NATURAL HISTORY. 



237 



well known Chicago business man, and an 

 ardent sportsman, was, with a small party 

 of friends, hunting near Indian river, in 

 Schoolcraft county, Michigan. One day, 

 when the party was out, ravens were noticed 

 hovering noisily over a certain spot, and, 

 attracted by curiosity, the hunters sought 

 the cause. Emerging into a comparatively 

 open space, in the wood, they made a dis- 

 covery. For the space of nearly an acre 

 the ground was torn and furrowed by the 

 hoofs of 2 bucks, and near the centre of the 

 open space lay the bucks themselves, with 

 their horns inextricably locked. 



One of the deer was dead and the hungry 

 ravens had already eaten both his eyes, 

 though deterred from further feasting by 

 the occasional spasmodic movements of the 

 surviving combatant, whose eyes were al- 

 ready glazing. 



The hunters put the live deer out of his 

 misery, cut off the 2 heads and photo- 

 graphed them, as here shown. The heads 

 were subsequently mounted and are now 

 owned in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 



Mr. Strong, who was of the party, is the 

 father of H. M. Strong, game warden of 

 New Mexico, who is doing efficient work 

 in preserving the game of that territory. 

 Reports of some of his rides, after violators 

 of law, would astonish the wardens of some 

 of our older states. Stanley Waterloo. 



GOATS ON THE SNOW. 



One of our lucky mining men here, Mr. 

 J. H. Holden, was telling me of a curious 

 habit he observed in the mountain goat, 

 last summer. He was prospecting, far up a 

 tributary of Railroad creek, and one day 

 stopped to eat his lunch near some snow 

 banks. His climb had been a long, hard 

 one, and fatigue caused him to fall asleep. 

 On awakening, there were goats all around 

 him. He counted 34. Then he lay there, 

 quietly, and watched them. One would 

 make a bed in the snow and lie there, rub- 

 bing itself a little while. Then it would 

 get up, go a short distance, make another 

 bed, and repeat the process, continually. 

 The prospector thinks the reason for these 

 antics was that wood ticks were troubling 

 the goats, and the rubbing in the snow was 

 to cool the irritation thus produced. It 

 was in June too, and their winter coats 

 were shedding. 



We often find goat wool (it is always 

 called wool here, for, excepting the long 

 outer hair, it certainly resembles it) ad- 

 hering to trees and rocks. The Indian 

 women spin it into a kind of yarn and make 

 it into socks. The Puget sound Klooch- 

 men also weave it into blankets. 



One of the men killed a large lynx, with 

 a 22 calibre rifle, a few days ago. Its fur 

 was in good order, notwithstanding the 

 lateness of the season, for it had lived at 

 a great altitude. Charles Greenwood. 



I have always taken great pleasure in 

 reading your magazine carefully. In your 

 May number I notice a controversy regard- 

 ing buffalo heads. I send you by mail a 

 photograph of a buffalo bull head that I 

 own. You will notice the 2 fore feet are 

 mounted with the head, on an escutcheon 

 which is 4^2 feet high. This bull was killed 

 in December, 1890. The hide weighed 96 

 pounds when taken off, and I had it mount- 

 ed as a rug, for my library floor. The head 

 is in perfect condition and if you desire 

 special measurements I shall be glad to 

 send them; although the size of the es- 

 cutcheon, as stated above, will give you 

 an idea of the size of the head. 



A number of sportsmen, hunters and 

 taxidermists have examined this specimen 

 and pronounced it the finest they have ever 

 seen. I do not know of any buffalo feet 

 in the country, excepting the hind feet from 

 this bull, which I gave to a friend in the 

 West. I also have about 30 pairs of first 

 class buffalo horns. 



H. H. Meday, Detroit, Mich. 



Two cars containing 12 buffaloes, 20 an- 

 telope and 20 male deer have been received 

 by former Secretary of the Navy W. C. 

 Whitney, at his beautiful country place in 

 Lenox, on October mountain. 



The shipment came from B. R. Adams, 

 of Wyoming. Last year 33 head of elk 

 were received from his ranch. 



A special enclosure of some 500 acres has 

 been built for the buffaloes, and a 12 foot 

 wire fence, of tested strength, built by the 

 Page Woven Wire Fence Co., Ann Arbor, 

 Mich., will keep the animals within bounds. 

 The park is being rapidly stocked, and the 

 animals show great care in selection. 



I have lately received, from South Amer- 

 ict, the largest jaguar skin I have ever seen. 

 It measures, from tip of nose to tip of 

 tail, over 7 feet, and across the hind legs 

 5 feet. Who knows of a larger one? 



Recreation is the best sportsmen's mag- 

 azine ever printed. 



R. Marron, Taxidermist, 



Jersey City, N. J. 



Colonel R. Dale Benson, of Philadelphia, 

 killed a coot, last spring, at Bengies point, 

 which is regarded as a great curiosity. Its 

 back plumage is bright red, instead of the 

 usual dark color. 



As to Mr. E. S. Thompson's note about 

 wolves rolling in carrion: Dogs and ot- 

 ters do the same; and I can see no reason 

 why an otter should try to hide his odor, 

 for he captures his food under the water. 

 F. E. White, Jackson, Wyo. 



