492 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Jau. 17, 1884. 



\ht Jt$orten\m\ JfW$/. 



LIFE AMONG THE BLACKFEET. 



nmdcr of the 



i Bear-man's 



the Thunder 



old fellow 



r.v a. wh.laiid sonin.TB. 

 Eighth Paper, 

 TVTOT long ago, about the ls1 of May, Hie n 

 J_\ season washeard. I went immediate] 

 ■ i found him drumming srnj 



sou... ' 'To-morrow, my son, to-morrow . a 

 as 1 looked in at tbe doorway, "we will dance, corns to-mor- 

 row, I am only singing now because my heal'l is glad," The 

 next day. at the proper time, with a number of other guests, 

 I entered the lodge. 



The pipe-stem had already been unrolled. In from of the 

 ' .■ ■■■re two huge kettles of cooked berries and a large 

 wooden bowlful of them was given to each guest. Each 

 one, before eating, took a few of Ihem in his lingers and 

 rubbed them into the ground, saying, "Take pity all Above- 

 ueop ■ look at us." 



'When all had finished eating a large black stone pipe 

 howl wastiileci and litted on the Bear-pipe stem, the Bear-man 

 then held it aloft and quickly lepealed (his prayer: "Listen, 

 Thunder, listen, Old Man, gun, all Above-peoj ie, till Above- 

 animals, listen, taka pity. You will smoke; the Bear-man 

 (ills his pipe. Let us noi starve-; make the berries large and 

 sweet; let Hie hushes have a heavy load. Look at all the 



nand little children ; look at us all; let us reach old 



age, let our lives be complete. Let us destroy Our enemies, 

 help I he young men in the. battles; man, woman, child, we 

 all i' toyou; take pity and. give us good." 



lie (hen' took the pipe and danced with it as in the pre- 

 en mony. At this time another storm had come up 

 and the thunder crashed directly over our heads. "Listen. ' 

 said the Bear-man, as he stopped dancing. "It hears us; 

 We are not dbinp this uselessly;" and he raised his face, ani- 

 mated with enthusiasm, toward the sky, his whole body 

 trembling with excitement, and holding "the pipe aloft once 

 more repeated his prayer. All the rest of the people were 

 also escited and repeatedly clasped their arms over their 

 breasts, saying. "Take pits': Good give us, good give us!" 

 After this the pipe was handed to a guefit on the riirht end of 

 the circle. Another guest took a lighted brand from the 

 fire aud counted four "coups," at the end of each "coup" 

 touching the bowl with the fire-, and when he had repeated 

 the last one the pipe was lighted, It was then smoked back 

 and forth around the circle, each one as lie received it for 

 !■ in time repeating a prayer before he put the stem to 

 his lips. When it was smoked out a hole was dug in the 

 ground, the ashes can fully knocked into it and covered 

 over, and the Thunder ceremony ended. 



When people are so sick that they cannot leave their 

 lodge they often send for a Bear-man to come and ' 'doctor" 

 them. Although certain roots and herbs, are used for medi- 

 cine, as before stated, the most efficacious remedy is thought. 

 to be the I-so-kln-uk-kin, the songs for the sick. These «ougs 

 are Dot the property Of any individual or gens, but may be 

 sung by any one. They are supposed to drive away the' evil 

 ghosts. The drum is always an accompaniment of the I-so- 

 kln-uh-kin, with sometimes rallies, hoof bells aud whistles. 

 All the women of the lodee join in the singing Sometimes 

 the chief doctor or singer blow.-, upon the patient through 

 a bird's wing-bone, after each Ureal buttering a loud "whoo!" 

 Water is aiso blown in the form of spray. In cases of rheu- 

 matism and other diseases when the pain is very often acute 

 in certain parts of the body it is usual to bleed the place In- 

 cutting an incision or two'with a knife. Blistering is done 

 With hot rocks, and sometimes dried prickly pear thorns are 

 inserted in the flesh, and burned, the thorn 'being consumed 

 tn tin- very point. People of one gens very seldom doctor 

 pi o| ile of 'another one. Although any one may be a doctor 

 only one or two persons in a gens— those who have been 



: ii ut witli patients— have much practice. Somet 

 the doctor is a man and sometimes II woman. When one of 

 these doctors :s called upon to practice on a sick person, it is 

 customary to demand a present at the very beginning, a 

 horse or a nnuibei of robes, altera day or two another present 

 is exacted, and it often happens when a man's sickness is 

 pi oi rictrd that he is obliged to pay out his very last horse 

 and other valuable property in doctor fees. 



WINTER SHOOTING IN NORTHERN 

 CALIFORNIA. 



IX TWO rAPERS, — II. 



PURSUING his way to the shores and marfhes of Point 

 Arena, the gunner found shooting awaiting him in 

 much ampler variety than that afforded by the uplands of 

 the plage, although it was exclusively of the feathered order. 

 In the pools incident to the. fresh marshes, mallards congre- 

 gated. Along the courses of the salt creeks flights of ring- 

 Fiib'fjv.lii rnjit rrjiirx) green-winged teals, and widgeons 

 continually swept'to and fro. On the shallower reaches of 

 the tiossie'r P.iver numerous assemblages of butllehcads and 

 goosanders held their court. The deeper of the ponds to be 

 met with on every baud in the salt marshes, constituted re- 

 sorts high in favor with the canvas-backs, and finally, as 

 will be shown more fully in detail later, snipe were to be put 

 up when the right spot was subjected to the method calcula- 

 te f< Tee them to reveal themselves, 



Of these varieties of game the canvas-backs and mallards 

 were, of course, by far the most prized by us, and accord- 

 ingly our earliest as well as most protracted endeavors were 

 given to I heir capture. But it was decreed that they were 

 not to sull'er appreciably at our hands. The truth is, we 

 were unaccountably forced to reckon with the same cunning 

 and shyness on the part of the birds here in this primitive 

 California wild that they habitually evince in Eastern waters; 

 and consequently such rough and ready methods as we 

 were enabled to employ in our attempts to get the better of 

 t J mi ii came to but little. Whether we crept upon them, or 

 laid in ambush for them, pi as one of us sought to drive 

 them within striking distance of the. other, the expedient 

 ptOVOd in the main to be (tonally at fault, and although our 

 devotion to the work was unremittingly of the scope indi- 

 cated throughout, we succeeded in bagging only a beggarly 

 hull dozen of (the buds in all. 



But as we were at length moved to measure ourselves with 

 ; tingni cks, teals and widgeons, for which our next choice 

 rau, we fortunately had it in our power to euteT upon the 

 contest under conditions wholly commended to us, and con- 

 sequently the outcome of the struggle was quite what we 

 would have had it. It will lie remembered that the three 

 kinds of birds uamed were to be met with winging their way 



up rind down the salt creeks of the place; these water courses 

 being, as scarcely need be said, sources of approved food sup- 

 ply with them. 'As they thus sought their fare they followed 

 the exact course of the stream and on a low plane.'and hence 

 it followed that the properly posted gunner was enabled to 

 attack them to great, advantage. Luckily, on the banks of 

 the particular creek to which we were' wont to repair 

 in pursuit of this sport, a stranded log offered us a place 

 of ambush not to be improved upon in any way, and 

 turning the position to due account, we were soon 

 'u the full press of telling fire. Being the more plentiful 

 ipecies, and likewise I he slowest of (light, the ringneeks, of 

 ;ourse, contributed to our has in the fullest measure. But 

 the teals aud widgeons were in nowise rarities in it, as from 

 time to time they were sure to take their place in the mig- 

 itory feathered column, aud being brought so near us that 

 hen requisite repeated shots were to be had at them within 

 rising distance, their proverbial swiftness proved far less 

 Tviceable to them than might have been the ease. An in- 

 terval of an hour or two having been passed by us here, we 

 were unfailingly able to boast of a bag of such satisfactory 

 proportions that w T e were ready to start homeward. In pur- 

 suance of this end, we proceeded to bring up our mustangs 

 which had been tethered in a thicket not far away, and hav- 

 ing slung the spoils of our late engagement, tied fittingly 

 together for carriage; over their withers, we resumad the 

 role of cavaliers and duly set forth in the direction indi- 

 cated, 



The route most conveniently to be taken by us now ltd 

 directly to the Gossier River, which we reached after a 

 little, and the bank of which we followed for a considerable 

 stretch. As the reader will recall, the shoaler divisions of 

 this stream were possessed of marked attractions for the 

 butlleheads and goosanders, and as we came upon the parts 

 of it answering to this description they were quite invariably 

 shown to be occupied by larger or smaller aggregations of 

 the species referred. to. 'After their usual singular custom 

 he choice of their aquatic accommodations, the quarters 

 : ■■ l - winders weiv located in the roughest ami swiftest 

 sections of the shallows, while conforming to the ordinary 

 usage of duck life in this particular, the hiiffh-hcads estab- 

 lished themselves on the smoother adjoining space?. 

 Whether of one sort or the other, the purpose of the birds 

 here seemed wholly that of seeking rest .and the enjoyment 

 of social intercourse. If gustatory projects had a place in 

 their designs the casual observer, at least, failed to be ap- 

 prised that such was the case. Being plentifully supplied 

 with game at the time, wc weie naturally slow to as- 

 sume the offensive with these bipeds and. indeed, only 

 did so as they chanced to tempt us with shots of 

 Special inte-rest'. For the most part Ihey noted our 

 approach with comparative indifference, entering no graver 

 protest against the act than to flutter ui paddle off a short 

 distance in an inert, dilatory way, and when, as will be 

 understood, wc regarded them as strictly tabooed. But at 

 rare intervals, aud for whatsoever reason, our presence on 

 the scene was viewed with intense disrelish by them, and 

 they bent all their energies to being effectually rid of us. In 

 executing this purpose the huffleheads made off over the 

 water at the bullet-like pace Which they are known to com- 

 mand at will, while their associates withdrew in a Wild 

 natatorial scramble, conducted partly on thesurface d1 Lhi 

 Stream and partly in the depths beneath, and under which 

 circumstances both species, as see felt, were most, suitably to 

 be cultivated by us cartridge-wise. As for the tangible 

 results of our endeavors in this field, they were but trM 

 Perhaps this would have been the ease in any event; but it 

 is only fair to state that in our pride we were fain to perform 

 this part of our shooting on the backs of our mustangs, and 

 since, Willi the invariable friskincss of this type of horse- 

 flash, the creatures invariably took the bringing of our guns 

 to the shoulder as a signal to lead off in a jolly breakdown, 

 it will be seen that the normal difficulties of our task v 

 as nothing fo those engrafted on it through our connivai 



Our closing sporting experience- in this section of the Point 

 was due to the direct agency of our dog, who before rejoin- 

 ing his domiciliary idols insisted upou giving us a taste of hi* 

 real quality by raiding a snipe bog. To this tract of terri- 

 tory we were brought incidentally, as we followed a trail 

 bearing from the Bossier Kiver, and leading toward a certain 

 point in the uplands of the promontory, where the. regtdarly- 

 travelcd highway was to be reached connecting with the vil 

 lage. The. area" of the morass in question extended ovet 

 several acres, aud in the vernal season it was greatly ire 

 quented bv cattle. As the result of this bovine occupation, 

 it was intersected throughout by a thick network of deeply 

 sunken paths, and which at this time, when pluvial influ- 

 ences largely shaped the weather, were everywhere filled to 

 the brim with mire in that bewildeiingly wide variety wbicl: 

 is the special boast of the littoral divisions of our Pacific 

 empire. The remainder of the bog also presented features 

 of an equally emphasized character, being made of knobs 

 and linmmu'cks ranging from ten to twelve feet In height, 

 and which were wholly "bare aud naked in every part save 

 their summits, where' in signal defiance of their apparent 

 capabilities in this line, they nourished growths of a notice- 

 ably delicate and graceful creeper, seemingly an ideally 

 wrought out example of the dewberry tribe. 



At the sight of this highly original piece of geographical 

 handiwork our canine companion at once threw- off the 

 lethargic air which he had persistently worn throughout all 

 the earlier stages of our campaign, and became the creature 

 of totally another spirit; since now, according to his view. 

 he could justifiably contribute to the shaping of the day's 

 record. Agree ably "to this fresh impulse given to his ideas, 

 be thought proper at first to address us a few remarks, 

 (touched of course in the sign language of his race. These 

 ran to the effect that it was only in the vocation of a snipe 

 dog proper that he had any vocation to shine — to look for 

 either more or less from him was equally to mistake him. 

 Further, that here was a tract of territory wherein he had 

 performed wonders in his line of yore, and being so moved, 

 wherein he- was about to uuelertnk'e to cxpli.ii lion-; i again 

 to the old purpose; and bringing his exordium to a close he 

 straitrntwav rushed at headlong speed into the morass upon 

 his errand,' while wc not unnaturally halted our ponies on 

 if the fen in order to see how his enterprise pros- 

 pered. The surface of the arena of his struggle being of the 

 greatly broken character that it was. it inevitably followed 

 that the creature was instantly lost to our sight, and hence 

 in a direct way we saw nothing of his doings. 



But as time" went on evidence of felicitous exercise of his 

 talents never failed tei be forthcoming, as now in one part 

 of the fen aud now in another, wisps of snipewere to be seen 

 taking to their wings in a state of mental distress that con- 

 clusively settled the question as to the origin of their upris- 

 ing. The total number of the birds thus routed was, as will 



be surmised, gi eater on some occasions than others, but at 

 the lowest it. never fell short of several dozen. Probably for 

 the reason that they knew of no other place within easy 

 i each where the accommodations offered them were as much 

 to their liking as those furnished them here, they manifested 

 xt rente reluctance to abandon the fen outright,' If any took 

 this course the proportion was at best very meagre. The 

 "ght of by far the greater part of them was restricted to the 

 •ea immediately over the hog. and within which space they 

 incessantly rushed to and fro in the erratic fashion proper 

 to the breed till they made sure that the fury of the four- 

 footed ravager of their peace had spent, itself, when they set- 

 tled down into their old quarters. I need not" say 

 that as matters stood with us here, no shooting 

 was offered us in the least worthy of the name. 

 But with our independent attitude on the 

 game score we took this grievance very lightly, and were 

 above making any real effort to remedy" it . Nevertheless, 

 while we thus made so little of considerations with a direct 

 bearing on the pot, we could not agree to be wholly remiss 

 to our duly as students of marksmanship as an art." Hence, 

 whenever it came about during the comparatively brief 

 period that we were willing should constitute our stay here 

 that a snipe neared us sufficiently to give the least warrant 

 for the proceeding, we invariably opened an energetic fire 

 upon it, That the demand made upon our steadiness of 

 hand was in no wise lessened by the skittish temper of our 

 mustangs will be understood. But in spite of this cross we 

 managed now and then to so dispatch a cartridge that it 

 proved superior to all adverse influences, and told in the 

 way hoped for. While specifically one with its namesake 

 incident to the Atlantic States, the snipe here proved to be 

 notably wanting in the choice edible characteristics so freely 

 vaunted for the breed in the main. Whether its fare or the 

 season was chargeable with this demerit on the part of the 

 bird one could not say; but the fact remained that 1he dish 

 which it furnished was but passable at the best. 



W. L. Tiffany. 



J^tfuyzl ]§i§torjj. 



A FOG RAINBOW. 



\\J HILE duck shooting last November, on Sinepuxent 

 Vi Beach, Worcester county. Md., I was privileged to 

 itness one of those rare and beautiful displays of nature, 

 hie.h till then I had never seen, nor even read or heard of. 



1 have since learned from good authority that "fog rain- 

 bows" are known to scientists, and. though of infrequent 

 occurrence, arc well authenticated by reliable witnesses. 



1 am glad to know this fact, for without such indorse- 

 ment 1 would hardly venture to report what 1 saw, fearing 

 my eyes might have been at fault — no. 1 won't aebuit so 

 much as that, for they were neither glazed with whisky nor 

 befogged in the fumes of the "weed." 



The 7 morning had been very foggy; temperature mild; 

 wind, none from any quarter; ducks and geese scarce; shoot- 

 ing nix. 



So leaving my companion in the blind, 1 started on a 

 tramp, partly to' pass away the weary midday hours and 

 partly to view old ocean — some three-fourths of a mile dis- 

 tant—whose billows, owing 1o a recent storm, were dashing 

 wildly on the beach with a fearful roar. 



I found the beach composed entirely of very white sand, 

 but strewn with fragments of former wrecks, and mam of 

 them almost entirely buried in the sand. 



What pen can depict the scenes of woe. and human suffer- 

 ing that have been enacted and ic-eu acted on this dreary 

 line of shore. 



Our Government has wisely established life saving stations 

 along this bench, which are connected by telegraphic wires, 

 stretched on hollow iton posts. 



After satisfying my curiosity in listening to the "breakers' 

 roar," and watching 'their alternate advance and retreat up 

 and along fhe sinuosities of the smooth, hard sand beach, I 

 turned my back to the ocean and saw that a dense fog had 

 enveloped both beach and Sound, and that a similar hank 

 was also coming in from the restless sea. 1 started at once 

 for my companion and shooting blind, carefully retracing 

 my steps made in coming out, as no landmarks weie visible, 

 When my attention was attracted by a bright white arch 

 on the landward fog bank. 



It being something entirely new in my experience I 

 stopped to examine it. 



So seating myself on a part of a vessel's wreck, "A rotten 

 carcas of a boat, not rigged, nor tackle, sail, nor mast ; the 

 very rats instinctively had left it — " I waited to see the end. 



Soon the bright arc took on various shades, aud presently 

 all the colors of the rainbow were distinctly seen — not a3 

 brilliantly as is sometimes seen in the true rainbow, but so as 

 to be clearly traced — not only on the fog bank, but also on 

 flic sand, thus forming a perfect circle or ring, two-thirds 

 of which wtis on the fog and the remainder on the sand, 

 reaching to my feet, so that my boots were embellished with 

 rainbow tints. 



But whether or not the traditional "pot of gold" was 

 burieel in the wveck on which I sat I do not know, aud it 

 did not then occur to me to dig for it. But 1 do know that 

 a perfect ring of rainbow colors was formed on the fog 

 bank and beach and that I stood on the periphery of the 

 circle. The explanation of the phenomenon I leave to 

 scientists. 



The facts 1 have given as they occurred, and only add 

 that I stood at the time as in a rift' between the log banks, 

 and that the sun was at my back as I looked at the unusual 

 sight. " I II. D 



:, N. Y. 



NOTES ON THE RACCOON. 



Editor Funs! and Stream: 



Perhaps the reader will say, "the raccoon is too we., 

 known to need any description, as they have been found 

 more or less all the way from Maine to Florida." 



'Coons have been hunted by all classes, from the sports- 

 man, thoroughbred hunter, and fawners' boys, down to the 

 ragged urchin, who had the pluck and virn to follow in the 

 wake of the Southern darkeys in their nightly raids through 

 the Mississippi swamps. The 'coon is a gooel climber, and 

 decidedly a night, walker. He is easily caught in a steel 

 trap, but" the most approved method of 'hunting him is on 

 either moonshinv or elark nights, with dog and axe, and oc- 

 casionally an Old shotgun added, I can well remember when 

 a good 'coon dog was prized higher than any other dog, for 

 the reason they were comparatively few. Any or every dog 



