26 



AND STREAM: 



[Feb. 5, 1885. 



going the opposite way. I then Concluded that the Arctic 

 hare has not ears for nothing; that he must have heard me 

 Doming rather than seen roe, and turned when satisfied of 

 my proximity. I then stood for a moment resolving some 

 method of circumventing the wily game, and I thought of a 

 plan, very simple. I took out the ramrod ot my gun, stuck 

 it in the snow by the hare's tracks and hung my crimson 

 comforter upon it. "That will make no noise," I chuckled 

 to myself, "and it, will be a sight for this unsophisticated 

 animal. So I set out again, and when I had nearly com- 

 pleted my circuit moved cautiously. Presently this unsee- 

 able thing that had been making the footprints "was in sight, 

 about twenty yards distant, silting upon its haunches, and 

 with ears thrust out looking with all the intentness and won- 

 derment of its nature upon the ramrod and the crimson 

 scarf. "Hallo, sir,'' I said, as I presented. He made a 

 quick motion, and was on the spring into covert when 1 

 lodged the load, which had so long been hungering for him, 

 into his side. 1 carried awaj r my prize with as much pride 

 and pleasure as if it had been the head of the proudest stag 

 in the wilderness. 



When my companions left me engaged in the "starn 

 chase, " they thought I would have continued till overpowered 

 with disgust. "How did you get him?" they asked in sur- 

 prise. "Why, I traveled round and round for a time with- 

 out seeing him, then I knew that it was simply a question of 

 speed between us, and judging that I could run the faster of 

 the two, I set out at top speed. After three circuits I ran 

 him down, and shot him as, in a state of exhaustion, he was 

 trying to crawl under the bushes." They swallowed the 

 story, and looked upon me as a sort of dare devil prodigy. 

 I may say that if the townsman find an invariable freshness 

 in the rustic, the rustic is also sure either to find or to look 

 for a greenness of a certain kind in the citizen. Ignorance of 

 certain facts, which are known to him by experience, or 

 gathered from the experience of others, stamps the incomer 

 with the dandy clothes and fine linen as a legitimate subject 

 for quiet fun. If the citizen can good-naturedly turn the 

 tables, he becomes a hero; if he cannot, lie will always be 

 regarded as a legitimate subject for a certain species of their 

 wit and cleverness. Had I come away exhausted from the 

 hare chase, they would have laughed and jibed, me compas- 

 sionately. This was a new way of getting the game, and 

 they simply looked with distended eyes while I told my lie. 

 It was not till the next morning that I stated the fact, when 

 they all felt and looked defeated and ashamed. I had, very 

 naturally, adopted the obvious expedient, and it was the 

 same as'they would have adopted; but they had reserved the 

 information for my benefit till after my defeat had beeji as- 

 sured. J. W, Collins. 

 [to be continued.] 



HORNS OF THE FEMALE CARIBOU. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Owing to my absence from the city, I have only just read 

 Mr. Chamberlain's letter, published in jour issue of the 8th 

 inst. I am sure thatMr. Chamberlain and I are bothanxious 

 only to get at the truth of the interesting question brought 

 up by this discussion, and the best way to do this is to col- 

 lect all the authorities on the. subject, and after this has been 

 done to take what testimony we can from the trustworthy 

 caribou hunters of to-day. 1 notice the references given by 

 Mr. Chamberlain in his last letter, and can only add to them 

 two or three, namely: Griffith's "Cuvier's Animal King- 

 dom," Vol. V,, p. 304; Brook's "Proceedings Zoological 

 Society, London," p. 927. To these two I have been unable 

 to refer directly, but through the kindness of my friend, Mr. 

 Frank J. Thompson, I can give one or two extracts from 

 the "Sportsman and Naturalist in Canada," by Major 

 W. Ross Kiug, Unattached, F.R.G.S.. P.S.A.S., etc., 

 London, 18(16. In his preface he says: "During a sojourn 

 in these regions, extending over a period of three years, con- 

 stantly rod in hand or roaming the woods with dog and gun, 

 I habitually recorded in my note book memoranda on the 

 haunts and habits of the birds and animals which I have 

 endeavored to describe in the succeeding pages," etc. And 

 further on in Chapter IV. (Ruminantia, continued ) : 



"The caribou of Canada (Gervus tarandus, var. caribou) is 

 not to be confounded with the smaller variety (gmnlondicux), 

 which inhabits the more northern regions lying between the 

 sixty-fifth degree of latitude and the coast of the Arctic Sea, 

 and is an equally distinct variety of the typical reindeer 

 {QTCV& tarandus) of the old world." 



"Partly palmated and partly cylindrical, the caribou ant- 

 lers are of singular and fantastic form, and though of great 

 expanse — apparently ill-adapted for a forest life — are so 

 slight that their weight seldom exceeds nine pounds. [Here 

 an excellent cut of the head and antlers is inserted.] 



"The stem of the horn is considerably curved, the concave 

 aide being to the front, and the extremities of the palmated 

 brow antlers project nearly fifteen inches over the face. 

 Sometimes only one of these brow-antlers occurs on one 

 or other of the horns, though they are more frequently present 

 on both, especially in the case of the older males; and it is 

 doubtless their peculiarity of form which has led to the belief 

 that they are intended by nature for the purpose of removing 

 the snows of winter in search of food. The fact, however, 

 that the male animal sheds his horns about the commence- 

 ment of that season demolishes the theory in his case; and it 

 is well known that he uses for this purpose his forefeet and 

 muzzle only, the skin of which latter is exceedingly hard 

 and tough". It is a singular fact that the female of this 

 species is furnished with antlers as well as the male, and 

 equally curious that while the latter shed their horns, as just 

 mentioned, at the beginning of winter, she should retain 

 hers until the spring. If for the purpose of enabling her to 

 procure food as above, in the winter, we may ask why should 

 she be provided with facilities for such a purpose which are 

 denied to the opposite sex?" 



This statement, it will be observed, is quite definite. Mr. 

 Thompson has also given me an account of a pair of caribou, 

 male and female, which for a year were under his charge at 

 the Philadelphia Zoological Gardens. Of these, the female 

 had horns, and there is no question about the sex of the two 

 animals, for a critical examination was made in order that 

 they might be correctly registered on the books of the 

 Garden. These books show that these caribou came from 

 Maine. 



In an article entitled "Caribou Hunting," originally pub- 

 lished in the Century Magazine, and recently reprinted by 

 the Century Co. in the superb volume "Sport with Gun and 

 Rod" New York, 1883, p. 311. Mr. Charles C. Ward says: 



"Horns are common to both sexes, but the horns of the bucks 

 are seldom carried later than the month of December, while 

 the does carry theirs all winter," etc. ; and further on he 

 continues, "I have often studied their habits on the exten- 

 sive caribou barrens between New River and the head of 

 Lake Utopia, in Charlotte county, New Brunswick." 



My position is this : The unanimous testimony of authors, 

 several of whom have observed the caribou in New Bruns- 

 wick, the locality now under discussion, is to the effect that 

 the female caribou is usually provided with horns. This 

 statement has been so often repeated that it has come to be 

 considered as an established fact, and is referred to as well 

 known, by most works on natural history and comparative 

 anatomy. To overthrow this general belief, and to show 

 that it is founded on error, even in any one locality, we 

 may fairly demand that a large amount of indisputable testi- 

 mony shall be brought forward to support the contrary view. 

 For such evidence I shall wait. 



That there may be such a geographical variation as is 

 hinted at by Mr. Chamberlain, is possible, though, except 

 for that gentleman's experience and the statements of the 

 hunters and Indians whom he quotes, 1 see as yet no evidence 

 of it. Something much more definite, and conclusive than 

 this is required before we can admit even the probability of 

 so great a variation from the caribou of the Province of 

 Quebec <o those of the neighboring Province of New Bruns- 

 wick. 



Mr, Chamberlain inquires as to the personal knowledge 

 had by Audubon and Bachman of this species. I find no 

 distinct statements in their Recounts of this species which 

 bear directly on this point. It is remarked that during a cer- 

 tain trip to Labrador none of these animals were seen, and 

 an account of their habits is given as having been detailed to 

 the authors by Mr, Martyn, of G Quebec. To my mind the 

 inference drawn from the article is clear that the authors 

 had but very slight, if any, personal knowledge of the 

 species. Geo. Btrd Grtnnell. 



New York, Jan. 30, 1885. 



A correspondent well known to readers of Forest and 

 Stream by his pseudonym "Corporal Lot Warlield," writes 

 from Maine: "I have killed female caribou that were ant- 

 lered, but have not found them as plenty as those without 

 horns." 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



The inclosed letters may not be uninteresting to some of 

 your numerous readers, who have seen the differeut opinions 

 expressed in your columns for some time past regarding the 

 matter of whether, as a rule, the female caribou have horns 

 or not. From reading the answers to my inquiries among the 

 well-known caribou hunters of Gaspe, you will see they all 

 differ as to the proportion of hornless females. One should 

 almost say, from these statements, that a female caribou with- 

 out horns is the exception to the rule. Not being a caribou 

 hunter, I make no comments, but simply send you the infor- 

 mation I got through Joseph Eden, Esq., of Gaspe, who col- 

 lected it for me; but I may add that I know all these hunt- 

 ers, and believe them to be reliable men, and their state- 

 ments according to the extent of their experience. 



Quebec, Jan. 24, 1885. J. U. GREGORY. 



Gaspe, Jan. 17, 1886, 

 J. U. Gregory, Esq., Quebec: 



Dear Sir — In answer to your inquiry, in what proportion 

 have I found female caribou with horns, I beg to say that I 

 have hunted for over twenty -five years and have killed over 

 One hundred and fifty, and found only about one out of fifteen 

 female caribou tha,t had no horns. William Eden, 



Gaspe, Jan. 19, 1885. 

 ./. U. Gregory, Esq., Quebec: 



Dear Sir— In answer to an inquhy, in what proportion 

 have 1 found female caribou with horns, I beg to say that I 

 have hunted for over twenty -five years ; I have killed about 

 sixty caribou, have found only about one of twenty five with- 

 out horns, and the females drop their horns in May, and the 

 new horns begin to grow at once. Henry G. Patterson. 



Gaspe Jan. 19, 1885, 

 J. U. Gregory, Esq., Quebec: 



Dear Sir— In answer to your inquiry, in what proportion 

 have I found female caribou with horns, I beg to say that I 

 have hunted for over twenty-five years and have killed about 

 one hundred and thirty caribou, and have found only one 

 female in thirtv without horns. The females drop their 

 horns in May and the new horns begin to grow immediately 

 afterward. ' Joseph Eden. Jr, 



AS TO THE WHITE GOAT. ' 



Fdit&r Forest and Stream: 



It is not at any time a pleasing undertaking to be obiiged 

 to call another person to account for an article written, no 

 doubt, with the best iutentions and from the best motives. 

 In writing an article for a periodical of high class and large 

 circulation like the Century Magazine, especially when the 

 views expressed treat of matters interesting from a natural 

 history point of view, great care should be exercised to make 

 only such statements as are strictly accurate. This is doubly 

 important when tho statements made may become matters of 

 record from which others may have to draw conclusions re- 

 specting some animal with which they personally may be 

 wholly unacquainted. When such erroneous statements are 

 made, therefore, I conceive it to be the duty of any one who 

 recognizes manifest errors to promptly correct such misstate- 

 ments, with the view of placing reliable information within 

 the reach of those who are desirous of obtaining it. 



Actuated by these motives, I am induced to offer a few 

 remarks regarding Aploeerus wlumbianm Coues. 



In the December number of the Century Magazine ap- 

 pears an article on "Hunting the Rocky Mountain Goat," by 

 William Baillie-Grohman, which contains glaring inaccura- 

 cies, which are the more remarkable when we consider how 

 long this species has been known and how widely it is dis- 

 tributed. Moreover, the species is one respecting which the 

 fullest information may be had with a minimum of trouble 

 and expense, provided the proper localities are visited. 



This animal is more abundant in the coast ranges of 

 Oregon, Washington Territory, British Columbia and 

 Alaska than elsewhere, and throughout these ranges in 

 British Columbia there can be procured at all or any of the 

 various Indian camps as many goat skins as may be desired, 

 and usually as many blankets made from the wool of this 

 species as may be required. These blankets are still manu- 

 factured to a large extent by the older- members of the Indian 

 community, notwithstanding that the various tribes are well 

 supplied with blankets of European and American manufac- 

 ture by the Hudson's Bay Company and other traders. 



To give an idea of the abundance of the white goat, it will 



be sufficient to state that an Indian of my acquaintance 

 killed to his own rifle in two days the winter before last, 

 sixty-five goats, and did so within a distance of sixty or 

 seventy miles from this city. 



The skins are of no special commercial value, selling at 

 $1 to $1.50 each, and this price is no great inducement to 

 Indians to hunt for them in a country where wages are so 

 high as they are in British Columbia. 



Very often these animals are caught while young, and 

 when reared about a house become as tame, playful and 

 mischievous as the traditional "pet sheep." 



The habit of sitting on their haunches is a marked and 

 well-known characteristic of this animal, but always, as far 

 as I can learn, with the two forefeet resting on the ground. 

 I question very much if they elevate their two forelegs as in 

 the "position of a begging poodle," as related by Mr. Groh- 

 man, but as the testimony of one person who has seen a 

 thing is of greater weight than a thousand who have not, I 

 will let this pass. 



Dogs are totally useless in pursuit of this animal, as they 

 scale precipitous places and leap chasms where dogs could 

 not follow, rendering the latter of no assistance in effecting 

 their capture. 



Mr. Grohman's statements respecting the size of this 

 animal are probably at variance with facts; a fair average 

 weight may be held to be 125 pounds. Very rarely do the 

 largest bucks weigh 200 pounds, and the girth given as men- 

 tioned by Mr. G. as being 7 feet 3£ inches, is evidently a 

 mistake, or the grossest possible error. 



A work ox girthing 6 feet 6 inches is a fair average ox, 

 one girthing 7 feet is a long way above the average, while 

 one girthing 7 feet 3^ inches would dress from 800 to 1,000 

 pounds, and he would weigh alive from 1&00 pounds to 

 1,600 pounds, in proportion as to whether he was fat or 

 merely in good working condition. Now, how does this 

 agree with the statement that the goat spoken of would 

 weigh from 300 to 400 pounds, which, if even so, would not 

 be such a big lift for "two powerful men." 



That this species invariably lives above the timber line is 

 not true, I saw one shot by a person sitting in a canoe, and 

 the goat, when so shot and killed, fell into the salt water; 

 and know of numbers of instances of them having been 

 killed at very low altitudes. One was killed while swim- 

 ming across Burrard Inlet only last summer, and the pres- 

 ence at high or low altitudes is governed greatly by the 

 depth of snow. 



With respect to the paucity of specimens in various 

 museums, 1 am inclined to think that Mr. G. is misinformed, 

 as I know of quite a number of specimens having been sent 

 from this part of the world other than those mentioned in the 

 article published in the Century Magazine. 



J. C. Hughes. 

 New Westminster, British Columbia, Dec. 10, 1884. 



[The American Museum of Natural History at Central 

 Park has one or more individuals of tbis species on exhibi- 

 tion, and we know of four or five specimens in. this city in 

 private hands.] 



THE BIRDS OF MICHIGAN. 



BY DR. MORRIS GIBBS. 

 (Continued.) 



6. Merula migratoria (Linn.) Sw. and Rich.— American 

 robin, migratory thrush, robin redbreast. 



We may well doubt, if there is a bird on the American con- 

 tinent as dear to the hearts of her millions of inhabitants as 

 the robin. A large majority even of our foreign population 

 have a tender feeling for the robin, as it so often takes the 

 place of home birds left years ago in foreign lands. 



The children learn the' name of the robin first of all, and 

 soon recognize it by its happy song and bright breast, and 

 the little ones look eagerly forward to the return of the 

 robins and bluebirds, as dreary winter wears away and 

 "freezing tempests back to Greenland ride." 



What a strange spring we would consider it, if the robins 

 did not appear. The papers announce their return, "the 

 robins have come," is heralded from every quarter, and the 

 words are on the lips of the joyous and happy: lor we know 

 that the vernal sun will bring forth the budding vegetation, 

 and nature will wear her happiest May day smiles. 



Few birds of North America have the geographical range 

 of our familiar friend, extending almost throughout the 

 entirety of the northern half of the Western Hemisphere; 

 from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from Central America 

 to the Arctic circle. 



The migratory thrush, as it is appropriately called from its 

 widespread peregrinations, is occasionally a winter resident 

 in Michigan, although 1 cannot, attest that it is ever a resi- 

 dent, though it is quite probable that a few remain every 

 season in sheltering nooks, in the edges of deep woods. 

 where living springs keep the earth perpetually soft. Such 

 birds are from the north, having probably migrated to our 

 State manv hundreds of miles, while our own Michigan 

 robins, which are last seen late in November, scurrying along 

 hedgerows and in small thickets, are as far south as Kentucky 

 at least, perhaps in Texas or in Yucatan. And while speak- 

 ing of the robin as a resident, it may be proper to mention 

 an uncertainty concerning the terms resident and winter 

 resident, as regards other species well known as being found 

 some seasons in winter, as well as summer. Of this class, 

 the nuthatches, several species of woodpeckers, chickadees 

 and many other familiar birds are examples. For instance, 

 we see red-bellied woodpeckers throughout some winters, in 

 fact they may be found nearly every season. But can we 

 call these birds residents? For we must consider that the 

 red-bellies which were with us during summer have left us, 

 and those we find in the winter months came from the north. 

 That those birds which are with us in summer go south at 

 the time of regular migration, and their places are taken, 

 partially, by recruits of the same species from the north, is 

 well known, and I have repeatedly observed the change. 

 However, the robin is a common species in Michigan during 

 quite eight months of the year. 



We first hear of the redbreast in the southern counties on 

 their return migration in February, and the last ones are 

 seen in the southern journey generally in the early part of 

 December. I have seen stragglers repeatedly in January. 



The migratory thrush is the first of the family to build its 

 nest, and many nestlings have emerged from the beautiful 

 blue eggs quite a week before the Wilson's and olive-backed 

 thrush have invaded the State in any numbers. Some nests 

 are found containing eggs by April 10, but such instances 

 arc extremely rare, the nesting season really not being at its 

 height until May 10. From May 15 until .Tidy 20, fresh eggs 

 may be taken in the accustomed haunts— which means every- 

 where—or young birds of all ages be found, from the nest- 



