Skptembeb 8, 1881.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



Ill 



nioss-covered rocks, and immediate'y cried, "Ir. is the walk- 

 ing fern. J thought it must. he. vv e have surely walked far 

 enough to find it. This is certainly the very plant that Mr. 

 St. air is soauxiousto obtain, ;<nd it is qui e uiffurent from 

 a' I the 01 tiers on the nioun ains." Vivian collected some of 

 the finest specimens of the icrn for his lather's conservatory, 

 wrapping them carefully in moss, and sprinkling them with 

 waier ir m the pond. 



"It is time that we were off," said the huuter, "the moun- 

 tain paths are rough, aud we have far lo go. It will be 

 nightfall ' before you can reach your home. I will accom- 

 pany you to the rivtr, and guide you the nearest way through 

 the f -rest." 



"Do you never lose your way in the dark pine woods ?"' 

 asked Karl. 



"No ; ' rep'-ied Randolph, "I have always lived among the 

 mouutaius, and I know each paih." 



"Why is it, Randolph, that your language is so different 

 from that used ly she other hunters?" asked Vivian with a 

 smi e. "Were y>u ever at school?" 



"I am a graduate," replied the hunter, "of the Normal In- 

 Btitu e at St. George. The otters and fishers were formerly 

 very abundant, among the All ganies, aud 1 was a very suc- 

 cessful trapper. I sold my lurs and purchased books, study- 

 ing late ev. ry night by the light of ihe blazing pine knots. 



I was all al ne in the mouna n cabin. 1 had progressed so 

 far in my studies that I was able lo graduate a year alter e i- 

 tering the mtiiute. When 1 have money enough I will go 

 to the university aud finish my educati u there. The Ran- 

 dolphs have not always been hunter.-," he added, sanlly, ' but 

 it is hard to break the iron web that destiny weaves around 

 us." 



He stopped suddenly in the narrow pathway, gave a shrill 

 whistle through his clenched teeth, the coug.r skin slipped 

 from his shoulder to the ground, ad a moment after the 

 ringing repo t of his rifl ■ awakened the echoes of the forest, 

 and teemed to climb from cliff to crag up the rocky wall of 

 the raou itain. "Ha! ha! ho! ho! ho!" laughed the owl 

 in t lie fir iree, and the gray wo f answered wi h a howl from 

 the laurel. Tne hunter, without speaking or moving from 

 where he slood, comineuced reloading bw rifle. 



'•What was it, Mr. Randolph?" asked Kail. 



"You will see," repl ed the hunter capping his gun. " It 

 was a long shot, but I think a true one." 

 v After walking a hundri d yards or more through the tangled 

 laurel they came upon a large buck lyin* dead by a moun- 

 tain spring. "Sh t. through the he n," said Vivian, ihrust- 

 i ig his linger into i be wound. "Yes;" replied the hunter, 



I I can shoot." Bending i own a young birch tree they tied 

 the antlers to its top with a cord and then releasing the tree 

 it immediately regained an uprig' t position lifiing the deer 

 fir above the reach ot the prowling wolf. "It will be safe 

 then." said Randolph, "until I come for it in the morning." 



"The laws of iuheritance," he continued, "apply to all 

 the lower animals as well as to us. They are gaining knowl- 

 edge, toe, and among wild species those individuals possess- 

 ing the most perfect facu lies— keenness of scent, of sight 

 and of hiaring, the greatest courage, Hieng'haod fleetness, 

 the longest teeth and sharpest claws, combiued with the 

 highest, development of the reasoning powers, survive and 

 perpetuate their race — the others perish. Thus the cougar 

 succeeds in capturing only those deer that are deficient in 

 some of these cha actetistics, as hearing for example. The 

 wise old buck with ptrfect facubies roams the forest until 

 age impairs fi em ; the weak and foolish die in youth. There 

 are deer on these mountains that have never been in reach of 

 cougar's claws or hunter's rifle. Others have great curiosity 

 and little caution. They must slop to investigate any un- 

 known obje t and list' n to every unusual sound ; it was this 

 peculiarity that caused the buck I killed a few moments ago 

 to lose hfs life. Those having the most caution and the 

 least curiosity live to the greatest age." 



" Yes," replied the student, "the laws of heredity have 

 been in force upon the eai th s nee the first appearance of 

 lite upon its surface, and apply to the vegetable kingdom as 

 well as to the auimal. Man, by taking advantage of these 

 1 1*8 of nature, improves everything that comes under his 

 dominion. Among domestic animals it seems as though an 

 artist had taken the rough sketch and cove ed all the rude 

 out iueB with beauty. He waves his magic wand over a 

 poor and bitter fruit and changes its juices into Ihe sweet- 

 ness of the orange and its color into the glory of the lilies." 



" Here is the liver and there is the lights in the windows of 

 your house," said Randolph, emerging from the laurel and 

 pausing on the shore just as the nioonhesms were gleaming 

 over the mountain summits and throwing their lines of silver 

 across the crystal waters. " Good night, young gentlemen ; 

 1 have far to go," he said, throwing the snowy cougar skin 

 into the boat aud disappearing tu der the arches of the pines. 

 The two young friends rowed rapidly over the stream and 

 were met on the opposite shore by Prof. St. Clair, who, be- 

 coming alarmed at their prolonged absence, w T as eagerly 

 awaiting their retu-u. 



" \\ hat is this?" he exclaimed, as Vivian tossed Ihe cou- 

 gar can lessly over his shoulder and started up the gravel 

 walk toward ihe villa. 



" The robe of the White Cougar, Ihe mountain king," 

 repli' d Karl with a lauiih. "Yes, Rmdolph, the hunt-r 

 told me that he had ofien seen this remarkable creature near 

 the Panther Pond, but I thought he must be mi-taken. So 

 he has killed it at last and sent me the pelt." "Randolph did 

 n<>t kill him," said Vivian, stopping to pluck a rose ; *' we 

 invited ourselves to his banquet ar d, as he iva< quiirelsome 

 over his wine as no good king should be, we organ zed a 

 'gunpowder plot 'for the purpi is • of dethroning him." "You 

 do not meai to say that you killed him?" exclaimed the 

 Professor excitedly, turning to Karl. " certainly," replied 

 the la'ter ; "after we had defied his power what else could 

 we do but imitate the example of Cromwell, and put the 

 king to death." 



"If," said Vivian, "you draw your sword against your 

 princ-, you must throw away ibe scabbard." 



" While I must admit," sa d the Profesor, " that you have 

 exhibited wonderul courage 1 still think lint you «ere reck- 

 less and f> 'Olish and your conduct merits the severest censure" 



"But I ere is the fern, lather," said Vivian, drawing it 

 from under his coal as they entered the library. 



"So it is, my son !" cried the delighted Professor, forget- 

 ful of everything else in his admiration of the beautiful 

 fronds of t be walk'ng feru ! 



When Vivi m and K-iri returned to college at the close of 

 the summer vacation K ,nd>Iph, the hunter, went with them 

 and remained until he graduated with the honors of his class. 

 He i- now the most disi intruished phjs cian in the city where 

 his father failed, and comeB every summer to the mountain 

 villa. 



RAIL SHOOTING SCORES. 



Following are some of the scores mide this season ; From 

 Golfs Hotel, Sept. 1 — Isaac Rothwell pushed James Rkoads, 

 of Spring bill, and boated 44 rail aud 10 reed birds; Benj. 

 Harris pushed F. Engle. of .New York, and boated 35 ra 1 ; 

 Hick Brotfu pushed JohnGoff, of Chester, and boated 27 

 rail ; P^rry Allen pushed Frank Weaver, and boated 36 rail ; 

 Chas. Golf pushed Thos. Biuier, of Westchester, and boated 



39 rail ; Sam. Preston pushed E. Johnson, of Philadelphia, 

 and boated 22 rail ; B n. Driskett pushed T. S. Oands, of 

 Philadelphia, and boated 23 rail; Jacob Miller pushed Harry 

 Black, of Chester, and boated 19. 



Sept. 2— Isaac Rothwell shot 21; Bill Rump, 18; J. Mil- 

 ler, 23. Sept. 3— S. brown, 30 ; I. Rothwell, 23 j Bill Rump, 

 18; Benj. Harris, 20. We will be pleased to furnish to all 

 inquiring friends information concerning the cost of the 

 shoot:ug. 



On the Hackensack meadows there was a large representa- 

 tion of gunners last Thursday, so many, in fact, that some 

 ot the men took the shot intended for the birds. Seven men 

 were " shot marked," Constable Larle receiving eleven shot 

 as his share. Among the gentlemen whose records are con- 

 sidered good, John Ryan heads the list with 48 birds one 

 tide and 36 another; Lawyer Griggs, of I'aterson, had a 

 s ring of 41 : Julian Wood, of this city, 61 in two tides ; O. 

 C. Van Houten, of Paterson, 38 ; F. B. Spencer, Brooklyn, 

 38: .Shepherd Knapp, this city, 31 ; C. Terwilliger, 32; Ed. 

 Acktrman, Hackensack, 35; George Ricardo, 31; Chris. 

 Huber, Paterson, 29; Charles Kuupp, 28; S. F. J-peucer. 

 Elizabeth, 24. A New York correspondent writes, under 

 date of Sept. 3 : On the opening day f again went to Hack- 

 ensack to try my hand at rai birds. We staged out on 

 Thursday about no n, but soon louad that the tide was not 

 yet high enough togtt in the meadows. So we pulled ar und 

 in the creeks, pi.tttng up a bird now and then. At one 

 o'clock the tide « as high enough, and then the fun begin. 

 There was a continnol popping on all sides for about two 

 hours. 'I here were not so runny birds as last year, but still 

 enough to keep us at it quite lively. There was in all about 

 fifteen boats, oui ot which I came in " high boat," with a 

 score of 44 birds; other boats came in with the scores of 41, 



40 and 39. lean s.filysayl had one of the best pushers 

 out that day, and I would advise any one going there to in- 

 quire for Mr, Henry Teruune, who can always be found at 

 the Franklyn House, aud he can eive them as good a day's 

 sport as any one could wish. — G. E. J. 



Boats' score from Riverside Hotel, Lazaretto, Dela- 

 ware Co., Pa.. Thursday, Sept .1, 1881. Gilt ert Griffin, 87; 

 B. McCready, 76; Jos. Thorn, 121; An hur Godson, 44; Jos. 

 M.lin, 58; Mr. Purvci, 5;* E. C. Pe-.ce, 16; F. B. Rimers, 

 40; C. L. Wormley, 39; Wm. Stroud, 52; Frank Sartori, 57; 

 W. AndT-on, 2J; Geo Martin, 10; A. J. Morion, 17;* Mr. 

 Gram, 55; Mr. Patterson, 60; H. S. Townsemt 2t;* Ed. 

 Maher, 41; M. Ba'ley, 8;* Samuel Adams, 11;* Mr. Hen- 

 dry, 4;* Jac ib Albruver, 30:* John F. Pole, 24;* A'". Guy- 

 ger, 15;* Mr. Clew, 20;* Mr. Shionk, 23.* Tot 1, 955 



Fiiday, September 2. Elwood James, 35: E. C. Peace, 

 7; T. B. Rogers, 22; Frank Sanori, 18: Geo. Martin, 16; C. 

 L. Wormley, 61; Ge >. McCmnell, 20; Louis Good, 20; B. 

 Ogden,, 22: Chas. Johnson, Jr. 6; Jas. Thorn, 38; E. Harri- 

 son, 38; Thos. Waddngton, 16; Arthur Godson, 26; W. 

 Crawford, 17; Geo Smith, 51. To'al, 4 3. 



Saturday, Sept. 3. Dr. Gardner, 30; John F. Pole, 45: 

 M. Andrees, 25; C. M. Wormley, 26; Loots Good, 1$ Chas. 

 Bieiiter, II; H. Mingle, 12; Jas. Kirk. 29; Geo. Smith, 63: 

 Thos. Thompson. 40; Isaac Worre 1, 13 ; W. H. Harris. 8; 

 Stacy Springer, 16; Mr. Mansfield, 6; Henry Shultz, 26; H. 

 Houbht, 12; W. Anderson, 10; John Richardson, 14. To- 

 tal, 403. 



Mr. William Miller is the proprietor of the Riverside 

 Hotel. Ifadvied I y mail to Ridleysille, Pa., or by Tele- 

 graph (Philadelphia and Beading Railroad Hejraph lines) to 

 Lazaretto, Pa., conveyances will be furni-hed to meet any 

 train from Philadelphia on its arrival at Moore's Station, P. 

 W. & B. R. R. 



HIGH WATER AT LAZARETTO AND CHESTER. 



Sept. 8 1:02 p. s 



" 9.... 1:47 " 



" 10....2::s3 " 



" 11.... 3:20 " 



'• 12.... 4:06 " 



" 13.... 4:53 " 



" 14.... 5 42 " 



" 15.. ..8:39 " 



" 16.-. .0:52 A. a 



" 17.... 7:50 " 



" 18.... 8:50 " 



" 19. ...9:45 " 



" 20... 10:38 " 



-Alar lied Urns shot one tide only, r.be others botli morning and even- 

 ing tide, 



THE SCARCITY OF BAY SNIPE. 



Editor Forest and Stream : 



I would like to hear from your readers as to their observa- 

 tions on the growing scarcity of bay snipe and plover. My 

 own experience, confined to Long Island, is that they bid 

 fair at the present rate, in a few years to afford no renumera- 

 tion to the market gunner and no sport to the sportsman. I 

 spent four days on the Roekaway marshes last spring and 

 have been there once a week since July 11, without one d lys 1 

 fair sport; and some of the days have been in everyway 

 favorable. The season, in fact, has been a failure there— so 

 it has been at Sbumeoock Bay-— as I learn from genilemen, 

 who have been there two weeks at a time (not the hotel 

 keepers.) 



One theory is that the birds have changed their course and 

 now fly down the Mississippi Valley. Tne following Torn a 

 recent letter from Cobb's Island, Va., indicates that they 

 have not merely skipped Long Island in flying down the 

 Atlamic Coast: "The bay between the island and the 

 mainland surrounds hundreds of acres of salt marshes. 

 From "May until Octob r these marshes are the home of 

 thousands of bay birds — snipe, curlew, widen and plover. 

 May is the great shooting month on the island. The birds 

 stop on their way to th' breeding grounds and they are 

 killed by thousands. In fact so many of them are killed at 

 this season that there has be.n a marked diminution in the 

 fall flight dm intr the past two or three yt ars. It is estimated 

 that an average of one thousand birds were killed each day 

 during the month of May last." 



Is not this the solution of the matter? Are not breech- 

 loaders and spring shooting, especially the latter, the cause 

 of ihe decrease of bay birds ?— L. New York Sept. 5. 



Sept. 21,. 11:26 a.m. Oct. 4,... 9:43 a.m. 



22.. 12:11 p. M. 

 23.. 12:50 

 24. 1:27 



, 2:06 



. 2:47 



26.. 



3:31 



28.. 4:18 " 



29.. 5:09 " 



30.. 6:00 " 



1.. 6 57 " 

 2.. 7-.26A. a. 



3.. 8:34 ". 



5.... 10:46 



" 6.... 11:45 " 

 •' 7. ...12 37 p.m. 



" *.... 1:22 " 



" 9.... 2:07 " 



" 10.... 2.5a " 



" 11.... 8:42 " 



"12.... 4:20 " 



"13.... 5:17 " 



" 14. , . . 6:03 " 



'15 : 6:19 " 



Several Possible Explanations— Indianapolis, lad., 

 Aug. 31 — Editor forest and Stream : lncloeod I send this 

 clipping from the Indianapolis Journal of Aug. 31 : " Nim- 

 rods Relurntd. — Rev. Myron iteed and Prof. Ora Pearson, 

 who hive been ru-iicating in the Brule Kiver region. Michi- 

 gan, returned to the ci y yesterday morning after six weiks' 

 absence. They report having ei joyed a del ghlful time, Thi ir 

 only regret being that ihey could n t remain longer. Fish 

 and game were plentiful, five deer having been bagged a 

 short time previous to their return." I would like to know 

 what right the parties mentioned therein have lo kill deer in 

 Michigan before the expira' ion of the close season ? If I un- 

 derstand the game laws, 1 believe deer shooting opens in the 

 above State on Oct. 1.— Buck. 



[Several possible explanations suggest themselves. News- 

 paper items like the above are noi always reliable; but, 

 granting that the report is correct, (1) it is not stated that the 

 Inoianapolis gentlemen bagged ihe iker, but simply the fact 

 of Ihe deer having been bagged. Some one else may have 

 donei'. Again, the n-porer mav have misunderstood aid 

 (2) instead of " bagged " the tourists mav have said " se n," 

 or, (3) the deer may have been si nply an invention of the re- 

 porter, who oid not know anything about game laws and 

 who is thus guilty of a base libel on the indianapo is sports- 

 men. Any one of these three suppositions, or of a d< zen 

 others which might be named, is more plausible than the 

 story that Messrs. Reed aid Pearson killed five deer in Mich- 

 igan in the month of August, 1881.] 



California Quail in Missouri. — Of the importation of 

 California quail into Missouri, a Jefferson City, Mo., cor- 

 respondent writes : "I have never yet seen auy of the birds 

 myself since they were liberated, but have had repeated in- 

 formation, that I consider reliable, that they were seen last 

 summer as well as this spring. 1 am satisfied ibey rais d 

 several bn ods last summer, and I have heard of their being 

 i^een this summer but have not yet heard of any young ones. 

 Some were seen last winier in Pulaski c unty, at leasi seventy- 

 live miles from here; and last summer they were seen re- 

 peatedly on my farm six miles below this city. Then this 

 spring Dr. Glover repotted seeing some in his niighborbood, 

 aud Judge Clarenbach saw them in two different places near 

 hete. I bebeve their acclimation and increase here will be 

 a success. As to the Messina or migra ory quail I am not so 

 sanguine. They were liberated in four differen t places ; in 

 Callaway, eight miles west, eight miles southeast at Mr. 

 Wards, and six miles east on my farm. 1 have not this 

 summer received definite information, except from uvo 

 places. In Callaway none have been seen this summer. 

 On my farm I have information that two or three have been 

 seen this summer, but my informant may have been mis- 

 taken in the bird, yet I believe they were seen. From ihe 

 other two places 1 have no information. I hope we will suc- 

 ceed in stocking the country with each kind.— H. E. 



Why There are no Wild Pigeons — Goshen, N. Y., 

 Aug. 15. — Editor Forent and stream : — A friend and myself 

 desire to tate a little hunt, aud would especially like to havo 

 a wildpigetn hunt for a few days. Only a very few years 

 since pigeons would be about this region in September, 

 about the lime acorns began to shell, upon wheat fields 

 lecently sown. No great b»gs could be got, but enough to 

 satisfy a reasonable man. Do you know of any local ty, n it 

 too far irom New Yoik City, whtre we might go aud have a 

 few days of such hunting as I have tried todescrbe? For 

 some unexplained reason pigeons do not come about us as 

 formerly, but I cannot but believe that there are sectious 

 they still visit for a few weeks in early fall. W, H. N. 



[The only 6ure plan for getting some shots at wild pigeons 

 is to join an "association for the protection of fish and 

 game." Then you will be sure of an opportunity to shoot 

 ten or fifteen, or fifiy half-fledged squabs fin d out of a trap 

 and unable to fly. No reasonable man could ask for pigeons 

 in the field and pigeons in the trap too ; and if our c res- 

 pondent is a "true sportsman," he will doubtless be wilting 

 to forego his favorite sport for the sake of the cause of 

 "game prolecion."] 



Game Birds Wanted— Rushville, III., Aug. 29.— Editor 

 Forest and Stream: Can you refer me to any party in the 

 East who has live black diicks, seacoast brant, or other kinds 

 of water-fowl which are not common in the West who would 

 be likely to exchangesome of them for woodducks ? We are 

 trying to get a c 'flection of our native game water-fowl, and 

 have several pairs of woodducks that we could spare , which 

 we would like to exchange for good specimens of the above 

 mentioned birdB, which are very rare and difficult to obtain 

 in the West. Any information you can give me that will put 

 ire in cominuniea'ion with persons likely to exchange will 

 be thankfully received. J P. Leaoh. 



Several years ago, 1870 to 1875, we had a collection of live 

 fowl, including mallards, wood ducks, black ducks, Canada 

 geese, blue geese, white fronted geese and brant. A change 

 of business necessiiated their sale. During this time we 

 bought, so d or exchanged with the following persons : Lewis 

 Human, Patcbo. ne, L. I. ; W. A. Conklin, Cen'ral Park, 

 New York city; Zoological Gardens, Philadelphia; John Bo 

 etcher, Oukwood Cemetery, Troy. N. Y. ; G. II. Bo rdnion, 

 Weston, Vt. ; Greei e Smith, Petirboro, N. Y. (now dead) ; 

 D<\ J. N. Bates, Worcester, M>ss. : N. Guilherr', Goodnedd, 

 Pa., Geo. Iivin, Maysville, Chatanooga Co., N. Y. ; J. Y. 

 Bicknell, Westmoreland, N. T 



Explosions of various kinds have been numerous within a 

 fortnight past. The list is headed by the explosion of a great 

 quantity of fulminate gun caps, which imbedded tbcnselves 

 in the body of a workman with 'alal effects. (2.) This was 

 followed by an explosion of fifteen pounds of powder in a 

 Connecticut armory, nine persons being injured. (3.) The 

 premature explosion of a torpedo, at the Newport torpedo 

 station, kilhdtwo persons. (4) An explosion of naphtha 

 in Front Street, New York, wrecked a building and killed 

 two men. (5.) A hnmb-shell, thought to be unloaded, was 

 thrown in'o a Brooklyn founory furnace, but did not stay 

 there very long ; it went out through the windows. No one 

 was hurt. (6.) And there was the usual accident where 1 y 

 the "thought-it-wasn't-loaded " victim wa» killed by the dis- 

 was killed by the discbarge of a gun. (7) i be seventh did 

 not explode. Some workmen in a foundry were about to 

 pour the molten iron into the molds, " when a slight disturb- 

 ance of the mods altracled attention, and it was opened. 

 The cavity was full of guupowder. One drop of the uiel ed 

 metal would have caus d an awful explosion, probably k 11- 

 ing everybody in the building. That the strikes were guilty 

 of the plot was shown by the fact that, ins ead of ciowding 

 about the doors and windows to jeer at ihe new men, as they 



