Dec. S, 1885.) 



FORESl" AND STREAM. 



36^ 



hail been made in rpprard to the Park prior to the paesage of the 

 Act of 1883, it is mrniilest, tlial it was tho a^'eeroent Congress had in 

 vieWi and I am of opiiiiou that Cono;ress by the Act ol iHS:i nullified 

 tills ajci cement in toto aud not merely its exclusive features. 



K 1 am correct in this view, all the rights in the Park possessed by 

 the company or its representatives are held by vii'tue of the lease of 

 1883. 



Ti ; i- ;: .-^nts to Tlobart and others, whom we shall afterward 

 di :- Pju-ir Improvanieut Company, two acres at the Mani- 



ni' . ..iswiti) speeitied boundaries. jUi inspection of the 



may. oi i...-u locality, to which I have referred, will show that there 

 has never been a building erected by the original lessees or company 

 upon the ground leased to them, ' It will show, moreover, that the 

 buildings which wpi^p rT-pc-ied br the compauy are scattered over 

 about forty acr< ' ' "ify 'if thf Hot t^prings Corniation. 



The conjyany l:i.rse hotel building, which, altliough 



It has been open . .[■ several years, is still in hardly more 



thanahalfflnisiii ii J i ii. -ii. 



The question, thereioiv, is what should be done in the premises? As 

 the hotel wasavei veost.l v building and could not be removed, I recom- 

 mend that the holders of me lease be required to confine their build- 

 ings within two acres, including the site ot the hotel, and that they lie 

 ordered at once to file in the Department a survey, and be required 

 to suiTeuder the original lease upon the granting by the Department 

 of a new lease. In Diis connection I T>'ould say tliat the company 

 have LTeeted near rlie hole! a bath house, which is an eye-.sore, and 

 that it IS a buikiiu.^ vv Jiieh tlic coaipauy should be at once ordered to 

 remove. One of the e.^:tirict peyser hole.? is used for a sink for the 

 refuse water. These old gevser holes ax-e objects of interest which 

 should be cart Ctin.N iireserved. 



[Here foUovv' various recommendations with regard to certain 

 leases.] 



UPPBK GEySEB BASIN, 



The Park Improvement Company by virtue of the lease to Hobart 

 and others in IKKS, held one and one-lialf acres ai this point as de- 

 scribed in that lease. Snbsequeutiy on December IJ.lSSt, the location 

 was changed. There is in course of erection a hotel taiilding which 

 is about half completed. The conti-act pi ice was It is built 



of rough pine boards and will contain thiity-lhree bedrooms. The house 

 is of a ver.y unsuostautial character and the accommodations for 

 guests inadequate. 



1 find the hotel as situated is not on the ground embraced in the 

 orig-inal or modifled lease, and that is within a quarter of a mile of 

 one of the principal geysers— Old Faithful. 



This is in the face of the act of 1883, which expressly forbids the 

 Secretary of tlie Interior from granting any lease of land within a 

 quarter of a. mile of the geysers. 



It is proper for me to say' that the site itself is a suitable one for a 

 hotel. Without riinkiug auv recornmendntion, I leave this matter to 

 be dealt with as the Secretary may deem. fit. 



There are a uumljer of squalid builcUngs at the Upper Geyser 

 Basin, erected without authority of law, which should be at once re- 

 moved, 



FALLS AND GRAND CANYON OF THE YBLIiOWSTONE RIVEB. 



The Park Improvement Cotnpany were .sranted under the lease of 

 1888, one and a half acres of land at this pouit, "beginning at a point 

 due east from the head of Canyon or Great Falls, and thirteen hundred 

 and twenty feet distant therefrom, thence east two hundred and 

 fifty-five feet. ■ 



This description would carry the lessees to the opposite side of the 

 river and Canon from that on which they must have intended the 

 lease to run, as there ai e no means of reaching that side. 



On March 3, 18S5. the lessees xn-ocnred a modification of their lease 

 So as to have the same com men cc on the east side of the river, — 

 feet from Point Lookout, w^hich is a point on the finest portion of the 

 Grand Canyon. The lessees have made no attempt to build en the 

 groimd leased to them. They have erected a number of tents on 

 ground situated about one mile from that included in the modifled 

 lease, which have supplied all the accommodations afforded visitors 

 for the past seasons. 



These tents contain twenty-one beds, but the person in charge in- 

 fortned me that they could accommodate forty-two people, and had 

 a few nights before accommodated seveutv-oue. 



I think that the lessees have so plainly and so long failed to provide 

 the proper hotel luiildinss and accommodations tor the public that 

 their lease at this point should be forfeited, and I strongly recom- 

 mend that course to the Secretary. If, however, he should be of the 

 opinion tlnu this cotirso should not be adopted, then 1 recommend 

 that the !■: io ed to take a lease of one and a half acres, 



ineludms vliieh thay now occupy with the tents, and 



that them near Point Lookout should be rescinded, it 



is too near ; _e -e -i portion of the Grand Canyon, and biuldings 

 erected on tiie ground leased would greatly mar the beauty aud 

 grandeur of the scene. Moreover If the parties are allowed to remain 

 where they are, they should be required to erect their buildings 

 before the opening of the next season. 



No lease should be given ui the immediate vicinity of the Grand 

 Canyon. 



The Park Improvement Company also obtained a lease in March, 

 1883, at the Yellowstone Lake. Nothing at all has been done bv the 

 company at this point. 



While in the Park I attempted to ascertain the status of the Park 

 Improvement Company, and also the status of those who are at 

 present managinc; tne alfairs of the company in the Park. As near 

 as I could learn it is as follows: 



The compauy becoming insolvent, George B. Hulme was appointed 

 by one of the Wyoming courts, receiver On the opening of the sea- 

 son last year the ^^orthern PaciQc Railroad loaned the receiver twenty 

 thousand dollar.s, to secure which receiver's certificates were issued 

 to the company, 'iho.se certificates, 1 understand, the raih-oad still 

 holds. Mr. C. T. Hobart claims that the receiver leased all the rights 

 of the Park Improvement Company to him. I was not able to pro- 

 cure a copy of the. alleged lease, nor do I understand that it has ever 

 been filed m the Department or approved by the Secretary. I was 

 akso informed that the whereabouts of the receiver was not known 

 and that an application for a new receiver would be made next 

 month. 



The affairs of the company are in great confusion, and I heard 

 much well founded dissatisfaction expressed by travelers at the poor 

 accommodation f urni.shed them at the places at which leases had 

 been granted to the com pany. 



Woile the unfortunate financial reverses of the company have no 

 doubt had much to do with this state of things, j'-et the interests of 

 the public are to be first constilted. If the travel to the Park is to 

 continue to any large extent, adequate accommodation must be af- 

 forded iravelers. and the Department should see that privileges with- 

 in the Park are accorded to persons of such financial standing that 

 they can carry out at once such agreements as they may make with 

 the -Governmeut lot the accommodation of the public. 



I may here say that ev.-ry future lease should specifv the time 

 WJthm whieJi tlie reiinu-od buildings must be completed. 



[Here follow oiher leeommendations about leases, permits and 

 privileges.] . 



* » -J A ^ ^ 



All of which is respectfully sttbtaitted. 



W. Hallett Phillips. 



It is hard for a lover of birds to approach "the spaiTow 

 question," Sparrows are fotand to do more hai-oi than snakes 

 or tigers. Natui-e's tliieres and vagabonds they are. This is 

 the verdict of the book before us, as it is of eVery one who 

 investigates the matter. They diive away birds which do 

 more good and little, if any, harm ; for every noxious insect 

 they destroy they consume miore com than one likes to calcu- 

 late. A Cheshire farmer, indeed, estimates the loss to 

 England due to depredations of sparrows at £770,094 in a year, 

 and this loss is on the increase. No amount of sensationahsm 

 can find any countervailing advantage. The careful and long- 

 continued experiments of Colonel Kussell m Essex show that 

 sparrows do unmitigated mischief; and the experience of our 

 colonies and of the Americans confirms the facts beyond cavil. 

 There is really nothing to be said for the sparrow. He carries 

 destructioii with him wherever he goes, and leaves devastation 

 to mark his inci ease. i^:rom every pohat of view he rau^t be 

 looked upon as t,be enemy of man. Either he must give way 

 to us,_ or w_G to buu; and just now his power is such that he 

 seems m a fair way to become here, as he has already become 

 m Australia, a factor in politics. The Colorado beetle can 

 never commit such ravages as the sparrow is certain to do 

 wherever he is allowed to go on unchecked. Love him as we 

 may for his personality, he ought everywhere to be extej-- 

 mmated with the utmost vigor, for there is no Umit— -in the 

 course of nature— either to his reproductiveness or to the 

 mischief which he causes. We in England have little concep- 

 tion of the scourge he has proved to be wherever he has been 

 naturalized in foreijrn lands. It is none too soon to have the 

 question put before us clearly, for every day its impoitance 

 must become greater. Civilization has a baneful bar to its pro- 

 gress in the apparently inevitable increase of the henceforth 

 to be execrated "Philip Sparrow."— -I/&n,do?i. Academy. 



A.ddress all communications to the Forest and Stream PublKh- 

 ing Co, 



BIRDS OF MICHIGAN. 



BY MOBRIS GIBBS, M.D. 



56. JDmdrmO-dismlar (VieilJ.) Brd. — Prairie warbler. 

 A very mteresUng species. Little known by the youthful col- 

 lector because of its reliriug ways and small size. In south- 

 ern counties the prairie warbler has not been found abundant 

 by me, even during migrations, but in Central Michigan and 

 the more northern portion.s it is exceedingly abuntiant from 

 May 15 to Sept. 1. Along our southern border it arrives 

 usually during the first week of May; 1 have never seen it 

 in April, while occasionally it does not make its appearance 

 until May 10 or even later. It, however, often appears as 

 far north as Montcalm county by the ninth of the month. 

 It .summers from 43^ north latitude north and is abundant 

 from 43°30' north in all suitable localities that I have visited. 

 It becomes quite abundant soon after arriving and in those 

 sections where it summers usually appears numerous by May 

 15. Although not au early arrival it begius arrangements 

 for nesting very soon after locating, and appeal's in many 

 instances mated on reaching us. It is a very tame bird at 

 first and is also exceedingly curious, often becoming ex- 

 tremely hold in its desire to gratify its curiosity. Slany 

 times while taking notes in the pine barrens where the trees 

 had been slashed and bm-nt over, these little bii'ds have come 

 about me, and by keeping quiet, with an occasional move 

 of hand or foot to excite their attention, I often caused them 

 to come within a yard of me, when they would peer about 

 and skip over the ground or from twig to twig, much in the 

 manner of the chickadee. Thej are extremely graceful 

 creatures, and with their diminutive size and pleasing colors 

 at once become objects of admiration. 



In many respects they resemble in habits the yellow red- 

 poll, both as to selection of territory during migration, and 

 in generally keeping low down among the bushes and brush. 

 But also like the last they are occasionally observed well up 

 in trees, in fact with the prairie it is a common choice during 

 their periods of song, and the pleasing notes are frequently 

 heard issuing from the top of a tall dead pine, where the 

 little fellow sits . almost above shotgun range, and fully 

 protected by the branch on which he is perched. Though 

 so tame in early May the prairie becomes extremely timid 

 as nesting comes on, and it is often with difficulty that speci- 

 mens are secured, because of their shyness. On leaving a 

 bush when scared they will fly a long distance ere alighting, 

 or more probably, if there are dead trees near by, some tall 

 pine will be selected, and if scared from this point a flight 

 is taken to the next tree. In this way they often keep ahead 

 of the collector for an hour at a time, frequently singing 

 their simple lays. If not molested the birds favor tlie ground 

 and low bushes however, and although often feeding in the 

 dead trees, rarely in a tall live tree, and frequently going 

 well up to sing, they like the underbrush the best. In these 

 situations, if one is discreet, the habits may be carefidly 

 studied, and though the observer will not easily find a nest, 

 still the manners of the midgets will prove sufficient com- 

 pensation for his exposure to the sun's rays. The birds 

 frequently cHng to the side of a tree with their little claws 

 supporting them by the rough bark, and in their gambols 

 and search for food they may be seen hanging almost head 

 down as they move about a recumbent trunk or limb. Their 

 manner of clinging to the bark is more like that of the winter 

 wren than the chickadee, but little like that of the other 

 warblers excepting perhaps the pine. 



Only one instance of nesting has come within my observa- 

 tion, and as the nests are rarely found in this portion of the 

 country, il may not be considered improper to occupy the 

 space for a short description. While in Ottawa county for a 

 two weeks' collecting trip in May, 1879, we found a number 

 of these pretty birds, and, thinking to secure the eggs, we 

 made most careful searches, but to no purpose. This was in 

 about 43' north latitude and the country comparatively new, 

 with both pine and hardwood lands in the neighborhood. 

 On May 35 a female was shot which contained an egg ready 

 for the shell, and, thinking to secure the nest, I returned to 

 the place the following da}r,and after a search lasting but a 

 few minutes the nest and male were taken. It was placed 

 in a small black ash bush about three feet high and only 

 twenty inches from the ground. It was situated in a tripod 

 fork, and was composed principally of down of thistles aud 

 old seed blows of dandelion {Tara,vacum) and fibres of milk 

 weed (Asclepias), more or less interwoven with bark or exter- 

 nal fibres of weed stock, and lined with woodchuck's {Are- 

 tamys) hair. The eggs were two in number, fresh, pure 

 white and marked with small dots of reddish brown, thickest 

 near the larger end. 



This bird is not always found singly or in pairs as many 

 writers claim, nor is it found in small flocks of only three or 

 four. On the contrary, although not abundant in flocks as 

 is the yellow-rump very frequently, it is often found so 

 numerous as to lead one to suppose that it migrated in strag- 

 gling flocks at least. I have seen as many as fifty within an 

 area of as many acres. The prairie warbler is a very expert 

 insect catcher, and it is safe to say that not one of our 

 warblers, unless it is the redstart, is superior to him. The 

 insects are generally captured near the ground, but I have 

 seen them dash into the air from a dead pine with great 

 effect, after which the song would be resumed. The song 

 is decidedly peculiar and diflicult to describe. It is ap- 

 parently uttered with the utmost difficulty, and as if the 

 performer were badly strained and was scarcely able to carry 

 it through. The notes are readily recognized because of 

 their peculiarity, and total dissimilarity to the songs of any 

 of our other warblers. The notes begin low but end quite 

 loud and shrill with a kind of rattle, screech or gasp through 

 the whole. The song has not been heard by me during 

 migration, and the best efliorts. poor at best, are probably 

 only given after the nesting haunts are reached. It may be 

 heard as early as May 8 in Montcalm county some seasons, 

 again not till the loth of the month in any numbers. The song 

 persists through June and a few are heard as late as July 15, 

 but later than this the notes are rarely heard. During the 

 autumnal journey the birds are rarely seen in Southern 

 Michigan and 1 am unable to give the latest dates of de- 

 parture. 



57. Simm^mximdMus^ (Linn.) Sw.— (Jolden-crowned 

 thi-ush. 



An abundant species, common from May 5 to September 

 20. A retiring bird, and though often seen walking about 

 in the dead leaves of the forest floor and oftener heard utter- 

 ing its loud but not unpleasing notes in the recesses of the 



wood, it is still but little known, and its habits have been 

 little understood by most collectors. Yery few birds which 

 are as numerous in cabinets are as little observed in the strict 

 privacy of the forest's seclusion as this, and many of its 

 characteristics which I have observed are so peculiar that I 

 must beg leave to oiler them in full, if not as new, at least 

 as reminders to others of what they may have seen, and to 

 most of the readers as features of extreme oddity, 



Tho ovcnbird, as it is called by many in allusion to its 

 custom of building its nest partially covered, arrive in our 

 southern counties in late April or early May. My earliest 

 recorded arrival is April 26, whiic one season they did not 

 aiTive until May 6. The birds become abundant within a 

 few days after their appearance, and fill the woods with 

 their loud and characteristic chirping notes. They do not 

 all leave us until about the l5th of October. The quarters 

 chosen by the golden-crowned accentor are variable. More 

 frequently partially low woods are selected for nesting sites, 

 but often high and dry white oak woods are resorted to, ancl 

 in many instances very low, moist woods are chosen. Many 

 nests ars found in beech and maple woods when on high 

 ground, and such woods are selected oftener perhaps than 

 any other if they are in the vicinity of lower ground and 

 slope toward a stream or lake. The nest, so far as my 

 knowledge extends, is invariably upon the ground or just 

 above it on a bunch of fern roots or slight elevation of the 

 ground. The structure is nearly always placed on a nearly level 

 surface, surrounded and partially, often entirely, covered by 

 the dead leaves of the previous season, but is occasionally 

 situated in a depression of the gi-ound, and even beneath a 

 faflen limb or under the spreading leaves of some forest 

 weed. I know of no nest more diflicult to find unless the 

 bird is flushed as we walk through the forest, and very often 

 the eggs are discovered only by diligent search even when 

 the bird rises at our very feet. On "one occasion, June 20, 

 1882, I stepped on a nest containing three eggs and one cow 

 bird's egg, which were demolished, the old bird barely 

 escaping, running out like a mouse. The nests are often 

 entirely covered with the material which composes the 

 structure, of coarse grass and dead leaves generally, and 

 cannot be discovered by looking on the ground, and only by 

 seeing the bird leave the nest or in looking sidewise and dis- 

 covering the opening. Generally, however, the covering 

 only extends hau or two-thirds of the way over the interior, 

 and the eggs are often seen from above. In some cases, as 

 we also find in the case of the meadow lark, the covering is 

 so slight that the eggs may be seen through the thin roof. 

 The old bird does not appear very solicitous, as a rule, when 

 her eggs are taken, and only when they are about ready to 

 hatch or the young occupy the nest does she appear on the 

 scene and give evidence of her anxiety by a series of clucks 

 and chii-ps quite unlike the notes usually uttered. At first 

 she leaps from her eggs aud scuttles rapidly away without 

 notes being uttered, appearing like a meadow mouse or 

 young chipmunk making for its hole, and is often mistaken 

 as such, but before she has traveled two rods in this manner 

 she is recognized and the eggs are looked for, and are fre- 

 quently found several yards'back of one, having been passed 

 as we followed the supposed mouse. Later in the nesting 

 season the old bird feigns lameness, and half tumbles 

 over the ground, and at this time she often runs to 

 a great distance before taking flight. I have seen an 

 old oveubird run all of five rods before flying. She 

 often returns after her flight and either perches on a limb, 

 where she walks about meditatively uttering her alarm notes, 

 or sneaks about among the underi)ru3h, often appearing, if 

 protected, quite near to us. After the young are htilf-grown 

 or more, they are easily found as a rule, for the old bird 

 often mfikes considerable disturbance and the young are seen 

 as we search about, they having about wrecked the nest in 

 thek movements and almost totally destroyed the covering. 

 It may be that the old birds make it a practice to tear away 

 or crush down the partial covering; but certain it is that 

 nests which contain young birds are often found without 

 covering, and in one instance to my knowledge, where the 

 cover was well ncarked before the eggs were hatched, it was 

 later found to be wholly removed, the nest containing four 

 good-sized young and a great, overgrown cowbird. My 

 earliest record of eggs is May 23, when incubation was 

 found to have begun. It was during a very early season, 

 however. In fact, I have found but few nests containing 

 full complements of eggs in May, as compared with June. 

 The time for collecting the eggs of this warbler is from June 

 1 to 15. Many nests are found containing young by June 10, 

 while after June 20 1 have been unsuccessful in securing sets 

 of good eggs. My latest taking of a fresh set of eggs is July 

 13, although as second broods are undoubtedly raised, and I 

 have often observed the birds acting as if there was a nest in 

 the vicinity, I have no doubt that eggs may be found as late 

 as Aug. 1. The birds breed as far north as 44° 10', but are 

 not recorded from the Upper .Peninsula, neither could I dis- - 

 cover the species on either the south or north shore, but 

 found it abundant and undoubtedly nesting on Mackinac 

 Island in Mackinaw Straits. 



The song of this species has been but little described by 

 writers; in fact it is only within the last few years that men- 

 tion has been made of its best musical efforts. The com- 

 mon, loud clanking notes so often heard, have been listened 

 to by all collectors, but a superior strain, only occasionally 

 uttered apparently, has been listened to by but few intelli- 

 gently. I think it safe to say that no bird among us which 

 is so weU known has eluded the describers of bird songs as 

 this one has done. I listened to the true song of the oven 

 bird in 1880 for the first time, and before I had read of its 

 discovery by any writer. The first burst of melody reached 

 me in a dense piece of low woods filled with underbrush, in 

 Montcalm county, in May, and the delighf ul notes were siu"- 

 prising and doubly pleasing to me in such a location. To 

 describe the notes would be next to impossible. It is more 

 difficult thtm the songs of the warbling vireo and tanageri 

 and with more dash and harmony if it is possible. At first 

 on hearing the notes the idea presented itself that a species 

 new to me was singing, and my extreme care in reaching 

 the glade in hopes of a shot was what secured me a chance 

 of witnessing a most singular performance. Carefully crawl- 

 ing through the almost impenetrable growth of small sap- 

 lings and brush, I came at last to a partial clearing over 

 which a bird, apparently in the highest transports of joy, 

 was fluttei-ing in irregular flight. It is not surprising that I 

 failed to recognize the bird in its decidedly unusual perform- 

 ance, for there was not one point in which it resembled itself 

 in ordinary habits, and the specimen would have been shot at 

 once in my eagerness to add a new bird to my collection had 

 1 not observed another bird, undoubtedly its niate, perched on 

 the ground near, and which appeared to be a golden-crowned 

 thrush and the center of attraction to the delightful warbler 

 overhead. Never had I heard the song before, and never have 



