March 21, 1889.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



171 



THE YELLOWSTONE PARK. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Knowing the interest yon take in the Yellowstone 

 Park,' it gives me great* pleasure to inform you that 

 Congress has appropriated $50,000 for the construction 

 and improvement of roads in the Park. 



By the terms of the act making the appropriation, 

 $25,000 is to he expended upon the roads already sur- 

 veyed and in process of construction and improvement, 

 while the additional $25,000 is to be expended upon the 

 construction of a. road from the Upper Geyser Basin, across 

 the Continental Divide to the Grand Canon, and from 

 that point to the Yellowstone Lake and then to the junc- 

 tion with the road to Cook City. 



This insures a complete system of roads through the 

 entire Park, so that it will not be necessary to retrace 

 any part of the route as at present. In other words, it 

 gives to the tourist an entire circuit of the whole Park, 

 so that he can visit every object of interest in it. 



The bill for the government of the Park and providing 

 for the administration of justice, passed the Senate, as 

 you are aware, early in the session, but has been delayed 

 in the House on account of the opposition of certain liep- 

 resentatives. It was amended in the House committee 

 so as to be practically worthless, and was then reported 

 to the House and placed upon the Speaker's table. I was 

 assured by members of the House friendly to the Senate 

 hill, that it would be impossible to take the amended bill 

 from the Speaker's desk, but if the Senate bill could be 

 sent hack to the Senate and then returned to the House, 

 it could be taken up and passed without amendment. 



With this view I succeeded in having the bill recalled 

 from the House to the Senate, where some immaterial 

 amendments were placed upon it, and it was then re- 

 turned to the House of Representatives. A motion was 

 then made in the House by the friends of the measure to 

 take it up for consideration, but Mr. Payson, of niinois, 

 objected, and the business of the House was in such con- 

 dition that one objection was sufficient to kill the bill. 



It seems very apparent that nothing will satisfy certain 

 parties except the running a railroad into the Park under 

 the pretense of reaching the Cook City mines, but in 

 reality for the purpose of passenger traffic. 



To this legislation no friend of the Yellowstone Na- 

 tional Park can ever consent. In order to secure necessary 

 legislation for the government of the Park its friends 

 bave proposed that the Yellowstone River should be the 

 northern boundary of the Park, so that the railroad from 

 Cinnabar to Cook City could be constructed without 

 entering the Park at all. 



The refusal of the projectors of this enterprise to ac- 

 cept this proposition shows beyond question that their 

 real object is not to build a railroad to Cook City, but to 

 build a railroad into the Park. 



General Noble, the new Secretary of the Interior, is 

 familiar with the Park, and from this fact we have every- 

 thing to hope during Harrison's administration. 



G, G. Vest. 



United States Senate, March 1ft, 18«y. 



FIVE DAYS A SAVAGE.-I. 



NOTES OF A HUNTER— NATURALIST IN THE NORTHWEST. 



LUMMI ISLAND, Gulf of Georgia, June 28, 1888.— I 

 am sitting in my boat looking out on the Gulf. The 

 boat is drifting with the tide: it is a perfectly calm, 

 clear, beautiful morning, and as I lazily drop down with 

 the current, I pick up my pencil to tell you what a time 

 I ha ve had during the last week. As I write, the steady 

 swash, swash, of the slow lazy gulf swell comes to my 

 ears mingling with the ciy of the fishhawk, and the 

 songs of the wrens and the swallows from the shore. I 

 float over the shoals and a little fish of the sculpin family 

 watches me with quivering fins and wondering, staring 

 eyes. 



At my left, the point of the island runs out into the 

 gulf with here a low beach, and to the north, bold, rocky 

 shores, covered with great cedars and firs, mighty trees 

 . from 150 to 200ft. in height, except where in one spot a 

 lone settler has made a clearing with axe and fire. 

 There his log house stands out against the background of 

 the high, dark forest, seeming the house of a pigmy in 

 comparison with the great tree towering above it. The 

 trees in this country make man's work look puny and 

 insignificant. To the north stretches the gulf away and 

 away, until the blue of the waters meet the blue of the 

 heavens and the horizon is lost in the summer haze. A 

 little toward the east, I can see Point Roberts dim and 

 ihazy: and just above the horizon on the right stretches 

 the shoreline on the mainland, the fertile flats of the 

 Lummi River and the great fir forests of the bay, the 

 home of the Siwash, who dwells here now, as his fore- 

 fathers did of old, the sovereign of the soil. 



Looking astern I see the point of low trees and the 

 shining white beach; and there are the still whiter tents 

 of the Coast Survey party gleaming among the trees. 



As the boat drifts down past the point other islands 

 come in view, and still the boat drifts on, and still I am 

 too indolent to take the oars. And have I not a right to 

 be so deliciously lazy to-day? I think so. And I will tell 

 you why. But first let me' get out my pack of blankets. 

 Now I will place them in the stern. So! with my oilskins 

 and rubber boots for a cushion and my pack for a back, I 

 can rest more comfortably. Never mind the scorching 

 sun. My skin is as brown as it can be from a month's 

 exposure, and the gentle swell will not disturb me. 

 When I have finished the story of the last few days, I 

 think you will agree with me that I am entitled to a little 

 rest. 



For five days 1 have lived alone on these waters and 

 among these rocky inlets. For five days I have stemmed 

 the currents of the full moon tides and battled with the 

 winds and waves. By night and day I have climbed the 

 cliffs, threaded the thickets and tratnped along the 

 beaches. I have hung between sky and sea on a slender 

 rope suspended from the rocks above, have dug into the 

 earth on the verge of the rocky precipice for the sea- 

 bird's eggs. My gun has brought food from the air and 

 my spear the fish from the deep for my morning or even- 

 ing meal. For five days I have lived on my own 

 resources. As the wild Indian lives, so have I sojourned 

 among the solitudes. I will tell you about it all, but first 



a few words of explanation as to where I am and where- 

 fore. 



First, then, I am among the islands of the San Juan 

 A rehipelago, situated on the northwestern boundary of 

 the United States and east of Vancouver Island. "The 

 most northwesterly of those, the Sucia group, are the 

 islands I have been lately exploring. To reach these the 

 traveler should last go to Seattle. Washington Territory; 

 from there he may go to Whatcom on Bellingbaro Bay 

 in one day, and there he may hire a boatman, or do as I 

 did— take an Indian canoe and a couple of Indians as a 

 crew— and cross to the islands. When I was on the 

 steamer Evangel, the captain, who by the way is very 

 gentlemanly and obliging, and knows* the country thor- 

 oughly, told me that there was a U. S. Coast Survey 

 camp on Lummi Island for the present; and when in- 

 formed that I was collecting specimens for a museum, 

 he advised me to go there and see Captain G,, the chief of 

 the survey party. He described him as an eminently 

 scientific man, and a very hospitable and genial gentle- 

 man. I therefore hired an Indian canoe to take me 

 across the bay, and, to make a long story short, I found 

 Captain G. to be all that had been described and more. 

 He and his estimable lady made me exceedingly comfort- 

 able, giving me a tent and quarters for my own use, and 

 assisting me in every way that he consistently could. 



It is supposed by some people that these survey parties 

 partake of the character of a picnic. But let any one see 

 as much as I have seen in my travels, let him know the 

 dangers, discomforts, inconveniences and hardships the 

 surveyors have to encounter, and I think he would not 

 wish to undertake their work. Captain 0. is a line 

 mathematician and a hard worker. I have seen him 

 working with his instruments all day on the coasts, cov- 

 ered with clouds of blood-thirsty mosquitoes, wet to the 

 skin by occasional showers, and returning to camp at 

 night computing until 11 o'clock on his logarithms; and 

 this when one eye was almost blinded by the strain of 

 overwork, and all to keep his work up to his standard. 



A small steamer was kept by the party with which to 

 go to the further stations, and as I wished to go to the 

 Sucia Islands, I waited here until the work of the party 

 required a trip in that direction. These island were said 

 to be of a tertiary formation, and in the sandstone cliffs 

 many fossil shells have been found. Here, also, I was 

 told, sea birds bred in some numbers. For these reasons 

 I wished to visit them. Accordingly, I obtained a flat- 

 bottomed boat from a settler, with a mast and spritsail. 

 The rudder was gone, but there was a good pair of oars, 

 one of which could be used for steering when sailing the 

 boat. There was also a piece of strong line, some 200ft. 

 long, which I ooaiid use in climbing. I then took a large 

 tin box, which I had made watertight for my specimens, 

 and in this packed my guns and materials for preserving 

 skins, eggs, etc. ; also the case of taxidermists' instru- 

 ments, a butterfly net, hatchet, geological hammer, chisel, 

 etc. I also made up a roll of blankets, with shelter tent 

 and rubber blankets, a change of clothes, oilskin suit and 

 rubber boots, and this with ammunition for a week com- 

 pleted my outfit. I did not take any cooking outfit, 

 thinking to carry enough edibles to last a few days and 

 depend on the inhabitants for the rest of my sustenance: 

 but in this I was disappointed. 



On a bright morning, just a week ago to-day, 1 launched 

 the little 15ft. skiff, and made her fast to the stern of the 

 Fuca. After a sail of two and a half hours we came to 

 anchor in a fine little harbor on the west side of the Sucia 

 Islands, The captain and his party were off in a small 

 boat almost as soon as the anchor was down. Away they 

 went, pulling smartly toward the west point, the man-o'- 

 war's man giving them the naval stroke. 



Joe and I, taking my skiff, spread the sail and followed 

 at an easier pace. Running the boat on the beach, we 

 crossed the end of the island, and here found a rocky 

 cliff studded with the remains of marine shells. These 

 were imbedded in the hard rock, and, in order to get at 

 them, one of us had to go above with a rope while the 

 other remained below. The surface of the cliff, being 

 partially disintegrated by the action of the elements, 

 offered no sure footing nor hold. As I walked the beach 

 below I located the finest specimens that projected from 

 the rock above, and then Joe attached the rope to a tree, 

 and up the rope I could then climb hand over hand, and 

 securing myself by passing the line around my body I 

 could cut out the fossils with hammer and chisel. In this 

 way, and by chipping out what we could reach from the 

 foot of the cliff, we seemed some fine specimens of fossil 

 shells. 



Along a low space of shore line I also found a few 

 specimens of a dark song sparrow (Melospiza fasciata 

 rufina), and off the point saw a small group of the black 

 oyBter catcher (Hmnatopus niger). These took wing 

 and flew west toward the skipjack rocks. I made a 

 mental note of this and determined to follow them next 

 day. Here we came around the point where the captain 

 and his men were working, and found that Mr. Garfield 

 had found some birds' nests in the earth near the top of 

 the bank, below the tripod, and in trying to reach them 

 for me he had fallen down the bluff some distance. I 

 could see the holes, which were nearly 50ft. from the 

 beach, near the top of a nearly perpendicular cliff which 

 overhung at the summit, rendering it almost impossible 

 to reach the eggs. However, having had a line made 

 fast to a small tree above, I determined to try it at once. 

 Going up the rope, I took up a bight in it which I passed 

 around my body, and making it fast I worked away at 

 the first opening, which I was able to do by reaching 

 some roots and drawing myself imder the edge. To my 

 delight I found it to contain the nest of the rough-winged 

 swallow (Stelgidopieryx serripennis), with seven freshly 

 laid eggs. The depth of the hole was about 2ft. Placing 

 nest and all in my hat, I passed it up to the man above. 



The next hole was a larger one. I sounded it with a 

 stick for some six feet, and concluded to go above and 

 dig from the top. Stuffing a coat in the mouth of the 

 hole I climbed with difficulty over the edge; then digging 

 down, found some seven feet from the edge a belted 

 kingfisher's nest with young nearly fledged. These we 

 did not molest. 



We now took the boat again, and having eaten our 

 lunch went ashore at a point more toward the eastward, 

 where we found many small shells, some of them being 

 perfectly fossilized, and some large ammonites, which it 

 was quite difficult to get out in perfect shape. The day 

 being thus well spent, the steamer prepared to weigh 

 anchor. I found now that my provisions had at the last 

 moment been forgotten by the steward and myself, and 



left at camp. I thus had neither provisions nor cooking 

 utensils. All urged me to return to camp, but as the 

 steamer would not be at the islands again for some time, 

 I did not wish to lose advantage of my tow, as the tides 

 were very strong, it being about the 'full of the moon. 

 So I concluded at once to stay and, as Pat said, "tough it 

 oat" until I had explored these islands, 



There are one or two "squaw-men" on the Sucias, and 

 Indians, wandering north, frequentlj' camp there. I 

 thought I might get some provisions from them. Well, 

 I took what there was left of the lunch, bade my kind 

 friends adieu, and having packed my things on the boat, 

 was sitting with a board across my knees skinning birds. 

 As the steamer moved, Mr. G., watching me from the 

 stern, said to the captain, "I believe that man would be 

 comfortable anywhere." 



Putting up my little sail, I took the steering oar in hand 

 and sailed merrily away toward a snug harbor I had 

 noticed toward the head of the little bay. Here I found 

 a gap in the cliff perhaps five rods in width and the same 

 in depth, forming a basin with a sharply shelving rock 

 bottom and a beach a rod in width which separated it 

 from the channel on the other side of the neck. Here 

 was a dead tree some 125ft, long, denuded of its limbs, 

 winch the high tides had some time cast up. Its smaller 

 end hung out directly over the water, forming a natural 

 bridge to the beach over the flotsam and jetsam which 

 accumulates in such places. On the beach ridge grew a 

 sheltering fringe of young firs, beside which ran an old 

 deer trail. There was plenty of drift-wood at my feet 

 for a fire, stumps and rocks were there for table and seats, 

 and everything was ready at hand. 



It is strange how everything seems just made to order 

 for the convenience of the veteran ' camper when he 

 chooses a place to pass the night. I determined that this 

 night should be comfortable. One drawback, however, 

 was the mosquitoes, which were there in millions. But 

 I soon had a fire started, and worked without much in- 

 convenience from these little pests. Rolling a elean log 

 on the down side of the deer trail to keep from sliding 

 down toward the water, I cut some boughs from the 

 young balsam firs, making a fragrant and springy bed. 

 I then crossed my natural bridge to the boat and brought 

 my bundle containing blankets, rubbers and shelter-tent. 

 Picking up two long sticks, I sharpened these with the 

 hatchet, drove one in at each end of the bed, and sus- 

 pended my shelter between them by the lines. I then 

 spread down the rubber blanket, the others on top, 

 pegged down the edges of my tent, and tucked in the 

 border beneath the blankets. As the ends of the tent were 

 of line, strong netting, I was thus secure from the mos- 

 quitoes, etc., without any lack of fresh air. I then put 

 up my sail as a wind break, piled on a forestick and back- 

 log on the fire, and loading my gun with buckshot, I 

 crawled into my bunk and slept. 



Edward Howe Forbush. 



A nother Skunk of Odd Color.— "V. W. B." may be 

 interested to know that a skunk, similar to the one killed 

 by him in Barnstable and noted in your issue of March 14. 

 was trapped in West Yarmouth last fall. This skunk 

 was gray — about the same shade as a gray squirrel — and 

 was the only one of the color ever seen by the trapper 

 who secured him. Barnstable and Yarmouth are ad- 

 joining towns. The skunks may have belonged to the 

 same fitter.— Bradley. 



The Birds" Return.— Buffalo, N. Y., March 17.- 

 Robins appeared in the city very early, the 6th being the 

 first day on which they were seen, to my knowledge. 

 During the past week bluebirds, song sparrows, robins 

 and grackles appeared at the park, and if we have many 

 more of these bright, balmv days, the birds will come in 

 force. — E. P. B. 



aim mid 0utf. 



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



A NEW BEAR STORY. 



IT is claimed by Kit Clarke, who tells the story in his 

 new book, "Where the Trout Hide :." "The Bradstreet 

 of the forests rated Jimmy Al. Al, as angler, but equally 

 high as a most enthusiastic votary of Nimrod, and every 

 effort in his power had been laboriously exerted toward 

 capturing, either dead or alive, but principally dead , a 

 black bear. It seems he had promised the pelt* of a bear 

 to a certain estimable young lady of his native heath, 

 and the adjacent woods had been faithfully scoured in a 

 vain effort to meet traces of bruin. "Traces," said Jimmv, 

 "traces is what I want." At last his multitudinous wan- 

 derings were rewarded by the discovery of a bear's roost, 

 a spot where ursvs nightly held high revel. Here they 

 stealthily met by night, and here Jimmy clandestinely 

 assembled himself in the open daylight, and deftly con- 

 cealed a ponderous and murderous snare, quaintly de- 

 signed to entrap any bear that fondled its unique mech- 

 anism. Then, as an adjunct to the elaborate preparations, 

 and as a sort of guide to any members of the bruin house^ 

 hold strolling in the vicinity, Jimmy posted birch bark 

 signs upon a number of the adjacent trees of which this 

 is a faithful representation: 



"This was enough. The bears saw it, and the young 

 lady still pines for the promised bear skin." 



Rifles for Small Game.— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 In my experience with rifles for small game I have used 

 a .32-cal. rifle. I shot a hawk at 75yds. with a short 

 cartridge, a woodohuck at 200yds. with a long cartridge, 

 and it is the thing for chipmunks, red squirrels, etc. — 

 Woodohuck. 



