May 5, 1898.] 



FOREST AND STREAM, 



419 



THE MONTEREY BUFFALO. 



US. b\ C. STEAMER ALBATROSS, March 26.— 

 • Editor Forest and Stream: 1 inclose a photo- 

 graph of a buffalo bull owned by Mr. B. C. Winston, of 

 Monterey, Cal. , whose herd of buffaloes I visited recently. 

 This fine animal was captured when a calf only a few 

 hours old, by Mr. Winston, in June, 1886, about seventy- 

 five miles southwest of Jamestown, Dakota. On that 

 occasion five adults were discovered, two of which were 

 shot. Mr. Winston says the calf is the last buffalo cap- 

 tured east of the Missouri. The cow buffalo at Monterey 

 was purchased by Mr. Winston thirty-five miles south of 

 Fort Pierre, on the Missouri, from Redbreast, one of 

 Sitting Bull's old warriors. From these two have been 

 raised two calves, the Duke of Portland, born in Port- 

 land, Oregon, in October, 1890, and the Duchess of Del 

 Monte, born at Monterey, in May, 1891, the first buffaloes 

 born on the Pacific coast. 



For a long time Mr. Winston's buffaloes would not 

 associate with domestic cattle; but at present no difficulty 

 is found in crossing the species, and a number of half 

 bipeds are expected soon. 



The climate agrees with these buffaloes and their coats 

 are fine and dark. There is every reason to think that 

 the breeding of full-blooded and half-breed buffaloes will 

 be a success in California. 0. H. Toavnsend. 



SOUTH AFRICAN REPTILES AT HOME. 



HOWEVER well informed in natural science we may 

 suppose ourselves to be from the study of books, 

 whether our hobbies be zoology , botany, 

 ethnology, or what not, there is always 

 so much that is new to us when we 

 come face to face with each country 



and its inhabitants, that we find a good 



deal to unlearn after all. R°garding 

 the fauna, and more especially the 

 reptilia, even our zoological collections 

 in the temperate zones, though arti- 

 ficially warmed, convey no adequate 

 idea of their habits and movements in 

 their native tropics. Just now chamel- 

 eons and tortoises chiefly occur to me, 

 these having fallen a good deal under 

 my notice of late. From observations 

 of these when brought to northern lati- 

 tudes we should class both among the 

 slowest and stupidest of reptiles. Each 

 takes ou an average about half a min- 

 ute to consider which limb and where 

 next to move it , but at home they are 

 far from the dull and senseless creatures 

 we are accustomed to think them. 



The first of many queer pets presented 

 to me on my arrival in Cape Colony 

 was a young tortoise (Testudo angu- 

 laris), the specific name given from its 

 sharply defined angular plates. It is 

 supposed to be about five years old and 

 nieasu-es 2£in. in length, rather less 

 than 2in. across and lin. in height, 

 that is from the floor to the higher part 

 of its arched shell- From the first 

 moment of holding this small creature 

 in my hand it gave evidence of self 

 will and a persistency of action which 

 surprised me. That was early in Oc- 

 tober, a spring month of the southern 

 hemisphere, and steadily as the hotter 

 season advanced, so did this little ani- 

 mal's character develop itself. The 

 persevering efforts it made to go exactly 

 where it was told not to go (the "tell- 

 ing" being to lift it back repeatedly to 

 the starting point) would lead one to 

 think that a spirit of intelligent inquiry 

 only could prompt it, so purposeful 

 were its movements. Allowed the run of a table, if it 

 went toward the edge where a fall was inevitable and 

 was lifted back, he turned and ran, actually ran, with 

 business-like eagerness, to make for the exact spot of his 

 arrested fall, and this over and over again: scrambling 

 over books, inkstand, pen tray, whatever impediment 

 lay in the line of progress, and when an obstacle pre- 

 sented a hard and polished surface on which he could 

 not easily obtain a foothold, his frantic efforts and the 

 rapid but ineffectual clutchings of his little claws were 

 extremely comical. At length over he scrambled some- 

 how, often tumbling headlong, but righting himself and 

 reaching the spot as if his very life depended on it. If 

 not again stopped off the table he fell, thus learning a 

 practical lesson. After two or three falls he cautiously 

 surveys the surroundings on reaching the edge, still with 

 a businesslike air, and not knowing what next to do, 

 generally creeps under a paper or other shelter and goes 

 to sleep after so much exertion. His memory for locality 

 is very remarkable. If he has decided on a place for his 

 nap, move him where you will he will find his way back 

 to it with the same pertinacity. As this small pet gives 

 no trouble, and when on a journey conveniently sleeps 

 in a tiny basket, he accompanies me in my wanderings. 

 When stationary there is generally a broad window-sill 

 on which he can ramble at will. Wherever he may be 

 he soon selects a favorite corner and makes for it exactly 

 in the same way that he returned to a certain spot on the 

 table. 



Tortoises are so abundant in this country that they ate 

 brought home continually by the children of a family. 

 Some children of my acquaintance had as many as thirty 

 at a time in their "compound," as the inclosureis called. 

 Those that were big enough to climb went up stairs at 

 will and were found, in all sorts of odd places. Their 

 perseverance displays itself in climbing as in other 

 actions. The children taught them to draw a small cart, 

 "inspanning" (or harnessing) their tortoises in twos till 

 they had a team of sixteen or twenty, like the South 

 African bullock teams. A hole is bored in the shell on 

 each side at the back and a string passed through for 

 harness, the dozen or more tortoises then forming a tract- 

 able team. Intelligent and kindly disposed children teach 



their tortoises many curious tricks. Tortoises, like most 

 other reptiles, possess a keen ear for sound. "A love of 

 music" is frequently attributed to reptiles, and as is well 

 known, to snakes particularly, who from the earliest 

 periods have been supposed to be ' 'charmed" by music. 

 Observation has convinced me that it is music as noise, 

 and not music as harmony which arrests the attention of 

 reptiles, as do most other sudden sounds. An unexpected 

 rattling of paper or knocking on the table will cause 

 "Wally," my little tortoise, to look up, and he now gen- 

 erally turns at the sound of my voice; that is, when I ex- 

 claim to him in a certain tone. He also rouses himself 

 at the sound of his name when uttered sharply. I do not 

 venture to affirm that he pays prompt attention to such 

 summons; but it is certainly a recognition of sound. On 

 one occasion, when he was asleep at the time when his 

 daily meal was ready, and I called sharply "Wally, 

 Wally, wake up!" he distinctly protruded his head and 

 looked round. This I thought a great advance. Another 

 sound which he now regularly and undoubtedly recog- 

 nizes is a tapping or light knocking upon the table. He 

 was assisted in learning this sound by a sense of smell, 

 and it came about when cucumbers were in season and 

 he had chopped cucumbers for dinner. Lettuce leaves 

 had been his diet for some time, and when these were 

 out of season I tried various green things which day after 

 day he rejected, comforting himself by sleeping instead 

 of eating. A slice of cucumber chopped finely at last 

 tempted him, and the next day he evidently recognized 

 the appetizing fragrance of cucumber and came quickly 

 to where it was being chopped up for him. 



By degrees he recognized the sound of the knife on the 

 board, and the sound has now become a regular dinner 

 bell, no matter what the proffered meal may b°. Once a 

 Hay only he takes food, though it is always ready for him. 

 L a ttuce or other leaves he tears off and swallows bit by 

 bit, not using his feet except for grasping. Chopped food 



THE MONTEREY BUFFALO. 



he also selects bit by bit and swallows without mastica- 

 tion ; turning his head in bird-like fashion to daintily 

 select a morsel, using his front paws, as frogs do, to brush 

 his lips and get it into position if it is too broad or of an 

 inconvenient shape. Wally's voice thus far consists only 

 of a very feeble squeak, but in some tortoises I have heard 

 a slight sound more approaching a hiss. Twice Wally 

 has squeaked a sort of protest. On each occasion he had 

 grasped a large and unmanageable portion of fond, and 

 after trying for some time with his habitual perseverance 

 to adjust it with his front paws, I relieved him of it by 

 quickly snatching it away. At the same instant he drew 

 in his head, uttering that faint squeak. His offended 

 dignity will not permit him to take more food for a long 

 while when thus frustrated, perhaps not again that day; 

 but he is fast learning who is his friend, and now when 

 particularly hungry he comes to take his meal at the 

 sound of the knife, and even from my fingers. Thus is his 

 education steadily proceeding, though with interruptions. 

 As a sign of hunger, when the food is not ready, he looks 

 at me and opens his mouth two or three times; this also 

 my lizards and other reptile pets would do, showing that 

 they recognized their commissary. 



Regarding their memory for locality, a friend related 

 a remarkable incident. He had from time to time 

 brought home so many tortoises that his garden began to 

 suffer; and when, one day, he found that a number of 

 young plants had been eaten off close to the ground he 

 decided that the tortoises must go. He gathered them 

 up — as many as he could carry — and bore them away to 

 a considerable distance, then throwing each one hither 

 and thither among the bushes, carrying another armful 

 in another direction, and so on till all were dispersed over 

 new and wild feeding grounds. On visiting his garden 

 next morning to his surprise and dismay every tortoise 

 had found its way back again. 



The same gentleman, an ardent sportsman, described a 

 fight which he witnessed between two rather large tor- 

 toises, and the power with which they run and butt each 

 other. The aim would seem to be to overturn the enemy ; 

 thus each endeavors to get his head under the shell of the 

 adversary, a movement which is watched and anticipated 

 with the adroitness of professional boxers. On the pres- 



ent occasion my friend arrived on the scene of action just 

 in time to see the smaller of the two tortoises overturn 

 the other, having succeeded in working himself under its 

 shell. This is the moment of triumph. The enemy lies 

 helplessly on its back kicking, while the conqueror looks 

 on and "crows" over his victim, uttering a sound which 

 our sportsman facetiously described as laughing. "He 

 was chuckling with delight." No doubt he watched his 

 victim with some exultation, but what the "laugh" was 

 like I am unable to say. When the tortoise is overturned 

 on a perfectly flat surface it has some difficulty in right- 

 ing itself. Under such circumstance "Wally" will lie for 

 hours, and even go to sleep so. When there is any ob- 

 ject close enough to obtain any sort of purchase, or to 

 pu<m himself against, he rights himself without much 

 difficulty. Catherine C. Hopley. 



A STRING OF TROUT AND A FOX. 



DYBERRY, Wayne Co., Pa., April 24.— The trout sea- 

 son opened April 15 with a cold, raw morning and 

 a little snow on the ground, which melted about the mid- 

 dle of the forenoon. A few fishermen went out and 

 reported fair luck. One party of two from here caught 

 75 or 80 brook trout on the upper Dy berry; two others 65 

 trout at headwaters of East Branch. These trout were 6 

 to 9in. in length. Large fish are scarce. Two boys 

 caught 3 trout that weighed together 2£lbs., and a day or 

 two la,ter 1 weighing lib. 5oz. (dressed with head on) was 

 taken. La,st year I caught one (April 15) 16in. long, in- 

 cluding tail, weight lib. 9oz; and several weighing from 

 | to l^lbs. were taken in the Dyberry river. 



Monday, 18th inst., I was out in Mt. Pleasant collect- 

 ing fur, and tried the trout for the first time, catching '62 

 in upper Dyberry and a small branch stream. I saw a 

 few ruffed grouse and heard more drumming; also a 

 crane, hawk and tracks of a coon and an otter. The day 

 was bright; fish bit rather slow and I 

 quit early. As I drew in my last trout 

 and put it an the forked branch that 

 held the string of fish, I saw a queer 

 little animal on the bank looking at me 

 with half shut eyes. Putting a mitten 

 on one hand , and walking up carefully, 

 I put my hand on the little fellow, 

 and after biting my fingers some, he 

 gave up and I captured him, and 

 brought him home under my arm, 

 carrying fish and rod and a sack of 

 fur as best I could four miles. It 

 proved to be a young fox, and has at- 

 tracted a good deal of attention. I have 

 kept him in a small box 8xl2x20in., but 

 to-day put him in one larger. He is 

 quite tame, and we let him out in the 

 sitting room every day for an hour or 

 more at a time, being careful to close 

 the doors first. His sharp barking has 

 almost driven away our three cats, but 

 one stays in the room now and then, 

 until the fox comes up and barks in its 

 face, then spits at it and runs off. The 

 fox wants to get acquainted but don't 

 know how yet. To-day he had a mouse 

 given him and ate it up in a hurry. 



Billy B. (as we call him — short for 

 Bildad), is a philosopher. Scarcely a 

 month old and a prisoner in a small 

 box, a bounty of one dollar on his ears 

 and head, he is making the best of it; 

 laps his milk from a saucer, likes a bit 

 of cheese and a romp on the carpet, 

 sleeps often, and barks when hungry — 

 night or day alike to him. What he 

 thinks about us we can't tell, but he 

 evidently knows something; has smelt 

 of everything he finds in the house; 

 knows where the doors open to; has 

 tried the lounge, table, chairs, tumbled 

 into a pail and bumped his head a good 

 many times, but is always ready to try 

 again. I should call him a foot long 

 and weight a pound more or less. When 

 tired he curls up in a little ball, and 

 puts bis cold nose in my hand, if near me, and goes to 

 sleep in a few seconds. His first name, Bildad, will 

 probably give out soon, and so we call him Billy B. 



An otter was captured April 16 at West Dyberry by a 

 young farmer (E. Ross) in a novel way. The otter's track 

 crossed the road near a barn, in fact went under an old 

 shed and down a spring run into a swamp. The next 

 day Mr. Ross saw the otter come up on his back track, 

 through the fields, and ran out to meet it, while a dog 

 tackled it about the same time, and he managed to jump 

 on its neck and held it under his bootB until it choked to 

 death. It oroved to be a fine, large otter, and in skinning 

 it several No. 4 shot were found lodged undfr the skin 

 near the nose. I sold it last week in New York for a 

 good price. Vetekan. 



CINNAMON TEAL. 



DALLAS, Texas, April 18.— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 Three ducks have been killed in this part of Texas 

 within the last six months, which I cannot locate, and I 

 thought I was pretty well posted on the subject. The 

 bird seemed at first sight to be a hybrid— a cross between 

 the blue and green-winged teal— but that can hardly be 

 the case, because it is, if anything, a little larger than 

 the bluewing and has a great deal more red than the 

 male of the greenwing. From the shape of its head, bill 

 and general conformation it is evidently a teal, a trifle 

 larger than the bluewing, but with the blue markings on 

 the wing, with the head, neck, breast and a part of the 

 belly a dark brownish red. I have killed a great many 

 teal, blue and greenwing in the North, and in Texas, 

 but have never seen anything like the bird. A. H. S. 



[Your bird is no doubt the cinnamon teal (Anas cya^- 

 optera), a bird of western and southern distribution, It 

 is a common Pacific Coast species, and is found in South 

 America as far south as the Argentine Republic. We 

 have seen them in considerable numbers in Wyoming 

 and they occur casually as far east as the Mississippi 

 Valley— Louisiana and Illinois. The male in its highest 

 plumage is richly colored. Hybrids are not very unusua} 

 among the ducks, but there is no reason for 'believing 

 that thp birds you describe were such.] 



