May 2, 1889,] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



29® 



one, dried him and added his skin to my collection. 

 There were no purlins on this rock, so, with the turn of 

 the tide I sallied for the rock where 1 had seen so many 

 the day before. Here, indeed, I found them, but I also 

 fouhd'that the hour was at hand for my afternoon S eal, 

 and now was the time to try the cormorant. First. I 

 climbed to the top of the rock, which was covered with 

 vegetation. I found growling hero a plant called by the 

 Indians lac a mos, whieh has a bulb like the potatoo. and 

 which is gathered by the old Indians for food. Some of 

 these I dug up with a stick. I also found the wild onion, 

 and a sort of wild mustard, both of whieh I gathered. 



Building a fire, the cormorant, which had been soaking 

 in the salt water, was roasted over the coals, after being 

 stuffed with the wild onions, and I will say that I never 

 tasted better game. Of course, I had the best sauce pos- 

 sible, i. e. hunger, to go with it. The oyster catchers are 

 famous eating, and one of these helped to make out a 

 meal. Now I begin to feel sorry 1 had not saved the 

 young crows and tried them. While I was getting my 

 fire a flock of harlequin ducks paddled into the little rove 

 to be out of the tideway. I kept perfectly quiet, and they 

 came up within a few feet of me. How beautiful they 

 were, restiug lightly on the water! They swam about 

 me awhile, and then, taking alarm from a screaming 

 gull, all rose and flew away. I could not have harmed 

 them if 1 would, as my gun was then in the boat. 



As night came on it looked like rain, so I took the 

 mast and sail of my boat and made a shelter against a 

 niche in the rocks, gathered in some dry firewood, and, 

 building a, good fire, rolled into my blankets in the fire- 

 light. But it was long before I slept. The gulls, dis- 

 turbed by the fire, kept up a wandering flight above me, 

 and their wild and plaintive, cries sounded far into, the 

 night. These weird cries, with their sad cadence ming- 

 ling with the sound of the rising storm, and coming down 

 to me through the rain and darkness in that lonely place, 

 filled my soul with sadness as I gazed into the embers of 

 the fire ."and thought of the dear ones at home and the 

 vacant chair waiting for me. Thus, pondering on 

 thoughts of home I fell asleep. The storm swept on, and 

 the sky cleared. The full moon came out and shone on 

 that far isle. The fire died out, the gulls ceased their 

 cries, and finally all nature was at rest. 



E dward H owe Forbush. 



SCENT OF CARIBOU. 



NUMBER FOUR, New York.— Editor Forest and 

 Stream: I noticed in your journal of Feb. 21 some 

 correspondence in relation' to the scent of the caribou, 

 and beg leave to relate my own experience with that in- 

 teresting animal. The morning of Oct. 28, in company 

 with Mr. Eugene Seitze, of Troy, we left our camp in 

 pursuit of caribou. It had snowed about four inches the 

 previous night, thus making good stalking. We clun bed 

 the mountainsides, traveled through ravines and picked 

 our way through almost impassable windfalls in quest of 

 caribou tracks, but none could be found. 



Thoroughly discouraged, wet and cold, as the water 

 from the melting snow was pouring from the trees, we 

 turned our course toward the camp. We nad not pro- 

 ceeded far when suddenly there appeared before us, not 

 five rods away, three caribou making off at a lively pace. 

 The fawn was ahead, the doe came next and the old 

 buck brought up the rear. They did not carry their tails 

 erect and stiff like the deer, but nearly in a line with the 

 body, and a constant rapid switching or rotary motion 

 was' observed. We succeeded in stopping the buck, when 

 one ball from the .88 Winchester brought lain down. 

 As we followed on a few rods and found him stretched at 

 full length on the ground, a noble specimen with branch- 

 ing antlers, our joy could only be imagined by the sports- 

 man who has been as suddenly transported from dis- 

 couraging bad luck to such a glorious success. The 

 following day, accompanied by our guide, we went to 

 bring the meat and head to camp. While skinning the 

 hindquarters, the guide remarked that there was a very 

 strong odor, which, on examination, we found to proceed 

 from the tail. This led us to examine the feet to see if. 

 like deer, they had any scent. We could not discover 

 the least bit of odor about the feet or legs, while the tail 

 o-ave off a very strong, pungent odor. I am inclined to 

 think that the sacks or glands which secrete the odor 

 peculiar to the caribou may, like the muskrat, the beaver 

 and most of the carnivorous animals, be located at the 

 base of the tail. Char les Fenton. 



QUESTIONS ABOUT CHIMNEY SWIFTS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



My record of observations on the chimney swift for 

 1886 are to me so peculiar that it may be worth space in 

 Forest and Stream to state them, thereby perhaps elicit- 

 ing information from others which will aid in the solution 

 of their mysterious appearances. 



After their arrival in May, the swifts are numerous all 

 summer, my notes showing their departure to be about 

 Aug. 15. In 1886 they were observed on Aug. 19, and 

 though I was not out again in August, by Sept. 22 I had 

 been in the country looking for birds ten times, and had 

 not once observed them, but my diary for that day bears 

 this record: 'After hawng seen no swallows or swifts 

 for some weeks, I saw about a dozen swifts about a hun- 

 dred yards up. moving south." Though I kept a sharp 

 lookout for them during the rest of the month, I saw no 

 more; but in October I undertook a canoe, voyage down the 

 Thames, which flows west from London to Lake St. 

 Clair, and though I spent the 8th, 9th and 10th entirely 

 in the open air, with the observance of buds constantly 

 in mind, I saw no swifts on these days, but on the 11th I 

 saw many, probably a hundred, at a considerable height, 

 flying around as they do in summer, and there I left them 

 circling, and saw no more until the following May. 



The questions which naturally propound themselves are 

 these: Why did these buds appear on the days noted and 

 not on other equally fine days of the same weeks? Where 

 had they been and what had they been doing? By nature 

 incredulous, I take no stock in the hibernation of swal- 

 lows and have never seen the idea applied to swifts: 

 besides, the weather had not been hibernating weather, 

 particularly before the September observation. I had not 

 observed them coming north, but the September lot were 

 going south, and from where? W. E. Saunders. 



London, Ont. 



[For suggestions as to the possible hibernation of swifts 

 see Coues's "Birds of the Colorado Valley" p. 377. But 

 we do not know that Dr. Coues has ever published his 

 reasons.— Ed.J 



MIGRATION ON THE PLAINS. 



IN observing the avifaunal migrations this spring, I 

 have learned to look for arrivals and departures im- 

 mediately after a storm. This seems to be the period 

 chosen by all our game birds for their long flights. Com- 

 parison of observations with the Report of Migration, 

 recently issued by the Department of Agriculture shows 

 that the migratory wave is about a week later on the 

 ninety-ninth meridian than it is in the level country im- 

 mediately adjacent to the Mississippi River. 



The week ending April 6 was marked by the northern 

 flight of ducks in great waves. The weather was mild 

 but threatening, and the prevailing direction of the wind 

 was northeast. Teals arrd widgeons did not migrate at 

 this time. On April 4 I secured a ruddy duck, being the 

 first one of the species for the season. This is not a 

 common bird in this section. 



With the departure of the ducks came the cranes and 

 swans. One party on the 3d secured nine specimens of 

 the sandhill crane, and two of the white or whooping 

 crane (O. americana). Another party on the same date- 

 secured two trumpeter swans (Olor buccinator). 



After the storm of April 7 the marsh birds began to 

 arrive, and on the 8th I noticed the killdeer, Wilson's 

 snipe and American golden plover. Two days later the 

 long-billed curlew was first seen. 



On the 17th, while after ducks, my companion ex- 

 claimed, "What a curious white-breasted lark!" As he 

 had a few shells loaded with No. 8 shot I asked him to 

 secure it, but the bird was so tame that it seemed impos- 

 sible to get so far away that it would not be blown to 

 pieces. It proved to be a horned lark (Otocons oTpesfns 

 praiicola), and served to convince several of the local 

 sportsmen that this bird is really found "in Central Ne- 

 braska. Those who have hunted over the country for 

 years told me that it was the first bird of the kind that 

 they had ever seen. Another comparatively rare visitant 

 that I saw to-day was the great blue heron (Ardea 

 herodias). It was shot on Wood River. I learn that 

 the first duck wave reached the Niobrara eight days after 

 it was chronicled on the Platte. This would indicate a 

 short rest on the Loups. 



This year an unusual proportion of the specimens that 

 are shot of the lesser snow goose (our white brant) are 

 gray or slaty above. Can this be a cross between Often 

 ecerulescens and O. hyperborea f The two species may 

 be found together between Hudson's Bay and the Rocky 

 Mountains, upon the breeding grounds of the snow goose. 



The ducks that nest in northern and western Nebraska 

 are already at then breeding grounds, and we begin to 

 ask ourselves about the prospects for fall shooting. They 

 never were better. The mild winter and early prairie 

 fires insure double the number of chickens and quail that 

 there were last year. There will be no cooked eggs this 

 season. I have never seen the prairie sharp-tailed grouse 

 in Nebraska, but old settlers tell me that ten years ago 

 they were common in this section, while the pinnated 

 grouse were rare — another proof that civilization has its 

 disadvantages. Shoshone. 

 Kearney, Neb., April 18. 



[The gray or slaty "brant" may be young O. hyperborea.) 



dam was only 2 or 3ft. deep I could easily see the bottom, 

 but could not find my trap or beaver. As a last resort I 

 cut a hole in the dam, so as to draw the water off. In 

 about an hour the pond had lowered a foot. The beaver 

 came out of their hiding places and made straight for the 

 hole in their dam. We saw three of them, and as they 

 swam past the holes we had cut in the ice we caught two 

 young ones, two-thirds grown, by the tail and pulled 

 them out. On the ice they were helpless. They showed 

 fight but did not make much effort to escape. The other 

 was an old fellow, and we tried to catch him in the same 

 way, and had hold of his tail several times, but he was 

 too strong. Just then a hunter happened along with a 

 gun and shot him for us. We were eight miles from 

 home and had no way to carry the two live beaver, so 

 we very foolishly killed them, and I have been sorry 

 many times since, as I think they might have been tamed, 

 or I could have sold them alive for double what I got for 

 their hides, $3 each. The old one weighed 30lbs. and his 

 hide brought me $6. T caught one two years ago that 

 weighed 491bs. They are not very plenty and will soon be a 

 thing of the past. There have been twenty-seven caught in 

 this locality this' fall and winter, on the headwaters of 

 the Little Sturgeon. H. N. 



Metropolitan , Mich. 



Range op the Wild Turkey.— Hartford, Mich.— 

 Editor Forest and Stream: I saw in your paper some 

 time ago an inquiry by Chas. F. Batchelder, of Cam- 

 bridge, Mass., in regard to wild turkeys, and being quite 

 a turkey hunter and fond of the gun, I write you. so if 

 you see fit you can publish it for the benefit o I' your 

 readers. I have hunted the wild turkey since I was a 

 boy, and have killed three fine turkeys before breakfast 

 with an old long-stocked Kentucky rifle. This was in 

 Medina county, Ohio. In 1851 I moved into Cass county, 

 Michigan, where turkeys were very plenty. In 1863 I 

 moved to Van Buren county, where I now reside. I 

 have killed twenty-five wild turkeys here in five days. 

 That was fifteen years ago; there are very few in this 

 comity now. I have killed some old gobblers that dressed 

 241bs. Turkeys never were plenty in this State north of 

 Grand River. I suppose the deep snow and hard crust 

 starved them in the long winters, as I have hunted all 

 over this lower part of the State and have never seen 

 any north of about the Grand River Valley. I have 

 come to the conclusion that there are a few scattered all 

 over the southern part of the State, and they are very 

 dark-colored. If you want to see turkeys plenty and of 

 different colors go to Arkansas or Missouri or any of the 

 Southern States.— Sullivan Cook. 



THE OTTER'S HABITS, 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I find, by reading your valuable paper, that one man 

 does not know everything about birds, animals and fish. 

 The very interesting article on the habits of the otter, by 

 "J. G. R.," in a recent issue of Forest and Stream, 

 especially attracted me. 



I commenced to trap otter in the fall of 1861. I was 

 located where they were very plenty , and I think I had 

 as good an oppor trinity as any one could have during the 

 winter, of learning their habits. 



I noticed that at times they would start at the head of 

 a pond one mile long, and swim the entire distance under 

 the ice to the outlet. I have seen where the mother and 

 kittens have traveled on ponds, but never saw the 

 tracks of more than two kittens with the mother, which 

 shows that we do not know for a certainty how many 

 young they have at a litter. At one time I was guided to 

 the Seven Ponds by following an otter's track. I have 

 seen them hunting for muskrats, also have known them 

 to go into a bank beaver's hole. I think the otter killed 

 the beaver, as the latter did not come out after the otter 

 went in. 



Otter commonly have a certain beat, and as near as I 

 could calculate travel over the same route as often as 

 every two weeks. They are not very particular about 

 their food. They will readily eat fish after it has com- 

 menced to decay. I never knew an otter to leave his 

 foot in a trap unless he staid with it. They ordinarUy 

 kill themselves within twenty-four hours after being- 

 caught. If the otter is wounded or injured by being 

 taken in a trap he is likely to leave the. water and wander 

 into the woods. I knew of one that freed himself from a 

 trap and Avas found a mile from the stream on which he 

 was caught in a fisher trap. I knew another which 

 had been wounded by a bullet, caught in a mink trap 

 within two days after he was shot. Another peculiarity 

 is if one is fatally wounded by shot, they leave the water 

 and crawl on to ice to die. They are very easy to trap as 

 soon as their habits are learned. C. J. R. 



Indian Rock, Me. 



HABITS OF THE BEAVER. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In your issue of Jan. 31 1 read an article on habits of 

 the beaver, which induces me to give my experience. 

 While looking over some pine lands last September, in 

 crossing a small creek, I saw fresh signs of beaver. In 

 a few weeks the White &. Friant Lumber Company had 

 located a lumber camp and commenced making roads in 

 the same locality, one of which ran up this same creek. 

 Having to pass there often, I saw that the beaver had two 

 or three dams, and a house built, all in shape to spend 

 the winter. The man that carried lunch to the men 

 several times saw the beaver at work carrying birch and 

 alder sticks into their winter store houses. He said he 

 watched them one day for an hour, and this was in the 

 middle of the day. In November, after it froze up, I set 

 t wo traps and caught one beaver, another broke the chain 

 to my trap and got away under the ice. Thinking he 

 might have got fast with the trap and drowned, I took 

 two boxes with me one day, and cut a number of holes 

 through the ice along their road. As the water in their 



Looked Horns. — Chicago, 111. , April 22. — Fred Kaemp- 

 fer shows in his taxidermist shop's windows a pair of 

 mounted heads of bucks, the horns of which are so closely 

 interlocked that no amount of force could pull them 

 apart. One of the deer was still living when found, the 

 other dead. Interlocked deer antlers are not new, but I 

 fancy the two heads, full mounted as they are and found 

 as they were, will be a novelty. The heads are those of 

 full-grown bucks, and were found in the Indian Terri- 

 tory.— E. Houoh. 



Whistling Swan in Niagara County, N. Y.— On Sat- 

 urday, March 30, Mr. Charles Sharpstiue, of Newfane, 

 brought to me a swan of the above-named species, that 

 was killed on the Eighteen-Mile Creek, about seven miles 

 from Lockport. I have seen specimens that were secured 

 on Niagara River below the falls in a disabled condition, 

 probably by flying into the falls during stormy nights, 

 but have never known one to be taken so far from the 

 river or Lake Ontario before.— J. L. Davison. 



mm 



lag mid 



A PLEA FOR THE DUCKS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In your issue of April 11, I read the report of your 

 interesting correspondent, Mr. E. Hough, on game pro- 

 tection, and I think that the idea that is expressed therein, 

 that of an inter-State law, is just what is wanted. 



While this law would be the law par excellence, still, 

 if sportsmen would repress their slaughtering instincts 

 and not put up prizes for the champion duck destroyer, 

 as is done in one of our rapidly ads'ancing cities, I think 

 that this would be a step in the right direction. Again, 

 if some of these gentlemen would look at the matter in 

 a common sense way, they might account for the disap- 

 pearance of some of* the ducks, and thereby lessen the 

 weight of sins on the shoulders of the market-gunner, 

 who, in spite of his trade, has as much right to the game, 

 also to kill his 100 or more ducks a day, as that special 

 class called sportsmen. 



Although I do not believe in a man being too careful in 

 his shooting, still I believe there is a certain limit to every- 

 thing, and that even in duck shooting, where the largest 

 bag is always bragged of, a man can overdo the thing, 

 and then he becomes a duck slaughterer, and not any 

 better, if even as good, as the pot-hunter. 



Another thing which does not seem consistent with 

 game preservation is the awarding of a gold medal to the 

 champion duck killer, for in striving to win the medal, 

 men who would otherwise be moderate in their shooting 

 would be stimulated to kill ducks, not because they 

 wanted to use them nor because their friends wanted 

 them, but simply for the glory— if glory it is— of being- 

 king slaughterer in his club. Therefore, while it is bad 

 enough for a man to go out and kill such a large number 

 of ducks (especially in the spring time), it is a thousand 

 times worse for any one to put up a medal to advance the 

 science of duck slaughtering, in which most modern 

 sportsmen, to judge by their tales of large bags, are al- 

 ready quite proficient enough. If most sportsmen would 

 notice these things and practice? them, 1 think that one 

 step in game preservation would have been taken, and 1 

 think that the old saying, "Be moderate in everything," 

 could apply even in duck shooting, and that the ducks 

 would be greatly benefited thereby. R. A. MONKS. 



New Yoek, A pril 21. 



Names and Portraits of Birds, by Uurdoii Trumbull. A 

 book particularly interesting to gnunera, for by its use tbey can 

 identify without question all the American game birds which 

 they may kill. Cloth, 220 pages, price S2.50. For sale by Forest 

 and Stream. 



