NATURAL II /STORY. 



3i5 



on the fact that the Copper river valley, in 

 which timber grows heavily, is narrow, and 

 but a few hundred miles long. The hills on 

 either side are mainly moss-grown bar- 

 rens, which do not afford cover for such 

 big game; and, so far as known, these very 

 large moose do not occur in any other por- 

 tion of Alaska or in the N. W. Territory. 



The Government should send an expe- 

 dition at once to the Copper river country, 

 to secure a full line of skins and skeletons 

 of these big moose. 



THIS TIME THE REMEDY FAILED. 



Editor- Recreation: I do not remember 

 ever having read, in your magazine, of an 

 antidote for a rattlesnake bite, which the 

 author himself has used. It seems to me 

 that this is a very important matter, espe- 

 cially to the sportsman who is travelling in 

 a " snake country," away from civilization.. 

 Whiskey is a remedy that many people ad- 

 vocate, but the event I am about to relate 

 will prove it is sometimes worthless. 



A man from the city was once spending a 

 vacation in the mountains, and before re- 

 turning he managed to capture a rattler 

 which he wished to take to the city with 

 him. • He kept the reptile in a soap box, 

 under his bed. 



The night before leaving the country, our 

 friend felt it his duty to bid his friends 

 good-by in a generous manner. It was 

 nearly morning before the bar-room was 

 deserted, and the man from the city was one 

 of the last to leave. After considerable dif- 

 ficulty he managed to reach his room, and 

 decided to inquire after the health of his 

 snakeship; which he did by poking his head 

 into the soap box! 



The next morning the poor fellow was 

 found dead, having been struck in the fore- 

 head by the rattlesnake. 



Beyond doubt his blood must have been 

 saturated with whiskey, but it did not seem 

 to counteract the poison. 



H. T. Greene, Bethlehem, Pa. 



NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. 



In the last number of Recreation I 



noticed an article by Mr. N. B. Fuller stat- 



, ing that he had recently killed 21 snakes 



with one blow of a shovel. I can " go him 



one better! " 



Two years ago while on my vacation in 

 Abbot Village, Me., I was assisting my 

 brother in plowing, when I happened to see 

 a large snake in a furrow, a short distance 

 from me. Seizing a stick near by, I struck 

 the snake a heavy blow, which killed it. 



On examination I found 21 little snakes 

 concealed in the mother-snake, each meas- 

 uring from 4 to 6 inches, and making 22 in 

 all. Frank L. Carr, Springfield, Mass. 



In January RECREATION, on page 53, I 

 read what " Subscriber " says of the red 

 squirrel. He calls him " innocent." I call 

 him about the meanest little cuss we have. 

 We all know he drives out gray and black 

 squirrels and will break grouse eggs if he 

 can.* 



I do not approve of side hunts except for 

 foxes, hawks, owls, red squirrels and other 

 game destroyers; but I always waste a 

 cartridge on a red squirrel when I get a 

 chance. 



E. S. Billings, Smyrna, N. Y. 



A reader of Recreation asks me to pub- 

 lish a correct drawing of the head of an 

 antelope, for the guidance of taxidermists. 

 On page 262 of this issue are 4 views of 

 typical heads, sketched from life by Mr. 

 Carl Rungius, a promising young artist of 

 Brooklyn, N. Y. A careful study of these 

 heads, in their various positions, should en- 

 able any skilful taxidermist to set up an an- 

 telope head with a fair degree of accuracy, 

 even though he may never have seen one of 

 these animals alive. 



F. M. Hondlette, of St. Louis, has sent 

 me a set of rattles numbering 43 and a but- 

 ton. The owner of this remarkable ap- 

 pendage must have been a patriarch among 

 rattlesnakes. 



The Ithaca hammerless gnu you sent me, 

 for 40 new subscriptions for Recreation, 

 has arrived and I thank you very much for 

 it. The Ithaca is as fine a gun as is made, 

 and this one is a beauty. I have used an 

 Ithaca for the past 5 years and it has given 

 the best of satisfaction, in every respect. 



Recreation is the best magazine pub- 

 lished, and shall do all I can to help it, and 

 the good work it is doing. 



C. E. Schultz, Waukegan, 111. 



Enclosed find $1 for renewal of my sub- 

 scription to Recreation. 



I thank you for the Marlin revolver you 

 gave me for 10 subscriptions. It is as good 

 as any of them, and I ought to know; for I 

 have owned and used all the best makes. 



I cannot understand why the other re- 

 volver makers do not advertise in Recrea- 

 tion. 



Harry W. Bennett, Wheeling, W. Va. 



Join the L. A. S. at once. Send in 

 your dollar and become a charter mem= 

 ber. 



IN ANSWERING ADS PLEASE 

 MENTION RECREATION. 



* This is the first time I ever knew of such a charge being 

 made against the pine squirrel. Has any one ever known 

 one to rob a bird's nest, or to drive a red ox 3. grey squirrel ? 

 Hearsay evidence is not good. — Editor., 



