to the entire satisfaction of all who willcome 
and see. Teal and mallard shooting begin about Septem- 
ber first and last until about October. Then comes the 
canvas-back. Black head, red head, and other northern 
varieties of ducks, which remain until the lake is closed 
by ice, and are slaughtered by thousands. Sportsmen in 
search of ducking grounds would do well to visit Koshko- 
nong, any time from October 10th to November 15th. The 
best route is via C. and N. W. Railway, Wisconsin Divi- 
sion, from Chicago to Fort Atkinson, 111 miles; thence by 
team three miles south to Mr. H. L. Beemer’s, where good 
accommodations will be found, and necessary information 
given. Mr. Beemer lives nearest the best shooting grounds 
on the lake, and all who stop with him will be well taken 
care of. The fishing is also very fine, and black bass are 
taken in great numbers. General Phil. Sheridan took in 
one day last season all his boat could carry, averaging two 
pounds apiece. Yours truly, VALENTINE. 
® 

OLD SUPERSTITIONS. 
we 
LD charms not only effected cures but dealt with every 
possible relation of life. Thus: ‘‘Eat hare if you 
want to look handsome for nine days after.” ‘‘Put a hen’s 
heart on your wife’s left side while she is asleep, and she’ll 
tell all her secrets.” ‘‘Swallow a mole’s heart, fresh and 
palpitating, and you'll at once be expert in divination.’’ 
“Quartan agues yield not to ordinary medicine; so take of 
the dust in which a hawk has been rolling, tie it up ina 
bit of white cloth with ared thread, and wear it; or else 
knock out the right eye of a live lizard, and wear it wrap- 
ped in a bit of goat-skin.” These are from Pliny, who also 
teaches that all medicinal herbs should be gathered, pick- 
pocket fashion, with the right hand poked through the arm- 
hole of the tunic; you ought to be clad in a white robe, 
with naked clean-washed feet, and to have just offered an 
oblation of bread and wine. sWorms out of a goat’s brain 
are good for epilepsy; so is a rivet from a wrecked ship, if 
you insert in it the bone cut out of a living stag’s heart, and 
then make it into a brooch. If you see a shooting star, 
count quickly, for you’ll be free from inflammation as many 
years as you can count numbers while the star remains in 
view. ‘To cure cataract in the eye, catch a fox, cut out his 
tongue, let him go, dry his tongue, and tie it up in a red 
rag, and hang round the man’s neck. When something has 
got into your eye, rub it with five fingers of the same side 
as the eye affected, saying thrice, ‘“Tetunc resonco bregam 
gresso,” and spit thrice. If you would escape stomach- 
ache, take care that you always put on your left shoe first, 
and wear on gold-leaf the letters L* M* M RIA, written 
three times. For toothache, say ‘‘Argidam margidam stur- 
idam” thrice over, and spit in a frog’s mouth, solemnly 
esiring him to take toothache. If any one has swallowed 
a bone, gently touch the mouth with ring-finger and thumb, 
and say nine times ‘‘I kiss the Gorgon’s mouth.” This is 
sovereign; the great Galen himself testifies to the value of 
charms in such a case. These are from Marcellus Empiri- 
cus (the Quack, as he well deserves to be called), who flour- 
ished about 880 A.D, But this, from Albertus Magnus, is 
the most wonderful of all: Gather in August the herb he- 
liotropion, wrap it in a bay-leaf with a woif’s tooth, and it 
will, if placed under the pillow, show a man who has been 
robbed where are his goods and who has taken them; also, 
if placed in a church, it will keep fixed to their places the 
women present who have broken their marriage vow. 
“This last is most tried and most true.”"—All the Year 
Round, 
> 
