70 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



own body when pinned down. Tho toboba is a much lar- 

 ger snake marked something like the moccasin of the 

 United States. The burner entertains the most inveterate 

 animosity towards this snnke, and will spend Lime and la- 

 bor to kill one. It has an odor something like that of an 

 alligator. There are several snakes of the boa family, and 

 numerous very small serpents of extremely venomous 

 character. There are many very poisonous snakes, the 

 bite of which can kill a man in a very short lima, but these 

 snakes bunt their food mostly at night, and it is quite rare 

 1o meet them in daylight when they prefer to rest. The zoo- 

 logical names of these poisonous snakes are Botftrcpt Inn- 



■ ■'.• w, Tekurat-pti sehlegelii, Lacfwsis rlwuthm.U,. 

 semipuiictalus, and Maps fulviux. Another kind of poison 

 ous snake lives only in the sea along the Panama coast, and 

 is seen very frequently. The zoological name for it is 

 Pe-'arnys bicolor. This snake abounds also on the shores of 

 Celeber, Bengal, Malabar, Sumatra, Java and China. 

 Snake bites among the people in the woods and mountains 

 arc of frequent occurrence and the surveyors of our expe- 

 ditious always hid a party of natives ahead cutting the 

 trail, and these old hands killed a great many snakes, be- 

 sides the men wore thick canvass leggings, and were al- 

 ways on the lookout for them. Parasite vines of all sizes 

 and colors, and festooned in every imaginable form are so 

 common that a snake banging from' the limb of a tree 

 would often be unnoticed by the officers and sailors, though 

 never by the maeheteros, who seemed to be on the constant 

 lookout for them. Occasionally one of the former would 

 .suddenly feel himself seized and jerked back, and would 

 bad that the keen eye and the strong arm of one of the 

 natives had rescued him from an enemy that he himself 

 had not seen, though perhaps loolring directly towards it, 

 and not a yard fro jj it. The annual fires that sweep over 

 the whole of the uplands destroy a great many serpents 

 with their young and their eggs, and the yearly overflow of 

 the lowlands has a similar effect. Tne vultures and the 

 peearies also kill a great many of them. Tarantulas aie 

 very numerous, especially on the table lands, and they are 

 generally very large. As they never bite except when 

 pressed upon, they are not troublesome. It was a common 

 thing foi those attached to our surveying parties on the 

 isthmus to fiud a large tarantula in their tent, or even be* 

 tween their blankets in the morning. Horses not unfie- 

 qucntly step on them in the field, and if it is not crushed 

 bites the frog of the foot; as a consequence the animal is 

 often lame for several months, and oftentimes the hoof 

 fails off. Scorpions are met with quite frequently, but 

 they are generally small and not very poisonous. Several 

 of Commodore Shufeldt's party were slung, but the pain 

 in every case was very slight, and there was no swelling. 

 There are. however, several poisonous specimens of this 

 reptile on tho isthmus. A dear-bought experience on the 

 pari of one or two officers aud men taught all to examine 

 carefully their clothing, and especially their boots and 

 shoes, before putting them on in the morning. The scor- 

 pions, with snakes, t irantulas, myriads of insects of vari- 

 ous sorts, and innumerable lizards of all sizes and colors, 

 are things to keep a nervous person in a constant slate ot 

 agitation. The lizards, to be sure, are perfectly harmless, 

 but it takes some little time to get so used to them as not 

 lo mind their extreme familiarity. Iguanas, a species of 

 lizard, are exceedingly numerous, and are liigbly esteemed 

 for food by the Indians, being preferred to b.ef or chicken. 

 The larger and more esteemed sorts are found along Iho 

 banks of the unfrqeuented rivers, high up in the moan, 

 tains. The Indians catch the reptile in a trap, aud also 

 chase it into its hole in the earth, and then digit out. The 

 iguanas are kept alive and sold in Jalipan aud Acayucam 

 for about fifty cents each. 



Of the many hardships the members of our surveying 

 parlies encountered in exploring the isthmus, none were so 

 trying as the bites of the numerous insects which infest 

 that region. Both the covered and uncovered parts of the 

 body were attacked, and each by a different class of in- 

 sects, nor did the day time or night time afford any certain 

 relief. There is no doubt that the loss of sleep which 

 these troublesome insects cause, and the irritation of the 

 system induced by Iheir bites, which sometimes bepDOie 

 large sores, are often strong, predisposing causes of the 

 malarial fevers of the isthmus. The mosquitoes are for the 

 ijiost part confined to the Atlantic plains, but in the rainy 

 season they are met with on the Pacific side, and even on 

 the high table lands. Near the Atlantic rivers there is no 

 seasoned the year when one can sleep at night unless pro- 

 id by a mosqnito net. Our firsl exploring party was 

 supplied with the orninary netting used in this country, 

 which a little experience proved to be entirely worthless, 

 for the mosquitoes penetrated it with the greatest ease. 

 Theparty had to resort to the netting used by the natives, 

 which consists of ordinary thin muslin. This, although 

 it affords protection against the mosquitoes, cannot be com- 

 mended lor the veutilatiou it allows the sleeper. The na- 

 tive-, however poor, invariably have their rude beds pro- 

 tected by a mosQuito net. 



When the United States steamers Kansas and Mayflower 

 arrivjd at Miuatitlun, in 1870, the officers and men at- 

 tached to these vessels were unprovided with mosquito 

 nets, and for several days, until a supply could be obtained, 

 not i person on board closed his eyes at -night. TUooffi- 

 c.'is, driven from their cabins, betook themselves to the 

 deck, where they walked and smoked the whole night 

 long. The sailors wandeied about the ship like madmen, 

 now climbing up the rigging and resting for awhile in ihe 

 top, and theu descending again to the decks; but no relief 

 was to be found anywhere. The nigua is a small black 

 i which resembles a flea. It burrows slowly under 



the skin, without producing any pain, and deposits there 

 several hundred" minute white eggs, about which a sack 

 forms. In the course of a week the sack, with its con- 

 tents, has attained the size of a pea, and can be seen 

 slightly prot-uding from beneath the skin, and at this stage 

 is generally attended with a slight itching. By inserting 

 the blade of a kniTe between the sack and the surround- 

 ing flesh the former can be easily enuclea'ed entire, after 

 which the cavity heals rapidly. If, however, the sack is 

 broken, and some of the minute eggs escape into the sur- 

 rounding tissue, they may continue to multiply, producing 

 oftentimes ulcers which are troublesome to heal. The ni- 

 gua, like the tick, is troublesome only in the dry season, 

 and is more abundant on the Pacific coast. The Indian 

 boys are very expert both in finding and extracting them, 

 and therefore it is a good plan lo have one's feet (fortius 

 is the part where they are generally found) examined once 

 a week or oftener. FleaB are plentiful in all parts of the 

 isthmus, but they are most abundant on the Pacific side. 

 Fortunately they are limited to the towns and Indian huts, 

 and one is not much troubled by them when living in the 

 woods or in camp. 



The Moyaquil is a worm which grows in the flesh, and 

 ihe Indians say it originates from an egg deposited under 

 the skin by a certain fly. The presence of the worm is not 

 noticed until it has attained a considerable size— an incli 

 or more in length — when suddenly the attention is called 

 to it by the 11 esh near it becoming swollen and inflamed, 

 and exceedingly painful. The Indians are very expert in 

 extracting it, which they do by applying to the head of the 

 worm (which is visible just under the skin) some resin 

 found in the forest. This is allowed lo remain two or 

 three hours, when it is removed, and the Worm is found to 

 be dead, and is easily extracted by manipulating aud 

 squci zing the flesh. The moyaquil, however, is not very 

 common, and is confined to Ihe Atlantic slope. The Gar- 

 rapalas, or ordinary ticks, do not differ from the same in- 

 sect found in our own country, except that on the isthmus 

 they are much more abundant. Tbey annoy animals much 

 more than man, and it is no uncommon thing to see horses 

 aud mules that have their ears eaten off by the ticks, li 

 is the common practice among the residents, after a ride 

 on the plains or a walk in the woods, in order to free them 

 ;eUes of Pinolillos, which are the very smallest ticks, to 

 bathe Ihe whole person in aguardiente — Ihe native rum— 

 which has the effect of detaching the insects entire. If it 

 is attempted to pick them off, the bead is often left buried 

 in the flesh, and causes a great deal of irritation. The 

 myriads of ants that infest the country are very annoying. 

 They sting painfully. A person thoughtlessly picking up 

 a piece of bark or old wood will fiud his hands to feel sud 

 deniy as if they were on fire, and a glance shows the sav- 

 age little fellows very effectually bringing themselves into 

 notice. 



The animal life of the inveitebrata is richly developed 

 in the isthmus. Beetles, locusts, crickets, termites, bees, 

 wasps, are all represented in many species. Centipedes, 

 millipedes, spiders and bugs of every description exist in 

 the greatest abundance. The enormous amount of veget- 

 able mailer, the decomposition of which is favored by the 

 heat aud moisture, produces a malarial poison, aud as a 

 consequence malarial fevers are the prevailing diseases 

 among strangers. Foreigners in the hill country generally 

 enjoy good health in proportion as they obey the sanitary 

 requirements of the climate. Essential poiuts are the use 

 of vegetable diet, fre-h animal food, and temperate and 

 cooling drinks, avoiding the fats and oils and intoxicating 

 liquors, frequent bathing, and general cleanliness, and 

 avoidance of the mid-day sun. 



pfle. 



SPORTING RIFLES FOR THE PLAINS. 



In that portion of Col. Dodge's excellent book entitled 

 the "Plaii s of the Great "West," which is devoted to Game 

 and Sporting, the author is particular in designating the 

 proper equipment for all kinds of service. With regard to 

 the selection of a rifle, he says: — 



"For all large animal game he must have a good breech- 

 loading rifle, of calibre not less than forty-five, and plenty 

 of the best ammunition. The arrangement of sights and 

 triggers is a matter of taste and habit, but il is of the 

 gravest importance that the sight, however arranged, 

 should be exquisitely fine. Personally, I most decidedly 

 object to elevating sights for the rifle. Out of ten deer or 

 Other animals, at Ieiat nine are overshot. Either fiom 

 excitement, or because the game appears dwarfed in the 

 wide expanse of the prairie, even the most experienced 

 sportsmen habitually overestima'e distance, aud the tend- 

 ency to put up the elevating sights is so iiresistabie that 

 tiearly every successful sportsman of my acquaintance has 

 discarded this sight entire!)'. Besides this the i 

 elevating sight does not in the least solve ihe problem. It 

 does very well for shooting at a target where the distance 

 is accurately measured; and if the sportsmen could only 

 induce the deer to stand still at five hundred, six hundred, 

 or eight hundred yards, he might estimate the distance and 

 hit it. But the deer fails to be so accommodating, aud 

 will insist on storping at six hundred and llfiy and seven 

 hundred and thirty-seven yards, or some irregular distance 

 of which the sight takes no account. Moreover, as the 

 trajectory of these high ranges must be necessarily greatly- 

 curved, the chances are infinitely against the sportsmen. 

 He must first guess at the distance, then put up the ele- 

 vating sight nearest that distance; then guess a 

 whether a tine or coarse sight ought to be laken through 

 the sight as now arranged." 



Thi, is valunble information for our Creedmoor and 



other long range shooters, and to tho students of Rifle Prac- 

 i ly, in determining tin- ;etpracfice 



In general field service, either on game or in battle. \\ r e 

 have always urged the necessity for a regular judging dis- 

 tance, area. The author continues: — 



''The very best Bight, and the one almost universally in 

 use by sportsmen and professional hunters on the plains, 

 is the plain "buck-horn," a description of which is un- 

 necessary, as every gunsmith knows it. The very large 

 mass of game "bagged" is killed inside of two hundred 

 yards. A good sun will carry a had to that distance with 

 almost a flat trajectory. 



Of the best gun I ever owned, the line of fire never cut 

 the line of sight at all, but was tangent to, or coincident. 

 With it; in other words, the gun did not shoot too high tit 

 any distance, and I took precisely the same sight at ah 

 object iit ten feet as a» one hundred or two hundred yards 

 off. This is very unusual, bul a gun is good as it approxi- 

 mates to this extreme accuracy. After two hundred yards, 

 however, the curve of the trajectory of even the 

 increases with great rapidity, and "it is only by constant. 

 practice that the sportsman can keep himself 10 the mark 

 at long ranges. Sportsmen *ho ute the "buck hom" 

 must learn to sight "on the barrel." Willi practice there 

 is no reason why this should not become secoud nature; 

 and a sportsman soon iearns to take his tight at a distant 

 object, and elevates his gun to the proper angle just, as the 

 trombone player learns by practice to slop his hand at the 

 exact spot to give Ihe correct tone." 



The Colonel lecom mends shooting with both eyes open 

 — "the right eye to keep the line of sight and estimate the 

 distance "on the barrel," and the left lo obtain "a clear 

 view of the game and its surroundings." He recommends 

 a h.fiir trigger, and prefers the old-fashioned Kentucky 

 el trigger. He does not like the single-set or ti.e 

 French double-set trigger. He thinks our soldiers would 

 be well armed provided the very excellent Government 

 rifle bad proper sights and triggeis. As these now are, 

 the men make bad work indeed at shooting. As between 

 rifle and shot gun, if the choice of the hunter is limited lo 

 one arm, he should lake tne rifle, if he knows how to 

 use it. 



One word of encouragement the Colonel givc3 to our 

 Rifle Associations. He says: — 



"The rifle shooting now becoming so fashionable, is des- ' 

 lined to woik great improvement in the use of arms. It 

 is, however, only a step in the right direction. The trials, 

 as at present conducted, are rather tests of the rifles than 

 ot the men. When these trials have progressed uutil men 

 begin lo compete at distances unknown to aud estimated 

 by themselves, without elevating sights, off hand and ue- 

 cessarily with light triggers, then the maximum of effici- 

 ency and skill is not far off. Then must the soldier put in 

 practice such shooting as he must necessarily use against 

 an enemy." 



The following simple rules of practice are indicated for 

 sportsmen to observe- Always shoot against or across 

 wind. Look sharp. Reconnoitre your ground before you 

 approach. Go slow. Keep out of sight. Never tire 

 when you are panting with exertion. Get a vent fur your 

 rifle when you can. Don't shoot too high. Never ap- 

 proach trame that is down uutil you have reloaded. 

 When game is alarmed and runs off don't attempt to fol- 

 low. Se. k elsewhere. 



. +*+■ 



The Wbtthex Arms Company. — We are informed lhat 

 jinan, acting as U. S. Circuit Judge, on Mon- 

 day, the 22d of January, at Hartford, Conn., decided the 

 case of the U. S. Rifle and Cartridge Co , and E Reming- 

 ton &Sons, vs. The Whitney Arn.s Co., in favor of the 

 defendants, dismissing the bill. The sui. is based on what 

 was known asthe Cochran Patent. The Judge finds Coch- 

 ran's invention to have been abandoned to the public. This 

 is the principal suit against the Whitney Arms Co., upon 

 which infringement could be claimed by E. Remington & 

 Sons. The Whitney Arms Co. will protect any paity buy- 

 ing or selling the Whitney gun, in case of any suits from 

 any party, for alleged or pretended infringement. 



Sun-CALirinE Rifles. — I have oflon wondered wdiy 

 some of the largo companies like the Remington, Sharp, 

 Winchester, &c, have not turned their attention to making 

 sub calibre rifle barrels to fit in barrels of ten and twelve 

 hore shot, guns. Many owners of breech- haulers would be 

 glad lo purchase such barrels, if sold at a reasonable figure. 

 Uric titm in this State makes them, but the prict 

 appears to me to be loo large. Wi'h the extensive faeili- 

 ties at the command of any of the above mentioned com- 

 y ought to be able to make and sell such barreht 

 ither useful appendages to a breech-loader would 

 be a pair of steel shells enabling it to be used OS A muzzle- 

 loader, should circumstances render such change desirable 

 or necessary. B. L. 



[We approve of our correspondents suggestion aud hope 

 to see it adopted. We once had in this office a breech- 

 loading gun made by a celebrated French manufacturer 

 lhat was fitted, in the way he suggests, to be used as a 

 muzzle-loader. A pair of conica sells fitted 



in the barrels and Ihe strikers being unserewod a 

 pair of long nipples took their places. The ramrod was 

 very small, of sleel, aud answered as a cleaning rod as 

 wed.— Eu ] 



—The Amateur Rifle Chlbhas referred the invitation 

 from the Irish Rifle Association to send a team to Ireland 

 this summer lo its Executive Committee, With instructions 

 lo communicate with all rifle clubs in the country with 

 regard to joining in the competitions for places. 



Good BhooTerb.— We have received a common yellow 

 bullet holes made by Mr. U. F. 

 Willis, of Putnam, Conn., with a Remington rifle at 100 

 yards distance, off-baud. As thi lid all he 



within the carton of Creedmoor target, and considering 

 that Mr. Willis is 0(5 years old and had never seen the rifle 

 before the day he shot it, the shooting is wonderfully 

 good. 



