— 
T could hear M.’s party talking as they came, and was specu- 
ing on the distance, when a slight sound or the instinctive 
consciousness of something near caused me to turn my head, 
and there at close quarters was herd of ter, headed by an old 
male, who stood looking at me and stamping the ground 
th his foot. Jt was the best yiew I had ever had of these 
mimals, aud as we had meat enough and I had long grown 
wweary of accumulating horns, the fine head of the leader 
oul not dispose meto a needless waste of life. We studied 
each other for what appeared quite a long time, but I sup- 
pose it was only a few seconds, when, throwing my rifle 
across my arm, thestartled herd dashed down into the ravine, 
ip the opposite bank, and away. M, and his party were 
now in sight, and sent me up a shout which went echoing 
from crag to crag, and some ten minutes later M, was seated 
at my side, the heayily laden heaters still a hundred yards or 
So below. Chatting away and describing his sensations as 
he saw my ter fall, and the whole herd of big horns come 
ushing siraight at him, his eye suddenly fell on_the second 
ear, the first was not visible to us as we sat. ‘‘Helio!” said 
ie, with a perplexed countenance, ‘how did the bear get 
Over there?” “‘That was where she fell,” IT said. ‘‘No,” re- 
plied he, getting to his feet, ‘it was—’ and then getting a 
sight of the other bear, he turned, and, meeting my laughing 
face, he exclaimed, ‘‘By jove, old fellow, but you haye been 
lucky!” 
: itovax now long past noon and there was no sign of C., 
Iso we determined to descend to the ravine and have lunch, 
for we were famishing, and the cold ptarmigan pie, filled 
‘out with fer's tongue, and the jelly from « boiled leg of ter, 
was still further provocation to appetite; so, leaning our 
eapons against a ledge of rock, and knocking off the head 
of a bottle of Bass, we set to witha will. We had settled 
well down to our task, and were too preoccupied for con- 
rersation, when simultaneously every one sprang to his feet, 
There was a half grow), half groan, as a bear clambered to 
the crest of the ledge with one foreleg broken. Leveling 
our rifles, ML. and I fired simultaneously, The bear stopped, 
fried to steady himself, and sent out most unearthly yells, 
Which sent something like a feeling of terror to my heart. 
Dropping in the second barrels, he fell where he stood, but 
we could still see his sides heaving, so l sent up a moun- 
Aineer with instructions to put a finishing shot in his eur, 
We sat down and finished our repast so happily inter- 
tupted, and had just lighted our pipes when the Jumberdar 
came oti in the bear’s tracks, which he had followed for more 
than two hours. C. had taken first shot and broken the leg, 
and both he and the Zemindar fired as the beast rushed 
down the precipice, but without apparent effect, so C. had 
sent the Zemindar in pursvit, while he went after some 
gooral which had been scen grazing. Half an-hour later C. 
Pmade his appearance, followed by lis men with the carcass 
of a fine old ram gooral and a beautiful leopard cat. Mutual 
congratulations were exchanged, and C, settled down to his 
Junch, talking as well as he could with his mouth full. M.’s 
reflections only were tinged with regret. His first shot at 
dhe ter was fired into the moying mass and was stopped by a 
yearling male; the second shot, although aimed at the biggest 
male distinguishable at the minute, had secured only a mod- 
erate pair of horns, small in comparison with mine, which 
‘made areally splendid head, and although he had taken an 
/active part in bagging two of the three bears, and had a very 
élose shave for his life, he could claim neither of the skins 
‘asatrophy, He could not help giving vent to his feelings 
on the subject, but was consoled when I told him that this 
was but the epening of the campaign, 
- The head only of my ter had been brought along, that and 
‘M.’s two carcasses being as much as our coolies had been 
able to carry, but when the headman heard that the carcass 
had been left behind, and reflecting that if was our last day, 
| he took four men with him and went after il. The men had 
cooked and disposed of some thirty pounds, and while six 
were engaged in skinning the bears, the other six were in- 
‘structed to take as much .as they could carry to a specified 
“spot on the tableland, while we set out to send back all the 
available men from the camp.- lt was near 5 o’clock when 
'we got home. Some of the men turned up at 7, but had to 
| return for loads left behind, and we had _ long retired to rest 
before the last of the party turned up. But when | awokeat 
“gray dawn in the morning and peeped out of my tent, I saw 
‘them all squatted round their camp-fires doing their best to 
‘Tighten the load for the march down hill. In spite of all 
| their exertions there was more than they could carry, and 
/it was arranged that C. and M. would stay another day 
looking for bear only, going down.in the evening with eight 
of the men, who would return for a second load. 
_ Lwent down the hill without adyenture, reaching my 
camp by half past nine, and had disposed of all the week's 
correspondence by evening, It was after dusk when C, and 
M, turned up, bringing with them asnow leopard’s skin 
which had fallen to M.’s bag, and which quite reconciled 
him to his comparative ill luck of the preceding day. Dinner 
“owas ready, and we were soon seated at table with our respec- 
“tive Khausamans, in their best turbans and kummar-bands 
(waist sashes) behind us, and as we wound up the evening, 
killing the slain over again oyer our Burgundy and olives, 
we cemented a friendship based on the common attributes of 
our Norse blood—the loye of killing something—the tendency 
to guod fellowship and love of good cheer, Saturday was 
for them a day of rest and preparation. On Sunday they 
‘started for Thibet bent on bagging each an ovis ammon. L[ 
accompanied them some four miles on their road and savy 
them no more. O, I shall never see again. He fell at Can- 
dahar in the first charge, ignorant, happily, that the day 
would turn against the British. Regutescat in pace. tikes 
@Ame LAK Kan. Upper Ganges, Northwest Provinces, India, 
_ Furenr or Winprown in Kansas anp NEBRASKA,— 
‘Sioux City, Ia,, Aug, 11.—Editor Forest und Stream: 
Thursday [ leave here for a hunt in Nebraska; not solely to 
hunt, but also to study the birds of the northern portion. 
_ Going west of here, say 160 miles, IT will then go south per- 
haps as far as the Platte, hunting geesc and cranes princi- 
pally. My object in writing you is to get some information 
_fespecting goose and crane hunting in Kansas, at the Salt 
Marsh and other placesin the State. Owing to my going 
out particularly to study the Hight of the geese and cranes, 
I desire all the information | can obtain respecting that 
flight and the best places to go to to study them. With 
such intent, I also want to know from some of your many 
subscribers, if possible, what shooting can be obtained along 
‘the seacoast below the mouth of the Rio Grande. I think 
that down there and perhaps in Sabine Lake I can obtain 
‘good goose shooting all winter. For some time I haye been 
making a study of the flight of birds, and that the coming 
six months’ work, if put in in the proper field, will he of 
great value to me.—D, H. T. 
Cc stud Ved? cli La 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
dlatuyal History. 
THE CROW, 
66 A® cunning as a crow” has become a well-known 
phrase throughout this country wherever Oorous 
americanus is found, Much has been written about this 
bird, most writers denouncing him asa thief and villain. 
That he tears up corn, kills birds, and does a great deal of 
mischief generally, is well known, and on the other hand, 
that he eats grubs, and acts as a scavenger, is also admitted. 
Ido not propose to enter to any extent into his economic 
benefit or destructiveness, but simply to mention some of 
his characteristic traits and show some of his well developed 
intellectual points. 
On the seashore, at Gloucester, Mass., during our very 
cold winters, the crows congregate in immense numbers to 
feed upon the refuse cast ashore during the storms. Some 
of them stay near the coast through the winter, but it is as- 
serted that many come from as many as thirty miles inland 
for food, and refurn at night. In Gloucester there are three 
pine groves, in which the crows pass their nights, these each 
being about one-half a mile apart. From these, in the early 
morning they separate, and fly to different parts of the shore 
and remain there all day, flying from place to place, at times 
eating, and again resting, either on the ground or in trees. 
Tn the afternoon about 3 o’clock, they begin to assemble on 
some open common a mile from their roosting place. Until 
5 o’clock there is a perfect babel of confusion in 
this vicinity, the air and ground being literally 
black with crows. In the meantime, individual mem- 
bers leaye the crowd, and fly over to the pines in 
which they intend spending the night. Arrived there they 
circle around again and again over the whole grove, as if 
looking to see that everything is clear. If in one of these 
woods anything unusual is seen, such for instance as a man, 
or if a gun is fired when these sentinels are near, the crows 
desert that grove and lodge for the night in one of the other 
two. All of these individuals return to the rest and no doubt 
communicate the results of their spying to them, Finally, 
after these preliminaries, everything being settled, a small 
number, twenty or thirty, with one leading, start off, and after 
circling around a few times if then nothing appears to be 
wiong they settle down for the night, and the others follow- 
ing in small detachments alight in the same grove that the 
first did. Each group appears to have one, perhaps the 
oldest and most experienced, who takes the lead and directs 
matters. This flight goes on until they have all reached the 
grove, which takes nearly an hour. I haye stood on the 
railroad track, over which they have to pass, for three quar- 
ters of an honr, and watched these groups moye by, one after 
the other, until | am certain five thousand must have passed, 
and 1 think this is asmall estimate. During the whole 
winter this g0es on each day. 
Tt seems tothe observer that there must be something 
about this sroup of crows besides an ordinary chance meet- 
ing, in which each individual governs himself, and does as 
he chooses. I have believed for a long time that during the 
winter crows are governed by individuals who, perhaps from 
old age and experience have become wiser than the general 
mass, and the others through respect (if I may be allowed to 
use the term in this connection) for theni have come to ohey 
them, to follow their leadership, and_adopt their precau- 
tions. This may be mere wild speculation, but Lhaye heen 
led to firmly believe in it. 
One night with a friend [ went to a srove where I knew 
the crows had roosted, in order to shoot them, We went 
into the woods as noiselessly as possible, hut they seemed to 
suspect some harm and began cawing at a tremendous rate, 
until L think every one in the lot must have taken part. At 
this we stood still and suddenly a much louder and well 
marked individual caw was heard, and in an instant all in 
our vicinity was still. Similar voices were heard in other 
parts of the woods and all these many voices were stopped. 
Then the same shrill voice began a very peculiar cawing as 
if scolding them, and they all seemed abashed, and for many 
minutes all was still except an occasional individual caw and 
the flapping of a wing as some bird endeavored to keep from 
being crowded off his perch by his neighbor, At last we 
fired both barrels of our guns and brought down three crows, 
Immediately after the reports died away the curious voice 
sounded a loud commanding caw, then all commenced 
yieing with each other to see who could make the most noise 
and they flew into the air. We fired fonr more shots at them, 
then they were out of range. They settled down in the 
further end of the woods. ‘This and many other observa- 
tions have led me to believe in the superior intelligence of 
crows, Their wariness, tact and cunuing are proverbial, and 
I think that careful study would give them well established 
claims fo great intellectual development. R. 5. TArR. 
A RAILROAD TO THE ARCTIC. 
Editor Forest und Stream, 
Absence has prevented my perusal of Forrsr AnD Stream 
ot July 24 until today, and now, having completed it, L 
cannot refrain from writing you a few lines of commenda- 
tion of the very excellent and comprehensive history of the 
Greely expedition it contains. That report contains more 
information than I have been able to glean from all other 
sources, and with the accompanying map, the article be- 
comes one of exceeding yalue. Your editorial upon ““The 
Greeley Rescue” is also exactly to the point, and its sugges- 
tions indicate a plan for making the Arctic regions accessible 
at almost any time without seriousrisk. But 1 would im- 
prove upon your permanent stations at interyals of fifty 
miles. Why not build a railway to the North Pole, or to the 
nearest accessible point thereto? Tf governments are going 
‘to continue sending out polar expeditions, and if stations are 
fo be maintained in the far north for scientific purposes, it 
will be better for science, far safer for the agents employed, 
‘and much cheaper in the long run, to provide a permanent 
and sate way to reach the desired point than it is in the pres- 
ent desultory manner of conducting the business. 
A few years ago the building of narrow gauge railways be- 
gan. The primary object was ease and cheapness of con- 
struction along lines where more expensive roads weuld uot 
pay. Following this principle, roads were narrowed to _six- 
teen and possibly to twelve inches between thetracks, Then 
a single rail was tried and found practicable. It is perched 
upon the apex of a supersttucture, whose sectional view is 
represented by the letter A, The rolling stock straddles this 
track like a saddle, and is kept in place by horizontal bear- 
ings at the sides. Such a superstructure could be built en- 
tirely of wood, framed anywhere along the New England or 
Canada coast and shipped to the most. northerly starting 
point that is safe; say, somewhere along the coast of Labrs- 
) not very great, 
63 
dor, and thence constructed rapidly, carrying its own 
material and supplies, and following near the coast by the 
most practicable route, It can be elevated four, six or more 
feet above the road bed, so as to avoid obstruction by the 
average depth of snow, which, according fo all acounts, is 
For the purpose in view the entire work 
may be relatively light; the iron rails and rolling stock especi- 
ally so. Car room, four feet wide and as many high, with 
adequate motive power ahead of it, would be a palatial struc- 
ture in latitude 83° north. In the far north this road would 
in places have to be built upon the ice, and occasionally sec- 
tions of it would be swept away; but they could be quickly 
replaced when winter restored the ice bridge, because all 
necessary material would be provided beforehand and held’ 
in reserve for such emergencies, The expense of the Greely 
expedition, if correctly reported by the newspapers, would 
have built and equipped 200 miles of such road, and the 
money cost of all the Arctic explorations and reliefs would 
have girdled the northern zone with iron rails, 
Aside from the practical utility of this scheme in relation 
to science, observe for a moment its commercial possibilities. 
Tt would afford to every adventurous fool who wants to go 
fo the Arctic regions a chance to do so. [The woods are 
full of them andIam one]. It would become a favorite 
summer resort for excursionisis, and a rendezvous for Sun- 
day school picnics. Your fifty-mile stations would blossom 
into fashionable summer hotels, and spoony loyers who 
find the winter evenings too short for their business in lati- 
tude 40° could select quarters where the nights are long 
enough to satisfy every want. If is not likely that any very 
extensive trade would grow up in that direction, but there 
would be some, while the road would afford 2 chance for the 
escape of some of the many whalers who are each year east 
away in the dreary Arctic ocean. : B. 
ANTIDOTE FOR SNAKE’S BITE. 
Editor Hovest and Stream: 
The recent death of a showman in New York from a rat- 
tlesnake bite and an article in your issue of this week (Aug. 
14), “Supposed Antidote for Snake Bite,” hag led me to send 
you a statement of a case. I have never seen the remedy 
in print, and I send it thac tt may lead to further investiga- 
tion. My information comes direct and from a wholly 
reliable source. Three counties in this State—Ulster, Greene 
and Sullivan—were noted for their variety and number of 
reptiles. Thefirst referred to I vive the palm, perhaps because 
J was more acquainted with it, haying spent several seasons 
there. Some thirty yeurs ago all the tributaries of the Esopus, 
above sawmills and tanneries, were filled with the speckled 
beauties, About this time the writer was located af ‘“Ladew’s 
Corners” (P. Q. address The Corners, Ulster county, N. Y.). 
Here T met Squire Ladew, from whom the name was taken. 
To be brief, some thirty or forty years before this time he 
built a tannery at this place and ran it for many years. He 
was a gentleman of large business experience and varied 
information, and one time represented his. district in the 
Legislature at Albany, and has a son in business in the 
“Swamp in New York. He was near his house one morn- 
ing standing on a log (having on his feet torn slippers), and 
stepping down a large rattlesnake jumped from under the 
log and bit his foot where the slipper was torn. He was only 
a short distance from his house, but before he reached it his 
foot had swollen very much. He told me that spring he 
had read in an almanac that the Legislature of Virginia had 
given a life annuity to an old negro for the discovery that 
the broadleaf plantain was a cure for the bite of the moc- 
casin, a deadly water snake. It is to be found srowing 
everywhere around farms, gardens, ete. (and when young 
and tender farmers in New Hampshire use it for greens). 
To Mr, L.’s foot they repeatedly applied poultices of this 
plant, and he drank tea made from it. He was unwell for 
seyer2l months, but gradually improved, For four or tive 
years after just about this time of the year he was unwell, 
but finally recovered. As I before said, all this can be fully 
attested. Can any of your readers give any testimony of 
value as to the virtues of this plant? Jonmy WrLtAMson. 
Yourenrs, N, Y., Aug, 16. Pe Fey 
The New York Times, of Aug, 14, contained the following 
note from a Marlborough, N. Y., correspondent, recommennd- 
ing the same treatment: ‘‘Charles M, Purdy is one of the 
leading commission merchants in New York who handle the 
fruit products of the Hudson Valley. Mr. Purdy’s residence 
is near Marlborough. About 80 years ago Mr. Purdy’s 
mother, then a young woman, while rambling alone the 
bank of the Hudson here, on what is now the Thomas T. 
Buckley estate, was bitten by a rattlesnake on the leg, The 
poison caused great pain and the limb wus discolored very 
much, and the old settlers said that the only thing to do 
was fo mount a fast horse and to ride to the Marlborough 
Mountain and coax an old Indian woman, who lived there 
then all alone in 4 eave, to came and cure her, This was 
done, and the life of Mrs, Purdy was saved through the 
medicine furnished by this old squay. It is a simple remedy 
—a small cupful of the juice of the plantain weed, which Is 
to be found alone every road and in nearly eyery door yard 
in the country, Inquiry made among farmers and country 
people generally elicited the information that plantain weed 
is used extensively for poulticing to heal up running sores 
and to break up cases of chills and fever. Dr. A. Lf. Palmer 
of this town, says that a handful of plantain leayes made 
into a cup of tea breaks up severe attacks of certain mala- 
rial disorders when other specifics fai]. Old inhabitants say 
plantain leaves years ago were considered a sure cure for 
hydrophobia. Wood choppers onthe Plattelkill, Marlbor- 
ough, and Shawangunk Mountains say they have long known 
that plantain juice would prevent fatal results from the bite 
of a rattlesnake, Toads and other animals know the medic- 
inal properties of the plantuin weed, When bitten by a snake 
they invariably hop to where the specitic can be found.” 
CATAPORNIA QUATL IN NEBRASKA,.—A gentleman who re- 
cently came to this city from Hamilton county, Neb., in- 
forms us that afew years ago, when in this State, he pro- 
cured a number of our native quail and took them back to 
Nebraska with him, where he turned them loose. He says 
they have got along nicely, and that he lately saw several 
broods of them near the place where the old ones were let 
loose. We understood him to say they were ‘“‘mountain” 
quail, which are much larger and hardier than the blue 
quail of the yalley.—Sacramento Capital. 
Quam oy ConrmemEnt.—Toledo, O., Aug. 15.—My hen 
quail (Ortyr».) began to sit on Sunday, Aug, 10., on four- 
feen eggs of her own laying. She seems healthy and strong, 
and comes off every other morning for a few minutes to feed. 
IT think I shall be able to “count my chickens” Aug. 31 or 
Sept. 1 —J. B. B. 
