CAYUGA LAKE COONS. 



457 



which " ultimately arrives, notwithstand- 

 ing." That last fellow, too, is as silent as 

 the grave, and just about as good company. 

 He always lands on the point of his beak 

 and when he strikes your horse you might 

 as well let him take the reins and drive; for 

 he is master of the situation and everyone 

 concerned knows it. But there is one 

 advantage about this species when you 

 do hit one, be it ever such a little tap, 

 you make everlasting smash of him. He's 

 a total wreck, and he 

 drops at once and for- 

 ever. Within one min- 

 ute of his downfall an 

 ant, about one-tenth his 

 size, is sure to find the 

 remains and, hoisting 

 them on his energetic little shoulders, 

 goes tramping off merrily through the 

 grass, out of sight I usually kept the ants 

 busy removing such remains whenever I 

 sketched; and in fact they soon learned to 

 gather about me, in an expectant circle, as 

 soon as they saw me set up my white um- 

 brella. 



Now, while we are talking about flies, a 

 curious question arises in zoology. If 

 horses thrive so well on the plains, why 

 did the indigenous American horse die out, 

 as it certainly did, over 1,000 years ago? 

 I can readily believe it was killed by flies, 

 or perhaps by some especially virulent 

 horse-fly, which by killing its host, con- 

 demned itself to extinction. 



We know the tse-tse, in Africa, can 

 clear its region of domestic animals in a 

 month. We know the CEstrus can exter- 

 minate the caribou in a given district; that 



the buffalo gnat is worse than a plague on 

 the New Mexican and Texan cattle ranges, 

 and that the very note of the Tabanus is 

 enough to drive horses over a cliff. It is 

 also probable the prehistoric American 

 horse was less capable of resisting the at- 

 tacks of these pests than the Asiatic horse 

 we have introduced; for the latter is well 

 known to be the thickest-skinned and 

 hardiest of the group. 



You will notice that so far I have not al- 

 luded to the weather; and I might still re- 

 frain but for the fact that while you, in 

 New York, are stricken by terrible heat we 

 have been having a remarkably cool sea- 

 son, with several falls of snow, during June 

 and early July. 



One remark made was " We are having 

 a fine open winter, this summer." This 

 much, at least, is always true of the Yel- 

 lowstone Park region: However hot the 

 day, the nights are cold. Such lovely sleep- 

 ing nights! There is no such thing as toss- 

 ing about, unable to sleep. Here every 

 night in the year is served on glacier ice. 



Each night, after sundown, we are glad 

 to gather around the huge, log fire. The 

 insect pests are gone and we enjoy the 

 blaze as in an old-fashioned winter even- 

 ing. Then we write up our notes and toast 

 our shins until the hour, quite early, ar- 

 rives for us to accept the yawning invita- 

 tion of the Kenwood sleeping bags; for in 

 shanty or in camp we cannot do without 

 them; and, surrendering ourselves gladly, 

 we are swallowed alive into their capacious 

 but cozy maws, safe from damp, safe from 

 cold, and safe from the " pestilence that 

 walketh in darkness." 



CAYUGA LAKE COONS. 



LOU SMITH. 



The shores of Cayuga and the ravines 

 through which many streams trickle mer- 

 rily down to tne lake, have been inhabited 

 since the memory of man runneth not to 

 the contrary by that nocturnal prowler, the 

 raccoon. As long as he confines his wan- 

 derings to the vicinity of the rocky ledges 

 that line the lake and its feeders, he is safe 

 from his pursuers. However, cunning as 

 the 'coon is, he often wanders back into the 

 interior, and once away from the cliffs, he 

 can be captured by aid of " 'coon dogs." 



During the last week of September, a 

 party of 4 Ithacans saw 3 young 'coons 

 cross the road, just at sundown. This was 

 some 5 miles West of Ithaca, and as many 

 miles from the lake. If found in this lo- 

 cality again, and pushed by a trusty dog, 



these coons would have to take to access- 

 ible trees instead of inaccessible rocks. 

 With this happy climax in view, a party 

 was organized, consisting of 5 congenial 

 souls. ' Our jolly landlord, who, by virt- 

 ue of the tempting menu at the " Orien- 

 tal," tips the scales at 250 pounds, is 

 known to all Cornell men as " Jay." Wal- 

 ter Franks, of race horse fame, sat beside 

 Jay, and gave him pointers on reining cobs; 

 which the driver declared uncalled for and 

 wasted entirely, for had he not handled the 

 ribbons over a buck-skin pacer recently, 

 that finished fourth in a matinee race? 

 Franks admitted this, but insinuated that 

 there were but 4 starters in the race. 

 Franks stands 6 feet 5 inches with his stock- 

 ings off, and weighs about 130 pounds, so 



