Sept. 11, 1890.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



14 7 



on the trellis there was nothing in her mouth. So then I 

 knew that what looked like bits of grass were certain 

 long-legged, long-winged insects, which she had caught 

 in her upward flight, and that it was not a lesson in flying 

 as I had supposed. As I never, at any one time, saw a 

 sparrow fly in a vertical line, I suppose it was the emer- 

 gency of the case that called forth this unusual conduct; 

 she could thus obtain food for the little ones without leav- 

 ing them, and it would appease their hunger if it was not 

 then- usual food. It would seem that her loud chirping 

 was to arouse their dormant energies; and when she had 

 succeeded in getting one a little higher up in the world 

 she would give it her mouth full of insects, but she would 

 not give one a bit until it had made an effort in that 

 direction. I had seen one little tailless ball of feathers 

 flutter up to the first and then to the second bar of the 

 trellis, and another was sitting drowsily in the top of a 

 rose bush near the nest. Meanwhile the father bird was 

 in the garden with the rest of the family, and I concluded 

 that he had put them to bed in the raspberry bushes. 

 Twilight was now coming on (I had watched them for an 

 hour), and as she had got them out of the reach of 

 prowling animals, she ceased her lecturing, and silence 

 like a poultice fell to heal the waves of sound. I think 

 she must have felt exhausted and sleepy after her great 

 anxiety and energetic eloquence. She went around and 

 gave a look at each of the little ones, then flew up into 

 a tree and gave a goodnight song, came down once more 

 to see that they were all right; then went back to the tree 

 for the night. * 



' For two weeks longer I watched these sparrows as they 

 lingered about near the nest, picking food in the narrow 

 strip of flower bed under the windows or meditating on 

 the walk. The old birds still fed the young ones, though 

 they were full grown, and their tail feathers had length- 

 ened day by day, until before the end of two weeks they 

 were of proper length. When robins leave the nest, they 

 go further off and do not linger in its vicinity. 



I left home before the sparrows did for a two-weeks' 

 visit. On my return 1 found a nest of unfledged spar- 

 rows near the other side of the house, and in a novel 

 situation. It was in a whirl of pea vine3 which had 

 slipped half way down from their support. There came 

 two or three rainy days, and when I again looked into 

 the nest the little birds were dead and the nest was alive 

 with lice, which sometimes kill the young, and are caused, 

 I suppose, by dampness. The poor disappointed mother 

 sat for hours near by in a dejected manner, with a worm 

 in her mouth. The successful family were reared on the 

 sunny side, and the other on the shady side of the house. 

 It is, indeed, a great success for a ground sparrow to raise 

 a family, for they have so many enemies that they have 

 small chance to do so. But this sparrow displayed un- 

 usual prudence; the nest was placed where no creature 

 would be likely to walk — on the slope of the terrace and 

 under cover of a tuft of long grass and many thorny rose- 

 bushes. I found two other nests in the ground near the 

 house, but they were unprotected, and the eggs disap- 

 peared from one and the unfledged birds from the other. 



I think young sparrows must be very nervous and sen- 

 sitive to touch, for, looking into a nest one day and see- 

 ing the little birds perfectly motionless, with heads down 

 out of sight, I doubted if they were living and laid my 

 finger on them to see if they would move, when suddenly 

 up came four heads like "Jack in a box," and they imme- 

 diately sprang out of the nest. I feared this was a pre- 

 mature coming out, and repented my curiosity; but 

 thought the best thing I could do was to leave them to 

 the parents, who came with anxious outcries. The nest 

 was well hidden in the dense foliage of a hemlock hedge, 

 and it was only by observing the mother bird enter it that 

 I had discovered it. 



We have but few English sparrows here. I sometimes 

 see half a dozen of them with other sparrows picking 

 hayseed or meal which I throw out to them in winter. I 

 have never seen one of them molest a native, but I have 

 seen the song sparrow drive off the English. Then came 

 the fox sparrow and drove off the song sparrow. Prob- 

 ably the English sparrow is not so bold when not with 

 large numbers of its kind. The fox sparrow is the largest 

 and brightest-colored of the sparrows. Two years ago 

 several of them came into my yard one day and remained 

 several hours; their favorite' place was near the grape- 

 vines, where they scratched like hens among the dry 

 leaves; they are about the color of the red thrush or 

 thrasher. 



The hen bird or chipping sparrow, although usually 

 more familiar and approachable than any other bird, is 

 more timid in regard to her nest than the song sparrow 

 or robin. Last year one built in a branch over the steps, 

 but deserted it because we one day had occasion to go up 

 and down those steps more than usual, and I have never 

 known another to build so near as that. At the same 

 time a robin had a nest lower down and as near the steps, 

 which she did not leave. 



I see some queer antics among sparrows. Looking out 

 through the open door one day I saw a song sparrow on 

 the concrete walk sitting on her tail, which was turned 

 under her. Something seemed to be wrong there. She was 

 picking at the tail feathers, and either the tail would not 

 stay under her or else she was too uncomfortable to sit 

 still more than a moment at a time. The tail seemed to 

 be continually getting away from her. She went through 

 these gymnastics many times. Finally a white throated 

 sparrow came on to the walk and began imitating her, 

 whereat she flew at him and drove him away. At an- 

 other time I saw one on a fence, trying to scratch her ear 

 and keep her balance, but she did not succeed in giving 

 more than one hasty scratch at a time. I have seen 

 young sparrows dancing near the river hedge. At my 

 approach they slid under the bushes like rats. 



1 think the most beautiful song of the song sparrow is 

 the one which begins with ting, ting, ting, like strokes 

 on a sweet toned bell; then there is a peculiar charm to 

 me in the wheat, wheat, those clear notes which we hear 

 from the song sparrow early in the spring. Another 

 very musical song of the sparrow, which I hear from my 

 river hedge, is tivit, twit, twee twir; timm, timm, timm; 

 the third note prolonged and rising. It is said that the 

 song sparrow always begins with three short notes, but I 

 find in my notes of Aug. 5, "4 o'clock — beginning to rain — 

 song sparrow, tiveee wheat, wheat, -wheat." And on July 

 25, sitting in my wharf arbor, I heard the beautiful varied 

 warbling of the song sparrows on opposite sides of the 

 river, answering each other. The song was different 

 from any I ever heard, and more beautiful, with rising 

 and falling notes, and it was inimitable. Having seen in 



the Audubon Magazine a question of whether the song 

 sparrow is found near water. I will add that on my estate, 

 which is on the banks of the Nunketeset, song sparrows 

 abound, even to the water's edge. I have found nests 

 in the ground within a rod of it, and all the nests spoken 

 of in this article are within a hundred feet of the river. 



Jutja M. HOOPEE. 



STINGING SNAKES. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I was much gratified to find the welcome name of Miss 

 Catherine C. Hopley appended to an article in a recent 

 number of the Forest and Stream, and could wish that 

 the intervals between her contributions were shorter. 



I have a mind to relate an experience I had with a real 

 Simon pure stinging snake since I last wrote on that sub- 

 ject. My friend Walter Clark, to whom I showed Miss 

 Hopley's decided negative of the stinging snake theory, 

 declared that he would bring me the next one he saw. 



Last winter was so mild in this country that snakes 

 might be seen at almost any time during the season. 

 Accordingly, one day in January last I came into my 

 office and found a snake lying on the hearth, which I was 

 told was left by Mr. Clark to convince me that such a 

 thing as a stinging snake did exist, Miss Hopley to the 

 contrary notwithstanding. Of course, I examined the 

 reptile with a great degree of interest. And though I 

 have had large experience with snakes, this one belonged 

 to a species I had never before encountered. 



The specimen was about four feet long and of slim pro- 

 portions. The upper part was of a jetty, shining black, 

 as before described; the under part was generally of a 

 bright coral color, with irregular interruptions of a dark 

 bluish color, extending from opposite sides in alternating 

 patches, which did not reach entirely across except at a 

 few points. The dentition consisted of the usual four 

 rows of teeth in the upper mouth, common to most vari- 

 eties of non- venomous snakes. 



Now for the stinging part. The snake had been crushed , 

 but there was still life enough to produce a quite active 

 wriggling. I set a poker on his tail and he immediately 

 began to throw it about in a manner quite suggestive of 

 the use of a sting. I thought I saw for an instant a sting 

 thrust rapidly out and withdrawn, but persistent efforts 

 for some twenty minutes failed to discover it again. I 

 then cut off an inch of the tail and dissected it. I sub- 

 jected it to microscopic examination, but there was no 

 fcting to be found. The vertebrate processes extended 

 quite to the extremity of the tail in diminishing size, and I 

 split them open to fully discover the structural arrange- 

 ment. There was absolutely no sting and no place for 

 one. 



When I told Clark the result of my examination he 

 said: "Well, I was certain I saw a stingrun out and back 

 very quick; it must have been a shadow." Mr. Clark is 

 a man of more than average intelligence and fair educa- 

 tion, and yet he has been fully convinced for years past 

 that this snake possessed a sting, and that he had repeat- 

 edly seen the pting; all because it bore the reputation of 

 being a stinging snake upon the testimony of negroes. 

 This shows the small value of non-expert testimony, es- 

 pecially where snakes are concerned. Coahoma. 



CT.ARKS1 ALE, MlSS. 



HABITS OF ELK. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In the review of the "Big Game of North America," in 

 your issue of Aug. 14, you call attention to certain mis- 

 statements, about the hahits of elk, in my article: "Elk 

 Hunting in the Olympic Mountains." 



In that sketch I described the habits of the elk in that 

 locality, and in that locality only. Between Gray's Harbor 

 and Neah Bay occurs the heaviest rainfall in the United 

 States, 128in. annually. The mountains that border the 

 shore are very precipitous and abrupt, and are covered 

 with a dense growth of giant firs. Around the roots of 

 these trees grows a continuous impenetrable thicket of 

 young firs, and the ground beneath them is covered with 

 a thick carpet of spongy moss. 



From the 15th of October until the 1st of February the 

 rain on the coast is almost continual, and when it is rain- 

 ing on the snore it is snowing in the mountains. The 

 snow is not such as falls in the Rockies, dry and sifting, 

 but is wet and clinging, and rests in fantastic festoons 

 and wreaths on the branches of the firs. When a storm 

 wind sweeps over the mountains, the snow will be shaken 

 from the boughs of the great firs and will be caught on 

 the branches of the bushes beneath. The moss beneath 

 these bushes constitutes the food of the elk. When 

 browsing upon it his antlers continually dislodge the great 

 masses of snow that lodged in the bushes, so that during 

 this season he is ever coated with snow. Instinct, bred of 

 the experience of countless generations of elk, causes him 

 to know that his antlers, brushing the snow from the 

 branches, is the one sure cause of much of his discomfort. 

 The instinct of comfort causes him to assist Nature to re- 

 move his antlers, by rubbing them against a tree, weeks 

 before they would naturally fall off. 



Still continuing on horns, I base my statement on the 

 microbes and parasites in the velvet on the views and 

 opinions of many intelligent prospectors who have spent 

 many summers in these mountains, and whom elk meat 

 furnished with the means of existence. These prospectors 

 carry a magnifying glass of great power, in order to detect 

 traces of mineral in the specimens they may examine. 

 They also have examined the velvet on the horns through 

 these glasses, as I have, and on these facts do I depart 

 from the accepted traditions, with the honest conviction 

 that the statement is true, and the naturalist of the future 

 will prove that I was justified in doing so. 



Concerning the statement about the elk leading instead 

 of driving his harem, I give as a reason that the elk trails in 

 the Olympic Mountains are very narrow, and wind 

 along the edge of deep canons and precipitous cliffs. 

 Cougars and wolves are very numerous, and often lie in 

 wait on the edge of the trail. Should the cows or calves 

 be in the lead the appearance of the cougar or wolf 

 would be the signal of a panic, and the leader driving 

 from behind would cause a jam, and the result would be 

 that some would be crowded over the rocks into the 

 canon below, where the wolves could feast on them at 

 leisure. When the bull is in the lead, it is an evil day for 

 the animal that tries to bar his path. 



In regard to elk feeding at dawn instead of night, I give 

 as a reason the intense darkness that pervades this cloud- 

 ridden, mist-hidden region, as well as the rugged and 

 abrupt formation of these mountains in the localities that 



the elk frequent. It takes remarkably good eyesight to 

 avoid falling over the cliffs, and to guard against the at- 

 tacks of the large carnivores, even in the day time. 



In explanation of killing an apparentlv large number of 

 elk, I will state that the Makah and Quillayute Indians 

 claimed this region as their exclusive hunting grcund. 

 The only landing places between Quillayute and Neah 

 B^y are Atchewan and Odette. At that time both these 

 villages were under control of petty chiefs, and as there 

 was no other approach to these hunting grounds, except 

 by canoe, they would exact a tribute on all the meat, and 

 half the antlers, from the sportsman. But at that time 

 elk were found in large bands, as they were seldom mo- 

 lested, for the region was, at that date, almost unexplored 

 and unknown, so the sportsman could kill any number 

 desired. 



I do not offer this explanation to vindicate myself. If 

 I have committed a fault worthy of censure in departing 

 from accepted traditions, and advancing facts that I 

 believe to-be true, I accept the censure, knowing at some 

 future time science shall investigate and substantiate the 

 statements that I have made. W. A. Perry. 

 CTjEARBrook, Wash., Aug. 28. 



§ng unA 



"FOREST AND STREAM" GUN TESTS. 



THE following guns have been tested at the Forest and 

 Stream Range, and reported upon in the issues named. 

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

 Glabrough 12. May 1, '90. Parker 10. h-nrme'*, June 6, '89. 

 Colt 12, .July 25, '89. Parker 12, hain'rlesfUune 6, '89. 



Colt 10 and 12, Oct. 24, '89. Remington 1ft, May 30. '89. 

 Folsom 10 and 12, Sept. 26, '89. ReminoxON 12, Dec'5,'89, H'eb 6'90 

 Francotte 12, Deo. 12, '89. Remington 10, Dpc. 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, Nov. 7. '89. Whitney Safety 12, M'ch 6, '90. 



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



BOSTON NOTES. 



BOSTON, Mass., Sept. 8.— Henry T. Brown, of Walter 

 Brown's Son & Co., in the Boston wool trade, is 

 about starting for the Upper D im, Richardson Lakp, Me., 

 from which point the Ashing is reported remarkably 

 good. Or at least they have already had several days of 

 good fishing at that point, with a record of an 81 bs. trout, 

 a6lbs., ao^lbs., and a good score of smaller fi-th. Mr. 

 Brown is a lover of the rod and reel, inherited from his 

 father. Walter Brown was for years known as an en- 

 thusiastic sportsman. He was an artist as well, and a 

 picture from his brush of a conquered trout, with the fly 

 in his jaw, has scarcely ever been excelled by the trout 

 artists of this country. 



Mnrk Hollings worth, also an artist, is to start for the 

 Upper Dam in a few days. It was his bru h that ex- 

 ecuted the trout and fish basket pR ce that adorns the 

 mantel in the hotel office at the Upper Dam. George 

 Blood, an engineer of the Boston Fire Department, in 

 the Charlestown district, is spending his vacation at the 

 Rangeley Lakes. Generally, the vacation season is over, 

 and the sportsmen who have a little more time to spare 

 prefer to wait till the last of September in order to get a 

 taste of shooting as well as fishing. 



W. T. Farley, of Farley, Harvey & Co., of the Boston 

 dry goods trade, has returned from his month in the 

 Adirondacks. Mrs. Farley was also with him this time 

 and had the pleasure of being in the boat when her better 

 half shot a deer. They spent the month of August in 

 the Upper Saranac Region. Again he hiings out a deer 

 story and the truth of it is beyond questi. n, for the same 

 circumstance has happened three times this season. It 

 is one thing to run deer with clogs, and they are cele- 

 brated for this sort of sport in the Adirondack region, 

 but when it comes to running deer with a narrow-gauge 

 railway train that is another thing. Perhaps the New 

 York game laws, as soon as they are codified, will show 

 how such running of deer is illegal. But at present they 

 will contmue to shoot deer from the trains on the Adi- 

 rondack Railroad, which runs from the settlement up to 

 Tupper Lake. Last week, as Mr. Farley was on his way 

 home, down the road, the engineer saw a deer ahead on 

 the track. FTe was running at good speed, and the deer, 

 as deer will do when frightened, took the smoothest path 

 offered and b^gun running ahead of the engine. The 

 baggage car was signalled, where there are usually a 

 number of guns and sportsmen. This time a couple of 

 hunters went ahead and the speed of the engine was in- 

 creased till the deer found that he must jump the track. 

 This he soon did, and in the stumble he made in turning 

 so suddenly an opportunity was offered the hunters to 

 fire. One of them hit the deer in the throat and it felL 

 The train was stopped and the deer taken aboard. Mr. 

 Farley says that this story can be vouched for by all on 

 the train. Special. 



BAY-SNIPE ON THE CAROLINA COAST. 



ONE of the best days of baybird shooting we have had 

 this season was at the Martin's Point Gun Club on 

 Monday last, Aug. 25. We have spent many pleasant 

 days there since July 1, and some of the bags made were 

 very large, but on this day the sport was fine. Your cor- 

 respondent killed fifty graybacks over decoys in thirty 

 minutes with one gun. Our bag for the day counted up 

 610 yellowlegs and graybacks or dowitchers to four guns. 

 But three guns really did all the killing, one of the party 

 being ill, could not shoot and only killed forry snipe. 

 The parties participating: were Alex. Hunter and W. E. 

 Valk, of Washington, D. C, Geo. W. Taylor and J. B. 

 White, Norfolk, Va. 



Bay-snipe shooting is fast becoming very popular, es- 

 pecially where one can have such sport as this. W» 

 drove to our blinds about one-half mile from the club 

 house at daylight, when it was cool and pleasant, shot 

 until 8 o'clock, when we returned with about thirty yel- 

 lowlegs, which at this place equal in flavor, we think, 

 any bird in America, After a nap through the middle 

 of the day, we load up our cartridges and amuse our- 

 selves in various ways until about 4 o'clock, when we 

 return to our blinds and shoot until sunset. One of the 

 big advantages in this locality is that we do not have to 

 wait for high tides or low tides. The ponds are fresh 

 water and the shooting is good every hour in the day. 



Golden plovers have not yet arrived, but we expect 

 them with the first little storm from the east. We shall 

 go down with some New York friends next week, and 

 will write you the result thereof, Yellowxeg. 



