64 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



| August 23, 1883. 



and held its bead up ;it arm's length (not an easy tiling to'tfo), 

 several feel of its length dragged upon the ground. I am 

 aware thnt on account, of the unusual slcnderness of this 



species is apl to form an exaggerated idea of the length 



of a very largo one; inn I had previously measured many 

 thai were Beven tq eijrhl feci hi length, and this for exceodod 

 any ol them. 1^ length ai the lime was estimated at about 



nine and a half feet 

 mine thai bv actual measure 

 in length, and I can refer M 

 one Having been killed wl; 

 record in question n 

 for lstil (page 433), 

 I iV I): P. R. Hov, c 

 and win. candoubtl 

 Willi the excepl 

 vnlpinus, which hav 

 tain a large-9ize, ilii 

 seen climb trees to a 



to he by nature dec 

 say, than the coma 



killed by two relatives of 



.ent was nine feci efghl inches 



Brown i i a reliable record of 



i measured eleven feet. The 



,• In- found in the Smithsonian Report 

 id rcf.r- to B specimen nh'ol in Missouri. 

 Kacine. Wisconsin, who is now living, 

 >s substantiate ibis statement.* 

 n of its ileal- allies. 0. MtUftUS and 0. 

 vei -v -iinilar htthitS, and which nlsoat- 

 is the onlv species of snake that I have 

 v considerable height. In fact, it seems 

 ledlv arboreal— far more so, 1 should 

 i black snake {Bwntniwm emmPrieior). 

 Many a one have 1 found by the outcry made by numerous 

 small birds which had congregated about as it "lay basking 

 upon a blanch of a tree or the lop of a tall bush in I he 

 woods. 1 once killed, with a pole, one which was stretched 

 vertically alone: the trunk Of a large while ash live, some 

 eighl Often feet from (he ground;' and I well remember 

 having onee mode a very hasty descent from a tree which I 

 had bees Climbing tO get at a bird s nest iii the top, and had 

 gotten about ball way to, when, looking up to grasp a 

 branch. 1 came near puttinsr my hand on a large snake of 

 i lii- species. In April of (lie present year I witnessed a 

 somewhat remarkable occurrence connected with this species, 

 viz., the fail of a specimen from somcwdicrc in the top of a 

 l. ill i 'dip poplar tree. I was standing near the base of the 

 tree, and hearing something which [supposed to be a dead 

 branch strike the foliage overhead, looked up in time to see 

 a snake descending from immediately beneath the lower- 

 most branch, at least seventy-five feel trom the ground (the 

 tree being a very tall clean-trunkcd one): it -truck the 

 ground about ten feet from the base Of the tree, and. re- 

 bounding, was apparently so stunned us lo be unable to 

 crawl away: at least it made no effort to escape, but with 

 the head slightly raised looked about in a sort of bewildered 

 way. and was soon dispatched with a charge of birdshot. 

 The cause of its fall may perhaps be explained upon the 

 theory that it bad hybcrnated in some cavity in the treetop, 

 and in coming forth from its retreat to seek* the sun had, in 

 its ncce-.-arily weak Condition, slipped from the branch. 



This supposition is strengthened by the fact that the day was 

 one of the first warm ones of the season, which had been 

 unusually cokl and backward. 



In recording the above observations I do not wish to be 

 understood as discrediting in the least Statements by others 

 which may differ from my own experience. On the con- 

 trary, 1 know that impressions of a decidedly opposite char- 

 acter may be received under varying circumstances, not 

 only by different persons, but by the same individual. 

 Allowance should be made not only for time and other cir : 

 cuuistanccs. but also locality. This observation brings me 

 to another matter. In the portion of country of which I am 

 Writing (Southeastern Illinois and adjoining parts of Indi- 

 ana), C. obsoltiUi is known universally as the "chicken 

 snake. " and. so far as 1. have been aide to learn, by this 

 name only Oh the other hand, the term -racer" (or, more 

 frequently, "blue racer"), as there used, seems to refer ex- 

 clusively to large or pugnacious individuals of Bascanium 

 r„iixtri'i',r, which frequently varies to a dull indigo blue, or 

 bluish slate, color. 



While writing about snakes, I would remark thai I have 

 heard the stereotyped^oop-suoko stosy, with identical de- 

 tails, in the States of California, Nevada, Illinois. Indiana, 

 Maryland and Virginia, the narrator in nearly every Instance 

 being the person who jumped behind the vigorous white-oak 

 as the snake came rolling down hill, and immediately there- 

 after witnessed the blight of the tree: 



Washington. I). C. ROJVKKT KlDOW.W. 



«tn the original article the length' is given as eleven {nt-ftes— un- 

 doubtedly n slip of the pen, since there is added the remark, "the 

 largest 1 ever saw/] 



Tin: Si'.uiiiow I'si-hi-ation.— Mr. !'. II. Ucrriek has re- 

 cently called attention losome novel misdeeds of the English 

 sparrow, which will tend to make this species even more 

 unpopular than it ai pn .-( nl i- among those who love our 

 native birds. The facts detailed below were observed at 

 Basin Harbor, near Lake Champlaiii. in Vermont Mr. 

 ilerrick Bays: ■■The eave-BWaHoTVS had attached their mud 

 •retorts,' as usual, in line under the caves of the farmer's 

 barn, anticipating, no doubt, a successful and happy house- 

 keeping, noiw ilhslaiidiiiL' a colon\ of feathered foreigners 

 had ODCamped about Hie premises. At sight of these -bottle- 

 no-ed' dwellings, now arriving at completion, it occurred lo 

 the little tramps thai these were exactly the thiugs they 

 wauled-, but, as the apartments were nol to let; a battle en- 

 sued, which resulted in the roul of Luni front. The spaj 

 rows then took possession of the mud-bouses, and furnished 

 them to their own taste. Bui some of the -mason*' made 

 successful resistance, and still held the castle, so that often 

 ft SWallow familv had their nidi eiieinvnl nextdoor." Thus 

 in more ways than one does the impudent little urchin. 

 which ha* come to US from over the sea, merit the name of 

 parasite Now thai the bird has become not only a general 

 nuisance, but a -ore annoyance to our native and useful 

 birds, it is no wonder if the cry goes up all over the land, 

 •The spin row musl be blotted out!" 



ilAi,i--Bitt-:i-.i) Mountain Bhbbf. — A Western newspaper 

 says; "For the lasl two years a couple of buck mountain 

 -beep have been running with Mr. Bailey's (lock in Bull Bon 

 BasiUj Nevada, and there arc now beU ecu tweDtv and thii Iv 



half ed iambs in I he lol. Thee are mostly covered with 



hair, although there is some wool interspersed with it. Thej 

 carry their heads high, like (be wild sheep, but are as easily 

 herded a- their hall In'ollers and sisters Of pure domestic 

 blood. Thev are. oi course, of no accounl for shearing, 

 bm arc said to make excellent multon. This is the only in- 

 stance oi which we haver ever beard of the crossing Of the 

 Wild and domestic sheep." 



Hi uuiNii lintli's Xkst -Maiiorville. X. V— 1 have 

 secured a rare possession in the shape of a humming bird's 

 nest with the eggs, in » perfacl condition. The nest is 

 fastened to a limb of the maple(cul and saved about eighteen 

 inches of limb with nest) which was overhanging the stream 

 of th<- Pecoiiic River in the cliiiJkeal pari of a dense swamp. 



■ I W. liomNsoN. 



%nv\t ^ng <n\d 



GAME RESORTS.— We are always glad to reeevtie for pub- 

 lication such antes of desirable qame resorts as may be ofnelp 

 to the readers nf Forest and Stream. WtU not. our corre- 

 spondents furor us with such aiir.inet 



THE GAME LAWS. 



A TTKNTION is called to the following emendations of the game 

 '*■ law digest published In our last issue. Aswasthen stated, the 

 seasons given were in each ease those derived from the latest inter- 

 niaiion winch we were able to secure, individual sportsmen and 

 Societies iii th- sever;,] Stales will nun eriolly serve the interests of 

 game protection by keeping us informed respecting the changes as 

 they occur. 



New Hampshire. 



The game and fish commissioners are: (jteot'ge Riddle. Manchester: 

 Elliott B. Hodge, Plymouth: Luther Hayes. South Milton. 



New Jersey. 



The law protecting deer until 1884 lias been repealed. The open 

 season after that date was to have been Oct.. 31 to Dee. 1. but the 

 secretary of the New Jersey Game and Fish Protective Society slates 



thai no law was enacted k> take the place of the repealed law, and 

 hence deer in New Jersey- are nut piv,i ,-ei e, I . -ii any lime of the year. 



Ohio. 



The law nas been so amended that the open seasons are: Quail and 

 prairie chickens, Nov. 1-Nov. :t() inclusive; woodcock, .TulyV-Dec. 

 Si; ruffed grouse. Dec. 1 -Dec. 81; -wild turkey. Nov. t-poc. 11: blue- 

 winged teal. Sept. l lie,-. :;t; mallard, w.i,„|.,lu<;k other wild ducks'. 

 Sept. 1-MarchSl. 



Vermont. 



The amen, led law prescribes the. following seasons; Quail, ruffed 

 grouse ( partridge), wood-duck, Sept. 1-Feh. 1; woodcoe.k. Ant:. 15 

 Feb. 1 ; wildfowl. Sept. 1-May 1 ; bass, pike, pickerel. May 1-Jau. I. 



Wisconsin. 



Deer law has been amended so that open season is Nov, 1-Dec. 15. 

 fire-shooting and exportation forbidden. 



SHORE BIRDS OFF CAPE CHARLES. 



I. — St MMF.R sHOo'il.NO. 



SOME men like one thine: and some like another, was a 

 _ truism that fell fiom the lips of old Mr. Wcllcr. 



Mr. Golightly, for example, considers a month at a fash- 

 ionable watering place with a Herman every night, as the 

 acme of felicity, and there arc to him more pleasant memor- 

 ies clustered around a claw-hammer coat and patent-leather 

 pumps, than aught on earth besides. 



Mr. Verdant, on the other hand, adores a quid place on 

 the mountains at a private farmhouse, where he dawdles. 

 around I be hay field, and helps the pretty rustic maiden to 

 drive ibe cows home in the evening twilight. 



Mr. Nimrod, the very antipode of these two, loves to be 

 arrayed in a blue hunting-shirt, with his pants stuffed in 

 huge waterproof boots, a ten-cent straw hat on his bead, a 

 bundied-dollar tlrcciier in his bands: and thus equipped lo 

 brave the heal of an August sun. and run a very considerable 

 risk of shuffling oil his mortal coil by a sudden attack of 

 i;.ll ;, ,/, ioleil. 



All along the beach where the surf of the Atlantic beats, 

 can be found that most toothsome morsel known as the "bay 

 bird." They comprise several varieties, chief among which 

 is the curlew, willct, grayback and yellow-leg stiipe. The 

 two mo.-l famous resorts of these bird.- in the summer and 

 in the -winter- are Cobb's Island and Smith Island. At the 



former there has been such an incessant lusilado kept up 

 every day since the season opened by the visiting sports- 

 mcn'anif iivsterineii, thai Ibe birds have become shy and 

 wild, and large bag- arc now the exception, not the rule. 



.\ party of two last summer, under the lead of the most 

 accomplished surfman on the Atlantic line. Captain Hitch- 

 ing, of the coast guard at Smith Island, started on a great 

 hunt, making his signal house the point d'appui. Smith 

 Island, or as it is often called, "Cape Charles. " is a large 

 piece of land jutting out in the ocean, and by the action of 

 the tide made an island. It is eighteen miles, from Cobb's 

 Island and about fifteen miles from Cape Henry, and about 

 forty miles from Old Point. It comprises sonic four thou- 

 sand acres, and is bounded by the Atlantic on one side, and 

 Magotty Sound on the other. The life-saving station and 

 lighthouse stand close together on the Atlantic beach. 

 Smith Island obtained its name from the immortal "Joftfl," 

 who tir-t landed on this spot, the lirst Solid ground his foot 

 had touched for many a long, weary day. and it ever after 

 bore Ilia name, ll IS the 'property of the Lees, iii whose 

 familv it lias remained through len generations. An effort 

 was made to confiscate it during the "war, because il was 

 then the property of the "Confederate chief," but probably 

 on accounl of its being of so little value, the attempt was 

 abandoned. 



A good idea of the topography of the island and Ibe sur- 

 rounding country can be formed by toiling one's way to the 

 top of the lighthouse, which is 156 feel high, and from -this 

 summit the eye can range over a radius of some fifteen miles, 

 The idand lias beneath, in shape of an. elongated parallelo- 

 gram, witfi the ocean washing itsshores for nine mile.-, ita surf 

 gleaming in the .sunshine like long, slender bars of frosted 

 silver. All kinds of crafts are visible, from the score of 

 freighted argosies of commerce down to the single sti amer, 

 who-,-, traij can be marked by the white foam in its wake. 

 The ocean is sunny blue, changing further out to opal, 

 and it is a sight thai' is fascinating in the extreme. Hut turn 

 your eyes inward and landwaiil. and the pleasure soon 

 ceases. The -round is covered with falling trees, thai arc 

 malted and encircled with bamboo briers. Foul, noisome 

 quagmires, from which gnarled and blackened trunks arise. 

 Impenetrable morasses, which are guarded bv matted vines 

 and trailing creepers. Stagnant lakes, over wbo.-e siirfac- 

 .'. thick covering of green scum, black pools that. 



festering ami corrupting beneath the summer sun, breed 

 myriads of noxious, torturing insects, that worry men almost 

 in'to insanity and sentl the cattle plunging frantically into 

 the tangled recesses of the swamp ov neck deep into the 

 water for relief from painful stings. Two or Hire- tumble- 

 down houses are on the island, and BOW the family, man, 

 wife ami children, escape from bring devoured alive l.y the 

 armies ol moaquiloes bailies an ordinary comprehension. 



About onc-luilf of Cape Charles is bounded bv the Allan- 

 tic, ibe other half by Magotty Sound. Southward the light- 

 house of Capo Henry, si venteem miles distant, gleamed [ike 

 an ivOrj aecdleaaamsl the skv. About two miles away, is 

 a small island called Long Point, a splendid location for a 



club house, but its owner. Mr. Isaac Skidmore, of New York, 

 rufuses all offers to buy. 



A looker-on from ibis lofty tower cannot help wondering 

 why Smith's Island is not 'drained. A couple, of canals, 

 with .small branching arms, ,- d change this abode of rep- 

 tiles and insect- into a veritable principality— a domain 

 wbo-i land would !»■ very fertile, and from it's grand sur- 

 roundings it would be one of the most superb country seats 

 in America. As it is now. the mosquitoes render the place 

 almost uninhabitable, and the Government employes, men, 

 women, children and babies, are frequently forced to seek 

 the top of the tower for protection against this rapacious, 

 thouith minute and unrelenting, enemy of mankind, ll is a 

 toilsome climb, but once up, it is a delightful lounging 

 place in Ibe evening, a brisk breeze always Blowing. 



But it is during a night snow storm" that this -iiiinnii 

 makes a scene ol" such entrancing loveliness that the memory 

 never forgets it. The sublimity of beauty holds one en- 

 thralled. The darting gleams of the light, four hundred 

 limes intensified by the powerful reflceior, shooting with 

 mighty force into the darkness, illuminates each Hake until 

 ii shines in iridescent hues, and it seems as if showers of 

 pearls, opals, drops of silver, and alabaster arc falling and 

 floating in an endless stream, down and around the illimit- 

 able expanse. The purity, the whiteness i- simph dazzling, 

 while the moaning and sobbing of the wind, and the muffled 

 beat of the surf, makes a pathetic monody it* tit accompani- 

 ment. 



There is one fact in connection with these storm-, so 

 strange and marvelous that I would hesitate to write it. but 

 for the reason that every lighthouse keeper and inspector 

 can bear witness of its truth, f take Mr. Collinon. the super- 

 intendent's words down literally. lie is a -rail, talc of the 



University of Virginia, and an accomplished scholar. 



"The lighthouse rocks fearfully in n storm," he said. 



"How can it rock? ' we questioned, "there is no elasticity 

 in brick and mortar.'' 



■1 know that,"" be answered, '-stillit is go, when 1 stand 

 inside near the top when a hurricane is raging, my lamp, 

 which 1 hold (irmly and steadily clasped in my hand, Swings 

 backward and forward like' a pendulum, and 'if I fasten il to 



a hanging chain fiom the roof, it will oscillate like the gallej 

 light in the forcastle of a ship during a heavy wind. Xav. 

 more: if I till a tumbler of water three-quarters mil, and Bet 

 it on the floor, the rocking of the tower will spill the water 

 I have seen this dozens of times, hence there is but one abso- 

 lute conclusion thai can be drawn, and that is tin- tower 

 swings to and fro; you feel it, vmi sec it. you know il, and 

 the awing is some ten feel from side to side. 1 " 



"On the Other hand, if you go outside, not a vibration of an 

 inch can be discovered." 



"1 took a position on the ground, a few yards from Ibe 



lighthouse, once to lest the matter thorouulilv. It wa 



the 13th of August, iNjl. during the great tornado thai 

 raged along the- whole Atlantic coast. 1 shut one eve and 

 measured the outline of the tower againsl the lived 'line of 

 my house. With the closest attention, I could not perceive 

 that the lower swayed either on on,- side or the other so 

 much as a hairbreadth. Yet, inside it rolled so that I was 

 afraid il would topple over and crush us all in its ruin. How 

 the inside cau rock so and the outside seem stationary (Jents 

 111!'." Ami the keeper lit his pipe and sat won.ld -iinj 1 he 

 matter over. 



•What else is strange about the lighihousev" we a-ked. 



•'Well, in the summer time during a storm, the ligbttl'Ug 

 strikes the conductor every time; the rod cotmei is with the 

 spiral iron steps, aud Often when I was ascending 1 have 

 seen the electric sparks Hashing down in vivid white 

 sparks. It was harmless, and as the lowest steps wen- im- 

 bedded in the sand, the earth received the discharge 

 Aiioih.'i- curious thing about the lower is its perfect UCOUS 

 tic qualities, a low whisper is disliiiotly audible, ami two 

 people can converse separated by the whole lengtji more 



easily than they call ill a small room." 



I'crpclual motion is ibe grand law of nature. The stars 

 arc bin resile.-s wanderers in lie- vast elhereai Space. The 



ocean is ever changing, ever stirring, even iu its uiomcnls 



of phtcid calm, lis ciiriciil is slowly llowin- in il - blrc 



Navigation of the globe. There is a' never ending motion of 



the water, and it' is this inee.-sant ai;ilat ion thai keeps the 

 water pure. In this perpetual rolling the waters produce 

 many changes, and man so potent on laud cau but look on 

 impotent and helpless lo guide or control it- powers, lie 

 ocean, miirhtv, nivsicrious, unfathomable, seized in a capri- 

 cious mood and swallows plain, stream and woodland, and 



leaves no-sign behind, or else' It gives with .-■ royal hand 11 

 royal gift. ' 



'Take Cape Charles for instance, its Original survey called 

 for 4,000 acres, and now Mr. GoihVim Rftys nearly a half has 

 been absorbed by the ocean. Iu 1HG-I the lighthouse was by 

 actual measurement three bundred and fort} feel tnnii the 

 high water mark, now a high tide washes the base of ibe 

 tower ami the inn, ales of the const, guard's house have lo 



paddle about in bofits. Uaptniu Bitohings says thai the I.'. 

 S toast Survey station will have to be moved back, or else 



withina year it will be washed away. A imp. • • alcu.a 



lion will show how rapidly Cap.' Charlesis disappearing. 

 There are nine miles of beach. oM7,530 feel, and in eighteen 

 veil-.- the o, can has imieascd inland three bundled and 



forty feet, makings grand total of 10,299,800 cubic f i 



solid land devoured by tile rapacious wave-, or one Alone- 



and one hundred and eight acres 



In five years the lighthouse will be wa-hed a v. ay. as the 

 foundation is only ten feet deep, and the -round i- of puic 

 light sand. 



Vet these .same absorbing, devouring Inbows, give lo 

 Cobb's 1-iaini eighteen miles away, all the} rob from Cope 



Charles, and mole. In ls-IU Uobb's WBS but a bai in, so,, I 

 beach of some t'lfleeii acres in extent. Now ii-' aoa i- one 

 ),i,mli,,l and -i\" r y acres, and every hour and day witnesses 



its enlargement 



The boy is alive to-dav who will some day anchor In- boat 

 on a shoa'l of -oiiie twenty feet and evclaiui: -forty years 



ago this was solid ground, and a lighthouse one hundred 

 and fifty feet high stood somewhere near us." 



By looking at- the map of Virginia there will be -ecu a 

 section of part iul I v submerged laud between the ocean and 

 the main, called' the "Broadwater." Ii runs from itea* 

 Ciiincoleairim to Smith Island, and is some forty mile, long, 

 with a vaMin- breadth of ten and lifteel, mile-. 



This i- the finest bay bird and brant sbooiuig in \ irgima 

 and probably along llie whole Atlanta c,,a,;. 



The Broadwater consists of shoals aud banks and sea- 

 meadows, through which the sea forces its way in creeks 

 and chanuels, with a width of an ordinary canal to that ol 

 a lesser rivci . Allow i lib these st reams dwindle away lo 

 small rivulets, bul when the ocean send- its vast volume ,, 



