Got. 2, 1890. 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



207 



readers of Forest and Stream, let them congratulate 

 themselves upon the fact that I have spared them very- 

 much which I was tempted to inflict upon them. The 

 story of the unsuccessful elk hunt during our return to 

 civilization; of my trip to Lake Talcot, during which, 

 near the outlet of Graham Lake, a band of 110 startled 

 elk, drawn up in one glorious group, stood in the sunset 

 of an autumn day waiting to be photographed upon the 

 never-fading tablet of memory; of their panic-stricken 

 retreat, when for miles and miles apparently, over the 

 almost level plain, their line of precipitate flight was out- 

 lined by the thin cloud of dust raised from the earth by 

 the hammering of many hoofs, which, floating away on 

 the evening breeze, completed a picture never to be for- 

 gotten, and strongly suggestive of Gordon Cumming 

 and the plains of the Kalihari desert. 



As a final illustration of the freaks of fortune in the 

 trapper's experience, the story of a single day's success 

 of an old trapper named Clark at the Great Oasis, a few 

 miles west of Lake Shetek, is hereby given: 



It was just at the beginning of winter, and with a 

 light snow upon the ground the old man started out to 

 visit his traps, accompanied by a couple of dogs, and in 

 passing a small lake, whose waters had receded far from 

 their former level, while walking along the sandy beach 

 the dogs began snuffing at a hole in the turf above the 

 sandy beach, and as a stroke or two of the hatchet showed 

 that the hole was but shallow and ran up the bank only 

 just below the turf, the trapper continued to break in the 

 turf and to follow the hole up the bank, until at the end 

 he found and captured three flue otters, which were evi- 

 dently wandering in search of winter quarters and had 

 stopped for the night in this odd retreat. 



Removing the skins, the old man continued on his way 

 around the lake, and before he completed its circuit two 

 other similar holes were found, out of each of which an- 

 other otter was taken. On his return toward camp in the 

 afternoon he ran across the trail of three more in the 

 snow, and following it to the crest of a hill, saw the 

 otters pla ving on the ice of a small lake a short distance 

 away. His dogs charging down the hill in pursuit, all 

 the otters disappeared in a hole through the ice near the 

 center of the lake, and as the trapper ran down on the 

 ice he saw at a glance that the low swampy shores of the 

 lake offered no chance for a hole in the bank, and that 

 the animals would be. obliged to return to the hole for 

 air. Kneeling down hatchet in hand at the edge of the 

 hole, he was scarcely in position when the head of an 

 otter appeared and was met with a killing blow from the 

 hatchet, and being grabbed by the neck and withdrawn 

 from the water the head of the second appeared and in 

 like manner all three were secured within thirty minutes. 



What the old trapper's catch of fur in his traps was for 

 that day I have forgotten, but here were eight otters, 

 secured by an amazing and unparalleled streak of pure 

 "luck," which, at $UJ each, swelled the sura total of his 

 lucky catch for this red-letter diy of his trapping life to 

 considerably more than $100. These red-letter days were, 

 however, 



"Like angel visits, few aud far between." 

 Commonly the life was one of toil and hardship, with 

 scanty enough pay, and with occasional tragedies, when 

 life and limb were the sport of the cruel cold, or at the 

 mercy of the unsparing savage, who left no trace of his 

 fiendish work save the bleaching bones of his helpless 

 victim. 



Scattered far and wide are the remaining members of 

 the old fraternity. A letter from a friend tells of a hunt- 

 ing expedition in the Rockies by a party of gentlemen 

 from the East, and adds: "Old Dan Bellows goes along 

 as master of ceremonies." 



Should this meet the eye of old Din, will he accept a 

 word of friendly greeting from one of his old comrades 

 in the life and death struggle with the bbzzard on that 

 never to be forgotten night of Dec. 10, 18(i4? 



Orin Belknap. 



J^/wp/ history. 



HEATH HEN OF MARTHA'S VINEYARD. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Having spent ten years of my life upon this beautiful 

 isle of the sea, and during that entire period devoting a 

 great deal of my recreations to that best of all sports, 

 shooting, I certainly should be a veiy poor follower of our 

 honored "Frank Forrester" if I was not somewhat familiar 

 with these birds. Mr. William Brewster, in his article on 

 the heath hen in Forest and Stream of Sept. 25, makes 

 a number of statements which, with all due respect, I 

 wish to take exceptions to. 



Mr. Brewster says the reason of our having the rem- 

 nant of the grouse family now found there with us is due 

 "partly to an enlightened public sentiment, partly to pro- 

 tection by law, but chiefly to the fact that the interior of 

 the island is comparatively inaccessible and remote from 

 market." My observations have shown the birds not in- 

 clined to dwell in the thickest of the cover over which 

 they are found, and I doubt if any one has ever seen a 

 "he'th n" light in any thicket to which one could well 

 apply the word inaccessible. As to the location being 

 remote from market, compare the distance between the 

 Vineyard and Boston or New York with the distance 

 these birds are now brought from the far Western States. 

 1 am very sorry Mr. Brewster gratified his desire for pos- 

 sessing a collection of eggs by taking the six which he 

 says he did in 1885: those alone, if success had followed 

 their progeny, would have now numbered among the 

 hundreds. A great many of the farmers of the island are 

 friends of mine, and I would not for a moment doubt the 

 sincerity of their statements; yet might not the booming 

 which they have heard have been that,. of the ruffed 

 grouse? We all know that they are noted for this kind of 

 music. 



Again he says the foxes were placed there for sport. I 

 am informed upon good authority that they were released 

 by a party of individuals— I will not call them sportsmen 

 — who had arranged to hold a fox hunt. Their first run 

 was defeated by the farmers, who found the dogs were 

 making havoc among their sheep. They then decided to 

 kill a fox and follow a drag trail. At this point the S. P. 

 C. A. rightly claimed this to be an act which they had 

 power to suppress, thus ending the hunt. These indi- 

 viduals sought revenge by liberating the remainder of the 

 foxes to stock and overrun the island. May that portion 



of tribulation, which should ever be meted out to persons 

 of this character, be not wanting in this case. 



Now, as to the number of birds on the island. In the 

 fall of 1883 there were a good many birds. By a good 

 many I mean that a person knowing the ground with a 

 good dog could start fifteen or twenty some days. Since 

 1882 I have never seen over a dozen in any one season — 

 note I say season, not day. What caused this sudden de- 

 crease I cannot imagine. During the past four years 

 there have been two heath hens 6hot ahead of my dogs, 

 which have been preserved as specimens. The past sea- 

 son, during several days' hunting on the Vineyard, I 

 failed to see a single chicken, but I did hear that more 

 birds were seen last year than for several years back. 



Now as to the assertion Mr. Brewster makes, that the 

 resident sportsmen are the cause of the depleted covers. 

 Here again I disagree from him, I am sure the non- 

 resident sportsmen, who in times past have visited the 

 island, have killed more of these noble birds than ever 

 the local gunners have done. Mr. David Tilton, now 

 deceased, a native of the island and an ardent lover of 

 the rod and gun, who was ever a welcome visitor among 

 the farmers in the interior of the island, once told me that 

 the non-resident sportsmen came down for the grouse- 

 shooting in such numbers that he deemed it necessary to 

 cause the arrest of two of these parties. Search being 

 made at the place where they were stopping revealed a 

 number of grouse concealed in a barrel of grain. They 

 were each fined quite a sum and compelled to give up 

 their unlawful shooting. As to the birds being frequently 

 started in running foxes or rabbits, in all my shooting of 

 this kind I never saw but one bunch flushed while 

 hunting with hounds. 



The plan Mr. Brewster proposes, regarding stocking 

 Cape Cod, may be feasible in the distant future. There 

 is a game club now organized on the Vinevard known as 

 the Hookumpake Shooting Club, several of whose mem- 

 bers are also members of the Massachusetts Fish and 

 Game Protective Association. The idea has been ad- 

 vanced, though not original with me, that from the 

 limited area over which the birds range and the great 

 number of years they have been confined within this 

 space, interbreeding successively year after year has re- 

 sulted in a degeneration in then - powers of reproductive- 

 ness. Realizing the reasonableness of this, the Hookum- 

 pake Club is at this time trying to secure some Western 

 pinnated grouse to place on the island. This same club is 

 ready at any time upon reliable information to bring suit 

 against any parties violating the game laws of Massachu- 

 setts on Martha's Vineyard. J. E. Howland. 



NESTING BIRDS AND SCENT. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I think I have discovered something newinthe natural 

 history of the grouse, and I wish to lay the matter before 

 your readers, hoping that some one has made the fame 

 di-covery. 



In a former communication I stated that aruffed grouse 

 had nested several years within sight of my cabin. It 

 was this grouse that attracted my attention to the new 

 feature in natural history. 



My cabin is in the woods, situated on an old highway, 

 deserted for a hundred years or more. South of the cabin 

 is a small brook, and just across it a path turns off into 

 the woods, and it was near this path that the grouse 

 nested. Several hundred people passed and repassed the 

 nest while the bird was hatching out her fi>*t brood. 

 Many bird dogs accompanied their masters, and I thought 

 it singular that they did not scent the bird. The second 

 year I tried an experiment. The grouse nested near the 

 old spot, and I borrowed a bird dog of a friend , and while 

 an easterly wind blew directly from the bird across the 

 path, led the do? to and fro. Strange as it may appear, 

 the dog did not take the scent. Afterward I went to a 

 boulder, the drumming resort of the male grouse, and 

 the dog pointed the spot every time he passed the rock. 

 Thinl^ng that while his sense of scent was aroused he 

 migtit notice the nesting bird, I tried him once more but 

 with the old result. 



The path near which this grouse nests is a common 

 highway for skunks in their nightly visits to my cabin 

 door yard. Raccoons also use it when frog-hunting in the 

 little brook. The old tumble-down wall along the de- 

 serted highway affords weasels, minks and stoats a road 

 through the woods, and what seems passing strange is 

 that some one of these keen-scented animals has not 

 ferreted out and destroyed the grouse before this. 



I have noticed since I have lived in the woods (six 

 years) that often ruffed grouse nest near paths that are 

 in constant use, and usually rear or at least hatch out the 

 young. I can recall three nests so situated this last sea- 

 son which were undisturbed. 



After due and careful consideration of the subject I 

 have come to this conclusion: That it is a change cf 

 scent that protects the grouse while nesting, and that it 

 is an admirable provision of nature to enable the bird to 

 rear its young aud propagate its kind. 



We all know that domestic fowls have a breeding fever, 

 and wbo can say that the grouse does not have some such 

 fever, and this fever does not change the scent? What 

 say you? Hermit. 



NATIONAL MUSEUM PUBLICATIONS. 



WITH the twelfth volume of the Proceedings of the U. S. Na- 

 tional Museum a new aud greatly improved form of extra 

 copies of the separate articles composing the volume has been 

 devised. For each article of four or more pages rs furnished a 

 neat cover containing the title of the paper and a statement of 

 the volume in which it is printed. There js a very decided im- 

 provement in the quality of paper used in this publication, mak- 

 ing it possible to provide much more satisfactory illustrations 

 both in the text and plates. 



The subjects discussed in the numbers before us cover a very 

 -wide range We cannot give more than a brief list of the articles. 

 Dr. George Marx famishes a catalogue of the spiders of temper- 

 ate North America; this is the first attempt to prepare a complete 

 catalogue of these sometimes dreaded, but very interesting in- 

 jects. Mr. George P. Merrill contributes notes on the serpentin- 

 ous rocks of Essex county. N. Y., from aqueduct shaft No. 6, New- 

 York city, and fi"m near Easton, Pa. Mr. F. H. Knovvlton pub- 

 lishes a revision of a genus of fossil woods. Mr. Walter fcaxon 

 gives notes on American crayfishes, describing two new specie?, 

 one of them found in Florida and ihe other in Missouri. Dr. Har- 

 rison Allen deseril es two new species of bals, one of 1hem Brazil- 

 ian and the other from Jamaica. . 



Dr D S- Jordan furnishes a catalogue of St species of fishes col- 

 lected at Si. Lucia, iu the West Indies, by the steamer Albatross. 

 One of these is regarded as new. A new darter f rorn Indiana is 

 described by Dr. Jordan and R. W. Evermann, and a figure ot the 

 species is given in the text. Dr. Beau has a paper on new fishes 

 from Alaska and vicini' v. Tuese fishes were obtained by the X isn 

 Commission steamer Albatross iu 1888, and are chiefly from deep 

 water Seventeen new species and four new genera are described. 



Mr. Robert Ridgway furnishps further notes on the g^ntis 

 Xiphocolaptes, birds of the family of wo^d- hewers. Prof. 0. H. 

 Gilbert contributes a report on fishes collected by the steamer 

 Albatross in the Pacific, with descriptions of twelve new .sen era 

 and ninety-two new species; this is one of the most extensive 

 additions to ichthyology made iu recent years. The majority of 

 the new forms are from moderate depths; hut there are also numer- 

 ous species fiom the deep sea. Mr. Frederick A. Lucas publisaes 

 a catalogue of skeletons of birds collected by the steamer Alnaxross 

 on her voyage to the Pacific, D 1- , Gi'l lias three papers devoted to 

 the skeletons of several families of eels. Dr. A. K. Eisber notes 

 the oc< urr' n< e of a young crab-eater (Eleeate Canada), in the lower 

 Hudson Valley, New York. Dr. Fisher obtained the cnbia or 

 crab-eater in June, near the village of Sing Sin?, the m^st nor' hern 

 localitv recorded for tl e young of thi8 fish. His specimen is not 

 qune -tin. long, and was caught by a fisherman with a ran row 

 R»ln,e in a broad, sh 'How cove forming the mouth of the Croton 

 River. Mr. F. W. True gives the results of some observe tiens nn 

 the lifp-history of the bottlp-nose porp ise. Mr. Tine's notes 

 relate to the habits and structure of the species its distn 1 ution, 

 the size of individuals, ratio of the sexes, migrat ions, breeding 

 habits, peculiarities aud habits of thf yourg, colors of the recently 

 caught specimens, structure of the eye, deformities and parasitts 



OUR ONLY VICTIM. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



That deer hounding in the Adirondacks is not always 

 a sure thing my own experience shows. 



It I remember correctly, it was about 3 o'clock one Sat- 

 urday afternoon in early September of 1885 when we 

 reactied Grampus Lake. The day was uncomfortably 

 warm, making our walk over the muddy four-mile carry 

 from Long Lake quite fatiguing. After waiting about 

 twenty minutes the sled arrived bearing our belongings, 

 which" were immediately transferred to the boats, and 

 after bidding our teamster good-bye we got in ourselves 

 and shoved off. 



Our party consisted of three sportsmen and an equal 

 number of guides, together with three fine, sleek deer- 

 hounds. As each guide had a boat, the party could be 

 divided up very equally, each guide takiDg one of us, a 

 hound, and his portion of the baggage and provisions. 

 By rowing steadily we reached camp at about half- 

 past 3. 



The afternoon was devoted to putting our bark shanty 

 in order, and in making preparation for a hunt on the 

 morrow. After supper it was decided that I should start 

 eirly next morning and go to Hands me Pond, wh'ch is 

 about a mile and a ha If from camp, with one of our guidps, 

 and there watch for and shoot at any deer that might be 

 driven there by the hounds. 



By half-pist six the next morning breakfa c t was over 

 and my guide, John Keller, and I started for our post. 

 On arriving at the pond we rowed to a point of land upon 

 which we could command a view of the greater part of 

 the land about the pond. I sat on the bank while John 

 climbed a spruce tree in which a seat had been erected. 

 We had h rdly got into position when we heard one of 

 the hounds baying in the distance, and by listening 

 attentively, I found that the baying was becoming moie 

 distinct, shewing that the hound was junning toward 

 us. I now straightened up and scanned the shore m the 

 hopes of seeing something appear, when suddenly John 

 came tumbling down from the tree and said that a deer 

 was swimming across the lake. I jumped into the boat 

 and John shoved off, and we started up the pond as l^st 

 as possible, and soon drew up alongt-ide of a deer, which 

 proved to be a beautiful little spotted fawn. We drove 

 the little creature to the opposite side of the pond from 

 which it had appeared, and then went back to uur stand. 

 Although the dogs were baying fiercely in our neighbor- 

 hood, nothing more hove in sight, and according to orders, 

 we started for camp about twelve o'clock. One of the 

 party had gone to Mohegan Pond, which was half a mile 

 from c-imp, while the third stayed on Grampus. I was 

 the only one who had seen any game, though on Mohegan 

 some animal was heard running through the woods, but 

 kept out of sight. The afternoon was spent in buoy fi h- 

 ing, and at sunset we hooked a few brook trout with the 



fly- 



The following day I was shifted to Mohegan, where I 

 spent an unsuccessful time, as nothing appeared. The 

 third day I was put in command of Grampus Lake. The 

 first part of the morning we spent at the upper end of 

 the lake, later changing to a large rock situated at the 

 extremity of a shoal. Toward neon the guide (Farand 

 Austin) appeared on the shore and hooted to us, where- 

 upon Rowley Keller and I rowed over and took him in. 

 He said if we kept on talking and laughing the way we 

 had been for the la-t half hour that no deer would come 

 near U3, so we decided to be silent. 



On reaching the rock again, Rowley climbed up on to 

 it, while Farand and 1 stayed in the boat. The s-uu was 

 pretty hot; and as I sat there I began to doz% and just as 

 £ was about to go to sleep in goxl earnest, Rowley said, 

 ' 'There's a deer." I believe Farand was asleep, but those 

 words made him wide awake in an instant. He caught 

 up the oars and started for a little bay to the left of us, 

 while I grabbed the shotgun (my rifld having been bor- 

 rowed) and shoved a couple of buckshot cartridges into 

 the barrels. 1 he deer on seeing us -'pulled for the shore," 

 while we tried to cut it off; but as we had a greater dis- 

 tance to go, the deer reached there first, and climbing up 

 the bank started on a run along the shore as if afraid to 

 enter the woods. When Farand saw that we could not 

 cut the game off, he turned the boat's direction a little, 

 so that I could see the deer over the port side, and told 

 me to blaze away. During the chase 1 had become quite 

 excited, and when I aimed I could hardly see what it was 

 that I was to shoot, but I pulled the trigger and waited 

 for the smoke to clear away. When it did I saw my deer 

 kicking in the water where it had fallen, with a broken 

 neck. We took the animal to camp, and an entree in the 

 shape of venison steak was added to our scanty bill of 

 fare. 



During the time we stayed in camp, which was about 

 a week, that was all the game that we could bring in 

 sight, although one of our dogs lost two nails on one of 

 its forefeet and another dislocated its shoulder in the 

 attempts made to show us the deer. 



i have been to the Adirondacks three times since then, 

 but have never used hounds to hunt with, as I think the 

 only way to keep the deer in those mountains is to put a 

 stop to hounding them. A good example of what the 

 result of prohibiting the use of hounds in hunting these 

 animals has done is clearly seen in the wood of northern 

 Maine. F. S. 



Begokxyn, N. Y. 



