226 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[April 21, 1881. 



confined to a higher latitude, while there was quite a falling 

 off in numbers of those native to this part of the country. 



There is no doubt the. migrations of birds are influenced to 

 a great degree by isothermal conditions. After an early 

 warm spring I have frequently found species of our more 

 Southern birds nesting in New Jersey, attracted no doubt by 

 the favorable state of weather beyond their customary habi- 

 tat G. M. FAiKoniLD, Jr. 



A TAME GRIZZLY CUB. 



Omaha, Neb., April 9, 1881. 



DURING the palmy days of California, from '49 to '56, 

 when the miners' camp was destitute of that one essen- 

 tial feminine element that tends to gladden the heart of man 

 and make even a log cabin a palace, pets of all kinds were 

 exceedingly rare, and we were always ready to bestow our 

 affections on anything that could be petted, from a kitten to 

 a cub. 



During 1853 and part of '54 I was camped on Squaw 

 Creek, a tributary of Pitt River, in the northern part of 

 California, and as it was one of those unusually dry seasons to 

 which California iB sometimes subject, thereby being unfav- 

 orable to mining operations, the most of my time was"devoted 

 to limiting During one of our tramps in the foot hills in 

 the early paVf. of February, my partner, Wm. S., from La 

 Salle, 111., as jolly a companion as could be wished for, was 

 so fortunate as to kill an old she bear and capture one of her 

 cubs, which he brought into camp as a present to me. It 

 was a queer-looking thing, would weigh about eight pounds, . 

 and was more like an over-fed puppy than anything that I 

 conld compare it to. The question was what I should do 

 with it. Could I tame it, and if so, how ? 



My first lesson was to teach it that I was its master This 

 was a long and tedious operation, requiring about six weeks. 

 Many were the bard fights we had. My course of feeding 

 was nmsh made from corn meal, with a liberal allowance of 

 sugar and cooked meats, making it a rule not to allow it 

 meat unless cooked. Almost invariably whin going to feed 

 it I had to take a large switch with me, and only by a liberal 

 application of the stick to its ears and nose could I touch it. 

 Several tiniesl was on the point of giving up, and with others 

 saying that the Urates horHUlk could not be conquered; but 

 success crowned my efforts at last, for one morning after an 

 unUSQally bard fight, in which my leg and pants suffered con- 

 siderably, I left him in the corner of his pen crying. On my 

 return at noon, when going to feed him, I saw that a change 

 had come over him, and such a change ! You cannot ima- 

 gine how I felt when I found that my imp of all ugliness 

 had yielded to moral suasion, and at last I bad a pet. After 

 eating its dinner the little fellow crawled into my lap, crying 

 much like a little child. After petting him a little I took 

 the strap from his neck, took him hi my arms, and went, out 

 to where the boys were smoking .to show my pet and have 

 him christened. By unanimous vote we named him Billy, 

 after his captor. 



From that time Billy was the pet of the camp, mid in a 

 short time had quite an extended acquaintance. He was 

 like Mary's little lamb, for where we went Billy was sure 

 to go. 



boon after the christening, and when Billy had been ad- 

 mitted to full membership of the mess, we moved camp over 

 to the Sacramento River about five miles above Shasta City. 



During the summer I had a fine opportunity to study his 

 nature and habits. Ashe grew he tried t'i imitate us in all 

 our ways. He soon learned to know when meals were ready; 

 lie would take his place as soon as the last dish was placed 

 on the table, but you could not get him near until it was 

 ready. At times sugar being scarce he would have to take 

 bis niush straight. Then we would have fun. After his first 

 bite his charge on that mush pan was fully equal to that of 

 the gallant Six Hundred. It was mush to "the right of him, 

 mush to the left of him, and mush above, below and all 

 around until the last vestige had disappeared in the dirt. An- 

 other pan with a little sugar and the cloud would lift athwart 

 his ugly visage, the usual smile assume its sway while a mer- 

 ry twinkle in his eye would say, " You may take your coffee 

 straight, I will take sugar on my mush. 1 ' 



11 is greatest amusement was in tormenting a half-grown 

 dog that we had in camp, in which he displayed a wonderful 

 amount of instinct if not of reasoning faculties. His mode 

 of attack was to throw himself across the dog, the cub's 

 weight being so much the greater he could easily hold him 

 down, then getting the dog's tail in his mouth he would give 

 it a pretty hard nip which would set the dog yelpiug, and 

 this seemed to be the height of Billy's ambition. You could 

 see a broad grin spread over his face, and his whole body 

 would shake with apparent laughter. This performance lie 

 would repeat two or three times during the day. 



At night Billly must have a share of my blankets, and for 

 five mouths I don't think that I passed a single night that 

 my pet was not by my side. In sleeping as well as in every- 

 thing else he would try to imitate our actions. Always on his 

 back, his hind feet extended, his paws folded over his breast, 

 and no-e pointing skyward, Billy would pass the night. 



If Darwin could have seen him he would never have adopt- 

 ed his monkey theory. 



I observed one very important fact in connection with 

 the grizzly, that is their inability to determine objects that 

 are not in motion. Frequently on approaching camp I would 

 call Billy. He would take the direction of the sound running 

 toward me. If I stood perfectly still he would pass within a 

 few feet of me frequently so close that I could have touched 

 him with my foot, and yet unable to distinguish rae from 

 other objects. After looking around he would begin crying 

 and run back to the cabin. By calling him again he would 

 repeat the movements, following the sound of my voice. He 

 would pass to the point from which he thought the sound 

 came, stop, sit up on his haunches and look all around for 

 ine. If I only moved a hand or foot he would come to me 

 at once, otherwise, without seeing me move, he would, as be- 

 fore, run back to the cabin. This I think demonstrates the 

 fact that they depend entirely on sight and not on scent. 



I once had a fine opportunity of demonstrating this theory 

 to my entire satisfaction. For while out hunting one morn- 

 ing I started a very large grizzly in a thicket. I was just on 

 the outer edge of it and within thirty feet of the bear when 

 I heard her grunt Stopping instantly I brought, my gun to 

 my shoulder, waiting for her to come out, which she did to 

 my entire satisfaction. Soon her head was in sight, but not 

 liking a quartering shot for the head I waited a moment 

 louger, following every movement of the bear, with my gun 

 to my face Soon she cleared the thicket, and sitting up on her 

 haunches she began an inspection of the surroundings to see 

 what, had disturbed her morning nap. I drew on her throat 

 intending to break her neck. Click ! and there I was, the gun 

 had missed fire, and a huge grizzly within twenty-five or 



thirty feet of me. Then the. study of my pet came in good 

 play. Standing perfectly still with gun to my shoulder, look- 

 ing the bear steadily in the face I had a splendid opportunity 

 of taking the dimensions of her teeth as she opened her 

 mouth and snapped her jaws. We probably surveyed each 

 other for about two minutes (they were fearfully long ones) 

 when her bearship dropped to all fours and turned from me 

 up the ridgo. 



My partner Bill, coming up, we followed her for a short 

 distance, when two more got up. He shot one of them in the 

 shoulder. My gnu again missed tire, when my old friend 

 turned for us, and tne man who gays we did not make good 

 time for tall timber is no judge. While in the tree-tops we 

 mutually agreed that, we did not want any bear meat that 

 day, and so went to camp without any. 



I kept ray pet until he was about eight mouths old, and 

 would weigh 1.30 or 140 pounds. From the time he first 

 gave up until the day we sold him I never had an occasion to 

 scold or strike him, nor did we at anytime keep him chained 

 up. In fact, he was as kind and well-behaved as the best 

 settler in our land. To tell of his tricks and reasoning pow- 

 ers would require much time and space. My experience in 

 this ease has demonstrated to my entire satisfaction that even 

 a grizzly bear can be domesticated if taken when quite young 

 and properly treated. 



I have always thought that one great cause of my success 

 was in not allowing the cub to have any raw meat. We all 

 know the effects of raw meats upon dogs, and why is it not 

 the same upon other animals ? Jat. 



GROUSE BURROWING IN THE SNOW. 



New Yokk, April 14. 



WHILE the information relating to game birds perishing 

 during hard winters is being collected by FoBEST 

 and Sti'eam the following note may prove interesting enough 

 to induce sportsmen to keep their eyes open for similar oc- 

 currences ! 



During the autumn and winter of 1873 I was a student at 

 Prof. Wiggins' boarding school in the little village of Nassau, 

 N. Y Not faT from the school was a patch of woods of a 

 few acres' extent lying along the banks of " the crick." 

 Through this piece of woodland 1 frequently passed on hunt- 

 ing or collecting trips at leisure times when* school duties did 

 not prevent, likewise at many other limes when school duties 

 should have prevented. Here a solitary male ruffed grouse 

 was always to be found — a big. sturdy old fellow with very 

 black ruffs and very broad tail, and who made a noise like 

 the dumping of a coal cart when lie sprang from under some 

 mossy log or bunch of ferns close, to my feet. This species 

 was not at all abundant in the vicinity of Nassau and 1 knew 

 of no ol her indi viduals within a long distance. The old grouse 

 m question had 'he pleasure of hearing my gun go off on sev- 

 eral occasions simultaneously with his flnshlngj DUt lie wfla a 

 proud bird and perhaps considered the noise to have been all 

 made by himself Ino other effect ever fallowed my shot so 

 far as I know. I always knew jusl. where to find him, and 

 finally contented myself wilh simply hunting him up and 

 watching his movements, 



One day, after a deep snow had fallen, I hunted every- 

 where for this bird, but could not find him; he was neither on 

 the sunny south slope, where the young birches and poke 

 berries grew, and where there were Iota of warm, cozy nest- 

 ling places under old logs, nor was he back amoug the big 

 hemlocks and beeches where the brakes offered shelter ; nor 

 by the creek among the alders; Inn, after leaving the woods 1 

 quite accidentally hushed him out of the snow where lie had 

 been hiding, quite a way from any cover. A few days later 

 a heavy snow tell, followed by rain, which rapidly formed a 

 very strong crust. 



Nothing was seen of my grouse for more than a week, and 

 I supposed, as a matter of course, that he had perished, being 

 unable to get out of the snow before the crust softened. My 

 fears did not prove irue, however, for the old fellow was soon 

 back in his old haunts as vigorous as ever. Where he had 

 been (luring that week was a mystery, until one day in the 

 following spring, while walking near the place where he, had 

 on a former occasion Hushed from the snow, I found a large 

 amount of his excrement deposited in a regular line along the 

 ground. On every side, for a distance of several feet, the 

 leaves of plants that remained green— cinquefoil, clover and 

 two or three of the grasses— had been plucked so closely that 

 the place was easily distinguishable. He had made a "short 

 path there under the snow, just as a musquash does, and had 

 jived more comfortably than if he had remained under the 

 crust. 



That the ruffed grouse can burrow under the snow to a 

 limited extent, and find food on the ground, 1 hope to be 

 able to prove. Other correspondents can very likely report 

 similar observations. R. T. M. 



OHIO BIRD NOTES FOR 1881. 



Hudson, O., April 9. — The past winter has been the hard- 

 est for a number of years, a great, deal of snow and very 

 cold In the fall there were a good many grouse and quail, 

 and not many shot on account of the deep- snow coming so 

 early, but now the quail are about used up. I heard of a 

 good many being found frozen and starved to death. 



April 23.— Snowed and rained most all night ; cold; wind 

 blowing hard from southwest. Saw a robin (Turd'us mi- 

 yrat&ruH) to-day, the first I have seen this year except in the 

 thick woods and gullies. 



Feb. 84. — Snowing and blowing hard ; very cold Was 

 over to Tinker's Creek to-day; saw a crow (GorrUj) anieri- 

 aaiMu). 



Feb. 37.— Raining hard ; cold ; snow most gone. Saw a 

 number of robins about the house to-day. 



Feb. 28. — Snowing ; cold. Saw a crow, one or two blue- 

 birds and a large flock of robins. It is reported that a 

 large number of pigeons were flying over south of town and 

 in store, but, think it was a mistake. 



March 1.— Day warm. Saw the first killdeer to-day. 



March 10. — Went fishing over to Aurora Pond to-day. No 

 sport. The ice has not started yet. Saw a number of 

 meadow larks, redwiugs, blackbirds and a few purple 

 grackle. Also saw ten mallards flying over towards the 

 creek. No ice in the creek. 



March 12.— Rained all last night ; snowing to-day. Saw 

 a leveler bird to-day. 



March 13.— There are a number of sparrows about ; not 

 sure of their first coming. 



March 16.— Warm; rained this afternoon. Saw a number 

 of killdeers and grackles. There were two or three large 

 flocks of geese flying over to-day. 



March 19.— Cold and raining; creek open; large number 



of ducks, mostly mallards. Hanson shot a pi leated wood- 

 pecker (Wlotonms pUeotw) on the ere, k bottom. Saw one 

 or two more. 



March 22. — Another " blizzard" struck us yesterday ; sure 

 to rain; wind blowing hard from southwest. A flock or 

 white swan were seen flying over to-day. Saw a woodcock 

 to-day. 



April 2.— Began snowing ou the night of the 28th ; snowed 

 steadily uu!il Friday night, the 1st; about twenty-two inches 

 of snow fell ; hard on the birds that are here ; large numbers 

 are frozen to death. On the night of the 29ch large flocks of 

 geese and ducks were flying 'about town lost in the storm. 

 There has been a number of leveler birds about the house for 

 several days. 



April 8— The ice is broken in places on South Lake. A 

 number of geese and ducks in the open placse. Buckeye. 



The Sohipka Jaw. — The fragment of the human lower jaw, 

 dicovered by Prof. Maschke in the Scbipka cavern near Bt ram- 

 berg in Moravia, Austria, is regarded with much interest by 

 European men of science, because it is in many respects 

 more apelike than any human remains that have hitherto 

 come to light. The Schipka cavern contained bones of Bos, 

 Urswi, Elephax, Jl/unoccmt, Leo and JJpcpiis, a number of 

 stone implements showing rough workmanship, and some in- 

 cisor teeth of Ursus which were somewhat cut away on both 

 sides at the beginning of the crown, indicating perhaps that 

 the people w T ho cut them did not yet kuow how to bore a hole 

 into the root. A great number of fragments of bones which 

 showed the action of Are were found. The jaw above referr- 

 ed to was discovered buried in some ashes in a protected 

 place in the wall of a side passage, of the cavern, near a fire 

 place, and was the only human bone brought to light by the 

 exploration. The specimen consists of the front part of the 

 jaw with the incisors, one canine and two premolars of the 

 right side still in place. The three last mentioned teeth were 

 as yet undeveloped, but, as the front wall of the jaw is want- 

 ing, they are visible. The great size of the jaw is remarka- 

 ble, for, although the development of the teeth corresponds 

 to the first year of life, the jaw and teeth are as large as those 

 of an adult. As is the rule in man the first premolar seems 

 nearest being cut, then follows the canine, and then the sec- 

 ond premolar. The jaw at the symphysis is about one- 

 quarter thicker than in the ordinary adult. The chin is re- 

 treating, and in fact may be said to be wanting. The hinder 

 part of the symphysis is placed obliquely, as in the anthropoid 

 apes, and in a less degree in certain savage races, but especi- 

 ally in the Naulette jaw which the present fragment much 

 resembles in many particulars. The teeth are very largeand 

 stout, and the incisors bent convex in front. The prominen- 

 ces for muscular attachment are well developed, implying 

 large, strong masticatory muscles. The great size of the ca- 

 nine tooth is a very marked feature of the jaw, it beingmuch 

 longer than the same tooth in the adult European. In only 

 one instance out of fifty adult skulls measured was this tooth 

 found to be fourteen millemetres in length, while in the 

 Scbipka jaw it is 13.5 millemetres. 



The fragment in question would seem to have belonged to 

 a child of extremely low grade, and presenting many decided 

 pithecoid characters. 



The Flytno-fuh.— A writer in the New Orleans Tim-en 

 says : An extract from Mature, published in this paper on 

 the 27th of last month, throws doubt on thepursnit of flying- 

 lish by the so-called dolphin, the coryphene. As I was once 

 a witness of such a chase, accompanied by a circumstance 

 much rarer, I append an account : One afternoon, during a 

 voyage on a sailing vessel bound to a West Indian port, 

 while the ship was making some four or five miles au hour, 

 a coryphene was observed gamboling under the bows, going 

 ahead a little, as if to show its superior speed, and then re- 

 turning to its frolics. While the sailors were fastening the 

 harpoon to a line, the coryphene sighted a flying-fish. At 

 once it stiffened itself ; its whole body quivered as if with 

 excitement; its tail was agitated from one side to another, 

 and it started in pursuit, bounding over the surface of the 

 sea with leaps of some fifteen or twenty feet. Although a 

 Btern chase is held to be a very long one, this lasted less than 

 a minute. One ol the leaps brought the coryphene right 

 under the terrified flying-fish, which seemed to fall into its 

 enemy's jaws. The latter returned to its "playground" 

 under the bows, and was harpooned, brought on board and 

 cut up witnin two minutes after its meal. The flying-fish 

 was taken out whole, uninjured. The coryphene is the 

 beautifully colored fish noted for the shifting and varieties of 

 its tints when expiring It is commonly but erroneously 

 called a dolphin, as in the well-known verse, '-The dying 

 dolphin's changing hues." Now, in regard to the flying-fish, 

 I have watched them on many voyages, and I can confirm the 

 observers who describe its motion as a leap, not an act of 

 flying. It springs out of the wafer, gradually rising to the 

 middle of its course, then falling, describing a parabola just 

 as an arrow does in its flight. 1 have repeatedly seen them 

 changedirection during the leap, making a deflection amount- 

 ing to about a half angle, never more. But I cannot agree 

 with Mr. Whitman, who estimates the length of their leap 

 to he as much as 800 or even 1,200 feet. I opine that about 

 200 feet is a pretty big jump for one of these, fishes, and, in- 

 stead of forty seconds, I calculate the time occupied in a long 

 leap at fifteen seconds, which gives a velocity of nine miles 

 and a fraction per hour. 



Tub Ntjttaix Bulletin. — The April number of the Bul- 

 letin opens with a very interesting series of notes on " Some 

 Birds from Arizona with a Description of a Supposed New 

 Whip-poor- Will." These notes are based upon collections 

 made within the past year by Mr F. Stephens and forwarded 

 to Mr. Brewster for examination. The same writer con- 

 tributes two other articles to the same number, one of them 

 consisting of Critical Notes on a Petrel new to North Ameri- 

 ca, and the other on the Affinities of Certain Polioptila; with 

 a description of a new species. Both of these papers contain 

 new points of very great interest. In the present number, 

 reprinting from the ibis of Mr. P. L. Sea er's important 

 paper on the Present state of the Systema Avium is concluded. 

 Under the name Pufttiux borealis Mr. C. B. Cory describes a 



