Sept. 18, 1890. J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



167 



some years afterward, a sharp look-out was kept continu- 

 ally, and every precaution taken to prevent surprise. 

 As' did many others, we made a summer trip to examine 

 the different localities arid select a suitable trapping 

 ground, in order that valuable time might not he wasted 

 in such a search when the fur was "prime." 



A preliminary trip, extending from the village to the 

 shores of Graham Lake, thence southwest to Okabena 

 and back, was made, and still we remained undecided 

 and concluded to make another trip up the left bank of 

 the Des Moines River, where at length, on the shores of 

 Lost and Fish Lakes, the indications of fur seemed abun- 

 dant enough to warrant us in selecting these lakes with 

 their outlying sloughs as the scene of our coming toil ; 

 and well pleased with the outlook we camped for the 

 night on the southeast shore of Fish Lake. While we 

 planned for my brother to drive across the prairie to the 

 eastward ou the following morning to the town of Man- 

 kato, Min., for necessary supplies for the coming fall 

 campaign, it was arranged that the writer should next 

 day examine more thoroughly the scene of our future 

 operations, and should leave, abundant sign of our inten- 

 tion to claim the locality as a trapping ground, which 

 would secure us from intrusion from others of the guild; 

 and then camping alone on the river bank the following 

 night he should proceed next day on foot back to the set- 

 tlements. 



It was a lovely evening, still and fair; and as the harvest 

 moon slowly climbed the eastern sky the blankets were 

 spread upon the grass a few rods distant from the wagon, 

 while the horses, picketed near by, cropped the rich grass 

 of the prairie, and all nature seemed breathed upcn. by 

 the spirit of love and peace. 



I remained seated by the camp-fire after my brother 

 had retired to eujoy a smoke, and while seated alone in 

 front of the cheei ful blaze, I became gradually aware of 

 a feeling of strange uneasiness and apprehension, for 

 which 1 could find no warrant, and which seemed grad- 

 ually to be deepening and growing more intense. Let 

 me explain that I hav« not the slightest faith in nor sym- 

 pathy for the whole vulgar trumpery of ghost or witch- 

 craft business, and have no words emphatic enough to 

 express my contempt for the whole wretched trash. 



Witch legends Konald scorned; ghost, kelpie, wraith, 

 And all the trumpery of vulgar faith! 



Here, however, was a new sensation; a something so 

 entirt-ly different from anything ever before experienced 

 that T was simply dazed; and rising to my feet 1 walked 

 around the fiie, glanced at the ponies peacefully gather- 

 ing the green herbage and giving no indication of 

 approaching danger, and finally, while still uneasy and 

 utterly perplexed, I lay down by brother's side to sleep. 

 Sleep was irnposible. "Best I could not; and the thought 

 of possible danger from wandering Sioux began to haunt 

 me, although a moment's reflection upon the fact that we 

 had just returned untroubled from an expedition to 

 ground much nearer the Indian country, and far more 

 exposed than the shore of the peaceful little lake on which 

 we were now camped, seemed to render the suggestion 

 an absurd one. Yet, still the possibility troubled me, and 

 I reflected that while in accordance with my invariable 

 custom when in the wilderness my own gun and ammu- 

 nition were under the edge of my blanket, my brother's 

 weapon lay in the wagon, while he himself believed in 

 possible S oux only when he saw them. 



A-hamed to confess the growing apprehension which 

 now fairly tortured me and forced me to address him, I 

 shook him by the shoulder and asked him, " Where is 

 your gun, Ike?" 



'■In the wagon," he sleepily answered. 



"Why don't you put it under your bed and keep it dry? 

 You'll want to shoot a duck or goose in the morning and 

 your gun won't go because the cap is wet with dew. Go 

 and get it and keep it by you." 



"Let the gun alone," he rejoined crossly. 



"Look here, Isaac," I persisted, "if you don't get your 

 gun 1 will." 



"What is the matter with you?" he answered, raising 

 himself up on one elbow and staring into my face. "If 

 you must have the gun here before you are satisfied, I 

 suppose I can get it," he continued, rising up and getting 

 the gun, which he placed under the edge of his blanket 

 and again lay down to sleep. 



Again I tried to compose myself to rest and still I found 

 sh-ep impossible, while the feeling of dread of impending 

 and namehss evil lessened not at all; and again I rose and 

 scattered the brands of our decaying camp-fire, and 

 tramped into the blackness of darkness the last spark of 

 light. 



Once more I retired to my bed. and soon the strange 

 sensation lessened and passed gradually away, and was 

 followed by the peaceful sleep enjoyed by the lover of 

 the open air; and the morning dawned sweetly upon the 

 silent prairie. After breakfast my brother departed for 

 Mankato, and I wandered over the ground making the 

 necessary signs; and camping alone on the river next 

 night, walked down to the settlements the day following, 

 wondering continually what could have caused the 

 strange uneasiness, the like of which had never before 

 (and has never since) agitated me. 



Rp aching the house of a friend, the first news I heard 

 was the tale of blood just received from the settlements 

 on Elm Creek (of whicn Fish Lake is the source), of the 

 depredations of a war party of Sioux in search of scalps 

 and horses, and which, on the very night of my troubled 

 slumber on the shore of the lonely lake, had passed us 

 hy, and appeared next morning at the Elm Creek settle- 

 ment, where a man and boy were murdered and several 

 horses taken, which were never recovered. 



My brother, returning from Mankato, told me that he 

 had gone only about a mde after leaving me, when he 

 came into a trail in the heavy dew, which came from the 

 direction of the north shore of the lake upon which we 

 h <d been encamped; and as it went in his direction he 

 followed it for some miles before reaching the Mankato 

 road, where he turned off more to the northward, and 

 not until he had followed it for quite a distance did he 

 find out what made it. Growing thirsty, he stopped at a 

 small lake to get a drink, when he noticed that one of 

 the party in front of him had at this point turned off on 

 the same errand, and in the sol t ground of the lake shore 

 the small moccasin track was plainly seen, as was also 

 the print of his hands and kees in the mud where he had 

 knei led to drink, 



Whether or no the stamping out of the last embers of 

 our camp-fire secured the siumberers of the lonely camp 



from the gaze of murderous eyes, I know not. One 

 thing I know, that the sensation of that night, if ever 

 again repeated, will not be suffered to pass unheeded. 



Orin Belknap. 



BREEDING HABITS OF DARTERS. 



Occasional Observations on the Fishes in the Aquaria of the U.S. 

 Fish Commission. 



DURING April and May a number of spawnings of the 

 "tessellated" darter (Boleosoma olmstedi) and the 

 rainbow darter (Pcecilichthys cceruleus) were observed. 

 The eggs of the tessellated darter were deposited on the 

 under surface of stones, or on the sides of them, where 

 one leaned against the sides or back of the aquarium, or 

 against another stone. The eggs were deposited in a 

 single irregular layer over an area of about one by three 

 inches. They were about the size and appearance, and 

 were deposited in the same manner, as those of the com- 

 mon sunfish. The great activity and the brilliant color- 

 ation of the male, which is perhaps one of the most sober- 

 hued of the darter family ordinarily, differing but little 

 from the female, were very conspicuous. 



The spawning was effected by passing up and down 

 over the surface chosen until all the eggs were extruded 

 and adhering to the stone. They undoubtedly pair, for 

 although all the males would be in a state of great excite- 

 ment and would endeavor to join in the operation they 

 were invariably driven away by the successful male, who 

 would dart at them furiously, with open mouth and fins 

 quivering with excitement, the color increasing in in- 

 tensity. The male guards the eggs during incubation , 

 retaining the brilliant color until that duty is over. Dur- 

 ing this period his vigilance is incessant and every fish is 

 driven from the vicinity of the nest. 



The markings on the fins become at this period, on the 

 males, very bright and distinct, and add more to its orna- 

 mental appearance than the brighter colorations do to 

 other species. The nuptial coloration is a mingling of 

 delicate and indefinable shades of blue and green, with 

 bronze and iridescent effects, which, with the striking 

 effect produced by the markings, make it at this time 

 perhaps as beautiful as any of the family, if not so gor- 

 geously colored. 



The rainbow-darter, also called "blue darter," "soldier- 

 fisb," etc., is probably not found east of the Allegheny 

 Mountains. It is one of the most highly colored species 

 of the family. The prominent colors are red, yellow, 

 orange, blue and green, arranged in conspicuous patches 

 or regular patterns of the most striking character. These 

 fish in the aquaria are from the vicinity of Cincinnati, 

 Ohio, and Neosho, Mo., and correspond perfectly in color. 

 They do not, however, wholly correspond with Jordan and 

 Gilbert's description in Bulletin 16 of the U. S. National 

 Museum, although more so than to any other species 

 there described. Unless of another species it would indi- 

 cate a very considerable degree of variability in the colora- 

 tion. Jordan and Gilberts's color description is as follows: 

 Males olivaceous, tessellated above, the spots running 

 together into blotches; back without black lengthwise 

 stripes, sides with about 12 indigo-blue bars running 

 obliquely downwards and backwards, most distinct 

 behind, separated by bright orange inter-spaces; caudal 

 fin deep orange, edged with bright blue; anal fin orange, 

 with deep blue in front and behind; soft dorsal chiefly 

 orange, blue at base and tip; spinous dorsal crimson at 

 base, then orange, with blue edgings; ventrals deep in- 

 digo; cheeks blue, throat and breast orange. 



The specimens herein described differ considerably 

 from this description in color, viz: Spinous dorsal, lower 

 half deep brick red with a line of lemon color arranged 

 in a series of arches on the membrane just above the 

 back; a lemon-color line also at the upper margin of the 

 dark brick red arranged in reverse order to the lower 

 one; that is, with the concavity upward, the upper half 

 of the fin being a very deep indigo blue. Soft dorsal an 

 artistically arranged pattern of green, blue, yellow 

 and light brick red, difficult to describe. Ventral and 

 anal fins with broad band of pale blue (becoming deeper 

 at times of greatest excitement) at base and tips, with 

 broad central band of deepest indigo blue; pectoral fins 

 transparent, yellow at base; caudal transparent, bordered 

 with dusky and pale blue; a blue blotch across the nape; 

 breast with small orange spot; a lemon-yellow dash 

 around the throat. This species is more addicted to 

 perching about on plants near the top of the water and 

 its movements are very birdlike. In spawning frequently 

 a place would be apparently selected among plants for 

 the purpose, to which they would invariably return after 

 chasing about the aquarium for some time. As with the 

 tessellated darter, there was undoubtedly a mating, 

 although usually two or three other males would be hov- 

 ering near and frequently making rushes to join the 

 female, in which tney were invariably defeated and 

 driven away by the chosen male. At times the spawn- 

 ing would take place among the pebbles on the bottom 

 of the tank, the female dragging herself along in a quiv- 

 ering manner, the male pressing closely alongside of her, 

 and other males following closely in the rear evidently 

 bent on assisting in the fertilization of the eggs. All the 

 fish not actually engaged in the spawning were evidently 

 in a state of great excitement, and followed after, eating 

 the eggs as fast as they were deposited. As the tessellated 

 darters were much the larger the eggs could hardly have 

 been protected from them, although many smaller fish, 

 notably the four-spined stickleback, under like circum- 

 stances would attack anything without regard to size. It 

 is probable that in a wholly natural condition the eggs 

 are deposited on the under or protected sides of stones, 

 where they would be more easily guarded. In fact in 

 some cases the females would remove the sand from 

 beneath a part of small stones on the bottom, and would 

 remain ensconsedin the shelter thus made, but no spawn- 

 ing was observed in such situations by this species, the 

 preference appearing to be for the denser masses of plants, 

 high up, or among the pebbles on the bottom. That of 

 the tessellated darter was wholly on the protected sides of 

 stones, but their presence in the same tank may 

 have interfered with the natural habits of the others. 



The quick, jerky, energetic, climbing and darting 

 movements oi both species are much like those of squirrels, 

 or of the nut-hafccb.es, 



Buffalo Cross Breeds.— Oxford, Neb., Sept. 8.— 

 Editor Foi^est and Stream: Gustave Cole, a ranchman 

 who lives near this place, has four buffaloes in domesti- 

 cation. He has also one half-breed calf, dropped last 

 spring, by a domestic cow. Cole has crossed the buffalo 

 bull on 13 of his cows, in the last three years, but 12 of 

 them died before calving. This must be owing to some 

 individual characteristic of Cole's bull, for, if my memory 

 serves me correctly, both Mr. Jones, of Garden Citv, 

 Kan., and Mr. Bpdson, of Manitoba, have been succesf ul 

 in producing half-breeds from domestic cows. Am i not 

 right?— G. 0. Shields. |Mr. Jones has successfully bred 

 such crosses.] 



Snake Bite.— Suncook, N. EL, Sept. 3.— In late copies 

 of your paper quite a number of correspondents have 

 had their say in regard to a remedy for snake bite. The 

 writer goes barefooted in the swamps and timber on fish- 

 ing or hunting excursions, and in this way named pro- 

 tects his life from toe venomous stings of snakes: He 

 takes the cast-off skin of the rattlesnake or black snake 

 and places the same in a little bag with some common 

 soap, then washes himself all over, using the bag as a 

 sponge. It acts as a vaccination against the poison and 

 must be done yearly to secure full immunity against 

 their poisonous fangs. — H. W. 



kme §dg mid 0mj. 



CARPENTER'S CAMP. 



COLD, gray, bare Elk Creek Mountain stands a lonely 

 sentinel in the heart of the great wilderness of cen- 

 tral Colorado. Only the professional hunter has scaled 

 its rugged sides or explored its black can ms. From afar 

 the tie-choppers have seen it and have planned a trip for 

 elk and deer before they commenced to float. But the 

 journey has always been too long and the time too 

 short. In the clefts of the rocks the snow lies deep and 

 as it melts little streams trickle clown through the 

 mountain mahoganies, the pifion pines and the spruces. 

 The rills unite. Here is Elk Creek, wild, pathless, and 

 Soap Creek, along which winds the alniost-forgetten Lead- 

 ville trail, and here is that beautiful brook, unseen, un- 

 heard, unknown, save as it makes its last leap — graceful 

 Chipeta Falls. 



Under the spruces, under the willows, where the mimu- 

 lus, the smilacina, the larkspur nod to the smiling waters, 

 the Rio Grande trout, black-spotted and lithe, plays with 

 his cousin Salvelinus fontinalis, the lat'er already be- 

 coming abundant in the waters where it has been intro- 

 duced. Down the creek they swim into the deep, dash- 

 ing Gunnison, swim and find the world too large, their 

 cousins, the Utah trout, too fierce. So they return to the 

 icy waters of the mountains. And the Utah trout chases 

 the minnows and its smaller relatives, hunts helgramites 

 and leaps at flies, swims down the Gunnison until that 

 stream meets the Grand and then turns back. It, too, 

 has a larger, a red-throated, cousin that here is called the 

 salmon. 



I am high up on Elk Creek Mountain, looking away to 

 the south and west, and I follow the waters, though I see 

 them not, for hundreds of miles through meadows and 

 canons to the muddy Colorado, and, as I close my eyf s, I 

 can see yet more. I can see through that mighty chasm 

 that the river has cut for itself beyond the hot, barren 

 plains of Yuma, past GUymar with its feverish swamps 

 and Mazatlan with its silvery, Spanish chimes, out to the 

 broad, purple Pacific. In fact, I rather believe that my 

 astral body, that should have been locating bighorns or 

 grizzlies while I slept, went wool-gathering amid the 

 limes, the citrons and the orchids of the Spanish main. 

 Is not that the way with all of us who love the rod and 

 gun? Is it not the first premonition that we are growing 

 old that we dream of that which is behind us? We anti- 

 cipate, to be sure we do, but w T e realize that nothing can 

 quite equal the pleasures of last year, of a decade, of a 

 score of years ago. We live again our former lives, but 

 without the hardships, the pains, the bitterness that they 

 knew, and I am inclined to think that the sweetest part 

 of life is that in which we travel to the sunset land. 



All this by way of reverie while I wait for the sheep 

 that are above, the elk that are below or the silver-tip 

 that may be just the other side of that rock. Old! Who 

 said anything about growing old? One breath of such air 

 and I am good for miles of mountain climbing. Dim- 

 eyed! I can see from the mountain of the Holy Cross far 

 beyond the Ouray cliffs. For five hours I have been 

 climbing. The rest of the party are somewhere about the 

 mountain. Every moment I expect to hear the crack of 

 a rifle. While I wait I would sleep, but I cannot. I can 

 only doze. This icy mountain air beats upon me. 

 Mountain air is never still. 



How came we here? This takes me to the point from 

 which I should have started. Last evening, as the new 

 moon went below the hill, I was smoking the peace-pipe 

 with Jack Carpenter. Jack is several years my junior, 

 and thinks that what he does not know about trout lim- 

 ing is not wOTth knowing. We had been together for two 

 hours just before supper, he using fish eves for bait and a 

 bob, while I stuck to coachman and grizzly- king. Seeing 

 that he was out of luck, I offered him the use of another 

 outfit that I had left at the house, and as he mumbled his 

 thanks I caught a woid that sounded very much like 

 "damphoolishness." Thereupon a slight coolness arose 

 between us, which was not assuaged by my taking home 

 eleven red-throated trout while he had but two to his 

 credit. We were smoking when there was the clatter of 

 hoofs down the Soap Creek trail, the splash at the ford, 

 the stop to open the only gate on the ranch, and Jack's 

 paternal was before us. He threw the loosened MoCarty 

 to his hopeful and made use of a few choice expre.-sions 

 known only to the vocabulary of a Western mountaineer. 

 We knew that something was up and his deliberation was 

 tantalizing. But patience had its own reward. The 

 hunting knife came from his boot, the Climax from his 

 hip pocket. Seating himself on a nail keg he thus be- 

 gan: 



"Durn my skin, if this ain't the wust luck yit." 

 "So, pap?" said Jack, utterly forgetful of the buckskin 

 mare. 



"Thar's tew colts dead up to the head o' the cre-uck. 

 Some blanked mounta-ain lion's killed 'em, an' one ain't 

 been dead more'n tew hours." 



«'9o, pap?" 



