Apbil 12, 1883.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



203 



BcaTcely had the effecl of quickening his pace; and were 51 

 not for the faei thai my companions noticed thai everyshol 

 struck about u Fool over the goat's back, 1 Would have pro- 

 nounced him bullet proof * 



I suppose I looked ridiculous, and, From Leammux's stand- 

 point, probsbly contemptible j and when a man, with therepu- 

 tatfon of hciiiir tin- i.v t -ii..t in Hi-- neighborhood, Bbootsthroe 



times at mi animal aearlyasbigasa mule i mi — it, 1 daft 



sayheoughi either to blame his rifle or apologise. Bui I 

 did neither. 1 simply threw ray gun over mj shoulder and 

 gave the order to disperse overthe ridges. 



Wi' had scarcelj gone hajf a mile from the earnp, when a 

 shout from the Indian we litiil left in charge brought one <>: 

 our mimlier back, to liml thai a large goat— probablj the 

 .sunn- om — hail besieged tlie camp and was aboul to Qbarge 

 on the left flank of the tent. Two or three shots from a 

 rifle, however, bad the effect of making his goatsbip raise 

 the siege and go away ii nothing more 



Now it is a curious' fad that, with the exception of II. 

 everyshol rlred during the bunl missed its marls, &nd 

 this, too, with men having a fair record with the gun, and 

 an experience of twenty years in the mountains, dining 

 which time they had bajigcd specimens of nearly till t in- 

 larger kinds of game peculiar to the province. During the 

 day a black bear ran the gauntlet of W, and K 'a rifles, and 

 tin- brute gol away 1 leaving no crimson stain on thi bank ol 

 snow over which he scampered, The lasl act of tlieiiuni 

 was performed in tire following manner 



ol Hi, 



id yards 



Whil. on tin-top of 

 mux discovered : > got 

 a cliff about athousa 



lb. besl means of 

 cided to go straight (low 



fctting into the lniBhes, 

 O down we started, the old 

 supple body twisting around II 

 and worming along the depressions in the ground, while H. 

 and mvseli followed, "each stepping where his leader 

 stepped." 



There arc nianv interesting moments in the life of a 

 hunter. The catching of the first deep notes of theapprpach- 



. H.. myself and Leant 

 a shady nook on tie side "f 

 rWaj : a discussion arose-'aa in 

 I bin snot, and we finally d'e 

 lop.- and take our chances oi 

 ball way down, unobserved. 

 ndi.in taking the lead, bis 

 of granite block 



in 



g hound, 



tl 



.- hei 





o- 



iver tin- pi 



oslrah- fi 



rm of his 



li.st 



■ i. 



BT, and I 





crnit 1 



sin 



ifc 



e by the 



light ea 



np.fire. ai 



e all 



Pl 



jovments 



worth 



■ il 





best of 



lauires: 



mi the a 



•I of 



.,. 





• ti 



Mini 

 e.xp 



sh 



a 



if seme oo 

 • and cut 



vetedqui 



mug ag 



linsi the 



itch 



in 



S-Of bum 



k.-.ii 



senses of tin 



a 



•II a 



,1 V 



a 



y animal, 



s to mv 



nind the c 



■cam 



Ol 



a huntei 



'a 



lS|l!- 



11 





. The lux 



aking of 



a twig, a 



false 



Hi 



■p. or 1 lie 



ru 



stle o 



r a 





.v.-lhnle-il 



g bush, 



may ensi \ 



nil a 



rtt 



i-p drawn 



si 



gb Co 



r be 



P' 



s departed 



wiib the lleeiug g 



a:ne. 







perhaps 



ai 



the 



lasl 





loni'i.;. \\ 



hen a f 



■w more 



x:,p> 



■ulii brim; vou witliin a possible chance, a fitful pull' of 

 wind carries forward the scent of your presence, and then 

 with blood trickling from half a dozen wounds from pointed 

 rocks and thorny brambles, you come to a halt and watch 

 the coveted prize recede in the distance, The odds are, in 

 mv opinion, always with the game, but nerve and patience 

 very often brings victc-Ty to theside of the hunter, and win 



or lose. 1 always fj 

 An hour's creepi 



ml tie 



excii.-n 



cut worthy ib 



• effort; 









lin;- dnw 







ipe 



brought us to the \ 



i-rae 



If a dee] 



canon, 



acro- 



s which 





had to shoot, at la 



Si It V, 



a-, as lie 



ir as wi 



con 



d appro 



(Oil 



ate! Ui.::;igh: zS 



he attempted to es 

 yards before reach 



he ga 



30 fell s 



n.'-n'f lb. 

 have to 

 >f the t 



gOllt 



mbei 



because 

 ne bund 

 below, , 



led 

 if 



ml 



more than double 





stance tc 



> reach tl 



c to] 



ol" (he c 



iff 



so Wfl look it cool; 



and a 



dilleicn 



•e of op 



moil 



arose as 



to 



the distance across 



. I asserting il 



at. it was 



letwf 



en two h 



HI. 



died and lil'u and 



three 



hundre 



1 van Is. 



whili 



11. thou 



-iil 



it much less. Ai 



his p, 



ml Lea 



ninux. u 



bo u 







just behind me. lb 



iikniL 



to give 



me one i 



aore < 



hnii.c to 





deem my charade 



-. in-lit forwan 





■ti-ii.l 



ug 1,, In- 





some dust from in 



, rifle 



barrel, w 



hispered 



thai 







was about the sain 



D as 1 1 



at at wb 



i'-b I hat 









fcrring to au occti 



rrcnc( 



which 



inok pla 









previous. Now tl 



edisl 



ince refe 



lred In w 





ly about 



Mil' 



bundled yards, an 



1 the 



id.:, lb. 



11., impt 



t my in' 





it should 

 shoved 





though! so far asti 



ated on 

 tii-nt.lv, t 



:so 1 

 liai 



III- 



old fellow away, t 



■lling 





to shoot at two 'hundred and fifty, the lai 

 natiiieilly. "All right, two hundred and fifty 

 ,liisi r I ii - n tin- goal discovered us, started i 

 Changing hi- mind, Wheeled, and was makin 

 ber below, when two .streams of sparks anil 

 from a clump oi bushes and two leaden i 

 away across the cannn to liml a resting pla© 



crevices in the cliff, and the goa 

 the deep canons echoed back tl 

 still the goal kepi on toward tbe 

 ever, II. was a little behind me with I: 

 in.j. [ts effect I saw tin- dust senile 

 cliff about a fool above the goat's bac 

 "(ire lower," that we were shooting 

 tlie latter, throwing forward his rifle. 

 thing Hint sounded like "1 lold you s 

 and tlit poor goat, just as he was u 

 I tbe cover, was pierced through tl 



tin- cliff, but 

 for tin- lirn- 

 okc shot out 

 isengers sped 

 i some of t ni- 

 pt on unhurt. Again 

 sports of our rifles. and 

 ber. This time, how- 

 s shot, and in watch 

 from a point ou the 

 . I shouted to II. to 

 i foot too high, when 

 and muttering eome- 

 i." pulled the trigger, 

 king bis last leap to- 

 adders and fell 



a distanceof a hundred feel clear. " '['bis broke tbe la.-t link 

 in the line of friendship between myself and Leammux, 

 and when I reached out mv hand and 'congratulated II. on 

 his good luck, the old fellow muttered .something in the 

 guttural language of bis tribe, which if interpreted no doubt 

 would be, "Well, that lets me out on you," and started out 

 in search of an easy place to go down the caiion after the 

 dead goat. 



But few goats wen- found on the summit; while a hundred 

 yards below in the timber, through which il was simply im- 

 possible to follow them, the ground was everywhere cul up 



with th-ir bonis, a circumstance which even the Indians 

 could not aceount.for. as during the summer and fall months 

 and until driven below by the deep snows {he .summit is 



tin 



• home. 



No 



our muck. a-, 

 growl aboul. 



uding our bad luck we had a most, enjoyable 

 >us weather througlmui, and my companions 

 bing of tbe habits of an animal which they 



,-k d,,pa 

 \V hen a hunter shoot 



thought as to win t lii.v bis victims shall be turned to some 

 liein lit m- rot where they fall, be ceases to be either a gentle 

 man sportsman or a po'i-lmiucr. and becomes a rapacious 

 brute, whose ignorance nml shrike like propensities Ought 

 to debar him from a place round the enuip lire 



During one of our rambles on the Summit we Crossed over 

 a place of several hundred yards in extent filled up with 

 broken rook .-Inch bad toppled awftyfrom an adjoining 

 i-liii. This place had every appearance of being tin- abode 

 ol a eoloin oi mai iiinis .,i 'rm k whistlers, bttl as it turned 

 out. was now entin-ly d'-serled. the cause of which l.e-uii- 

 mux told in the following stoiy, which, perhaps, it will be 



"Many years ago a i I of Douglass Indians came to 



shn.,1 sJietip (mountain goat) and flnding this place, and 

 wishing to kill Borne of the squa uk- (marmots), wihont en- 

 oroaehiog on their aoanl stock of powder andshut, bethought 

 themselves of the. following plan. Some of their number 

 went down in the limber and gathered a large quantity of 

 gum from the fir and pirn- trees. This they melted and 

 poured on the dilVen-nl Sentinel vocks. that is the high pin- 

 nacle rock which is generally found directly over the 

 entrance to the sqna-ultg house, and upon the top of which 

 the little fellow sits down to lake his regular watch and give 

 warning at the approach of danger by sending foiib his long 

 half bun, an whistk. Will. I be pitch was pound mi, and 

 When the sipia-uks came out aim took their accustomed 

 station-, they 300n found themselves lasl to the rocks, when 

 the Indians came up and knocked Ibciii over willi clubs. 

 This was repeated many times until the squa-uks discovered 

 the trick, and being thoroughly disgusted at this mode .,f 

 warfare, and nm wishing to be exterminated by such a vej 

 itoble set of pot-hunters as tlie Douglass Indian.- were, ih<\ 



picked U|) their household ^nod>. their voun- and feeble 

 ones, andin (he slillne-., of the night, beneath Ibe silent 

 stars, they stole away, cro-,il S: amour Creek, and made 

 themselves a new homo among the snow peaks where the 

 Douglass Indian- dan- nm lollow Ibeni.'' 



A few -tiauiiliie; meiuber; of the Bohemian waxwing 

 (. I „ v , -//.-- ,,,: ■/./.'».«) w re nolicid bin- this Winter, once in 



■otortu-i) arrived Feb. 20; Western blue- 



,/) Mar.-b 1. Black biaui (var. nigsicaas 

 ather for many weeks back- has been 80 

 ai the meal army of cur northward 

 rresidentsinay beupon us. my linn- now. 



' Ei for ihcir breeding grounds, be- 



March 4, but our 

 extremely mild 

 m grants and sun 



/'.,-.' i, 



you'd the Cascades, n.-nny a nioiiin iig.j. 



Den- bava almost disappeared from this (south) side of 

 tin- inlei. bin are apparently as abundant as ever on the north 

 side; and considering that the conditions in the matter of 

 food and cover are equal, and thai six years ago di-cr were 

 plentiful all alo.ug the -nuth shore, it is a question worthy 

 of debate as towbal has brought about this change. My 

 own conclusions are already formed, and if the readers Of 

 l'm:i>i ami Btrbam will forgive mc for opening a ques- 

 tion wjiich for the laBt year has i,i T n thoroughly discussed 

 in its inlninns, 1 will give them, remarking, however, 

 that they come fiom on,- having a very strong pre- 

 judice againsl bouudiug deer, at least to that "extent 

 With which it has been practiced for the last ten years at 

 Hurrard Inlet, 



Mv experience with hunting on Burrard Inlci extends 

 back tea years, and during that period the south side has 

 been the great bounding ground for all parties living in the 

 neighborhood who look a pleasure in this kind of gporl 

 Deer were just as plentiful on the north side, but. owing to 

 a number of streams putting in from the mountains, tlie 

 practice of bounding on that side proved a failure from the 

 first, and during the \<-.w> above mentioned no hounds have 

 beeM m-viI there tn my knowledge. On the nih.-i- band. t!mt 



side has alwavsbi-.-ii, and is slid, a successlul ..-round for 

 tin- still hunter, both whin and Indian. 



Now hen- are iwo stretches of country some twelve miles 

 long, separated by ■■< sheel .,f w.-i. r from a half to two and a 

 hall miles wide. Ai a certain period deer wen- faii-h plen- 

 tiful op both stretches. The. conditions of feed ami cover 

 have k.-pl about the sane-, and, until the lasl year, when the 

 building of the terminus oi the Canadian Pacific was com- 

 menced on the -mitli side, the encroachments of civilization 

 were about equal, ami yet to day there is little or no use for 

 he hounds, while the still-hunter continues to shoot, his 

 lei-r whenever he wants to. John- Fannin. 



Summit of Mocnt Yo, Non-rn Ami Bdrrard Ixi.i.t. British ('olimi- 



hot three, and 

 and the Ihree c; 



■is II,.- 



, we "hadn't n 

 - merely for the 



uch to 

 sake of 



adding to his bag, when he eonliniies to lake life with no 



♦Several months ago 1 received the skin ,.i a mountain goat to 

 tun. anil in cutting it across the hull t fomul n to be, at tnnt nlaee, 

 one inch niifl n q iart.-r tliii-.k. I.oimiiiinx lokl me lie once sliot ■ u 

 goal uliieli had the tip of another':) horn .-nil »■ I. h, I in tin- mini). Hi,- 

 skin having closed ovi-i- ii. 



ROUTE TO THE NEPIGON. 



44 i NGLEH'S'' iriTjuiryas to the shortest time routetothe 

 iV Nepigon in Fohest and Stream of 5th inst. may 



may 



The absolulcly shoriesl ti 

 incite, and thence across 

 :. v.hi.h can always be ti 



be answered 

 route would be by rail t 

 lake to Red Hock by st« 

 cured ai Marquette, Ri 



at Chicago for Saull 8te, Marie, and thence 1 .3 Canadian 



steamer to Ib-d Kock. If close connection i- made at Saull 



Sie. Marie. In- may reach the Nepigon on the fourth or tilth 

 day after leaving Ohicago. This is the cheapest route. 

 Hut only a few of the steamers touch at Red Rock, and so 



'nil 



sti. Marie at 



than by ska) 



dinarilv be a 



Or. if the ( 



sage may be 



ia seven! v lie 



lugfrom Mar-iucite will or- 



- not touch atKeil Rock, pas- 

 ilet or Prince .Vnliur's Land- 



nn wind or oar-. But I sup- 

 without camping out til, in- 



ilv get boat or canoe to |{ed 



■ all of a steamer With a 



n be made wilb, a Can- 



1 Red Rock ordinarily, 



Rock, or time his return by the c 

 parly of ten or more arrangement 

 adia'n Steamer from Saull Ste, Ma 

 and for return at about a given tit 



I have ninic frequently taken voyagers and Mackinaw 

 boat from gault Ste. Marie on steamer. By SO doing one 

 has the means of coasting back to Saull Ste. Marie or to 

 Silver WeJ to nieel steamer. 



Bui one visiting the Nepigon must not ho too limited as to 

 time, for adverse wind ; ami l'n-s are apt to play havoc with 

 the best laid plan-. I have been ten days from' home before 

 casting a fly, ami 1 believe six days was the shortest iSme, 



A few trofit — occasionally a fine one— can be taken ai Red 



Kock. Twelve miles above, however, llc-y begin to bo 

 ph nty. In fact, ii is seldom any arc taken between Red 

 Rock and Camp Alexander. The rapids above Camp Alex- 

 aiid,-i- and Cameron's I'ool. aiunit fourteen miles from Red 

 Rock, have good fishing. Bui ( lameron's I'ool is a very hard 

 place to reach, and is seldom visited. Then- are numerous 

 i.-ipids nml pools above, il'-ai up to Virgin. Fulls, when- the 

 lake becomes the river, thirty-seven miles from Red Hock. 

 I'.iniiis and provi-ion- can alwaj - he had at Red Rock, and 

 i. x, -client Indian guides. 



[omitted to state that a day can probably he saved by 



biking thi-draud Knpidsand Indiana I! lill'oad to Maekinaw 

 ■ or the Snails) and meeting the Lake Sup'-rior steamer at 

 Mackinaw. Fisiii.hman. 



V|.i-ii -. igas. 



THE PANTHER OF THE McCLOUD RIVER. 



Filis eiiiim'i,,-, 



I^RE pant'nerof the McCloiid River, Gal-., although known 

 in (litVci.i.i parts of the eountrj under tin various 

 names of panther, cougar, painter, puma, nitd Ci'liforniaiion, 

 is neveitbeh— Ibe eoiiimon piiuii i- ol North Am -rii.-.-i. the 



In color, weight and general appearance I he McCl'.ud 



Kivi-r animal differs less fr< I.e p.-inlher of the Atlantic 



Coast than might be expected. Tin- panther -kins thai I 

 lev,- ,, .Heeled in Xorlh, in California look much in color 

 and Quality of fur like the -Kins ol Ka.-ietu panthers thai 

 anyone seeing them would Buppose that the two creatures 

 lad lived side i>\ side, instead of 3,000 miles aptutl and in 

 totally diiViieiit climates. As to size, the panthers of 

 the r'acilic Coast do not seem to differ much from those of 

 the Atlantic Coa-t. and all theskinsof the McClnud p.-uuler 

 that 1 have measured do mil van four inehes in Uitlgth 



from what 1 have supposed to be a fair average measuremi nl 

 Of Ibe Atlantic (nasi animal, viz: seven feet six inches from 

 the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail, alter the skin has 

 been tanned, 



It should be nieniioned. however, that a skin taken freshly 

 from tin- animal will measure, without stretching'il ydrj 

 hard, twelve m- eighteen inches in lumrth more Chan the 

 tanned skin, and consequently the statement of a hunter 



that he has killed a panther whose skin measured nine fe.-i 



does not necessarily implv that tlu- creature was muctt\ if 



any. above Un- average in size. As to Ihcir ua-i-lit, | eannni 



speak positively from my own experience, as I have uever 

 bad the opportunity to weigh one. but judging from the 



aopc 



I ol tin- animal when lilted \ 



unis, I 



; |ioul.l say thai a panther whose skin when tanned measured 



noven feei sis inch,-, would weigh about t2g pouuds, 



Since ll.c-.-iabli- in, i.-nl nf the l" S. Salmon Breeding Sta- 

 tion ont.be McCloud River, alllarge game, with the excep- 

 tion of panthers, ha- steadily become scarcer and scarcer. 

 When we first settled on tbe rivi-rlhc black and brown bears, 

 in tin- fall, used in come dnwn constantly to tin- river near 

 our house to eat the dead salmon ihat floated up to the river 



bank-, and Wi maid hardly ever follow the up-river trail to 



any distance from the house without coming across their 



Hacks. Now 6 bear track on our side of the lite, i, i, ni lii-re 

 near the bouse is very ran-lv. i: ever, seen, and the hu'unis of 

 the bears scflm to bate talk n sevi ral miles further back into 

 the mountains than when we first came. It is the same with 

 tnedeer. During Hie lir-l years of our residence on the 

 McCloud we hid to go but a short distance from the house 

 fordeerj and almost any forenoon jin Indian could go out 



, we 



..a 



| (!,.-, ,ver. timui.,, ,m, ,„-,,;, .-,- -,,,,- , user keep 



icr. asdoabo the hears. I In- panthers, on ibe 

 other hand, wen- s< :,,<-,- v.l, ,-,. ucaine, bul have iuciva-ed 

 and come nearer ever -ince we have been there. Such a 

 strange statement a- this would naturally be received with 



some Incredulity, bin. Ibe fait is easily aceouiited Inr. 



Before white men came inln this reaion panthers had to 

 depend entirely upon wild meal for their subsistence, and 

 Ibis was found, Of course, as readily in one place as another. 

 When white nen i aim- thev brought domestic animals with 

 I hem— slue]), horses, cattle and hogs. This tlhauged the 

 face nl 'affairs for ibe panthers entirely. They found thai 

 there was nol only other food to be bad liesid,- what, they 

 hunted in the mountain.- and forests, but that this new Coda 

 was obtained with far less djracully than their former food 



was. and Ibal il oceurreil in He- mosl abundance around the 

 haunts of men. 



It was no trick at all for a panther thai had spent his life 

 bunting and watching for the wary aud fjeet-fboted d.er m 



c clown off the mountain Hank al nighl and steal a colt 



ora calf ora pig from the neighborhood of a human habit- 

 ation, ile always knew when- to liml them. He \ V: ,,, 

 always sure of obtaining one, and Bias also sure of never 

 failing lo secure an ea-y victim. One can n-adih see that 



with whit.- men's farms offering these Inducements, the 

 panther would gradually abandon his long and laborious 

 bunts in the mountains for deci and other wild game, and 

 when hungry would come down the mountain side and seek 

 his meal in the rich quarry of domestic, animals, waiting for 



him mi the settler's iamb' i - valley, and it is easy to -■-,- 



al-nihai panthers, in seeking a suitable dwelling spot for 

 themselves. and _ their young, would not be guided so much 

 by ii- convenience to place- thai ileec frequent, as by its 

 nearness and easj access to the live stock of the ranchman, 



Tin- cal family. •- is well known. ; n V : , curious mixture 



of boldness and cowardice, Tlu\ are the mosl cowardly 



of all animals by dav. when they can be -,-en l>anlhe: : s 

 .share this peculiarity with the re-t of their familv. and 



trusting probably lo their agility, quickness and stealthy 



soilness of their step, they venture at night, when ( in- y 

 cannot be seen, inm dangerous place- thai a bear or deer or 

 wolf would never think of going into. 



Ii is undoubtedly this trait of exceptional boldness at night 

 which h:,s kept Un- Mct.'lnud panlliers about tbe river, and 

 caused them toincrcase in the vicinity of human dwelling.-. 



Hears and •!■•'• will noi n-ine around human habitations. 

 knowingly, b\ iii-hl or day, bin panthers and lynx.- and 

 wildcats as well, although a.s shy and wnrv by davasaiv 



animaithat inhabits the wodriV w.cm not to 'be afraid J\ 



uigiii ol akiiigany ri-.k of dan.g. r I roin nn u. Consi ipnuth , 

 while oilier targe game has retired furl ber back into the 

 wild, uninhabited regions on the approached man. becausi 



they do not elaie lo eniue near enough lo steal his domestic 



