404 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Dec. 12, 1889. 



y ou killed a number of these bears and learned to dread 

 them more than the grizzlies, but it is twenty years since 

 the last oue was seen. Elk used to be abundant and there 

 are probably a few left. 



The days when deer were shot by the hundred,' and 

 wagons loaded with the hides, are gone, and the game 

 laws are reasonably well enforced, but an even closer 

 season is desirable if this region is to maintain its repu- 

 tation. An effort to pass a stricter law to apply to these 

 northern counties will be made before the next Legisla- 

 ture. . The blackballs (Cervus columbiana) are the most 

 numerous species of deer in the Siskiyou forests, and 

 any respectable shot can pick up a few. The whitetails 

 (0. leueurus) are more difficult to find in this district. 

 The large mule deer (C. macrotis) is one of the finest 

 game animals left. Black bears are often seen. The 

 grizzly is less common, but not unattainable to the hun- 

 ter who is certain that he wants grizzly. The cougar 

 and the lynx complete the list of large game of the Mount 

 Shasta region. 



A young Pullman car conductor met on this trip, W. 

 C. Marshall, formerly of Chicago, proved to have had con- 

 siderable hunting and fishing experience in the South- 

 west. He thinks that the Gallinas River, New Mexico, 

 some fifteen miles from Las Vegas, is the finest trout 

 stream in the Territory. His last expedition to this dis- 

 trict was with J. Winslow Judson, Jr. , a railroad director 

 from St. Joseph, Missouri. "We could have caught," he 

 said, "300 mountain trout in half a day; we lived mainly 

 on trout all the time we were there." 



In 1885, Marshall and Tom Coulson, a noted hunter 

 from Wichita, Tex., started from Herold, in that State, 

 and went to the ''Forks of Pecos River," 150 miles west, on 

 the hills, where the scrub oak of that district grows in 

 great thickets, and in November they are crowded with 

 deer fattening on the acorns. In thirty days they made 

 the trip and returned to Herold with the hams and hides 

 of fifty-four deer. Coming back, they camped a day in 

 a motte, near Herold, and "filled the wagon box of the 

 second wagon" with wild turkeys. One of them carried 

 a Winchester and the other a Marlin. 



It is now Marshall's fate to go back and forth across 

 this magnificent game region, and see it in the distance 

 without being able to leave his Pullman. He crosses the 

 Shasta range and the Siskiyou range, and sooner or later 

 sees every sort of wild animal to be found in the district; 

 here a deer drinking at daybreak at a spring, there a bear 

 grubbing roots on a hillside for his breakfast. The thing 

 he seems most to regret is that the train passes for miles 

 so near the Sacramento, that if it were not for the tele- 

 graph poles he could cast a fly into a pool now and then 

 from the platform of his car as it slowed up on a difficult 

 grade. He is said to watch the river with longing and 

 loyal eyes from Redding to Upper Soda, and when the 

 salmon begin to go up the Sacramento a straight jacket may 

 become necessary. I tell him that he is being punished 

 a little for his "dried venison Texas trip," which resulted 

 in the death of three times as many deer as he should 

 have been responsible for, and he replies that the Cali- 

 fornia Siskiyous have taught him a lesson. 



Apropos of the wisdom of knowing when one lias had 

 enough, I have a story to tell. An old Shasta pioneer 

 was going up the mountain with John Muir, and they 

 came ou a band of mountain sheep. The settler raised 

 his rifle, but Muir yelled and spoiled his shot. Said the 

 old hunter to me, "Guess Muir knew I had shot one only 

 the night before, and be thought that was enough." 



Charles Howard Shtnn. 



[The black-headed and black-bodied polar bears must 

 have been creatures of mythology 



SPORTING IN THE FAR WEST. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In a recent trip to the Pacific coast not a buffalo, elk, 

 deer, mountain sheep, goat, bear, panther, nor lion (ex- 

 cept in captivity), not even a prairie hen nor quail (Ortyx 

 virginianus) was seen. We regarded this as quite singular 

 since we passed over sections once the home of all these 

 animals. Forty years ago grouse were plentiful, even 

 around Chicago, and we bagged our first prairie chicken 

 (about that time) within the present hmits of that city. 

 "We had confidently expected to see game in crossing the 

 plains or along the river bottoms, and especially in the 

 Yellowstone Park, where all animals are exceptionally 

 exempt from fear of man. The squirrels and small birds 

 seem to know they are protected by Uncle Sam, and will 

 almost come and take food out of one's hand. But the 

 large animals kept well out of sight. One of the tourists 

 claimed to have seen a deer in the Park, another a moun- 

 lain sheep near Pueblo, a third a bear in Firehole River. 

 We did see at the Lower Geyser Basin beaver working 

 and feeding on the river. They come out of their house, 

 which looked like a big pile of logs and driftwood, at 

 even tide, swim around, dive and pull up grass and roots, 

 then get upon a low stone and munch as undisturbed as 

 if the dozen pair of tourists' eyes that were fixed upon 

 them were not there. Any one who has seen musquash 

 playing, feeding, building nests, and attending to do- 

 mestic affairs around in our waters, has seen in miniature 

 the far-famed beaver in his home, for in many of their 

 ways and habits they are almost exactly alike. 



Coming out of the Yosemite Valley, near the Grub 

 Gulch silver mine, we saw a real coyote, a mean-looking 

 pirate, every inch the cunning thief he is reputed to be. 

 He fearlessly stood up on the top of a knoll, within easy 

 gunshot, and coolly exhibited himself as the stage stopped; 

 he then trotted on with nonchalance. The leer of those 

 eyes and the smart, erect ears indicated a desire to dine 

 on one of the lambs in a near pasture. 



In the same neighborhood we observed several Cali- 

 fornia quail. But their habits are not gamy. They do 

 riot lie well to a dog. but run on the ground, hop on to a 

 rook or low spreading tree and run along the branches or 

 step from one to another, acting more like barnyard 

 fowls than wild game. We should think they would 

 afford a sporstman or his dog very little satisfaction. In 

 fact, this was the report of the gunners in that section. 

 Nor do they fail to find the most inaccessible coverts , 

 among ebapparal, cactus, manzanito and the meanest 

 tangled vines, rendering pursuit of cripples almost im- 

 possible, and even finding dead quail quite difficult. 

 Hard by were two or three mountain quail (Oreortyx 

 pichm Baird), but these, too, took to then heels and were 

 instantly out of sight in the thicket. One may occasion- 

 ally see, in forest ranges, gray and red squirrels. They 

 have in the Park the queerest little striped squirrel with 



a short tail, and a little darker color than ours, and about 

 half as large as our chipmunk. In fact, the fauna and 

 flora of the Facific side of the Rockies differ from the 

 Atlantic. For instance, take the blue jay, kingfisher, 

 brant, and most of the woodpeckers. Even the crow, 

 lark and blackbird, so common everywhere, appear dif- 

 ferent. The crow seems smaller and less enterprising, 

 the lark is also smaller and has a different note, and the 

 blackbird appears like a cross between ferrugineiis and 

 quiscaluSf They have many species that we do not, and 

 ince versa. The cormorant and the pelican, so common 

 there, are almost unknown here. Gulls are numerous — 

 no pun intended — and seem to differentiate our own, and 

 terns we do not remember having seen. Nor did we see 

 a hawk that looked like a New England species. The 

 swallows, swifts, robins, bluebirds, solitary sandpipers, 

 turtle doves and a few other specimens, if not identical, 

 very much resemble our own. No ruffed grouse nor 

 woodcock in that section. Near the celebrated Ramona 

 ranch we observed a beautiful white heron, and at Bue- 

 naventura were flocks of large shore birds, probably cur- 

 lew, though the distance and motion of the cars rendered 

 it impossible to determine. Everywhere from New Mex- 

 ico to southern California one sees those filthy, lazy fel- 

 lows, turkey buzzards, lying almost motionless on out- 

 spread wings. It really seems as if they were asleep 

 and had no movement of a pinion for nearly half an 

 hour. Is he inflated with gas ? Touch him and see. One 

 experiment will satisfy you. But certainly he is a mas- 

 cot. Both these and the mockers are identical with those 

 of the Southern Atlantic States. The ground squirrel 

 resembles one of our very fat gray squirrels with a short 

 tail and white ring about his neck, and the little perky 

 prairie dog, so common everywhere in southern Cali- 

 fornia, would deceive almost any one into the belief that 

 he is a mere stub. 



One may sit the livelong day at the Cliff House, in San 

 Francisco, and be amused by the sea lions, disporting 

 themselves on the "Seal Rocks." Great monsters, they 

 are, the largest ones reported to reach a weight of at 

 least y,0001bs. It is laughable to see the huge creatures 

 wriggling their way slowly on to the rocks, 30ft. from 

 the water, looking dark brown or seal color as they 

 emerge from the water, but after basking in the sun and 

 becoming dry, assuming a sort of grayish drab. And 

 then the struggle to get back to the water is a queer ex- 

 hibition of their awkwardness, but they will leap many 

 feet from a precipice to the liquid element. They growl 

 fearfully at each other for place on the rocky islets, and 

 the sound is much like that of a big hog, though they do 

 not seem to bite. Some of them bark like a dog, remind- 

 ing one of a hound in pursuit of a fox. Mixed up with 

 the seals were immense numbers of cormorants. They are 

 lazy creatures, all they seem to do is to just skip down 

 to the water, dive, bring up a fish and return to their 

 rocky perch and devour it. The sea lions generously 

 concede the right of joint occupany, and the two diver- 

 gent families get on harmoniously together. The same 

 thing may be seen at Monterey and other places. That 

 the sea lions, cormorants, pelicans, and other predacious 

 species lead such an idle life, is abundant proof of the 

 myriads of small fish inhabiting those waters. 



But the fishes of the Pacific differ as widely from the 

 Atlantic as do the other animals. A codfish from the 

 Pacific Coast would hardly be recognized as a congener 

 of the fish at Cape Cod by the same name. And so of the 

 smelt and other species. But we hardly think the West- 

 ern waters produce as fine fish as the Eastern, They seem 

 to lack that fine flavor, that edible quality that makes 

 the fish of the Atlantic in request all over the world. 

 Baracouda and salmon when fresh and in good condition 

 are very fine, but the mountain trout and other fish do 

 not compare with ours. Most of the mountain streams 

 are fed by melting snow, and this may be less favorable 

 to fine flavor than the pure spring water flowing from 

 hillsides in New England. Nor do the trout of the far 

 West bear the same markings. 



We had some trifling experience in trout fishing during 

 our tour — at the Yosemite Valley, Chamber's Creek, Lake 

 Pend d'Oreille and on the Yellowstone River. Our first 

 attempt was in the Yosemite. The valley is some eight 

 miles long by one and a half wide, and is walled in by 

 mountains whose almost perpendicular sides reach an 

 altitude of three to four thousand feet above the valley, 

 or seven to eight thousand above tidewater. Through 

 this valley flows the Merced River, whose source is in the 

 gn.ow-capped mountains that environ it. These elevated 

 streams come rushing along and plunge down into the 

 valley. One, the Yosemite, leaps at a single bound 

 1,502ft., and the pretty little "Bridal Veil" exhibits a 

 length of 860ft. Great stories were told, for the amuse- 

 ment of tourists, about the size of trout in the Merced, 

 reaching 5 or 61bs. We had seen some small trout caught 

 in the river, and desired to try our hand at the large ones. 

 On the 29th of May, rambling about the valley, we met a 

 Digger Indian with some thirty small trout on a withe. 

 The Indian is the principal fisherman in that section, and 

 it is from him that the hotels draw their supply. Fishing 

 tackle and bait are not easily obtained. We tried to nego- 

 tiate with "Lo" for the use of his pole, a mere sapling 

 sprout, 7 or 8ft. long; but "Indian no talk much," and we 

 found it difficult for the "high contracting parties" to 

 arrive at a definite arrangement. Finally it was agreed 

 that a trial should be made. He had no' flies, but a few 

 Avorms, which he carried in a rudely constructed bag 

 made of long grass, through which the worms would 

 crawl as fast or faster than he could use them. A cheap 

 hook and line completed the outfit, and with this simple 

 gear we essayed our first mountain trout. After about a 

 half hour of patient, and at times discouraging, effort, 

 a bit of a "gnaw" was felt. A nervous jerk of the pole — 

 and see the big fellow jumping in the sand on the river's 

 bank. He was immediately released from the hook and 

 taken to the hotel by his captor, washed, weighed, and 

 an accurate sketch made. Over the portrait are these 

 "significant words, "Length. 7fin.; weight, 2£oz." The 

 trout caught at Chamber's Creek, which we should call a 

 small river, twelve miles from Tacoma, Wash., were all 

 small and were at once returned to their native element. 

 These, with the small ones taken in the Yellowstone 

 River, were identical with the one caught in the Yo- 

 semite, but the large ones were not. 



On our return home over the Rockies via Northern 

 Pacific R. R., we were detained several hours for repairs 

 to a burned trestle near the great Lake Pend d'Oreille. 

 The lake is some sixty miles long by twenty-six miles 

 wide and has the reputation of being well stocked with 



trout running up to 6 or 81bs. Our desire to capture one 

 of these large trout became much inflated, and as we had 

 ample time we secured a boatman, boat and tackle, and 

 set out with buoyant heart, thanking our stars that at 

 last fortune had so smiled upon us as to offer this rarest 

 of opportunities. We cast here and. there, along the 

 shore, in the cove, around the point, in deep water and 

 shoal water, tried different flies, small fish, grasshopper 

 and frog for lure, but not a rise. It took four hours for 

 our ardor to cool, when a signal from the train summoned 

 our return; we cheerfully responded, leaving our benison 

 for Lake Pend d'Oreille and its big blotched denizens. 



Our next and last effort in the way of trout fishing was 

 on the, Yellowstone River above the Upper Falls. Most 

 of the streams in the Park are so impregnated with 

 mineral matter as to destroy any fish that might enter 

 there, and the hotels are supplied from the Yellowstone. 

 Through the courtesy of the landlord of the "Norris" we 

 were shown into the ice house where were two large 

 boxes of the beauties from 4 to l|lbs. On arriving at the 

 Grand Canon Hotel we at once secured a rod and tackle, 

 with a son of W., of Hyde Park, as a companion, and 

 taking a peep at the Upper Falls, hurried on for a dash 

 at the big trout. Now the goal of our ambition was 

 reached. We should certainly be rewarded for all our 

 toils and disappointments. We made casts at intervals 

 along up river for about two miles, but did not get a rise. 

 Downcast and disappointed we started for the hotel. It 

 was mortifying to be obliged to return "skunked." On 

 the way down river we espied a point of rocks which had 

 escaped observation on the way up. It was getting late 

 and our youthful companion began to clamor for dinner, 

 but generously waited for us to make a last effort to 

 retrieve the day. A few casts were made, and lo ! 

 floundering on the greensward in silvery sheen, lies the 

 symmetrical 12£in. beauty. A few more casts and an- 

 other of 14+in. in length lies a fit companion to the first. 

 Another of 7£in. is landed, and our joyous steps are quick- 

 ened for our hotel and dinner. 



The next day, July 2, we accompanied the party to the 

 Grand Canon and Lower Falls, which are among the 

 marvels of this wonderland. The river, which discharges 

 a large volume of water, has cut itS'Way for miles through 

 the soft rock to the Lower Falls, or even to the Upper 

 Falls, leaving cliffs some two thousand feet high. Some 

 parts of the rock formation is much harder than others, 

 and these, having resisted the erosive current, are left in 

 various shapes, some in columns, as if hewn out by human 

 hand, several hundred feet high. On the top of one of 

 these columns a bald eagle had built her nest, just below 

 Prospect Point. Some of the tourists became anxious to 

 see more of our national bird. We screamed; she re- 

 sponded shrilly. Another yell and response, and the 

 majestic creature stood up, spread her huge wings, and 

 from her eyry floated gracefully away up and down the 

 canon, apparently determined to resist any attack or de- 

 fend her young to the last extremity. She was soon 

 joined by her consort, who flitted about as if in search of 

 some intruder, and after some twenty minutes, passing 

 up and down the canon many times, now high, now low, 

 the female, which seemed the larger of the two, hovered 

 over the nest, and finally dropped into it as gently a3 a 

 snowflake. Everything about the canon is on such a 

 grand scale that objects look small. While the alar ex- 

 tent of the bald eagle is about eight feet, this one did not 

 appear over one-third that size, but we were five hundred 

 feet above her and probably half to three-quarters of a 

 mile distant. From Inspiration Point, lower down river, 

 another nest was witnessed, that of a golden eagle. On 

 a similar column on Gardner River, as we came out from 

 the Mammoth Hot Springs, we saw still another. Nature 

 seems kindly to have reserved these pyramids for these 

 noble birds. In the afternoon we again tried for large 

 trout without success, except in a single instance. We 

 took several small ones seven or eight inches in length, 

 and of the seven captured three fell to the fly of young- 

 Whiting; and we cannot help thinking the small ones 

 are of a different species from the large ones, though the 

 natives persist in calling them all "mountain trout." 

 But the large ones have no lateral red lines, have square 

 tails, and almost entire absence of the black blotches. 

 The small ones seem to be a true rainbow, while the 

 others do not, and the little ones are constantly breaking 

 water at eventide for insects, while the large ones do not 

 seem to feed at top. Large trout are said to be abundant 

 in Yellowstone Lake, some sixteen miles <vway, but as 

 they are reported at this season of the year to be infested 

 with worms, no one cares to go for them. 



We hardly know where the line between the speckled 

 trout of the East and the blotched trout of the West is 

 drawn. We could not say those of the Pacific slope have 

 black spots and those inhabiting the waters that empty into 

 the Atlantic have red spots. The Snake River and the 

 Yellowstone both rise in the immediate vicinity, and the 

 trout of each have the same markings, and yet one 

 empties into the Pacific and the other into the Atlantic 

 via the Gulf of Mexico. In Minneapolis we saw the real 

 speckled trout (Salmo foniivalis), which were said to 

 ha ve been taken in Canada. 



Buffalo shooting was, no doubt, to the man who could 

 perpetrate such inhuman slaughter, very exciting. The 

 number of animals destroyed about fifteen years ago, in 

 many cases simply for their skins and horns, is truly 

 astonishing. "Col. R. I. Dodge" — we quote from Dafoe 

 in Pop. Sci. Monthly— "author of the 'Plains of the Great 

 West,' estimates that in the three years ending with 1874 

 no less than 5,500,000 buffaloes were slaughtered." Let 

 those, however, who mourn the loss of the rich, light, 

 warm robe when out sleigh-riding on a cold whiter day. 

 be consoled by this bit of information, that through the 

 experiments of Mr. C. L. Bedson, near Winnipeg, Mani- 

 toba, a better robe has been produced by crossing the 

 buffalo with the Galloway or polled Angus cattle, and 

 that Mr. C. J. Jones, of Garden City, is continuing the 

 work so nobly begun by Mr. Bedson. We trust others 

 may be induced to embark in an enterprise which not 

 only promises financial success, but bridges over the 

 chasm made by the loss of the buffalo. Again, let us 

 consider that the millions of domestic cattle now feeding 

 upon the old buffalo ranges, are worth to a beef-eating 

 community, immeasurably more than the displaced buf- 

 faloes. There is undoubtedly a matter of .sentiment 

 about these noble animals which prompts a desire for 

 their preservation. The Yellowstone Park is now spe- 

 cially se,t apart for this and kindred purposes. Still it is 

 found to be very difficult to keep the buffalo on the Park 

 and the poachers off: not generally Indians, but white 



