446 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



fDiso. 30, 1886. 



QUAIL. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In the Tvnnter of 18681 was in North Carolina, and daily 

 while shooting would see many persons with nets, who 

 ^vere engaged in capturing quail and shipping them to 

 the P]iiladej)lhia market. As an experiment I purchased 

 840 live bu'ds, put them in coops covered with canvas, 

 and took them to my old home in N ew Hampshire. Tliere 

 I utilized an old sheep pen, 20ft. square and 12ft. Mgh, 

 for their home. There was a lot adjoining, inclosed -v^-ith 

 a high board fence. I covered this with pigeon nets; tlie 

 quail hadjree ingxess and egress. I lost thirteen birds in 

 Transit. I fed them liuclcAvheat, cabbage and apples and 

 they thrived finely. Having procured them tmm High 

 Point, N. C, I found that the climate did Tiot disasToe 

 with them. I kept them froin Janiinry to IMarch, wli'en I 

 disti-ibuted them in hull! dozens over a radius of five miles. 

 Only lost seven birds duj-ing their captivity. The third 

 year after tliis they were found as far east as Lowell, 

 Mass. , and as far north as Dumbarton in the extreme 

 north. 



The people of New England can well afford to tm-n 

 their attention to quail ctilture, as tiie country is so well 

 adapted to then- propagation, and if sportsmen" and hunt- 

 ers will put straw stacks in their thickets and track the 

 way over the fields Ijy sf-attering ptraw. they will alwavs 

 find in deep snow time and Itad vreather the noble little 

 bird the quail. My belief is ttiat if farmers and others 

 would cover their brush boa] is v iHi stra^v in the fall, the 

 quail would make these places tlieij- winter borne. 



In 1874 I placed 34 quail eggs under a bantam hen. 

 She hatched and reared 30 of them until they were fuJl- 

 grown bii'ds. 



Our Ohio fish and game law is deficient in several re- 

 spects. I went before the committee on fish and game 

 at the last session of the Legislature, and urged witli all 

 my powers to induce them to shorten the season for rjuail 

 shooting, and not to allow shooting after Dec. 1; our 

 season extends to Jan. 1. My opinion is that the birds 

 have a hard time, even if unmolested, to get through tlie 

 winter when snow is on the .ground. 



Within the last three days more quail have been slaugh- 

 tered by fellosvs wlio bunch them in the snow than were 

 taken during the entire senson. Pot and market-hunters, 

 who could not bag a half dozen quail in a day's shooting 

 as sportsmen shoot, now bring in from three to four dozen 

 daily, captured by potting them in the snow. At the 

 little town of Roundhead, iune miles distant, three hun- 

 ters in two days potted and packed a fiour barrel full of 

 quail and shipped them to market. If this state of affans 

 continues until Jan. 1 there will scarcely be a bird left to 

 tell the tale. At the ciiming session of the Legislature we 

 will try and have the law so amended as to shorten the 

 season for shooting and to give more protection to the 

 birds, and do away with spi-ing and summer shooting. 

 We will try for a non-exportation law also. H. P. I. 



HUNTSVTLLE, OMo. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Quail are very plenty hereabouts. I flushed ten fine 

 coveys to-day and bagged thirty-eight. Little if any 

 shooting is done here, and pot-hunting is not allowed. 

 Within a few miles of lieie wild turkey and deer are 

 fairly plenty. You can recommend tliis "place and the 

 Egerton Hotel to any one, and no gentleman could ever 

 wish for more comfortable quarters or more cordial at- 

 tention, I regret to learn that during the recent and 

 extraordinary heavy snow some of the colored people 

 trapped alive a great many quail, and sold them in the 

 village to some gentlemen who shot them out of a pigeon 

 ti-ap in a sweepstake. J. T. W, 



MLiCON, North Garolina^^ 



Editor Forest and. Stream: 



A correspondent, "H. M. W.," Baltimore, says he finds 

 too much wheat is too heating for quail in confinement, 

 and asks what is the "right food." I have found cracked 

 Indian corn an excellent food for cold weather and more 

 easily digested than wheat, although it is more heating 

 than the latter. But I am inclined to the opinion that 

 what game birds need when in confinement in the winter 

 and deprived of exercise is occasional feeding with some 

 laxative food to prevent indigestion and constipation. 

 Cabbage chopped fine, pieces of apple, lettuce or spinach 

 leaves, celery tops, or similar articles are good. In the 

 article on "Hybrid Grouse," issue of Dec. 16, "Tappan 

 Oak Ferry," read Tappan, Dak(ota) Territory. 



Toledo, O. ' Jay Bebe. 



Those Massachusetts Snow Buntings.— Essex, Mass., 

 Dec. 26, — Editor Forest and Stream: I Avas siu-prised 

 last night upon ojjening my favorite pajier, the Forest 

 AND Stream, to find my name in full in connection with 

 a scathmg denunciation of the Essex Gun Club, which I 

 believe in view of the facts to be uncalled for. T?he birds 

 shot as snow buntings (wliich may not be the right name) 

 were put upon the list after consulting the game laws of 

 1886; and the assertion was made thaf they were on sale 

 in the Boston markets. (A man has told ine to-day that 

 a year or two ago he sent to Boston by express to be sold 

 in open market, a dozen, for which he received 50 cents.) 

 There seems to be a mistake somewhere. A committee 

 has been appointed to ascertain the true name and stand- 

 ing of the bird in question. Tlie hunt was gotten up to 

 awaken interest enougli to start a gim club. The organ- 

 ization has been perfected, and we' had our first shoot at 

 bluerock pigeons to-day. In the side-hunt values were 

 affixed to direct efl"ort to the most desired game. Quail 

 and partridge were ]i]aced at 50 points, rabbits at 25. 

 Crows were set at 15, till some said they should hunt 

 crows, when they were scaled down to 5 points to dis- 

 com-age any one going out of their way to liag them. I 

 hone at some future <^ay to see .something in your columns 

 more creditable to the Essex Gun Club than your last 

 editorial. — C. W. Chip:\la.n, 



The Winchester Calendar, published by the Win- 

 chester Arms Co.. is a large card on which are emblazoned 

 tyirical hunting scenes Avith the rifle. Among the flood 

 of calendars this one will be lik-ely to prove a favorite 

 with sportsmen, because a constant reminder of the field 

 days that have been, or better, are to come. 



Those WHO preach, lecture, declaim or siiig,wm and do ftnd 

 Hale'sHoney of HorelioundandTar the speediest restorative of 

 the voice in cases of hoarseness. It cures couglis and sore tlu-oats 

 rapidly and completely. Sold by all druggists. Pike's Tooth- 

 ache Dkops cure in one minute.— ^di'. 



YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK. 



Report of Capt. Moses Harris, First Cavalry, Act- 

 ing Superintendent. 



Yellowstone Nation-jo:. Park, 

 Office of Superintendent, 

 Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyo,, Oct. 4, 1886. ) 



SIR: In compliance with your telegram of the 31st 

 ultimo, I have the honor to submit the following 

 report: 



In obedience to the orders of my military superiors I 

 arrived with my command, Troop M, First United States 

 Cavalry, at the I\Iammf>th Hot Springs, Yellowstone 

 National Park, l.^te in the evening, Aug. 17, 1885, and at 

 once re]>orte<l by telegra,})]! to the honorable Secretaiy of 

 the Interior, ihiviug, in response to my telegram, been 

 informed th;it it was desired that I should assume the 

 duties previously perforined by the .superintendent of tl 

 I'arli. T assumed those (hiti<?s, relieving Col. D. W. Wear, 

 the late superintendent, Aug. 20, 1886, Col. Wear ac- 

 companied me through t!ie Park, and I stationed detach- 

 ments from my con^mand at the following points, viz: 

 The NoiTis Geyser Basin: tlie Fire Hole, or Lower Geyser 

 Basin; the Upper Geyser Basin: tbe Grand Canon, or Fails 

 of the Yellowstone; Eiverside. or! the 3[adis,on River: and 

 Soda Butte, on the road to Cook City. These stations 

 have been continued to tlie present' time, and from 

 frequent inspections made by myself and the officers of 

 my command T am assiued that tlie private soldiers and 

 non-cominissirined ofhcera in charge have performed their 

 duties raillifnlly. and (hat tile Park has received all of 

 the pi-oiection possible nnder tlie circumstances, A copy 

 of the order published for the gnidanee of these several 

 detachments in the discliarge ot their duties is forwarded 

 v.lth this report ajid marked . Tl is jn-oper to here state 

 that much efficient assistairce has been tendered by the 

 following-named gentlemen, vho were f<irmerly em- 

 ployed as assistant superintendents, viz: Mr. 'C. J. 

 Baronett. William McClellan, and Ed. Wilson. The first 

 named has been employed as a scout and guide mider 

 authority received from the War T)e]iaj'tment. and, owing 

 to his long experience and yuTfeet familiarity with the 

 mountain trails, his services are invaluable. It is to be 

 regretted that it has been found inexpedient to authorize 

 the employment of more than one of these experienced 

 scouts. 



Upon assuming my present duties I found t«'o persons, 

 Mr. Metcalf and a Mrs. Crary, residing at the Mammoth 

 Hot Springs in violation of the Park regulations, and I at 

 once served each of thein w ith the requisite thirty days' 

 notice to vacate. The order was promptly obeyed in both 

 instances, and the buildings improperly occupied will 

 soon be demolished and removed. I have also found it 

 necessary, for the preservation of good order and property, 

 to expel a number of disreputable characters from tiie 

 Park, This is at present the (mly authorized method for 

 the enforcement of good order in the Park, and although 

 the exercise of this authoity may at times appear harsh 

 and arbitrary, it is indispensaljle to tlie j. roper jti-otection 

 of life aud proi^erty, 1 have also found it neressary to 

 forbid the turning loose ol" stock to graze m tlie vicinity 

 of the Hot Springs and Geyser formations. This practice 

 was not only a source of annoyance to visitors, but of 

 much in-ju3-y to the formations. 



forest fires. 



I regret to have to repoi-t that destructive forest fires 

 have been raging in the Park during the greater portion 

 of the present season. The most destructive one. which 

 was bm-ning when I arrived in the Park, originated on 

 the 14th of August last, near the East Fork of Gardiner 

 Eiver, in fuU view from the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel 

 and about seven miles distant. This fire is still burning, 

 and has extended over a tract of country some ten or 

 twelve miles in length by three to five in width. 



It was the opinion of 'my predecessor, Colonel Wear, 

 that this fire was started maliciously by some of his per- 

 sonal enemies; but nothing is positively known as to its 

 origin. Another fire, of less magnitude, originated on 

 Tower Creek about the 10th of September. It was con- 

 fined principally to the timber along the creek. Several 

 other fires have originated, and after burning a short 

 time have either been extinguished by the efforts of the 

 men of my command, or have failed 'to spread destrac- 

 tively from the absence of suitable material, A large 

 number of fires have been extinguished by men of my 

 detachments stationed through the Park, many of thein 

 under circumstances which led to the belief that they had 

 been set maliciously. The most of tliese fires originated 

 on the eastern side of the Pari-:, near the road from Gardi- 

 ner to Cooke City, and \\ hile some of them may have been 

 started maliciously, the most of them were probably 

 caused by the carelessness of camjiing parties. Those fires 

 which have been started intentionallj- may be attributed 

 to imscrupulous hunters, who, lieing jire^^ ented from 

 hunting in the Park, resort to this method of chiving the 

 game lieyond tlio Park limits. The Park is surroimded 

 by a class of old frontiermen, hunters and trappers and 

 squaw-men, who, as the game diminishes outside the 

 Park, increase their efforts and resort to all sorts of ex- 

 pedients to get possession of that which receives the pro- 

 tection of law. The fa(ilit>- witli whieh forest Jires can be 

 started, and the impossit>ility of extinguishing thein . wlien 

 once under way, by any available method, i-ciiders it ex- 

 tremely difficult in this high, Avind-s^vcjit region to guard 

 agaijist them. The only provision against thcsm vliich 

 can be proposed is that which is also required for the pro- 

 tection of the Park, in other respects "a stringent law 

 vigorously enforced." Two fii-es were started on the west 

 Ijorder of the Park some two weeks ago; and the ])resence 

 of a small band of Bannock Indians from the T.emlii Res- 

 ervation, who left as soon as the fires were seen well 

 under way, was to me a sufficient explanation of then- 

 origin. Fortunately they were extinguished by an oppor- 

 tune sno^v storm before much damage had resulted. A 

 considerable baud of these Indians approaclied the west- 

 er7i l)order of the Park, along the Beaver Caiion road, in 

 tlie lattei- part of August last; but upon my reporting the 

 fact by telegraph to the Department, they" were promptly 

 recalled by their agent. These Indians are, however, 

 allowed entirely too much liberty and are a constant 

 source of annoyance. They visit the Ma,dison Valley, on 

 the western border of the Park, and in their hunting ex- 

 cursions are not particular whether they cross the Une 

 of the Park or not. It is reported to me that they are in- 

 cited to hunt in the Park by unscnxpulous white men, 

 who also furnish them whisky. 



GAME AND ITS PROTECTION. 

 From the reports of reliable scouts familiar with the 

 ranges of the elk, the deer and the buffalo, there can be 

 but little doubt that there is an abundance of game in 

 the Park. Detachments from my command on the east- 

 ern and western sides of the Park have constantly scouted 

 the portions of the Pai'k not f reriuented Ijv ordinary tour- 

 ists, and the scout Barronett iias also been constantly on 

 the go, watching suspected parties. I am confident that 

 up to the present date there have been no depredations of 

 any magnitude, and that the game has been well pro- 

 tected. 



THE GETSERS. 



It is apparent from the most casual observation that 

 the means heretofore era]>loyed for the preservation of 

 the natural objects of Avonder and beautv in the Park 

 have 1)een entirely inadequate. It mav be said without 

 exaggeration that not one of the notable gevser forma- 

 tions m the Park has escaped mutilation or "defacement 

 m some form, Those that have been most fortunate are 

 covered with lead-pencil inscriptions recording the names 

 of those shallow-minded visitors to whom such a distinc- 

 tion is a ])leasm;e. A lead-pencil mark seems to be a very 

 harmless defacement, but names bearing date of 1880 are 

 still discoverable through the thin depcjsit of silica, and if 

 tliis marking should g<.. on unchecked, in a very few years 

 these once beautiful forioations will have become im- 

 Jghtly and unattractive objects. At the Ujjper Gey,ser 

 Basin names u-ith date o! June, 1886, have been chiseled 

 •■"'o Use solid geyserite so deep that, in the slow process 

 naiin e, jiia ay years must elapse before tliis mutilation 

 w) 11 i w obli terated. Not content with the defacement of the 

 formations, efforts are constantly being- nuule r,, destrov 

 the geysers themselves by throwing into them sticks, logs 

 of wood, and all sorts of obstructions. The eruptive force 

 of several of the geysers has been totally destroyed by 

 vandalism of tliis chaj acter. The footsteps of the throngs 

 of Ausitors are Avearing away the delicate and lace-like 

 tracery of the silicious deposits, and in a few years the 

 formations surrounding the geysers Avill present the ap- 

 pearance of the worn pavements of a city sti-cet. The 

 willful defacement of tliese beautiful objects can only be 

 prevented by watchful sn]ier\-ision, .supported by * the 

 rigid enforcement of lawfu I penalties. A certain amoxmt 

 of wear and deterioration, incident to the nuiltitude of 

 visitors, is probably imavoidable. 



Capt. Dan C. Kingman, Coi^js of Engineers, United 

 States Ai-my, the officer in charge of the construction 

 and improvement of the roads of the Park, Avill doubt- 

 less submit, through the ebief of liis corps, a detailed re- 

 port of the work performed under liis supervision. 



The small appropriation for the construction of roads 

 and bridges in the Park for the present fiscal year was 

 not made available until toward the last of August, and 

 it was not until the first part of September that work Avas 

 finally commenced: but by the vigorous efforts of Captain 

 Eangman much good Avork has already been accomplished, 

 and before the end of the season it Is expected that the 

 new road from the Norris Geyser Basui to the Grand 

 Canon and falls of the Yellowstone will be comj^leted, 

 and a bad piece of road along the Obsidian Cliff, where 

 construction is extremely difficult, thoroughly improved. 



After consultation with Captain Kingman, I have, in 

 my estimate of api^ropriation required for the fiscal year 

 ending June 30, 1888, placed the amoimt which can be 

 judiciously and economically expended in the construc- 

 tion and improvement of roads of the Park at §150,000. 



The appropriation by Congi-ess of this amount will 

 render it practicable to construct a good road from the 

 Upper Geyser Basin, the terminus of the present road, to 

 tlie Shoshone Geyser Basin: thence around the southern 

 shore of Slioshone Lake and across the continental divide 

 to tiie west ai-m of the Yellowstone Lake; thence along 

 the \vestcr7i shore of Yello^vstone Lake to the outlet, and 

 along the YelloAvstone to the Falls and Grand Canon. 

 From the falls the road Avill be continued doAvn the Yel- 

 lowstone to a jimction Avith the present road to Cook 

 City, which will be improved from the point of junction 

 to the Mammoth Hot Springs. It is also in contemplation 

 to improve the present road from Mammoth Hot Springs 

 to the Upper Geyser Basin throughout its length. And 

 also the Beaver Caiion road from the Fue Hole to the 

 western boundary of the Park. Although this scheme 

 does not embrace all of the roads necessary or desuable in 

 the Park, it Avill, when carried into effect, enable tourists 

 to visit tire principal objects of interest Avithout discom- 

 fort, and without passing tAvice over the same I'oad, 



Owing to the shortness of the season in which labor can 

 be pr(ififably expended upon roads in this region, it is of 

 the utmost importance that any appropriation made by 

 Congress should be made available at the earUest possible 

 date. 



hotel accommodations. 



The hotel accommodations in the Park have in general 

 been excellent. During the msh of visitors m the month 

 of August the hotel managers at two or three points in 

 the Park foimd some difficulty in providing for their 

 numerous guests, but although some incouA-enience by 

 visitors may have been experienced, there was but little 

 actual discomfort. A fine ncAv hotel has been completed 

 at the Norris Geyser Ba.sin, and I am informed that before 

 the next season it is the intention of the Yellowstone Park 

 Association to erect one equally as spacious at tbe Grand 

 Canon. 



It is to be hoped also, that the structures at the Lower 

 and Upper Geyser Basins may soon be replaced by others 

 more suitable for the accommodation of the increasing 

 mimber of annual visitors. 



transportation. 



The transportation facilities have been adequate to the 

 demands of travel. No serious accidents haA-e occurred, 

 and no complaints of incivility on the part of drivers, or 

 of extortion by the proprietors have been made. There 

 have been during the season a large number of irrespon- 

 sible i)ersons doing business in the Park Avith saddle ani- 

 mals and pack outfits. These parties do not reside per- 

 manently in the Park, but come in for the season. 



In my opinion no person should be alloAved to do busi 

 ness of this character in the Park without first obtaining 

 permission from the superintendent, and registering their 

 names in his office. 



A person so authorized to do business, or act as guide, 

 should be fumiehed with a certificate to that effect, and 



