March 3, 1887. J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



107 



mind it. There were trees enough that we could take 

 turns around in any direction with the rope to keep the 

 bear from us. When the fight was ended and the fun 

 was over, I told one of the two hoys who had come along 

 (and thev are now my brothers-iu-laSv) to get a gun and 

 shoot him. Tin's ended the fight, or what you may please 

 to call it. He was then loaded up and taken to Mr. 

 Morelaud's. 1 don't know how much he would weigh; I 

 have shot larger ones. He was two if not three years 

 old. 



If this should ever come before the public, 1 suppose 

 that, like other bear tales and fish stories, the truth of it 

 wm be doubted. If so, I should be glad to furnish a 

 good recommend from any and all the best men in the 

 country that I am acquainted with. The above state- 

 ment is the truth, word for word, as near as I can recol- 

 lect true. It is a long time ago that it happened. My 

 two brothers-in-law are still li ving in this State. They 

 saw it all. Excuse the Old Pioneer. 



GAME OF BRITISH COLUMBIA. 



IN HIS forthcoming book, "British Columbia: Forest, 

 Stream and Mountain," Mr. John Fannin, curator of 

 the Provincial Museum, Victoria, British Columbia, will 

 give the following account of the game of that province. 

 By his contributions to the Forest and Stream, Mr. Fan- 

 nin is known to its readers as an enthusiastic sportsman 

 and a. close naturalist: 



Mountain Sheep (Big-Horn, Ovis montana).— This ani- 

 mal is found on nearly all the mountains of the interior, 

 from the forty-ninth parallel to the Arctic slope, approach- 

 ing the coast in the neighborhood of Howe Sound to 

 within a distance of eight or ten miles. Very abundant 

 in the mountains of the Similkameen and Ashanola rivers, 

 Bridge River and Douglas. A waiy annual, keen of 

 scent, fleet of foot and difficult of approach, it affords the 

 hunter the rarest of sport. The general color of the 

 mountain sheep is dark brown , with portions of the under 

 parts, muzzle, and a large patch on the buttocks, white. 

 The coat, which is of hair, resembles that of a caribou. 

 Both male and female have horns, those of the female 

 small and curved backward and outward. The flesh of 

 the mountain sheep is excellent, and with some hunters 

 stands at the head of all our game in this respect. An 

 adult male will weigh 300 pounds, the head and horns 

 alone weighing fifty or sixty pounds. 



Mountain Goat (Aplocerus columbianus). — Abundant 

 throughout the mountains of the interior and coast 

 range, from our southern boundary to the watershed of 

 the Arctic. On the mountains of Burrard Inlet and 

 Howe Sound, on the Hope and Shnilkameen Mountains, 

 and in the neighborhood of Pitt and Harrison lakes are 

 the places most convenient to the settlements where this 

 animal may be found in fairly abundant numbers. Al- 

 though an animal of the mountain peaks, yet during the 

 winter months it maybe found on the lower levels within 

 a short distance of the salt water, and, in fact, are some- 

 times caught during summer swimming rivers and nar- 

 row portions of the inlets and sounds. The average 

 weight of the mountain goat does not exceed lOOlbs., 

 probably less, and its coat, which is pure white, is of two 

 qualities, namely, a fine wool next the skin, and a long, 

 straight and coarse hair. The Indians of nearly all the 

 coast tribes make their blankets from the fleece of this 

 animal, but not nearly to such an extent now as in former 

 days or before the advent of the whites. These blankets 

 are made in the following manner: The wool is taken 

 from the hide and spun by the squaws by twisting it with 

 the palms of their hands on the bare knee. It is then 

 wove on a rude kind of loom by passing the weft over 

 and under the warp with the hand only and without the 

 use of a shuttle. Both male and female of the wliite 

 goat have horns of jet black, those of the female averag- 

 ing longer than the male. They bring forth then young 

 in April, below the timber line and hot on the remotest 

 peaks as some think. They are a very clumsy looking 

 animal, with short, stout legs and large hoofs, but prob- 

 ably the most sure-footed one in the mountains. The 

 flesh is coarse and unsavory and will hardly, I think, be 

 relished by many. The mountain goat is not an animal 

 of speed, and even under the most trying circumstances, 

 when the report of the hunter's rifle warns it of the 

 presence of danger, it does not always show an inclina- 

 tion to increase its naturally slow gait. Owing to the 

 great difficulties which generally have to be encountered 

 in reaching the home of this animal and the very few 

 people who have hunted them, very little is known re- 

 specting it, and a few writers, taking advantage of this 

 ignorance, have told some wonderful stories concerning 

 it, all of which have about as much foundation in truth 

 as the one told me this fall by a hunter of the Similka- 

 meen, which was to the following effect: "That the ani- 

 mal when closely cornered had the power of sticking out 

 its hair to a great length, thus giving itself such a pro- 

 digious appearance, at the sight of which the average 

 hunter generally threw down his rifle and fled for bis 

 life!" 



Moose (Alee americana). — This animal is strictly an in- 

 habitant of the far north, and its occurrence on the Pacific 

 slope of the Rocky Mountains, in British Columbia, is 

 rare, though it has been taken in the neighborhood of 

 Fort George and Stuart's La ke; and I ha ve been informed 

 by a gentleman of this city, whose opportunities for 

 knowing are unquestionably' good, that the distribution 

 of the moose has changed materially in the last two 

 years, and that its occurrence in these two localities 

 above mentioned is now more frequent than formerly. 

 It is plentiful in the Peace Eiver country and in the 

 district of Cassiar. The moose is the largest of the deer 

 family, the weight of a full grown male being, by some, 

 placed as high as l,5001bs. The horns are palmated, of 

 immense size, and after the second year are shed annually, 

 during December and January. 



Woodland Caribou {Rangifer caribou). — Irregularly 

 distributed through the interior of the province from the 

 forty -ninth parallel to the water-shed of the Arctic. It is 

 found in the Selkirk Mountains, in the Caribou country, 

 along the North Thompson, Skeena, Naas and Stickeen 

 rivers; and in the far north when deep snows cover the 

 high hills and arctic frosts have chained the rivers and 

 lakes, the chase of this animal is the chief sport of the 

 hardy miners who brave the long winters of Cassiar. The 

 Barren Ground Caribou, which is said to be a distinct 

 species, though its only difference is that of size, the 

 woodland being the larger, is found north of the sixtieth 

 parallel of north latitude. 



Horns op the Female Caribou.— I take the liberty 

 here of quoting the following authors on this subject: 

 Sir John Richardson, ("Fauna Boreali Americana") says: 

 "The old males have, in general, the largest and most 

 palmated horns, while the young ones and females have 

 them less branched and more cylindrical and pointed, but 

 this is not uniformly the case, and the variety of forms 

 assumed by the horns of the caribou is indeed so great 

 that it is difficult to comprehend them all in a general 

 description." Prof. Owen ("Anatomy of Vertebratis," 

 London, 1800,) says: "The chief peculiarity in the skull 

 of the deer tribe is the annual development, from the 

 frontals, of the solid deciduous ecostosis, which serves as 

 weapons during a portion of the year, in the males of all 

 kinds, and in both sexes of the reindeer." The Hon. J. 

 D. Caton, the best living authority on all subjects relat- 

 ing to the deer family, in his "Antelope and Deer of 

 America," says of the caribou: "Antlers of the male 

 curved, long and slender, with branches more or less 

 palmated and very irregular, in form. Antlers of the 

 female smaller and less palmated." My own experience 

 with the caribou, so far as it goes, certainly confirms the 

 evidence of the authors above quoted, nor would I allude 

 to it here were it not for the fact that many hunters and 

 miners with whom I have conversed on this subject 

 mam tain the absence of antlers on the females at all 

 seasons, while many others as stoutly affirm that they 

 are so armed like the males, and it seems strange that in 

 British Columbia, where the opportunities for observing 

 this animal are so frequent, where it is to be met with in 

 the neighborhood of nearly every mining camp from Big 

 Bend to Cassiar, such a' difference of opinion should 

 exist concerning it. 



Elk (Wapiti, Cervus Gaftctd&fisis). — This noble animal 

 at one time ranged tbi'ough many portions of British 

 Columbia, where it is now and has been for yeais, un- 

 known. It was found on the peninsula between Burrard 

 Inlet and Fraser River, and from there to the boundary 

 line; also at the head of Pitt Lake. A few places yet 

 remain not too remote from the settlements where it may 

 be hunted with success, such as Campbell and Salmon 

 rivers, and other localities further north on. this island. 



Mule Deer (Cervus macrotis). — Habitat, east of the Cas- 

 cades only. They are abundant along that portion of the 

 country lying between the Hope Mountains and Kam- 

 loops, and southward to the boundary line. They are 

 generally found occupying the higher altitudes. Some 

 of the most extraordinary forms occur in the antlers of 

 these animals, and in their growth nature appears to 

 revel in abnormal and fantastic shapes. A pah now in 

 the possession of a gentleman at New Westminster is 

 peculiarly interestingin this respect. The weight of the 

 mule deer runs from 200 to 350 pounds, and when in good 

 condition its flesh is about as fine an article of food as the 

 hunter generally falls hi with in the mountains. 



White-Tailed Deer (Cervus leucurus). — Much the 

 same distribution as the last species, and it is said also to 

 occur west of the Cascades, though I have never met it 

 there. It may be fovuid along the willow bottoms and 

 borders of streams, and in the many wooded ravines which 

 occur in the open districts east of the Cascades. I also 

 found it on the summit of Mount Ah-ach-ho, valley of 

 the Ashanola. 



Black-Tailed Deer (Cervus columbianus). — A Pacific 

 coast species, which does not extend its range much east 

 of the Cascades. It is abundant along the coast of British 

 Columbia from our southern boundary to Alaska. It is 

 found on Vancouver and nearly all the islands of the 

 Gulf (not on Queen Charlotte), and is the one so plentiful 

 in our markets during the season of game. White deer 

 of this species have been frequently taken along the lower 

 Fraser and Pitt rivers. The weight of the deer runs from 

 75 to 2001bs., the latter weight being rarely exceeded. 

 Some very fine specimens of this deer are taken at the 

 Skeena,, Naas, and in the neighborhood of Wrangel. On 

 Vancouver and other islands of the Gulf, the opportunities 

 for still-hunting this animal are more favorable than on 

 the adjoining mainland, as the tangled network of under- 

 growth so characteristic of the coast district, of British 

 Columbia, sets up an almost absolute barrier in this re- 

 spect, in consequence of which the rather unsportsman- 

 like method of hounding is sometimes resorted to. 



Rufped Grouse (Partridge, Pheasant, Drummer, 

 Bonasa umbella sabinei). — This is the Pacific coast variety 

 of the bird which is known in the Eastern and Northern 

 States as partridge, and in the Southern States as pheas- 

 ant. The two birds are essentially the same, the only 

 difference being that of color. It is abundant along the 

 coast of British Columbia from the southern boundary to 

 Alaska, on Vancouver Island and most of the islands of 

 the Gulf. Along the borders of creeks, in crab-apple 

 thickets, in patches of the wild rose and the different 

 kinds of berries peculiar to the Province are favorite re- 

 sorts of the ruffed grouse, and its loud whirr sometimes 

 startles the hunter as he explores the gloomy solitude of 

 the deep forest. The drumming of "the ruffed grouse 

 may be heard every month in the year, though more fre- 

 quently in the spring. This is the bird so abundant in 

 our markets during the open season. 



Gray Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbella xmibeloides). 

 — Another variety found only east of the Cascades, along 

 the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, in Cariboo and 

 southward to the boundary line. A magnificent looking 

 bird. Tolerably abundant. 



Dusky Grouse (Blue Grouse, Mountain Grouse, 

 Canace obscura).— From the Rocky Mountains to the sea 

 coast, and from our southern boundary to Alaska. It is 

 abundant on Vancouver and nearly all the islands of the 

 gulf. In some portions of the Province, for instance, 

 some of the islands up Howe Sound, on the summit 

 of many of the mountains along the Similkameen 

 and Ashanola valleys, this grouse is exceedingly plenti- 

 ful. Richardson's variety of this bird, lacking terminal 

 band on the tail, occurs east of the Cascades. I have 

 found blue grouse breeding within a short distance of 

 the sea level and also above the timber line. 



Franklin's Grouse (Spruce Partridge, Fool Hen, 

 Canace canadensis franMinii).— hi the timbered districts 

 east of the Cascades, north to Dease Lake, south to the 

 boundary line. Not found on the coast. Abundant on 

 the summits of the Hope Mountains, hi the Caribou dis- 

 tricts and nearly all the wooded portions of the interior. 

 It is strictly an inhabitant of the thick timber, among the 

 groves of spruce and fir. A beautiful bird, but not so 

 highly prized an article of food as any of the former , though 



it often occupies a very welcome place on the bill of fare 

 at the' camp-fire of the hunter and miner. Stupidity ap- 

 pears to be peculiar to this bird, and the most simple 

 means are often used in its capture. 



Sharp-Tailed Grouse (Prairie Chicken, Pediocaites 

 phasianellus).— Irregularly distributed throughout the 

 open grassy country east of the Cascades. Tolerably 

 abundant in the Similkameen Valley, the Nicola and 

 north and south for Irs of the Thompson, as well as other 

 places along the line of the C. P. R. By the lovers of 

 sport with the dog and gun this bird is much sought after. 



Black-Tailed Ptarmigan (Lagopus rupestris).— Pretty 

 well distributed throughout the Province, from the Rocky 

 Mountains to the coast and north to Dease Lake; also 

 Vancouver Island. Fairly abundant along the summits 

 of the coast range. Under tail feathers black at all 

 seasons. 



White-Tailed Ptarmigan (Lagopus lucurus). — Much 

 the same distribution as the last species, though I do not 

 think it approaches so near the coast. Both arc found in 

 the Cascades, and in Cassiar and Caribou. In winter the 

 white-tail is often found in the willow patches along 

 river banks. Both species change their plumage from 

 white in the winter to a reddish brown or mottled gray 

 and white in summer. Specimens of all the above birds 

 can be seen in the Provincial museum. 



SHOOTING IN CUBA. 



HERE is a report of two days' quail shooting in the 

 provin ce of Habana, Cuba, by the Vice-President 

 of the Havana Field Sport Club. It is told after the 

 manner approved by "Critic," as follows: 

 January 29, 1887, killed 40, retrieved 35. 

 February 18, 1887, killed 43, retrieved 40. 

 In addition he also bagged sundry wild guineas, rails 

 and wild, pigeons. 



Those who do not approve of "Critic's" literary methods 

 have the unreserved permission of the author to extend 

 the above written matter into two or more columns of 

 commentaries upon meteorology, natural history, hygiene 

 and general philosophy, which wdl have the very great 

 advantage that all tastes may be thus gratified. 



Fhst, as to meteorology. Ye shivering Nimrods, fix 

 your attention upon the dates and the thermometer at 

 05° to 70". Do you like the picture? Next, as to natural 

 history; the intertropical flora in charming forms, ver- 

 dure and luxuriant growths upon all sides, a strong 

 temptation to the poetic fancies and dangerous to cold, 

 critical judgments which do not thrive in this latitude; 

 then the fauna, or that part of it that forms the chief 

 element of the above scores, is the real Ortyx virg 'mianus 

 citbanensis, with all the enticing game qualities of his 

 Yankee prototypes. 



About the question of hygiene, there was a time, still 

 recent, when it was treated with almost contemptuous 

 neglect in the sunny clime, when it was supposed that 

 old Sol imposed his relentless non possumus on all phys- 

 ical exercise out of doors; when the brilliant, quick wit 

 which endows the nervous-bilhous temperament wrought 

 out by these climatic influences and slave labor were 

 relied on as the fountains of intellectual and social happi- 

 ness not elsewhere to be attained. That dream is past. 

 The "Siempre Fiel" is now in the process of an awakening 

 of the most cruel severity to the fact that physical and 

 intellectual cultivation and activity is the only possible 

 means to the industrial social and political regeneration 

 required, first to drive famine away, and then to obtain 

 an honorable position in the ranks of modern civdization. 

 Gymnasia, bathing houses, base ball, shooting clubs and 

 skating rinks are now naturalized here, and the supposed 

 tyraimy of the god of day is found to be only a weak in- 

 vention of the arch enemy indolence. Necessity is proved 

 again to be not only the mother of invention, but also of 

 progress in its multiform evolutions, and no weak inven- 

 tions can do more than retard its course here or elsewhere. 



the legitimate benefits of field sports have already se- 

 cured a recognition as useful elements in the new depar- 

 ture, and the Habana Club, entering upon the third year 

 of its existence, sends its fraternal greeting to its kindred 

 clubs at the North, and assures them that the quail here 

 are quite as lively and astute as theirs, and "at home" 

 from October to March, and are never snowed under. 



If our brother sportsmen in Yankeeland can show us 

 better bags than ours, we will feel greatly obliged if they 

 will tell us in the columns of Forest and Stream where 

 they are to be had, when, perhaps, some of us may feel 

 inclined to go there occasionally to try our sensations on 

 better fields. Our close season is from March 1 to Oct. 1, 

 and the Habana Field Sport Club last season made a gal- 

 lant fight under peculiar difficulties for the enforcement 

 of the then new game protective law, and succeeded in 

 preventing open sales in the public markets during the 

 close season. It will make still further efforts during the 

 coming season, will continue faithful hi such efforts, and 

 as we have no hard winters to decimate the bevies of 

 quail, it has well grounded expectations of largely in- 

 creasing the stock of our principal game bird in this 

 province. 



This club has also been making efforts to import into 

 and acclimate in this island other species of game birds, 

 such as the partridge of Spain, and others, but of these 

 only 20 out of 400 gathered together in Spain have ar- 

 rived alive and continued in good health up to the pres- 

 ent time. 



The officers of the club during its first year were: Don 

 Emilio A. Prida, President; Dr. Jose Clairac, Secretary; 

 Don Perez Galvan, Treasurer. In its second year, now 

 about to terminate on March 1, Don Eniflio A. Prida, 

 President ; Dr. E. Wflson, Vice-President ; Dr. Jose 

 Clairac, Secretary, and Don Ricardo Narganes, Treasurer. 



Considerable interest is manifested in the club in its 

 acclimation experiments, and as the habits of the Span- 

 ish partridge are so nearly similar to those of the quail it 

 is believed its introduction may succeed. Perhaps the 

 sharp-tailed grouse may be the subject of experiment in 

 the spring of 1888. Any suggestions in regard to the 

 possibilities or probabilities of its success or otherwise, 

 communicated in your columns, would gratify the mem- 

 bers of our club. Nemo. 



Habana, Cuba, Feb. 16. 



A vioeent cough ccm tinned through tlie winter often brings 

 consumption in the spring. Sootbe and tone the irritated and 

 weakened lungs with Hale's Honey of Horehoxrnd and Ta r, and 

 tbe cough yields and the danger disappears. Pike's Toothache 

 Drops cure in one minute.— Adv. 



