Oct. 19, 1895.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



836 



office he turned back and said, "John, hitch my mare to 

 the buggy and bring her round here; if anything comes 

 up in my line tell them I'm out for an hour or two." 

 Then to me, "Get ready to go shooting and I'll pick you 

 up at the hotel." 



It was a plain case of couldn't stand it. The talk had 

 warmed him, and as we stepped out of the office the mel- 

 low October sunshine struck him full in the face, the 

 nearby hillsides were covered with the crimson and gold 

 of the maples, a little white frost still showed in the 

 shady places, and there was just a breath of whispering 

 south wind. Bunker broke the chain right there and in 

 ten minutes we were out of sight over the hill, speeding 

 along the level road of the valley for two miles, then up 

 the hill to the higher ground, the mare spurring the 

 ground with her feet and finding even the hills not 

 enough for her rejoicing strength. Surely there never 

 was a pleasanter morning nor a better horse. 



In less than an hour we pulled dp at a farmhouse ten 

 miles from town, hitched the horse, and started for those 

 chickens; but, as we learned later, five or six different 

 parties of shooters had recently been after them, killing 

 some and scattering the rest to the four corners of crea- 

 tion. We saw but one chicken, chased it a long way and 

 brought it back with us, Also a partridge, which was in 

 some brush we passed through. 



The three hours' tramp had given us keen appetites, so 

 we went into that farmer's house and partook of hie hospi- 

 tality (to the extent of 50 cents). The bread and butter 

 were excellent, the tea very nice, and the comb honey fit 

 for the gods. I can't say about the gooseberry pie — we 

 looked at it, but did not taste it. After dinner and a half 

 hour's loafing on the sunny side of a big strawstack, we 

 went after the rest of those stray chickens, but did not 

 find them. We got after some partridges in brush so 

 thick we could only hear and not see them. I suppose 

 they are all in there yet. 



About 3 o'clock we drove a couple of miles toward town 

 and stopppd at a very promising looking place for par- 

 tridges. Mr. Bunker started along an old logging road 

 and I went at right angles to the road, but as thp road 

 had a turn in it I was soon walking parallel with it and 

 about 50yds. from it. I saw Mr. Bunker and supposed he 

 saw me, but it appears he did not. A few minutes later I 

 heard a partridge fly, and as I turned to look felt a severe 

 stinging sensation in one eye, and in my neck and right 

 arm and shoulder, at the same time hearing the report of 

 Mr. Bunker's gun, though it did not need that to fell what 

 was the matter, for I had felt the same thing twice before. 

 For a moment the eye was blinded by the concussion of a 

 pellet that struck at the outer edge of the eye socket and 

 is now probably imbedded somewhere in the cushion of 

 fatty matter that lines the eye socket. Two more went 

 into the neck just below and to the left of the "Adam's 

 apple," one in the cheek bone right at its upper point, 

 and sixteen in the shoulder and upper arm. Although 

 considerably stunned by the shot so near the eye, I looked 

 toward Mr. B. and was glad to note that the leaves were 

 so thick that he could not be seen and was not to blame. 

 I called out, "You got me that time." "Yes, I got id all 

 right," said he. "But you got me too," I answered. 



Then there was a crashing of falling brush, and pres- 

 ently a white, scared face app9ared out of the leaves, and 

 it turned whiter if possible when he saw me sitting on 

 tbe ground, my white shirt front soaked with blood from 

 the two neck wounds, blood running in astream from the 

 eye shot, and one side of my face smeared with blood 

 from the cheek shot. By this time I had found that the 

 sight of the eye was all right, and was in better spirit-i 

 than before the shooting, caring nothing for the other 

 hurts, for they would soon get well, and the scared and 

 sorrowful face of Mr. B. would have excited the sym- 

 pathy of any one, so I called out, "It's all right, partner. 

 Nothing serious; and you were not in the least to blame." 

 But he would not be comforted, and insisted on bringing 

 the buggy and going to the doctor at once. I told him 

 we did not need any doctor, and I could hunt partridges 

 agaia after a little. "Well," said he, "you've got more 

 grit than any one I ever knew, but I'll not let you hunt 

 any more to-day." So we drove back to town, and I de- 

 parted on the evening train, feeling that I had one more 

 true friend. Some day we expect to be afield together 

 again and make a lot of disturbance among the Glen wood 

 partridges, and they are there in goodly numbers. 



6. H. Hampton. 



A Bit of Blue China. 



The Irishman who, while grubbing a root from the 

 foundation of the levee, so tenderly replaced the little 

 crayfish he had unceremoniously dragged from his sub- 

 terranean cavity and carefully piled the clods over it, say- 

 ing, "Oi wouldn't hurt yez fur th' wurld. Oi'll lave ye to 

 make more wurrk fur me another toime," made another 

 find. 



On the Arkansas shore, three-quarters of a mile from 

 the river, in a wild and tangled forest, several miles from 

 a civilized human habitation, the pieces of an old-fash- 

 ioned blue china vessel were excavated from under the 

 roots of a sweet gum tree, measuring 4ft. across the trunk 

 near the ground. The china was l^ft. below the surface 

 of the ground, and lying between the original "buckshot" 

 surface and the heavy alluvial deposit above. The tree, 

 being of slow growth, was doubtless a century old. 



Tripod. 



Mississippi. 



Bee Hunting. 



Editor Forest and Stream: ■ 



I have often wondered why some one does not write in 

 the Forest and Stream on bee hunting. It would be in- 

 teresting to hear how much honey has been taken from a 

 single tree. Much might be written on lining bees that 

 would be of great interest to me and I am sure to many 

 besides. 



Although not having done much of it myself, I know 

 men who hunt honey a good deal, and they have related 

 to me incidents connected with the craft that are exceed- 

 ingly interesting. Many facts might be brought out that 

 are not known to the general reader, for instance, bees do 

 not always take a "bee-line." They are very averse to 

 crossing water. I never heard of a bee crossing the lake, 

 which is from a mile to three miles here. Bees carried by 

 their tree will not come back to the hunter, etc., etc. A 

 bee hunter here took 264lbs. of honey from one tree, and 

 doubtless double or triple this amount has been known by 

 leaders of the Forest and Stream to have been found, 



We have found three trees this summer and hunted 

 very little. The largest had 481bs. in it. Can any one ex- 

 plain why bees are only found on buckwheat in the morn- 

 ing? We distinguish two kinds of bees here, the ordinary 

 black bee and the Italian. There are doubtless many 

 kinds or varieties of bees found in the United States. 

 There are different kinds of bee hunters, such as old bruin 

 and the kingbird, "darned Vermonters" and "Gork fel- 

 lers." 



There are different kinds of honey, as buckwheat and 

 basswood honey. In many localities bees and honey 

 abound, while in others almost none are found. By not 

 going too much into the matter covered by books on bees, 

 could not some readers of the Forest and Stream enter- 

 tain us with personal incidents connected with this to me 

 most interesting subject? I have often wondered why 

 bee hunting never became a fad among "city boarders" 

 while in the country. It's a wonder to me we don't meet 

 members of a bee hunting club on some warm summer 

 day out with their bee boxes, catching bees from the road- 

 side sweet clover, and many other flowers of the useful 

 and useless plants and weeds. H. 



Essex County, New York. 



LIZARDS AT WAR. 



Everyone has seen the curious spiny "horned toad" 

 which one's friends often bring as a graceful reminder of 

 desert experiences. Perhaps some of us have kept them 

 as pets and laughed at the grotesque gravity of manner 

 and absurd sobriety in disposition. Perhaps, too, you 

 have wondered as I have how such a spiny coat as is 

 worn by these lazy people from the land of Poco Tiempo 

 (pretty soon) protects or aids them in their desert struggles. 

 But this and other mysteries were solved by an incident 

 noticed the other day. In fact, I am minded to become 

 a volunteer war correspondent for the nonce, for surely 

 I never had opportunity to record so lively and resolute 

 nor so ludicrous a skirmish as this one. 



It was not far from the city of Albuquerque, in sight of 

 the quaint Indian church about which collects so much 

 of historic interest. But the battle of which we were 

 witness was between representatives of races far more 



primitive than those which awakened the zeal of Father 

 de Niza or the cupidity of his companions. Their allies 

 can be traced back to so ancient a geological period as to 

 make a non-professional head swim. In short, the battle 

 was between several representative reptiles who dis- 

 cussed their respective rights and privileges in true 

 cavalier fashion. 



Circumstances unnecessary to relate in detail had 

 brought together in a small inclosure upon the gravelly 

 mesa members of three different families of lizards. 

 Here was the undoubted king of the ranch, the horned 

 toad, crowned by nature in a grotesque and thorny 

 fashion. While very young he appears as a shapeless dab 

 whose only safety lies in the power to adapt his colors to 

 those of the object on which he lies. And even now his 

 corpulent, almost disc-like body, girt with a cuirass set 

 with spines and blazoned with armorial bearings of 

 nature's own devising, short bandy legs apparently too 

 weak to bear the ponderous dignity of the body and 

 ridiculously inadequate for the part he was about to play, 

 and sleepy pig-like eyes beneath the front piece of his 

 crown complete a picture of saurian grotesqueness unim- 

 aginable to one who has not seen a "horned toad" in the 

 flesh. I had often kept them in confinement and had 

 grown familiar with their placid disposition and their 

 slothful habit of hanging upon the front of their cage 

 sunning their white smooth bellies, as well as with the 

 miraculous dexterity with which they catch an in- 

 cautious fly without disturbing their own character- 

 istic gravity. One question which had often occurred 

 to me was to be answered by the battle episode, 

 "What are the spines for?" The second party in the fray 

 was formed by a pair of peculiar spotted and banded liz- 

 ards, which are among the most graceful and agile of the 

 scaly tribes. The ground color of their suit is a yellowish 

 gray, as in all desert forms; across the back is a series of 

 transverse bands of creamy yellow, and these blend on 

 the tail to form half rings of that color. The intervals 

 between the bands have spots and blotches of chestnut 

 brown and red, as well as smaller mottlings of dark 

 brown. The head is short and wide, with prominent eyes 

 and a blunt snout. Underneath the vestments are 

 marbled white. In fact these are very holiday warriors, 

 though it must be confessed that in that suit the^ are 

 wonderfully protected from view among the parti col ired 

 pebbles which make the background of their daily range, 



The other participants in the fray werejnon-combatants— a 

 variety of small striped and spotted lizards, whose cow- 

 ardice does not entitle them to further description here. 



As we approached the scene our attention was caught 

 by the strange posturing and gesticulations of a pair of 

 our graceful warriors. They stood facing each other, 

 mouths wide open in a horribly suggestive grimace, dis- 

 playing a series of many-pronged, acute teeth which 

 seemed ready to fulfill all the menace of the facial con- 

 tortions. Suddenly there was a fierce leap and snap, and 

 the aggressor sprang nimbly away, leaving minute tooth 

 marks upon his enemy's throat. Slowly they again 

 approached, standing high on their legs or their very tip- 

 toes, as I have seen spiders dancing about a helpless fly. 

 Mouths were thrown open and the thrust and parry began 

 anew. How long the duel might have gone on I can not 

 tell, for neither seemed exhausted or better tempered, but 

 this stage of the play was terminated by the — perhaps 

 unconscious — interference of his majesty, the crowned 

 toad, as we may prefer to call him. If he really thought 

 his dignity or pomposity could settle such a dispute, he 

 was soon undeceived. The amiable little disagreement 

 between the relatives was postponed, and both actively 

 resented the intrusion. This seemed to be something his 

 lordship had not at all counted on. Flight was impos- 

 sible, but there followed the most ludicrous attempt at 

 self -defense I ever saw. The Spartan mother's injunction 

 to "bring back your shield or come home on it" would 

 be absolutely obeyed by the horned toad, for in the most 

 literal sense the broad, dollar-round body is the shield. 

 The whole body becomes expanded and the under surface 

 is hollowed like a saucer to spread the broad, thorny back 

 against the foe; then lowering the legs on the side toward 

 the enemy and standing on highest tiptoe on the other 

 side, the shield-like back is turned confidently in the 

 direction from which the danger is apprehended. To see 

 the once placid animal stilting around in this one-sided 

 manner was too comical for description. 



But our duelists are by no means disconcerted. In blind 

 fury at tirst they rush upon the interloper, and the first 

 attack fairly i mpales one of the "attackees" on the sharp 

 horns which form his toadship's crown. Shaking loose 

 with some signs of pain he goes tearing about the arena 

 in a wild fury, which is wreaked on one of the non- 

 combatants. A poor unobtrusive "brittle tail" is seized 

 by the throat and is soon liors de combat. But soon the 

 warriors return to the charge, and this time with greater 



caution. One on one side and the other on the other is 

 an order of battle against which the toad's tactics are 

 insufficient. Soon one of the attacking party closed upon 

 his majesty and fixed powerful vise-like jaws upon the 

 side of his head ; blood flows from wounds in the unpro- 

 tected throat. In vain does the toad shake his head and 

 claw wildly upon his enemy. It was a sight in miniature 

 much like that of an alligator pulling down a bull. The 

 lizard held on like grim death and the toad seemed to 

 give himself up for lost and may have made many vows 

 never again to interfere in a quarrel not his own. Like 

 many another royal quarrel, this war was' settled by out- 

 side intervention. The greater powers took all parties 

 prisoners, and they now expiate their violence in an old 

 soap box covered with wire screen, where the late com- 

 batants may at any time be seen in their several cells. 

 New Mexico. C. L. HERRICK. 



White Miiiii. 



Goelph, Oot., Canada. — I do a little taxiaermy and 

 have received for mounting a mink absolutely white, in 

 other respects normal. Such a specimen has not been 

 seen in this section before. Quite a number of sportsmen 

 have expressed a wish to know if such an occurrence of 

 albinoism is rare or not. Hence this communication. 



W. H. 



X'Ate Tuesday afternoon a young lady named Cora Carson was 

 driving a herd of cows when suddenly a small deer appeared. The 

 deer joined the herd of cattle and went to the barnyard on the old 

 Holcomb place, now occupied by John Carson. The young lady 

 thought it would be a good plan to put the deer in a stable and ac- 

 cordingly performed the act. At night when Mr. Carson came home 

 she informed him what she had done. They went to the barn to- 

 gether. Mr. Carson opened the stable door and the deer ran out into 

 the barnyard, whereupon the young lady proceeded to recapture the 

 animal. The deer kicked considerably when recaptured, but the 

 young lady and Mr. Carson finally succeeded in getting the animal 

 back into tue stable. At this writing (Wednesday morning) the deer 

 is still in the stable and is doing weU.—JElizabethtotcn (iV. J.) Post. 



C. V. Hooper, AI. Van Epps and H. Smith returned from the Icicle 

 range Saturday, where they had been fishing, rusticating and pros- 

 pecting. They discovered a nesv lake on the apex of one of the 

 mountains and listened to the weird and luxurious music of the 

 whistling pig, of which there are many in that his?h range. This pe- 

 culiar animal resembles a fox more than a pig and weighs from 25 to 

 401bs. In color it ranges from a dark or iron gray to almost white. 

 Its whistling propensities are marvelous, and many a time it hasfoolpd 

 the lonely prospector into the belief that he was not entirely eompan- 

 ionless in the mountains. Mr. Van Epps declares they are musical 

 wonders, and that they often give open air concerts of the most en* 

 trancing nature,— Leavenworth (Km.) Times 



A NEW MEXICO DUEL. 



