JUNfi 2$ 1887.] 



FOREST AND> STREAM. 



4T 3' 



rel which is also said to occur 

 in this vicinity, but up to the 

 present time it has not been my 

 fortune to meet with one. How- 

 ever, I have seen very dark gray 

 ones which are really Avonder- 

 fully handsome animals, as the 

 white parts in them are generally 

 purer, and the specimens im- 

 prove by the contrast in the 

 colors, which of course is still 

 more decided when they are only 

 snowy white and jetty black, 

 which is said to be' the case in 

 the varieties. 



They say that the California 

 gray squirrel (iS. fossor) is even a 

 handsomer animal than Abert's, 

 but never having collected the 

 former it becomes impossible for 

 me to express an opinion upon 

 that point, though it is hard to 

 believe that anything in the 

 shape of a squirrel could sur- 

 pass the present species in its 

 spirited aspect, its grace and 

 beauty, and then, too, it is one of 

 our largest varieties, which also 

 adds to its otherwise fine appear- 

 ance. 



Abert's squirrel is fairly 

 abundant in the high pines 

 which occur upon the mountain- 

 sides, principally to the north- 

 ward and eastward of Fort Win- 

 gate, and they have been fre- 

 quently taken within a mile of 

 the station. A good hunter once 

 told me that he shot nine of 

 them in two days, all within five 

 miles of this locality, and only 

 hunted for them a. few hours 

 each day. 



The animal is essentially a tree 

 lover, and rarely spends any 

 length of time upon the ground. 

 If you suddenly surprise one in 

 the forest, it immediately seeks 



the nearest and largest pine tree within its reach by a series 

 of very active jumps aud skips, to ascend it with great 

 rapidity to the first branches', where it often stops to take 

 a glance at the intruder, thereby frequently affording the 

 gunner a capital opportunity to bag the specimen. 



Now of the Arizona squirrel I have collected a number 

 of specimens during my stay in these parts, and it is not 

 infrequently seen within the immediate precincts of the 

 station. In appearance it far more reminds one of otu- 

 favorite gray squirrel of the East. It lacks the ear-tufts, 



1.— Life Size Head 



Fig. 2.— The^Gila Chipmunk (Adult Male, Life Size). 



though it differs markedly from the common gray squir- 

 rel in being more of a grizzly color above, and a mixed 

 tawny one beneath. As to its comparative size I cannot 

 speak with certainty, although I am inclined to believe, 

 from recollection only, that it is rather smaller than the 

 average gray squirrel of the Eastern States. It likewise 

 has a broadish chestnut band rather than a stripe, down 

 its dorsal aspect, between neck and root of tail. This 

 latter coloration is but feebly marked sometimes, when a 

 glance at the animal leaves the impression upon one's 

 min d that it is of an ochrish color all over. 



Unlike Abert's, the Arizona squirrel is rather partial to 

 the crests and side- walls of the great canons of this coun- 

 try,, and is very much of a ground squirrel, rarely resort- 



a Specimen of Abert's Squirrel (Adult 

 Female). 



ing to the trees when surprised by the hunter. Indeed, in 

 recalling my captures of him, I fad to recollect an instance 

 of ever having seen more than one in a tree, while' On the 

 other hand, I have frequently shot them as they skipped 

 ahead of me on the ground, or clambered up the canon- 

 wall above me. My observations, too, incline me to sus- 

 pect that this squirrel always rears its young in a hole, 

 often dug in the side of a clay bank," or some similar 

 locality; whereas I suspect the nest of the Abert's squirrel 

 is placed up among the pine boughs, as is the habit of our 

 gray one. In fact I have ob- 

 served nests in the pine trees 

 here, which I have taken to be 

 the habitations constructed by 

 Sciurus dberti, as they were 

 evidently the handiwork of 

 some representative of that 

 genus of animals. 



Next, to form our acquaint- 

 ance with the thud and last 

 species of squirrel which oc- 

 curs in this region, let us, this 

 bahnjr June afternoon, pick 

 our way through the fallen 

 timber and masses of loose 

 rock that incumber the bottom 

 of one of the vast canons 

 hereabouts. In such a place 

 you seat yourself for a moment 

 upon one of the rough and 

 parti y-imbedded sandstone 

 boulders, which long since 

 took its plunge adown the 

 canon side to its present rest- 

 ing ground. Here you will 

 be obliged to wait patiently 

 for some ten or fifteen minutes 

 in perfect quiet, when in all 

 probability your ears will 

 then be saluted by a not un- 

 pleasing little chirrup, which 

 but partly reminds you of a 

 sound often heard in the 

 old, familiar woodlands at 

 home. 



With your eyes accustomed 

 to peering into the recesses of 

 nature's material that goes to 

 make up the side of one of the 

 rugged canon walls in this 

 part of the country, you are 

 soon enabled to discover the 

 presence of the author of this 

 "chip-chip, chip, ree, r-ree, 

 r-reee, cMj>-r-r-rupp," for 

 stealthily issuing from his 

 luding place and coming over 

 a broad sandstone slab with 

 little measured steps and 

 many nervous twitches of his 

 tail, which is held almost 

 vertical, you behold the timid 

 little Gila chipmunk, one of 

 the most interesting repre- 

 sentatives of an exceedingly 

 interesting genus. If you sit perfectly motionless, an- 

 other, then another will now soon make their appearance 

 at different and unexpected points, until fully half a 

 dozen of these engaging little creatures may be in sight 

 at one time. But upon the slightest movement of your 

 body, off they all scamper to the weather side of rock, 

 root or rubbish pile. You are not inclined to wait, how- 

 ever, another quarter of an hour, or perhaps longer, for 

 a specimen, and as a fine male, bolder than the rest, 

 has not taken part in the first general rush of the stam- 

 pede, but stands displaying the pretty mixed gray of his 

 back and the bright, though dark, fox color of the under 

 side of his handsome tail, you awake the echo of the 

 place as you fire a load of dust shot up in his direction. 



He is yours with hardly a visible mark upon him to in* 

 dicate the cause of his so suddenly pitching down among 

 the rocks, a Tamias a. dorsalis stone dead. 



Even before he is cold, you cock him up in some pretty 

 attitude among the rocks of his native haunts, and with 

 your camera expose a dry plate upon him to take home 

 and develop, and place aside for future reference. Then 

 you have him life size in your collection sure enough. I 

 made such a picture, and from it reproduced the drawing 

 which now illustrates this article. 



This chipmunk is a very different appearing little 

 animal from his more handsome congener of the Eastern 

 States (T. atrinius). And although the markings, as will 

 be seen in the figure, are quite distinct upon his head, the 

 broad, diffuse stripes down his back, on the other hand, 

 arc but feebly defined, and hardly noticeable in some 

 female specimens. He is of a dull ochrish, clay color 

 beneath, and a brownish-gray on the back, while, as I 

 have already said, the under side of the tail is a reddish 

 chestnut shade, that extends to the nether aspect of the 

 flank, on either side, where it merges with the color 

 already described for the lower parts, beyond. In March 

 here, I have found the females of this species heavy with 

 young, and in May these latter are fully two-thirds the 

 size of the adults. So I am inclined to think that they 

 raise two litters and perhaps three in a single season. So 

 much for the Sciuridce of northwestern New Mexico, and 

 after three, or nearly three years, residence here, there is 

 nothing that gives rise in my mind, at present, to a sus- 

 picion that there may be any other species indigenous to 

 this particular geographical area. E. W. Shufeldt. 



Fort VVingj*te, New Mexico, June 10. 



That "Copper Belly" Snake. — I think a specimen of 

 the snake referred to in your issue of May 26 came under 

 my observation about a year ago in Arizona. I was rid- 

 ing over the mesa in the vicinity of Fort Lowell when I 

 came upon what I at first took for a black snake, about 

 3^ ft. or 4ft. long. On nearer approach the reptile ascended 

 a small meschite tree which stood near by, when I dis- 

 covered the peculiar copper or pale pink color on the 

 belly described by your Mississippi correspondent. The 

 snake continued to climb the tree, and as he appeared to 

 have no particular business on hand I concluded to make 

 his acquaintance. Knowing the irritability of the black 

 snake I decided to try the temper of my new acquaint- 

 ance. I therefore dismounted and threw stones at him, 

 ''which brought him to my side of the tree with such 

 promptness and decision that I began to think I had stir- 

 red up the wrong fellow, and concluded to remount my 

 horse. On reaching the extreme center branches on my 

 side of the tree he began to descend in a manner most 

 peculiar. Swinging by his tail he hooked his head over 

 a branch below him, and swung down until his tail 

 reached a branch still below, when wrapping his tail 

 around this he repeated his previous maneuver, and this 

 he continued to do till he reached the ground, when he 

 started directly for me, and came on to within ten feet of 

 my horse. He then turned to the right, and after a short 

 pursuit disappeared among some rocks at the edge of the 

 precipice. Though I tramped that region very thoroughly 

 for nearly two years this was the only srtake of the kind 

 I saw, and have never found any one who could tell me 

 its name. I feel quite sure it is the snake referred to in 

 your Natural Historv column of issue of May 26. — J. A. P. 

 (Fort Bidwell, Cal., June 6). 



The Horse-Hair Snakes.— Galena, Dak. , June 10.— I 

 see by your issue of May 26 that Geo. D. Griffin, of Park- 

 dale, Ont., is successfully raising horse and hog-hair 

 snakes. Now, while I can have no fun yacht racing I 

 want the fun of raising hair snakes. I will give §100 a 

 pair or $1,000 for twenty snakes raised from animal hair. 

 They may be delivered to the Forest and Stream with a 

 certified pedigree. As soon as I receive notice you will 

 be authorized to draw on me for the amount. — W. W. 

 Andrews. [It is not clear from Mr. Griffin's statement 

 that he believes in the development of hairs into worms 

 or snakes: but if he does, it would be prudent to let him 

 hold his opinion, for a discussion of the "hair worm" 

 question would be inopportune.] 



The Medrick Gulls Again.— Portland, Me., June 14. 



-Mr. Grant, the assistant keeper of Matinicus Kock Light, 

 writes me, under date of May 31, that the bird slayer, Mr. 

 Cahoon, of Taunton, Mass., "with an assistant whom he 

 brought with him, is again shooting Medrick gulls in the 

 vicinity of Matinicus Island. As there seems to be no way 

 of reaching this fellow under the law, I trust you will 

 hold him up to the opprobrium of all right-minded 

 people. — O. A. Batchellor, Commander U. S. N. 



"That reminds me." 

 218. 



OLD "Doctor" Deforest, a w T ell-known character about 

 Honeoye Falls, N. Y. , was a great bragger as well as 

 a famous muskrat trapper and sucker fisherman. One 

 day the old fellow had considerable bilge water in his 

 hold and was relating his exploits. Among tbem he told 

 how one day he cut a hundred holes through ice a foot 

 thick and took out over three hundred pickerel. "That's 

 big work for a short day," said John Fish. " 'Twant a 

 short day nother," said the old man, impatiently, "it was 

 one of the longest days in June." F. M. 



New York: City, May 18, 1887. 

 Tfie IT. S. Cartridge Co., Lowell, Mass.: 



Gentlemen— I wish to thank you for the very excellent shell 

 you are putting on the market. I refer to the "Climax." I swear 

 fry it, not at it, as I Lave had to do with other makes. It has given 

 me unqualified satisfaction ever since I first began to use it, and 

 that is since its introduction. Don't allow it to deteriorate, and 

 sportsmen will call you "blessed." Very truly yours, 



—Adv. (Signed) C. W. Cushteb. 



Bountiful Nature Affords no finer Specific for skin dis- 

 eases than Sulphur, a fact that is proven by the action upon the 

 cuticle afflicted with eruptions or ulcerous sores, of that supreme 

 purifier and beautifier of the skin, Glenn's Sulphur Soap. ' Hill's 

 Hair and Whisker Dye— Black and brown, SOo—Ad)^ 



