204 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



^OcT. 8, 1885, 



It was now nearly 1 o'clock and 1 made for the camp, 

 crossing the Ramgxmga and ascending to the upper terrace, 

 which, we had no sooner reached than we found ourselves 

 within a hundred yards of a solitary elephant. The beast 

 sighted us immcdiatel_y, and the mahout suggested flight, 

 hut that would have been poor policy, so I told him to move 

 straight for the camp, which was just visible about half a 

 mile off. The elephant also moved oil about fifty yards, 

 and then stopped and looked at us, but we made no hostile 

 sign, and he appeared indisposed to provoke a quarrel and 

 made straight away for the forest. 



The following week was a repetition of the last as regards 

 my forenoon duties of inspection. I came upon one fresh 

 kill within two miles of my camp, and spent a couple of 

 hours beating up the surrounding grass, but without any 

 result, and as there was no tree near at hand fit to make a 

 perch on, I returned to the kill, and making a long incision 

 in the haunch that had not been touched (it was a gerao 

 hind), I poured in about ten grains of strychnine. 1 must 

 confess that I [did' it very regretfully, but the strychnine 

 had been sent me from headquarters 'with positive instruc- 

 tions to use it whenever there was no reasonable probability 

 of bagging the beast, so I had no alternative. 



1 came to the kill the next morning, found that it had 

 been dragged about a dozen yards off, and some at least of 

 the medicated haunch eaten; and as the beast had evidently 

 not made a full meal, I thought it probable the poison had 

 taken prompt effect, but I beat the surrounding grass in 

 vain, if dead the vultures will point him out by and by. 

 but too late to secure his skin, which at best would be but 

 a poor trophy for a man whose memory is not good enough 

 for invention. I might have presented it to a man in our 

 department to whom I gave a dozen black buck skins about 

 six years ago. Last year, in company with another of our 

 fellows, I ran across his camp, and the conversation turning 

 on black buck shooting, my friend gave a detailed account 

 of how, when and where he had shot the skins in his camp. 

 I turned over two of them and recognized my own old 

 skins. 



1 hope in iny next to have something satisfactory to report 

 anent the man-eater. My chief writes me that he is coming- 

 down with the determination to do his wickedest; so I sup- 

 pose there will be a few days devoted to tiger hunting, and 

 as we shall master four if not five elephants, we are likely 

 to make it exciting for any tigers we may come across. 



Shtkabee. 



Camp Boksar, Lower Gurhwal. Sewaliks, East India. 



FLORIDA CAMP GROUNDS. 



JUST tow, when in the fur North autumn frosts and un- 

 timely snows give premonition of what is to be, many 

 longing thoughts turn to the Land of Flowers, and it is likely 

 that more outers and hcalih-seekers will try a winter in 

 Florida the coming season than in any previous twelve 

 months since the days of Ponce de Leon. 



And it is possible "that eight months spent on the Gulf coast 

 — mostly in open camps — may enable me to give a few hints 

 that will be of use to a new comer. As to location, 1 do not 

 claim any special superiority for this section, although the 

 fact that I am content to make my headquarters here is proof 

 that there are some good points about it for a hunter, angler 

 and canoeist. In the first place it is healthy, and there is 

 large scope for choice of camp sites on high, diy, oak and 

 pine land. I hke the convenient mixture of lake, bayou, 

 river and salt-water boating and fishing. There is good bass 

 fishing in Lake Butler, and also on the Auclote and" 'Cootie" 

 rivers. 



While it is not a country to delight the heart of the skin- 

 hunter or duck butcher, there is a great variety in the game, 

 from shore birds and quail to deer and turkey. This is a 

 novel feature to me, and I rather like it. The canoeing too 

 is the best I have found, and the waters of the Gulf so quiet 

 that I have cruised the little ten-pound liushton for twenty 

 miles down the coast and back, without shipifing a drop of 

 water. Fishing is excellent here, as it is almost everywhere 

 in Florida. A man must be a poor shot and worse angler 

 who cannot keep up a camp supply of fish and game iti tliis 

 section. At present I am camping within a mile of the post 

 office, two hotels, store?, etc., and I shoot all the quail and 

 rabbit I can use without going beyond sight of the camp. 



I like the sort of woods life too that has a spice of con- 

 venient civilization mixed up with it, where, for instance, I 

 can visit with intelligent men from different sections of the 

 country, and get into the Bucktail and paddle in an hour to 

 a secluded spot where I may camp for a month without 

 seeing a human face. The associations here are good, and 

 the natives are friendly and obliging, with one good trait 

 that, I am sorry to say, does not pertain to the natives along 

 the banks of the Susquehanna, i.e., they never disturb nor 

 meddle with your camp here. Even the colored brother, 

 whom we of the North are disposed to regard as a trifle light- 

 fingered, will not molest nor pilfer from the camp of an 

 outer. For six months I have been in the habit of leaving 

 all sorts of hunting and camping duffle in an open camp 

 while I was off cruising, sometimes for days at a stretch, 

 and I have never had so much as a fish hook taken, nor the 

 camp in any way molested. In Northern Pennsylvania (I 

 hate to say it, but it is true) they would steal me poor and 

 burn my camp. 



Luckily it is the policy here, both with the native popula- 

 tion and the land companies, to encourage and assist campers 

 and outers as far as possible. As regards mode of life and 

 cost of Jiving, there is a wide range of choice. The Tarpon 

 House charges $2 and $2.50 per day, special rates by the 

 week or month. Capt. S. D. Kendall will take three or 

 four boarders at $5 per week. His house is pleasantly situ- 

 ated on the banks of the Anclote River, one mile from the 

 springs. He has a sloop-rigged sailboat and two canoes, and 

 there are boats kept for hire at the Springs. 



The health seeker, however, had best camp out, especially 

 if troubled with difliculty of the respiratory organs. Because 

 hotels and boarding houses do not generally provide for fires 

 in their sleeping rooms and furious "northers" are not un- 

 common here, at which times the rain pours down in tor- 

 rents and the mercury sinks nearly or quite to the freez- 

 ing point. Of course the air of rooms where there is no fire 

 becomes cold and damp, and any man who suffers from 

 catarrh or phthisis knows what that means. Now, in an 

 open camp with a roaring light wood fire in front, an invalid 

 can always keep warm and dry, which is of the utmost im- 

 portance; let alone the fact that the inhalation of lightwood 

 smoke|is pretty nearly a specific for catarrh. The cost of living 

 in camp is less than most people would suppose. Judge A. J, 

 Cornell, of Granby, Conn., who spent last winter here with 

 his family in a tent, gives the cost of living for three per- 

 sons at |7 per week. But, he says, "if one were successful ■ 



in hunting and fishing, it could be done for less." My own 

 expenses for four months foot up $25.75. The rod and gun 

 helped out to some extent. 



The president of the Lake Butler Villa Co. says in his pro- 

 spectus, "Every assistance possible will be rendered to those 

 who desire to camp at Tarpon Springs, desirable and sightly 

 locations will be cheerfully given and every possible atten- 

 tion rendered to make their stay among the pines comfort- 

 able and enjoyable." 



Probably' a large majority of the outers who come to 

 Florida the present season will turn their faces to the eastern 

 coast, the banks of Indian River, or the St. John's, as being 

 better known and more easy of access. But many will try 

 the Gulf coast, and a few may like to try camp life near 

 Tarpon Springs. If any such there be, and they would hke 

 any information that I can give, I will cheerfully answer 

 letters of inquiry; or if called on at my camp will go with 

 parties to point out eligible sites for camps, etc. Almost 

 every one at the Springs knows the Oak-and-Pine and the 

 path that leads to camp, Nessmuk. 



Tarpon Springs, FJa. 



POINTS WORTH CONSIDERING. 



1. Because of the compact style of its typography the Forest and 

 Stream actually contains, weeltly, moi-e reading matter pertaining to 

 its chosen field than is found in any similar publication in the world. 



2. In general excellence the reading columns of the Forest and 

 Stream are of a higher grade than those of any similar publication in 

 the world. 



3 Taking into account the amount and the character of weekly 

 reading given, the Forest and Stream is away ahead of any similar 

 publication in the world. 



4. If a sportsman wishes a sportsman's paper, he will be better 

 suited by the Forest and Stream than by any similar publication in 

 the world. 



jLddress all communications to the Forest and Stream Publish- 

 ing Co. 



NOTES ON THE NIGHTHAWK. 



THERE was possibly never more of a misnomer in natural 

 history than the name of this bird. Why the term 

 hawk (a bird of prey) should ever have been applied to a 

 creature with an almost flexible beak and useless feet for 

 clutching purposes, will always be a mystery. There is 

 nothing about it suggestive of hawk and almost everything 

 about it to make it a "swift." The beak is not hooked like 

 the falcon's, while its hairy head, large eyes and rapidity of 

 flight should have prevented its ever being classed with the 

 birds of prey. 



The writer while traveling over much of the country, 

 both among the large cities and in the wilds, has had many 

 chances to watch this curious bird under widely varying cir- 

 cumstances. It is strange that this creature should be plenty 

 in such extremes of surroundings, being very thick about 

 our large cities atfd equally plentiful in the wilderness. 

 Probably none of our centers of population have more night- 

 hawks about them than Chicago. Every night from early 

 spring till late fall, as twilight approaches, the penetrating 

 peet of this bird will be heard above the business center. 

 At first it keeps well up in the air, but as the sun sets it flies 

 lower and lower until many of its flights are but little above 

 the warehouses. They are there in great numbers and have 

 been for years. Over most of the cities bordering on the 

 great lakes they are frequent and furnish much entertainment 

 for people by their aerial evolutions. I have never been able 

 to find out where they kept themselves daytimes, although 1 

 have read in the columns of Forest and Stream of their 

 breeding on top of the high buildings in Cleveland. 



There seems to be a great difference in the times of their 

 appearance on different days. I have seen them over Buffalo, 

 N. Y., as early as 11 o'clock in the morning of a bright day, 

 from whence they were visible until dark, while on other 

 days they kept secluded until nearly twilight. Over some 

 towns 1 have heard their note resounding until midnight, 

 although this was on moonlight nights, but in most places I 

 have rnissed them by the time it became pitch dark. 



These birds seem to be less numerous over the seacoast 

 cities than those more inland or in the lake region. Jt is 

 strange that they confine their flights to the business portion 

 of places, and are not, so far as 1 am posted, ever seen over 

 the residence portion. Here would rise a question as to 

 whether more insects (of their kind) emanated from the great 

 marts of trade than from buildings equally thick but used 

 for different purposes. The writer spent last summer in 

 Maine, about twenty miles south of Lake Umbagog. A 

 small stream originating in the mountains flowed through the 

 town, called the Sunday River. It varied in size at that time 

 from the width of a good-sized brook to fifty feet wide in 

 the shallows. 



Every day after the middle of August a great swarm (it 

 could be likened to nothing else) of nighthawks would come 

 down out of the mountains about 4 o'clock in the afternoon 

 and course back and forth over about a mile of this stream 

 for about an hour, when they would move over to a field 

 from which the hay had been cut, and spend the rest of the 

 time until dark over that spot. There w^ere always several 

 hundred m the flock, and they very much resembled a 

 swarm of flies over a dish of sweets. Back and forth they 

 would go, some flying at the rate of an express train, others 

 darting back and forth, up and down, and some going in all 

 of these dii-ections, as only a nighthawk can. It was a fine 

 sight, and one not often to be seen. Such evolutions as we 

 witnessed filled us with admiration. It is very much to be 

 doubted if the same wing-power, skill and aerial agility is to 

 be found in anv other bird. To see one of them flying at the 

 rate of thirty rniles an horn-, stop in his own length and either 

 go straight back or up or down was a pretty sight, and fills 

 tlie observer with wonder for the wing-power of these birds. 

 The nearest approach to them in its manner of flight is the 

 chimney swift, but it is so much smaller that it attracts but 

 little attention. These hawks never ahghted to rest while 

 they were in our sight, and apparently were as fresh and 

 vigorous as ever when they departed. We shot a few one 

 day, and when they fell their feet seemed to be of no use to 

 them, as one wing- tipped was unable to move after he 

 reached the ground. Its general appearance is too well 

 known to need description, but the comment of one of the 

 party on the size of its mouth was that "if it opened that 

 and flew in any direction there would be few insects that 

 would escape falling into the cavern." Citktis. 



THE CROW AS A GAME DESTROYER. 



^^\\J"EL'L, what about the crow? Kill him every time 

 T T you can get close enough to the thief to do it." 

 That remark escaped my lips one day last June, when I 

 was looking over a farming paper with a column and a 

 half about the use of crows, explaining what great helps 

 they were to the farmer, etc. The wi-iter stated that 

 crows were the greatest insect destroyers of all the birds, 

 and that the amount of grubs, etc. they caught yearly was 

 worth millions to the farmers of our country, "Well," I 

 remarked to myself, "if what this writer says about the 

 crow is so I must stop my triggers from pulling upon such 

 noble helpmates of the farmers; but I had always regarded 

 the crow as one of the farmers' worst enemies, and I believe 

 so still and I have sent many a crow to the happy hunting- 

 ground." 



Then as I stepped out into the yard I saw a crow, 

 about two hundred yards from my house, busy eating some- 

 thing. "Insects of course," I remarked, calling to my mind 

 the article I had just read, "well, I will see if I can find 

 what the farmer's friend is eating." I went back into the 

 house and took along my little rifle, Taking advantage of 

 a fence which ran near by the thief I proceeded very 

 cautiously until I got within about forty yards of his crow- 

 ship. Resting the rifle on a rail and taking a careful £i,im 

 I fired; one blast spoiled Mr. Crow's waistcoat beyond a 

 doubt. Going up to where he lay I resolved to dissect him, 

 and if I found his stomach full of worms and insects I would 

 never shoot any more of his fellows. 



The report of my rifle had brought my old setter to my 

 side. Steady, old boy! AVhat are you pointing for? Here's 

 the old crow", if that is what you smell ; and I threw the 

 crow toward him; but still he held his point on a bunch of 

 grass ten feet from where the dead crow lay, the crow hav- 

 ing fluttered down the hill that distance. 1 went to the dog, 

 but what a sight met my eyes ', There, right at his nose, 

 was a quail's nest with two or three young just hatched and 

 one egg not hatched. The nest was lined with blood. I 

 counted the shells around and found that eight birds had 

 hatched; but where were they now? The nestshowed signs 

 of battle. There were quail feathers around it, which gave 

 evidence of having just been plucked from tbe mother-bird. 

 But who had driven the quail from the nest and murdered 

 her babes? Could it be my old setter? No; he did not 

 move until I went to him, and then he did not even touch 

 the nest nor an egg. Well, who was the murderer? There 

 he is, I said, as I cast a look at his mouth, stuffed with a 

 young bird he was devouring when I shot him. Yes, the 

 farmer's friend had broken up Mrs. Bob White's home, robbed 

 her of her children, murdered them in cold blood and then 

 devoured them. 



I carried the crow to my dissecting room, an old shop near 

 the house, and taking down my surgical instrument— an old 

 corn knife — I soon dissected the bird, and found in his 

 stomach all the young quail he had devoured when I shot 

 him. Not a single worm nor insect did I find; nothing else 

 but some young corn he had stolen out of my cornfleld. 



Now, you see, I am justifiable in saying shoot the crow. 

 I have proof that the crows destroy here in Virginia many 

 thousand young quail every year. They are very fond of 

 eggs, and diuing the time the quail are laying and hatching, 

 the crow is seeking his food in the very fields where the 

 quail are nesting,' and nothing escapes his watchful eye. 

 A lady told me the other day that she rarely ever got any 

 eggs from her guinea fowls, as the crows always found their 

 nest and devoured the eggs. Crows also destroy thousands 

 of bushels of corn in the iall of the year after the corn is cut 

 down and shocked up; and in some portions of our county 

 the corn has to be protected with the shotgun, and in the 

 spring when the corn is planted they sometimes take up two- 

 thirds of the field. 1 have known several farmers here in 

 this section who have had to lay off their corn ground the 

 second time and replant it because of the crows pulling up 

 all the first planting. The crow not only destroys every 

 quail's nest it finds, but every other small bird's nest it may 

 come across. I have in the last year or two dissected more 

 than a dozen crows, and from April to July I have found 

 bluebirds, wrens, sparrows and mocking birds' eggs in their 

 stomachs, but rarely have I found any insects or grubs. I 

 think the sportsmen of Yirginia and Maryland could not do 

 a better thing for the quail, the song birds and the farmers 

 than to shoot the crows. 



The Catamot3j\t ov the Peaks op Otter. 

 " Liberty, Va. 



THE CROWN OF THE KINGBIRD. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In connection with the current discussion in your natural 

 history columns in regard to the u'se of the coronal decora- 

 tion of the kingbird and other species, permit me to quote 

 from a paper written by me in January, 1888, and pub- 

 lished in the July number (of that year) of the "Journal of 

 the Cincinnati Society of Natural History, " viz. : "A List 

 of the Birds of Bardstown. Nelson county. Kentucky." 



"107*. Tyramms earoUneiim (L.) Temm.— Kingbird; Bee 

 Martin. An abundant summer resident: arrives April 30. 

 Several years ago, in May, I saw one of these birds occupy- 

 ing an exposed perch on'a pear tree in bloom, about which 

 many bees were darting. Several times I observed that he 

 caught the insects without leaving his perch, by quickly 

 turning his head and grabbing them. My attention being 

 thoroughly aroused, I noticed that many of them seemed to 

 fly directly toward the bird, the majority appearing to 'shy 

 off' a short distance from him and change their courses, 

 but very few escaped him. Did the thrifty Rynmiopterm 

 mistake the fullv displayed crimson crown for a flower? 

 Once since I have observed the same phenomenon." 



In a recent edition of this paper, entirely rewritten, how- 

 ever, published during September by the Kentucky Geologi- 

 cal Survey (a copy of which I forward to you), thefoUowing 

 additional remarks are added, page 33: 



"jVlr. C. C. Nutting, who has spent considerable time 

 studying the bhds of Costa Rica and Nicaragua in their 

 native haunts, states that he has seen Muf<ciwra meximna 

 perched upon a twig and waving its curious and brilliant 

 fan-shaped crest after the manner of a flower swayed by a 

 gentle breeze, and thus attracting insects within reach. In 

 fact the majority of the fly-catchers, a family that numer- 

 icallv reaches its greatest development in the neotropical 

 region, have some lively-colored coronal decoration, -which, 

 perhaps, has been evolved for the special purpose above 

 suggested. 1 understand that this subject has been discussed 

 by Mr. H. K. Coale in a recent paper read before the Ridg- 

 way Ornithological Club, of Chicago, but I have not seen it, 

 and am unaware whether or not he has touched upon this 

 particular phase of the matter." 0, W. Beckham, 



Washington, Oct. 5 



