Aua. 5, 1886.J 



FOREST .AND STREAM. 



No, the visitor admitted that he did not own the 

 marsh, but he lived near it. and he and two or three other 

 residents had alwa\'s ti-ap]3ed in Little Otter and the two 

 Slangs, "and the trappin' here hlonged to' em," 



"Haow many traps do the hnll caboodle on ye set?" 

 Sam asked; and after reckoning in his head and on his 

 fingers, the man said, "'Baout hund'ed an' fifty." 



"A hxmd'ed an" fifty traps on all these miles o' marsh! 

 Wal, I guess what we've got won't make no great diff- 

 unce wi' ye, so don't fret yer gizzard, my friend. There's 

 room 'nough for all on us, an' we'd like to live friendly 

 wi' you fellers, but anyway, we're goin' to ti-ap here a 

 spell." 



"Who give ye leave to camp over yunder?" the man 

 asked, waving his hand toward the shanty. 



"The man 'at owns it," Sarn answered, shoi'tly. "I do' 

 know why in Sam Plill I never thought to ask you— but 

 then, ye see, I hed not hed tlie pleasure o' your 'quain- 

 taince till jes' naow. Be you willin' ?' 



"Humph!" grunted the aggrieved trapper. "Camp an' 

 be cussed! Trap and be damned! Ye won't make much 

 aouten on it, see 'f ye du!" and he went his way in no 

 better humor than he had come. 



When he was at a safe distance, Antoine, till now a 

 very silent partner, shook his fists at his broad back, 

 seized himself by the seat of lus trousers and apparently 

 lifted himself oS. the ice in a rapid series of short leaps, 

 and cried in a tone that lie v.-as sm-e would not be heard 

 by the retreating foe, "Hey! by damn ye! Ah wan' leek 

 you, sell!" Then turning to Sam and throwing down his 

 cap, "All dunno what for Ah sunt tink for leek dat man 

 when he here, bah gosh!" 



"Wal, Antwine," said Sam with a quiet smile, "I du." 



Then they went back to tlie camp, and Antoine skinned 

 the rat from chin to tail, and stretched the pelt on a bow 

 of "nanny bush," fastening it in place by upward cuts 

 through the sidn and into the wood at the nether ends of 

 the bow. Then tliey made their tea, frizzled then slices 

 of salt pork over the coals, and ate their rude but well- 

 relished supper. After a long smoke they tm-ned into 

 their robes and blankets. 



Once when Sam arose to replenish the fire and take a 

 quiet midnight smoke, he tliought he heard the soimd of 

 ,axe strokes out on the moonlight inavsli, but he saw noth- 

 ing and thought then no more of it. But next morning 

 when they went abroad he and his comrade found every 

 muskrat house chopped down and uninhabitable, and the 

 few traps they had set were throA\Ti out upon the ice. 

 Then- unpleasant acquaintance of tlie day before, and his 

 partners, had done their night's work thoroughly. The 

 muskrats had retreated to their burrows in the banks, and 

 there could be no more trappingnor spearing in the ruined 

 houses. Antoine pranced and tore his hair, and made 

 threats of terrible vengeance. Sam said, "Wal, arter all, 

 't was kinder neighborly in 'em not to steal aour traps. 

 We'll wait an' start 'long o' the rest on 'em when the ice 

 goes aout." 



Aadress all commmications to the Forest and Stream Pub. Co. 



WHAT WAS IT? 



THE reported occm-rence of a sea monster ofi' the Mass- 

 achusetts coast near Gully Point, July 24, had a basis 

 of fact, though it is as yet uncertain what the creature 

 was. We give below two newspaper accounts of the 

 occmrence. The New York World says: 



"EocKPORT, Mass., July 26 {Sx)eeial).—A sea serpent 

 which is no imaginary creatiure but a veritable monster, 

 has visited this place. This serpent is vouched for by 

 men of undoubted veracity, Chas. A. Russell, Esq., of 

 Gloucester; Edward Battis, of Salem; Sumner D. York, 

 clerk of the Gloucester Police Court, and A. W. Tarr, teller 

 in the Rockport National Bank, ha ve been camping out 

 at what is known as Gully Point. On Satm-day evening 

 Mr. Tarr sat with glass in hand and saw a large body not 

 far from the shore. It was a monster. The attention of 

 the rest of the party was called to the large body. Every 

 one in the party were unbelievers in a sea serpant, but 

 ocular proof dispelled their conflicting doubts. Grace- 

 fully his serpentship coiled toward shore, and before 

 turning away from the rocky coast had ventured within 

 300yds. of the campers. So far as could be judged, the 

 marine monster was 100ft, or over m length, and as 

 large round as a barrel. The head was seen upright in 

 the water and when under the sm-face the body floated 

 on top of the waves, Sumner D, York, heretofore skep- 

 tical as to the sea serpent, is now a firm believer. He has 

 seen it and no argument will change his belief. He saw 

 the serpent with his own eyes. The serpent gTacefuUy 

 swam within 200yds. of the shore, and coming round the 

 point made a grand sweep and headed towai-d the break- 

 water." 



The Rockport Review of July 31 gives the followmg 

 account: "The sea serpent has" been seen off Rockport. 

 Saturday evening, at about 7 o'clock, as Mr. A. W. Tarr, 

 wife and daughter, sat together outside of Sans Souci 

 Camp at Gully Point, enjoying the cool air and beautiful 

 Bcenery and quietude of the locality, Mr. Tarr's attention 

 was called by Mrs. T. to a sti-ange fish or animal swim- 

 ming very near the shore. At first he thought it might 

 be a school of some kind of fish, a shar-k or horse mack- 

 erel, but such ideas rapidly left his mind as the monster 

 became more prominent. They notified the occupants of 

 L. E. Smith's cottage, Messrs. Sumner D. York and Chas. 

 A. Russell, both la^vyers of Gloucester, and Edward Battis, 

 a law student of Salem, who at once iDecame much inter- 

 ested to determine the nature of the object. They ran 

 to_ the shore, a few hundred feet distant, so they \vere 

 within a stone's throw of the strange animal as it grace- 

 fully curved in and around Gully Point Cove. It was 

 plainly seen by them, its head rising and dipping out and 

 m the water, which was as smooth as a niillpond. Be- 

 hind were the curves made by its huge bodv. similar to 

 those made by an eel. A number of these sections were 

 seen, and looked as large around as the body of a small- 

 sized man and about two feet long. Once or twice it dis- 

 appeared from the surface and then came up and wrig- 

 glefl ofi: toward the salvages, being in sight fuUy ten or 

 fifteen minutes, so that its observers could fully decide 

 that it was a monster of the deep, and not an illusion or 

 'turtle with a seine in tow,' as some have supposed it 

 might be. Were the parties who saw it less reliable, it 



might be passed by ae a joke; but the word of either of 

 these persons is perfectly reliable." 



An mquu-y as to the facts in the case was made of Mr. 

 Albert W. Tarr, of the Rockport National Bank of Rock- 

 port, who wi-ites to us as follows: 



RocKPOET National Bank, Rockport, Mass., Aug. 2,— 

 Ediior Forest and Stream: Yours of the 29th ult. to 

 hand. I forward you the Rockport Beinew containing an 

 account of the subject of which you make inquiry, and I 

 should say it was a fan account and nearer the right than 

 any of the others I have seen. I should say the curves 

 of the animal were more than two feet in length, and 

 think they were some eight or ten in number. The ac- 

 count otherwise was as I saw it, and it certainly was no 

 hoax. A. W. Tare. 



IS THE GROUSE POLYGAMOUS? 



ALL the authorities who treat of the ruffed grouse, 

 allege that the male is polygamous. Is this a fact 

 or is it only a tradition regarduig a bird whose habits we 

 liave always liad limited opportunities for observing, and 

 about AvMch we consequently would seem to know less 

 than we kno^v of almost any other of the game lairds ? 

 As I have been w;itchmg the actions of a male grouse 

 and two hens this spring and summer, their relations be- 

 came such as to raise the question which heads this para- 

 graj)h, and to lead to the belief that if the rule were as 

 generally stated, there might nevertheless be exceptions. 



In the winter and early spring these three birds seemed 

 to be living together in "entu-e harmony. About the 20th 

 of April the male began strutting and drumming in the 

 usual fashion. It was, however, only a short time till he 

 began to exhibit a marked dislUce to one of the hens, 

 while he seemed to be always on (negatively) friendly terms 

 with the other. This dislike soon took an aggressive form, 

 so much so that he abused the obnoxious bird roundly M'hen- 

 eyer she came near, and she soon gxew so much afraid of 

 him that she seemed to keep as far away from him as 

 possible. This abusive conduct on the part of the male 

 continued all summer, and the male at such times became 

 so savage, that he paid no attention to any human ob- 

 server. 



Now for the sequel. Both these hens laid a nest of eggs 

 about the usual time in the spring. Those of the abused 

 hen I have just described were barren, while those of the 

 other hen were fertile. There was no apparent outward 

 reason why the male should mate with one hen and 

 quarrel with the other, and yet the eggs showed by indis- 

 putable evidence that such was the case. The theory that 

 these birds pair, instead of practising polygamy, would 

 seem to harmonize with these facts. Jay Bebe. 



ToiiEDO, OMo, July, 1886. 



AMERICAN ASSOCIATION MEETING. 



THE following programme has been arranged by the 

 local committee for the thirty-fifth meeting of the 

 Association, to be held at Buffalo, N. Y., beginning Aug. 

 18: 



Thursday. — Afternoon: Excursion down the Niagara 

 River to Grand Island. Evening: The Botanical Club of 

 Buffalo wiU receive the Botanical Club of the Association 

 at the residence of Hon. David F. Day. The Entomologi- 

 cal Club of Buffalo will receive the Entomological Club 

 of the Association at the rooms of the Society of Natural 

 Sciences, 



FiHday. — Afternoon: Mrs. Bronson C. Rumsey will 

 receive the Association at a lawn party at her residence 

 on Delaware avenue from 4 to 6 o'clock." Evening: Illus- 

 trated lecture by Prof. C, A, Ashbm-ner, Geologist in 

 Charge, Second Geological Sm-vey of Pennsylvania, on 

 "The Geology of Oil and Gas," 



Saturday. — ^Two excursions will be given to the mem- 

 bers of the Association on this day. One to Niagara Falls 

 via New Y^ork Central Raih-oad, Dinner will be provided 

 by the local committee at the International Hotel, Niagara 

 Falls, Arrangements for reduced rates have been made 

 with Mr. Alva Gluck, the proprietor of the International, 

 so that members of the Association who desire to spend 

 the Sunday at the State Park can have accommodations 

 at $3 a day, or on the European plan, rooms from $1 a 

 day and upward. The other excursion to Chautauqua 

 Lake, via Buffalo, New York & Pliiladelphia Railroad to 

 Mayville, from Mayville to Bemus Point by steamer, where 

 dinner will be served. Members will please notify the 

 local secretary of their choice by Friday noon at the latest, 

 so that the necessary arrangements can be made. 



ifoncZo?/.— Afternoon: Excursion of the Botanical Club 

 of the Association to Point Abino in company of the 

 Botanical Club of Bufl'alo. Excm*sion of the Entomologi- 

 cal Club of the Association to Ebenezer in company of the 

 home club. Evening: Receptions at different " places : 

 The above programme will be changed or modified accord- 

 ing to the state of the weather. Members of the Ladies' 

 Reception Committee will be daily in attendance at the 

 High School to receive the ladies of the Association as 

 they arrive. As another large convention is held in Buf- 

 falo during the same week, it will add greatly to tlie 

 comfort of the members to have the necessary rooms 

 engaged prior to then- arrival, and notices to that effect 

 should be sent as soon as possible to the local secretary. 



DOMESTICATION OF THE BUFFALO 



Ed/itor Forest and Stream: 



The letter of Mr. Seton on the American bison in your 

 issue of the 8th reminds me to inform you that this great 

 animal is not yet totally gone in Texas. I am informed 

 by reliable gentlemen that a herd of a dozen to twenty 

 head were lately seen in C'd^iclvett county, and there they 

 have been seen by Bev eral parties, off and on, for the past 

 two years. He himself recently saw eight of them in a 

 bunch. Crockett county lies southward of this ]3lace about 

 100 miles, embraces over 10,000 square miles of territory, 

 and has no poj)ulation, except a few scattering stockmen 

 on the Pecos and the headwaters of the San Saba. It is 

 for the most part a wild and shaggy country, high table- 

 lands, low mountains, brusliy thickets and here and there 

 a beautiful and fertile valley. It contains also some dis- 

 tricts covered with white sandhills of a very desolate and 

 forbidding aspect, but full of pools of excellent water, 

 around which grow very tall, sweet and nutritious 

 grasses. Supports rattlesnakes by the million and any 

 quantity of "Mesic^m hogs" or peccaries. Has lots of 

 deer, antelope, wildcats and panthers. Sach is the cotm- 

 try that, the last remnants of the niyi-iads of buffaloes 

 which used to roam over Texas have chosen for their per- 

 manent home. In the days of his greatness the buffalo 

 never staid in Texas during siiriiig and summer, but mi- 

 grated northward as the warm Aveatlier came on, return- 

 ing again in the fall. This lant remnant of the mighty 

 race don't migrate. It stays in Crockett county all the 

 year. I am told that even the ungodly cowboy treats 

 these remnants witli respect and don't shoot them. 



Also in the Panhandle, Mr. Charles Goodnight, a very 

 gxeat stockman, has on his Paladura Rancli on Red River, 

 a herd of bufl'alo which he has .domesticated. He is de- 

 voting much care to them, to perpetuate the race. Am 

 told that he is having great success with them, but I do 

 not remember the number of his herd. No doubt such as 

 he may offer for sale wiU in time command very high 

 prices. N. A. T. ' 



ABnuENH, Texas, Jiily, 1886. 



Do Snakes Poison Themselves?— :Ed#or Forest and 

 Stream: The above query appeared in yom- columns 

 lately. I can say somethmg to the point. When a lad I 

 had charge one winter of a' rattlesnake. It was fed once 

 ^ a week with a five mouse; a dead one was always refused. 

 It would fasten upon the head, never releasing its grip 

 except in advancing its hold. There came a time when it 

 declined the accustomed meal, and the mouse in its fright 

 jumped about and occasionally lit upon the snake. The 

 latter after a while roused up 'and glided about the cage, 

 appai-ently enraged. At length the mouse hit the snake, 

 when the latter sounded its rattle and struck the mouse in 

 a flash. Very soon the mouse began to swell and stagger 

 about, and in a few mmutes was dead. It was not deemed 

 prudent to remove the mouse till the snake was quiet. 

 On visiting the cage for that iiurpose the mouse had dis- 

 appeared, but its bulk was plainly discernible in the form 

 of the snake, wluchwas already in distress, turning black 

 and bloating. It was dead in half an horn-, having ap- 

 parently suffered exactly like the mouse.— Waefield 

 (Smyrna, Me., July 28). 



The Pine Maeten (lf?f sfeZa americanus, Unn.).— Editor 

 Fore.nt and Stream: In your issue of July 22 a writer asks 

 if the animal called "'sable'" by hunters is the fisher or 

 marten. I have many years hunted the slopes of tJie Can- 

 ada mountams, extending into Maine, for "satile" or pine 

 marten. In the palmy days of the mink, between the 

 years 1862 and 1866, when then httle pelts commanded |10 

 each, they were called "sable" furs, and they may be to 

 this day for aught I know. I never could see why a mink 

 should ever be called a sable, unless to give it a prestige 

 and make the goods sell better. But there is more con- 

 gruity in calling a marten a sable, for there is considerable 

 shnilarity in the looks of the animals, both in color and 

 form. The martens of Canada and New England have 

 been called sable by hunters of both sides of the line from 

 time immemorial, just as a fisher is called by hunters a 

 black cat, although it is not black nor a cat. Some 

 writers think there may be two species of martens since 

 there is such difference in color in subjects examined by 

 different parties in different iiarts of the country. This 

 can be easily accounted for, we think, by the E>ex,\').geand 

 season of the pelt. The female is smaller and more jilainly 

 colored than the male. The male is more liigMy colored, 

 more distinctly marked and beautiful in appeai-ance when 

 in a jirtuie condition. In the a.utumn, before the cold 

 weather commences, the fur on the upper jiart of 

 the body is brownish rufous, almost indescribably 

 mixed, and under the tlnoat is a beautiful golden 

 23atch — ^the earlier in the season the more beau- 

 tiful the color of the tliroat, and as the season advances 

 the colors change gradually darker on the body, 

 and lighter about the head. I think the change is made 

 by the coarse hairs (or secondary fm") as they gradually 

 grow out through the base or bottom fur, and "so changes 

 the whole appearance. I have one individual now at my 

 elbow, which I caught and stuffed many years ago, 

 caught in an open, settled farming country 'in Maine, 

 where an old resident told me there had not been one 

 caught in that vicinity for more than fifty years. Forty 

 years ago these little animals were very'abimdant, but 

 now Inmters have to go far back into the wilderness to 

 find them. The pine marten or sable live chiefly on 

 moimtains, in hard wood and mixed gTomli more than in 

 black growth. They feed mostly on squirrels. Some 

 hunters have suiiposed they eat the beechnut because they 

 were more abundant in the beech woods, but the truth is, 

 they are found there because the squirrel inhabits those 

 woods and subsists on those nuts. I have caught hun- 

 dreds of these little animals. The common way "of hunt- 

 ing them is by deadfalls or log traps on spotted or blazed 

 lines, following along the sides of mountains often many 

 miles in length. It is a delightful pastime to camp on a 

 sable line, following the axe marks for days through the 

 unbroken forest. — J. G. R. (Bethel, Me,). " 



The Teee Island Hawks,— A simken island in Sebagp 

 Lake, Maine, is smmounted by a single dead pine tree, 

 which has given it the name of " Tree Island. In the top of 

 this tree is a nest of the fislihawk (P. caroJinensis) which 

 has been in use for over thirty successive summers. Any 

 one residing about the lake would as soon kill one of their 

 best friends as one of the Tree Island hawks, but several 

 times parties from abroad, not knowing the interest 

 attached to these particular birds, have killed one of the 

 pair, thinking, no doubt, that shooting the bud on its 

 nest was an evidence of skill. Whenever this has taken 

 place, I am informed by Abe Shaw, the veteran pilot of 

 the Sebago Steamboat C ompany, the surviving bud would 

 disappear for a few days, and then retm-n, accompanied 

 by half a dozen or more fishhawks, and for about a week 

 high carnival would be held about the old tree, their 

 screams and love songs making the eclio ring again and 

 again. _ When a mate has been selected to the liking of 

 the resident bird, the others depart, and family life in the 

 old tree goes on as before. — Black Spot. 



The Audubon Societt. — The members of the Society 

 at Central Lake, Mich., gave a picnic last week, which 

 was attended by one hundred and seventy-five personsi 

 The Decorah, Iowa, EepuNican thinks that" the Audubon 

 Society certificate of membership, with the excellent 

 portrait of the great natm'alist, "is well worth framing as 

 a picture." 



