October 14, 1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



205 



Alas ! the skeletons which cover the prairie are all we have 



left, to remind us tliat thousands of builalo used to roam 



aljiMii here. But I am happy to say that I have lulled a few 



i.if I hem before tliey become extiuct. This winter I was over 



H 'ii.' Juthtb Basiii for several iiiotitlis with the iiotoriaus 



n trader Jou Kipp, who wns tni<iini:- for rolies and jjcl- 



I'i ith the dilterent tribes of ihe Blarlu'uut jN'ation— Pie- 



; , IJloods and Blackfeet. Tin' :i\ tr;i-L l-i-u, ol a lioud robe 



wi; atiniit $1.75, audashe lr:iiji-ii ii- , m nl 'i'.ddii mhes, he 



will (jlcar between six and SCM': iii •' iii'ihir?. 



'I'll" liiilValo were about thin y , i!,. . ,,, ilit Po.-l.aiKl as T 



' ' I" iillier way of ^oing I accoinjiaiued a eamp uf Picgaus; 



: an Iiiiiiaii, sliiM like an Jniliim, aud found it uot'very 



'Hi!; after al!. Iliad liiainl a sreat many Stories abou't 



iM:li:!l>i, how daiigrroits it was. ele., e'tC-: but when 



li ijii the -foiiud, and one line ' morniiii.'' Klarfed 



■ iiiinicdiaLelv 1 f:aw tlie hiillalu I furLri.t all 



i^ei'. tii-ul wasaaea-crasanv one to be ni l,ii.- 



Lull- :-i I :e^' a little liaud rmiiiillg otf to Ihe rifrlil Met Ihe 

 iiiilia!ieiil_ liM!-,<e a\i, aiiel was soon pumphitr cni1ridu-es int" 

 ihein «iMi !M\' A\ iiiehesl.rearbine as fast; as possililfs aiul at 

 '' "I'.! "F 'he luii J'.-Hind I had -laii: "•■>'.„. l^ul; insieinl of 

 , . i-eeuws like il::-' In,;, ,: ,■ l„,(Talo were of 



. •.■•. .i-e and sex. AVli::i ., . i. ' ._ ,..el feasiin- theie 



' 'lie,-! Ihat iii-iit ! ^J't," ee ..I liver and entrails 



■■ao roasted and eatia was a.siunisliinL'. and it was kept 



ly night till we sttnled haek lo the .Jtielith. 



Indians and whites in iJjis comitry .-irc all armed with 



eieliP.^ier LHui. the Indians mostly u.sing the '(50 model 



and Ihe- wliiies the '(5(i or '73 model rifle. Anv other 



; j,iin i:r, .^eld jiu seen, there heirig no sale for tliem in 



ill' \" !itiin|vr was made in Fort Benton last sum- 



I: ! h 1:. i M - iimi, but three or four of them 



1 I iirm shattered, and to-day they 



itr i.-^Htie of JMareb 11 I notice au article on the "Un- 

 tied Regions of the Adirondacks," by Albert Ciinn.sb, 

 iieh he says: "Tlie first week I was tliere I beard 



nt scream regularly every nioriiiiij( aliimi 3 o'clock, 

 iit'icb to Liow what kind i.f a noise llie 

 I'arlv the eidire winter of '77 aud '78 



iliou atlll llerifneer eMllliliK V Y. 



. 1 would like very 

 lal made. I spent i 

 laowu's Tract, Hai 

 in h, by the way, h- 

 ' ihaa any other ]»;ii 

 animals with fair ■ 



"'/ tiei 



ee 1 can allir 



1 that wl 



in length. My 

 Arnold, whom 



I's Tract. 

 i panther hnnt- 

 ivilt eaeh reach 

 that in their 

 ive never heard 

 ihey were 

 n tlic latter 



1 lo 



[■ninliii;,' at Ihe 

 Lit kind of a r 



snt.w shoes logether, nn 

 eked rifle whicli. but ii 

 beast. Yes, I am m 

 se the animal made, and it ,.li. ;. ..i,, 

 liij,hteu us he will greatly oblige 



Ap-WA-C(T.V-N.\. 



(7' Marians Rmcr, Montana TeiTitor^. 



Pl;(i\ ING A DOG-POI802STei{'S GOOD C'HARA(:TEH. 



\ BOUT the latter part of August, in the eaily part of t 



-/ X Itist decade, the writer and eiglit or ten friends we 



I Uoekl.ridireCi 



n the 1 

 Led at I 

 - anvil 

 alin^'it 



l!i 



the 



went 



tv, Yirtriiiia. near (Josben, 



ike and Ohin Uailroa.k We were placed at 



en the Calf i'a.^iure Itiver, ui.posife ihe long 



,1 Ihe top of the njoimtains, down whieli Ike 



Iter after being rmi by the dogu The driver 



jounlain with tlie doas alioiit sunrise, and I 



ij ].i()st imtil eleven o'clock- without liearhic 



tiLT llial indiciiied the a|_ipr laeh of a deer. 1 



nnediaiely upon the hank eif tlie river — one of 



iiintain streams .so clear that you can see the 



in the liotleini of llie deepest" pool— watching 



us pla^ini;: al)oiU in the water, when suddenl'v 



e.f a hoimd in tlie direction of the woods'. 



I fiehind a larire poplar tree', I looked out in 



if tlie .sound, and suon a Ireineiidou.s btiek 



e aboiU, f tiO yanis freun nic, into a tobacco 



led riirht toward nie. 1 stood perfectly siill, 



and waited Itreathlessly for him to jump into 



liee:nneuol; and becoming impatient and 



:ii llie delay, 1 peeped again from niy Inding-place, 



ny chagrin ,saw his Imck as be glided down a washed- 



■ which ran paradel with the river, about half way 



wlieie he jiiini«d the fence and my stand. I watched 



h my i;tni to my lace\ uinii lie came out of the 



-i,ul," alie.ut one tnmdred vanls below me. I fired, 



II crack of my ^un be drop|)ed. but soon recovered him- 



iiui about one lujndrcd yard.s, when the report of a 



I iini: the excited j'cll of a memljcr of om- p;u-ly, left 



ill he' bad been secured. I imnjediateh- went to 



'; Miinel ihnliny friend had shot him dea"il witlnn a 



lie rapidly down the bank of tlie river lo us. 



inedusthat the dog was his, that he had been 



iniother paj-tyahoutSLS miles below US; tliat he 



1 ilea deer at daylight with that dog and two others, 



laiji ill hearing of him as well as he coidd, until he 



sln.e.t. After some further parley he took from his 



1 coupling, and putting one collar around the dog-'s 



nid faistening the other to a small sapling, inounleel 



a', and requested us to look afle-r his dog wlnle he went 



lit of the Other two who hail dropped out of the chase. 



re' he left, however, I said to liuu : " Jlr. Mohler, it is 



1 lea ve your dog here. 1 understand there is an old 

 -lill-hunlcr. just across tlie river here, who is in the 

 1 poisoning dogs, and you had better take Mm with 



plied that he hardly reckoned he would undertake to 



11 ihini!- right before our eyes, and rode olf. 



. 1 ly out of sight when this very old man and a 



n ims in hand, and st.ood around the deer, talk- 



e chase, the splendid dog, etc., compliuieutinir 



lime ou the shot I had made with the rifle 



tlie right horn clear off about half au inch 



, and then turned their attention again to the 



- uo l> iug in the §ap close by. After a little while 



he oiU fvUow— Davis hy uame— quietly puU Jus liami 



out of his breeches pocket, and, as a boy shoots a marlile, 

 shot something like a chunk of dried beef from his fist into 

 the gap, riglu'at the nose of tlic dog. As he did soke ttirncd 

 to tus son, made some remark about going back to the house, 

 and started rapitlly away, follow-ed by the boy. The instant 

 I saw the motion made hy him in giving the dog the object, 

 whatever it was that be had in hi.s hand, I made a spring at 

 the dog, but foimd I wa.s too late to intercept him. PIo had 

 gotteu^wbatcvcr it was and had swallowed it. I instantly 

 informed my coinpiinion of what badliappencd, and remarked 

 to ium, " Thai's a dead dog !" 



About tills time we heard our dog.s running in the mountain, 

 and I hastened back to my sttunl. ciiarging my frie^nd to keep 

 right by tbcdog, wliiclibo promised to do. In iihout half au 

 hoirr I'heard the dog whiuhig and making a good deal of 

 noise, and 1-uiowinglba'l aslongaslic diiUo there was no chance 

 of deer corning lo'eilher of us, I Ikihii leii ilowm to where the 

 dog was. .lust tia I reached liiin lie I urned over ou his back 

 ,and Ijiel ' ■ ' ..-111 which lasted a mmutc or tw'O. I in- 



stainl iinmistakalile signs of strvehniue; then 



aiioi.l: . pasm folhjwcil, and in ten minutes be 



was-li I .1 il lie had har.lly given liis la.st kick 



wiieii h ,, ,1 , n ! mill 1 told bim what had happened 



and w. 1 ■ .., ■■•. ' . : I.' '.'is do. 



I ne. 1 - . ,. i: i; . I ' - in/.\' with ana'cr in all my life : he 

 vowed be would go hj Davi.;' bouse alid kill him, but after 

 much pe.rsua.siou he wa.s induced to listen lorea.son,andsaidhe 

 would do whatever I advised. Whereuiion 1 advised liim to go 

 lo hi? camp and get one of his lawyer friends (there being 

 several ot I hat ])i-otession in his iiaVtv, (Jovernor Letcher 

 amonir Ihein ) to brin- suit against Davis for this wanton kill- 

 ing of ids tlug; and we all pfotniscd liim tli;it.eiL.,i what it would, 

 we w'ould attend the trial ami J' ■ iii. : i liiLst him. 



Davis.wasnoloriouslystingy,alii i;l n. . -1 inoperty, 

 and I thought a verdict, wiili in im nn; i o.-rs which 

 the suit would necessarily cnlail, would hurt him worse than 

 any corporeal punishment that could be indicted. Mohler tlid 

 not .seem altogether satisfied with tins, because, bke a great 

 many olberp, lie did not believe that a civil action would lie 

 against a paiiy for the wi-ong of killing ti dog. Ujuin reaching 

 the camp, however, his lawyer friends told liim that they 

 could maintain such a action, tmd promised to bring the suit 

 and prosecute it vigorously without charge. 



As soon as they returned to Le.vington, (jovernor Letcher 

 took the matter in band, and brought ihe suit, and a great 

 many very sensible people thought that nothing coidd be re- 

 covered. At the fiist term of the (_'om-t I was absent and the 

 case was cfnilinued, and so for several terms, until the costs 

 attending the suit (the other witnesses, some twelve or tifteen, 

 haNdng come a long way every lime) had piled up above a 

 himdred dollars. At last I attended the court and the trial 

 began. 



All the evidence for the plainli(T. Mohler, was heard, Gov^ 

 ernor Letcher and ulher distinguished emunstl apjiearing lor 

 him. The courtroom was crowded wit.li sptcialors eager to 

 licar this singular case. After resting the ca.se for the plain- 

 tiff the defendant, Davis, wa.s put irpon the stand, and de- 

 nied tlie whole thing, and swore tliut be never poi.soned the 

 dog in question nor any tilluir dog- in his life. Then his conn 

 sel'. Colonel Moore, called tlii? next witness, 3tr. AVilson, one 

 of the most intelligent and iulliteiitia! Jarnicrs in the county, 

 who was a near neighbor to Davis. His examination was 

 about thus : 



Counsellor Davis: "Mr. Wilson, tell the jury how long 

 you have known Mr. Davis, yoirr opportimities of linowdng 

 liim, and wlitit sort of reputation ho boars among his neigh- 

 Witness : " Have kiiijv.u him thirty or forty years; live 

 veiy near him. ^Ir. Davis is a good citizen, and a kind, hos- 

 pitable neigiibor; stands very fair in the community in all his 

 business relations, etc., etc." 



Col. Moore's countenance beamed with satisfaction, he 

 looked defiantly at Governor Letcher and complacently at the 

 jurv. The Governor raised his spectacles and looked very 

 blaiidlyal tlie witness: 



"Ml-. Wilson, do you know Mr. Davis' reputation in yoirr 

 neighborhood u«ii (j'"j killer? if .so, X3lca.se tell the jury what 

 tluit reputation is."' 



Ilere a little ^vl■angling took place tielwreen counsel about 

 the propriety <,.f Ihe riuesiion. but Ihe Court permitted it. 



Mr. Wilson, a little emharassed : " W ell, sir, Ithinklltnow 

 Mr. Davis' reputation in thai respect." 



•'Well, sir," saiil the tioveruor, iinpetuoiisiy. "what is it ?" 

 Witness, reltieiuiiily but distinctly: ''Mr. Jkiei-H, xiv, has 

 thi! rtpvJMina ,,f Ji'ieiiif/ killed and poisoned more dot/n t/inn (wjj 

 mail ill rVr.v/^iee-' 



"TakeyrMir sent, :\rr. Wilson I'' and the Governor tm-ned 

 round with llie most withering look at the Colonel; "Any 

 more character witiu'sses, Coleaiel 't If you have, trot 'eni 

 out!" 



A hasty consultation between the Colonel and his client 

 followed^ during which the audience indid.ged in a hearty 

 l.tugh at their expensm Presently aisotbcr witness was called", 

 whose name I do not n. i.' ninn n.l.m. and the same eiuestions 

 were pn.poianded to Inni, vni, \\:r same answers. After 

 three or four limi heeii i ..nnnniii v. lih Ihe same residts a.s 

 Mr. AMLsrin's (esihnoiiv. liie ( 'Mlonel aiiiiouneed that hc was 

 "tbrouuh," to '.vhieh the Coveriiur lacnnically replied, "I 

 would suijptise vou were." The ease ivas given to the jury 

 after short argi^mfcut, in wiiieh Governor Ltieher proJueed 

 the most convincing aiitborily that the law" of \"irgiiiia pr...- 

 teeted a jiersoii in the enjoym'ent of bis property in a dog as 

 weU as any other species of property, and ihe Cmn-t so in- 

 structed the juiy. In a few minutes after retiring the jury 

 brought in a verdict of $15 damages to the pkiintitf for the 

 dog, "which carried with it the costs— hv this lime swelled to 

 a Consider.ahle siini by the freipient ].■ ni p. ■ i..,!.. n -i and the 



witne,s.ses, all uf'wliou'. elaim'eil tiieii' . ; , .,. ... I .nn.adauce 

 every lime. 



Tlins ended this cause eehhre hy which the iloctrine, 

 that the law of Virginia willproiea;!. the owner eif a valuable 

 dog from the malice and meanness of ilog-aUiyers, was freely 

 announced aiid publicly vindicated by our Coiut. The only 

 cause of complaint we had was inadeiimicy of tlie damages al- 

 lowed by the jury for the dog. He was one of the hand- 

 somest specimens of the fox liound I ever beheld, and had rum 

 that deer from five o'clock until after eleven, on a hot AugiLSt 

 day, over the roughest of mountains, and «'as in sight of him 

 when lie was shot. 



<• It is hardly neres.sary to say that this little lesson cured 3Ir. 

 Davisuf his propensity to kill hounds. From that day to the 

 day of his death, which occurred a yitar or two ago, he not 

 only never killed another dog, but used to show the htmlers, 

 who went to the neighborhood to drive deer, the most marked 

 politeness aud civility and joined in the chase with all who 

 would let Mm, every time makiug public renunciation of Ma 

 ucfaiious pi'aciices, 



Davis' favorite mode of operating on dogs was to But 



I ought not to tell tMs ; for old dog poisoners ought not to be 

 taught new trick.?. Jaok. 



Steuuiton, Ya. 



THE FOOD OF THE DARTERS. 



PROF. S. A. FORBES, who has i. m o-i- mli irond 

 work on the food of birds a,nil li : . ■ < n i . , i ...-eii 

 investigating the gastronomic tasin-.i i;,,, . .nM,; i i;,-; of 

 the family .£'f/«'rt,'itoOT/(f(r, or "darters,"' which are fotmd in 

 most all small .streams, and attract attention from the most 

 casual observer by their singular mode of progression ou the 

 bottom, aud which gives them their popular names of 

 "Johnny darter," "sand dai-ter," etc. Prof. Forbes pub- 

 hshes his oli.servations in Xhe American Naturalist for Octo-- 

 her, and begins lij- saying: 



"What the humming-birds are in otu' avifauna, the 'dart- 

 ers' are among our fresh- water fishes. Minute, agile, beauti- 

 ful, delighting in the clear, swift wttters of rocky streams, no 

 group of .fishes is more, inleresling lo the coUector; and in 

 the present state of their elas-illi'-niioin maie will better repay 

 bis study. L\otwithstandin_ ' 'i ' size, they do no"t 



seem to be dimrfnl so inucli ;'■- ' ' ■ ■ ■ lishcs — each car- 



i-ying in its little body all the aeii. iiy s.ii: in grace, complexity 

 of deltiil and iierfection of finish to be iotmd in a perch or a 



His observations were based upon a study of the contents 



of seventy stoinaelis, wbicii repi'esenled fifteen species, col- 

 lecled in all pans of the Stale, in several mouths of four 

 successive ye:ir.s, wiiich he coiisidevs to fairly exhibit the 

 food of the whole family al (liJTerent seasons in twenty-nine 

 localities, as the different in.jividutils, taken at the same date 

 and lo, iiii. .. . ; -' . n . uy hi their food that the study of 

 two Ion . . .( ns obttiiuablo from more fishes. 



The ■■ inn imi i n. molepis) is comparatively rare in 

 IlUnois, as there are few sandj' .streams. Seven stomachs 

 were remarkably imiform, containing only the larva of small 

 diptcra and Eiibemerii.ls, eighty-one per cent, of all being 

 laiwa of Chironoinus, a gnat-like Insect, twelve per cent, 

 larva of other diptera, and seven per cent, of May-Hies. 

 Twelve specimens of the genus Alwrdim* e.\Mbilod 



* TlieelasatlicatloniisedlstViatof tlift second edition or Jordan's 

 " Manual ol tlie Vertebrates." 



seventy -five per cent, of May-flies, and tlie reniainder was 

 larva of dragon-flies luid ('liirounmiui; while twelve specimens 

 of the genusiJfZf'rt.wnjrt varied only the appearance of fifteen per 

 cent, of case, or caddis worms (larva of Phri/yamidm). Other 

 genera differed but little, perhaps with the season, until we come 

 to Ferdiia caprodc,i,vihiv\\ showed a preference for a crustacean 

 thet by containing ■■thirty percent, of Eutomostracaaudlliree 

 per cent, the smallest of our A.mi.ihipoda, A llurnliestes dentata 

 (Smith), Faxon. Most of the Entomostraea were Oladocera, . 

 including Daphnia, Etu-ocercus and Daphni.'Ua. 



'" Here occm'rcd the only instance of moUuscan food in the 

 group. One specimen had taken a few incUvidtials of Ansy- 

 Im j'ivulari.'i, Say. Reduced ratios of Cliironnmus and 

 Ephenmriil l:n".',n. .ni.i .. ii-n r..r;.. , ;'...n..n.,/.. n..,;n..n'n Ihe list. 



"k:,.' . i '. - ' ..' •■.' .■'.•...'■ n ..-presented 



by nine .-:i.i..|'inn.ii:: l'...ii. n.,,r Im .mil Li-i i.i r^.n i:vni Illinois. 

 This smallest of the darters .shares with Pcroiua, the largest, 

 the peculiarity of crustacean food, which made up sixty -four 

 per cent, of the totah The principal kinds were Cyclops, 

 Chydoros, young Ganmunras Jhsi-iiUnn, Say, aud young 

 Orangaiiyx gracilis, Smith. The remaining elements were 

 Chironoinus larvte (tbirty-fom- per cent.) aud a trace of 

 Epbemerids (two per ccnl.)." 



"It will be seen that Ihe family, taken aaawbole, divide.? 

 into two sections, distinguislied by the presence or al.i.sence of 

 criLStacean food. Tlii.s is easily exiii.iniej l,y the fact tli-dt 

 Pcrcilia and Mieroperca range inucii nioie tiee-ly than the 

 Other genera — being frequently louutl uinemg weeds and 

 Algie in comparatively slow water with muddy bottom, wliile 

 the others are rather closely confined to sndft and rocky 

 shallows." 



Prof. Forbes plainly shows how these small fishes are only 

 fitted to dwell in the smaller streams by keeping down theu- 

 size, while, at tile same time, they are by their liabils able to 

 Ude from enemies mider stones, and live in a cm-rent bo 

 strong as to require great muscular power to stem it, but 

 which they avoid by hugging the bottom in the neighborhood 

 of sheltering stones, and be concludes by saying: 



■ Perhaps we mav, without violence, call these the moim- 



ralh" 





n lid. IS. Forced from the populous tuid fertile 

 I led's and lake bottoms, the 



refuaeinini iipn enerniers ill the rock}' higbla 

 froe'waters play in ei.i|.-..-li. -^ n..|.r..iii". immI ii:;.|... il,. ... I .n..e 

 wrested from Btubboin, n :,!i 



dimimshed in size by n i , , 



inenls, they have dCie in ,..,.._; an ami', iiy ,ii,u h„;.iihnjL;, a 

 vigor of life and glow of high color almost uuknown. timong 

 the eiisier livers of tbe lower lands." 



OiiKiTrtoLOftioAL WoKK IS inji West fannia. — A new bird 

 is reported hova ill-. F. A. Ober's recent collections in the 

 Lesser Antilles, makmg the twenty-second new species ol}- 

 tained by him from that region. It will be described shortly 

 by Iilr. O. N". La-wrence, who has identified aud described all 

 the new binis of former collections. Il is a species of Jclerw, 

 and has been (provisionally, at least) named in honor of its 

 discoverer, the Iderns Oheri. Besides this new '.ipccies there 

 are among the specimens many rare aud unkioked-for species. 

 The notes relating to them will probably be published (aS 

 heretofore) in the "Proceedings of the jNalioual ilusemn." 

 Tlie types of ^ toe aew IjiKto discovered \ij Mr, Olter are lu 



