84 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Maboh 1, 1883. 



Ferguson. Without his open countenance and lively tail 

 this valo of tears hid Lev no nitrations fur moj" 



"Take it altogether then, hides, teeth and Inn, and it pays 

 von pretty well," said Squire. 



"Bet your ribs! I gftt half a dollar for the hide, live dol- 

 lar.-, a pound for the teeih. and a dollar and seventy-five 

 eents in fun for every 'gator I kill!" 



Jack, who was lying on his bunk, fished out from under 

 it the skull of the big one be had shot at New River, and 

 like Mr. Boffin in Mr, Ycnus's shop, "lying behind its 

 smile." said: 



-liow is this tor a specimen head. Mr. Ferguson?" 



"Well that, ain't half a bad head, bill I've seen bigger 

 ones, with bigger teeth, hut I never saw one jist like it on 

 this coast; how long was he?'' 



"Twelve feet to an inch," answered .Tack. 



"I've, killed a good n> any 'gators, but. I never killed one 

 over twelve feet. "And 'gators is like humans, some has big 

 lieuds, and some small heads; and Hain't alius the biggest. 

 'gator as has the biggest head, but ginerally the bigger the 

 head the smaller the brain, jist like humans; but I'm" bound 

 to say no 'gator's got much brain to brag on. I've caused 

 a good many to die with waiter on the brain, but I'm bound 

 to say none ever died of inflammation on the brain, cause 

 they ain't got enough to inflame. There's another CUTIS thing 

 'bout 'gators, the smaller the brain, the more musk they 

 carries, jist like humans!" 



BOYHOOD REMINISCENCES. 



AS we get along in years, portly and gouty, Hearing the 

 Here and yellow leaf, as it were, and can no longer 

 climb the rough mountain-side for the whirring grouse, uor 

 take long tramps behind the faithful dog for quail or snipe, 

 1ml have to content ourselves behind the blinds lor bay-birds 

 or water-fowl, or ride to a, runway and lake things easy for 

 a shot; how natural it is of an evening al home, especially 

 after perusing your glorious paper, to recall those days when 

 we were wont 'to consider ourselves second to few in those 

 sports where hardihood and perseverance were the sine qua 

 nan Of success. From several articles recently i i thaPos- 

 Est axt) Btebajt. I see that others than "Jacobstaff " are 

 going back to years agone. That is a sure sign that they are 

 growing old. and they cannot hide it. 



My boyhood and early manhood were spent among the 

 nigged iiills of Madison county. New York State, some 

 thirty or more miles from Cooperstown and I he beautiful 

 Lake Otsego, a region made renowned by Cooper, the great- 

 est delineator of woodcraft character the world ever pro- 

 duced. The original from whom the novelist took his 

 Loatherstockings,~was well known in our Utile village 

 When I was a boy he was an old man. and went only by the 

 name oi Old Hunter. He had lived for many years in a 

 cabin in the woods, and hunted and fished for a living. For 

 a few years before bis death he lived in our village, age aial 

 rheumatism fast breaking the old man down. It was said 

 that Old Hunter had a history; that he was a man of educa- 

 tion and a. lawyer of promise, but his domestic relations 

 proving unfortunate, he had left his family, and with his 

 dogs and gun had taken to Ihe, woods and had there lived 

 for many years a hunter and trapper, rarely visiting the 

 Settlements until the deer and bear were gone and he had 

 to come down to grouse and squirrel. But Old Hunter was 

 a character, vervLieifurn, almost moody; and never, even 

 when in his cups, would be tolerate any quizzing in regard 

 to his earlier life. He was always hunting and fishing alone, 

 and invariably successful. Let an intimation be given a 

 day or two in advance that Judge Mason wanted a brace of 

 grouse, a half-dozen squirrels, or some trout, and he never 

 failed to till the order. 



He was an object of great veneration to us boys, and many 

 Were the pleadings to be allowed to go wilh him on some of 

 his tramps, but of no avail. I had given the old man a 

 promising pup, and he was w r ell disposed toward me, but I 

 never could gel his consent to go with him; he always had 

 some excuse — too far for us boys, we were too noisy, etc., 

 Until one day in the spring— drumming time for Ihe part- 

 ridge; we knew nothing about grouse nor close seasons hi 

 those days— 1 was out "on a little hunt by myself, when 1 

 espied the old man slowly climbing the wooded hill. "Now 

 is the time," thought 1; "he has got to take me now." I in- 

 sisted upon accompanying him. He didn't like it. 1 knew ; 

 said he "had got to git a couple putrid ges for Lawyer Mit- 

 chell," but that if 1 would "keep slill and obey orders 1 

 might toiler along." I followed along very quietly up lhat 

 rugged hillside. 



Finally we came to a thicket of undergrowth. Here the 

 old man' paused. "This," said he, "is a good place for a 

 patridge. You go that way." pointing to the right, "and 

 I'll go (bis. We'll come together on t'other side; perhaps 

 we may start one out o' here.'' 



I started around and had nol gone mote than half way 

 when I heard the old man's gun. Upon his joining me, sure 

 enough a grouse bung al his belt. "You've got one. T see." 

 "I'SE, said the old fellow he was or. a leg and I shot 1 :m 

 through the head." The marks of the bullet were there, 

 clear through the eves. 



We trudged on a while longer, until in his judgment we 

 came lo another likely place, when the same arrangement 

 WAS proposed; "You go around that way and I'll go this." 

 Now about this lime I began to suspect something, 1 hardly 

 knew what. "All right," I said and started off, but only a 

 short distance, when I whipped back, dodging behind 1he 

 trees, and followed the old fellow. He didn't go far; but 

 looking around carefully and being apparently satisfied that 

 there were no prying eyes on him, he parted the bushes and 

 Stepped in a short distance. I was close behind, holding 

 my breath, when what did 1 see' A drumming log anil, 

 hanging by a noose, a grouse. The old hunter took the 

 bird" from" tilt noose, and after punching a sharp stick 

 Through its head hung it to his belt, and then deliberately 

 rtred his gun off in the air. That was for me. I retreated 

 a wiser hoy for the future, and with some of that veneration 

 gone. My idol was somewhat cracked, if not entirely 

 broken. 



] watched the old veteran after that, and I found bis 

 favorite trout resort away in a swamp where no one ever 

 dreamed of finding a trout al all, much less fish of a pound 

 or more in weight. 



Ah! those were good old days. We boys didnt have 

 much pocket money in those times; Baptist ministera' sons 

 generally, I believe, don't have, and we sometime were 

 hard put to our trumps to get the ammunition we wanted. 

 My first gun was an old flintlock musket, with hard peas 

 scooped surreptitiously from the farmers' bin. lor shot. 

 What a red letter davit was for me when my father, wishing 

 to reward me for bcW an exceptional good boy. put into 



my hand my first Shotgun— a percussion cap, 14-gauge, 

 single barrel. EJOvv the squirrels, crows and partridges 

 (grouse) caught it for the next few seasons. But I outgrew 

 that, and my longing was for a rifle that came in one time. 

 Ah! those indeed were halcyon clays, roaming over old 

 Madison county hills. There 'was not a spot that 1 did not 

 know; and every butternut or hickory tree near a wood for 

 miles around. How I Watched for the cornfields near cer- 

 tain pieces of woods, and how angry we. all used to get al 

 the farmers when they cut down for the wood our favorite 

 squirrel resorts. 



And those 'coon hunts o' nights! What an immense 

 amount, of tramps and downright hard work we used to go 

 through; and the sucker and pickerel hooking through the 

 ice; and the fox hunts. Of course we shot them— if we got 

 a. chance: we straddled no horse after them in that region. 

 And the hares (big white ones) in the cedar swamp: and 

 the chicken shoots, and afterward, wlieu we had achieved 

 our rifle, the turkey matches; and the trapping for inuskrats 

 and mink. How proud I was ihc day 1 caught my- first 

 mink. It brought me St. 25; and what 'an amount of ammu- 

 nition that bought. Let me see. we used to pav — forpowder 

 i pound, 9 cents; shot. 2 pounds. 12 eeiils; caps, G.D., 10 

 for a cent, 30 cents. That was about the amount of our 

 purchase at one time, except, on Fourth of July, when we 

 had saved up for the occasion. 



I am becoming garrulous. But these are about the usual 

 experiences of boys fond of sport, and it does my old heart 

 good lo go back to them. Jacobstaff. 



A FEW WORDS FOR THE WOODS. 



17 VETiY sportsman should be a wood-lover and foe to the 

 -J ruthless axe which is being swuug with such indis- 

 criminate zeal throughout the country. 



Tree after tree falls lo the ground, hilltops are made bare 

 and unsiglitlv objects, and ugly vistas are opened up by the 

 destruction of forests. 



To be sure there are voices raised and able pens wielded 

 against this vandalism, but it is the duly of every man who 

 carries the rod or the gun to be alive to the interests at stake 

 and in every way possible to stay the hand of the wood- 

 chopper. 



Year by year has the writer mourned the loss of favorite 

 trees in his walks ami drives; everv spring and every fall 

 has he sought some Sturdy elm or oak in blsfishingor shoot- 

 ing excursions, and found in its place a. hideous stump, and 

 the expected shady halt a baneful, barren place, open to ihe 

 garish day. 



If the woods go, the game and the fish must also go, for 

 the one must have cover in which to rear and lo rest, and 

 the other must have pure water, which depends upon the 

 forest. Some men are SO utterly pig headed as to be blind 

 to their own greed and interests, and' such must be made lo 

 heed thi' laws of nature and to follow in her gentle, kindly 

 Ways. 



I'f ought lo be made illegal for a man to fell a shade tree 

 without a "good and sufficient" reason, and that reason to 

 be considered bj an intelligent and authorized body of men 

 who know the vain.- (other than as merchantable cn'm wood) 

 Of trees. Every winter Ihe felling of trees— the utter de- 

 struction of forests — goes on. and every summer follows a 

 drought and intense heat. Thin out, ye wielders of the ax, 

 thin out. but do not desolate 1 Plant, ye farmers, plant your 

 barren, bleak hillsides with goodly trees, and increase your 

 comfort, the beauty of the land, "and, most assuredly, your 

 revenues, by so doing. O. W. K. 



J£tf%tf/ WV^U' 



APPROACH OF SPRING AT ST. LOUIS. 



Jkfkbksox. Wis., Feb. IV). isx-i. 

 Editor FortM and *tn«i»: 



The followiug letter from Mr. O. Widinann, of SI. Louis, 

 Mo., is loo good for me to keep all to myself.— W, W. 

 OoOkB: 



St Luis Peb ft; ISoll. — We have Jnul unusually cold 

 and disagreeable weather since the first of January. Old 

 . •- .reigning and kepi the ground white and the 

 temperatun below the pleasure-point tor ornithological 

 held work. Januarv was cold and windy. February tried 

 to make things better bv a two days' rain, with the mercury 

 below 3*\ Of coui-e ii succeeded splendidly in making 



matters worse, and everything, from the smallest grass 

 stalk to lie. largest tree, was covered with a heavy coat of 

 glittering ice. Ornithology had to go on skates or stay at 

 home. Tins miserable weather lasted a whole week, 

 IVmii the :;d to the 10th, but by the 14th a warm rain and a 

 strong breeze from the south raised Ihe thermometer 



This first warm breeze brought the first fiock of due**, 

 and since that time thousands and thousands have passed 

 north. Between 4 and .1 P. M. on the 15th twenty-eight 

 large flocks passed, and at 5 P. M. twenty gulls were in 

 sight, passing slowly up in beautiful gyrations; two small 

 and two very large docks of geese were also seen. Between 

 7 and 8 A. M., the 16th, I "counted over fifty flocks of 

 ducks, amounting to over two thousand individuals, going 

 up (he same wav and at the same great height. To-night 

 the mercury stands at 25 and all is white and hard again. 

 Did these ducks know about this approaching great change 

 In the weather and did not mind it, or contrary to the 

 belief of some ornithologists, are unable to read probata! 

 i ties 7 



Since Ibis first south-wind period seems to mark a new 

 era is our bird life, il will be well to close the chapter of mid- 

 winter notes now and report what I have seen. 



As the weather during the first six weeks of this year 

 did not permit excursions to new fields. 1 contented myself 

 wilh revisiting the ground gone over in December to see 

 what had become of my little friends enumerated in my 

 New Year's report, 



Of the three mockingbirds mentioned there, two stood 

 the weather bravely and arc doing well, but Ihe other has 

 nol been seen since the freezing lain of 2. 8, Bluebirds 

 have also remained at their old places, and as a fiif 

 they did not suffer even during the ice-coated spefl, Brat 

 mild day two mates were already com ting a lemale, with 

 as line a' carol as ever heard in spring. 



Titmice, chickadees, wrens and nuthatches are not dis 

 turbed by any kind of winter weather, as they can find food 

 where few other birds would think of lookiug for it, and 



tree holes afford unexcelled shelter, Nevertheless they all 

 appreciate southerly winds, and become loquacious in then 

 exultation over a big rise in temperature. 



Most, but not all" of Ihe yellow-ruinped warblers have 

 finished. The purple finch lias become very numerous 

 Large numbers collected during the "glacial period" ID all 

 places where the coral berry or "Indian currant grows. In 

 hose cold davs. when everything, even their favorite syca- 

 lore buttons, was buried in a sheet of ice. they had to put 

 p with this meager food. They worked hard all day to 

 appease their hunger, but did not succeed. Hard. unsatta' 

 factory work it was for them, as they do not est ihe whole 



fieri,' . but merely the small seeds within, and « In 



they have to husk before devouring. After the birds had 

 •ked there a few days, the ground was covered with lin- 

 ks, skins and pulp. On six acres, overgrown with 

 patches of this plant, I found about a hundred purple 

 finches. About ten per cent, were in crimson, and the other 



in plain brown. When the weather moderated they left 



the coral-berries. The American goldfinch braved the' cold 

 J January, but the freezing process of February !1 was too 

 nuchfor them. They have almost, wholly disappeared. A 

 valk of nine miles in nine hours revealed only two 

 birds. 



White-throated, white-crowned, song, and tree 

 and the black snowbirds remained the same at their winter 

 quarters. Old Pipilo has braved the cold well, his call 

 comes from the same thicket as in December, ami Mis 

 Pipilo is seen not a hundred yards oil. The cardinal gros- 

 beak is a hardly fellow, but he likes warm days in winter 

 better than cold ones. When Ihe sun shone brightly on the 

 12th inst, he was much pleased With it and put in a lovely 

 song. 



The crow seems to degenerate! It cannot stand D IflUcl 

 as it used to. I found them badly starved and frozen with 

 a terribly empty stomach, and the whole bird not more than 

 one-half'its usual weight 



Blue jays still know how lo keep from u - oi i e 

 they manage to live on noise making. 



The downy and hairy woodpeckers remain at tie b | rlaoi 

 and are bound to make love the first warm day, no matter 

 how deep the mud is. Mr. Redhead tried his besl I I 

 and live on ice-cold acorns and such like. I met him in 

 cold davs. but he did not say much, and seemed ■■ ci 

 remorse for SOt going with 'his brothers. The flickers re- 

 mained, and were doing well on the 1'Jlli inst., but thev 

 looked as if resolved not to stay with us next winter 



Pine goldfinch— One bird 1, 18. 



Oolden-crowned kinglet— Two pairs 1, 0. 



Brown creeper — One bird 1. B. 



Red poll linnet— One bird 8, <I, and flock of 30-80 % 1% 

 They were wholly unacquainted with such a thing as a shot- 

 gun! 



Lapland lougspur — 1,0. A Hock of thousands en .i j , . ■ l , I 

 grown over with a sedge, on the seeds of w hick i hev u ere 

 feeding eagerly". [I seemed that thev had made a contract 

 with the owner of the held to clear it of every seed in the 

 shortest Una-. And how they went lo work! \ p I 

 hard work. too. as they had I o'hu-k the m i D i it lecd Mm, 

 were not. willing to leave their task undone, and a shot had 

 no other effect than to make them go up in a cloud with a 

 thundering noise, whir] a few seconds, and com. down 

 again near the same spot. They seemed to do the work 

 systematically: every few minutes Ihe rear part of the army 

 flew over the 'heads of tin- others to Ihe front, 1 od al) elOVfid 



i„ the same direction. 



i^ Swamp sparrow— One htrd, 1, 39, lans lace In 

 found one last winter. 

 Purple gracMe— Four seen ), 18. and two en I 



A few gulls (A. aruKiitnto* Smilhuiminhiis) remained lieve 

 and were seem several times oyer the Mi-sissippi lit Ihe 

 south purl of the city, where the strong .mi rem ,.,, ■.■■,.,. ■,! 



the forming of ice, 



BREEDING OF THE RATTLESNAKE 



Edtto? Ibmdand St/rsava 



In your issue of Feb. 1 'B. B>" write- • 

 reptiles, gives some informal cm from pi e 

 and in rives at certain conclusions, in one of which I think 

 he maybe mistaken. He says that he "know i tJlfl I'llf 

 rattlesnake is propagated from' ihe egg,' hui I haw been 



taught to the contrary, and will relate a pin \ 



wherein for once, at least, there was n... ■•inhrveutiou of 



eggs"lQ bring a lively lot of voting rattlesnake V 



world. 



I spent the summer of ism al a watering place in tin- 

 State, where rattlesnakes .ire nol unkno,, U total 



was e Preach cook named Joe, who had a fondness for 

 snakes, particularly those which made ;i noise with Ihetl 

 tails. Not a great wav from the hotel war- a, "den/" and one 

 .lay Joe. accompanied by an old rattlesnake hunter named 

 (icorge explored the mass of broken rocks cn-iimting the 

 "den"' and returned to the hotel with several livt rattle- 

 snakes; their fangs were drawn and they were placed in ' 

 box with a glass cover. Studies are not esiroptJ 

 dents; one died, one got out and was killed Bud one was 

 sold- but Joe made other journeys lo the den to keep up his 

 stock, so that near the close of the mouth Of August 

 take box contained two large snakes, nearly lour 



long each; 

 the other a yello' 

 of September the fenink' 

 snakes, each about eight b 

 brother and a pTpmini it 

 parturition. I saw the sn 

 young into the world, and B 

 'was bean, but I take 1 



black male without 

 female, with fangs. AVmi the 1st 

 as delivered of nine yonbg 



lies long. 



• t >,.-.■. n ..'!. lav .■ ttne I in 

 lie snake after h I I brought five 



and BgpSh directly after Ihc last one 



iy broils r - '.fit i i. n eye-wit - 



the entire operation. Eaokyi 

 oped in a sac. and as about one-halt Ihe sac became < e ible 

 outside the vent it would burst, liberating Ihe young. A- • 

 soou as torn the little snake;- ,■< , . ■ , 

 most approved style. Eight were born alive, one dead. 

 After five were born, at intervals of only a IV w tmnuics. 



■;,,,-, :. i in iuieimi-siou of nearly Iwohoiu ■, then 11 Ill Pi 



followed. When I saw the snakes hits of ike,- ■ ■ 

 the bottom of the box. Did not "£. B." mi-hd. I.IlC fit 

 in the snake that he killed for egg 



The Frenchman, Joe, look the snakes, old and 01 

 i\lb;my. and a few months after hi- arri 

 ten oil the hand by the female snake, and on r] 

 lowed in a few hours. This has Qothipa 

 birth of the snakes, but much to do With 

 the authorities ordered them Wiled A % C) 



Hj.kn'S i'Ai.Ls. N V.. t'el, I 



