FOREST AND STREAM. 



99 



sides, but the north side is the best, as you can find plenty 

 of game for twenty miles north. Encamp in a grove near 

 water, and you will he happy. Amateur. 



Palatine, 111., September 12th, 1873. 

 Editor Forest and Stream : — 



We have some as nice gunning here in the West as there 

 is anywhere to be found. It is not unf requently that I take 

 my pointer, Joe, (which, by the way, is one of the noblest 

 dogs that ever I fired a gun over) and go out in the fields, 

 returning in about a couple of hours with from ten to fifteen 

 plump prairie chickens, and occasionally (in the season) as 

 many fine partridges or quail. Our snipe shooting here is 

 of not much account, as we have no swamps, nor any good 

 feeding grounds for them. Of ducks, we get our share of 

 most all kinds, in their proper time. With pigeons we 

 have great sport, especially in the fall of the year, so you 

 see that we are not left quite out in the cold, as far as shoot- 

 ing is concerned. F. J. F. 



if 



SALMON IN THE HUDSON. 



New York, September 18th, 1878. 

 Editor op Forest and Stream :— 



I was glad to see in print my communication on the cry- 

 ing evil of "stocking trout" waters with black bass," but 

 your compositor made sad work of part of it. As a recent 

 tour in quest of a trout pond or stream which a club might 

 restock, has confirmed me in my views of the importance of 

 the subject, I would liketoniake my article more intelligi- 

 ble by requesting the reader to replace the word " descrip- 

 tion," by "discussion," so that the sentence would read "I 

 would like to see a fair discussion," &c. 



But to the subject which I now wish to introduce, viz. 

 stocking the Hudson with salmon. Yes ! with Salmo solar! 

 Why not ? What should prevent this noble fish from going 

 up a long way above tide water. There are many streams 

 running into the Hudson which would afford spawning 

 ground. The Croton is one; your memory will doubtless 

 recall many others. A fish ladder could very easily be 

 made at Glenn's Falls; and cheaply too, if one be required, 

 as lumber is plenty there. And so on, over all the imped- 

 ing dams. I know that the upper waters of the Hudson are 

 splendidly adapted for salmon, to say nothing of many 

 large brooks running into the main river above Lansing- 

 burgh. 



Now, Mr. Editor, when the United States Fishery Com- 

 missioner is introducing salmon into the Delaware, can we 

 not get some salmon fry placed in the Hudson? Try the 

 German salmon as well as other kinds. If the Fishery-Com- 

 missioners of this State will only show proper zeal, they 

 can do something which will indeed cause people to think 

 them of some use. And I will show them how to do it. 



Last«year, Mr. C. G. Atkins, of Maine, was employed by 

 several contributors to the fund, to collect salmon spawn on 

 the Penobscot or Kennebec. He was very successful, so 

 much so that the cost of the ova was only a few dollars per 

 thousand. I believe he is to repeat the experiment this 

 autumn, and that the United States Fishery Commission 

 will, as last year, contribute liberally. My suggestion is 

 to have our State Fishery Commissioners subscribe to this 

 project, hatch the ova in the State Hatching House and put 

 the young salmon into the upper waters of the Hudson. 

 The year or two which would elapse before the young fry 

 would be old enough to return, would give our Fishery 

 Commisioners ample time to see that fish-ways were made 

 at every dam for a long way up. Many dams are already 

 prepared for shad, and of course would be used by salmon. 



So you see, a few thousand dollars of the State appropria- 

 tion (now wasted on distributing or catching perch, suckers 

 ed id omne genus) would introduce a really important article 

 of food into our beautiful Hudson, to say nothing of furnish- 

 ing the grandest sport at our very doors. 



I don't want to be too sanguine, but now is the time to 

 endeavor to get Mr. Baird to help us. Surely the Hudson is 

 as important a river to stock as can be found. I have de- 

 scended the stream from its source to Glenn's Falls, and 

 know how feasible the project is. Then there are many 

 rivers, such as the Chateaugay, which flow into the lakes or 

 the St. Lawrence, which used to swarm with salmon. Can 

 they not be restocked?. 



Now is the time to agitate the question. 



Yours, Piscator. 



-«•♦•** 



"WHAT BECOMES OF THE FISH?" 



^ New York, September 19th, 1873. 



Editor Forest and Stream : — 



The brief article in your last issue, entitled "What Be- 

 comes of the Fish ?" gives additional probability to my 

 guide's theory concerning the dead pickerel in Kaquette 

 river. During my fortnight's encampment at Hedgehog 

 Rapids, in June, not one was seen. Then the water was 

 high. The pickerel grass and other weeds which they use 

 as a cover, were not grown. 



But in August we found nearly four feet "less of water. 

 The banks were sedgy, and the shallows everywhere vis- 

 ible. Then the river was full of dead and decaying pick- 

 erel, from one to four pounds in weight, 



The otherwise pure air of that region was tainted. Hun- 

 dreds of carcasses were floating lazily with the current, or 

 were lodged among the lily-pads. The cause or occasion 

 of this destruction was a puzzle. The oldest guide on the 

 river, on being questioned, affirms that their slayer is the 

 great blue heron. 



Of these huge birds we saw scores daily, wading in the 

 shallow water and grasses. They are known to be most 



greedy and unscrupulous fishermen, killing game far be- 

 yond their needs for food. Hec. Marden says they 

 watch for the pickerel in their haunts, grip them savagely 

 between the sharp blades of their beaks, and leave them to 

 die. We examined great numbers of these dead fish, and 

 in every case found two large wounds on opposite sides, 

 generally a little back of the dorsal fin, or just behind the 

 gills. 



These scars would answer almost exactly to the beak of 

 the great blue heron. 



Your correspondent says of the night heron that it is 

 never seen in the day time. The blue heron of the north 

 woods, doubtless a specimen of the same genus, is seldom 

 seen except in the day time. 



Both are most destructive of fish. I should vote heartily 

 for the extermination of those Springfield herons, for they 

 destroy trout; but I should like to give a good bonus to the 

 Raquette river herons, for every vagabond, predatory pick- 

 erel which they munch in their beneficient jaws. 



I like your paper. J. Clement French. 



MOON SICKNESS. 



Museum, Wes. University, ) 

 Y Middletown, Conn., Sept. 11th. f 



Every one familiar with sea-faring me^i must be aware 

 of their belief in the ill effects of the direct rays of the 

 moon. The light of the moon striking the face of a sleeper 

 is held to be particularly injurious. 



Many officers do not allow their men to sleep on deck 

 when the moon is bright. I have never talked with a sailor 

 on the subject without hearing cited from personal experi- 

 ence at least one case of temporary blindness or distortion 

 of the face thus caused. 



As I could find no reference to this disease in medical 

 works I was at first inclined to class this belief with the 

 superstition which formerly called the insane " lunatic," or 

 " moonstruck," but it is shared by so many intelligent men 

 that it deserves investigation. 



Mr. Cuthbert Collingwood in his very entertaining "Ram- 

 bles of a Naturalist on the China Sea," gives an instance 

 which occurred on a vessel with whose personnel he was ac- 

 quainted, and which was corroborated by all the men and 

 officers. ^ 



" The lad was eighteen years of age, of fair complexion, 

 full face and large, light grayish blue eyes which attracted 

 attention from their remarkable appearance. In February, 

 1864, on a certain night in the full moon, the lad Was sleep- 

 ing on the forecastle with his face turned upwards, fully 

 exposed to the direct rays of the moon. The circumstance 

 was remarked by his messmates, Who warned'him but to no 

 purpose. Next night he was one of a deep-sea sounding 

 party and was beating the line when the moon rose, when 

 he suddenly exclaimed that he could not see and would 

 have walked overboard had he not been stopped. For six- 

 teen nights, as soon as the moon arose he complained that 

 a cloud came before his eyes, and it was necessary to lead 

 him about the deck. This was only in moonlight. The 

 surgeon, a gentleman of superior attainments, with whom 

 Jam acquainted, examined his eyes minutely and could see 

 nothing abnormal in them. Between decks and during 

 daylight he had no difficulty. When the next moon came 

 around he had recovered from this singular affection which 

 did not return. Many other instances have been related to 

 me by persons, sometimes medical officers, under whose 

 direct notice they fell." 



The subject is an interesting one, particularly to sports- 

 men and others who sometimes sleep in the open air. It is 

 hoped that this may meet the eye of some medical man or 

 naval officer who can throw additional light on the question. 



G. Brown Goode. 



VENOMOUS LIZARDS. 



Halifax Barracks, September 13th, 1873. 

 Editor op Forest and Stream : — 



Having noticed your article on " Woorari " where Dr. 

 Saffray describes a venom as coming from a frog used 

 by the Indians to poison their arrows, I beg leave to state 

 the following facts, which I trust will find some explana- 

 tion in your columns : Two years ago while hunting in the 

 mountains of Nova Scotia with Indians, during the middle 

 of September, in the dense hard-wood forest, I came across 

 a rather large lizard. I was about securing him, when 

 my Indians cried out "retez!" " retez !" their French for 

 stop. On inquiring the reasons for their caution, they said 

 it was a most dangerous creature, calling it "the man 

 poisoner lizard." They assured me that if there was a 

 scratch on my finger, and I touched the lizard, it would 

 poison me fatally. I cut a stick and poked him. I did this 

 easily, as his- movements were rather lethargic. This 

 seemed to enrage him, and he turned on the stick. At the 

 same time a peculiar white creamy and glutinous matter 

 exuded from his body. One of the Indians caught a field 

 mouse. I touched the mouse, who w r as quite lively, and 

 unhurt, somewhere about the mouth, with the stick which 

 was imbued with the exudation of the lizard, and the 

 mouse died in violent convulsions in a few minutes. I re- 

 gret very much not having preserved the lizard, which I 

 killed. I do not have, much faith in the Indian stories, 

 though my guides were very reliable and trustworthy men, 

 and not in the least inclined to deceive me. I found out 

 afterwards, that the settlers all believed that this lizard was 

 terribly venomous, and cited accidents arising from touch- 

 ing it. The color of the lizard was of a greenish yellow. 

 His body was about four inches long, and his tail about five 

 inches. He had two quite sharp teeth, fangs in fact, on 



both his upper and lower jaw, and smaller teeth in front. 

 Have any of your readers come across a similar lizard? 

 Is there any foundation in the universal dread people have 

 of toads and lizards ? I think there may be some reasons 

 for it. Captain P. 



CROSSING. THE YELLOWSTONE. 



Bloody Knife, General Custer's Indian guide, manufac- 

 tures a boat in this way : — 



Two beeves were immediately killed and. skinned for 

 Bloody Knife's use. Stout willow wands were then cut and 

 the bark pulled off. They were then bent into the proper 

 shape and bound together by thongs of raw hide. The 

 frame, when completed, looks like a denuded umbrella 

 frame, the tips being secured by a large willow ring which 

 determines the diameter of the circular boat. The hide is 

 stretched over the frame and secured to it by more thongs 

 of raw hide. The green hide is then allowed to dry, the 

 process in our case being hastened by a large fire. When 

 completed, this unique boat looked like a large raw hide 

 umbrella, ihree feet deep and about five in diameter, with- 

 out a handle. Yet Bloody Knife declared that this raw 

 hide tub would carry 1,000 pounds. A second bull-boat 

 was made and dried in the same way. The day had been 

 passed in these endeavors, and it was too late to make fur- 

 ther trial that night. 



We picketed our horses near by, spread our blankets, 

 and dropped to sleep. Just before" we retired, an Indian 

 was seen to come down to the bank on the other side to 

 water his horse. As soon as he observed our camp he im- 

 mediately fled without giving his animal a drink. His sur- 

 prise showed that our presence so near the enemy had not 

 been discovered. Had we possessed the proper appliances 

 for crossing the river, we could no doubt have effected the 

 passage without discovery. Once discovered, an attempt to 

 cross a line in the morning by our bull-boats would be ex- 

 tremely hazardous. — Tribune Correspondent. 



AN ARTIST'S AMBITION. 



THERE is no reading I likes as well as dog reading. 

 Mr. Bulwer's romance dogs is poetry dogs, but not 

 equal to Mr.Dicken's dogs. They is true to the life, and 

 if dogs could speak, for they do think, they would talk 

 just like Mr. Dicken's dogs. Only one thing, sir, and if 

 you don't think it a liberty, I shall presume to remark, 

 which it is in regard to dogs, do what -you may, good or 

 bad treatment, they never will perform their tricks and 

 carry a good tail. Now% to make you understand, do you 

 see that yellow spotted dog? That dog knows we are 

 talking about him, and he's pondering on us. Dogs does a 

 deal of pondering. That dog's an inventive dog, sir, and 

 is capable of striking off for himself a perfectly original 

 line of characters, only, sir, when up to the beauties of 

 his part, hinspired I may say, regularly hinspired, he will 

 drop his tail. Some dogs drops their tails more than others; 

 some carries them right between their legs, which takes 

 ever so much away from the 'traction of the piece. May 

 be, sir, you don't know much about plays where the dog 

 is the actor. The female lady character says: "Oh my dog! 

 my faithful dog ! how joyously he bounds this way! We 

 are saved ! we are saved ! He comes! becomes." Now to 

 see a dog come in like a whip'd cur takes all the life out of 

 the piece. Dog human nature notwithstanding any of 

 the arts of man, will show itself there. Once I got ac- 

 quainted with an Italian. He knowed most as much as 

 any man I ever saw on dogs. He had a big spaniel dog, 

 as was a most natural dog. I seed that dog perform "a 

 dozen times, and that dog had no drop in his tail, tho' his 

 play was cowed like and not free. Of course his master 

 woldn't let me handle him. But I paid a friend of mine 

 to have that dog sent me once, just for ten minutes, 

 and I found it out. The clog was nicked, sir; the mussels 

 at the joint of his tail had been clean cut, so that he 

 couldn't drop it or wag it, if he tried. 



That ain't true art, and I'm above it, It's the ambition 

 of my life, however, to succeed on that one point. I sup- 

 pose if I had a very young puppy and trained him up alone, 

 apart from any^ other dog. and we neither of us lost our 

 tempers, we might succeed. In the meantime, as you see, 

 I satisfy my craving for perfection with short-tailed dogs. 

 Nature and her defects ain't as perceptible in a bob-tailed." 



"Will you allow us," we said, "to thank you? for you 

 are really a conscientious artist; it is difficult to meet 

 such. " 



"Thank you, sir," was the reply. " Tho living I pick 

 up is one thing, and the satisfaction I derive from my 

 calling another. It ain't often I am appreciated." — Weiu 

 York Times. 



Crows in Bermuda. — The crows are voted such a nuis- 

 ance that an Act of the Colonial Parliament has been passed 

 for their extirpation, and 2s. 6d. is paid out of the Colonial 

 Treasury for each crow that may be brought dead to the 

 proper authority. However, the crows build their nests in 

 trees upon islets rarely visited, so that their numbers do 

 not visibly decrease, though some are shot from time to 

 time. During the breeding season the boatswain or long- 

 tail birds {Phaetrn cetliereus) are seen in large numoers flvino- 

 round the rocks (in the clefts they have deposited their 

 mottled eggs) or roving about the ocean in search of small 

 fish, upon which they feed; and very handsome look these 

 white birds, with their black -tipped wings and two delicate 

 fawn-colored feathers in their tails, as they dart and ski in 

 through the air in the neighborhood of their nests. 



They are difficult to shoot by reason of their thick 

 feathers, and are easily captured in the holes of the rocks 

 (sitting upon their eggs) by pushing in a stick or rag and 

 jerking them out when they bite the article, taking, by the 

 way, particular care they do not bite your finger with their 

 powerful yellow^ beak. 



Some years ago a gentleman passing througn Bermuda 

 was anxious to obtain a few specimens, and was sufficient Iv 

 unwary to advertise that he would pay 2s. Od; apiece for 

 any that might be brought him, and he was soon in posses- 

 sion of a boat load, for which he had to pay seve; al pounds 

 with the consolation of hearing that the public verdict was 

 " served him right-!" 



Some years ago the Virginian partridge was brought to 

 Bermuda, and the birds are said to be thriving and increas- 

 ing and to be well suited to the climate, or rather the cli- 

 mate is well suited to them.— Saint James Magazine 



