June s9, 1882. ] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



689 



BUTCHER BIRDS AND HAWKS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Every one who knows a goose from, a sandpiper knows 

 the impaling trick of the butcher bird, and to relate what 

 I have seen performed by them would be serving up a 

 stale dish; but I never knew till recently that hawks were 

 up to such wily tricks. 



One of these worse than worthless rascals one day took 

 it into his head to have a dove for his dinner. Like 

 Johnny, I got my gun; but before I could get a shot at 

 him he was off with the bird in his claws. Suspecting he 

 had not gone far, I followed him up and he sailed out of 

 a row of oleanders without his bird and I stopped him, 

 I then took a look for the dove, and hearing a faint flut- 

 ter I found it hanging with its head very neatly fixed in 

 the fork of an oleander, while just far enough below it 

 for a comfortable seat and convenient picking was a hori- 

 zontal limb. He had got things nicely fixed for a feast 

 when he was interrupted, and the dove was just at the 

 last gasp from strangulation. 



Now, this was evidently a premeditated arrangement 

 on the part of the hawk. He could not have found it on 

 the spur of the moment, for another place so exactly 

 fitted for the purpose could not have been found in a day's 

 hunt. 



Familiarity with the bloody ways of the butcher bird 

 have made me his sworn enemy. A pair of them had a 

 nest on one of my orange trees and they remained there 

 unmolested till I caught them at their rascally tricks, 

 when I shot the old birds and tore down their nest, and 

 the penalty for lighting on one of my trees since then is 

 death. Seeing one of them dash down repeatedly and 

 strike something on the ground, I had the curiosity to 

 find out what he was at, and on going to him I found he 

 was killing a chicken as large as himself. Again I saw 

 a great commotion among the doves, and found a butcher 

 bird had dragged one of the young doves from the nest 

 and was slaughtering it on the ground. That settled it. 

 I have set a mark upon them, that any one finding them 

 may slay them. Selah! Didymtjs. 



St, Attgtjstine, June 13. 



Florida Gallinule in North Carolina. 



Windsor, N. C, June 12.— About two weeks ago a 

 farmer living six or eight miles from this place found 

 walking around in his lot a Florida gallinule. He caught 

 it and brought it to town, where it has been confined 

 ever since until yesterday morning it was found dead. I 

 do not understand why it should die, as it seemed to be 

 in good health and managed to devour a lot of minnows, 

 etc. This is the second one seen in this county. 



A. G. Rascoe, 



TO TAN A HIDE. 



The first step in tanning a hide is to flesh it; that is, to 

 remove all fat and flesh from the skin. In the case of a 

 small skin— that of a fox, mink or martin — this is best 

 done bit by bit with a sharp knife, but when the skin is 

 large and tough a flesher is the instrument to use. The back 

 of a drawing knife will be found to do the work as well as a 

 regular fleshing knife. The best time to flesh a skin is 

 soon after the animal has been killed and before the hide 

 is dry. However, if it is not convenient to do it then, 

 dry the hide, and when ready to tan it throw it into a 

 tub of water for twelve hours or more. But be sure the 

 water is cold, and kept so, or the hair will slip. Now cut 

 a piece of green timbpr, hard wood if possible, about 6ft. 

 long and from 6 to lOi n. in diameter. Bore two holes in 

 one end and insert two legs, long enough to bring that 

 end as high as your waist, letting the other end rest on 

 the ground. Remove the bark from the upper side of 

 the log and your fleshing horse is complete. Place the 

 skin on this, hair side down, letting a little of it project 

 over the end. Press against it to hold it in place, and 

 holding the drawing knife firmly,, edge up, press the back 

 of it against the hide and push. After you have made a 

 few strokes you will get the knack of it, and if the hide 

 is in proper condition will be able to remove all flesh and 

 fat in a lew minutes. If it is an oily skin like a beaver, 

 coon, or woodchuck, sprinkle it liberally with corn meal, 

 sawdust or any other absorbent. If you can not con- 

 veniently procure a piece of timber for a fleshing horse as 

 described, a 4x4in. scantling 6ft. long, will do, only be 

 sure to round off the corners and oval the top, or you will 

 tear the skin. After fleshing, dry the hide before pro- 

 ceeding to tan it. 



Here is a recipe for tanning which I have found to be 

 reliable. The quantity is for a hide the size of a domes- 

 tic sheep. Use more or less as the skin you wish to tan is 

 larger or smaller. First soak the skin thoroughly. Take 

 of borax, saltpeter and glauber salts one-half ounce each, 

 and dissolve in enough warm water to allow it to bespread 

 on the Bkin. Double it, flesh to flesh, and keep in a cool 

 place twenty-four hours. Second, wash the skin clean. 

 Melt slowiy together in a little water, loz. sal. soda, l^oz. 

 borax, and 2oz. refined soap, being careful not to let it 

 boil. When cool enough to bear the hand in it, apply the 

 mixture to the skin, fold as before and keep in a warm 

 place twenty-four hours. Third, wash the skin clean, 

 wring as dry as possible, and place in enough warm rain, 

 water to well saturate it, in which 2oz. of saleratus has 

 been dissolved. Now dissolve 8oz. common salt and 4oz. 

 alum in hot rain water, and when cool enough not to 

 scald, place the skin in it for twelve hours. Then wring 

 it out and dry it, at the same time pulling and stretching 

 it. Do not use pumicestone or sandpaper. The last stage 

 of this process is the most important, i. <?., the drying. 

 If it is a deer or other hide not easily torn, stretch a stout 

 cord or wire perpendicularly, and rub the skin back and 

 forth over it vigorously every few minutes until perfectly 

 dry. Do not let the skin dry too fast; a temperature of 

 80° is about right. 



The Blackfoot Indians tan small skins, such as the fox, 

 lynx, coyote, mink, etc. , by a very simple process. After 

 the skin has been fleshed and dried, they rub it well with 

 fresh liver and lay it away a few hours where it will not 

 dry out. The liver is then scraped off and the skin rubbed 

 with white clay moistened with a little water (This 

 part of the process is not absolutely necessary, the clay 

 merely giving the Bkin a white, clean appearance), and 



then the tanner proceeds to dry it, holding it at intervals 

 near the fire, but spending most of the time until it is dry 

 working, twisting and rubbing it. This method makes a 

 very soft tan." 



I think the Blackfoot method of fleshing large skins 

 better than the one I have described. They use an iron 

 instrument shaped like a cold chisel, only twice as wide; 

 small nicks are filed in the edge of it. This flesher can 

 be made of hard wood or bone and will do the work 

 nearly as well as the iron one. They throw the skin 

 over a short post or stretch it out on the ground. Be- 

 ginning at a place where the skin is quite fleshy, they 

 start it with a knife, and grasping the started point of 

 flesh with the left hand, strike between it and the skin 

 with the flesher a sharp downward blow which still further 

 loosens the flesh as the blows continue in an ever- widen- 

 ing strip. 



These people, when tanning large skins (with hair or 

 fur on), first remove one-half the thickness of the hide by 

 "chipping" it with an instrument made of a piece of elk 

 antler, to one end of which a sharp piece of steel is 

 attached. It is, in fact, a miniature hoe. This chipping 

 removes the part of the hide which is the hardest to 

 tan, as it contains the most glue. It is an operation re- 

 quiring a great deal of practice and skill to do well. In 

 the old days the young girls used to chip pieces of bull 

 hide for practice and never worked on robes until they 

 understood the business. For tanning these Indians use 

 a mixture of boiled brains, marrow grease and pounded 

 roast liver. This is liberally spread on the hide and 

 allowed to dry in. The hide is then well nibbed with 

 fat, dampened with warm water, rolled up and laid away 

 for a day, when the final process of drying is done; they 

 expose the Bkin to the sun, or if in winter hang it before 

 the fire, and every few minutes give it a thorough rub- 

 bing over a rawhide strand. This is the buffalo robe tan 

 and the only tan which insured a soft robe. White men 

 have tried to tan buffalo robes, and by many different 

 processes, but they could never equal the Indian way of 

 doing it. 



In conclusion, my advice to the amateur tanner is this: 

 Send your skin to a furrier and let him tan it for you, 

 but if you are bound to do it yourself, use the first recipe 

 for any skin larger than a fox, and the Indian process 

 for anything smaller. J. W. Schultz. 



Piegan, Mont. 



CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 



[From a Staff Correspondent.'] 



Chicago, 111., June 17. — There are several other jour- 

 nals beside Forest and Stream in the line of field sports. 

 I state this as matter of news chiefly, but it can be veri- 

 fied by consultation at the larger news agencies, or at the 

 bric-a-brac shops. These journals profess to sportsman- 

 ship. They profess to foster all measures looking toward 

 its preservation or protection of game or fish. They ap- 

 plaud the noble sportsman, and condemn the ignoble 

 pot-hunter, and revile the cowardly citizen who will not 

 inform upon a violator of the game laws. They claim 

 Danielism for themselves, and invite all men to be Dan- 

 iels in the cause of sportsmanship. 



The gentle philosopher of Concord has said, "Consist- 

 ency is the bugbear of small minds." We will not, there- 

 fore, cry simple shame for the violation of the laws of 

 consistency, as shown by these other journals. We will 

 simply cry shame on their cowardice and lack of man- 

 hood. Beyond that we will drop a tear of pity for their 

 lack of ability and enterprise in the field of journalism, 

 that field where enterprise is above all things admired, 

 where ability is above all things considered. 



These other journals, have they been really honest? 

 Have they, or have they not, been purely selfish? Have 

 they, or have they not, sought simply to make money 

 under cover of their public signboards as conservers of 

 true sportsmanship? 



These other journals, what have they actually done? 

 If it be bad taste to make accusations, let us avoid that 

 and simply ask questions. These other journals then, or 

 any of them, what have they done? 



What one of them ever backed a practical measure of 

 protection? 



What one of them ever gathered evidence that led to a 

 conviction? 



What one of them ever even detailed a man to help in 

 the work of getting up a case? 



What one of them ever made a search for illegal game? 



What one of them ever paid a dollar to aid protective 

 work? 



What one of them ever secured the passage of a better 

 game or fish law, or any game or fish Jaw, or any clause 

 of such law? 



What one of them ever brought forward or advocated 

 any practical improvement in protective laws; or in pro- 

 tective methods? 



What one of them ever awoke to the fact that the time 

 had come to stop talking and go to work? 



What one of them ever discovered that something prac- 

 tical could actually be done in protection? 



What one of them ever thought? 



What one of them ever hustled? 



What one of them ever did a single, lonesome, solitary 

 thing? 



Upon the other hand, the record of Forest and Stream 

 would be enviable even if there were other records with 

 which to compare it. It is a record too well known in 

 every line of protective work to need recountal here. It 

 is the record of all that journalism in America has ever 

 done for the actual preservation and protection of field 

 sports in America. It is the only record of thinking and 

 of hustling. These other journals, let them have their 

 talking record and be welcome. Heaven hates a coward. 



Once I was out with a pack of hounds, and we fought 

 about everything we could jump, from bear down to 

 coon. We had one half-breed staghound with us, the 

 only dog in the pack that would not fight. This fellow 

 would run with the pack on the trail, and stick up his 

 nose and prance around, but when it came to going into 

 the swamp and tackling something he wasn't there. He 

 was perfectly willing to sit out on the bank and do the 

 heavy hollering for the pack. 



Reverse the figure to make it true. Forest and 

 Stream is alone in the swamp. The rest of the pack are 

 out on the bank doing the heavy hollering. God bless 

 them for a pretty lot. When I fall to thinking of these 

 things, I thank fortune not more that I am connected 

 with a paper of good purposes than that I am connected 



with a paper that has a little sand. I never did like that 

 half-breed hound. 



Mr. Burnham, of the Forest and Stream force, is the 

 youngest man in the office, yet as shown in a late issue 

 he was in at the largest seizure of illegal game ever made 

 in the country. Mr. Burnham writes me June 6: 



"Some of that illegal game that was seized here in 

 New York a week ago Wednesday came from your stamp- 

 ing ground. In one room were fifteen or twenty saddles 

 of venison, which for lack of time we did not seize. They 



bore the taggof [ & ], of — South Water street, 



Chicago." 



Now, I hand this letter to our warden here, Mr. M. R. 

 Bortree, and he keep3 an eye on this firm. After a 

 while he drops on them. A seizure is made. It is Foreet 

 and Stream all the time, isn't it— Forest a^d Stream 

 working with the officers of the law? Tnese other 

 journals, where are they? Look out upon the bank, my 

 son. Seek for them where you hear the swelling cry, 

 "The public rights, they must and shall be maintained!" 



A few seizures like the late one in New York, and 

 capital will grow very timid about investing in illegal 

 game. What has been done in New York can be done 

 in Boston and Philadelphia. If man can cart ten-story 

 stone buildings around on wheels, man can open cold 

 storage houses. 



The enviable record made in game protective matters 

 by the State of Illinois in the past year was due largely 

 to the active and unselfish labor of President Abner 

 Price, of the State Sportsmen's Association. The new 

 president, Mr. R. B. Organ, will be not less efficient, we 

 all believe. The thought occurs that New York and 

 Chicago could work well together on this cold storage 

 question. 



I notice with great pleasure the communication from 

 our Chicago warden, Mr. Bortree. No one could state his 

 position on the snipe- waterfowl question so well as he has 

 done himself, and his suggestion to Col. Bond as to the 

 test case is so simple and direct as to be pleasing. The 

 test case is what we needed. Mr. Bortree will pardon the 

 sportsmen for saying that he has sprung a perplexing 

 question for them. Unquestionably he crosses the inten- 

 tion of the framers of the law, and the general under- 

 standing of the law held by sportsmen. As to this specific 

 law, the matter is still one of construction, and the courts 

 alone can construe. I can readily see, however, that if 

 we should readjust our understanding and readjust the 

 law, and finally go so far as to except no wild leathered 

 thing whatever from protection, we should only be nearer 

 the better purposes of sportsmanship. If we had a law in 

 each State of the Union forbidding anyfman to carry a gun 

 afield for any purpose from, say April 1 to Sept. 1 or Sept. 

 15, we would come far nearer to being protected. Legal 

 and illegal birds often lie in the same cover, and many a 

 one of the latter gets killed under pretense of search for 

 the former. 



Meantime Col. Bond writes again, with native per- 

 sistence, as follows: 



"I have a letter from Elliott Coues, of the Smithsonian 

 Institution, in which he says that I am right and that 

 snipe are not waterfowl in any sense of the word. With 

 Baird, Coues and Jasper on my side I think I have Mr. 

 Bortree to rights." 



These two gentlemen are never going to agree, I fear. 

 How about the test suit, gentlemen? A whole lot of us 

 want to know what to do when one of those "scaipe" 

 birds jumps up in front of us. Mr. Bortree is ready for 

 the issue. Will some gentleman kindly step forward? 



June 18— Mr. J. W. Schultz, of Montana, again writes 

 on an interesting topic as follows: 



"An old she black bear and her two cub3 were killed 

 here recently. One of the cubs was coal black and the 

 other a light brown, or cinnamon. Yet in spite of this 

 some hunters— old bear-killers, too— will insist that the 

 cinnamon is not the same species as the black-colored 

 one!" 



Mr. Schultz adds: "A large flock of Canada geese flew 

 by here to-day (June 1) on their way North. Seems to 

 me it is very late in the season for them to be migrat- 

 ing. The curlews, ducks and sharp-tail grouse here 

 have already hatched their broods. Saw a mallard and 

 eight ducklings in my irrigating ditch to-day." 



Mr. A. R. Keating of Fond du Lac, Wis., superintend- 

 ent of the Horicon Club, holding the preserve above the 

 Diana Club or the great Horicon marsh, is in town this 

 week. He says the ducks are breeding well so far as 

 known, but that the prairie chickens have suffered. 

 Horicon Club has increased its membership to sixty, and 

 all shares but eighteen have been taken up. This'club 

 has but little Chicago membership as yet, I believe, and 

 it would seem that some of our shooters might do worse 

 than to look into it. Diana Club, the only other on this 

 fine marsh, now has its list complete, I understand. 



Italian Joe drifted through this week, and has departed 

 in search of some new shooting grounds. Joe made a 

 very bad spring of it this year. "I no tell whot come 'o 

 de plov'," says Jce. Alas! Josef o, perhaps de piov' too is 

 passing away. Look in de freez'! 



Mr. R. S. Cox, of this city, will this fall make an ex- 

 tended trip for big game in eastern Washington, which 

 he thinks the finest now in the country. He will carry a 

 large Winchester and accessories, but will depend mainly 

 upon his dazzling, glittering smile. Before Col. Cox's 

 calcium light smile the most robust elk, the most facile 

 sheep, or the most nimble-footed deer must feel itself 

 powerless to resist. Col. Cox could spear fish or jack 

 deer by the light of his smile, but he will not employ such 

 expedients. He is said to be able to light a fire on a wet 

 day with his smile. The fire just can't help it. 



Last week, at Joliet, lib, John Watson (not of Chicago) 

 a boarder at the house of William Watson, was accident- 

 ally shot and killed by George Watson, who pointed a 

 revolver at him in sport. George Watson says he didn't 

 know it was loaded. 



A letter lately received from Wm. French, from Lou- 

 doun county, Virginia, states that there was recently 

 found in that county the shell of a terrapin on which was 

 plainly visible the inscription "J. B. Hough, 1853." J. B. 

 Hough, long since removed from Virginia, told me that 

 he once found in Loudoun county a terrapin marked 

 "Dan Reagan, 1828." Dan Reagan had since removed to 

 Texas. In that country the boys used to thus brand 

 every maverick terrapin they found, and turn it loose 

 again. It was not thought that cutting the shell hurt the 

 creatures any. I do not doubt that many interesting ex- 

 periences of these quaint records could be told. 



E. Houoh, 



