28 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[JtrLT 81, 1890 



bushes and lichens. As the spring advances they follow 

 the snow up the mountain sides until the summits are 

 reached, or, if the snow be perpetual, to the very edge of 

 it, where the herbage is kept green by the constant moist- 

 ure. 



"The young are brought forth about the month of June, 

 possibly late in May. Though awkward looking, they in 

 a short time become so agile as to scale places whither 

 their poor dams scarce dare follow." 



On the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains these ani- 

 mals in early autumn, and probably at other seasons, 

 often descend during the night to* the valleys of the 

 streams which flow among the rocky fastnesses which 

 they commonly inhabit, and it is not unusual in the early 

 morning to see them on their return journey begin their 

 ascent of the mountains, often only a few hundred yards 

 above the stream bottom. We have frequently observed 

 this, and their presence in the valley during the night 

 has been made certain by fresh tracks and droppings. In 

 fact, we believe that in this part of the Rocky Mountains, 

 if any one will take the trouble to watch these animals 

 day after day, he will observe among them a tendency to 

 descend the slopes in the afternoon and to reascend 

 them in the morning. We say a tendency, for we do not 

 intend to imply that the habit is universal. We are in- 

 clined to believe that this results from their seeking the 

 highest, coldest peaks of the mountains during the hot- 

 test portion of the day. It is certain that heat causes 

 them great suffering. 



Although these animals are at times great wanderers, 

 and make long journeys without any apparent purpose, 

 yet, as a rule, so far as our observation goes, they are 

 disinclined to move much. Often a little group may be 

 seen for twenty-four hours in nearly the same spot, 

 scarcely changing their position a hundred yards. We 

 recall one occasion when we studied a pair of goats for 

 two days on the same ledge of rocks, near a little moun- 

 tain rivulet where the grass was fresh and green, and on 

 the third morning, after watching them until they had 

 lain down after feeding, we clambered to their resting- 

 place and killed one of them. Other hunters have had 

 similar experiences, and it is often the case that these 

 animals will for days remain almost in one place. 



On the other hand, they sometimes wander long dis- 

 tances, and make journeys of considerable length, ap- 

 pearing in situations not at all suited to their habits. In 

 the remarks on the range of this species we have spoken 

 of the killing by Heavy Runner, a Piegan Indian, of one 

 of these animals on the Medicine Rock hill on the Marias 

 River, and of another capture made near the crossing of 

 Two Medicine Lodge Creek, at the place where they 

 "jumped the buffalo." The first named of these points 

 is about seventy miles from the main range of the Rocky 

 Mountains and thirty from the Sweet Grass Hills, and 

 the second about thirty miles from the range. Among 

 the high mountains nearest to these points the white 

 antelope is fairly abundant on the highest peaks, and it 

 is wholly probable that these animals came from there, 

 as it is not known that they have ever been taken in the 

 Sweet Grass Hills. Mr. Willis, in the letter already re- 

 ferred to in the chapter on the range of this animal, 

 speaks of its tendency to wander. He says: "They 

 seem to be great animals to travel. I have seen several 

 bands since I have been in this country [Montana] which 

 were traveling where they must have come a long ways, 

 as there were no suitable places [for them to live] near 

 where I saw them. They are great to go to licks, like 

 deer. They go miles to get to a good lick, stay a couple 

 of days, and then go back in the mountains again.'' The 

 individuals reported as having been killed in the Bull 

 Mountains in Montana must have traveled, if they were 

 really taken there, a long distance over the prairie to 

 reach that ridge. As has been stated, however, the evi- 

 dence on which this possible record is based is not quite 

 satisfactory. 



The notion which is quite generally entertained that 

 the white antelope is found only above timber line is, as 

 will have been gathered from the statements already 

 made, quite erroneous. Where these animals are abund- 

 ant they are frequently seen among the timber, and 

 flocks of wool and hair, torn from then skins, are often 

 seen caught on the dead pines up among the mountains. 



In respect to its movements, the white antelope pre- 

 sents, as has been said, a curious mixture of character. 

 It seems to be erratic in many ways, a creature of im- 

 pulse. At one time it is sluggish, scarcely moving a 

 mile a day; at another it starts off with energy to make 

 long journeys. Sometimes when it has finished feeding 

 in the morning it lies down and remains quiet until a 

 little before sunset; at others it is restless, lying down and 

 in half an hour getting up again, eating a few bites, 

 walking a short distance and again lying down, only to 

 get up again in a few moments to feed again, and again 

 to lie down. 



This characteristic has been observed also by Mr. J. W. 

 Schultz and Mr. Kipp in the St, Mary's Lake country. 

 Speaking of a band of these animals which he watched for 

 some time, the former gentleman says: "They seem to be 

 very restless animals. They would feed a few minutes, 

 paw a bed in the shade, lie down, get up again in a few 

 minutes and go to feeding." 



The rule that these animals are at rest for the greater- 

 part of the day finds many exceptions, as suggested by 

 what has been said above. Although they may often be 

 seen perfectly motionless for six or eight hours, it some- 

 times happens that after composing themselves to rest 

 and lying for an hour or two, they either act as stated 

 above by Mr. Schultz, or will suddenly get up and almost 

 without pause start off on their slow walk, continuing 

 without a halt or even a pause until they have passed out 

 of sight. I have seen a band of six which were lying 

 down, apparently asleep, act in this way. An old female 

 was the first to stand up, but the others rose at once, and 

 when she turned, followed by her kid, and walked off 

 along the rough mountain side, the others followed in 

 single file, the rear being brought up by a male who 

 seemed loth to move, often stopping to take a bite of 

 grass and then trotting to catch up again. They gave no 

 evidence of having been disturbed, did not hurry at all, 

 but just marched steadily on until the inequalities of the 

 mountain side hid them from view. They were probably 

 in sight while they were going a mile or two. 



It may be said that, as a rule, these animals are quiet 

 during the middle of the day. We believe that they feed 

 and move about a good deal during the night, and they 

 are usually to be seen feeding in the early rnoming for a 

 couple of hours, and again just before night. During 



the rest of the day they are most often to be found lying 

 down in some shaded spot, usually a narrow shelf on 

 the face of the precipice or the cleft of a rock where they 

 are well protected from the rays of the sun. Often when 

 hunting in the Rocky Mountains in November in bitter 

 cold weather, when the ice would collect rapidly on the 

 face and beard, and only heavy clothing and the constant 

 and violent exercise of climbing the mountains protected 

 us from severe suffering from the cold, we have been 

 astonished to see the white antelope seek out the coldest 

 spots that it could find and lie down in the shade, per- 

 haps close to, or even on, the ice formed by some trick- 

 ling rill whose waters issuing from a crevice in the rock 

 were congealed as soon as they reached the outer air. At 

 a time when other animals try to find the warmest places 

 they can, these seek the coldest. 



POISON OAK OR POISON IVY, 



Editor Forest and Stream; 



Every year just before spring puts on her greenery and 

 the trout begins to leap in the pool for winged dainties, 

 and the man announces that he is going fishing, and 

 packs rod and creel, and starts for the hills and the 

 brooks, FOREST and Stream should publish all known 

 cures for the distressing poisoning of the family to which 

 the poison tree, bushes or vine Jbeioug. One is likely to 

 meet with these plants nearly everywhere in this great 

 big country of ours, for they nearly all belong to the 

 genus Rhus, the sumac family. 



This is a genus of many species, with a habitat world 

 wide, and, as is not generally known, nearly every species 

 will poison some persons cruelly; and if they do not soon 

 get relief they will suffer terribly. Other people may 

 handle nearly every species with impunity, and then 

 strike one, harmless to most persons, but capable of giv- 

 ing them a dose long to be remembered. Some persons 

 are poisoned by all except the white, or stag horn, sumac. 

 This is the only species of the genus that I have not 

 known to be poisonous. 



Of the genus in North America the swamp sumac, Rhus 

 venenata, the climbing sumac, R. toxicodendron, and 

 its variety or so called species, dwarf sumac, R. pumela, 

 and its variety on this California coast, R. toxicodendron 

 var. calif ornica, are the most to be dreaded. These last 

 three are vulgarly called "poison oak " or "poison ivy." 

 and the first is known in the Eastern States as "mercury!" 



As severe and sudden case of poisoning as I ever saw 

 was caused by the pretty little shrub, Rhus aromatica. 



While living in the East up to the age of thirty years 

 our ■ -poison oak" there was a fearful terror to me, and 

 caused me a great amount of suffering. Then on until I 

 was fifty it was innoxious. The variety on this coast is 

 exceedingly plentiful on nearly ail uplands, and is very 

 closely allied to ours, but is injurious to very many more 

 persons. The first time I went among it, it poisoned me 

 from head to foot, and so it did a friend who was with 

 me; also a newcomer here, who could handle without 

 harm both, it and venenata East, It laid him upon his 

 back in great suffering for a week. Pioneers here say 

 that after a time the system becomes inured to it. and it 

 does not injure them. But it does just rap it to the thin- 

 skinned city dudes. 



The poison Rhus East causes intense itching of the skin, 

 followed by watery pimples, which eventually run to- 

 gether, forming wide inflamed sores. Here, so far as I 

 have observed, it causes intense biting itching, with red 

 and swollen surface. Both forms run their course in 

 about a week. 



Now for the cures. Many simple things will relieve 

 and cure all forms of this poisoning, such as sugar of 

 lead, sulphate of zinc, saltpeter, and muriate of zinc in 

 solution with water. I do not know but I have discovered 

 the best, handiest and cleanliest of these, to wit a satu- 

 rated solution of saltpeter. 1 asked an old himter what 

 he used to cure poison oak with. He answered, -"I wet 

 some gunpowder and rub it on, and it kills it on me every 

 time, if I put it on as soon as I feel it." Thinking that 

 the only thing in the gunpowder that would do any good 

 was the saltpeter, the next time I got a touch, ail over 

 my face, I tried it, and sure enough I felt the pain no 

 more, when, in a few hours, if I had not got relief, my 

 eyes would have been swollen shut. Now I keep a strong 

 solution of saltpeter handy in my office all the time. 

 Saltpeter is, of course, the nitrate of potash of the drug- 

 store. Nitrate of soda would probably be just as good or 

 better, and borax, or borate of soda, should have the same 

 effect. But the best thing of all is a certain simple pre- 

 ventive; this we have, I think, in the carbonate of soda, 

 or common baking soda. By washing the person in a 

 solution of this before entering the "bresh," or directly 

 on returning, no injury will result from an exposure bv 

 the most sensitive. At least an old physician of fifty 

 years* practice whtre these plants were common so in- 

 formed me. 



I have known men who through their whole life dared 

 not go into the woods in summer for fear of this plant, 

 and others who were driven from comfortable homes by 

 it. Therefore I have undertaken the labor of this writing-, 

 for, as before said, any one may get cruelly poisoned by 

 it when away off in the woods, far from medicaments, 

 and if he knows all the simple remedies, he may save 

 himself great suffering; for this reason every remedy and 

 palliative should be yearly published. 



The poison oak of this coast region is a very neat, 

 pretty shrub, most abundant nearly everywhere. Its 

 flowers are very rich in choice nectar for the honey bee; 

 the honey from it is fine and wholesome, yet it poisons 

 me and many others when riding along the road near the 

 bushes. Byrne. 

 Petaeuma, CaL 



Massachusetts Wild Turkeys. —Seeing something 

 in Forest and Stream in regard to wild turkeys being 

 formerly known as far east as Mt. Tom, on the Connecti- 

 cut, I would say that the country hereabouts, sixty miles 

 further east, was formerly known as Turkey Hills be- 

 cause of the number of wild turkeys to be found. Though 

 this part of the country is less subject to the incursions 

 of "varmints" than that to the west of the Connecticut, 

 there still remain a few coons, partridges and trout. — *. 



A Modern Piper of Hamelin.— Northwood, N. Y.— I 

 have caught several mice by "charming" them with a 

 music box that played "Peek-a-boo" when you turn the 

 crank. The mice would run up and around and over the 

 person who was playing, so it was an easy matter to grab 

 them. The mice always run up and down the wall when 

 the piano is played.— Ray Spears. 



fame mi 



"FOREST AND STREAM" GUN TESTS. 



THE following guns have been tested at the Forest and 

 t STREAM Range, and reported upon in the issues named. 

 Copies of any date will be sent on receipt of price, ten cents; 

 Clabrough 12. May 1, '90. Parker 10, hammer, June 6, '89, 

 Com 12, July 25, '89. Parker 13, hani'rless, June 6,'89. 



Com- 10 and 12, Oct. 24, '89. Remington 16, May 30. '89. 

 Folsom 10 and 12, Sept, 26, 'SO, Remington 12, Deo*5,'89,Feb 6 '90 

 1'RAncotte 12, Dec. 12, '89. Remington 10, Dec. 26, '89 

 Oreener 12, Aug. 1, '89. Scott 10, Sept. 5, '89. 



Ueeenek 10. Sept. 12-19, '89. L. C. Smith 12, Oct. 10, '89. 

 Holms 10, Noy. 7, '89. Whitney Safety 12. M'ch 6 '90 



Lekever 12, March 13, '90. Winchester 10 & 12, Oct. 3, '89. 



CHINESE PHEASANTS IN AMERICA. 



IT is well known to the general public that one or more 

 species of Asiatic pheasants have been introduced on 

 the Pacific coast and have done well there. The so-called 

 Euglish pheasant has also been introduced in at least two 

 localities on the Atlantic, and, when protected has 

 flourished. Of the colonies of introduced pheasants on 

 the Pacific there are four. The northernmost of these is 

 at Victoria, Vancouver Island, where in 1882, we believe, 

 nineteen of these birds were turned out. These were pro- 

 tected by law for five years, but at the end of three the 

 birds had so increased that many of them were killed by 

 poachers, as well as by market gardeners who claimed 

 that their crops were destroyed by the pheasants. When 

 the five year law was up the birds were vigorously pur- 

 sued, and it was estimated that during the first shooting 

 season not less than 1,000 of them were killed near Vic- 

 toria alone. These birds appear to be ail the ring 

 pheasant (P. torquatus). 



At about the same time with this importation were the 

 plantings in Washington and Oregon which have been 

 from time to time noted in Forest and Stream. 

 American sportsmen owe the introduction of these birds 

 to Judge O. N. Denny, sometime U. S. Consul General at 

 Shanghai. The species imported by Judge Denny were 

 the golden pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus), green pheasant 

 (Phasianus versicolor), ring pheasant (P. torquatus), and 

 perhaps other species as tragopan pheasant {Ceriornis 

 sp.), silver pheasant {Muplocamus), and copper pheasant 

 P. soemmeringii. Of these the ring pheasants proved 

 themselves by far the most hardy and best adapted to the 

 climate of the Northwest, but the golden pheasants have 

 done well on Protection Island in Puget Sound and are 

 now abundant and tame. The birds sent to this country 

 by Judge Denny were consigned to Mr. A. H. Morgan of 

 Portland, Oregon, who liberated them. 



There are at present on Protection Island in Puget 

 Sound three species of pheasant, the ringneck, golden 

 and silver. Of these, the last named are much the least 

 numerous, and do not seem to be increasing, but the ring- 

 pheasants have multiplied and are abundant and wild. 

 It is said by Dr. Merriani,who has personally investigated 

 the subject, that the. crows have learned the nesting 

 habits of the pheasants, and are likely to act as a check 

 on the birds, as they devour the eggs. 



In 1881 or 1882 a number of ring pheasants— about 

 fifteen in all— were liberated near the mouth of the Wil- 

 liamette River about twelve miles from Portland. They 

 bred the first summer and increased until they are now 

 common. In 1882 between thirty and forty ring phea- 

 sants were received at Portland and were set free near 

 Washington Butte, about twelve miles east of Albany in 

 the Williamette Valley. They have done well and are 

 now abundant in Polk, Linn and Marion counties in 

 Oregon. 



It is said that golden pheasants turned out on the Clat- 

 sop Plains near Astoria, Oregon, have increased rapidly. 

 They are hardy, but do not appear to be as prolific as the 

 ring pheasants. The opinion is expressed by persons who 

 have observed these birds that they will eventually over- 

 run the United States, at least all but the heavily tim- 

 bered portions. In Oregon among the farmers there is 

 quite a strong feeling against the pheasants on the ground 

 that they destroy the young crops. 



So far as experimented with in California, the Asiatic 

 pheasants do not appear to have done well. A flock of 

 "English pheasants" turned out in Santa Cruz county are 

 said to have disappeared. Recently Mr. W. O. Blaisdell, 

 of Lacomb, Illinois, brought from the Pacific coast and 

 turned out a pair of ring pheasants. It is, of course, un- 

 certain how these birds will endure the climate of Illinois, 

 but it is certainly worth while to try them. If they can 

 stand the cold and snow and are accorded protection, the 

 addition to the fauna of that State may have unexpected 

 results. Mr. Blaisdell also sent a pair of these birds to 

 Georgia to be turned out there. 



The illustration given above is that of a ring pheasant, 

 the species brought east by Mr. Blaisdell. It is a graceful 

 bird of bright and beautiful colors, and in many respects 

 resembles the so-called English pheasant. The weight of 

 the male is about 51bs., that of the female about 41bs. 



CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 



C CHICAGO, July 20.— You print the argument of the 

 I Supreme Court of Illinois handed down in confirm- 

 ation of the decision of the lower court in the now cele- 

 brated case involving the constitutionality of the law 

 prohibiting the sale or transportation for sale of game 

 killed within this State. The decision is plain and sim- 

 ple reading, whose meaning it is inrpossible to misunder- 

 stand, and in view of the formerly existing fears as to the 

 outcome of this phase of game legislation in this section, 

 it is matter for high felicitation among the sportsmen of 

 the State. The latter have as yet, however, no cause to 

 think that they have reached Nirvana. The decision is 

 important to the point of uniqueness, but it does not 

 cover everything. It does not touch the case of game 

 legally killed in another State and shipped into this State 

 for sale. That is a matter for the other States to decide. 

 If the law were uniform for all the neighboring States, 

 we should then have the question in a nutshell, but as it 

 is, many more complications are ahead. It is a pity that 

 the Legislature cannot give us sensible laws for such a 

 sensible Supreme Court to weigh. For instance, under 

 the present law it is only the game warden who can have 

 legal eyes to search for illicit game. That is manifestly 

 an absurd in jurif active feature of the game law, and the 

 next Legislature should correct it. Our game warden here 

 is an ignorant foreigner, appointed as a "bait to a certain 



