i^OR^ST AND STREAM. 



269 



ABOUT THE BEAVeR. 



INDIAN ROCK, Me. — Editor Forest and Stream: I send 

 you some notes on the beaver, what I know from ac- 

 tual observation, and also what I have learned from 

 trappers whom I know to be reliable. There are many 

 curious traits in all wild animals, and I am satisfied that 

 many statements made in regard to them as facts are 

 merely guess work. The information I can procure of 

 the beaver does not extend back more that thirty years, 

 except in the case of one solitary beaver which was caught 

 thirty-five or forty years ago, and hardly any one knew 

 what it was. 



In the winter of 1863 a party of five went moose hunt- 

 ing. After following the track of the moose for a few 

 miles we came to where another party had turned up the 

 track, so we left it and started for camp at foot of Winne- 

 bago Lake. We followed the main inlet most of the way 

 to the lake. While on the brook we came to a hole in 

 the edge of the bank, made by what is called a bank 

 beaver; there had been a light snow which showed the 

 track of an otter which had gone into the hole, and as we 

 could see nothing of beaver tracks, we concluded the 

 otter had killed the beaver and eaten it. About one mile 

 below we came to another hole, and fomid the beaver 

 was out after food ; he was but a short distance away. 

 We killed him and carried him to camp, That was the 

 only beaver seen that winter, yet there were then old works 

 such as dams and houses, made years before, but for some 

 cause or other the beaver left this part of the country 

 years before, and did not put in an appearance until about 

 1862. 



Since then they have become quite plenty. It was sup- 

 posed by some that a bank beaver belonged to a species 

 different from the house beaver, but I am satisfied they 

 are one, and the only difference is when one gets strayed 

 from his family he linds a good location on some brook 

 whete there is a spring (and the water does not prove very 

 hard), and digs a hole in the bank (under water), makes 

 his nest in the ground above high water mark, and when- 

 ever he wants food goes out after it, instead of laying in 

 a supply as the house beaver does. Every mark about a 

 bank beaver is the same as a house beaver; a solitary or 

 bank beaver never builds a dam or house; whenever you 

 find a house or dam, you will find a family of two or 

 more. 



Beavers are first-class engineers, they know the exact 

 spot to build their dam and the height they must be 

 built, so as to have about one-half of the floor ©f their 

 house under water. They eat and sleep on the same 

 floor, which is on the ground, they (sometimes) build 

 their house on the bank of a stream where the water is 

 5 or 6ft. deep and having a hole run from the stream to 

 their house. Their dams are built in three different 

 forms, sometimes the lower side is concave, some are 

 convex and some straight across the brook or stream. 

 They keep them in good repair as long as they have any 

 use for them, they never leave houses (in winter) except 

 to go into their pond to get their food, which is sunk 

 near the hoiise, xinless there is an open place not far dis- 

 tant and there is a warm spell. A person not acquainted 

 with their habits and houses might pass them lor days 

 , (after snow had covered them) and think the house a 

 .boulder or pile of brush, nearly the shape and size of an 

 . ordinary haycock; they never come outside their house 

 L (in winter) to show any sign of their being in that vicinity. 



I have read a statement that whenever a beaver cuts a 

 •tree it invariably falls to the ground; such is not the 

 iact, as I have seen several that were lodged in other 

 itrees, and one in particular, a white birch, which a bank 

 ibeaver had cut in the winter, that it could not fall. 

 When the beaver had cut it off it slipped from the stump 

 rand stood as straight in the snow as it did before it was 

 icut; the beaver cut it four times and the four sticks stood 

 ;as straight side by side as any man could place them. 



What I have written can be proven by reliable parties. 

 There are many traits that I have heard mentioned that 

 would not be believed. In my estimation the beaver is 

 ithe nearest to a reasonable animal of any in the Maine 

 woods. C. J. Richardson. 



AS TO RATTLESNAKES. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



For the last four years I have spent the most of the 

 summer in Pike county, Pennsylvania, a county in which, 

 according to some accounts, are abundant rattlers, and 

 during that time have met only four. In some of the dry 

 and rocky places, especially on dry and scrubby ridges, 

 they are undoubtedly quite numerous. But unless a 

 person goes on a regular hunt for them he will not often 

 meet one. In midsummer, July and August, they come 

 • down from the high ground arid go into the swamps and 

 ibogs, and ramain there until early fall. 



In all my encounters with them I have found them to 

 '.be peaceable when not molested, and to act entirely on 

 ithe defensive. Moreover, they nearly invariably give 

 ^warning when approached. I killed two last summer, 

 fone of which was 4ft. 4m. long, while the other pos- 

 sessed three fangs instead of two; two on one side of the 

 iupper jaw and one on the other. 



Could the editor, or any of the readers of Fobest and 

 Stream, give a reason for rattlesnakes' color varying from 

 as black as a blacksnake to a handsome yellow with 

 chocolate markings? Some hold that it is sex; but I do 

 not credit this at all; as the yeUow in some species fades 

 into light or dark brown, and in others the reptile is dull 

 black. 



The popular belief that these snakes have a new rattle 

 each year is also, I think, erroneous; as a 3ft. snake will 

 often have as many rattles as a shake 4jft. long. Of 

 course they may lose or break off rattles occasionally, 

 but I do not think the theory to be correct. 



New sroBK CiTT. Theodore Monell. 



"Woodcock." — Brewer, Maine, Jan. 30.— Deay Sir An- 

 toine Binsette: We heard what you been wrote it wood- 

 cock. We want for tell it you, you don't been know it 

 those bird name what you call him woodcock. He log- 



'cock. Cogs, he's big trees; loood, he's chop it up for fire. 



: S'posin'Jjnbu gone woods you seen it those bird on log— big 

 ^,.ee_hang it side tree just like pitchmengan side person; 



inever you see him leetle bush for fire, 'cause he's log- 

 cock, don' go dar. Very much we s'prise you caU him 

 woodcock; What for you don' know logs— 'cause French- 

 mans? When you seen him next time dose bird, you call 



ihim logcock, like what is. We like what you wrote it 



letter. We think so ourself. We decent man, don' kill 

 leetle bird, only once, that time we gone 'splorin' bh-ds' 

 egg, for collecting. I tell you we got j)ile those egg — qua- 

 bird, alabama bird, great many bh-d we got it that time. 

 We don't thought no harm, 'cause did it ourself. Friend 

 Fannie P. Hardy she wrote itdis letter. S'pose don' spell 

 well don' be blame it us. Your truly friend, Big Sebat- 



TIS MiaCHELL. 



Reported Death of J. C. Cahoon. — A dispatch from 

 HaUfax. N. S., dated April 30, says: A special from St, 

 Johns, N. F., says: "J. C. Cahoon, an American natural- 

 ist, was killed while gathering eggs at Carslett, Placentia 

 Bay. While under a nest overhanging a cliff his strength 

 failed. He let go his hold on the rope and dropped 70f fc. 

 and struck on the rocks. His body rolled into the sea 

 and has not been recovered." Mr. Cahoon was well 

 known among bird men as a collector of skins and eggs. 



A 10ft. Sponge. — ^There is on exhibition at a store in 

 Pearl street an enormous sheep's wool sponge, which is 

 said to be the largest one ever obtained. It measui-es 

 10ft. in circumference, and is 2ft. thick, being quite solid 

 throughout. It was fished up near the Bahama Islands 

 by the crew of a vessel engaged in that trade, and, judg- 

 ing by the stories of the fishermen, they had a tough 

 time in getting their prize aboard. Being in a small 

 dinghy when the hooks fastened themselves in the 

 sponge, the men nearly upset their boat in the effort to 

 haul the sponge to the surface. When it was finally 

 secured, the iron prongs of the hook had become straight- 

 ened out under the tremendous weight. When thoroughly 

 soaked this monster sponge is said to hold ten pailfuls of 

 water.— iVe?/) YorJc Times. 



km^ ^nd ^ntf. 



The full texts of the game laws of all the States, Terri- 

 tories and British Provinces are given in the Book of the 

 Game La/ws. 



WILDFOWL IN OREGON. 



Editor Forest ami Stream: 



When man was young on this little world of ours, and 

 it was a struggle between him and other species of ani- 

 mal life to determine the question propounded at a later 

 date by Darwin as to which was the fittest to stirvive — in 

 those days when books were neither written nor read, 

 when the flint was made to do that which at a later date 

 could not be done with anything short of Schultze's pow- 

 der and a hammerleas gun, all mardsind, regardless of 

 "age, sex or previous condition," lived out their lives in 

 the open air, and hunting and fishing were not so much a 

 pastime as a necessity; and necessary labor, generally 

 speaking, seldom has much of the charm of sport about 

 it. A man's reputation in those days depended on his 

 ability to capture game and fish. Our love of field sports 

 is simply an inheritance handed down to us by those early 

 ancestors, a taint of the free and easy life led by them 

 that assumes in us the importance of instinct. So we find 

 the best men and some of the best women going to the 

 duck lakes and trout streams for their sport and recreation. 

 The green woods, the smiling lakes and the sparkling 

 streams infuse new life and vigor into the stiffening sin- 

 ews and hardening clay. The heart throbs quicker and 

 its energy draws from the pure, fresh, balm-laden air a 

 new lease of life. The eye sparkles, the blood dances, 

 and we forget that time has already commenced to fore- 

 close its mortgage on our dust. If women were encour- 

 aged to take this tonic instead of the doctor's pills, our 

 race would grow healthier and better instead of weaker 

 and more vicious. My wife has her own little No. 16 

 breechloading shotgun, her own shell-sack, rod, reel, 

 creel, etc., and knows how to use them, and you can see 

 the effect in her cheeks. The pride in casting a neat fly 

 and making a good s'not does not seem to interfere with 

 her household accomplishments, and she can cook can- 

 vasback and trout to the queen's taste. But like all 

 hunters she has her experiences, and in this connection I 

 will relate one of them. 



Probably the most famous canvas lake in this country 

 is Greene's Lake on the Washington side of the Columbia, 

 near Knapp's Landing. The lake is about one and a half 

 miles long by half a mile in width, and is almost a solid 

 bed of wapatos — the great food of canvasbacks in this 

 country, At this season of the year the wapato tops are 

 not yet down, and there is only a comparatively narrow 

 strip of water throtrgh the center of the lake where the 

 water is too deep for them to thrive. Last November 

 my paid wife and I went there for a hunt. I wiU tell it 

 straight. We left Portland at 9 A. M. on the Lucia 

 Mason, landed at Knapp's at 11 A. M., walked across the 

 meadow half a mile to Lake River, which we crossed, 

 walked a hundred yards to the shanty, where duck boat 

 and decoys were stored, launched the boat with the cargo 

 and crew made up as follows, viz.: In the bow of the 

 boat four sacks of decoys, then two shell sacks, next two 

 guns, next wife, next dog, and lastly your humble ser- 

 vant with barely standing room in the stern of the boat. 

 The wapatos were so rank that I had to pole the boat out 

 to deep water. The good ship had just reached the edge 

 of deep water when the pole broke, throwing me off my 

 balance. Now, all hunters are agreed that if ever an 

 accident occurs the dog is just where he ought not to be 

 and does just what he ought not to do. As I said, I lost 

 my balance, and throwing my right foot back to re- 

 establish my equilibrium, stepped on the dog. Of course 

 he did what any educated dog would do under the cir- 

 cumstances—jumped. I fell on the side of the boat. The 

 boat did what any staunch duck boat would do under the 

 circumstances- dipped and filled. I don't propose fur- 

 ther to disgi'ace my family by describing the scene that 

 followed, or relating how we got otit, but the dog swam 

 ashore, sat on the bank and for about an hour and a half 

 watched one of the most remarkable exhibitions of very 

 civil engineering, on a small but interesting scale, ever 

 seen. 



My wife was too proud a hunter to get hysterical and 

 would not acknowledge much, but I noticed that she 

 afterward questioned me closer than usual as to what I 

 would do without her. Honestly, I believe she thought 

 she was going to drown. Our soundings showed 13ft.— 



3ft. of water and lOft, of mUd, Kind-hearted Mrs. 

 Knapp with dry flannels and generous care soon made 

 her forgetful of the shipwreck, but I observed that 

 during the rest of our stay she amused herself in the 

 swales with the jacksnipe. Her confidence in me as a 

 navigator seemed to have diminished. 



Speaking of jacksnipe I wish to be understood as 

 simply adopting the name for this very gamy little bird 

 by which he is universally recognized here. I am doubt- 

 ful, however, whether this is his correct name; but I 

 would rather bag one than a goose. They are very plen- 

 tiful, particularly during the months of November and 

 December, but the ordinary hunter's bag is seldom con- 

 clusive evidence of that fact. Many hunters who are 

 considered dead shots on duck find great difficulty in 

 getting "on to" them. The best bag I ever made in one 

 day was of fifty-two, on what is known as the Wapato 

 Lake, about two miles above East Portland; but two 

 gentlemen gathered in 150 in one day not long since 

 among the marshes at the mouth of Scappoose Creek, 

 about twenty miles below Portland, on Willamette 

 Slough. 



The jacksnipe is regarded as among the finest of our 

 feathered game by all sportsmen, and as potting them is 

 out of the question the small boy and pot-hunter turn 

 from them in disgust, as they do from the wonderful 

 Mongolian pheasants, of which more anon. Two hunters, 

 secured a very nice bag of jacksnipe last fall within the 

 limits of the city of Portland, at the south end of Guild's 

 Lake. As a rule hunting jacksnipe is hard work. They 

 use that pare of the lake where the water is not deep 

 enough to float a duck, just aboiit that part where the 

 cows browse on the juicy wapato stem s or tops dm-ing 

 the hot summer months when the water is very low, as 

 you will observe when you look for the snipe in Novem- 

 ber. As every Oregon hunter knows, the snipe has a dis- 

 agreeable habit of flushing just as you step in to one of 

 these aforesaid cow tracks, and my experience has taught 

 me that at this interesting moment (if you shoot at all) 

 the chances are two to one that you will hit yoiu- dog in- 

 stead of the snipe. This malicious habit of the jacksnipe 

 is distressingly irritating to fat men with short legs. 



On the 21st day of November, 1885, the Oregon Legis- 

 lature made it unlawful for the term of six years from 

 that date to injure, take, kill, expose or offer for sale or 

 have in possession, except for breeding purposes, any 

 ringneck Mongolian pheasant, any green Japanese pheas- 

 ant, any copper pheasant or scholmeringu, any tragopan 

 pheasant, silver pheasant, or golden pheasant, being the 

 species of pheasants imported into this State by the Hon. 

 O, N. Denny, ex-United States Consul- General to 

 Shanghai, China; the penalty upon conviction being a 

 fine of not less than $50 nor more than $100, and in de- 

 fault of payment of the fine imposed imprisonment in the 

 county jail at the rate of one day for each $2 of the fine 

 imposed. 



The best citizens and various clubs put forth great ex- 

 ertions to enforce this law and protect these beaittiful 

 birds ; but there is a class of people in every State and in 

 every community who have not the fear of the law in 

 their hearts, and that resort to mean and despicable 

 methods to subvert and render inoperative these beneficent 

 laws which were enacted as much for their ultimate 

 pleasure and good as for that of other and better people. 

 These people would be indignant if accused of being petit- 

 larceny thieves, and yet proudly boast of bagging three 

 or four dozen of these lovely birds; in open violation of a 

 good law and a sportsman's honor. But the Mongolian 

 pheasants are hardy birds, and have learned to put their 

 trust in their own cunning and activity rather than in the 

 statute laws of the State, for protection. 



They have come to stay in spite of the unmanly efforts 

 to desti'oy them, and they are prospering and becoming 

 pretty well distributed over western Oregon and Wash- 

 ington, They are beautiful beyond description; the cocks 

 boasting the most gorgeous plumage of all the feathered 

 tribes of earth. Their stunning loveliness would make a 

 rainbow turn pale with envy. 



But I must tell you of the characteristics and peculiar- 

 ities that not only preserve these magnificent birds from 

 annihilation but make them the gamiest of all game 

 bii'ds. Unlike the common grouse and pheasant, they 

 never "tree" (in the parlance of the country m-chin). 

 They will lead the dogs not only a long chase but a lively 

 gallop before flushing, their flight is irregular and strong, 

 they light on the dead run and "keep a-runain'," and 

 will carry off a handful of No. 6. They are very pug- 

 nacious and often visit the neighboring barnyards just 

 for the fun of licking the boss rooster; in fact their well- 

 known pugnacity has been turned to good account in 

 capturing them alive. I have been told by persons, 

 whose reputations for truth and veracity in other matters 

 have never been questioned, that they have witnessed 

 something like the following: Tie a barnyard rooster 

 out in a "burn." The rooster crows, the pheasant accepts 

 the challenge (his answer much resembling the crow of a 

 spring chicken) and comes forth to fight. Unless he kills 

 his antagonist early in the fight he will become so infat- 

 uated with his job and so oblivious of his surroundings 

 that he can be easily taken. 



This generous country with its equable climate seems 

 peculiarly suited to them, and they have readily accom- 

 modated themselves to their new home. Other wildfowl 

 might profitably take a few lessons from the Mongolian 

 on various points. The Willamette Valley farmers say 

 that the female will lead her brood to the field of ripen- 

 ing grain and, flying slowly close over the wheat, whip 

 out with her wings a fat breakfast for the young long- 

 ta,ils in a few minutes. This is undoubtedly an innova- 

 tion upon the time-honored custom of pulling down the 

 stalks — the only plan in general use adopted by other 

 grain-eating fowl. 



Those that have eaten the Mongolian pheasant unre- 

 servedly declare him to be the best of all wildfowl. 



Portland, Oregon. 8. H, GREENE, 



FOBBST AND Stbkam. Box 3,833, N, Y. city, has deasrlptive lUns- 

 trated circulars of W. B. Lemngweirs book, "Wild Fowl Shoot- 

 ing," wMoh will be mailed free on request. The book is pro- 

 aounced by "Nanit." "Gloan," "Dick Swlveller," "Syblllene" and 

 uther competent authorities to be the best treatise on the subject 



Names and Portraits oir Birds, by Gurdon Trumbuu. A 

 book particularly interesting to gunners, for by its use they can 

 Jdentfiy without aneBtion ail the American game birds which 

 tbey may kill. Cloth, flSO pages, prlca $a.eo. For sale by Fobbst 

 iJTPSXBBAX. 



