24 



THE OREGON NATURALIST. 



2 kings and 2 queens. 



2 kings and 2 blanks. 



2 queens and 2 blanks. 



2 kings I queen and I blank. 



2 queens, I king and I blank. 



2 blanks, i king and i queen is the lowest 

 possible throw, and counts nothing. 



The spots and marks on the dice are very nice- 

 ly done. The hollow ends of the teeth are fill- 

 ed with little wooden plugs, which are held in 

 place by sinews hound tightly around the ends 

 over the plugs. The squaw stated that they are 

 very old, and remembered sesiiig them played 

 when she was a young girl, which must have 

 been 50 years ago, as stie is quite an old woman. 

 Besides, beaver are very scarce here now, where 

 once they were very plentiful. Cuts of one of 

 each of the set are published with this. 



Ed a. Schloth. 



Portland, Oregon. 



• — *^»» — • 



THE CHIMNEY S'-Vl-T. 



( ChcBtu ra p''la':'^i'i ?} 



The general ranje of the Chimney Swift ex- 

 tends from Eastern North America to the plains 

 and the species is a common summer resident of 

 the Atlantic states. It arrives in New England 

 by May loth. and commences building at once. 



Many years ago, the bird was accustomed to 

 employhoUow trees for this purpose, but the un- 

 used flues of chimneys were fina'ly and are now 

 invariably adopted for breeding purposes and if 

 left unmolested, the same pair will resort to the 

 same flue for several years. 



The nest is built of small sticks, glued togeth- 

 er by the saliva of the bird to the sides of the 

 chimney and generally but one pair occupies the 

 same structure for the summer. 



For a few successive seasons, a pair bred in 

 my chimney, appearing morning and evening, 

 especially at times previous to showers, to play 

 with others in the neighborhood or to secure food . 



At such times they chase and twitter to each 

 other, flying over the houses, fields, and or- 

 chards, frequently remaining out to enjoy the 



coolness of evening until long after the sun has 

 set. Occas:only at sunset, I have stood and 

 watched them sailing far above the eanli, until 

 they appear like specks in the sky and a well 

 known theory has arisen that the weather at such 

 times promises to be fair. 



Once during the summer of '95, I opened the 

 flue of a chimney, and by the aid of a broken 

 mirror, saw a nest firmly fastened to the south 

 surface, about twenty feet from the top. As I 

 did so, one of the birds appeared, producing a 

 dull, booming sound with the wings, similar to 

 that made by blowing violently into an empty 

 barrel. Instantly, the young set up a peculiar, 

 loud twittering, accompanied by a flapping of 

 their wings and much stretching of necks over 

 the edge of the nest in their eagerness for food. 



In every case, the parent or parents, <iescend- 

 ed the chimney in two or perhaps more su cess- 

 ive flights, and rested at the top, before again 

 leaving. The adult birds made eighteen visits 

 witlim the four and one-half hours in which I 

 w. itched them. 



In ttie summer of '96, I again opened the l1ue 



and perceived that a new nest h jd been f istened 



on the oppposite side from the one of the [irevious 



summer. The antics of both adult and young 



were precisely the same as those of the season 



before, but nevertheless, I am looking forward 



to the coming summer when I may again greet 



my sooty companions fronf the sunny south. 



C. B. Hadley. 

 Arlington Heights, Mass. 



The Chinese have domesticated the Pelican 

 and utilize their services as a provider for the 

 family. A ring is fastened around the neck of 

 each bird when fishing so that it will not swallow 

 the fruit of its labor. Its owner rewards the fish- 

 er with a small fish after removing from its bill 

 each fish as caught. It is said that the proceeds 

 received from the sale of the fish captured by one 

 bird will support a small I'amily in China, 



Students of basketry of the Pacific Coast 

 Indians universally concede, that the best work 

 as viewed from'eveiy stand-point was made by 

 the Klickitat Indians. 



