148 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Feb. 18, 1892. 



with a few buttings of the bead they brought down the 

 planks which separated thein, and strangely enough all 

 three bulls furiously attacked the one cow, and would 

 have killed her, if the attendants and other people had 

 not come in to separate them, and to take each one to a 

 different stable. 



I have seeu bison in the Zoological Gardens at Schon- 

 brunn, London and Hamburg. In Schonbrunn they live 

 in a stable with a yard at one end. The yard is sur- 

 rounded by a stout fence made of heavy oak posts which 

 are set 4 to 5ft. in the ground, braced with counter posts, 

 and each post connected with those on either side of it 

 by strong cross bars. Wheu I saw these bison, the cow had 

 a calf only a few days old, to which she gave much at- 

 tention and treated with much affection. In order to 

 obtain a closer view of the young one, I stepped up close 

 to the fence, but at once the cow lowered her head and 

 dashed with such force against the posts of the fence that 

 everything cracked and shook. I at once stepped back, 

 but she repeated her attacks three or four times. 



From whatever source I have heard anything about 

 the bison I have always learned that however pleasant 

 and good tempered it may be while voung by eo much 

 the more it becomes ill-tempered and dangerous when it 

 grows old. Often their own attendants have to be very 

 careful, and must never trust them. The slightest cause 

 may arouse their fury. Especially they dislike to change 

 their abode. In a certain zoological garden it was neces- 

 sary that a cow should ba transferred to another stable. 

 Long ropes were fastened to her head and twenty strong 

 men held them and tried to lead her. For a moment she 

 stood qtiiet and then suddenly shook her head, and with 

 that motion all twenty men were thrown to the ground. 

 Afterward double the' number had great difficulty in in- 

 ducing her to move. 



The bison grows tame up to a certain point, but all 

 efforts to render him docile are in vain. We read of only 

 a single instance where a bison served man. This was a 

 pair owned by Count Lazar, whose family arms showed 

 the bead of a bison. To-day, however /this old family 

 has changed its crest to the head of an elk. This Count 

 Lazar had two tame bison bulls, which he had broken to 

 drive, and at a great festival held at Hermanstadt in the 



Sear 1740 he appeared in his carriage drawn by these 

 alls. They wore a splendid gold-plated harness and had 

 their horns gilded. These bison were caught young in 

 the woods of Gyergyo and tamed. An account of this is 

 given not only in the family history of the Lazars but 

 also in the chronicles of the town of Hermanstadt, in 

 Hungary. This strange team was greatly wondered at. 



The bi3on endures captivity very well in the zoological 

 gardens, and it is to be noticed that the rate of increase 

 is more rapid under these circumstances than when they 

 are in the wilderness. Here it ha3 been observed that the 

 cow carries her calf 270 or 274 days. The mother treats 

 her young one with much tenderness so long as no human 

 hand, has touched it, but as soon as even the well-known 

 attendant tries to caress it, she becomes enraged and will 

 kill her calf unless it is at once taken from her. The 

 bison bull has to be separated from the cow before the 

 calf is born. A peaceful famil v life has never been known 

 among them in captivity. On May 22, I860, a bison calf 

 was born in the zoological gardens at Dresden, and as the 

 habits of the bull were not known he had not been 

 separated from the cow. As soon as he saw the young 

 one he caught it on his horjas and threw it over the fence. 

 Here it was taken up by some attendants and, as it was 

 not injured, it was brought back to its mother, after she 

 had been separated from the bull. She smelled of the 

 calf, and probably noticed that it had been touched by 

 human hand*, for she pierced it with her horns, and killed 

 it at onca by goring and stamping on it. It is noticed of 

 all the bison cows, that several weeks before their calves 

 are born they grow wild and suspicious and remain so for 

 a month or two after the calf is born. 



Some naturalists pretend that there is close relationship 

 between our domestic cattle and the bison, but there are 

 a number of proofs that this is not the case. Usually the 

 bison and the domestic cattle avoid each other, though I 

 have received a report of an exception to this rule which 

 is worthy of mention. In a little village of the district 

 Ent near the forests of Biaolowitza, where the village 

 cows were pastured near the border of the forest, there 

 was a bison bull which took a fancy to one of the cows 

 and came every day to see her. Not content with that, 

 he grew bolder and bolder, and when the cows were driven 

 homeward in the evening he kept her company until 

 the first house of the village was reached. Shortly after 

 that he followed her as far as the stable, where the fright- 

 ened people were obliged to admit him, and afterward he 

 returned each night with the cow to the stable and left 

 with her in the morning. The same letter which con- 

 tained this account gives an example of the opposite feel- 

 ing. 



About the utility or harmfulness of the European bison 

 nothing can be said. The damage done by them in the 

 forests of Bialowitza is incousidera ble, as the number of 

 bison is very small in comparison with the extent of the 

 forest. The meat is very good to eat and has something 

 the flavor of the deer. The leather is thick but not very 

 strong. The horns and hoofs are used for different pur- 

 poses. The old Germans u^ed the horns as goblets, and 

 in the Caucasus they are still used for the same purpose. 

 In a feast given to Gen. Rose by a Caucasian Prince sev- 

 entv bison horns served as goblets. 



Up to the end of the last century we knew of a Cauca- 

 sian bison only by report, until a certain Mr. Guldenstedt 

 found, while crossing the Caucasian Mountains, the 

 skeletons of fourteen bison in a cavern. In the year 1836 

 Baron Da Rosen brought some bison skins with him from 

 the Caucasus, and when those were examined it was seen 

 that the animal of the Caucasus was similar to the bison 

 of the Bialowitza forest. In the year 1866 the first living 

 bison was brought to the Zoological Gardens of Moscow. 

 A petition from a Zoological Society bad been presented 

 to the Emperor of Russia asking him for the sake of science 

 to give orders that a living ui-on should be caught in the 

 Caucasusand brought to Moscow. TheEmperoratoncedid 

 as requested and some hundred of roubles were offered as 

 a prize for the lucky hunter. An inhabitant of the vill- 

 age of Kuvinsk named Adjeff was lucky enough to win 

 the prize. In a great pine forest near the village of At- 

 cikhar he and his seven companions observed the tracks 

 of a troop of biBon. They followed these tracks and soon 

 discovered the troop, which numbered about fifty, pastur- 

 ing quietly in a little spot of prairie in the woods. Adjeff 

 succeeded in shooting a 00 w, which with her calf of about 



six months of age was a little to one side of the main herd. 

 The cow was killed, but the bison went off and the young 

 one with them, and Adjeff and his companions supposed 

 that they must make further efforts before getting hold 

 of it. They stopped to take lunch, and while they were 

 eating, they suddenly heard the cracking of dried branches 

 near by. At once they hid themselves and soon saw the 

 young bison calf coming back to the body of its mother, 

 where they succeeded in capturing it. This calf was kept 

 for four or five months in the village of Kuvinsk and in 

 the autumn was sent on with Adjeff and some soldiers to 

 Moscow, where it was discovered to be the same as the 

 bison of the Bialowitza woods. 



From this time we have often heard of the Caucasian 

 bison from celebrated travellers, such as Nordnian, Tor- 

 nau and Radde. According to their reports, the animal 

 lives in the forests which extend for about 150 miles be- 

 tween Kuban and the Psib or Kapuetti River and in the 

 great pine forests at the foot of the Marucba Glacier. It 

 is also observed here that in summer they go higher up 

 into the mountains and in winter come back again to the 

 lower country where the cold is not so severe. Tornau 

 frequently saw herds of them, and writes that the bison 

 when going to water in the morning travel in long lines 

 in single file, one stepping in the tracks of another, just 

 as is done by the American buffalo whose deep trails al- 

 ways bring us to a stream or brook. 



In captivity besides the zoological gardens mentioned 

 above the bison is kept by the Prince of Pless in Silesia, 

 Austria, in a forest several miles square. This forest is 

 fenced in by posts and strong wire. The troop numbers 

 about twenty or thirty animals very carefully fed and 

 protected. 



A DOUBLE-HEADED GOPHER SNAKE. 



A UBURN, Cal., Jan. 25.— A. very beautiful specimen 

 ir\- of a double-headed gopher snake was captured on 

 a ranch near here the other day. A young man was re- 

 moving a pile of rocks, preparatory to plowing, and saw 

 it protrude its two heads from under the bottom ones. 

 He at once saw the peculiar build of the creature and 

 proceeded gently with his work, and captured the snake 

 unhurt. It is a perfect specimen, the two heads being 

 exact counterparts of each other. Accompanying this I 

 send you a rough drawing, which will give a better idea 

 of its appearance than any description. It is about fifteen 

 inches long, being a young snake, is very tame and gen- 

 tle, and apparently in perfect health. 



Specimens of this snake (Pityophis cunifer) are not un- 

 commonly found in museums, having two heads, but I 

 never saw a living one before, nor such a perfect and 

 symmetrical one. There is no malformation about it 

 saving in its having the two heads. When it travels it 

 presses the two heads closely together, chin to chin, and 

 then looks like an ordinary snake, especially when travel- 

 ing quickly. But when at rest the heads separate for 

 about one inch up the body, and are perfectly independ- 

 ent of each other, one protruding its tongue when the 

 other does not, and doing all other things they are capa- 

 ble of doing, independently. Whichever head comes 

 handiest seizes its prey, and while the one gorges it the 

 other is on the lookout for more. It would make a very 

 beautiful and attractive specimen for a museum or pri- 

 vate collection, and more especially for a zoological gar- 

 den. Arefar. 



Antelope and Deer of America. By J. D. Caton. 

 Price $2.50. Wing and Glass Ball Shooting with the 

 Rifle. By W. C. Bliss. Price 50 cents. Rifle, Rod and 

 Gun in California. By T. S. Van Dyke. Price $1.50. 

 Shore Birds. Price 15 cents. Woodcraft. By "Ness- 

 muk.' Price $1. Trajectories of Hunting Rifles. Price 

 50 cents Wild Foivl Shooting; see advertisement. 



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

 tories and British Provinces are given in the Booh of the 

 Game Laws. ■ 



A HARE DRIVE IN GERMANY. 



ON my recent visit to Europe 1 had the pleasure of an 

 invitation to one of the most famous hunts for this 

 game in central Europe. It was the Domain of Pitchke, 

 with an area of ten thousand acres all under the most 

 perfect cultivation. The soil is well adapted to the large 

 English hare, and he thrives here so well that at the 

 yearly hunt as high as fifteen hundred are killed in a 

 single day without diminishing the annual supply. 



Arriving at the castle. I found a very select company 

 of high officials and officers of rank, numbering about 

 twenty-five, and after a splendid lunch the signal for the 

 start was given at 10 o'clock. A glance out of a window 

 overlooking the courtyard showed a novel scene and 

 almost military discipline. On one side of the large 

 court were ranged the coaches which were to convey us 

 in pairs to the hunting grounds, while on the other 

 hundreds of drivers, many of them women carrying 

 large willow baskets on their backs, "were seated on 

 wagons, each drawn by four very heavy horses. The 

 days in this high latitude being very short, and the terri- 

 tory so large, it was necessary to move from drive to 

 drive with utmost dispatch. 



The territory was laid out in four squares, and one-half 

 of the hunters and half of the drivers were driven to the 

 opposite corners of a square. Each had its captain, who 

 immediately commenced to throw out wings to the right 

 and left angles of the square, and we were instructed not 

 to commence firing until the circle was completed. The 

 hare is a very wary fellow and a few shots prematurely 

 fired will often set them all going. Each hunter was 

 followed by five drivers, about eighty yards apart, and 

 many a tempting shot offered while on the march to 

 complete the circle. Finally the four rings met; we 

 faced toward the center, and when the guns commenced 

 to crack hundreds of hares rose up and could be seen 

 running at top speed. Sometimes as high as fifty would 

 make a rush for me. The whole field seemed alive and 

 moving and it was a hard matter to keep cool. Most of 

 the hunters were supplied with two guns, one of which, 

 with the cartridges, was carried by an attendant. As 

 the circle narrowed, flock after flock of partridges would 

 rise and fly out, giving splendid overhead shooting. 



Finally the signal was given to stop shooting toward the 

 center, the drivers advanced and the hunters faced about 

 and the firing now was only outward. The game was 

 quickly stretched in a long row, every tenth one being 

 laid below the line and the total footed up to 438 hares. 

 In a few minutes all were in motion again, headed for 

 the second square, and here 256 more were added to the 

 number killed. A heavy fog now settled over the field, 

 and as time was precious the horses were started on a 

 run for the points of the third square. This was the 

 most famous territory, and had darkness not overtaken us 

 before the hunt ended, no doubt it would have resulted 

 in a very high scorer as it was, 356 were brought to bag. 



The shooting is not so easy as most people would imag- 

 ine, and requires excellent judgment, as the frightened 

 hare is a rapid goer and hard to kill, and most of the 

 shooting is at a range of 60yds. and over. Right here in 

 this last drive I had the pleasure of witnessing the finest 

 shooting I ever saw in my life, a,nd in the past thirty 

 years I have seen a great, great deal. My next neighbor 

 in this drive was the head forester of the Emperor of 

 Germany; he was using a very fine Winchester repeating 

 shotgun, while his servant carried his Greener ejector. 

 We were advancing toward a large lot of straw stacks 

 stretching out at right angles, forming a wing wh'ch 

 forced the game toward us. Eight hares, only a few 

 yards apart, came with a rush; six times cracked the 

 Winchester, faster than I can tell it; twice the Grpener, 

 and it was all over. All I could do was to take cff my 

 hat and congratulate. Not even one cripple, they all 

 rolled over as if struck by lightning. Noticing the" ter- 

 rific killing power without smoke and hardly any noise, I 

 inquired what powder he was using, and he inf ormed me 

 that it was called the new "Walsrode." The powder is 

 certainly wonderful and is taking Europe with a rush. 



A splendid dinner, lasting until midnight, wound up 

 the hunt; and as I passed the rows of empty bottles on 

 my way to breakfast in the morning, I wondered if there 

 were more hares or empty bottles. WmrPOORwnx, 



THE DEVIL'S RIVER COUNTRY. 



DECEMBER 1st "last past," in company with three 

 friends, and Bob, our colored cook, I left Abilene, 

 Texas, for a three weeks' outing in the famous ''Devil's 

 River country." 



Our outfit consisted of two two-horse wagons, guns, 

 ammunition, fishing tackle, a good tent, and other indis- 

 pensables. Quail were plentiful en route, and now and 

 then a brace of ducks were added to the bill of fare. We 

 arrived at our destination rather later than we had cal- 

 culated, but found deer plentiful, and had a splendid 

 time. Six deer and two wild turkeys made the bag. 

 Five of the deer were killed in one day. 



The Rio Diavolo, or Devil's River, springs full grown 

 from the base of a mountain, and it is about 40yds. wide 

 at the spring. Black bass in uncounted thousands are 

 here. We caught about 401bs. of these fish in a couple of 

 hours. Minnows were used for bait. This strange stream 

 rises in Val Verde county amid the most picturesque 

 scenery I have seen anywhere in Texas. 



Mr. Hi Young, a successful sheepman, has his ranch 

 some Eeven miles from Pecan Springs, the head of Devil's 

 River. He is an enthusiastic sportsman, a devoted friend 

 to Forest and Stream, a prince of good fellows, and the 

 best band at telling a sportsman's story I have met in 

 many a day. He keeps a fine pack of hounds, and woe 

 to the marauding panther or prowling lynx that wanders 

 into Hi Young's bailiwick. I have forgotten the exact 

 number of panthers he has slain in the past two years or 

 so, but think it eighteen. He can tell you exactly, and 

 ought to do it. 



If he would set his old Remington rifle aside, hang up 

 that orotund-voiced horn, and sit down long enough, he 

 could write some accounts of tussles with Felis concolor 

 and Dicotyles torguatus that would surpass the "deeds of 

 derring do" attributed to Davy Crockett. 



The peccary is plentiful in that region. He is classed 

 as "the out-fighingest varmint" in the West. Some of 

 our party captured about a two-weeks-old pig, and Hi 

 said that "you might touch him in the short ribs with 

 your finger and he would bite you three times before you 

 could get it away." I didn't try it, Hi"s love of hunting 

 is only surpassed by his hospitality. He is a bachelor, 

 and to use his own language "runs a typical stag ranch," 

 but he is nevertheless a cultured gentleman. 



J. C. Wingo. 



Abilene, Texa s. 



STOLEN GUNS AND RIFLES. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Wishing to inform my brother sportsmen of my loss, 

 and request their co-operation in assisting me to regain 

 the same, and if possible bring the guilty to justice, I 

 can think of no better way to do. this than through the 

 columns of your valuable journal, of which I am proud 

 to be a subscriber. 



During my recent illness with typhoid fever some thief 

 or thieves broke into my gun-room, which is located over 

 my store, and took the following guns and rifles: One 

 Parker hammerless $100 grade, 12-gauge, 30in. Damas- 

 cus barrels, pistol-grip stock with silver plate, the initials 



E. B. W. engraved on the same, weight 7 Jibe, and No. 

 61,833. One J. P. Clabrough & Bros.' hammerless guns, 

 12-gauge, 28in. Damascus barrels, silver shield on stock, 

 pistol grip, and "J, P. Clabrough & Bros., London," en- 

 graved pn the barrels, weight 7lb3., and No. 4,329. One 



F. Williams hammer gun, 12-gauge, 30 in. laminated steel 

 barrels matted rib pistol errip, checkered and engraved. 

 One Winchester rifle .45-70, model 1886, fancv shotgun 

 butt stock, pistol grip, Lyman rear sight and Winchester 

 express eights, No. 56,328. One Colt lightning magazine 

 rifle, 28in. octogan barrel .40-60 260 and No. 318. 



Brother sportsmen will sympathize with me when they 

 know my favorites were among them, viz., the Parker 

 hammerless and Winchester .45 70 rifle (made to my 

 especial order) and will confer a great favor by making 

 a memorandum of the guns and their numbers and in- 

 forming the subscriber should they run across tbem, for 

 which they will be liberally rewarded by 



Capt. E. B. Wadsworth, 



(163 Eliot street, Boston, Mass.) 



Names and Portraits of Birds, by Gurdon Trumbull. A 

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

 identify without question all the American game birds which 

 they may kill, Qloth, 230 pages, price $2.50. For sale by Fqrsss 



