March 7, 1889.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



181 



<^ntutal lljistortj. 



MID-WINTER BIRD NOTES. 



T DID think that the birds could be trusted. Farm lore 

 JL teaches that the first northern flight of geese is proof 

 positive that the severity of winter is past, and that genial 

 spring is almost here. But for once the birds have been 

 deceived. 



The late autumn and mild winter caused a gradual dis- 

 appearance of songsters and game birds. There were no 

 vast migratory waves. Indeed, the southward flight was 

 so gradual that it was impossible to say that on such a 

 date a certain species had departed. Many birds re- 

 mained through January. The first or northern channel 

 of the Platte has not been entirely frozen over, and here 

 mallards have, disported themselves throughout the entire 

 season. Both species of wax wings have been frequently 

 seen, and so has the western meadowlark. The last 

 southward flight of geese that I observed was at 10 o'clock 

 on the night of Dec. 23. Both geese and ducks cross the 

 Platte on their autumn flight far west of their spi'ing 

 crossing point. On this account fall shooting is not first- 

 rate about Kearney. Their annual circuit forms an im- 

 mense triangle. Their autumnal flight is due south. In 

 winter they drift easterly, down the rivers of Indian 

 Territory and Texas, and in spring they take a north- 

 westerly direction to their breeding ground. This is 

 especially true of mallards, teal, redheads and of all the 

 natatores that breed in northern Nebraska and about 

 the lakes of Dakota. I am aware that this contradicts 

 a most noted duck hunter, whose weekly letters enter- 

 tain all readers of Fokest and Stream, but if he will 

 leave the lakes and marshes of Illinois and Indiana and 

 spend a season in central Nebraska, he will find that 

 Anas and kindred genera have a certain western way- 

 wardness and refuse to conform to the migratory laws 

 that hamper their more civilized eastern brethren. 



The first animals from the south were on the afternoon 

 of Feb. 6— a large body of Hutchin's geese. Two days 

 later these were joined by a few Canadian geese, but up 

 to date no brant have put in an appearance. For three 

 days the geese remained close to the river. On the 10th 

 inst. they flew northward to their feeding grounds, and 

 after satisfying their hunger returned to the Platte. 

 From the 10th to the 15th, they made the morning and 

 evening trip, as is their custom during the migratory 

 season. During this time the temperature ranged from 

 20° at midnight to about 50° at noon. The 16th, 17th and 

 18th were cold, cloudy days and the birds stayed near 

 the river all the time. They resumed their trips to the 

 feeding grounds on the 19th. The morning of the 22d 

 was warm and clear, but the geese did not fly. They 

 appeared very restless and the ducks in the north chan- 

 nel were also worried about something. At noon the 

 thermometer stood at 60°. Suddenly there came a blast 

 from the north. At sundown the temperature was 5 

 above zero and the next morning it was 15° below. Not 

 a goose or duck was to be found. Some time during the 

 night they had left for warmer climes, and the poor 

 farmers who were getting ready to do their plowing now 

 say that a goose knows less about the weather than does 

 the traditional ground hog, who this year saw his shadow 

 on Candlemas day and knew enough to crawl back into 

 his hole without trying to rush the season. Shoshone. 



KeABney, Neb.. Feb. 2&. 



Woodpeckers Signaling.— New York, March 5 — 

 Last spring while at WUlewenioc Lake for about a week 

 I was awakened regularly every morning soon after the 

 sun rose, by a woodpecker pecking at the tin leader on 

 the club house. This would be frequently repeated dur- 

 ing the day, and always at the same spot. Now as a 

 comparatively new tin' leader offers but slight induce- 

 ments to a hungry bird I was rather puzzled to find a 

 cause for this frequent rapping, so resolved to watch 

 closely to see if I could not discover some reason for it. 

 I soon got the desired opportunity and found that after 

 each tattoo he (it was invariably a male bird) would cock 

 his head to one side and listen attentively for the reply, 

 which was sure to be heard very soon after. He would 

 fly off at once in the direction from which the answer 

 came, returning shortly to a tree about 50ft. from the 

 leader. As it was the mating season I take this to have 

 been a sort of challenge to "the other fellow," so it is 

 pretty certain from this that the woodpecker pecks for 

 other reasons than a search of food. I never saw his 

 mate join him on any of these occasions, possibly be- 

 cause he had not yet quite succeeded in getting one to 

 his liking, as it were. Perhaps my experience may be 

 of service to C. W. Chamberlain who seeks the opinion 

 of others on this question, in your issue of Feb. 28. — Big 

 Reel. 



Humming Bird on the Ground.— Williamsport, Pa.— 

 All writers on the subject of ornithology whom I have 

 consulted agree that the humming bird never alights on 

 the ground. I beg leave to differ from them. Near my 

 home is a field that in the summer time is used by a 

 florist for the cultivation of flowers. I have frequently 

 repaired there in the evening when the humming birds 

 were making their meal, and with opera glass in hand 

 seated myself quietly among the bushes. The ruby 

 throats would come quite close, seemingly unaware of 

 my presence, and dart here and there after then- dainty 

 food, or pause to sip a drop of nectar from some opening 

 flower, ever and anon stopping for a short rest upon a 

 stem or upon the ground. When they alight upon the 

 ground they spread the tail to its full extent, the end 

 against the ground, the wings slightly drooped, resting 

 on the tail apparently for the ptu-pose of steadying them- 

 selves. I have seen them playfully chasing each other, 

 starting from the ground, and after several sallies or 

 playful banters returning to the ground, sitting quite 

 close to each other. When thus seated they fluff out 

 their feathers and appear plump (sparrow like), quite the 

 contrary to their appearance when perched upon a twig. 

 — Chas. H. Eldon. 



Woodcock Painted From Life.— New York.— I notice 

 in the Forest and Stream the account of painting a 

 woodcock from life. Some fifteen years ago I wing- 

 tipped a woodcock one fine October day, and after much 

 difficulty captured him without further injury and took 

 him home. At first the bird would not feed, but after a 



few days would hunt for worms in a box full of earth. 

 I kept him some six weeks, making several studies dur- 

 ing that time. Unfortunately one day he fell from a 

 high table while I was painting him, and being unable to 

 fly hurt Mmself so badly that he died.— W. Holbebton 



Recent Arrivals At the Philadelphia Zoological Gar- 

 den.— One eourlan (Aramus gigantcus), two white-backed piping 

 crows (Gymuorhina leuconatfi), one snow hunting (Plectrophanes 

 nivalis), pne green woodpecker (Gecinus viridis), one ground 

 rattlesnake (Crotalopkorns miliarius), two red-tailed buzzards 

 (Buteo boreabs), and one alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). 



mm Jfa# mtd @utf. 



"Sam LoveVs Camps:' By R. E, Robinson. Now ready. 



SHOOTING CLUBS OF CHICAGO. 



IX. — THE swan lake club. 



AS has been stated, the river clubs of Chicago may be 

 divided into those of the Kankakee River in Indi- 

 ana and those of the Illinois River in Illinois. To the 

 latter class belongs the Swan Lake Club, whose grounds, 

 though a considerable distance from the city and a trifle 

 hard to get at, are commonly a full reward for all the 

 trouble undergone in reaching them. 



The main body of our wildfowl follows the Mississippi 

 system in its migration, up or down. Naturally large 

 portions of the main flight will break away and follow 

 such permanent tributary water courses as offer them 

 abundance of food and access to the haunts natural to 

 them. The Illinois River, trending between the Missis- 

 sippi and the Fox Lake system, and thence to the lakes 

 of Wisconsin and so on north, offers a broad and easy 

 waterway for the wildfowl. There are wide marshes 

 along its shores, and winding lakes and bayous, stocked 

 with food ; the oaks and willows along the main river 

 offer certain dainties dear to the mallard palate, and above 

 all the vast overflowed cornfields afford that provender 

 for which, rather than for almost anythingelse, the mal- 

 lard duck will sell his birthright— corn on the ear, and half 

 submerged. There is no better mallard country out of 

 doors than that along the Illinois River, and the Swan 

 Lake Club has got right in the middle of the very best of 

 it. It is doubtful if a Swan Lake man would exchange 

 his stock share for share with a member of any other 

 Chicago club. This, in spite of the fact that there 

 was hardly one good bag of birds made on Swan Lake 

 marsh in this season of alarming scarcity. When there 

 are ducks anywhere else, you will see ducks at Swan 

 Lake. 



The Kankakee River empties into the Illinois River, 

 and stretches off from that stream with its vast and 

 tempting line of marshes. It is probable, however, that 

 many of the upper Kankakee birds do not follow up that 

 stream from the Illinois, but come directly across from 

 the waters of lower Indiana. The Kankakee country is 

 different from the Illinois country. Its waters are 

 marshier and shallower, and there are few open bodies or 

 wide streams. Upon the other hand, the Illinois River 

 at Hennepin borders close upon a quarter of a mile in 

 width, and is held by the Government as a navigable 

 stream. It wanders out into great lakes, whose body of 

 water is permanent, so that fish of great size are taken in 

 them, miles from the mam stream; and whose appear- 

 ance, although their shores are densely covered with wild 

 rice and "cane," is rather that of open water than of 

 marsh. Naturally the methods of the shooters in these 

 different sections would differ to some little extent, and 

 this is found to be the case. 



The path to Swan Lake club house is via the Chicago 

 & Reck Island road, whose night train lea\-es at about 

 11 o'clock. There is a chair car attached to this train, 

 intended for through passengers, but I imagine a good 

 many Swan Lakers slip into the chair car, and give the 

 porter a quarter to call them at Bureau Junction. I 

 slipped in and gave the porter a quarter; and if I hadn't 

 waked up myself when we arrived at Bureau, he would 

 have let me sleep till we got to Kansas City. I infer it 

 takes about fifty cents to wake him up. At Bureau 

 Junction you can go to a pretty fair depot hotel and sleep 

 a while longer, and take a morning train over to Henry, 

 and from Henry a sharp drive of perhaps twenty minutes 

 will bring you to Swan Lake club house, and you will 

 never want to go away from there. 



This house of the Swan Lake Club is by far the most 

 picturesque of any of those owned by the Chicago clubs, 

 and the house and grounds, taken in conjunction with 

 the keepers' houses, form a most pleasing and striking 

 view. Singularly enough there is not extant any consid- 

 erable picture showing a front view of the main building, 

 and such views as show the entire front of the grounds 

 must of necessity dwarf the club house, which is of itself 

 a very symmetrical and pleasing building. The main 

 structure is 48 X 60ft. in size, two stories and a lofty attic, 

 and is surmounted by an observatory, from which all 

 parts of the 5,000 or 6,000 acres of the club marsh can be 

 seen. The house is built around a great open court 

 which runs from top to bottom, and which, while it 

 economizes neither time nor money, certainly adds an 

 indescribable air of largeness and comfort. It wasn't 

 economy the Swan Lake men were after when they put 

 up their $8,000 club house, but they got what they were 

 after. Unless one'except the Mineola club house, which 

 is rather a summer resort than a sportsman's club, the 

 Swan Lake club house is the largest, most comfortable and 

 luxurious, and the most sightly shooting box in this part 

 of the country. There are only fourteen sleeping rooms, 

 all on the second floor, arranged about the open court, 

 and fronting out with a general aspect of sweetness and 

 fight. Each room is large and is furnished with a strong 

 leaning toward luxury in its brass bedstesds, the tasty 

 stands and carpeting. One thing f saw worth comment, 

 each room had a large, good hanging lamp, and the 

 lamps throughout the house, were of large, strong burners. 

 Evidently these lamps mark the dawn of the modern day 

 of sportsmanship. They replace the flaring pine- knot, 

 the candle, the lantern of our ruder and simpler camps. 

 They are not close to nature; but they mark the modern 

 day. 



A two-story veranda of great width extends about the 

 four sides of the house, affording a notable good place to 

 loaf of a warm day. A big shed at the rear affords stor- 

 age for the game, for the blackbird traps, and all the 



miscellaneous odds and ends of the camp; here most of 

 the loading and cleaning is done. The gun room and 

 drying room, well heated and well provided with neat 

 lockers, are situated upon the right of the reception room, 

 the larger being, 1 should think, about 16 x 24ft. in size. 

 The main room of the house, the general parlor and 

 reception room, is 28x36 ft. in size, and is fairly a dream 

 of luxury and beauty. The furniture is excellent, the 

 center table well supplied with books and periodicals, 

 and the walls decorated with refined works of art. 

 Notable among the treasures of the Swan Lake Club is a 

 collection of artotyyes of the paintings of sporting scenes 

 by Mr. L. C. Earle, the Chicago artist whose work has 

 elsewhere been mentioned in these columns as showing 

 such sympathetic treatment of field scenes. The collec- 

 tion was presented by the artist, I believe, and is there- 

 fore all the more valued. 



A deep gully bisects the steep bluff to the right of the 

 club house, and this is spanned by a long foot-bridge, 

 known as the Lover's Walk. It might so be known from 

 the many levers of a good dinner who have crossed it; 

 for it leads over to the house of Frank Wood, one of the 

 keepers, where is situated the club dining room, solidly 

 furnished in oak, the board of which is a gain resplendent 

 with silver, crystal and fine linen, I ate one meal here 

 in solitary grandeur, for I was alone at the club house, 

 and after that begged to eat with the family. 



Upon the left of the club house, and also connected 

 therewith by a long sidewalk, is Tim Wood's house. His 

 barn sits right on the edge of the bluff. The barnyard is 

 full of fowls of all sorts, and there are the usual numbers 

 of wild ducks, making the air resonant with musical 

 notes of mallard manufacture. Tim tunes his duck call 

 to them. - As I have previously stated, the call most 

 favored on Swan Lake marsh is the wooden one known 

 as the "Illinois River call." It has a good tone, but must 

 be watched lest it change by reason of swelling or shrink- 

 ing. 



Frank and Tim Wood are reformed market-hunters. 

 Their father leased marsh lands to the club, and the 

 boys had sense enough to see that the day of the market- 

 hunter was over, and that there would be far more 

 money in getting in with the club. They make good 

 keepers, and are not to be surpassed upon the marsh. 

 They know every inch of the ground, and their knowl- 

 edge of the habits of wildfowl is perfect. There are 

 hardly two men in the State who have killed and shipped 

 more game. The club still by special provision allows 

 them to shoot to some extent, and they further content 

 themselves by leasing their reserved fishing privileges 

 and setting a few nets for themselves. The local country 

 is the natural home of the market fishers and hunters, 

 and probably no section has been more thoroughly 

 worked by them than the Illinois River, Senachwine 

 Lake and the bigger waters of the Swan Lake system. 

 Senachwine Lake lies above the holdings of this club. It 

 has been wonderfully prolific of fish, especially of large 

 bass. It has a record of an 1 fpb. black bass. Tim Wood 

 also mentions one haul of a seine whose result netted 

 $276.43, the actual price obtained for the fish. Thus it 

 may be seen that there are fish in these waters, or once 

 were. There is said to be good fishing for bass and crop- 

 pies along the creek which connects Mud Lake with the 

 river, and there might be good sport all through that 

 country if the fish had a chance. As it is, the river fairly 

 bristles with nets; even in late November when I was 

 down at the grounds Mud Lake was full of nets, and a 

 fishing boat was regularly working the chcuit. The fish 

 may get along all right, but luck's agin 'em. 



The main beauty of Swan Lake Club house is its 

 location. From the top of the big bluff the whole marsh 

 can be seen; and if any marauding gun is heard out on 

 the marsh the lookout in the observatory, armed with a 

 strong field glass, can at once locate the shooter, and at 

 once thereupon a boat or so slips out and corrals him. 

 The view from the observatory is not only utilitarian but 

 beautiful. The winding procession of forest trees lies 

 upon the right, shutting off the club marshes upon the 

 other side of the big river. The river itself throws out 

 broad curving; gleams as it stretches beyond the big lakes. 

 The main outlet of the marsh runs directly at the foot of 

 the bluff, and the streak of the tumbling "cut off" leading 

 into it can be seen running back into the marsh up toward 

 the Big Hole, Tim's Hole, First and Second Holes, and all 

 the river side of the marsh. Mud Lake lies close into the 

 bluff on the left, its arms reaching out into the marsh. 

 The wide sheet of Swan Lake stretches yet further on. 

 and beyond that, outlined at its lower end by a blue line 

 of bluff and trees, inns Senachwine Lake. The bulk of 

 the visible marsh and willow and timber points belongs 

 to the Swan Lake Club, and it is indeed a goodly domain. 

 Mallard shooting in the timber, pass shooting at mixed 

 ducks on the fly way over the timbered tongue of land 

 between the river and the marsh, woodduck shooting 

 along the creek, snipe and rail shooting in season, blind 

 and decoy shooting in the rice* holes, deep-water duck 

 shooting on the feed beds, teal shooting quantum stiff.. 

 goose shooting sometimes — the Swan Lake people have 

 pretty nearly all the natural furniture for their wide 

 domain. Here are a few scores of the marsh, mostly 

 since the organization of the club, which w T as effected 

 Feb. 16, 1885: 



On Nov. 20, 1886, Mr. Samuel Chase and Tim Wood, at 

 the Big Hole, bagged 85 ducks and 1 goose; the same day 

 on the river, Mr. Kimball, Mr. J. M. Oliver and Frank 

 Wood bagged 97 ducks. On the next day, Mr. G. K. 

 Schonberg and Tim Wood got 100 ducks on Swan Lake; 

 Mr. Kimball and Frank Wood got 180 at the Big Hole. 

 On the next day Mr. Kimball and Frank Wood got 308 

 at the Big Hole; Horace Wood and Tim Wood got 135 at 

 the Calamus Bed. On the next day Mr. Kimball and 

 Frank Wood got 89 by noon and froze out; Mr. John 

 Allis and Tim Wood got 109 and froze out at noon. The 

 next day, Mr. G. A. Schwartz and Frank Wood got 100; 

 Mr. E. A. Lancaster and Tim Wood got 98 at the Big- 

 Hole. On the next day the marsh was pretty much all 

 frozen up. On the day following that, the boats went 

 out on the ice. Everything was frozen up, Big Hole, 

 Teal Hole, Tim's Hole and the Calamus Bed; Mr. Marsh, 

 Mr. Kimball and the Wood boys killed 444. On the day 

 following that, Horace and Tim Wood killed 83 and 3 

 geese; and Mr. Kimball and Frank Wood killed 90 odd. 

 Has any club a record of consecutive days like this? If 

 so I have not found it. And that was only two years 

 ago. In 1884, on Nov. 25, from 10:30 A. M. to 2:30 P. M., 

 Frank and Tim Wood bagged 225 ducks; on the next day 

 they got 350, and on that day J. L. Long, another market 



