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The OREGON SPORTSMAN
— §806-7-8 Yeon Building, Portland, Oregon
JANUARY 1914
A BIRD IN THE HAND—BOBWHITE
PUBLISHED MONTHLY UNDER DIRECTION OF
WILLIAM L. FINLEY, STATE GAME WARDEN
Volume II | 5c a copy—50Oc a year [ Number 1
Volume one contains four numbers. Volume two will contain twelve numbers, end- ing December, 1914.
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The Oregon Sportsman Volume II JANUARY 1914 Number 1
THE POLLUTION OF OUR STREAMS.
Each year the State Board of Fish and Game Commissioners spends from $50,000 to $75,000 in the propagation of various kinds of fish in order to stock our streams. One of the leading causes for the destruction of fish life is in the pollution of our waters. After the eggs are laid and the young fish hatch, during the stage before the yolk sac is absorbed, these creatures are very delicate and susceptible to disease. Dumping the sewage of cities, the waste of mills and factories and filth of all kinds into our pub- he waters is a factor that will completely deplete our streams of fish, if it is allowed to continue.
In Oregon we have a large number of rivers that are of great value to the State and to the people as a whole. The value of our streams, merely from the recreation standpoint, is large, for we are spending more money for that purpose year by year. The contamination of public waters is an evil attendant upon the erowth of cities and the development of the State. The empty- ing of sewage into streams is the crudest method of dealing with the problem of cleanliness. It does not dispose of the city’s filth ; it merely transfers it from one place to another, making the water unfit for use at other points further down stream, destroy- ing our fish supply and spreading disease among our people. These things are wrong, both morally and legally.
SILVERTON AND HER SEWAGE SYSTEM.
Some time ago when the city of Silverton was inaugurating her new sewer system the city authorities were warned by the State Board of Health not to dump the sewage into Silver Creek. a mountain stream that runs through the city. The City Council paid no attention to the warning. Recently the State Board of
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T H-& O R EGON S P20 (8 Eos a, ASN
Health enjoined the City of Silverton and on December 24th the case was decided in favor of the State by Judge Galloway, of Salem.
This. decision is hy ead from. the standpoint of all who are interested in outdoor life, and it is far reaching i in its effects. It will mean that all the towns and cities using creeks and rivers as dumping grounds for sewage will have to make some other arrangement. This will mean that the towns along the Willam- ette, such as Eugene, Albany, Salem, Portland, and every other city or town in the State must eventually dispose of their sewage in a scientific way, such as by means of septic tank and filter process.
No city government has a legal or moral right to dump its filth into public waters because a river runs past its doors. In the city of Portland, for instance, the people are used to living under such conditions. A change in the disposal of sewage will have to be made sooner or later, and the sooner such arrange- ments are planned for, the easier it will be for tax payers. The sewage of a city of 25,000 inhabitants can be disposed of on an acre of land. | :
In order to save her shellfish industry, the city of Baltimore was compelled to dispose of her sewage by modern septic devices. It is collected at a disposal plant from a hundred and sixty miles of pipe. It passes through settling tanks and.the liquid part is sprayed over a filter bed of stones. Comparatively pure water passes through the settling basins and on into a power house. A fall of eighteen feet is used for driving water wheels for gen- erating power. The residue is used for filling low land. The system is so planned that additions can easily be made so that
the sewage can be disposed of when the city contains a population
of 10,000,000 people.
THE DESCHUTES RIVER LAW.
A- very important law governing the Deschutes River was passed at the 1911 session of our Legislature. This law provides that-no sewage, filth, or in fact anything, can be dumped in the
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e mE Or B. EY G@ Oo nN SPORT s MAN
river which makes the water unfit for drinking purposes. The passage of such a law before factories are built up along the river and before cities grow, shows foresight. Such a law should be passed embracing other waters in the State, such as the Uma- tilla, John Day, Santiam, McKenzie, Umpqua and Rogue Rivers.
INTRODUCTION OF THE HUNGARIAN PARTRIDGE.
Some eight or ten years ago a few pairs of Hungarian or European partridges were purchased and distributed in certain sections of the State. A few of these birds which were liberated in Marion County, east of Salem, have held their own and have increased to some extent.
The Hungarian partridge, if given a good chance in Oregon, will in- crease and make a valuable game bird. It lives largely on insects and weed seeds. It is at home in the fields and is more of a field. bird than either the mountain or the California quail. It is a little larger in size.
During the past year one hundred and nine pairs of these birds were purchased and distributed on different game refuges in Oregon. Every effort has been made to protect these birds and give them a fair chance to increase.
Several reports have come in from the country around Salem to the effect that the birds liberated in this section have increased quite rapidly.
Mr. C. A. Park, of Salem, reports the finding of a nest of Hungarian partridges on his place where they were liberated, with eighteen eggs, fifteen of which hatched.
It is desired that reports be sent in regarding nesting habits, distribu- tion and abundance of these birds.
Following is the number, of Hungarian partridges distributed in March, 1913: ae
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218
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T WH. EF) « Or Bo ES Gr oO N SPORTSMAN
RIVERS AND STREAMS OF OREGON
With Some Descriptions of the Country, Fish and Fishing— Part 2
BY JOHN GILL
Tillamook, Trask and Wilson Rivers.
About fifteen miles south of Nehalem one arrives by the P. R. & N. at Garibaldi, on the north entrance of Tillamook Bay—a — pleasant place to stay and rather preferable to Tillamook City for reaching the Miami, a small stream falling into the east side of this bay. The situation of Garibaldi is very charming, the views of the bay, ocean and mountains quite unsurpassed. Good ac- commodations are found here or at Bay City, on the east shore of the bay, which is an important town on the railroad. From Bay City or Tillamook, Kilchis River is accessible.
Tillamook, terminus of the line, is also the objective point of two important roads from the Willamette, one of which, from Forest Grove, follows the valley of Gales Creek. This is a very pleasant stream and good fishing, and at Gales, ten miles west of Forest Grove, are good quarters for a stay. Arriving at the summit, where there is a good mountain tavern, one strikes the waters of the famous Wilson River near its head, and the road to Tillamook follows its increasing tide westward. This river and the Trask are famous for many years as the greatest fishing streams of northwestern Oregon. They are of about equal volume, the Trask having a shorter but broader watershed. Both are clear, rapid, powerful rivers—all that trout rivers par excellence should be. They flow into Tillamook Bay at its southeast eorner, near Tillamook City, which is a good base for reaching their lower waters, as well as the Tillamook River, which comes directly from the south and enters the southern end of the bay. Tillamook has not been so much fished as the two larger rivers and is not so
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' #8 ££ O R EGON i.e. eS es PP SM AOR
well known; but in any other locality, if more accessible, would be a famous fishing stream.
Directly east from Tillamook City sixteen miles is Trask post- office, the meeting place of the north and south forks of the Trask River. The stage road between Tillamook and Yamhill station on the Southern Pacific Railroad leaves the Trask here and ascends the mountain ridge which divides the two rivers. At this point is the Toll House, a famous stopping place and haunt of fishermen, from which the waters of either branch and the main river are easily reached by roads. The north fork of Trask is little settled, and there is possibly better fishing, though either branch is prime in season, and remarkably good late in the summer and fall. Accommodations may be had at several comfortable farms on the road, and the fishing is about as good down to within five miles of Tillamook City as farther up in the mountains. I several visits to Trask I have always been fortunate; twice, late in the summer or early fall, especially so. The sea trout take the fly on cloudy mornings with great eagerness, and run two pounds and upward.
The ride over the mountains on either the Trask or Wilson road takes the traveler through some of our most glorious forests, the magnificent larches rising a hundred feet, ike mighty col- umns, to the first hmb. On the eastern end of the Trask road, at Fairdale, there is a pleasant mountain tavern and good fishing on the upper waters of the north Yamhill.
_ There are plenty of ruffed grouse and blue grouse and quail along the roads from the Willamette to Tillamook. The road from Fairdale to the forks of Trask River is a delightful tramp of less than twenty miles, with the comfortable Toll House for a stopping place. The walk over these mountains and through these prim- eval forests, with views incomparable of blue, endless ranges. far-off snow peaks and delightful valleys far below, is a memory that will remain with one perhaps more vividly than that of the bright river and the basketful of trout.
Two fine north coast streams are Elk Creek, well known to
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Seaside visitors, and the famous Nekanakum. The latter is prob- ably more fished than any other stream in the Pacific States. Thousands of visitors fish its waters every summer, and the nu- merous and persistent anglers of Seaside are at it all winter long with spoons and salmon eggs. It is a wonder there are any trout left in it, and the angler in midsummer is apt to believe there are none. - | have tramped miles in an August day, half way from its source to its outlet, and fished faithfully without a rise from a legal fish; yet a week later, not two miles above Seaside House. have had good sport. There is no more beautiful stream than this, methinks. To one who knows the Nekanakum well, and loves it, as all who know it must, the catching of a great creel full is not altogether necessary to an enjoyable day on its waters.
The fish of this river are fully wise. There are large, deep pools, sometimes several hundred yards long, in which the fish congregate, and from which at most times no lure will entice them. On these very pools—given a cloudy, breezy day—big trout will occasionally come to the fly like hungry wolves. Pos- sibly the Nekanakum produces more fish in the aggregate than any stream of similar size, to the angler, in this state. It is of all others the stream to test the skill and patience of the finished sportsman, and there’s a triumph in taking a dozen good trout from its waters that rarely comes to an angler elsewhere, for he knows he has earned them dearly.
Eight miles south of Seaside (the road following Nekanakum four miles), across a ridge running east from Tillamook Head, is Elk Creek, with a couple of hotels, open summer and winter. This stream is much less fished than Nekanakum, and about half the size. It furnishes good sport, and is a delightful region, its sea beach close at hand being studded with magnificent rocky pinnacles, and the sandy shore clean and hard and delightful. There is good sea fishing from these rocks. The road to Elk Creek is fine for auto, wagon, saddle horse or footman, and the walk is perhaps the pleasantest way of all to travel thither.
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. & & owen oN se Por Oo BR P'S: MM A N
‘THE BOBWHITE QUAIL
Facts That Show the Value of This Bird From an Economic Standpoint. By C. F. HODGE.
The bobwhite is a splendid combination insect trap, weed- killer and game bird, and as a booster proposition his cheer- ful -whistle is also unexcelled. At the former. price of five or-six dollars a dozen the United. States ‘Department of Agriculture rated the rearing of this quail. as more profitable than any other line of poultry; and the price for breeding stock last year reached twenty five dollars a dozen,. with supply far be- low demand.
The high value placed on the bobwhite is due to a combi- nation of good points. Many sportsmen place it at the head of the list for upland birds in the matter of pure sport. They are easily propagated, very prolific, and can be increased rapidly under protection. Finally, as the foods of this species become generally understood, the weight of evidence for service ren- dered must place the bobwhite up to the natural limits of its insect and weed seed food supply, cn every farm and in every garden within its possible range.
The annual damage to agriculture by weeds is estimated at nearly $500,000,000. Nearly 53 per cent of the quail’s food is weed seeds, and of the 129 weeds it is known to destroy, many are the worst we have—among them beggar’s ticks, bindweed, Canada thistle, burdock, curled dock, wild mustard, ragweed, pigweed, lamb’s quarters, parsley, sorrel and witch grass. In a single day’s ration a bobwhite has been found to eat amounts of weed seeds as follows: |
Myaminsmntard ss 2%3 60ers... AOU ie Pp penoTtasse- 0. gu Savi Sle vs. tS 2,400 TG ee i ee EOP: Sea eC IM ee Martie Ce teh iam ates 12,000 SNE MIDC IE fe os ke 3 co AS AA Sel 2 CN ees ee Sel ge 12,500 MaMa ee Se oe os wee ss 1,560 Rabbit’s foot clover ........ 30,000 Mivyenimp primrose ...:....... TOO ve Smart weediiere: 5 sme ese 2,250 Hambs* quarters ©... 5... <i. -15,000... White vervain-\.....:... ...++18,750
T HE OREGON SPORTSMAN
Insects lay a yearly tax on American agriculture recently estimated at $1,049,500,000. The lst of 135 different insects which the bobwhite has been found to eat includes many of our most destructive pests. The bird is so large in comparison with many of our insect-eating birds that the quantities taken are also interesting. The following are among the records:
Male Bobwhite, that Hatched Fifteen out of Sixteen Eggs
Two tablespoonsful of chinch bugs, from a single crop; 5,000 aphids at a meal; 1,350 house and stable flies in a day; 1,283 rose slugs in a day; 1,532 miscellaneous insects, about 1,000 of them grasshoppers, weight nearly one aunce, the daily ration of a laying hen; 568 mosquitoes in three hours. For the year a bobwhite has, on the average, to his credit about five pounds of insects, over 65,000, and 5,123,000, or nearly ten pounds of weed seeds. | |
Anyone can estimate for himself what such a service might
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T H E O R EGON SE OC & 8 M AN
be worth to his garden, orchard or fields. It would seem from the above that the conclusion of Mrs. Nice. who made many of the above determinations, is fully warranted: ‘‘Bobwhites, if we only had enough of them, ought to save us over half of our
weed damage and half of our billion dollar insect tax.’’ How can we have enough of the birds, then, is the question.
The bobwhite has been successfully introduced into Oregon and to all appearances thrives exceptionally well in many parts of the State. All the birds the writer has seen have been large, vigorous specimens. The reason they have not increased much faster must be that natural enemies are numerous. The first law in game bird protection the world over is, always and every-
Friends—Bobwhite Whistling
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i H BE © OO KR EF @ ON 2 8S 2 CE TS MM AN
where, extermination or control of vermin. Here, ae is the crucial point at which we should attack the problem of inereas- ing Oregon bobwhite quail. .
In the older states the house cat is the Sve enemy of. sds species, and its unceasing depredations, by night and by day, in season and out, go further than any other one agency to account for its extermination over the wide areas of its former range. Rats, skunks and weasels, and certain hawks and owls are enemies that must be reckoned with, and, quite possibly, coyotes and bobcats. The Fish and Game Commission is especially de- sirous of securing evidence and complete data as to enemies of the bobwhite in different parts of the State. Will anyone who has made any observations along this line please send in the re- ports to the Oregon Sportsman?
The Commission also wishes to know all the points in Ore- gon where the bobwhite is abundant, and also any localities, adapted to it, where the bird does not exist. It is easy to trap the birds, when they can be shipped to stock covers where they are likely to thrive, and where local sportsmen can be depended to exterminate vermin and look after them most effectively. An active, united campaign for the protection, increase and dis- tribution of the bobwhite in Oregon is certain to be of great benefit to the agricultural interests of the people, and as soon as they are sufficiently numerous ve will add greatly to our permanent game resources.
TRAPPING AND DISTRIBUTING QUALL.
There are many requests for bobwhite quail in different parts of the state. A number of efforts have been made to purchase these birds from other parts of the country, but they have been unsuccessful in some cases on account of disease, and in other places on account of strict laws against exportation. =i ;
Three varieties of quail are found in Oregon: the plumed or mountain quail, the California or valley quail, sometimes called the little blue quail, and the bobwhite quail, which was formerly imported from the East. The mountain quail is fairly abundant in the mountainous. sections throughout the state. The California quail is found through southern and eastern Oregon, but is not a native of the Willamette Valley. The bobwhite quail
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is quite abundant in certain sections of the Willamette Valley and is in- creasing and spreading. It is also found in some parts of eastern Oregon, but not in southern Oregon.
During the winter of 1912 and 1913 an hundred and twenty-two Cali- fornia quail were trapped and released on the various refuges in the Willam- ette Valley. In future continued effort will be made to trap birds in the winter where they are abundant and turn them out in other sections of the state where such varieties are not found.
The Game Department is very anxious to get in touch with people who can trap some of these birds in sections where they are fairly abundant, so as to liberate them in other parts of the state.
Following is the number of California quail distributed during the past year:
(TL DEL EDEN NS eS Rc ee ea Se gly oe een a Tee Er eee ey 120 WemmntlCounty <2. 2e5...2 56. Sa EO see pe ae oe ee RI gee a 48 UE AS SEAS ee Se een ag = ae eras on oe a ne? eee er eee er 28 Warm NOH Soo tee ee he ince eV Ra a eed Pei tae re anette ts + BST ETH os Unt 24 sa CIEE. cscs eri ae Lens a Oe a's iia ese oh Gales sees Fe 2
222
FUR BEARING ANIMALS.
Up to January first 1451 trappers’ licenses were issued by the State Board of Fish and Game Commissioners for the trapping season which ends February 28, showing that trapping is one of the important industries of the State.
The last session of the Legislature passed a law protecting otter, mink, fisher, martin and muskrat, making a closed season during the time the fur is not prime, as well as providing regulations governing trapping which gives the licensed trapper needed protection, such as making it unlawful to disturb traps, ete. This law also provides that the trapper must furnish the State Board of Fish and Game Commissioners with a sworn statement of their fur catch at the end of each trapping season. The object of this report being to determine the value of the furbearers to the people of the State and the best means of conserving this important industry. It is not necessary to have a trapper’s license to trap predatory furbearers such as cougar, bobeat and coyote.
For the benefit of trappers the Oregon Sportsman is publishing market quotations on such furbearing animals as may be found in Oregon. These are based on a general average of the quotations in the fur markets of the United States.
Market tendencies during the season thus far has been generally down-
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rT H E OREGON SPORTSMAN
ward. This decline in prices has been apparent since about last July first, but has become more marked since the opening of the present trapping season in November. Mink, muskrat and skunk values have suffered most, while raccoon, martin, lynx and otter, and in fact fur prices generally are weak.
It is difficult to forecast the market for January. Much will depend on the offerings during the January sales, also to some extent on weather conditions. Extreme cold weather would mean a smaller catch and, at the same time, stimulate sales of manufactured furs.
Following are quotations on No. 1 furs:
Large Medium Small Mink “(average “color)< x... ve oe sae ee $ 5.50 $ 3.50 $ 2.50 Extra dark mink worth 50c¢ to $2 above brown or average color.
OGB OR TS RRR ee eter Sea 17.50 11.00 7.00 Skunk . (Marrow stipe agrees cee es hee eee 2.25
Civit: eat o20 Sade ae eee 65 45° 25 Mirror arbit ao. Sica eee ie ROR end ae a Prag 40 39 22 Béar (black) 2 20 Sey ae ee ee 20.00 15.00 10.00 Bear (brow) 5 hee 34 en ees ns eee ee 15.00 12.00 9.00 Dospan ee a eee a a a ore 17.00 12.00 9.00 Bobeat) «5. Geese Ge epee ee ee 4.00 2.75 1.75 Martin: : cic (ois Sits ceed ie po Oo 15.00 10.00 7.50 HMisher 9... $25 ph sctodae a ae ee een) 17.00 12.50 Timber wolves soo Se ee ae ieee 4.00 3.00 2.00 Coyote <1). tang ces eines kee a ee ee 4.00 2.75 1.75 Cougar «ics acd beat oe ee rete eee 7.00 4.00 2.50 House cat? Colack),<...2 4.2%. se one ee ee ee .30 .20 AS House‘ eat Colors): 25... hej ke on co eee tees 10 05 05 Weasels 0.00. Sas oidincie sug eltiaaeect Sth ay ceca ree 1.00 75 00
Badger... sedate ite Baio tener ee eee 1.50 1.00
DUCK SEASON CLOSES JANUARY FIFTEENTH.
Sunset on January 15th will mark the close of the duck and goose season in Oregon and Washington under the Federal laws.
The present season has been an average one in the numbers of ducks killed. In places good bags have been the rule.
All hunters should join in helping to see that the laws are observed during the closed season and exercise their influence toward inducing their friends and neighbors to do likewise.
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HE O R EGON SPD Oo: RTS M A N
Warning Against Shipping Game By Mail
Regulations Issued by Postmaster General Will be Important Factor Against Game Violations.
Persons are hereby warned against the use of the mail in shipping any game or hides unlawful to possess or handle, under the state fish and game laws.
Office of the Postmaster General Washington, Dee. 23, 1913.
Order No. 7734.
The postal laws and regulations, edition of 1913, are amended by the addition of the following as Section 47714:
See. 47714. Postmasters shall not accept for mailing any parcel con- taining the dead bodies, or parts thereof, of any wild animals or birds which have been killed or are offered for shipment in violation of the laws of the State, Territory or District in which the same were killed or offered for shipment. Provided, however, that the foregoing shall not be construed to prevent the acceptance for mailing of any dead animals or birds killed dur- ing the season when the same may be lawfully captured, and the export of which is not prohibited by the law of the State, Territory or District in which the same are captured or killed.
(2) Pareels containing the dead bodies of any game animals, or parts thereof, including furs, skins, skulls, or meat, or of any game or wild birds, or parts thereof, including skins, or any plumage, may be admitted to the mails only when plainly marked on the outside to show the actual nature of the contents and the name and address of the sender or shipper: Provided, however, that no parcel containing fresh game in any form may be accepted for transmission beyond the second zone. (See Sec. 475.)
(3) Postmasters desiring additional information on this subject should address the Third Assistant Postmaster General, Division of Classification.
(Note—Sections 242, 243 and 244, Act of March 4, 1909, 35 Stat., 1137, make it unlawful to ship in interstate commerce the dead bodies, or parts thereof, of any game animals or wild birds which have been killed or shipped in violation of the laws of the State, Territory or District in which the same were killed, or from which they were shipped.)
A. S. BURLESON, Postmaster General.
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ry HE:
Oo R EGON
Ss PORTS MAN
NOTES FROM COUNTIES
BAKER COUNTY.
The Chinese pheasants liberated on~ the North Powder Refuge have increased rapidly. A. B. Davis re- ports that he frequently sees flocks of these birds in his fields. Mr. West, who is superintendent of the Hutchinson property, gives a sim- ilar report. Prairie chickens have also increased in number since the formation of State game refuges in that part of the country.
BENTON COUNTY.
Mr. James Mulkey, of Pleasant Valley, trapped a fine black bear at the foot of Alsea Mountain, about five miles west of Philomath. This bear weighed two hundred pounds dressed, and was very fat. It was bought by one of the meat markets in Corvallis and sold for twenty-five cents a pound. Accord- ing to reports there are quite a number of bears in this locality.
This was the second killed by Mr.
Mulkey this winter.
CLACKAMAS COUNTY.
Since the illegal chasing of deer with dogs has decreased in the Estacada country, deer have in- ereased rapidly. A big effort is being made this winter by local hunters to kill off wolves, cougars and other predatory animals as an additional protection to deer.
* * *
With all the Chinese pheasant
shooting that was done in this lo-
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to any great extent.
eality during the open season, these birds do not seem to be depleted With a fa- vorable winter and spring there will be about as many next season as there was this.
* * w
Fishing has been very good in the Clackamas River below River Mill for the past three weeks. The fish eaught are salmon, steelheads, white fish, rainbow trout, and once in a while a Dolly Varden and Cut- throat trout.
CLATSOP COUNTY.
Spoon fishing for silversides has been good at Seaside. Good aver- ages catches were made. Among the successful fishermen lately were Mr. Bushong, who caught seven of the gamey fish with a casting rod. Bert Godfrey caught six, C. W. Loughery four and Louis three.
Henry
CROOK COUNTY. Trapping is reported as especially good this winter. Mr. Kelly, from Lava Lake, has out two hundred traps. Up to December Ist he caught twenty marten, two otter and three mink. The skins were
large and unusually good.
DOUGLAS COUNTY.
L. B. Daugherty, of Yonealla, while visiting his traps about ten miles west of Yoncalla one morn- ing discovered he had caught a
i HE Oo: BRB BE GO N SUPP OL EE TOS MA N eougar. The trap had a largefir on the Malheur Lake’ Reserva- bush tied to it and the cougar had tion. The Department of Agri- dragged the bush to a large cliff culture regulates the trapping of
and had crawled under the rocks. Mr. Daugherty pulled on the bunch of brush several times and finally the cougar came out with a rush and with his fore paw _ slashed Daugherty’s arm the entire length. Fortunately, he did not get a good hold. One of the other men in the party shot the cat with his 22 rifle.
* * *
Charles © Roseburg, caught a large wolf in one of his traps a short time ago by making a ‘‘blind set’’ in a trail where it passed around a ledge of rock.
Durgin, of
* * *
Quite. a number of white tailed deer have been seen in the vicinity of Roseburg lately. They are quite
different from the blacktailed deer |
and are very similar to the Vir- ginia whitetail.
. HARNEY COUNTY.
Forest Ranger Edgar W. Don- nelly, of the. Ocheco National For- est, while on a business trip to Burns in the middle of December, told of seeing sixteen large buck deer near the head waters of Silver Creek. He says the snow at the time was from six to twelve inches in depth and that the deer are still well up in the mountains.
* = %
During the month of November six trappers caught 3060 muskrats
furbearing animals on the _ bird reservations and limits the number of trapping permits, with the result: that the fur product of these pre- serves is rapidly increasing from year to year.
* * *
Mr. C. E. Tullock, of Berckley, reports having seen in the neigh- b rhood of one thousand antelope near Desert Lake, west of Catlow Valley, on a recent trip through that section.
JACKSON COUNTY.
George Grigsby and. a party of friends, of Central Point, were out on a trapping trip the middle of last month, and on December 14th they found a five and a six-point buck that had been fighting. The animals had their horns locked. The six-point buck was dead. The men separated the two deer and the five-point, when free, took to the brush.
aes * * *
Chinese pheasants were quite plentiful in the Rogue River Val- ley this season, a noticéable in- crease over last year.
* * *
The Hungarian partridges liber- ated this season in Jackson County are doing very well. One mother partridge was seen with eighteen young, two with fourteen and three with six.
Page fifteen
2 ES O R &
G ON
S Poo ET's M AWN
MARION COUNTY.
The Hungarian partridges which have been liberated for the past two seasons on the Capital Game Refuge about the city of Salem, have increased rapidly. Flocks of these birds are seen daily along the roads east and southeast of the city.
MULTNOMAH COUNTY.
Henry Bettman, musical director at the Orpheum Theatre is a duck hunter and what might be ealled a real sportsman. Henry shoots ducks down the river and in order to get to his lake for a Sunday morning shoot, it is necessary for him to leave after the show Saturday night. He gets to his lake just about the official time to start shooting, he shoots a duck and starts back so as to be at the theatre in time for the Mr. Bett- man says it’s not the Duck he goes for but the recreation. he gets the recreation all right.
overture at the matinee.
We are sure
POLK COUNTY.
A large number of Chinese pheas- ants were killed during the open season throughout this county. The male birds seemed quite scarce by November lst, yet many were wily enough to eseape hunters by flush- ing far out of range or by hiding Since the shooting season closed the cocks are much bolder and they are frequently seen in small flocks.
= *¥ =
George Russel] and O. B. Parker
in the woods.
Page sixteen
recently saw a flock of eleven Chinese pheasants fly up into the trees of an old orchard. birds lit in one tree and four in another. In all there were seven cocks and four hens, showing that in this band a good number of males survived the hunting season.
Seven
UNION COUNTY.
The band of elk on the head of the Grande Ronde River shows quite an inerease in number during the past two years. When last counted there was a total of ninety-eight in this locality. Mr. Christman re- ports that the band on Dutch Flat has doubled in. two years. Those along the Minam River and Cather- ine Meadows are doing nicely. They have not been troubled by hunters during the last year as the wardens and forest everyone that goes into that country.
rangers are watching
WALLOWA COUNTY.
Mr. C. H. Evans reports that there has been a noticeable increase of prairie chickens in his part of the county during the past two or three years. The farmers and land owners have taken a great interest in bird protection since the Chinese pheasants were sent from the State game farm.
YAMHILL COUNTY.
Cecil Parker, of McMinnville, re- cently counted fifty-three bobwhite quail in one flock on the J. A. Derby place, about a quarter of a mile from the city limits.
AS, 465°
The OREGON SPORTSMAN
FEBRUARY 1914
YOUNG COON—WHO SAID CHICKEN ?
PUBLISHED MONTHLY UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE
FISH AND GAME COMMISSION
By WILLIAM L. FINLEY, State Game Warden, Portland, Oregon
Volume II ] 5c a copy—50c a year [ Number 2
Volume one contains four numbers. Volume two will contain twelve numbers, end- ing December, 1914.
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The Oregon Sportsman
Volume II] FEBRUARY 1914 Number 2
THE GAME PROTECTION FUND
FOR 1913
Pmoum, on hand January Ist 3913s oo. ee ee. $ 60,777.62 Income from Sportsmen’s Licenses
Pe TCS 2 I Began is eae Oe A SE ae $108,800.00 Income from Fines and Other Sources.... 8,634.82
Dione nome orl GAS eters a Pee le ot. 117,434.82 Cash on hand, Game Protection Fund for 1918........ $178.212.44 Amount expended by Fish and Game Commission from
January ist, 1915, fo. January Ist, Wi4 oe 3s. 136,474.92
Balance on hand January Ist, 1914 ............. $ 41,737.52
We print in this issue an itemized account of the hunters’ and anglers’ licenses paid in according to the various counties of the state during the past year. Also a summary of the number of trout and other game fish distributed in the various counties, an account of game birds liberated, a recapitulation of arrests and convictions for violation of the game laws, and a summary of dis- bursements from the Game Protection Fund from January Ist, 1913, to January Ist, 1914.
The Sportsmen Pay the Bills.
Occasionally we hear the remark that the Fish and Game Commission is spending too much of the taxpayers’ money in the protection and propagation of game. The money in the Game Protection Fund, which is spent in the employment of from forty to fifty game wardens, the purchase and the distribution of game birds, animals and game fish, is derived from the hunt- ers’ and anglers’ licenses. Not one penny was appropriated for game protection at the last session of the legislature. The Game
Pare one
psa = Beam = O <b E -G: OLIN SPORBTS MANN
Protection Fund comes from the pockets of the man who hunts and angles. It should be carefully spent to advance the cause for which it is collected.
It must be borne in mind that a good portion of the total ex- penditures from the Game Protection Fund for the year 1913 was incurred by the purchase of the fish distribution car; the property upon which the Bonneville Hatchery is located, and other perma- nent improvements and equipment at the hatcheries and the State
Game Farm. What Has Been Accomplished.
There have been more real results in game protection and preservation during the year 1913 than in any other year in the history of the state. There have been active game protective associations organized which are composed of farmers, business men and others who are actively engaged in planting fish in the streams, putting game birds in the fields and killing cougar, wolves, bobcats and other predatory animals, which are the greatest enemies of game.
There has been an active campaign carried on among the children of our public schools, showing them the economie value of our wild birds and animals, especially about the farm.
Game protection and game preservation is an educational and economic question. The Fish and Game Commission cannot hire enough game wardens to prevent game law violations. There must be a more general interest in game protection.
There have been over 8,000,000 fingerling game fish planted in the various streams and lakes in the state. The most impor- tant part of this work has been the stocking of a large number of fine mountain lakes in the high Cascades which heretofore have contained no fish. As a result, in a few years these lakes will teem with trout. Our great mountain range will be a reere- ation ground for our people, more important than any other sim- ilar territory in the United States.
Over three thousand game birds were liberated in the vari- ous parts of the state during the past year for stocking purposes.
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oe «dea CooB a e..Gi ON RO = 6 ees: en Oia — aie | Sa
Also an additional herd of fifteen elk were brought into Oregon and placed on the reserve in Wallowa County.
Food Value of Our Game.
What does the game of this state amount to purely from the meat standpoint? Approximately 9,000 deer were killed in Ore- gon during the past year. This meat is worth about sixteen cents per pound, whether it is on the table of the farmer, the moun- taineer or the merchant. There were approximately 150,000 ducks and about 45,000 Chinese pheasants killed during the past season. From a food standpoint, a mallard or a pheasant is worth about seventy-five cents. A pound of trout or other game fish is worth twelve cents from the meat standpoint. When we con- sider the approximate weight of the game fish (not including salmon and commercial fish) which are caught by the people of this state each year, and, in addition to the above, when we con- sider the numbers of grouse, quail, geese, shore birds, and also the number of fur-bearing animals that are taken, we shall find that a low estimate of these resources is $900,000 a year in the pockets of our people.
Value of Wild Birds to the Farmer.
The fact is often overlooked that our game birds, animals and game fish have been and are today the most important factor in the development of our state. The rifle has been almost as important as the ax and the plow. At the time it was hardest for a homesteader to make a living, the wild game was his main- stay. This is even the case today in some parts of our state. Our game has a large food value.
The work of the Fish and Game Commission embraces the protection of song and insect-eating birds, which are of economic importance to the farmer, gardener, orchardist and the timber- man. These song and insect-eating birds work more in conjunc- tion with man than any other creatures of the outdoor. They police the earth and air, and keep the insect pests in check. Larks, wrens and thrushes search the ground for grubs and in-
Page three
2 E46 0 EB £2 GON SP OR fs a oe
sects; the food of the meadowlark consists of seventy-five per cent of injurious insects and twelve per cent of weed seed; spar- rows and finches eat a large amount of weed seed. Prof. F. E. L. Beal showed by the examination of the stomachs of tree sparrows that they ate a quarter of an ounce of weed seed daily. In a state the size of Iowa, tree sparrows alone consumed more than 800 tons of weed seed annually. This, with the work of other weed seed-eating birds, saves the farmer a large amount of labor. Nuthatches and chickadees scan every part of the trunks and limbs of the trees for insect eggs. Harmful beetles in our great Oregon forests are yearly destroying a large amount of timber. These wild birds are the only natural check to prevent this. In a day’s time a chickadee has been known to eat hundreds of in- sect eggs and worms that are harmful to trees and vegetables. Warblers and vireos hunt the leaves and buds for moths and millers. Flycatchers, swallows and nighthawks are busy day and night destroying the flies about the farm that annoy man and beast. Many of our hawks and owls are working quietly day and night catching mice, moles, gophers and squirrels.
Is It Not a Good Investment.
Fishing and hunting is a business proposition to the farmer, the fruit grower, the timberman and every other land owner in the state. Our people need outdoor life and recreation. As an outdoor state, Oregon is becoming more and more a drawing card for a desirable class of tourists who have money to spend and money to invest. They come for enjoyment. They angle in our mountain streams. They see our wonderful forests of fir and pine. They cross our valleys and see our fertile farms. They come to play—they return to stay.
The money spent by tourists and others in railroad fares, hotel accommodations, employment of guides, purchase of equip- ment and supplies and other items, amounts to a large sum every year—money that goes directly into the pockets of our citizens.
From an economic and business standpoint, to say nothing of their aesthetic value, the game and other wild creatures of.
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the state are worth over $5,000,000 annually to us. This is not placing a high estimate on these resources. Who will say that it is not a business proposition to expend two per cent a year in such an investment? That is what the Fish and Game Commission of the State of Oregon has done during the year 1913.
GAME BIRDS LIBERATED IN VARIOUS COUNTIES DURING THE
YEAR 1913. Quail and Hungarian Pheasants Partridges I i ae at ge fe rol eee x od Bleded we Be 14 eatin ee es os es eek a sale ae - si 48 CSRS Bee wee aaa ee aie ne tae hy Ree rang aie 24 Oman 5205 kd aS ey cee Baa Oi we oe eee 48 BREE rats ot ee a ee ici ts he a ng Daly 2 Bors 36 nese Spa 5) 25 1) 826 oie Dos Pre a ee hee abide wtp A 66 108 CSL Us ET BR POG Age RR ail, eo Gina ei ESS eae BE Rage ON 72 MU AEMI ES ee 7.5 os osha nA DS oe le ee ay a tee ee 156 ROAD TRUCE D | oieis Soon tcte oe eco eis ere ws ow ete op oe 132 | NE een ee nt See anne eS arta oe eee 144 60 EE NNERIE Te AU he he Sata eet, sarah gee 147 60 ab aay iigte st a Potts se Sse 3 is Uehara Ce 178 PS ost ire 8 os eek cap peng een ee 84 WANES per iie B SO Sad tek Bye ietdige iw tie th et 89 84 0 EEN EPS a, SS a ie so Og OER SARs tS oe ee eg TREN eet 32 14 SRE ar 53 ia Ne ee cole ei Is, iPn ealg os 121 192 MEE Vas A Se to ae ea 6 CEG 12 WO PACT Ma ch 5 ss Se es OE Be BEE 59 16 pict ah eh as ek ee eee ar oe tak 280 8 ET a SE ee ee ee Rare ay 206 WN APE A ies Aire a OO ora oe eRe es og the = 270 6 LE De dee TEE at gee A ets tone ae oa ae 86 Wicerdoten ites 24 eater Fe fg bee. NS. 3 Opal yee ee sett ty ere ose Wa dade Bete 118 OR a AE EET 4 PREY 5 gh oto et dea an 2,363 708 pia ee ert, PCT AGCE <6 he. 2 ES ee we oe ceils ce ee bs 3,071
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tf Hy = OR EGON S P OBR TSMAN
RIVERS AND STREAMS OF OREGON
With Some Descriptions of the Country, Fish and Fishing—Part 3 BY JOHN GILL
LOWER COLUMBIA STREAMS
Twenty miles west of Portland is the well-known (and well- fished) Scappoose, with its north and south forks. One can get enough of Scappoose in a day, leaving town on the 8 A. M. train and returning at 10 P. M. If one wants the evening and-.morn- ing fishing, as on several streams west, an afternoon train will take one to villages where good accommodations can be had, and thus Milton, Tide Creek and Goble Creek can be fished. These streams are not by any means troutless, but one earns all he gets in any of them. At times, too, there is really good fishing. I saw the best basket of trout from Scappoose in the spring of 1911 that I ever saw taken there, and I have caught a thousand trout from the north fork, but many years ago.
Beaver, half way from Portland to the sea, is next, and little visited. Its lower course is through the great marsh, and yields no trout except sea trout by bait fishing. One should take a team at Quincy and drive (or be driven) five miles or more up from the railroad and then Beaver is worth the trouble. It is a long stream, and even back of Rainier, many miles east of Quincy, is good fishing. One can get a pretty good day’s fishing by arrang-
ing beforehand for a team to receive one at Quincy from the |
morning train from Portland, drive at once up the river and have the same team take one back to the station at 8 P. M. to return to town that night. The same may be done at Clatskanie, but as the lower Clatskanie is over-fished, it is usually better to go there on an evening train, staying at a comfortable hotel and making an early start for ten miles up river. The Clatskanie is a fine, big stream and a fair fishing river. In Fall and Winter its lower waters are good fishing for the Winter trout, and one
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To. EB QO RE .G,.O N S PO RTS MAN
ean have enough of that sluggish sport by taking the morning train west and returning the same night.
There has been good fishing at Westport, on Plympton Creek, in the past. It is rather a small stream but very pleasant fish- ing, and if Dave West’s hotel were ‘‘running’’ I should chance it very often there; but for some years the accommodations have not been attractive and the stream is too far away for a single day’s outing.
Farther west again, at Knappa, is a lovely stream, the Tillas- qua, ignorantly known as “‘Big Creek’’—a name which all honest anglers should discourage, preferring the good old Indian title.
Go down on an evening train, arriving at Knappa about 9:30, and walk up through the darkness or by the lantern light to the hotel on the hill. It is a unique old place, its like nowhere else on the river, standing on a beautiful little peninsula overlooking the broad Columbia and its green, wooded islands, and the fine mountains on Washington shore. You will sleep there in a silence that will almost make your ears ache, in a hotel that once was populous but now rarely has a half dozen guests, always anglers. An early breakfast—not too luxurious—and then tramp either by the county road or a trail south over the ridge a couple of miles, and you strike Tillasqua at a point where its whirling flood swings around a semi-circle below the road. You will probably insist on beginning then and there, and that will be right, too; but I like to go a couple of miles farther up the canyon and then fish down. In my few visits to Tillasqua I have never been disappointed, though never have made any great catches. It is a fine stream for winter fishing for steelheads. The garden of the old hotel is a delight, and the landlord usually allows his patrons to bring home an armful of old-fashioned flowers, as welcome to ‘‘the folks’’ as a basketful of trout.
(Note: Since the above was written things are changed sadly for the worse on the Tillasqua. In the spring of 1912, certain fishermen passing through fields and farms along the
Page seven
pea © See 2 O RR EGON S PO 8 TS MAN
lower river threw fences down and left gates open, and stock strayed from field to field, doing great damage. All that water is now posted against fishermen, a single Portland angler, Mr. H. Eldridge, being welcome to fish there as he has done for many years; and this favor is the result of consideration and regard for the rights of others on his part.)
A great tract of forest on the mountains bordering this river is being cut off by a company which also forbids any fish- ing on its lands. This prohibition is also due to the recklessness of men who light fires promiscuously and leave them without taking the trouble to extinguish them, thus endangering enormous interests.
So here is a fine stream which we have lost through the criminal, wanton disregard of the rights of others! Such results are sure to follow in similar cases elsewhere; and the man who so violates his privilege of fishing our streams is not only an enemy and nuisance to the farmer and lumberman, but to all the guild of honest fishermen.
STREAMS NEAR ASTORIA
Clatsop is exceptionally blessed with fine trout streams. Plympton Creek and Tillasqua, described above, are within that county. The Tillasqua, whose lower course has been covered by previous notes, rises in a group of very high and noble moun- tains twenty miles southeast of Astoria, and we followed its waters from the mouth of the ‘‘canyon’’ to Knappa, where it falls into the Columbia. It must be that there is fishing in the long canyon which runs for several miles through the mountains, but I have not gone far in the gorge, always finding more inviting fishing in the waters below it. There is a sense of imprisonment and peril in fishing a deep gorge where the steep walls of rock rise forbiddingly, and often one unacquainted with such a gorge is in more than imaginary risk. The little beach of gravel you have been following may terminate at the food of a rampart of
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T H E OREGON 8-P OR TS M AN
vertical rock which can be surmounted only by a long detour to the rear, or passed by swimming the black depths of the stream at its base. This is the character of the canyon of Tillasqua and many other streams. Such perilous and forbidding waters offer the persecuted trout secure retreats and will help to preserve the stock for ages to come. . Dr. Francis Cauthorn has told me of first-class fishing he has enjoyed in the upper waters of Tillasqua above the canyon.
In the mountain highlands at its head, heavily forested with the most magnificent timber, rise important tributaries of Ne- halem, falling south, and Young’s River and Klaskanine, flowing northwest into Young’s Bay below Astoria. These two rivers are reached most conveniently by boat from Astoria, or by a road from Astoria to Olney. They are little fished, apparently, and afford excellent sport. The state maintains a hatchery on Klaskanine, and reports from there, Spring of 1913, tell of large numbers of giant cut-throat trout taken there.
Saddle Mountain, the noblest mass of the Coast Range, is the western buttress of this mountain group. Lewis and Clark’s River rises at its base and flows north, a few miles east of the railroad from Astoria to Seaside, falling into the western side of Young’s Bay. This fine river is little fished because of the dif- _ ficulty in reaching its upper waters. It can be more conveniently reached by boat from Astoria. Occasional anglers go in by a trail which starts east from Wohana Station on the A. & C. For a mile a fair road, then a winding trail following the ridge of the range that fronts the sea, amid beautiful spruces and hemlocks, and after crossing the ridge a steep, narrow track through im- penetrable brush to the site of an old sawmill, from which either right or left-hand trails lead down to the old Netul, which was the Indian name of the stream. From here on there is no house or clearing. The stream is pure and clear as God made it, a fellow to the Nekanakum. One ought to camp at least one night on the Netul, to get morning and evening fishing.
Page nine
fr. H.-B 400 B B.-G. Gon S PO RTSM™M’AN THF REARING OF BOBWHITE QUAIL
How the Farmer’s Boy;May Save and Protect These Birds of | Economic Value BY C. F. HODGE, Eugene, Oregon
A bird does not need to be large in order to be of the great- est economic importance. In the last number or The Oregon Sportsman we discussed the food of the bobwhite and the evidence indicated the great value of this bird in destroying insects and weeds. As these values are beginning to be appreciated state game departments are seriously considering the problem of pro- tecting and increasing these birds up to the limits of their natural weed seed and insect food supply, and the long closed seasons re- cently voted in several important states is a practical judgment that bobwhites are worth too much to agriculture to be used for sport until such increase has been secured. As soon as they have increased to the point where they render the greatest practical service to agriculture, it will be necessary to reduce numbers yearly. Then the surplus may be the most important game re- source of the state. How to increase the bobwhite in Oregon is a much easier problem than in many of the eastern states.
The easiest way to increase the stock under Oregon condi- tions will be to protect bobwhites from natural enemies, where they already exist, and encourage them to breed naturally, any surplus being trapped each fall for distribution to other parts of the state. However, in cutting grain or hay, nests will be broken © up and every farmer’s boy and girl ought to know how to save the - eggs and rear the birds successfully. This, of course, will have to be done under proper permits from the Fish and Game Commission.
The eggs of the bobwhite, or any bird, can be prevented from chilling at any stage of incubation by carrying them in the crown _ of a felt hat. A straw hat with a handkerchief in the crown will do as well. In this way partridge eggs have been carried the
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rH ES OREGON TR oR A! Wi <a SR
better part of a day and all hatched normally. Anyone having the opportunity to rear bobwhites in the manner suggested should have a flock of cochin bantam chickens and keep hens setting during the season nests are likely to be disturbed. These little fluffy hens hatch the eggs and mother the chicks perfectly. It is well to make the nests with fine, moist, sifted peat or leaf mould lined with fine chaff, grass or lawn clippings, to prevent breaking of the delicate eggs, and every precaution must be taken to keep both nest and hen clean and entirely free from hee and mites. Also select quiet hens and keep them as tame as possible.
If no rats, cats or other vermin are around, and if the soil has not been contaminated by domestic poultry so that turkeys ean be reared without danger from blackhead, the bantam hens may be allowed to rear the chicks, giving them the free run of the garden and orchard. We must be sure that they have plenty of insects for the first few days. We may get these by sweeping the grass with an insect net, by trapping flies, singeing their wings before feeding, by gathering ‘‘ants’ eggs’’ from under stones or in ant hills, and, best of all for the first meal, by cutting weeds or branches covered with plant lice. The standard insect food is fly maggots, which may be raised by the peck, as is com- monly done for young turkeys. We can also raise meal worms in any quantities, and these have often tided a flock over a week _ of cold, stormy weather when fly maggots would not grow and other insects could not be collected.
After the first few days, vegetable matter is eaten freely and supplies needed variety. Any of the following may be used: fresh chickweed, clover, sorrel blossoms, grasses in blossom or seed, weed seeds of all kinds, all sorts of berries in season, as well as apple, grated carrot, boiled rice, boiled potato, bread crumbs, dry or moistened with either fresh or sour milk.
Standard artificial foods are: sour milk curds or cottage cheese, or any cheese grated or erumbled, and plain custard (made by beating an egg in a half cup of fresh milk and baking
Page eleven
PY 8 Fo oR oe 6 20- a SPORTSMAN
or scalding). These rich foods must be fed sparingly—a difficult thing to do—and the one rule to insure health is, keep appetite keen, and vary and alternate sharply different kinds of food. Bear in mind the great variety in the bird’s natural food; here a few insects, there some berries, next weed seeds or tender leaves.
If too much or too rich food is given, it can not be quickly digested and absorbed, and the surplus only serves to grow bac- teria in the bird’s stomach and intestines. Bacteria grow best in neutral or alkali foods. If a meal of neutral custard is fol- lowed by something sour and coarse, strawberries, sorrel blos- soms or chickweed, the pestiferous bacteria will be killed or swept out. The appetite will remain keen and the birds healthy.
The incubation period of the bobwhite is twenty-four days. The eggs can be hatched in an incubator, if it is supplied with abundance of moisture; but the difficulty of doing this makes it much easier and safer to hatch under hens.
The chicks can be reared in a clean incubator quite as easily as bantam chickens. They are sociable and intelligent little birds and easily tamed. If a whistle somewhat like their feeding note is used consistently in tending them, they soon learn to come at call and follow a person as they would a parent bird. It is not advisable to pinion the young birds as they will use their wings to good advantage in flying to the whistle; and they need their wings to escape cats and other natural enemies on the ground.
As to handling of breeding stock, size and arrangement of
yard and cages, the first point to note is that the birds fly lke .
bullets. Hence cages must be small to prevent developing speed in flight, which is likely to cripple or kill the birds if they strike the wire. Six by twelve feet is a good size for a breeding cage for two or three pairs. Single pairs have bred well in cages three by six feet, and since, if not well paired, the males are likely to fight viciously, it is generally best to keep a single pair in a cage.
The next point is, the bobwhite is strictly monogamous. We may have one cock and two hens in a cage; both hens will lay,
Page twelve
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> os One & Ga N es ee oe oy Oo
but only the eggs of one of them will hatch. The cocks will help in brooding the eggs and in care of the young. After a nest full of 16 to 20 eggs have been laid, the cock may begin to brood and the hen may make another nest and continue laying. The birds do not brood with entire satisfaction under confine- ment, and if, say, 20 eggs have been laid and neither bird shows signs of brooding, put the eggs under a bantam hen and sub- stitute plaster of paris casts in the bobwhite’s nest. If abun- dantly supplied with insect food, the hens will lay from 65 to 100 eggs in a season, practically all of them fertile.
By following the above suggestion, it will be possible to save thousands of bobwhite eggs which are likely to be destroyed in haying and harvesting on the farms.
TOTAL DISTRIBUTION OF GAME FISH DURING 1913 BY COUNTIES, INCLUDING FISH LIBERATED THROUGH CO-OPERATION OF UNITED STATES BUREAU OF FISHERIES.
BSAC. he = 25 5) oe aan eee IDAs. = aN =. s WSs Ant 400,500 2 Pi PPS BS pee es Sa 256,000 Marion, -s4e%es20 2, ee 210,000 SECT 1 a a a ree 477,900. Multnomah: _. 52.3055: .. 510,000 US EEC a Se eee ee en re CNL Le EUR Cot ioe ne eR a 42,900 Cc ULPLIIT 0 a a loaner Sh500... eilamogle- 337 aoe. 2 ...- 122,000 RROD Set oi ea cn isis ase tho DOUG se GraNe te cre es sre a dl i. 45,135 BIONE MIR oe tia a HS & G89 SOU. AGPOpii 7 a caaics Seki ser. 149,300 Hood ~ River: .. ae tess ee» 290 400 mia le, G8 ira th oe oi) se 255,700 cL Ge LIAR ee Sor aie AT) eh i e100 | ae ee ae 51,750 POSE pPRIBG. ee oe Bu jae tev erw's 1 530405>. Washimetone 5 tc 2. eee. 240,700 LG TET 1 EES On See Se Degen. fo WV ASCO sy els soe ls =f u 2,0 134,400 LENE Le ae 2 Oe ee een SDs 9oe = WW ALO Els Za 8222 3). os 0B tae 199,800 Lane ...... CE i ee eee Heo, 000-= Kam hilertes. 08. p45 kilns 553,332
Totals. 20:6 Bie pie ae IS PARE te Pepe at Eee Ee Se Rb aS ae 8,730,797 UE Pi EE Ee ese oe hee Sed Sg so ake At ep PD gt eh 6 Sep wots ot a 1,905,840 REE Eee Ree Se ak > aac a ick Pcie edn Hi aes 6 oe 7,444,546
eit OSE ee te few he oy hin es 8,730,797
Ty. Bot Ol ee GOON S PORTS MAN
DISBURSEMENTS FROM THE GAME PROTECTION FUND FOR 1913.
Salary and Expenses checking County Records.................. $ 951.35 Printing . Game: dbicenses:/and Tacs: jae2 yee eee eee 1,690.52 palary State- Game: Warden2....*. %. o\va- we ee erairee ee teres ne eae 3,100.00 Expenses State Game Warden....... sale tah at aus Id eee A ce are nae 656.65 Stationery ‘and “Printino. = .--<c.cas. seas et wee ee ee 2,048.24 Salaries: Deputy ‘Game. Wardens:..- 92's... tice sere eee anos 36,558.75 Expenses: Deputy Game “Wardens.235 . se Sasa eoi, eile eee 16,935.91 Salaries Special, Deputy Game {Wardens : bo. vee eet ee ea ee 2,964.30 Hxpenses Special. Deputy Game Wardens: 2... 2-01... «eo 1,207.65 State Game Farm Propagation and Expenses.................... 4,755.97 State ‘Game Warm Salaries, ¢5 440i tesa © cone eee eee cat en 2,356.45 Office Expenses x. iif inee eeu chee ites ote ene ee 4,003.30 Office: Salaries: (2 3. sos otis se ne aces ei pheokoreas © teeta eee 3,223.49 Commissioners’ Per Diem and Expenses: 2 92. cece se 4) eae 1,065.46 Hduecational Work—Salaries -and . Expenses... 0.82.2. :0. eee 3,609.43 Court-and Legal -Wixpenseny co ic07- te ocak ree eee ed ee ena 409.60 Game Birds and Game Animals Introduced........ Se ye cage we Lehane 2,497.01 Game _ Refuge . Expense 3 Joi <5 tet en aa ee nee eee 975.31 Bounties’: and “Rewards. os 2. aes os cats oe ages eee ee ee ee 849.33 Field and Scientific Work—Salaries and Expemnses.............. 2,094.65
POG die sie eases gee a ee eae tae eae em $92,453.37
Expenses of Hatcheries and Trout Distribution.
Bonneville. Hatchery: 5:5 Seite ns este ei metre ee ee een $12,615.84 Spencer Creek “Hatchery “2 js. syagcr ce cree it ee ee are et 3,445.86 Crescent, Odell, Davis Gakes7, Station. 00 22).csaclees ee eee ee ee 1,515.13 MeKenzie River: Hatchery, 2 oes ste ee ele eee eee paar 1,286.84 Yaquina, Tillamook and Siuslaw Hatcheries .2.-...%.......-:6= 855.10 Strawberry Lake, Wallowa and Olive Lake Hatcheries .......... 783.96 Salmon River and Umpqua, Hatchermes =. <2. oc eee eee 121.45 Ament Fishway and, Dam 2s 220... sak 2's Se ae ee ee eee Re 258.10
A Woy 2 2 Rann ema RS rng oy Spree Ok Da ope he Ct AEG eae ae a ee eS $20,882.28 Deputy. Salary and} Mxpense wie ate < a eteeiae s chelatt ye eee $ 1,066.68 Fish Car Salaries and :xpensesi ... > cae anee ees Eee et ands ate 4,126.90 Purchase of Fish’ Car and (Wiquipment, 2.2 or seen ce ce tees 7,242.51 General Trout Expense and Equipment ........................- 2 19TA7 Purehase of Trout: Higgs) %, Veo ee teas cues ie a ae eee 3,188.27 Distribution of : Bass. and Salaries =) 507%. 24 2.50. emp eeeeeale 1,039.36 United States Government ‘Co-operation >. .)..6:. 0s aes we eee 3,978.38
Total 00 es eee eee Aone ae +. $23,139.27
Grand Total, $136,474.92
a. 2.8 ok & G G@ N SFO. Et 6 MA
STATE CONVENTION OF SPORTSMEN. By H. B. Van Duzer, President Multnomah Anglers’ Club.
It was originally planned to hold this convention to organize a state association on January 16th, but from letters received from various sports- men’s organizations throughout the state, it was thought more time was needed in making the necessary preparations incidental to such a gathering.
In response to repeated urging on the part of representative sportsmen’ in all parts of the state, it has been decided to issue a call for the state convention to be held at Portland on Monday, March 16th, in the Convention Hall of the Commercial Club. Throughout the state there are about sixty clubs that are entitled to affiliate in this proposed state convention. The need of such an organization is apparent, and the hearty co-operation of all clubs is solicited.
The prime motive of such an organization is the betterment of condi- tions affecting the protection and propagation of game and fish in the state. There are many matters along these lines that properly come under the jurisdiction of such an organization.
In a state as large as Oregon, with the climatic and ether conditions so varied, and with the desires of the sportsmen of some localities appar- ently diametrically opposed to those of others, the value of a ‘‘clearing house,’’ where differences can be settled among themselves and not be used as weapons by those opposed to game legislation or regulation, must be patent to all who have given the matter any attention.
It is not the purpose of the Multnomah County sportsmen to attempt by force of numbers to control the organization. The tentative plan gives each club represented one vote in the convention regardless of the numer- ical strength of the club or of the number of delegates present representing each club. It is urged that as many Holes aie: as possible be sent from each club with this understanding.
As a method of organization, it is suggested that outside of the gen- eral officers of the organization, the Executive Committee be composed of members representing the different sections of the state, the same to be elected by the clubs of those sections present at the convention. In other words, the Executive Committeeman from northeastern Oregon will be selected by the club from that section. Inasmuch as the Executive Com- mittee will be continually ‘‘on the job,’’ this method will, in our minds, insure the proper recognition of the needs and desires of each section.
These suggestions are made for the consideration of the sportsmen of the state, and it is hoped they will respond in goodly numbers and make the proposed organization a success from the start.
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t HE
REPORT OF GAME LICENSES, JANUARY TO DECEMBER INCLUSIVE, 1913. County Hunters’ Anglers’ Combination Non-Res. Total Baker >Use 790.00 820.00 546.00 2,156.00 Beton saat os oc 1,297.00 890.00 308.00 10.00 2,505.00 Clackamas .... 1,633.00 1,740.00 212.00 3,085.00 Glatsop =... 0 =<. 753.00 854.00 448.00 30.00 2,085.00 Columbia of 877.00 319.00 182.00 160.00 1,538.00 GBS yi oe hes 2,148.00 1,215.00 962.00 20.00 4,345.00 Cipiake: Ver, ce 832.00 1,635.00 396.00 10.00 2,873.00 Garry: sinters 610.00 430.00 190.00 1,230.00 Douglas ..... 2,558.00 1,319.00 548.00 90.00 4,515.00 Gilliain ses 283.00 84.00 22.00 180.00 569.00 Grave soe sek 320.00 375.00 96.00 791.00 Harney. oo. 580.00 218.00 156.00 50.00 1,004.00 Hood River .. 505.00 886.00 96.00 1,487.00 Jackson ..... 2,871.00 2,586.00 1,016.00 130.00 6,603.00 Josephine .... 1,216.00 510.00 200.00 30.00 1,956.00 Kamath S522. 1,663.00 1,173.00 398.00 350.00 3,584.00 2 Bc 2a NR 747.00 649.00 234.00 30.00 1,660.00 Tine, eee 3,526.00 2,597.00 1,200.00 80.00 7,403.00 Laneoin: =. 5: =... 460.00 732.00 146.00 1,338.00 Tinnr, Ye 2,240.00 1,405.00 572.00 4,217.00 Malheur ..... 531.00 184.00 64.00 50.00 829.00 Nation 2oe8 3,682.00 3,224.00 20.00 10.00 6,936.00 Morrow: 2... 196.00 261.00 48.00 505.00 Multnomah ... 8,612.00 11,607.00 1,752.00 100.00 22,071.00 Pot eee 1,057.00 726.00 258.00 2,041.00 Sherman ..... 123.00 238.00 30.00 391.00 Tillamook .... 688.00 1,035.00 396.00 2,119.00 Umatilla ..... 1,553.00 1,927.00 528.00 190.00 4,198.00 UniGn es: sce 1,113.00 1,532.00 406.00 3,051.00 Wallowa ..... 862.00 1,223.00 142.00 80.00 2,307.00 Waste is 220. 590.00 1,185.00 202.00 10.00 1,987.00 Washington .. 1,951.00 1,117.00 380.00 20.00 3,468.00 Wheeler ..... 144.00 118.00 32.00 294.00 Mambill2eo5s 1,479.00 1,246.00 434.00 3,159.00 Total. ...$48,490.00 $46,060.00 $12,620.00 $1,630.00 $108,800.00 Recapitulation.
48,490 Resident Hunting Licenses at $1.00.................... $ 48,490.00 46,060 Resident Angling Licenses at $1.00.................... 46,060.00 6,310 Combination Licenses at $2.00............ Freese oe ome 12,620.00 163 Non-resident Licenses at $10.00..............20..e000ee 1,630.00 101,023 $108,800.00
RECAPITULATION OF ARRESTS AND CONVICTIONS.
Number Number Amount
of of... of Fines Cases Fines County Arrests Convictions Fines Suspended Pending Appealed Baer. osc... 9 1 $ 50.00 BERN... es se 4 4 100.00 Clackamas .... 15 14 470.00 Chitsop. ....... 8 8 275.00 $ 50.00 TD ee 2 3 75.00 25.00 Columbia. ..... 6 3 25.00 CLS eee 9 6 230.50 1 Douglas ...... 24 it 525.00 75.00 PRTC Yo onc 5 3 2 1 25.00 1 Hood River ... 8 8 100.00 eackson °. 5... 9 5 25.00 Josephine ..... a 2 50.00 _ 25.00 Mlamath. 2... 10 fi 150.00 AKO sts.00 4 ois. 4 3 75.00 NBIC, hed 0.0 65.8 6 3 225.00 2 irincolay 2525.5. = 2 75.00 LCs ae ar Sa | 6 135.00 Malheur ..:... 5 2 75.00 3 Marion |<... 4. «« 26 22 505.00 75.00 4 $ 50.00 Morrow 2... ... 1 1 50.00 ‘Multnomah .... 60 47 1,380.00 435.00 100.00 EU 5 Scr wats 4 3 75.00 Tillamook ..... 14 13 425.00 175.00 Wmiatillas: se. 12 9 550.00 250.00 Wnion, Fie ees 5-2 = 2 25.00 25.00 Wallowa ...... cB: 8 225.00 50.00 eWEESEOcoleees «ais 5 3 55.00 Washington ... 23 19 550.00 Wambo. ees 14 13 250.00 1
Total... 312 229 $6,775.00 $1,185.00 12 $150.00
PES
+
The OREGON SPORTSMAN
MARCH 1914
RUFFED GROUSE SHOWING OFF BEFORE GIRL
Pa bls Hee Dy a MOON THE Yo UN DESRY THE? DIRECT LVON -OF* THE
FISH AND GAME COMMISSION
By WILLIAM L. FINLEY, Editor, Portland, Oregon
Volume II | 5c a copy—50c a year [ Number 3
5 ‘J Yet " , F | g j Tage ~ 2 : er ae Von ae » s ~e - Nat: © = oP i - OL. ee rte ° mG ai 4a ive ids : r aval) NiQ FON CCE} > a4 ‘ Yeieney Tee Nees ‘ 2) WE 5G = & - ry fe ~ Doo ~ Mh 7 far"
The Oregon Sportsman
Volume II MARCH 1914 | Number 3
THE ALIEN GUN LAW
Deputy Game Warden EK. H. Clark recently arrested two Italians in Tillamook County for hunting without a license. Both of these men had shotguns which were seized for evidence. The case was presented to County Attorney Gersoni of Tuilla- mook. He refused to prosecute the case, saying that he believed the law was unconstitutional.
At the last session of the Oregon legislature, a statute was passed making it unlawful for an alien to hunt or angle, or to have in possession any shotgun, rifle or any firearms while in the field or forest or in any tent, car or camp in the state, with- out first securing a gun license at the cost of twenty-five dollars. Neither of the Italians mentioned above had secured a gun h- cense or a hunting leense.
A provision of the laws of 1913, Chapter 332, provides that it shall be the duty of a district or prosecuting attorney to prose- cute any case in which it appears that any of the laws for the protection of wild animals, birds or fish have been violated. But what is the use of compelling a county attorney to prosecute a case when he has already taken the stand that the law is unconstitutional ?
WHY THE LAW SHOULD BE ENFORCED.
Inasmuch as an alien license law was passed by the legisla- ture in 1913, it should be enforced until it is declared void by the courts. The causes which led the legislature to pass the law were as follows:
Many aliens, especially those coming from southern European countries, have no regard whatever for game laws. They con- fuse trespass or hunting restrictions with infringement upon their personal lberty and oftentimes a foreigner will resist an
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T H &E OREGON S PO BTS MAN
officer even to the shedding of blood. They have to be taught that this is not a land of ‘‘unlimited freedom.’’ Many of these people are not even intelligent enough to know that the right to fish and hunt does not belong to them at all, but that it is a privilege granted by the state upon certain conditions. The alien as a rule knows not the difference between a game bird and a song sparrow, robin or meadowlark; everything that flies makes good pot-pie.
This is well illustrated by the following example, which was told us by Mr. Joseph Kalbfus, of Pennsylvania. It had been reported that the Italians in a certain community were violating the game laws. A warden visited the camp. One of the Ital- ians was sick in bed. Upon inquiry, his companion said he had been hunting. ‘‘He etta too mucha the big chick.’’ At the side of the cabin the warden found the head and feathers of a turkey buzzard.
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT DECISION.
In 1909 the legislature of Pennsylvania passed an alien gun law and it was signed by Governor Stuart on May 8th of that year. The bill provided that no alien in that state could own a oun, and that the state not only had the right to seize weapons owned by aliens, but to search the domiciles of aliens if there was reason to believe firearms were held contrary to the law.
Besides the prohibition against the use of firearms, the law also provides that ‘‘it shall be unlawful for any unnaturalized, — foreign-born resident of Pennsylvania to hunt for, capture or
kill any wild bird or animal, game or otherwise, except in de- -
fense of person or property.’’
A vigorous protest was made at the time and foreign govern- ments were appealed to in an effort to compel Pennsylvania to retract. The law was tested in the state courts and upheld, and was finally carried to the United States Supreme Court. The contest has been a long and bitter one. On January 19, 1914, a decision was handed down by Justice Holmes sustaining the constitutionality of the law.
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© HE O RFR EGON S PORTS MAN
THE RUFFED GROUSE
How to Rear This Shy Bird in Captivity and Some of Its Habits
The ruffed grouse, called ‘‘pheasant’’ in the west and south and ‘‘partridge’’ in the north, has long been considered untam- able and impossible to rear or breed under control. These myths about the difficulty of propagating all kinds of American game animals and birds are a distinct demerit mark against the in- telligence and even common sense of American sportsmen. The game breeders of Europe, and even Asia, have worked out meth- ods by which their game may be bred. Why can we not do the
A ruffed grouse raised in captivity, tame enough to feed from the hand
same for our valuable American species? While I have no ob- jection to introducing foreign species, under proper control,
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T H E Of BE oEoGt ser WN S$ 2b OR PS M A N
still, at best it is always an experiment and. involves serious risks. It is no trifling matter that a species has developed along with the insect and plant foods and natural enemies of a large continent for thousands of years, and we should certainly do the fair thing. by native species, before, introducing possibly inferior or injurious species to take their place.
Experiments of recent years by myself and several others, have proved that ruffed grouse chicks hatch perfectly tame and,
Ruffed grouse or “native pheasant,” generally found in damp thickets in mid- day or at the edge of a field in the early morning or late afternoon
aside from disease infections likely to be caught from domestic fowls. are as easy to raise as bantam chickens. The young birds, in common with bobwhite chicks and even young chickens, have a way of squeezing into cracks about their coop and may be- come wedged in so tight that they are unable to back out. All eracks about brooders or incubators must be very carefully filled, before attempting to use them for these small birds.
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So E <0 BE G GO N iS PORTS MAN
In general ruffed grouse chicks are reared according to the directions given for the bobwhite. Foods for the first four weeks are practically the same. The ruffed grouse is somewhat more delicate, or, at any rate, I had two killed by swallow- ing~too large insects (one by a large black cricket, the other by a big spider), which completely blocked the passage at en- trance to the gizzard. Much smaller bobwhites commonly swal- lowed fully as large things but were never known to experience
Nest and eggs of ruffed grouse
any difficulty in digesting anything they could get into their mouths. My general impression is that the grouse chicks take considerably more berries and fruit and begin earlier to eat chickweed and sorrel blossoms, and they increase the relative amounts of vegetable matter eaten faster than the bobwhite. Anyway, I always kept them supplied with all sorts of such vegetable food to pick and choose from: Grit, with charcoal, is likewise kept before them from the first day. 7
Page* tive
© HE OREGON S$ PORk®RTS MA N
Ruffed grouse have a characteristic way of hatching. The chicks pip the shell and make a good-sized hole through which to breathe. Then they rest for from 24 to 36 hours, and then, as though at signal, all begin to break out a circle around the large end of the egg and all step out, almost dry, at practically ‘the same time. Having taken all but two clutches of eggs from the wild, incubation time unknown, and having been unavoid- ably away from home when eggs laid in confinement hatched, I am not quite certain as to the incubation period of the ruffed grouse. I think the birds break out of the shell on the twenty- fifth day. The fact of their long rest after pipping brings them out hungry and they begin actively hunting and catching in- sects the first morning. I am inclined, however, to feed only insects, grit and chickweed the first day, and insects a little sparingly. Plant lice, as with the bobwhite, constitute the best food for the first day.
In great contrast to the bobwhite the ruffed grouse is essentially a solitary bird. True, the mother and young form a covey during the first season, but I have never seen a cock pay the slightest attention to his own ‘‘wife and children.’’ In- stances are on record of ruffed grouse showing some social in- stinet, even to apparently being attached to a man and follow- ing him about. I never saw a sign of any intelligence of this kind in my birds reared in confinement or in those captured from the wild. It ought to be sought for and, if found, preserved, as a rare exhibition of an instinct which might be put to good ac- count in developing a race of semi-domesticated grouse. Any - erouse in my cages would hop upon my knee and feed from my hand, but apparently show no more appreciation than it [I nad been a stump and the berries had been on the bush. In harmony with this solitary habit, and again in contrast to the bobwhites, ruffed grouse are almost voiceless and characteristically silent birds. The chicks have a plaintive ery or squeak which they use for the first weeks when lost, or as a flock-call. As they grow older, they become mute, except for a little hissing of the cocks
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i on & OREGON Sk Oo 2. 8 oA oN
when they strut, and ‘‘mewing’’ of the hens if disturbed with their young.
Like the wild turkey, ruffed grouse are polygamous, one mating being sufficient for an entire clutch of eggs. For reasons to be detailed, it is necessary to keep cocks and hens in separate cages during the breeding season, which is from March to June, and since the cocks fight desperately and, I think, would kill each other if confined together, each cock
Grouse strutting and showing ruff of glossy black feathers and fan-shaped tail
should have a separate cage at some distance from that of another cock. At all other times of the year any number of cocks and hens can be kept together in the same cage. As the breeding. season-opens the cocks. begin-to- drum and continue for about two months—from March or April to May or June. This is purely a mate call. At this season it is only necessary to slip a hen into the cage with the cock and mating takes place imme- diately. An soon as this is done, the hen must be removed, for
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T HE “oO 8 EF GON “os P Oe or Be een
the cock is likely to proceed forthwith to peck a mated hen to death. This fact has been noted by others who have had ruffed srouse in confinement, and I have had a hen completely scalped within a few minutes of mating.
After mating the hen will lay her clutch. The hens I had proved to be good sitters. However, as the warm days of June come on, she is likely to spend a good deal of time off the eggs. The eggs should not be interfered with on this account, but left entirely undisturbed.
Disease prevention is more difficult in case of the ruffed grouse than with the bobwhite. At any rate, this has been the case in my own experiments. Common fowls earry, in many parts of the country, internal parasites (probably coeccidia pro- tozoa) which are likely to prove fatal to native American species. The germs are the same that cause black-head in turkeys, and . probably this fact alone is sufficient explanation why our native grouse have not long since been domesticated. If it is possible to rear turkeys in the region with chickens, these germs are probably not present in the chickens. If they are present, it will be necessary to rear the chicks, from the time they pip the shell, in clean incubators and brooders, and off ground contaminated by fowls.
There is one other complication which should be carefully studied throughout Oregon. On the ruffed grouse is often found a ‘‘flying tick,’’ or parasitic fly, which may be the means of inoculating the germs into the grouse by its bite. These ticks
are quick fliers, leave a bird the moment it is shot, but can —
sometimes be caught on or in the feathers as soon as the bird falls. A good way to secure specimens would be to throw an in- sect net over a shot bird as quickly as possible. The idea has been advanced by some who have studied the problem in the East that these ticks are responsible for the death of a great many grouse in the woods. The writer sent a speciment to Pro- fessor Novy, of Ann Arbor, and he immediately reported that we probably had in this insect the carrier of the germs of black- head to the grouse. If this is true, these ticks are probably
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ie 0 Bn G OO NSP Oo RT Ss MA ON
making it difficult or impossible to rear turkeys in certain parts of Oregon, as well as elsewhere. These facts were brought to my attention about the close of my own experiments with ruffed erouse. In trying to raise the birds again, I should keep them under cages of screen wire for the first three months at least, and give the matter of parasitic insects most thorough investi- gation. The ticks in question are nearly the size of the house or stable fly and would be excluded by the common fly screen. They are so strong, I should be afraid lest they force their way through cloth mosquito netting.
Probably rearing the ruffed grouse would be more profit- able than even the bobwhite, for demands for stocking covers are urgent from many parts of the country, and the supply practically nil. As stated for the bobwhite, the easiest way to rear the birds is to give them effective protection from natural enemies and allow them to take care of their broods in the woods. A homesteader in a place where the grouse are numerous and naturally tame might do a thriving business in connection with the Fish and Game Commission, and at the same time gather much valuable information as to the feeding, care and practical handling of this fine game bird under Oregon conditions.
OREGON GAME PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION.
A general state rally of anglers and hunters will be held on Mareh 15th at the home of the Portland Gun Club. <A prize trap shooting contest and a fly casting tournament is on the program, which is open to all visiting members. The following day, March 16th, representatives from the various sportsmen’s organizations throughout the state will hold a convention at the Commercial Club. The interest that has been shown by sports- men in all parts of the state in this coming meeting signifies a large attendance. After the meeting a banquet will be held at the Commercial Club to which all sportsmen are invited. The price per plate is one dollar and fifty cents. |
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T HE On. B- Fy (Ge GAN SPORTSMAN
WINTER FISHING. By Walter F. Backus.
There are several thousand anglers in the city of Portland who go fish- ing a few times each season, and there are several hundred who go out pretty regularly all summer long, but until this year the number who kept their rods busy all winter have been comparatively few.
But it seems as though the rank and file have begun to realize that they are missing some real good sport when they pass up the winter fish- ing. On some of the nearby streams, particularly the Sandy River, there are ten times as many fishermen taking part in the winter angling as there were two years ago.
The main reason for this sudden increase is the steelhead fishing. These fine fish ascend the river during January and February and furnish sport of the very highest order. They will average twelve pounds in weight and have been caught as large as twenty pounds.
They will take a drifting bait with a bang that fairly makes the angler’s toes wiggle, and once they get the hook, there’s no telling where they will stop.
And it’s this ever-present possibility of getting fast to a ten-pound silver arrow that makes the winter angler go forth in all sorts of weather.
There are two ways of taking steelheads: by still fishing with a bait anchored near the bottom, or by casting with a free-running reel and letting the bait drift near the waiting fish. So far no bait has been found which equals a large chunk of fresh salmon eggs, and they are used by nearly all the fishermen, much to the disgust of various non-fishing members of the angler’s family.
The still fisherman selects a likely looking riffle or eddy, heaves out his baited hook, sets his rod over a forked stick, and then squats alongside a brush fire to keep warm and await developments.
On the other hand, the bait-caster is continually on the move, sending his bait flying into every likely bit of water, always hoping that it will drift. near enough to a resting fish to start something. The still fisher waits for the fish to find his bait, while the bait-caster tries his best to find the fish. Each man thinks his style of fishing the only way, and, strange to say, the two methods of fishing are about equally productive of results.
During the early part of January the fishing on the Sandy was very good, and it should be fully as good during February. Of course, no large number of fish have been taken, but no one expects it. If an angler is lucky enough to get two or three strikes in a day, he thinks he has done well, and one glistening ten or twelve-pound steelhead is considered a good day’s catch.
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ee ied ve ee ae
x -H & GO Bi 2 GG. 0 N SPORTSMAN
RIVERS AND STREAMS OF OREGON
With Some Descriptions of the Country, Fish and Fishing—Part 4
BY JOHN GILL
i SOUTHERN TILLAMOOK RIVERS
The county of Tillamook is richly favored with superb fish- ing waters. Almost every mile along the mountain roads a trout brook comes dashing down a ravine, or goes furtively, as a mink threading the alder thickets. Little brooks only a mile or two long pour into the sea direct from the bold shores, and these swarm with little trout, and in the fall and winter are choked with spawning salmon.
If we follow the road south from Tillamook City and up the river which bears the name of the region, twelve miles travel brings us to a fine tributary of the Nestucca—the branch being known as Beaver Creek. The names Rock, Beaver, Clear, Muddy, and even Elk, Cow and Bear, are applied to streams in nearly every township of western Oregon, and frequently to several streams in the same county. In eastern Oregon, Dry Creek is even more frequent. This Beaver Creek of Tillamook deserves a different if not better name. It is a stream of good volume and easily fished, the road from Tillamook to Cloverdale follow- ing nearly all its length. The praises of Beaver Creek are sung most heartily by Col. George Henderson, who spends most of his time on its waters and fishes many other tributaries of the fa- mous Nestueca. Among these is, of course, a Clear Creek and an Elk Creek.
At the very source of Nestucca in Washington county is Meadow Lake, a natural trout pond, which is now a preserve of the Meadow Lake Club. Eastern brook trout (salvelinus fonti- nalus) have been planted here with success, and it is hoped may follow the river down its course.
Three Rivers and Little Nestucea are large branches coming
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i Hy = Of Re E> Gi Cr i SS? B Of Be. E> Si Me Ae
in on the lower Nestucca from southward. They are remote enough to assure one of abundant fish, and indeed the river and bay of Nestucca are famous for years as a great natural park and sporting ground.
Neskowen, the next river south, flows directly into the sea, and compares well with Elk Creek in its importance and inter- est for the fisherman. It is conveniently reached by a branch road from Nestucca, and a longer route from Dolph.
Salmon River. This, too, is one of many grand streams by the same name. This one hes between the Tillamook and the Lincoln county streams, some of its branches rising in the former county. It is a long trip any way you may choose, and only possible for wagon in late Summer. One route in from the Wil- lamette is via the Sheridan-Grande Ronde highway, and it is possible also to go in from Nestucea valley.
Camping is the only practicable plan in these last de- scribed waters, but that is the very sort of country and life to enjoy to the utmost. It has the great economic advantage also that you cannot bring fish out to the valley or Portland without risk of spoiling, so the camper contents himself with what he can consume on the spot.
In very favorable weather, a rare automobile has made its way to the mouth of Salmon river, but it is risky work and the auto is fortunately not much in fashion in Tillamook and Lincoln.
The character of fishing and fish in Salmon River is much as described in Trask. The stream is the resort of great runs of salmon and abundant cut-throat and steelhead trout.
STREAMS OF THE COLUMBIA’S NORTH SHORE
Gray’s River and Deep River, falling into Gray’s Bay on the Washington side, are reached from Astoria by boat and are good fishing. The latter river is also accessible by a trail from the Skamokawa, a fine fishing stream, opposite Clifton on the A. & C. A launch connects at Clifton with night trains and brings the fisherman to Cathlamet, four miles northeast, from
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+ H & OR EGON «+S PF oO FB T 8S
A N
which the Elokomin, another beautiful stream of the Washing- ton shore, is to be reached. Steamers from Portland also stop at Cathlamet and Skamokawa, and one can sleep on board, tramp and fish all day and take the night boat home with a certainty of solid sleep after the vigorous exercise of the day.
For nearly twenty miles east of Cathlamet the mountain side facing the river is unbroken, but at Oak Point comes in Abernathy’s Mill Creek, and five miles farther east Germany Creek, both of which are good streams and fine fishing. The latter can. be conveniently reached from Maygers by a launch which connects with trains, and if one chooses he can find good accommodations at Stella, Washington, near the Germany.
Farther east, opposite Rainier, comes in the Cowlitz, and into it a number of good streams fall. These, and the Kalama, are conveniently reached by the trains of the Northern Pacific R. R. Lewis River, entering the Columbia opposite St. Helens, is a large river, and one must usually go far above Woodland, its most convenient railroad station, for trout.
Still following the Washington shore, by steamer or S. P. & S. R. R., we reach Washougal, a large river with two important branches known as the North and South forks, and a third, nearer Lacamas, the Little Washougal, which is, like the main river, a famous trout stream. A trip to either of these should be made prepared for at least one night out. In the heart of the Cascades at Stevenson, is Rock Creek, a beautiful stream with picturesque cataracts and good fishing, and farther east, opposite Hood River, the White Salmon and Klickitat, both famous streams, the home of huge rainbow trout. I saw a catch of a dozen from the latter in 1910, every fish above thirty inches long. Such monsters are usually to be had only with bait or skillful, patient trolling with a spinner. From the Klickitat eastward in the late summer, one may go a hundred miles along the north shore to the mouth of the Yakima and not find a stream to yield even a drink. There are many small streams, rising farther back in the Simcoe mountains, but all are drunk up by the plains before they reach the river.
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2.:H:- 3
OR EGON
§S§ PORTS MAN
NOTES FROM COUNTIES
BAKER COUNTY.
Mr. J. D. Creech, of Halfway, Oregon, reports that he saw three bear out some time during the mid- dle of January. They had not ‘‘holed up’’ at all. It was Mr. Creech’s intentions to take his dogs and try his skill in bear hunting as soon as he returned to Pine Valley.
* * *
The Panhandle Rod and Gun Club, of Cornucopia and Halfway, held a very enthusiastic meeting on Feb- ruary 2nd. They are willing to raise a fund to pay half of a man’s salary to keep violators from dyna- miting Fish Lake, during the early part of the season. Some parties in that locality have made a practice of shooting this lake during the early part of the season for the past three years. No one seems to know positively who the violators are, but have reason to think they come from Homestead or Copperfield.
CLACKAMAS COUNTY.
Mr. Ben S. Patton, deputy game warden at Estacada, reports that on February 3d, 4th and 5th in the South Fork, Fish Creek and Cold Springs country, he saw consider- able evidence that deer were being molested by timber wolves. The wolves in this locality have been worse than usual during the past winter, as there has been very little snow and it has been hard to track them.
* os *
The new law permitting the cateh-
Page fourteen
ing of trout over ten inches the year round seems to meet with the gen- eral approval of the Clackamas County sportsmen, and there is not as much trouble with fishermen catching undersized fish as was ex- pected. * % *
The number of trout hatched and liberated from the hatchery at River Mill on the Clackamas this last season will help the fishing greatly in that locality. Old fishermen say they never saw so many small trout in the river before, all ranging around four inches. Most of these fish will be over the six-inch limit by summer,
CLATSOP COUNTY.
Mr. Frank Patton, of the Astoria Savings Bank, reports the most sat- isfactory season for duck shooting during the past twenty years.
‘‘We often had the limit by eight o’clock in the morning. At times we had thousands of ducks resting on our lake. There were but two of us shooting and we bagged a total of eight hundred and four dueks for the season. This is an average of twenty-nine for each day we were out.’’
DOUGLAS COUNTY.
J. A. Dewey, Martin and Frank Redfield, who live on upper Cow Creek, have been very successful with their trapping. They have trapped five cougar, two bob eats and one bear during the past season.
T H &E
O RFR EGON
Ss P.O. TT. S.M.AN
One cougar they bound and brought home alive. * *
Lem Emmerson came down to Roseburg from Perdue recently with scalps of one wolf, two cougar. and sixteen bob cats, which he had trapped.
Ed Durgess also brought in scalps of four cats from the same country.
* * x
Mr. J. E. Clark, of Yonealla, re- ports that good catches of trout are being reported. The dam which has held the fish back on Elk Creek has been partly torn out and salmon and sea trout are running up that stream in abundance.
* * *
Quite a number of people have been catching steelhead trout in the South Umpqua River within the city limits of Roseburg the past month, ranging from six pounds to twenty-five pounds. Walt Cordon on February llth, caught a steel- head that weighed twenty-five pounds, taking about fifty minutes to land it. sfe used a light pole and tackle. ;
JOSEPHINE COUNTY.
One of the largest cougars seen in this locality was brought to Grants Pass a few days ago by Dell Churehill. The animal was killed in the northern part of the county, weighed one hundred and fifty pounds and measured seven and a half feet from tip to tip. Churehill is one of the most suc- cessful hunters in this part of the state, frequently bringing in cou-
Dell:
gars, bob cats and other ‘‘var-
mints. ’’ * * *
Five bob cats and two coyotes were brought in from the Placer dis- trict a few days ago by W. R. Blalock.
% & *
F. D. Collett, of the Waldo dis- trict, brought in four bob cats re- cently. Merlin, Leland, Deer Creek, Sucker Creek, Williams Creek and the Galice districts are also contrib- uting their share of the ‘‘varmints’’ to the hunter and trapper, adding profit’ as well as sport to the game.
¥ * *
At the present time and until
about April Ist, bait fishing for
-steelheads in the Rogue River at
and near Grants Pass will be at its best. Many large catches are being made daily when weather conditions are favorable. With the water in its present fairly clear state and a cloudy day, the limit of catch allowed by the state fish law is not uncommon. The fish are of fine quality. ;
LAKE COUNTY.
Several rabbit drives in the vi- einity of Silver Lake in the past month have resulted in the death of more than six thousand rabbits.
* % *
Mr. Jeff Howard recently came in from Jack’s Creek country with twelve fine marten pelts.
* * *
Mr. William LaSater, of Silver Lake, Oregon, reports that two hun- dred deer is a conservative estimate of the number wintering in the low
Page fifteen
T H EB
On Bi Ek, Ge One
SPORTSMAN
hills in his locality. In some in- stances deer have come in and fed from hay stacks. Sixteen head were counted from the roadway ten miles north of Silver Lake one day dur- ing the latter part of February.
* * *
On February 23d, Mr. William La- Sater reports that large numbers of Canada geese have returned to the Silver Lake country. They have already begun to pair off. In the Silver Lake and Paulina marshes there are about four hundred swans.
* * *
Mr. J. W. Donnelly came to Pais- ley recently with fifty-six coyote and twenty-one bob eat hides. This was the result of his work in the hills north of Paisley.
* * *
On February 11th the first geese of the season came to Warner Lake. The migration is earlier this year because there has not been so much 1ée.
%* % %
On February 5th sixteen deer were seen traveling south through the south end of Drew’s Valley. The band no doubt had been living in the mahogany thickets till they ran out of feed and were compelled to migrate.
The records of the county clerk’s office for 1913 show that the fol- lowing were the number of animals on which bounties were paid: coy- otes, 2860; bob cats, 502; cougar, 2.
MULTNOMAH COUNTY. Many anglers report that winter
fishing in the Sandy has been bet-
Page sixteen
ter than for several years in the past. There is no question but that the liberation of a large number of fingerlings from the state hatcheries
has shown splendid results in this as
well as other streams. * * *
W..F. Backus, Ray C. Winter, H. Pollock, L. H. Dart and B. Went returned recently from a fishing trip along the Nehalem River. Their catch consisted of fifteen steelheads and seventy-five cut-throat trout ranging from ten to fifteen inches.
* * *
B. H. Miller, of the Honeyman Hardware Company, caught a steel- head trout on the Sandy River a short way above Cottrell station that measured thirty-seven inches. It weighed, when dressed, a flat seventeen pounds. Mr. Miller landed this big fish on a number ten single hook, using salmon eggs.
* ' %
The first honor for the January steelhead fishing went to L. A. Mathisen, who took eight of the big fellows during the month. Mr. Mathisen is an expert at still fish- ing, and seems to know just where
to locate the favorite resting places. % * *
C. C. Harris and Geo. Woodward, .
while fishing on the Sandy, grew tired of casting for steelheads that refused to strike, so they put on small hooks and began tishing the eddies for sea trout. In a few min- utes each man hooked a big steel- head, which, in each instance, calm- ly straightened out the light trout hooks and -went about their busi- ness. .
a a
TH E OF Ky EG - 0 UN
» PP O KR TS M AN
W. C. Block, who believes in the use of the drifting bait, hooked five fine fish in one day recently, but managed to get but two of them ashore. This was Block’s first experience with steelheads, and as they were unusually hard fighters it isn’t surprising that. some of them made their getaway.
UNION COUNTY.
All the game birds liberated in this county during the past season have wintered well except the gol- den pheasants. A few of these were liberated as an experiment at the State Agricultural Farm last sum- mer. Although several trials have been made in different parts of the state, the golden pheasant is not a success aS a game bird.
* * *
On February 20th a big buck deer visited La Grande. He was seen at the) barn of Mr: Bert Hughes, “A dog chased the animal away, but it stopped on the side hill where several people had a chance to see it. It finally made its way back to the. mountains.
* * *
The good news comes from Union and Cove, Oregon, that there is talk of organizing a joint Rod and Gun Club for the two towns. A club of this kind is sure to make game con- ditions in that immediate locality better.
The Chinese pheasants in the Grande Ronde Valley are thriving well this winter. The snow has not been over three inches deep at any
time. One may see thirty to fifty in a band about the farms through
the central part of the valley.
UMATILLA COUNTY.
One of the heaviest penalties ever *nflieted for a violation of the Ore- gon game laws was imposed on Jan- uary 19th by Judge Gilbert W. Phelps, at Pendleton. He sentenced George Forrest, the rancher con- vieted of killing two elk, to pay a fine of five hundred dollars. This earried with it the costs of the case, amounting to about two hun- dred and fifty dollars additional. By the time he has paid the two attorneys, Mr. Forrest will paid approximately one thousand dollars, or two dollars and fifty cents a pound for his meat. The arrest was made and the ease worked up by District Warden E. F. Averill, of Pendleton.
have
WASCO COUNTY.
E. B. Dinsmore, Fred Temphuier and W. A. Marsh, three sportsmen from Mosier, Oregon, went out Jan- uary 8th after a big cougar that was reported in the woods on the west fork of Mill Creek. They had two Airedales and two Fox hounds, and on the third day treed the cougar and killed it. The animal was unusually large.
vy. se v x nw wT
The sportsmen of The Dalles have organized a Rod and Gun Club and elected officers for the year 1914. There are twenty-five charter mem- bers.
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The OREGON SPORTSMAN
APRIL 1914
GULL OVER WAVES
PU ebisn ED “MON THEY. UNDER) FHE) DIRECT:ALON OF .THE
Peron AND GAME COM MISS 1ON
By WILLIAM L. FINLEY, Editor, Portland, Oregon
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The Oregon Sportsman
Volume II APRIL 1914 Number 4
IS If GRAFT OR GAME?
The Salem Journal takes occasion to find fault with the administration of game laws and the spending of hunters’ and anglers’ license money. In a recent editorial entitled ‘“‘State Fish and Game Graft,’’ it has the following to say:
‘“What is needed most is a law requiring all the revenues from fish and game licenses turned into the general fund of the state. Then a specific appropriation could be made for the ex- penses of the fish and game department, which should not ex- ceed $75,000 for the biennial term.
“Tf this were done, there would be a net income to the state of nearly $100,000 a year. As it has been in the past the game warden has made a valiant attempt to spend the entire- income of the department and has practically succeeded in doing so. Last year $137,000 was expended by the commission, a large part of it being squandered in useless officials and employes.
‘‘The next legislature has a duty to the people to perform in this matter, and it is to be hoped that the members will have the business sense and integrity to do it.’’
How Is the Money to be Spent?
. The present is a very favorable time to discuss how the Game Protection Fund should be handled. We have always con- tended the more interest and general discussion of these matters, the better. In 1912 the sale of hunting and angling licenses amounted to $85,770.00. In 1913 the license money increased to $108,800.00. The increase was on account of the opening of the _ Chinese pheasant season. As more and more people are inter- ested in hunting and fishing each year, the Game Protection Fund is sure to increase annually.
If a law is needed requiring all revenues from hunters’ and anglers’ licenses turned into the general fund of the state, this
Page one
T H E OREGON SPORTSMAN
can easily be done at the next session of the legislature—that is, providing the sportsmen of the state are willing. There are about fifty thousand men in Oregon who are actively interested from the sportsmen’s standpoint—nearly enough to express a decided opinion. :
Inasmuch as certain people who are running for office are raising the hue and ery against the using of a large amount of the taxpayers’ money in game protection and propagation, it may be well to remember that not one cent of this money comes out of the general fund of the state. It is paid in by hunters and anglers and can be used according to the law for game protection and propagation only.
A Period of Criticism.
This is essentially a period of criticism when all commis- sions should be abolished, when all public officials are thieves, when all taxes should be reduced to nothing and when the whole state should be turned upside down and shaken to the very bottom. The politician who can write the longest platform, -make the most promises and produce the most striking panacea for all our public ills is the man who will really need the most votes. Since the world began, it has always been the case that the man with the least brains can find the most to criticise. There is very little good constructive criticism, for the reason that it takes long study of facts and figures.
The Fish and Game Commission has been criticised for spending a large amount of money during the past year. If there is any graft connected with the Fish and Game Commis-. sion, why not publish the facts? The records m the State House and the records of the Commission are open to every citizen of the state. This money has been spent during the past year in the purchase of a fish distribution ear, in the purchase of prop- erty for hatchery purposes and other permanent equipment which was needed, in stocking the lakes and streams -of the state with over 8,000,000 game fish, in raising: and distributing over 3,000 game birds in various counties, in the payment: of
Page two
T H EG OR EGON Ss POrhsSs M A N
bounties and in the employment of men for educational and scien- tific work and for the enforcement of game laws.
It is a fact that more has been spent in game protection and propagation during the past year than in any previous year, and it is also an undeniable fact that far greater results have been accomplished. It is a fact that the sportsmen of the state who are furnishing the entire amount for game protection and prop- agation are not the ones who are finding fault.
The Fish and Game Commission is endeavoring to make Ore- gon a great outdoor state, attractive to our people who need outdoor life and recreation, a drawing card for tourists who have money to spend and money to invest. Money spent in game pro- tection and propagation is a business proposition for the farmer and every land-owner in the state.
LOCKING THE BARN DOOR
Years ago when the buffalo ranged the plains in countless numbers, the hide hunter slaughtered and wantonly wasted the meat. In an early day the herds of elk in our Oregon mountains were treated in the same way. Game was too abundant then to think of checking the slaughter. In the early seventies and even in the eighties the passenger pigeon was so abundant in the east that the birds fairly blackened the sky during their migrations. Where they nested in great colonies through the middle west, pothunters slaughtered without limit. Men knocked the nestlings from the trees and fattened their hogs on them. If we had used these birds economically, today they would fur- nish food for our people. With the countless numbers of wild pigeons of a generation ago, who could have conceived of their total disappearance? Today there is not a single record of this species in existence. |
The Columbia River Smelt.
During the past month there was a large run of smelt in the Sandy River. The fish were so abundant it was no trouble to catch them in nets or make-shift scoops of any kind.
Page three
T HE OREGON SPOBTSMAN
There is no law governing the amount of these fish that can be caught or the method of catching them. The fact that the fish were so abundant led many people in the vicinity of Troutdale to catch them without limit. They loaded the fish into gunny sacks and hauled them off in wagons to be used as fertilizer. This is criminal waste of a valuable food product.
Each year the Columbia River smelt come in from the ocean in great schools and enter certain streams to spawn. -It is a curious fact that they pass by many streams and enter the Cowlitz and Sandy Rivers. Why these particular streams in preference to others, no one really knows. But they come here — in such numbers that thoughtless people are led to think the supply is inexhaustible.
The Columbia River smelt is the best pan fish we have. It is worth far more than some of the other species for which the market price is higher. It is a remarkable fact that our markets are filled with such a splendid fish at three cents per pound. Nature is abundantly kind; but how criminally wasteful we are of her supply. A generation ago we fattened our hogs on wild pigeons, and today we are using Columbia River smelt to fer- tilize our gardens and orchards. Perhaps some day we shall wake up and lock the door—when the horse is gone.
'ANOTHER CASE OF MANSLAUGHTER.
On April Ist a miner by the name of J. Bush, who was em- ployed by the C. C. Inman Company on Sixes River was shot by Ed Eggers. Mr. Bush was brought to Port Orford, but his . wound was fatal and he died within twelve hours. Eggers was hunting deer out of season and claims he mistook Mr. Bush for a deer. Full particulars have not been received. The widow, Mrs. Bush, formerly lived at Rogue River. |
The following telegram has been sent to County Attorney Meredith of Port Orford by the State Board of Fish and .Game Commissioners: ‘‘We hope you will prosecute the murderer of J. Bush to the full extent of the law. His act shows criminal
Page four
+ eT ae
T H GB O R EGON srs Oc, Re TSM A N
carelessness and that he was violating the game laws. No man’s life is safe in the woods unless a law-breaking pothunter lke Eggers is brought to justice.’’
THE OREGON SPORTSMEN’S LEAGUE.
Delegates from thirty-three sportsmen’s organizations throughout the state assembled in Portland on March 16th and organized the Oregon Sportsmen’s League.
As stated in the constitution, ‘‘The objects of this organization are to promote and further the interests of the sportsmen of the State of Oregon, to promote harmony and unity among the sportsmen, to exercise their com- bined influence to the end that future legislation and the administration of
Prominent members of the Oregon Sportsmen’s League. Left to right—L. W. Humphreys, of Portland, member of Executive Committee; George Put- nam, of Medford; A. Crandall, of Brownsville, First Vice-President, and C. A. Riddle, of Riddle, Secretary-Treasurer.
the Game Department shall be directed toward the improvement and per- petuation of the hunting and fishing resources of the state, both by rigidly enforced game and fish protection, and by propagation and distribution of game and fish; and to encourage sportsmen to organize locally.’’
Membership in the Oregon Sportsmen’s League consists of elubs or or- ganizations of sportsmen throughout the state. Each club which is a mem- ber is entitled to one vote at all meetings. The working body of the league consists of an executive committee composed of seven members, one from each of the seven districts into which the state is divided.
The following officers were elected for the ensuing year: President, H. B. Van Duzer, of the Multnomah Anglers’ Club; First Vice-President, A. Crandall, of the Brownsville Rod and Gun Club; Second Vice-President,
Page five
= H & OREGON S PORTS MAN
Dr. G. W. Zimmerman, of the Wing, Fin and Fleetfoot Club, of La Grande; Secretary-Treasurer, C. A. Riddle, of the Riddle Rod and Gun Club. | The executive committee is as follows:
District No. 1, Multnomah County, Lester W. Humphries, of Portland.
District No. 2, Clatsop, Columbia, Tillamook, Washington and Clack- amas Counties, W. W. Goff, Forest Grove.
District No. 3, Marion, Polk, Benton, Linn, Lane and Lincoln Counties, L. G. Lewelling, of Albany.
District No. 4, Douglas, Josephine, Jackson, Coos and Curry Counties, S. C. Bartrum, of Roseburg.
District No. 5, Crook, Wheeler, Hood River, Wasco, Sherman and Gil- liam Counties, L. A. Schanno, of The Dalles.
District No. 6, Umatilla, Wallowa, Baker, Union, Grant and Morrow Counties, G. I. LaDow, of Pendleton.
District No. 7, Klamath, Lake, Harney and Malheur Counties, E. B. Hall, of Klamath Falls.
The organization was completed at the morning and afternoon sessions held at the Convention Hall of the Commercial Club. In the evening a banquet was held in the Commercial Club dining room with over one hun- dred and fifty sportsmen attending. Speeches were made by members of the Fish and Game Commission, officers and prominent sportsmen. Several reels of moving pictures were shown illustrating the work of the State Game Farm, the fish hatcheries and outdoor life.
The next annual meeting will be held at Portland on Monday, Decem- ber 7, 1914.
ANNUAL MEETING OF MULTNOMAH ANGLERS’ CLUB.
At the annual meeting of the Multnomah Anglers’ Club which was held Friday evening, March 27th, the following officers were elected for the en- suing year: Mr. Lester W. Humphreys, President; Mr. John Gill, Vice-Presi- dent; Dr. E. C. McFarland, Secretary-Treasurer. Executive Committee, H. B. Van Duzer, George Rae, A. E. Burghduff, Ray Winters and Robt. Baker.
FAVORABLE OUTLOOK FOR ANGLERS.
Reports received from various parts of the State, especially in streams that have been stocked, show that anglers will have a very favorable season. The season for catching trout over six inches opened April lst and con- tinues to October 31st. From October 31st, through the winter, the season is open also for angling, but during this period, the limit is a ten-inch fish.
Page six
T HS OR EGON SB POB’BTtSMA N
TOURNAMENT FOR SPORTSMEN.
A general tournament for hunters and anglers was held on March 15th on the grounds of the Portland Gun Club at Kenton. Representatives of many of the rod and gun ¢lubs of the state were present and took part in the various contests. In the trap shooting events, Dr. Thornton took first place with a score of 95; P. Holohan registered 96, but this was not counted as he is a professional. :
Fly-casting tournament at grounds of Portland Gun Club at Kenton. Left to right—L. W. Humphreys, winning first place in one-fourth ounce distance bait-casting event; Dr. E. C. McFarland, winner second place in one-half ounce bait-casting event, and Ray Winters, winner first place in same event.
The following are the results of the fly and bait-casting events:
Fly-easting, long distance, with light tackle—W. F. Backus, first, 92 feet; W. E. Carlon, 85 feet; J. M. Morris, 76 feet.
Same event with heavy tackle—Backus, first, 96 feet; Carlon, 92 feet; George Rae and Dr. Brock tied for third with 85 feet.
Dry fly-easting for accuracy—Backus, first, 995-15; Rae, 993-15; Carlon, 99 2-15.
Aceuracy casting—Carlon, first, 98 7-15; Backus, 98 3-15; Rae, 97 9-15.
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i. OR EGON Ss PO RBTSMAN
Distance bait-casting, 4-ounce—Ray Winters, first, 1231-5 average, withwith 154 feet as his longest cast; Dr. E. C. McFarland, 1112-5; J. W. Lee, 109 2-5.
One-fourth ounce distance bait-casting—L. W. Humphreys, first, 741-5, and the longest was 94 feet; W. C. Block, 713-5; Ray Winters, 70 2-5.
Accuracy bait-casting with one-ounce—J. I. Caldwell, first, 9613-15; W. C. Block, 96 2-15; Ray Winters, 95 9-15.
Walter F. Backus, who took first places in long-distance fly-casting events with both light and heavy tackle, also fly-casting event for accuracy.
NOTES ON BLACK BEAR.
On February 28th Mr. J. C. Warner killed a female bear above Myrtle Point in Coos County. He found her two cubs when they were very young and kept them six days before their eyes were open. Mr. Warner has nursed them on a bottle. |
Mr. Alva Addington reports killing a female black bear on February 14th. He found her two cubs; one was black and the other brown. Their eyes were not yet open. Mr. Addington thought they were born about Feb- ruary 7th. The old bear was very fat.
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: H & OREGON SPORTSMAN
RIVERS AND STREAMS OF OREGON
With Some Descriptions of the Country, Fish and Fishing — Part 5
BY JOHN GILL
ALONG THE COLUMBIA’S SOUTH SHORE
Retracing our steps westward along the south shore of the Columbia from the junction of Snake River, Walla Walla is the first stream we see. It enters the Columbia 200 miles east of Portland, a sluggish, shrunken river, like all those emerging from the dry plains of the upper country. Many miles back from the Columbia these rivers, where they break forth from the Blue, Wallowa or Cascade Mountains, carry a flood of cold, clear water thrice the volume they pour into the river. Such are Yakima and Nachess where they roll from the mountain portals out into the thirsty valley—each twice as great in vol- ume as the whole Yakima at its outlet. Such, too, is the Walla Walla above Milton, and the Umatilla above Pendleton. These rivers and their mountain tributaries are noble trout streams.
The Umatilla is a great river in the Spring, but shrinks to small proportions in Autumn. Its main branch, the North Fork, comes from the high mountains north and east of Bingham, which is a summer resort on the 0.-W. R. & N. twenty miles above Pendleton. This main branch is splendid fishing after the snows have run out. Meacham Creek, the next considerable tributary from southward, is a fine Spring and early Summer stream. In dry seasons long stretches of Meacham Creek dis- appear, but the trout know where the water is—frequently un- derground—and keep the stream peopled.
_No streams enter the Umatilla from northward for more than fifty miles above its mouth, but west of Pendleton McKay and Birch Creek, rising like Meacham Creek in the summit of the Blue Mountains, are exceptionally good fishing in the Spring months. : .
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T H & OR EGON SP OBR TT SMA N
An angler intending to fish the Umatilla country will do well to look up in Pendleton Mr. Charles K. Cranston, a former valuable member of the Oregon Fish and Game Commission, who is thoroughly acquainted with all the fishing streams of Umatilla County, and a naturalist-angler of great experience.
West of the Umatilla there are no fishing streams save the upper John Day—and this a hundred miles back from its mouth —until we reach the great Deschutes.
This is a wonderful river in many respects. Its watershed is about equal to that of the Willamette, and its most southern source rises twenty-five miles south of Crescent Lake, which is the source of the middle or principal branch of the Willamette. While the Willamette rises annually in its occasional floods to twenty-five feet above its low water mark, Deschutes scarcely varies five feet between highest and lowest. Several of the large tributaries of Deschutes pour out of the eastern base of the Cascades in subterranean rivers that burst forth full-grown from their dark mountain tunnels. |
The Deschutes is accessible by railroad to Bend, over 100 miles from the Columbia. The best fishing is said to be (as usual) farther up river, and doubtless this is true, for the river is too deep and too big for a trout stream and its tributaries yield better sport. Anglers who have gone up toward the upper valley and Metolius and other branches, report great catches in the mid-summer months.
Chinook and other salmon run up Deschutes in great num- bers, and are caught by fly tackle within a few miles of the
Columbia. A pair of sportsmen of Hibernian origin, residing at —
Moro, Sherman County, have told me of their success with fine tackle—gray flies tied by themselves on hooks not bigger than No. 8—with which they caught large silverside salmon in the vicinity of the Free Bridge.
We have much to learn about the fishing on Deschutes, but no river in the state looks more promising. | - “Five-Mile’’ is a lively stream of Wasco County, entering the Columbia five miles east of The Dalles in a fine cataract cut
T H £E OREGON SPCGOSET S MA N
deep in the rocky gorge of the basalt cliffs that face the river. Its waters are supplied by a number of small streams known as Eight, Ten, and Fifteen-Mile Creeks, which rise in the high hills between The Dalles and Deschutes River. Dufur is the most convenient point for reaching the tributaries of Five-Mile, and good hotel accommodations there. Trains on O.-W. R. & N. line (accommodation) will stop at Seufert’s Station at Five- Mile, or the stream may be reached by a short drive to good fishing from The Dalles. This stream abounds in small cut- throat trout, with some rainbow.
Mill Creek, entering the Columbia at The Dalles, is good fishing above the ranches, and can be easily reached by team or afoot. Irrigation takes up most of its lower waters. Like many of the streams of the middle-Columbia Basin, the volume of water is much greater half way back to the source than at the mouth of the stream, the soil, even where there is no use of the water for irrigation, absorbing a great part of its flow.
Mosier Creek, twelve miles west of The Dalles, is a fine trout stream, and little use is made of its waters for irrigation. Its upper course is among high mountains and is largely in deep canyons which require prudence and sure-footedness on the part of the fisherman. Mosier is the base of operation, and there is good fishing within easy walking distance, or teams can be had there. Fine hotel. Spring fishing is best in the above streams.
A VIEWPOINT FROM CLACKAMAS COUNTY.
The following editorial was printed in the Oregon City Enterprise of March 18th, commenting on an item in our last issue:
‘*In the organ of the state game and fish commission, which is edited by William L. Finley, and which has for its purpose in life the creation of love and admiration for the state commission on the part of the public in general (if such a thing were possible), there is the following selection pub- lished under the head of ‘Clackamas County’:
‘< ¢The new law permitting the catching of trout over ten inches the year round seems to meet with the general approval of the Clackamas County sportsmen and there was not as much trouble with fishermen catching undersized fish as was expected.’
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tHE OREGON SP ORBTSM™AN
‘‘This is the feeling in this county, according to Editor Finley. This is the spirit that Editor Finley would like to have in Clackamas but which, as nearly as ean be learned, does not exist here. Also this is the opinion that Editor Finley would like to have the rest of the state think prevails in Clackamas County.
‘‘Sitting back in the office chair (purchased by the state) in his Port- land office (rented by the state), Editor Finley has dreamed a dream. He has dreamed that the sportsmen of Clackamas County are satisfied with the fish law enacted by the last legislature and to make that dream all the worse he had published it. In a wild effort to bring the state game and fish commission into public favor, Editor Finley has twisted fact and dreamed fancy all to increase the waning popularity of the commission.
‘‘The sportsmen of Clackamas do not favor the recent law passed by the legislature, that is at least the majority of them do not. The same law- makers who drew up that measure should also have painted a sign in the language of the fish, which when translated would read like this:
Important Notice for Fish! Fish under 10 inches beware. Over 10 inches help
yourself to the bait.
‘¢When a trout is hooked, jerked out of water, unhooked, and thrown back in again, in about nine times out of ten he dies in the water. There is no way for the fisherman to keep undersized trout off the hook. Accord- ing to law he must throw the little fish back in the water where in almost every case they die.
‘¢The clause in the law was nothing but a compromise between the game hog and the conserver of game. The former would have open season all year so that he could rob the streams in December as well as in August while the latter would protect the fish by drastic legislation. The result was a bill which provides that no fish under ten inches can be caught between October 1st and April 1st and provides that fishing can be done all the year round. It is supposed that each side went away satisfied. It is also sup- posed that the several legislators winked, in that sly way that legislators have, and they thought that for once at least they had sent both sides home happy.’’
ERROR IN MARCH ISSUE.
An error was made in the last issue in not printing the name of the author, Mr. C. F. Hodge, at the head of the article entitled ‘‘The Ruffed Grouse.’’ The photographs used were also supplied by Mr. Hodge.
- Page twelve
ae
rT H.& OREGON SS POBTSM’AN
BIOLOGICAL SURVEY FOR OREGON.
By Stanley G. Jeweit.
The average person is more or less interested in the wild ereatures of our fields and woods, but few realize the impor- tant relation these creatures bear to man. To determine the exact value of each species to the farmer, the timberman and the sportsman, the Fish and Game Commission, in conjunction with the University of Oregon and other educational institutions, has undertaken a complete biological survey of the State of Oregon.
In a great agricultural state like this, a thorough knowl- edge of the fauna and flora is of great importance as a basis of intelligent control of its game resources, for the wise conser- vation of its useful birds and animals and for the destruction of the injurious species. In this work the Bureau of Biological Survey of the Department of Agriculture will assist, by sending one or more of the expert field naturalists to Oregon during the summer months to work with the state naturalists. They will also help to classify the specimens collected.
In Oregon there is a wide range of physiographic and cli- matic conditions, which favor the production of a great variety of agricultural products. There are five well-defined life zones Within the state, and they can be mapped only by a detailed knowledge of the ranges of the native species of birds, mammals and plants which inhabit them. The definite mapping of areas inhabited by species injurious to agriculture, forestry and stock raising is of great importance as a basis for plans for their ex- termination. A thorough study of the range and habits of the wolves and cougars that kill our deer must be made before they ean be effectively checked.
For educational and permanent records, it is of the utmost importance to secure a large and complete collection of birds, mammals and plants for preservation in one or more museums in the state. The fact that some species are already very scarce
Page thirteen
T H &E O R EGON S PORTS MAN
and in grave danger of extermination adds to the urgency of securing this collection without delay in order that the exact status of our native species may be determined. We need a complete collection of the young and adult of all the predatory species of animals on which bounties are being paid, for refer- ence in connection with the bounty system, chiefly with a view to prevent payment of fraudulent claims.
Thorough collections of game birds, mammals and fish should also be made for reference in connection with the Fish and Game Commission and its work of enforcing the laws.
The object of the biological survey is not merely to accumu- late a mass of mere remains of birds and animals, but to de- termine the actual value of each species. The stomachs, as well as the skins, of all birds and some of the mammals will be ex- amined to determine the amount of good or harm they do.
The results of a biological survey may be published in sev- eral parts. One of these should treat of the mammals of the state, with notes on their distribution, habits, and relation to agriculture and man’s uses in general. A second should deal in the same manner with the birds known to occur in the state. These should be followed by a full report on the hfe and crop zones, with colored map showing the zones and their subdi- visions, with as much detail as possible. Then profitable papers could be written on, ‘‘The Breeding Grounds and Proper Protec- tion of Game Birds in Oregon,’’ ‘‘Migration of Game and Other Birds,’’ ‘‘The Adequate Protection of Game Animals,’’ ‘‘Food Habits of Birds in Relation to Agriculture,’’ ‘“‘Methods of Ex- terminating Injurious Animals,’’ and many others of practical value.
These reports will be based chiefly upon the data gathered by the field naturalists, and the specimens collected will serve as vouchers for the accurate determination of species. Photo- graphs should be made for illustrating the reports, and data gathered for a large number of distribution.maps showing the range of the more important species.
Page fourteen
Tt H E OR EGON Ss POR TSM AN
SPORTSMEN’S ORGANIZATIONS IN OREGON,
(Note.—The following list is not complete, but it is published in the hope that the names of other clubs and their officers will be sent in, so we may have on file a complete roster of sportsmen’s organizations in this state.— Editor. )
BAKER COUNTY.
Baker Rod & Gun Club, Baker. Chas. P. Murphy, President. H. J. O’Gorman, Secretary.
Cornucopia Rod & Gun Club, Cornucopia. C. F. Buxton, President. Jim Cooley, Secretary.
BENTON COUNTY.
Corvallis Rod & Gun Club, Corvallis. M. M. Long, President. H. L. Winkley, Secretary. CLACKAMAS COUNTY.
Rod & Gun Club, Estacada. W. A. Heylman, Secretary. Oregon City Rod & Gun Club. Tom Myers, President. COOS COUNTY.
Seaside Rod & Gun Club, Bandon. J. L. Kronenburg, President. S. C. Endicott, Secretary.
Coquille Rod & Gun Club. A. J. Sherwood, President. Claude Moon, Secretary.
CLATSOP COUNTY.
Seaside Rod & Gun Club. Bert Godfrey, President.
DOUGLAS COUNTY.
Riddle Elk Supporting Rod & Gun Club, Riddle. L. N. Emerson, Presi- dent. C. A. Riddle, Secretary.
Douglas County Game Protective Association, Roseburg. R. HE. Smith, President. T. A. Raffety, Secretary. — ;
Tiller Game Protective Association, Tiller. KR. W. Thomason, Presi- dent. J. W. Wright, Secretary.
Oakland Game Protective Game Association. Roy Miller, President. Dr. W. C. Gilmour, Vice-President. Dr. E. J. Wainscott, Secretary.
Ponealla Game Protective Association. H. 8S. Stearns, President. J. E. Clark, Vice-President. Harry Brown, Secretary and Treasurer.
GILLIAM COUNTY.
Arlington Kod & Gun Club, Arlington. A. Wheelhouse, President. Francis Clark, Seeretary. HARNEY COUNTY.
Burns Rod & Gun Club, Burns. Dr. C. ©. Griffith, President. Archie McGowan, Secretary.
Page fifteen
Ee Be. OP RES Go O1.N S PORTS MAN
HOOD RIVER COUNTY.
Hood River Commercial Club, Hood River. Wm. M. Stewart, Chairman
Game Committee. JACKSON COUNTY.
Rogue River Fish Protective Association, AER W. F. Isaacs, Pres- ident. Dr. L. Bundy, Seeretary.
Medford Rod & Gun Club, Medford. Dr. C. R. Seely, President. 1 WANS OF Daniels, Secretary.
Talent Rod & Gun Club, Talent. G. W. Ager, Secretary. H. L. Gleim, President.
Ashland Rod & Gun Club. H. H. Hosler, Secretary.
JOSEPHINE COUNTY.
Grants Pass Gun Club, Grants Pass. S. E. Halverson, President. A. C Goettsche, Secretary.
Game & Fish Protective Association of Josephine County. C. A. Sidler, President. W. B. Sherman, Secretary.
KLAMATH COUNTY.
Klamath Sportsman Association. C. I. Roberts, President. W. 0 Smith, Secretary. LANE COUNTY. Lane County Fish & Game Protective Association, Eugene. Y. D. Henr- ill, President. J. W. Hobbs, Secretary. Cottage Grove Rod & Gun Club, Elvert Bede, President. David Griggs Secretary-Treasurer. LAKE COUNTY. Goose Lake Gun Club, Lakeview. A. L. Thornton, President. Harry Bailey, Secretary. LINN COUNTY. Albany Gun Club, Albany. L. P. Tracy, Secretary. Rod & Gun Club, Brownsville. W. J. Moore, Secretary. A. Crandall, President. MARION COUNTY. Rod & Gun Club, Salem. J. E. Crowe, President. Silverton Rod & Gun Club, Silverton. O. E. Thompson, President. H. E. Hodges, Secretary. MULTNOMAH COUNTY. Multnomah Anglers’ Club. Lester W. Humphreys, President. E. ©. Me- Farland, Secretary. Portland Gun Club. H. W. Metzger, President, J. A. Addleman, Sec- retary and Treasurer.
Page sixteen
T H &E OREGON SPOBPTSMAN
SHERMAN COUNTY.
Rufus Rod & Gun Club, Rufus. Anson Tom, President. C. H. Linde- man, Secretary. UMATILLA COUNTY.
Umatilla County Fish & Game Association, Pendleton. W. N. Mat- lock, President. R. W. Fletcher, Secretary.
Camas Prairie Game Protective Association, Ukiah. I. R. Laurance, President. W. W. Allison, Secretary.
Milton Rod & Gun Club, Milton. Geo. Cole, President. H. A. Wil- liams, Secretary.
Pilot Rock Commercial Club. lL. A. Scharpf and M. D. Orange, Committee. UNION COUNTY.
Wing, Fin and Fleetfoot Club, La Grande. Dr. G. W. Zimmerman, President. A. A. Wenzel, Secretary.
WASCO COUNTY.
Rod & Gun Club, Dufur. W. A. Short, President. T. ©. Queen, Sec- retary. WASHINGTON COUNTY.
Hillsboro Rod & Gun Club, Hillsboro. Wm. Nelson, President.
STEELHEAD FISHING IN GOVERNMENT CANAL.
The town of Echo has been the Mecca of Umatilla County anglers since the middle of March. It is estimated that during the last sixteen days of the month close to 500 land-locked steelheads were taken from the govern- ment canal which supplies the Cold Springs Reservoir with water. While these fish ranged in length from fifteen to twenty-one inches the greater number were about eighteen inches and weighed close to two pounds each. One disappointing feature of the sport to many was the fact that these fish would not rise to a fly. In order to catch them the anglers were compelled to resort to the use of all manner of bait.
The run of these fish in the canal is due-to the fact that when the ditch was first completed and water turned in, five years ago, it was not equipped with a screen. The reservoir was therefore filled with fish as well as water, and among the fish was a large number of young steelheads on their first pilgrimage to the sea. Not being able to escape from the reservoir they grew to maturity there and when the reservoir was filled this spring the mature fish immediately began ascending the canal in fulfillment of their natural instinct to go to the headwaters of the stream to spawn.
Page seventeen
On ReBY Ge ON Ss ¢P* OO? BP OI SS Sar ae aon
NOTES FROM COUNTIES
CURRY COUNTY.
Deputy Game Warden Adams, sta- tioned at Agness, Oregon, reports that deer have wintered very well in that part of the state, owing to the large crop of acorns.
Silver gray squirrels are on the increase in that section. There were more last winter than ever before. Some complaint has been made that these squirrels destroy a certain amount of timber in some sections by gnawing the bark and girdling young pines. Evidence shows that this is not done by squirrels.
CROOK COUNTY.
The Prineville Review says: Bud Hinton, who has been trapping up in the Paulina country during the past four months came into town Monday with the pelts he has col- lected during the winter. So far he has caught seventy coyotes and thirty-three bobeats, for which he received a bounty of $171, and the State Board of Fish and Game Com- missioners will pay an additional bounty of one dollar on the first of March for all bobcats killed since October. His total bounty will amount to the sum of $204, he- sides what he gets for the furs, and as they are all in their prime con- dition, this will be no small amount.
JACKSON COUNTY.
Mr. A. S. Hubbard, of Ashland, reports that during the winter there were twenty-one panthers, about 200 bobeats and about the same num-
Page eighteen
ber of coyotes killed in Jackson
County.
% * *
Mr. Clyde Walker, of Gold Hill, caught forty-four trout from eight inches up a few days ago in Rogue River. He was not gone more than three hours. Most of the fish were caught with a March Brown fly. This shows that there is good fish- ing in the Rogue in that locality.
KLAMATH COUNTY.
Fishing has been exceptionally good in Link River during the past month. This river is about a mile long and connects Upper Klamath Lake with Lake Ewauna and is within the city limits of Klamath Falls. The trout average from two to five pounds, although some are caught weighing as much as twelve pounds.
Parties returning from Spencer Creek, eighteen miles from Klamath Falls, report large catches of rain- bow trout. While fishing is excep- tionally good in Spencer Creek at this time, the rainbows are in spawning condition, and a female that is caught at this season when ~ full of eggs is not good for food, nor is the taking of the fish at this season sportsmanlike. It is always best to protect fish on their spawn- ing ground and give them every op- portunity to reproduce, either natur- ally or artificially. |
LAKE COUNTY. Mr. William lLaSater, of Silver
fr ASE
O R EGON
» F OB TS MA N
Lake, reports that Canada geese, or ‘¢honkers,’’? were paired off the latter part of January and in early February. On March 15th he saw several nests containing from one to three eggs on an island at the mouth of Ana River.
LANE COUNTY.
Mr. Overton Dowell, Jr., of Mer- cer, says that ruffed grouse are in- creasing in that locality, probably owing to the fact that bob cats are not so numerous as in past years. He has not noticed any increase in sooty or blue grouse and mountain quail.
“‘It has been several years since I have heard of any fisher being caught by trappers in this section. Otter were formerly numerous; now there is practically no sign of them. If something is not done soon for preventing these animals being trapped, they will be gone. Hight or ten years ago, we used to catch eight to twelve otters each season on Mercer Lake. During the past winter but one otter was known to visit this lake. ’’
: * * *
Harley Kain and Will MeMahon killed a cougar on Mt. June March 4th. She had two kittens about the size of bobeats. They had already been weaned. The old cougar ran for two and a half miles in front of the hounds before treeing. The men had to stay out all night and sleep in the snow »nefore ‘they fin- ally got the big cat. |
‘On March 15th, Dr. Bull floated down the Mackenzie in a boat from
a point above Vida. In a distance of three miles, he caught twenty- five rainbows, the smallest of which was eleven inches and the largest sixteen inches. He used Blue Up- right and March Brown flies.
* * *
Mr. EK. iC. Hills, «af Eugene, » re- ports the following catches of fur- bearing animals that were brought in during the early part of March. Mr. Alva Addington caught six cougar, twenty-one bobeats, one wolf, five coons, four martens, twenty skunks. Mr. John Vaughan captured two cougars, seven bob- eats, three coons, two fishers, two martens, twenty-eight civet cats. Mr. Paddock brought in fourteen bobeats, one coyote, three mink, five skunks, five fishers, twenty martens, five (white) weasels, fifty- five civet cats.
Each of these trappers that the season for trapping fur- bearing animals should be changed. They think that the November fur is not prime and that animals eaught in March are in much finer condition. At present the open season for trapping otter, mink, fisher, marten and muskrat is from November ist to February 28th. They believe the season should be from January Ist to March 31st.
claims
LINCOLN COUNTY.
Mr. J. Hanlon, of Ona, killed twenty bobcats during ‘the past winter. Mr. Otern, who lives in the Siletz country, killed ten bobcats. F. H. Kohler and W. H. Allen, who live in the same district, brought in
Page: nineteen’
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Oo F&F EF G@ oO WN
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the hides of one bobcat, three mar- ten, two mink and seven skunks.
* * *
Mr. J. J. Gatens, of Newport, re- ports that bounty was paid on 192 bobeats, four coyotes and one wolf during the year 1913. It is very likely that the wolf upon which bounty was paid was a large coyote. At present there are no records of wolves being found in Lincoln County.
LINN COUNTY.
Mr, Vince Pattick, of Browns- ville, Oregon, while on a trapping trip in the mountains up the Cala- pooia ran acrcss a big gray wolf. His dog made an attack on the wolf but before Mr. Pattick could get in a position to kill the wolf it had killed the dog. Mr. Pattick set his traps and later caught two large female wolves.
MULTNOMAH COUNTY.
Mr. Harry Abele, of Portland, was the first man who qualified for the Salmon Club of Oregon which was recently organized. The object of this club is to encourage a higher class of sportsmanship in angling for salmon. Mr. Abele caught a chinook at Oregon City weighing twenty pounds and four ounces, landing the fish in thirty minutes with a five and a half ounce rod and a No. 9 thread. Hereafter he is entitled to wear the bronze button of the club. To win a silver button one must land a thirty-pound sal- mon, and for a gold button, a forty- pound salmon, with light tackle of specified weight.
Page twenty
UNION COUNTY.
The Wing, Fin and Fleetfoot Club of La Grande has elected the fol- lowing officers: Dr. G. W. Zim- merman, president; J. T. William- son, vice-president; A. A Wenzel, secretary; Chas. R. Harding, treas- urer. The executive board is Chas. B. Orai, P. A. Foley, J. M. Kohl, Walter Zweifel and S. D. Crow. After the business of the club was transacted there was a smoker and speeches by members and visitors. One of the interesting things before the organization was the awarding of the prize for the greatest num- ber of magpies killed by any mem- ber of the club during the year. Mr. Walter Zweifel was awarded this prize. A five dollar gold piece awarded by Mr. August J. Stange was the reward. Mr. Zweifel killed forty magpies in one day, bringing in the heads to be counted by the secretary.
WALLOWA COUNTY.
The herd of elk which was intro- duced into the Wallowa Forest Re- serve has increased considerably during the past season. There are eight yearlings at the present time. In 1912 a herd of fifteen elk was introduced, but five of these died during the winter on account of in- juries received in capturing. Four of these were cows and one bull— all animals three years old, or over. In 1913 a herd of fifteen was in- troduced, one of which escaped. The herd has also been increased by the addition of one or two wild elk ranging in that section.
E OR eh Gi Oo N So Pf) Of BR. -t. Ss) Mo AcuN
rLANKS
FOR A
Sportsman’s Platform SS Os SS =) Keep Oregon Streams and Rivers Free From Pollution
A pure spring or stream of water is a val- uable asset to the State and her citizens. The streams belong to all the people and not to any one section.
No mill or factory has a right to dump its waste into the river. No city or town in the State has a right to empty its sewage into a stream that flows past its door. This does not dispose of the city’s filth. It trans- fers it from one place to another, making the water unfit for use further down stream. This spreads disease to fish and to people. It is wrong legally and morally.
Use your influence to get a statute passed hke the ‘* Deschutes River Law”’ to apply to every stream or river *n the State. Do it before it is too late. Many of our most beau- tiful streams are being transformed into public sewers.
us. Abe MAR 24 19i7 Sb
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The Oregon Sportsman Volume II MAY 1914 Number 5
THE FISHING FEVER.
The first symptoms of the fishing fever appear about the end of March or the first week or two in April whenever the clouds clear away for a few days and the sun makes the buds break. The pulse beats faster and the temperature is likely to run higher by the last of April or the first of May.
This intermittent fever seems to be more virulent in the blood of the lght-rod fly artist than in the sluggish bait fisher- man. There is a class of winter fishermen, slow and _ thick- blooded, who become immune by the constant application of the vile-smelling oil of the salmon egg. But who wants to use a medicine that is worse than the malady?
As age creeps upon us all, it is not fitting that we speak harshly of him who sits quietly above the still water and drops in his bait contentedly, for in his younger days he may have had innumerable attacks before he got beyond the danger line. Yet in his placidity he may innoculate others with the unquenchable fever.
_ Spring comes unfailingly. If one is ever to taste at the fountain of perpetual youth, he will have to forget his business cares and try whipping the clear streams where the rapids flash. He must feel his mind grow keen for the sport. He must feel his heart pound heavier as the line buzzes through the guides.
SALMON FISHING AT OREGON CITY.
Each spring the migratory schools of Chinooks enter the Columbia and make for the headwaters to spawn. The Falls of the Willamette at Oregon City are known far and wide in April and May as a rendezvous for anglers. No place in the West is better known for Chinook fishing and no place has a better record of successful sport from the angler’s standpoint.
Page one
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The spring run of Chinook salmon enters the Columbia River in February and March. It is the finest salmon that swims. The flesh is bright pink in color and stored full of fat. The Chinook is a salt water fish and takes no food from the time it enters fresh water. The stomach gradually grows smaller until it literally shrivels up. The fat that is stored up in salt water is the fuel of the body during the long migration to the headwaters.
Although the Chinook takes no food in fresh water, yet it 1s a surprising fact that a large number of these fish are caught by trolling. No one knows just why the salmon below the falls at Oregon City takes a whirling spinner. Some people think the fish strikes merely from habit or as reflex action, while others think that the fish gathered in large numbers below the falls are annoyed and strike in the spirit of anger.
Landing a Salmon at Jennings Lodge, two miles below the Falls at Oregon City
HUNTERS MAY GO TO PENITENTIARY.
Mr. Edmund Eggets, who shot and killed J. Bush on April Ist on Sixes River, in Curry County, has been indicted by the Grand Jury. Eggers was violating the law by hunting deer out of sea-
son and claims he mistook Mr. Bush for a deer. On February 1st, George L. Mayer shot Willard Isenhart, also in Curry County, claiming that he mistook him for a wildeat.
Page two
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Wt EH = O RR EGON s PORTS MA N Mayer was also indicted by the Grand Jury and is now in the Curry County jail awaiting trial.
Both Eggers and Mayer are held under $2,000 bonds, which they have not been able to furnish.
Upon hearing of these cases, a telegram was sent to County Attorney Meredith, of Wedderbuin, by the Fish and Game Com- mission asking that every effort be made to prosecute the mur- derers of these men, We have received a note to the following effect from Mr. Meredith:
‘‘T am very glad to have the backing of your Department in the prosecution of these cases. I ordered the arrest of both Mayer and Eggers. I intend to make an example of these fellows, if possible, so that every one who goes hunting in Curry County will know that if he shoots a man for a deer the penitentiary awaits him.”’
FUNDS FOR FEDERAL WORK IN OREGON.
Five thousand dollars has been added to the Agricultural Appropriation Bill which is now before the Senate for consid- eration. This amount is to defray the expenses of a biological survey of the state of Oregon. This work was planned several months ago by. the Bureau of Biological Survey of the United States Department of Agriculture in co-operation with the Ore- gon Fish and Game Commission. |
There is also an item of fifty thousand dollars in the same bill to provide funds for enforcing the Federal migratory bird law, which went into effect during the fall of 19138. At the pres- ent time it is uncertain whether this latter amount will be appro- priated, since certain members of the Senate are very much op- posed to it. Since the Federal Government has taken over the protection of migratory birds, it will be necessary to provide of- ficers to enforce the law, or there will be little respect for it. —
. WINTER FISHING UNPOPULAR IN THE DESCHUTES. In certain sections of the state there has been considerable ‘complaint . against the law which permits winter fishing. The Bend Bulletin for April Ist is not at all satisfied with the law permitting fishing all the year in the ; Deschutes, providing the fish are over ten inches. It comments as follows:
Page pire
CHDADLSOULOGESOSOLDSOSSOLERDDEDLISUEECSOODOOLEODSSEUBREODUESOROLOSEOUEDORDOLOGECESEODOGOOSOLCOLLASLAUEOS LOSERS CELDOADUCOOOSLEDADECODDSODOLIOLOCEODOSLIDDODOCEECHLOOLOOOEOROSEDIOLLOGONSOODOONCODUDOOORDOOUESALORDACeCssCcUauccdccicadecagecccceonecueoetOD -
T HE OREGON SPOBTSMAN
CDUEDEBORSROGEOUORROSEOSODERRODOOSRODODDUGLUODERDEDEREEUEOONELEGEOAOLICECRDGROEEOSSAUEREOUOLELECGEEOAERCEOASECDCEOCROCEREEOERUDRELOLLOGEODOGDESEEOSNONESLOLOEDOL GEO OEOECEOSLODOUOONLONDEGSEOOODOSOANGCGOOLeeocaaeeececauccesincanecucccccesecaneneEe
‘‘The law, as might be expected, is being abused scandalously. The summer months are time enough for fishing. Fish caught now are full of eggs. A couple of seasons more of this and we shall have no trout left.
‘*The local fish and game club and papers and sportsmen of central Oregon should combine in petitioning a repeal of this law so far as it affects the much-fished Deschutes. ’’
EASTERN BROOK TROUT IN UMATILLA COUNTY.
Mr. C. K. Cranston, of Pendleton, Oregon, has furnished a very inter- esting report in regard to the trout that have been planted in Umatilla County. He says:
‘*T believe the stock of Rainbow trout in Umatilla and its tributaries: is as good as I have ever known it within the past seventeen years. I have been a very frequent angler on these streams during that period.
‘‘The only non-native species supplied has been Eastern Brook trout. Plantings have been made for four successive years. This species has been placed in all of the streams which were considered suitable. From personal investigation and from inquiries which I have made continually from anglers and others, it seems the result, as far as Eastern Brook trout are concerned, is rather disappointing. Practically no reports of the presence of Eastern Brook trout have reached me from observers along the Umatilla River except that they have occasionally been found in some of the side channels or sloughs separate from the main channel of the river. A number of anglers report the taking of an occasional one of these fish, some of which have been as large as one pound, or even a little better, but there is no indication that the fish have increased to any extent, or that they are even holding their own. A small planting made in Bear Creek seems to have disappeared altogether. I have no reports of any having been seen in MeKay or Birch Creeks.
‘‘The only really hopeful result of our efforts is from two plantings made in Camas Creek. Most of the fry for this stream were put in a small stream on the farm of Frank Hilbert, near Ukiah, Oregon. The first season - following the planting of the fry in this stream it was reported to me that they were very numerous, and that autumn a further report came in that they were spawning. Since this I have had numerous reports that brook trout of all sizes, up to better than one pound in weight, are abundant, and, furthermore, that they are gradually working down into the main channel of Camas Creek.
‘‘Camas Creek throughout much of its course is more placid than the average mountain stream of this section. The success in this stream rather than in others has strengthened my opinion that the meandering meadow streams are better adapted to Eastern Brook trout than the rough, rapid streams.’’
Page four
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Pert mr ii i UL uO ee COREL EETUREE CLEA EAORSREE EEE ORR
WILLAMETTE VALLEY DUCK SHOOTING. : By J. W. Hobbs. “i
There has been considerable interest and discussion in the papers by the sportsmen throughout the state lately as to changing the season for duck shooting, and especially as to the best season for the Willamette Valley sportsmen. I will have to take issue with my brother sportsmen of Albany, who seem to want to extend the season to shoot and not begin until Novem- ber 15th. They recommend this, claiming that the birds do not come down from the north until this time.
I will say that I have for the last seven years been a member of a club . in Eugene, which is forty-three miles farther south than Albany, which has a duck shooting preserve on the Long Tom and Coyote Creeks, some ten miles west of Eugene, and I have kept a complete record of the number of ducks shot on this preserve for the past seven seasons. The place we have is a low, swampy marsh, between the two creeks. Few if any ducks are raised there, other than a few wook ducks and perhaps a few mallards; but this is a natural stopping place for them on their flight south in the fall. The elub is composed of from six to seven members, and the shooting is done two days in the week, on Sundays and mid-week, but mostly on Sundays. The record kept for the past seven years is much the same as the records of the other clubs in this vicinity. It is as follows:
Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Totals 1907.... 22 1385 171 64 ... 392 Law prohibited Feb. shooting
1SGe....189 362 324 4124 ... 959 * % os ne 1Wes=s.-S1. 227 338 304. 71 887" .** ‘* shooting after Feb. 15 1910....166 444 181 88 SY bay. ae re Sabet ett IT is ee Jone 197 Zel Bl- 1008..** 6 ie Di 191S-:5.490 447° 478 271. 190-1576... ** as ss vio tes etal 19i3 2... oe 368450 - 90 ...-- 1040 ** ‘* shooting after Jan. 15
Totals ..630 2611 2139 1167 288 6835
In the October months most of the birds were shot in the latter half of the month. The poor showing of the record for October the last season was on account of the very late season, and the law prohibiting the shooting of wood ducks. The entire month of November each year has been good; in faet, November is the best month by far we have here, showing that our Albany brothers are mistaken when they say that the southern flight does not commence until later. December is our next best month and is always good. January is not nearly so good as November or December, with Feb- ruary rather poor. This last season I will admit was an exception, being a very warm and late season, and the birds did not come down until much later than usual. Yet November again, as usual, was the best month of the season. In 1912 they came down early, and October was a good month. I
Page five
SUORAGORL EGET DALTILE L LLal 1h dds eaeBe FELT RRaeL Tt CRLAREE) S014! CAME ied dRbs LODRRERES « edbdmbedset ss tiem
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Oetober Ist to January 15th very good, and do
mot think it wise to make a later season than from October 15th to Feb- ruary ist, which might be a hitle better for the Willamette Valley sports men than iit is now. and give the birds proper pretection in the Spring, during their mating season and in their northern fight. HUMAN NATUBE. There’s one bad fault that gets us all, whatever be our lot; “tis the wishing and the longing for the things we haven’t got. The man on top
may envy. sore. the man who’s underneath: while the rich man has the
: ee Se oes Se dinner, “tis the poor man has the teeth. Blessings brighten as they take
their flight. and manght compares today with the girl we didn’t marry and the fish that got away.”"—-M. L. Marsh in Reereation and Outdoor World for May
Azgling for Chimooks at Willamette Falls
STUDYING THE HABITS OF THE BEA
Mr. B. G. Watson, of the senior class im the University of Oregon, 15 -gllecting data on the habits and distribution of the beaver of Oregon. He
hopes io make : of Oregon showing where the principal colonies of e are at the present time, and In some localities reports show ent of the damage will be imvesti-
ins = — = => = eT ae = = Pt = szied and possibly some recommendaions made eonecrning the protecnion = = = = — — ama ssercrnae of Oheawer asta ~S.--—= vl 2G ‘cl.
Mr. Watson wouk ee any information eoneerning the habits
beaver colonies or information concerning the harm done by
{a
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THE Oo BEGO RN SPORE FS MAB
CRRRARLE TS). TOPE: Sar eee RERREET ARNT ERe ne ROS
THE TIMBER WOLF IN OREGON
Data on Range and Habits Collected by the Game Department During the Past Season
BY STANLEY G JEWETT
From data now available. the ramge of the Northwestern Timber Wolf (Canis gigas) in Oregon is restricted to the west slope of the Cascade Mountains from Clackamas County om the north to Jackson County on the south. No record has been ob- tained of this species occurring east of the divide im the Cascade Mountains or west of the Willamette Valley. The Northwestern timber wolf is the only species of true wolf found m ihe State of Oregon. It should never be confused with the coyote. which ranges over the entire State-
Mr. F. N. Robeson. of Oregon City. reports that he has trapped er of these wolves durme the past wmier and has seen a good many more signs of them on the headwaters of the Molalla River m Clackamas County. Mr. Robeson caught these wolves © traps. using four traps to the set. Durmeg the early part of Ne- vember, Mr. Robeson saw where two wolves had trailed 2 deer down to the river. These tracks showed that the two wolves ran very much as dogs do; rummimg close together part of the time. and at other times spreadimg apart about fifty yards. The wolves disappeared from that loeality for about five days. then returned. Mr. Robeson had his traps set and batted with mountam boomer. He eaught the male wolf first and a few days later caught the female im the same trap. baited with the same meat. Ome of these wolves carried the trap-drag_ which was a heavy stick about three mehes im diameter and seven and 2 half feet lomg. for nearly 2 mile. On February 28th. Mr. Robesom caught 2 third wolf m Seetion 33. Township 5 South Range 4 East. which was only 2 short distamee from where he caught the first two. This wolf ee en ehunks of bob-eat and coyote meat.
Pace sevrex
GROODODNDLAS OUD AONUEHONONDDEDDADEAOD NOD ODNRDDANLADDRRADOAEAR AA AsAeA OANA ARARCGI NOUR aeadA Nc TAMU UALOdAAHaAadNeAdaCACAtAUeONeONAARNAAAAOGDOLORDODOOCANDOCONUAULANOLLOGUOsANCNAGSSALOOUOCRAUNOOOAOANAOOAAALSLERNAAOnOAANGaOREROEOOUEAOALOACLAteacoutes
, ££, Ss OREGON 8 PORTS MAN
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On February 25th, 1914, Mr. N. W. MeMillen, of Cazadero, caught a large, black timber wolf near Three Links camp on the Clackamas River, twenty-four miles above Cazadero. In making a set for this wolf, Mr. McMillen tied the body of a rabbit about six feet up in a fir tree and placed two traps close together under it. One of these traps was well concealed, while the other was left partially exposed, and, of course, the concealed trap was the one that caught the wolf. The bait was hung in such a way that the wolf in jumping at it would cause it to swing in the air, thereby making it difficult for him to get a firm hold. Number 14 off-set jaw Newhouse traps were used. On March 16th a large female wolf was caught in the same trap, at the same set and with the same bait. The first wolf was a male, and this was probably a pair that had been hunting in that locality. Mr. McMillen esti- mates that there are about a dozen wolves that range over the territory in the vicinity of his winter camp, about twenty-five miles above Cazadero on the Clackamas River. During the winter he found the remains of a deer that had evidently been killed by wolves. The meat was entirely gone, nothing remaining but the bones and hide.
Mr. W. L. Tison and brother, who live ten miles above Tiller, on Elk Creek, poisoned three wolves on February 15th. A band of wolves had killed about a dozen goats belonging to Mr. Jaques. Some of the meat was not eaten and this was poisoned with strychnine. The wolves returned a few days later and ate the meat. Mr. Tison and his brother followed the wolf tracks for half a mile and found where three of the wolves had died. They think there were two or three more wolves that got away.
_ The Northwestern timber wolf was first described by Town- send in the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Phila- delphia, Pennsylvania, in 1850, from a specimen killed near Van- couver, Clarke County, Washington. There is a skull of one of these wolves in the U. 8. National Museum at Washington that was taken from a wolf killed on the shores of Puget Sound a good many years ago.. This skull, so far as known, is the only specimen of the Northwestern wolf in any museum outside of Oregon.
Page eight
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The skin of an adult Northwestern timber wolf measures about six feet from nose to tip of tail; the nose pad is from one and a quarter to one and three-quarter inches wide; the heel pad is from one and a half to two inches in width and the upper canine teeth are about one-half inch in diameter at the base. Several wolves killed in the Cascade Mountains show a wide range of coloration, from the black phase, which is a shiny black on the back and dusky on the under parts, to the lighter phase, which is
Photograph by N. W. McMillen
Northwestern Timber ‘Wolf trapped on the headwaters of the -- Clackamas River A
yellowish brown with black-tipped hairs: These black-tipped hairs are thickest on the back, sometimes giving the animal the appearance of being solid black on the back. The under parts of the light specimens vary from dirty-white to cream color. The tail is long and bushy with a black tip. The claws, although no eee than a coyote’s, are much thicker and heavier built.
. +. Owing to the wide variation of color in the wolves, they are known locally under several names, as ‘‘Black Wolf,’ » ““Gray
Wolf’’ and ‘‘Timber Wolf,’’ but there is only one species known Page nine
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T H E OREGON SPORBTS MAN
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to occur in the state. Wolves-are very destructive to domestic animals as well as game, so the Fish and Game Commission has offered a bounty of $20 in addition to the $5 state bounty on each wolf killed. This bounty is often earned by homesteaders in isolated parts of the state, and assists them in their first years’ settlement while developing their lands.
These wolves are probably the most difficult to kill of all the predatory animals in Oregon. They are very wary and ¢can- not be hunted successfully with dogs. Several cases are recorded where wolves have turned on dogs and killed them. Mr. George Kelly has, on three occasions, lost valuable ‘‘varmint’’ dogs by having them trail wolves. |
In some places wolf bounties ier been paid on coyotes, and in order to guard against this, the Fish and Game Commis- sion has secured several skins and skulls showing the variation in color and the great difference in size of skulls of the wolf and coyote.
The following table shows the number of wolves on which bounty has been claimed from October 1, 1913, to April 27, 1914:
Name of Hunter No. Killed Locality Where Killed Date When Killed
Bae) Palmers. ws coe vant eae Ot ae Molalla River.......... Dee. 17, 1913 Clackamas Co.
N. W. MeMillen....... Ae, SAM 8 30 miles above Cazadero. .Feb. 25, 1914 Clackamas Co. Meh. 16, 1914
Chas. Dirginsi<ec = 29 DR ae hase pat Near: Tiller (03 vac aes aes March, 1914 Douglas Co. Nov. 30, 1913
F. N.* Robeson. 2-0... eer ee Molalla River ..... Two—Nov. 1, 1913 Clackamas Co. Feb. 28, 1914 AM. Bott sess ae SIE Foster, Linn Co. ........ Dec. 28, 1913 | DW TORY eee atone ce No Fee Glide, Douglas Co. ......... Feb., 1914 Three—March 14, 1914
iy: Mimerson’ 2 ioe Dt ati avs hts & Tiller, Douglas Co. ...... Oct. 1, 1913 C.7Hs Peelor-. 45a aeeg Sek cena Butte Falls, Jackson Co.......... 1914 A. B. Addington ...... NG Sees ate Oakridge, Lane Co. ...... Feb. 10, 1914 With. Rison rsa eak aes Sa Oe aa Drew, Douglas Co. Three—Feb. 15, 1914 B. E. Paddock ........ Zaher wae eee Sweet Home, Linn Co...Presented for bounty at Salem, March 14, 1914
Coke, Comipy: joes eek Sh. daprbcre umes Lane. Corn vite sakice, sae Presented for
bounty at Salem, April, 1914
The Oregon Sportsman will appreciate additional information regarding wolves from hunters and sportsmen throughout the
state. Page ten
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RIVERS AND STREAMS OF OREGON
With Some Descriptions of the Country, Fish and Fishing—Part 6
BY JOHN GILL
HOOD RIVER
This grand stream sometimes yields splendid trout, and on some of its tributaries good fishing may be had all summer. The main river is not worth much for fly fishing after the snows of Mt. Hood begin to melt, as the glaciers pour out great quantities of silt which makes the water milky in appearance. The smaller and lower tributaries are clear, and good fishing; and often, after frosts have checked glacial streams, there is good fishing on the main river. Especially in fall, the lower part of the river is often abundant in large sea-trout returning to spawn.
This river is a very swift, powerful stream, and its banks in most places are steep cliffs of basalt, so there are not many | places where its waters can be reached without difficulty and even danger. Half way back to Mount Hood the country is broken and the streams of the ‘‘Middle Valley’’ are more acces- sible. Hood River, Dee and Mt. Hood P. O. are good stopping places. :
Cutthroat, rainbow and Dolly Varden trout abound in these waters, the latter reaching very large size.
Lost Lake, on the northwestern shoulder of Mt. Hood, abounds in trout, but they feed so plentifully upon newts, or ““water-dogs,’’ that they are not often taken by the fly fisherman, and never unless a favoring breeze ruffles its waters. One must camp here, and can reach the lake by a drive of about thirty miles from Hood River. The creek flowing out of Lost Lake is also fine fishing.
Eagle Creek, on the eastern boundary of Multnomah County and in the heart of the gorge of the Columbia, is a glorious stream, but almost impossible for the fisherman. A rough trail
Page eleven
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T H & OREGON S P OB TSMAN climbs the steep mountains from its mouth to its source, which is only four miles back, and 4,000 feet above the Columbia. This ice-cold, crystal stream is a river of falls and boiling rapids, and ‘‘looks good,’’ but fish of ‘‘any size’’ do not inhabit such waters. They are too cold and violent for the production of large trout.
Tanner Creek at Bonneville is now occupied by the great state hatchery and rearing ponds, and though the stream is a delight, and once was good fishing, the best reason for a fisher- man’s interest now is in the opportunity for seeing and studying the operation of spawning, hatching and rearing of the millions of salmon and trout there. Every possible opportunity is given visitors to see the plant, and the writer recommends every angler within reach of Bonneville to visit the station once a year at least. A good dinner can be had at the restaurant at the sta- tion and the train west at 4 brings one to Portland before 6 P. M.
The beautiful torrents and cataracts west of Bonneville are peopled with little trout wherever the waters rest long enough for them to abide, but are not suitable for fishing.
THE SANDY RIVER
Sandy River, emerging from the western slopes of the Cas- cades, is poor fishing for the reason given in the case of Hood River. It receives several glacial streams and is charged with milky sediment most of the summer. But in late fall and winter it offers grand sport in the steelhead trout which ascend its waters in great numbers. From November till March the stream is the favorite of many of Portland’s experts. Walter Backus is one of the best and luckiest of these, and will give any inquirers reliable information regarding tackle and all other questions. The steelhead trout in these icy waters is the gamest of our fish, and is taken up to twenty pounds. The stream is reached by the Mount Hood electric line, by O0.-W. R. & N. to Troutdale. and from Sandy P. O. via Estacada electric line and stage or team ’ from Boring. .A good hotel will be found here, also at Troutdale. of Several important tributaries of Sandy are famous trout streams. These are mostly clear, ideal streams of large size,
Page twelve
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T H &E OREGON S$ POBk& TS MAN rapid but not too difficult for pleasant fishing. Bull Run is one of these, coming from Bull Run Lake, high up in the Cascades. The south fork of Bull Run is a delightful stream and easy fly fishing, but it is rather a toilsome walk from Aschoff’s (a eharming place to stay), on the Barlow road, accessible by auto- stage all summer.
Ray Davis related to me recently an experience on ‘‘Little Sandy,’’ as the south fork of Bull Run is sometimes called. He left Salmon Post Office early one ‘morning in August, 1913, and tramped through the forest and mountains nearly five hours, to the upper waters of the Little Sandy. He had good sport and brought out a full creel; but better than that, he had the rare experience of seeing the beaver at work. The beavers had made several dams in this part of the stream, flooding considerable tracts, and standing in these ponds, which are not very deep, Mr. Davis could plainly see large numbers of cutthroat trout of unusual size, doubtless bigger because of the more abundant food and warmer waters of these ponds. And from these ponds he caught a number of large trout which rose freely, though the water was perfectly calm and clear—an unusual experience, es- pecially for a fly fisherman.
Hight miles above Aschoff’s Salmon River joins the Sandy, and McIntyre’s at this point is a good hotel. There is a state hatchery at this point also, and Salmon River is good fishing. The trout of these tributary streams are cutthroat and rainbow in about equal numbers, and steelheads for winter fishing. Also ereat numbers of sea-run trout in the fall.
The Oregon whitefish is also to be had at times in good numbers in these streams, and takes a small fly freely. This fish is a delicious table fish and scarcely second to the graylings as a sporting fish, though not properly appreciated by most an- glers, and by some wantonly thrown away and supposed to be a worthless sucker, which is a great mistake. The whitefish of our Cascades streams is now known as the Oregon Whitefish (Coregonus Oregonus), varying very little from the Rocky Mountain whitefish, which was the former classification of our
Page thirteen
NOUDLEEODDOREDOCSDEDODDEECTOEDEAUU DEES ODOOODOPODEEODTOOORSSAEOUDODESIERUAULSOLSEERAELEOUCCORORROUROULOEQOGEOROCHORCORECOELERODEAGEOOUOOREOEOOUORAREOLOODLAOGONCDOOEOEPOOOEORONECODEGOSOCOGLROGOOORSAORSGRESEAQUOAGEACEROoeCocauECES
T H &E OR EGON 8S PO RTS MAN whitefish also. Strangers visiting our waters and unacquainted with the species may know the whitefish by the following traits. It is silvery, with a brownish tint, rounder bodied and rather longer than a trout of the same weight, fins placed as in the sal- mon family, but larger, the tail being deeply forked. Its head is smaller than that of the trout, and its very small mouth, which is set below the center of the head, is a characteristic mark. Its mouth will hardly admit the little finger, in a fish of a pound weight.
The whitefish is far more particular in his choice of habitat than the cutthroat trout. None are found in any of our ‘‘ West
Side’’ or coast streams. He inhabits only the clearest and cold- .
est streams of the Cascades. This fish belongs to the salmonidae, but partakes of the characteristics of some cyprinoid fishes. Its mouth is not armed with teeth, and its food is largely soft-bodied insects.
Another fine trout stream tributary to Sandy River is Gor- don Creek, which rises on the south side of the high mountains behind Bridal Veil, and enters Sandy River about half way be- tween Bull Run and Troutdale..
The streams flowing into Sandy River (Gordon, Bull Run, Little Sandy and Cedar Creek) are most conveniently accessible by the Mount Hood Electric Railway from Portland, though all are too much fished in their lower waters, and one should go some miles above the easy reach of the Sunday picnics. Sandy P. O. is a pretty good starting point for many of these streams of the nearer Cascades, good hotel accommodations there, livery and men acquainted with the country to act as guides or drivers. The scenery of the region is magnificent, Mount Hood and the great range of the Cascades being near at hand.
QUALIFY FOR SALMON CLUB.
Although it is not an easy matter to qualify in the Salmon Club, yet, during the past two months, sixteen different anglers have landed the much prized fish according to the rules. All of the fish were chinook salmon, and were taken as follows:
Page fourteen
Ea ay eos .
i pieee (A Rpe eel...
TOCEAEADGDOROEDOLEDOSOGAODOEORO GEA DAGANAOLEESOCE OCU DO GUGURDU EO GOGO NC GOUNOEOGUREACGR DON GAGAGUGAUNA SOSA AUGGGLRUEOSOGOOROEOGORDUD UDA ER DA At OUGHRAGARAOUROGRAGU AARNE CO HC SACU ANCA CC CUTE SCAN CHCAGUKA LARA SURE GA OR EC OE aa EL CU PT
m HE O R E GON SPs OF Be To Ss M AN
OUOUEDAALNAANNOODOODUEAO ODO ASORAOSEOGROG ORD DO DELIOUOSLONODAOGEOONUANODRO CHU CAO RACHA CORA ACU ENC ORSAAENGONOLELISUOAOULESOGEUGOONDUODOONIOCOGUO OOO NEOOLOONSSCRNA SOR NOO GOGOL OEOEUOGEO ROO GUU RANGE OR ACEAUSEDGOUEGGGCLAGGECAENGEAGOeEnasecnOnSceoentotacg:
Gold Button Class.
Reem a). SihOW, Apt co. LOU Sy. iti ccreteia ts ols le sietd abe lela ajele 40 lbs. 8 oz. Silver Button Class.
Warren Cornell, April TNA es NN tat sigs a aan ar on dg Wiis _.34 Ibs.
mea WAS ATT AG LON A a ic iasate pot pain de = epileiale aseye oye 32 lbs. 8 oz.
Ree Backus Agr 24 VOTE. i i icin oe bs Sia ote eae sale ales 34 Ibs. 12 oz.
eee. Omatn. April 28. 1914. oak. hs ee hae cece? 30 Ibs.
OS EAP V SOM eA TI 15 LOL Ey ase sts sade a os Pee Ea apa 0 wn a ass -.31 Ibs.
JP TS GU Acaw 8 Bey Pago: oy od bot 21 a 2 0: ee eee era rng 32 lbs. Bronze Button Class.
mmr Avole March 22 © VOLE fo on fas OP sis else ae ete ee 20 Ibs. 4 oz.
shite WEenMers OA PTE D219 1b yh eee ee ade Siete e ace wae as 20 Ibs.
Pave Go Avinter oA pri Oe Toles Sarr) atin ct Peis. eh eee oe 24 Tbs.
Samer aE? Ort hrs, Obes ih. Pelee oe ei ee ow leis eee cee eet 24 lbs. 8 oz.
Pe Ane dcnoders April 26, A914 2! AP aes 20 Ibs. 4 oz.
Hey C, W:- Robinson; April 30,1914. F/0 2/2: 21 Ibs. 8 oz.
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Mr. Perry Kitzmiller, secretary and treasurer of the club, is keeping a record of salmon that have been caught on light tackle. Over one hundred and forty of these fish have been landed during the past two months—many of them not coming up to the qualified weight. Some of the members have landed several fish which have been above the qualified weight. Mr. Harry Abele, the first man to qualify by landing a chinook salmon weighing 20 Ibs. 4 0z., soon after landed two more sareeee ;—one weighing 25 lbs. and the other tes ee 26 lbs.
Walter Backus, of Portland, has been trying out light tackle on the Umpqua River. He recently landed three chinook salmon, each of which was heavy enough to qualify him for membership in the Salmon Club.
BY-LAWS AND RULES OF THE SALMON CLUB OF OREGON.
This organization is to be known as the Salmon Club of Oregon, and is formed for the purpose of encouraging the use of light tackle in the taking of large game fish. In order to be eligible for membership, the angler must take a salmon on the required tackle, said selmien to Wi imenky. pounds or more.
ARTICLE I. .
1. The direction and eontrol of the Salmon Club shall be vested-in a board of five directors, a majority of which shall be members of the Mult- nomah Anglers’ Club, who are also active members of the Salmon Club. The
' Page fifteen
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said directors shall be elected at the regular annual meeting of the Club, to be held the second Friday in January.
2. The Board of Directors shall prescribe rules regulating the affairs and conduct of the Club as, in their judgment, may from time to time be found necessary and proper, and may prescribe the form of proxies.
3. A majority of the directors shall constitute a quorum.
4. At the first meeting after their election, the Directors shall organ- ize by the election, from their own number, of a Chairman and Secretary- Treasurer. The angler taking the largest fish during the year shall be Honorary President for the following year.
5. All officers and directors shall be actual residents of the State of Oregon. ;
6. The Board of Directors shall have the power to designate the mem- bership of the weighing committee, which membership shall be unlimite?, and as deemed necessary by said Board. The weights fixed by the official weighers shall be final unless protest be made in writing and delivered to a member of the Weighing Committee within one hour after fish is first weighed.
ARTICLE II.
1. A bronze button shall be presented to each angler landing a salmon weighing twenty pounds or more.
2. A silver button shall be presented to each angler landing a salmon weighing thirty pounds or more.
3. A gold button shall be presented to each angler landing a salmon weighing forty pounds or more.
4. No person shall receive more than one button of prescribed quality. Each angler, upon taking a fish of the required weight, will be awarded the proper button, upon a payment of an initiation fee of $1.00, and if a button of higher value is earned at any time, it will be given in exchange for the one held previously.
5. A permanent cup shall be provided by the Club and at the end of each season the name of the angler taking the largest fish shall be engraved thereon.
CLUB RULES.
1. The line used must not exceed a standard nine-thread linen line.
2. Rod to be made of any material, except solid bamboo cane, to be not shorter than five feet over all, and to weigh not more than six ounces.
3. The leader shall not be more than thirty-six inches in length. Reel and spoon to be unrestricted.
4. Anglers competing for membership or prizes must submit their tackle for inspection to one of the Weighing Committee when catch is weighed.
5. Anglers must bring fish to gaff unaided, the fish must be reeled in,
Page sixteen
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and gaffed by the angler. A broken rod, if broken any time during the landing of the fish, disqualifies the catch.
6. Fish must be weighed by one of the Weighing Committee designated by the Club, and the weight recorded.
7. Each angler landing a fish of the necessary weight, will be required to sign the regular blank form, stating that he or she complied with all the tules of the club, forms of which will be provided by the Weighing Committee.
8. The season for taking salmon to be from January 1 to July 1, ex- cept on the coast streams, where the season shall be January 1 to October 1. It is further understood that the season on Rogue River shall be from Jan- uary 1 to July 1.
The Directors of the Salmon Club are as follows: L. W. Humphreys, Chairman; Perry Kitzmiller, Secretary and Treasurer; Walter Backus, W. C. Block, W. N. Shenefield.
Weighing Committee.
The following is the official list of the members of the weighing com- mittee for the Salmon Club of Oregon:
For the Willamette River: H. C. Frisbie, Wilson & Cooke, Miller- Parker Co., Huntley Drug Co., Dad Brown, all of Oregon City.
For Rogue River: Joe Wharton and George Cramer, of Grants Pass; R. L. Ewing, Medford; W. von der Hellen, Eagle Lae E. D. Reed, Gold Hill; Mr. Dunn, Melrose.
For the Nehalem River: E. H. Lindsey, of Mohler, A. H. Sandberg, Batterson Station; R. H. Cady, Wheeler; H. J. Pies, Salmonberry Station.
For the Umpqua River: J. H. Sykes, Roseburg.
For the Necanicum River: Clair Godfrey, Seaside.
For the McKenzie River: Walter McCormack, Eugene.
For the Columbia River: Joe Leaby, Astoria.
For Bays, Wilson and Trask Rivers: W. O. Chase, Tillamook.
UMATILLA ANGLERS HAVE GOOD SPORT. ‘The Pendleton Tribune of April 1st comments as follows concerning fishing conditions in that part of the country: “*Not for several years has the trout season opened more auspiciously
for Umatilla County anglers than it did today. ‘‘The abundance of trout in the streams is attributed to the large
plantings made during the last three years by the State Fish and Game Commission. Prior to that time only a very few fish were planted in Uma- tilla County streams, and these were all furnished by the government.
‘‘The anglers received nothing in return for their license money until the Fish and Game Commission was created. The work of this commission, including all the expense of enforcing the fish and game laws, is now maintained by the fund created by the sale of fishing and hunting licenses. This is the only one of the state commissions which is self-supporting, and is therefore free from the criticisms now being hurled against commissions in general in the state-wide fight against high taxation.’’
Page seventeen
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NOTES FROM COUNTIES
CLACKAMAS COUNTY.
- Will Tompkins made a three-day trip to the upper Clackamas River and returned with about fifty fine large trout. From indications, fly fishing will begin a month earlier than usual in the higher mountain streams. }
GRANT COUNTY.
M. L. Hasbrook, of Prairie City, says there are more miles of trout water in Grant County than in any other county in the state. Accord- ing to his figures there are 7,000 miles of water well adapted for trout fishing within the borders of his county.
HARNEY COUNTY. Mr. Foley reports having seen a
covey of twenty-five Chinese pheas-
ants on his farm two and one-half miles northeast of Burns. This is welcome news, as it was feared by many that these birds had not wintered well. It is now most cer- tain that the introduction of these game birds into Harney Valley is a success. %. * *
During the past winter one ante- lope was seen on the townsite of Wellington and three near the Wav- erly postoffice. It has not been many years since these graceful little animals were quite plentiful
in Harney Valley and a few small
bands are still to be found among the eattle in some of. the larger fields.
‘Page eighteen
.of April.
. JACKSON COUNTY.
KE. A. Hildreth, of Butte Falls, reports catching an Eastern Brook trout nine inches in length in the Big Butte.
* * *
A. 8S. Hubbard, of Ashland, re- ports that splendid catches of fish have been made in his locality in the past month, especially in streams that were stocked last year.
* * *
A.- 8S. Hubbard, of Ashland, re- ports that in his locality silver gray squirrels: often girdle young pine trees, especially in sugar pine thick- ets, when there is a heavy fall of snow. This is done, as a rule, near the tops of trees from fifteen to thirty feet high. This report dif- fers from that of John F, Adams, of Curry County, which was pub- lished in the April issue of The Oregon Sportsman.
KLAMATH COUNTY.
J. J. Furber, of Klamath Falls, reports that Canada geese began hatching this year about the middle He reports seeing several broods on the 16th, 17th and 18th. a evs ee * é ;
Fishing continues to be the. fa- vored sport about Klamath Falls, with Spencer Creek the choice. Harry Peltz, O. W. Mathews, O. Peyton and Lee Bean returned from there the second week in April with the limit of fifty pounds each.
* * *
noe Robertson and E. Hardenbrook
ADOOUOGGRORAUGAOUARONGOASANSUAADAAODORSEQNONDOANNADOOSOSNCRAADOLIAQUUAISANSSISSOSODDOURASAOGDONDAGUUSOUCOORAGNS SOO DONSISAAOGOOONTNGCHUUNHSUNGNOONENTUOHANOUSECEAECNNOSSNUOCPONNUNOSAANNOORSNOUNOOSSONNONEDENOOAAGONACANASCHOAONGOUSORSONOAOAOOUOINANSNEY
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caught twenty-eight trout weighing forty pounds at the head of Link River April 12th. The largest weighed seven pounds. They used both spoon hook and minnows with success,
LAKE COUNTY.
Tom and Will Bernard caught a hundred and thirty fine trout in two days’ fishing. The fish weigh- ed from one to five pounds and were caught with a spinner.
a LANE COUNTY.
Dr. M. M. Bull and Mr. F. C. Bean recently made an eight-mile fishing cruise, starting ten miles above Vida on the McKenzie River. They caught forty rainbows or red- sides, the longest fish being seven- teen inches.
% * *
Several large catches of rainbows or red-sides were reported from the McKenzie River during April. But it seems that the majority of fish caught were females and full of eggs. These fish should be pro- tected until after the spawning sea- son if the supply of trout is to be kept up in the McKenzie.
LINN COUNTY. Mr. Raleigh Henderson recently
caught sixteen trout measuring from twelve to sixteen inches fishing in Cochran Creek. Angle worms were used as bait.
MULTNOMAH COUNTY. The Multnomah Anglers’ Club re- cently held their first casting tour- nament on the new grounds; it was
well attended. The results of the tournament were as follows:
In the long-distance bait-casting with one-half ounce weight, W. C. Block was the winner with A. E. Burghduff a close second. In the quarter-ounce distance casting, L. W. Humphreys was first, Burgh- duff taking second. Dr. EH. OC. McFarland was winner in the ac- euracy bait casting, with a score of 96 per cent, with W. C. Block and L. W. Humphreys close for second and third places. In the fly-casting events, W. E. Carlon won the long- distance casting with heavy rods, | with a cast of 90 feet, while W. F. Backus was first in the distance fly event with a light rod, 89 feet, and also won the accuracy fly-cast- ing, with a score of 99 per cent. In the special dry fly event for the prize rod donated by Mr. Wilson, the winner was George Ray.
The club plans to hold another tournament about the third week in May, the exact date to be an- nounced later.
* * *
Walter Backus, the well-known angler, says:
‘‘There is no longer any doubt as to whether light tackle will do for catching salmon, as not only does light tackle land the big fish, but it also lands a large percent- age of the strikes. Kitzmiller and Beckett, who fished together several days during the week, have a rec- ord of landing fifteen fish out of sixteen hooked, which is something no heavy tackle man can boast of.
‘‘Another angler fishing with light tackle in the swift water be-
Page nineteen
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low the falls, landed three salmon weighing respectively twenty-four, twenty-six and thirty-one pounds, in less than an hour, while at the same time three heavy lines and one heavy rod were broken in the same water on fish not a bit heavier.’’
UMATILLA COUNTY.
M. F. Teehan is serving a fifty- five day sentance in the Umatilla County jail for attempting to trap Chinese pheasants at their nests on a wild bird and game _ refuge. _The offense was committed on the grounds of the Eastern Oregon Hos- pital for the Insane, near Pendle- ton. Teehan was arraigned before Justice of the. Peace Joe H. Parkes and entered a plea of guilty. He was given the minimum penalty of $50.00 and thirty days, but having no money, fifteen days were added to his jail sentence. He was using a steel trap and was trying to catch the birds to eat them.
* * *
The past season has been a pros- perous one for Umatilla County trappers and hunters of predatory animals. According to County Clerk Saling more coyote bounties have been claimed during the year than during any other similar period since the bounty law went into effect.
There have been an unusually large number of bob-ceats killed the past winter. Especially is this true of the southern end of the county. Among those bringing in cat hides recently are Rus J. Ramey, Jesse Hilbert and W. W. Allison, all of Ukiah. The latter brought in seven
Page twenty
eat hides and one Canadian lynx, This is the second Canadian lynx killed in this section this winter, the other having been trapped on the north fork of the John Day River by William Rider.
According to Mr. Allison and other people who have been in the mountains, the number of deer in the hills of Umatilla and Grant Counties is greater today than for many years. They say they are in- creasing very rapidly.
WASHINGTON COUNTY.
Mr. A. M. Seott, of Gaston, re- cently caught a bass in Seoggin Creek, about one mile above the place where it empties into the Tuala- tin River, which was 1414 inches long and weighed three pounds. This is very likely one of the fish that was planted by Mr. J. H. Wescott, of Gaston, during the summer of 1912.
+ * *
Anglers in Washington County, es- pecially in the vicinity of Gaston, are having splendid success. Dr. J. A. Baker, of Gaston, caught sixty
trout on April Ist. A. J. Hamerick ©
and son of the same place also brought in a basket of sixty trout. Fish are abundant in the Tualatin. Salmon eggs are generally used as bait. Splendid catches have also been made in Scoggin Creek. Chas. Wescott caught thirty trout one day. Quite a number of Eastern brook trout have been caught in the Tual- atin River near Gaston, showing that some of the fish planted during the past year or so are thriving.
a ie
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Are You
a Sportsman?
A true sportsman is not necessarily man who carries a rod or a gun; he is a. lover of woods and streams, fields and flowers, tree and mountains, fish, birds and animals. The joy of hunting and fishing comes in the spirit of an amateur, not as a professional. His point of view is in the chase, not in the bag. He takes more pleas- ure in watching his dog work than in see- ing a bird fall after it has been flushed, or in making a long, clean cast and getting a rise than in landing the fish.
The sportsmanship that is worth while is that which takes a wholesome view of nature. When game becomes scarce, the sportsman ceases to kill and becomes strictly a protector. He does not object to closed seasons or small bags. When quail are scarce, one bird on the fence is worth two in the game bag.
WAR 24 191; YS, OS
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The OREGON SPORTSMAN
JUNE 1914
IAUUIANUVAU
CAT WITH ROBIN—THE ENEMY CF GAME AND SONG BIRDS
PUBLISHED MONTHLY UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE
FISH AND GAME COMMISSION
By WILLIAM L. FINLEY, Editor; Portland, Oregon
Volume II | 5c a copy—50c a year [ Number 6
COMPLETE OMO ROMO MMA COMO MM ON MM MUON MN OUER OC ROUEN OU RTNRNOTOTNTTENTOTIOTITOTONITITTINITITITINITINITITITITITITILTTILTRTITITTLTTTITITETTTT ET TTTET ITEP
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CONTENTS
Oregon Sportsman, June 1914
Page Raisimoe; Gamertor the eMViidricet——W davon talle eterna 1 The Greatest Enemy of the Birds—Edward H. Forbush... 2 Cougaran Coos Coumtyey Acs a es ae ern ee ee 3 The Robber of Bird Homes—T. Gilbert Pearson........ t ight Benveens Meer > ands Cougate c= pei et eee 4 Hawks Eioht--Over Rabbit: see se ome ee nee 5 Pheasant Farming—’Gene M. Simpson................ 6 Rivers and Streams of Oregon—John Gill.............. 12 Chinese Pheasants in Wallowa County.................. 15) Notes: by: they W ay——©, he Hed’ ere ae eee ree 16 Boldneéss of “Timber, Wolftand: Couvarer 2) soa ee eee i, Additional Sportsmen’s Organizations.................. 18 Bounties: on; Predanony, wy Acinic eres eae Oe anes 19 Pond: Rearino oto Bass ur. tren apeee ee eee eee 19 Report: of \Mur- Beare --Animalsag eco o,f ote eee ee 20
Ac SportsmanZs © Gagechismivy eee te meet eu tse arene 21
The Oregon Sportsman
Volume II JUNE 1914 Number 6
RAISING GAME FOR THE MARKET.
In many parts of Oregon there are uncultivated places that might be used to good advantage in raising deer, elk and other wild animals. There is no reason why deer or elk cannot be handled much the same as domestic animals. According to the tagging law, which was passed at the last session of the legisla- ture, deer or elk, when raised in captivity, can be sold in market the same as a sheep or a calf is sold.
A deer recently sold in one of the Portland markets accord- ing to the tagging law attracted wide attention and brought a good price. It also was the cause of a large number of complaints coming from hunters who did not know of the tagging iaw, but who thought the game laws were being violated.
A very profitable industry might well be started, especially through the Willamette Valley, in rearing game birds for market and for breeding purposes. A farmer who can make a success at raising turkeys can readily raise Chinese pheasants. The demand for pheasants is very large. Oregon is known throughout the United States as the home of the Chinese pheasant. Orders for these birds come from far and wide. For table use the Chinese pheasant brings a price of $1.50, while a chicken of the same size
will sell for half the amount. [or breeding purposes these birds retail from $4.00 to $6.00 per pair. The demand for Chinese pheasants and other game birds is
much greater each year than can be supplied. If some of our energetic farmers could only be interested in the matter, there is no reason why our markets and hotels could not be supphed with pheasants throughout the year just as they are supplied with chickens.
It is a very easy matter to govern the marketing of these birds by the tagging system and their rearing in large numbers would mean an attractive resource to Oregon. ) '
Page -one
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THE GREATEST ENEMY OF THE BIRDS
BY
EDWARD H. FORBUSH State Ornithologist of Massachusetts
A mature cat in good hunting grounds kills on an average fifty birds a year. Kittens and half grown cats do not catch many birds, but the old eat that wanders off into the fields and woods is terribly destructive. Mr. William Brewster tells of an acquaintance in Maine who said that his cat killed about fifty birds a year. When asked why he did not get another eat, he said that it would be of no use, for they were all alike. Mr. A. C. Dyke writes that his family owned a cat which was well eared for and a particular pet. They watched it through one season and found that it killed fifty-eight birds, including the young in five-nests. Nearly a hundred correspondents seat- tered through all the counties of the state report the cat as one of the greatest enemies of the birds. The reports that have come in of the torturing and killing of birds by eats are absolutely sickening. The number of birds killed by them in this state is appalling. It is quite true, however, that some cats do not kill many birds, and that some intelligent or high-bred cats may be taught not to kill any. Some eat lovers believe that each cat kills on the average not more than ten birds a year; but I have learned of two instances where more than that number were killed in a single day, aud another where seven were killed. If we assume, however, that the average cat on the farm kills. but ten birds a year, and that there are two cats to each farm in Massachusetts, we have, in round numbers, seventy thousand eats killing seven hundred thousand birds annually.
If we add to the cats kept on farms the enormous number of village and city cats, many of which have good opportunities for catching birds, we shall see the chief reason for the great mor- tality to birds and their young about our yillages and cities. If cats are allowed their liberty at night during the nesting season,
Page two
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they, unnoticed, rob many birds’ nests. The cat is more danger- ous to birds than any native mammal that roams our woods, for it is nocturnal, a splendid climber, a good stalker, a strong leaper, and is very quick and active.
Unfortunately, the cat is only half domesticated and easily goes back to a wild state. If the dog loses its master it will soon find another, but the mature cat is more likely to run wild. Thousands of these wild or half-wild cats roam the country des- troying game birds, squirrels, field mice, chickens and any animal they can master. The effect produced by cats is con- vincingly shown where they have been introduced on islands and have nearly exterminated rabbits, and greatly decreased the number of birds.
John Burroughs says that cats probably destroy more birds than all other animals combined. William Dutcher, president of the National Association of Audubon Societies, considers the wild house cat one of the greatest causes of bird destruction known. He says that the boy with the air gun is not in the same class with the cat.
COUGAR IN COOS COUNTY.
Mr. J. C. Warner, who lives on the south fork of Coquille River in Coos county, reports good cougar hunting in this locality during the past few months. Some time ago while he was out looking up some cattle, he discovered the carcass of a freshly killed deer. He returned home, got his dogs and turned them loose where the deer had been killed. The dogs had difficulty, as the trails were cold. In a radius of less than a mile, Mr. Warner says he discovered the carcasses of nine deer, none of which he thinks had been killed more than ten or fifteen days. In making a larger circle about the locality, his dogs struck the fresh trail of a panther and in twenty minutes the animal was treed in a maple. While skinning this cat, his dogs were hunting around and in a short time they were barking up another tree. To his surprise, Mr. Warner found his dogs had chased two more cougars up one tree. Shortly his dogs were ranging out again and had a fourth panther treed. The first was a large female measuring eight feet nine inches; the other three were yearlings.
Later in the winter Mr. Warner succeeded in killing a fifth panther measuring eight feet. He found where this big cat had killed three deer.
Page three
io OREGON S§S PO 8&8 TS MAN
THE ROBBER OF BIRD HOMES
BY T. GILBERT PEARSON Secretary National Association of Audubon Societies
There is no wild bird or animal in the United States whose destructive inroads on our bird population is in any sense com- parable to the widespread devastation created by the do- mestic cat. —
This creature captures wild birds at all seasons of the year, but is particularly active in catching young birds immediately after they have left the nest and before they have gained suf- ficient strength of wing to escape.
It is idle for lovers of cats to contend that it is only the half-wild and unfed animals which indulge in bird killing. It is as natural for a cat to want to kill a bird as it is for a child to want candy.
I have personally known cats which received the best of
attention, and for whose happiness the culinary possibilities .
of the household were exhausted, to stalk birds on the lawn with apparently as much eagerness as a starving leopard might creep upon a fawn.
Putting bells on cats would doubtless save the lives of many
birds. A surer safeguard would, of course, be to keep the.
cats shut up, especially during the spring months when the birds
are engaged in rearing their young; but the only absolute way ©
to stop the depredations of Grimalkin is to take him to the electric chair or the guillotine, although of course this would be extreme treatment, the general application of which could not be advocated.
FIGHT BETWEEN DEER AND COUGAR.
Mr. Ben 8. Patton, of Estacada, recently sent to the office of The Ore- gon Sportsman with the following explanation, a ‘cougar skull which was originally found by August Schonberg in the mountain region between Fish Creek and the south fork of the Clackamas.
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oo & OREGoOoN: SP ORBTS MAN
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‘*TIn the fall of 1912 Mr. Schonberg found the cougar about ten feet from the carcass of a deer; the deer was badly bitten on the back of the neck and the cougar had a hole in the side of its head, as shown in the skull. These were the only marks he could find on either of the animals. From all indications, the cougar attempted to climb a nearby tree after it had gotten the fatal blow in the head, as the bark of the tree was clawed up about eight or ten feet and the cougar was lying where it fell back. The ani- mals had evidently been dead a week or more, as both hides were spoiled.
‘<The only explanation of the occurrence is that the deer got in a fatal blow with its horns. It may have been accidental,.in its efforts to escape, or it may have put up a fight and won, at least to the extent of killing the cougar. The cougar, no doubt, killed the deer after it had been fatally wounded and, with its strength failing, natural instinct prompted it to climb a tree. It is not uncommon for such animals when mortally hurt to do this.’’
A similar incident was noted by Mr. Fred Floeter, of Trenholm, Co- lumbia county, during the winter of 1912 and 1913. He treed a large cougar with his dogs. When the animal was killed and examined, Mr. Floeter found that it had a wound in the flank which was evidently made by the horn of a deer which had penetrated the body about five inches. The wound seemed comparatively fresh, but all the hair had been licked off around the eut. Upon examination of the claws of the cougar they showed a bloodshot con- dition at the base.
Mr. Floeter thought the cougar had attacked a good-sized buck, but had secured a poor hold, allowing the deer to turn and get the better of the big cat.
HAWKS FIGHT OVER RABBIT.
Mr. and Mrs. Bart Shea, of Burns, report a very interesting sight viewed from their farm near Crow Camp, one day during the past winter.
A large American goshawk had caught a rabbit and was carrying it away when it was attacked by another hawk, of the same species, seeking to deprive it of its prey. Both birds had attained a considerable height when the robber, after making several unsuccessful attempts from above, darted in from below and fastened upon the rabbit, wresting it from the opponent. Hawk number two was turned several times in the air by the falling rabbit, and, before it could regain its equilibrium, had lost its hold on the ill-gotten treasure. Just at that instant hawk number three appeared on the scene and, swooping down, picked up the coveted prize before it had reached the ground and made away with it, unpursued
Page five
2
Yr & OR EGON s PO KR f 8 M 2 8
- PHEASANT FARMING
"GENE M. SIMPSON Superintendent of the State Game Farm
If one can raise turkeys, he can raise pheasants. Like turkeys, when matured, they are very hardy. In fact, the similarity between the young pheasant and young turkey is very marked. Some of their calls, par- ticularly one at nightfall, are almost identical, and in general, treat- ment adapted to turkeys may safely be applied to pheasants. When young the birds are tame and soon learn to know their keeper. They will become sufficiently familiar to fly upon the keeper’s shoulder or eat out of his hand, but the appearance of a stranger calls for a note of warning from the whole flock. The note is low, but quick, and its effect is instantaneous. During the laying season it is not advisable to allow strangers to visit the pens where the pheasants can see them, and better success will be obtained if only one or two persons visit the pheas- ants, and.these should be the ones to feed them. The birds will be better controlled if the same garments are worn each time, as they in- stantly detect a change in dress. They will avoid for a day or more any- thing new placed in their pens. Some breeders place fir boughs or branches of other trees in the pens to offer a hiding place for the pheasants, but it is not at all necessary.
PHEASANTS ARE POLYGAMOUS
Pheasants are polygamous and four hens and a cock may be kept in a pen sixteen feet square. This is a very convenient size, but in any event the birds should each have at least fifty square feet of ground. It is of advantage to have the hens so arranged that the pheasants may be be changed from one pen to another occasionally. This permits the ground to freshen. It is a good plan to spade up the ground frequently. A very satisfactory permanent pen for a trio, two hens and a cock, would be sixteen feet by thirty-two feet, divided lengthwise with a partition and > shedded for eight feet along one end. The shedded end should be ar- ranged to ward off as much of the storm as possible. Convenient entrances may be built and provision should be made so the birds may pass from one pen to another at the keeper’s pleasure.
Where it is desired to raise full-winged birds under covered pens, twine netting, similar to fish netting, possesses advantages over wire netting for overhead covering. Aside from being much cheaper, the twine netting requires fewer posts and braces and can be put up in much less time and taken down and stored away when not in use. Wire
Page six
T HE on EE @ @ N RAG = << S&S Mw A
covered pens, especially if the wire is of one-inch mesh, in a locality subject to snow storms, is always a source of annoyance and frequently much damage may be done. Its advantage is its durability. But per- haps the greatest advantage in using twine netting will be found in the fact that birds cannot injure themselves by flying against it, as is frequently the case with wire covered pens. If you cover your pens with wire netting, stretch it loosely. It may not look so well, but it will save the birds.
THE BREEDING PENS.
The breeding yards with removable partitions set over against the fence, for pinioned breeding birds, are a great improvement over the old-style stationary pens. These pens are twenty-four feet square, have no covering and accommodate six hens and one cock during the laying season, immediately after which the birds are turned out into a large
General View of Pheasant Yards at the State Game Farm. The long line of
pens running across the field are where the breeding birds are kept one cock to six hens in each yard. Partitions are removable. open field adjoining. At this season the cocks will not fight, and but little time is consumed each day in caring for several hundred birds. The partitions are then set aside, the entire strip cultivated and sown with grass seed and the work may be done with a plow, whereas if the partitions were stationary it would take considerable time to spade and rake each individual yard. About the first of March these partitions should be put back into place and the birds mated up for the laying season.
Breeding yards for full-winged birds are the same size as the open yards above described, but the partitions are stationary and are covered overhead with wire netting stretched loosely. One side is boarded up tight, which, together with a three-foot roof on the side from which the storms come, forms sufficient shelter. Under this shelter ample perches are provided, but must be removed just before the laying season to
Page seven
surnntueee
DoE. OL Be Gee aie Ss POBTS MAN
prevent the birds from dropping their eggs while upon the perch, in which case the eggs would be broken and soon eaten. For the beginner with a few birds I should recommend pens sixteen by thirty-two feet described above and the changing — one division to another every month or so.
THE EGG-EATING HABIT
The habit of egg-eating is always a source of great annoyance to the pheasant raiser and no sure method of prevention or cure is known. The best method to combat the evil so far discovered is to place several ~ cast iron nest eggs, painted as near the color of pheasant eggs as possible, around in the breeding pen. The iron eggs are far superior to the wooden or porcelain eggs, but after all, it is best to remove the temptation by gathering the eggs several times a day.
Nests for the setting hens are placed in yards twelve by sixteen feet, two sections of nests each, or twelve nests to the yard, and numbered consecutively from one to twelve. These yards are con- structed in a double row with an alley way between, from which a gate opens into each yard. The nests should be made about fourteen inches square placed flat upon the ground without a bottom. A slight depression should be made in the ground, in which arrange a small quantity of soft straw or grass hay as you would for chickens. Feed, fresh water and a place for dusting are first provided in each yard, then at a regular hour each morning, beginning at yard No. 1, all hens in that yard are let out to eat, drink, and take a dust bath, by simply dropping the hinged door in front of each nest. Regularity is very essential, since the hens soon learn just when to expect their liberty and if not let out on time will often become so restless as to foul their nests or break an egg or two. While the hens are eating, the yards should be inspected carefully and a note made of any nest found in bad order or containing a broken or dirty egg. After the hens have all returned to their nests and the doors in front fastened securely, a clean rag and a bucket of luke warm water is used in washing the eggs in any nest of which a note has been made. When possible all the hens in one yard are set at the same time. When each yard has hatched, the unhatched eggs are buried, the egg shells and straw taken out and burned and new nests made before nesting again. During excessively hot weather the ground around the nests should be thoroughly sprinkled with water to ne the a amount of moisture for the eggs. :
THE IDEAL MOTHER.
For the purpose of perfecting an ideal hen for hatching sinaante buff and white cochin bantams were first crossed, producing a slightly larger chicken, about evenly divided in color between buff, white and black with Page eight
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striped hackles. The largest of these females were selected and mated with a short chunky Rhode Island red male, producing a hen considerably larger than the cochin bantam, one that could cover more eggs, but re- taining the broody qualities of the bantam.
Incubators are found most valuable when used in connection with hens. When a number of large hens are set at one time all of the pheasant eggs may be removed when just beginning to pip from those of the hens not needed to take care of the young pheasants and placed in an incubator that has previous been heated to about 130°. The hens from which the eggs have been removed may be reset immediately. The smaller and more quiet motherly hens should be left on their nests and not disturbed. The re- moval of all of the eggs but one or two from a hen is a mistake, since in _ the absence of the usual number of eggs in the nest the hen is most likely to sit so heavily on the remaining one or two as to smash them at hatch- ing time. Shee 3
After these hens have been removed to the brood coop with their jn- dividual hatch and given feed and water, and allowed ample time to hover their chicks, other young pheasants may be added from the incubator, pro- viding they are of the same age and variety as those she has hatched. A hen will invariably kill instantly any young pheasant given her of a variety other than that which she has hatched. For instance, a hen that has hatched silver pheasants will not claim goldens, or ring-necks, and vice versa. A hen can properly hover and care for more young pheasants than she can hatch out without entailing considerable loss before they leave the nest; hence the use of the incubator.
FOSTERING PHEASANT CHICKS.
For some time I experienced difficulty in getting the hen to hover the pheasants when they were first taken from the nest. The pheasants being foster children of the hen, do not understand her call or manner. They do not seem to understand that she will hover them. They do not recognize that she is ‘‘home and mother.’’ The hen is perfectly willing to receive the pheasants, but her call to them is not the natural call of the pheasant and — hence it means nothing to them. Some plan must be adopted to bring the pheasants under the hen. Recently I have adopted this plan with good success. A basket is prepared with a hot water bag filled with tepid water and placed in the bottom of the basket, over which is placed a cloth. When the pheasants are first taken from the nest, they are placed in this basket and a cloth thrown over the top. Enough air will pass through the sides of the basket so they will not smother. The brood coop is then prepared by placing sufficient sand to cover the bottom of the coop. Feed and water is placed in the coop and the hen is left in here for about twenty minutes. During this twenty minutes, the hen has had an opportunity to
Page ten :
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feed and get acquainted with her new quarters and is ready to settle down and receive the young pheasants, The pheasants are then placed in the coop with her and having nothing else to attract their attention, the hen «will see to it that the pheasants are hovered. It is advisable to take the hen off in the forenoon so that one may give the chicks more or less at- tention and see that they are properly hovered. If the day is warm, the plan of using the hot water bag need not be followed. If the day is cloudy or cold, of course, one will necessarily have to give the pheasants more attention than on a bright warm day.
The number of young pheasants that may safely be given to one hen varies from about twelve to sixteen, according to the weather and the size
*,* he Pr
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Male Reeves Pheasant at State Game Farm.
of the hen. A common mistake is to set too many eggs under one hen, or to give one hen too many young pheasants. Late one summer I gave a large Plymouth Rock hen twenty-five little pheasants of which she raised to maturity twenty-four. This, however, was an exceptional case.
Pheasant eggs will, beyond doubt, hatch as well in an incubator as chicken eggs, but I have to admit that so far I have been unable to sue- cessfully brood young pheasants artificially, though the incubator has proven a great help, when used as described above.
Pheasants will hatch about the twenty-third day and their natural dis- position is to leave the nest immediately, hence the added advantage of having the hen locked up. When the young pheasants are about twenty- four hours old, remove with the mother hen to a coop where they should be kept until three days old. The trap door at the bottom may then be raised, giving the little birds their freedom, restraining the hen. Unless the vard is covered over with wire netting, the young birds should be pinioned to prevent their flying over the fence and straying away. This is done when the pheasant chick is about three days’ old by clipping the last joint of one wing with sharp scissors.
Page eleven
T H & O FF. E.G ON 5S P O.kB T 8 M: AGH
RIVERS AND STREAMS OF OREGON
With Some Descriptions of the Country, Fish and Fishing—Part 7 By JOHN GILL
_ eee 4
CLACKAMAS RIVER
This splendid stream rises in the southeast corner of Clacka- mas county near Lake Lisa on the summit of the Cascades, and has a course of about 75 miles to its entrance into the Willamette River near Oregon City. It receives many grand trout brooks, and all deserve more space than can be given them here. Roar- ing River, its main northeastern branch, North Fork and Eagle Creek are all large tributaries, and the first two can be reached only by a long trip into the mountains by trail. The lower waters of Eagle Creek are accessible by the electric line to Estacada and Cazadero. The upper Clackamas and its branches aré in deep canyons and sometimes unapproachable for miles. The streams are deep and powerful, and the angler should be a handy man at shifting for himself in the woods. In our summer months a tent is unnecessary, as a bark or brush camp can easily be made with a small axe, and there are ferns or abundant moss which can be stripped in great rolls from cne trees for one’s bed.
In the Clackamas and other streams of the Cascades, cut- throat, rainbow and Dolly Varden trout abound, but to the northward the cutthroat seem more numerous, while rainbow and Dolly Varden increase in numbers toward California.
Two of the Clackamas’ lower tributaries—Clear Creek and Deep Creek—which are more readily accessible by electric line, are good fishing. Eagle Creek P. O. is a convenient and com- fortable base for fishing the stream of that name, and Viola for Clear Creek.
The angler on Eagle Creek will do well to look ae for certain places where the face of the high cliffs peels off in
Page twelve
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ZsH SE O R EGO #N S POBTSM AN thin sections of large extent, falling a hundred feet or more into the stream, and in places too where the water is most tempting. Such a cliff on the south side of Eagle Creek, about three miles up the river from Eagle Creek P. O., shed a ton of rock in a large slip that extended over an area of forty feet square, on the last occasion the writer was fishing there, fortunately on the other side of the river, twenty yards away. It fell with a tremendous roar, just where a man might have stood to fish the water at the foot of the cliff. Beware of such cliffs, where you see fresh scars on the canyon side, and piles of fine fragments of new-fallen rock at the foot of the palisade.
This caution applies to many other streams in the deep canyons of the Cascades. Serious accidents have occurred also where men unacquainted with the trails have attempted to go down the cliffs without knowledge. There are places were the descent can be made by sliding down in a sitting posture, putting on brakes at every bush or stump, and then one may follow the stream for a mile before he finds a similar gully by which he may ascend. Don’t try any place where there are no signs of others having gone down, if you would avoid broken bones.
Estacada is a good point from which to reach the more remote waters of the upper Clackamas, and. Cazadero, at the terminus of the electric railway, is the resort of many success- ful anglers. At the mouth of the Clackamas, the rapids in the Willamette have been found during the summer of 1913 equal to the falls of the Willamette for salmon fishing, and hundreds of Chinook salmon were taken there by rods. The lower Clacka- mas will probably repay the salmon fisher, in favorable condi- tions, though we all throng to the Willamette now in season.
SALMON FISHING AT OREGON CITY This sport has been unusually good during the spring ot 1914. The first salmon of the spring run—the finest Chinooks— seem to seek the Willamette, and gather in great numbers in
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OORSDROONOUDLDDORSTOUODLIUGSOOOONOSOCOISNSEDDSESOOODODOSCAOOADOOOCOUOUSNSOUODOAOONSSOONSNODODEDEUCNUGSCONSONONLODOGNSONEONOROUNDUOOE UUAUONGADRONDUOAUDESUUDNUDEAOUSUNDuOOdsGOEEOOES veneascesssecens CT PT
T HE OREGON SPORTS M A N the deep swift waters for a mile below the falls. By the first of April some fish are taken with the rods, the sport becoming better toward May Ist, but ceasing when the rising Columbia backs up the waters of Willamette to fifteen feet at Oregon City. The catch of rod fishermen this season was a considerable sup- ply of the finest salmon in Portland markets, nearly a ton per day having been sold to markets by men fishing for revenue only, with the rod. Net fishing begins May Ist, and thereafter there is little sport for rod fishermen, as the narrows of the river are raked by seine nets—a great loss to the waters of the upper river as well as the sportsmen who fish the river below the falls. The Willamette from the suspension bridge to the falls should be entirely free at all seasons from net fishing.
Salmon may be lurking by thousands in the boiling depths of the rapids below the falls, but only an occasional fish— probably not one in fifty—will take the angler’s spoon lure.
* Fishing is almost entirely from boats, and every boat at Oregon City is out almost daily, besides many that go up (fifteen miles) from Portland. It is necessary to have strong tackle, for fish up to fifty pounds weight are taken, and a skillful gaffer is as necessary as a competent man at the rod. The catch is limited to three fish to a man per day. A club has just been formed in Portland, the members of which will fish for salmon with six-ounce rods and a small line (9-thread)— tackle appears impossibly light, but has proven sufficient, and has added vastly to the sport.
An occasional salmon is caught along the Willamette all the — way from Portland to the falls.
When the Columbia reaches a flood stage at 20 feet and more, the salmon are able to leap the falls at Oregon City and proceed on their way to the spawning grounds of the upper river. The fish ladder at the falls permits the ascent of some salmon, but it is quite inadequate for the object intended. To watch the salmon ascending the fishway.in ineredible leaps, darting like birds unerringly from pool to pool, is an experience
worth crossing America to behold. Page fourteen
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EAGLE CREEK
This is one of many by that name in Oregon—a tributary of the Clackamas, which may give one a good day’s fishing, taking the electric line to Eagle Creek village and then by a walk of three miles or more scrambling and sliding down a cliff into its canyon. This little goat trail is the only one entering the steep canyon for miles. It can be found by any woodsman readily enough—the first place that looks possible. One should be prepared to wade and had better avoid this particular place until as late as July.
Some of our wide-roving anglers go up Eagle Creek by wagon from the village of the same name a dozen miles to the falls—romantie cataract in the foothills of the Cascades—and bring back. something more than big stories. Shelly Morgan, Ray Davis and Mark Gill are habitues of this particular water, and can give inquirers the facts. ©
Twenty miles south of Oregon City is the Molalla, a delightful river in a lovely country. Its principal branches are Milk Creek and North Fork. Molalla ‘‘Corners’’ is a good base for the angler, and there is good fishing within walking distance or available by wagon. Very recently an electric railroad has been completed to Molalla and will open up the streams of this region to town anglers. South and east of Molalla, ten miles or more, the three great forks of Molalla unite. Above these forks the auto does not get far, and the beautiful mountain branches form here and will yield good fishing for many years by reason of their difficulty of access. |
Meadowbrook, a branch of Milk Creek, has been liberally stocked with eastern brook trout, which have done better than in any waters we know of in this state.
CHINESE PHEASANTS IN WALLOWA COUNTY.
During the fall of 1912, one hundred and fifty-six Chinese pheasants which were reared at the State Game Farm were released on the different game refuges in Wallowa county. During the fall of 1913 one hundred and ninety-six more pheasants were liberated in this county. As the result of two seasons’ work, Deputy Game Warden W. E. Leffel makes the following report.
Page fifteen
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On the Cole Refuge southwest of Joseph, Mr. George Cole reports twenty-seven birds feeding with his hogs. County Commissioner W. P. Newby reports three coveys of about forty birds. Twenty-four pheasants were released here in 1913. John Hayes has reported seventeen birds, while Walter Boner has twenty-six pheasants feeding with his sheep. On the Wilson Refuge north of Joseph, Mr. Paul Wilson reports thirteen feeding with his cattle. Carl Whitmore has twenty-nine birds about his place. Twenty-six or twenty-eight were liberated there in 1912. Charles Crow has two flocks about his place, but he did not know just how many birds. Bob Shinn has about sixty birds; twenty-eight of these were liberated dur- ing the past fall; the balanee are birds liberated in 1913. Charles Vest reports six birds, while on the Wells ranch there are about thirty. Jacob Bauers says there are about a hundred pheasants about his place. Twelve were liberated in 1912 and twenty-six birds were liberated in 1913. About the grain warehouse at Enterprise, Mr. Leffel saw twelve hens and three cocks.
On the Wade and Fitzpatrick refuge there are twenty-five birds, all liberated in 1913. At the Lostine refuge on the Evans ranch and the land adjoining, Mr. Cliff Evans estimates there are about ninety pheasants, twenty-six of which were liberated in 1912 and the same number in 1913. At William Hunter’s place, thirty-four of these birds have been feeding with his stock. These birds range about his place and on the adjoining ranch. At the Tulley place it is estimated there are about a hundred pheasants. Twenty-six were liberated in 1912 and twenty-four in 1913.
Mr. Leffel believes that at the present time there are more than a thousand of these pheasants in Wallowa:county as a result of liberations made there during the past two seasons. He attributes the success of the pheasants in this county to the interest among the farmers in protecting these birds and feeding them during the winter.
In addition to the increase of Chinese pheasants, there is a noticeable increase of prairie chickens in Wallowa County during the past two seasons. °
NOTES BY THE WAY. By C. F. HODGE.
On the lakes in western Lane county, there were, April third, a few Mallard and Canvas-backs and several small flocks of Bluebills, Teals and Buffle-heads. Here are natural breeding grounds for all kinds of ducks, but all those questioned about it claimed that only the Mallard nested in that region. If this is true, it is probably due to lack of natural food for the other species. In fact, no wild rice or wild celery was seen. If these and other water plants known to attract waterfowl could be grown there, we might induce the Canvas-backs and other species to remain and nest. One
Page sixteen
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considerable flock of ducks was seen near Couquille about the end of Jan- uary, which caused the residents to complain that the ducks had a copy of the new Federal law and came in only when they knew they were safe.
A great danger menaces all the game in this region the present season. Numerous construction gangs are making their camps along the line of the new railroad from Mapleton to Marshfield, and from Glenada in to the main line. In these camps it looked as if very active warden service would be required to save any remnant of the game,
Great numbers of cock pheasants are in evidence everywhere in the Willamette Valley and a few were seen in the Grande Ronde. With the best of care, however, residents say that they are not increasing there as they had hoped they would. In the valleys of the Rogue and Umpqua, resident sportsmen attribute the slow increase of pheasants to extensive cultivation of orchards and vineyards, the nests being practically all broken up. This is rapidly becoming a problem in the Willamette Valley. An acquaintance, having an orchard of thirteen acres, said that he broke up several different nests, although he tried his best to avoid disturbing them. We should work out some system by which all such eggs could be saved.
Fine flocks of bobwhite and native quail were seen on the Alderman farm, near Dayton, and at other points in the: Willamette Valley. Good flocks of bobwhites were reported on the Conklin farm, near Ontario. They were there during the winter and were being carefully protected (except from cats) by the people of the neighborhood. I hunted over the farm but could not find any, and was inclined to think that the cats had cleaned them out. A new complication of the bobwhite problem was encountered here. Alfalfa is the great staple and the farmers say that every nest is flooded and eggs are destroyed by the incessant irrigation necessary for this crop. The two coveys seen about there this winter were the result of nests along the railroad embankment.
BOLDNESS OF THE TIMBER WOLF AND COUGAR.
Mr. 8S. T. Hodges, of Gold Hill, who has had many years’ experience hunting through the mountains of southern Oregon, reports the two following incidents concerning the boldness of a wolf and a cougar in the presence of a human being. They occurred during some of the early hunting trips of Mr. Hodges: .
‘*One day I had killed a deer and carried it to camp, leaving the en- trails and head lying in the woods where the deer had fallen. The next day I happened to return near the same spot toward dusk. I heard animals growling and quarreling and sneaked over near the spot to get a shot. Just as I was approaching over a little rise, a wolf met me face to face about thirty feet distant. The hair on his back bristled as he stood watching me.
Page seventeen
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I do not know whether he would have advanced to the attack or not, but he looked dangerous, so I shot him instantly.’’ .
On another occasion Mr. Hodges reports that he was walking along through a scanty growth of trees and brush late in the fall. The ground was covered with dry leaves and he was making considerable noise. He happened to stop for a moment and heard a rustling in the leaves, indi- eating the presence of something near him. He looked in every direction, but could see nothing. The noise continued, but he couldn’t tell exactly from which direction it came. A moment later he saw something reddish- brown in color behind a manzanita bush twelve or fifteen feet from him. He thought it was a fawn so did not want to shoot. The rustling of the leaves continued, but he could not see what the animal was. Then he threw up his gun and fired. A big cougar jumped straight in the air with all four feet spread. The one shot killed the creature. Examination of the foot- prints showed the animal was crouched ready to spring, and the noise that Mr. Hodges heard was the long tail of the creature swinging from side to side. Sapper ADDITIONAL SPORTSMEN’S ORGANIZATIONS.
(Since the publication of the list of sportsmen’s organizations in Oregon cea oe issue, we have received the following additions and changes.—
BAKER COUNTY.
Panhandle Rod & Gun Club. C. A. Buxton, President. B. E. Bowman,
Secretary and Treasurer.
CLATSOP COUNTY.
Seaside Anglers’ Club. Ben A. Childers, President. Clyde Mason, Vice-
President. Lloyd Keys, Secretary-Treasurer. GRANT COUNTY.
The Blue Mountain Rod & Gun Club. S. A. Laurance, President. W. L. Keizur, First Vice-President. W. J. Donaldson, Second Vice-President. E. W. Kimberling, Secretary. Andrew Robinson, Treasurer. R. W. Hop- kins, Field Captain.
The Union Rod & Gun Club of John Day and Canyon City. Cy J. Bingham, President. C. G. Guernsey, of Canyon City, and A. C. Martin, of John Day, First and Second Vice-Presidents, respectively. H. L. Kuhl, Secretary. F.S. Slater, Treasurer. A. D. Leedy, Field Captain.
POLK COUNTY.
Nesmith Rod & Gun Club, Dallas. George Morton, President. T. C. Stockwell, Secretary.
UNION COUNTY.
The Elgin Rod & Gun Club. Arthur Hallgarth, President. Joe Hall- garth, Vice-President. H. G. Masterson, Secretary-Treasurer.
Union Rod & Gun Club. A. J. Crowley, President. L. A. Wright, Vice- President. Eugene Reuter, Secretary and Treasurer.
Page eighteen
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BOUNTIES ON PREDATORY ANIMALS The following is a list of predatory animals killed from October 1, 1913, to May 10, 1914, and upon which bounties have been paid out of the Game Protection Fund. For bobcats $1.00 is paid in addition to $2.00 state bounty; on cougar $15.00 in addition to the $10.00 allowed by the state; on wolves $20.00 in addition to the $5.00 by the state.
COUNTY Bob Cats Cougar Wolves Total
ea CE Ty ee A mee OR Paterna ee ce ees kate oe y 124 ae at 124 FCM OMe pate ee LA om See eye 18 $ ate 18 SACHA TINASE Ge altho cacao ee eee 90 2 6 18 (GIIBN USKO) oY ira OW tet iak arate erat Sure cl NE ai 103 1 rt 104 Columibiays-s2 02. = Seer bens Tyee i ate aie 76 3 es 76 OOS ee ee as RS eae eo ee 266 13 aK 279 GHETAYO) Sere sheds pakiay tegen Ge MOR Gos Se Ae) ean es ca RNS a 383 if 6 390 (COTES EA pate fs a cee ORS ey IO aN re el ates ean ts 70 Bll 101 MS) ONPG Ole aee nanan see meri mien are, Surah 305 40 10 B55 (GTi 2 Vi a Se Pn i Cs ea Aa ee WF Le a fof GRICE ali asters Aun Paster a aCe Laren om oor oem er ae 197 4 201 Vea eta orca Sack. Soe titi: Sages coe Te 1006 1 1007 EN OOG au Tes ciais da, siete oe eee 32 3 Bia 35 ACK SONG acai, toyiesare: Cees nea ease bee 256 19 1 276 OSE Due eS ee arco t se at ohne ae om eect 115 4 é 119 JECT T OME Bl a owe em cg eee lee a iene oN 166 1 Pee Git RAK Gee eed art on isis s ona ee 423 a re 423 MINS ae Ree ee ke ee 221 15 1 237 ANC OTM ets ane Rep ents BRP en. concur 133 ses s 133 TEATS GUT, WS hs BS ae set Male: “eaten ae ge 63 8 6 75 WVIGWIENDR tp ees eis cele ces Sod Ree ees 570 570 JME EIB Oe gt Cs cs en ap a 16 1 17 VIO OW eae Rb Saeed Ss ee Sake we Sol: 31 VT eENO Ny Allan cee ena Naser ere 13 2 aS HEX) likkgeeen setae ne ae eye nig a cee ee 5 1 6 SU GUESS 9.02 11 08 edeec eee Ee Sera aaa? Pe a te aac 12 i 13 ADDSA VEAP TAO OME bees? 2 Sethe sg cers eso hacen 2h 100 100 UO rrr eee ate re ec ic Se AG rn vg 3 8 he ik 8 Me OM cmr sie er emer ena eA a ures, e 28 bh bi: 28 DUVET Orvis i ecaycaege ores i 133 : ee 133 WMA CO aie etamnas dite ied eulad Te ech 79 3 LCs 82 Wiashrme rons ae Pe re ee ie oe ee 45 i ae 46 DVARCCLOR Benge Si 5h he Pree ote, 90 B ee 90 SEE) OTD saeco 25 ake ae 25 EIS Oa pert ec ne, eV ts es oh 5564 155 28 5368
Total Amount Vouchered ........... $5564.00 $2325.00 $560.00 $8849.00
POND REARING OF BASS.
- Mr. J. W. Herron, of Gold Hill, owns a reservoir at the edge of town which is thirty by forty feet and about five feet deep. He reports that he secured a pair of bass and liberated them in this pond. Last year Mr. Her- ron says he liberated five hundred young bass and has about two hundred and fifty of the young fish left. This shows that where conditions are favorable, one pair of bass will raise a very large family. It is a good example of what might be done in pond rearing of fish if more people were interested in the matter.
Page nineteen
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Page twenty
A Sportsman’s Catechism
Why arrest a man for killing one bird and allow a cat to kill fifty?
Protect the quail, pheasants and other game birds by giving them a fair chance to rear their young. The cat is the arch en- emy of all song and game birds. You will find him in the field and in the thicket: He creeps stealthily and hunts by night and by day. Game birds can never become abundant where the stray cat has free
range.
There are some good cats that are well cared for and do not wander away from home. <A cat that goes away from home and hunts in the open is a public nuis- ance. As a general rule a good cat is a
dead eat.
Always Kill the Stray Cat!
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The OREGON SPORTSMAN
JULY 1914
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The Antelope, a Rapidly Decreasing Game Animal
Bal Oa AN DicG A ME. COM MEES S.1.0N
By WILLIAM L. FINLEY, Editor, Portland, Oregon
PU BSE DM ONL EY. oUN.DE RTH EV DAR ECR! ON 6 OF -THE : Volume II | 5c a copy—50c a year [ Number 7 :
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CONTENTS
The Oregon Sportsman, July 1914
Page The European or Hungarian Partridge—Editorial...... 3 Fingerling Trout for Our Streams—Hditorial.......... 6 Home) of Brownsvalle Kod and sGun Clube eee 9 Bobeat Killed Dy jac WOE heel aeo eee gee ear aac tere pee ttose 9 Record) Chinooks Salmon emer eat inches tee 9 Raising Young Pheasants—’Gene M. Simpson.......... 10 Deputy Game Wardens and the Closed Seasons........ 15
(From American Field)
Timber. Wolf “Drappeds cin es wcrc processes veya eenarieteokenors 16 Rivers and Streams of Onreson——J olin Gallas ei ee sree 17 Notes:from: ;Coumbiesse: 26 aevtarslas acta ec are 21
The: ‘Boy ‘and thes .Giumsijc Ge eye ea ee ees erent ae eto 25
HONS FAL
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European or Hungarian Partridge
The Oregon Sportsman Volume II JULY 1914 Number 7
THE EUROPEAN OR HUNGARIAN PARTRIDGE.
The bird generally known as the European or Hungarian partridge (Perdix perdix) imported into Oregon from Europe, is also variously called the English, Gray, Bohemian and German partridge. All of these are in reality the same bird, although it is likely true that the partridges of Hungary and Bohemia are a little larger than those of Germany and England.
This partridge ranges all through Europe. In size, if is half way between a bobwhite quail and a ruffed grouse. From tip of bill to end of tail, it measures twelve to fourteen inches. The extent with wings spread is from eighteen to twenty-two inches, and the weight is from twelve to thirteen ounces. The plumage in both sexes is similar, gray and reddish brown, darker on the back and wings. The face is creamy-buff. The male, and sometimes the female, has a horseshoe-shaped patch of dark chestnut on the lower breast. Perhaps the most distinguishing feature of this bird when in flight is the reddish-brown color which shows when the tail feathers are spread.
_ The European partridge is a bird of the field and gar- den. In Bohemia it lives to a large extent in the beet and hop fields where it feeds mostly on insects. Like the bob- white quail, the European partridge sleeps on the ground. The birds roost in a circle with their heads pointing outward so as to detect an enemy from any direction and scatter if in danger.
The partridge is not polygamous, but mates the same as quail. The nest is built on the ground under cover of a weed or bush. From ten to twenty eggs are laid. In a nest that was found last year near Salem, there were eighteen eggs, fifteen of which hatched.
Page three
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TT: Hs OR EGON S PO KT SMAN
Mr. R. B. Horsfall reports that on June 9th, a brood of three young Hungarian partridges were seen on the Reed College campus in the City of Portland. The birds were two or three weeks old and flew a distance of about a hundred yards, showing the red tail spread wide.
Mr. George Russell of Gaston also reports seeing a covey of young partridges in that locality. Other reports have come in, showing that without doubt the birds liberated last spring are thriving in their new Oregon home.
The first shipment of ninety-seven partridges was im- ported into Oregon in 1900 and liberated in the Willamette Valley. Some of these were released in Marion County east of Salem, and these birds have held their own, although they have not increased remarkably in number. In the early part of 1913, two hundred and eighteen Hungarian or European partridges were purchased and liberated on the different game refuges in Oregon. During the past year, fifteen hundred and twenty-two of these partridges were liberated
as follows: BENTON COUNTY.
No. of Birds December, 21, 1913 —“Wewaslumrome iy en eee oe rae 6 January 23° 1914——Alsea 27 he) ne eee cae SUNN ERA Spyies 5 aie nn Et 12: CLATSOP COUNTY, Mareh 3, 1914—Astoria, Clatsop Plaims.....-....-......-...- 24 CLACKAMAS COUNTY. March 5, 1914-—Meldiumi © sen. eeee ieeae e e eee 12 March 5, 1914— Jennings) Mode ye sey cee sete ee ore eee een Ns 12 COOS COUNTY. | March 2, 1914——Marshfield, Myrtle Point”. 4.3.42) 42-22 stam eee 12 March 2, 1914—Marshfield, South Coos River ................ 12 March 2, 1914 Coquille siete cca e nein meek eke a) a ene 24 CROOK COUNTY. March ‘7, 1914-——Haye reels Wee cS sho are iene protic suet ona Poon 12 Mare 2,001 4 eid aus anne site Goctwisans Che dates cathe: NG See EP eae 12 DOUGLAS COUNTY. December 18, 1913—Yoncalla: >. 1.y oy lan Gi, ey ee ees Le December 19, 1918—-Riddle 2. 22008. ec cl tete ce clea ennai 48 December 30, 19138—Dillard oa), afeetsa bicteiaray en seen eee 24 December 30, 1913—Roseburg ..........-..-.---- Pas ae 48 January 15, 1914—Yonealla\, otk. 0 Nee eee 12
Page four
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Cage ey oe OAV OI VIO. oy a nix dnl w Hinriele, mgs A o,0 « March 11, 1914—Roseburg, Curry Refuge.............. eon tt Sig NOSE DUBE ae ce nee ees eh ee ewan
HARNEY COUNTY.
PURE Orta Ol hee NVI VID Ned e h ch sas ia Miwa dale: wife ete b's Die w! bia sarees HOOD RIVER COUNTY. Rebraatyecs, LOL4——Eigod TRUVOL: .. d.cec eyes ec he wren ns
JACKSON COUNTY.
Becember 19,913 —Roeue “River... 222 2. ce eo soe December 19> 1913 — Ashland. icw cocs.a. bed nee Oh eed doles January 15, 1914—Rogue River .................. pea ets FE ITEN EE ga Dy A SE FEES 00721 0 HERP gd erg TP Panay doe. 1 OA Tae KSOMWAMe yoo 's, cusp bu ucevew Bene Sle nee 6 4 bs iY Letritel ied (Os 148) BEES) BL L2h ol 0) ead Near a ae aa ene eee ne re, PP Menehy minke NOt == A Sila! baruiae pate ites cee ergs ida Naelic.nhe set ks
JOSEPHINE COUNTY.
Mecember 21,7 bOlS——Grantenbaseet hit iiter 2 Uae ey oa tepals dae « Manchest) 4 —C rami se ASS te At altace ico. dae seve: care opt
KLAMATH COUNTY.
IDE H CCL ae by aS Ms SN 5G bei alec ce Ke aa eas el ee A eg oP
LANE COUNTY.
Decemberr1S) 1913 Nucenes Soe. Gan Ginkl. wa ee eee Jamo: bi O14 Wucene |. int 5 ek he ee be We Taied te Mepruary, 4, 19l4——Cottase ‘Grove (noo) tie fee © ete « Hebruary 4, 1914-—Cottagse Grove 2... 4.0.2 aketwe Eg tg Wee ie | aa ——Cottase Grove: irene eect ate stern
MARION COUNTY
December 20, 19183—Salem, Asylum Farm .............. Wecembers29. L9l3——Silverton! 2 cigl sche oe es Se ee 2 auarwar lon 1 OA Silverton... cn gicks: caval hie ee euae eos hitmen 3 4 Ol Asbo 2h. oheee share eile t,he he ee Oe oe
MORROW COUNTY.
MeaTrehe8.)) 1914 Heppmerol.cs 2g 2t dk eiecies hs eal 4 edb RAG oe . MULTNOMAH COUNTY. Wecember 26, 1913——Portlam dys fos it Beware i ney el Wecember- 26. LOS ——Eorslamad, tei. Ae eats weelatavae « Bysles, 8s Mirchi TOSS OR lama Waa hie rete Oa eects Sere beatae wel §
POLK COUNTY.
December + 18,:19138——Park | Refuge. . 222 vs bo. emduelaawd eh. SIS ARDG SPV, AR Sie» IES Bs CP S72 hal Ca 85 (2 boo 2 a PIE Ween RES RP ae Pies h est Wales LOA VOT eee ass Yee wae Rik Aes Gio lp beck manne Pols
TILLAMOOK COUNTY.
March 4, 1914—Tillamook ....... Pe mea grt AAW aks Tul celine Ae
UMATILLA COUNTY.
Webel ce LON AR SA Chena, oho. 18-05 reece’ Uiepah ey | ae heehee Niemen. 2.01 Pemdletons sé 4 22.0. 5.0.05 di Slat sabato ais up ts See
12 24 24
24 24
36 36 24 36 24 12 24
36 12
60
48 36 12 12 36
36 48 24 24
12
24 24
Page five
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Tr vos 0 ..8 +b. 1G 6. ON S 2 0 BF SN 2k ay Mareh 2, 1974—-Stantield” © Ait cra. is a Sees ies See ee 24 March’.4, 1914=—Bermirstom : oases ocpact iene ee) cine eee ee 12 March’8, 1914—Peéndletom. (oo oe ene ae are ee eee 24 UNION COUNTY Mareh: 2) 1914 LaGrand ets 0 ee aoe eed ee eee 96 WALLOWA COUNTY Marehi: 1,\ 1914—Joseph" na. 2 fee eats eat ete aaa 72
WASHINGTON COUNTY.
December:.22; “N93 =-Gastone y 6220 oe ee vaste Se ae eee ee 24 Mareh dil, 1914 Ap illleys Aaa eons et et ee see en oe ee ee 12 Mareh, 12; .1914—Gaston 6 ipae00 Saar eee a eee ae eee 48 Mareh (12, “1914—= Ea lisporton! Senge ee ee te on ee eee ae ae 12 WHEELER COUNTY March: 5, O14 Bossilts ote 22 tet. cosets ean usa are eae eee 12 YAMHILL COUNTY. December 29, 1913—McMinnville, Alderman Refuge ............ 12 December 29, 1914—MecMinnville, Lownsdale Refuge .......... 12 March: 4). 1914-—-MeM immiyalllese. iss. see anaes eee ae eee ee 12 March 4, 1914—MecMinnville, Carlton Refuge ...............: 24 Total number of “birds. 7> 2222. See ee eee 1522
It is especially desired that sportsmen in various parts of the state report as to how these birds are doing in their localities.
?
FINGERLING TROUT FOR OUR STREAMS.
When the Fish and Game Commission was established in 1911, a careful investigation was made toward securing as many trout eggs as possible to hatch and liberate in various waters of the state. The native species of trout are the rainbow or steelhead, the cutthroat or blackspotted and the Dolly Varden. The Dolly Varden trout has not been propagated in this state on account of its voracious appetite for other fish.
The rainbow trout or ‘‘red-side’’ as it is known in the McKenzie and Deschutes Rivers, is by far the best fish in the state from the sportsman’s standpoint, and upon this fish the Commission is spending its greatest effort to secure fry and stock the various streams of the state.
The Steelhead and the Rainbow.
There has always been a question in’ the minds of some
of the sportsmen as to the relative value of the eggs of the
Page six
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steelhead trout and the rainbow. As a matter of fact, there is mo scientific difference between the steelhead and the rainbow. They are one and the same species. However, a steelhead is a rainbow that during a part of the year fre- quents the salt water. It apparently goes to sea for a while in search of food and then returns. to fresh water to spawn.- It may well be called a ‘‘sea-run’’ rainbow. A good example of the steelhead is the fish that runs in’ the mouth of the Rogue River in the winter and spawns in the _ early spring. <A similar run of fish enters Tillamook Bay and tributary streams, especially the Trask River, also the Colum- bia River and such tributaries as the Willamette, Clackamas and Sandy Rivers. A rainbow or red-side, strictly speaking, may be called a fish that stays in fresh water practically the entire year. Perhaps the best example of these fish are those that live in Klamath River and run up Spencer Creek and other such tributaries to spawn. Some of the best rainbow eggs secured in this state are also taken from the fish that live in Odell Lake and Davis Lake, headwaters of the Deschutes River. These two lakes are joined by Davis Creek and in one case the fish run out of Odell Lake down stream to spawn, and from Davis Lake the fish run up stream to spawn. During the past year, 1,212,000 rainbow eggs were taken at the station at Spencer Creek, while 614,700 eggs were taken at Odell Lake station. ah Eggs From Wild Fish. ba 1 el The trout eggs that are taken in this way from the wild fish are the very best that can be secured for stocking pur- poses. The effort of the Fish and Game Commission has been to secure such eggs from wild stock in every available place. Yet the experience of three years shows that on ac- count of natural difficulties arising, such as washing out of racks by high water, it is impossible to secure enough eggs from wild trout. In fact, during the past three seasons, the Commission has been compelled to purchase a large number of trout eggs from Colorado, Montana and other states. The purchase of outside eggs has been unsatisfactory, especially
Page seven
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aT H & O R EGON 8S PO RTS MAN
during the present season when an order of a million was secured from Colorado. The best trout eggs come from a three year old fish. It was discovered that the eggs purchased this year came from six year old fish, and as a result, the fingerlings lacked vitality and the larger part of them died.
This and other experiences have led the Commission to build ponds at the different stations, such as Bonneville and the McKenzie River hatcheries, and establish brood schools of trout.
The question arises as to whether the eggs of the red- sides taken at Odell Lake or Spencer Creek station, hatched and liberated in our streams, are more valuable than eggs of the steelhead taken at Trask River or Rogue River, hatched and liberated. Some sportsmen have ventured the opinion that when the eggs of the ‘‘sea-run’’ fish are used, the fingerlings return to the sea and do not furnish such fishing as if they remained in the headwaters. Our experience shows that the eggs from the ‘‘sea-run’’ rainbows make hardier fry and fry that are more easily transported from one part of the state to another, and when these fish are planted near the head- waters of streams, the larger part of them remain in the higher waters until they are good sized fish. They are gamey and unsurpassed in the quality of flesh.
During the past season 3,634,300 steelhead eggs have been collected at the three stations on Trask River, Sandy River and the Umpqua River. It has been the policy of the Com- mission to liberate young steelheads either in the high moun- tain lakes or near the headwaters of rivers and creeks.
Eastern Brook Trout.
During the past three years an average of about a million eggs of the eastern brook trout have been purchased each season and the fry liberated in the various streams of the state. In some of the higher mountain meadow streams and also some of the mountain lakes of the state, the introduction of these fish has been a marked success. Yet in other places, it has been a failure. For this reason, the Fish and Game Commission does not intend to use Eastern brook trout except to a limited extent.
Page eight
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Cutthroat trout eggs are taken each year from one of the Coast streams, but the best spawning station for these fish is at Strawberry Lake in Grant County, where 102,540 eggs have been taken to date, and the spawning season is not yet ended.
Home of the Brownsville Rod and Gun Club—Organized March 6, 1913. The eiree Anniversary Was Celebrated in the New Club House With 167 Members.
BOBCAT KILLED BY A WOLF.
George H. Moody, of McKenzie Bridge, reports that on the 20th day of January, 1914, he found that a bobeat had been caught in one of his traps. The tracks in the snow showed that a wolf had attacked the cat and crushed its skull. The wolf had then carried the cat and drag for several hundred yards. Mr Moody sent the cat skull to the office of the Fish and Game Commission and it is at present in the state collection.
RECORD CHINOOK SALMON.
The largest Chinook salmon caught in the Columbia River during the present season was reported by H. P. Nelson, of Frankfort, Washington. The fish was caught in a gill-net and was sold to the J. G. Megler cannery. It weighed eighty-seven pounds, measured thirty-four inches around the belly and was four and a half feet long. The fish is to be exhibited at the Panama-Pacifie Exposition.
Page nine
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RAISING YOUNG PHEASANTS
°GENE M. SIMPSON Superintendent of the State Game Farm
(Note—Last month we published an article entitled ‘‘Pheasant Farming,” by Mr. Simpson, which attracted considerable attention. This article is a continuation of last month’s article and will be found equally valuable to those interested in pheasant propagation. On page ten, line nine, of last month’s issue an error was made in printing 130° instead of 103°.—HEHditor.)
‘When forty-eight hours old, the young pheasant may be fed sparingly on hard-boiled eggs chopped fine with a little green onion tops, fresh- ground lean meat crumbled with shorts or corn meal, and later dry chick food, boiled rice and curd. A custard made of eggs aoe milk and cooked in the usual manner is also an excellent food for young pheasants,
There is no trouble about hatching pheasants. Feeding is the most serious problem. Don’t try to experiment with foods. After the pheasants are a month old, feed the chopped meat rolled with shorts, as I have deseribed and gradually change to a wheat diet. A stalk of lettuce hung in the pen so that they can reach it will be relished. A tuft of grass sod will be a pleasing variety. A few fish worms or grasshoppers thrown into the pen will be eagerly devoured. Pheasants, like chickens, require grit. It is also a good plan to give them a little charcoal occasionally. In short, the grown pheasant may be fed the same as a chicken, but being insectivorous, meat, insects and worms given occasionally are desirable additions to his menu.
After the first year’s experience you will be encouraged to branch out, and rear pheasants on a larger scale; and if you have any love for birds, and particularly if there is any blood of the sportsman in your veins, you will surely enjoy raising pheasants. It is a most interesting occupation and the little time you will give to it will amply repay you in the pleasure you receive.
THE BEST FOOD FOR PHEASANT CHICKS
The most successful method of feeding young pheasants is with the larvae of the common blue fly (maggots). When this food is used, nothing else need be fed except greens occasionally until the birds are a month old. However, the chick food or cracked wheat should be kept before them that they may learn to eat it and be prepared to adapt themselves to the whole wheat diet when the larvae food has been discontinued, which should be done gradually.
The objection to the larvae food is the offensive odor ordinarily associated with it. This may be overcome by raising the larvae scientific- ally. Contrary to the commonly accepted idea, the larvae of the fly prefer fresh to decaying meat.
If the following method. is employed, there will be little or no odor. Secure a quantity of green bone and meat trimmings coarsely ground
Page ten
o> 2 & a & &- G4 O@ HN ae Gk Kha M A Ss
together. Take a tin pan with straight sides at least three inches deep and cover the bottom with shorts, bran or fine dirt, preferably bran, as the shorts have a tendency to pack. Place the bone and meat mixture on the bran and leave where the flies have access to it. In warm weather the fly eggs will hatch in about two days’ time and the bone mixture will be partially dried up. The larvae are averse to strong light and will be found to have gone to the bran. They must now have something to feed upon. Remove the mixture and place thin slices of fresh liver on the bran. Turn the bone mixture back on top of the slices of liver. In a few hours the larvae will all leave the bone mixture and be under and feeding upon the liver. After this the bone mixture should be thrown away.
Young Chinese or Ring-Necked Pheasants at State Game Farm
Jn a day’s time the liver will be eaten to shreds and must be replaced with a fresh supply of thinly sliced liver or fresh meat, and so on each day until the larvae are practically full grown. This will take nearly a week’s time and they may then be fed to the young pheasants. The larvae must be fed on liver or meat so long as they are on hand. As soon as they are matured they will descend into the bran or dirt and change into the pupa state, in which condition they are equally as good for feed as when alive. In feeding the liver or meat, feed only enough to be consumed in twenty-four hours’ time. ‘‘The assimilating power of the larvae is so great that it can change every particle of meat or liver (except fibre) to larvae, consequently there can be no smell.’’ The object in cutting the liver or meat thin is that it may all be consumed before having time to become tainted. Keep an extra supply of liver in a cool place. A little charcoal, such as is used to feed chickens, sprinkled over and under it, will tend to keep it fresh.
_ In order to keep a supply of larvae, it will be necessary to put out new pans of bone every few days, depending on quantity, the number of
Page eleven
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pheasants you have and the state of the weather. The warmer the weather, the more rapid the development of the larvae. If you contemplate using larvae, you should start with the bone mixture a week prior to the date ot first hatching. ; THE VALUE OF FLY LARVAE
The advantage of this food is that you need not hesitate to feed young birds all they will eat. They are eager for it and will frequently crowd their crops and throats to overflowing with no apparent bad results. They thrive better on this food than on any- thing else. Other methods may be em- ployed to produce the larvae, but it should be remembered that but fifteen days’ time elapses from the laying of the fly egg un- til it has become larvae, entered the pupa stage and turned into a fly again. The larvae are clean feeders and they must have a medium in which to bury them- selves. In ten days they pass into the pupa state, in which form they may be kept if stored at a low temperature, (40 degree F.); the low temperature stops the
Reeves Pheasant Chick development.
Should the pan of shorts, bran or dirt become heated, it means that the larvae are too crowded and will leave if possible. A part should be removed to another pan or given a larger proportion of shorts, bran or dirt.
With the facts above, your own ingenuity and some experience will suggest convenient methods for producing larvae, but remember that the pheasant is primarily an insect-eating bird and the larvae is a natural food. As stated, custard, eggs, etc., may be used successfully, but they are substitutes. When the birds are two weeks old, chopped meat may be gradually substituted for the larvae until, when a month old, the larvae may be discontinued altogether. A good way to prepare the meat is to
chop it fine with a sharp chopper and then mix shorts with it, rolling it _
between the hands until it crumbles. After the birds are a month old, they may be fed cracked wheat (soft wheat is best) with a little charcoal or grit alternating with the meat diet. The meat may be discontinued after two months, except that it is not a bad plan to give them a little of it once or twice a week for another month. From this time on, they may be fed the same as chickens, except that their nature demands more insects, and if these are not supplied naturally they will do better if given feed of the chopped meat and shorts every week or ten days until they are grown. AVOID STALE MEAT
For the purpose of furnishing a cheap supply of fresh meat to be fed to the young birds direct, and for material for the propagation of fly
Page twelve
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larvae also, New Zealand hares may be used. They are somewhat larger than the common Belgian hare, not so quarrelsome when many are yarded together and are easier to breed to a uniform color. They are very prolific and can be propagated during the fall and winter months, at which time good use may be made of the same brood coops in which pheasants were reared during the summer.
Several pounds of fresh meat may be obtained from one animal run through a small meat grinder and fed direct to the young pheasants, taking the ‘place of other chopped meat. The remainder of the carcass, excepting the skin, which has a commercial value, is consigned to the “‘bug house’’ for the flies to work upon. By propagating hares for this purpose, one not only has a supply of fresh meat when he wants it, and in just the quantity desired, but he is sure of its being fresh. Nothing is more fatal to young pheasants than putrid meat that has been treated with a preservative, such as sodium sulphite. These preservatives appear under various trade names on the market. These trade names also cause the purchaser to think that he is getting something different than he had before. Some of the samples are colored with a coal tar dye. These preservatives are often used in making hamburg steak. This can be readily detected by noticing the color of the meat as the butcher breaks it from the pile on the counter. Meat preserved with it shows a bright red color, but the portion not in contact with the air is much darker as a tule. After it has been in contact with the air for a few minutes, it will also assume the same bright color. Sodium sulphite is sold under such names as ‘‘Freezum,’’ ‘‘Preservaline,’’ and ‘‘Freezine,’’ also sometimes as ‘‘ Anti Ferment.’’
Green grass is essent- ial in every breeding pen. The birds require a certain amount to keep them in good laying con- dition. The egg-eating habit is not so apt to be contracted as where the pens are absolutely bare. In the absence of grass, green stuff may best be provided by spading up, sod and all, suitable turf from the outside, and giv-
ing the birds a fresh
a3 ee ee Scokb2 shovelful every day. They
will take delight in pick-
ing it apart. Lawn clippings are not very good as they soon wilt and will scarcely be touched.
Page thirteen
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Until the pheasants are six weeks old they should be fed three times a day, then twice a day until grown, and after that once a day.
Captivity seems to change the habits of the pheasant entirely. The hen rarely ever makes a pretense at laying in a nest, much less set and hatch a brood of young pheasants. The cock becomes decidedly polygamous and will instantly kill a young bird if placed in the same enclosure. The percentage of fertility of all pheasant eggs is remarkably great. It is not at all uncommon for every egg to hatch, and the writer has for many years mated from four to six hens with one cock, the latter number invariably when the yard is sufficiently large.
In captivity a single Chinese pheasant hen has been known to lay one hundred and four eggs in one season, extending from April Ist to September Ist, but sixty eggs is perhaps a fair average. In the wild state, the pheasant seldom roosts in a tree, and then only in one that is open, so it is in confinement. While they may stay in the shedded part of their pen in the day time, just at dusk they select a place with an open sky above them in which to pass the night, and this too, regardless of the inclemency of the weather. They seem to be indifferent to snow and rain, and appear none the worse for the drenching. They commonly roost on the ground with feathers drawn down tight to the body.
ENEMIES OF THE PHEASANT
The enemies of the chicken yard are likewise the enemies of the pheasants. A shotgun is a valuable implement in pheasant farming, but keep it where you can get it quickly.
Wage continuous war on rats. Of all the predatory animals the game breeder has to contend with, he will find the rat the hardest to combat. Rats are more apt to be found around a pheasant yard than a chicken yard. It is easy to regulate the amount of feed given poultry, conse- quently none need be left on the ground to attract rats. Some pheasants, however, are so shy they will not eat until the attendant has scattered the food and gone away. ‘Lherefore it is necessary for the pheasant breeder to fight rats continually and by every method possible. I have tried steel traps, wire cage traps, poison, carbon bisulphide, gopher extermi- nators and various other remedies, but find nothing so effective as a ‘‘varmint’’ dog.
If all buildings are up from the ground high enough to have full access and you have the right kind of a dog, he will take care of the rats as fast as they come. Whenever a rat hole is found in any part of the yards no time should be lost in digging it out. With the help of a good dog, a rat will rarely ever get away. An Airedale is the dog to: have. These dogs take to hunting and killing rats naturally and willingly without guidance or training.
Of the various members of the hawk family that prey upon game birds, perhaps the western red-tailed hawk, because of his abundance, is the most difficult to control. The Cooper hawk is another offender. When it
Page fourteen
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comes to destroying both game and other birds’ nests the common crow heads the list.
Cats are an abomination. Government statistics tell us that not two per cent of the cats are ratters and no cat ever lived that would not kill a young pheasant if given an opportunity. The prowling, semi-domesticated eat is the greatest destroyer of game birds among our four-footed animals. In this, perhaps the greatest Chinese pheasant country in the United States, the marauding cat kills more pheasants than all the illegal hunters. He is afield three hundred and sixty-five days in the year.
CONCLUSION
Bear in mind that stale and decaying food and unclean drinking water in unclean drinking fountains are just the causes that breed disease germs. Pens in which birds have been kept for long periods of time also invite disease germs. All food not consumed should be removed from the pens each day. Whether you have many or few birds, arrange your pens so that they may have fresh ground to run on occasionally.
All birds in their natural state frequently indulge in a dust bath. Lice and dust cannot exist together. Pyrethum powder is particularly disastrous to lice. Common road dust works in much the same way. From time to time place a quantity or road dust in a dry portion of the pen. Even the very small birds delight to wallow in this dust. It will be a good plan if you will store away in the fall of the year in a dry place a few barrels of dust to use the next spring before dust is obtainable from the roads.
DEPUTY GAME WARDENS AND THE CLOSED SEASONS.
(Editorial from American Field, May 30, 1914.)
At this season of the year the deputy game warden has little to do looking after game law violators, but there is plenty for him to do in des- troying the enemies of game, and if he is under a regular monthly or yearly salary he should be required to faithfully put his time in this direction. Hawks, foxes, coons, coyotes, weasels, skunks, crows, the half- starved homeless house eat, and many self-hunting cur dogs destroy more game in a twelvemonth than is taken by sportsmen during the open season, for the enemies of game hunt the year round regardless of open or closed seasons, and some of them hunt three hundred and sixty-five days in the year and get game of some kind, or the eggs of the prairie ehicken or quail, almost every day, while the sportsmen of the land—that is, those who are law-abiding—have only a short season when they may pursue game.
The deputy game warden during the closed seasons on game should be afield in some part of his bailiwick six days out of the seven every week and devote this time arduously in clearing the fields and forests of game destroyers, either by shooting or trapping, or both; and these men should be required to make a report of their work to the district or state
Page fifteen
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warden, or state game commissioners, once a month, detailing the amount of work they have done and the number of game destroyers they have put out of business.
If the predatory animals are well kept down in any locality the increase in game birds will be very noticeable, and it is much better to save the birds from destruction than to spend a similar amount of time and money in prosecuting men after the game has been unlawfully killed. We do not say that the men who violate the law by shooting out of season, by killing in excess of the bag limit established by law, or by unlawfully marketing game birds, should not be prosecuted and punished, for we believe they should, and that their punishment should be as great as the law permits; but we do say that time and money spent in destroying the enemies of game is more judiciously expended than that spent in prosecutions of violators of the law.
By going over his territory frequently during the closed season in search of vermin, the deputy warden learns where many birds are nesting and knowing this he is better able to give them the-protection they need. If he finds the nest of a prairie chicken, quail or duck that is not as well hidden as it might be, he can, in a very few minutes, place a little brush or an armful or two of weeds or grass in front of the less protected portion and thus aid thebird in its work of successful incubation, for the more securely a bird is hidden the less is the liability of her being dis- covered by her enemies, and the more certain she is of bringing forth a good brood of young.
In Europe, on the big shootings there, where thousands of birds are reared every season, the game keeper and his assistants devote a great deal of their time during the propagating and rearing season to keeping down the vermin that prey upon the birds, and if this work is resorted to there and has been found to be profitable, it ought to be a good idea to try it thoroughly in this country.
TIMBER WOLF TRAPPED.
Mr. Ben S. Patton, deputy game warden at Estacada, Oregon, reports the trapping of another timber wolf on the 6th of June on the upper Clackamas River. This was a female, that evidently had a litter of pups. She was gray in color and of medium size. Mr. Patton writes as follows:
‘“‘The way we came to get this animal, Hugh Mendenhall killed a bear at this place a short time before, between the Clackamas and Colliwash Rivers. He skinned it and left the carcass. A few days after that he had occasion to go by this place again when he noticed that a lot of wolves had been there and eaten every scrap of the bear, even chewing up or packing off all the bones. He came down and told me of the occurrence and we gathered up nine traps, four of which were bear traps, and took them in and set them around the spot and left a lot of fish heads scattered around on the ground. In a few days-we had a wolf.’’
Page sixteen
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RIVERS AND STREAMS OF OREGON
With Some Descriptions of the Country, Fish and Fishing —Part 8
By JOHN GILL
THE SANTIAM RIVER
This great branch of the Willamette with its three important tributaries—North, Middle and South Santiam—is famous fishing water. The North Fork is better known and more fished because of the railroad which penetrates almost to its source. Along this railroad are many towns at which the angler will find good fare. Mehama is about the beginning point for the fisherman, and at Terrell’s hotel excellent accom- modations. The ‘‘Little North Fork’’ enters here, and is a lovely trout stream. The main river has yielded a good many salmon to two skillful fly fishermen of Mehama—John Irvine and Wm: Gordon.
Farther eastward, toward Mount Jefferson, where the North Fork heads, is the famous Breitenbush with its hot springs, and other well stocked streams. The North Santiam is a big water but offers ready access to the fisherman in most parts of its course, and will pay for a visit to its waters.
South Fork of Santiam is accessible only by wagon road from Lebanon, and its fifty miles of main river extending to the heart of the Cascades and the dozen large tributary streams, are similar in character and country to the North Santiam described above. There is doubtless much valuable information about this branch of the Santiam that would be of value to these notes on fishing, if the information were available.
THE McKENZIE RIVER The next branch of the Willamette to the South is the unrivaled McKenzie, also to be reached in its best fishing waters only by a long tedious stage ride from Springfield. An old friend and master fisherman wrote me from Walterville, twelve miles above Springfield, this spring that he had had ‘‘fair sport,’’ as he put it, with the fly—fourteen fish weighing
Page seventeen
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tT H&E O RR E GG ON Ss BP OR RS ot. Ae seventeen pounds. To any angler beginning at Walterville I strongly recommend William Gordon as a typical old-time sportsman, ready to help a novice and able to give him a master’s advice. No man in Oregon ties a better fly or a finer leader, and he does repairing of rods most skilfully. Fifty miles farther into the mountains is Frizzell’s where the huge Dolly Varden abound. This is an ideal mountain resort and well-spoken of, both for sport and comfort, by its many patrons who come from all over the country. The McKenzie ranks among the first-class fishing streams of the United States. The great trans-Cascade road, which follows the McKenzie to its source, gives access to Blue River, South Fork, Lost and Pine ereeks, all grand streams, remote in the mountains.
The favorite food of the Rainbow trout in the McKenzie is the stonefly, which hatches in the late summer and early fall, coming out from the water in the larval stage and hiding among the rocks of the shore, where it shortly emerges from the shell as the mature insect in the form of a gauze-winged, soft-bodied fly, which gathers in great numbers ou the branches of willows along the stream. Flies that light or fall upon the water are eagerly seized by trout, which frequent the shallows along shore at this time for the purpose of feeding upon the stoneflies.
An artificial fly resembling this stonefly is the most suc- cessful cast, but inferior to the natural insect. A party of sportsmen, returning from the upper waters of the McKenzie late in September, 1913, report remarkably fine fishing at McKenzie Bridge and Frizzell’s, where a large number of fishermen enjoyed great sport. Their catches were made mostly by using the stonefly, carefully hooked, with wings spread, and very lightly cast. Rainbows of two pounds and upwards fell to the lot of several of these gentlemen daily, and many smaller fish, so that a four-automobile party had all the fish they cared to use daily for a week.
The Dolly Varden does not rise readily to the fly in the Cascade streams, but skilful fishermen catch monsters with salmon eggs.
Page eighteen
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Doubtless, fishing on the McKenzie will be found to cor- respond with that on the waters of other large rivers of the Cascades mentioned above. Fly-fishing proper is better in the earlier months of summer on the McKenzie. The fish reject the artificial fly later because of the abundance of natural fly food.
A swing around southward and west, over the Middle, South and Coast forks of the Willamette—all grand streams— and then northward on the west side to Corvallis, and we come to Mary’s River and on up to Philomath and then fifteen miles stage or wagon to Alsea, on the river of the same name. This is a good stream from scurce to mouth, but little fished and hard to reach. Still more remote, ten miles south of the outlet of Alsea, is Yachats, a river which will satisfy the longings of the most greedy angler. All this region south of Mary’s Peak is also abundant in deer and bear from mountain summits to ocean. It can be reached conveniently by beach roads from Newport.
West of Corvallis, by the C. & E., down Yaquina River, which offers little fishing, we reach Elk City, head of tidewater. Here comes in the Big Elk, the larger fork of Yaquina, on which, either trolling from a boat for sea trout, or a few miles farther up at Parker’s, fly fishing, I have enjoyed real sport.
At Toledo, ten miles up from the bay, one can take a stage ten miles further to the Siletz agency and from that point reach good fishing on the upper waters of Siletz. Mr. Wallis Nash of Nashville on the C. & E. road, tells me of great sport on Siletz. There is a road in from Nashville. At Elk Creek May’s hotel affords a comfortable base, and there are good accommodations also at Siletz.
Seven miles south of Newport a small river known as Elsa’s River or the Beaver, affords fine fishing and big fish at times, but there are local traits and tricks that it is profitable to find out.
We have now made the tour of the Willamette waters, except Luckiamute, reached from Falls City and the South Yamhill and Willamina, which are accessible from Sheridan.
Page nineteen
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South of the Willamette, the two great rivers, famous in California as well as Oregon, are the Umpqua and the Rogue. The North Umpqua rises just west of Willamette’s ultimate source, and with many mountain tributaries added, becomes a noble river at Winchester, on the S. P. R. R., famous for Chinook fishing with the rod. The conditions are similar to those of the Willamette at Oregon City, the Umpqua salmon being checked by the dam at Winchester. The upper Umpqua is extremely wild and little known to anglers, but must be a veritable paradise for the fishermen. It can be reached by road from Roseburg, though its more remote waters are only available to the camper by trails. Myrtle, Canyon and Cow (or Azalea) creeks—large branches of the South Umpqua—are more accessible from the S. P., and are lovely streams, well worth a visit. A short stage ride to Canyonville (from Myrtle Creek) will place an angler in a pleasant fishing region and with good old-fashioned accommodations. The town is on the old California stage road, which follows the river here for many miles. Another splendid stream is the West Fork, coming out of the high mountains which lie between the Rogue and Umpqua valleys. West Fork station on the S. P. is the base for operations there. Gold mining on several tributaries of the South Umpqua makes fishing rather less attractive than on the North Umpqua.
Going farther south toward Rogue River several small creeks, once fine trout streams but now much damaged by mining, cross the railroad. At Grants Pass we strike Rogue © River, and either above that city, or below, a stretch of a hundred miles, the Rogue and its larger tributaries afford wonderful fishing. 3
We have not space to do justice here to the Rogue River and its rainbows, steelheads and chinooks. There are many comfortable places to stop and fishing waters at the doors of Woodville, Gold Hill and Tolo on the railroad. A good stage road follows the river pretty closely on its way up to Crater Lake, and, of course, as everywhere else, the fishing is most remote.
Page twenty
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NOTES FROM COUNTIES
BAKER COUNTY.
Two men from Baker who fished in Wallowa Lake last week caught thirty-seven fish weighing sixty-four pounds. One twenty-six inch rain- bow weighed eight pounds.
BENTON COUNTY.
P. Archibold, George Tripp, Roy and Ed Bier returned recently from fishing on the Alsea. They report that the roads are good and the fish- ing fine. They made a eatch of two hundred. Fifty of the trout were very large, some of them meas- uring seventeen inches.
* * *
C. C. Bryan, of Corvallis, reports the fishing in the streams in this county particularly good at this time. Anglers are now finding the fishing better in Marys River than ever before, due to the fact that a fishway was installed at the Fischer dam last year. Some of the trout eaught were fifteen inches in length, chub being used for bait.
* * *
John Winkle and Caleb Davis, of Corvallis, made a catch of one hun- dred trout a short time ago near Philomath.
CLACKAMAS COUNTY.
Tom Kienzel reports that during the winter he trapped about Clack- amas Lake near the summit of the Cascades and got the following an- imals: 2 eross foxes, 23 marten, 7 mink, 1 otter, 1 bobeat, 7 weasel,
(white), 7 skunk (large). Mr. Kien- zel also reports that a small band of elk wintered on the White River a little southeast of Mt. Hood. * * *
John Howland caught four bear and Hugh Mendenhall one on the upper Clackamas. The pelts were unusual- ly good. The fur was long and even and had not begun to shed.
CLACKAMAS COUNTY.
A large cougar was brought into Oregon City on June 20th. It was killed by W. A. Jones, W. M. Un- derwood, Jack Tucker and Warren Barr three miies south of Estacada.
CLATSOP COUNTY.
Mr. A. O. Godfrey reports that fishing in the Necanicum, Lewis and Clark and Nehalem Rivers is very good this year. During the months of April and May there were a good many trout caught in the Seaside Meadow. Jack Cullison, of Portland, made a good eateh last Sunday. Mr. Godfrey also reports huckleberries are ripe earlier this year and plentiful.
COOS COUNTY.
A. J. Sherwood, President of the Coquille Rod and Gun Club, writes as follows:
‘‘The Hungarian partridges which were released in the Fairview sec- tion about ten miles from here have been seen in pairs In various parts of the valley this spring. There is hardly a farmer who comes in from that locality who has not seen a pair
Page twenty-one
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of these birds. Some of the Chinese pheasant cocks released in the same vicinity have been heard crowing at different places in the valley and have been often seen.
‘A logger told me that three miles south and’ west of Coquille, a Chinese pheasant hen hatched nine chicks. He counted them as they crossed the road. While he was watching them a hawk picked up one and flew away. However, I think the tame eats gone wild are the greatest enemies of these game birds in this locality. We have sev- eral sportsmen here who will miss a shot at a quail any time during the open season for the sake of getting one at a cat or a hawk.’’
CROOK COUNTY.
The recent elimination of thous- and of acres of land from Fremont and Paulina National Forests great- ly restricts the winter and early spring range of mule deer and ante- lope on the Deschutes Game Reser- vation. As this territory is being rapidly settled by homesteaders, it makes it very difficult to protect the number of these animals that re- main.
* * *
A. J. Foster, Assessor of Lake county, Hi Adams, Ben Green and William Wolfe made a hunting trip twenty miles northwest of Silver Lake and camped at Tobin’s cabin. In the six days’ hunt they killed six bear—one, a very large female, was colored white on the breast. They report splendid trout fishing in that region. oy
Page twenty-two
CURRY COUNTY.
Mr. and Mrs. W. M. Umbdenstock, of Portland, recently returned from a trip into Curry county. They re- port splendid fishing. They stopped at Mr. George Billings’ place, Marial P. O., on Mule Creek. Mr. Bill ings’ place is well known to sports- men for its hospitality and accom- modations.
DOUGLAS COUNTY.
Plans are already under way for the second annual barbecue of the Riddle Rod and Gun Club. The date has been set for Labor Day, Mon- day, September the 7th. The Rid- dle club is one of the largest or- ganizations in the state. If the second barbecue is as successful as the one last year, it should attract sportsmen from all over the state. The membership of the Riddle elub is now 269. |
* * uy
Tom Meacham recently had a very interesting experience witnessing a fight between two cougars while on a trip up Smith River north of Drain. He succeeded in killing one of the animals.
C. L. and S. L. Barger, M. J. and C. D. Shoemaker, business men of Roseburg, in two days’ time, caught four hundred trout ranging in length from six to twelve inches, at Brews- ter, in the middle branch -of the Coquille River.
* * *
A. L.Carter, W. Cordon and J. D.
Richburg, while fishing in Union
Creek, which is located in Cow
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Creek Canyon, caught 196 fine trout from six to twelve inches long.
* * *
M. Josephson, Secretary of the Roseburg Commercial Club, reports that he is receiving numerous in- quires from sportsmen in Seattle, Portland and San Francisco as to the fishing in Douglas county. He expects to have several parties from these places during July.
* * *
Rev. Paul Lux and Mr. Max Meyer, on a fishing trip up the Calapooia, together caught forty-five trout in an hour, the largest being about fifteen inches long. They used Royal Coachman black fly. They tried salmon eggs, but found the fish took the fly better.
* * *
On May 3rd, Walter Gordon and Burr Jones were fishing near the forks of the North and South Umpqua Rivers about six miles from Roseburg. Gordon landed two
very fine Chinook salmon, one weighing forty-three pounds, the other thirty-nine pounds. Jones
caught one weighing thirty-seven and one-half pounds, all with troll- ing line and spoon.
LANE COUNTY.
It has been suggested that Blue River, Quartz Creek and Deer Creek should be closed to fishing for a year or so in order to give the small fish in these streams a chance to grow. These streams are natural spawning places for a large number of McKenzie rainbows.
* ¥ *
Mr. E. C. Hills, deputy game war-
den of Eugene, who has just re- turned from a trip through the upper McKenzie valley, reports that a big buck spent an entire day in the barnyard at H. A. Cook’s place above Vida; also that Carey Thomp- son saw a deer eating salt with the eattle in his barnyard.
* * *
Probably the largest fish caught this season in local waters was land- ed by Amos Hills on the Upper Wil- lamette, being a Dolly Varden weigh-
The fish inches in
ing twenty-three pounds. measured thirty-four
length.
* * *
Jay McCormick, George Nicholls and Walter Kirk landed one hundred and twenty-eight trout in a day and a half’s fishing in the Upper Wil- lamette, catching ninety-two fish the first day and thirty-seven the second. The largest of the catch was seven- teen inches in length and weighed a pound and a half.
* * *
Ethar Collins, of Eugene, fishing in the north fork of the Siuslaw, five miles above Florence, caught an average of twenty-five trout each day.
*¥ * *
Earl Stanley Smith, of the Eugene Abstract Company, caught a ‘‘red- side’’ or rainbow trout a short time ago in the McKenzie River. The fish weighed two pounds, nine ounces and was nineteen and one half inches long. It was caught below the hatchery at Vida.
* * *
Trappers and sportsmen in the
Page twenty-three
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Upper McKenzie River country re- port that deer are more plentiful than ever before.
HARNEY COUNTY.
Mr. F. H. Fawcett, of Narrows, Oregon, reports that there are many more Canada geese on the Malheur Lake reservation than for the past two seasons. They mated and began laying early in March, whereas last year the first nest that was seen was on April 7th.
During the first part of April many swan were seen about the lake. The wapato seems to be the chief food.
The lake fish that usually spawn about the first of April began spawning about the 20th of March. These fish run in the Spring Branch near where the Blitzen River enters the reserve. The run usually lasts from three to five days. The fish range from six to thirteen inches in length.
The great blue herons began build- ing their nests on March 11th and were laying by March 16th. Last year they did not begin nest build- ing until about April 7th. The lake was not free from ice until after that time.
* * *
Mr. I. B. Hazeltine has been preaching the gospel of ‘‘co-opera- tion’’ to the sportsmen of Grant county, with the result that two large and important organizations have recently been formed. The Union Rod and Gun Club, of John Day and Canyon City, was organ- ized in the latter place the evening of Tuesday, April 7th. Forest Su-
Page twenty-four
_ this
pervisor Cy J. Bingham, who has been one of Oregon’s most consis- tent advocates of game conserva- tion and enforcement, . was elected president, while C. G. Guern- sey, of Canyon City, and A. C. Mar- tin, of John Day, were named as first and second vice-presidents re- spectively. H. L. Kuhl was chosen secretary, F. S. Slater, treasurer, and A. D. Leedy, field captain. Leedy is one of Eastern Oregon’s pioneer trap-shooters and he will endeavor to develop a team capable of giving any amateur aggregation in the state a run for its money.
The Blue Mountain Rod and Gun Club, of Prairie City, was organized Thursday evening, April 9th. The following officers were elected: S. R. Laurance, president; W. L. Kei- zur, first vice-president; W. J. Don- aldson, second vice-president; E. W. Kimberling, secretary; Andrew Rob- inson, treasurer, and R. W. Hopkins, field captain.
law
Prosecuting Attorney Cozad, one of the most ardent sportsmen in the entire state of Oregon, took a prom- inent part in the formation of both organizations, the members of which pledge themselves to a faithful ob- servance of the game laws and to. report all violations coming under their observation.
WASCO COUNTY.
EK. B. Berlin, W. H. Anderson, Ray Woolsey and Peter Hoffman, the first party to go into Badger Lake season, returned with hundred and ninety big trout.
one rainbow
The Boy and the Gun
It is unlawful for a boy under the age of fourteen to hunt with a gun in this state on lands not his own or those of a parent, relative or guardian. The child who lives in the city and attends the city schools for nine months in the year needs a good spell of outdoor life along the seashore or in the mountains for the summer season. But a eun is not essential to his having a good time.
Many boys are naturally destructive and careless.. Some parents make the mis- take of buying the small boy a gun. While there are no objections to teaching the boy the careful use of firearms, yet placing a gun in his hands and allowing him the free- dom of all outdoors without the restriction of older people, is dangerous for a boy and most dangerous for other people. The child needs the lessons of conservation far more than he needs the means of des- truction.
Keep the Gun Out of the Hands of the Small Boy
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By WILLIAM L. FINLEY, Editor, Portland, Oregon
Volume Tl ] 5c a copy—50c a year [ Number 8
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CONTENTS
The Oregon Sportsman, August, 1914 Copyright 1914, by William L. Finley
Page The Penitentiary Awaits Him—Hditorial.............. il Guard Against Accidental Shooting—HEditorial.......... 2 Mhe Opens Seasone tore Dee rye ane era Peon Sent otet say sted 3 Pheasant Chicks in Town—One Illustration............ 4 The White-tailed and Other Deer in Oregon—
By Stanley G. Jewett—Three Illustrations........ 5 Nanithy ‘Paciticn Coast. miclamditc airs ar: es riee eer eae 9 Multnomah Anglers’ Casting Tournament............. 10 Stocking Cascade Mountain Lakes—Part I
By Glenn Johnson—Two WUlustrations .:......1:.. i Rivers and Streams of Oregon—Part IX
By, ; Job Gal ye ry iec Mees Wnt eer. Seo RAE Ai aaa send ey ee 16 Lae Grandes Sportsmen, see anguetiac. carer aaa ee oe 20 PNvavolan ayer IeKXOOG| BeKoitn IMMGBNIA Ge sose cates nbd eu sean 20
WY PDN ie ey Pea aliath tes age BE. eV eee Oe Sie RD Shar em aetna gh 21
The Oregon Sportsman Volume II AUGUST, 1914 ‘Number 8
THE PENITENTIARY AWAITS HIM.
‘“We, the coroner’s jury, find that Henry Olson was a native of Wisconsin, aged twenty-three years, and that he came to his death through a gunshot wound from a gun in the hands of Louis Dodge, of Ashland, carelessly fired.’’
On the first day of the open season, a party of hunters from Ashland went into the Elk creek district for deer. One of the party, Louis Dodge, took Henry Olson, a homesteader, for a deer and killed him. It is the same old story of criminal care- lessness.
County Attorney E. E. Kelly, backed by the sportsmen of Jackson county, will make a strong effort to set an example for careless hunters. A complaint has been sworn out against Dodge and he will be prosecuted for manslaughter.
The time has come when the careless and irresponsible hunter must be checked. He is a menace to society. The State Board of Fish and Game Commissioners have strongly advised every deer hunter who goes into the mountains to wear a bright red shirt and a red hat. Some hunters have thought this ad- vice rather trivial, but it is better than the death penalty.
One of the best game laws in the state is that which pro- vides for a closed season on all deer except those with horns. This law should be strictly enforced as a protection for those people who wish to go for an outing in the mountains.
Whenever a hunter waits until he can see the horns and distinguish the difference between a buck and a doe, he will not be guilty of murdering his friend or his relative.
Last Year’s Record.
During the open season for deer in 1913, five men were shot in Oregon, mistaken for deer. Wilbur Kime shot and killed George Bingham of Oregon City at Trail creek in Douglas
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
county, just over the Jackson county line. A. P. Conger, of Jack- sonville, shot his brother Elmer through the lungs and killed him. Peter C. Christianson shot Albert A. Dixon through the thigh and erippled him in a frightful manner with a soft-nosed bullet. Fritz Gerbers shot Herman Schmidt of Grants Pass, and one of the Miller boys of Leland shot his elder brother. All five victims were hit by bullets intended for deer.
During the early part of this year, there were two similar cases in Curry county. Edmond Eggers shot J. Bush on April 1st on Sixes river, claiming he thought Bush was a deer. In-
asmuch as the season for shooting deer was closed, Eggers was
guilty both of violating game laws and of criminal carelessness. On February Ist, George L. Mayer shot Willard Isenhart, also in Curry county, claiming he mistook him for a wildcat. Both Eggers and Mayer are in jail awaiting trial. County Attorney Meredith says he will send them both to the penitentiary.
GUARD AGAINST ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING.
The State Board of Fish and Game Commissioners recom- mends the following suggestion to be observed by sportsmen in the field to prevent accidental shooting and to relieve persons who are injured or lost in the forests and mountains.
To prevent accidental shooting, every hunter should wear bright colored clothing, which ean readily be identified from game birds and animals, especially when hunting deer in the forests. Since there is a marked contrast between red and the
color of any game bird or animal that is hunted, this color will
best serve the purpose.
Hunters should never shoot at any object. until absolutely positive of identification. It is dangerous to shoot at moving brush or leaves with the expectation of killing game. The mov- ing object may be illegal game, a domestic animal, or even a man. Never carry a loaded gun when in a conveyance or about the house. To prepare for an emergency, every hunter and ang- ler should carry in his pocket a piece of candle or matches in 2 water-tight match safe. In case of becoming lost or injured, one ean readily start a camp fire.
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
LOST OR DISTRESS SIGNAL.
When a man is lost or injured and needs help, a signal by shooting should be given. The signal is the firing of a gun once, with an intermission of ten seconds before the second shot, then an intermission of sixty seconds, then a third shot. If no answer is received, this signal should be repeated after an intermission of five minutes. The answer to this signal is a single shot from the rescuing party followed by one recognition shot from the SIS TENET ETS is NS OO i, ae GR Ue OO Ee eR
Care should be taken to get the time between shots as ac- curate as possible. Hunters should keep in mind this signal and avoid, if possible, giving it when shooting at game. In the absence of a watch, the time can be judged with sufficient ac- curacy by counting ten between the first and second shots and sixty between the second and third shots. Whenever a shot is heard in the mountains, a hunter should count ten to determine whether it is a signal of distress or not.
The person who is lost should, after hearing an answer to his signal, remain at the place where he gave the signal until the rescuing party arrives, otherwise he may take the opposite direction and not be found at all.
The following is a condensed table of signals to be used by all sportsmen:
Begin with 1 shot. Answer to signal by rescuing: Wait 10 seconds, party, 1 shot. repeat 1 shot. Wait 60 seconds, Recognition of answer by man repeat 1 shot. lost, 1 shot.
Wait 5 minutes before giving the second signal.
THE OPEN SEASON FOR DEER.
The open season for killing deer with horns for the entire state begins August Ist and lasts through October 31st. All does and spotted fawns or young deer of the first year are pro- tected by the state law. There is no open season on elk, ante- lope or mountain sheep in Oregon. The limit for each hunter during the open season is three deer with horns.
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
It is well for sportsmen to bear in mind that each hunting license has three coupons attached. Whenever a deer is killed, one of these must be detached, signed and dated and tied to the earcass of the deer. One of these coupons must always accom- pany the careass. It is unlawful after killing a deer to mutilate the carcass in any way so as to disguise the sex. It is also unlaw- ful for any person to have in possession more than forty pounds of dried venison.
PHEASANT CHICKS IN TOWN.
During the first week in June, two Chinese pheasant chicks about a day old were found in the early morning on the asphalt pavement of West- moreland in the city of Portland. They had been unable to follow the mother up the curbing. A few days later two more were found on the street in front of Reed College. The day after, another was found in the same bend in the street. In both cases, had the mother pheasant led her brood fifty feet to the right or left, some dried grasses or other obstructions in the gutter would have enabled the little ones to surmount the six or seven inches, which to them was a gigantie cliff.
vr as uy ' HI ae ! he ley f ae et bipope pave MOL re ee
Pheasant Chick Unable to Get Over Curbing.
During the summer, a mother pheasant has led her one chick—or rather
has been led by the baby—for it is always several feet ahead or off to one side. The rest of the brood were probably lost during the first few days after hatching.
In another part of the city where a sewer was being dug, several baby pheasants fell into the ditch and would have died but for a friendly hand that arrived in time.
These and other accidents show that the pheasant is not thoroughly accustomed to the dangers of city life. Yet for all this, there are more pheasants in the city of Portland than in any other city in the United States or perhaps in any city in the world. If the young pheasants were protected from the large number of stray house cats, these beautiful birds would be feeding in our dooryards.
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
THE WHITE-TAILED AND OTHER DEER IN OREGON
By STANLEY G. JEWETT
There are two species of deer that are common in Oregon; the Mule deer (Odocotleus hemionus hemionus) in the eastern part and the Columbian Black-tailed deer (Odocoileus Columbianus) in the western part. In addition to these we have a few White-tailed deer on both sides of the Cascade mountains.
The White-tailed deer east of the Cascades is a sub-species of the common Virginia deer of the eastern states, while the one west of the Cascades is a distinct species which we will eall the Oregon White-tailed deer. The first specimen known to science was killed near Oregon City during the early part of the last century. These two latter varieties are now extremely rare within the state of Oregon.
The White-tailed deer (Odocoileus leucurus and Odocoileus virgimianus macrourus) are intermediate in size between the other two. The tail is bushy and wedge-shaped, is snow white under- neath and on the edges, is held high and sways from side to side when the animal is running. The antlers rise from the forehead, then drop suddenly forward, with the beam almost horizontal From the beam three long, sharp tines or ‘‘points’’ rise per- pendicularly.
The White-tailed deer, according to old residents, was form- ° erly common throughout the Willamette valley foothills. Mr. H. G. Davis, of Portland, informs me that this deer was very common in the foothills about Beaverton, in Washington county, during the years from 1860 to 1875. Mr. Henry Thompson, of. Sweet Home, Linn county, under date of October 27th, 1913, says:
‘“There used to be a few of them in the river bottom here about two miles above town, but I haven’t seen or heard of them for several years.’’
Mr. W. H. Baker, the Portland taxidermist, tells me he mounted several heads of White-tailed deer some years ago, but has had none the past few seasons. He says those he mounted were killed in the Willamette valley.
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SPORTSMAN
THE OREGON
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Buck and Doe Oregon White-tailed Deer.
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
There are still a few of these deer along the North Umpqua river, in Douglas county, and in the Davis lake region of Crook county. Reports concerning the occurrence of this deer have come from other sections, but there is no doubt that they are extremely rare at the present time. Every effort should be made to protect the few remaining White-tailed deer in Oregon or the species may soon become extinct.
The Mule deer is the largest of the three and can be told from the others by the large ears, short white tail with a black tip, and the ‘‘Y’’ on the large antlers. The winter color is steel gray, changing to gray-brown in summer.
In Oregon the Mule deer is found only east of the summit of the Cascade mountains. They were formerly abundant over the entire eastern portion of the state but are now restricted to the more mountainous sections. In the northeastern part of the state, and in Crook, Lake and Klamath counties, they are still fairly plentiful. In southern Harney and Malheur counties, only a small remnant of this noble game animal remains. In this sec- tion are the Steens mountains, an ideal range for this species, but several years ago hide hunters slaughtered them by the thous- ands until now only a few remain. Through the efforts of the State Game Warden, this range of mountains was set aside as a state game refuge by the last legislature and it is to be hoped that the Mule deer in this section will be left alone by hunters until their numbers are increased and they spread out over the surround- ing country. If this range is to be of any value in future as a game refuge, there should be some grazing restrictions. At present the entire range is being ruined by the unrestricted graz- ing of large herds of sheep. Two other reserves were created last year, in which the primary object was to protect Mule deer— one in Crook and Lake counties, and another in the Blue moun- tains, including parts of Baker and Wallowa counties. On this latter reserve are found, in addition to the goodly number of Mule deer, several head of elk and mountain sheep. The Mule deer ranges over more open country than other deer in localities where they are undisturbed.
The Columbian Black-tailed deer is the smallest deer in Ore- gon, and about the same color as the Oregon White-tail. The
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
antlers of the old bucks have the ‘‘Y’’ much the same as the Mule deer; the tail is wider, with the outer surface black all over and with a white underside and tip.
Typical Horns of Three Species of Deer. l. Mule Deer. 2. Columbian Black-tailed Deer. 3. White-tailed Deer.
In the western part of the state we have this species. It is found from the Columbia river to the California line and east to the east slope of the Cascade mountains, where its range overlaps that of the Mule deer. These deer inhabit the dense forests, especially of the Coast range, and seldom feed in the open coun- try. They are known to eat the leaves of evergreen trees as well. as to browse on deciduous foliage.
The Black-tailed deer is common throughout its range, except in the more thickly settled parts of the Willamette valley. Large numbers are killed annually by sportsmen, especially in the southern counties. In the northern part of the state quite a num- ber are killed in the Cascades south of Bonneville and along the lower Columbia.
According to reliable information, the live weight of a Black- tailed buck occasionally reaches 250 pounds. The Mule deer is much larger and sometimes weighs 350 pounds.
The ‘‘rutting’’ season of all these deer is during October and November and one or two, occasionally three young are born in April and May. The young are spotted at birth and remain so until the hair is shed in the fall.
We have very little data on the exact time of the shedding of
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antlers of these deer in Oregon. <A two-year-old Black-tailed buck from Rogue river shed his antlers at the State Game Farm on January 23rd. On the other hand, a large buck at Oakridge, in the Cascades, was still carrying his antlers on February 28th. From information furnished by hunters, it would appear that the deer all shed their antlers during January, February and March.
Tails of Three Species of Deer. 1. Columbian Black-tailed Deer. 2. Mule Deer. 3. White-tailed Deer.
A large White-tailed buck, which was shot for the collection of game animals for the Fish and Game Commission, had shed his antlers about a week previous to January 29th. The burrs had healed over with a tough, brown skin, but the new antlers had not started to develop.
NINTH PACIFIC COAST HANDICAP,
The Ninth Pacific Coast Handicap trapshooting contest was held at the new home of the Portland Gun Club July 20th, 21st and 22d. It was a marked success. In the main event there were a total of one hundred and thirty-eight entries and a hundred and thirty-four actual starters.
The big handicap event was taken by Peter H. O’Brien of Portland, who captured the title of the best amateur shooter on the coast. O’Brien
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
and H. H. Ott, of Gresham, tied with a mark of 93 per cent, but in the shoot-off, O’Brien won. On the first day Don Morrison, of Portland, proved to be the best amateur with a record of 141 out of a possible 150. On the second day Frank Troeh, of Vancouver, Washington, showed best form at sixteen yards and went out with 95 per cent. Morrison was second with 94 and H. Wihlon took third amateur honors with 93.
Among the professionals who attended the tournament, L. H. Reid, of Seattle, made the longest run, breaking 122 birds without a miss. He is considered one of the greatest trapshooters in the country.
MULTNOMAH ANGLERS’ CASTING TOURNAMENT.
The July tournament brought forth some good records. The weather conditions were excellent and the entries seemed to be in the best con- dition, as the following record of scores will show:
Light tackle dry fly accuracy was won by W. F. Backus with an average per cent of 99 11-15, which is a new record. Dr. L. L. Dubois, second average per cent 99 7-15. Warren Cornell, third average per cent 99 2-15.
Accuracy fly light rod at the 50, 55 and 60 foot rings. W. F. Backus, 99 4-15. Dr. L. L Dubois, 98 2-15, while J Drennen, who made his initial appearance in the tournament, won third place with an average of 98 flat.
Distance light fly rod. W. F. Backus, first, 89 feet. Dr. L. L Dubois, 80 feet. Warren Cornell, 72 feet.
Distance bait casting %4-ounce. Dr. E. C. McFarland average five casts, 89 4-5 feet. W. C. Block, average five casts, 89 3-5 feet. A. E, Burghduff, average five casts, 75 1-5 feet. Dr. E. C. McFarland made the longest individual cast of 118 feet, which is a new record for the 4-ounce event. :
Accuracy bait cast %4-ounce. W. C. Block, average per cent 98 5-15. E. A. Armstrong another new man won second place in this event with an average per cent of 96 6-15. Dr. E. C. McFarland third, 95 5-15.
Accuracy bait casting %-ounce weight. W. C. Block, average per cent 98 5-15. Dr. E. C. McFarland, 97. HE. A. Armstrong, 93 2-15
Distance bait casting, %-ounce weight. A. E. Burghduff broke all
previous records both in longest distance individual cast of 171 feet and average for five casts of 149 4-5 feet. The previous record was held by Ray Winter whose longest cast was 154 feet and whose average for five casts was 123 1-5 feet. W.C. Block also broke the previous records with an average for five casts of 139 3-5 feet, whose longest individual cast was 162 feet. Dr. E. C. McFarland third with an average of five casts of 131 4-5 feet.
These tournaments are held on the last Wednesday and Thursday of every month at the Oaks Bathing Pavillion. They‘are open for all comers. Anyone wishing to improve his ability with the rod will find an excellent opportunity here.
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
STOCKING CASCADE MOUNTAIN LAKES
BY GLENN JOHNSON
Part I
(Note—In the Cascade mountains from the headwaters of the Clackamas south to the sources of the Rogue and Umpqua are many mountain lakes which contain no fish. The important work of stocking these waters with trout was begun in the summer of 1912 and has been carried on in the sum- mers of 1913 and 1914. Mr. Johnson assisted Mr. Mohler in the work during the summer of 1913 and his account of the various trips which we are pub- lishing in this issue and the next will give the reader a good idea of what is being done to increase the sport of angling in this mountainous section of
the state.—EHditor.)
The Cascade mountains is a region of natural wonders and beauties. The people of the State of Oregon, however, are as yet, not fully aware of this fact. To be sure, we all know more or less about the country around Mt. Hood, and many are becoming acquainted with Mt. Jefferson and the fine lakes in that vicinity. But to the south of Mt. Jefferson lies a territory that will inspire awe in those who love the grand. Snow- capped mountains, small glaciers, deep canyons, rugged lava floes, and hundreds of wonderful lakes greet the visitor. The aesthetically inclined may also take pleasure in the pretty flowers that grow on the grass- covered meadows at various altitudes. The same flowers that bloom in June on the lower foothills are found in September in the high mountain region,
The chief interest of those who tour the mountains, however, is in the excellent fishing and hunting. The United States Forestry Service has established trails to the various places in the mountains and is build- ing other trails from time to time. By means of these, the angler, hunter, or tourist can reach the chief points of interest. With added difficulty one may go off the main paths and find still better hunting and fishing in the less frequented haunts. To make the most of such a trip, one should devote the summer to it. Pack horses may be hired at Detroit, Albany, Eugene, Oakridge, Bend, or Redmond, and the start may be made from anyone of these places.
Certain men have taken these trips to the high Cascades season after season for the last twenty years, and still find pleasure in going over the same ground. The territory is so large and the places of attraction so numerous, that the true lover of nature never grows weary. Two men who have spent their summers in the Cascades for many consecutive years are L. J. Hieks, formerly of Hicks, Chatten Engraving Company, of Port- land, and S. 8. Mohler, of Oregon City. In 1911 Mr. Mohler and Carl G. Johnson spent two months traveling over the mountain trails between Mt. Hood and Waldo lake. They stopped at many lakes where trout were very plentiful. But there were a great number of other lakes that contained no fish. In fact, they found that the largest and most attractive lakes were the ones without fish. Such lakes as Olalla, Waldo, Sparks, Big Elk,
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
and Big lakes, each one mentioned having an area of thousands of acres, were types of those visited.
Upon their return Mr. Johnson took up the matter of stocking the lakes with the members of the Fish and Game Commission, who were at that time C. K. Cranston, J. F. Hughes, C. F. Stone, M. J. Kinney, and G. H. Kelly. They recognized the value of such an undertaking, and State Game Warden William L. Finley was instructed to plan and carry out the work. Mr. §S. S. Mohler was employed to stock the lakes. Deputy Game Wardens George Russell and Guy Stryker assisted in the work. Special cans were made in which to pack the fish over the mountain trails on horseback. The species of fish chosen for planting were rainbow and eastern brook trout, and silver-side salmon. .
During the summer of 1912 a total number of 97,420 fingerling trout were carried on horseback over the mountain trails of the Cascades and distributed in eighty-three lakes.
The State of Oregon owns thirteen fish stations and hatcheries. Previous to the time when the State Board of Fish and Game Commis- sioners took office, these stations were used solely for the propagation of salmon. Since then, however, the same hatcheries are used jointly for both game and commercial fishes. For the most part, the trout eggs are gathered from the various stations and sent to the central hatchery at Bonneville when in the eyed stage of development. Large numbers of eastern brook trout eggs have also been purchased from the Atlantic states and brought to Bonneville. At this place the eggs are hatched and raised to the fingerling stage, when they are ready to be liberated in the lakes and streams,
THE METHOD OF DISTRIBUTION.
The special fish distribution car ‘‘Rainbow’’ was purchased for the transportation of the game fish fry to the various distributing points. This ear can handle from 150,000 to 180,000 fry each trip. The ‘‘Rainbow’’ is used largely for distributing in the larger streams and lakes within a few miles of the nearest railroad point. In sending the young fish
from Bonneville to the point of distribution for the Cascade lakes from
ten to twenty cans similar to large milk cans are used, and sent in an ordinary express car. Each can contains from five hundred to a thousand fingerling trout. The fish need constant attention both night and day. A deputy game warden is sent in charge of each shipment. The water must be stirred every few minutes in order that it may be aerated. Besides this, the temperature must be kept constant at about fifty-two degrees by the addition of ice. When the ear with the fish reach the railroad destination it is met by the pack train which is to convey the fish over the mountain ‘trails to the various lakes.
Specially constructed cans were made for mountain transportation. These cans are-seven inches wide, thirty-four inches long and thirty inches high. There is an opening in the top of each ean four inches wide
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
and eight inches long. The opening is covered with a screened cover which allows air to enter as the horses move along and a current of water to pass through when the cans are laid in the streams at night. There is another opening on the end of each can in which is inserted an iron screw plug about an inch in diameter. The stale water is taken out through this vent when fresh water is poured in at the top. The whole can is inserted in a tightly fitting canvas covering with holes and rings
Interior of Fish Distribution Car, carrying One Hundred and Eighty Ten- Gallon Cans, With Air Tubes Attached.
for strapping it to the pack saddle. Each horse carries two of the cans,— one fastened on each side of the pack saddle. The total weight of each ean together with the fish and usual amount of water is about eighty- five pounds.
DIFFICULTIES OF TRANSPORTING FRY.
_ Seven horses were used in 1913 in stocking the lakes. Five of the horses carried the ten fish cans. When the fish were loaded on the horses, it was necessary to keep the pack train moving. If the horses should stand for a half hour or more, the fish would become sick and perhaps die. The movements of the horses cause the water to splash back and forth in the cans. This causes air to be dissolved in the water. When the water is not in motion the fish use up the larger part of the air and if more air or fresh water is not supplied they drown. For the sake of precaution, a new supply of fresh water is added every hour or so. A given quantity is taken from the lower vent and the same amount is poured in at the opening in the top. The numerous springs, brooks, and creeks along the mountain trails make it possible to change water as often as is desired. The temperature of the water in the cans is kept as near fifty-six degrees as is possible. Cooler water is more to be desired than warmer water. If the weather is cool the changes of water need not be so
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN |
frequent. In fact, if the air is cold and the pack train is kept moving, many hours may elapse without a necessary change of water.
On one occasion we set out from camp with two thousand fish for Three-Creek lake, near the head of Squaw creek. We did not find the lake for about six hours, during which time we were unable to supply fresh water. However, the weather was cool and horses were constantly traveling. When at last we had located the lake and had planted the fish, we found that we had lost only two fish out of the two thousand.
The distance traveled each day when fish were being carried was from fifteen to thirty miles. Several factors had to be considered in deciding how far to journey each day. In the first place, very little grain feed could be carried for the horses. Therefore it was necessary to eamp at a place where grass was plentiful. We also made it a point to stop only where there was a running stream of water. When the fish cans were taken from the horses’ backs, they were placed in the stream so as to allow a current to pass continually through the can. Unless we could find flowing water at the night stopping place one of the party would have to remain awake during the night in order to pour fresh water in the cans at short intervals.
The small fish were fed before leaving the hatchery but not so while they were being transported to the lakes. In fact, it has been shown that fish keep in a more healthy conditition if they are not fed during transit. Fingerling trout can live for thirty days or more without being fed.
THE’ FINGERLINGS AT HOME.
Upon being released in the mountain lakes, the fish adapted themselves immediately to their new environment. They avoided dangerous objects with the speed of the wildest fish. Small insects such as mosquitoes served as prey almost the moment the trout were released. It is necessary to watch the liberated fish but a few minutes in order to convince oneself that the little trout are well able to keep out of the path of danger.
A two-inch rainbow or eastern brook trout will grow to a length of from six to eight inches in one year. At the end of the second year the fish spawn. Each female trout lays from one to three thousand eggs. Ordinarily a small percentage of these eggs hatch and reach the mature state. However, the percentage of eggs laid in these lakes for the next few years will show an increase over the ordinary rate. There are not so many egg eating creatures in the lakes and there is an abundance of insect life and other food.
THE FIRST SHIPMENT.
The first shipment of 10,000 fish of the eastern brook variety was received at Detroit, the terminal of the Corvallis & Eastern Railroad, on July 8th, 1913. The fish were at once transferred from the fish cans used on the fish car to the cans used in packing the trout fry through the mountains. These cans were then placed bodily in the Santiam river
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
near by, so as to allow a current of water to pass through the screen in the top and out of another screen in the bottom. These fish were des- tined for Big lake. They were packed over the Minto trail to Inde- pendence Prairie, thence to Big Meadows, Duffy Prairie, past Three Fingered Jack mountain and on to the Big lake. Three days were actually spent in traveling the forty-two miles. Stormy weather was encountered on the summit of the mountains. This delayed the work for two days. On the 12th of July the pack train passed over about three miles of deep snow. That same night snow fell to a depth of two inches. We reached Big lake the next day and planted 8000 of the trout. The remaining 2000 were placed in Padgin and Buck Horn lakes just one mile southwest of Big lake.
Big lake is on the Santiam wagon road just twenty-two miles west of Sisters. It is an irregular shaped lake of about 3200 acres, with low grass covered banks on three sides and a steep hill on the fourth. The water is shallow near the shore line but very deep a few hundred feet out. The lake has no over ground outlet, but flows over into Padgin and Buck Horn lakes during high water. The majestic snow-capped Mt. Washington stands like a sentinel overlooking the lake. Pine woods grow near the water’s edge at various points around the lake. Formerly there were no fish in these three lakes. The stocking of them is of great importance to the people of central Oregon and also to the tourist and campers who pass back and forth over the Santiam road. The lake is also easily reached from Marion lake and the Three Fingered Jack district. It is fourteen miles from the Minto trail and eleven miles from Lake Margery and Santiam lake. Big lake is landlocked. For this reason it would be an excellent place in which to liberate young salmon.
(Continued in September Issue.)
ANEROID LAKE A Typical Mountain Lake Stocked With Fingerling Trout.
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
RIVERS AND STREAMS OF OREGON
With Some Descriptions of the Country, Fish and Fishing—Part 9
By JOHN GILL
THE KLAMATH RIVER
The Klamath is a long way off—six hundred miles by rail from Portland—yet many of our sportsmen go thither. To its famous waters sportsmen come from far and near—some from over the Atlantic—and all say the Klamath trout are the giants of their tribe. In three hours, at the head of Link river, I have seen in the air more big trout than altogether in my life time elsewhere. But they were blind to fly and spoon. They were leaping madly because infested with leeches which attack the trout when feeding in the tules on the minnows.
For real fishing one goes up the Upper lake to Williamson, Sprague river or Spring creek. I have many tracings of trout as big as fair-sized salmon—six, eight, even ten pounders, and more, eaught in Willhamson river with the fly.
Take the stoutest tackle you own when you go to the Klamath.
Other eastern Oregon waters of importance are the Wallowa and its tributary stream, the Minam, in the northeast corner of the state. A wilder region than that of the Minam [I have not seen—not a dwelling on its course of fifty miles in my time.
The Wallowa rises in the Wallowa lake and flows from it a big river. The lake itself is at the foot of grand mountains out of which many streams pour to unite in the river. Above the lake these wild torrents are almost inaccessible. There is good fishing in the lake and in the river, Joseph being conveniently near as a comfortable base. Bear creek, Middle fork and Hurricane creek are all splendid streams coming in from the south side and conviently reached from Enterprise or Wallowa, where accom- modations are first rate. The mountain scenery of the Wallowa is second to none on the coast and its rivers are purity complete.
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WALLOWA LAKE
Wallowa lake was until recently the spawning ground of a great number of Nerka or blue-back salmon. These fish are redder fleshed than any other salmon and have for this quality given the popular name of ‘‘Alaska Red’’ to the principal pack of Alaskan waters, which is mainly of this species.
The Redfish lakes at the head of the Salmon river, Idaho, are so named from the migration of the Nerka salmon thither trom the ocean—a distance of nearly a thousand miles—to spawn. Payette and other lakes high in the mountains hke Wallowa lake, are also noted for the visits of the ‘‘redfish.’’
In Wallowa lake there are small landlocked salmon under a pound in weight at maturity, and these appear to be Nerka which have become changed in habit and make their home per- manently in the lake, ascending the tributary streams in great schools at spawning time. They refuse any kind of bait or fly at this time and are only caught by ‘‘snagging’’ them with hooks dropped among the schools.
Several lakes and some rivers in Maine and Canada are in- habited by landlocked descendents of the Atlantic salmon, the famous ‘‘ouananiche’’ being one of the variety.
From the great mountains comes Hagle creek, falling into Snake river. This is well worth a visit, but too remote for space here and almost entirely unknown to anglers, except the local residents. Pine creek, in the same great Wallowa range, falling eastward, and Imnaha, in the northeast corner of Oregon, a large river draining the northern slope of the Wallowa range, are Streams which will remain remote and little known for years to come.
THE GRANDE RONDE RIVER
The Grande Ronde, which is the largest river of northeastern Oregon, draining a valley nearly two hundred miles in length, and receiving Wallowa, Minam and Catherine rivers, is itself a splendid trout stream, too, and in its course, deep among the great mountains southeast of La Grande, yields magnificent fish- ing. There has been very good trout fishing in the Grande Ronde
Page seventeen
THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
during the past summer, even down the valley as far as Island City.
Catherine creek, a large tributary of Grande Ronde river, rises high in the Wallowa mountains east of Union, its pricipal branch (the northeastern) having its source at seven thousand feet above the sea. The sources of Minam and Eagle creek are in the same grand group of mountains. Following the course of the river from its junction with the Grande Ronde near Cove, it is fifty miles to the head of either North or South fork. A good road follows the South fork to Medical Springs—a stopping place twenty miles above Union—and onward to the southeast. The ascent is gentle up to this point and the country open, the pine forests covering the mountains beyond. This lower portion of Catherine creek is good fishing, trout of large size and white- fish abounding. <A drive or a tramp of a few miles from Union up this river will bring one to excellent fishing.
North Powder river, entering the South powder or Powder river near the town of North Powder, is a large and beautiful stream and affords fine sport. Its course is more impetuous than most of the eastern Oregon streams, receiving many tributaries from the great range of mountains lying west of the Powder valley. A road from North Powder follows the main stream closely, ascending rapidly to a great elevation. All the larger tributaries are good fishing except where mining refuse defiles them. :
Powder river for most of its course, and Burnt river, too, are useless for the fisherman because of placer mining. High up in the mountains at their sources, in the southeastern part of | Baker county, the uncontaminated brooks are beautiful and there is good fishing for trout. The Sumpter Valley Railroad reaches many of these branches and there are pleasant mountain resorts where one finds good entertainment.
THE JOHN DAY RIVER
John Day river, rising on the west side of the mountains about Sumpter—the height of the Blue mountains—in its upper valleys affords fine fishing in many places. Hast of Prairie City the river is a fine, clear stream, rising in high, forest-clad ranges,
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
and the waters are free from the contamnation of irrigating and minine operations. The only large northern tributary—North Fork—receives several branches from the southern slope of the western spur of the Blue mountains, and, though remote from the railroad and distant from towns, these streams are well worth a visit from those prepared to camp.
The upper waters of Malheur, rising in the south and east sides of the high mountains which separate Baker, Grant and Harney counties, should be good fishing, too, but are so remote that only the residents of that mountainous region have any knowledge of them.
Going south from Canyon City by the stage road, one as- eends for many miles the valley of Canyon creek, a noble stream, and once above the mines in the lower course of this stream, it yields glorious fishing. One must camp here. Further on, many miles, one comes to Bear creek, in a high, frosty valley, and at Seneca, Bear creek joins Silvies river, a stream second to none in the great size and abundance of its trout. Within two miles of Burns trout of ten pounds weight have been taken.
The waters of Silvies river are lost in Malheur lake, a very alkaline remainder of the ancient sea that once covered all Har- ney valley, and of which Harney lake is a near neighbor, the two united by a narrow channel. Into Harney lake from the west flows another large river, similar to the Silvies river, and, like it, a magnificent fishing stream. The fish of these two rivers appear to be steelhead trout, slightly modified by ages of separa- tion from the sea which once entered the valley from the Snake river estuary, though now the ridge of hills rises hundreds of feet between the waters of the Harney basin and those falling into Snake river.
When the rivers of the basin are in flood, they temper the alkaline waters about their outlets for a considerable distance, and following the instinct of the family the trout go down into the waters of the lake for a salt water cruise, as our steelheads of the Columbia basin go into the ocean.
Splendid specimens of the trout of the Silvies river may be seen in the collection at the Chamber of Commerce, Portland, and no better proof can be offered of the qualities of these far eastern
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
waters of Oregon as producers of magnificent trout. To those gentlemen so fortunate as to have time and automobiles, the trip to Silvies or Silver river will prove interesting and memorable in the highest degree.
LA GRANDE SPORTSMEN’S BANQUET.
On July 19th the Wing, Fin and Fleetfoot Club of La Grande, held their first annual fish day. All the members taking part went fishing in favorite streams and reported their catches to a committee. On July 21st a banquet was held to which all members of the club were invited. There were eighty-one present. In addition to an elaborate fish menu, and a fresh supply of big yarns, which only a fisherman can spin, the following prizes were awarded: .
The largest rainbow trout, measuring 17% inches, was caught by S. D. Crowe. The prize was a Meisselbach automatic reel, presented by Bert Hughes.
The second largest rainbow trout, measuring 15%, inches, was caught by Walter Zweifel. He received a Number 3 fish basket and strap, pre-
sented by Golden Rule Company.
The largest bull trout, or Dolly Varden, measuring 18 inches, was caught by W. E. Leffel. The prize was an automatic reel presented by Newlin Drug Company.
The second largest bull trout, measuring 17% inches, was caught by A. A. Wenzel. The prize was a fly book, presented by Lilly Hardware Co.
The heaviest catch was 14%, pounds by Will Kelly, the prize being $3.50 pole and one dozen Haywood trout flies, presented by W. H. Bohnen- kamp & Company.
The second heaviest catch was made by Nate Zweifel, being 13 pounds, and the prize was fifty yards of enameled Kingfisher line, presented by C. D. Putnam of Hill’s Drug Company.
ANGLING RECORD FROM EUGENE.
Deputy Game Warden E. C, Hills, of Eugene, has been making an effort to keep account of the various catches of fish that are made in the rivers and streams in that locality. According to the reports he has, there have been 124,823 fish taken from the local streams by anglers during April, May and June.
During July fishermen have reported catching 8478 trout in the McKen- zie and the Willamette.
C. M. Johnson, of Eugene, is reported to have caught a total of 500 cutthroat trout in the old dam pond on Little Fall creek. He recently caught one measuring twenty-two inches.
Page twenty
WARNING!
THE HUNTER WHO KILLS A MAN FOR A DEER IS GUILTY OF MANSLAUGHTER AND SHOULD BE SENT TO THE PENITENTIARY.
Five men were shot last year in this state and two have already been killed this year, all mistaken
for deer.
When hunting deer, be sure you see the horns before you shoot. Hunters should never shoot at moving brush, leaves or grass with the expectation
of kiling game. It is dangerous. The moving ob-
ject may be a man.
BEWARE!
You may be the next victim. If you are hunting
in the mountains, take the precaution to wear a
red hat or shirt or some other article of clothing
that can easily be identified.
45,465
MUNIN LUAU
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The OREGON SPORTSMAN
SEPTEMBER, 1914
INUIT
BAND-TAILED OR WILD PIGEONS OF OREGON. Protected by Federal Law Until September 1, 1918.
PUBEPS HED MONTHLY -UNDER..THEY DIRECTION. OF. THE
Pero HAND: GAME :C OM MISS TON
By WILLIAM L. FINLEY, Editor, Portland, Oregon
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Volume II | 5c a copy—50c a year [ Number 9
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CONTENTS
The Oregon Sportsman, September, 1914 Volume II - Number 9
Copyright 1914, by William L. Finley
Page Menace to Morests, and: Game——iditortale es kine ate Passing of the Passenger Pigeon—Hditorial........... 5) New 2Nederal -Reomlabiomss 2 wine fico cree eye igate eee eee 4 Closed Season on Quail and Pheasants....... sete 5 Additional Bounty on Bobcats Discontinued........... 5 Kederal Inspector Ap poimveds ycstecia uci hae erie er 5) Feeding Fingerling Salmon—By Harry Beal Torrey..... 6 Varieties of Quail in Oregon—One Illustration......... | 9 Tribute to Judge O..N. Denny—By R. W. Shufeldt....-. alist State-and! Mederal Isa ws sek coy ab crg eee oleae iy cet oe ere 12 Huntine Season Closedins as ete tise ee ee Seatac abe 12 Notes, on- ‘Band tanled “Bir eonsigai ees cee ern eee te 13 Stocking Cascade Mountain Lakes—Part II By Glenn. Johnson—Twor Dlustrationsic2 2 .e oe. 14 South) Moin’ Game. Wer ue ee asker ge age cae aetna 20 Chinese Pheasants in Umatilla County........... one as 20
CLOSER SOAS OS se ee re NRE ate a MU ia eine pt age Pall
The Oregon Sportsman Volume II SEPTEMBER, 1914 Number 9
MENACE TO FORESTS AND GAME.
July and August have been unusually dry months through- out Oregon. For over two months no rain has fallen. Forest fires in various parts of the state have menaced some of our finest timber.
It is unfortunate that careless parties who are hunting and fishing and camping in the mountains are often responsible for letting camp fires get beyond control. Carelessness of this kind is like the carelessness of the hunter who shoots his friend for a deer. It is criminal and the punishment should be severe. All sportsmen who are in the woods should make it a point not only to be careful themselves, but to lend their efforts toward influ- encing others to be careful.
While it is our opinion that there are many careless parties in the woods, yet we find that the average business man in the city who goes hunting and fishing is the man who loves outdoor hfe and is wide awake to protect our forests, our streams and our game. He has been educated to know the great harm of the pollution of our streams, the careless handling of arms and the fearful results of a camp fire that gets beyond control.
The main cause of forest fires is, we venture to say, not from hunting and fishing parties; but in various localities we have a class of careless, shiftless people who, because they have home- steaded the land in the wilderness, believe they have inherent rights on their own property, as far as the game, the streams and the forests are concerned. It is difficult for such people to understand that, even though they desire to clear their own land, they cannot burn slashings that menace the property of neigh- bors, except according to law. It is difficult to make these people understand that the state owns the game; that is, that the game belongs to all the people and that each individual cannot kill game when and where he sees fit, but we must have laws so that the rights of all citizens may be equalized.
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
CLOSE CO-OPERATION NEEDED.
In the State of Oregon we have federal supervisors, district foresters and rangers for the protection of our forests. The State appropriated $75,000 at the last legislative session for the employment of wardens and to secure the better protection of forests during the years 1913 and 1914. During this same period, approximately $110,000 will be spent in the employment of game wardens in various parts of the state. This money comes from the Game Protection Fund which is paid in by hunters and anglers to secure better protection of game.
Inasmuch as both forest protection and game protection is closely allied, and inasmuch as federal and state forestry and game wardens cover practically the same territory, the work of all should be in close co-operation. There is a continuous public demand that good service be secured for the money expended. In past years, it has been too easy for the warden of one depart- ment to consider that his duties ended in the enforcement of one set of laws. It is perhaps easier for a game warden to overlook strict enforcement of forestry laws at times. It is also much easier for a forestry warden who has to get the co-operation and help of homesteaders living back in the mountains to wink at the continuous violation of game laws. The claim has often been made that if forestry wardens arrested homesteaders for the violation of game laws, these parties would in turn set out fires and destroy the forests. All of which is very true. The real point of the matter is, that the lawless element which is the most difficult for the game warden to curb is the same element that causes most trouble for the forestry warden. The closer | co-operation of both departments doubles the efficiency because both are combating a common enemy. The state wants efficiency.
Oregon is a big state. There must necessarily be a large number of wardens for police service. The amount spent in police service is not too large. But it is easy to see that if we had a closer system of co-operation throughout Oregon where not only state officers of different departments but those employed by towns, cities and counties were working in unison against all law breakers, there would be a marked increase of efficient service against lawlessness. Page two
THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
PASSING OF THE PASSENGER PIGEON.
The last survivor of many millions of wild passenger pigeons that were formerly found through the middle west and in the eastern states died on September 1 at Cincinnati Zoological Gardens. This bird was a female and was hatched in captivity in Cincinnati twenty-two years ago. Every effort was made to keep the race from dying out by breeding in captivity, but this was unsuccessful.
The death of this pigeon from some standpoints may seem a small matter, but from a scientific standpoint very likely means the extinction of a race of birds. A few skins, skeletons and stuffed specimens in some of the museums are now all that is left of the uncounted millions of wild pigeons that fairly blackened the skies during the migrating season.
Two species of pigeons were formerly very abundant in the United States, the Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius) of the eastern states and the Band-tailed Pigeon (Columba fasciata) of the western United States.
The passenger pigeon was formerly so abundant in the east- ern states that its extermination seemed impossible. Yet during the past few years, a large amount of money has been offered by ornithologists in the East to any one who could find a single pair of these birds. The rewards were not offered for the dead birds, but for information as to where any of these birds were living or especially breeding. The fact that no authentic infor- mation has been discovered as to the existence of a single pigeon in the wild state leads many people to believe they are totally extinct.
WHAT BECAME OF OUR WILD PIGEONS?
The question as to what has become of the passenger pigeon has been widely discussed in outdoor magazines and among sports- men. It did not disappear on any given date, but as a species, the bird began rapidly disappearing in the sixties or from about 1870. The most likely cause of the disappearance was that the bird nested in immense colonies and during the breeding season, they were systematically slaughtered by the wholesale for the market. In 1869 from the town of Hartford, Michigan, three
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
carloads of pigeons were shipped to market each day for forty days. This makes a total of approximately 11,880,000 birds. It is also recorded that another town in Michigan marketed 15,840,000 birds in two years. Large numbers of the birds were netted in traps. It was an old custom to use live passenger pigeons as targets in shooting tournaments. It is recorded that in places through the middle west where the birds were breeding, men shook the squabs out of the trees in great numbers and used them to fatten hogs.
Captain Charles E. Bendire in his Life Histories of North American Birds (1892), says: ‘‘. . . It looks now as if their total extermination might be accomplished within the present century. The only thing which retards their complete extinction is that it no longer pays to net these birds, they being too scarce for this now, at least in the more settled portions of the country, and also, perhaps, that from constant and unremitting persecu- tion on their breeding grounds they have changed their habits somewhat, the majority no longer breeding in colonies, but scat- tering over the country and breeding in isolated pairs.’’
The passing of the passenger pigeon is a powerful lesson in wild bird protection. Its disappearance can only be attributed to carelessness on the part of the American people.
NEW FEDERAL REGULATIONS.
In the December, 1913, issue of The Oregon Sportsman, the federal law for the protection of migratory birds was published showing the open and closed seasons. This law went into effect October 1, 1913. It provided for the protection of all insectiv-. orous birds. A closed season was also provided until September 1, 1918, for band-tailed pigeons, cranes, swans, curlews, smaller shore birds and wood ducks. Shooting was also prohibited be- tween sunset and sunrise. .
Pursuant to the provisions of the federal law for the pro- tection of migratory birds authorizing and directing the Depart- ment of Agriculture to adopt suitable regulations prescribing and fixing the closed seasons, many changes have been considered, but the only one affecting the shooting anywhere in the North-
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
west is that of changing the open season for water fowl in Idaho. Last year the season was September 1 to December 16. The regulations which have been proposed will make the season uni- form with Oregon and Washington—October 1 to January 16. This change will likely be made to go into effect October 1, 1914.
GLOSED SEASON ON QUAIL AND PHEASANTS.
The State Board of Fish and Game Commissioners has suspended the open season on California (valley or little blue) quail in Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington, Yamhill, Polk, Marion, Benton, Linn and Lane counties from October 1 to October 31, 1914. Public notice to this effect has been given in the different counties, so that any person killing any of these birds is subject to fine or imprisonment. This action was taken because the Willamette valley has been stocked with these birds during the past two years and it is desired to give the birds every opportunity to inerease.
The open season has also been suspended from October 1 to October 31, 1914, on Chinese pheasants in Clatsop and Tillamook counties. Very few of these birds were found in those localities, so a number have lately been introduced from the state game farm.
ADDITIONAL BOUNTY ON BOBCATS DISCONTINUED.
At its regular monthly meeting on August 13, 1914, the State Board of Fish and Game Commissioners passed an order removing the additional bounty of $1.00 on wildeats, lynx or bobcats. This was paid under section 50, chapter 232, Laws of 1913, and it was decided that no additional bounty be paid on these animals presented to county clerks on or after August 14, 1914.
Payment of the additional bounty of $15.00 on cougar and $20.00 on timber wolves will be continued as heretofore.
FEDERAL INSPECTOR APPOINTED.
Mr. E. 8. Cattron, who has for the past few years been employed by the Fish and Game Commission, has recently received the appointment from the Department of Agriculture of Federal Inspector of the migratory bird law. Besides the enforcement of the federal law, Mr. Cattron will have supervision of the federal wild bird reservations in the Northwest. His district will be Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Congress recently appro- priated $50,000 for the enforcement of the federal law for the protection of migratory birds. Game protection work in the Northwest will be earried on in close co-operation with the state authorities. Greater efficiency will be secured by both working together.
Page five
THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
FEEDING FINGERLING SALMON
Results of Experiments Showing Relative Value of Feeding Raw
and Cooked Foods
By HARRY BEAL TORREY In Charge of Fish Experiment Station, Reed College
The primary objects of the state fish hatcheries of Oregon are, first, to prevent the extinction of the food and game fishes that now run in our streams, and second, to increase the supply, especially of those species that possess the greatest food and game value. Owing to the constantly growing demand for Pacific salmon and the more and more serious interference of commercial fishing with the normal breeding habits of the fish, it is obvious that the prosperity of one of the great industries of Oregon can be assured only by the successful artificial propa- gation of the salmon on a large scale.
Success in this direction involves the pressing problem of economy in administration. With every day that a young salmon is cared for as a semi-domestic animal at a hatchery, its cost to the public mounts. From the moment the egg is stripped from the mother and, upon fertilization, begins its development, it must be properly housed, properly protected against disease, properly fed. The last item first assumes practical importance after the food yolk has been absorbed and the young fish has begun to take food through the mouth. Then the various other | necessary expenses of the hatchery are augmented by bills for appropriate food stuffs. In such a large institution as that at Bonneville, where many millions of eggs are hatched every year, these bills are from the beginning by no means small. And as the fishes wax in size, the amount of food they consume waxes with them.
A practical problem thus presents itself that has been attacked from many directions, with varying degrees of success. It would seem to be a simple solution to turn the young fish into the streams to shift for themselves just as soon as they have
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
established the habit of taking solid food. But facts are accumulating that advise against this practice, the fish at such an early age being too small and weak to withstand numerous accidents of the environment, notably the voracious appetites of fishes of larger size. The expedient has also been tried of cutting the food supply to a quantity sufficient to maintain active life, but insufficient for rapid and perfect development. This has failed, also; for it is obviously bad policy to rear fishes by hand a day longer than is necessary to insure their welfare in the streams that bear them to the ocean where they mature. The more rapidly they grow, the shorter the period of expensive probation at the hatchery.
Several agencies contribute toward this latter result. A great deal depends on the housing conditions. These may be said to include the troughs, character of ponds, depth, flow and temperature of the water, crowding of the fish, and so on. With ideal conditions of this sort, however, there still remains the item of food. Upon that the present paper would focus attention. For the great desirability of increasing the efficiency and at the same time decreasing the cost of fish food at the hatcheries has instigated experiments whose results may be briefly reported.
One of the foods that has been found to be adapted to the needs of very young fish is beef liver. The custom has been to feed it raw. Assuming the value of liver as a fish food, are the best results obtained by feeding it raw?
The answer which our experiments give to this inquiry appears best with the aid of a tabular view of the results. The method of investigation consisted in dividing a given lot of Chinook salmon that were just beginning to take solid food through the mouth, into two numerically equal groups. These were placed side by side in separate troughs, the flow of water, temperature and all other conditions being as nearly as possible the same for each—with the one exception of food. One group was fed on raw liver, the other on an equal daily weight of cooked liver. The weight of twenty fishes was taken at the beginning and at the end of the experiment, the average weight per fish being obtained in each case and the average gain per
Page seven
THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
cent. in weight during the elapsed time. Four such pairs of groups are tabulated.
Amt. and condition Date of Av. wt. of Gain in beef liver fed daily No.fish weighing twenty inds. weight 1. 10 grams raw...... 1800 Mar. 1 .465 grams DN Obs 3 a2) ha 13% 2. 10 grams cooked.. .1800 Mane.) all 465 = * Apr. 2 a 27% 3. 20 grams raw...... 2000 Mar. 1 .O00 grams Apr a2 (B25) 0 25% 4. 20 grams cooked.. .2000 Miaie.jeylk 000 iy) Apr, 2 Aoi Oe 79% 5. 30 grams raw...... 2000 Micrel .oo0 grams Apr, 2 OOO. we 4% 6. 30 grams cooked.. .2000 Witenes ak ODO wae Apr. 2 vO Dt 48.6% 7. 40 grams raw...... 345 Apr. 5d 1.13 grams PATON AES boys) a May 19%) 1:96 ie (33351475
8. 40 grams cooked... 345 Nps: OW GeO Rene Apr. 19 1.48 s Marys) LO) S230 nies 108.85%
Tt will be seen that in each case, the fishes fed on cooked liver gained weight faster than the others. Excluding from consideration Nos. 5 and 6, on account of the abnormally small gain of the fishes fed on raw liver, the fishes fed on cooked liver . gained in weight from 1.48 (Nos. 7 and 8) times to twice (Nos. 1 and 2), and three times (Nos. 3 and 4), as much as the others in the same time. Including Nos. 5 and 6, the results would be still more strikingly in favor of cooked liver as a food.
To find the efficiency of the food per unit of cost, it is necessary to take into account certain losses that take place in the process of grinding, and cooking, and in the elimination of tough, connective tissue unsuitable for food. In ten weighings, the raw liver lost, in preparation, an average of 33 per cent. of its original weight. Similarly, the cooked liver lost 43 per cent.
Page eight
THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
of its original weight. This means that for every one hundred grams of raw liver available for food, but eighty-five grams are available after cooking, showing a loss in weight of 15 per cent. in the cooking.
Put in another way, one hundred grams of cooked liver costs 1744 per cent. more than an equal weight of raw liver. In itself a serious difference, this added cost loses its importance when the far greater food value of cooked liver is recalled. It is worth while to add 174% per cent. to the cost to obtain an increase in food value of from 48 to 200 per cent. Further expansion of the arithmetic of the problem is not needed to emphasize the fact that the experiments, so far as they go, indicate that when liver is fed to young salmon that have just absorbed their yolk sacs, it should, for reasons of economy, be fed cooked.
VARIETIES OF QUAIL IN OREGON.
Differences in the Plumage of the Three Species Mentioned in the Game Laws.
The following deseription will enable sportsmen to distin- guish between the three species of quail mentioned in the Oregon statutes so as to avoid violating the game laws:
The mountain or plumed quail is the largest and most beau- tifully colored quail in the state. It hag slender black crest feathers; the upper parts of the body are olive-brown, while the throat and flanks are deep chestnut in color; the flanks also have black and white bands. The breast is bluish-slate. This is the common native quail through the greater part of Oregon, especially in the entire mountainous or wooded districts from the Cascades to the Pacific coast.
The California, valley or little blue quail is a little smaller than the mountain quail. It has black crest feathers that differ radically from those of the mountain quail; they are narrow at the base and wider at the top, curling toward the front, while the crest of the mountain quail curves backward except when the bird is running or excited, when it stands straight up. The
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
back or upper parts of the California quail are smoky-brown; the throat is black, bordered with a white stripe; the breast is bluish-gray; the belly has a chestnut patch around which the feathers with light centers and dark borders resemble the scales of a fish. This bird is abundant all through southern Oregon and ranges through eastern Oregon up to the Columbia river. It is not a resident of the Willamette valley, but during the past two years about fifteen hundred of these birds have been trapped in southern Oregon and liberated in the Willamette
valley and other parts of the state where they were not found
before.
The bobwhite quail was formerly introduced into Oregon from the eastern United States. It is now abundant in Umatilla and northern Malheur counties and especially in certain sections of the Willamette valley. The bobwhite may be distinguished by its white throat, which is bordered by black; there is a white line running through the eye; the upper parts are reddish-brown and black; the under parts are also brown barred with black.
—Photograph by R. W. Shufeldt. California Quail, Often Called Valley or Little Blue Quail.
Page ten
ee ee
THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
TRIBUTE TO JUDGE O. N. DENNY.
3356 Highteenth St., Washington, D. C., June 11th, 1914. Dear Mr. Finley:
I have been much interested in copies of recent issues of The Oregon Sportsman, and the excellent picture, reproduced from a photograph from life of a ‘‘Chinese Pheasant Mother’’ on the outside cover page of the May, 1914, number, vividly brought to mind my first meeting with Judge Denny in Washington, a great many years ago. My father, then an admiral in the navy, had invited him to dine with him, and it was during the course of this dinner that I heard the judge give a full account of his having secured a number of pairs of Chinese pheasants in China, when he was on his way back from Corea, and that he had had them released in Oregon to breed under very favorable conditions. It was the common pheasant of the country, and he hoped to establish it as a game bird in Oregon. He had met all the expenses, I believe, and was evidently not only a most enthusiastic Oregonian, but a firm believer in augmenting the list of game birds of the eountry in any legitimate way he could.
IT have the most pleasant recollections of Judge Denny, and I greatly admired the vigor and superb qualities of the man and the pride he took in developing the resources of the Pacific Coast.
I have often wondered whether the quail of Europe could not be suc- cessfully introduced in Oregon. It is a fine little game bird, multiplies rap- idly, and does not constitute a menace to the agriculturalist in any way.
Efforts have been made several times to introduce it in the Hast, but each time the undertaking has failed owing to the strong migratory instincts of the species. They gradually diminish in numbers, finally disappearing altogether, notwithstanding the fact that they are very hardy little birds and the country well adapted to their propagation.
Several years ago, I kept some of these birds alive, and on several occasions I succeeded in making good photographs of them. As a matter of fact, I have been successful in photographing from life all the different species of quails which occur throughout the Pacific Coast region, and as an example of these, I am sending you a photograph I have made of the California quail—a bird I have had alive in my keeping upon several occasions.
This quail is frequently kept as a pet in the East; it is a most affection- ate and interesting one, and it has always been a wonder to me that the various species of Californian quails have not been introduced as game birds into a number of favorable districts in the Middle and Eastern dis- tricts of the country.
With. best wishes, Sincerely yours, R. W. SHUFELDT.
Page eleven
THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS.
Sportsmen should remember that some important changes have been made in the game seasons by the federal laws which are now in effect and which take precedence over the state laws.
It is now lawful to shoot ducks and geese in any part of Oregon from October 1 to January 15. The bag limit is 30 in any seven consecutive days.
It is lawful to shoot deer with horns in any part of Oregon from August 1 to October 31. The limit is three in a season.
It is lawful to shoot black-breasted and golden plover, Wilson or jack snipe, and the greater and lesser yellow-legs from October 1 to December 10. | The limit is 30 in any seven consecutive days.
It is lawful to shoot doves in any part of Oregon from September 1 to October 31. The bag limit is 10 in one day or 20 in any seven con- secutive days.
It is lawful to shoot male Chinese pheasants, blue or sooty grouse, ruffed grouse or native pheasants in western Oregon from October 1 to October 31, except it is unlawful to shoot Chinese pheasants in Jackson, Josephine, Coos, Curry, Tillamook and Clatsop counties. The bag limit is five of any or all such birds in one day or 10 in any seven consecutive days.
It is lawful to shoot mountain or plumed quail in any part of Oregon from October 1 to October 31. The bag limit is 10 birds in any seven consecutive days.
It is lawful to shoot blue or sooty grouse, ruffed grouse or native pheasants in eastern Oregon from September 1 to October 31. The bag limit is five of any or all such birds in one day or 10 in any seven con- secutive days.
It is lawful to shoot California or valley quail in eastern and southern Oregon, except in those sections where they have been recently introduced, from October 1 to October 31. The bag limit is 10 in any seven con-_ secutive days.
It is unlawful to shoot female Chinese pheasants or bobwhite quail in any part of Oregon at any time.
HUNTING SEASON CLOSED.
On account of numerous forest fires and the unusually dry season, Governor West issued a proclamation closing the hunting season during the latter part of August until September 1, 1914. It has been contended by timber owners and forestry wardens that a large number of fires in the woods has been due to careless hunters and that the deer season should open September 1 rather than August 1, as at the present time.
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
This is the first time the hunting season has been closed by proclama- tion of the Governor. The provision under which this was issued is in chapter 278, section 7 of the Session Laws of 1911 and is as follows:
‘«Whenever, or wherever, during an open season for the hunting of ‘any kind of game in this State, it shall appear to the Governor upon the showing of the State Forester that by reason of extreme drought the use of firearms or fire by hunters is liable to cause forest fires, he may, by proclamation, suspend the open season and make it a closed season for the shooting of wild birds and animals of any kind for such time as he may designate, and during the time so designated all provisions of law relating to closed seasons for game shall be in force.’’
NOTES ON BAND-TAILED PIGEONS.
The following items concerning the abundance of trapping of band- tailed pigeons were sent in by Mr. O. G. Dalaba, of Corvallis, Oregon:
‘*T did quite a bit of trapping years ago in Wisconsin and later in Oregon. The wild pigeon of the Pacific Coast is quite different from the passenger pigeon of the East. They do not travel in large numbers as the eastern birds in the Mississippi valley in the seventies. People now would not believe it possible to see them in such large numbers. The band- tailed pigeon has not as wild a nature as the eastern bird. I believe our wild pigeon could become quite domesticated with a little care.
“*T used to catch them by the hundreds in the Coast hills in 1893, but they were more plentiful in the Willamette valley or in King’s valley at the time. I caught or saved twenty-five dozen at one spring of the net at Eddyville and then lost nearly half of them. We had so many that they raised the net and hundreds got away.
**T used to ship them to Portland and San Francisco via steamers from Yaquina City. Have shipped as many as eighty dozen at a time, usually losing from three to five dozen on a shipment to San Francisco, but to Portland by express only a few. Birds are not nearly so abundant at the present time, but are more plentiful than one not acquainted with their habits would think.
‘*The band-tailed pigeons do not nest in large numbers, usually only in pairs in alder and fir trees along the river and over the water. The birds migrate with the seasons, the same as the eastern birds; they make their appearance here and on the Coast the last of April and first of May and commence nesting, remaining until late in November. They feed on berries of all kinds: salmon berries first and late in the fall on chittem and salal berries and huckleberries. The pigeons are usually to be found in large numbers in the fall around the salt marshes or tide lands and at mineral springs in the Cascade mountains.’’
Page thirteen
THE OREGON SPORTSMAN STOCKING CASCADE MOUNTAIN LAKES
Report of Fingerlings Liberated With Description of Some of the Lakes and Country
BY GLENN JOHNSON
Part Il
The second shipment, consisting of 10,000 rainbow ‘trout, was received at Redmond July 18. The destination for these fish was the Black Crater and Olalla mountain district near the McKenzie road on the summit of the Cascades. The route chosen for the trip was from Redmond to Sisters, thence on the McKenzie road between Black Crater and Belknap Crater. On account of the hot weather, dusty roads, and few watering places, we traveled from Redmond to Sisters, a distance of twenty-two miles, by moonlight. In this way, by packing until sunrise the next morning, we were able to get the fish to Squaw creek in fine shape.
There are very few running streams on the road between Sisters and Hand lake. However, there were numerous snow drifts along the road among the lava beds, which we used to cool the water in the fish cans. We reached Hand lake July 21, where we camped while planting the lakes in that vicinity. One thousand trout were turned loose in Pole creek, which empties into Hand lake. The area of this lake is about fifty acres. Great numbers of small creatures thrive in this body of water, serving as good feed for fish. A small red bug about one thirty-second of an inch in length was especially attractive to the little fish when turned loose.
Lost lake, now known as Linnton lake, was stocked with 4000 fish. This body of water lies about two miles off the road in the midst of a rough lava formation. There is no trail between the road and lake. Therefore, it was necessary to cut our way as best we could through the exceedingly rough jungle of underbrush and over the lava beds. A forest — ranger, who accompanied us on this trip, declared he would not go back to the lake again until a trail had been built, so rough was the traveling. Yet, the two best horses with heavy loads succeeded in making the journey. The fact that it is so difficult to reach the lake, insures the complete stocking before anglers visit. this place.
The three Scott lakes were stocked with 2000 rainbow trout. ‘These all lie close together and during very high water are connected with each other. Large meadows completely surround these lakes. Another thousand fish were planted in Shough lake, which is located about two miles from Seott lakes and four miles from Olalla mountain:
The remaining 2000 trout were saved to stock Three Creek lake, located at the head of Squaw creek and near Broken Top mountain.
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
This lake has an area of fifty acres and lies in a crater formation. It is easily reached by trail from Sisters.
THE BEAUTIES OF SPARKS LAKE,
The next shipment of 10,000 rainbow: trout was Sparks lake, which is a deep blue body of water about five miles long and one mile wide. It is located twenty-seven miles southwest of Bend and is seventy-one miles from Oakridge via government trail. The South Sister lies a little to the west of north, and Batchelor mountain is situated just to the east and begins to rise near the water’s edge. Broken Top mountain is four miles north. Tumalo mountain, though close by, is hidden from view by a lower tree-covered packsaddle-shaped butte. Devil’s hill, a rugged, broken mass of rock, a thousand feet high, rises from the northwest side. A jack pine-covered hill extends along the entire south side. On the north side of the lake is a five hundred-acre luxuriantly grass-covered meadow of wild clover, rye, and red top grass. No trees grow on the meadow, but pine forests are all around it. On the upper or west end are many white firs and hemlocks, whose branches serve as good ‘‘feathers’’ for beds.
—Photograph by Johnson. A Load of Ten Thousand Trout Fry on the Trail for Lakes in the Higher Cascades.
Many streams enter the lake, yet there is no over-ground outlet. The largest one is Sparks creek. It rises at Three Sisters lakes and flows rapidly down the valley until it strikes the big meadow on the north side of the lake. Here it meanders in great winding loops somewhat as does the Deschutes river at Crane Prairié. Dozens of large springs bubble up near the shore line and flow into the lake as brooks. The temperature of the spring water varies from 36 degrees to 42 degrees Fahrenheit.
A mineral spring similar to Wilhoit and Cascadia is located near the lake. Its water flows into Soda creek, which in turn empties into Sparks
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
lake. Another peculiar feature of this vicinity is the pumice stone forma- tions round about. Little pebbles and huge boulders of this stone are strewn around. One can throw these rocks into the water and they will float like corks.
AN ADMIRABLE GAME REFUGE.
Thousands of ducks and other waterfowl nest throughout the summer on the small islands in the lake. For this reason the lake and vicinity should be made a game preserve. Sparks lake is an ideal place for trout. Its deep water and many inlets insure protection during the cold winter. The unbroken grass-covered shore line provides ample feed for great num- bers of fish. The large inlets will provide excellent fly casting at times when the fish may not be rising in the lake. Sparks lake, as all the other lakes that have been stocked the last two seasons, has had no fish previously.
Two thousand eastern brook trout were planted in Devil’s lake, which is about a mile from Sparks. Devil’s lake, like Sparks, has no outlet, though it has two ereek inlets. Mr. Mohler and the writer fortunately discovered where the surplus water made its exit. At one end of the lake many floating leaves and chips of wood marked a well defined eddy. On closer examination we were able to distinguish a gurgling sound of an underground stream as it sank in the lava rocks. An Indian legend to the effect that the devil lies in wait at Devil’s lake for unwary travelers causes the Indians to journey several miles out of their way in order to get past the danger.
Nine miles southwest of Devil’s lake, by way of the High or Summit trail, lie the five Horse lakes. The outlets of these lakes empty into the MeKenzie river. These bodies of water are on the summit of the moun- tains, yet the fishing in them is most excellent. The species inhabiting this vicinity is the cutthroat trout. Of all the fish we caught here, there were none except cutthroats. Several large, shallow lakes lie to the east of Horse lakes. Only one of these is suitable for fish and in that one we placed 1000 rainbows. The Horse lake district is an excellent place in which to hunt and fish. Certain instructors from the Oregon Agricul- tural College spend their vacations there each Summer.
Another large lake stocked in 1913 was Big Elk lake, located eight miles south of Sparks lake. Big Elk is one of the grandest lakes in the entire Cascades. It is three miles long and over a mile wide. Gravel beaches extend about one-half the way around the lake. The rest of the shore line is covered with grassy meadows. The main ridge of the moun- tains lies to the north and is in plain view from the water’s edge. The snow-capped peaks of the South Sister and Batchelor mountain rise high above the lake on the north. Six miles south of Big Elk are located the Big and Little Lava lakes, and the head of the Deschutes river. These two latter lakes now swarm with redsides or rainbow trout. But Big Elk is destined to surpass these as an ideal place to camp and fish. Similar to Sparks lake, ice cold springs of water stream forth at various points
Page sixteen
THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
around the lake. This lake was stocked with 9000 rainbow trout. Last year 1250 eastern brook trout were planted there. With the exception of these, there are no fish in the lake.
WALDO LAKE AN ATTRACTIVE SPOT.
Ten thousand rainbow trout for Waldo lake were received at Oak- ridge August 19. Last year 2100 fish were planted in Waldo. Reports from various sources show that the trout liberated there last season are doing well. Men working on the Waldo Lake Irrigation and Power Com- pany project declare they have seen schools numbering thousands of fish from six to nine inches long, swimming near the shore line. The fact that only 2100 fish were in the lake previous to this year shows that practically
—Photograph by Johnson. Packing Trout Fry, Each Can Weighs About Eighty-five Pounds. The Longest Pack was Eight Days with a Loss of Less than Fifty Fry.
all the trout planted there have survived the winter and thrived,—even though the reports may have been exaggerated.
Those who have seen Waldo lake are of the opinion that it is one of the largest and most attractive lakes in the Cascade mountains. The extreme length is seven and one-eighth miles and it is four and one-half miles broad in the widest place. It has a rocky beach most of the way around, but there are many little bays where reeds and grass grow up to the water’s edge. The low land on the west side of the lake is broken by a great number of small ponds covered with pond lilies and surrounded with meadows of elk and forage grasses. Waldo lake is just west of the summit; it marks the division point between the eastern Oregon and
Page seventeen
THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
western Oregon flora. To the north and east lie great forests of jack and yellow pine and it is relatively an open country when compared with the dense forests and denser underbrush found west of the lake. Sur- rounding Waldo is a forest of hemlock trees. One fork of the Willamette rises at Waldo lake and within a few miles drops over 1500 feet. The high falls in the creek have kept fish from stocking Waldo naturally from the Willamette.
One-half mile northwest of Waldo is a little lake of about twenty-five acres named Seven-Acres lake. We stocked this with 250 rainbow trout. Another small lake of about the same size lies near Meadows ranger station, and is called Meadows: lake on account of its proximity to the station. Another branch of the Willamette heads there. In this lake and a smaller one near by, were planted 250 rainbows each.
Another shipment of rainbow trout was received at Oakridge, August 28. These fish were carried along the government trail up the North Fork of the Willamette to its source. On the top of the canyon and at the head of the river are ten fine lakes, all of which we stocked.
Otter lake, which is three miles northwest of Irish mountain and five south of Box Canyon, received 2000 rainbow trout. This lake has an area of about forty acres. It is saucer-shaped and is surrounded by a jack pine forest. Its outlet soon drops over into the Willamette canyon, falling over a thousand feet.
Three miles west of Irish mountain and one mile east of Otter lake is another body of water called Elgin lake, in which we planted 2000 trout. Elgin lake has an area of eighty acres and is of a lava or crater formation. It is kidney-shaped, its two parts of about equal areas being connected by a narrow strait. A loose rock-strewn rim about one hundred feet in height encircles the lake. Small hemlock, white fir, and jack pine trees grow on the sides of the rim.
The outlet of Elgin lake flows into Soapy lake which is about one- fourth mile below. Soapy lake takes its name from its slate-colored or soapy appearance. This is due to the color of the rock and sediment on the bottom. It is located only a few hundred feet from the edge of the Willamette canyon. Its outlet drops for over a thousand feet in a series of beautiful waterfalls. These falls can be seen for many miles along the ranger’s trail down the river. In this place 500 fish were liberated.
Two other lakes in the same vicinity, known as Pond Lily lake and Loon lake, were also stocked. We put 800 in the former and 500 in the latter. These lie west of Irish mountain and on the edge of a burned-off area called Taylor’s Burn. Two miles north of this place is a small lake called Boulder lake, which we stocked with 200 fish.
THE SOURCE OF THE NORTH WILLAMETTE.
In the same district one and one-half miles southwest of Taylor’s butte, is an eighty-acre lake named Torrey lake. This is one of the best bodies of water on the upper Willamette. It is the source of the main fork of the North Willamette. In this 1000 rainbow trout were planted, but
Page eighteen
THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
more could well have been turned loose there. The limited number of fish on hand at the time, however, necessitated leaving this work for a future date. The present inaccessible position of the lake insures the complete stocking of the place, so that a thousand fish may answer the purpose just as well.
Rigdon lake, located one mile south op Taylor’s butte, is another lake which was stocked with 1000 fish. It is similar in size and other respects to Torrey lake.
The remainder of the shipment of fish was reserved for the five unstocked lakes in the Big Cultus district. Four of these lakes are located at the base of Irish mountain, and near Cultus lake and the mountain by the same name. The largest of these are Rowland and George lakes. They are all in craters of extinct voleanoes or blow-outs.
Rowland lake is of an elliptical shape and has an area of forty acres or more. A rough formation of huge boulders and steep pinnacles are the remnants of ancient volcanic action. Many deer roam among the high meadows near the lake. In this lake 500 rainbow trout were planted. The fish were carried in buckets from Big Cultus lake, which is about four miles from Rowland.
Another deep crater lake similar to Rowland lake and about a mile away received a like number of trout of the same variety. A feature of Lake George is its rocky, tree-covered island. The fish put there were also carried in buckets from our camp at Big Cultus lake. The two other lakes in the same locality that were stocked are much smaller.
The fifth lake in the Cultus district to be stocked is known as Connolly lake. It is a land-locked lake of about fifty acres. A rocky rim extends nearly around the shore. It is five miles southeast of Pack Saddle moun- tain, and the same distance from Big Cultus lake.
FINGERLINGS CARRIED FOR HIGHT DAYS.
Hight days and eight hours elapsed between the time we received the fish at Oakridge and the time we released the last part. of the shipment in Connolly lake. During all this time we lost less than fifty of the finger- ling trout. The distance traveled was over fifty-five miles, not including the side trips in reaching the outlying lakes.
The number of lakes stocked in 1912 was eighty-three, and the number this year was thirty-three. The places planted this year were harder to reach, hence the smaller number. It is estimated that there are in the Cascade mountains in Oregon upwards of three hundred lakes suitable for trout culture. This does not inelude shallow lakes, ponds, or otherwise undesirable lakes. One hundred and sixteen were stocked in 1912-1913. Many others already had fish in them, and others which are south of Waldo lake have been stocked during the past summer.
Certain people have been skeptical about the stocking of mountain lakes. The lakes planted in 1912 and revisited in 1913 prove that the work has been a marked success. Reports have come in, to the effect that the fish in Olalla lake are a foot long. Lake Margery and Santiam
Page nineteen
THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
lake, near Three Fingered Jack mountain, have fish to the length of eight inches. Even Irish and Taylor lakes, which are on the very summit of the mountains, have produced fish which are seven and eight inches long. As we passed by these lakes we saw large schools in the shallow water next to the shore jumping at flies and in a thrifty condition.
The total cost of stocking these lakes has been about $2000 each season, or $4000 for the two years. The money is appropriated from the funds received for the angling licenses. People who have looked at the trout fry in the fish cans, and those who have witnessed the release of the fish in the lakes, have in many cases expressed themselves in words similar to the following: ‘‘I feel like buying another fishing Jicense to help carry on such a work as this.’’
It will require several years for the present supply of fish in the lakes to increase in numbers sufficient to insure good sport. During the past year rainbow trout eggs were collected at Odell and Davis lakes and hatched there instead of at Bonneville. The trout fry have been distributed from these points to the lakes further south. This has lessened the expense and at the same time made the work more rapid.
SOUTH ELGIN GAME REFUGE.
Mr. Arthur Hallgarth reports that the South Elgin game refuge of Union county is one of the best refuges for game birds in the state. It is five miles long and about thirteen miles in circumference. It is sur- rounded by a county road, but has no ecross-road running through it. It is well stocked with Chinese pheasants and also ruffed grouse or native pheasants. Blue grouse are quite abundant, and it also contains about two hundred prairie chickens. This refuge contains California or little blue quail and some bobwhite quail. Twenty-four Hungarian partridges were liberated on this refuge last spring and they are doing well. Several species of ducks are nesting along the river and Wilson or jacksnipe are plentiful.
William Hill, one of the farmers in the reserve, reported that he has a flock of pheasants on his farm with two pure white ones among them. When he first saw them, he thought they were leghorn chickens, but they flew away with the rest of the flock and were good fliers.
CHINESE PHEASANTS IN UMATILLA COUNTY.
Dr. J. B. Plamondon, of Athena, reports that the Chinese pheasants which were liberated in his locality during the fall of 1913 are doing well. Several coveys of young birds have been seen lately. He reports about fifty young birds on the Barrett ranch, which is part of the Pine creek refuge. A number of nests of eggs were found after the stubble had been burned over.
‘‘The method of farming in this section, which is almost entirely sum- mer fallowing and burning the stubble in the spring, has nearly destroyed the prairie chicken and I fear will greatly retard the increase of the Chin- ese pheasant.’’
Page twenty
CLOSED SEASONS
Sportsmen must distinguish between game birds
that are protected and illegal to shoot and those for
which there is an open season.
The Oregon law protects the female Chinese,
Ring-necked or Denny pheasant.
Sportsmen must distinguish between the three
varieties of quail that inhabit Oregon (see descrip-
tion on page nine). The open season on moun-
tain or plumed and California or valley quail is from
October 1 to October 31, inclusive. There is no open
season on bobwhite quail. There is also no open
season on California or valley quail any place in
the Willamette valley because these birds have re-
cently been introduced and they are being protected
for stocking purposes.
There is no open season in eastern Oregon for
Chinese pheasants. There is slso no open season in
the following counties west of the Cascades for
Chinese pheasants: Jackson, Josephine, Coos, Curry, Clatsop and Tillamook.
Wood ducks and wild pigeons are protected for
five years under the Federal laws.
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CONTENTS
The Oregon Sportsman, October, 1914 Volume II - Number 10
Copyright 1914, by William L. Finley
Chinese Pheasants, Frontispiece in Color
By ‘Be Bruce elo rsialie sel strep ed cen oaeee Sy echelon isi the Move a Gamer Bird? —— Editorial! eee
MhesCateeroblem—By- Dirs Walmer soit Ome =. aii res ree
Black-Spotted or Cutthroat Trout—Clark Trout
By John. Gill. te. Scien) Gh bie Pesan ees ne er eae anor Additional Sportsmen’s Organizations in Oregon........ Burrowaine sOwl’s Storehouse at eka ee ee eee
Mme: Lable tor thes Em tino “Season. eee ieee
Winter Game Conditions in the Steens Mountains
By oF. GELS Paw ee... tc. ie ese tae ok res eae ee Do Fish Suffer Pain When Hooked?—By C. K. Cranston. . Reports, on ‘GamerBirds duiberatede: ne neue eee Hungarian -Paniridees ant Coos, @oumliy nace ate ined ieee
Elk indlaincolt County sc Sel rereice ines Sees nee
Wald -Rice- in Umeattililah Couityncce san chlo hice raee cer aaceeeree 19 Bobeat Freed: Dy -@oyotes. 2 t. nigptan 34 sian ite ee ee 20 Bik im lane and; Curry -Coumties mt). sca Saas aire ee rcs 20 Deer in Wmatillar Copmnit yo 0% 2 eee ce eng ee oe 20 Open Season’ for) Chumese iP he asa ties oc eieciteees, were nee 20 What, Are: You: Doing. to tHelpa 1: 26 ta eine ree eae 21
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Male and Female Chinese or Denny Pheasant
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The Oregon Sportsman
Volume II OCTOBER, 1914 Number 10
IS THE DOVE A GAME BIRD?
As the interest increases in wild bird protection more atten- tion has been given to the study of these creatures from an eco- nomic standpoint. In some localities in Oregon farmers are demanding the rigid protection of game birds like the bobwhite . and other insect and weed-seed eating birds as an aid to larger and better crops.
There is a growing sentiment throughout the United States for the removal of the dove from the list of game birds. Two reasons are advanced for this action, one is from a sentimental standpoint, the other from an economic point of view.
In an editorial treating of the Value of Birds on the Farm the Editor of Forest and Stream says:
‘“One of the game birds, the mourning dove, is especially worthy of mention as a useful seed-eating bird. While the dove sometimes takes grain, most of this seems to be waste grain taken after harvesting is over. These birds are most abundant, how- ever, in waste lands where weeds abound, turkey mullein forming one of their favorite foods, while tumble weed and mustard are also eaten extensively.
‘““The immense numbers of weed seeds destroyed by these birds is shown in the fact that the stomach of one dove contained 9200 seeds of different weeds, while the stomachs of two other doves contained 6400 and 7500 respectively. If three doves at one meal can destroy 23,100 weed seeds and thus prevent the spread of that many noxious weeds, how much good could be accomplished by the doves on one farm in one county or through- out the state.
**In the United States alone the annual loss from weeds has been estimated at $400,000,000. -In the face of these startling figures we can well realize the importance of protecting the useful seed-eating birds, one of nature’s best means of checking just such losses.’’
Page three
THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
THE CAT PROBLEM
By DR. WITMER STONE
Curator Academy of Natural Sciences Philadelphia, Pa.
Splendid results have been attained during the past year toward the better protection of wild birds and animals. It seems high time that we take up a phase of the subject that comes near home to every household in the country. This is the cat question. There is, I think, no doubt that for years past the greatest destructive agency to our smaller song and insectivorous birds has been the eat.
In an editorial in ‘‘Forest and Stream’’ for November 15, 1913, that is well worth reading, the subject is taken up from the standpoint of the sportsman and the destruction of young and adult quail effected by cats is rated as great as that from any other agency. ‘“‘The English keeper,’’ the writer says, ‘‘ well understands the injury done in the preserves by the domestic cat and wages against it a war as bitter, and as uncompromising, as that which he carries on against the stoat or any of the hawks.’”’
The number of stray cats at large in the United States is enormous. It is stated in ‘‘Bird Lore’’ that the number put out of existence in New York City by the Society for Prevention of Cruelty of Animals during the first nine months of 1905 totaled 03,938! The stray cats are usually the worst offenders and if means could be adopted to effect their slaughter and to instruct people in the danger that they inflict upon bird life by allowing cats to run wild and leaving them behind when they move | away, some good would be accomplished. The whole question of the economic value of the cat, it seems to us, would be a valuable line of investigation. If the destruction of mice offsets the destruction of game and insectivorous birds, then the cat deserves consideration, but if the keeping of cats is to be regarded as merely a ‘‘luxury,’’ or if they are proven to be more noxious than beneficial to wild life, then their possession should be guarded with stringent restrictions, or taxation.
Is it not time that organizations of sportsmen, Audubon societies and the Department of Agriculture join forces in giving the cat question serious attention?
Page four
THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
BLACK-SPOTTED OR: CUTTHROAT
TROUT---CLARK TROUT (SALMO CLARKII)
Life History, Habits and Recognition Marks of this Important Trout of Western Waters
By JOHN GILL
Captain William Clark, of the Lewis and Clark expedition, was first to describe this great trout of Pacific waters. The Captain knew the eastern brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) very well, and the great lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) which to most of us on the west coast is an entire stranger. Both these trout, natives of eastern American waters— the former found in most streams north of the Ohio river from the Rocky mountain summit to Labrador, as well as in the lakes of the Adirondack region, Canada and New England, and the lake trout in lakes only, appear- ing in unexpected localities from Lake Superior to Moosehead—were evi. dently placed in Clark’s zoology. Their markings differ greatly, but in both the spots and bars are of a buff yellow on a dusky general tint; though fontinalis has certain brilliant additional spots of glowing crimson, and is more highly-colored and beautiful—or so most writers say. I will no longer subscribe to this opinion. The Clark trout is more graceful in form, and not less beautiful in color, though not so gaudy.
When the Captain saw this western trout he recognized it as a member of the great salmo family, and was evidently astonished at the reversal of the color-markings as compared with eastern trout. Its spots were black, on an amber and olive background.
Most of us Oregon anglers have had far greater opportunity than Captain Clark had to note the peculiarities of the ‘‘Cutthroat’’; but you may stand at Constantine’s aquarium any day and hear men and boys. discussing the trout therein, many stoutly maintaining that the one eastern brook trout now in the tank is ‘‘just the same’’ as the score of black- spotted trout. They know (or say they do) that they have caught the former whenever they have fished our westside streams. It takes about five minutes’ argument and demonstration to make these confident ob- servers perceive that the spots on the one fontinalis are buff; and on all the others black.
All but one of our five Pacific trout are thus black-spotted. The exception is the Dolly Varden, a char like the eastern brook and lake trout, and spotted less profusely with buff markings and a few rosy spots.
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
HIS HABITAT.
Naturalists derive thirteen varieties from the parent stock, inhabiting all coast streams from southeastern Alaska to northern California, and eastward to the headwaters of the Columbia and Rio Grande. Some mem- bers of this family have even crossed the Rocky mountains and inhabit the high tributaries of the Missouri. How the trout crossed the mountains is too long a story for this brief article.
A Native Son Angling in the McKenzie
The Cutthroat seems to be most abundant on the west side of the Caseades and Sierras. In western Willamette tributaries and coast rivers it is the only trout save the Steelhead and the Mason’s trout. The latter is not found west of the Coast range, in my experience.
Many of the lakes high in the Cascades, Blue mountains and Sierras also are peopled by this fish, and in some lakes nearer sea level it grows to very large size. Old millponds on streams of the Willamette valley and westward are usually stocked with Cutthroat of a pound weight and more ~ in large numbers, but from such ponds they are mostly caught with bait. When the water is ruffled by a breeze on a warm afternoon, they will frequently take the fly handsomely.
TRAITS OF THE CUTTHROAT.
Some of his characteristics are sufficiently distinct to make it a simple matter to recognize the Clarkii. Head length (as compared to the total length) is one of the permanent anatomical indications. Its length is con- tained a little less than four times in the length of the body; or its head is a little more than one-fifth of its entire length. This is about one-sixth greater than that of Rainbow, Steelhead or Mason’s trout or western Ore- gon brook trout (if there is any such fish), as some of our great and
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uncertain naturalists call the fifth member of the family. There is but one other to consider—and if you cannot distinguish Dolly Varden from the others after your first opportunity for comparison, give yourself no further trouble to get acquainted with any of our trout. Your case is hopeless.
The mouth is relatively bigger, and cut farther back than any but the Dolly Varden. You’ll see by opening the lower jaw without stretching abnormally that the angle of the opening extends a bit behind the center of the eye pupil. In the Steelhead-Rainbow tribe the mouth angle at the same distension reaches only to the front line of pupil.
Books descriptive of our trout say nothing about a very distinctive feature of the Clark trout, but which seems to be an ‘‘easy mark.’’ Ob- serve his eye! It is smaller than the Rainbow’s. It protrudes from the socket very prominently. The dark olive color of the upper part of the head extends over the iris almost to the edge of the pupil, and then a very narrow golden band lies at the inner edge of the iris. Even the spots peculiar to the skin of the head are present on the outer margin of the iris.
In marked contrast, the eyes of Rainbow, Steelhead and Dolly Varden are large, staring, and the iris of a pale yellow in a wide circle unmarked by spots and shading. The full, prominent eye of the Clark trout is mobile —more so than in other species. Trout cannot roll their eyes in their orbits, as we do, but the eye is built up beneath by a muscular cushion, and this swings the eye as if set in a ‘‘universal joint.’’ Perhaps you have noticed that the pupils are never exactly round in the eyes of trout, but balloon or pear-shaped.
The tail of the Cutthroat is rounded at the tip of each lobe and roundly indented in the middle of the margin. Steelhead and Rainbow are very different (in adult fish) and both are frequently called ‘‘square-tailed’’ because of the straight line of the tail end.
Another reliable but troublesome anatomical test of the Clark trout is the number of seales in a continuous row from head to tail. This trout has about 170. The Rainbow and Steelhead have about 135 in a row.
COLOR AND MARKS.
These vary greatly, and correspond so closely at certain times, and in certain conditions, to the colors and markings of Rainbow and Steelhead that you cannot depend on these tokens. Taken in quiet, deep pools, much shaded, all trout are much darker in general color and spots. From such waters you may look for deep olive or brownish general color above and very little white on the belly; the dusky color reaching almost entirely around the fish. The fins also are darker and spots very numerous, large and black. Cheeks are deep olive and purple.
But fish of this species taken in rapid, shallow streams, with light, gravelly or rocky bottom are amber in color with a greenish reflection, and
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all the colors are paler and more delicate; and the opercle gleams like a splendid opal.
There is yet another phase of color. The sea-run specimens which we catch in the Coast streams in the later autumn months are so different in color that most anglers scoff at the statement, from whatever source, that the ‘‘salmon trout’’ is a ‘‘Cutthroat.’’ ‘‘* * * convinced against his will, he’s of the same opinion still.’’
I am sure that nearly all our so-called salmon trout are Cutthroats. Though they may seem spotless, pure silver at a first glance, you can see all the characteristic markings—faintly as through a veil—if you will hold the fish in certain lights. The spots are there; but please understand that the spots of all our trout are not on their scales, but on the skin beneath. They are veiled by the rich accumulation of silver acquired in their life in the sea.
A short stay in the fresh water removes this silver coating, and each scale becomes as transparent as glass, and then you see the spots plainly through the scales.
Still unconvinced? Well, prove it for yourself. Put a few ‘‘salmon trout’’ in their silver coats into a box of slats and leave them anchored in a river. In a few days or weeks you will find your trout all alive and well, but transformed to fish which you will not doubt a moment to be genuine Cutthroats.
The peculiar distinctive trait which has given this species its rather objectionable name ‘‘Cutthroat,’’ is the pair of red bars or stripes underside the lower jaw or mandible. There is a fold in the skin on each side under the jaw, and when the skin is distended these folds usually show a vivid red bar within, which is a narrow stripe, but still quite striking when the folds are not distended. This bar is redder and wider on the Cutthroat than any other trout; but the Rainbow and Mason’s trout both show a pink or red band or stripe in the same fold. This red mark is redder in a Rain- bow when that fish is in his brightest colors, at spawning time, than in the Cutthroat when the latter is in his paler dress; therefore it is often. a cause of confusion.
The Cutthroat in the sea-run or silver condition is almost free of this red throat band; it has paled to a faint pink, and ean hardly be noticed except by opening the fold in the jaw. The mark disappears from the Rainbows for months after the spawning season, but seems to be more con- stant in the Cutthroat, and at most times more prominent.
Will the honorable angler—naturalist—reader accept my proposal to eall this fish Clark trout? That name would be brief, definite and logical, and would dispose of the murderous ‘‘Cutthroat,’’ which is equally descrip- tive of the Rainbow, and ‘‘black-spotted,’’ which confuses the Clark trout with every other western trout, except Dolly Varden. |
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
THE BLACK SPOT.
The black spot which is a trait of this Clark trout, is usually larger and darker on this than the three others, which are also black-spotted. The spots are not quite black, and indeed they become in certain conditions a pale dusky hue. They vary also greatly as to number in different indi- viduals, some being thickly sprinkled and others sparsely. Males are more distinctly spotted. I think no man can recognize this trout by his spots alone; yet the spots in their placing, color and peculiarities seem to have a special character—to ‘‘belong’’ to each variety—though it would be hard to say just why. Anglers of Cascade streams have a better chance for comparison than those who, like myself, fish almost wholly in the Coast streams, where we never see a Rainbow or Dolly.
THE SMOLT STAGE,
In April in many westside streams your flies are seized by myriads of little fingerlings that rush eagerly upon them, frequently preventing your catching one legal fish in a day. If you have patience to examine these innocents you’ll see that they are as silvery as the big sea-run trout of early winter. Many are young salmon, and not distinguishable by spots or marking from trout. You can easily know them by examining the anal fin. In all trout of whatever species you will find not more than eleven (usually ten) rays or bones in this fin not counting two short, rudimentary ones at the forward margin. In all the salmon there are sixteen—or not less than fourteen in any case.
These smolts, if salmon, we know to be on their way to the sea. The trout in this stage are believed to be making their journey seaward too; but it appears incredible that these little fish of less than an ounce in weight will return only six months later weighing ten to twenty ounces; yet this is the belief of many naturalists.
If true, it is hardly more marvelous than the growth of the salmon. I have examined the seale-markings on Chinook salmon almost three years old, the specimen weighing then less than one pound. These were reared in captivity at Bonneville, and were not half as big as their brethren who had gone to sea as smolts, six or eight months old. But similar examination of many Chinooks taken from the sea show weights under three pounds at three years old; yet the biggest salmon I examined in 1913, weighing above seventy pounds, showed by microscopic examination of the scales an age of but four-and-a-half years!
Other tests made last year showed many fish six years old and upward, which weighed only twenty to thirty pounds. None so far are reported among our western salmon of over seven years old. In Scotland, where many thousand tests have been made, no salmon of above eight years old (by the scale test) has been seen.
It appears certain, and is but natural, that greater numbers of Cutthroat trout go to sea from Oregon waters than any other trout. Streams of the
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
Coast region are populated almost entirely by the Cutthroat, and though Rainbow and Dolly Varden are abundant in the seas of Alaska, our trout of these species, most in streams east of the Cascades, seem to be too remote from the sea to descend from so great a distance in great numbers. A few months given to careful investigation would solve many important ques- tions pertaining to migration of trout to the sea and their return to the streams. HABITS OF CUTTHROAT TROUT.
Their habits change with their growth, as ours. The fry, as soon as they have become free of the egg sac, live mostly in the shallows at the margin of the streams. This is their only chance of safety, fur the big trout and other fish cannot and dare not pursue the fry into these shallows.
At six months old they have become able to take care of themselves by darting and dodging out of the way of their enemies, but they still seek comparative safety in shallow rapids, where they feed on insects and little creatures of the water. In very favorable conditions a Cutthroat of one year old is six inches long, but most are smaller. In cold and rapid waters and little spring-brooks they grow slowly, but when full-grown in such waters rarely exceed eight inches. This is true of all our trout in such conditions, many being adult, spawning fish even of this small size.
Until their second year all trout and salmon bear ‘‘parr’’ marks—six to nine broad vertical marks of a bluish hue. Most of us know these parr marks, for we catch more parrs than ‘‘fish.’’
At two years old they are adult, eight to twelve inches long, and spawn for the first time. Then the males are in darker and more vivid colors, and often purple or rosy-sided, which confuses them with the Rainbows. The males also acquire a considerable increase of length of jaw, and the upper jaw becomes slightly crooked, like the jaw of the breeding salmon, but not nearly so exaggerated. These trout and all their kind spawn in the upper waters and small streams, in the fall months in most rivers, but in some very high mountain waters—especially lakes—after the ice meits im spring.
The habits of the kind of Cutthroat which we most admire—say a fish of a pound or more, may be said to be despicable. This fish is too wise by far. He will not even rise to a struggling grasshopper on the surface in streams much fished. In great pools ten feet deep or more you may see him with a dozen of his kind, balancing and wavering in-the clear green flood, close to the bottom, darting out now and then upon some luckless minnow or drifting insect. You try all your wiles in vain. He may start upward a foot or two when your flies first touch the water, but even that moment of hope soon passes. I shall not try to tell you how to catch him. If I knew I should catch him myself.
On some rare day you may find him off his guard. It happens once in a while—quite too rarely. I remember one April day—but if I told the
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story it wouldn’t be credited and it wouldn’t enlighten the reader regarding the ‘‘habits’’ of Clark’s trout. To be sure, Indians used to catch them even without a hook.
When it is my luck to take a Cutthroat of a foot long or over my flies have usually got out of my sight, carried by the stream into some deep eddy whose surface I have fished in vain; perhaps drifted under a great uprooted tree. Then a sudden straightening of the line warns me, or that sense that surely is not sight nor feeling impels me to strike! In such a happy moment the Clark trout is quite the equal of any trout in fighting qualities. F
SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST.
Nature provides for the perpetuation of races by a vast progeny. Ax the seeds of a single thistle may sow an acre, so the eggs of a few fish, if all should grow to maturity, would populate a river. But a monstrous proportion of all species are destined to be food for their own or other tribes, especially in their fry stage.
The infant trout that slinks under the stone or later seeks the thin shallow at the margin of the stream, becomes active and quick in turning when he is six months old and perhaps three inches long. Ninety out of every hundred have been eaten before this growth is attained. Nine out of ten of these will go to fill the maw of larger fish. These little ones are feeding on smaller ones of their own and other kinds.
As a swallow escapes the hawk, so these little fish often escape their big enemies—as a boy of ten outruns or outwits a man of forty.
But the two-pounder lying in the deep, dark pool under the log, too erafty to take the risk of rising for our flies, has a keen appetite and good digestion. He will easily swallow a fish half his own length or a frog or erawfish. When so gorged he pays no attention to a trifling feather toy ten feet above him on the surface, but may deign to take a dessert of a worm or shrimp that the current brings down to his lair.
. The big ones drive the next smaller out of the deepest and safest hovers, and these dispossess the next smaller from less desirable haunts.
By late August anglers ask each other, ‘‘Where have the big trout gone?’’ If we could swim the long, dark pools like the mink with his keen cyes, we could readily answer. The clearness of the stream in late summer and the meagre flow of water drives the wary patriarch to the shade of the inaccessible drift-pile, the big spring in the river bottom, and the lazy pool, just freshened by the current that searches the crannies of the bank and the hollows among the rocks.
No trout rushes at the artificial fly so fiercely as the fingerling salmon in April. And the attack of these is very different from that of trout. The latter rush upward from the depths, and if they miss being hooked plunge vertically down again. The young salmon seems to be in the air before the flies touch the water. They dash in horizontal ares, swift, silver-
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flashing, upon the lure, which usually is so stiffly fuzzy that they cannot mouth it, fortunately. Ten in a second will have a try at the hackle, and in ten seconds all have ‘‘got wise,’’ and not another sign of life will you get in that spot. These salmon fry are devoured in vast numbers i the Cutthroat and Rainbow trout.
The Cutthroat is not a leaper when hooked, and only small fish will leap out of water at your fly, attempting to knock it under water before it can take wing. The large fish are wondrous shy. But I am relating the experience and observation of the unfortunate modern city angler who fishes only streams that are overfished—streams blighted by the motorcycle and automobile. It may be that ‘‘way up the North Fork’’ the big Clark trout are yearning for our arrival and ready to take any fly we offer them, even in midday’s blazing sun.
ADDITIONAL SPORTSMEN’S ORGANIZATIONS IN OREGON.
'(Note—Since the publication of the list of sportsmen’s clubs in our April and June issues, we have received the following additions and changes. Information concerning changes of officers or clubs will be ap- preciated as we desire to keep the list up to date——Editor.)
Baker County.
Huntington Rod and Gun Club, Huntington—T. J. Thurston, President; J. M. Cunningham, Secretary; W. H. Lambert, Treasurer; F. M. Cough, Field Manager.
Haines Rod and Gun Club—Rodger Biswell, President; W. D. Beck, Secretary.
New Bridge Rod and Gun Club—W. E. Martin, President; Barney Eidson, Secretary and Treasurer.
Pine Valley Rod and Gun Club, Halfway—George Gillett, President; A. V. Lansing, Vice-President; Frank Cromwell, Secretary and Treasurer.
The Richland Rod and Gun Club, Richland—William L. Flower, Presi- dent; Charles E. Barber, Vice-President; W. G. Raley, Secretary and Treas- urer.
Clackamas County.
Estacada Rod and Gun Club, Estacada—Hugh Mendenhall, President; Cecil Schock, Secretary; F. Jorg, Treasurer.
Douglas County. Riddle Rod and Gun Club—R. C. Geer, President; Will Q. Beem Vice- President; J. P. Gardner, Secretary-Treasurer.
Union County.
Wing, Fin and Fleetfoot Club, La Grande—L. M. Hoyt, President; J. T. Williamson, Vice-President; A. A. Wenzle, Secretary; C. R. Harding, Treasurer.
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Medical Springs Rod and Gun Club, Medical Springs—James Wirth, President; P. J. Powers, Secretary and Treasurer.
North Powder Rod and Gun Club, North Powder—Chris Johnson, President; J. T. Hobbs, Vice-President; L. B. Russell, Secretary and Treasurer.
Summerville Rod and Gun Club, Summerville—Alex. McKenzie, Presi- dent; J. M. Choate, Vice-President; D. R. McKenzie, Secretary and Treasurer.
Fern Hobbs Rod and Gun Club, Cove—Logan E. Anderson, President; Hugh McCall, Secretary and Treasurer.
Wallowa County. The Lostine Rod and Gun Club, Lostine—J. H. Jackson, President; A. C. Beers, Secretary. Flora Rod and Gun Club, Flora—Dr. George B. King, President; W. C. Moore, Vice-President; H. C. Davis, Secretary-Treasurer.
Grant County.
Long Creek Rod and Gun Club, Long Creek—G. C. Conger, President; Phil Newmyer, Vice-President; E. A. Shields, Secretary.
Monument Rod and Gun Club, Monument—F. W. Cupper, President; G. R. Wagner, Vice-President; W. E. White, Secretary.
Austin Rod and Gun Club, Austin—N. L. Taliaferro, President; Jack Edwards, Vice-President; George Seymore, Secretary.
Malheur County.
Ontario Rod and Gun Club, Ontario—W. H. Doolittle, President; D. M. Taggert, Vice-President; C. E. Boyer, Secretary and Treasurer.
BURROWING OWL’S STOREHOUSE.
Mr. F. H. Faweett, of Narrows, Harney county, reports the following about the nesting of a pair of burrowing owls in his locality, which shows this bird is of economic value in destroying harmful animals:
‘*One hole, which extended back about six feet and at a depth of about sixteen inches from the surface, seemed to be the storeroom and contained five mice, two gophers, one ‘‘sage rat,’’ one young jackrabbit, one crawfish and one beetle. These were buried in dry horse manure which lined the entire length of the burrow.
‘‘About eighty yards distant was another burrow six or eight feet in length and thirty inches below the surface, containing a nest with ten eggs. The nest was composed of dry horse and cow manure, considerable of the material being scattered about the opening and along the burrow. One dead frog was found just outside.
‘*Sinee the one pair of owls was all we could locate in the vicinity, it is quite evident the commissary and the nest belong to the same pair.’’
‘
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
TIME TABLE FOR THE HUNTING SEASON.
The federal law for the protection of migratory birds pro- vides that it is unlawful to shoot between sunset and sunrise. For the benefit of sportsmen in game district No. 1, which com- prises western Oregon, District Forecaster E. A. Beals of the Weather Bureau has furnished the following table for the guid- ance of duck hunters during the coming season:
Date, 1914. Time of sunrise. Time of sunset. Sept. B75 eee ae ee 6:05: 5:59 OG iti 2 eA ict Gea ey eS ame ee ae 6:13 5:46 OGb i aka ee eee eae ee 6:23 aoe 0 0) FaaNe Ut POM en eee gumAenen Ut an ata ae Kinard 6:32 520 OCEX GDR es cl oh beeen eed 6:42 5:08 Bt 0S ARM RNR A sects, nS et eee te is 6:52 4:57 TAG aaa pe CR ay AR aR a) Oh nei Saas is 7:02 4:48 IN OS Asse a hes er Ee vie iret ocho 2, 4:40 SIN OV Dns Sane asreorsvee ec reece keen Por MR tea els 4:33 INOW ccs 30 eg yee (Sao) 4:29 Dée:;, Grizah te cite eee eee 7:38 4:26 DEC. Vara eee eh eee aes eaas 7:45 4:26 DGG 220) 5 ia face sate NEE ER ua ee 7:50 4:28
Date, 1915. JAD Sete eevee cai hie te ea ae 1 BG} 4:38 Sane OR Betietere vere dogs ere teen ae ate 1:52 4:46 =] rs Wa enter PRR ARON AAS rN hy) 6 A 7:48 4:55
For the guidance of those sportsmen in district No. 2, eastern Oregon, the following table has been furnished by the office of the Weather Bureau at Baker:
Date, 1914. Time of sunrise. Time of sunset. Sep ting? (ie Peg aoe eee a, eee 5:44 5:39 Ot? ca4 eA esas ere Kol} 5:27 Oot en ener Pear mae 6:02 5:14 OCH ASE As TEENS AE Os a ee Mae ae 6:11 5:02 Ooty: 25. ee Ee a eee 6:20 4:50 INONs (oie ie ets Facies Re ee 6:30 4:40 ING es itiBee wai dos cpaleeh oe Uns cia BRA 6:39 4:30 NOV: Uae Rapier are gehen ce ame eaes 6:49 4:22 INO 2 Oeste NaS ae NEE G8, eee a 6:58 4:16 Novs:29}8 4. Be iam Sa ero TOG 4:12 Dees! G.rvnwiee eee Set eee 7:15 4:10 Dee. USN oer eee ee oe ee aera (OPAL 4:10 Die Ge. Qe 28s.25 i Se ee cack ce enone 7:26 4:12. Dee. OT So ele sale erate 7:29 4:16
Date, 1915. ‘ JeATs, (1 Sete ice ase Ma be ln aerate 7:30 4:22 Janet 2Oe Ge oR at ade 2 ere eee 7:28 4:29 Jam. PTA Facets oe ae ee 7:29 4:38
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
WINTER GAME CONDITIONS IN THE STEENS MOUNTAINS
BY F. H. FAWCETT Deputy Game Warden, Narrows, Oregon
On the 19th day of last January deputy game warden F. W. Triska and I started from Burns, Oregon, for the purpose of studying game conditions during the winter in the Steens mountains and surrounding country.
When we left Burns the ground was covered with a foot or more of well-packed snow and to this was being added a new coat. - The first night was spent at Lawen, some twenty miles to the southeast, at which place the snow was six or eight inches deep. During the next forenoon, as we journeyed south, the snow fell so thick and fast we could scarcely see our way. We nooned at Waverly, having traveled but fourteen miles during the half day. About three o’clock in the afternoon we found ourselves on bare ground, and when we reached the James Mahon ranch, in Anderson valley, that evening we found the ground dry and no snow in sight except on the hills.
A day was spent at the Mahon ranch in a vain endeavor to find some of the twelve Chinese pheasants that were liberated at this place last summer. While there is an abundance of shelter in the way of willows, Tye grass, ete., we could see no feed for these fowls. Coyote tracks were noticeable everywhere and, following up Camp creek to the snow, we there saw a few wildcat tracks.
On the divide between Anderson valley and the Juniper ranch, we found the snow from six inches to a foot in depth with drifts three or four feet deep at the head of Juniper grade. At Juniper lake there was but little snow though the lake itself was covered with about a foot of clear ice. The waters of this lake are but slightly alkaline and, being fed by a mountain stream, I believe it should be stocked with fish. At present, there are no fish in any of the waters of this section.
While camping at Mann lake on the 24th, snow fell to the ee of four or five inches, but did not lie long in the valley.
Along the foothills to the west of Mann lake and the Alvord country are a series of thermal springs about which feed is plentiful throughout the year, and here lies one of the favored winter ranges of the mule deer. Several days were spent in this locality and many deer were seen. We climbed well up into the Steens where the snow was several feet deep, but the only animal life found there was the porcupine which exists on juniper berries, bark of trees, ete. We had hoped to locate a few mountain sheep in this section but were not successful.
At the Alvord ranch we were able to locate five of the twelve Chinese pheasants liberated there last year. The ones seen are all females, three of which stay about in the orchard with the chickens. It appears to me
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that if there were two or three males placed with them this spring it would insure the establishment of this colony. Large flocks of mountain and valley quail are scattered about over the ranch and during the heavy snows. in the early part of the winter were fed by Mr. F. H. Clerf, owner of the ranch. We found about two thousand mallard ducks and a few Canada geese wintering along the lower end of the Alvord ranch, bordering the Alvord desert, where there are a number of large, open ponds.
Two cow elk, remnant of the Devine herd, were seen on the foothills back of the ranch. They are in excellent condition and were a male put with them I see no ‘reason why a herd could not be built up at this place. The range is ideal and Mr. Clerf offers them protection.
Some six or eight miles to the east of Mann Lake is a group of hills upon which but little, if any, snow lies during the winter. At their eastern base are a number of hot springs and it is claimed this was once the winter range of the mountain sheep. We were unable to locate any of these animals, but did find a few deer and antelope on the western slope. We were informed that about ten head of mountain sheep were seen two or three years ago on Sheephead mountain, ten or fifteen miles to the northeast, but our time being limited, we could not extend our search to that region.
Along the foothills of the Steens, near Wild Horse, we found the feed good and many deer wintering. From this point, we climbed to the tops. of several high peaks still in the hope of finding mountain sheep, but were unable to sight any, though I feel confident a few still inhabit this portion of the Steens.
At the W. D. Huffman ranch and at other places in the Wild Horse section, quail are often fed during severe weather.
In the valley near Serrano Point are hundreds vf acres of land covered more or less with a dense growth of buck brush, a shrub resembling somewhat the wild mahogany, which is laden with berries during late summer and fall, some of which were still clinging to the bushes at the time of our visit; furnishing an abundance of food for the quail and other birds that abound there. These berries are tart and make an excellent jelly. In these thickets the deer rear their young, but at this season of — the year no deer are to be found there.
Many persons contend that deer from the Steens Toa eaane cross the Alvord desert and winter in the low hills to the east of the White Horse ranch, but we were unable to locate any considerable number there. While riding that range we noted a few wolf tracks.
Quantities of grain are now being raised in the vicinity of Trout creek, and I believe that to be a suitable place for the planting of the Chinese pheasant and bobwhite quail. Quite a few California quail and a few deer are to be found on the Trout creek ranch. Trout creek itself, once noted for being one of the best trout streams of southeastern Oregon, was. visited by a waterspout last summer and, like the Blitzen river, was gutted the entire length and the majority of the fish destroyed.
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
On the divide between Field’s station and Catlow valley, we saw numerous signs of the sage hen. It is in this section that many of these birds do their nesting. Their chief disturbance, of late years, seems to have been the bands of sheep that are grazed there during the early spring.
Along the foothills bordering Catlow valley on the east is one of the very best winter ranges now afforded the mule deer of this section. The native bunch grass here abounds in its original splendor, numerous springs issue from the hillside and the mountain above is fringed with juniper timber. It is about the rimrocks of this district that the trapper reaps a harvest of wild cats during the winter months.
Very little snow falls in Catlow valley and this was, until recently, the winter range of thousands of antelope, but the valley is now being rapidly settled and these beautiful animals will have to seek pasture elsewhere. The southern portion of the valley, which is least settled, still supports a considerable number, but in the northern portion we were able to find but one band of twenty-two. While still in this valley, on the 14th day of February, we saw a few Canada geese just returned from the south.
When we returned to Burns on the 21st of February we found the place still buried with a foot of snow.
DO FISH SUFFER PAIN WHEN HOOKED?
Some time ago, while fly casting for rainbow trout on Meacham creek, an incident occurred which strengthens my belief that trout and salmon do not experience acute pain or shock by reason of the wounds which they receive when captured by the angler. This is the second almost identical example which I have observed and it seems to me to bear out this theory so strongly I feel impelled to relate it in detail in the belief that it will prove interesting to your readers.
On the occasion in question I was fishing in company with Edgar Aver- ill, district deputy warden, and I showed him the fish which I took and which illustrated the point, and he can fully corroborate my statements as to the facts.
The small and medium sized trout were rising pretty frequently but they were making a lot of false motions, so that but a small proportion of the ‘‘rises’’ proved to be ‘‘strikes.’’. At one cast I ‘‘raked’’ a fish good and hard but the hold evidently tore out, for my cast came back to me empty when the strength of the rod was given to it.
Within the space of a few minutes and within a yard or so of where this fish had been hooked and ‘‘raked’’ I hooked and killed a small trout about eight inches in length. As I. took the fish in my hand, to disen- gage the fly and kill it, I noticed something wrong on its side just back of the gill opening. A closer examination revealed the astounding fact that the body cavity of the fish was torn open by a fresh wound sufficiently large to cause the stomach and other organs of the fish to protrude through the opening, and nearly half of the stomach was actually hanging
Page seventeen
THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
on the outside of the fish’s body when it had struck my fly the second time and been hooked in the extreme end of its lips and been gathered in. I feel certain, from all the circumstances, that the wounded fish was the same one that I had previously ‘‘raked,’’ and this incident seems to me to prove that this wound, which would have caused a fatal shock to a mammal or bird, did not produce sufficient pain or discomfort to the fish to make it suspend its active search for and seizure of food.
The other similar incident which I referred to happened a number of years ago on the Umatilla, and in that case the fish was wounded in a slightly different part of its abdomen so that, instead of the stomach, the liver was hanging outside the body when I took the trout in my hand to take it from the hook. C. K. CRANSTON,
Pendleton, Oregon.
REPORTS ON GAME BIRDS LIBERATED.
Good reports have come from various parts of the state concerning the birds that were liberated from the state game farm early in the year.
Mr. J. H. Booth, of Roseburg, says that on the 2500-acre game refuge where six pairs of Hungarian partridges were liberated they stayed about the prune orchard and alfalfa field. When the alfalfa was cut the first time they found two nests. When it was cut the second time they found three nests. All the nests were preserved and the eggs hatched, and at the present time they have five large coveys.
One nest of Hungarian partridges which Roy Booth saw contained twenty eggs. This is a remarkably large setting. The largest previous record was a nest of eighteen eggs near Salem.
Mr. H. K. Hocked, of Yonealla, Douglas county, reports that he fre- quently sees the Reeves’ pheasants which were liberated in that locality. There were fifteen to twenty young birds in a flock which was seen during the summer.
J. B. Welch reports that he saw a covey of nine Hungarian partridges on Cedar island between Portland and Oregon City on August 4. The birds were quite small, showing that it was either a second hatching or a very late brood. This is the second covey of Hungarian partridges that has been seen in that locality. Another covey of twelve or fourteen was seen near Jennings Lodge.
On August 3, S. G. Jewett saw three Hungarian partridges near Reed college, all of which were mature birds.
Mr. T. C. Queen, secretary of the Dufur Rod and Gun Club, says that the Chinese pheasants liberated in his locality have done remarkably well
Page eighteen
THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
during the past season. He reports seeing one flock of eighteen young birds.
Dr. L. E. Hibbard, of Burns, who recently visited his old home, eleven miles east of Salem, says that on September 7 he saw a bobwhite quail with a covey of young birds that were not more than one day old. The chicks were so small that they were hardly able to scuttle away in the grass. This is a very late record for the hatching of game birds.
Many reports came in during the latter part of July and the first pait of August telling of Chinese pheasant chicks that had been found, showing also that there were many late broods.
The past summer has been unusually favorable for pheasants and other game birds because there have been no cold, rainy spells.
The young birds observed in August are undoubtedly from second broods inasmuch as the first broods of young birds were seen early in May.
HUNGARIAN PARTRIDGES IN COOS COUNTY.
Mr. A. J. Sherwood, of Coquille, reports that a farmer near that vicin- ity mowed over the nest of a Hungarian partridge in which he counted twelve eggs. He was afraid the bird would not return to the nest, but he went back next day and found thirteen eggs instead of twelve and the bird was still there. Those birds which were liberated last March are doing well, according to reports, and they will make an important addition to the game of that section.
Another farmer near Fairview reports seeing a good covey of young Chinese pheasants belonging to one of the pheasants liberated last spring.
ELK IN LINCOLN COUNTY.
Mr. M. S. Durbin, of the U. 8S. Forest Service, at Waldport, counted a band of twenty-five elk at the head of Drift creek. He says he thinks there are forty or fifty in the entire band and they have been increasing rapidly during the past few years There were several calves during the present season. Another band of twenty elk has been reported by tne forest officers north of Yachats. The forest rangers and guards in Lin- coln have done a great deal toward protecting the elk in that region.
WILD RICE IN UMATILLA COUNTY.
That wild rice as a food for ducks can be grown successfully in the northern part of eastern Oregon has been demonstrated by George Roberts, of Pendleton. Mr. Roberts has a small farm on the Umatilla river, four miles west of Pendleton. Three years ago he planted about five pounds of wild rice. This year he has an acre as a result of the one planting and
the crop is heavy.
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
BOBCAT TREED BY COYOTES.
Dr. L. E. Hibbard, of Burns, Harney county, says that a year ago last winter he saw a bobeat driven to the edge of town by two coyotes. The coyotes acted very much as an ordinary dog does with a house cat. The bobeat took refuge up a telegraph pole. Dr. Hibbard rushed out with a gun, figuring that he could get at least one coyote on the ground and also the bobeat before he came down. He took a shot at one of the coyotes, but missed. At the report of the gun the bobcat jumped from the top of
the pole, landing in the snow, and all three animals escaped.
ELK IN LANE AND CURRY COUNTIES. Ed Anderson and Jack Peterson report that on July 31 they saw fifteen elk, one of which was a ealf, on China creek in western Lane county. John Thomas reports that several elk have been seen quite often crossing the stage road below Gold Beach in Curry county. He also reports
that several calves are with the herd of elk in the Hunters creek district.
DEER IN UMATILLA COUNTY.
Umatilla county hunters have been more successful so far this season than for many years. More deer were killed during the first half of August than were killed last year during August and September.
William McKinney, of Pendleton, believes he has bagged the largest buck killed in Oregon this year. The animal was killed near the Purrington sawmill in Malheur county. It weighed 304 pounds after being dressed
and its antlers had a spread of 37 inches. It was a mule deer.
OPEN SEASON FOR CHINESE PHEASANTS.
The shooting season for Chinese pheasants, Oregon’s greatest game bird, opened Thursday, October 1. The season applies to district No. i except the counties of Jackson, Josephine, Coos and Curry.
It is permissible only to kill the male birds, but hunters by the thou- sand were in the field on the first day and thousands of the fine birds were killed. Reports indicate that the shooting was good, many of the hunters securing the full bag lmit of five birds. The birds were very tame at first and were easily killed, but within a very few ‘days they had become more wary and during the remainder of the season they will be harder to
find and more difficult to shoot.
Page twenty
What are You Doing to Help?
The game warden cannot protect the game without your help. Game laws, like other laws, are of little value unless public sentiment is back of them. The present difficulties of game protection and propagation can be overcome whenever enough
unselfish persons take an active interest in the cause.
In some localities, there is a prejudice against the game laws and their enforcement. A few people regard game laws as a sort of class legislation for the benefit of the sportsman and of no particular advantage to the farmer. This is not true. Game laws are not passed with the idea of furnishing sport for a limited number of people, but to protect useful birds and animals for the benefit of the people as a
whole.
If there were no game laws, there would be no restrictions toward people roaming through the country and hunting at any season of the year. Pot hunters would not only kill game during the breeding season, but destroy birds that are of great economic value to the farmer. With no game laws and all open season, the farmer and land owner would suffer far
more from careless hunters than at present.
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MAHAN
CONTENTS
Copyright 1914, by William L. Finley
Page Where the Bounty Waw Wails—Hditorial. oe o5i4.5-... i Effective Game Protection—Hditorial................. 2 Trapping Timber Wolves—
By Ben 8S. Patton—One ‘le faethe Benes Testes sp Fea eee 4 Variation in Winter and Summer Pelage.............. 9 Birds and Insect Pests—One Illustration.............. 10 Reports on Partridsessand: Quail se eee Regie titer 14 Our Friend—The Shrew—By R. Bruce Horsfall......... 15 INE NAA UO: AWAY GlS Wolke) INCHES so hts Oo ee se dy abs oboe bon 7 Game Conditions sAwomity Avsinikann Cie inn heel ett eee 18 Bear Canght? wath @rawtisi bat, ce. se cit mine see ie ke 19 Closed: Season*on7Sux-aneh wl rout ween sya sare ne ee et 20 IDBWES IBYAOveGlS Gne IPlaeeiSeiouis eiavel Oia, aoa ylooco seco en aban ae 20 Record aim b owe routs cy ouic Aree Se eh ak ane Oo Ek ee St 20 Notesstrom-Kilammatia: Comite sit era cy hi cael etapa ect 20
A MECH AGO eee Ua ee ARS oan rete teres tad AO eae et gee aN Sect ar OF
The Oregon Sportsman Volume II NOVEMBER, 1914 Number 11
WHERE THE BOUNTY LAW FAILS.
A year ago last June the County Clerk of Tillamook county was authorized to pay twenty-five cents apiece bounty on dead gophers and moles. On June 4, 1913, the first payment was made and by July 29, 1913, there were 16,307 dead animals presented for bounty. This made a total of $4,076.75 paid out of the county fund.
Both these animals are exceedingly common over the whole of Tillamook county. The gopher (Thomomys hesperis) is one of the smallest species found in Oregon and lives for the most part in pasture and hay fields where the damage done is com- paratively small.
The mole (Scapanus townsend) is an insectivorous mammal and feeds mainly on worms, grubs and insects. Probably the worst that can be said against these animals in Tillamook county is that during harvest time the mowing machines are badly dulled by cutting through the mounds of loose dirt thrown up in the fields.
We are told that one person made an average of one hun- dred dollars per month trapping moles and gophers in one local- ity where they were abundant. Another person earned about eighty dollars per month. While the moles and gophers were diminished in number in these places, the work was in no way a benefit to the farmers in other parts of the county where little or no trapping was done.
The four thousand dollars which Tillamook county paid in bounties is a poor investment for the following reasons:
First, there is no more reason for a county paying a bounty on moles and gophers than on rats and mice. These are pests that have to be battled with by the individual landowner rather than by the county or state.
Second, if the moles and gophers in Tillamook county were
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
entirely exterminated by the payment of bounties, the bounty method would be considered a success. Within another year or two, moles and gophers will again be as abundant as they were when the bounty law was passed. Tillamook county must con- tinue to pay for moles and gophers each year or the investment fails.
Third, a mole and gopher bounty is an unjust expenditure of public money, because it is only a temporary benefit to a few farmers and not a real help to a large number of taxpayers.
EFFECTIVE GAME PROTECTION.
During the past summer a section foreman on the Southern Pacific Railroad near Gaston called attention to the nest of a Chinese pheasant containing twelve eggs which had been de- stroyed by burning the grass along the right-of-way. He said he found several nests each season which were destroyed because the birds nest within the right-of-way along the railroad and were not discovered until after the grass was burned.
Each spring a large number of nests of game birds are dis- turbed either by the plowing of land or the cutting of grain. In some places, irrigation destroys many nests. We often hear of hen pheasants sitting so close to the nests that they are injured or killed when the hay is cut.
On account of the many accidents during the nesting season and with the many enemies which young birds have, such as hawks, cats and other creatures, it is surprising that our game birds hold their own as well as they do.
Value of the Game Refuge.
Small and large areas of land in various parts of the state that have been set aside as game refuges where no hunting 1s allowed are very important factors in game bird protection. In many of the eastern states where hunters are abundant and wild land is somewhat scarce, the sportsmen have made an especial effort to have certain areas of land set aside as game refuges. We are printing in this issue an account of some of the large game refuges established.in Louisiana. Eight thousand acres of moun- tain land bordering the Delaware river and owned by C. C. Worthington have been offered to the state of New Jersey to
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
form a wild life refuge. A large part of the hunters’ license fund in Pennsylvania is to be used in purchasing certain sections of wild land for game refuges. The Public Domain Commission of Michigan is planning to set aside two hundred thousand acres of wild land, for game refuges. The State Fish and Game Com- mission of Illinois has proposed to purchase the Forest of Arden, a $250,000 estate, and make it a game refuge.
- The state of Oregon has a greater number of game refuges and a greater amount of land set aside for the protection of game than any state in the Union. Some complaint has been made on account of the number of game refuges in this state. The prob- lem of keeping game abundant in the advance of civilization is one that is not easy to solve. In protecting our upland game birds, it is very important that we have certain sections in dif- ferent parts of each county where birds may live and breed undisturbed.
The prohibition of hunting on a game refuge is not the main factor in bringing about an increase of game. It is more impor- tant to keep in check the predatory birds and animals which not only hunt for the nests and eggs, but are continually lying in wait day and night to catch and devour every species of game bird. In addition to enforcing the game laws on game refuges and other places, some of the deputy wardens are rendering splendid protection to game in reducing the number of predatory birds and animals in their districts.
Weasel in Transition Pelage. See Page 9. Page three
THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
TRAPPING TIMBER WOLVES
The Best Method of Dealing with the Most Wary and Destruct. ive of Our Predatory Animals
By BEN S. PATTON, Deputy Game Warden, Estacada, Oregon
In trapping wolves there are two methods in general use: (1) Trapping with bait; (2) trail trapping, with ‘‘blind sets’’ in trails and runways where wolves are in the habit of going. To be successful in trapping these animals one should be skilled in both methods and have a thorough knowledge of the habits of wolves. The greatest source of failure with the average trapper is that he has only a superficial knowledge of both the methods of trapping and of the habits of the animals. He fails to appre- ciate and take into account the wonderfully acute sense of smell and sight that wolves possess, and of their cunning and suspicious natures. A wolf is quick to notice any unnatural object, or any disturbance of the natural order of things. They seem to under- stand fully that man is their deadly enemy, and their keen senses are always on guard against his approach or against any contriv- ance he may set for their harm. |
Bait Trapping.
Trapping with bait appeals to the unskilled in such work. But it requires more than setting traps around bait of any kind, or around a carcass that may be found in a suitable place. Wolves have the greatest suspicion of any meat found in the woods, or of a carcass of any kind not of their own killing. And anyone setting traps at such bait expecting wolves that come around to blindly step into them will have plenty of time to revise his ideas before he gets one. Ordinarily their suspicion is aroused the first sight they get of bait in any form, and their keen sense of smell is brought into play to locate anything of a harmful nature that may be around. Even if a wolf is driven by extreme hunger to eat bait where there are traps set, it will
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
first locate the traps and avoid them as carefully as if they were exposed to view, regardless of how skillfully they are covered. Trappers often express surprise at a wolf being able to do that after they have taken the precaution to remove all scent of the hands from the traps and even from the ground around them by burning straw or litter over the ground after the traps are set. But they fail to understand that the smell of steel is quite per- ceptible to a wolf if it gets an idea there is a trap around and undertakes to locate it. Once their suspicion is aroused, no amount of work put on the sets to kill the scent will prevent them locating the traps.
Taking these facts into consideration, a trapper will soon find that he has to resort to tricks that the wolf has not learned. In dealing with these animals it has been found that if they start eating a carcass unsuspiciously they are bolder on following trips and do not take the same precaution to guard against traps. Learning this trait has led good trappers to first put their bait in place and let the wolves begin using it, then set the traps. When this method is skilfully carried out it is usually successful.
One of the best baits for such a plan is a carcass of an old horse or cow—something they cannot drag off or consume in one or two trips. As long as there is any meat left they will usually go back to it when they get hungry. But in making such sets every precaution must be taken not to disturb anything or leave any object that was not there before. For that reason it is best to bury the toggle as well as cover the trap and chain.
As to the best place to locate traps around a carcass, that can be determined by where wolves have tramped around and the lay of the ground, and of natural objects that may guide them over certain routes. Any little trail leading in where an animal has to step over something is usually a good place. In stepping over such an obstacle where a route has been established, they will ordinarily step in the same place every time. .: trapper with much experience always has an eye out for a naturally adapted place to locate a trap and uses only such locations. Any artificially placed objects to guide wolves over a certain course must be very naturalistic and rot overdone. Where a large car-
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
cass is used for bait several traps should be set, but not in a bunch.
Another method that has proved successful in trapping wolves is to fasten a large piece of meat to a stiff swinging limb of a tree and high enough that they will have, to jump to reach it. If the meat is fastened securely enough to prevent pulling it down they will often make several trips to get it. But, as with the other method, if wolves are not given a chance to work it before any traps are set, the method is very apt to be a failure. Two timber wolves were caught in one locality during the past winter by this method when nearly every other method failed.
As to the best kinds of meat to use for bait, almost any kind of a wild or domestic animal will do, although the kind that wolves have been using most is best. Salmon makes good bait for trapping almost any kind of an animal. A good scent for trapping can be made by putting fish in a glass jar and leaving them exposed to the sun for several weeks till they decompose, then using the oil from it. Dragging meat or fresh hides: over trails in the locality where traps are set, or using scent prepared for wolves, help to attract them, and the more they run over the territory the better chance there is of catching some of them.
Naturally, the best time to use bait for trapping is during hard winters with deep snow, when game is scarce and hard to get.
Trail Trapping.
Wolves make more use of trails that happen to be in their locality than any other large wild animal in the woods. They show their dog-like habits to a marked degree. This makes. trapping in trails where wolves are in the habit of running one of the best methods. Old mountain trails that have not been improved much are the best; they contain many rough places where good sets can be made.
As in trapping with bait, the greatest difficulty is to prevent a wolf from smelling the trap in time to avoid it. For that reason it has been found almost necessary to make sets in places where they have to step over something or make a jump down. Even then, if every precaution is not taken, they will smell the trap in
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
time to miss it. Roots of trees running across trails are often good places, as they are partly in the ground and have an estab- lished place on one side or the other where most all animals step. Trees or logs of any kind across a stream near deer runways are good places to set traps. A wolf will not swim a stream if there is a log it can cross on; and on one end or the other there is a spot where such animals usually jump on leaving the log. To locate these spots is important, and can often be determined by the lay of the ground or by old tracks. At crossings of that kind is also a good place to set traps for cougar and bobeats.
The best time for trail trapping is during the running or mating season, which ordinarily is between the latter part of January to the first part of March. However, all the winter and spring months are good, when there are few people in the mountains.
Making the Sets.
The skill with which a trapper is able to select locations and make his sets will determine to a great extent his success in trapping wolves. The important things after locating a trap where it is most likely to catch something, is to leave no scent of the hands on it, and see that it is covered sufficiently, both trap and chain. A layer of earth over both is almost necessary in order to deaden the scent of the steel. On top of that, such litter as is common to the locality should be scattered over the spot to make it look natural. Care should be taken not to get any coarse material over the jaws of the trap that will prevent it from closing up if an animal steps into it. A bunch of moss placed under the pan will prevent small animals or snow from springing it.
To take the scent off traps a number of methods are used. A very old and common way is to smoke them over a wood fire. Some trappers bury them in fresh earth or throw them in running water for several days. Others dip them in a solution of lime water, or a solution made by boiling fir, cedar, or hemlock boughs and such material, to give them a woods-like smell. All new traps should have some such treatment to deaden the smell of the steel. The toggle should be a movable object that can be dragged around to some extent, as fastening to something solid
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
gives an animal a chance to jerk out before the jaws become set on the foot. |
For footwear, rubber boots or shoes are very much the best, as they leave no scent in the tracks. Rubber gloves also, are best, but leather coated over with tallow or hard pitch will do. When not in use they should be left in the open and only used for handling traps.
Size of Traps to Use.
The Newhouse Trap Company makes a No. 4 wolf trap; also No. 14, which is the same size, but having teeth. Both these traps have been condemned by good trappers on account of being too small for animals having as large a foot as the wolf or cougar.
The remains of a deer after a cougar had finished his meal. Photograph taken by Mr. Will McMahon of Oakridge, who found the carcass on Kitson creek. Hither of these animals can step on the jaws and have enough of their foot reach the pan of the trap to spring it. In such cases it seldom holds them; there is just enough of the foot caught to allow them to pull out, or pull one or two toes off and get away. In one locality during the past winter, out of seven catches that were made—five timber wolves and two cougar— only three of the animals were held. The other four pulled out; two of these being caught only by two toes, which they pulled off.
The No. 414 Newhouse trap is nearer the ideal size for these animals. It has a much wider spread of jaws and is well made.
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
Light, cheap traps that they can get out of are worse than useless ; they teach animals to use greater precaution and make them harder to catch.
As previously stated, the important thing in trapping as erafty an animal as the wolf is to know their habits and have an intimate knowledge of trapping generally. If a trapper knows all the conditions, and the habits of animals that he has to meet and overcome, he can devise ways and means of outwitting them that are best adapted to the conditions under which he is work- ing, and to his own particular talents. Methods that would suit one locality or one certain trapper may be altogether unsuited to another.
VARIATION IN WINTER AND SUMMER PELAGE.
Mr. O. J. Murie secured some very interesting specimens for the state collection last winter while trapping on Davis creek in Crook county, which showed some striking variations in winter and summer pelage.
On March 22, 1914, he trapped a weasel in brown pelage. On March 26, he killed a weasel with the coat of fur changing from white to brown. There was a brown stripe in the middle of the back with white on each side; the face was partly white and partly brown, giving the animal a rather strange appearance. On April 7, he trapped a third weasel in the pure white winter pelage. |
' The brown pelage in March in this locality is rather the reverse from what one might expect to find. The question arises as to whether certain weasels of the Cascade mountains remain in the summer pelage during the entire winter or not, and whether others change from brown of summer to pure white of winter.
It is interesting to note that the weasel in the Willamette valley does not change from brown to white in winter, but re- mains brown the entire year. It is likely that the change of coat takes place according to the altitude, and whereas those animals in the valley do not change at all, those living in the highest Cascades change from brown to white, although for some reason,
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
which we do not know at present, some of the weasels, even in the high Cascades, do not change to the white coat in winter.
A number of skins of the snowshoe rabbit were collected in this locality. They were numerous in the thickets near the mouth of Davis creek. Between March 13 and April 18, 1914, a series of fourteen of these were collected, all from the same thicket of lodgepole pine on the homestead of George Graft, about forty-four hundred feet altitude. Four were in the white pelage, with a few small patches of new brown fur. The rest were in the brown pelage and were changing their coat, also, new brown fur grow- ing in in small patches. The brown rabbits were by far more numerous, judging from the number that were caught.
On April 11, when a white and a brown rabbit were caught, the snow was practically all gone, a few patches remaining in the thickets. In this case it may be that the specimens which were brown in winter and changed from the old brown to the new brown pelage were likely younger animals, while those that changed from brown in summer to the pure white in winter may have been older animals, or vice versa.
It is the same with the snowshoe rabbit as with the weasel. The snowshoe rabbit in the Coast mountains or lower altitudes does not change from brown to white in winter, but remains brown the entire year.
BIRDS AND INSECT PESTS.
In the September-October, 1914, number of Bird-Lore, which is the official organ of the National Association of Audubon Societies, is an interesting article entitled ‘‘Birds and the Army-- worm.’’
In Oregon, the horticultural and forestry interests are so great that we feel every effort should be made toward educating people to guard this wealth against the depredation of enemies. Some day this state will have to wrestle to a far greater extent with the advancing insect pests. For this reason, we are printing the article mentioned above. It shows the economic value of bird life in relation to insects.
‘“The past summer has witnessed an unusual invasion of the
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
Coe
eastern states by the army-worm. In many sections its raids on vegetation have occasioned much concern and actual loss. How to meet its advances and check its onslaught has claimed the attention of many gardeners and farmers, and by the advice of entomologists poison has been resorted to. Testimony received at this office from several places tends to show that there is grave doubt as to whether this is the wisest course to pursue in dealing with the army-worm scourge. Frederic L. Thompson,
THE ARMY-WORM. 1. Caterpillar; 2. Chrysalis; 3. Adult Moth (Leucania unipunctata)
an artist, writing from Chilmark, on the island of Martha’s Vine-
yard, Massachusetts, says:
‘* “There has been an invasion of the army-worm here, and I notice the Government issues pamphlets on the subject of its destruction ; among other things it advises the use of bran mixed with paris green. This mixture kills thousands of song-birds, as I have found here. As this is being done all over the country,
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
the loss of song-birds must be great. I also noticed Chewinks and Catbirds eating the worms, and I think this fact should be brought to the attention of farmers.’ :
‘“‘The observations of Edward A. Gill Wylie, a lawyer at No. 149 Broadway, New York, are well worthy of careful reading. He writes: ‘The present plague of army-worms, which this sum- mer was so prevalent in New Jersey, New York, and New England states, provides a severe example to us of one of the many rea- sons why the number of insectivorous birds should not only be conserved but materially increased. A horde of these pests sud- denly came to light on a small place about four acres large, within one hundred yards of where I am this summer living, on the Rumson Road, New Jersey. Immediately after the birds of the neighborhood deserted their usual haunts and assembled on these four acres. I personally counted sixty-three Robins, Thrushes, Catbirds, and Meadowlarks at one time on a little square of lawn about 120 by 60 feet, and feel confident that, as this was at high noon, it was not their busy time of day. I was informed by the gardener that they ate so many that often a bird would disgorge and proceed to make a fresh start, and that at least one-half of the worms were consumed by them in the two days which elapsed before the spraying by experts commenced to destroy what was left—and their number was legion. Incidentally, this spraying of four acres costs the owner of the property $60 a day.
‘““Under the eaves of my porch is a little family of House Wrens, the four younger members of which were hatched about two days before the army-worms appeared. Several times during the course of the plague I counted twelve trips in ten minutes © to the nest of the parent-birds, with food, always army-worms. How the young ones could stand the quantity they ate was a marvel. The old ones would fly direct to the source of supply, and would return almost immediately with a whole worm, stop under a near-by hedge, chop off from the whole a suitable morsel of swallowable size for the little ones, fly up to the nest, and then away for a fresh one; never returning to get the remainder of the old worm, but seemingly preferring a fresh one. Their diet consisted, so far as I could ascertain, of the army-worm, until the
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
final destruction of the army was accomplished by man and his feathered friends. Even moths were ignored, and several fat little spiders built a web within ten inches of the nest and were entirely undisturbed.’ ’’
Testimony of Mr. Forbush.
‘“Rdward Howe Forbush, the foremost economic ornithologist of New England, reports, under date of August 10, 1914:
‘<‘T have been looking over the destructive work of the army- worm in this state. While the worms have been quite destructive in Wareham, Massachusetts, they have done no harm at all on my farm. In fact, you would never know from the appearance of vegetation that there was a worm on the place. I have taken extra pains this year to attract the birds, and they have eaten a great many of the worms. Thirty or forty rods away from my place the worms are beginning to be destructive, and in other parts of the town they have done a good deal of harm. They have done no appreciable injury on other farms where I have put up nest- ing-boxes in quantities. In Martha’s Vineyard, the army-worms have eut corn-crops to the ground. It is rather significant that the worms have done the most harm where poisons have been used to check them. Where no poison has been used, and where the birds have been attracted, the worms (although very numer- ous) have not done very much harm.
‘* “On the state reservation, where the Heath Hen has been protected, and where a great many nesting-boxes were put up this year, birds were very plentiful, as the boxes were nearly all occu- pied, and they were feeding on the army-worm in large numbers. Recently I saw here quite a number of Heath Hens apparently feeding on the army-worm. Where poisoned bran was used in trenches to kill the worms on a large estate formerly owned by Professor Shaler, very few birds were seen, and we had several reports that dead birds had been found along the trenches, but I got there about a week too late and did not see any personally. I hear that a good many Blackbirds and Robins have been pois- oned, and that Quail have disappeared where the poison has been used.’ ”’
‘“In another letter Mr. Forbush adds: ‘I am under the im-
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
pression that if fresh grass were sprayed at night for the worms, it would be just as effective as the bran, and there would not be so much risk of the poisoning of birds. Some of the entomologists recommend this.’ ”’
The Oregon Sportsman has secured copies of a very inter- esting bulletin from the National Association of Audubon Socie- ties entitled ‘Attracting Birds About the Home,’”’ a copy of which will be sent without charge to any subscriber on receipt of two cents to cover cost of mailing.
REPORTS ON PARTRIDGES AND QUAIL.
Mr. George Russell of Gaston reports that on September 8 he saw a brood of twelve young Hungarian partridges which were about two-thirds grown. He has also seen a number of coveys of California or valley quail ranging from fifteen to eighteen in that locality. Some of the California quail which were liberated near Gaston in December, 1913, and February, 1914, have been seen in Patton valley four or five miles from Gaston.
Mr. O. B. Parker reports that on September 11, 1914, he counted a covey of sixteen young Hungarian partridges on the Alderman game refuge at Dayton. He saw a second covey and counted eight or nine birds which were perhaps two-thirds crown.
The California quail liberated on the Alderman refuge have greatly increased in number. Several flocks of these birds may be seen any day in a tramp about the farm.
Twelve pairs of Hungarian partridges were liberated near MeMinnville in March, 1914. Mr. Parker has seen three coveys of these birds on David Stout’s farm. Twelve pairs of these birds were also liberated on Mr. Haine’s place at Carlton. On this and the adjoining place, belonging to Mr. J. H. Cunningham, seven or eight coveys of partridges have been seen.
Three flocks of California quail have been seen within the city limits of McMinnville. These are probably birds that were liberated on P. P. Wright’s orchard tract.
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
OUR FRIEND—THE SHREW. By R. Bruce Horsfall.
Early last July while in the high Cascades near and just below the snow line on Middle Sister mountain, Mr. Vernon Bailey and the writer were standing one morning looking out over a beautiful little lake. Not a fish stirred its emerald depths; not a ripple on its well protected surface except where
a lone female golden-eye duck swam enquiringly toward us. A water ouzel dipped his dainty way along the shore. Insect larvae and one species of tiny clam were the only life in its waters. Be- fore us many deer tracks crossed and recrossed through this, the shallow end of the lake. At our feet sang the brook that here found its way down from the snows above; its waters blocked, a few hundred yards below, by a lava flow, was the direct means of forming this lovely retreat.
Suddenly at our feet scampered a little dark gray creature disappearing beneath a rotten log. Mr. Bailey at once knew it to be the small water shrew he had been so anxious to find in this region and so we set about catching it. While I pulled away the old log Mr. Bailey did some lively grabbing, at last rising up triumphant with the fierce little creature clinging to his finger, biting with all the powers of his short, sharp teeth. To be sure these are tiny and shaped like so many sharp-pointed grinders, therefore could not inflict more pain to a man than so many pin pricks, but a change of hold to the nape of the neck was quickly made. We tied a string to one hind leg and tossed him into the water to see why he had been named water shrew. Fluffing himself into a ball he sat on the surface as light as thistle down and endeavored to chew off the cord; failing in that, he lowered his fur and, about one-third submerged, quickly swam to shore. Wishing to see him dive, he was again tossed out, and threatened with a stick. He dove at once and with perfect ease reached a log several feet away. A beautiful sight it was to see this little swimmer, several inches below the surface of the clear water, covered, as with a coat of shimmering silver. the effect of the air carried down on his fluffed-out fur.
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
Moles and shrews are often accused of being agents of de- struction about gardens. That moles are justly accused there can be no question, though it is not through the eating of the vegetation, for they are not vegetarians; but rather because in burrowing about for worms and insects they make tunnels and through these tunnels the field mice can go and eat to their hearts’ content in perfect safety from all enemies. Did I say all? Well, that’s not quite true, for their greatest enemy is the shrew, a little creature which has an enormous appetite for mice, in addition to its regular fare of insects. This includes such pests as grasshoppers, crickets, slugs, June bugs, locust larvae and earthworms, but always the favorite is mice, dead or alive.
The recognition marks of the shrew are the pointed snout, no visible external ears and eyes very small. Indeed it depends on its highly specialized senses of touch, hearing and smell for guid- ance in probing about and searching for food, and eats from twice to three times its own weight every twenty-four hours.
There are several species in Oregon, and though they may not all catch and eat full-grown mice, they all eat insects and it is quite beyond one’s imagination to think of the myriads one shrew must destroy in a year.
Prof. Cope writes of a Carolina shrew overcoming a water snake two feet in length, which shows the courage and fighting qualities of this little creature. Cats will not eat them, though they will catch them in mistake for mice.
This little mouse-like animal (I say mouse-like for it is, after all, but a superficial resemblance, a true mouse having the long front knawing teeth of the rodent) has been known to kill and eat even the large meadow mouse of twice his own weight.
Shull, estimating four short-tailed shrews to the acre, fig- ured that on a farm of one hundred acres, they would, in a year, devour 38,400 mice. When we think of the vast amount of dam- age of which these rodents are capable we must admit the great benefit shrews are to man and give them all the protection in our power.
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
NEW $225,000 WILD LIFE REFUGE. (Recreation, November, 1914.)
For the purpose of establishing another wild fowl refuge on the northern shore of the Gulf of Mexico, in-line with the campaign first advocated in this magazine, the Rockefeller Foundation has purchased the Grand Chenier tract containing 85,000 acres in the parishes of Cameron and Vermillion, La., at a cost of approximately $225,000. An announcement to this effect was made by the secretary of the Foundation October 4, upon the execution of a deed from the Rockefeller Foundation placing the land for an initial term of five years under the protection of the Louisiana Conservation Commission. The commission, on its side, has formally accepted the tract and has undertaken to pro- tect it by game wardens.
This purchase, the arrangements for which have consumed more than a year and a half, is another step in the program to establish throughout the winter feeding and resting grounds for birds, and along their migration routes, suitable refuges where they: can be protected at all times of the year and be safe from persecution. It is due to the intelligent and public-spirited activ- ity of Mr. E. A. MelIlhenny of Avery Island, La., who brought the matter to the attention of the Rockefeller Foundation through Mr. Starr J. Murphy, one of its trustees.
The Grand Chenier tract is full of shallow ponds, lakes and bayous, abounding in cover for the protection of birds against storms. It produces an enormous quantity of natural food, suf- ficient to provide for the vast number of birds from the north which winter along the Gulf coast.
The great tract purchased by the Rockefeller Foundation is an integral part of the ‘‘wild life refuge system’’ which this magazine was the pioneer in advocating and has consistently supported. It is only a few miles from Marsh Island, purchased, upon the recommendation of, Mr. MclIlhenny, in 1912, by Mrs. Russell Sage for a bird refuge, at a cost of about $150,000.
The Grand Chenier tract and Marsh Island are a part of a refuge of 500 square miles with a frontage of 75 miles on the Gulf coast, which it is proposed to acquire. Included in this vast tract
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
is the state wild life refuge of 13,000 acres donated to Louisiana by Mr. MelIlhenny and Charles Willis Ward, and the Ward- MclIlhenny refuge of some 60,000 acres.
The purchase by the Rockefeller Foundation constitutes the greatest gift ever made to the preservation of bird life in America, with the exception of the bequest of David Wilcox to the National Association of Audubon Societies. This bequest amounted to $332,000. Bird lovers believe it will mark one of the most important steps ever taken for the preservation of migratory fowl, because they expect it to stimulate interest in establishing refuges in other sections of the United States and Canada.
The wild fowl refuge on the Gulf shore of Louisiana affords winter shelter for myriads of migratory songbirds, woodpeckers, and shore birds, all of which are of great service in the north when insects are busy in field, orchard and garden.
For half a century countless thousands of ducks and geese have been shot there for the markets of New Orleans, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Chicago. The species most commonly taken were mallards, black-duck, teal and canvasback.
GAME CONDITIONS ABOUT ASHLAND.
One of the best ways to get an idea of the game conditions in a specific locality is to make a census of the wild birds and animals in that region. This was done last winter in the country around Ashland by Mr. George Hargadine. His report in part is as follows:
‘““The valley west of Ashland, which is about five miles by | three in size, contains approximately fifty-seven coveys of Cali- fornia or valley quail, ranging from ten to one hundred birds to the covey. These large numbers are caused by feed yards along the river which attract and keep the birds here. I estimated the number of birds in this region to be as follows: quail seven hun- dred, Chinese pheasants one hundred, ducks twenty-five. There are a very few coyotes and skunks, and numerous house eats.
In the opposite direction are rolling hills. Here I found thirty-five coveys of California quail—some three hundred in all
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
—and farther out the mountain quail commenced to appear. I found some twenty pheasants, many coyotes and a few bobeats and skunks.
To the east in the valley again I found about forty coveys of quail, perhaps over five hundred in number, and sixty pheas- ants and no ducks. Such animals as bobcats, coyotes, skunks and house cats are plentiful. In this region, one man caught thirty skunks in six days and another caught fifteen skunks and eight coyotes. I caught eighty-seven skunks here in the month of November.
To the south the mountains come down close, leaving a long, narrow space for valley quail; here I found about three hundred and fifty of these birds.
In this space of ten miles long by three wide there are about two thousand valley quail, two hundred Chinese pheasants and a few of their natural enemies. I am satisfied the pheasants will never increase where there are many coyotes, as they roost on the ground and are caught at night.
All around this boundary, except on the west, mountain quail are plentiful, also grouse and a goodly number of deer. The best locality for valley quail is about twenty miles west of Ashland near Central Point. I saw one band of wild pigeons in January that were on their southern flight and only staid a few days.
In regard to large game in a radius of thirty miles, including the two main wintering grounds, there are probably fifteen hun- dred deer. An occasional gray wolf or a panther does some damage.”’
BEAR CAUGHT WITH CRAWFISH BAIT.
Mr. Luther J. Goldman of the U. S. Biological Survey spent several weeks in the Yamsey mountains during August and Sep- tember, collecting specimens of birds and mammals for the Gov- ernment collections. He reports seeing many bear tracks and one bear was caught in a trap baited with crawfish, but the trap was too small to hold him. He also saw many coyotes and killed several.
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
CLOSED SEASON ON SIX-INCH TROUT.
The open season on trout over six inches in length closed October 31. From October 31 to March 31 of next year, it is unlawful to catch or have trout in possession under ten inches in length.
Those anglers who fish during the winter months are lkely to hook many undersized fish. Care should be taken in removing them from the hook and placing them in the water. One should moisten the hand before taking hold of a live fish. If this is not done, the dry hand often injures the fish and this causes a erowth of fungus or some similar disease.
LATE BROODS OF PHEASANTS AND QUAIL.
Deputy Game Wardens Russell and Parker report that on August 30, 1914, they saw young Chinese pheasants between Hal- sey and Tangent which were so young that they could not fly. They thought the chicks were about three days old.
On August 31, five miles southwest of Albany, they saw an- other brood of young pheasants that were but a few days old.
Mr. Russell reports that on September 11, at’ Dilley he saw a bobwhite quail with six or eight chicks which were but two or three days old.
RECORD RAINBOW TROUT.
W.F. Baldwin of Oroville, California, caught a rainbow trout in Williamson river August 14 that weighed twenty-two pounds. J. J. Furber of Klamath Falls measured the fish and found it: was two feet eight inches long and twenty and a half inches around the body. It was caught with a No. 3 copper spoon and with a six-ounce bamboo rod and light line.
NOTES FROM KLAMATH COUNTY.
On October 14, Deputy Game Warden J. J. Furber, Fritz Mischnick and W. L. Frain while hunting in the vicinity of Fox lake, Klamath county, saw six buck deer: Furber shot a fork- horn and a three-pointer while Frain succeeded in killing a four- pointer.
Page twenty
A Menace --
the Irresponsible Hunter
Where will you hunt when every farm in the state is posted with ‘‘No Hunting’’ signs?
In many localities a bitter feeling has developed against sportsmen because of the actions of careless and irresponsible hunters, who not only trespass contrary to law, but shoot recklessly, injuring do- mestic animals and sometimes hitting people.
Each year an increasing number of people take out hunting licenses to shoot Chinese pheasants and other game birds. No hunter has the right to tres- pass on land if it is enclosed or occupied without first obtaining permission from the owner.
A true sportsman will not only obey the laws himself, but will use his influence to get others to do
the same.
Check the Irresponsible Hunter,
He is a Nuisance and a Menace
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The OREG' SPORTSMAN
DECEMBER, 1914
Hutchins Goose. Similar to the Canada Goose but Smaller.
PUBLISHED MONTHLY UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE
FISH AND GAME COMMISSION
By WILLIAM L. FINLEY, Editor, Portland, Oregon
Volume II 5c a copy—50c a year Number 12
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INUIT
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CONTENTS
Copyright 1914, by William L. Finley
Page Im portationyol New sSpeclesn occas) acs ecten Aap tae 1 Calilormia, Fish yard Game ye son eo ee ee 2 Cougar Bounteon Cali Oralalgs.4 weeks tees ache epee Sel ee | 3 Hastern Brooks irout- in} linn @.oumit ye gece ee ee ee 4 Game Notes from: Western. Wane Coumty< os ee 4 The Heonomie Valnevot Wald) bird sia = on eer senile te Orecvon Sportsmen s Aue aoe. recess: eee eh ee ee ee ee ees 8 County. Associations “Miceiz txt) serena ee ee 10 Sportsmen, Meefeat anGranden: caches tre tener earns eee ith Bik>in dean e*C ouinttiye sts nat ice Pe Me ee ee ee 11 Value of Game) toate: Stables ccoe ate ee ee tee ees 12 Southeastern, Oxrepon Noes sy. Aa ae ce he eee eee aria 15 Game Conditions on the Upper Clackamas.............. 16 Deer Slayers Brousht 0 Justicezc ete eis oe heater Sa Wald. Geeserand!-Grain.@ rope saetac sees oe ae ee at
Protect the! Doesit ase Oh eae ee es Le aes Pal
The Oregon Sportsman
Volume II DECEMBER, 1914 Number 12
IMPORTATION OF NEW SPECIES.
We often hear the suggestion that our fields and woods should be stocked with other species of birds and animals that are not found here, and that our streams should be stocked with species of fish from other states. Sometimes an easterner who has fished for pickerel or bass in his youthful days has remem- brances and associations that lead him to believe that angling for these fish can hardly be equaled by catching a rainbow or chinook. There can be no comparison in the fish, however.
Inasmuch as our streams are capable of furnishing food for a certain number of fish and since it takes no more effort to keep a stream stocked with first-class fish than with a poorer grade, we should see to it that only the best are propagated and pro- tected.
As a general rule, we are emphatically opposed to the intro- duction of species other than the native birds, animals and fish in our state. Experiments of this kind have often been unsuc- cessful or have proved disastrous. The introduction of the English sparrow into America, of the rabbit into Australia and the mongoose into Jamaica are notable examples where species have been successfully acclimatized. In the change of environ- ment, habits of creatures also change. In the above cases, these creatures have become so abundant as to be pests and are dis- astrous to native species.
On the other hand, there have been some very successful experiments in Oregon as far as game birds are concerned. The Chinese, ring-necked or Denny pheasant became so readily ac- climatized and the birds increased in numbers so rapidly that it is the most successful example in America today of an introduced game bird. The Decrease of Grouse and Quail.
We have sometimes heard the complaint that the Chinese pheasant interferes with and drives out native birds. As far as
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
our investigation goes, this is not true. During the past two years, some of the sportsmen of eastern Washington and Idaho have raised the cry that this pheasant interferes with the increase of bobwhite quail. This is not true in Oregon, for in the Wil- lamette valley, where Chinese pheasants are most abundant, the bobwhite quail are increasing steadily year by year.
To be sure, some of our native species, such as mountain quail and the sooty or blue grouse, have decreased in numbers in the Willamette valley. Some one will raise the cry that this is due to the Chinese pheasant. The truth is that these are two species that do not hold their own as well in the advance of civilization as the Chinese pheasant, ruffed grouse, bobwhite quail and Cal- fornia or valley quail. The mountain quail and blue grouse do not adapt themselves to the gradual change of conditions brought about by the settlement of the country. As the natural shelter and breeding places of these birds disappear, they lose out. They are not quite as well prepared to hold their own with house cats and other destructive animals that increase about the farm and prey continually on game.
CALIFORNIA FISH AND GAME.
The above is the title of a quarterly publication which has just been started by the California Fish and Game Commission. This part of the educational work in California is carried on by Dr. Harold C. Bryant, Assistant Curator of Birds in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology in the University of California. Dr. Bryant
is well equipped for his new duties, for not only has he hada .
long university training, but he has spent several years in research work on the game birds of the state and through extensive travel- ing is well acquainted with conditions throughout California. The function of this department in California will be to find ways and means of protecting foreign and domestic game birds within the state and to dispense information relative to game by means of correspondence, public illustrated lectures, and by the issuance of bulletins dealing with the status of fish and game. A study will also be made of the habitats, habits and breeding
Page two
THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
seasons of the different game birds and mammals of the state so that a basis for sane game laws may be secured.
Among the other good things in this issue of California Fish and Game, Dr. Bryant starts his first editorial with the right ring, namely, that education is the effective method toward bet- ter game protection.
‘““There are two ways of enforcing laws—one is to punish violators, and the other is to educate people to a realization of the need and value of the law so that public sentiment demands its observance. The former method was used in the time of Nero and still needs to be used for the laggers of civilization. The relative value of the ‘rule with an iron hand’ and the ‘rule with reason’ has been too often discussed to use space for it here. The thing to be noted is that the California Fish and Game Commission is beginning a campaign of education in an endeavor to so edu- cate public opinion that protective laws may in the future becom: relatively unimportant. Most of the violators of the game laws if brought to a real appreciation of the law itself and the need for it, would obey rather than disobey the law.’’
COUGAR BOUNTIES IN CALIFORNIA.
Several interesting facts are contained in the report of the California Fish and Game Commission with reference to the bounties paid by the commission on mountain lions or cougars from October, 1907, to June 30, 1914. In the first place, it shows the number of these predatory animals is constantly decreasing under the war of extermination being waged against them. In ‘he second place it shows the two counties in the state having more of these animals than any others are Humboldt and Trinity. two counties very close to the Oregon line. This calls at‘ention 10 the necessity of the continued co-operation on the part of the Oregon commission with that of California in the effort to exter- minate the cougar.
The figures given in the report are for 48 counties. In each of six of these. but one animal has been killed during the entire period. In the other counties the number ranges from three to 418. In nearly every county there has been a decrease from year
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
to year and in every county with any considerable number of these animals the decrease has been particularly marked. The records for two counties will be sufficient to show the decrease: 1907 (190801909! 1910 OTIS P92 19131994 Teal Humboldt 10 113 67 71 42 50 4] 24 418 Trinity 2 86 34 32 22 15 14 10°" 222 The bounty paid in California is $20.00 per animal.
EASTERN BROOK TROUT IN LINN COUNTY.
Dr. A. G. Prill of Scio has given a very interesting report in regard to the eastern brook trout which were planted in Prill lake in 1912. This lake is not far from Marion lake and is some twenty or thirty acres in extent. In 1913 Dr. Prill visited the lake and found the fish were from six to eight inches in length. During last summer Dr. Prill again visited the lake in company with Dr. W. H. Dale of Harrisburg, C. W. Warner, J. F. Wesley and John Frost of Scio. The party found that trout were very abund- ant in the lake. During the afternoon and evening, when flies were quite plentiful, the fish were continually jumping. They rose very eagerly for an artificial fly and the party caught twelve eastern brook trout in a very short time, none of which was under twelve inches or over fifteen inches in length. They thought best not to catch any more than this number, but to leave a good supply for spawning purposes until the lake was well stocked.
GAME NOTES FROM WESTERN LANE COUNTY.
Deputy Game Warden Dowell of Mercer sends us the fol- | lowing notes from western Lane county:
Canvasback ducks are very numerous on Tsiltcoos lake. south of Florence. Mallards began to arrive on November 1.
During the month of October nine bears were killed in the vicinity of Mercer. The record of the lucky huntsmen is as follows: Jack Bunch, 3; Alex Dowell, 2; Ancil Stonefield, 1; Clyde Bay, 1; Otis Cheney, 1; Lawrence Johnson, 1.
Seth Martin of Mapleton recently caught a large beaver in his salmon net in the Siuslaw river. It was drowned when found. Beaver are numerous along this section of the river.
Page four
THE OREGON SPORTSMAN The Economic Value of Wild Birds
Facts that Show the Importance of Nature’s Check Upon the Insect Pests
During the past summer in many parts of the state there has been an unusual pest of grasshoppers. The farmers in some parts of eastern Oregon have complained especially on account of the damage done to crops. According to Mr. Lewis Scholl, Jr., Justice of the Peace at Echo, Umatilla county, the much-despised crows gathered in the alfalfa fields by the hundreds and devoured large numbers of grasshoppers.
It is a most interesting fact that in Klamath, Lake and Har- vey counties where the California and ring-billed gulls nest in iarge colonies, about Klamath, Goose, Warner and Malheur lakes, these birds spread out in the fields along the sage-brush plains miles away from the water and live almost entirely on grass- hoppers. It is rather a strange sight to see these web-footed birds hunting a living so far away from the water.
The Brewer blackbird, which is commonly recognized by the whitish eye, is often seen during the latter part of the summer feeding upon grasshoppers. After the nesting season, these birds
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Brewer Blackbirds Hunting Grasshoppers.
Page five
THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
gather in flocks and skirmish about wherever grasshoppers seem most abundant. Sparrow-hawks, pheasants, quail, meadowlarks and many other birds live largely upon grasshoppers and other insects when they are abundant and thus assist man in the pro- tection of his crops.
The Chinese or Denny pheasant is the most abundant game bird in Oregon. We sometimes hear the complaint from gardener or farmer that this bird is damaging crops. It is very true that the pheasant eats corn, peas, potatoes and grain, but at the same time, he devours many injurious insects. A male pheasant killed October 15, 1913, had its crop and gizzard filled with grass- hoppers, weevils, soldier bugs and cut-worms. The crop of another pheasant contained thirty-four grasshoppers, three erick- ets and eleven beetles.
The Balance of Nature
In the vegetable and animal world, all living things are bound together in many ways. In the struggle for existence, every species is related closely to many other species, each acting as a force in itself to hold the equilibrium which is called the balance of nature. This natural law of our world may well be compared with that which keeps our solar system in operation. Hach species 1s a powerful force within itself to live and multiply and in turn is held within bounds by the forces and actions of every other species. There is an intense natural competition to keer this balance even.
The natural checks upon insect life are the wild birds that. | live in our fields and forests. If we were to kill off the birds of a certain locality, we should immediately overthrow the balance of nature and there would be a corresponding increase of insects.
Without the wild birds, our forests would be swept as by a blast of fire. Our trees would look lke an army of telegraph posts. The importance of bird life in conserving our forests 1s well known. Four hundred different species of insects are con- tinually working on the oak tree alone. The birds of the forests are constantly catching and consuming these insects. On the
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
willow trees, one hundred and eighty-six different kinds of insects are constantly at work; on the pine, one hundred and sixty-five species; on the hickory, one hundred and seventy; on the birch, one hundred and five; and on the elm, eighty. Careful analysis of the stomachs of thousands of woodpeckers, titmice, creepers, kinglets, wood warblers, wrens, flycatchers, swallows, nuthatches and other birds show that they do nothing else but eat these devastating insects. This is their life work. Destroy our wild birds and you destroy our forests.
Birds work more in conjunction with man than any other form of outdoor hfe. Nature has given them the special task of holding insect life in check in order to protect plant life. Do not let any fruit grower think, however, that birds alone will keep his orchard free from insect pests; birds will only help in the fight in orchards, gardens and forests.
In a day’s time, the bush-tit and chickadee have been known to eat hundreds of insect eggs and worms that are harmful to our trees and vegetables. A brood of three young chipping spar- rows were watched during one day and they were fed a hundred and eighty-seven times by the parents. A family of four song sparrows, seven days old, were fed seventeen grasshoppers and two spiders in sixty-seven minutes. The flycatchers and swallows destroy vast numbers of flies and gnats that annoy horses and cattle. The food of the flicker or woodpecker consists largely of ants which protect the aphides or plant lice which are so destruc- tive to gardens and orchards. Three thousand of these ants have been taken from the crop of a single bird. The food of the meadowlark consists of seventy-five per cent of injurious insects and twelve per cent of weed seed, which shows it is a bird of creat economic value. A single robin has been known to eat a. hundred and seventy-five caterpillars. One bob-white that was killed had over a hundred potato bugs in its craw. Another had eaten two spoonfuls of chinch. bugs. After the day-flying birds have ceased their work and gone to sleep, the nighthawk is busy eatehing untold numbers of mosquitoes, moths and other insects.
We Li.) BS
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN Oregon Sportsmen’s League
Second Annual Convention, Election of Officers, Results of Trap Shooting and Fly Casting Tournament, Followed by Banquet.
The second annual convention of the Oregon Sportsmen’s League was held in the Commercial Club rooms in Portland, December 7. Delegates were in attendance from all points in Oregon. Forty-four clubs with an aggregate membership of more than 3500 were represented. Eight other clubs asked to be admitted to membership in the league.
- Good fellowship with a generous spirit of ‘‘give and take’’ prevailed throughout the day. Though the discussions indulged in were lively at timesi the final vote on all questions, including the election of officers and the selection of Portland as the next place of meeting was always unanimous.
H. B. Van Duzer, of Portland, was re-elected president; W. N. Matlock, of Pendleton, and Dr. J. G. Guill, of Lebanon, were named as first and second vice-presidents, while §. C. Bartrum, of Roseburg, was selected as secretary-treasurer. The following are the members of the executive committee: District 1, L. W. Humphreys, Portland; district 2, W. W. Goff, Forest Grove; district 3, A. Crandall, Brownsville; district 4, George Putnam, . Medford; district 5, Leo A. E. Schanno, The Dalles; district 6, G. I. La Dow, Pendleton; district 7, Charles Riley, Klamath Falls.
The chief discussion centered on the deer and Chinese pheas- ant laws. More than an hour was spent in discussing the pro- visions of one measure which will be presented to the next legis-— lature. It was finally decided that the new measure should leave the bag limit for Chinese pheasants the same as at present, five birds in one day or ten in seven consecutive days, but instead of limiting the shooting to males only, females to the number of two will be allowed in each limit of five. It was also decided to request the legislature to cut one month off the opening of the deer season, making it open September 1 instead of August 1, the closing time, October 31, to be left the same as at present.
One of the important actions taken by the organization
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
was the adoption of an official organ. Former Secretary C. A. Riddle was given full authority to issue a publication in the inter- est of the league and to mail a copy to each member of every rod and gun elub in the state.
The action which brought particular joy to the sportsmen of Portland was the unanimous adoption without discussion of the proposed closing of the Willamette river to net fishing.
At 7 o’clock the meeting adjourned to the banquet room of the Commercial Club where an elaborate ‘‘duck dinner’’ was served in honor of the visiting delegates by the Portland Gun Club and the Multnomah Anglers’ Club.
The same good fellowship that prevailed throughout the regular business session was in evidence throughout the dinner which was enjoyed by more than 300 persons. More than 175 ducks were eaten by the hungry sportsmen.
At the conclusion of the dinner a fine series of motion pic- tures was presented by Mr. W. L. Finley and formed a most enjoyable part of the evening.
The Portland Ad Club quartet, Dr. R. M. Emerson, N. A. Hoose, M. H. Bowman, and H. G. Whip, gave several selections. President Van Duzer gave a brief address in which credit for the ducks eaten was given to H. W. Metzger, W. E. Carlon, W. B. Fecheimer, D. L. Williams, James Honeyman, George Leithoff, M. Abrahams, Dr. C. P. Brown, Dr. T. C. Munson, J. E. Cullison, Archie Parrott and Thomas Harrill.
A trap shooting and fly casting tournament was held the day preceding the convention, at the grounds of the Portland Gun Club at Jenne station. The first event was under the supervision of the Portland Gun Club while the latter was under the direction of the Multnomah Angler’s Club. Nearly 200 sportsmen partici- pated in the various events.
In the shooting contests, Peter O’Brien was high man of the day with a percentage of 95. He won two prizes in Class A events. E. Young had two wins in the Class B division while G. I. La Dow of Pendleton was first’ in the Class C event. Miss Gladys Reid was the winner of the event for women.
In the casting events Dr. E. C. McFarland broke three club records. In the half ounce bait casting he made a single cast of
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
188 feet, the old record of 184 feet being held by C. C. Harris. The one-quarter ounce bait casting event was won by him with an average of 149 feet. The former record was 136 feet. A single cast in the same event was for 161 feet, beating the former record by 19 feet.
The following are the results of the fly and bait-casting events:
Distance bait-casting, one-quarter ounce, first, Dr. E. C. McFarland; average 149; second, C. C. Harris, average 104.9; third, L. W. Humphreys, average 90.6.
Distance bait-casting, one-half ounce, first, C. C. Harris, 150.1; second, W. C. Block, 135.2; third, A. G. Burghduff, 111.3.
Accuracy bait-casting, quarter ounce, first, W. C. Block, 95.15; second, L. W. Humphreys, 95.11; third, E. C. McFarland, 95.
Accuracy bait-casting, half ounce, first, C. C. Harris, 97.7; second, A. G. Burghduff, 96.13; third, L. W. Humphreys, 96.12.
Dry fly accuracy casting, first, W. F. Backus, 98.7; second, J. C. Myers, 98.5; third, W. C. Block, 97.8.
Accuracy fly-casting at 50-55-60 range, first, J. C. Myers, 98 10-15; second, W. C. Block, 98 8-15; third, W. F. Backus, 98 1-15.
Distance fly-casting, light rod, first, J. C. Myers, 74 feet; second, W. C. Block and W. F. Backus, tied, 70 feet.
BY Beek.
COUNTY ASSOCIATIONS MEET.
The Lane County Fish and Game Association met in the Eugene Commercial Club rooms the evening of December 4 to elect delegates to the second annual meeting of the Oregon Sportsmen’s League. The meeting was open to anyone interested in hunting or fishing and proposed changes in the game laws were discussed.
The Douglas County Game Protective Association held its annual meeting in Roseburg, November 30. Delegates were chosen ot represent the association at the state convention in Portland and resolutions were adopted stating that it was the sense of the meeting that no material changes in the game code be made by the 1915 session of the legislature.
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
SPORTSMEN MEET AT LA GRANDE.
Delegates from 18 clubs, representing five of the six counties included in the sixth district of the Oregon Sportsmen’s League, met at La Grande December 3. Many questions of interest to the sportsmen of this district were discussed, resolutions asking for a few changes in the game laws were adopted and arrangements were made for making the organization permanent with an annual meeting. In the evening the visiting sportsmen and several mem- bers of the legislature were the guests of the Wing, Fin and Fleet- foot Club at one of the La Grande club’s famous ‘‘ Hassenpfeffer’”’ banquets. The counties included in the sixth district are Morrow, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Baker and Grant. All but Morrow were represented at the meeting which was undoubtedly the most important gathering of sportsmen ever held in eastern Oregon.
The proposed opening of the season on female deer and the extension of the open season to November 15 were voted down.
The meeting also went on record as opposing any change in the present method of handling the fish and game funds or any change in the present state laws affecting migratory birds until the constitutionality of the federal law is settled.
An open season on Chinese pheasants in Union county and one in Baker county on prairie chickens was recommended as well as a closed season on trout for all of eastern Oregon from November 1 to March 31. A closed season on trout in certain lakes of Baker and Grant counties during the spawning season was also favored.
The following officers were elected: President. James H. Nichols of Baker; vice-president, P. A. Foley of La Grande; sec. retary, Arthur Wenzel of La Grande.
ELK IN LANE COUNTY.
Mr. E: C. Hills of Eugene reports that on November 17, Mr. Drew Griffin returned from a trip over the rangers’ trail between McKenzie and Willamette rivers and reports seeing four herds of elk numbering 48 in all. The trip was made through snow in which tracks of cougar, bear and three wild cats were seen.
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
VALUE OF GAME TO THE STATE.
The American Field published a very interesting article on December 5 under the title, ‘‘Game Legislation in Missouri.’’ The article contained so many good points concerning the value of game to any state that the main part of it is here reproduced.
‘It has been conceded that wild game belongs nox to the individual, but to the state. Fish and game come under state regulation and protection. Now, we find the federal law reaching out to protect migratory wild fowl as they pass from one state to, or through, another state from one feeding ground to another.
‘“The legislatures of over forty states will meet this winter and will consider game legislation. In most of the states an attempt will be made to eliminate the differences that exist between state and federal regulations.
‘““The purpose and intent of all these laws, whether state or federal. is to protect the game from the sure extermination that otherwise awaits it, by allowing only a limited time each year, known as the ‘open season,’ when shooting or hunting is per- mitted, and especially with reference to all fish or game being taken or hunted during the spawning or breeding season.
Public Sentiment.
‘“Where public sentiment recognizes the wisdom of the prin- ciple of game preservation, the laws are respected, not through force or fear, but every one in the community takes special care that game is only taken in a lawful manner, and only during the open season, and not to exceed the bag limit. The long and un- checked wanton destruction of all game in this country, as is | strikingly exemplified in the total extermination of the wild ~ pigeon. and almost total destruction of deer, turkey and prairie chickens, has finally brought about the natural reaction that has resulted in the present activity in the state and federal measures to protect wild game.
‘‘Where such protection has been given it has been rewarded by showing a bountiful increase in game after a few years of ‘closed season.’
‘‘There is no sport that has as large a following as that of hunting and fishing. Thousands may gather to see the home team
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
play a double-header of the national game, a few hundred will go to the private clubs and golf links, but let two holidays come together and the campers and fishermen will leave the heat of the city by train loads, in street cars, automobiles, bicycles or ‘foot- back,’ if no other means of travel is at hand.
‘“‘Camp Fire Girls.
‘“Years ago men only followed the hounds; now the fair sex is taking to the woods.
‘“The automobile takes the whole family fishing, the Camp Fire Girls and the Boy Scouts are teaching their parents a few tricks about camp life.
‘“Kach year the women, in increasing number, are seen in canoe on our lakes and streams and are not only becoming expert with paddle, but are competent to take care of themselves both in or on the water. They are expert bait or fly casters, and with lightweight guns can bring down the bird on the wing.
‘The manufacturers are now making fishing tackle, guns and camp supplies, clothing, caps and shoes for women, as well as for men.
‘‘The Week-End in the Country.
‘“The railroads and steamboat lines run fishermen’s specials to accommodate the outing parties.
‘“Department stores are buying farms and building elub houses in the country for the benefit of their employes.
‘“The farmers are having post cards printed showing shady trees along some stream, to entice their city friends to spend their vacations in the country.
‘‘The dinner table is the farmer’s ‘counter,’ over which he exchanges for cash roasting ears, potatoes, corn bread and toma- toes, fried chicken and fresh eggs, for a better price than he could get in trade at the store.
‘“The farmer has yet to learn that he should add to his dairy herd, as fresh butter, buttermilk or sweetmilk and cream is what the city people expect on a trip to the country, and so seldom get.
‘Opportunities on the Farm.
‘“The farmer is now being assisted by the parcel post; he not.
only supplies country board during the summer, but takes orders
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
to ship his poultry and dairy supplies, apples, cider and vinegar, walnuts and pecans, that a few years ago found no market. His summer boarders tell their friends where to send for these articles ; they are all ‘boosters’ for the farmer, and at no cost to him for advertising.
‘“A bevy of quail or a stream stocked with fish means cash in his pocket for livery hire or board bill during the fall, if he will invest in one postal card and send it to the sportsman or fisherman.
‘‘Opportunity is knocking at our very door; are we to con- tinue to turn a deaf ear?
‘““We should wake up to the importance of preserving our fish and game. We have beautiful streams, valleys and hills, unsurpassed for recreation grounds.
‘‘Killing game and fish out of season and dynamiting our streams will not bring visitors to our state. For recreation the people of our own state will be forced to go to other states.
‘‘Public sentiment should be aroused. When the state of Missouri asks the sportsman to pay a five-dollar license fee to hunt, the sportsman is led to believe that the fish and game will be protected during the closed season. When the officials fail to do their sworn duty it places the state in the position of obtaining money from the sportsman under false pretences. |
‘‘The sportsmen of the state are not paying hunting license fees for the politicians to create offices for no other purpose than to pay political debts and fill these offices with ‘lame ducks’ who have no other interest in their work than to draw their salaries.
‘“The money that is paid the state today for hunters’ licenses is for the sole purpose of fish and game propagation and protec- tion, and is paid only by those who wish to hunt and fish. It is not a general tax against all property. The Missouri legislature has on two occasions diverted this special fund to other purposes during political factional fights. :
‘‘Game is killed out of season and is being sold, and the streams are dynamited for fish, all in direct violation of our laws. Very feeble efforts are being put forth, if any, by the Missouri Game Department to put a stop to infractions of the law.
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
‘‘Game Laws Should Be Enforced,
‘“The sportsmen of Missouri have a right to expect and de- mand that the officers entrusted with this work render the ser- vice for which they are being paid, and to that end appeal to the citizens of the state of Missouri, to all commercial organizations and societies of this state, in order that they may be brought face to face with the deplorable conditions that today exist.
‘“The money raised from hunters’ licenses should be used only © for the work of the Fish and Game Department, and if incompe- tents fill these offices they should be removed and their places given to men who can render service to the state in keeping with the cost to the state for their services.
‘Juggling the Game Fund.
‘“‘Tt is a notorious fact that $45,000 was paid into Missouri state funds to protect fish and game, but this money was used for other purposes.
‘‘On two occasions, as above mentioned, the legislature has diverted the game fund to the general revenue and refused to make the necessary appropriation to the Game Department, doing serious damage throughout the state on account of the work ot the department coming to a standstill, as no funds were available to carry on the work and keep deputies in the field. The market- hunters could shoot after sundown without hindrance, either in open or closed season; the fish-trappers could run their nets, set traps or dynamite the stream at will.”’
SOUTHEASTERN OREGON NOTES.
My. F. H. Faweett, Deputy Game Warden of Harney and Malheur counties, sends the following notes from his locality:
On October 22 Frank Triska and C. P. Kuhl while hunting on the head of Riddle creek about twelve miles southeast of the little town of Diamond killed a very large buck mule deer. To quote Mr. Faweett: ‘‘The horns, which are freaks, are about twenty-four inches in length, with a spread of about twenty-six inches at the back tips, and thirty-four inches at the middle tips. There are eighteen points on each horn.’’
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
They had no way of weighing the animal, but Mr. Faweett estimated it would dress 300 pounds or more.
On October 26 while Mr. Fawcett was on Mirandi ranch near Andrews he found the remains of a two-year-old deer that, in attempting to jump a barbed wire fence had caught its hind legs between the top and second wire in such a way that it was unable to free itself. From the appearance of the hide and bones the accident happened during the early part of the summer.
GAME CONDITIONS ON THE UPPER CLACKAMAS.
Deputy Game Warden Ben §S. Patton of Estacada reports a small band of elk living on the southeast slope of Mt. Hood.
Hunters and trappers on the headwaters of the Clackamas river reported an unusually large number of fawns this year. This is probably due to the fact that seven wolves, three cougar, one hundred and one bobeats and a large number of coyotes were killed in that county during the past year. These ‘‘varmints”’ no doubt kill many fawns.
DEER SLAYERS BROUGHT TO JUSTICE.
One of the most flagrant violations of the deer law has been stopped in Curry county by the arrest of a gang of five violators during the first week in December. The head of the gang was George Fischer, formerly of Brownsville. For many years Fischer has been the manager of the Brownsville glove factory. During all this time he has been a constant violator of the game laws of this state. He has several times before been arrested and fined. He has always been exceedingly defiant as far as game laws and game wardens are concerned. He carried one case to the Supreme Court of the state.
Last September he moved his glove outfit to Gold Beach and from there shipped it to the William Clarno homestead near the headwaters of the Pistol river. County Commissioner Colgrove and several other residents of Curry county knew that the laws were being violated and so a posse was organized and with the assistance of Game Wardens John Adams and William Powell, the entire gang was rounded up and taken to Gold Beach for
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
trial. A large number of deer hides were found in camp and there was evidence to show that several hundred deer had been killed. William Golden, one of the gang, turned state’s evidence and was not prosecuted. George Fischer was fined $300 and sentenced to sixty days in jail. Clifford Fischer was fined $150. J. J. Van Norwick and M. F. Robinson both pled guilty and were fined $50 each.
District Attorney Meredith writes that the men have not paid their fines and Curry county is now using the violators to advance the good roads movement.
WILD GEESE AND GRAIN CROPS.
Each year complaints are filed with the Game Commissions of Oregon and California concerning the damage wild geese are doing to crops. Last spring some of these complaints coming from northern California were investigated by George Neale, Assistant Commissioner. His report is in part as follows:
‘‘These reports—so often in evidence about this season—do not come altogether from the farmer or rice grower, but from the market hunters, who, when the time comes for the arrival of the geese on their way from the northern nesting grounds, display a sudden interest in the welfare of the farmer and the rice crower. The amount of damage done to young grain by wild geese depends upon the stage of growth. Should the grain be sufficiently strong to resist the geese and they are unable to pull out the kernel, in that event the geese nip off the tops of the young grain only, which aids or promotes the growth, and, as the farmer himself says, makes it stool out heavier. However, should the grain be just showing above the ground, the geese may destroy the grain by pulling out and eating the seed. Most of the grain found in the stomachs of geese is eaten in stubble fields after harvest. Every flock of geese that is seen in growing grain is said to be eating such grain, when, as a matter of fact, an examination of the food so eaten will disclose that the geese are feeding upon a noxious grass, the name of which I do not know, except by the name of ‘‘goose grass.’’ It has a seed rich, in oil and is very fattening, sheep doing exceedingly well upon this feed. It is this food that gives the strong odor to geese at this time.”’
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THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
INDEX
Volume I. SEPTEMBER, 1913.
Page AMM weit: tie sia vas sepee © ote ~ 1 Chinese Pheasant Reeord........ 3 Deer, ater Season oaec. ae 3 Elk, Yearling. Illustration. ..Cover Game Law, Error in Abstract.... 2 Licenses Issued 1912............ 8 hook Out tombe: Horus: se... e 3 IN G1GS-g2 a 5 ae cata. hoe ee ee ee 3 Notes from Counties........0. Joe 4
Benton, Clackamas, Curry, Doug- las, Harney, Josephine, Jackson,
Lake, Lane, Linn, Tillamook, Lincoln, Union, Wallowa.
Season, Later on, Deer: 4.21.25. 3 Sportsmen Organizing .......... 2 OCTOBER, 1918.
Bounties on Predatory Animals... 6 Chinese Pheasants, Open Season.. 1 Duck, Pintail. Illustration... .Cover Federal Game Law, New........ 1 Mish, (Undersized is....20. ReUee. 5 Fishing on Upper Willamette..... 6 Federal Law for Migratory Birds. 9 Night Hunting Unlawful........ 3
Notice to Trappers and Taxider-
MUSES. 1 ve taarttareey aaah omen 3 Notes from Counties (G5 2.54.2 + 7 Clatsop, Clackamas, Douglas, Jackson, Lake, Lane, Linn.
Tillamook, Union, Wallowa. October Wishing 42% Steen + Predatory Animals. Bounties.... 6 Season, Open on Chinese Pheas-
BATES «5, «ajo eek > Hyaepe pare eepee ee ]
Trappers and Taxidermists, No- tICE DO Oe ee eae 3 NOVEMBER, 1913.
Anglers, Attentiony :os-\1: sb eine 4 Antelope in Southern Oregon.... 8 Bobeat or Lynx. Illustration. .Cover Chinese Pheasant Law.....).... 5.2% 2 Convention of Sportsmen........ 4 Hunting Accidents. ..57 7... ae 9 Manslauehter \s tier a Saer . Sees i Notes from Counties? . 2a..hi2en 12
Baker. Benton, Clackamas, Clat- sop, Douglas. Harney, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, Lake. Lane, Linn, Marion, Morrow, Multno-
Page eighteen
Page mah, Polk, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa, Washington.
Pheasant Attends Court......... 8 Riddle Rod and Gun Club....... 10 Reeves Pheasant, Nest of... ).... we
Refuges for Wild Birds and Ani- mals
CUOR CC Err Ce ter er Sher Ch a eae ee ee sete eC)
Salmon Club to be Organized.... 3
DECEMBER, 1913.
Another Hunter Killed.......... 3 Duck Shooting Along Columbia... 2 Fishing Trips, Short Winter..... 8 Laws Governing Season on Game Pish on cmeethilan’.}. clas cee 6 licenses, Urapping =... yee 11 Migratory Birds, Open Season; Zone Mia) las y. res sheep. ey 10 Notes from Counties............ 13 Baker, Benton, Douglas, Har- ney, Josephine, Jackson, Lin- coln, Lake, Linn, Lane, Multno- mah, Wallowa, Washington. Rivers and Streams of Oregon... 4 Sportsmanship, Spirit of......... i: Seasons on Game Fish, Law...... 6 Season, Open for Migratory Birds, Zone VAs itches. ecu eee 10 Shore Bird” Season) 27°. wm... es 12° Shooting for Charity) iis... ase 12 Sportsmen Interested in State COMVEDLION at... - teen ri eae 13 Trappine daicenses: 3). silent 11 Where to Fish in December..... 7 Western Willet. Illustration. .Cover Volume II.
JANUARY, 1914. Deschutes River Law............ 2 Duck Season... ijn oaies Mae oe 12 Hungarian Partridge, Introduc-
LON OF; Gs FSU: cosine Sm ed 3 i. otes trom: “Commits... skin yop en 14 Baker, Benton, Clackamas, Clat- sop, Crook, Douglas, Harney, Jackson, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Union, Wallowa, Yamhill. Pollution of our Streams........ 1 Quail, Bobwhite iy gave »<eemn Ge 7 Quail on Hand. Illustration. ..Cover
Quail, Trapping and Distributing 10 Rivers and Streams—Part 2..... 4 Season, Duck
THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
Shipping Game Silverton and her Sewage System 1
FEBRUARY. ERETORUS Ws psSUii ax atak cp thahe ys (i sana Sin aly Conviction et aw evs. caele eee 17 Coon, Young. Illustration....Cover Fish, Distribution of . . ..../45 «6. 13 Game Protection Mund.....:..... 1 Game Birds Liberated.......... 5 Paeenses,, Heport. Of. 26... 55... 16 pathy CARRE Oi as acts +s <cnays one's 16 Rivers and Streams—Part 3..... 6 Shate, CONVENTION 5 cts» ae ee» 15 MARCH. Aihien, Gun Wawona Se ek es 1 BaShimise Woanber dite Sot kea ate tb et.) 3 10 Game Protective Association.... 9 Grouse, Ruffed. 4 Illustrations.. 3 Law, Why Enforced... Po. 6% 1 Notes trom Counties 30. 2202004 & 14 Baker, Clackamas, Clatsop, Douglas, Josephine, Lake, Multnomah, Union, Umatilla, Wasco. Rivers and Streams—Part 4..... dat
Ruffed Grouse. Illustration. ..Cover United States Supreme Court De- CUSNG Aner sh eit cers eal ak Steals wd 2
APRIL. Anglers’ Outlook Another Case of Manslaughter.. 4 Anglers’ Club, Annual Meeting.. 6 Bear, Black 8 Brolosi¢al Survey onc «ic ops era els« 13 Clackamas County Viewpoint.... 11 Fishing in Government Canal.... 17
Gull. 4 SlinstraGion: 5. 5 se'5 cnr. Cover AGH et ba oh oe ial see ent &, od Locking the Barn Door......... 3 Multnomah Anglers’ Club....... 6 Notes from Counties...) . 2 a. a... 18
Curry, Crook, Jackson, Klam-
atn, Lake, Lane, Lincoln, Linn,
Multnomah, Union, Wallowa. Planks for-a Sportsman’s Plat-
LEG t7 OP aapaah ee OM eg Rk ey La en 21 Rivers and Streams—Part 5..... 9 Sportsmen’s League. Illustrated. 5 Sportsmen’s Organizations ...... 15 OREN ARIOMG et the Sieur casper ess ook, 0 iG
MAY. Anglers—Good Sport .. 0: ...... ING Beaver, Studying Habits........ 6
Page Brook. Trout, astern... ...2..'.. 4 Jhinese Pheasant Mother. Illus- TORRID Uo ies one Ree MAS Cover DuGls SHOOHED fe gees. le bites oes 5 Deschutes, Winter Fishing....... 3 Fishing, Salmon. 1 lllustration.. 1 ishing Never yi. hi Mss ot 1 Mishimpy Winter Ut are 3 Federal Work, Munds...i.0.... 3 Hunters May Go to Penitentiary 2 Human, Nature iaaries. s 1.dnd3 5: 6 Notes from Counties.........:.. 18
Clackamas, Grant, Harney, Jackson, Klamath, Lake, Lane,
Linn, Multnomah, Umatilla, Washington. Rivers and Streams—Part 6..... 11 Salmon Fishing. Illustrated..... il anon lwp) <ifis. «apie vies ts Pam bs 14 Salmon Club By-Laws........... 15 Mroun, Wastern rool. so. «a3. 4 Wool, “Game jisis chat ets. betcha: 7 Willamette Falls [llustration.... 6 JUNE. Animals; Predatory, ce... -. 2. + 19 Animals, Fur Bearing, Report.... 20 Bird Homes, Robber of......... = Birds, Greatest Enemy of........ 2 COMSAT eae ert Me GAN ess agi ates! «2's 3 Cougar Fight with Deer......... 4 Cougar and Timber Wolf........ Ly Cat with Robin. Illustration. .Cover Deer, Fight with Cougar........ 4 Ela Wialcsen ten spr Co 28 eee igee fcuk 2%. 25) v2 ay 2) 5 Notes bye Waki ti is 6 8k a once 16 Pheasant Farming. 3 Illustrations 6 EMeasants (OMVGCSE | j.0 oa. 6)s@ «Leon « 15 Predatory Animals, Bounty...... 19 Rivers and Streams—Part 7..... 12 Sportsmen’s Organizations ...... 18 Sportsman’s Catechism. :.;. +... .,< 21 Wnitolerd 2 laura oYer ta a5 Oy ae ee Li JULY. Antelope. Illustration ....... Cover Bobeat) Killed by Wolf... 2. .... 9 Boy sandy G wales eee ons idee. 25 Brownsville Rod and Gun Club. Tuite te ds re Liat ess ees. SS 9 Notes from. Counties... 0060... 21 Baker, Benton, Clackamas, Clat- sop, Coos, Crook, Curry, Doug- las, Lane, Harney, Wasco. Pheasants, Raising Young. 3 II- PUTER ETON pe a Sle le Sed os 10
Page nineteen
THE OREGON SPORTSMAN
Partridge, Hungarian Partridge, Hungarian. Colored Il-
lustrationes sec: eats. ho eee 2 Rivers and Streams—Part 8..... ii Salmon, Chinook Record......... 9 Seasons, Closed¢ i... . sass) tees speeds 15 Trout, Pinserhine 3 >... qacraet ee 6 Wardens; Deputy Gamernuay) ser 15 Wolf Trapped. “a hayseh. otek dee 16
AUGUST.
Mecidental Shooting. . -tiis7). wee 2 Anglers’ Casting Tournament... 10 Angling aecord 2345/2... eee 20 Deer, Black-tailed. [lustration. Cover Deer, \Open (Season eas i. 2 aes 3 Deer, White-tailed. 3 Illustrations 5 Handicap, St Pacuciesas ee 2 9 Penitentiary Awaits Hiim.:....-. 1 Pheasant Chicks. Illustrated... 4 Rivers and Streams—Part 9..... 16 Season, Open on iWeer hea. ee 3 Stocking Mountain Lakes. 2 II-
lustratroms® tlh) ei Rae. 1] Sportsmen’s Banquet ........... 20 Warning) 28k. 2 epee eee. ees 21
SEPTEMBER.
Bobcat Bounty oles hae eee 5 Denny udee iO, ING here eae 11 Federal Regulations, New....... 4 Federal Inspector Appointed.... 5 Game; Mengee ta... Lose eee ] GamevReragee ny oy coe ee waa 20 Laws, State and Federal......... 12 Menace to Forests and Game..... 1 Pheasant,; Chimese. i, aes ane 20 Pigeon, Band-tailed. Illustration
Bo. Sieh Woe G fuente) os tact ae eae meee Cover Pigeon, Band-tailed, Notes...... 13 Pigeon, Passeneer ©) hve Ae ea ae 3 Quail, Varieties. Tllustrated..... 9 Salmon, Feeding Fingerling..... 6 State and Federal Law......... 12 Stocking Mountain Lakes. 2 II-
lustraltioms: eae ieees se eae 14 Season, Closed Hunting......... 12 Season, Closed on Quail and
Pheasants: 3.20 7o20 uae eee eee 9)
OCTOBER. Bobeat reed by Coyotes}e 447 2 20 Baldpate, Ulustration ya): pave Cover Cat Problems. <f ac ie deeneh se 4 Conditions, Winter Game........ 15 Deer in Umatilla County........ 20 Dove; Game. Bird’? \ Aare Sea ee. 3 ee ecient mene ate ahoe einen eae 19, 20
Page twenty
Page Fish, Do They Suffer Paim?.....). bly Game Birds, Reports on Liberated 18 Owls, “Birr owanoy cy iia. ee 13 Partridges, Humeariaw =. een 19 Pheasants, Chinese. Colored Il- LUStTAtiOW 2% Seer (eee eee 2 BCe,) Wald ic cere sce een ee meee 19 Steens Mountains Conditions..... 15
Season, Time Table of Hunting.. 14 Season, Open on Chinese Pheas-
ETOH Meo eee ae eouwir aicto Peat es 20 Sportsmen’s Organizations ...... 12 Trout, Blaeke iS potheda. seas. 9) Widgeon. illustration’)... ..5 Cover What Are You Doing to Help?.. 21
NOVEMBER. Bear Cub, Black. Illustration.. Cover Birds and Insect Pests. Illustrated 10 Bear Caught with Crawfish Bait. 19
Bounty aw 2aottedwecks earn ene 1 Game Protection, Effective...... 2 Game Conditions About Ashland. 18 Klamath County Notes... .. 0/2... 20 Menaee,) Avi. 2 i. ieshinth.ogal neg it ieee 21 Pheasants, Late Broods......... 20 Partridges and Quail, Report.... 14 Pelage,, Variations: ii fois aasmyeth Gey 9 QuailiReporth:.ats sii Geis wkna eee 14 Quail, Tate Broods4 yr. eee 20 Refuge,. "Wald hitter... crown 17 SATO eet nui tee eer cae ekeaeniees 15 Trout, Closed Season........... 20 Trout, Record Rainbow......,.... 20 Wolves Wrapping rs i ) a. oars + DECEMBER. California Fish and Game....... 2 Cougar Bounties in California... 3 County Associations Meet....... 10 Deer Slayers Brought to Justice 16 Does; Protect: thecccw apes yas mee 21 Economic Value of Wild Birds... 5 Elk“ Game” Coutetry se. eee ve ons 11 Game, Value toy State. Soha 12 Game Conditions, Upper Claecka- 19007 Fa deh HEE TA NY yo Sf El 16
Geese and Grain Crops, Wild.... 17 Goose, Hutchins. Illustration. .Cover
Importation of New Species..... 1 Notes, Western Lane County..... 4 Notes, Southeastern Oregon..... 15 Sportsmen ’s. Geaowe Foc. eon 8
Sportsmen Meet at La Grande... 11
Trout, Eastern Brook, Linn Co... 4
Trout, Eastern Brook, Linn County, & sg Mal pa aheaay borer. seen 4
Protect the Does
WHY
do some hunters want to change the present deer law so they can legalize the killing of does? Is it
because they are not so wild and are easier killed?
Deer are gregarious and polygamous. One buck
will attend to a moderate sized herd of does.
WHY
kill the female deer when she may have fawns
this year and next?
The true sportsman wants an annual open season and a moderate bag limit. He doesn’t want to kill now at the expense of the future and deprive his
children of all such sport.
KILL NO DEER EXCEPT THOSE HAVING HORNS.
This law is the best safeguard in the woods. A hunter who waits to distinguish between a buck and a doe, will not be guilty of murdering his friend or
relative.
WHY CHANGE THE PRESENT LAW?
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