Feb. 19, 1891.J 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



SB 



that or a hfitter for we Alwaies find things Done by 

 natui-e as well or better than we can imagine beforehand." 



And 80 he goes on discoursing on optics, astronomy and 

 natural history, aged eleven they say, but the best mind 

 in America even at that age. And he has this corallary 

 which has in it all the charm and restfulness of that 

 lovely Sunday afternoon on Fourth Lake; "We hence 

 see the exuberant Goodness of the Creator Who hath not 

 only Provided for all the Necessities but also for the 

 Pleasure and Recreation of all sorts of Creatures And 

 even the insects and those that are most Despicable." 



Fannie Pearson Hardy. 



WINTER IN THE NATIONAL PARK. 



YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Jan. ^.—Edi- 

 tor Forest and Stream: Tliis is the most remarkable 

 winter that has ever been experienced here within the 

 memory either of vfliite men or Indians. There was not 

 enough snow in the middle of January to impede wagon 

 traffic over tlie roads throughout the Park. Even the 

 trails were not blockaded, except on a few very high, 

 exposed ridp;es, wliere wliat little snow has fallen has 

 been drifted by Avesterly winds. These drifts can be 

 broken down and one can ride over any section of the 

 Reserve. I have traveled over most of the northern part 

 of the Park, and am within the limit when I say there is 

 not an average of six inches of snow. The light snow- 

 fall, the bright suni^y days, often quite wai-m enough to 

 keep the southern exposures entirely free from snow, the 

 dry winds evaporating the moisture as fast as the snow 

 melts, leave the ground very dry, often quite dusty, I 

 have seen quite a cloud of dust made by bands of elk and 

 antelope wlien running. Then, too, they mix the dry 

 snow and soil where the sun has not reached the snow in 

 sheltered places, showing the ground to be unusually dry 

 even under snow. This dry condition of the mountains 

 and absence of snow would indicate a very low stage of 

 water next summer, a very much diminished supply in 

 all the streams draining the Park and used in the valleys 

 below for irrigation. The streams now are irausualiy 

 low. The next two months, we hope, will see a change, 

 and sufficient snow piled up to fill all the great reservoirs, 

 streams and springs. Otherwise there is danger that the 

 forest (what little there is left) wiU be destroyed by the 

 fires sura to come with a dry season. We don't even have 

 any severe cold weather; up to the 8th of January 10" be- 

 low zero is the coldest reported in the Park. 



Withal, every one enjoys the delightful weather, the 

 game remains on then- summer range since there is noth- 

 ing in the way of snow to drive them to a lower country. 

 None of the animals have moved to any extent, except 

 the blacktail deer, which have left the Park in great 

 numbers. Scarcely any game has shown itself on Mt. 

 Evarts, where usually it became very numerous before 

 Jan. 1, driven there by deep snow at higher altitudes. 



Recently I saw over three hundred antelope on Speci- 

 men Ridge at an altitude of 8,0l)0ft. Several large bands 

 of these beautiful animals can be seen in the Blacktail 

 country. So many antelope when seen by hunters re- 

 mind them, they say, of old times, the good old times 

 when game was' abundant everywhere. It is useless to 

 attempt to convey to the Eastex'n mind any idea of the 

 number of elk in the Park. One can simply say there 

 are thousands of them. The country at times looks like 

 an over-stocked cattle range dnring a round-up. Elk 

 everywhere in large and small ba,nds. I recently had the 

 pleasure of watching a band of over 400 for an hour. 

 They were in an open park on Specimen Ridge, and I 

 was about 300yds. distant from the center of the band. 

 Myself, horse and dog were in plain sight on a ridge. 

 Other elk were scattered about on ridges and in the edge 

 of timber. It is possible they mistook us for elk, for they 

 paid no attention to me whatever. I saw fights between 

 bulls, one which lasted as long as I remained in sight 

 was between two of about equal size, but one had only 

 one horn, the other beam seemed to have been broken ofi: 

 close to his head. I could hear their clashing horns as 

 they made a dive at each other, and could see with my 

 glasses that my one-horned friend was holding his own 

 very well, sometimes pushing the other bull back bodily, 

 when again it would be his turn to get the worst of it. 

 He would be braced but would be moved back, all four 

 feet sliding on the ground. It was a very interesting 

 sight, but I could not stay to see the end. Mr. Onehorn 

 was standing off the other bull when I left, I heard 

 several whistle, but not so clear as early in the season. I 

 was surprised to hear them at all so late, Nov. 80. 



There is a very perceptible increase in the number of 

 black-tail deer, but I cannot say the same for the mountain 

 sheep, this may be accounted for by the fact that the 

 latter have not left their summer range in any number, 

 only a few have appeared on Mt. Evarts. Since the out- 

 break of the Sioux Indians in the Dakotas, Capitain Bou- 

 telle, with most of his command (Troop "K," 1st Cavalry), 

 has left the Park for Ft. Keogh and the field. Lieut. 

 Frank A. Edwards is in command at Camp Sheridan with 

 only ten men. The Park is left without a superintendent 

 or acting civil officer, unless Lieut. Edwards is or some 

 other commissioned officer has been so appointed when 

 this reaches you. 



The past season was an active one, by the Pish Commis- 

 sioner stocking the barren waters in the Park, About 

 100,000 fingerling trout were brought from Michig:an in 

 cars to Cinnabar, from there hauled over 60 miles on 

 wagon roads, then packed 20 miles on horses to Shoshone 

 Lake and Lewis River, There is not the least doubt about 

 the stocking of the Park waters with trout being a success. 

 The trout planted the year before have grown and ai-e 

 doing very well. Some of the brook trout planted in Glen 

 Creek were six inches long last spring when first seen. 

 They had grown from fingerlings or two-inch fish to that 

 size in less than a year. Professors Jordan, Gilbert, 

 Forbes and Linton found abundance of the best kinds of 

 fish food in all the streams and lakes they examined while 

 investigating the waters of the Park for the U. S. Fish 

 Commission. If the good work is continued for t\>'0 

 years more this reservation will be one of the greatest 

 resorts for fly-fishing in the world. There will be more 

 kinds of trout and similar game fish here and a greater 

 extent of country over which one can find them in the 

 streams and lakes than the area of many of the smaller 

 States of the» Union. 



Very few violations of the Park rules were committed 

 last year. Late in the fall one camp was found very 

 near the northern boundary line on the Gallatin. The 

 parties were brought into Camp Sheridan, but were soon 



released and their property turned over to them, as there 

 was a doubt about their being much within the reserva- 

 tion boundary. Were the lines sm-veyed and properly 

 marked by stakes and monuments at frequent inteiwals 

 there would be no question about the line. People would 

 at once know when they crossed the Une, and would 

 know, too, what to expect if they broke the Rules and 

 Regulations. 



The Yellowstone Park Association has a large hotel at 

 the Fountain Geyser well along toward completion. It 

 will be ready for guests by the first of June. This is the 

 thii-d large hotel that has been budt during the past two 

 years, and is a great improvement over the rough affair 

 at the Lower Basin, which was almost three miles from 

 the objects of interest. 



No buft'alo have been seen on Specimen Ridge so far 

 this winter. A smaU band is in Hayden Valley and can 

 be seen at any time by parties passing through. The 

 reported band of 70 in the Red Desert, Wyoming, which 

 were said to have left the Park, is all a mistake. So 

 many j^arties were along the line south of the Park over 

 which these buffalo would pass that they would have 

 been geen by some one or ■ their tracks noticed. The 

 buft'alo in the Red Desert are probably a band that have 

 been there for year.'^. They have been seen before, but 

 only by parties who did not care to "give it away" to any 

 and every one who came along, for had it become gener- 

 ally known they would soon have been killed by specimen 

 and trophy hunters, or the Indians would soon have 

 finished the band, for they enjoy the i)rivilege of killing 

 game at any and all times, no game law affecting them. 

 There is little danger of the buffalo in the Park straying 

 out, except on the west into Idaho, where, if molested, 

 they would soon return to the reservation. 



In October Captain Bou telle had five small log cabins 

 built at different points for the use of snowshoe scouting 

 parties. They are so situated that the scouts can make 

 their trip over a very extensive range with the certainty 

 of shelter every night. The cabins are well built, pro- 

 vided with a door, window, good fire place, a bunk and 

 locked strong box, to contain a supply of provisions and 

 blankets. These cabins are not in sight of the roads or 

 trails, but ai"e cached as they are for the benefit of no one 

 but the scouts. H. 



ANTOINE BISSETTE'S LETTERS.-Vl. 



Msieu Fores' Strvm: 



Wal, seh, dat hor fashin .Janawary t'aw was comesem 

 lak we ant mos' spec he will, in de mont' he b'long for. 

 He'll was mek me sometroub' an' he '11 mek me some funs 

 an' Ah '11 tol' you bose of it, haow he was. 



Ah '11 was be chaup bah de cord for Joel Bahlett hees 

 son-ny-law. Ev'ry smce de wintry beegin he was beegin 

 for hearnes' an' ev'ry tam dar was come snow 'nough, dar 

 was come some more, an' bombye he was be very high, 

 an' Ah '11 gat for pile mail hwood taup of it, 



Ah '11 pile it kan' o'hopin cause it was season better so, 

 an' it ant meashy any wus for me, prob'Iy. 



Wal, seh, w'en de snow was gat four prob'Iy free foot 

 high an' Ah was pile mah las' cord, de sous' wind beegin 

 for blow kan' o' genkly, den more harder an' harder an' 

 more warmer an' de snow flea beegin haup a.11 over de 

 snow till he '11 mek it gray lak it was been pepper. 



Den de snow beegin settlin', settlin' more under one side 

 of mah hwood pile as fodder, till mos' all my cord was 

 tomble an' scratter togedder, an' spile all mah nice pilm'. 



Den it beegin for rain lak hoi' f under an' Joel Bahlett 

 sonny- law git scare for fraid de sleddin' all be gone off 

 an' so he "11 hoorah for draw off hees hwood home. 



An' he '11 ant cook mah meashy but meashy it w"en he 'U 

 gat it draw an' he '11 ant pile it so caflly Ah was did, so 

 you see he 'U cheat me for mos' four cord, Ah do' know 

 but free, prob'Iy. Dat was pooty discourage for poor, 

 hones' hard-workin' mans. Ah tol' you. 



But he '11 mek mistake of ten cent he '11 pay me too 

 much as he mean to, an' dat mek me feel leetly better, 

 Dat was de way, de f aw bus' me, some. 



Naow Ah tol' you haow it was do me some fun. Ah '11 

 was mek grea' deal of cackelate on hunt some coon w'en 

 he come aout for sociable wid hees folkses, he '11 ant see 

 for more as mos' two monf but w'en defaw was be f aw- 

 in', some bees'ness pree-vent me to go. 



Ah '11 had to keel bif critter for Tom Hamlin' an' 'fore 

 Ah '11 gat it hang, de win' come on de norf side an' froze 

 some crus' on de snow. 



But Ah '11 took mail haxe an' go hairly of de mornin', 



Fust Ah '11 fin' track of four coon goi'n' togedder, den 

 t'ree in one road, den bombye five jus' de sem, an' aU 

 pahnfe toward one way. 



Ah '11 hope very hard it ant be hole in de rock where he 

 all goin' an' Ah '11 foller, foller long way till Ah was be 

 tire. Den Ah '11 stop for have it some smoke, an' w'en 

 Ah '11 was got Mt of mah pipe Ah '11 kan o' stan' leetly 

 while for look what Ah '11 see. 



It was clear mornin' an' so steel you can hear squirly 

 run on de cms' more as forty rod. 



Off piece Ah '11 took noticed of big hoi' holler tree wid 

 de limb all broke off, an' Ah '11 see what Ah '11 think fus' 

 was smoke comin' aout de taup of it. It ant come steady, 

 honly poof! poof! lakstim woggin on rail-roll, baout once 

 so often as you breeze you bref . 



Ah '11 was very astonishin', but Ah '11 ant fraid, cause 

 Ah '11 ant never do dat, an' Ah '11 go close of it an' den 

 Ah '11 see all de coon track come raght dar. Bah gosh! 

 Ah '11 said, all de coon in Danvit was be in dis tree if he 

 ant gone off on de ems', an' Ah '11 guess he ant, for dat 

 stim was hees bref. It clamb de sky all de tam, poof ! 

 poof! Wal seh ! Ah 'Jl trow mah coat, Ab '11 spit on mah 

 ban' of it an' Ah beegin for chaup. 



Mah haxe go pluck! pluck! an' ev'ry tam Ah '11 stroke 

 Ah '11 said hah! an' de cheep flew so y^ou tink it was rain 

 hwood. Dat hoi' tree can' stood it great whade an' bom- 

 bye go c-r-r-r-ack! c-r-r- whoosh! on de crus' an' split Avide 

 all hopen, an' dar was a squirm of hair an' claw more as 

 ten foot long. 



Feefty coon! Ah '11 said, an' Ah 'II jomp on it an' knock 

 it raght 'tween de head wid mah haxe, all but one dat 

 run way an' Ah can' see hees track on de crus'. W'en 

 Ah '11 get it aU keel Ah '11 count it, an' bah gosh! Ah '11 

 was dis'pant. Ah '11 spec dar was feefty, but he ant honly 

 firty-seven, cep' de one run way. 



Wal, A.h '11 got for mek de bes' of it, an' Ah '11 ant cry 

 'f Ah '11 ant gat great many coon dis tam. 



Fust Ah '11 tie it all in row an' haul it head fust, tdl 

 Ah '11 gat fraid it wear oft' all de hair. Den Ah 'II go 

 home an' got sled an' load mah coon on it an' draw it so. 



Wen Ah 'II oomin' where de folkes see me, fust dey 



tink Ah '11 gat beeg sled load of hay for mah boss. Den 

 w'en Ah 'U gat more close of it dey tink Ah '11 was peddle 

 fur overcoat, an' den w'en dey see what Ah '11 gat, dey 

 ant tink what for tink. 



W'en Ah '11 skin it an' nail de skin on mah barn for 

 dry, stranger folkses say w'en dey drove on dat road, 

 "Dat mans was pooty good off for be able of board hees 

 barn of coon skin!" 



De meats mek it long row w'en it was hangup for froze, 

 an' it mek you stommack be hiury for have it cook w'en 

 you look of it. 



What you tink Ah '11 was pooty good feller for hunt 

 coon, hei'n? 



Ah b'lieve de reason Ali '11 get so few of it was cause 

 dey mos' all gone off on de cms' fore Ah '11 found dat 

 tree. Antoine Bissette. 



Scri^^pos.—Wsien Mumsin said he '11 b'lieve Ah '11 

 ought for mek it game supper of dat coona an' invite all 

 de huntin' feller in Danvit an' have it hoi' big tam. 



Ah '11 goin' speak of Ursule baout dat, an' if he say he 

 ant care. All guess we goin' have it. 



Ah guess yass, if he ant willin' prob'Iy, — A. B, 



NOTES ON THE BEAR. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I notice in your issue of Feb. 5 a letter from "M. D." in 

 regard to the breeding of bears. Your answer is not alto- 

 gether correct as regards our cotmtry. Here beai's mate 

 during the month of August. During running season 

 the female will go to a tree and stand with her back to 

 it, reach above her head with her paws and bite the tree. 

 A male will come along and will go through the same 

 performance. About the first of February the females 

 go up to have their young and do not come out again 

 until their young are large enough to follow them, which 

 is about May 15, The cubs follow the mother until the 

 next running season, which is the next following August, 

 one year later; they only have young every two years. 

 The females that have mated in August are very fat in 

 the fall and are what we hunters call "barren shes," I 

 have had pet bears for yeai-s, and have seen those owned 

 by others, but have never known them to breed. I think 

 as a general thing they Imve two cubs. During my hunt- 

 ing experience I have never seen more than two follow- 

 ing a female. It is my opinion that the male will kfil the 

 cubs. This has always been the opinion of all old bear 

 hunters. 



I have caught cubs in September that were not lai'ger 

 than a house cat, and have killed them as late as 

 December, M^eighing only about 50 or OOlbs, In all my 

 hunting I have never killed what we call a "barren she" 

 during the month of February. I think when they go 

 up to have their young they never come out until the 

 cubs are large enough to follow. It is an old tale with 

 bear hunters that during running season, when a little 

 bear comes along first after a female he will roll a chunk 

 up to the tree and get up on it, so that he can bite high 

 up. The next one that comes along if he cannot reach 

 the bite he will turn back, as he thinks the bear in front 

 is the biggest and won't do to monkey with. I have seen 

 them biting the tree and every fellow certainly tries to 

 reach his best. Hunter. 



Point Pleasant, La^ 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I note the question and remarks on the "Breeding of 

 Bears," in the edition of Feb, .5, and contribute my mite, 

 gained by study of the species during an experience as a 

 trapper of more than forty years in New England and 

 Canada, It is my opinion that bears mate mostly be- 

 tween June 1 and 15 and have their young the fore part 

 of February, a period of eight months in gestation. The 

 number at a birth rarely exceeds two, but I once found 

 four in a den and but one old one. This was in March, 

 when it was good tracking, and as no tracks led away 

 from the den it is certain that the cubs were one litter. I 

 was very thorough in my search for another old one, .as I 

 had doubted bears having more than three at a birth. No 

 doubt the male will kill the cubs. Many of the carnivora 

 have this proj)ensity, hence the females hide away by 

 themselves to have their young- Bears are the worst can- 

 nibals I know of. I have had bears killed in traps by 

 others several times, and forthwith they tear out and 

 devour the entrails as they do with a sheep. Some months 

 ago I noted the inquiry of a correspondent for best bait 

 for bears. When 1 commence the season I endeavor to 

 procure the entrails of sheep or swine, as the best for a 

 starter; then when I have taken a bear (and now I am 

 giving away my very choicest secret) I cut off what I 

 need for bait and burn the rest of the carcass. Bears will 

 be lured by this when nothing else will bring them and 

 it never fails. I got on to this as follows: I observed that 

 the carcasses I skinned out were carried off. Following 

 up I found it the work of bears and that all but large 

 bones were eaten before quitting; this, together with 

 their killing and devouring m a trap, was a pointer I did 

 not fail to profit by. According to my observation bears 

 breed only in alternate years, but as your correspondent's 

 bear did not raise her young she may be in season the en- 

 suing summer. Hunter, 



Maine, Feb. 8. 



A Death From Snake Bite.— St, Augustine, Fla,, 

 Feb. 7, — Editor Forest and Stream: A deep gloom has 

 fallen on this gay throng through the death of a popular 

 young EngliBhma,n, from the fatal poison of the rattle- 

 snake, the bane of all sportsmen. The gentleman, Mr. 

 Bosanquet, went out with his friend into one of the ham- 

 mocks after birds, and came n])on the reptile, received its 

 fatal bite in the calf of the leg; and knowing the desperate 

 nature of the injury, proceeded at once to save himself by 

 cutting out the part. The noble man and friend who ac- 

 companied him sucked the wound— a heroic thing to do, 

 for a simple abrasion or crack in the lip might have been 

 fatal. It is a sad fact that no antidote has yet been dis- 

 covered for this fatal poison . for which the Indians of the 

 West care nothing. Several of these have told me "Indian 

 no mind snake bite, medicine man cure it." If this is so, 

 why cannot the secret be secured from them? — H. 

 Cruthers, M.D. [The jaborandi remedy, so successfully 

 employed by Dr. Yarrow in his experiments with this 

 poison carried on some years ago in Washington, ought to 

 have been tried in this case.] 



