Attg. 93, 1888.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



did not have a woodchuck burrow in some part of it. 

 Sometimes they choose a site somewhere under the stone- 

 wall winch surrounds the field, or if there is a large 

 rock, as is often the case, anywhere about the middle of 

 the field, the animal will burrow under this as a very 

 choice location. Finally the roots of an old apple or other 

 tree are often chosen for its stronghold, the burrow being 

 dug down among them, the owner seeming to possess a 

 realizing sense that no one would ever dream of attempt- 

 ing to dislodge him from such quarters. As is the ease 

 with the excavations made for their habitations by most 

 fossorial mammals, the burrow of a woodchuck at first de- 

 scends obliquely into the earth, then passes nearly horizon- 

 tally for several feet, rises moderately for the last half of its 

 length to terminate in quite a spacious and round cham- 

 ber, which constitutes the ''living room" of the entire 

 family. In it the female brings forth her litter, and the 

 young remain there until they pair off and dig their own 

 homes elsewhere. 



Such a burrow may be at least 30ft. in length, so long 

 that one never thinks of digging a woodchuck out, but I 

 have seen farmers bring up two or three barrels of water 

 on a cart and drown the occupant of this subterranean 

 establishment at short notice, and rejoice most heartily 

 if the pair and perharjs seven or eight quarter-grown 

 young are caught in at the same time. Very often I have 

 captured them" in steel traps set at the mouth of the bur- 

 row, taking the precaution to sprinkle it all carefully 

 over with fine dirt. One old woodchuck, I remember, 

 constructed his burrow almost in the center of a twenty- 

 acre clover lot, and every attempt to capture him in any 

 kind of a trap utterly failed. It was the rarest thing in 

 the world to even catch him standing up at the entrance 

 of his burrow during the day, but frequently we would 

 Bee him just head and shoulders out of it. It seems to 

 ihe I must have fired thirty or forty times at him under 

 such circumstances from the outer side of the stone wall 

 . which surrounded the field, and that too with a heavy 

 old-fashioned muzzleloading Kentucky rifle, which at 

 75 to 100,yds. was good nearly every time for all small 

 game. But here every shot failed; a cloud of dust would 

 puff up at the very entrance of the burrow each time 

 and I would confidently walk- over to pick him out, but 

 no, next day at noon he was there again, looking out as 

 smiling as over. He was captured finally by my tying a 

 Colt's revolver to a stout stake driven down within a few 

 feet of the burrow and training the aim clown the entrance 

 and then tying a long string to the trigger, I waited be- 

 hind the wail till he again showed himself, when the 

 success of the device sealed his doom. Upon examining 

 him, it was found that he had been "barked'' in several 

 places by the rifle balls, including a long graze across one 

 shoulder; the tip of his chin was gone, and the hair parted 

 along the top of his cranium. Their heads make difficult 

 Shots at 75yds., owing to the color of the animal being so 

 much like the earth about the burrow, and I have always 

 since believed that they succeed in dodging just a little 

 bit at the flash. This woodchuck measured from tip to 

 tip 22in., and was the largest specimen I have ever exam- 

 ined; the general form and coloration of this species is so 

 well known that to save space we will waive reviewing 

 it here; and I suppose, too, it is quite generally appreci- 

 ated that different individuals often show marked vari- 

 ation in their color, Sometimes the pelage is very dark, 

 and in others notably light, especially upon the nether 

 parts. The animal is never taken, however, for its fair, 

 though I have heard it said that its hide is cured for 

 whip' lashes, but have never personally known of their 

 having been collected with the view of thus utilizing 

 them. They are fond of sitting up on their hams like 

 prairie marmots and spermopMles, and eat with their 

 forefeet while in this attitude; and farmers have a good 

 right to be their enemies, for they not only eat up quan- 

 tities of their clover, but tramp it down to no little extent 

 besides. Then during their foraging exclusions at night, 

 the season when they really venture away from their bur- 

 rows for any distance, they destroy and consume quanti- 

 ties of the young green corn and melons. 



Divring October in the Northern States these animals 

 become enormously fat, and soon after take to ground 

 for the following six months, which are spent in hiber- 

 nation, a habit that is carried out with equal fidelity in 

 the captive animal. In time they become very tame as 

 pets, but have few or no interesting traits to recommend 

 them. Woodchucks show no disposition whatever to live 

 in companies like the marmots of the Western prairies, 

 though if I remember correctly its northwestern relatives, 

 the hoary marmots, thus congregate, sometimes as many 

 as thirty or forty being found in the same community. 

 When pressed they are pretty good runners, reminding 

 one somewhat in their squat appearance of a badger, and 

 like this latter animal will bite severely if captured by 

 the hand. If cornered in a wall they chatter and grunt, 

 and occasionally give vent to a loud and peculiar whistle- 

 like squeal, from which they get the name bestowed upon 

 them by the Frenchmen of Canada, of Siffleur, the 

 whistler. Upon several occasions I have seen wood- 

 chucks climb a tree for several feet, and if they can by 

 so doing reach a large horizontal limb they will stretch 

 themselves out upon it for a noonday sun bath. They 

 are not nearly so numerous as formerly, though notwith- 

 standing the persistent warfare maintained against them 

 by farmers and others, there seems to be no immediate 

 danger of then total extermination. 



My cut of a woodchuck illustrating this paper was 

 copied by me from a figure in Goodrich's Natural History, 

 and adapted for the present purpose. 



R. W. Shufbldt, M.D., C.M.Z.S. 



A Big Buck with a Bell.— Alex. Moss writes to the 

 New York Sun from Modoc, Miss., Aug. 9: On Thursday 

 last I killed a deer, a buck, the largest ever seen in this 

 county; gross weight 3471bs. The horns 3in. from the 

 head were lfin. in diameter. There were six points on 

 one horn and seven on the other — 13 points. Around the 

 neck of the deer was a bell attached to a wire rope. On 

 the inside of the bell was plainly engraved: "J. S. Dunn, 

 Lansing. Mich. June (or Jan.), 1881." The wire rope 

 had been spliced in sailor fashion, and was no doubt done 

 before it was put on the deer, and allowances made for 

 the neck growing. There was but a small portion of the 

 material of which the rope was made left, save the wire. 

 It was very tight around the deer's neck, and the hair 

 was white where the rope touched. The bell had no 

 clapper, and was made of brass and copper. This point 

 is sixty miles above Vicksburg, on the Sunflower River, 



THE DOMESTICATION OF WILDFOWL. 



EACH year something happens to prevent complete 

 success in breeding and domesticating our beautiful 

 wild ducks, and each year a resolution is made that they 

 shall be managed differently and success must surely 

 follow. Last year I bred wood ducks only. The pintail 

 escaped with her young, and hens killed my young man- 

 darins by kicking them while scratching for food. The 

 little fellows would go to the hen to be warmed and she 

 would scratch the gravel and kick them. Hesitating be- 

 tween this evil and the other one. of trusting the ducks 

 to set and have them abandon the nest or escape with 

 the brood, I bought an incubator with a regulator, which 

 did not regulate, and, after cooking two lots of hen's 

 eggs, abandoned it and decided to try both of the old 

 plans, and succeeded in getting some, "mandarin ducks 

 and bkie-winged teal, but failed on wood ducks. The 

 success in both cases being with the ducks as mothers. 



The old mandarin duck laid fifteen eggs; four were 

 put under a hen May 1, and three were hatched, two lived 

 for nine days and were killed. About May 18 the duck 

 began sitting on eleven eggs, and on June 22 brought off 

 six birds. This was in an inclosure around a fountain in 

 the yard, the nest being in a box about 3ft. from the 

 ground. A wood duck had then been setting about a 

 week hi the same inclosure and came off and tried to kill 

 the young. In removing her one of the young mandarins 

 escaped and was lost. The five remaining ones were 

 pinioned at two weeks old and one died from an injury 

 four weeks later. At present writing the four young are 

 nearly grown and the bills of the males begin to show a 

 shade of pink. The male mandarin loses Ids gorgeous 

 plumage hi June and does not regain it till September, as 

 is the case with the male wood duck. 



Of wood ducks there were twelve pans, all but one pair 

 in an inclosure of two acres of swampy land containing 

 a large spring pond, alders and grass. Nests were made 

 of boxes and nail kegs, with holes in the side and a board 

 walk for them to reach it. The one pan were in the 

 fountain mentioned above and were birds raised last 

 year, the others were wild birds kept from two to three 

 years in confinement. The young bird laid four eggs, 

 but they were not fertile. One of the old birds laid six 

 eggs and then abandoned them, and we put them under 

 a hen which hatched two, but they did not take food 

 and died. The time of incubation was thirty days. 



One of two blue-winged teal made a nest on the ground 

 and on July 6 began settmg on ten eggs. In twenty- 

 three days she came off with four young. One of these 

 was missing a few days after, one broke its leg and died 

 at two weeks of age, and another was found with a 

 broken neck when nearly four weeks old; only one is 

 now left. 



The female widgeon, shot by Mr. Bndicott in Barnegat 

 Bay last October, mated with an English widgeon drake 

 but did not lay, and no mate has been obtained for the 

 solitary female green-winged teal wluch is now four 

 years old. Next year the wood ducks will have a sepa- 

 rate place for each pan, the food will be changed from 

 com to wheat, buckwheat and other small grains, and 

 better results are hoped for. No one seems to have 

 made a success of breeding these birds in confinement 

 and consequently I have to learn through repeated fail- 

 ures what are the requisite conditions for them, but 

 having had a partial success there seems to be no reason 

 why mandarins, teal, and wood ducks may not be bred 

 with as much certainty as are the black ducks and 

 mallard's, Fred Mather. 



Cold Spring Harbor, N. Y., Aug. 20. 



'mm §ug mi <f wf. 



BREAKING CAMP. 



WE were at Camp Le Roy, on Soaring Brook. After 

 a most enjoyable vacation of two weeks spent in a 

 bark shanty, reveling in hemlock boughs, amid the wild- 

 est part of the Adirondack mountains, by a beautiful 

 stream, with a party of sportsmen as keen as a similarity 

 of taste could call together, the time came to break camp 

 and return to the busy and now still more uncongenial 

 pursuits of the dull rounds of every day life. The hunt- 

 ing had been very successful, and the fishing, though late 

 was not bad. Mallard and greenwing teal and the part- 

 ridge had frequently graced .our board and were fully ap- 

 preciated, thanks to open air life and slumbers induced 

 by the soothing aroma of hemlock boughs. Venison had 

 been the staple food of our wildwood table, venison 

 done to perfection, and in a variety of forms, from a 

 broiled steak to a rump roast, as only our guides coidd 

 prepare them. 



Several of our guides deserve more than a passing 

 notice. Our Hercules stands over six feet in his stock, 

 ings — when he has them on — and has not one pound of 

 extra flesh on his body. His proportions are simply 

 splendid. I have seen him back an enormous buck 

 (minus the neck and antlers), which few in camp could 

 stand under, carrying it half a mile without a rest. He 

 pulls a splendid oar, and in fact is a model guide. 



Then our caterer, cook, hunter, and secret counsellor 

 must be seen to be appreciated. If Mr. Editor will visit 

 Camp Le Roy our Jerry will give him a roast that will 

 make his mouth water for a year every time he thinks 

 of it. 



The great character of our party was the driver, Char- 

 ley — a chap who is as hard to catch asleep as an old 

 weasel. He is as trim buflt as an Indian runner, as 

 quick as a greyhound, and can so exactly imitate the 

 hound in full chase that it will puzzle an old hand to 

 tell which is the real hound. He seems made of 

 whalebone, trimmed with india rubber. He will start 

 out toward the east with a couple of dogs attached by 

 a chain to his waist, another he leads, and his own two 

 travel in front; with them he holds general conversation 

 on the way. Within three hours he will start each 

 dog after a separate deer, and by short cuts or by some 

 hocus-pocus, he will be up with one or more of them 

 coming in from the opposite direction, join his voice, and 

 by the time the deer is killed, he is on hand to join 

 in the hilarity and fun usual on such occasions. This in- 

 imitable fellow has but one fault, and I do not know 

 that you would term it such; you might say it was proof 

 of his game — he cannot eat venison; it makes him sick, 

 and we had to feed him on pork. 



But the time had approached when all that makes a 

 life of toil endurable must end. One of our party was 

 about to take his leave of us a little in advance, and we 

 sent him off with a fine saddle of venison securely packed 

 in a sack, for fear of his too soon forgetting the old carap 

 by Roaring Brook, We also sent to his good lady, who 

 was waiting for him at no great distance, a fine brace of 

 partridge. More anon about that saddle of venison. But 

 those who lingered by the sparkling brook were to have 

 one more hunt in the early morning, to secure, if possi- 

 ble, a whole deer, to grace in triumph the successful re- 

 turn of one of our favorite nimrods. The evening did 

 not give promise of a prosperous hunting morning, but 

 what cares the huntsman for weather ? In the first of the 

 dawn everything was astir for a rapid hunt, and then a 

 farewell to the hemlock couch for a season. The sky was 

 dark and the clouds close down to earth; but our party 

 started with the understanding that one deer only 

 was to be killed ; and then a rapid stampede for our boats 

 three miles down the river. One hour after we left camp 

 a splendid buck was shot, and the Hercules of our party 

 took it on his shoulder and started as if carrying a baby, 

 antlers, hide and hoofs, for our shanty a mile away. 

 This he reached with but one stop, through a tine rain, 

 descending as gently as a summer dew, and as wet. 



All being ready, a farewell salute was fired, and the 

 party, seven in number, started on a slippery carry of 

 three miles for the boats. We will skip that tramp, and 

 I only wish we could have skipped that day, but every 

 dog must have his day and" the longest journey ends at 

 last. We reached those boats the sorriest looking soaked 

 party imaginable. The rain continued to increase until 

 it poured, and hunters, guides, dogs and game were 

 soaked. Through it all good nature and laughter reigned, 

 and only the dogs were a little cross. Still we had a row 

 of twelve miles to reach our destination, and over a 

 broad sheet of water, where the wind whistled and the 

 waves dashed madly, as if determined to swamp our 

 frail cockle shells and show us the other side of our beau- 

 tiful canvas. Still, though we were wet and soaked, 

 all was good humor, and as the horns flew by the clouds 

 began to break away far up the lake toward' the western 

 horizon, promising a gorgeous mountain sunset, and later 

 a resplendent double rainbow appeared, stretching its 

 broad arches over and touching with each end the moun- 

 tain sides, suffusing the atmosphere all around with its 

 soft twilight rays, promising the cold, wet and weary 

 hunters a better and a brighter day on the morrow. 



About that saddle of venison I will have to defer ex- 

 planation until another time. H. C. 



Tarrytown, N. Y. 



A DAY ON GRAND RIVER. 



O ENECA, Missouri. — For three weeks in March we had 

 kJ had fine duck shooting and had killed a great many 

 mallards, pintails, spoonbills, teal and several other 

 varieties. On this occasion Walker and I went to try our 

 luck once more on the Grand River, in Indian Territory. 

 The train was on time, and at half past nine o'clock we 

 opened fire on some mallards, but the brush was very 

 thick and Walker only got one shot. I succeeded in get- 

 ting in the second shot and with it I dropped an old 

 drake, but only crippled him and he made for the bank, 

 and as luck would have it, when I started to get him I 

 slipped in another shell. When he discovered me coming 

 stumbling through the willows he began to flop and 

 scramble up through the brush, and when he reached the 

 open he started to fly, but I soon brought him down, and 

 this time to stay* 



We left him on the water for a decoy and he served us 

 well, for it was not long until two others came flying 

 over. I attracted their attention by calling, and they 

 made a short turn and came near W. He fired and 

 lolled. I fired and made a clean miss. This gave us 

 two decoys, and as the water was too deep to wade, we 

 had to wait for our ducks to float out to the edge, which 

 took a full half hour; but while we were waiting two 

 teal sailed down to our decoys and W. fired and killed 

 both of them. This gave us four ducks, and now we 

 must try for another place. 



We went to the river, but did not get any shots there. 

 Then we went to a pond in the river bottom, but did not 

 find any ducks there. Now we began to think our only 

 chance was to go back to the river and risk getting some 

 there as they would fly by us. When we came to the 

 river we saw two alight down near the bank, but we had 

 to cross a slough before we could get in gunshot of them. 

 We "cooned it" across on a sycamore log, and then were 

 close to our game; but the willows were very thick, and 

 while we were looking for an open place to shoot through 

 they flew, and I succeeded in winging an old drake, but 

 he fell so far out in the river the current took him down 

 at a lively rate, untfl all at once he made for the bank. 

 We went after him, and when we were near him he 

 made for the river. I put in a quick shot, but he was too 

 far out, and went floating down about 20ft. from the 

 bank. I had to follow him very near a mile before I 

 could get him; I would not have followed so far but he 

 came nearer the bank all the time, but very slowly. I 

 would get long sticks and reach for him, but he was 

 always just out of reach, until at least he came with a 

 turn in the current near the bank, and I succeeded in 

 getting him after a hard scramble through the willows. 



Then we went to the prairie, where there are some 

 ponds. Here a beautiful sight met our eyes, but it was 

 hard luck for duck hunters, as there were no blinds for 

 us to slip up behind. The pond is out on the edge of the 

 prairie and covers about two acres. It was literally 

 covered with mallards. We stood within 150yds. and 

 watched them play for half an hour, for this was all 

 we could do. If any brother sportsmen have been in this 

 fix they will know how we felt when we walked up and 

 saw them fly away out of gunshot. Then we came back to 

 the first pond where we found more ducks, and what is 

 so strange to me, there was a man ploughing in the field 

 and he would come within seventy-five yards of where 

 the ducks were, and would yell out at his horses, but the 

 ducks would not raise their heads. But as soon as they 

 would hear a twig crack they were on the look out. 



We succeeded in making a good bag and came home 

 on the six o'clock train. This ended our duck shooting 

 for this season as the weather turned off fine and warm. 



F. 



The Flathead Lake Country, in Montana, is said 

 to afford good hunting with wildfowl and deer. 



