March 16, 1882.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



127 



THAT TRIP TO TEXAS. 



J ESTEEM myself most fortunate that I have been able to 

 afford even a moment's amusement to my entomical 

 friend, {idem seraos) "2$. A. T.," who sips honey from tin- rich 

 flowers that bloon; in the Holy Land, and then buzzes around 

 with the music of his aromatic wings. It occurs to me, 

 however, that before he proceeded to indulge in his criti- 

 cisms, he should have been right sure that "the "spur had 

 pricked the sides," and rhus justified the ''wincing" be has 

 exhibited. There was nothing in ray communication which 

 warrfinja the particular •'amusement" in which he. gloats. 

 ■ 'Wells" never thought and never said, nor even intimated that 

 Texaa did not abound in game. He would have regarded it 

 as most remarkable, if in a territorial domain of more than 

 300,000 square miles there was not enough of it somewhere 

 to satisfy the aspirations of the most ardent sportsman. He 

 did not expect to see grouse or deer, or mule-eared rabbits in 

 the immense city of Fort Worth, or even in the numerous 

 oth^r pretentious cities which make glad the heart ol the 

 people of the Empire State of the Union, but from the repre» 

 seutatiotis which had been made to him by residents of 

 Texas, he did think that when he stood near the temple of 

 justice of Tarrant county, and looked over miles of rolling 

 prairie, the "visual line which circled him." embraced thous- 

 ands of prairie chickens and other game of that latitude. He 

 did not expect to be told that it, was somewhere else. He did 

 expect to find, even in the thickly populated counties of 

 .Johnson and Hill, in which there are still many thousand 

 acres of uninclosed prairie, in large bodies, quite' a quantity 

 of grouse, and in the fields that" splendid game bird which 

 civilization does not destroy. He was only disappointed, 

 that is all. If he had had the honor of "N. A.'T.'s" acquaint- 

 ance, and could have .satisfied him that he was a fit associ- 

 ate, which, perhaps, he might have done by the kindness of 

 one of the best-known citizens of his own town— favorably 

 known all over the country for his intelligence and integrity 

 — he might have been introduced into the very Elysium of 

 sportsmen, and had all the enjoyment he desired. But alas, 

 that glory was not reserved for him. When "Wells" next 

 visits Texas, he will be happy to avail himself of the kindly 

 offices of "N. A. T.,"and will endeavor to convince him 

 that he has greatly erred in his estimate of the extent of bis 

 observations, that "Wells" has intelligence enough to even 

 find his way to that State without the aid of an express 

 agent, and has seen enough of the world to know that bear 

 and deer and grouse do not inhabit the "cities of the plain" 

 which adorn the land, honored by the residence of "N. A. 

 T." 



I think I cannot be wrong in supposing that the readers of 

 the Forest and Stream were not expecting me to write of 

 what 1 did no! see, and to draw upon my imagination for 

 facts. I sincerely trust that very few of" them "can believe 

 me to be such a simpleton as to think that Texas has no 

 game because I found but little of it, or that I was even so 

 verdant as to expect to see it in abundance in the crowded 

 streets of even so unpretending a city as Fort Worth. My 

 communication has at least had the good effect of bringing 

 forward so clever a writer, anil, I doubt not, so cautious a 

 gentleman as "IS 7 . A. T." to enlighten all who are anxious 

 inquirers as to the proper game regions of that vast domain, 

 which lies between the Sabine and the Rio Grande. But of 

 one thing the readers of the Forest and Stream may be 

 assured— even Texas does not contain anything like the 

 quantity of game which ardent and often' fanciful writers 

 describe, and "he who is deceived thereby is not wise." 

 That it has a good supply there is no doubt; and in certain 

 seasons the birds of passage are very abundant. "Wells" 

 wanted to try his hand or his gun upon the pinnated grouse, 

 because that sport was a novelty to him. He has killed very 

 many duck and not a few quail, and can find them not only 

 in the pine woods of his own State, but in some parts of it 

 which contain much less pine than the part of Texas in 

 which "N. A. T." lives. The central counties of North Caro- 

 lina are as fine a region for Bob White as any part of this 

 continent, and that any one can testify who has visited them 

 and gotten from ten to fifteen miles from a railroad station. 



But I think that "N. A. T." and myself will not he enemies 

 because of this little squall, but each, in Ids own way, will 

 do all he can to amuse, if not instruct, the sportsmen 'of the 

 country, For mere controversy, I have no taste and Imve 

 no disposition, .simply "for the fun of the thing," to indulge in 

 that kind of criticism which is sometimes resorted to, solely 

 to exhibit skill in debate. I have had my share in such 

 struggles as are common among men who entertain decided 

 convictions and desire to enforce them. But I have never 

 entered into a contest with no other end in view than the 

 glories of triumph. Let us have peace. Fortunatelv for us, 

 our country is a large one, and Heaven in good Wisdom has 

 not bestowed all blessings exclusively upon one section. 

 Each State has some peculiar advantages; and even North 

 Carolina is not entirely destitute of attractions, either in the 

 way of business or pleasure. Some of her citizens are not 

 so simple as to expect, even in Texas, "figs from thi-Ucs." 

 or that buffalo and antelope find good browsing and a safe 

 retreat in the lonely streets of Dallas, Waco, Austin or 

 Palestine. "N. A. T." assures us that they arc not in Fort 

 Worth. I believe him. Wells. 



Pine Woods, North Carolina. 



Massachusetts Deer Bill. — A bid has been introduced 

 at Boston, providing as follows ; Section 1. Whoever, in 

 I lie counties of Barnstable and Plymouth, in the Common- 

 wealth of Massachusetts, at any season of the year, shall 

 kill, take, or wound any deer, except his own tame deer kept, 

 on his OWD grounds, when in, near, or within two hundred 

 yards of any pond or river, shall upon couviction be pun- 

 ished by a due of not, more than one hundred dollars nor less 

 than ten, or by imprisonment in the house of correction not 

 more than six months nor less than one, or by both fine and 

 imprisonment. Sec. 'J. In all prosecutions under the pro- 

 visions of this act the possession of any deer mentioned as 

 prohibited by this act, shall be prwpta furl- evidence to con- 

 vict under the same. Sec. 3. All tines imposed under this 

 act shall be paid to the city or town where the offence is 

 committed. Sec. 4. Any person may, in the counties of 

 Barnstable and Plymouth, hunt, deer, with or without 3< 

 between the first clay of November and the first day of De- 

 cember in each year; but no hunting of deer shall he allowed 

 upon any clays other than Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 

 and Friday of each week within the tim : Bp reined, and any 

 person offending against this act shall be punished by fine 

 of not less than ten nor more than fifty dollars for each 

 offence. Sec. 5. It shall be the duty of the selectmen and 

 the constables of t&je xespective towns within said counties 

 to cause the provisions of 'his act to be enforoed, Sec 6. 

 This act aha] I take effect upon its passage. 



J§aim\a\ 



Wtorp. 



NOTES OF THE JEANNETTE VOYAGE. 



THE sad fate of the Jeannette and the sufferings of her 

 gallant crew have enlisted the sympathies of "the civil- 

 ized world. The Uncertainty which still exists in regard to 

 what bata become of the two missing hosts' crews cannot be 

 terminated for some time yet, hut it is cheering to kuow 

 that every effort is being ma'de for their discovery and rescue 

 by the Governments oF Russia and the I'nited States. 



To many of the readers of the FoftEST and Stream news 

 of the Jet'muetle will have a peculiar interest, from the fact 

 that the taxidermist of the expedition, Mr. R. L. Newcomb, 

 was for years a frequent contributor to these columns, and 

 we- personally known to a large number of our readers. 

 We trust that the missing crews may be found before long, 

 but in the dead of winter and in such a region as the mouth 

 of the Lena, the searchers have a hard time before them. 



A few interesting notes, scut on by Lieut. Danenhauer. 

 have been published. He savs: "We discovered Jeannette 

 Island May 16, 1881 [?], in fat. 76 deg. 47 min., long. 158 

 deg. 56 min. E. It was small and rocky, and we did not 

 land upon it. Henrietta Island was discovered May 24, in 

 lat. 77 deg. 8 min., long. 157 deg. 43 min. E. We vis'ited it, 

 and found it to be an extensive island, animals scarce, many 

 glaciers. A very large island, found in lat. 76 deg. 38 min., 

 long. 148 deg. 20 min. E.. was named Bennett Island. On it, 

 we found many birds, old horns, drift wood and coal; no 

 seal or walrus; strong tidal action; bold and rocky. The 

 south cape we named Emma. The general health of the 

 crew during twenty-one months was excellent; no scurvy. 

 We used distilled "water, bear and seal meat twice a week, 

 but no rum. Divine service was held regularly. We took 

 plenty of exercise, and everybody hunted. Game was scarce, 

 but we got thirty bears, two hundred and fifty seals and six 

 walrus; no fish or whales seen. All possible observations 

 were made during the drift, the residt showing northwesterly 

 course, the ship heeling over and being heavily pressed by 

 ice most of the time. The mental strain was heavy on some 

 of us. The result of the drift during the last five months 

 was 40 miles by tidal movement of the" ice; very rapid drift 

 the last, six months. Soundings pretty even — 18 fathoms 

 near Wrangel Land, which was often 'visible 75 miles dis- 

 tant. The greatest depth was 80 fathoms; average depth, 

 35; bottom, blue mud; shrimps plentiful; meteoric speci- 

 mens got from bottom; surface water temperature 20 deg. 

 above zero. The extremes of temperature of air were: Cold, 

 58 deg. below zero (Fahrenheit); heat, about 44 deg. above. 

 During the first winter the mean temperature was 33 deg. 

 below zero; second winter, 39 deg. below. During first sum- 

 mer mean temperature was 46 deg. above zero. The heavi- 

 est gale showed a velocity of 50 miles an hour, but such 

 gales were not frequent. Barometric and thermometric 

 fluctuations were not great. There were disturbances of the 

 needle coincident with the auroras. Telephone [?] wires 

 were broken by the ice movements. Winter's growth of ice 

 was 8 feet. The heaviest ice seen was 23 feet thick. During 

 the first week of the retreat from the J eaimette we drifted 

 back 27 miles more than we could advance. The snow was 

 nearly knee deep. The naturalist's notes were saved, but 

 the photographic collection was lost with the ship. Lieut. 

 Chipp's 3,000 auroral observations were also lost." 



The above sketch of the doings of these brave explorers 

 will -serve to give some idea, however inadequate, of what 

 they endured tor many months. Caught in an ice pack 

 from which it was unable to escape, the Jeannette must have 

 drifted about at the mercy of the tides, until at hist the good 

 ship, unable longer to resist the pressure of the ice, was 

 crushed and had to be abandoned. 



DRUMMING OF THE RUFFED GROUSE. 



" \ ^9^P s P°^ eu 1U S(,; ison — how good it is." Your 



J\- kind letter reached me here, whither I had come 

 against all medical advice, creeping along in the old stage- 

 wagon at the- reckless pace of two ana a half knots an hour, 

 but I was also creeping from the Valley of the Shadow, and 

 the weather was like May. The mellow trill of the bluebird 

 and the querulous scolding of the robin were heard in the 

 land, and long strings of pigeons were flying overhead; 

 and so, hour after hour, for eight mortal hours I crawled 

 up the banks of Pine Creek, passing more than twenty miles 

 of the best grouse coverts I ever saw, where a few years ago 

 I could bag all the grouse 1 wanted in hah a day's tramp. 

 The coverts are still there; the grouse have vanished — where 

 and wherefore? There are no more ticks, owls, hawks, 

 weasels, eats or other vermin now than when grouse were 

 most plenty. 11 is not to be. charged to the increase of setters, 

 pointers or breech-loaders, for they disappear just the same 

 on the best ranges, where dogs and breech-loaders have never 

 been arrayed against them. It is not through any lack of 

 food, which is, and always has been, most abundant on the 

 upper waters of the Susquehanna. And it is not caused by 

 pot-hunters. We have none here worth mention. What is 

 the cause? 



It is a strange phase of human nature, and goes far to 

 prove the Darwinian theory — that the average "bifurcated 

 fragment of animated nature cannot accept a hard, plain fact 

 without agitating his gray brain matter about the reason 

 therefor. 



This is well — when a reason can be had and proved. 



But it happens that pur gamiest and most beautiful bird 

 vanished suddenly, all at once, from every section of the 

 country without any assignable reason that any logical mind 

 I ■■m accept. The proof of the fact is conclusive and over- 

 whelming. It is one of the thousand mysteries that meet us 

 turn from the cradle to the' grave; one of the 

 things "that no fellah can ever find out." 



it "is possible, though hardly probable, that the grouse may 

 come to the front again as .suddenly fts be faded and failed. 

 Treat him well in any case. Never shoot, more than three or 

 four of him in a day. lie is. beyond question, our finest 

 game bird. D' you go to slaughter him for a "bag," there 

 isn't enough of him to go round. 



Once, and once only. I saw a couple of cock grouse in an 

 animated discussion. 'They fought more sharply, quickly 

 and gratefully than tongue or pen can describe* But they 

 were not game. In two or three minutes cue of them hurtled 

 away like a shot, and the victor, taking possesion of the 

 drumming log, swelled, ru filed, strutted and put on an amount 

 of importance that yon would hardly deem possible in a bird 

 of his size, I thought at, the time taut such a circus could be 

 seen at any time in the season by one who had patience to 

 sneak-buut up to eyeshot of a drumming log and lie pe; feci ly 

 quiet But, although I turned out in sharp, frosty morning's 



and lay in sight of their logs for hours, it was the only fight 

 I ever saw, and I have met only one candid man who claims 

 to have seen the same thing. 



I have seen the fellow drum, probably a score of times, 

 and it is a pretty sight. He is a picture, as he straightens 

 and struts; and, as he quickens the strokes on his breast and 

 sides, until he sends "muffled thunder'' to the vales below. 

 The man is a brute who can send a charge of shot crashing 

 through such a thing of beauty. Now, of all the sportsmen 

 who read Forest and Stream, and who hunt grouse, I 

 doubt if ten men can truly say that they ever saw a cock 

 grouse fairly in the act of drumming. And yet it is not a diffi- 

 cult thing to achieve. It may be. done by any euthusiast, as 

 follows: First, find the drumming log of an old bird that 

 has drummed on the same log for several seasons. Go in the 

 middle of the day, look the ground over and select a good 

 stand-point about thirty-five yards away. Cut off a twig or 

 branch here and there until you can command a clean view of 

 the log from end to end. Get out of bed on a frosty April 

 morning before if is fairly daylight, take your position and 

 keep it, silent and motionless. A little before sunrise the 

 bird will come, sometimes a little later. A small, well-sighted 

 glass is a good thing to use. Here is what you will see." 



A proud, beautiful cock-grouse, neck wings, ruffled to 

 their fullest, sweUed, proud, defiant, strutting back and forth 

 on his log, making a low, cooing, love note, but, all the 

 while watchful, wary and cautious. If you can keep him 

 from getting suspicious, presently he will make his grandest 

 strut, throw his wings up, and then commence the strange, 

 peculiar drumming, that may be heard much more than a 

 mile. 



Ln a few minutes you maj r see a pretty brown bird come 

 swiftly over the leaves, looking hardly "larger than a quail 

 She has heard and answered the call of her lord — the sultan 

 of the log. There is a love passage of a minute or two, in 

 which the hen is meek, submissive, and close-feathered, her 

 lord, ruffled, strutting, aud looking his grandest. Then she 

 glides away as she came, his majesty mounts his old pine 

 throne and drums his readiness for another interview with 

 members of his harem, and the thing is repeated again and 

 again. I have seen it repeated six times of a morning, and 

 sometimes only once or twice. It is worth a little patience 

 and self-denial to see it. 



One of our naturalists — Audubon or Wilson — describes the 

 same thing, if I remember right. He had been there and 

 seen it. 



When muscle and brain work together a little freely and 

 easily, I will submit a finish to the Nipper cruise. And I 

 have" got something to say on canoeing. I have watched and 

 read the canoe talk carefully. Canoes are like deacons, "All 

 deacons are good — but there is a difference in deacons. " 



Nessmite:. 

 Pine Creek, Penn., 1882. 



SHORE BIRDS IN GRENADA. 



Grenada, W. I., February 6, 1882. 

 Editor Forest ami Stream: 



1 am much indebted to your correspondent, Mr. W. Hap- 

 good, for the information contained in his account of the 

 " Bange and Rotary Movements of Limicoloe," which ap- 

 peared in your issue of October 20 last. 



A great number of these birds visit, this island, and the 

 popular belief is that they come from South America, owing 

 to the fact that they appear immediately after the southerly 

 winds set, in during August and early in September, and the 

 stronger the south wind, the more plentiful are the plovers, 

 etc. The first to arrive are the yellow-legs, (Totanus Jlavipes 

 and T. mdan-oUucun) generally about the"middle of August, 

 but last year was exceptional, as we had strong winds from 

 southward during July, and I shot several yellow-legs on the 

 25th of that month. Then follow large flocks of sandpipers 

 (Ernunetes ptmllus), plovers (Oharadrius virgink-us), and grass 

 birds (Adodromus maculate); also in less numbers the follow- 

 ing: Squatoyrola Iwlvetim, Bartramia longkuwl.i. .Egialiies 

 St ii'ipalmatus, Limosa faxla, Micropalanut Wmamtopm, 4to"ep- 

 83a$ interpret, and a goodly sprinkling of others. 



I can now understand the reason of the birds arriving at 

 Barbados earlier than they do here, as they come from 

 the north and not from "the mouth of the Orinoco," as 

 generally bebeved and asserted by our sportsmen. 



I would be thankful if any of your correspondents would 

 inform me through your valuable columns, of the habits and 

 migration of the blue wing teal (Qiurrqu-rrfula discors), which 

 arrives in our swamps during the month of October, and is 

 also supposed^to come "from south'ard." Certhxola. 



The Bohemian Waxwtng in Iowa.— Oskaloosa, Iowa, 

 March 4, 1882. — I clip the following from my diary: March 

 30, 1880. Yasterday I saw a flock of birds "iu the orchard, 

 which I at first took to be cedar birds, but on shooting a pair 

 I came to the conclusion that they corresponded better with 

 descriptions I have read of the Northern waxwing (Amptlw 

 garrul'is). Their general color is a rich bronze, with dark 

 brown under tail coverts; also small white spots on the wings 

 and black around the bill, extending back under the eyes. 

 Size, fourteen inches from tip to tip of wings, eight inches in 

 length. There is no doubt they were waxwings. The color- 

 ings of the cedar bird and waxwinu: are very similar, except 

 the spots of white on the latter, which are not seen on the 

 former, but the cedar bird is in size about one-third smaller. 

 What brought these birds so far south, has often puzzled me, 

 as it will be remembered the winter of 79-80 was very mild. 

 John Burroughs, in Scribner's, of Jan. '78 says: "The wax- 

 wing is a bird of Siberian and Alaskan evergreens, and 

 passes its life, for the most part, far beyond the haunts of 

 man." He confesses to having never' seen the bird, but, 

 thinks that, Audubon saw them in Maine. The buds with 

 which I had experience were exceedingly tame, allowing me 

 to approach within a few feet before taking flight, which, in 

 itself, gave evidence of their being natives of localities undis- 

 turbed by man. Have any of the readers of Forest and 

 Stkeaai ever seen this rare and really beautiful bird in lati- 

 tudes as far south as this (about 41 degrees north)? H so, I 

 hope that they will give through your columns their observa- 

 tions on this subject. — J. E. Seevers. 



Two Lite Brant.— Mr. Frederick Mather, assistant to 

 the United States Fish Commissioner, received yesterday a 

 present, of a pair of live brant. He intends sending them to 

 Central Park, and Mr. W. A. Oouklin, the superintendent of 

 the menagerie, lias promised to look after them. Later on 

 Mr. Mather will have them sent to a well-known trout breed- 

 ing farm on Long Island, where he trusts they will mate and 

 breed. The geese were wing-tipped last winter on the Vir- 

 ginia broad-water by a New York sportsman who was shoot- 

 ing there, and after a hard chase they were captured in the 



