CUliVID.K — THE CHOWS. O'ol 



It was never kiu»\vn to attempt to injure even the >:!uallest of tlie yun^' 

 il«>U8, nor did anv ol tlie dous ever oiler to annov it. It at lenutli came to 

 be considered l>y idl as an inmate ot" tiie e&tal>lishnient. Wliile it s«'emed to 

 have full eontidenee in the }>eoi)le of the fort, it kept at a careful distam-e 

 from all Indian or Ks(|uimaux visitors. 



Mr. I). K. lioss speaks of Havens as common as far north as the Arctic 

 Ocean. Thev feed on carrion, and act as scaveujiers to the establishments. 

 Their si'dit is remarkably keen, and the saj^acity with which thev Ibllow tlie 

 trai»per is wonderful. Pkrly as the hunter may start, these liarpies will ha\ e 

 been before him, and torn out the eyes and entr.iils of each hare. They will 

 break into marten-traps for the sake of the bait or the cajitured animal, 

 thrusting aside or pulling out with their l>eaks the slicks that compose the 

 enclosure. Sometimes they are cauiiht in steel traps that are set for foxes, 

 or eat the strychnine baits laid for the same animals, and sL)wly succumb to 

 this powerful poison. Their Hesli is so rank that even a fox, unless sorely 

 pres.sed by h mger, will not eat it. They pair in April, and usually con- 

 struct their nests in the loltiest trees. They have various call-notes, one of 

 which is like that '>f the Canada Goose, and another is said by Mr. Kcjss to 

 be very liquid and musical. 



Mr. Dall states that these biids were abundant all the year at Nulato, and 

 indeed everywhere throughout Alaska, ]>ut much more commcm near the 

 Indian yilla<4es and tradinLi-i>osts than elsewhere. They build on the .-^and- 

 stone clitls at Nulato, in cavities that have been occuitied for years. They 

 lay about the 2(ith of April, and the young are hatched before open water. 

 He also s})eaks of them as very intelligent, and states that on several ex- 

 peditions made to o1>tain their eggs, the instant he stopped at the foot of 

 the blufl' the whole colony would arrange themselves on the edge of the 

 rock in anxious consultation, uttering repeated cries of warning. On one 

 occasion, where the nest was inaccessible and the party went back unsuc- 

 cessful, their de])arture was announced by significant and joyous croaks 

 and derisive screeches. Havens were also found by Mr. liannister com- 

 mon all the year on the small islands lying off the northeast point of St. 

 ^Ii<'haels. 



In the Eastern States the IJaven is a comparatively rare bird, except in a 

 few special localities. These are usually mountain-ranges, high ]>recipitous 

 banks of rivers and lakes and of the ocean, and amon<^ wild and lonely 

 islands. It occurs on the Labrador coast, at Orand Menan in the Hav of 

 Fundy, the Adirondacks, Lake (leorge, the Huds(»n IJiver, etc. ^Ir. Law- 

 rence S])eaks of it as tpiite common on the coast of Xew eTersey. It is 

 found among the mountains of Runcondje and other counties in Xortli 

 Carolina, and Mr. Audubon menti<uis its occurrence at Table ^lountain, in 

 the district of Pendleton, South Carolina. Dr. Cones found L'avens not rare 

 at Labrador, wliere the almost inaccessible clifts alford them safe and con- 

 venient reti'eats. They were so excessively wary that it was found impossi- 



