- — 
164 FOREST AND STREAM. 
5 ese ee ee ee) ee ee 
SS eee eee 
of buffalo that evening, and held a council that night in the 
chief's lodge, After the pipe had gone around the chief 
announced that buffalo were not plenty enough here, and he 
wanted to cross over to Texas. I told him he could do so, 
The next morning it looked like rain, and we concluded to 
remain in camp and give the squaws.a chance to stretch and 
serape the hides secured the day hefore, and cure the meat, 
Whenever it was possible, afler killing a buffalo all the meat 
was brought to camp, cut into narrow strips, and then dried 
and put up in bundles of about fifty pounds each, rawhide 
being used for a cover. Three of these packs made a load 
fora pony. After breakfast I took a pony and crossed over 
to the white hunters’ camp, They were getting ready to 
leave, as they did not want to remain near the Indians. 
We spent this day and the following in this camp, getting 
a few buffalo, and then moved across to McClellan Creek, 
about twent miles away, Here we stopped about ten days. 
Our camp was near where some companies of the Fourth Cay- 
alry had fought a band of Comanche Indians (the Que-ha-da 
Comanches in 1872). Itold our chief about it. He knew it 
all, and said that to-morrow we would go over there and 
visit the locality. We went, and after he had looked for the 
place where the camp had been until we were both tired, he 
announced that he could not find it, Then I tried, and suc- 
eeeded better, The camp had been in the river bottom, and 
all vestiges of it down there were washed away. We had 
burned the camp after the fight, I, however, found where 
the chief’s lodge had been up on a higher bank. This fight 
then furnished us a subject for conversation at nights around 
the camp-fire for some time. 
On leaving the Agency there had been given to me a roll 
containing the names of all the men inthe party, Hyery 
night they would examine it and ask to be shown their names 
onit, They soon could point out each man his own name. 
Ifound that they counted from the top or bottom and so 
located themselves. My watch was another unfailing source 
of amusement to them; they never tired of watching the 
movement in it; then my pocket compass and map of Texas 
would claim their attention. 
_ The chief had an excellent field glass, but he never used 
it, and so I carried it, and found it often very useful. While 
we were in this camp, we were joined by a large band of 
Techi and Wichita Indians; they had left the Ageney some 
days after us, and had not found any buffalo yet; they had 
no rations along and were very hungry. Our Indians fed 
them, and after holding another council that night, we de- 
cided to move again, our purty to go west and the Techis 
north. I noticed this evening that our Indians brought their 
saddles, packs, and all loose articles inside the lodges, Before 
this they had always been kept outside on small racks made 
for the purpose. I was told that the Techis were great 
thieves, and would steal all loose property found lying out 
after night; the chief also sent a guard out to the pony herd, 
which was kept at- night some two 1ailes from camp, 
The next day we broke camp, and the day following got 
tothe Salt Fork of the Red River, where we stopped for 
about to weeks, still hunting every day. At this camp the 
Wolves were very plenty; they gave us a free concert each 
night and kept it up all night. I tried to shoot them with a 
rifle but did not sueceed very well. The chief had two 
ounces of strychnine along, and we began to poison them, 
and saved about 150 of their hides, which came very useful 
ater on. 
Here we had another adventure with the skin-hunters. 
Going out one morning with the chief we found a wagon 
track twenty-four hours old. Not knowing of any white 
men being in the country we followed it. From’ the zigzag 
course it took we soon concluded that they were lost, and so 
it proved. We trailed them to where they had camped the 
night before. Their fire was still burning, and the carcass 
of a deer had been left in camp. Still following them, in 
about an hour we first sighted them on a divide some three 
miles off. 1 examined them through the field glass and saw 
that there were two of them, with a two-horse wagon. It 
did not take us long to overtake them. They had their 
wagon loaded down with green buffalo hides, and wanted to 
go to Fort Elliott, Texas. They were going there, but it 
was by way of Ohina. They said they had been lost for 
nearly a week; had had nothing to eat most of the time, and 
could not eat buffalo or venison for want of salt. They had 
passed within a mile of a large salt lake without knowing it 
until Liold them, We put them on the right road, or rather 
gave them the right direction, for there was no road, and 
Jeft them. They told me that they got one dollar each for 
their largest hides and seventy-five cents for small ones. 
This is where the buffaloes haye gone. There isnot a single 
one now in all that country. The carcasses have been left to 
feed the wolves. 
Our next move, still west for two days, took us to a small 
creek, not down on the map, but about on the line between 
Texas and New Mexico. Here the chief said he would stay 
oné moon—a month—and then start back. 
After we had been in camp here a few days I concluded 
to see more of the country to the west of us. Taking two 
young Indian boys, about 15 years of age, and our ponies, 
some bread, coffe and sugar, I started on a hunt of my own. 
Not liking my gun I left it in camp and took bows and ar- 
rows. We made about 30 miles the first day, taking our 
time and camped at asmall lake or water hole, All the 
game we found this day was a few prairie chickens which 
were killed with bows and arrows, and we made our supper 
off them. Next morning the weather turned cold and it 
blew a norther, which turned into a snow storm at about 
neon. Putting our ponies to the gallop we kept on looking 
for timber and found it at 2 o’clock P, M, Just before get- 
ting into it we jumped a band of antelope, and before they 
vot away 1 dropped two of them, thanks to the repeater. 
Leaving the antelope where they fell, we went on to the 
timber and found a small canyon, well wooded and sheltered 
from the wind. After ticing our ponies out on grass, we 
broughtin and dressed our game. As it wasstill snowing one 
of the Indians and I put up a shelter with our saddle blank- 
ets, while the other Indian started a fire and got our dinner 
ready. The snow continued to fall, but not very heavy. We 
stopped here al] night. 
In the morning it turned warm again; the snow had 
stopped falling and was melting off very fast. I started off 
on foot up the canyon to look for wildturkeys. My Indians 
went off in another direction, and the camp was left in 
charge of the ponies. After hunting for an hour and seeing 
no game, | came back to camp, My Indians had not re- 
turned, so I sat down to wait forthem. I had not waited 
long before I heard two shots, followed by a yell, which I 
knew came from a white man. Just then my two Indians 
carne tumbling down the bank, so badly scared that they 
could not speak. They were shortly followed by a white 
man and two Mexicans. They stopped upon secing me and 
I invited them into camp, It seemed that they had come 
across the Indians back some distance on the plains and, of 
course, must fake a shot at them, Had I not been there 
these Indians would have gone to the happy hunting grounds 
then and there, After taking a smoke with the strangers 
they told me that they belonged to 4 large party, mostly 
Mexicans, who were hunting the buffalo for hides over on 
the Pecos River. They killed them with lances altogether, 
not using guns at all, I declined an invitation to visit them 
and started back toward our camp again. We bore south 
to-day and part of the following day, then turned northeast, 
and got into the hunting camp on the eyening of the fifth 
day from the time we left it. 
Buifaloes were getting scarce again, so the chief concluded 
to go home. He packed up to start next morning. We had 
hardly gone a mile when more buffaloes appeared, They 
were coming from the east, being driven west by other bands 
of Indians. We went into camp and commenced killing 
again. This stop lasted a week, At the end of that time 
every mule and pony not wanted for the saddle was loaded 
down with meat, and we made another start for home. 
When we got to the Salt Fork we found that the Cheyennes 
and Arapahoes had been hunting there since we left, about 
a month previous, They had left, but betore going they 
had taken particular pains to burn off all the grass, and from 
that point into the Agency they kept on a few days in ad- 
vance of us and burned everything behind them, This com- 
pelled us to alter our course and travel south to get below 
the burned district. On account of the poor condition of 
our stock and because of their being overloaded we could 
only make eight or ten miles a day, and could travel only 
about four duysin the week. Christmas found us on the 
Salt Fork, out of flour and nearly out of coffee and sugar, 
We were living on dried buffalo and what deer and turkeys 
we could kill. I was glad when one of our Indians brought 
in news that there was a trader somewhere below us. Leay- 
ing the party in camp, some of us started out the following 
day to find him. The chief and I going down the river 
came upon him about fifteen miles away. He was afraid to 
come up to our camp, buf we compromised, he coming up 
ten miles, and I promising to haye our camp kept where it 
then was, and to have a few Indians ata time come down 
and trade. He made me promise to remain in his camp 
while the trading was going on, and I readily agreed—any- 
thing to get flour and tobacco. 
He had hardly stopped his wagons at the designated place 
before our band was all around him, and trading began. 
He had five large wagons well loaded; his prices were Indian 
prices, 5 pounds of flour for a dollar, 14 pounds of coffee or 
2 pounds of sugar for a dollar. Tubacco a dollar fora 
A-ounce plug. Before he opened up he directed me to go to 
his wagons and help myself, and I did so with wlacrity. 
Calling up one of the chiet’s squaws, I loaded her pony with 
about fifty dollars’ worth of his supplies (Indian prices), 
They were worth about ten dollars, but I paid him nothing, 
80 did not care. His “checks” were felt gun wads, each repre- 
senting a dollar, He paid one dollar each for our wolf skins, 
and whatever was agreed upon for cach buffalorobe. Among 
his stores were a pumber of boxes of rifle cartridges of all 
calibers, also some whisky. I warned him not to sell any 
whisky, but told him to Jet them have all the ammunition 
they wanted. He was afraid to do so, however, so as we 
were out of ammunition, I got together a lot of his gun wad 
checks, taking one or more from each man, and bought all 
his Winchester cartridges and gave them out myself. Trad- 
ing was kept up pretty lively until dark, when we went 
home. Harly the next morning some of our Indians went 
over to look for him, but he had gone. 
From this time until we got back to the Agency nothing of 
note occurred. The return march was very tedious, but we 
finally got into the same camp we had left the previous Oc- 
tober, and on the morning of the day after arriving there I 
bade my Indians good-by, and, taking my own horse, rode 
down and reported to the Agent. 
When we first began to kill buffalo the chief had had one 
of the finest robes tanned and offered it to me for a present, 
but I would not take it; so, when leaving camp this morning, 
he brought up a small white pony, one that I had ridden a 
great deal that winter, and asked me to take him as a pres- 
ent from him. Not wishing to hurt his feelings by a refusal, 
I told him I would accept the pony, but that for the present 
he must keep him for me, I uever called for him, and three 
years afterward I was told that the chief was still taking 
particular care of him, and would not allow an Indian to 
mount him. 
I had intended in this paper to say something about the 
customs, religious beliefs, etc., of the Comanches, I have 
traveled before and since with a great many different tribes 
of Indians, among them the Kiowas, Cheyennes, Ara- 
pahoes and Pawnees, but never found any that I liked so 
well as those Comanches, J. A. B. 
Fort Lowett, Ariz., September, 1884. 
Aatuyal History. 
ROBINS AND STRAWBERRIES. 
HAVE been much interested in ‘‘Picket’s’” article on 
“Fruit-Hating Birds,” and his table of ‘‘cold facts,”’ 
(‘‘Picket” and { can agree better on this question than on 
dogs and guns), The assumption of ‘‘Wilmot” that the 
robin takes fen berries 2nd then goes away like a little man, 
to steal no more, is simply absurd. 
If ‘‘Picket’s” robin had ten berries in his erop at 5 A. M., 
you can take it that he was ready for ten more before 7 A. 
M., and that he will also gobble them at the same rate all 
day long, ; 
And if he saw a flock of 150 at one time, you may be sure 
that three times that number will raid the berries before 
night Does ‘‘Wilmot” know that a healthy robin—young, 
and in confinement—will eat more than a quart of berries 
weekly throughout the season? Yes; he will eat ten gills. 
Thaye tested it, and will wager my best canoe that a 
healtby, full-grown robin will eat more than the above quan- 
tity. (‘‘Picket’s” 18 robins when shot bad 17 insects and 109 
berries in their crops; but no matter). As figures seem to 
be in order, let us figure on the single flock of 150, very 
briefly. ; 
Say 150 robins, each eating one quart of berries weekly for two 
weeks, quarts 
At 25 cents Perils uh oak.) etsy vce eee een eee er eb e tL $150 
This is for a single flock, and for the robin only, Seri- 
ously, it does not represent a quarter of the damage that may 
be done to a large plantation of berries in a single season by 
birds; for nearly every couple of robins will have a nest 
of young near by, and a nest seldom contains less than five 
phew wpe ete se cap ereles owe she deen ees gaa te sie nee sae a 
 [Surr, 25, 1884, 
young birds, and the young robin is a squalling, ereedy, 
gape-mouthed glutton ag every schoolboy knows; he never 
seems full, never satisfied. As cold facts are in order, and 
as I have had bitter experience with fruit-eating birds, allow 
me to give a few facts, ; 
In 1859 I had a few beds of strawberries, containing a 
little more than 800 hills, They were well attended, runners | 
closely cut, weeds kept out, and in May of that year the beds — 
were white with bloom, As soon as thé berries began to 
color the birds found them, and the way they double-banked | 
the crop was discouraging to an amateur who was trying to— 
raise a supply of berries for home use. 
There were robins, cedar birds, jays, thrushes, catbirds, 
cuckoos, song sparrows and chip sparrows. I think that 
comprises all the birds; but they were assisted by chipmunks | 
and red squirrels, the latter not very destructive, The robin 
was the worst. He was a constant quantity and he was insa- 
tiable. He and his querulous wife built scores on scores of | 
their mud-and-grass houses, wherein they reared large fami- — 
lies of callow, open-headed, gluttonous young. He took his | 
ten berries at sunrise, and he kept taking them at short in. ~ 
tervals until sundown. Also he took, with the help of his | 
wife, ten berries to each of his illlooking offspring, and he | 
kept it up all the day long. 1 
The cherry bird or cedar bird, was also very destructive. | 
He can eat more berries in a given time than any bird of his — 
weight, but he does not carry them off to any extent. 
The sparrows aggravated me by hunting out the finest 
berries and pecking the sunny side, when they were half 
ripe. The cuckoo was a gentleman, He would take a single ° 
berry, eat it leisurely, and then finish his meal on insects, 
The bluejay, too, was very moderate in his stealing, and — 
I, at least, had little fault to find with the catbird. His — 
bright ways and pleasant song paid for the few berries he 
took, He was not numerous or greedy. The robins stole 
more than all the others. Wellsboro is a village of shade, | 
and the villagers encourage the birds. I suppose there were © 
at least fifty families of robins in the village which depended 
largely on my berry patch for subsistence, and the surround- | 
ing country was well stocked with the rascals, As to the | 
quantity a single robin wili eat—we captured a healthy | 
youngster just out of the nest and kept him in confinement — 
until the close of the berry season, He would eat a gill of — 
ripe berries daily and peep for more. . 
The robin is an ‘‘insectivorous’ bird; yes, when he cannot ~ 
get small fruits. When he goes on the skirmish line for in- ~ 
sects his favorite food is the barmless angleworm, as any 
ornithologist knows, We kept a few fresh angleworms in — 
the cage with our experimental robin, and no one ever saw | 
him touch a worm when he could get a berry. 
From 300 fine hills, estimated to yield over 150 quarts, I 
got a moderate supply for the table by covering a couple of | 
the most promising beds with netting. Outside of the net- 
ting I did not get ten quarts, and these of poor quality. The 
next year the vines promised still-better, and again the birds 
beat me. IJ saved just as many berries as I could afford to 
cover with mosquito netting. The birds got the rest. Next 
year I plowed the vines under. Ten berries toa bird, hey? 
In the spring of 1875 I commenced with strawberries 
again, putting out 3,000 hills and laying in a stock of No. 10 
shot, with a firm resolve to harden my heart and shoot off the 
last possible winged thief without remorse, I commenced 
with the earliest robins, and waged war without pity for | 
years with but partial success. I got in the aggrepute many | 
bushels of fine herries—and so did the birds. In the end I~ 
got sick of it. It was not conducive of sound sleep tw lie 
of a June night by an open window and listen to the faint 
cheep, cheep of young robins, slowly starving to death, 
wearily calling, day and night, for the parents I was con- 
scious of having murdered. Izreduced my hills to 200, which 
I thought I could afford to cover; but strawberries raised in 
this way are too troublesome and expensive. Three years : 
ago I plowed under the last bed, and gave it up. 
Verdict: Beaten by robius. (Of course, in the large open — 
fields of such growers as Messrs, Hilwanger & Barry, John 
Collins, Wm, Parry, ete., the birds do little appreciable | 
damage.) NmssMuUK,. 
WELLSBORO, Pa. 
DOMESTICATING QUAIL. 
Kdiior Forest and Stream: 
“Thus far we run before the wind.” Translated to suit 
the present subject, this may be rendered by the statement. 
that my first generation of quail hatched by the parent | 
birds from eggs laid in confinement are now fairly launched | 
into life with a good prospect of reaching a healthful ma- 
turity. To go back a little. ® 
On the 11th of August the hen quail, Betty, began to sit 
on thirteen eggs of her own laying. This was late, even for 
birds in confinement, but my pair had not been introduced 
to each other till June 10, and the coop in which they were 
placed was new to both when they were placed in it a weelc 
later, So that, in fact, when the hen began laying, on the 
16th of July, it indicated a reasonable disposition to adopt 
herself to her new environment. 
The first thirteen days of incubation the hen sat alone, 
Bob during this time was mostly loafing in the sun arranging 
hig feathers with superflous care and pretending now and 
then to keep an eye out for imaginary foes. But at the end 
of the thirteen days he took his place on the nest beside the 
hen and never atterward left it, except for food, till the 
young birds were hatched, Betty was always the more 
timid bird, and during the laying period and the first few | 
days of her sitting I was extremely careful not to disturb 
her. But afterward I resumed my habit of going into the 
coop daily and found that she not only reimsed to leave the 
nest when I sat down beside her, but when I insisted upon 
her rising actually spread her wings and attacked me like a 
full-sized hen. Indeed, she would peck my finger if I put 
it into the nest, nnd when she was forced to leave it went 
back the instant I allowed her to doso. The wild idea of 
self-protection had been mezged entirely in the mother’s in- 
stinct. f 
The period of three weeks (twenty-one days) said to be 
necessary for incubation expired on the morning of Sept, 1. 
During all that day, however, no chicks appeared, and the 
old birds both remained on the nest. On the morning of the 
twenty-second day I took an egg from the nest and broke it 
open to find that it contained a live bi On the morning 
of Sept. 4 the remaining twelye eggs hatche’ out twelve 
live birds. This, it will be observed, covere’ a period of 
twenty-four days, or three more than is sup sed to be re- 
uired. 
. At this writing the young birds are eleven days cld and 
apparently lively and hearty, They feed well, and have a 
-spéecial fondness for flies and grasshoppers, which are served — 
to them occasionally, Thus far I have lost but one chick, 
