3S FOREST AND STREAM. [aug.21,1890 



CHASE OF THE WHITE GOAT. 



BY JOHN FANNIN AND GEO. BIRD GRINNELL. 



THE successful pursuit of this Alpine antelope calls for 

 the exercise of all the best qualities of the moun- 

 taineer. Under ordinary circumstances, no laggard in the 

 chase will succeed in bringing down this sturdy dweller 

 among the rocks; no city sportsman, careful of his com- 

 fort, will attain the cold wind-swept heights where this 

 antelope delights to feed and rest. He who would clam- 

 ber to the white goat's home needs the muscles, the lungs 

 and the nerve of a cragsman. His legs must be sinewy 

 and firm, well hardened by exercise, able to press ever 

 onward and upward over rock slides that seem intermin- 

 able, and up cliffs that rise before him like walls; his 

 arms, too, must be stout, for often the climbing is hand 

 over hand up the face of the precipice. His lungs must 

 do their part, for the climbing is exhausting work and in 

 the rarified air of these lofty heights the heart works 

 fast, and it is not easy to supply the blood with oxygen. 

 Stops for breath must of necessity be frequent, but need 

 not be long. But no matter how sturdy and muscular 

 the goat hunter, he will accomplish but little if he has 

 not nerve to clamber along the dizzy heights which he 

 must face, and courage to overcome the obstacles which 

 the frowning mountains throw in his way. He must be 

 ready to clamber hand over hand, up cliffs where a slip 

 would mean a long fall on to jagged rocks below, to run 

 along narrow ledges, brushing with his shoulder on one 

 side a vertical precipice, and looking down on the other 

 into enrptiness, where a misstep would throw him tum- 

 bling over and over down perhaps 500, perhaps 1,000ft. 

 Once in a while — when a man shoots a goat in such a situ- 

 ation and sees it fall, sometimes whizzing through the air 

 with a rushing sound like the noise made by a stooping 

 eagle, sometimes bounding from crag to crag, and at 

 length tumbling end over end down the rock slide or 

 shooting along the surface of a glacier, ending its fall a 

 mass of pulp and broken bones inclosed in a tough hide — 

 once in a while when a hunter sees this, he realizes that 

 just this might happen to himself should he miss his 

 looting, and a sort of torror seizes him at the danger 

 that he runs. 



Besides the nerve needed for the climb, the goat hunter 

 must have the dogged courage and perseverance that re- 

 fuse to succumb to fatigue or to yield to obstacles. He 

 must plod onward, steadily onward and upward, making 

 his stops for breath as short as possible, wasting but little 

 time in resting. In fact, besides physical endurance, the 

 goat hunter requires the quality known in the West as 

 "sand," and the more of it he has the better will be his 

 fortune. 



There are places in the West, especially toward the 

 Pacific coast, where it is sometimes possible to ride a 

 horse almost up to where the goats are found, but such 

 places are not often met with, and, as a rule, the man 

 who hunts this game must be prepared to climb on foot 

 from 1 ,000 to 3,000 feet, over the very roughest mountain 

 sides. The difficulties and dangers of chamois hunting, 

 which have been so graphically described by European 

 sportsmen, give a fair idea of the toilsomeness of hunting 

 the white goat. It is a sport for mountaineers. 



The man who has not had some training in climbing 

 mountains is not likely at first to be a successful goat 

 hunter, unless he have the guidance of a companion who 

 is familiar with the game and its habits. Such a comrade 

 may be able to guide the novice to a point where he can 

 get a shot at the game, but often it will be found in loca- 

 lities where it is impossible to approach within rifle shot 

 of it. 



The difficulties of this sport consist almost entirely in 

 reaching the places which the goats inhabit. From what 

 has already been said it will have been concluded that 

 they are not a shy animal. That they are gifted with a 

 keen scent is true, but they do not appear te be very watch- 

 ful, nor to be quick of hearing. The fact that they live 

 in a region where noises are constantly being heard, 

 where, snow slides roar along the mountains, and rocks 

 roll clattering down the slopes, and great masses of slide 

 rocks slip down with a loud rattling crash which some- 

 times lasts for half an hour, may in part account for their 

 inattention to sounds; yet they are often, we believe, 

 partially deaf, from having their ears filled with wood 

 ticks. The sounds of the mountains to which the goat 

 pays no attention always attract the notice of the moun- 

 tain sheep (Ovis canadensis), which will sometimes stare 

 about for half an hour, in order to discover the cause 

 of a natural sound. I seems probable that the goat is by 

 nature far less alert than the bighorn, and this is due in 

 part, no doubt, to the fact that it is less hunted than the 

 latter. As fear of man comes largely from experience of 

 his dangerous character, and since, as has been said, the 

 goat from its habit is little exposed to attack from the 

 hunter, it does not share the inherited acuteness of the 

 mountain sheep which lives at lower levels and in less dif- 

 ficult situations, which is hunted for its flesh, and which 

 has thus been for a long time more systematically pursued 

 by man. 



The impression which one gets from hunting this ani- 

 mal is that it is a dull, slow-going and heedless creature, 

 and this apparent stupidity, while it arises in part no 

 doubt from its gentleness and ignorance of danger, is in 

 part due to the nature of the animal. At the same time 

 it must be said that on a very few occasions under the in- 

 fluence of strong fear we have seen the goat display great 

 activity, and show an appearance of alertness which our 

 previous experience had not led us to expect, and which 

 greally surprised us. 



That this animal learns by experience cannot he 

 doubted, and the case mentioned in a previous article, 

 where a band of goats, three times pursued on the same 

 ground, manifested on each occasion increasing shyness, 

 and finally deserted the mountain on which they had 

 been living, would indicate that a continued and sys- 

 tematic pursuit of this animal would render it as shy as 

 the bighorn or as the famed chamois of the Alps. 



Although Mazama is not a shy animal when compared 

 with the bighorn, yet there are certain rules common in 

 mountain hunting which must be observed to insure suc- 

 cess with this species. One of these is to invariably ap- 

 proach it from above if possible. This rule is well known 

 to men who hunt in the mountains, and perhaps scarcely 

 requires mention. For a variety of reasons it is very im- 

 portant that it be observed with the white goat. This 

 animal commonly carries its head very low, scarcely ever 

 lifting it much above the level of the back. To see it 

 raise its head high, as does a mountain sheep, an antelope 



or a deer, is most unusual. When looking at anything 

 on the same level with itself it still holds the head low, 

 and seems to look up at the object from under its eye- 

 brows. For this reason it is much more likely to see 

 danger below it than on the same level with or above it. 

 Moreover, a goat, if alarmed, almost always starts to 

 climb up hill. It rarely takes a diagonal course, as a 

 mountain sheep is likely to do, but points its nose straight 

 for the highest peak of the mountain and clambers along 

 at a gait that, to the eye, seems very slow, but which is 

 much faster than a man can follow it. When the hunter 

 approaches from below, therefore, if the game becomes 

 alarmed, pursuit is neaiiy hopeless; while if it should be 

 alarmed by a hunter above it, it will try to pass him and 

 will very likely give him a shot. 



There' is perhaps no better way of conveying to the 

 reader a notion of the ordinary incidents which attend 

 the pursuit of this animal than to give the narratives of 

 several goat hunters as detailed by those who took part 

 in them. Such accounts, which lack of space prevents 

 our printing here, may be found in Forest and Stream, 

 and especially in Vol. XVI., pages 64-65, in Vol. XXVII., 

 page 463, and in Vol. XXX., pages 2, 42-43 and 62. The 

 methods here described are those commonly pursued in 

 stalking the white goat. 



A correspondent, Mr. L. L. Bales, of the State of 

 Washington, describes a mode practiced there with suc- 

 cess. He says: "My way of hunting them is for two 

 experienced mountain hunters to go together. Each 

 man has a good glass, a good rifle, and they arrange a 

 set of signals, either by glinting their gun barrels in the 

 sun, if there is any, or, if the sun is obscured, by motions 

 of the right or left hand. We select the grade— a sharp 

 backbone leading up the mountain over which we wish 

 to hunt — and the best man for climbing starts up the 

 mountain by some other grade'than the one selected for 

 hunting on and gets above the goats. After this is ac- 

 complished and a signal given to the man below, the 

 latter starts up the grade selected for the hunt, just as if 

 he were hunting goats. If he is careful he can approach 

 within 500yds. of them. As soon as they have seen the 

 man below them, and have started up the mountain, he 

 fires his rifle to notify his companion, and follows them 

 up, acting just as if he wanted a goat. Up the mountain 

 goes the whole band, from two to fifteen or twenty, 

 bouncing up the grade and often passing within a few 

 yards of the man above, who usually succeeds in killing 

 or wounding two or three of them. Then your hunt has 

 just begun, as they generally fall or roll from 100 to 

 2,000ft. down the mountain side, or into some fissure in a 

 glacier." 



This species is sometimes hunted with dogs, which, 

 when trained to the work, follow the animals as they 

 climb upward and bring them to bay, often driving them 

 up on to some sharp pinnacle of rock or into some little 

 pocket in the face of a precipice, where, protected in the 

 rear, they easily keep the dogs at a distance by thrusts 

 of their horns. Trained dogs will often hold a number 

 of goats in such a place until the hunter comes tip, when 

 he can easily despatch them all. 



This sport, so called, has been desbribed by Mr. W. A. 

 BaiUie-Grohman. It is very deadly and cannot be ap- 

 proved as legitimate by sportsmen of the better type, 

 for the reason that under ordinary circumstances it 

 gives the game no chance. It is practiced chiefly by In- 

 dians and meat hunters. An idea of the destruction 

 caused by it may be gained from the following extract 

 from a letter from our correspondent, Mr. J. C. McKin- 

 non, who writes us that in British Columbia, about 180 

 miles north of the head of navigation on the Stickine Elver, 

 that is to say north of the Canon, 176 miles from the 

 mouth of the river, a case was reported to him in which 

 a number of Indians of the Taltan tribe, with a pack of 

 dogs, ran 16 goats into a big bluff and killed them all. 

 It is said that the goats were afraid to jump over the 

 bluff on the one hand, and were afraid of the Indians 

 and dogs on the other, and so the Indians butchered 

 them all. They brought some of the carcasses down and 

 sold them to the miners in the Cassian district, and the 

 balance they cached in the trees for winter provision. 

 Happily this mode of goat hunting is not much practiced. 

 But few dogs have been trained for this chase, and un- 

 less trained dogs attacking this animal are very likely 

 to be impaled on the goats' horns or to be tossed over the 

 cliff and killed. 



To sum up the matter, the pursuit of the white goat re- 

 quires no great hunter's skill, but it calls for the exercise 

 of the strength, endurance, perseverance and nerve, all 

 the best qualities of the mountaineer. As we have 

 more than once heard an old goat hunter say, "If 

 you've got the sand to climb where they live, it's no 

 trick at all to kill white goats." 



Migration of Prairie Chickens. — Vinton, la.— In 

 speaking of the prairie chicken in Iowa Mr. Hough over- 

 looks an important item in the habits of the bird. It is a 

 migratory bird, a fact not noted if known by writers on 

 the subject. In the fall of the year for weeks at a time 

 they may be seen every evening going from the northwest 

 toward the northeast across the State and out of it beyond 

 the Mississippi Paver. Their .flight is low, from 20 to 

 50ft. above the ground, and very deliberate, sailing along 

 just above the trees and housetops. In the spring they 

 return in the same manner. Many of them are killed by 

 gunners as they thus pass over. I have seen thousands 

 of them passing over Illinois in this way. Then too in 

 winter they gather into cornfields in large flocks, coming 

 great distances from regions where food is not to be 

 found. In this way whole neighborhoods may be sup- 

 plied with birds for the coming season where scarcely any 

 were found the year before.— Levi S. Keagle. 



Minics Again.— Vinton, Iowa, Aug. 10. — Some years 

 ago I acquired by purchase a pair of half -grown minks. 

 They were given as a present to Dr. J. F. Wilson, a cele- 

 brated naturalist and taxidermist, who undertood to raise 

 and train them. They were easily domesticated, became 

 very tame and playful, and made no effort to escape. 

 They were omniverous eaters, and a large part of their 

 support was obtained by foraging on their own account. 

 They throve and prospered, became sleek and beautiful; 

 until mistaking a finely-prepared specimen of the taxider- 

 mist's art for a toothsome morsel, they paid the penalty 

 with then- fives. There is no doubt that they can be 

 raised. They are by no means dainty as to their diet ; but 

 the line must be drawn at arsenically-preserved provisions. 

 —Levi S. Keagle. 



Nettle Antidote.— Ottawa, Ont.— Editor Forest and 

 Stream: The article on poison oak and poison ivy, by 

 "Byrne," in your issue of July 21, recalls to my mind an- 1 

 other stinger that sportsmen are very apt to fall in with j 

 when tramping bottom lands adjoining creeks and 

 marshes when in quest of woodcock or ducks. I refer to 

 the common nettle, and most of your readers who fre- 

 quent such places have no doubt made its acquaintance, 

 and much to their annoyance. Growing rank in such 

 places, sometimes shoulder high, it is very annoying to 

 both man and dog; indeed, I have seen dogs completely 

 used up with it, while the sportsman only partially es- 

 caped by holding his hands above his head when pushing 

 through the rank mass. I have often been punished by 

 this vile weed, and until two years ago knew of no anti- 

 dote, but I then found one and in this wise. I had gone 

 on the invitation of a rural friend to inspect alow marshy 

 creek which in seasons when the water remained high 

 abounded in wood ducks; and if prospects were good we 

 intended to lay plans for the opening of the season, then 

 some two weeks distant. While tramping through the 

 woods and marsh adjoining the creek, I had my hands 

 severely stung with the nettles which were here very rank. 

 My friend said, "Why suffer? the cure is at hand." and 

 reaching out he grasped a handful of the soft and tender . 

 tops of the ferns which are always found growing iu 

 such places, and handing them to me directed me to rub 

 them well on the afflicted parts. Well, I did so, and I 

 must say with considerable lack of faith, but presto! in 

 less time than it takes to tell it the smarting and pain 

 had all gone; yes, and gone not to return, until another 

 brush through the nettles made another application neces- 

 sary. I have often tried it since and always with the 

 same result. One advantage is that you don't have to 

 carry the remedy with you; it is always on the spot and 

 cost nothing. — H. B. 



\mnt mtd %m\. 



"FOREST AND STREAM" GUN TESTS. 



THE following guns have beeri tested at the Foeest And 

 Stream Range, and reported upon in the issues named. 

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

 Clabhotjgh 12, May 1, '90. Parker 1 0, h amm er, June 6, '80. 

 Colt 12, July 25, '89. Parker 13, ham'iiess.June 6,*88f; 



Colt 10 and 12, Oct. 24, '89. Remtngton 16, May 30. '89. 

 FOLSOM 10 and 12, Sept. 26, '89. Remington 12, Dee 5,'89,Feb 6,'90 

 Francotte 12, Deo. 12, '89. Remington 10, Dec. 26, '89. 

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



Greener 10, Sept. 12-1 9, '89. L. C. Smith 12, Oct. 10, '89. 

 Hollis 10, Noy. 7, '89. Whitnet Safety 12, M'eh 0, '90. 



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



A MORNING WITH THE SHORE BIRDS. 



WHEN one has been tied down to business for several 

 years, bis only change, a day afield now and then 

 with dog and gun, in a neighborhood where game to be 

 found and killed must be fagged for and the gun held 

 very straight, to such a one the prospect of a vacation, 

 either short or long, sets the blood to moving more freely 

 and the imagination to working more actively. Well ! 

 that was my case. A certain friend had returned from 

 several years' ranching in Texas, and, as he expressed it, 

 was "dying for a sniff of salt water." So the time and cir- 

 cumstances being propitious, moreover being myself 

 equally desirous for the salt sea air, we were not long in 

 making preparations, which consisted principally of 

 ammunition, our intention being to enjoy not only the 

 usual delights of the sea shore but "bay bird" shooting, 

 providing, of course, the birds were there. 



Our shooting clothes, with decoys, were put into an old 

 single trunk, and we were ready. We took the steamer 

 at B., and enjoyed the all-night sail down the bay and up 

 the winding Wicomico River, the next morning, and still 

 more, the excellent railroad service from Salisbury to 

 Ocean City, our destination; the latter so different from 

 what the traveler had to endure until the Pennsylvania 

 R. R. got hold of it and injected life into the W. & P. 

 R. R., which before was put to shame by any real lively 

 horse car line. 



We landed safely in Ocean City in time for a late break- 

 fast. Being an old habitue it came to me to introduce 

 my friend to all the old friends among the longshore men, 

 and especially Capt. Tom, my favorite boatman. Tom 

 informed us that there were "right smart of birds," and 

 we decided to take his boat and start down that night, 

 "for," said he, "we have to go furder down now than 

 ever!" About 8 o'clock we sailed out upon the broad 

 Tenepuxent Bay, and with a fair breeze the Jane went 

 along at a good speed. 



At 12 o'clock we turned into a cove about ten miles 

 down, and making ourselves comfortable, went to sleep. 

 Just at daybreak Tom called us up, and hastily eating a 

 light lunch, we loaded ourselves with cartridges, decoys, 

 water canteens, guns, etc., and strode manfully across the 

 mile of sandy meadow to the other side of the island 

 along the ocean. The mosquitoes made it lively for us 

 untfl the fresh morning sea breeze from off the water 

 drove them back. It was yet dark when we reached the 

 beach, and as soon as Tom dug the blind we lighted our 

 pipes and lay back on the rubber blanket to enjoy the 

 delicious breeze, cool, salt and damp, adding additional 

 fragrance to the tobacco. Suddenly it seemed lighter, 

 then streaks of color began to stand out against the east- 

 ern sky, changing fast into golden light, our decoys be- 

 came visible, with a flock of active little sandpipers 

 busily feeding among them. A low "mark" from Tom 

 called me from musing to business, the gun was grasped, 

 a sidelong glance showed that Carl was ready for the 

 little bunch of willet flying low over the tumbling surf. 

 Now Tom gave a low whistle, and instantly they noticed 

 the decoys, set their white-barred wings, and sailed in 

 over their one-legged representatives, dropping their own 

 slender blue legs to stop. Bang! bang! bang! went the 

 Parker. Bang! bang! bang! bang! the Winchesters rat- 

 tled and. roared ; the smoked cleared away and five dead 

 or crippled willet were left behind by the remainder of 

 the sadly demoralized flock. Tom gathered them up as 

 fast as possible. 



The sun had appeared, and now, if at all, our shooting 

 was at hand. Down close, yonder is a big bunch, here 

 they come. Now! And again the battery roared. Seven 

 down! Here comes one back. Bang! and it joins the 

 dead. Now it is a single bird. Carl dropped it neatly in 

 the nearest ripples. Now it is a pair. He misses the 

 leader with his first, drops it way out with the second, 



