264 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Oct. 28, 1886 



and if the one first flown is not at once fluslied, release 

 your lamed bird when the haggard is not observing you; 

 this the falcon ^nll kill with ease, and she will not fail to 

 be impressed with the conviction that " waiting on" when 

 men below are flushing game is a most profitable pro- 

 ceeding. Hawks of all species, but especially falcons, 

 must never be teased, rated, stiaick or other%vise punished 

 tmder any circumstances whatever; a moment's anger on 

 the part of the falconer will spoil the work of months. 

 Falcons are not in any way like dogs or horses; they never 

 forget nor forgive an injury, and never again show any 

 attachment or obedience toward those who have offended 

 them. Neither must a hawk be starved in order to tame 

 it, or the spirit and health of the bird will both be broken, 

 and its plumage will show htmger marks, causing the 

 feathers to break, spoiling both the appearance and the 

 flight of tlie falcon. 



All hawks require a bath at least every other day in 

 warm weather. A good-sized tub some Sin. deep, sunk 

 almost flush with the surface of the ground, makes an ex- 

 cellent bath. The block of the hawk shotdd be set near 

 it, and the bii'd given plenty of leash. After the hawk 

 has been entered at living birds she should be given but 

 one full meal a day, and that from your hand early in the 

 morning. Saturday night should be "gorge night," and 

 the hawk shotild then he allowed as much warm bud or 

 good beefsteak as she will eat. Perfectly lean raw meat, 

 preferably beef, pigeons, the necks and heads of game and 

 poultry, and any small bu'ds which have not been shot, 

 should constitute the diet of the trained peregrine. 



Fig. 1 represents the head of an adult female peregi-ine 

 falcon, and shows well the j)owerful and strongly-toothed 

 beak, and the general character of this magnificent bud, 

 the type of warlike nobihty and strength. The rearing 

 and training of young hawks taken from the nest wiU be 

 considered in my next jpaper. R. W. Seiss. 



AN UNCOMFORTABLE PAIR. 



ASTRANGrE pau- of fish were seen to-day in Lake On- 

 tario at Oswego Harbor. 

 Sunning itself near the top of the water, within oar's 

 length of the writer's boat, was seen a pickerel of about 

 two and one-half feet in length. 



Lying close beside the pickerel was what appeared at 

 first to be an eel a little over a foot long; but as the 

 pickerel swam slowly away, his companion was seen 

 to be a lamprey, whose suction head was fastened to the 

 pickerel's side just back of his gills, and whose tail was 

 waving alongside that of the pickerel, as the latter 

 dragged its bm-den along. 



The lampreys habit is to sponge its living out of the 

 rest of the fish world, by attaching itself by suction to 

 any fish that it can get in its power, permittmg the con- 

 tinued life of its victim as long as possible while subsist- 

 ing on its blood. 



The Avriter saw, some years since, a 30-pound salmon 

 taken from a gill net in Lake Ontario, and having a two 

 inch hole in its side which had been made by a lamprey's 

 suction. 



The lamprey's spawn among the gi'avel at the mouths 

 of streams emptying into the lake. The vnit^r once 

 crossed a gravel bar, whose sm-face was just awash, in 

 which were many bowls worked out, each about the size 

 of a hen's nest, and each contaming one or more lampreys 

 coiled aroimd and apparently spawning. The lamprey 

 and its victim which were seen this morning are jjrob- 

 ably joined together till death shall part them. 



Leatheestocking. 



Oswego, New York, Oct. 22. 



StJNFLO\^^RS AND THE BiRDS. — ^We had a few sun- 

 flowers in the garden the past summer, which were very 



f)rolific of blossoms and attracted much notice, but we 

 ittle thought what pleasure the taU, rough stalks with 

 the drooping flowers and dried dangling leaves Avould 

 give to the birds later tn the season. Before the seeds 

 were fairly grown a family of goldfinches that had theu- 

 home in a ma^jle tree in front of the house took possession 

 of the flowers, and from early morning until late in the 

 afternoon the}* could be seen perched on the edge of the 

 largest flowers, nearly doiibled up in theu- efforts to secure 

 the seeds. Then in"Sei)tember came a flock, a dozen or 

 fifteen, purple finches, and later still came along an un- 

 bidden but a very welcome guest, a white-breasted nut- 

 hatch, and for nearly two weeks he made Ms regular 

 daily visits, but unlike the goldfinch and purple finch, 

 who would make then- feast wliile sitting on the flower, 

 he ^vould come in Ms graceful, undulating motion, and 

 alight on the imder side of the flower, exti-act his single 

 seed and then away he would go to a dead apple tree in 

 my neighbor's garden, where I suppose he ate it; and the 

 next moment Ijack he would come to the same flower, 

 secure another seed and go off to the dead apple tree again. 

 One morntag we missed om genial guest, and the next 

 mormng he was not among the finches, and we came to the 

 conclusion that he had passed on with the vast migration 

 army. The goldfinches and purple finches are still_ with 

 us, but we expect that they also wiU soon take their de- 

 parture, as the stock of sunflower seeds is getting low; 

 but we shall see to it that there vrill be another stock next 

 season for om- feathered friends; and if the readers of 

 Forest akd Stream wish to attract and retain the birds 

 late in the season, let them raise a few of the good old- 

 fasMoned .sunflowers.— J. L. Davison (Lockport, N. Y.). 



Marylakd Bird Notes. — It may prove a matter of 

 interest to record that on May 16 last I shot a Hudsonian 

 godwit (Limosa hudsonica) at West River, Maryland, 

 in a grass field adjouiing the village of HalesviUe. TMs 

 species must be a rai-e visitant in that locality, for none of 

 the old water men or .gunners knew the bird. I had the 

 bird beautifully mounted hj a very experienced taxider- 

 mist of Baltimore, who never knew of one being obtamed 

 m Maryland before. Dr. Cones states ("Birds of the 

 Northwest," p. 494) that he never saw this godwit aHve. 

 A few days later I shot a rose-breasted grosbeak (Gonia- 

 phea ludoviciana) near the same pLice. This also is a 

 species very rarely seen in that vicinity.— J. Murray 

 Ellzey. (No. 1013 I street, F. W., Washington, D. C, 

 Oct. 35.) 



A Contrast.— A correspondent writes from Sharon, 

 Pa.: "This locality twenty years ago had thousands of 

 brown thrushes, catbirds, 'tobolinks, orioles, tomtits, 

 woodpeckers, cranes, sand snipes, MUdeers, cM]jping 

 birds, etc., and you have no idea how scarce they are 

 now. I have seen but one brown thrush in six years, and 

 the orioles and tomtits axe almost exterminated." 



^mnt mid 



Address all communtmUons to the. Foretst and Stream Fub. Go. 



COOT SHOOTING ON THE MAINE COAST 



" OIRDS isn't s' plenty ez they wuz down here twenty 



-13 year ago," remarked an old fisherman, as he puffed 

 away at his pipe in the village post office one evening. 

 "Why, I remember," he continued, "how them black 

 ducks used t' come up in that cove whar the dreen is, s' 

 thick that they'd line both sides o' the dreen fur fifty yards. 

 We boys used t' go down thar nights an' we used t' shoot 

 a pooty good number of 'em sometimes. Abe Williams 

 'nd me went down thar one night 'nd we kiUed twenty-one 

 of them birds! Yes, sir, twenty-one of tliem ducks. 

 Naow, thet's what I call pooty good shootin'. But naow- 

 adays thar's more gunners than ther is buds." 



"iBut is there no shooting around here now?" I asked. 



"0, yas, but you hev t' go 'round outside the Gunnin' 

 Rocks and then' a mile or two t' the east'ard before yon 

 can git any chance." 



' 'Do you ever go gunning now?" 



"Why, bless ye, no! I go out thar fisMn'." , 



"Do you ever see any birds?" 



"O, yas, thar's quite a number of 'em flies by ev'ry 

 mornin'. I see some ]pooty good flocks of 'em tliis 

 morn in'." 



"Well, are you going out to-morrow?" I asked. 

 "Yas, if the weather's good.'* 



"Do you tMnk that if I went with you tliere'd be any 

 show for me to shoot some birds?" 



"O, yas; but ye've got t' get some tollers if ye want 

 any shootin." 



"WTiere can I get any?" I asked. 



"WaU, Em'ry M'loon's got some 'nd I guess he'd lend 

 'em to you if ye asked him. He lives in the house thut's 

 sot back from the road just above here. I'll go with ye 

 and ask him for 'em," said the old man. as he climbed 

 down from his seat on a flom- barrel, and after knocking 

 tlie ashes out of his pipe and replenisliing it, he struck a 

 match, lit his dudeen, and, with a "good evemn'" to the 

 postmaster, stepped out of the shop and I followed. 



We reached Em'ry 's house in a short time, and, after 

 knocking at the door, we were admitted by Ms wife. 



"Em'ry's out m the woodshed sawin'," she said, when 

 old Yeaton (the fisherman) asked for Mm. "I'U call Mm," 

 she continued, and going to the door, she spoke to Mm. 



"I'm comin'," answered her husband, and we heard his 

 footsteps as he walked from the shed to the house. The 

 door opened and he came in. 



"Em'ry, this is my friend, Mr. W.," said Yeaton, as 

 Meloon stepped into the room. 



"Happy t' see ye, sir — don't , get up — set right down. 

 Anythmg I can do for ye, Syl?" he contmued to Yeaton. 



"I want to know if you'U lend me your toUers for to- 

 morrow. My friend here wants to do a little gunnin', and 

 I tho't yon'd be 'bout the be.st man to come to." 



"Now, Syl, what on airth did ye come t' me for? Why 

 didn't ye go right out to the shed and take 'em? Of course 

 ye can'hev 'em. The idee o' askin' sech a question!" 



"Wal, I tho't—" 



"No matter wot ye tho't. Now come right out, and 

 we'll put 'em in the barrer, 'nd wheel 'em right down t' 

 yer boat." 



"You're very kind, sir," I said. 



"Thet's nothin'," answered Meloon, "I only wish I could 

 do .somethin' more fm* ye." 



The decoys were thrown into Yeaton's boat, and after 

 bidding the two men good Mght, I went home. Yeaton 

 was to meet me at Cod Rock the next morning at 4 

 o'clock. Fom- o'clock came and foimd me ready and 

 waiting on the Rock. 



The ^vind was light, and as the tide was running in it 

 took Yeaton longer than it would have otherwise to get 

 there. At last he did, and we started for the "Gunmn" 

 Rocks" and having passed them we headed to the east- 

 ward, and after going about two miles we anchored the 

 decoys and rowed about a good gunshot to the westward, 

 where we anchored. 



The eastern horizon was just lighting up witli the early 

 rays of old Sol, and the cool sea breeze that blew gently 

 from the south made black ripples here and there on the 

 ocean's smooth sm-face. It was an ideal early autumn 

 morning. As it grew lighter I could discern far off to 

 the southeast the sails of the mackerel fieet which bad 

 gone out of the harbor the mght before. The bell on Kit's 

 Rock buov rung at intervals as the slow swell rose and 

 fell. I was admirmg the scene when Yeaton suddeMy 

 said: "Get down, here comes some white wings!" _ I 

 grasped my Parker, and croucMng down watched m- 

 tently for the birds. "They're gom' by to the south 'ard 

 of us," said Yeaton, as the bu-ds swung off to the right, 

 "never mind, there'll be plenty more." 



I watched those fine fellows tiU they were out of sight, 

 hoping against hope that they might change their minds 

 and come back, but they didn't. 



"Ye see, the biggest flocks always flies fm-ther out nor 

 the smaller ones," saidY^'eaton. 



Boom! Boom! came across the water from the east- 

 ward. "There's some feUers gunnin' at Sea Point and 

 down by Braboat Harbor," said Yeaton, as he shaded his 

 eyes with his hand, "look out, here comes a couple!'' 

 Nearer and nearer came the coots— they see the decoys— 

 now they come— bang, bang. 



"Look out, the other'll get away [bang], good one! Got 

 'em both. Jest cast loose that b'oy 'nd we'll row up and 



^^TaMng the oars he rowed toward the decoys and picked 

 up the birds. "Butterbill coots. Isn't that one a beauty? 

 Jest look at his biU! but get down!" he contmued, "here 

 comes one o' them white wings, wait, now [bang]. One 

 more before he dives [bang]. There's three bnds; pooty 

 good, pooty good," said Yeaton, as he rowed aroimd and 

 scooped np the dead beauty in his net. He now paddled 

 back to the buov, and we were again ready for the birds. 



The coots continued to come in small bunches, and I 

 shot quite a number, missmg, of com-se, the easiest shots, 

 and gettmg mv birds on the hardest. " 'Tis ever thus. 

 Twelve o'clock"^came, and with it the nintli coot. I de- 

 cided not to wait for the afternoon flight, as it always 

 came late, and I did not want to stay out there for three 

 or fom- hours, with notliing to do, so I told Yeaton of my 

 wish, and he immediately hoisted Ms kiUick, and, after 

 taking in the decoys, we started homeward. We arnved 

 there in an hour or so, and, as I got off, Yeaton said, 'U 



hope you are satisfied, Mr. W. ; I know I can't give ye 

 sech shootin' ez they can daown on the Chissipeek Bay. 

 but whenever ye want a day's cootin', jest come t' me, 

 'nd I'U do the best I can for ye." 



I thanked the good-hearted old fellow, and, taking my 

 game in my hand, jumped out upon the rock, and as 

 Yeaton rowed away, I Avaved my hand to Mm. Now, 

 who wants a better time tlian a day's shooting on the old 

 New England coast? I don't, for one, even if the shooting 

 is not as good as it is on the "Chissipeek Bay," 



J. Wendell, Jr. 



ON SHAVER'S FORK. 



IKE K. was keen for a chase; he had talked about it on 

 several occasions: so we made an appointment for the 

 following morning. Ike met me at daylight. It was a 

 cool, crisp, frosty morning in October. Ike and the 

 writer were to take the stands on the Shaver's Fork of 

 Cheat River, above the FisMng Ha%vk Falls. Will F. was 

 to take my dog and make the drive. The locality here 

 named is an exceptionally good one for a chase. Prob- 

 ably there is not within this State at least a jjlace where 

 one can make a deer drive with greater prosjoect of suc- 

 cess and that quickly, too, without running the deer to 

 death. The moimtam on each' side of the stream rises 

 high, steep and precipitously, heavily timbered with hem- 

 lock and spruce, interspersed in some of the more open 

 siDots with maple, beech and bircli ; added to this along 

 the stream on either side and in some places extending 

 nearly to the crest of the mountain is a dense under- 

 growth of laurel, practically imj)eneti-able to the hunter. 

 Ike cai-ried a .88-caliber Ballard, with wMch he pm-posed 

 "settling the hash" of any deer that came to Ms stand. 

 The writer contented himself with his "universal arm," a 

 10-bore doublebarrel, both shells loaded with a wne buck- 

 shot cartridge, backed with aU. of Dupont's No. 3 Duck 

 they would hold. 



AVe lost no time getting to the stands, the keen frosty 

 air being favorable to active exercise. I placed Ike at the 

 upper stand (the best), tellmg Mm I would hold the fort 

 at the lower. We had scarcely been at om- posts fifteen 

 minutes, and I had just begun to shiver from quickly 

 cooling off after the brisk exercise of getting there, having 

 seated myself on a bare rock between two large boulders 

 at the edge of the stream, when I heard the sharj) sM-ill 

 yelp of my dog, as the chase rapidly descended the 

 declivity on the opposite side of the river. How well I 

 knew that tongue. Scarcely a minute had elapsed when 

 the sharp crack of Ike's rifle saluted my ears. I was on 

 my feet in an mstant, standing motionless between the 

 boulders, but commanding a good lookout up stream and 

 for some distance below. The report had scarcely died 

 away when I could discover the head and upper part of 

 the body of a doe, as Avitli short, quick leaps she came 

 down the rocky bed of the stream, at intervals throwing 

 the spray in a shower above her. It was but a momentary 

 glance, however, when, accompamed with the pecuhar 

 sharp whizz of a bullet, again that sharp report rang in 

 my ears, as the leaden messenger sped its way along the 

 fringing of timber and bnish on the opposite side of the 

 river. At that instant the doe tm-ned her com-se square 

 for the bank and quickly disappeared in the underbmsh. 

 I liad raised and leveled my gun, but the distance being 

 at least 150yds., if not gi-eater, 1 concluded not to fire a 

 hopeless shot. 



Ike came down the rocky and treacherous edge of the 

 river, floundering over the shppery rounded rocks, rtm- 

 ning as rapidly as he could make his way. When in 

 hearing distance he shouted: "I say. I certainly hit 

 that deer tlie first shot." "We will wade over and see," 

 I replied. Selecting a place where we could pick om- way 

 over the submerged rocks and rushing water without 

 overtopping our tall wading boots, a delicate operation at 

 best, we crossed and carefully examined the trail, follow- 

 ing several hundred yards through the timber and under- 

 brash. The doe had" evidently increased her pace after 

 leaving the water, going at a full jump; not a drop of 

 blood nor the least indication of her having been hit could 

 be discovered. In the meantime my dog came trailing 

 down the river bank, and would have taken the fresh 

 trad where the doe left the water, and driven her again 

 into the river below; but as it was a hopeless task to think 

 of either of us getting there in time, I called the dog in, 

 securmg him by a leading strap. 



Ike was a pictm-e of despair at his ill luck, and I added 

 to his discorafittu-e by twntting Mm on his bad shootmg. 

 He blamed it on tliat infernal patent gun: had he held a 

 good old home rifle with double triggers he would have 

 saved that deer sm-e. The upshot of the whole affair was 

 that we agreed the next day to try it again. 



On the following morning we met early and agam 

 wended our way to the stands. I suggested to Ike, how- 

 ever, that we make a slight change, as my being armed 

 with a shotgun and he with a long-ranged rifle, I would 

 take the upper and he the lower stand, as it commanded 

 a longer range of the runway both above and below. We 

 stationed oiirselves and patiently waited about half an 

 hour, listening to the ceaseless roar of the water as it tore 

 along m its impetuous com-se over the rocky bed of the 

 stream, glancing at the falling leaves, then adorned with 

 the brightest of autumnal colors of crimson and gold, as 

 momentarily a fitful breeze woidd send them tn showers 

 from the overhanging branches. A deer watcher should 

 ever be on the alert. The bank of the stream opposite my 

 stand consisted of sand and boulders overgrown with wild 

 grasses, interspersed with a short stunted gi-owth of water 

 willow and mountain honeysuckle about ten yards in 

 width; back of tMs was large timber witli an undergrowth 

 of the large and smaller lam-el (rhododendrons). There 

 was the snapping of a dry Limb, a rustling of the crisp 

 and fi-osty leaves, scarcely audible above the monotonous 

 roar of the water, and a large doe instantly boimded frona 

 the opposite bank into an eddying pool immediately in 

 front of me. She turned at once down stream and pre- 

 sented a broadside shot. Aiming immediately behind the 

 foreshoulder I pressed the trigger. There was a reverber- 

 ating roar as I stood with my gun lowered watchmg the 

 quan-y. She was down. A crimson coloring of the water 

 about her foreparts quickly showed the fatal effect of the 

 shot. A con\nilsive Mck or two, and floatmg quietly down 

 to the foot of the pool she lodged against some rocks close 

 to the opposite bank. I walked down to the spot, which 

 presented a pretty fair fording. Ike came up a few 

 moments after and while we were in mid-stream, picking 

 our way across, along down the hank came my dog; run- 

 ning out to the deer he lapped it with his tongue, eyincmg 



