RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



67 



with coneys, a little animal rather smaller 

 than a prairie dog, that kept up an inces- 

 sant chattering until dark. We were 

 camped close to the onl}- spring near 

 there, and that might have been the cause of 

 their discomfiture. The pines grow stunted 

 in this region, and as man}' of them were 

 loosened from the rocks we rolled them 

 together and built a roaring fire to keep off 

 the inevitable mosquitoes, which were num- 

 erous and hungry, and also an^' hungr}' car- 

 nivora that might be prowling around, 

 although they mostly exist in the imagina- 

 tion. We cooked and ate our supper, and 

 turned in, and slept as only hunters can 

 sleep. We had no opportunity to dry our 

 bedding so we had to roll into them wet. 

 Although we had snow banks above, below, 

 and all around us, the air was quite mild. 

 We were up and finished our bite be- 

 fore sunrise and struck for the range, leav- 

 ing our horses where we camped. We trav- 

 eled several miles over snow banks and 

 grassy slopes. Where the snow had gone 

 off, flowers of the most beautiful tints and 

 fantastical shapes were blooming in pro-' 

 fusion, and the whole air was enriched with 

 their fragrance. What a contrast, to gather 

 a beautiful bouquet with one hand and snow 

 with other at the same time ! We found one 

 pair of old ptarmigans with a brood of five 

 young. They all scrambled into the rocks 

 and hid on our approach, but the poor little 

 fellows had to hand over their mite as a con- 

 tribution to science, which they did reluc- 

 tantl3\ We also found one single male 

 adult, and one male dusk}' grouse. 



We collected some fine specimens of Lepi- 

 doptera on the road and they obliged us to 

 retrace onrsteps, and keptour legs and insect 

 nets busy until we reached camp. Everything 

 was there but the horses, but we found them 

 within a mile ; soon had them packed, and 

 started down the hill, reaching the bottom, 

 tired and hungr}', about sun-down. 



At the foot of the trail there is a pile of 

 rocks covering about a quarter of an acre, 

 and rising nearly perpendicular about fif- 

 teen feet. It stands on an almost level 

 piece of ground surrounded with heav}- tim- 

 ber on three sides. The man that owns the 

 ground called my attention to it. He said 

 it was an old fort, and although he had 

 lived there several years he had but recently 

 discovered it as such. I started to look it 



over, expecting to find another Cardiff 

 giant or Silver Lake seipent got up for 

 the job. But I found it had been 

 a stronghold of no mean proportions ; 

 whether it had been fortified by whiles or 

 red skins I cannot answer. On the top of 

 the fort all around the outer edge, heavy 

 stones were placed in courses to about three 

 feet in height, forming a very formidable 

 breast-work, with port holes either for arrows 

 or rifles. Large pitch pine trees were also 

 laid horizonta ly, and heavy stones placed 

 on them, but the trees have gone to decay 

 and ceased to hold the stones in the place 

 where they were formerly. I searched, with- 

 out avail, for several hours to discover some 

 trace or relic of its former occupants, but 

 on descending I found a cave on a level with 

 the ground where there had been a fire, as 

 the walls were thickly covered with soot and 

 grease. There were a great many remnants 

 of charred bone lying around, but with my 

 small knowledge of osteology I coukl not 

 decide to what class of mammalia they be- 

 longed, with the exception of the half of a 

 lower jaw bone with all the teeth intact, 

 which was decidedly human. I think that 

 probably some early pioneers, closely driven 

 by Indians, had fortified themselves there, 

 perhaps to be starved or murdered, and 

 their remains burnt to hide the crime ; but 

 I hope some of your readers will be able to 

 throw more light on this dark subject. 



Wm. G. Smith. 



Wild Flowers of Warwick.— II. 



The very kindlv reception given to our 

 recent article upon the Warwick flowers, 

 tempts us once again to take up the subject. 

 From accident, rather than design, we omit- 

 ted many interesting plants from our former 

 list. There are many things attractive to 

 the botanist alone, and in the economic 

 sense, good for nothing. Yet one never 

 knows when the most despised of natural 

 products is to become useful. Even the 

 microscopic diatoms have found their value. 

 So, in the pursuit of pure science, the in- 

 vestigator often alights upon a truch. 

 Then a chorus of surprise comes up from 

 the private box of the critics, and a shout of 

 '' Didn't I tell you so?" 



But all this is apart from the proper ma I- 



