jANTJAJire, 1881.J 



FORISST AND STREAM. 



445 



it was only the iinpnrtauce of the work, which justified 

 nui flelay in seeking harbor diu-inc a coming soulii-easter, 

 by sii ippiiLCB al: the Whilostone Narrows, loiii; enough 

 loi tlie hjdro^jrapher lo make a fair survfiy of the 

 reefs, wlu'rh form Ihe only obstacles to a clear passage into 

 SiUca Sijuurl from the Pacific on the west, and from the iu- 

 krad_ [lUHHoiTR fr(_mi Wnmgel. At noon we reached Peril 

 Strails, %\liich are so called on account of five or six miles of 

 reef-spriiikifil ruiiids, which at about the centre, -where the 

 tides lufet, Hooding to the eastward from the Pacific and 

 lo the westward from ChathaurStraits, form dangerous wliirl- 

 pools und eddies. 



Peril Strait is about twenty miles in length and is the north- 

 orii boundary of Baranoff Island on the southern sids of 

 Whioli ia Sitka. The strait separates Baranoif from Chichag- 

 off, a?id on both shores are good harbors during heavv 

 weather. 



By slowing down a bit we. struck the rapids with the last 



■ of the flood, and ou our arrival at the nuddle we found the 

 young ebb with ns, and as a consequcnco those of who were 

 responsible for the navigation of the vessel, were well pleasr-d 

 with the escape from. the strength of the rapids and the in- 

 ttuenco of the whirlpools, while those of ua who were on tlie 

 Jookout for adventure and excitement, claumcd Peril Slruils. 

 and pronounced the stories aa to thedaugera fraudulent. At the 

 worst, though I do not think that the rapids and whiripo<.ls 

 exceed eitlier in rapidity or dangers those of the St. Law- 

 rence, although i t times there are formed whirlpools and ed- 

 dies fully as fornudable as are those of Scylla and Cha- 

 rybdis. At least so they seemed to me, but perhaps the fact 

 that my first encounter witli Peril Strait's whirlpools was in 

 an open launch while I passed near the maelstroju at a com- 

 fortable distance, in a comfortable steamer may influence my 



': S. E. n;iif..q f.jvccd us to find anchorage, which we 



ifi' iiic- lei; of I lie high hills of Baranoff, and forty-eight 



liiniis wtre wasted at this spot. At first wc did not 



li . iL'gri-i ilnMlel.iy, for miles to the east and west stretched 



:' '■' I'll, Miui lii-iiind it flats which we. felt sm-e must he pro- 



>liiv -1 11- lit birds, for they had begun to conje in Sitka, and 



\vii.v not here, nearly a degree to the northward and in an un- 



hunted section? 



But a two-hours' tramp by the Doctor and myself resulted 

 in the slaughter of bntone "dicliy bird," as in Sitka is termed 

 the Little semi-palmated sand-piper. A heavy rain-storm 

 drove us lirat into the shanty of a prospector. Professor 

 Moore, who, with pick and drills, was examining the many 

 "stringers," and pieces of "float" quartz with which the 

 beach was speckled, a.« yet with no success; and afterward, 

 dm-ing a lemporary let up, we got shelter in the cam]! of a 

 • band of Pfoonah Indians, of whom about thirty — men, women 

 and ehildi'en — were comfortably ensconced in good canvas 

 tents and well built bark shanties. 



This party lilce ourselves was awaiting the termination of 

 the gale before venturing into Chatham Straits on their way 

 homeward. They had left Sitka the day before in four ca- 

 .uocs which lay hauled up ou the beach, and were eit route 

 home al'tii- disposing of their furs to, and procm-ing their 

 winter siippli.-.s of drv goods ■?ju] tfroceries from the Sitka 

 ahopkeepris, ufni they expected to make the journey of loti 

 miles in fih.iut live days unless detention by bad weather pre- 

 vented. Their, leader " IToonali Dick," is wellknown on the 

 coast to he an intelligent; enterprising man, speaking consid- 

 erable Engliijh. 



Among the furs which they had sold were seven sea-otter 

 skins which brought from seventy to one hundred and fifty 

 dollnrs each, in trade. Dick invited us to sup with him, a 



■ ■ .< which was at the time going on. The priucipaldish 



ir«n pot full of a white soup, which 1 learned wiis 

 r lily liulbs boiled, enriched with minced smoked sal- 

 i....i.. Aromid this pot several Imfjans, men and wouien, 

 tacli provided with a large spoon made from the horn of the 

 mountain sheep, were scpiatled, all dipping into the pot at 

 pleasure. AVe declined with thanks. 



August 15. 

 I brolten. Weather still thick and ramy. Underway 

 . :it. and started for Kootz-noo. Crossed Chatham 

 buaUa with a fair wind, but without being able to enjoy the 

 scenery, which on the north side of Baranoff is said to be 

 very fine glaciers and immense snow fields covering the ra- 

 vines and bill tops. 



L-po-suk. — A1 10 A. -M. we let go our anchor in this snug 

 ' ■ ' ■ 1 the western side of Admiralty Island. 



K 



Til... 



liles iu length, north and south, and 

 1-- well timbered and stocked with fur 

 natives say that in the interior the 

 _, , with many little jiouds where wild 

 <i'.-'.-i ! 1 I...,. j:aLe. It is inhabited by the Kootz-uoo 

 who tiavc several villages on the coast. At 

 Lkiy is their principal village. At Kot-eo-sok, about 

 I! ;il-s south of Hood's Bay, the North-west Company has 

 established a trading-post, and aa we rounded the point and 

 'stood in the report of our howitzer brought to tlie door of a 

 very comfortalile looking frame building, flanked by piles of 

 cord-wood and Indian huts, the post-trader, Mr. Edward De 

 Groff, looldiig as fat. hearty and eonteuled as could be ex- 

 pected of a young man separated for months from his sweet- 

 heart and reduced to the BOciety of Suwishcs alone. Mr. De 

 Groff reports the Indians friendly and trade fair, and proved 

 that he had uol wasled hi.'^ time by the exhibition of sundry 

 bales of skins, and by acting as interpreter in the Chinook 

 .jargon so fluently that I suspected his teadfer must have been, 

 jt very pood one. 



The ICootz-noos differ both in appearance and dialect from 

 luosl of the olher Indians of this Archipelago. According to 

 tbeir traditions tlu-y .ui- ile.srendcd from a ]ieople who came 

 fcom the westward, pos,<ibly tUiiua or Japan. I failed, how- 

 •ever, to find in them any trace of either origin. They jue 

 (juito warlike and a few of tlieiu have given the missionaries 

 and Stickiene Indians at Fort Wrangel considerable trouble, a 

 pious Sticldcue having by direction of a ditto doctor, raided 

 upon a distillery which the visitii'g Ivootz-uoos had set up at 

 .their end of the beach — result, a kilUil Stickiene and badly 

 ■wounded Kootz-noo, who, being ui higher grade than the de- 

 funct Sticluene, will, if Ids wound proves mortal, have to be 

 paid or fought for until the jiarties are even. That is, so it stood 

 before wc bad a bit of a talk with them. Now their jiromise 

 to me stands in the way, in spite of which, though, I must 

 hope for the restonition to health of the woimded chief. 



There are about 800 of this tribe living in several viUagea 

 on Admiralty Island, of which the principal one ia just north 

 Of us at the enlra.uce of a deep bay, at the head of which are 

 ■coal mines, discovered and worked in 1868 by Lieut. Com- 

 inauder 3Lii;eheU in the TJ. 8. steamer Saginaw. The coal is 

 of very little value for steaming. 



At this village tlie liquor caUed hoochenoo was first made 

 iOy a discharged aoldier from our army; the Indians learned 



the art, and it is now made in cvary ranch in Alaska. The 

 village consists of almnt forty wolbbidlt houses, a large num- 

 ber of which are pr.Mviderl with neatly kept gardens, in 

 wb.ich they rn.i.so every y\:i]- fair crops of good potatoes, tur- 

 nips and cabliages, which do get ripe, and do head, and are 

 produced from seed of the year before, so they say at least, 

 therein differing from Elliott. Those gardeus, and the superior 

 cleanliness of their houses, give to the vLlllagc a much more 

 attractive appeai-ance than Sitka, and Ihcf Indians arc far 

 superior in their personal cleauUnesa and clothing. The fact 

 is, they as yet are not suffering to the same extent frem con 

 tact with low class whites. Their cemetery indicates in 

 these people a superiority to the Sitka Indians. With the 

 latter the dead house, or tomb, ia in each ca.scadjaeent to and 

 in the rear of the dwelling-house of the deceased. The ii^ootz- 

 noos have a very neatly kept cemetery in a little grove aliout 

 half a mile from the village. Iu it there are a number of 

 sightly tombs, among which one in particifliir ia guiu'ded by 

 an immense ''Hood}"," or wooden man, and another sur- 

 mounted by a cross and dog-vane, and ptiinled white. I 

 learned this was the tomb of an American named Simmons, of 

 whom tlio Indians had been fond, and over whose remains 

 they had of their own accord erected this structm'e. 



The Kootz-noo trade iu furs of laud animals, and De Groff 

 had on hand quite a stock of bear, mink anrt fox skin.s, and 

 considerable oil. They are generally quite peacefible and 

 well disposed, but the imprudence of a white man has start- 

 ed a trouble between them and the Stickienes, which I hope 

 is ended. It so happened that the chief who came to con- 

 sult with us was Jake, an Indian, who eleven years iigo was 

 iu San Francisco, and while there had been so' situated that 

 it came into my way to do him an important service. This 

 he liad not forgotten, and iu Ids promises of restraining his 

 tribe from future molestation of the Iiulian.i at this WrEingel 

 settlement, gave as his reasons, or rather as one of them, his 

 desire to repay me for the kindness he had received at 

 hands; which demonstrates, that however stolidly these In- 

 dians may receive a favor, they have gratitude iu thek 

 eomposition. 



In the vicinity of Kootz-noo there are cod and halibut banks, 

 from which, with salmon streams, the natives derive most of 

 their support. Another fruitless tramp by the Doctor anil 

 myself demonstrated that the birds had not yet come south 

 and we began to despair of our expected shooting. 



On the 17th of August we left Kot-eo-sok and' ran across 

 Chatham Straits for the entrance of Cross Somid— the place 

 we longed for, for then wo were to see om' first glacier and 

 iceberg. 



In my next I will tell you of our trip to this little-known 

 region. PiSBOo. 



[to be OONTtKUKD.] 



THE MOUNTAIN QUAIL. 



[Prom advance sheeta of " The Rifle, Eod and Gun iu Oalifomia." 

 by T. 8. Van Dyke. PubUshed by Fords, Howai-d & Hurl- 

 hurt, 27 Park Place, New Tork.] 



LET US follow Belville and Eveline as they start after 

 breakfast one morning to go to the top of the Cuya- 

 maca. It is only a short walk, not over a thousand feet of 

 elevation, and we wUl see where we are. 



Half a mile up a pine-covered slope and we reach a shoul- 

 der upon which rests a locky-, pyramid-shaped head, about 

 thtee or four hundred feet high and easily climbed. A few 

 minutes' time brings us to the top of tliis, and we stand upon 

 its loftiest rock. A vas', 3>a lies lar below on the west, with 

 tumbling whvi s of snuwy white rolling like gre.it masses of 

 cirdel woi/l ; with long shifts of gokUn Jiglo, touching, as 

 they are shot through the essiern mount ain-goiges liom 

 Apollo's fiery bow, the crisis of Ihi.se b.llowa; wi'h its 

 hiuidrcd islands (f diffeient heighis looming up here i;nd 

 there, some iu a full idaze of light, others just tippeil with 

 gilded spires, others standmg dirk snd sembi-r iu the shade 

 of greater peak". Even as we gaze upm this Eea its masses 

 begm to break. Crtat rifts of bluifh green with edges of 

 gold and pearl hi gin to yawn al jng its rolling surface, and 

 through tticm appear the dark blue chaparral of the hills, the 

 lemg green wnding strips of river bottims and canyon?, and 

 the sflvery-gra.y heads of rocks and cliffd. And now through 

 the farthest ritlR shimmers th* distant Pacific, with its high 

 rocky islaud.s looking like small ant-hills. Soon tbe grtat 

 whit"i sheet is entirely broken up and is scudding away to sea 

 in a thousand roll ug clouds, the wholi wesltrn tlope is 

 bathed again in simlight, and the far ocean shines like a lake 

 of quicksilver. 



Rising thousanils tf feet below, in Ihe yawning gulf iu 

 front, tue San Diego River wind.s, its green way toj the sta 

 through immense rocky wall.'^. Par to the right Ihe strpen- 

 lioo tiotioms of (he San Bernardo and Saa Luis, and on the 

 left the verdurous trails of the Sweetwatir and Tia Juana 

 rivtr-", gleam among plains of brown or jellow, or thread tbe 

 gorges ttiat lie between the dark bluislt Mils of chnparral and 

 the bare, dreary heaps ef lock and boulder. Toward the 

 south roll iu wild coufusiun the ragged mouutains of Mt-xico, 

 aod for hundreds i.if square miles tlie r-ye wanders over a 

 tumbling sea of rock, cliff, chapatralj boulder-sludded peaks 

 alt cleft with deep vallejs, acd canyons shining in their "Wind- 

 ing courses, witu bright green timb r. Here and thtre tlie 

 eye le.^ts upon a b.ieht little vaUey like tbe imerald lake of 

 Pine Valley, sunk in the mountain's back and eternally 

 ttreen w-itlii"imber and grass or the golden slnbbles of Viejas ; 

 but uicje-:enths of ii al is primeval wUderiiCjis that wilt re- 

 main so forever, broken only by the tread of the herdsman's 

 or th'j hunter's horse. 



Wcsiwarfl, the eye rests upon more pleasant scenes, though 

 here, U o, it is ne<rly a 1 boulder, cbapanal, towering heigh's 

 or yawning canyons ; yet many a fair valley or broad open 

 plsin, Dcslled in a gird e of hills or sunk in some mountain- 

 gorge, greets tbe eye. And ne.irer by and more lo ihu north 

 the mountain chain breaks away into smooth, rolling hills, 

 clad with golden carpet of dry grats and s'udiied wito oaks 

 like gome old Eastern apple-orchard. At various points one 

 sees many a vale, pocket or flat, whtre tbe com nodding 

 along the road and the little house embowered in heavy live- 

 oaks or surrounded by a garden, still green iu midsummer 

 without irrigation, bring up sad memories of a land better 

 loved ihan llii". One hundred mil s to tbe north, the bald 

 pate of Grajliaek loams high tbrough the hazy bhi«, atd 

 iiround him are clustered hii smaller brethtrn, our former 

 f I lends Snu Jacinto and Ciieamunga rising at his side. 

 Scares of le-ser peaks, that in tbe East would be coDsideied, 

 ■ Cloud Cleavers" or "Sky -Split! ere," lie between and all 

 arouud, but they are so numerous, and so overshadowed by 

 their more aspiring bielhem that they here ; ss& lumt^iiced 

 and unnamed. " 



As the eye natm-ally wanders arntind to the east, it ranges 

 over mure triig and c iff and scar, wiih a few fuie valleys be- 

 tween, cescryiu.ff tie fair mendoKS of Treat's i mob almost 

 beneath, imiil in a few^mile.s the coimciy tumbles r,'i: idly 

 away in dibUial dutolatioe, witliout a gl aiii of ;j,ref-n nr liiiie 

 er golden yellow, or ..tbersiguof life, iu.o the- ■.viJu-reneiiing, 

 ghastly gleam of ih.i Colori,do De.ert. 



(.._Iu all ihis vastcircidt of ihc eye, aweephig a si ace hu'g^r 

 tlian Ua-:sachu8ertH, Rhode I Lmd and (Jouuec iCut com- 

 bined,* ti u lyc rest^ not upon a .^iuglecily, tov.'n, or evin 

 h.mlet, ex. ept the far-t-ff' ii." n of San DiciO .nn 1 tho dltle 

 idle of culled luuiber stnuk liy a vvh rlwiud th t lies nestled 

 in th&f . irest part of tlie^e uiountaiLS und gi e.^ liy the name 

 of Julian. No cburches, no rtiilroada, iio'iiny.lilng s S(;OU 

 exeei I a tew ranches at wide intervals aid luile scliool- 

 liou.ses Slid more widely scati ered, with here and there vn 

 Indian raiic/i^ria, or group of hut?. Yet nowh-re in iJl tlis 

 couutjy are pioperty and life safer or health and comlort 

 more secura. The judiciary is not excelled iu the State ; in 

 Jew places are taxes as low; nowdiere is thero a bet' er set 

 of country ofhcers, nowhere less stealiog among olflciids. 

 And many a day, and far and wide over tue United States, 

 may one travel before be will find people more cultured anti 

 refintd or l)etter educated than the upper hidf of tbe white 

 population of ihiscountiy. Few indeed l hey are, and scat- 

 teied, t ut among them one will Icok in vain, even among th» 

 many "forty-ninerj," for llio Califoruiau of the novelist, 

 half fool and half scamp, or for the typical mmdeious 

 character of fiction, or the "galoot" of the Eastern scribbler 

 who writes of California lite. 



What mellow tones are ttiese, like the taps of the leather 

 hammer on the glass pi ilea of the harnioideon, that arouse 

 Laura from ter novel, ynd her busbaud fioin Lis after- I.Teak- 

 fust nap — a thing to easy to lake in this mountain air. 

 " Quoi, quoi, quoi, quui, ij^uui. !" it goes. Beaming far yet near, 

 half plidutive aud lialf ]o_\ ous, Indf caUing and lenf answer- 

 ing. The sound is evidently made four or live times by one 

 bird, and tuen takeu up and"carricd along by auo her. 



Taking their guns, Norton and Laura went slowly toward 

 the sjund, w^hich grew louiler uutil they reached tho little 

 spring run, a hundred yards below the camp, when it sud- 

 denly stopped. While waiting for it to sound again they 

 heard a "queeah, queeidi, quit-quit-qtiitquit, quecah, 

 queeah 1" so tender and plaiutive in tone that they^stopped in 

 wonder. This new sound came again, accompanied by a 

 faint rustle in the dry grass and weed.s some I wen ly yards 

 ahead. Upon their walking closer, the "quectdi, queeah!" 

 became more distressingly anxious, and out walked in plaii 

 sight, almost in single file, two dozen or more graceful little 

 birds, a trifle larger, but of about the same shape, plumpness, 

 and easy motion of that dear little friend of the Eastern 

 stubbles, "Bob White." 



The leader hopped upon a low stone, the next one mounted 

 a log, another fluttered upon a rock, whde the rest walked 

 about with sobir visage and dignified pace ; all with frequent 

 cries of "quit-quit-quit-quit, queeah, queaahl" or a simple 

 "queeah, queeah I" and a mild inquisitive gaze at the 

 strangers, in which cm-iosity and not alarm was plainly pre- 

 domimmt. Theircolors were not those of any Ea-tern game- 

 bird. With coats of brownish gray, vtsts of brilliant Cin- 

 namon mottled nith white below a lull open bo-oni of blue, 

 four white bands along the back and sides and around the 

 Ihroat, a broad, white collar of antique! cut tied with a wide 

 cinnamon cravat, a jaunty cap of grayish brown upon the 

 neat little head, from the center of which nodded two long 

 sable plumes, tiioy walked and wheeled, eocked their heads 

 from side to side to surviy thdr visitors, and repeated 

 steadily their peculiar and i laiutive note. 



But tboiigh they i-howed In tie alarm, evanescence was 

 most decidedly a part of their programme, and all this while 

 lure had betin a manifest purpo-.e to gently steal away. 

 Now they liegau to vanish in earnest. But not wiiii tbe 

 bmtziug wing or active leg of Bob White or the little valley 

 quail of Caldornii. There was ouly an easy grace smacking 

 both of politeness and impudence, as ihe dead leaves rustled 

 to the patter of their little feet and they began to fade in the 

 grass and brush. 



" Hold on ?" came a voice from behind the amateurs, aa 

 they ridsedihcir guns to shOot before the birds should get 

 away. "We'll h ive better fun than that with them. Put up 

 that murderous gun and bring forth the plaything of llie im- 

 mortals, Mrs. Norton. You, Norton, keep your gun, but 

 dou't shoot at anything until it flies." 

 " Why, when did you — " 



"Just dropped," said Belville. "And just in time to 

 prevent sacrilege, I see. I'll show you some sport, however, 

 for compensation." 



Old Prince stood by his master's side as he spoke, the very 

 incariiiition of buiiness. His tail no longer hung, but pro- 

 jected. Sltfl as an icicle, it fairly quivered ut the lip with 

 rigidity. One fore-leg was bent double, and tho othtr thi-eo 

 trembled witb bis efforts to keep still ; while his body was 

 firm as a garden .statue iu a Minnesota winter. On his agi d 

 tirow sal grave importance, imd mighty wisdom shone from 

 his staring bright eye. His nose was wTinkled with serious- 

 ness, while his chaps quivered and watereil like those of ve 

 city epicure what time he beholdeth on one of Delmoiiico's 

 plates a June woodcock, killed while feeding its helpless 

 yoimg. 



The bow and arrows were soon brought and the party 

 moved on, Mrs. Norton ahead and Prince waddling along in 

 the rear with tbe anxious solemnity of a circus elepliaut 

 walliing over his master. His legs rivaled his tuil iu stiff'- 

 ne-s, and be looked up occasionaUy at hia master with in- 

 tense satisfaction, licked his chaps and sniffed the air, whielx 

 was laden with thiit fragrance the dog so loves. 



The birds were soon overtaken, and aa they huddled up 

 with inquiring "quit-quit, queeah, queeah I" about fifteen 

 paces before, an arrow decimated the feathers upini the 

 brownish-gray tali of one of tho number and sent lialf a do?eu 

 of his immediate neighbors toward the four points of the 

 compass. They went hardly twenty feet away, however, 

 just flying up and alighting again. One of them It upon a 

 stone, another on a piece of dead brush, while the others 

 siole back to their companions wlio still mingled with thfl 

 soft I'usile of gently vanishing feet a steady and dolorous 

 "quit-quit, queeah, queeah! quit-qiut-quitquit, queeah, 

 queeah I" 



Whizz ! -went an arrow over the head of the bird on the 

 dead brush. He cocked his head, nodded his long dark 

 plumes, and said " quit-quit, queeah, queeah ! " Zip ! went 

 another aiTow through the brush just by his side. He said 

 again, "quit-quit-quit-quit ! " hopped leisurely off the brush, 

 and started off with a "queeah, queeah!" to join his cora- 

 pajiions. The bird oa the stone also made some reinarlcs 



*Ihis country alone is uboat ui large as these thiea Statin, 



