July 16, 1885.1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



487 



1 do not like Kendall's landing— not for an open canoe. 

 The water is too deep and the bank too steep. I prefer a 

 gentle slope of soft sand where the canoe can glide up to a 

 .stop easily, and 1 may walk out or in on the keelson. It was 

 agreed that Mrs. K. should launch out first; and with some 

 trepidation and a little help from the Captain, she got safely 

 off and began to ply the double blade. Gingerly at the start. 

 but finding the canoe steady and easy under paddle she grew 

 confident and put on muscle, paddling up and down the 

 river, in and out of bayous, and handling the light craft 

 .skillfully as a squaw. Finally she lauded and lilted the canoe 

 out of water, saxiog. "Oh, she is just lovely; worth half a 

 dozen spring bonnets." Then the Captain hinted he would 

 like to see the Rushton "go," and I droppad her into the 

 water witli a spat, dropped a folded blanket into her for a 

 seat, and crept in, rather carefully it must be owned. 



But once in and fairly seated 1 found her, to my surprise, 

 steadier than the Bucktail of more than twice her size, /. e„ 

 she did not tip or rock so easily, and she required less pro- 

 pelling to the mile than any boat or canoe I had ever handled. 

 I saw that she would trim with fifteen or twenty pounds 

 in addition to my own weight, and I had not paddled her 

 half an hour before deciding that, if she would stay in a 

 lumpy sea. 1 would adopt her as my cruising canoe. 



We went down to the Springs, the Captain. Mrs. K. and 

 I. It is only a mile as the crow flies. By the tortuous 

 channel of river and bayou it is nearly three, and a pleasant 

 trip we made of it. Of course, the light cauoes attracted a 

 crowd; they always do that, even in towns where canoes are 

 common, but the crowd was not a large one. The Northern 

 tourists had flitted, and the permanent population of the 

 Springs is less than 100. We paddled back in the cool of 

 the evening and agreed that it was good to be there. 



"It's the first time three double-bladers ever hauled in at 

 one landing on this coast," said the Captain. And I think 

 he was right. 



Tbis was more than a mouth ago. and I have kept the 

 Rushton pretty well in use since. 



Every well built canoe, yacht or ship, has some individu- 

 ality, some peculiar trait of its own. The peculiar trait of 

 the Rushton is to take in spray heavily when going to wind- 

 ward, say four points off. This is owing to her sharp, short 

 curved lines. We went outside, Tarpon audi, to test her 

 against a brisk sea breeze. He to lie off. watch her closely, 

 and give his opinion as canoeist, builder and sailor. For he 

 is all these. I put her straight in the wind's eye with a 

 choppy lump of sea against her, and she rode it like a duck, 

 t Turned and ran before it. and she got away from the seas 

 like a whale boat. Then I laid her beam on, and— well it 

 took some balancing, but she kept dry. Lastly I tried her 

 with the wind about four poinds abaft the stem, and she 

 plashed the spray in, a few spoonsful at a lime, until I was 

 obliged to creep under Tarpon's lee and sponge out. 



Then he gave his opinion, "Let me deck her and you can 

 slay out as long as the seas don't break under you. That 

 will swamp any canoe." So she is to have a light cloth 

 decking, and a cockpit withal, like the able-bodied cauoes of 

 the A. C. A. And she is to nestle inside the faithful, stanch 

 Bucktail, and both are to go under the deck of the four-ton 

 Nonpareil sharpie, now lying below the bridge at Kendall's 

 landing, and having her new white sails bent this blessed 

 day. Aud before the weekis out Tarpon, captain, sailing 

 master and owner, with "Nesstnuk" first officer, cook and 

 for'ard hands, will be plowing the waters of the Gulf, with 

 no cargo save the duffle pertaining to campers and cruisers, 

 no objective port or point, only to keep along the coast (in a 

 southerly direction for the most pait of the cruise). And 

 witn no especial object in view, save, possibly, a turn at ex- 

 ploring the Ten Tnousaud Islands. 



We simply propose to enter for a sixty days go-as-you- 

 please free and easy outing by land and water. To anchor 

 .1 moor when and where we please, or go ashore aud camp 

 on any of the numberless keys. To stop for objects of sport 

 or interest. To shoot, fish or sail, as the notion takes us. 

 Aud to get away from the monotone of hot white sand, and 

 feel the fresh salt spray in our faces once more. One point 

 we do not mean to neglect, i. e., using the two cedar canoes 

 for exploring waters where even a rowboat can hardly be 

 handled effectively. 



The Bucktaii just trims with the Captain's 6 feet 2 inches. 

 And, with decking, the ten-pound Rushton can follow where 

 he can lead. They will slip into the cabin easily, aud can 

 be hauled out and dropped overboard in a minute. The 

 cabin of the sharpie, by the way, includes all space below, 

 from overhang to fore peak. But, although she lacks the 

 costly cabin and iiltings of a fashionable yacht, she is not 

 going to sea like a coal barge. Order, discipline and courtesy 

 are to be observed. The quarter deck is to be respected and 

 orders obeyed. Though Captain Tarpon is not to get mad 

 and allude to the vibual organs of the for'ard hands in 

 objurgatory terms, nor shall the latter engage in back talk or 

 mtike insulting allusions to ancestry. 



In case it becomes necessary to wade ashore over the 'coon 

 oyster beds for supplies, as often happens on this shoal coast, 

 (he tallest man on the vessel shall do the wading. (That gets 

 him. He is 6 feet 2 inches. The for'ard hands 5 feet 8£ 

 inches). 



It is doubtless true that "all men are liars. " Wherefore 

 we put little trust in the stories that are from time to time 

 told us concerning the Ten Thousand Islands. If we are to 

 believe the wreckers, spongers and fishermen, there are large 

 islands in that mystical group where the palm grows to a 

 gigantic size and plenty of fresh water may be found, where 

 tropical fruit abounds and tigers are so numerous that it is 

 unsafe to land. Islands where the foot of a white man never 

 trod, and only known to a few of the older Indians; where 

 immense alligators guard the intricate channels, having no 

 fear of man, and ready to attack a canoe on sight; where, 

 during the hot months, poisonous insects are so plenty that 

 even the Indians of the everglades are fain to flee before 

 dense clouds of them. I say we hear such stories daily, and 

 we take little heed of them. We know, of course, that the 

 insects must be bad there, as they are almost everywhere in 

 Florida. And it would naturally be the very place for large 

 alligators. No doubt, also, some of the largest islands may 

 be The favorite stamping grounds of a few tigers (panthers, 

 Felix conc'ihr). But, on the whole, we hardly expect to shoot 

 more panthers than will reasonably suffice for camp use. As 

 for the 'gator, we will make the Scotch boy's terms with him : 

 "it ye'li gang awa' and let us alone, we'll let ye alone." We 

 have no use for him. He is absolutely no good. I have shot 

 two this summer, and am content. "Probably I shall never 

 shoot another, unless it be a small specimen for a friend who 

 wishes to "set him up." 



It is different with the birds. They are a revelation to 

 me, and a hopeless puzzle, which the books do not clear up. 

 Is the roseate spooubill a real curlew? He is a "pink cur- 



lew" on this coast. The sickle-hilled curlew develops into 

 four varieties of sickle-bills to my ignorant eyes, while the 

 straight-bill curlew runs down, down, until he gets tangled 

 up with the numerous plovers, and they again slide down to 

 snipe, all ending in the clouds of fat little "peeps," of which 

 as many as forty are sometimes killed at a single shot. And 

 in season or out the shore birds are here, young buds, too; 

 showing that the season is, or ought to be, on. I am going 

 to begin. For months I have held my hand out of respect 

 for the breeding season, often gohur hungry for the bird I 

 could easily have killed. But the close season is closed with 

 me from the 1st of July. And 1 never so bitterly regretted 

 nry isrnorance of ornithology as at the present time. And I 

 may add, that I can get little help from others of greater pre- 

 tensions. I can stilTshoot some. Perhaps we may pick rip 

 something among the keys that will interest the readers of 

 Forest and Stream. Tarpon and I have the whole busi- 

 ness of outing pretty well in hand. Mrs. Tarpon has gone 

 to her Northern hoine for the summer, leaving her canoe 

 hanging up in the sitting room. This, with my two cedar 

 canoes and the Captain's two "rag" canoes, gives us control 

 of five canoes, all differing in shape and size. With my two 

 camps, his comfortable ranch, and the sharpie for the Gulf, 

 we ought to scuffle through the dog days without serious 

 suffering, ' Nessmi:k. 



tn\nl Wffi or U* 



Address all communications to the Forest and Stream Publish- 

 ing Co. 



THE COCK GROUSE AND YOUNG. 



Editor Forest, and Stream: 



It has come under my observation in no work on game, 

 game birds or natural history that the cock or male of the 

 ruffed grouse defends the young or in any w r ay cares for 

 them. A case in point, however, was observed the other 

 day which argues well for this beautiful game bird. In the 

 vicinity of Richardson Lake, one of the noted trout lakes of 

 the Androscoggin chain, it is well known that the grouse, 

 although not very plenty, are remarkably large. 1 have the 

 tail of a male in my possession, killed in the fall of 1883, 

 which measures nearly eight inches at the longest feathers. 

 He was shot from his drumming log the 28th day of Septem- 

 ber, clearly proving the statement of several writers that the 

 cock remains in the vicinity of the scene of his courtship 

 long after his mate with her brood have departed. It should 

 be stated also that the grouse in this vicinity still remain in 

 primitive tameness, even the males allowing the approach of 

 man to within fifty feet, or even less, without taking to wing. 



Tramping through those woods the other day to one of 

 the distant and seldom-visited trout ponds, the peculiar cry 

 of the old partridge with young was heard. As quickly as 

 possible I made the rush into the thicket one must always 

 make in order to catch sight of the callow young. The hen bird 

 was down on the ground with extended wings and feigned 

 appearance of a hurt bird, ready to decoy me from the 

 vicinity, as she would a fox, her worst enemy at breeding 

 time. But I had seen her before, or many of her kind uuder 

 like circumstances, and paid no attention to her cries and 

 gyrations, but continued my search for the young. After 

 two or three attempts to draw me away by the curious 

 strategy of dropping almost at my feet as though with a 

 hurt wing, she began skurrying along the ground, in order 

 to attract my attention from the youug, which were by this 

 time securely hidden. Failing in this, she apparently' gave 

 up the job and flew quickly away through the thicket. I 

 imagined that she had departed, since her young were safely 

 hidden, but in a moment after the whir of stronger wings 

 were heard and a magnificent male bird swept almost into 

 my face. With spread tail and wings drooped, he showed 

 all the fight a partridge could be imagined to do, coming 

 close up to my feet with erect crest, hissing open beak and 

 the blade tufts on the sides of his neck extended to the 

 length of my finger. It was a pretty sight in bird life. The 

 fellow reminded me of an enraged turkey cock in miniature. 

 He showed this kind of fight till I decided that it was 

 wicked to trouble him longer. I departed in the direction 

 from which he came a few "rods, and 1 found what I believe 

 to be his drumming log. Did that hen partridge call her 

 mate from the scene ofhis drumming to defend their young? 



Special. 



[How did our correspondent know the bird to be a male? 

 We think it quite as likely that it was the same old 

 female come back again to try another device for protecting 

 her young. The change of tactics might account for the 

 changed appearance. We have seen hen birds act in both 

 ways.] 



SOME GROUSE QUERIES. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Noticing the word "chicken" so often mentioned in your 

 columns, I would like to inquire are they truly "chickens" 

 or are they sharptaiis, or does the term "chicken" comprise 

 both? Why should the sharptaiis retrograde as the area of 

 cultivated land increases, and their place be takeu by the 

 pinnated grouse? At Hallock, on the northern frontier of 

 this State, the ratio the latter bears to the sharptail grouse 

 is as one is to from 500 to 600; at Fargo, D. T., their num- 

 bers are about equal, while here, about forty miles northwest 

 of St. Paul, the chickens greatly predominate. What law 

 of nature is it that causes this interchange? Is it the coming 

 of man with his civilization and cultivation ? I think not, 

 as at the Indian farm and village on the Sarcee reservation, 

 near Calgany, N. W. T. , Canada, the sharptaiis were there 

 in hundreds, oftentimes perching on the log huts in which 

 the Indians lived, and toward evening the large cotton 

 woods, which fringe and partially surrouud the reservation, 

 were actually crowded. At Calgarry itself 1 have seen them 

 perched on the buildings which make up the town. 



Is it the change of food? No, since no game bird fares on 

 a more varied diet. On the "Upper Missouri I have seen eveu 

 dried sage leaves taken from their crops. At Calgarry they 

 exist in winter principally on the buds of the cotton wood", 

 poplar and alder, in the fall on seeds of two species of erica, 

 and at all times and all places on hips of the wild rose. At 

 Hallock I have seen them feeding around the wheat stacks. 

 Their summer fare, I fancy, consists of the t'mder shoots of 

 the native and artificial "herbage and perhaps of insects. 

 Query the last. 



It is the game bird of the West, a brave bird, penetrating 

 well up toward the north, mixing with the game bird of 

 the mountains (the blue grouse) on the west, standing the 

 rigor of an Arctic winter, hiding under the snow in some 

 sheltered spot during the severest blizzard, and during the 

 whole winter its roosting place a mere hole, scooped out 



under the snow. A more faithful mother comes not within 

 ken of man. A few weeks aso (a few miles from here) a team 

 was driven over a nest containing thirteen eggs. The hen 

 barely escaped with her life. All were broken except five. 

 On this remnant the mother was, to my personal knowledge, 

 a few days after sitting just as steadily as though nothing 

 had happened, though within twenty yards a building is 

 being put up. 



Why should some birds be so much more strongly attached 

 to nest and eggs than others? 1 have noticed that this trait 

 is much more strongly developed in birds that incubate on 

 the ground than in those that firing up their families else- 

 where, with a very few exceptions. I give a partial list of 

 birds that show this mother love for house (be it ever so 

 homely) aud eggs, and will, if it be at all interesting to your 

 readers, send a few notes on the treatment of birds to fcheil' 

 young from the time of hatching till they can fly. This list. 

 is that of those that have come under my personal observa- 

 tion, and may. no doubt, be greatly enlarged: Pinnated 

 grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, English partridge, English crake, 

 horned lark, some species of English emberizaL common 

 crossbill (especially so according to' Brewer, Cones, Birds of 

 Northwest). 



The plovers no doubt act in a like manner, but my obser- 

 vations have been confined to the English lapwing (appro- 

 priate name), and Then principally to the mother's artifices 

 to withdraw attention from their young. 



Pseudo Ornitiio. 



Elk River, Minn., July 3. 



Rare Florida Birds. — I have been very much interested 

 in the replies to my inquiries about the ivory billed wood- 

 pecker, and the writers will please accept my thanks for the 

 same. S. C. Clark, of Marietta, 6a., the well-known natu- 

 ralist, contributed oue link to the chain; he also made a sug- 

 gestion which we all ought to heed, viz., that it would be a 

 good plan for all correspondents to give the name of their 

 county as well as town, so that the reader can the more 

 readily tell what part of the State the writers live in. Mr. 

 Geo. A. Boardman. of Calais, Me., states the true reason, 

 probably, why the ivory-bill is so rare. Bird collectors from 

 all parts of the North, as well as sportsmen, have made an- 

 nual visits to this State for years, and have, no doubt, nearly 

 exterminated this rare bird, at least within many miles of the 

 settlements. Now, one would think they would be seen 

 occasionally in this section in the great Turnbull hamak 

 (or swamp, as it is called by the natives), which extends for 

 twenty -six miles south, and is from one to three miles in 

 width; but I have only found one person who has seen a 

 single bird, and he lives six miles south of here, in the 

 hamak itself. He says he has seen oue only. He has lived 

 there for nine years, but probably paid no attention to the 

 birds during the first year's residence. This Maine corre- 

 spondent has also noticed the scarcity of the parakeet. Ten 

 years ago they visited this section in large flocks every 

 winter; for several years past they have not made their ap- 

 pearance. One Sunday about five years ago a rich New 

 York sportsman (?), with bis team, guide and dogs, came out 

 from the hotel at New Smyrna and banged away for an hour 

 or more at a large flock of parakeets, which were feeding in 

 a field near the writer's place. He must have killed at least 

 twenty, probably more. Several years ago 1 saw some of 

 these little parakeets in the Big Piasa Bottom, Jersey ville 

 county. I learn that they are seldom or never seen there 

 now.— Red Wing (Glencoe. Volusia county, Fla.). 



Quail in Confinement. — Last fall during a severe rain 

 storm a young female ciuail fell exhausted and chilled in 

 front of the D al House, which was picked up and taken 

 care of by Mr. Kerr, the landlord. During the fall and 

 winter it roamed at will through the sitting room and office 

 of the hotel, its companions being a fox-squirrel and rat- 

 terrier, and became so tame that it was liable to be trod upon 

 by getting under the feet of the guests of the house. Some 

 time that spring it was put. iuto a cage and a male bird 

 secured, but with it it refused to mate. Another was 

 then procured with which it immediately mated, and in a 

 few days built a nest in one corner of the cage and com- 

 menced laying. It has now five eggs to its credit witli every 

 prospect of raising a brood. The female will take food from 

 the hands of Mr. Kerr, and does not seem to fear any person 

 in the least; but it is not so with the mate, who still retains 

 to a certain degree the characteristics of the bird in its wild 

 state.— Buayrus (0.) Forum. 



HOW A BUSINESS MAN LOOKS AT IT. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



As you say, the Forest and Stream is good reading any- 

 where. The wonder to me is, not that the paper is well 

 sustained, but that there are still a number of poisons in the 

 United States who seem never to see it. It is good if you 

 are taking an outing, better if you are not. I wonder how 

 many professional or business men there are who, wearied 

 with their ceaseless round of toil, feel something like a 

 breezy freshness stealing through the vitiated air ©f the 

 office, as they see among ihe letters and papers just laid upon 

 the desk, the well-known buff wrapper of their favorite 

 weekly. The proprietor looks lovingly thereat, then goes 

 through the rest of his mail, thinking that he would not open 

 the Forest .and Stream until he is at home for the night. 

 But the correspondence at last disposed of, he tears off the 

 wrapper and glances over the index, just for a moment, as 

 it were, and to see if there is anything this week from A, or 

 B., or C. Insensibly he reads on, skimmiug from one to 

 another article, and the memories of his first trout, or his 

 first woodcock hunt come across his mind, or straightway 

 he is translated to Florida, and the fragrance of the orange 

 blossoms is wafted to his nostrils. He turns a pas-e, and as 

 of old. his knees press the sides of his plunging horse in the 

 far-off prairie land. 



Perhaps he istif that class of which it has been said that 

 they are "square plugs put into round holes." In that ease, 

 the reading is apt to be prolonged until the ring of the tele- 

 phone recalls him to himself, and he shoves the paper hastily 

 aside and attends to business all the more closely for the rest 

 of the day. 



But at eve, when he has perused the greater portion of the 

 paper, and is ready to lay his head upon his pillow, be seems 

 once more to inhale the invigoratiug odor of hemlock twigs, 

 and so he passes into the land of dreams, with the slumber- 

 ous wail of the wind in the tops of the far-distant Norway 

 pines, and the dash of the surges on the shores of Memory 

 still sounding in his cars. 



Next morning he finds himself properly wound up for 

 another week's run, and blesses the Forest and Stream. 



T. 



