172 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Feb. 25, 1898. 



HOSPITALITY AMONG WOODSMEN. 



\ MONG the genuine woodsmen in eastern America 

 A hospitality to strangers is the most distinguishing 

 trait. By woodsmen is meant those who make their 

 living by chopping and hauling logs, and who live all 

 winter in log camps, half buried up in the snows of a 

 vigorous Northern climate, far away from the outer 

 world. Among these people there is no law against 

 tramps. The solitary hunter or the lonely traveler whom 

 night has overtaken in his journey always receives a 

 cordial welcome, hot from one, but from all of the crew. 



As soon as the stranger's head is inside of the low door 

 by which the hut is entered, the cook calls out to him to 

 walk in, for it is this functionary who does the honors of 

 the camp. He is then invited to take a place on the 

 "deacon seat," that he may be able better to warm bis 

 feet before the fire. The question is then put, "Have 

 you had your supper?" and the wanderer is asked to step 

 up and have a bite; even if he has already supped he will 

 be almost forced to take a piece of sweet cake and to 

 drink a cup of tea. The tea-kettle always sits beside the 

 fire, and on the stranger's arrival the cook gives this "a 

 good boil," for woodsmen want their tea boiled. Some 

 fat pork is cut and put into the pan and is soon simmer- 

 ing over a cheery fire. While the stranger is taking off 

 his moccasins and putting on a dry pair of socks, with 

 which the cook is always ready to furnish him, the cook 

 is plying him with questions as to what is going on out 

 in the settlement. 



So soon as the "boss" or owner of the camp and crew 

 come in at night, their day's work over, the stranger is 

 cordially greeted by all; in fact he becomes one of them- 

 selves, and is expected to walk up to the bean pot or the 

 frying-pan and to help himself to anything that suits his 

 palate without asking leave from anybody. He not only 

 becomes as one of the crew, but the best place in the 

 berth is reserved for him, some one turning out of it and 

 sleeping on the "deacon seat" (the hewn plank on which 

 the crew sit when eating their meals). Sometimes the 

 deacon seat is preferable to the berth. Many years since, 

 late one stormy winter night, I arrived at Mr. W. Rich- 

 ard's logging camp at the "Otter slide," on the Nash walk 

 River, New Brunswick. The crew had retired. When I 

 entered the camp Mr. R. raised his head from the fir 

 boughs on which he was lying and said to me, "Come, 

 take this place." I caught at the moment a glimpse of a 

 bed of snow beneath the green boughs. "No, thankyou, 

 I prefer the deacon seat." On this I gladly stretched my 

 weary limbs with my boots for a pillow and coat thrown 

 over my shoulders for covering: and yet after all my 

 sleep was sounder and more refreshing than that of one 

 amid all the luxuries of the town. Edward Jack. 

 New Bbvjnswick. 



THE BALD EAGLE. 



From advance sheets of "Life Histories of North American Binls 

 with Especial Reference to their Breeding, Habits and Eggs." 



BY UAPT. CHAS. E, BENDTRE. 



Haliceetus leucocephalus (Linnaeus). 

 Falco leucoceplialus Linnaeus, Systema Naturae, ed. 12, 1., 

 1766, 124. 



Haliaitus leucocephalus Boie. Ms, 1822,548. (B41, 48, 

 C 362, R 451, C 534, IT 352.) 

 Geographical Range— Whole of North America and 

 across the Aleutian chain to the Commander Islands, 

 Kamchatka. 



The bald or American eagle, our national emblem, is 

 pretty generally distributed over the entire United States, 

 and breeds more or less abundantly according to food sup- 

 ply along the Atlantic seacoaat, from northern Maine to 

 Florida and from the Gulf of Mexico throughout the total 

 length of the Mississippi Valley and the larger streams 

 and lakes of the interior, as well as British North America, 

 to the Arctic coast. It is quite abundant on the Pacific 

 coast, and especially common at the mouth of the Col- 

 umbia River, the shores of British Columbia and the 

 Alaska mainland, as well as on all the Aleutian Islands. 

 It appears to be equally indifferent to extreme heat or 

 cold, but in the northernmost portions of its range it is 

 only a summer resident, leaving these inhospitable 

 regions and retiring to a warmer climate as soon as the 

 rivers and lakes freeze up, which furnish it with most of 

 its food supply. 



Within the United States, it is perhaps more abundant 

 in Florida than anywhere else. Dr. Wm. L. Ralph fur- 

 nishes me the following observations on this species, 

 made principally in the immediate vicinity of Merritt 

 Island, Indian River, Florida, during February, 1886, and 

 the two succeeding winters. He says: "Before I dis- 

 covered this paradise for these noble birds, I would not 

 have believed there were so many east of the Mississippi 

 River as I found there within a radius of a few miles: for 

 I not only saw them in great numbers, but found, with 

 the help of an assistant, nearly one hundred occupied 

 nests and took thirty-five sets of eggs. 



"Frequently when returning to tbe hotel at Rockledge, 

 just before dark, I would while crossing the island oppo- 

 site the village, a distance of about a mile, see fifteen or 

 twenty eagles, most of them birds in young plumage, 

 roosting in the trees, and it was no uncommon thing to 

 see six or eight in one flock. 



"Notwithstanding these birds were so very common, I 

 concluded from the great number of deserted nests found 

 that they must have been more abundant formerly, and, 

 on inquiry among the inhabitants, found this to have 

 been the case. 



"These eagles seem to breed earlier than those in other 

 parts of Florida, due no doubt to the immense number of 

 waterfowl, especially coots (Fidica americana), that fre- 

 quent this vicinity during the winter, and which seem to 

 form the principal article of their food, though they will 

 djmetimes condescend to eat fish, like their northern 

 brothers and sisters. I have often seen them catch 

 wounded birds, and I visited one nest that contained in 

 addition to two well grown young birds, the remains of 

 thirteen coots and one catfish. Most of their eggs are 

 hatched by the middle of December, and some must be 

 laid as early as the 1st of November, as my assistant 

 found ajaest containing two egp on the point of batch- 

 ing on J3eo. 5, and I towi yo»»8f birds two or three 



w^U (# w Peps !§i ^hf J*teg "m | sotted fere 



one of two fresh eggs, taken Jan. 20, and another of two, 

 one egg of which was nearly hatched and the other 

 addled, taken Feb. 3. The eggs of this species from this 

 vicinity are more elongated and on the average smaller 

 than the descriptions and measurements usually given of 

 the eggs taken further north, 



"From what I could learn these birds invariably lay 

 two eggs, as I never found a larger set, and where I 

 found but a single egg, it was always fresh. On several 

 occasions I found but one young bird in a nest, and as I 

 to6k quite often a set of two eggs, of which one was 

 addled, I concluded that this was the reason. One pecu- 

 liarity of the bald eagle that I have never noticed in 

 other birds of prey is, that when a pair are robbed of their 

 eggs or young, they will not lay again until the next sea- 

 son. I watched a great many nests after they were 

 robbed, visiting some close by where I lived every few 

 days for a period of two months or more, yet, notwith- 

 standing I almost always found one or both birds at 

 home, I never succeeded in getting two sets of eggs from 

 the same nest during the same season, though the next 

 year these nests were again occupied. 



"The nests are immense structures, from 5 to 6ft. in 

 diameter and about the same in depth, and so strong that 

 a man can walk around in one without danger of break- 

 ing through: in fact, my assistant would always get 

 in the nest before letting tbeeggs down to me. They are 



White-Headed Eagle (Halicetus Uucoceplail-Hdh 



Vrom Bated, Brewer a ad Bidg way's "History or North American Birds." 

 (Through tbe courtesy i»f Little, Brown & Co., Boston, MaSB.) 



composed of sticks, some of which are 2 or 3in. thick, and 

 are lined with marsh grass or some similar material. 

 There is usually a slight depression, in the center, where 

 the eggs are placed, but the edge of the nest extends bo 

 far beyond this that it is almost impossible to see the bird 

 from below, unless it has its head well up. I have fre- 

 quently found foreign substances in their nests, usually 

 placed on the edges of it, the object of which I cannot 

 account for. Often it would be a ball of grass, wet or 

 dry, sometimes a green branch from a pine tree, and 

 again a piece of wool, bark, or other material. It seemed 

 as if they were placed in the nests to mark them. From 

 its frequent occurrence, at least, it appeared to me as if 

 designedly done. 



"I believe these birds have a certain time for laying, 

 and that their eggs are deposited within a few days of 

 that time every year. In the vicinity of San Mateo, 

 Florida, the bald eagle is now quite rare, and I know of 

 but one nest that is occupied by these birds. This season 

 they began sitting on Jan. 31, the earliest date on which 

 I have ever known them to begin here, and, during the 

 several years I have known this nest to be occupied, I do 

 not remember them ever commencing to lay later than 

 Feb. 6 or 7. I also thiuk if one of a pair bekilled after 

 they have eggs or young, if nothing further happens, that 

 the remaining bird will perform all the duty of incubation 

 and care for the young. 



"Two of my assistants watched the nest previously re- 

 ferred to during the present season, 1891, and on the day 

 the birds were first found sitting both my men had vis- 

 ited the place, and on their return I saw them separately 

 when they both told the following story. They said 'that 

 they found one of the eagles on the nest, and that on 

 pounding on the tree it flew to another near by and gath- 

 ered a bunch of Spanish moss in its claws. It then flew 

 slowly back over the nest, and when just above it poised 

 for a moment on its wings and dropped the moss, which 

 nearly fell into the nest.' I believe this to be true, for I 

 questioned both of the men very closely and tbey told 

 exactly the same story, and they know nothing about the 

 habit these birds have of marking their nests. 



"Nearly all the nests I found were in pine trees, and 

 generally the highest and thickest the birds could find, 

 hut as pines in this locality are not very tall, the major- 

 ity of the nests were only 50 or 60ft. above the ground. 

 The highest and lowest locations of nests were 75 and 30ft. , 

 but these were extremes, at least so far as occupied nests 

 were concerned. The places the bald eagle likes to fre- 

 quent are forests of tall, heavy timber in the immediate 

 vicinity of some good-sized ' body of water, and they 

 almost always build their nests in such situations. Both 

 sexes assist in incubation, and are equally solicitous in 

 the care of their eggs and young. They show great dis- 

 tress when their nests are disturbed, but are very care- 

 ful to keep just out of gunshot, and I can recall but one 

 instance of the bald eagle's attacking any one, and that 

 was a pair which had a nest in a large pine tree near the 

 south shore of Crescent Lake, Florida. These birds 

 would swoop down and almost strike the head of any 

 climber, and ware bo very savage that one of my party 

 beoaiae frightened, and thinking tbey might Injure him, 



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nest contained two young but a few hours old, and as I 

 was afraid they would either starve or that vultures or 

 crows would get them while the mother bird was absent 

 after food, I thought I would try and raise them myself. 



"They throve splendidly on a diet of meat and fish, and 

 the amount they would consume in the course of twenty- 

 four hours was something wonderful. I would stuff them 

 until I was almost afraid they would burst, in hopes of 

 keeping them quiet for a few minutes; but it was no uee, 

 for the first noise they heard would set them yelling as 

 loud as ever. I kept them until I left Florida, a period of 

 almost two months, and they were then nearly half grown , 

 and the family with whom I lived promised me to care 

 for them. Soon after my departure one of thetn was 

 injured, and died shortly afterward, but the other got 

 along nicely, and on my return next winter I found it 

 still alive. One peculiar thing about this bird was that it 

 never learned to fly, though it was not confined during 

 the first year. Its wings did not grow to the proper 

 length and the feathers on them were twisted in all direc- 

 tions. It had a very rough and dilapidated appearance 

 generally, which X cannot account for, as it was never 

 handled much. While never afraid of man, this bird was 

 a great coward in other respects, and would run from any 

 other animal of whatever size; even a chicken would 

 greatly frighten it. 



"It would seem, from what little chance I had of notic- 

 ing the growth of these young eagles, that unless they 

 grow much faster in a state of nature than in captivity, 

 birds of this species must remain in their nests from three 

 to four months. They are very much attached to their 

 chosen homes, and although their eggs and young maybe 

 taken from them for several successive seasons, and even 

 one of the old birds killed, the survivor will find another 

 mate and return to the old eyrie another season. 



"The cry of the male is a loud and clear eac-m>--eac. 

 quite different from that of the female, so much so that 

 1 could always recognize the sex of the bird by it: the 

 call of the latter is more harsh and often broken. Bald 

 eagles are constant residents of this vicinity, as they are 

 of most parts of Florida, unless, as the inhabitants say, 

 they go away for awhile during the summer. This I 

 believe to be true, for there must be a scarcity of food 

 then, when the waterfowl go north, as most of them do 

 early in the spring. I believe the bald eagle does not 

 breed before getting the adult plumage, and that this is 

 the case generally with birds of prey, with few excep- 

 tions." 



In the vicinity of Corpus Christi, Texas, the bald eagle 

 breeds sometimes on the ground. Capt. B. F. Goss 

 writes me as follows: "Of six nests of this species ex- 

 amined by me, near the above mentioned locality, all 

 within twenty-five miles of it, four were found in trees, 

 but the two others deserve special mention as both were 

 placed on the ground on small islands in Nueces Bay. 

 An assistant, whom I hired to help me in collecting, 

 showed me a nest from which he had taken the two 

 young about five days previously, and had them in his 

 possession at the time. The nest was placed on a small 

 island, not more than 2ft. in its highest part above high 

 water mark, and, with the exception of a little grass 

 growing in the central part, it was a bare sand reef. The 

 nest site, for it could hardly be called a nest, was located 

 in the center of the island. * It consisted simply of a few 

 sticks laid on the bare ground, not enough to make a 

 single tier even, and these were covered with bones, 

 feathers, and fish scales, and the ground in the immedi- 

 ate vicinity was littered with the remnants of their food 

 and the excrement of the young. We also found a smail 

 armadillo on the island, which was evidently brought 

 there by the eagles to feed their young, who probably 

 found the shell too hard for them to crack, as it appeared 

 uninjured. The owners of this nest were said to have 

 been' in the immature plumage, which accounts for the 

 poorly constructed nest, probably being a first attempt. 



"About the middle of the month I found another nest 

 of this species on an island in the upper part of the bay. 

 about five miles from the former. This was a massive 

 structure, also built on the ground, at least 6ft. high and 

 5ft. in diameter. I saw it fully two miles away, and 

 from that distance it looked like a monument. Although 

 out of our course and in a secluded part of the bay, it so 

 aroused my curiosity that I ordered my boatman to pull 

 to it. It contained a single young eagle nearly half 

 grown. This island was larger and also a little higher 

 than the first, and a solitary small tree was growing on 

 it some two rods from the nest. Otherwise it was quite 

 bare. This nest was quite a prominent object and was 

 visible for miles. It was built with surprising regularity, 

 appeared to be a perfect circle, and the sides smooth and 

 almost perpendicular. The top sloped slightly toward 

 the center, where the eagle sat, which viciously snapped 

 at me as I looked over the edge of the nest. It was built 

 of sticks and had evidently been raised to the present 

 height by successive yearly additions, as the lower half 

 had begun to decay, and a few inches on the top had 

 evidently been recently added. Both parent birds 

 attacked us with great fury, screaming and striking at 

 us with their talons; while examining tbe nest they came 

 within a few feet of me and I was glad to retire. This 

 pair were both adult birds. Some time later, as my as- 

 sistant was taking the eggs from a nest in a tree, he was 

 set upon by both the eagles, and if he had not had a good 

 stick to defend himself I feel sure they would have struck 

 him: as it was they approached within 3ft. of him. These 

 are the only two instances coming under my observation 

 where any attempt was made to defend the nest." 



That the bald eagle shows considerable courage at times 

 in the defense of its nest, even without any provocation, 

 I can corroborate from personal observation. In the 

 months of March and April, 1S83, 1 repeatedly visited a 

 low, marshy swamp at the head of Wood River about 

 two and a half miles northeast of Fort Klamath, Oregon ; 

 the object of these visits being to locate the nest of a 

 pair of goshawks, which committed daily depredations 

 among the poultry at the post, and which always disap- 

 peared in this direction. A number of large aspens and 

 several dense groves of conifers were scattered through 

 this marsh, as well as a few immense pine trees. 



A pair of bald eagles nested in one of the largest of 

 these pines, and at no time could I approach this tree 

 nearer than 100 yards without one of these birds, proba- 

 bly the male, swooping down at me, sometimes as close 

 as twenty feet, lustily screaming, and giving mo plainly 

 to understand thgt t hg4 no "business in that partipwlaj 

 viciuity, 



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