NEW YORK, THURSDAY, OCT. 8, 1874. 



» Chalhnm 6t. (CityHaU«qr.) 



For Forest and Stream.. 

 THE GRAVE OF CAPTAIN HALL. 



THE day was night, and the night was day. 

 And the earth was cold and drear, 

 An iceberg Digit loomed ghostly high 

 O'er a funeral train and bier. 



The starry flag hnug half-mast, high, 



While the kindly stars above 

 Id the nigbt-rn day looked' down alway 



With a distant, helpIeBs love. 



God's sun was u'.-ad ho long ago 



We lived in endless night, 

 But the sad, far stars, gazed through the bars 



Of the weird Boreal light. 



The Polar blast swept o'er a plain 



As smooth as tne waveless sea, 

 Like a voiceless breath from the lips of Death, 



So fiercely, silently . 



We scooped bis grave in the iron earth 



Of the ever frozen zone, 

 And the strong man lay with his kindred clay, 



As cold, and dead, and lone. 



No choir may sing his requiem, 



No shaft may mark his tomb; 

 Go, place his name on the roll of fame, 



Where the brave find ever room. 



Though flowers deck not the distant grave, 



Nor tears bedew its turf, 

 We hear his dirge in the solemn surge 



Of the ever sounding surf. J . J . Hoohe. 



foologg of the Northwestern 

 ritorieu. 



yer= 



THE ANSERINE AND CYGNINyE. 



THE ansertna?, notwithstanding all references to their 

 ungainly movement and doltish intellect, still main- 

 tain their exalted position in the sportsman's estimation, 

 and he, if keen of observation, will learn from them many 

 things that -will materially entitle them to advancement in 

 the mental grade, and prove Ihe truth of that very old 

 adage which specifies that you cannot judge of things by 

 their outward appearance. A goose, waddling around the 

 barn yard, may not present a very graceful appearance, 

 nor seem anything above an idiotically obtuse bird men- 

 tally, yet that ungainly creature, when in its natural state, 

 has an ease of motion iu flight, which will compare with 

 ;my of the feathered tribe, and evinces a knowledge of the 

 means of defence and of overcoming its enemies that few 

 can excel. I am unacquainted with any bird more cau- 

 tious, vigilant, and apprehensive of danger than this, and 

 these qualities alone should entitle it to more respect than 

 writers unacquainted with its habits have shown when 

 speaking of it, for few carry the objection as far as the 

 table. A round, plump wild goose makes a delicious mor- 

 ceau for the palate; and all the trouble of hunting after it 

 through marshes, morasses, or lakes is amply repaid When 

 its succulent, flesh, moistened by the contents of a musty 

 old bottle marked "Lafitte" passes down the thoracic cav- 

 ity. Wild geese of different varieties are so dense in Ore- 

 gon, "Washington Territory, Alaska, and Idaho in certain 

 seasons as to require one to use the millions to number 

 them. Not a species of the family known to this conti- 

 nent leaves the region unvisited, so that it is, in my estima- 

 tion, with all due allowances for other places, the greatest 

 resort for geese in the world. 



Certain portions of California, such as the Sacramento 

 and San Joaquin valleys, will compare with Oregon in tie 

 profusion of geese, but shooting is enjoyed at least a month 

 earlier iu the northern than in the southern State. One of 

 the commonest is the snow goose {Anser hyperboreas), and 

 that is found from Alaska to Mexico. This variety has 

 reddish legs and bill; body color pure white; primary 

 quills silvery bluish, gray towards the base; spurious quills 

 bluish; inside of wings, except primaries, white. 11 fre- 



quents the sand bars of the Columbia and "Willamette 

 rivers in countless numbers in the autumn, especially dur- 

 ing the night and dry weather, the plains being preferred 

 during the cool of the day, or in rainy weather. The usual 

 mode of hunting it is to lie in ambush behind a fence on the 

 prairie, and as the waddlers approach to give them both 

 barrels, heavily laden with No. 1, or buckshot; this is sure 

 to leave half a dozen hors tie combat, and very often double 

 the number. If the hunter does not show himself, he is 

 liable to get several volleys at them, as the noise frightens 

 them only for a few moments. Should their suspicion be 

 aroused, they rise upward slowly in a dense cloud of white, 

 and sound their alarum notes; but they may not go over 

 fifty yards ere they alight again, so that the amusement 

 may be continued without much toil or inconvenience. 

 Another mode is to mount a horse and approach them as 

 close as possible, then give them the contents of your bar- 

 rels, and if they do not fly to draw still nearer and give 

 them smaller shot at from forty to sixty yards. 



I have seen huuters west of the Rocky Mountains ap- 

 proach a flock under shelter of oxen or cows, and bag forty 

 or fifty brace ere the foolish natatores could tell what was 

 the cause of the noise and their own destruction. 



Tn Oregon, the chasseurs hunt on the prairies during wet 

 or lowering weather, but resort to the sand bars of the 

 rivers during moonlight nights and sunny days. Some ex- 

 cellent sport can be enjoyed by shooting the birds on the 

 bars as they return from their feeding grounds late in the 

 evening, or taking them on the wing as they fly past. A 

 favorite method for hunting them at night is to light a fire 

 on the river bank, or bar, so that its glow may illumine the 

 nonking natatores adjacent, and then pouring volley after 

 volley into them as they rise in the air to escape the un- 

 usual apparition, or to study its meaning and purpose. 



No matter iu what way the birds are killed, there seems 

 to be no diminution in their numbers at the return of each 

 season, as they are reported abundant everywhere, from 

 the Pacific Ocean to the Missouri River. This species 

 winters in southern California, Texas, and Florida, reach- 

 ing its grouuds about the first of December, though of 

 course many arrive at their southern home a couple of 

 mouths before that time. 



The white fronted, or laughing goose (Anscr gambelli, or 

 Albifrons), has reddish legs and bill; alongside of bill and 

 forehead, white; margined behind with blackish brown; 

 remainder of neck and head grayish brown, but paler on 

 the fugulum. The back is bluish gray; the feathers ante- 

 riorly tipped with brown; the breast and belly are grayish 

 white, blotched with black; the anal region, flanks, be- 

 neath tail and upper coverts, white; greater coverts edged 

 with white. Tail, sixteen feathers, and colored brown, 

 with white tips; axillars and under surface of wings ashy 

 plumbeous. This species is very abundant in the autumn, 

 and some remain all winter; but the greater number go 

 farther South. At the mouth of the Columbia River, and 

 in the valley of the Willamette, it can he found in large 

 flocks, but it seems to be quite scarce along Puget Sound. 

 It appears to prefer the gtfissy patches along streams flow- 

 ing into the ocean, or the tidewater flats so "abundant in 

 several parts of Oregon and Washington Territory. 



The Bernkla. Canadensis, or Canada goose, is the largest, 

 as well as most abundant, of the family. This has black 

 legs, head, neck, and bill; a large triangular patch of white 

 decorates the cheeks behind the eye; the two of the oppo- 

 site sides are broadly confluent beneath, but do not extend 

 to the rami of the lower jaw; a few whitish feathers on 

 eyelids. The superior region is brown, with paler edges; 

 anterior light, with tinge of purplish gray; body of feath- 

 ers darker on inside of wings, sides, tibia, and axillars. 

 The upper tail coverts are white; the primary quills and 

 rump blackish brown; tail feathers black. This bird has 

 a length of 35 inches; wing, 18 inches; tarsus, 3.10 inches; 

 and commissure, 2.10 inches. It breeds from Alaska to 

 Oregon, but its favorite habitat for that purpose is the 

 streams flowing from the higher mountains into the Co- 

 lumbia. I have seen more of them on the Snake River, 



where it flows through northern Idaho, than in any other 

 section of country. Their selection of this region for the 

 purposes of incubation is an excellent one, as they find a 

 profusion of tender grass along its margin, and it is, be- 

 sides, free from any disturbing elements, for nothing larger 

 than an Indian canoe traverses its waters during the greater 

 portion of the year. While passing up this river on a 

 steamer, last May, I saw several couples parading their 

 young broods along the beach, and, though naturally timid, 

 yet they took no notice of our puffing monster until it 

 approached close to the shore, when they trotted off very 

 quietly, and apparently in no hurry. We chased a few in 

 the water, but the parents remained with the youngsters 

 until we approached close enough to almost touch them; 

 they flew, then, but with great reluctance, and left the pip- 

 ing, alarmed goslings to look out for # themselves. This the 

 latter apparently understood, for when the steamboat sent 

 a volume of water rolling towards them they dived under 

 the miniature mountain of hyaline fluid, and by this means 

 escaped. It was exceedingly interesting to watch them 

 seek cover under the muddy billows, and in a few mo- 

 ments emerge, with open bill, in the greatest excitement, 

 and in a soft, musical tone call for their guardians. About 

 the middle of June these are half grown, and are then 

 killed in large numbers by both Indians and whites. I 

 have shot them with my revolver from the deck of a 

 steamer, as they were quite numerous even within the dis- 

 tance that would carry. "With a shot gun one could reap 

 an anserinian harvest that would set the the spor'smen of 

 the East or Great Britain in au ecstatic frenzy. 



This goose is a denizen of all the high plateaus between 

 the Missouri River and the Pacific Ocean, and rears its 

 young in many of the streams percolating the country, es- 

 pecially those which have a medium altitude and a north- 

 ern latitude. It is exceedingly abundant throughout the 

 West from the 1st of October to the middle of December. 

 On the plains of Nebraska flocks numbering thousands' are 

 found along the Platte River late in the autumn, and large 

 numbers of these are killed by both sportsmen and pot 

 hunters. The favorite method of hunting here, is to 

 dig a hole in the stubble fields frequented by the geese, 

 cover it with straw, and lie in wait until four o'clock in the 

 afternoon, when the birds return to feed, then shoot iuto 

 them as they fly over, and in this way the hunter manages 

 to return home each evening heavily laden with his spoils. 

 Wounded or dead geese are often used as decoys, and prove 

 valuable auxiliaries to the sportsman. Shooting them on 

 the sand bars, as they return to their sleeping grounds, is 

 also practiced extensively, and generally with excellent 

 success. 



The Bernkla IIutcMnsii resembles the Canadensis, except 

 that it is smaller. It has a length of about 30 inches, the 

 tarsus being 2.70, and the commissure 1.76 inches. Its 

 weight ranges from eight to twelve pounds, whereas the 

 preceding will often rflach eighteen, and sometimes exceed 

 this figure. 



The black brant (Berm'cla nigricans), the most duck-like 

 in its habits of all the anserinfc, frequents the coast region 

 principally, making its habitat among the salt marshes or 

 tidewater lands. Its head, neck, and body, anterior to the 

 wings, are a deep black, passing into sooty plumbeous on 

 the remainder of the body, except the rump, where black 

 prevails, The throat has a white patch iu the middle and 

 on the sides; the collar on the nape is interrupted behind 

 by an isthmus of black. The body is small, but the flesh 

 is excellent; thevoice is quite thin, not being by any means 

 as full and vigorous as that of its congeners, When flocks 

 are flying over at night one can readily detect this species 

 by its vocal peculiarity. Another means of distinguishing 

 it in the air is that it does not adopt the V shape in flight, 

 and that the flocks, in their migrations, are much smaller 

 in numbers than the other varieties or species. It seems 

 to be very fond of the water, as it is liable to be found at 

 any moment riding the billows flowing shoreward, or wafl- 

 euabout by the gentler current of a lake. A large portion 

 of its food is composed of fish, yet the flesh is free from 



