406 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Jtoe 18, 1885. 



Address all communications to the Forest and Stream Publish- 

 ing Co. 



THE MOUNTAINS. 



TS the dust and glare of the city's streets, 

 *- When the fainting breezes have stopped their play, 

 And the July sun on the pavement beats. 

 Then my wandering thoughts to the mountains stray ; 

 Where in trail- threaded forests the glimmering ray 

 Through the thick boughs doubts of its i-is:ht to shine, 



While the murmuring waterfall croons its lay, 

 And the free wind sings in the swaying pine. 



There are some who delight in the waving field, 



As it rustles its promise of scented hay; 

 But the troubles that gnaw at my heart are healed 



When my wandering thoughts to the mountains stray. 



There the tingling ah- in the dawning gray 

 Pours its glow-giving draughts of ethereal wine; 



There the sun's last kiss ends the long, soft day, 

 And the free wind sings in the swaying pine. 



There are some who would dive in the surf's long roll, 



And with rocking boats toss the stinging spray ; 

 But a calm, fresh gladness steals on my soul 



When my wandering thoughts to the mountains stray. 



Through the sage-clad slopes; up the rock-strewn way 

 I would climb to rest in the secret shrine, 



Where the shuddering aspens in whispers pray. 

 And the free wind sings in the swaying pine. 



ENVOY. 



Then I'll follow fancy and speed away 



When my wandering thoughts to the mountains stray ; 

 There the spirit of nature is all divine, 



And the free wind sings in the swaying pine. 



H. G. Dulog. 



MY FELLOW TRAVELER. 



THE first thing I heard when I stepped on board the train 

 bound south was a loud interested voice telling nomin- 

 ally to a few friends, but as a matter of fact to all the voyag- 

 ers in the car, the story of a life that had embraced, accord- 

 ing to the historian, nearly all the events of interest that had 

 taken place in North America since '45. 



Knowing the general rule that vast experiences of a thrill- 

 ing kind are joined with a poor memory and a rich fancy, 

 and knowing that other general rule that a talker fertile in 

 personal detail is a tiresome companion, I buried myself in 

 the scenery that slid past the window, and resolved to make 

 myself so small as to escape attention. Now and then the 

 name of a familiar battle or renowned exploration would 

 reach me above the din of travel, and little by little it was 

 borne iu on me that my fellow traveler was a truthful man, 

 for no one would make a boast of the dismal series of defeats 

 and failures in which our narrator had played so great a 

 part. 



The President (I got to give him that honorable title be- 

 cause he had held the post of municipal president of a Mexi- 

 can town) was born in Texas somewhere about 1830. Texas 

 was then a part of Mexico, and the President, therefore, 

 always held himself to be a citizen of Mexico by force of 

 nativity, though his tough six and a half feet of body and 

 his determined face showed that the ancestral blood was 

 northern. Even his Spanish, correct and fluent as it was, 

 had now and then a snarling note which assured one of his 

 Saxon kinship. His military career commenced when 

 Donovan led his borderers into Mexico. The President 

 shared the fortunes of his Mexican brethren. More lucky 

 than some, he escaped the bullets of the wild riflemen ; braver 

 than others, he did not run away, but he was captured, and 

 only escaped from this servitude to be engaged in further- 

 disasters. 



After the Mexican struggle was oyer came a period of 

 Indian war. A man named Glanton, I think, raised a volun- 

 teer company of Indian fighters early in the '50s. Although 

 his profession was military, his genius was commercial. To 

 combine profit and pleasure he entered into a contract with 

 the Governor of Chihuahua, whereby that State bound itself 

 to furnish arms and food, and to pay Glanton fifty dollars 

 for every Indian scalp he should present for record. Whether 

 Glanton gained or lost in this bloody business I don't know, 

 but his example was contagious. Our President was enrolled 

 in a New Mexico company and marched to the field of 

 honor. The company, numbering some eighty-eight rank 

 and file, that is counting officers and all, were camped near 

 Abiqu, not far from one of the branches of the Rio Grande. 

 Scouts brought word that seventy-five Apaches lay resting on 

 Bear Creek.ln what is now the Navajo reservation. The 

 rangers started at once, marched with speed and caution, 

 and passed the night without fire and almost speechless, that 

 no whisper might betray their approach to the savages. Be- 

 fore dawn the men were on foot, and just as light was break- 

 ing they struck the Apache camp and charged. The charge 

 was successful, that is, the Indians ran away, but they ran in 

 such numbers and stopped so soon that in a moment the 

 rangers were fighting for their lives. An arrow from an 

 Apache war bow flies so fast for the first seventy-five yards 

 as to be invisible, but beyond that distance you catch the 

 glimpse of the feathers, and if you are looking at the right 

 Indian you have time to dodge his shot. The rangers fortu- 

 nately kept their foes some distance off, but the latter had 

 the advantage of higher ground and a plunging fire. The 

 President, while looking at the wrong Indian, got a glancing 

 arrow wound above the eyebrow and advised a retreat. For 

 sixty miles the stubborn red men hung on the rear of the 

 flying column, and entire safety was not gained until two 

 companies of dragoons joined the rangers. 



And now skipping those minor incidents which do not 

 stand out in high relief against the monotony of a soldier's 

 life, we come to the war of the rebellion. The President 

 moved east with Gen. A, S. Johnson to strike a blow for 

 the lost cause. At Val Verde he did help to gain a victory, 

 but he was shot for his pains and soon afterward was chased 

 with his comrades into Texas. Here again some share of 

 barren glory fell to his lot, for he served with Magruder 

 against Banks on the Red River expedition, but it was 

 pathetic to hear him deplore the havoc that the gunboats 

 caused. "Why sir," said he, "we would be going through 

 timber so thick a man couldn't see ahead ; where you had a 

 right to be safe, and there would come a fizz and a bang, and 

 then more and more shells, till the very trees would fall and 

 crush our men." 



But the rebellion was staggering to its fall, and besides 

 the President had at last got news that his native Mexico had 



been invaded, so he resigned his position in the Confederate 

 forces, crossed the Rio Grande and joined Cortina. Cortina 

 sent him down in charge of artillery to oppose the landing 

 of the French near the mouth of the river. He opposed the 

 landing ineffectually, and for two years and eight months 

 thereafter was driven from pillar to post by the imperial 

 forces with discouraging frequency, and finally when Juarez 

 made his victorious march after the French withdrew, the 

 President did not share in the triumph, because as he spoke 

 English it was thought necessary to keep him on the border. 



War had palled. 'The President still holds a high commis- 

 sion, it is true: but his chief attention is now given to the 

 arts of peace. His cattle dot many a hill and mesa. His 

 lands stretch far along the border, and by his constant and 

 successful efforts to help his countrymen in general and his 

 neighbors in particular he has nobly earned the title of the 

 Father of the Border. 



But all this time we have been speeding southward, till at 

 last we pass the yawning chasm of the Tajode Nochestongo, 

 a valley that looks as if only the forces of eternal nature 

 could have gouged it out. For ten miles the great ditch runs 

 along, over a hundred yards wide on top in places and more 

 than half as deep — a monument of human persistence more 

 striking than the pyramids of Egypt. And so we enter the 

 Valley of Mexico. 



Sunday afternoon is the chosen season for the bull fight. 

 This amusement is forbidden in the federal district, but for 

 the convenience of the public the boundary of the district is 

 made to run a few feet outside of the gate of the bull pen at 

 Huizchal. 



Looking toward the south you see the white walls of the 

 castle of Chapultepec rising above the fringe of giant cedars. 

 Beyond lies the city, with its numberless church towers, dim 

 in the distance, and far in the misty horizon glitter the snowy 

 tops of the twin volcanoes. 



There were four bulls from the cattle farms of Atenco, 

 long noted for their vicious breed. Certainly the bulls had 

 no sign of any other kind of careful breeding. Light in the 

 quarters, wiry and rough, not weighing over eight hundred 

 pounds, they'would have taken no prizes at a State fair; but 

 they were as wicked as anj r beast need be. 



Every man that stood in front of one of those creatures 

 depended on his nerve and quickness for his life, and from 

 the minute the first bull stepped into the ring it was clear 

 that there was at least no humbug in the matter. There were 

 two picadors. One of them was very skillful. He would 

 catch the charging bull with his buttoned lance in the neck 

 or shoulder and throw him off far enough to clear the horse 

 nearty every time, but at last the bull would bore iu in spite 

 of everything; the leather armor of the horse would be (lung 

 off or ripped to shreds and the horns would cut and tear the 

 life out of the poor brute. 



A bull in charging does not put his head down and run 

 till he strikes something. He aims at some definite object 

 and when he reaches that object or the spot where it oue,ht 

 to be he throws his head up sharply, sometimes witli force 

 enough to carry his forequarters high in the air. _ Then if he 

 has caught nothing his charge is over, but if he feels 

 resistance he keeps plunging and lifting until something 

 gives way. One horse was caught back of the forelegs. 

 Slowly the bull lifted his victim, at first struggling vainly, 

 then hanging limp till at last the horse was turned clear over 

 on to his rider, while the bull rushed again on the prostrate 

 pair. There were several stirring incidents in the combats. 

 One bull cleared the palings at a single jump but at last was 

 driven back to the sacrifice. Once a daring fellow with the 

 aid of a pole sprang entirely over a bull who was charging 

 at him. Banderillas were put in by a bareback rider and by 

 a man sitting in a chair, though it is fair to say that this last 

 hero got up before the bull reached him. 



The final killing was not in every case an artistic success. 

 The torero should put his sword in at one side of the back- 

 bone nearly at the point of the withers and reach the heart 

 at a single thrust; then the bull walks off for a moment; 

 drops and dies. In only one instance was this perfectly 

 done. The other bulls needed at least two thrusts and then 

 struggled and staggered for a long time, or else had to be 

 dispatched by a dagger stroke behind the horns. 



The exhibition was barbarous, brutal and degrading, and 

 ought to be abolished, but it is only just to add that I was as 

 much interested and excited as the most hardened of the 

 mob. 



The hot, clear sky, the glittering dresses of the bull fighters 

 flashing around the ring as they threw their purple cloaks in 

 the face of their angry victim ; the savage, rushing charge, 

 the shouts of the crowd, and the brazen ring of the music 

 rising over the hoarse din of applauding thousands sent a 

 tingle through one's veins, which reminds him how near he 

 is to his savage forefathers. The educated conscience m its 

 cooler moments cries shame, but the brutal instinct cheers 

 on the fighters. 



All this has very little to do with my traveling com- 

 panion. Indeed, I will admit that he was but a text to preach 

 away from, thougb the text has stretched half through the 

 sermon, and I will also say, for fear that our national ten- 

 dency to look on the comic side of life may have given you 

 a poor idea of the President, that a more interesting, genial 

 and unselfish companion never lightened a weary way, 



H. G. Dulog. 



■impd Wffi ot U* 



Address all communications to the Forest and Ktreum BubliyJi- 

 ing Co. __ 



THE BITE OF THE GILA MONSTER. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I have heard upon several occasions of death resulting 

 from the bite of a Gila monster, but never had such death 

 come under my personal observation. The last reported 

 case being at Fairbanks, in Cochise county, about sixty miles 

 east of this city. I wrote Dr. Mathews, the physician in the 

 case, for the facts relative to it, and his reply I herewith 

 append. The letter is dated Tombstone, May 10: 



"In reply to yours of the othinst., I would state that the 

 facts in the case of Col. Yeager are: That on the morning 

 of the 26th ult., Yeager, in a spirit of bravado, I suppose, 

 or perhaps in a false sense of security and confidence in the 

 harmlessness of the reptile, was playing with one of the 

 'beasts' and attempted to open its mouth, when the thing 

 suddenly closed its jaws on the thumb and forefinger of the 

 left hand, the fangs going entirely through the nail of the 

 thumb and appearing on the front. It required considerable 

 force to compel the reptile to loosen its hold, which it did 

 only when its jays were pried apart. Of course remedial 



measures were adopted to counteract the effects of the 

 poison by the free administration of stimulants (whisky) in- 

 ternally and the application of ammonia externally. " For 

 some time after receiving the bite he complaiued of much 

 pain in the hand, and there was some swelling and discolora- 

 tion, though not so much as I should have expected of a 

 venomous wound. After the effect of the stimulant began to 

 be felt, he experienced relief from the severe pain, and was 

 advised to go home and lie down, and started to do so, but 

 only got some fifty or one hundred yards, to J. P. Graham's 

 saloon, which he entered and almost immediately fell to the 

 floor in a state of stupor, and lay in that condition until it 

 was discovered that he was dead. 



"Yeager was a drinking man, and had been drinking that 

 morning before the accident occurred, and of course must 

 have taken a considerable quantity afterward, just how 

 much I could not learn definitely, but should judge from 

 statements made to me at least one-half pint and doubtless 

 more. When he appeared at the door of Graham's saloon, 

 that person thought he was under the influence of whisky, 

 and wiien he fell to the floor said he only thought him drunk, 

 and as he apparently went to sleep, concluded to let him lie 

 until he awakened. As near as I could learn, he must have 

 lain there on the floor some two hours or more before it was 

 discovered that he was dead. 



"As I have said, his condition after reaching Graham's was 

 sufficiently similar to the effects of alcoholic stimulation in 

 excess to deceive an inexperienced person. But on investi- 

 gation I found a marked difference. Instead of the slow, 

 deep, stertorous breathing of one under the influence of alco- 

 hol, his respiration was described as a short, quick snore, 

 while some few observed a convulsive movement, though 

 slight in degree. 



' 'At first I was disposed. to look on his death as caused by 

 excessive use of alcoholic stimulants at and after the time of 

 the injury. But on hearing all the statements at the inquest 

 held that night, I became convinced that such was not the 

 case, but that death really resulted from the venom of the 

 monster. In this opinion I am supported by our couuty 

 physician, Dr. G. C. Willis, who was present with me at 

 the inquest. These, I believe, are all the facts in the case. 

 They are at least all that were developed on inquest. 



"Hitherto I have been disposed to be skeptical as to the 

 possession of venom by the Gila monster that would cause 

 death in the. human subject on being bitten by it. I do not 

 do so now. I would state further that one of the jury, as 

 soon'ashehad heard of the occurrence had predicted Yea- 

 ger's death within a few hours, basing his prediction on 

 personal knowledge of a case of the same kind where, the 

 man bitten lived but little over one hour. 



"Yeager lived three and a half or four hours, although to 

 all intents dead within an hour. H. M. Matthews." 



The fate of Col. Yeager will, 1 think, convince many that 

 the bite of the Gila monster is death. The Indians and Mex- 

 icans need no convincing, inasmuch as they unitedly main 

 tain such to be the case; but among the whites there is, and 

 has been, much incredulity on the subject. Col. Yeager 

 was one of thest known citizens of that section of Arizona, 

 having for the past several years been before the public, first 

 as a mining operator and later as defendant in a sensational 

 divorce case. To whisky some may attribute his death, 

 but the statement of Dr. Matthews, one of the most reputable 

 physicians of Tombstone, will go far to convince all fair- 

 minded inquirers. Hkkbbut Brown. 

 Tucson, Ariz., May 30; 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



The Gila monster is one of the most curious reptiles, of 

 which Arizona is prolific. It lives in the Sandy wastes 

 and along the river bottoms of Arizona, and might be called 

 a dry-land iguana. It is a foot or a foot and a half long, has 

 four legs, and an epidermis of variegated color, and grows 

 to about the size of your arm. The question at issue is 

 whether they are poisonous or not. Many years ago I had 

 the fangs of one examined by scientists, and they were pro 

 nounced innocuous. The skin made a beautiful covering 

 for an opera glass. 



The Mexicans call it "escupion" (the spitter), from the 

 fact that it ejects saliva when irritated; and the Indians shun 

 it like a rattlesnake, and they know. The Americans make 

 pets of them; and the other day a man named Yager was 

 fooling with one which nipped his finger, and he died in 

 three hours, a frequent occurrence. 



The utility of the Gila monster is to turn them loose in a 

 gopher field, when the gophers rapidly disappear. Every 

 man, beast, bird, fish, reptile and insect has its natural de- 

 stroyer. Now what is the natural enemy of the locust? 

 Quien salts? St. John ate them with honey, and they are not 

 bad food. The Digger Indians eat them roasted without 

 any honey. Fortunately they cannot cross the deserts and 

 get to Arizona. C. D. P. 



Noqales, Mexico, May 3(1. 



[The bite of Heloderma sitspectum has always been re- 

 garded as innocuous by scientific men, though the fact that 

 the reptile is greatly dreaded by Mexicans and Indians has 

 always been known. Recently, however, some experiments 

 made by Dr. Mitchell have shown that the bite is venomous, 

 and thus that the belief of the Indians is well founded. We 

 scarcely think, however, that the case referred to in the two 

 previous communications would, if it stood alone, be very 

 strong evidence against Heloderma. As is well known, a 

 man who is habitually intoxicated is not likely to be in any 

 condition to resist poison.] 



Photogkaphing a Woodcock on the Nest.— Johns- 

 town, N. Y.— Editor Forest and Stream: Isend you two pho- 

 tographs of a woodcock sitting on her nest, taken very lately 

 by Mr. W. H. Kibbe, an artist here. About May 10, Mr. 

 James Hillabrandt took a ramble with his dog over some of 

 the ground near this village. On like trips previous springs 

 he had noticed that sitting woodcock gave off no scent, so 

 when he accidentally hit a bird and scared her up, stepping 

 through some low brush that his dog had just gone over, he 

 did not blame his dog. A week later, he and bis brother 

 thought they would see if they could find the nest without 

 scaring the bird off. They did so, and by silently cutting 

 off some brush got a good view of her. Subsequent obser- 

 vation showed that she was off the nest feeding during tbe 

 forenoon; but the afternoon found her on, and after three 

 attempts in different positions the cabinet picture was the re- 

 sult. The bill not showing good, they tried the difficult feat 

 of posing her, and actually succeeded in raising her bill with 

 the point of a knife over intervening sticks so that the stereo- 

 scopic view was the result, A week later it was found that 

 the eggs were all hatched and she was seen with her brood. 

 Auy reader who wishes to procure a copy of the picture can 

 do so by sending Mr. Kibbe twenty-five cents.— M. S. Nobth- 

 rup. 



