128 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Sept. 4, 1890 



AN IOWA NOCTURNAL MONSTER. 



AN article has been going the rounds of our Western 

 press describing a strange monster which has been 

 wandering around and disturbing the good people in the 

 vicinity of Independence, Iowa. The substance of the 

 article as near as I can give it is this: The Kress neigh- 

 borhood, near Independence, is wild with excitement 

 over the appearance of a strange animal that makes the 

 night hideous with its roaring. The animal is supposed 

 to be of an amphibious nature, and to have drifted in 

 with the late high waters. As near as it can be located 

 it has taken up its quarters in a creek which passes 

 through the farm of George Powles. It is generally sup- 

 posed that the animal lies secreted in the stream during 

 the day, and wanders forth in search of food at night, 

 for it is then that it raises its terror-inspiring voice, which 

 is described by those who have heard it as a cross between 

 the roar of a lion and the screech of an enraged panther. 

 Several persons who were walking or driving along the 

 adjacent road have been so frightened by hearing the 

 appalling sound, that they could not be induced to pass 

 over the route again. 



People are becoming panic-stricken, and it has become 

 such a matter of vital importance that something must 

 be done. The farmers of the locality have organized a 

 hunt, and invited the Independence Gun Club and militia 

 to join them. 



Now, as I am something of a natural history crank and 

 a lover of the chase, it can be imagined how my curiosity 

 was excited by reading an article like the above. I felt 

 like packing my hunting outfit and boarding the first 

 train for the south. But upon further consideration, I 

 thought best not to go as the article was a "clip," and 

 there might be some doubt as to how fresh it was. How- 

 ever, I could not drop the matter from my mind, so I 

 wrote to one of the local editors of Independence, and 

 have just received the following reply : 



WiLtiiM H. Steele.— Dear Sir: Yours of recent, date to hand. 



The article to which you allude was published in the , and 



was a hoax. "The strange auimnl" proved to be a blind mule 

 which had got lost, and made night hideous with its ceaseless 

 braying. This is all of it. Very respectfully.— S. T. 



There are undoubtedly many Western readers of Forest 

 and Stream who saw this article, and will be just as 

 anxious to know the outcome of the hunt as your humble 

 servant. I think many of the articles we read describing 

 monster land and water animals, if properly followed up, 

 would terminate just as this did. I remember seeing an 

 article, in Forest and Stream about a year ago describ- 

 ing a strange monster that had been seen in a pond or 

 inland lake in Mexico, and I have wondered a great 

 many times if it had been discovered what the animal 

 was. William H. Steele. 



Forest Crrr, Iowa. 



THE CAPE CHARLES TIGER. 



T\7 E have received from Mr. Joseph Ragan, of Wash- 

 » » ington, many interesting fish notes from time to 

 time, based upon his experience in the market. Just 

 now he has brought to our notice a fish which he believes 

 he saw for the first time about ten years ago at Cape 

 Charles, where it has again made its appearance in large 

 numbers, and now forms a notable portion of the supply 

 of fresh fish in some of the Southern markets, and par- 

 ticularly in Washington. To the fishermen, according to 

 Mr. Eagan, the species is known as the tiger, probablv 

 on account of the black half bands on the sides of the 

 body. We have previously referred to this fish in writing 

 of the fishes of the Gulf of Mexico as the amber jack 

 (Seriola stearnsi of Goode and Bean). Dr. Jourdan has 

 considered this species to be identical with the Seriola 

 dumerili of the Mediterranean, a species which it re- 

 sembles, but from which it may easily be distinguished. 

 The Mediterranean amber jack has a shorter snout, larger 

 eye, deeper body and a shorter soft dorsal fin; its upper 

 jaw is much more expanded posteriorly than in the 

 species named in honor of Mr. Stearns. Both forms oc- 

 cur on our" coast and are to be found in the National 

 Museum at Washington. The difference between them 

 may be readily perceived even upon a casual examina- 

 tion. The amber j ick or Cape Charles tiger is a beauti- 

 ful fish, belonging to the family which includes the pilot 

 fish, the pompano and tbe crevalles. It reaches a length 

 of 30in., is shaped like a mackerel, is a swift and power- 

 ful swimmer and has excellent qualities as a pan fish. 

 The young have five or six dark cross-bands on the sides 

 and a golden streak along the middle of the body; a sim- 

 ilar streak extends from the eye backward to the begin- 

 ning of the soft dorsal. The upper parts are greenish and 

 the belly light. The tail is deeply forked and beautifully 

 variegated with yellow and dusky with white tips at the 

 ends of thelobe3. The specimens now so abundant in the 

 markets are about a foot or less in length and very plump 

 and inviting in appearance. So far as we know the 

 Bpecies rarely occurs ae far north as Cape Charles. It 

 was discovered by the late Mr. Silas Stearns at Pensacola, 

 Fla,, in 1878. The young specimens have not previously 

 been secured. According to Mr. B. A. Bean, who has 

 tested the edible qualities of the tiger, the flavor resem- 

 bles that of the Spanish mackerel, and there is no trace 

 of the strong taste of the common mackerel. 



Orange File-Fish in Cow Bay.-- -New York, Aug. 

 Si. — Editor Forest and Stream: One morning a sliort 

 time ago I was coming out of Cow B*y (L. I.) on a sloop 

 and noticed a fish (looking like a sheepshead) swimming 

 slowly about a foot under water. The wind was very 

 light. I jumped into the small boat, rowed up to the 

 fish and hit him with the boat kook and brought him 

 aboard. I laid him on the paper inclosed, and have an 

 accurate diagram, with what I trust is a sufficiently 

 clear description. I showed the fish to a number of 

 local fishermen, none of whom recognized it. A friend 

 was to have taken it to Blackford, but failed to do so: 

 fortunately I preserved the diagram. I have been around 

 the Sound for twenty-five years and never saw such a 

 fish. What is it? Its pouch was emoty, and I think it 

 must have been sick or tired.— G. C. B. [The be4 known 

 name of this species is the one given above. It is also 

 called fool-fish, barnacle-eater, unicorn fish, unicorn file- 

 fish and sharp tailed file-fish. By some of the early 

 ichthyologists, among them DeKay and Mitchell, the 



young of this species was considered as a species distinct 

 from the adult because of its long tail, slenderer body 

 and much darker coloration. The orange file-fish occurs 

 on our coast from New England to the Gulf of Mexico, 

 and is found, also, in the West Indies. Trie adults are 

 rather uncommon about Long Island and northward, but 

 the young are abundant every summer ] 



Some Aquatic Giants.— The Gloucester (Mass.) Daily 

 Times of recent dates announces the capture of some 

 marine curiosities. A mackerel was taken off St. Peter's 

 Harbor, Prince Edward's Island, measuring 2tt. in length 

 —the largest ever known in that locality. It reports, 

 also, the capture of a large codfish, near Shelburne, Nova 

 Scotia, having in its stomach a lady's purse containing a 

 considerable sum of money. A turtle weighing 640^3. 

 was caught in a fi*h-trap near Sandwich, Mass., Aug. 25. 

 There are several species of marine turtles which attain 

 to a weight of l,0l)0ibs. and upward: the green turtle 

 occasionally weighs this amount. The loggerhead has 

 been known to reach 1,600 lbs., and the leather turtle 

 exceeds even this enormous weight. 



" FOREST AND STREAM" GUN TESTS. 



THE following guns have been tested at the Forest and 

 Steeam Range, and reported upon in the issues named. 

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

 Clabrotjoh 12. May 1, 1 g0. Parker 10. h-iraiuer, June 6, '89. 

 Colt 12, .lulj 25, '89. Parker 12, ham'rless. JuTie (J,'K9. 



Colt 10 and 12, Oct. 24, '89. Remington 18, Mav 30. '89. 

 Folsom 10 and 12, Sept. 26, '89. Remington 12, Dec 5,'89,Feb 6,'90 

 FrANCOTTB 12, Dec. 12, '89 Remtngton 10, Dec. 26, '89. 

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



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

 Hollis 10, Nov. 7. '89. "Whitney Safety 12, M'ch 6, '90. 



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



THE PLOVER. 



TTTHEN autumn skies are flash'd with blaze 

 ' ' And autumn groves with glory shine. 

 When maples wear their scarlet robes, 

 O'er which tbe grapevine wreaths entwine, 

 Then far resounds the plovers' cry, 

 As swift o'er upland space they fly. 



O'er old Montauk's ravines and slopes. 

 Full oft I've mark'd their legions pass. 

 Now circling, plunging higli in air, 

 Now fluttering, hovering o'er the grass. 

 The birds migrating urge their flight 

 In crowded ranks, in serried files, 

 Wheeling, and pausing to alight. 

 Seeking the insect swarms that fill 

 The grasses of tbe plain and hill. 

 Those plover tribes, the blackbreast flocks, 

 Ne'er cease their flight o'er pastures wide, 

 Their haunis are by the meadow lands, 

 Where flows and ebbs the salty tide; 

 And there, in ambush, hid away 

 The fatal fowl«r seeks his prey. 



The golden plover! none more fair 

 Of all the wings that beat the air; 

 Birds are they of the bright, warm 6elds, 

 Darlings of breeze and azure skies, 

 Glad harbingers of early spring, 

 And coming autumn with it3 dyes. 

 Now swift athwart the grass they flit, 

 How rapid, sweeping on the wing, 

 Now swoopine low above the grass, 

 Now brightly glancing as they pass- 

 Arriving when tbe grass sprouts green, * 

 Departing when the airs blow keen. 



The upland plover! Sweet its trill, 



Its operatic, liquid note. 



Like the soft breathing of a flute 



Its symphony in air doth float ; 



So low, so sweet, one scarce may see 



This winged minstrel of the air. 



Till sudden a gray wing floats by, 



And drops the feather'd lyrist there; 



Then o'er the grass lands, far and free 



Swells out the bubbling harmony! 



Isaac McLellan. 

 TRAPPING DAYS. 



II. — IN THE BLIZZARD. 



THE first "cold snap" of the winter lasted but a short 

 time and was succeeded by beautiful weather, so 

 very mild and pleasant, indeed, that the prospect for an 

 open winter appeared bright, and as the best of the crop 

 of fur had already been secured from the old trapping 

 ground a party of three, consisting of two brothers named 

 Dan and George Bellows, and the writer, quickly planned 

 a winter campaign to include a trip to a famous trapping 

 ground about 75 mile3 northwest of our present location 

 and which was reputed to be swarming with furred 

 animals. 



The prospect for making a safe trip, undisturbed by 

 the dreaded Sioux, seemed much better during the cold 

 of winter, and we proposed returning before the grass 

 started in the spring, and hoped to make the round trip 

 while yet the Indians were housed in their winter quar- 

 ters. It was a foolhardy, or at least a very reckless plan; 

 yet, like many other unfamiliar with the "winter climate 

 of the northern plains, we were destined to learn by bit- 

 ter experience the terrors of the deadly blizzard. 



Old Jim concluded to work the old ground as long as 

 the weather would permit, and the third partner in the 

 original company about this time quit the camp and re- 

 turned to bis home. 



A man named Haley was hired to haul our outfit to 

 the new location, and as the wind had swept the first 

 snow of the winter into the ravines, leaving most of the 

 surface of the prairie frpe of obstruction, we started with 

 as light a load as possible, to make a rapid march and to 

 give the driver time for his return to the settlements be- 

 fore the coming of another fall of snow. Haley had a 

 span of powerful bay horses and heavy rations of grain 

 for a week's time were hauled along, and which was 

 judged sufficient to meet all contingencies. 



On Dec. 3 tbe march began, and our progress was 

 necessarily slow, as the entire absence of anything like 

 roads obliged us to keep the only pace possible over the 

 rough prairie, now frozen hard as stone. On the second 

 night out from the settlement we reached a camp of two 

 trappers of my acquaintance named Lvrton and Baker, 

 who were located on sqtive lonely sloughs about, ten miles 

 northwest of our old camp; and here the wether grew 

 very much colder, obli-ing us to keep in the shelter of the 

 friendly camp for a day and two nights 



The next day's march brought us to Lake Sh°t^k, where 

 we found two trappers cimp^d in the abandoned home of 

 one of the murdered settlers, massacred in the terrible 

 outbreak of 1862; and who, with the open-handed hospi- 

 tality of the fraternity, made us welcome and cheerfully 

 shared the cabin with us. 



Again the cold grew intense, and for two days more we 

 huggred the fire, rejoicing not only over our own com- 

 fortable quarters, but also over the fact that the horses 

 were in a warm stable, something we had scarcely hoped 

 to find on the trip. A council of war was now held, and 

 as less than a day's rations of corn remained for the 

 horses, it was evident that the recklessly planned exppdi- 

 tion would have to be abandoned. 



Once more the weather moderated and grew strangely 

 warm, the sky in the meantime being obscured by heavy, 

 low-hanging clouds. Starting on the return trip as early 

 in the morning as possible, we drove at the best pace the 

 rough ground would permit, as we were very apprehen- 

 sive of a snow storm. When five miles of tbe return 

 journey had been accomplished snow began falling rap- 

 idly. While at Layton's camp I had taken a careful 

 observation of the direction by the aid of the very best 

 compass I ever carried, and now on the return the infor- 

 mation obtained was priceless. 



By consent of the party I walked in front with the open 

 compass in my open hand, and while the little point of 

 timber at Layton's camp, twelve miles distant, was only 

 about fifty rods in width, and while at no time during the 

 day could we see for more than one hundred rods in any 

 direction through the falling snow, so perfect was the 

 working of the little compass that, when in the afternoon 

 the timber we were in search of suddenly loomed up 

 through the falling snow, our course was found to be 

 true as the flight of the crow. 



A hurried council was now held, and so great was our 

 eagerness to reach our old camp, ten miles further on, 

 that, although we were unable to see the sun to deter- 

 mine the time of day, we quickly decided to take chances, 

 and without pausing to greet the hospitable brethren of 

 the guild, turned the horses' heads in tbe new direction, 

 ! and again struck out upon the trackless plain. Snow to 

 1 the depth of six or eight inches had fallen, and as we 

 left the friendly timber behind, the snow-fall checked 

 perceptibly and soon ceased altogether. When half a 

 mile distant from the timber, some one chanced to glance 

 backward toward the northwest. A shout and a pointed 

 finger turned every eye backward to see the rolling 

 wheels of the swiftly- moving chariot of the storm king. 

 Fearful as was its appearance, its coming was truly 

 grand. I have seen the rise of many blizzards, but ne ver 

 one whose coming was so swift. It was instantly ap- 

 parent to all that to return to Layton's camp in the teeth 

 of the gale was impossible, for the first breath of the 

 whirling blast was like ice, and nothing, either brute or 

 human, can move in the face of the full grown blizzard. 

 Instantly the air was loaded with flying snow so thick »s 

 to render breathing difficult, and darkness began to 

 gather around, not alone from the whirl of flying snow, 

 but also from the approach of night, which proved to be 

 rapidly following one of the shortest days of winter. 



Again the little compass was brought into requisition, 

 while all our lives seemed swinging in the oscillations of 

 its faithful needle, which trembled as with the added 

 load of responsibility. Almost at the beginning of the 

 storm, while crossing a ravine, the front wheels of the 

 wagon struck against an abrupt rise of ground and the 

 wagon tongue snapped off short. 



This new calamity, which for the moment almost took 

 our breath away, proved a blessing in disguise, and was 

 probably the cause of saving all our lives. No time was 

 there for words. 



Theirs not to make reply, 

 Theirs not to reason why. 



Loosening the shivering horses from the broken wagon, 

 Geo. Bellows, the corpulent, was mounted on one, and 

 Haley on the other, and each man, seizing a quilt or 

 blanket from the abandoned vehicle, hurried forward in 

 the whirl of the fast increasing storm. 



As I sprang to the lead of the little procession, a new 

 cause of anxiety began to create uneasiness in my mind 

 as I remembered that I had never taken the direction by 

 compass from one camp to the other, but was trusting in 

 tbe statement of Baker (Layton's partner), who had given 

 us the result of a careful observation which he claimed to 

 have made; and as I reflected upon the importance of the 

 utmost care in taking directions across these treeless and 

 but slightly undulating plains, where the topography of 

 the country offered no clue to direction a mid the whirl of 

 the blinding snow, I remembered with regret that during 

 our march over the same ground a few days before the 

 haziness of the air had been just sufficient to prevent my 

 obtaining the direction myself. 



Not wishing to burden the minds of my comrades with 

 a new anxiety, I hurried on in the swiftly increasing cold, 

 while the whirl of the flying snow was indescribable. It 

 was all important that I see the compass needle while 

 daylight lasved, and yet itseemedat times an impossibility. 



1 was warmly clad, and the heavy quilt I had snatched 

 from the wagon seemed glued to my body by the force of 

 the gale as a postage stamp to a letter, yet through all 

 that mass of clothing the cold pierced like a million 

 needles, and while one hand carried the faithful compass, 

 the other was kept busy clawing the ice from my face and 

 eyes; for the snow, whirled ceaselessly into' my face, 

 seemed to thaw by contact with the skin and to freeze 

 again at the same instant, and a thin coat of ice extending 

 from the fur cap, pulled low down over my eyes, to the 

 beard which covered the lower half of my face, seemed 

 to form instantaneously, while all the forces of nature 

 were in league with the gale to drive us to blindness and 

 to death. 



I am aware of the poverty of words to describe our 

 battle with the storm. He who has never met the full- 

 grown blizzard on its native heath is as powerless to un- 

 derstand its terrors as is a blind man to comprehend the 

 glory of the rainbow: and he who, in the darkness of a 



