308 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[May 10, 1888. 



MOUNTAIN LIONS CLIMB TREES. 



CEDAR MOUNTAIN, Wash. Ter., April 26.— Editor 

 Forest and Stream: In answer to the question 

 whether - mountain lions climb trees, I know of nine in- 

 stances of then- doing so. 



In 1873 one was treed by a sheepdog and killed by a 

 Mr. Geyter, on Mount St. Helena, in California. 



In 1877 Mr. Russell loaned a dog to a friend of his, who 

 treed and killed two by the aid of the dog, on White 

 River, W. T. 



In 1884 Jim Kinsey, a bear hunter, treed and killed two 

 with the aid of five bear dogs in the Bald Hills, Hum- 

 boldt county, Cal. 



In 1887 Dan Boyle, a prospector living a few miles from 

 here, started out with a pointer dog to look for pheasants 

 one morning. He had not gone far, wben his dog came 

 down the trail at the rate of sixty miles per hour with 

 a lion in pursuit. Mr. Boyle raised his Winchester and 

 fired, at which the lion sprang to the trunk of a fir tree 

 and started for the top, where he was killed by the gen- 

 tleman, and lodged in the tree, which was cut down to 

 secure his scalp, which, in this country, is worth $6 or $8. 



In 1887 D. Maxwell treed, by the aid of one dog, and 

 killed at least one of the gentry. 



In 1887 Mr. Jenkins, living near here, borrowed the 

 Maxwell dog, and treed and killed one. 



In 1885 or '86 a German started from a store a few miles 

 from here to go home with a dollar's worth of sugar, a 



Eiece of bacon and a pair of boots, all in a sack. Before 

 e had gone far on the trail, he became aware of the fact 

 that he was being followed by a lion. He hurried, but 

 so did the lion, and finally he dropped his sack and started 

 on a run through the woods. Arriving at home he got 

 his dog and gun and started back. He found the sack 

 with the provisions and boots torn to pieces. The dog 

 soon struck th9 track and treed the animal, when the 

 German commenced to pump lead. At the fourteenth 

 shot the lion bit the dust. 



Now, if they won't climb trees, and the tallest and 

 straightest fir trees in North America, I would like to 

 know the reason why? Of course I am going on the sup- 

 position that panther, puma, painter, California lion, 

 mountain lion and cougar are but different names for one 

 and the same species of animal. J. C. McK. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



While bunting in northern Idaho this year, I was out 

 one day looking for whatever might sbow itself. I had 

 with me a large mongrel hound trained for cougar,etc. We 

 came on a cougar lying full length upon a log. The cou- 

 gar and dog made a break at about the same time, and 

 the cougar went up a tree in the most approved style- 

 no springing up to the branches, but climbed up the tree 

 to the second branch. The first branch was thirty feet 

 from the ground, and the tree perfectly straight'. He 

 was a small animal and decidedly hungry looking and 

 thin. 



I also know of one that was killed from a tree as 

 straight as an arrow, and no limbs lower than thirty-five 

 feet. The tree stood apart from others, so he could 

 hardly have jumped there. He was also small. I also 

 saw one killed this year that was so large that I would 

 wager that he could never have supported his weight by 

 his claws; but as I saw the first one mentioned climo, I 

 know that they can climb if they will or rather have to. 



Nica. 



Troy, N. Y. 



Editor Forest and Stream : 



I noticed in your last issue a question as to whether a 

 mountain lion would climb a tree. I have killed sixteen 

 mountain lions, and from experience I should say they 

 rarely take to a tree when they are in the neighborhood 

 of dense brush. But I do know of their climbing trees. 

 As one of my herders was corraling his sheep, a young 

 mountain lion made a dash into the herd and killed ten 

 of them. Tbe herder fired at him almost instantly and 

 slightly wounded him; The dog instantly gave chase 

 and the lion took refuge in the topmost branch of an ad- 

 jacent tree. I arrived on the scene just as the herder 

 had dislodged him from his leafy perch with a shot from 

 his rifle. Henry Macdonald. 



Ohicago, III., April 30. 



ARE THESE MUSSELS EDIBLE? 



IN the Woods of Young County, Texas, April 23.— Edi- 

 tor Forest and Stream: The Clear Fork of Braros 

 and other streams hereabout contain great numbers of 

 mussels. The shells of .some of these are so large and 

 withal so beautiful that I use them in camp for soap 

 dishes, and would use them for soup plates were they not 

 liable, from their peculiar shape, to tilt over and spill the 

 soup. They are fine for eating scrambled eggs and cus- 

 tards out of with a spoon. 'Tis my opinion that the 

 Fairies and the Pixies set their tables with this ware. 

 However, I have no facts to sustain this opinion, except 

 the fairy-like beauty of the ware and its admirable appro- 

 priateness for such creatures. The point that now con- 

 cerns me most, touching these shells, is this: Are the 

 creatures which inhabit them good food for man? I have 

 been worrying over this question for some time, but have 

 not dared to put it to a practical test by eating them my- 

 self. Many times I have been strongly tempted to advance 

 upon them, but my courage failed me and I fell back. Nor 

 could I persuade, though trying hard, any of my fellow 

 campers to make the first break ; they all saying that they 

 would freely eat next should I eat first and survive or 

 fail to have an attack of cholera or hydrophobia. The 

 trutfc is, the creatures that dwell in these beautiful pearly 

 houses are not very pleasant to look upon, being a pale, 

 shapeless mass, flabby and slimy. But they ought not to 

 be condemned for that reason. The oyster, also, is an 

 ugly creature, but there are few things that taste so good. 

 I appeal to my friend Fred Mather. If the mussel is good 

 to eat, I am missing a great many good bowls of soup 

 through ignorance and cowardice. N. A. T. 



Recent Arrivals at Philadelphia Zoological Garden.— 

 Received by purchase— Two Japanese deer (Ocrvw sUca) male 

 and female, one brown capacin (Cebus fatuellus), two red-shoul- 

 ered buzzards (Buteo lineatus), two blueheaded ground doves 

 (Starn&nas oyanocephala), six Venezuela parakeets (BoWor- 

 hyvchus Uneoluta), one piping crow (Q-ymnorliina leuconota), two 

 laughing jackasses (Daeeki gigantea), one red bird (Cardinal/is vir- 

 ginianm), one lesser sulphur-crested cockatoo {Ccuxttua sulplvwr£a), 

 and one European blackbird (Turdus morula). Received by pre- 

 sentation—Two Virginia deer (Cerous xnrginlanm) male and 

 female, two opossums (Didelphps virginiana), one raccoon (Pro- 



eyon lotor), one bonnet monkey (Macueus radkUus), two gray foxes 

 (Values cincrea-argcntatiw), one meadow lark (SLurndla magna), 

 one English thrush (Turdus musicus), one screech owl (Scops atio), 

 two Venezuela parakeets (Solborhyncli/iis linenlatal, one loon (Co- 

 lymbm torgiiulwi), throe alligators (Alligator mississippiensis), two 

 box tortoises (Cistuiln dausa), one horned lizard (Plirynosoma cor- 

 nuta) and one hog-nosed snake (Hetcmdan platyrhinots). Born in 

 the garden— Two Bactrian camels (Gam dux hart via nus) male and 

 female, one zebu (Bos indtcua), one Bhesus monkey (Macacus erylh- 

 rmtu) and one bog deer (Gervus porcinus). 



WHICH IS THE WUS? 



DEDICATED TO "O. O. S." 



A TEENTY tawnty sparrer, 

 A settin' on a tree, 

 Mixin' up his so»g wi' blossoms, 



Which iist was bustin' free. 

 A boy wi' bow an' arrer, 



Aout on a huutin' spree, 

 Knocks him 'n' his song o' blossoms 



Tu dumb etarnitee, 

 Jes' for fun — 



An' the's an awf '1 fuss ! 



A barusome leetle sparrer, 



A settin 1 in a bush, 

 Mixin' his song o' summer 



Up wi' the mornin's blush. 

 A science-license bearer. 



His gretness for tu push, 

 Sends him an' his song o' summer 



Tu everlastin' hush 

 With his gun— 



An' th' haint no awf'l fuss ! 



Folks 'at vallys birds for singin", 

 An' luffs tu hev 'em raound, 



Sorter blows o' spring an' summer, 

 A blossomin' in saound, 



An' see both killin' 's bringin' 

 A goneness tu the airth; 



Can't kinder help o' askin' 

 Wi" a sorter solemn mirth, 



Jes' for f un- 

 Wlndi way is raly wtis ? 

 Danvis, Vermont. S. Lovel and Huldah P., his Wipe. 



'mm J?#3 and §utj t 



RIFLES FOR SMALL GAME. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Having watched the columns of Forest and Stream 

 for points in the use of the hunting rifle closely for several 

 years, I am somewhat surprised not to see more regard- 

 ing the .22-caliber; not that so small a bullet is suitable 

 for all kinds of game of course, but for many kinds of 

 game, and some of it a great deal larger than is generally 

 supposed to give up to this tiny bit of lead. I have had 

 an experience of thirty years in the use of the rifle, always 

 looking for extremely fine work in short-range shooting, 

 i. e., at distances less than 200yds.; also many years' ex- 

 perience in making rifles for fine work in off-hand shoot- 

 ing. Those who have lost any grizzly bears, or who 

 know it all may pass this by without reading, as it is not 

 what they are looking for. 



I have a'pretty thorough knowledge of the effects of a 

 rifle bullet on small game, having used many kinds and 

 calibers from .22 up. It is surprising how a smah animal 

 will get away with a .50 cal. bullet when shot through 

 back of the vitals, and how quickly they will stop when 

 shot through well forward with the .22-cal. The game 

 and vermin here in Massachusetts are small, the wood- 

 chuck being, perhaps, the largest and most tenacious of 

 life of any thing. Then there are squirrels, rabbits, owls, 

 skunks, hawks, crows, etc., which all come within range 

 of the small-bore rifle, and many times manage to keep 

 just out of range of the shotgun. Any one having good 

 eyesight and nerves that can be controled — against ''buck 

 fever" I mean, for many a person who cannot hold a rifle 

 very still will make a good showing at the target— can, 

 with a little practice, become a good shot. And it is sur- 

 prising to see with how little practice some persons be- 

 come good shots, taking to the rifle naturally from the 

 start. 



There are, however, some things that are in general 

 use that will prevent any one from ever becoming good 

 shots as long as they use them, and it is my object in 

 writing this to point them out without fear or favor from 

 any one. I will net condem anything without cause and 

 have no pecuniary interest in recommending any particu- 

 lar arms or ammunition, but will try to write in a spirit 

 of fair play and justice to everything. I will confine 

 this article to the .22-cal. rifle, to^be used for the hunting 

 of small gain? and home amusement. In the first place 

 what kind of a rifle shall we use? There are lots of cheap 

 imported guns upon the market, commonly called 

 Flobertsor Flobert rifles; these we will pass quickly by 

 with this simple advice— let them severely alone. To say 

 that there are no good rifles imported may be saying too 

 much, but our American arms are much better and cost 

 but little more. There is, perhaps, little difference in the 

 many standard rifles of American manufacture as re- 

 gards the shooting qualities, but as regards the breech 

 action, etc., there is perhaps room for same argument as 

 to which is the best. There is little doubt that the single- 

 shot will give better all-round satisfaction than the re- 

 peating rifle, and the short barrel, say 24in., of medium 

 or light weight, will please you better than a long heavy 

 barrel. 



Among the better class of factory-made guns with 

 which I have been familiar I will mention the Maynard, 

 Ballard, Remington and F. Wesson. There are several 

 other kinds that appear to be well made, among which 

 are the Winchester single-rifle and the Stevens. The 

 writer has tested all of these and found good rifles among 

 them all, and among them some that were not what they 

 should be. A mong the very best shooting rifles the Bal- 

 lard took the first place; the rifle— which was chambered 

 for the short 3grs. cartridge— shooting so very close that it 

 was almost perfection, while another rifle of the same 

 make was found to be roughly bored and not properly 

 smoothed before rifling nor polished afterward; this 

 would lead badly and cause wild shooting. It is not 

 always safe to be governed by the maker's name on rifles. 



but like other kinds of goods the purchaser should — if he 

 is not a judge himself — have some one who is posted in 

 such matters select one for him; and a practical gun- 

 smith is the best man to buy a rifle from. Do not trust 

 to what clerks or salesmen in the stores may tell you; 

 nine times out of ten they do not know whether a rifle 

 has a regular or increase twist, whether it is bored smooth 

 and regular or full of "egg chokes" the whole length, 

 nor whether a gun is straight inside or crooked as a rain- 

 bow. All they know is that the price is a given sum and 

 that it is a "good rifle, none in the market better;" and 

 when you take it home you find that it will never shoot 

 twice in the same place, and you become discouraged 

 and lay the blame all on yourself , when in reality the 

 most of the fault is in the gun. But to the credit of our 

 American rifles be it said, that the most of* them are 

 marvels of perfect workmanship and fine shooting quali- 

 ties combined with cheapness. 



Another thing I would call attention to is the bullet 

 breech caps and conical ball caps. Used in rifles without 

 a short chamber made expressly for them they are a de- 

 lusion and a snare; they are used in the so-called shoot- 

 ing galleries to a great extent — in the 3-shots-for-5-cents 

 variety of gallery, where the target is placed about IS 

 feet away and the shooter divides his attention between 

 the bullseyes and the beer. So all lovers of fine shoot- 

 ing, I say, let the Flobert rifle and the breech caps alone, 

 give them a wide berth and save your disappointment 

 and temper. 



As I have said so much about what not to use I will 

 give you the benefit of my own experience and tell you 

 what I have had the best success with, and some of my 

 friends (who doubtless have tried to flatter me in regard 

 to the matter) say that some of my targets are the finest 

 they ever saw. For my own private use I have a May- 

 nard rifle, model of '82. This rifle has interchangeable 

 barrels. I have one barrel that takes the .22 c.f. lOgrs. 

 powder 45grs. lead. This I use mostly on small game, 

 etc., up to 150yds. I find it far preferable to the 

 larger calibers. I also have another barrel, chambered 

 for the .22 short cartridge. This barrel does good work 

 up to 50yds., making it a good squirrel rifle and very 

 useful for practice around home in target shooting. I 

 have killed upward of 50 English sparrows with this lit- 

 tle rifle the past winter and missed but very few. I have 

 heard the .22 c.f. 15-45 Winchester cartridge well 

 spoken of for hunting purposes, but have never tried it. 



Regarding sights for rifles I can simply repeat what 

 has been said so many times before, that there are none 

 better tha n the Lyman rear and front for hunting. Some, 

 however, prefer the Beach front sight for very fine work 

 in the gallery and target shooting. 



Don't use the .22 long pistol cartridge. If your rifle is 

 chambered for the long cartridges take it to your gun- 

 smith and have it fitted to the "long rifle" cartridge, or 

 if the twist is sharp enough, the central fire cartridge. 

 The change is easy from rim to central fire in most rifles. 

 The short cartridge may work fairly well in most cases 

 in the long chamber, but there will be some balls that do 

 not go where they should, and for fine work the rifle 

 should be chambered for the short cartridge. The .22 

 short cartridge has many qualities to be admired, and 

 while the other sizes of rim fire cartridges are to be a 

 thing of the past, the .22 short 3grs. joker is here to stay. 

 In a good rifle it is very accurate indeed; is very cheap 

 and saves all bother of re-loading; it makes a very light 

 report and does not scare your game" away if you do not 

 hit it, and one need not be so very careful when shooting 

 around inhabited country. It does not tear up your 

 game badly; and taking everything into consideration I 

 prefer the ,a2-cal., and I use my Maynard barrels of that 

 size more than all my other rifles put together, and I have 

 quite an array of repeating and single rifles from .22 to 

 ,50-cal. The writer would be pleased to give any pointers 

 on this kind of rifle, cartridge or shooting to any of the 

 readers of Forest and Stream who may take an interest 

 in fine work with the .22-cal. The editor knows my 

 address and will furnish it, I think, if a properly addressed 

 and stamped envelope is sent to him to pay return 

 postage. Ibon Ramrod. 



.Somlhville, Mass. 



Montreal Forest and Stream Club.— Montreal, May 

 1.— The Forest and Stream Club of this city have about 

 closed negotiations for the purchase for the summer club 

 house of Bellaire, the beautiful residence of the late 

 Alfred Brown, a director of the Bank of Montreal at 

 Dorval. The property is picturesquely situated on a 

 finely wooded promontory on Lake St. Louis, the house 

 being large and commodious, with extensive grounds, 

 which contain excellent bowling green, and lawn tennis 

 grounds are tastefully laid out. The property cost its 

 late owner $150,000 and is offered to intending purchasers 

 for $30,000. The memhership of the club, which is now 

 limited to thirty, will be increased to one hundred, an 

 act of incorporation being applied for by J. S. Hall, Jr., 

 Q.C.,M.P.P. The Forest and Stream Club has Andrew 

 Allan as president, and embracing among its members 

 R. B. Angus, Hector Mackenzie, Duncan Mclntyre, L. J. 

 Forget, Frank Stephen, H. Montague Allan, Hartland 

 McDonald, Henry Joseph, G. C. McDougall and Hugh 

 Paton. 



Rochester, N. Y., May 5.— The spring shooting in this 

 neighborhood is coming to a close after a period that has 

 afforded considerable sport to those who have no objec- 

 tion to shooting birds at this time of the year. There 

 was a heavy flight of wild fowl along the lake, and un- 

 usually good bags were made by some of the local fowl- 

 ers. Snipe made their appearance in fair numbers about 

 two weeks ago, and comparatively good shooting has 

 been enjoyed by several. The men who were out for 

 snipe report seeing enough of woodcock to guarantee a 

 good supply later in the season if the parents and young 

 ones escape their multitudinous enemies. — R. 



Painted Goose on the Platte.— Fremont, Neb., April 

 28.— On Thursday the 26th, I. B. Hickok, one of our suc- 

 cessful hunters, was out on the Platte River after geese, 

 and brought home twenty-six, the result of about two 

 hours' shooting. The large bag made is not unusual here, 

 but one of the specimens was an entirely new one for 

 this section, and was quite a curiosity to those who saw 

 it. It was identified as the painted, or emperor goose 

 (PMlacte canagica), whose habitat is Alaska, and it is the 

 first of this variety I have known of being secured here, 

 although I have hunted geese every season along the 

 Platte for the last twelve years.— Elkhorn. 



