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FOREST AND STREAM. 



[January 5, 188'1 



armed Willi a military weapon. The expense will be considerable, 

 andtbe difficulty ot selection great : but these are obstacles which 

 the energy and patriotism of our Transatlantic kinsmen are sure to 

 overcome. The Volunteers or this country may reckon, therefore, 

 upon a floughlyfoe next July, and have need to do tlielr best, lest 

 the laurels ot the ride rangfr follow those or the race course. What- 

 ever the result, the representatives ot the American National Guard 

 are certain to receive a cordial welcome and all the admiration 

 their skill may deserve. The contest will do good service by giving 

 additional distinction to the military rifle, as compared with the 

 small bore, and will tend to Increase the practical character ot the 

 doings at Wimbledon. In this respect i here Is much room and urgent 

 need for reform. Fancy shooting is all very well In Us way, and no 

 one wishes to discourage It, but Wimbledon should be first and fore- 

 most a tournament of military marksmen, competing as fur aa possi- 

 ble under military conditions. These requirements will be distinctly 

 met by the advent here or American soldiers. 



Another Swindle Exposed. — The daily papers announce 

 the arrest of a swindler who has been advertising ex- 

 tensively in the newspapers his Solargraph watches. 

 Just what these watches are we do not, of course, 

 know, but we remember a few weeks since, when the 

 advertisement was offered to us, wondering whether it 

 was possible that this man could find any people foolish 

 enough to respond to his advertisement, and smiling In 

 admiration at the impudence of the fellow in bringing 

 it to us. Another amusing incident in connection with 

 advertising, is the wonderful unanimity with which our 

 contemporaries, esteemed and otherwise, have, all on a 

 sudden, dropped the flaming notice of apatent preservative, 

 which has, up to within a short time, occupied a large por- 

 tion of their advertising space. Tbis advertisement was 

 brought to us in due course, but like hundreds of similar 

 things, it failed to find n place in our columns. One reason 

 for the high estimate put on the advertising space of the 

 Forest and Stream by its patrons is the fact that it is so 

 well-known that all possible care is exercised to prevent the 

 appearance of anything that can be questioned. That we 

 take especial pains to keep our advertising pages clean is not 

 at all to our credit. We are only performing our plain duty ; 

 but that this action is appreciated by advertisers is shown by 

 the eagerness of Chichester rifle companies, Saxon, Zulu, and 

 Champion gun men and other preyers upon the unwary, to 

 find a corner in the paper. That they will not succeed in 

 this, our readers may feel sure. These men know the ad- 

 vantage of being seen in good company, and thi3, added to 

 the advantage of the paper's circulation and iafluence, makes 

 them most anxious to advertise their spurious wares with us. 

 We can afford to let the business of these men go by, and to 

 steer very wide of anything tbat has a doubtful appearance. 

 We do not pretend to be infallible, and once in a while we 

 get caught, but we venture to say tbat there is no newspaper 

 in the world which has a cleaner record in this respect than 

 the Forest and Stream. We examined, the other day, a 

 truly curious breech-loader— we forget what it was called, 

 but it belonged to the same class with those mentioned 

 above, but with another name — and found it a marvel of 

 clumsiness, rude work, and last, but most important, of in- 

 security. Men may safely enough buy cheap fishing-rod?, 

 solargraph watches, or even send a three-cent stamp for a 

 superb steel engraving of Washington, Jackson or Lincoln, 

 but we warn our readers against cheap guns. To be swindled 

 out of one's money by some cunning device only hurts one's 

 feelings, but to have one's hand or head blown off, is a more 

 serious matter. 



Mr. A. Alford, who has been with E. [Remington & 

 Sons, of this filly, i'or nearly fourteen years, has severed his 

 connection with thit firm to assume the management of (he 

 Greenfield Tool Co., of which he is the President. The linn 

 title is Alford, Ward & Davenport, their establishment being 

 at 85 Chambers street. Mr. Alford is widely known among 

 sportsmen, whose best wishes will go with him in his new 

 work. 



Doos abb Property ik Indiana.— We are indebted to an 

 Indianapolis, Ind., correspondent, for memoranda of an im- 

 portant ruling by Judge Howk, of the Supreme Court, 

 of Indiana, declaring that "dogs are property of value.' 

 Following close npon similar action by courts of other 

 States, the decision is full of promise for the future protec- 

 tion and safety of " man's unselfish friend." The abstract 

 of the decision is as follows: 



9 780. Henry Kinsinau, versus the State. Lagrange, C. C. 

 Howk, J.— Apellaut was prosecuted for maliciously killing a dog. 

 The affidavit charged that said killing was "to the damage of the 

 property in the stun of twelve dollars." It is elauned that a dog 

 is not necessarily au animal of -s nine, and that the affidavit was bad 

 because it did not charge the dog to be of some value to the 

 owner, Under the law of this State dogs are taxed as property, 

 and any article which the law subjects to taxation is prima facie 

 au article of value. (60 Iud., 203 ; 62 id., 362.) The affidavit was 

 sufficient. On the trial the court permitted the State to ask a wit- 

 ness, and compelled the witness to answer, whether the latter was 

 not on bad terms with the prosecuting witness. This was not er- 

 ror. (See Whart, Own, Kv., 8 ed., §447 : 1 Greenl. Ev., §480-455; 

 64 Iud., 400.) One of tin.- instructions given by the Court was as 

 follows i "It is not sufficient for the State to prove that the de- 

 fondant lulled or injured the dog merely, but the eviduuoc must 

 show beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant maliciously 

 or mischioviously killed or injured it." This instruction was er- 

 roneous. The charge against appellant was that he killed the dog 

 and this charge told the jury in effect, that if he injured it, that 

 wrb sufficient, Judgment reversed. 



Sample oopies i f Forest and Stream mailed to any ad- 

 dress free, on application. 



THE HUNTER IN AFRICA. 



rpHE hunter roam'rt far tn the broad A trio land, 

 ■*- Where t he pallahs and gnus are gathered In band, 

 And the oryx and (springboks and sable hartebeest 

 Over green boundless pastures collect to the least; 

 Where the herds of wild elephants crash thro' the woods. 

 And the black rhinoceros wallows lu floods, 

 Where the lion and leopard devastate the plain, 

 And hyenas and jackals feed on their slain ; 

 Where the stately giraffe and swift antelope 

 .Sweep the vales at the base of the grand mountain-slope. 



How fair are those woodlands, those pastures of green, 

 Where the lnlerlac'd boughs weave an emerald screen, 

 So deep In their gloom that scarce may the light 

 Pierce the roof of the grove with pencllltngs bright. 

 There boundless the Iron- wood forests extend 

 And the lofty acacias gracefully bend, 

 And mimosas and willows and fragrant white-thorn, 

 Whose rich yellow blossoms the woodlands adorn, 

 Where gay blooming flowers embroider the grass, 

 And birds of rare plumes and sweet melodies pass. 



In the belt of the woods, with their green colonnades, 

 The fern and lie passion-flower brlghten'd the glades. 



O I noble the game of this African land— 



The lion, the leopard, the elephant grand, 

 The wild boar and buffalos sweeping the plain, 

 Their measureless pastures, then- endless domain. 



The hunter takes rule, then summons his men, 

 Bechuanas and Bushmen, from mountain and glen ; 

 Tall, stalwart and lithe as leopards In flght, 

 Some true as the steel, some trembling with fright, 

 lie bids them take knlle and sharp assagai 

 When the herd of wild elephants threaten the way. 

 Bull elephants, arm'd with tushes so strong, 

 That trample and crush as they thunder along, 

 So majestic In stature, colossal In height, 

 It Is peril and death to meet them In flght. 



lu these vales and ravines and forests of green 

 The foot-paths ot elephants thickly are seen, 

 Where for ages untold these monsters have irod, 

 And whose white, bleaching bones still sprinkle the sod. 

 Illd Jungles of speckboom then- relies are fonnd, 

 Where mimosa thickets o'ershadow the ground ; 

 Where the yellow-wood, cedar and Iron-wood grow, 

 Crown'd with vine wreaths perennial, a wonderful show. 



; Tts .Tao, the lion, is monarch of all : 

 Whose roarings terrific the Bushmen appal .' 

 When you meet him alone In the forests beware ; 

 Beware when at night he stalks forth from his lair. 

 How majestic In death !— the eyeballs of Are, 

 The great, rounded head, once frightful In Ire, 

 The vast, massive arms, the black shaggy mane, 

 The sharp crooked claws, blood-red with the slain ; 

 The powerful jaws, the symmetry fine, 

 In beauty so perfect in every line : 

 And you feel that the noblest ot prizes is won 

 When he lies grim In death, the spoil of your gun. 



Ah ! hear htm at night when all nature is still 

 And darkness and silence hold forest ana hill ; 

 Hear his low, growling moan, Ws full, solemn roar, 

 Now muffled, now hoarse, like the surge on the shore ; 

 Hear the roar of two troops that meet at the blink 

 Of the forest-shut fountain Its crystal to drink. 

 Hear the roar of defiance, so fierce, so intense 

 That it deafens and daunts the terrified sense, 

 Then say If the thunder that rolls In the sky 

 Hath a tone so sublime as this menacing cry ! 

 f,Y, eryinri, Dec. IT. IsaAC McLellan. 



IN THE FORESTS OF YUOATAN-I, 



THE scene of this mild adventure is laid in the interior of 

 Yucatan, which the writer visited last March. After 

 a great deal of rough ridiug in strange vehicles we reached 

 a town in which resided an American, a naturalist-and col- 

 lector, who was practicing as a physician. He had invited 

 us to go ou a grand turkey bunt, but we were detained on 

 the road at every town we passed by the hospitality of the 

 inhabitants, and especially by the General of the district, 

 who gave a ball every night in our honor. It was at the end 

 of the third performance of this kind that I fled my party 

 and the story opens. 



After the last ball the good General insisted upen remain- 

 ing and ascertaining the quality of the balance of the Doc- 

 tor's three dozen of beer j and at 3 a. m., seeing that it was 

 likely to be an all night session, I crept into the kitchen and 

 took possession of one of the hammocks. This kitchen was 

 the usual structure devoted to that use in Yucatan, of loose 

 poles driven into the ground, forming a square peu, topped 

 by a roof of thatch. Lorenzo Acosta, who owned the house 

 ihe Doctor hired, and who piloted me to this retreat, had a 

 " rancho" in the logwood district, which he invited me to 

 visit, promising plenty of flatniugoes and wild turkeys. We 

 were to start early in the morning;, before the Consul and 

 John would be stirring, and as the ride was to be a long one, 

 had made good our escape from the General in order to gain 

 a few hours' sleep. Two old women and a boy occupied this 

 apartment, but the latter was unceremoniously ejected from 

 one of the hammocks, which Lorenzo and I appropriated. 

 Perhaps the reader is not acquainted with the Yucatan way 

 of sleeping, two in a hammock, and I will proceed to enlighten 

 him. A 8 the first one lies down in the hammock, he care- 

 fully takes up only one-half, measured longitudinally, leav- 

 ing the remainder for his Irieml. This the latter occupies, 

 with his feet toward and parallel with the oiher's head, 

 so that the two are packed " heads and points," like sardines. 

 This leaves a kind of partition between the sleepers which 

 effectually separates them ; though if one is inclined to kick 

 in his sleep the other must guard well his nose. In any 

 event, a person at all fastidious might object to this style of 

 sleeping, and prefer sleeping family fashion, crosswise the 

 hammock. But when one abandons himself to the guidance 

 of a stranger, upon whose hospitality he is dependent, he 

 must promptly check any qualms of his sensitive soul, and 

 be didy grateful for what he can get. 



It was so cold that I awoke several times during the brief 

 space we occupied the hammock and tried to remember that 



this was what they term the " hot" season. From the great 

 flat surface of rock exposed to the rays of a powerful sun 

 during the day in Yucatan, and the extremely rapid radia- 

 tion at night, a degree of cold is sometimes reached that 

 produces nocturnal freezing. During the hoi, dry season the 

 cool nights are in most refreshing contrast to the healed 

 atmosphere of day, and induce sweet slumber if one is 

 properly guarded from extremes of temperature. 



At about seven in the morning we were off for the logwood 

 camp, by the way of the town of Q\\am. This inverted C 

 with which Qi lam is spelled, is a necessity arising from the 

 retention of the ancient Maya panics, and has the power of 

 "Ts," the word, consequently, being pronounc- d Tsilam. 

 Don Alonzo could speak excellent Spanish, but what, availed 

 tbat to me when 1 was but in my first lessons iu that lan- 

 guage? He could not speak English, but he had a new 

 "Ollendorf," and with this and my "conversation book" in 

 our hands, we rode through the cool woods, startling the 

 birds with our blunders and laughing at our mutual mistakes. 



After an easy ride of four short leagues wc arrived at 

 Oilarn, entering its principal street between low, white- 

 walled houses. Going to a house near the great square we 

 lied our horses and I paid the man who brought my luggage 

 two " reals "—twenty-five cents — for his services" and 'four 

 "reals" for ihe horse, and he returned to Tirnax. We arc 

 provided with breakfast in a " tieuda"— a shop— and while 

 we are eating the proprietor plays on a guitar. After a 

 siesta in a hammock, drowsily watching a girl wilh graceful 

 figure, clad only in a snowy "uipil," combing for an hour 

 her abundant Iresses, I am taken out and introduced to the 

 Presidente, as the learned naturalist, author and discoverer, 

 el Senor Don Federico. By him I am promised seven 

 Indians with whom to make an excavation in the sreat 

 mound. I should explain here, that: Qilam is celebrated for 

 its great aboriginal mound, four hundred feet in length and 

 fifty in height. This occupies one side the great plaza of 

 the town, and towers above the church and principal build- 

 ings, which were all built of stone from its ruins. It was 

 visited by Stephens and carelessly examined by him, a 

 somewhat fanciful sketch of it being given in his second 

 volume on Yucatan. He attached great importance to it as 

 being the centre of a population at the time of the first visit 

 of the Spaniards, quoting Hen-era in confirmation that it 

 was then "a fine Town, the Lord whereof was a youth pi 

 the Race of the Cbeles. then a Christian, and a great Friend 

 to Captain Francis de Montejo, who received and entertained 

 them." 



From the summit of this mound the country for leagues 

 around can be seen, and the eye ranges over a vast extent of 

 scrub, with no village in sight but the one about its base. 

 A second mound lies north of tbis one, running east and 

 west, while this larger and contiguous one has its longer 

 axis north and south. The limits of these great tumuli once 

 greatly exceeded their present area, as dressed stones can be 

 seen in the streets, in position, a long ways distant, and 

 made of great rocks rim out into the scrub. Under 

 guidance of Don Juan we climbed the smaller mound, and 

 some little boys commenced to throw out the dirt and stones 

 from a small hole in the top. They soon brought out frag- 

 ments of pottery and plaster, the former finely glazed and 

 tinted, the plaster colored bright red, drab and green, and 

 all the tints fresh as if put on yesterday.' After the adult 

 Indians arrived, more plaster was exhumed and a room 

 disclosed, filled with debris from above. It proved to be 

 arched, in a way similar to the " Akabna," at Alto. They 

 opened it sufficiently to show its shape, but did not find any 

 more pottery or plaster, which was evidently above arid out- 

 side the building. So I caused the earth to be removed 

 from the top, and soon revealed great pieces of stucco, show- 

 ing bright colors and elaborate ornamentation and design; 

 not enough to satisfy me, though I was obliged to desist 

 digging before finding much, as the sun was setting. Its 

 last rays shone directly into the chamber we had opened. 

 Half the men and boys of the village were gathered by this 

 time, and ail assisted eagerly at the work, even the Presi- 

 dente and schoolmaster. 1 paid the Indians a '' real" apiece, 

 and the boys a " medio," atid all were delighted. The ruins 

 of a building upon this mound would seem to indicate the 

 use of these vast accumulations of earth as foundations for 

 palaces or temples. In a flat country, like Yucatan, it 

 would be necessary to elevate the public buildings in this 

 manner in order that Ihey could be seen from a distance. 

 Though the ruin of the structure was so complete thai no 

 satisfactory outline could be obtained, its stones, covering 

 all sides of the mound, and large trees and agaves growing 

 upon the sumuiil, yet it seemed to have been con-posed of 

 successive platforms, each one covered with a thick layer of 

 cement or plaster. Stephens did not visit it. but slates that 

 the padre, a* young man of thirty (when he was here, 

 forty years ago,) remembered when a building still stood 

 here, '• with open doorways, pillars in them, and a corridor 

 all around," and was called "el Castillo"— the castle. 



Fragments of the stucco, some of the ornaments and shard/i 

 of pottery I collected and sent to Merida, intending them 

 for Professor Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution ; but the 

 best ot them were ground to powder in transit, and this op- 

 portunity lost of ascertaining their analogy, or dissimilarity, 

 to the decoration of the ruins. 



Alonzo and I occupied a hammock in a large empty build- 

 ing belonging to Don Juan, and slept again in the Yucateran 

 mode, the feet of each in close proximity to the oiher's head, 

 which is almost as compact a style as that denominated 

 "spoon-fashion." We were to start at four Ihe next merit- 

 ing, but didn't arise till five, and though I expected to get on 

 our journey by sunrise, it was nine o'clock before we left the 

 town. This might have been expected, for the day before it 

 wsa to have been " muy temprano" — very early — and we 

 left Timar three hours behind time. ' No one was stirring in 

 the plaza, but a baker's shop was open, wilh the usual knot of 

 men in cotton pants, sbivering in their " sarapes," and here 

 we got a cup of chocolate. While waiting for my horse, we 

 visited the old churchyard, a walled-off corner with orange 

 trees in it. It must have been formerly used as a cemetery, 

 for there were heaps of boxes — wine cases, brandy and soap 

 boxes— lull of dead men's bones, and in a recess in the church 

 wall were arm and leg boDCs, and grinningskulls that seemed 

 inclined to dispute our entrance. Don J uan took us to see an 

 old stone with a strange inscription on it- probably, as he 

 said, the work of Indians, under Spanish direction— and he 

 helsl up a wooden cross while we removed from it the boxes 

 of bones. Having thus been cheerfully fortified for the jour- 

 ney, I thought AIodzo would start, but he liugered here and 

 there, buying meat and bread, till eight o'clock, then we 

 mounted our horses, bade our friends "adits,'' and rode 

 down the street to a hut, where he asked for breakfast. This 

 consumed another hour, though the " Mesiiza" girl worked 

 hard to prepare it for us, being hindered by the admiring and 





