£44 



FOHEST AND StftEAM. 



[Oct, 18, 1888. 



gathered himself up and darted out of sight. With a 

 spiteful roar the female turned and pitched into the male, 

 giving him a most unmerciful drubbing, and I walked 

 away perfectly sure that drowning would never be the 

 Cause of that youngster's death. Henceforth my visits to 

 the pit were not bo frequent, and some ten days passed 

 before I again saw the cub fall into the water. Much to 

 my surprise neither of the parents paid the slightest at- 

 tention to it, but allowed him to scramble out unaided, 

 Which he did without much difficulty. 



Very naturally the bear pits now became the center of 

 attraction and one of the most frequent visitors was the 

 gentleman who had kindly donated the pair of grizzlies. 

 For some years he never visited his pets without bring- 

 ing a large parcel of sweets for them. He was a con- 

 stant source of uneasiness to me, for in spite of my many 

 interdictions, he would persist in climbing over the rail 

 in front of the pits, thrusting his arm through the grating 

 and putting every piece of cake or candy directly into 

 the bears' mouths. As they had caused the loss of an arm 

 to an incautious visitor and have i-ince killed an unfor- 

 tunate keeper, I am satisfied that my fears were not 

 groundless. Of course the young one learned to know 

 him and whenever the gentleman would present himself 

 he would take his position between his mother's front 

 legs, ready for a bit of candy and a frolic. He allowed 

 himself to be cuffed and to-sed about without showing 

 the slightest ill-temper, while the mother would languidly 

 look on, without ever changing her position. 



As the young one became older and stronger he proved 

 to be a constant source of irritation to the old male, for 

 he never neglected an opportunity of biting him about 

 the haunches whenever an occasion offered. The old 

 fellow confined himself to mild shows of anger, and 

 never resorted to any severe retaliation, no doubt dread- 

 ing the wrath of the mother. During July I noticed 

 that at times the young one appeared dumpish and out 

 of sorts, while at other times he seemed as full of life 

 and play as usual, and I began to fear an approaching 

 misfortune. I spent many hours about the pit at night; 

 trying to detect a cough, but never succeeded in hearing 

 any sound like one. He gradually grew weaker, and on the 

 morning of Aug. 11 the keeper found him lying dead. 

 The mother did not seem to be grieved over her loss, and the 

 body passed into the prosector's hands, who reported the 

 lungs filled with tubercles. The taxidermist then mounted 

 it standing upright, holding a salver to receive visitors' 

 cards, and I believe it now serves for that purpose, in the 

 hall of the residence of Madame Materna, Vienna. 



Frank J. Thompson. 



SERPENTS AND THEIR WAYS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



The writers on the subject of New England snakes in 

 recent numbers of the Forest and Stream have con- 

 founded the blacksnake (Bascanium constrictor) and the 

 racer (Coluber obsoletus). Both species are common in 

 Connecticut. I have never seen a blacksnake of greater 

 length than 5ft., but have seen racers that would meas- 

 ure considerably more than 6ft. in length, or, in local 

 parlance, "as long as a rake stale." 



The blacksnake, I am quite sure, does not chase people, 

 but the racer is quite fond of doing so. In order to cap- 

 ture specimens alive I have induced them to give chase 

 in their playful way by pretending to run away and then 

 turning suddenly and" grasping any part of the snake's 

 body that I had the good luck to hit. It is difficult to 

 capture this graceful and fleet racer in any other way, as 

 he will surely glide off with the speed of a bird if a step 

 toward him is made after he has elevated the forward 

 part of his body to observe the intruder. Both the black- 

 snake and the racer bite quickly when seized, but their 

 bites "don't hurt any." The most vicious of the biters 

 among the harmless snakes of New England is the water 

 blacksnake {Tropidonotxis sipedori), and he usually adds 

 insult to injury by emptying his unsavory cloacal con- 

 tents on his captor's coat sleeve. Robt. T. Morris. 

 New York, Oct. 9. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



After reading articles in your paper on snakes, and 

 finding nine eggs in my garden, I thought I would send 

 you four as a proof tbat some snakes do lay eggs. If you 

 will cut one open you will find a fully developed snake. 

 "Will you please make a note of it in your paper, of which 

 I am a subscriber. E. P. L. 



Hayuenville, Mass., Oct.. 10. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In relation to snakes swallowing their young, let me 

 testify that four of us once saw the act and afterward 

 killed the old one and also thirty-two little ones that were 

 inside of her. The snake was of the striped adder variety. 



Chas. L. Sherman. 



Philadelphia Oct. 10. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



While deer hunting in Sullivan county, N. Y., last week, 

 our guide heard a noise in the brush, and upon investi- 

 gating discovered a blacksnake, which measured eight 

 feet in length and about as large in girth as the calf of a 

 man's leg. & V. A. 



New Yokk. 



Late Quail.— Ehnira, N. Y., Oct. 5.— I send you to- 

 day two out of eight chickens found on edge of buck- 

 wheat field. Boy said they were grouse, and that he 

 saw the old bird fly away and caught the little ones in the 

 buckwheat and put them in the grass, and they were 

 killed by the culd night and snow. Please let me know 

 if they are grouse. — E. B. G. [The birds are quail.] 



Recent Arrivals at the Philadelphia Zoological Gar- 

 den.— Purchased— Six hedgehogs (Erinaceus europseus), one com- 

 mon macaque (Macacns cynotnclgus), one short-tailed parrot 

 (Pionus brachyurus), one Bauer's parakeet (Platycereus zonarius), 

 two ro e-breasted grosbeaks (Guiraca ludovieiana), three scar- 

 let tanagers (Pyranga rubra), one common cuckoo (Cueulus cano 

 rus), two European quail (Coturnix communis), two .European 

 crossbills (Loxia curvirostra), two European jays (Garrulusglan- 

 darius), two radiated tortoises (Testudo radiata), thirty-three 

 salamanders (Salamaudra maculosa), and six slow worms(Anguis 

 fragilis). Presented— One ground squirrel (T^mias striatus). one 

 opossum (Didelphys virginiana), one red squirrel (Sciurus hud- 

 sonius), one pigeon hawk (Accipiter fusr-aO, one American robin 

 (Turdus migratorius),one Cooper's hawk (Aeeipiter cooperi),flfteen 

 spotted salamaders (Diemyctyluti miniatus;. four garter snakes 

 (Eutainia sertal's), twelve alligators (Alligator inissirsippiensis), 

 one milk snake (Coluber obeoletusconfinis) nine painted terrapins 

 (Chrysemys picta), one striated terrapin (Chelopus insculptus), 

 three snapping turtles (Chelonura serpentina). Born— One red 

 kangaroo (Macropus rufus), and one sooty maogabey (Cercocebus 

 luligraosus.) 



\mnt §zg nni 



Antelope and Deer of America. By J. D. Caton. 

 Price $3.50. Wing and Glass Ball Shooting with the 

 Rifle. By W. C. Bliss. Price 50 cents. Mile, Rod and 

 Gun in California. By T. S. Van Dyke. Price $1.50. 

 Shore Birds. Price 1 5 cents. Woodcraft. By '-Ness- 

 muk." Price $1. Trajectories of Hunting Rifles. Price 

 50 cents. Wild Fowl Shooting; see advertisement. 



SOME STORIES ABOUT BRUIN. 



IT HAS often been asserted that bears are dangerous 

 and will attack man. Though this might have been 

 the case in the early settlement of the country, when 

 bears were accustomed to the simple weapons of the 

 savage, they, as well as other wild animals, soon learned 

 to respect man when the white man came among them 

 with the musket and the deadly rifle. I cannot help 

 thinking that the habits of our wild animals have under- 

 gone a great change in regard to their relations to man 

 since the advent of the whites. They may now be con- 

 sidered cowardly, but it is prudence developing which is 

 "the better part of valor. ' To illustrate, we all know 

 what a shy bird the crow is in the East, and how in spite 

 of the proscription by the farmer, he yet manages 

 to get along well enough, and generally keep out of range 

 of the farmer's gun. He builds his nest on high trees 

 and has developed a great amount of caution during suc- 

 ceeding generations. In fact, his caution and prudence 

 seldom desert him unless when starved out in winter, 

 when he will go to any length to get a meal. Now note 

 the difference. Out here on the Pacific coast where the 

 crows are undisturbed in the Indian country their bold- 

 ness is surprising. They will even alight on the back of 

 an old Kloochnian (squaw) when digging clams and 

 watch for a chance to steal one; but you will never see 

 one alighting on the back of a white man, and in fact, 

 even now near the settlements the crows are becoming 

 shy, though they are everywhere much more tame than 

 in the East. So it has been with our wild animals, and 

 hundreds of cases might be gathered to prove the state- 

 ment. Even now, however, a bear will sometimes turn 

 at bay when wounded, or will in his fright blunder right 

 on to a man, and there are a few authentic instances 

 where men have come to grief. Hair-breadth escapes, 

 so-called, are not very rare, but they seldom come more 

 than once to the same individual. 



Now there is John F., a hunter-naturalist well known 

 in British Columbia. He is a thorough, careful observer, 

 a sure shot and as honest as the day is long. He is rather 

 modest about telling his own experience, but they are 

 many and strange. He has trapped, hunted, prospected 

 and boated all over the Northwest, knows the country 

 and the animals, birds and reptiles like a book: is a good 

 taxidermist, and all in all as fine a man as I ever met. 

 He is enthusiastic over his specimens, and it is a treat to 

 any one who loves the woodland to be present on one of 

 those rare occasions when he warms to the subject, and 

 sitting among his deer heads and wolf skins uufolds to 

 the listeners the treasures of his memory, and relates the 

 tale of stirring scenes through which he has passed from 

 his youth up. Then his eye kindles and flashes, and you 

 are transported in a moment to the mighty hills or the 

 eternal snows, to the dark and somber forest where the 

 wind sighs amid the branches, or the great crags where 

 the mountain goat climbs the beetling rocks. I have been 

 staying with F. for some time, and tbe other night two 

 of his comrades happened in. Then I came in for a feast 

 as I sat and listened to the conversation, dropping a word 

 here and there, and adding a "that reminds me," to keep 

 the ball rolling. 



F.'s friend, whom I will call Joe, with whom he often 

 hunted, always maintained that a bear would no more 

 harm a man than would a deer, and that there was no 

 danger in attacking one. In fact his contempt for a 

 bear was boundless. It happened that they were out in 

 the hills one day when Joe spied a bear some 400yds. oft' 

 on the other side of a big ravine. It was evident the 

 bear had not winded them. "Now," says Joe, "I'll crawl 

 over there, get up close and wound him severely, and 

 then show myself and see what he will do." "Agreed!" 

 says F. and sat him down to await the issue, while Joe 

 taking advantage of the cover, cautiously crawled toward 

 the bear. Arriving at point blank range, he shot at the 

 bear, but did not wound him so badly as he had intended. 

 As soon as he had fired, Joe sprang one side to get clear 

 of the smoke which hung around him. In doing this, 

 his foot tripped on a creeper, and down the hill he went 

 among briers, nettles and brambles. The bear meanwhile 

 apparently went mad and ran straight at Joe, not know- 

 ing where the shot came from. He charged down like a 

 tempest, ran directly over Joe and disappeared in the 

 thick bush before either of the men could do anything 

 to hinder. And, to make a long story short, they never 

 saw the bear again. Joe. arose and we kindly draw a 

 veil over the scene. This was a case of panic on the 

 part of the bear, but later on Joe and F. were attacked by 

 a wounded bear, arid this is how it happened. I tell the 

 story as F. told it to me, though one should hear him tell 

 it to appreciate it. 



"It was up in the inlet," said F. "Joe and I were liv- 

 ing alone together in a little house, same as you and I are 

 now. One morning I awoke up early with a sensation of 

 having heard something. You know when you are 

 camping in the woods by a running stream you become 

 accustomed to the sounds of the water and the jumping 

 fish, but let a deer break thx-ough the brush and you are 

 wide awake in an instant. Well, I lay and listened, 

 hearing nothing but the hammering of a big black wood- 

 pecker on a stump in the edge of clearing, when suddenly 

 there came a rap on the door. Then I heard Joe open the 

 door and begin to talk to some one, This lasted about a 

 minute, and just as I was getting out I heard Joe say, 'I 

 believe all the blamed fools live about this place,' and 

 slam went the door in somebody's face. I went out at 

 once. He was mad enough. He said, 'Here this fool has 

 let a bear take a hog out from under his nose and never 

 called us.' The week before a Frenchman, who lived 

 about ten rods away, had been awakened by a panther in 

 his sheep pen, and instead of calling us, knowing as he 

 did that we both had rifles, he had gone down and fired 

 five shots at him with a little revolver. When he was 

 through firing the panther had walked away in digust; 

 and now this man has been trying to frighten away a 

 bear for half an hour, when he knew we were at home. 



"However, I opened the door and called the old man 

 back. He was mad; said he came to see me and not that 

 fellow who tried to be too smart to suit him. Finally, 

 however, he told me his story. He was awakened by a 

 great racket at the hog pen and found a bear trying to 

 pet away with a hog. He shooed and threw stones at 

 the bear for half an hour, but no oue came. He then 

 undertook to get his boat off shore (where it had 'gone 

 dry') to go for help, and while at this the bear had picked 

 up the hog in his arms and gone off on his hindlegs. 

 Well, I got my gun and we followed the trail, and at 

 last got so close on the bear that he dropped his hog. We 

 found the hog dead just over beyond a big log some 5ft. 

 thick. Thinking to fool the bear I climbed up a tree and 

 sent Joe back home. After waiting an hour I heard a 

 slight crackling in the bushes to leeward, then a loud 

 snort, as the bear broke away through the thick under- 

 brush. He had got my wind, high as I was in the tree, 

 and I did not get even a sight at him. This was dis- 

 couraging. I knew he would not come back for some 

 time now, so I got down and went home to breakfast.. 

 When I got to the house and told Joe of my bad luck, he 

 said, 'Let's trap him.' After talking it over we finally 

 concluded that the best way would be to set a gun for 

 him. Well, we had the biggest duck gun you ever saw — 

 an old single-barreled affair with a barrel about Gft. long. 

 She would take a whole handful of powder and shot. 

 We got her out and loaded her with eighteen buckshot 

 and the usual charge of powder. Then we took her out 

 on the bear's trail and set her. You see we couldn't tell 

 which way the bear would come, but finally we bound 

 up the gun On the log, with the muzzle pointing so as to 

 hit the bear if he came down wind. While we were test- 

 ing the trigger line and before the gun was fixed firmly, 

 she went off. I was holding the stock, and that old 

 cannon came back into the middle of my stomach, doubl- 

 ing me up in a heap in the bushes. When I came to I 

 thought a mule had kicked me. I never saw such a time. 

 But finally we got her set and left it. 



"That afternoon we heard a distant boom in the direc- 

 tion of the trap. Joe made a dive for the door and I 

 followed, not forgetting, however, to take my Win- 

 chester along. It seems the old fellow whose hog had 

 been stolen had been telling the story around, and two 

 young fellows from the East had come down from the 

 hotel and followed us in to see the bear. When we got 

 there, all a little out of breath, I went in first with 

 the rifle, and the two city chaps right on my heels. 

 When I got to the gun on the log there was nothing in 

 sight. I cliinbed up on the log. which was more than 

 breast high, and dropped over on the other side. As my 

 head rose above the bush in climbing over I saw the bear 

 kicking on the ground among the bushes. I don't think 

 the others saw him at all. At any rate, we were no 

 sooner over than up rose the bear on his hindlegs right 

 in front of us. I think the two fellows from the East 

 were paralyzed for a second, and then they went away. 

 Our parting occurred right there. They did not even 

 stop to say good-by. It is strange how people fade out of 

 our lives. They faded. I found out afterward that they 

 went quickly back to the hotel and went East. I never 

 saw them again. Well, sir, if those fellows were para- 

 lyzed at the first sight of the bear, they soon recovered 

 the use of their legs. You ought to have heard the racket 

 they made getting over that tree. I think they must 

 have torn nearly all the bark off. Well, they got over, 

 and then fairly plowed a trail through the brush to the 

 road. The way they broke down the brush and tore up 

 the roots was a caution. 



"I supposed by the noise that Joe had gone with them, 

 and I stood up alone to face the bear. I had no time to 

 look around. The log was at my back and the bear upon 

 me. Then as I raised my rifle to my shoulder I heard 

 Joe's voice, as he stood with his back against the log look- 

 ing over my shoulder. There he was— unarmed, but cool 

 and confident in my shooting— and what do you suppose 

 that lellow said? 'Don't shoot him, Jack; let's pack the 

 son of a gun out alive.' 



This brought out a laugh from the party, and some one 

 went on with another bear story. P., after he had told 

 this much, seemed to think that was all there was lo it 

 worth telling, but after the others had gone, and we sat 

 alone by the stove, I asked him how he came out with 

 that bear, and whether they "packed him out alive." 

 "No," said he, "I shot him," as if that settled it and was 

 the most uninteresting part of the story. I have noticed , 

 by the way, that these old hunters make little account 

 of the dangers which menace them or of their own prow- 

 ess. It is the tyro, the dandy sportsman, or the man who 

 "hunts with his mouth," who lilces to brag. 



I said. "Tell me about it. '' 



"Weil," said F., "it was this way. When the bear rose 

 he made things fly. He was one of the largest bears I 

 have seen. His shoulder had been broken by the buck- 

 shot and one leg hung helpless. He was covered with 

 blood; and with his rolling bloodshot eyes, his tongue 

 hanging from his mouth and his great tusks gnashing, 

 he was a horrible sight, as he made for us with one paw 

 raised to strike. I dou't think I was frightened. I didn't 

 have time to be. And as the rifle came to my eye, and I 

 heard Joe coolly talk of taking him out alive, that settled 

 it. But I shot without sighting the rifle, he was so near. 

 I fired at his head, and the ball struck him on one side of 

 the mouth and glanced on his teeth, breaking them right 

 away. Tiiis threw him over a little to one side, but he 

 got up and came on again. Then I steadied myself and 

 planted a ball right in his heart. He gave the most awful 

 yell I ever heard and dropped dead by the poor hog he 

 had slaughtered. His skin was the finest I ever saw. I 

 kept it several years, and finally gave it to a friend who 

 was always begging for it. Joe said afterward that he 

 knew^ I would miss that first shot, as he was looking along 

 my rifle. He was the coolest fellow I ever saw, but if he 

 got in a tight pinch he would rather depend on me. This 

 is the only time I ever saw a bear attack a man." 



F. tells a good story of ah old friend of his. a trapper. 

 The old fellow has a shed m which he makes shingles in 

 the summer, splitting them out of cedar logs with an axe. 

 Most of the shingles here are made in this way. One of 

 tbe neighbors had some sheep which had run wild in the 

 woods, and as he could not get them in he asked F„ to 

 shoot th?m wdienever he came across them. One day 

 when hunting he started one of these sheep on a trail in 

 the woods, near ihe trail which led to the trapper's shingle 

 shed. The sheep being very wild ran down the trail and 

 reached the turn just as F. came out on it. Just at this 

 moment a big bear sprang out on the sheep but missed it, 



