July 1, 1886.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



447 



SWIFTS, HUMMING BIRDS AND GOAT- 

 SUCKERS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



A month or so ago T published in the Proceedings of the 

 Zoological Sociely of London, a paper illustrated by a num 

 her of plates and -woodcuts, treating of the osteology of 

 swifts, humming birds and goatsuckers. My studies of the 

 osseous system of these several forms has led me to believe 

 that they stand sadly in need of a rt classification, as well as 

 still more exhaustive researches into their structure. Much 

 that I saw in the organization of swifts compelled me to 

 adopt the surmise of Huxley, presented as many years ago, 

 that these birds would he found to be some day nothing more 

 than profoundly modified swallows, and having no more 

 affinity with the bumming birds than these latter. 



In the paper referred to. I proposed that the humming 

 bird be awarded an order by themselves, as the order 

 Trochili, and further, that the goatsuckers or nightjars be 

 similarly dealt with, being 1 grouped in an order Caprimulgi. 



Now such a hold has tbe notion gained upon some minds 

 that the bumming birds and switts are in some way related 

 to each other, that my preliminary attempts in the' P. Z. S. 

 to throw additional light upon this important subject, have 

 not been fully convincing. Consequently I have determined 

 to write another paper upon this subject, setting forth tbe 

 cotnplc te structure of all th> se forms, and such related ones 

 as should be compared with them 



To effect this it is highly essential, of course, that I should 

 be amply supplied with material and alcohol specimens of 

 the forms in question. At present I am in a poor locality to 

 secure this, a tact which has impelled me to seek your as- 

 sistance and tbe advantages offered through a request pub- 

 lished in your widely circulated columns By my own efforts 

 1 have gf)tt. n together alcoholic spicimens of the following 

 birds: 1. Progae subis (purple martiu). 2. Pretrochelidon 

 lunifrous (cliff swallow). 3. CMidon erythrogasUr (ham 

 swallow). 4 Tachycineta thihi&xina (violet-green swallow). 

 5. Micropus imlnnoteucus (white-throated swift). 6 GJior- 

 deiles textuisis (T. xan nightuawk). My present desiderata are : 

 1. Any of the humming: buds (two or three specimens of each 

 species) 2. Ghmtura petagica ( ommon chimney swift). 3. G'kb- 

 turn muxii (Vaux's swii t.) 3 Cypseloides niger (black swift and 

 particularly desirable). 5. Auy of the trogons. 5 Any of 

 the goatsuckers (except the nigbthawks, but the common 

 wbippoorwill 1 n»ed vt ry much, as well as the chuck- will's- 

 widow). 7. The bank swallow (much needed). Should this 

 letter meet the e\es of any of your many readers who are in 

 a po-ition and willing to assist me in this matter it may be 

 done in the following manner. To prevent the undue dupli- 

 cation of material and expense I would be thankful to such 

 persons to dre>p me a postal card, saying first that they can 

 supply such and such birds. To this 1 can answer either by 

 letter or telegraph. 



My present address is Fort Wingate, New Mexico, and 

 Mr. Robert Ridgway, of the. Smithsonian Institution, has 

 also promised to send me such material as may come to his 

 hands of the kind specified, so if it be more convenient, in 

 certain cases, to send it to him, it will be forwarded to me 

 when occa-ion offers. 



Tbe smallest size screw-top preserving jar of glass is the 

 best receptacle to send small specimens of birds in by all odds. 

 This should contain strong alcohol in sufficient quantity to 

 completely cover the coutents; then it should be p icked in 

 a suitable box, surrounded with paper and sent to my ad- 

 dress bv express. Three or four specimens of each spec is 

 are sufficient, provided they are not badly sunt. It both 

 sexes are represented so much the better. 



1 will gladly meet tbe expenses of transportation and col- 

 lecting, and especially desire that the collector tag the speci- 

 mens, giving date, name of collector or donor, sex, locality 

 and uame of specimens. In cases where the material is 

 donated, I will invariably acknowledge my indebtedness in 

 full in the forthcoming vvork. 



Should this meet the eye of the editor of the London Field, 

 I will be very thankful to him if he will briefly notice my 

 desiderata in this direction, as there are mauy continental 

 types, as Cypselus apus and others, which would add greatly 

 to the breadth and scope of my paper, and largely enhance 

 its generalizations. R. W. Shufeldt. 



Fort Wingate, New Mexico, June 18, 1886. 



THE HISS OF THE GROUSE. 



IT SEEMS a little strange that none of the writers on the 

 ruffed grouse speak of one peculiar habit of the cock bird 

 in the brewing season N< itber Wilson. Burd, Hallock nor 

 any of the encycloDeoias mention the singular hissing that 

 tbe cock grouse seems to practice as part of his love makii g, 

 and it is barely possible that it may have escaped general 

 ob-ervation. During the latter part of April and the first 

 half of May I was greatly inttresttd in watching: the actions 

 of a male grotise ira my neighborhood, and for the first time 

 in my life bad my attentiou called to this peculiarity. It 

 is apparently on the approach of the hen that this demon- 

 stration is made, and when she appears in sight tbe cock 

 sidles down from the log on which he has been strutting with 

 tail and ruff spread and wings drooping, and as be comes 

 near the object of his attention exteuds his head boiizontally 

 and on a lev. 1 with his ba.;k (which has the appearance of 

 being slightly arched), and begins to roll bis head from side 

 to side- witn a slow but gradually accelerated movement, 

 accompanying each turn or roll wiih a distinct separate 

 hiss, toe whole ending after ten or twelve such sounds with 

 a prolonged hiss twice the length of the others. At. the close 

 of bis sibikttions he makes a semi-circular sweep of three or 

 four feet, which brings him closer to the "iair one." There 

 is probably nothing which approximates these souuds in 

 movement and character (of course not in volume) as the 

 escaping steam from a locomotive just pulling out from a 

 stauou, and yet the likeness is only approximate. 



When this sexual paroxysoo subsides it seems to be fol- 

 lowed by a coi responding peiiod of depression and languor. 

 I have seen this same cock bird after such a promenading ai d 

 bissinc, sit ctouch. d upon the ground whining like a mother- 

 less puppy, aud appm ntly in the most dejected and discon- 

 solate condition Possibly I am writing of what is familiar 

 to eveiy hunter and woodsman, but if so, it seems a little 

 strange that none of the books speak of it. Jay Bebb. 



A Bit of Folk Lore —Central Lake, Mich., June 23.— 

 Editor Forest and stream: The otlnr evening I heard the 

 Dote of a wh-ppoorwill 1 thought, but was not positive, 

 that I bad never b< fore beard it in northern Michigan, and 

 asked the "oldest inhabitant" who stood near, if it was Dot 

 very unusual to hear one of these birds hereabout-? lie re- 

 plied that it was, but said that he had heard them before 



and added that it had been told bim that any person who on 

 hearing the wbippoorwill should immediately remove his 

 coat, and put it on again wrong side out, keeping it thus 

 until the cry of the. bird had ceased, should rec ive whatever 

 be had wished for meanwhile. The old man did not turn 

 his coat, and perhaps his negligence in that respect may 

 account for the exceeding: rustiness of the garment. These 

 little scraps of folk-lore are often of interest, especially to 

 students in that line, and I have thought lhat this might be 

 worth the space it would occupy in the Fokest and Stream. 

 —Kelpie. 



Moose in the Adirondack^ —We have received in- 

 formaiion of the killing-, last October, of a young bull moose, 

 weight about 350 pounds, in tbe Long Lake region, just 

 north of Long Lake. 



Bombi, the $5 000, 7,0001b. rhinoceros of Central Park, 

 died last Saturday, of pneumonia. The Forest and Stream 

 bears are still vigorous and healthy, cunning, intellectual 

 and attractive. 



Address all communications to the Forest and Stream Publish- 

 ing Co. 



THE TRAJECTORY TEST. 

 'T^HE full report of the Forest and Stream's trajectory test of bunt- 

 in? rifles has been issued in pamphlet form, with the illustra- 

 tions and the tabular summary, making in all 90 pages. For sale at 

 this office, or sent post-paid. Price 50 cents. 



THE PARK RAILROAD BILL. 



ON motion of Mr Butler, of South Carolina, Senate bill 

 980 granting right of way to the Cinnabar and Clark's 

 Fork Railroad Company through tbe Yellowstone National 

 Park, was taken up by the Senate June 8. The di-cus=inn 

 on it given below is extracted ftom the Congressional Becord 

 The bill was reported from the Committee on Territories 

 with an amendment, to strike out all after the enacting 

 clause and to insert: 



That a right of wny !«■ hereby granted the Cinnabar and Clark's 

 Foik Railroad i ompnny, n corporation dnlv organized under tbe 

 laws ol the Territory of Montana, across Mich portions ot the north- 

 ern border of the Yellowstone National Park as may be necessary to 

 reach, by the nearest practicable route Irom Cinnabar, the (lark's 

 Fork mining district, in said Territory ol Montana, hy the way Of 

 the Yellowstone River to its junction of East Fork of said river; 

 thence by the way of said Fast Fork to the Soda Butte Creek; thence 

 by said creek to the Clark's Fork minimr district, upon such location 

 as may be approved by tbe Secretary of the Interior, subject to the 

 provi-ions of the act of Congress entitled "An act g> >nling to rail- 

 roads the riirht of way through the pnblic lands of the United states." 

 approved March 3, 187a. Said right ol way herebv granted shall be 

 restricted to such limits as are absolutely essential for the road-bed 

 and slopt/s of cuts ami base ol tills, except at such points, not nearer 

 than 10 miles from each other, as may be designated by said railroad 

 company lor station buildings, depots, side-traeks turnouts Mini water 

 stations, at which points the right ol way shall he limited to the actual 

 site for said houses, anil the limitation for side-tracks or switches 

 shall not exceed in width HO feet, to cover all trackways, and a length 

 ol 500 leet; that the structure ended liy sai l railroad compmv with- 

 in the park shall not in any Inst nee iiiclmie machine shop.s repair 

 shops, supply stations, hotels, restaur nts, eating-houses, stores. ■ r 

 any buildingcxceptadepot.inciudinga telegraph or telephone office 

 resident tor station agent, ami one building lor section b inrls and 

 said right of way and location for depot grounds shall not in any 

 instance include objects designated as natural curiosities, or n.atters 

 of interest to tmii i-ts. or he surrounded or incosed by lences. walls, 

 or hedges that shall obstruct the view of anv contiguous object, oi' 

 bar the passage to ihem of pedestrians or vehicles, and no rights of 

 any kind shall vest in said railroad company in or to any part ol the 

 right of wav herein provided for until plats thereof, made upon 

 actual surveys lor the definite location of said railroad, and includiii" 

 the points for station i.uilding. depots, side-tracks, turnouts and 

 water stations, shall be tiled with the Secretary of the Inteiior, and 

 be dulv approved bv him. No limber or other materials to ho 

 aed in the construction ol said railroad, simll be cut or taken from 

 ny portion ot the Vellowstone National P rk. except such as may 

 be cut. or t.ken within the right ol wav hereby granted; and the 

 grants hereby made are limited so as not to in chute «ny coal or other 

 mineral found on said right of wav; nor shall said company, or its 

 successors, use the property uiven herebv for any purpose except in 

 the construction and operation ol a railroad. 



SEC. 2. That none ot the shares of capital stock of the corporation 

 herein named, shall be transferable until at least 50 per cent, of the 

 par value thereof, shall have been paid in ca-h. No bonds sh .11 be 

 issued or mortgages execute d lor the security ihereoi bv said corpor- 

 ation in an amotiatexceeding one-ball of the sum which its president, 

 treasurer, and chief engineer shdl certifly, und- r oalh, to the 

 treasurer ot the Territory of Montana, hAs been actually expended, 

 at th.- time or the Issue ol such bonds, upon the railroad o to be con- 

 structed; andany false swearing in the in tter shall he perjury. The 

 Whole amount ol bonds outstanding at any one time filial I not ex- 

 ceed one-hall of the actual cost ol the construction and eeiuipment 

 ot such railroad. Trie provisions of this section relating to tbe 

 Iran sler ot stock and the is-ne nl bonds, sh ill he applicable to any 

 corporation to which the corporation n oipmI In this act shall convey, 

 <>r attempt to convey, its tr niduses, or rights, ur property, prior to 

 the final completion ol said road 



SKC. i That nil charg.s for transportation of cither freight or 

 passenger- over said railroad shall be reasonable, and without 

 discrimination as to persons, sMppisrs. or consignees. No rebates or 

 drawbai ks oi any kind or nature shnll be allowed, directly or in- 

 directly to any patron of the railroad, nor shall there be any unju-t 

 di-ciimination in the facilities afforded shippers or consignees at 

 any station on the line of Said railroad; and a., to these' anil' all 

 kindred matters. Congress reserves the right to make all necoessary 

 regulations as to said railroad, iu considerations of this grant, as 

 well as to alter or amend ibis act. 



Stc 4. Thatif said railroad shall not be constructed and in run- 

 ning order within three years Irom and alter the passage ol this act 

 the right of way hereby granted shall there tore be lorleiled, and 

 this condition is expressly understood to be a condilion-pivcedent 

 as to all rights granted herebv; and In case of a breech oi the con- 

 ditions ol this section, all lights granted hereby shall revert to the 

 United Slates by operation ot this provisi m, w ithmtt the necessity 

 of any aclion by Congress: provided. That the grant hereby shall not 

 bo held or construed as exclusive, so as to prevent the allowance of 

 the locating other roads along the vallev or route adopted under this 

 act. under such grants and regula>ions as Congress may make and 

 provide and the colli ts equitably administer. 



Mr. Vest— Mr. President, if I can secure the attention of 

 the Senate for a Very few moments I should like to give my 

 reasons, and very earnestly, why this bill should not become 

 a law. 



To those Senators, if there be any such here, who believe 

 that the Yellowstone Park should be destroyed and cease to 

 exist I have no argument to make. I am verv well aware 

 that it is popular to assert in this country that nothing should 

 exist in which there is not money, and any one who pro- 

 poses to preserve the great National Park in its original 

 grandeur and beauty, and to preserve tbe game, which" has 

 almost ceased to exist upon this continent, is tauub d with 

 se^lhi tici^m and is sneered at as behind the proper spirit and 

 ideas of the age. 



I am not a>hamed for myself to say that my life has been 

 largely devoted to field sports, that I have Jived a large 

 portion of my time iu the woo Is and forests and mountains 

 and upon the rivers of the great West. I know whereof I 

 speak when I say to-day. without any other interest or 

 motive under heaven than that of an American citizen aud 



Senator, that the construction of this railroad is the de- 

 struction of that park. To those who think that Ylammoih 

 Cave should be turned into a subterranean storehouse for 

 mercantile purposes, that tbe Falls of Niagara should be 

 used for their water power to turn a mill, that the wonderful 

 geysers of the Yellowstone Park should be devoted to 

 laundry purposes and leased out to Chinamen in order to 

 wash out dirty linen, to such persons I have and can have 

 no argument and no appeal to make. But to those who 

 sympathize wiih me in tbe purpose to pereerve one spot at 

 least on this continent from the ru^h and greed and avarice of 

 the age, one spot where nature shall e j xist as it was originally, 

 in which the great game, the elk and the bison and tlie 

 black-taib d de> r, shall always be found for our childn n and 

 our children's children, to such Senators 1 now appeal 

 most earnestly against this bill. 



I know, Mr President, that it is said this railroad is neces- 

 sary in order to reach mines. I shall not stop to discuss the 

 value of those mines because, like all mining property, their 

 value is p-ospective and in the future. They may amount to 

 a great deal and they may amount to nothing, with the 

 chances largely in favor of the latter proposilion. ] solemnly 

 assert my opinion, based upon close observation and wiihout 

 pi ejudice, that this railroad is not proposed to be built to 

 reach any mines, that it is not intended for anv such pur- 

 pose, and I propose to show, if not by actual demonstration 

 at least by probable fact?, that my assertion is correct. 



These mines are represented to be of large value; thous' 

 ands of dollars it is said are invested in them; and what 

 proof have we presented here from tbe stockholders of these 

 mining companies that the proposed route through the Park 

 is tbe only practicable line to tbe North Pardee. Kailroad? I 

 call attention to the fact and I defy contradiction when T say, 

 in tbe presence of tbe enormous valua'ion upon this mining 

 property, with thousands ot tons of ore, as General Ander- 

 son says, dumped out already waiting for the cars to carry 

 it to the reduction works in Montana, with stock companies 

 organized for working the mines, that no preliminary pur- 

 vey has ever be en made of any route of these mines. Only 

 a few hundred dollars would have been necessary to make 

 this survey ; and yet with this enormous mining property 

 upon their hands these gentlemen have not seen fit or proper 

 to make a survey, for it would be ridiculous to argue that 

 they bad not the means to make these preliminary surveys 

 in Older to ascertain by what route tney could mo^t cheaply 

 and rapidly approach this property. 



There are three routes prooosed. One of them is the 

 Boulder route outside of the Parte, which U perfectly prac- 

 ticable. 1 have here the letter of an engineer officer, who 

 has been over every foot of it, declaring ih. it the road can 

 be built. It is a little further, a little longer distance, but 

 entirely practicable; and this offic. r, as will be seen by his 

 letter, traveled over the whole Boulder loute, not one foot of 

 which is inside of the Yellowstone National Park. 



But without preliminary surveys, a thing unheard of in 

 such an enterprise, a bill is presented here session after 

 session and pressed upon Congress to run this railroad up 

 the Yellowstone River to tbe cast fork of that river, and 

 then up Soda Butte Creek, going throueb the joveliest por- 

 tion of tbe Yellowstone National Park, and the only portion, 

 as I shall show bv evidence beyond qui s' ion, in which the 

 game congregate during the winter months. In the summer 

 i he large game of the Yellowstone ^an go where they plea-e 

 without let or hindrance; but in tbe winter they come into 

 this identical ngion, the loveliest portion, as I have said, of 

 that great Park on the Yellowstone River and S"da Butte 

 Creek, and there and there only they have a range during 

 those winter months in which tne range is most necessary to 

 them. 



Why have the projectors of this enterprise had no pre- 

 liminary survey of the route made? Why is it that they do 

 not bring to Congress the best proof that tbe nature of the 

 case is suscep ible of?— the ri ports of engineers, from prac- 

 tical observation, who can testify to Congress that this is tbe 

 cheapest and most practicable loute between Cinnabar and 

 the Clark's Folk mints? 



Me. Butler— I should like to ask the Senator from 

 Missouri a question, if he will 3'ield to me. 

 Mtt. Vest — C rtainly. 



Mr. Butler — 1 ask him if in his experience he has ever 

 known a survey to have been made before a charter has been 

 secured ? 



Mr. Vest— This is a case in which Ihe whole argument 

 turus upon whether a charter shall be granted uoon this par- 

 ticular route or not. If there were a propo-ition here for a 

 charter between certain points on the most practicable route, 

 there would be something pertinent in the inquiry of the 

 Senator from South Carolina; but here is a proposition fixing 

 tbe route, and that is tbe remarkable fact to which I point 

 to-day. They d » not want a survey ; they do Dot propose to 

 have one, because p. rhapsa survey would defeat their obj ct, 

 which is to get into the Yellowstone National Park, not to 

 get to these mines, but to run up this valley of tbe Yellow- 

 stone, up to Soda Butte Si>riDg*, the most wonderful springs 

 in the country, at which point they propose to build a depot. 

 The real purpose is to construct a railroad to carry passer- 

 gers, not ore. There is tbe money in this enterpiise, and 

 not in going to ttte mine«, in which they say thev have 

 already ore dumped out ready for transportation. I know 

 whereof I speak from per-onal e bs> rvation I have been in 

 that park and traveled over this id ntical territory, and I am 

 as thoroughly convinced of tbe truth of what 1 say as if it 

 were a mathematical proposition. 



I know great exertions have been made to pa c s this bill. 

 1 know thf.t a former e.fficer of the Interior Department, has 

 bei n lobbying Congress three sessions to pass il, and be is 

 here again for the same purpose. I know that Senatois, my- 

 self included, have be. n attacked aud besmirched in the 

 public press, and we have been brandi d bv the assertion that 

 we were the to* Is of the Northc ru Pacific R iilroad. 1 assert 

 hereto-day. using only such language as this pr- sence ad- 

 mits, lhat the a-sertion that I have any olher obj ct, direct 

 or indirect, than that which is proper to a citiz u of this 

 country, aud a Senator representing a sovereign State, is so 

 utterly and infamously false that the wre tch who makes it is 

 unworthy of credence from aDy gentleman. No man con- 

 nected with the Northi rn Pacific Railroad Company has 

 ever approached me or dared to do to If the North* in 

 Pacific Railroad has any intereft in this matter, it is to con- 

 struct this road because it is a branch tunrirg direcily to 

 their main line. How could the Noithern Pacific Railroad 

 have any other interest? 



I speak only in the way of conjecture, because I assert that 

 no agent, no officer, no one connected with that road has 

 ever approached me in any way. 1 mention tLis not from 

 any personal feeling, for I know that when any public man 

 stands in the way of one oi the&e speculative enterprises the 



