July 25, 1889.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



8 



dives deeply under water and swims some distance from 

 where it disappeared; then, rising cautiously, it exposes 

 the tip of its nose above the surface, at the same time 

 giving it a rotary motion, like that of a water-bug at 

 play. The unwary bird on the wing, seeing the object 

 near by. alights to catch it, while the sea lion at the same 

 moment settles beneath the waves, and at one bound 

 with extended jaws seizes its screaming prey and in- 

 stantly devours it. 



"A few years ago great numbers of sea lions were taken 

 along the coast of Upper and Lower California, and 

 thousands of barrels of od obtained. The number of seals 

 slain exclusively for their oil would appear fabulous, 

 when we realize the fact that it requires on an average, 

 throughout the season, the blubber of three or four sea 

 lions to produce a barrel of oil. Their thick, coarse- 

 grained skins were not considered worth preparing; for 

 market in a country vvhere manual labor was so highly 

 valued. A.t the present time, however, they are valued 

 for glue stock, and the seal hunters now realize more 

 comparative profit from the hides than from the oil." But 

 while the civilized sealers, plying their vocation along 

 the seaboard of Calif ornia. and Mexico, destroy the Lobo 

 marino for the product of its oil, skin, testes and whis- 

 kers, the simple Aleutians of the Alaska region derive 

 .from these animals many of their indispensable articles 

 of domestic use." 



Many other highly interesting accounts of these pon- 

 derous carnivores of the sea, with intensely engaging 

 histories of their million hosts as they gather upon the 

 naked islands of the North Pacific, have "been published, 

 but my space will admit of nothing further here, and in 

 my next contribution I will pass to the consideration of 

 Steller's sea lion and the northern fur seal. 



R. W. SUUFELDT. 



Frogs as Fish Eateks.— The question of the fish-eat- 

 ing habits of frogs being agitated in your columns, I add 

 a note. Some years ago I set up a fresh- water aquarium, 

 i and after duly stocking it with water plants, I put in 

 some small fishes — minnows, shiners and sunfish — also a 

 few tadpoles, all of which lived together in harmony for 

 a while: but as the tadpoles grew larger, I removed all 

 but one, which in due time parted with tail and gill and 

 took upon him the form of a frog — a transformation in- 

 teresting to observe and a true evolution, to be seen of all, 

 requiring no fine-spun hypothesis or bold assumption to 

 prove it. After this I began to miss my fishes, one by one, 

 and charged the theft to the house cat. One day, how- 

 ever, I caught the solemn-looking batraehian in the act of 

 swallowing a shiner, and concluded that the others had 

 gone the same road. So, as an act of retributive justice, 

 I employed the frog as a bait for black bass.— S. C. C. 



Woodcock and Telegraph Wire.— Towanda, Pa., 

 July 1. — A woodcock was found last week in this place 

 that had come in contact with the telegraph wire. It 

 .was picked up and care taken to nurse it, but it died 

 twenty-four horns after being discovered. It was a young 

 bird,— W. F. D. 6 



nime 



Ug mid 



CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 



MINEOLA CLUB, Fox Lake, 111., July 13.— To-night 

 the new Mineola club house was formally opened 

 There were twenty -three vehicles waiting for the Wiscon- 

 sin Central early* train at Lake Villa, and each of these 

 took away an average of a dozen passengers. The ride 

 across country, six miles, was pleasant and hilarious, and 

 it was still early evening when the carriages halted in 

 front of the grand and now nearly completed structure, 

 which represents the highest point of architectural elab- 

 orateness yet reached by any Chicago sportsmen's club. 

 I do not believe there is in the whole country so large 

 and perfect a building devoted to a similar purpose. De- 

 tailed mention of this club was made early in the serips 

 of Chicago club articles that appeared in Forest and 

 Stream last winter. The building was not then com- 

 pleted, and indeed there is a little painting and the like 

 to be done yet; but the gas and water supplies were 

 lately put in, the interior fully finished and furnished, 

 the kitchens lavishly stocked, and all appointments made 

 perfect for this, the opening nigdit. 



As the carriages drew up on %he beach in front of the 

 grand entrance, a band* on the upper gallery struck up a 

 lively air in welcome to the arriving guests. This was 

 repeated when Capt. Hill's lake steamer discharged its 

 many-colored cargo at the landing, and when the little 

 yacht Ida Belle came in and gracefully folded her wings. 

 The corridors and balconies began to fill up rapidly with 

 a gay assemblage, in which shooting, fishing and tennis 

 costumes mingled with the sober business garb of those 

 who had not yet had time to get into their club clothes, 

 and with the bright summer attire of the ladies. 



The beautiful Mineola dining hall was soon the scene 

 of as picturesque a spectacle as one would be apt to see 

 outside of a f;mcy ball supper, and the generalship of 

 Mr. C, H. Clark, who has divided his energies and left 

 his Lakeside hotel to assume managership of the Mineola 

 club house, sent everybody away smiling as only he can 

 smile who has dined well and happily. 



After supper the music continued" welcoming the big 

 moon, which now swam stately up and cast a path of 

 silver right down at the foot of Mineola stairs. O ver t his 

 silver path stole boat after boat, bringing in guests from 

 Howard's, the Lakeside, Fox Lake Club hou^e, Lippin- 

 cott's and Ingleside. Mineola was going to do herself 

 credit to night. 



There was a bank of grass about fifty feet from shore, 

 right in front of the club house, and it looked fishy, so as 

 it grew dark I jointed a fly-rod and stole down to try a 

 coachman. I managed to catch a sunfish and a croppy, 

 and had the novel experience of fishing to the music of a 

 full band — the most unique I ever knew, except when I 

 fished for goldfish in an insane asylum. That was at 

 Lexington, Ky. The goldfish were fifteen inches long, 

 and lived in a pond which was surrounded by a high rail- 

 ing to keep the lunatics out. They locked me inside of 

 this, with many unkind remarks about my needing lock- 

 ing up inside the main building; tnen they went away 

 and left me, and for about an hour I was entirely happy; 



about as happy as I was to-night fly-fishing to music in 

 front of Mineola. For those who never fished in that 

 way, I may say that music is a great stimulus in fly- 

 casting, and seems to go very naturally with it. 



When the first boatload of guests arrived the music 

 changed from brass to strings, and soon everybody 

 "chased the glowiug hours with flying feet." The is good 

 dancing all over more than fifty yards of Mineola Cxub 

 house. It is very openly and roomily built, and the wide 

 galleries are an additional blessing. In galleries, panors 

 and corridors the gay and gala ball kept up until the 

 moon's silver path slanted the other way, and one by one 

 the white-winged boats went down it for the other shores, 

 and Mineola, somewhat justly flushed with her first suc- 

 cess, folded her hands early in the morning of the follow- 

 ing day and sighed because she was happy . 



There were present on Mineola opening night the fol- 

 lowing ladies and gentlemen: W. G. Webster, H, P. Wad- 

 hams, F.J. Magin and family, C. E. Deane, C. E. Clifton, 

 H. Chapin, J. Watson, J. J. SUberhorn, T. Edwards, S. 

 Wolf, Mrs. L. A. Daviess, W. L. B. Jenney, Eobt. G. 

 Dwen, J. G. Beazley, Miss Adelaide Leckie, Miss Katha- 

 rine Leckie, B. G. Fisher and wife, A. Bournique, Miss Mae 

 Bournique,W. C. Hough and wife, Fred. L. Champlm.Geo. 

 K. Cole, Walter Cole, Mrs. C. E. Cole,Miss Cole, J. G. Dwen, 

 J. F. Lutz, Miss Emerson, F. C. Sparling, J. O. Pierson, 

 Geo. Warrington, Mrs. R. M. Fair and family, Mrs. A. 

 De Graf, Miss Mae Faegersten, Mrs. Robt. Lindblon and 

 family, J. C. McCorcl, J. T. McCord, A. R. Carman, L. M. 

 Hamberger. From the Howard House: M. C. Lange, E. 

 H. Manfield and wife, J. W. Hope, Saml. Kroth and 

 wile, Geo. W. Rice, F. E. Hines, D. J. Hull and wife, ! ! . 

 D. Hull, Isaac Tower and wife, Dr. Bohr, Mrs. J. V. 

 Forve, Miss Florence Forve, J. B. Bernhardt, L. A. 

 Zells, J. H. Healy, J. Kelly, Chas. Harbaugh, Mr. 

 Porter and wife, Mrs. J. L. Jennings and" Henry 

 Smith, of New York. From the Lakeside: L. L. Barth 

 and wife, A. W. Adams, Dr. A. G. Goodman, Mrs. 

 Follett, E. N. Hill and wife, Charles H. Symonds, J. 

 H. McBride and wife, Mrs. P. L. Elder. J. R. Payson 

 and wife> E. C. Towske and wife, Norman Fraser and 

 wife, Fred Ludlow, Mrs. 0, Ludlow, Mrs. Pierce, Miss 

 Morse, W. Veitch, L. Krellow and wife, H. H. McLane, 

 Wm. A. Hirsh, David L. Frank, Mrs. J. Blocki, Miss 

 Jeannette Blocki, Miss Pauline Krauss, Arthur Stein, R. 

 H. Baum. J. Magnus, G. A. Maclean and wife, Miss Edna 

 Towske, Chas. R. Murray, C. S. Roberts, Robt. H. Aiken, 

 Miss Flora Lane, Miss Sisson, R. O. Millar, G. A. Soden, 

 Miss Katie Duffy, W. B. Hains and wife, Miss Emma 

 Vehon, Miss Rose Goldstein, Miss Fanny Lehman, W. G. 

 Twelty, W. H. Lane, T. D. O'Brien, W. M. White, H. F. 

 Schmid, Mrs. J. Steele, J. L. Gould, A. F. Sherman, W. 

 F. Hall, L. M. Hamburger, G. R. Erb, Jas. McNally, 

 Jerome Merrill, E. P. Donnell, J. L. Jennings, H. L. 

 Ward, M. Elkin. From Fox Lake Club: J. Ford Hall 

 and wife, Chas. H. Foster, Miss Gertrude Foster, Sirs. 

 Samuel T. Smith and daughter, of Kansas City, Geo. T. 

 Cook and Miss Susie Cook, C. A. Hyde, Victor D. Gowni. 

 From Lippincott's: Hon. Andrew Shuman, Ed. Parsons 

 and wife, J. Gillespie and wife, Misses Katie and Mabel 

 Gillespie, Ed. C. Gillespie, John Cowles and wife, Miss 

 Minnie Happelle, Miss Jennie Hartwick, Miss Metta De- 

 Pay, A. L. Coe and wife, A. Fletcher Smith, Hamilton 

 Browne, Wm. Maypole and wife, Miss Florence Lend- 

 arker, Col. O. Lippincott and wife. 



July U— To-day nature is repentant and weeping after 

 her dissipation. Heavy rain and high wind have pre- 

 vailed during the greater part of the day. Fox Lake is 

 higher than it has been all season, and is washing over 

 all the landings. The water is very rough, and the lake 

 has not had a boat out for the greater part of the day. 

 I took a duck boat and rowed over to Lippincott's this 

 afternoon. The craft shipped a tubful of water, and I 

 was heartily glad to get inshore. At 3 P. M. Ida Belle 

 weighed anchor, and made a pretty course to the head of 

 the lake, with all her crew on the windward rail and all 

 sails double-reefed. Frolic did not go out. A little steamer 

 showed her nose from over Ingleside way, but soon put 

 back. It has grown calmer toward evening, and the sun 

 shines fitfully. 



To-day Mr. J. G. Dwen took me to the hill at whose foot 

 Mineola Club lies, and showed me what is known to be 

 the finest of the many Indian or mound-builders' mounds 

 discovered on the bluffs about Fox Lake. A number of 

 these mounds have been opened, always with most inter- 

 esting results; but this particular mound, which lies on 

 the highest point of the bluff, on the west side of the 

 lake, has never been opened, although Mr. Dwen said he 

 once had trouble to keep a certain party from digging 

 down into it. The mound is perhaps 100ft. from base to 

 base across, and is more sharply conical than 



further fancy to say that this was Mineola. Now, then, 

 may Mineola live long in this his modern tepee, and may 

 he scare lagging hunters early to bed, and may he give 

 them manly dreams and make them tireless in the chase 

 as well as wise in council, E. Hough. 



THE OZARK MOUNTAINS. 



I WAS brought up near the "divide" of this range in 

 Missouri. The little stream in which I paddled, 

 barefoot, and fished for chub, perch, catfish and an oc- 

 casional bass, and along whose banks I circumvented the 

 gray squirrel, fell away to the north, but a day's drive 

 would take one to waters that found their way to White 

 River and the South. It is quite natural, therefore, that 

 I should feel an interest in those blessed old "blackjack" 

 covered flint hills — it is a burlesque to call them moun- 

 tains. 



Your correspondent in the issue of July 1 knows what 

 he is talking about. I have some little fear that the 

 natives told him some unreliable "bar" stories. I never 

 understooi that bears were abundant in any section there 

 except in the swamps of the Mississippi. Otherwise the 

 information he got was reliable. The native's idea on 

 the subject of quail shooting is none the less amusing to 

 me now because it was the current one where I was 

 raised. One reason of it was that the general sentiment 

 was in favor of the rifle as opposed to the shotgun, jven 

 for turkeys, because the latter "made so much noise" and 

 "took so much ammunition." Economy of ammunition, 

 by the way, was a cardinal principle, inherited from the 

 pioneer days, when powder and lead were hard to get. 

 Another practice arising naturally from the use of the 

 rifle and the desire to economize ammunition was that of 

 holding your fire until you had" a sure thing. Nobody 

 shot on the wing, and many a running or snap shot was 

 neglected that would fill the soul of the modern shooter 

 with delight. I often think now of the majestic turkey 

 gobblers I have seen rise and sail away, thrashing the 

 brush and looking as big as a dodo, without even the 

 smallest thought of shooting after they left the ground. 

 Oh for such a chance now! 1 remember that once when a 

 huge fellow flew almost into my face I banged at him, so 

 to speak, in self-defense, nut without touching a feather. 

 That discouraged me. A result, however, of this care- 

 ful shooting was an astonishingly large proportion of kills 

 to the number of shot*. When a squirrel rifle cracked 

 you might take it for granted, about nine times out of 

 ten, that there was a dead squirrel, with a bullet in his 

 head at that, for they rarely shot in the body. 



The ordinary way of hunting deer was by driving, a 

 process fatndiar to your readers. So little is written 

 about turkey shooting, however, that I venture to say a 

 few more words about that royal sport. Our custom as 

 boys was to hunt them in two ways. One was to hide 

 and call the gobblers in the spring when they were mat- 

 ing. This most exciting and difficult game was finally 

 stopped by the Legislature, who decided, and justly, per- 

 haps, that it was bad for the preservation of turkeys to 

 shoot them at that season. The other way was to hunt 

 at night in the fall and winter, starting the flocks from 

 their roosting places and getting usually a shot or two. 

 Going back next morning we would hide in the Bushes 

 before daylight. Just at dawn the scattered flock would 

 begin to assemble, calling softly to one another. If they 

 were young and inexperienced it was easy work. But 

 as the season advanced they became exceedingly wary, 

 and he who got a shot had to be skilled in the business. 

 I have hunted many different kinds of game, but the 

 turkey (Meleagris gallojjavo, for the Mexican variety is 

 different and more striped) is of them all the most diffi- 

 cult to outwit. To approach him in the day time, when 

 he is on his native heath and alert, is next to impossible. 

 I know of only two ways in which it can be done. One 

 is to confuse him by means of a little barking, fussy dog, 

 a spaniel, for instance, at which he will fly up into a tree 

 and sometimes give you a shot, and the other is to wrap 

 yourself in a sheet when the woods are covered with 

 snow and he doesn't want to fly anyhow, and thus 

 approach him. Your "Old Man" from Virginia says he 

 will sometimes lie to a dog. which is probable, though 

 having never hunted him with a trained dog, I do not 

 know. One thing ought to be added, and that is, that 

 the meat of a young turkey from September to midwin- 

 ter is just about as near perfection as one could ask. A 

 very good account of the spring methods of shooting 

 gobblers may be found in Mayer's "Sport with Gun and 

 Rod." 



I have wondered with your correspondent why there 

 are no grouse in those hills. There certainly are not. 



mounds usually are. It is nearly free YromVe^s"andlts ] T here , V? a traditi011 of "pheasants" in myboyliood 

 shape is so perfect as to suggest it a recent mound. Mr. **?&]^tzll£™JS:Z ' 1 think the 7 wer „ e ^ 0B ^ l 7 

 Dwen will soon open this mound, and wished the assist- ' 

 ance of Dr. Velie, of the Academy of Sciences, or some 

 other competent authority. It would take a day or so to 

 run a channel through from the foot of this mound as it 

 properly should be done. It is highly probable that 

 something of interest will be found when this mound is 

 opened, and if so, I shall be glad to report it, as I shall 

 probably be there. 



There is a quaint and ghastly ornament on the mantel 

 in one of the Mineola smoking-rooms, in the shape of a 

 skull and crossbones, elegantly mounted on a dark vel- 



vet panel inclosed in a heavy oak frame. Beneath is the 

 inscription, "Mineola, Chief of the Pottawatomies. Pre- 

 sented by J. G. Dwen." This skull was found in a mound 

 struck in excavating the sidehill for Mineola club house 

 foundations. Mr. Dwen had it carefully cleaned and 

 mounted as above described, and presented it to the club. 

 The lower jaw of this skull was never found, but the 

 skull itself seems perfect, and the upper teeth are mag- 

 nificent. The color of the skull is dark yellow and un- 

 bleached. These exhumed Indian skulls are always of 

 this color, and cannot be bleached. This sad reminder of 

 some savage hunter who once doubtless parted the wild 

 rice of these lakes as deftly, or looked out over the wide 

 and pleasant waters as gladly on some bygone morning 

 as do the modern hunters who by sharp contrast are 

 gathered here to-day, bore no amulet or charm and car- 

 ried no tablet by which he might be known. It is only 

 fancy that calls him Mineola. Yet Mineola ranged these 

 bluffs, and skimmed these waters early in this century, 

 from 1830 to 1885, and his people, the Pottawatomies^ 

 were the only tribe which inhabited this lake region 

 then. Since then it was Mineola Club, named for him, 

 that brought these yellow bones to light, it seems no wild 



further north. From what I can remember of the de- 

 scription they were probably ruffed grouse. Bob White 

 is there in all his glory, and is usually called partridge. 



Aztec. 



Mexico, July 13. 



A Big-Gtin.— James Waters, the recluse of Horse 

 Island, near the mouth of the Detroit River, died a few 

 days ago. He had lived the life of a Crusoe on the island 

 for forty years, and little is known of hini except that he 

 came from England. His only companions at the time 

 of his death were two dogs and forty cats. Among his 

 personal effects was a wonderful fowling piece that was 

 proved by a manufacturer's mark to have been made in 

 England 200 years ago. It is called a pontoon gun, and 

 was used by the hermit in the wholesale slaughter of 

 waterfowl. The length of the gun is lift., its diameter 

 at the muzzle 7iin. and at the breech 5*in. It has a flint 

 lock, and lib. of powder and 81bs. oi shot constitute a 

 charge. During the gunning season the recluse kept the 

 gun mounted on a small flat-bottomed boat, which was 

 covered with lake grass and boughs of trees. When a 

 flock of geese or ducks settled near the island Mr. Waters 

 would slowly propel his craft toward the unsuspecting 

 fowls until they were within range of his gun. When he 

 had everything in readiness to discharge the gun he 

 would reverse the motion of the boat to break the force 

 of the recoil, which was something terrific. It is said 

 that he was often rendered unconscious for several min- 

 utes by the concussion. The same authority asserts that 

 it was not an uncommon thing for him to bag fifty or 

 sixty fowls with a single volley of his murderous weapon. 

 The gun was sent to a son of the deceased living at Naples, 

 111.— Detroit Tribune, July 15, & r > 



