84 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Feb. 31, 1889. 



A nest found by me April 22, 1877, about four miles 

 west of Camp Harney, was placed under the roots of a 

 fallen juniper tree, in a grove of tbe same species, grow- 

 ing on an elevated plateau close to the pine belt. This 

 nest was well hidden, a mere depression in the ground, 

 and composed of dry grasses, a few feathers from the 

 bird's breast and dry pine needles. The nine eggs were 

 about half way imbedded in this mass and nearly fresh. 



As a ride, most of the nests found by me were placed 

 in similar situations under old logs or the roots of fallen 

 trees, and generally fairly well hidden from view, and 

 among the more open pine timber along the outskirts of 

 the forest proper. Occasionally, however, a nest may be 

 found some little distance from timber and in the lower 

 parts of mountain valleys. I found such a nest on April 

 26, 1878, among some tall rye grass bushes, in a compara- 

 tively open place and within a yard of Cow Creek, a 

 small mountain stream about four miles east of Camp 

 Harney. There was no timber of any size, only small 

 willow Bushes, within two miles of this nest. The nest 

 was placed partly under one of these rye grass bushes, 

 and the bird sat so close that I actually stepped partly on 

 her and broke two of the eggs in doing so. This nest 

 contained eight slightly incubated eggs. It was com- 

 posed of dead grass and a few feathers. 

 The most exposed nest, without any attempt at con- 

 ■ oealment whatever, that came under my observation, I 

 found on June 8, 1876, on the northern slope and near 

 the summit of the Caiion City Mountain, in Grant county, 

 Oregon, at an altitude of about 6,800ft. I was returning 

 from escort duty to Canon City and sent the party with 

 me around by the stage road which wound in zigzag 

 turns up the steep mountain, myself and one of my meu 

 taking a much shorter but far steeper Indian trail which 

 intersected the wagon road again on the summit. 



Near this intersecting point the trail passed through a 

 beautiful oval-shaped mountain meadow of about an acre 

 in extent, and near the summit of which stood a solitary 

 young fir tree. No other trees were growing nearer than 

 thirty yards from this one. The meadow itself was 

 covered with a luxurious growth of short, crisp mountain 

 grass and alpine flowers, altogether as lovely a spot to 

 take a rest in as could well be found. Arriving at this 

 point, and knowing that the party would not be along for 

 more than half an hour at least, I dismounted and unsad- 

 dled my horse to let him have a roll and a good chance at 

 the sweet mountain grass, of both of which opportunities 

 he was not slow in taking advantage. Throwing the 

 saddle in the shade made by the little fir, I lay down to 

 take a rest myself. I had a fine setter dog with me, who 

 had been ranging along both sides of the trail and who 

 came up wagging his tail just as I had settled myself 

 comfortably. Rock, my setter, had approached perhaps 

 within two feet of me at a pretty brisk lope, when all of 

 a sudden he came to an abrupt 'halt, fairly freezing and 

 stiffening in his tracks, and made a dead point alongside 

 of me. I could not understand at first what this all 

 meant, even my horse thought it worth the while to stop 

 eating, and with his ears pointed forward was luoking in 

 the same direction. Eock was fairly trembling with 

 excitement, but kept to his point. Jumping up quickly, 

 I looked to the right and rear, thinking that perhaps 

 a rattlesnake might be coded up in the grass, and 

 saw at once the cause of my dog's strange behavior. 

 It was only a poor sooty grouse sitting within three feet 

 of me on her nest containing two chicks and seven eggs 

 on the point of hatching. It was as touching a sigh I as 

 I had ever seen, the poor bird, although nearly scared to 

 death, with every feather pressed close to her body, and 

 fairly within reach of the dog, still persisted in trying to 

 hide her treasures; and her tender brown eyes looked en- 

 treatingly on U3 rude intruders, and if eyes can speak, 

 hers certainly pleaded most eloquently for mercy. She 

 let me almost touch her before she fluttered off the nest, 

 feigning lameness, and disappeared in the neighboring 

 undergrowth. Counting the eggs, and examining one of 

 the young chicks which apparently had only left the 

 shell a few minutes before, 1 at once vacated this vicinity 

 and took up a position some Suyds. in an opposite 

 direction from what the bird had taken, to watch further 

 proceedings. The grass was so short that it did not hide 

 the bird, which, after perhaps ten minutes' waiting, came 

 slowly creeping and crouching toward the nest and cov- 

 ered the eggs again. I did not disturb her further, and 

 hope that, although her selection of a nesting site so 

 thoroughly exposed was not judicious, she succeeded in 

 rearing her brood in safety. None of the eggs in the nest 

 touched each other; they were all about half covered or 

 imbedded in the material out of which the nest was 

 made — dry grass, pine and fir needles, and a few of the 

 bird's feathers, presumably plucked out by herself. 



Incubation lasts about eighteen days. Females pre- 

 dominate in numbers. The weight of full grown cocks 

 varies from two and a half to three pounds; I have never 

 obtained one that weighed more. Hens weigh from one 

 and three-quarters to two and a half pounds; the latter 

 weight, however, is rare. Many of the young broods are 

 fully grown by Aug. 15. They afford excellent sport, lie 

 well to a dog, often letting y»u almost step on them 

 before taking wing, and are strong and swift flyers. Their 

 ordinary note very much resembles the cackling of a 

 domestic hen. The Indian name of the sooty grouse on 

 the Northwest coast is tyhee ctdlaio-cullaiv, chief bird. 



As stated before, according to my own observation, 

 the usual numbers of eggs laid by the sooty grouse is 

 about eight, and occasionally as many as ten are found 

 in a set. Their ground color varies from a pale cream 

 color to a creamy buff, the latter predominating; in a 

 single set before me it is a pale cinnamon. The eggs are 

 more or less spotted over their entire surface with fine 

 dots of chocolate or chestnut brown; these spots vary 

 considerably in size in different sets of eggs, ranging 

 from the size of a No. 3 shot to that of a mustard seed. 

 These markings are generally well rounded, regular in 

 shape and pretty evenly distributed over the entire egg. 

 They never run into irregular and heavy blotches, such 

 as are frequently found in the eggs of the Canada grouse 

 (Dendragapus canadensis), which approach the pattern 

 found among the eggs of the willow ptarmigan (Lagopus 

 lagopus) much nearer than the former. In the eggs of 

 the sooty grouse all these markings, as well as the over- 

 lying ground color, can be readily washed off when the 

 eggs are still quite fresh, leaving the shell of the egg a 

 very pale creamy white in reality. The largest egg in 

 the series in the National Museum collection measures 



eggs is ovate; some may be called short ovate and others 

 elongate ovate. There is no perceptible difference be- 

 tween the eggs of the sooty grouse and those of Dendra 

 gapiis obscurus, the dusky grouse, as well as those of 

 Dendragapus obscurus richardsonii, Richardson's grouse 

 their habits are also essentially the same.— Capt. Chas, 

 E. Bendire, in the Auk. 



MICHIGAN'S NORTHERN PENINSULA. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



The fact that deer, heretofore so abundant in the upper 

 peninsula, are rapidly decreasing in numbers, has been 

 admitted as teyoud question, and the cause was mainly 

 attributed to the number of wolves that abound in the 

 woods, as well as to the excessive slaughter by sports- 

 men during the open season. A still greater enemy has 

 just been revealed, however, by Deputy Game "Warden 

 Moriarity, of Menominee county, in' the discovery that 

 human wolves have been doing the work of extermina- 

 tion after the sportsmen and hunters have returned to 

 their homes. Two men, with more enterprise than 

 honesty, had been buying and shipping wood from a 

 small way station about a mile south of Floodwood, 

 Mich., on the Milwaukee & Northern Railway, to Green 

 Bay, Wisconsin. The fact that there could be very little 

 profit in this "wood business" gave rise to suspicions that 

 it was only piu-sued as a blind, and the game warden, 

 upon hearing of the case, decided to investigate. Upon 

 arriving at the place he found a freight car on a side 

 track, loaded to all appearance with wood for the mar- 

 ket. Upon unloading the wood, however, he found in 

 the back end of the car a tier of deer, numbering some 

 twenty-seven carcasses, and in a condition that would 

 find a ready market. Upon searching for the industrious 

 Wisconsin woodsmen it was found that they had already 

 decamped for parts unknown. They not only violated 

 the law by shipping venison out of the State, but also for 

 killing deer out of season, and it is to be regretted that 

 they escaped punishment. This unlawful practice had 

 been carried on over six weeks ere this discovery. 



In the Legislature of Michigan the law making ma- 

 chinery is running along smoothly, and the revision of the 

 game laws is receiving some attention. A petition has 

 been presented, asking that the laws be changed so that 

 deer may be killed in the Upper Peninsula between the 

 dates "first day of November to the fifteenth day of De- 

 cember," instead of between "first day of October and 

 fifteenth day of November." 



That the words "except Upper Peninsula" shall be 

 stricken out. As the law now stands no bounty is paid 

 by the State upon wolves in the Upper Peninsula, 



If deer is permitted to be killed earlier than October 

 first, hunters will rush into the woods and kill them for 

 mere sport. Earlier than October first the deer are in 

 the streams and lakes from the flies, or on the shores, and 

 are kflled easily, but the venison cannot be shipped nor 

 used, unless used at once. Hunters will kill for mere 

 wantonness. If the time for kdling deer is to be extended 

 at all, let the extension be while the deer are in good 

 condition, and not when poor from fighting flies. 



Speckled trout, the finest game fish in the world, are 

 scarce enough here now; let us protect them while we 

 can. 



Wolves are numerous. Although the hunters may kill 

 many deer, the wolves kill even more when the deer are 

 helpless in the deep snow. Many instances can also be 

 shown where the wolves have killed calves, and they are 

 a complete estoppel to the raising of sheep. If a sufficient 

 bounty were placed upon wolves, the hunters would de- 

 vote their energies to kill them, and it would prove a 

 double advantage to the protection of deer. 

 The enactment of the above, it appears to us, would 

 2.08xl.*35in.; the smallest 1.78x1. 28in. Average size I be in the interest of all concerned, as it would protect 

 about 1.86XL31in. The shape of the majority of these I our game. In this there is some difference of opinion, 



THE Copperhead's Wauning. — Williamsport, Pa.— 

 The copperhead (Ancistrodon contorlrix), a dangerous 

 serpent of the rattlesnake family, is generally supposed 

 unlike other venomous reptiles', to give no warning be 

 fore it bites. I have in captivity two fine specimens. 

 They are confined in a glass case on the bottom of which 

 is a thick layer of sand. When a live coal or lighted 

 cigar is held quiet close to the glass, they immediately 

 erect then heads and place themselves in position to 

 strike. Before striking the rattlesnake erects the tail and 

 sounds the warning, but the copperhead turns the end of 

 the tail downward and vibrates it with lightning like 

 rapidity, thus making a rustling sound which is quite 

 distinctly heard when one listens attentivelv. Out 

 of doors, however, the warning of the copperhead is 

 likely to go unheeded.— Chas. H. Eldon, Taxidermist. 



Crocodiles in Florida.— Marco. Fla., Jan. 6.— Editor 

 Forest and Stream: The schooner Little Tycoon, Capt. 

 E. V. Stephens, engaged in hunting alligators for their 

 skins, brought in on the last trip the skins and heads of 

 fourteen crocodiles, which proves beyond a doubt that 

 they are native in that portion of the coast where they 

 were captured. They are in no small numbers, as fully 

 seventy -five were seen, but owing to heavy winds they 

 could not be secured, the huuters being unable to strike 

 them, the water being so muddy. No alligators were 

 found in same section.— Marco. [It has long been known 

 that the crocodile (C. americanus) is occasionally taken in 

 Florida, but it has not been supposed that they were any- 

 where as numerous as here stated.] 



•An Excursion to Labrador in the summer of 188. 

 under preparation by Prof. Geo. E. Gladwin, No. 16 How 

 ard street, Worcester, Mass. The plan is to charter a 

 steamer, start from Sydney, Cape Breton, July 12, and 

 go by way of the Gulf, Straits of Belle Isle and along the 

 coast as far north as the Savage Islands in Hudson's Straits, 

 The expedition wdl afford opportunities for sport, scien 

 tific investigation, and all the charms of northern travel. 

 Provision will be made for ladies. The expense of the trip 

 will not exceed §250. 



rame 



tag mid 



"Sunt Lovel's Cawips." By E. E. Robinson. Price $1. 



however, as a resolution of the Board of Supervisors of 

 Chippewa county was presented to the Legislature, in 

 which they declare that they believe that the present 

 game law is unjust and oppressive to the settlers of the 

 Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and recommend that it 

 be so changed as to allow actual settlers to kill deer or 

 catch trout for their own use onlv during the months of 

 September, October, November, December and January; 

 and that the deer season for general hunting and selling 

 be only during the last week of the months of Septem- 

 ber, October, November and December. The same board 

 refused to give its game warden any compensation. A 

 member expressed himself as follows in a local paper: 



The board has no respect for the game law as it stands, or for 

 men who make laws just: for tho benefit or pleasure of a favored 

 few. We wish to see the game and fish properly protected for tne 



by the sporting men of Michigan; it would be more proper to say 

 trie sporting men of the Lower Peninsula. Toe settlers of the 

 Upper Peninsula, to whom game and fish are sometimes of the 

 utmost importance have bad no voice in tho matter, and now 

 they propose to— at least some of them are going to— have some- 

 thing to say about it. 



The law preserves the game for those who do not need it for 

 food or seek it for use as food, hat for the mere pleasure of killing 

 it. and shuts out the inhabitant of tbe country— forbids him to 

 kill it at tbe time when he has leisure to do so and when he needs 

 its llesh for food. It is wrong in principle and unjust in its pro- 

 visions, and wo will not aid in its enforcement. * * * I believe 

 God made the game and (ish for man's proper use, and not for 

 man to torture just for sport. I am one of t he members of the 

 beard of supervisors which voted unanimously not to pay any sal- 

 ary to the game warden; and believe I have only mildly expressed 

 the aentimenls of the board. 



A bill has been introduced which provides a bounty of 

 $12 for full grown wolves and $10 for whelps. 



Laube. 



Lake Linden, Mich., Feb. 12. 



MISSOURI QUAIL. 



QENECA, Mo., Jan. 31.— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 KJ To-day closes the hunting season with us, and I am 

 glad to say that the supply of birds left is greater than it 

 has been for years. This winter has been very mild, with 

 not enough snow to give the pot-hunters a show at their 

 deadly work. They have brought but very few birds to 

 market this season, although the shooting has been fine 

 for real sportsmen. I think the supply of birds will be 

 greatly increased by the opening of another season. There 

 are a few hunters here who do some hunting in tbe close 

 season, but they will be watched this year and dealt with 

 according to law, for we must protect our game, as there 

 is a very limited supply. 



There are a few market-hunters here, but they are 

 sportsmen and cannot be classed as pot-hunters, as they 

 do their shooting for the sport, not considering the profit. 



The buyers heie have shipped during the open season 

 10,114 quail, 259 prairie chickens, and there were 300 quail 

 damaged, not shipped. Iknowof some hunters who have 

 done their own shipping, which I think would bring the 

 number of quail shipped from this place alone n ear 15,000. 

 This is several thousand less than last season; which shows 

 plainly that the potters are the ones that keep the supply 

 of birds down, as last season was a fine one for ttieir 

 work. The farmers should protect the birds, and learn 

 that protection does not mean simply to keep men from 

 shooting, but that they must do away with their nets and 

 not drive whole flocks into them and pinch their heads. 

 This I think is very cruel, not considering the raoidity 

 with which it destroys the birds. You might put a. half 

 dozen sportsmen out with dogs and guns, and they could 

 not destroy birds at this rate, for it is very seldom that 

 you can kill more than five or six birds out of one covey. 



We have a great protection here for birds in the way of 

 an undergrowth of black-jack and post-oak brush. After 

 the birds are shot at a few times in the first of the season 

 they become wild; and then as soon as you get from two 

 to six shots they fly into the thick brush. Then you had 

 better go for a new covey, for you will find it hard work 

 to get through the brush with your gun, even without 

 trying to shoot a bird should you be lucky enough to see 

 one. I have tried the brush a few times, and instead of 

 seeing the birds could only hear them fly. You would 

 think it impossible for a bird to fly through such places, 

 but they go. Some of the farmers have forbidden hunting 

 on their farms, and do not allow shooting on them at all, 

 which I think will give us more birds in a few years. A 

 great amount of shooting is done in the Territory, but the 

 Indians are trying to have it stopped, and I think, alto- 

 gether, we will soon have the supply of birds on the in- 

 crease. 



The prairie chickens are almost extinct in this part of 

 the country, and it has been only a few years since the 

 shooting was fine. I have shot them day after day with 

 a small rifle, and could kill more than I can now with a 

 good dog and a first-class shotgun. By going: fifty miles 

 west we can find chickens enough to have a few days' 

 sport; and early in the season I have had good shooting- 

 only eighteen miles west of this place in the Territory; 

 but that is growing less each year. We have not had any 

 duck shooting this fall and winter, and I am afraid from 

 the present outlook we will not have much this season. 



F. 



Game in Town.— When Custodian Allen, who has 

 charge of the Government building at Ninth and Chest- 

 nut, walked through the basement this morning he heardi 

 an unusual slight noise and looked about for the cause- 

 After some effort he discovered that the intruder was a 

 plump woodcock with an extraordinarily long bill. No- 

 body knew where the bird came from, and some one of 

 the clerks said they had a suspicion that it was looking 

 for an office under Harrison's Administration. Mr, 

 Allen took charge of the visitor and said he would keep 

 it as a pet. — Philadelphia Evening Bulletin, Feb. 5. 



Clinton, N. Y., Feb. 14.— The few ruffed grouse in this 

 section left by the shooters seem to be wintering well. 

 Shortening the season as proposed by the Coegeshall bill 

 would in my opinion be wise, but it cuts off the wrong 

 end. The birds should be protected during September. 

 The killing of one full-fledged strong flying mature bird 

 is more satisfactory than shooting half a dozen half- 

 grown bob-tailed chickens from trees. — F. A. E. 



A Large Gray Fox was recently killed by J. E. Baker, 

 near Montgomery, Orange county, N. Y. ; it is a rare 

 prize in that region. 



