FOREST AND STREAM. 



CFkbuttakt 8, 1881. 



While I thus amused myself with salmon, the Doctor wan 

 dered off with his shot-gun and was. as usual, rewarded for 

 his toil by having no load to carry hack. Neither he nor 1 saw a 

 bird bigger than sandpipers, of which we both obtained spe- 

 cimens of spotted and semipahnaled, and one or two tat- 

 tlers, When we left the Favorite the Major declined to accom- 

 pany us and, from his mysterious manner, it was evident 

 that he had some plan on foot which he did not disclose to 

 us. When we returned he exhibited with illy-concealed 

 pride and triumph the fruit of Ms afternoon, in the shape of 

 crabs, of which lie had with a spear, extemporized from two 

 straight ened-out halibut hooks, and a boat flagstaff, speared 

 about fifty of the kind called spider crabs -creatures with 

 legs about three times the length of the body and which we 

 found to be most delicious. The largest one was nearly 

 seventy inches from tip to lip of claws, of which but seven 

 were due to width of body. 



Sitka, Sept. 5, 1880. 



The continuation of the Favorite's log, but for this break 

 in it, would but have completed a circle, for the more impor- 

 tant of the events which occurred on the 24th and 25th of 

 August were given to you in my letter of those dates from 

 Portage Bay and Pyramid Harbor, in which I told vou of 

 our interview with Kloteh-Kutch and the settlement of the 

 war between the Clulcats and Chilcoots. 



Our trip to Portage Bay from William Henry Bay, which 

 occupied the 23d of "August, was but a repetition of the day 

 before- Fair winds, clear sky, pleasant weather and magnifi- 

 cent scenery, which at last palled upon us, and we thought 

 nothing of a glacier that did not present some new and strik- 

 ing aspect. 



The character of the scenery changed somewhat as we 

 went north — it lost in beauty, "but gained in grandeur, the 

 timber became of smaller growth and instead of Teaching to 

 the summits of the lulls stopped short at perhaps a thousand 

 feet, and was surmounted by barren, rocky ridges and peaks. 

 And in many places we saw what we had seen south of Peril 

 Straits, but nowheTe between them and William Henry Bay 

 —patches of dead trees staudiug out in relief through their 

 White trunks. In this vicinity "the death of so much forest 

 might be considered as due to icy blastB coming over the gla- 

 ciers, but that would not account for the same further south. 



We left Pyramid Harbor early on the 20th and, favored in 

 every way by wind, tide and weather, reached Sitka on the 

 28th without an adventure en route. Our trip has beeu in 

 every way u success and will be the forerunner of others, for 

 though much has been done there remains much more to do. 



In closing this scries I must admit that my powers of de- 

 scription have not been equal to the task I undertook. My 

 written words but tamely describe the memories of 



Piskoo. 



PIPES AND SMOKING. 



A DISCOURSE on cloud-blowing may not strictly fail 

 within the province of Forest And Stream, but I am 

 persuaded that nothing which pertains to human comfort is 

 alien to it. 



Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well ; and this is 

 the more true and emphatic in respect to that which is done 

 so much. For I take it, that next to eating and drinking 

 and sleeping and tire-making, there is no one operation more 

 0Xteii8ively performed every day by civilized humanity than 

 that of smoking. From sunrise to the waning midnight- 

 lamp the pipe or cigar is the companion and comforter alike 

 of peasant and philosopher. 



But I have nothing to say of cigars. I confess that there 

 is nothing like the genuine Cabagua or Partagas, or Panatella 

 or Silva. They are perfection, like Burgundy among wines, 

 and exhilerate the whole being, mental and physical, and 

 make every fibre tingle with pleasure. Springing from the 

 Indian soapstone pipe— the protoplasm or monad, so to speak 

 —they present a brilliant illustration of the doctrine of evo- 

 lution. But when the Confederacy disappeared from the 

 horizon they departed with it, and are now as mythical as the 

 lost Pleiad. My theme is pipes and their concomitants — 

 stems and tobacco. The essentials ot a good smoke are: 1. 

 A good pipe ; 2. a good stem ; and 3. good tobacco. 



The indispensable to a good pipe is that it shall absorb the 

 nicotine and other noxious properties of tobacco ; in a word, 

 consume the tobacco without sweating it, for thereby its fla- 

 vor is impaired or destroyed and its venom aggravated. This 

 indispensable depends partly on the construction of the pipe, 

 but mainly on the material of which it is constructed. The 

 foam of the sea — Pecurne ds mer (meerschaum) — in its pure 

 state is, beyoud doubt, the best material for a perfect pipe. 

 It is light and porous, absorbs the nicotine and consumes the 

 tobacco dry. But what is noteworthy and marks the effect 

 of depraved fashion, one of these perfect pipes is not appre- 

 ciated, or at least its commercial value does not reach its 

 acme until it is "colored," that is, saturated with nicotine, 

 and of course no longer performs the highest and most benefi- 

 cent function of a good pipe — that of absorption. There are 

 a great many frauds on the genuine article, only to be tie 

 tected, without trial, by an expert or by costly trial by a 

 tyro. 



Of the woods used for pipes, all the fine-grained and com- 

 pact, such as ivy and laurel, hard enough to be carved, are 

 unfit for smoking. They may be pretty toys, but they sweat 

 the tobacco and are worse than worthless— they are nui- 

 sances. 



The root of the bamboo briar is the nearest and beet ap- 

 proximation of the genuine sea-foam. It is as light and as 

 porous, smokes the tobacco dry and clean, and the only draw- 

 back is its liability to burn. But by slow smoking, such as 

 becomes the philosopher, that evil may, in most cases, be 

 avoided. The decaying roots make the best pipes, if not too 

 much decayed. An inexperienced person, in seeking roots, 

 would reject these as worthless — as sodden wood — for they 

 are black as your boot and heavy as lead ; but in a few days' 

 exposure they become as light as cork, and if they do not re- 

 tain their shining black assume a mahogany color. Pipes 

 made of the green roots will stand harder smoking, but they 

 are not altogether as good absorbers. 



The corn-cob makes a perfect pipe, but must be used with 

 great care to prevent itself being smothered. 



As to the construction of a pipe, it should he an inch deep 

 and half an inch to three-quarters in diameter; and as a 

 general rule as large at bottom as top. I do not say univer- 

 sal, for in " projeckin'" with briar-roots I have made some 

 pipes as crooked as a ram's horn, three or four inches long, 

 and with a succession of chambers of variouB diameters, and 

 one of these monstrosities still lingers in memory as the 

 sweetest pipe I ever smoked. So there are exceptions to 

 general rules, even in pipe-fature, 



N. B.— Before leaving pipes, let it be impressed upon you 

 that in smoking a briar-root hurry slowly— festina lentc— 

 and never forget that it is neither iron nor fire-proof brick. 



Items — A stem should be so open and free that you will 

 be unconscious of the suction. Tou imperceptibly create a 

 vacuum in. the. mouth, which is spontaneously and insensibly 

 tilled with smoke. That, in its material features, is the per- 

 fection of a stem. Of the aromatic German cherry I know 

 little and have nothing to say, except that all I have seen are 

 too heavy for my taste. Of native stems, the Indian reed of 

 Florida, called by the Indians "Ti-ti," makes an admirable 

 stem. It has no joints, the pith is large and may be easily 

 removed Smoked when green it becomes of a lustrous 

 ebony. If seasoned it darkens more slowly, and rarely ac- 

 quires the ebony lustre ; but that does not affect its smoking 

 qualities. It is without odor, but its easy draft, lightness 

 and long-continued freedom from rankness constitute its 

 merits. We heard it said that after long use, if one end is 

 closed and the stem filled with brandy and permitted to 

 stand a day, it wDl be as fresh as a new stem. This may be 

 true of other stems also, for there may be some hidden virtue 

 in brandy. The fig makes a stem in great repute with 

 many. If cut just, before the leaves fall, when tilled with 

 matured sap and the bark kept on, it has a pleasant aroma, 

 which it retains as long as a gentleman woidd care to use it. 

 But the bark must be carefully taken from the end that goes 

 into the mouth, or it will cause sore lips — very annoying, 

 and much like fever blisters. To prevent this effect I am 

 not certain but that the stem should be thoroughly dried be- 

 fore use. The tig has many hard joints, and the perforation 

 is difficult, and should be made hy a cold wire, and not a hot 

 one, as the latter damages the. odor. A drill and lathe is the 

 best apparatus for boring. We have in Virginia a scrubby 

 growth, called ''seven barks," which makes a beautiful 

 stem — golden yellow. Like the " Ti-ti " it has no joints, but 

 the pith is small. The first year's growth has but three 

 barks, aud the coating which encases the inner hark is ex- 

 quisite for its softness and delicacy. 



As to length of stem tastes differ. I prefer one 3£ to 4 

 feet long; for you may smoke a great deal more with im- 

 punity with a long stem. Aud then, in reading or writing, 

 the fire is beyond your clothes. True, you may now and 

 then burn a hole in* the carpet, but better that than your 

 pants or vi st, or shirt-bosom. Of course for campaigning by 

 field or llood convenience dictates aud exacts a short stem 

 and good tobacco. There is a cry in the laud for this desid- 

 eratum. Every manufacturer has it, but no smoker can get 

 it. With us the heavy excise tax has greatly contributed to 

 its disappearance. Our planters aim more at quantity than 

 quality aud it is difficult now to find the genuine Oronoko, 

 which was wont to gladden the palates of our fathers. 



All good and sweet tobacco, tit for the pipe, must bo ripe, 

 and ripe tobacco always has a tinge of brown about. The 

 fashionable, high-priced hickory-leaf tobacco is a fraud. It 

 is the product of intense heat, and has nothing of tobacco 

 about it, except the bitter. The tobacco called the Little 

 Oronoko, raised on newly-cleared land and cured in the sun, 

 has long been regarded iu Virginia as the best, thing for the 

 pipe. The lugs or bottom leases— always the ripest on the 

 plant— are esteemed the best. But this tobacco is not appre- 

 ciated by the fashionable manufacturers and its production is 

 annually decreasing. In the present state of things I do my 

 owii mixing as much as I can. I find that the mildest and 

 ripest Virginian, mixed with best Cubau, in the proportion of 

 half and half, yields a delicious cloud. Two parts of best 

 Cuban to one of Perique give the best substitute I have found 

 for a full-flavored Havana. A small pipe now and thai of 

 genuine, unmixed Perique is not without its charm. But 

 Perique is said to be a dangerous article and the appetite for 

 it grows by use. It is a product of the Taehe Parish, in 

 Louisiana, and no one but those who prepare it knows its 

 composition. It has a slight odor of an anatomical dissecting- 

 room— and having this smack of mortality aboutit, and being 

 dangerous, is tantalizing. 



Tobacco wetted and left to heat and mould— called, I be- 

 lieve, "funked"— loses its saltpetre and does not sting the 

 tongue, but also loses much of its sprightliness and flavor. 



Cuban tobacco is not adapted to the pipe. It has too much 

 saltpetre. The best Cuban cigar cut up and put into a pipe 

 bites the tomrue, whereas the same, smoked as a cigar, has no 

 bite and yields only unmixed pleasure. There is the same 

 saltpetre "in the one as the other and both are burnt hy the 

 same fire, and yet the result is radically different. Why is 

 this thus? I consulted Mr. J. F. A., one of the most scien- 

 tific of our manufacturers, and who adheres as closely as he 

 can to the old landmarks for a solution of the problem. I 

 subjoin his explanation : 



That a genuine Havana cigar out up aud smoked in tt pipe is not 

 us agreeable as -j(««\ old Virginia. I think arises from the following 

 causes : First of all, ail Havana or other tobaccos suitable for cigar 

 purposes have, before they are ready for use, to he thoroughly 

 fermented (as the grape juice is into wiucl, which entirely changes 

 the nature and quality of the leaf, extracting from it most ot its 

 vegetable gmu. which must be got rid of. or the cigar would grow 

 soft aud mushy as von smoked it-heuce Vi rginia tOOWBCO will never 

 make good cigars, as if will not yield to the proper fermentation. 

 In this fermentation the ammonia is increased and that, with the 

 nitre and potasli retained iu the tobacco after the fermentation is 

 through, will always mala; that tobacco bite the longna when put. 

 in b pipe. ' Yours, J. F. A. 



Perfectly Satisfactory as to the difference between Virgin- 

 ian and Cuban, but leaves the problem as to Cuban iu a cigar 

 and in a pipe unsolved. 



Smoking is an American invention. It had its origin wdth 

 the aborigines of this continent, and the calumet played an 

 important part iu the councils of peace and war. It was un- 

 known in the civilized nations of Eastern and Central Asia 

 It was unknown to Greece and Home. And neither Homer 

 nor Horace, Pluto nor Cicero had any conception of it. Sir 

 Walter Raleigh is recorded as the first European who intro- 

 duced the practice on the other side of the Atlantic. It is 

 now everywhere, among all civilized people, and if the band 

 of cloud-blowers could'be incorporated, it would constitute 

 the most numerous brotherhood in the universe. 



But with a good pipe, good stem and good tobacco, there 

 is still one thine needful to crown the whole— a good smoker 

 calm, meditative, philosophic aud who, with a thorough con- 

 viction of God's sympathy with man, call put the dispensa- 

 tions of Providence in his pipe aud smoke them with content. 

 Like every acquired taste, smoking is liable to abuse— to run 

 into excess and become a vice. But used in moderation, the 

 humble believer in the benignity of the Deity may be ex- 

 cused for regarding it as one of those blessings vouchsafed 

 by the Giver' of all good to case the burdens and mitigate the 

 troubles, trials and tribulations incident to this unsatisfactory 

 state of being. It stands in the same category with the par- 

 terre of flowers which regale the nostril and delight the eye. 

 It is noteworthy that the sense of sight is quite as much 



iteresled in the operation of smoking as the sense of taste. 

 No bliud man ever smokes unless he acquired the habit be- 

 fore the loss of sight ; and the most luscious cigar ever fabri- 

 cated in the Havanas would waste its sweetness on the mid- 

 night darkness. It is the eye which imparts those exquisite 

 charms to the. circling wreaths as they float away into space 

 — wreaths which, by their etherial delicacy, might justly ex- 

 cite the admiration and envy of the great cloud-compeller, 

 old Zeus himself. Vieoiniantts. 



DOMESTICATION OF THE OSTRICH. 



BY E. B. BIGGAR. 



IN a preceding article I gave a short account of a farm in 

 the ostrich-rearing district, and some account of the 

 ostrich camps and the young birds. I now resume at that 

 peculiar diversion of the young ostrich — the morning dance- 

 As Shakespeare warns us to look out for the man who has 

 no music in his soul and cannot be pleased with the sweet- 

 ness of simple melody, so the ostrich farmer must beware of 

 something wrong wheu his chickens cannot disport them- 

 selves in the windings of the mazy. This is no joke, but an 

 actual fact, for when the young birds lose the enjoyment of 

 the dance it is because some disease from the effects of the 

 weather or from over-feeding is preying upon them. We are 

 obliged to be up at daylight in order to see this spectacle, for 

 ostriches aud farmers are both early risers here ; the former 

 because, it is nature, and the latter because this is the pleas- 

 antest part of the twenty-four hours for work. 



At evening the young birds had all been put into a shed to 

 protect them from the cold and prevent them from taking 

 rheumatism Now the gate is opened and the whole troop 

 pour forth, and each one as he finds himself in the liberty of 

 open space makes a dart down the yard : then suddenly, as 

 if he had forgotten something, he makes an abrupt stop, 

 ducks his head slightly and then, to your surprise, whirls 

 about ar.d bolts oil again. In this revolution he gives his 

 wings a flourish, and perhaps two or three yards further on 

 performs the whirl again. Then he will probably perform 

 two or three gyrations in succession, and it is this which 

 calls to mind the waltz. The grotesque way in which he 

 sways Ids body and wings, and the awkward handling of his 

 legs is to any one having a sense of the ludicrous in "motion 

 most amusing. The sight is particularly laughable where a 

 large troop are engaged in the waltz at the same time. One 

 seeing another take a whirl sets in himself, and in less than a 

 minute the whole troop are gyrating about the yard, cheek- 

 by-jowl, neck to neck, in couples or sets, now exhausting 

 their space at one end of the yard, then taking a course to 

 the other; and the ouly thing lacking to make their move- 

 ments irresistable as a spectacle is their want of time and 

 Order. But in spite of this the beholder cannot help hazard- 

 ing the conjecture as to whether they, instead of the Ger- 

 mans, were not the originators of the waltz of the ball-room. 

 And against all their lack of discipline it really seems to be- 

 come them better than the performance by their human— 

 shall we say it? — imitators. Aud so they go dodging here, 

 swinging tliere, while the ducking of their heads corresponds 

 very well to a curtsey, until their blood is in fine circulation 

 antf their appetites keen. Oh, what a grand improvement it 

 would be if humanity, like the ostrich, would do their waltz- 

 ing in the morning before breakfast, instead of at night after 

 supper! 



The waltz may be kept up for ten minutes, or for more 

 than half an hour, aud then they turn to picking about, or 

 Where they are very tame, come to the spot where their regu- 

 lar feed of mealies (Indian corn) may be expected. Here the 

 herd-boy,as he is called, for want of a better title, throws out 

 handfuls of the grain, and they gobble it up with the avidity 

 and quickness of hungry hens. Now that their morning 

 feed is done, they begin to walk around us and evince a de- 

 sire to introduce themselves. The farmer tells us that they 

 are quite harmless. 



The first familiarity one of them ventures to take is to 

 make a snap at our neck. We give him a slap and stand 

 back. "Oh! he's only af er your breast-pin," says the 

 farmer; " I forgot to tell you to keep your jewelry out of 

 sight." This is easily removed, but the inquisitive bird 

 makes a peck at the. top button of our coat, and when I find 

 at last that he does not seem to be veiy strong in the 

 beak, aud that this is not his weapon of offense, I let him 

 continue the operation. If we ask why these birds have a 

 passion for buttons aud stnds, and bright things generally, in- 

 cluding jack knives, the farmer replies that they are in the 

 habit of eating pebbles and stones to help digestion by the 

 trituration of their food. The harder the stone the better, 

 and it is proble they associate brightness with hardness. 



After their feed the birds are let out in the "veldt" (the 

 open field), aud the Hottentot boy watches them through the 

 day as they march ever busy, ever picking, ever ou the 

 move. This last remark needs, perhaps, to be qualified by 

 the fact that in the heat of the day they may often bo foimd 

 kicking and rolling about in the sand and dusting it over 

 their feathers. This, farmers, say, is to rid them of lice and 

 vermin. 



Our host now shows us his stock of feathers. On the floor 

 of the loft are spread some magnificent bunches of plumes. 

 Some are of the purest snowy white, as if they had just come 

 out of the hands of the dresser, and seem to be nearly two 

 fi et in length. Others tinged with grey are yet feathers of 

 splendid plumage and remarkably broad and rich looking. 

 Then there are grey feathers aud black feathers, small and 

 large, dirty and clean, till ranged according to their class and 

 each known by a particular name. These are sorted ready 

 for the market, but many of his neighbors give them, mixed 

 as they come off the bird, into the hands of agents, who sort 

 them out and put them on the market at a certain com- 



The farmer next takes us into his hatch-house, where Ids 

 incubator is at work bringing forth young artificially. The 

 ostrich incubator here in use is a large bureau-like box, cubic 

 inform and mounted on legs. Iu a zinc-lined casing cover- 

 ing it top and sides water is placed at a temperature of about 

 105 degrees, aud the eggs are placed under this casing, but in 

 contact with a flannel lining against the under surfaca r.f the 

 zinc. Thus the warmth from the wafer comesdown through 

 the flanuel and imitates the warmth of the bird. The eggs 

 are placed in wooden drawers and brought into eon' act with 

 the flannel. At the end of forty-two days, the period of in- 

 cubation, they are brought out by tapping the shell with 

 a hammer wheu breathing has been heard, and placed m a 



