August 2, 1883.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



broken through his life. His skill as a still-hunter was won- 

 dcrful; ho seemed to know instinctively where deer could 

 be found, and what routes they would lake, when alaimed. 

 Their habits were as familiar to him as if they wore barn- 

 yard slock; and he was the flrst 1 ever heard assert that they 

 fed almost invariably while the moon was above the hori- 

 zon, be it night or day, an assertion which I afterward fully 

 verified, to my own satisfaction at least. Pike, owned three 

 muzzle-loading nlles. He looked with suspicion upon all 

 new-fangled breech-loading contrivances, but reserved His 

 strongest expressions for shotguns, which he regarded with 

 a contempt that was phenomenal. Occasionally when 

 wearied with deer hunting, I sallied out with a shotgun to 

 Wage war upon the quail 'that swarmed in count I es 

 hers in every little bolfonl and .-actus thicket, In the county; 

 but nothing could ever induce Pike to join me in these ex- 

 cursions, and the look of reproof always visible on his face 

 When r started never left It until the next successful deer 

 hunt. 



We had adjoining rooms in one of the few houses then 

 erected in New San Diego, and which, like, most of them 

 there at that time, was cloth and paper lined instead of with 

 lath and plaster; and t Ids enabled us to converse at night 

 ttffet we hud gone to bed almost as freely as if in the game 

 room. This happy arrangement was, however, broken by a 

 juvenile indiscretion on the part of Pike, which would ha 

 astonished his most intimate friends, and which caul 

 move to other quarters. The ceiling of the rooms was 



simply of common drilling nailed to 



every evening quite a number of rats would scamper to and 

 fro over our bends, making it sometimes difficult to go to 

 sleep. They did not even wail for the lights to be extin- 

 guished, and as the prints of theu' feet upon the cloth were 

 plainly visible, showing their position exactly, Pike would 

 frequently snatch up his rifle and draw a fine, bead on some 

 extra large one, until it seemed to me that the temptation to 

 fire would be greater than he could bear. Nothing of the 

 kind occurred, however, One evening, on returning from a 

 quail hunt, 1 found him carefully shaping a short, round 

 shaft of wood, from one end of which n flnesharply-poinled 

 knitting needle projected four or live inches. Pike refused 

 to tell me what he Intended to make of it, and knowing his 

 peculiarities I refrained from pressing the matter. A week 

 or so later a peculiar and most unpleasant smell began to 

 pervade the whole upper part of the house, and this daily 

 grew stronger and more obnoxious. Pike stormed and 

 swore, and finally went (o the mistress of the house, telling 

 her if she did not' find out and remove the cause of that 

 villainous stink up stairs, he would vacate (he rooms. 

 The- poor woman commenced operations immediately, ran- 

 sacking closels, cupboards, sinks, and all the poke holes in 

 the house, but all without, avail, as she never thought, of 

 looking above the chamber eeihng, and linaily if became so 

 sickening that we removed to other quarters for a more 

 salubrious atmosphere. There Pike let the cat out of the 

 bag the first evening, and- the spear I had discovered him 

 making proved to have played a very prominent part. It 

 appeared that, going to bed without putting out the right, be 

 would lie comfortably upon his back, and when a rat came 

 within striking distance, dart the knitting needle through 

 him and instantly withdraw it. None of the rodents seemed 

 to have been killed outright, but several had evidently 

 Crawled away tp their holes and died, with results detailed 

 above. 



The next season I went to Pugel Sound and from there to 

 South America, during which time I heard only once or 

 twice from Pike. Returning to this city nearly three years 

 later, 1 sought for him in his'old resorts; and 'from one of 

 the proprietors of a large gun store on OJay .street, 1 learned 

 the melancholy particulars of his death. He had started the 

 season before for a trip up the Columbia River and was taken 

 suddenly ill at one of the little logging camps below the 

 Dalles and died in a few hours; ami there they buried him, 

 beneath the shadow of those great trees he loved so well. 



Time ami space will prevent any extended mention of 

 more than one other of those camp-fire companions who drift 

 into my memory as I review the past, for the description ol 

 a character is valueless unless minute enough to create an 

 interest in the mind of its readers, or to record some trait or 

 deed worthy of preservation. 



Imagine, if you can, a man of medium height, weighing 

 not over 140 pounds, thin face with prominent features, 

 cheeks perfectly colorless, eyes rather deep-set and. bk« his 

 long straight hair and full" beard, black as midnight, age 

 about 35 years; and you have Silas Gaskell before you. as 

 nearly as 1 can remember, when I first knew him away back 

 in the. Sixth's. 



Pike devoted himself almost, entirely to deer — and rats; 

 but Gaskill, although bv no means despising the cervine 

 race, was the mosl successful bear hunter it was ever my 

 good fortune to be associated with, ffe hunted lor years in 

 Humboldt counly. using a ihrrc-barrelcd rifle clustered like 

 a clover leaf and* revolving under One hammer. It was made 

 to order for him by a favorite Eastern gunmakei 

 marvel of necuracv.'uud with it be had killed more than 806 

 bears, more than 'twenty of which were .grizzlies, lie had 

 a horse and dog so trained that they were invaluable lo him 

 in his, dangerous calling. The dog would enter auy thicket 

 where a bear was concealed, and keeping only I wo or three 

 feet ahead of his master would, without uttering a sound, 

 lead him to its lair, using every possible mute endeavor to 

 show T him Die exact spot before the bear became aware of 

 their presence in bis vicinity. The horse could not only be 

 left anywhere without tether or hobble, with a certainty that 

 even after hours of absence his master could find and ap- 

 proach him near the spot where be had left him, but could 

 be ridden or led up to the side of any bear after the said bear 

 had been killed, and would then- stand perfectly still while 

 the hide or any port ion of the carcass -was being placed upon 

 his back. 



Gaskill removed to Ventura county, and finally Settled 

 in the Milqnalay valley, only a few miles north of the Dfexi 

 can line, where' he opened a' hi lie store and blacksmith shop 

 that formed the nucleus of the small town of Oampo, and 

 where! twice hail the pleasure Of visiting him. A few 

 years later he became one of the leaning actors in a little 

 impromptu side show which must have surpassed in its 

 thrilling sensalions the liveliest of all the numerous bear 

 ■ tights he ever indulged in. Picking up a newspaper one dny 

 in Virginia City Kev , T read an account of a desperate 

 fight that had fust occurred in Campo, San Diego county, 

 (Til., between the Gaskill brothers and a band of Mexican 

 desperadoes from ov r ibe line, who had attempted to rob 



the store, in which I:;'!:' tin- -'yellow devils" got decidedly 

 the Worst ol die bargain, although they had taken the Gafi- 

 kills unawares. Dropping a few lines to Silas requesting 

 some particulars of the affair. I received in due time his 



reply, which I here transcribe exactly as it, was written, not 

 a word being added, altered or abstracted from it. 



Caupo, Dec. 17, 1875. 

 Mr. H. — . 



Dear Sib— I am nnlr able to Write a little. My Wound is verv 

 painful. Jly brother i*. getting along finely. He « ill reoaver without 



doubt. Youspoko of the old three -barrel ii-inwr in the muss; but 1 



had nn such good luck. I was at work in tin- blacksmith shop on a 

 wagon when I heard my brother holler murder. 1 jumped for a 

 double-lrarrcled shotgun 1 had loaned and bid awuv for an atuer- 

 i-eney. and as l i "h-i round with toe gun In my hand Hie first thine 

 1 saw was the mi • ! i ' • I ;■• Bix-shooter. I dodged as the vidian 

 tired and he hit me in the shoulder. Then came inv turn, T gave the 

 i! nine buObBhol through the heart. * Then there was 



-■: ti . ■ 1 1 . ■ i- ii — min;: down on met and I save him the other barrel 



hefore he had lime lo Shoot, rind floored him. Then there was another 



with a Beni' , ; ■ , .1 a - .-'. .--• ., . ,,, 



i i , ii- and he dodged : and I then ran for auot her stun that I bad 

 hid in another house, fie shot at me --vn-.-il i ,■,,,■-: !,,: -lid not bit, me. 

 ■-lo'd me. and three mv brother in ibe -tore. The three 

 in the store got the drop on mv brother, and he dropped down be- 

 hind the counter and hollered murder, Thev then .lumped over I he 

 counter on to him, and two of them held him while " 



for lead a: 

 invhrothe 

 with ten b 

 two of thei 

 there were 

 French ma 

 hers in the. 

 fight eiidc: 



i£t hi] 





ith I 



fiiia aOWitiMa done He. said he did .. 



not, ready this time. I hope I hey have got enough of it, for I dor 

 crave such a job; but when they force 11 upon ns we will lurlit son: 

 IV e buried three of the yellow devils, and I think the one that carri, 

 off the ten buckshot can't live long. 



I remain Tour sincere friend, and lid -long enemy lo Spaniard--. 

 Silas E. Gasku-l. 



Most of us, after reading the gallant deeds of those hero 

 souls who led the vanguard of civilization in its v.n-slwa; 

 march through the "dark and bloody ground," are inclined 

 to think that, the present age could furnish no such ffiMMBpi 

 of personal courage and prowess under any circumstances; 

 but there are few, I ween, who, after reading the above, 

 would not deem it worl hy of a place on the. brightest page 

 of our pioneer history; or who would hesitate to regard those 

 brave defenders as the peers of Crockett, Bonham. Bowie or 

 any of those 300 heroes who in their death immortalized 

 themselves in the Alamo of Texas. Silas Gaskill and his 

 brothel', to the best of my knowledge, still reside in Gampo. 

 Fohked Deer. 



San Francisco. Cal. 



ROD AND GUN IN ARKANSAS. 



Editor Foimi ami Stream: 



I trust vou will accept my congratulations, among others, 

 upon your brilliant and successful career of ten years, a suc- 

 cess which I have enjoyed so much, and to which I ha- 

 contributed, alas, so l'itt'le. 



Duringmpst or all of this time Forest ako Stream has 

 been a welcome visitor at our house, and has uniformly been 

 the first secular paper read upon opening the mails. And 

 now of the rod and gun in Arkansaw; and, as Blackstone 

 would say, "first of the rod." 



The rod in Arkansaw is a native cane, light, springy ami 

 lough, and it is called a pole. The reel is considered super- 

 fluous; so of the gut leader and the artificial fly. The writer 

 and one or two oibers have taken the black bass with the 

 By in the waters of this State, but must, admit that mode lo 

 be out of keeping with the surroundings and less successful 

 than Others. With the appliances at hand, however simple 

 as to materials and primitive in construction, as they un- 

 questionably are. there is sport to be had, and that of no 

 mean order" The varieties of fish common to the waters of 

 the State are the black bass (both species), striped bass 

 (R. dir^sopn), crappic or speckled perch, jack salmon (two 

 species), many Varieties of small perch, includins the goggle 

 eye, sumish and copper-nosed bream. These are taken in 

 nets and fall traps, and in all sorts of illegitimate ways, 

 there being no law for their protection, saving an act for 

 the prevention of their waul on destruction by poison or 

 explosives. Still they are not exterminated nor their num- 

 bers perceptibly lessened. The abundant rains and conse- 

 quent high wafers in the spring season operates to protect 

 them during their breeding season. This year the abun- 

 dance offish in Ibe waters bf the White Riyer is apparently 

 as great as it was ten years ago. 



With the gun it is different. The total want of protection 

 has done its deadly work. Not even the surly bear can hold 

 bis own. Deer are butchered during our overflows, on 

 ridges and high places, to which they resort for safety; and 

 after the wafers subside tires are built, to the smoke of which 

 thev flee for relief from the innumerable swarms of buffalo 

 gnats; and they are then shot down; and does axe, or have 

 been, run with "dogs, when big with fawn. The result is that 

 venison is verv scarce in Arkansaw. Smaller name fares better, 

 and there Is a good Bupply left, with no immediate prospect 

 of diminution. The wild turkey, owing to his well-known 

 prudence and foresight, and the advantages he has enjoyed 

 tor cultivating his mind, seems to flourish moderately, e«en 

 in the well-settled districts, and bis geographical distribution 

 is co extensive, with the Stales. To the chosen few, turkey 

 for Christmas will be amotig the attainabies for a long time 

 in come. Quyil are plenty, and not decreasing. Prairie 

 chickens arc restricted to a small portion of the State. 

 Migratory water-fowl come here in the winter only, and 

 their abundance here depends upon (he food supply, the 

 season, and upon causes that operate only beyond our 

 boundaries. 



On a view of the whole field there is much to be - 

 and verv much that is encouraging. Through the salutary 

 influence of Forest and StUEaM a strong sentiment in 

 favor of game piolection has grown up. and in many places 

 the lawless acts above complained of are restrained solely 

 by the force of public opinion. Trusting thai you will con 

 , ,tnks to your correspondents, from whose eonlri 

 i.uiion's [have derived both pleasure and profit. I beg leave 

 to remain, your sincere (riend. Yell. 



ort Ark., Tuly SO. 



THE OFFICE BOY" PROMOTED. 



The prospect for same here this fall is, very good. Ante- 

 lope are fairly -plenty and prairie chickens ate abundant. 



i,iii:Jenf, 'has seen ..euaal bunches of antelope, 



and could have killed sutie- of them it so inclined. Curlew 



, mipe can be found OB the sacks, in large nuui- 



eottou-iail and jack rabbits arc too numerous to 



mention This country is a good place for sportsmen who 



don't mind roughing it. as it is in the center of the stock- 

 raising section of Colorado, and visitors are always welcome 

 of the ranches, but they must, be able to be their nvu cook 

 and chambermaid. I am at present alone in my glorv in 

 charge of n sheep ranch here, tha "boss" having gone to 

 town to sell his wool. TriAT Offiok Boy, 



Byebs, Col.,. July 26. 



in\zl j§i$torg. 



WORK OF AN ICHNEUMON FLY. 



Editor Foivnt and Stream: 



f saw something yesterday which interested me very 

 tnuch, and on which some one of your numerous readers 

 who has a knowledge of entomology could give some infor- 

 mation. Our Common has been For the past few years over- 

 run at this season by a horde of the common hairy, yellow 

 caterpillar, which attack the elms, limes, horse chestnut and 

 other shade trees, some of which by this time are absolutely 

 stripped of all foliage. These caterpillars have for several 

 days been spinning their cocoons on the trunks of the trees, 

 msiny of which are almost covered with them. I always 

 make it a point when crossing the C ommon to use the fer- 

 rule of my sane to kill as many as 1 can. Yesterday while 

 doing so, one of the policemen on duty on the Common, 

 called my attention to a wasplike insect, of which there 

 were several flying about. It was not the common wasp. 

 nor yet the blue hornet, but seemed to be a type somewhat 

 between the two. It was about, 1J inches long, without the 

 very line, thin process which unites the abdomen and thorax 

 in the hornet; the general effect, was black, but the two upper 

 joints of the legs were a deep yellows some smaller, and 

 evidently younger individuals had the lower joints of the 

 legs barred" white and black They had antenna? nearly an 

 inch long, and from the end a blunt, looking tail projected 

 about i inch. One would light on the trunk of a tree and 

 run around with lhat quivering of the wings which wasps 

 have, the an ten me feeling in every crack or crevice of the 

 bark. When he struck a cocoon he would feel it over most 

 carefully ; some he would leave at once, and on examina- 

 tion these were seen to have already hatched, as the hole 

 was evident from which the moth had escaped, but when 

 he found one containing the pupa, lie would get carefully in 

 position, bring his sting well forward under him. and with 

 considerable effort stab it into the cocoon, and the enclosed 

 chrysalis could be seen squirming "nd shivering inside. 

 Then lie would start off on a search for another. 



I saw one wasp stab half a dozen in the space of five min- 

 utes, and every tree almost, had one or more flying about it. 

 What the object of such an instinct can be, I can not, con- 

 ceive. It evidently is not connected with either tie feeding 

 or generative instinct, which are the two mainsprings of the 

 admus of the lower animals. It seems, however, a most 

 beneficent provision to have such an enemy to the pests come 

 on the field, and 1 doubt if in previous years the wasp lias 

 beeu here, as I have watched the caterpillars for some years 

 very carefully. 1 have not been able to find any mention of 

 this fact in any of the booksthat I have at hand. 



uostok, July 15. Mir Mac. 



[The insect which stabbed the chrysalides was evidently 

 one of the ichneumon flies, a family of the Jrlifiiii.iinplfni, 

 the order in which the bees, wasps, etc., belong. The sting- 

 ing process was the laying of an eggin the pupa of the moth. 

 This egg would hatch' in due time, and the larval fly feeds 

 upon its host until itself ready to pupate. The "sling" of 



the ichneumon fly is its ovipositor. Ibe Ichaeaiiiniii,!,, 



among our most useful insects, destroying, as they do. sast 

 numbers of those which prey upon vegetation.] 



A Request for Live Shakes. — Smithsonian Institution. 

 Washington. D. 0., duly 27.— Editor Forrxl and Sir, am: 

 A number of years ago Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, of Philadel- 

 phia, carried on an extensive series of investigations upon 

 the poison of the rattlesnake, the results of which were pub- 

 lished in (Who by the Smithsonian Institution. As in ig hi 

 naturally be expected, the question of antidotes to the bite 

 ol poisonous serpents constituted a very important feature of 

 the inquiry; no definite assurance was. however, Obtained 

 thai any of the' published or professional remedies were to 

 be relied Upon in extreme cases. The interval »f nearly a 

 quarter of a century since these researches Were prosecuted, 

 has brought to notice a number of new lenieelies, some of 

 which are confidently claimed to be effective, and Dr. Mit- 

 chell is desirous of going over the entire question anew. 

 He has ashed the assistance of the Smithsonian Institution 

 in obtaining material; and 1 therefore venture to invoke the 

 aid of the readers of Forest and Stkham in this cornice 

 iioti. The experiments thai Dr. .Mitchell has made recently 

 een based principally upon the southern or diamond- 

 backed rattlesnake and the' moccasin ; and for the purpose of 

 continuing them, he now wishes to obtain a large number of 

 living specimens of the northern rattlesnake, the small 

 ground rattlesnake, the mass&SaugH and the copperhead. He 

 will be happy to receive auy living and uninjured specimens 

 of these species, carefully bcxed and addressed (o "Di, Mit- 

 chell, cure of Zoological' Garden. Philadelphia," by which 

 the freight charges will be paid.— Scemer F. B.mud, Sec- 

 oihsoniau Institution. 



$<ig Htfd 



MINNESOTA GAME LAW. 

 TTtTBare indebted to Mr. W. S. Timberlake, of St., Paul, 

 VV Minn., the energetic .secretary ol the Minnesota State 

 Sportsmen's Association, for the following digest of Ihe 

 Minnesota garni I I in I'oice. Wild game II - ,, 



lawfully killed in the Slate of Minnesota only ■ duimu Iflli 

 times staled belov, : 



Wood,;,,:/, during the mouth of July, after the Sd day 

 thereof, and during the months of August, Septemhei and 



Prairie rokbus and xbn.rp-t.mUrl f/i'»»»' 'luting the month 

 of August, aftei the Hth day thereof, and during the month 

 Ol September. 



quail, plan :■• , ,,.-. during the months of Octo- 



ber, NoveniDet and Dei ember. 



Bucki and .-.- i pteulbei 1 and the 15th day 



i ding. 



'Bur ami t-ii during the month of i'ecemher between the. 

 1st and 13th day's thereof. 



