48 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[JXJLY 31, 1892. 



THE BIRDS AND THE MUSIC BOX. 



Mt music box I wound, and placed 



It out of sight amid the grass. 

 Then, just heside it, artluUy 



Inclined a polished looking glass. 



The hirds were busy with their cares 

 Of keeping house and brooding youag. 



Trilling, meanwhile, soft luUabyes, 

 No sweeter songs were ever sting. 



They heard the music in the grass, 

 And Ihis is what they seemed (o say: 

 "Wh5!" "Whatlsthat?" "What can that beV" 

 "Some bird has come from far awaj !" 



A swallow first came skimming down, 

 And caught within the mirror bright 



A flashing glimpse of her own wings. 

 Then circliDg upward with delight 



Told all the birds that llitted near— 

 They heard the news with great surprise— 

 "A singing swallow has arrived, 



I've seen it with my own two eyes." 



Next robin redbreast hopped along 

 And chirped: "Oh, welcome, cousin dear; 



No song so sweet as our old song, 

 'Twas kind in you to settle here." 



Then an excited phojbe came. 

 And p'ped: "Dear me! I've always heard 



That long ago, before the flood 

 The phojbe was a singing bird. 



"And this one has a dress and hood 

 .last like the one I always wear; 

 I'll practice a few notes myself!" 

 "How very siily, I deelai't!" 



A bluebird trilled. "I've just baen nigh 



And saw the bird. She's very fair, 

 With wings like bits of summer sky, 



And such a modest, lovely air!" 



■Tust then the music box ran down, 



And all the birds began to slug; 

 A perfect medley filled the air. 



That made the whole green hilltop ring. 

 Maple Cohser, Wellington, Conn. Anmie A, Pheston. 



THE MULE DEER IN DOMESTICATION. 



The mule deer is found in the Sierra Nevadas and Sis- 

 Ijiyou Mountains of northern CJifornia and eastward 

 into the Rockies, and also in the Oaecades of Oregon and 

 Washington. They are Tery seldom seen west of the 

 summit, where the black-tail range. The latter some- 

 times cross to the eastern slope, but are not found far in 

 the interior. The fawns of the mule deer can often be 

 found during the latter part of May or early in June, 

 hidden in the dense thickets of the wooded mountain 

 side, where they have been left by the doe. If their 

 dainty hoof-marks are seen in the soil they can be 

 tracked, with considerable assurance of being found. 

 When run upon they will lie very low and quiet, their 

 ears thrown back so as to lie flat on their shoulders, and 

 their large, lustrous eyes watching every movement of 

 the strange enemy. If one is cautious in his approach, 

 advancing in a sidelong direction, he may sometimes get 

 so near to them, that by a quick spring he can catch 

 them. It muBt not be supposed, however, that this little 

 creature is slow in getting up and starting oflf. On the 

 contrary, they ai'e very active, and make no ceremony in 

 starting. A sudden spring raises and throws it forward 

 at the same time. And for a short distance they are 

 very fleet, but when quite young they soon tire and can 

 be run down and caught. Their cry is a low, plaintive 

 bleat, which certainly must arouse the sympathy of the 

 rather hardened captor. 



The young do not run with the mother, but she goes to 

 them a number of times during the day, that they may 

 suckle, and then leaves them again. If you should 

 chance upon them at this time they will separate, the 

 doe going up the mountain side, while a streak of flicked 

 white and russet disappearing in the thicket marks the 

 flight of the fawn. 



When captured they will struggle violently for a little 

 while, and their sharp hoofs will do some damage to 

 one's person or clothing. But they soon become recon- 

 eiled to their new surrounding and are quite content. 



They are beautifully spotted, and the&e remain during 

 most of the summer, but gradually disappear as the hair 

 falls, and by the last of September have entirely disap- 

 peared and given place to the uniform blue coat. 



The fawns soon learn to drink milk from a bottle hav- 

 ing a rubber nipple, or even from an open vessel: but 

 owing to their habit of butting while drinking, the latter 

 method of feeding is not always a safe one, as the dish, 

 milk and all, is liable to be thrown into the lap of the 

 feeder. Their appetites are vigorous, and they will drink 

 too much if allowed, which causes indigestion and a weak- 

 ened condition. They become very gentle and are fond of 

 going into the house in search of any knick-knacks that 

 may be given them, such as nuts, candies, fruits, etc. 

 They know their masters or those who feed them, and 

 will follow them about the yard. They begin browsing 

 early, grow quite fast, and the supply of milk can be 

 gradually cut down, The leaves of the wild rose and 

 sarvis bushes are favorites with them, but the tender 

 twigs and buds of various kinds are eaten, and they often 

 graze on the meadows the same as a sheep. They gener- 

 ally feed late in the evening or early in the morning, pre- 

 ferring to lie in the shade and cool dark places during 

 the heat of the diy, away from the annoyance of flies 

 and mosquitoes. They feed some at nigh , especially 

 during moonlight, but dark nights are more quiet, and 

 lie resting or sleeping under a tree or some rude cover. 

 They will lie on the same spot night after night, prefer- 

 ring this to a new bed each night. In their wandering 

 about,;should they run across a cabbage patch, their appe- 

 tite is soon satisfied with this dainty morsel. 



The males grow a small stub of an antler the first fall. 

 This drops ofl' the following winter and the new antlers 

 start out about the middle of March, These grow rap- 

 idly and are covered with the velvet most of the Bummer, 



drying and peeling olf or are torn off on the bushes about 

 the latter part of July, and by the first of September the 

 antlers aie clear and fully grown. These remain until 

 the following January and then drop off, sometimes 

 nearly at the same time, or there may be several weeks 

 between the time of the two being shed. 



The horns are often quite large the second autumn — 

 that is, when the animal is a year and a half old, some- 

 times having four points, but there may be only a spike. 

 Little reliance can be placed on an estimation of the age 

 from the number of points. The hoofs of the animal in 

 domestication grow long and are distorted, interfering 

 considerably with its fleetness and activity. This is ow- 

 ing to their not being worn ofl; by the rough rocus of the 

 mountain sides in travel, as in the wild state. 



The general appearance of the animal when quiet and 

 undisturbed is awkward. Its form is not symmetrical: 

 its gait is a long swinging stride. But when startled it 

 becomes a thing of beauty; its whole figure commands 

 admiration. 



During the first year of its life its disposition is gentle 

 and inoffensive; it is playful and harmless, but as it grows 

 older becomes more sullen and treacherous, and will 

 often attack children or women, and if it should get them 

 down will stamp them with its front feet, or, jumping up 

 and putting all four feet together, will come down, strik- 

 ing with all of them at once. It will also attack with its 

 ho^ns, and as they grow to healthy proportions it can do 

 considerable damage in this way. It is prone to use them 

 in a brisk tussle with the clothes line or any flaunting rag 

 that it imagines is defying it. As sometimes happens, 

 when in its moonlight rambles it comes across the pre- 

 vious day's washing idly flapping in the night breeze, it 

 will strike at the garments with its feet, and the good 

 housewife next morning finds the shirts and various 

 other articles slit from end to end and hanging in halves 

 and different shapes along the line. But not always is 

 the battle to the brave or the strong. IE during the fierce 

 attack the line should break and become fastened around 

 the antlers of the brave charger, there is a change of ijro- 

 gramme. The line and its array of ghostly forms now 

 becomes the attacking party, and follows close the re- 

 treating and thoroughly frightened monarch of the forest, 

 flopping and striking at every bound, producing a scene 

 of the wildest confusion and most laughable nature. At 

 the finish the deer is the most exhausted and subdued, if 

 not the more dilapidated of the two. 



The female is less sociable and more timid and treach- 

 erous than the male, neither is it so vigorous under 

 domestication. Both are subject to diarrhrea and kin- 

 dred disorders, owing probably to the change in diet. If 

 not given entire freedom, and that in the locality or 

 climate in which they are found in their wild state, they 

 become sickly and do" not live as a rule longer than three 

 or four years, generally dying from some bowel trouble. 

 If the does bear young at all, they are liable to be weakly 

 and do not attain full growth. 



When about a year old if given full liberty the animal 

 will leave the place for several days at a time, and then 

 return, only to leave again when its fancy dictates. 

 Finally on one of these trips, especially if it be in the fall 

 of the year, it meets with congenial company and never 

 returns. Sbould you in hunting run across the band of 

 deer to which it has joined itself, it will recognize you as 

 a familiar and harmless creature, and will stand looking 

 at you, until the rest have gone so far that it fears it will 

 be lost from them, and then turns and follows them. 

 This confidence on its part sometimes causes it to lose 

 its life at the hands of some hunter who is not acquainted 

 with the fact that it is the property of some particular 

 individtial. 



The mule deer is larger than other species, sometimes 

 attaining a weight of 375 or SOOlbs. The best method of 

 hunting the animal, and the varions experiences one has 

 in its captttre must be deferred for sonde future time, or 

 to some more skilled marksman than the writer. 



Dks Moines, la. ' SYLVAN, 



SNAKES. 



[Contiyvued from Page S ] 



Ir one's knowledge of snake habits is alone from ob- 

 servations made on specimpns in captivity, but little 

 credit should be given unless a study has been made 

 covering a period of several years, and even then at best 

 much is lacking. I am well satisfied that much that is 

 written on the subject is copied from the writers of the 

 marvelous or presented from stories recounted by others. 

 One quickly learns or at least believes, and 



"Like one, 

 Who having, unto truth, by telling of it, 

 Made such a sinner of his memory, 

 To credit his own lie." 



The idea that a snake can strike for its full length or a 

 greater distance, and that, too. from the coil, is a popular 

 and very erroneous belief, and must be quickly dispelled 

 on consideration by every thinker. If a snake struck 

 from a coil of two or even one and a half convolutions it 

 would of necessity have to make one and a half turns or 

 more of its head. To illustrate this plainly let any one 

 flex the elbow, resting the .finger-tips on the shoulder; 

 then present the finger-tips from you at an object, 

 straightening the arm. It will be seen at once that the 

 hand has to make a half revolution in describing the 



Fifl. 1. Fig. 2, 



semicircle in order to have the flngers still in position 

 with palm of hand presenting down. Of course a strik- 

 ing snake does not direct his head away from the enemy, 

 but the principle is identical, and any thinker will see 

 that it is impossible for a snake to strike any distance 

 from a coil. The fact is, no snake in America that I have 

 met with can strike half the length of the body, anyway, 



counting from a standard or central point in the coil. 

 Of course the innocuous species lack the dash and vigor 

 of the poisonous ones in attack, but any person can 

 readily verify what I say in the following lines by taking 

 observations on any small streaked snake, and settle a 

 point to their satisfaction. A massasauga 24in. in length 

 can strike from a central point about 9 or lOin., but 

 rarely more, and a large rattler 6ft. long could cover 3ft. 

 or less. I have repeatedly irritated blacksnakes and blue 

 racers and caused them to assume the defensive, and do 

 not think one ever reached over two-fifths from a central 

 point; that is, 2ft, in a length of 5ft. 



In Fig. 1 is shown a very large massasauga lying at 

 rest, and much as the diamond rattlers lie, although a 

 favorite position with them is with the rattle more ele- 

 vated and frequently drawn into the middle of the coil. 

 Here the dotted lines indicate how the tail is vibrated 

 by muscular action to warn in attack. At A is seen the 

 deep pit in the upper jaw, an invariable cavity, which is 

 well defined and lies between the eye and nostril in all 

 rattlers, moccasins and copperheads, serving as an iden- 

 tifying mark for many poisonovis species. 



Fig. 3 shows exactly the position, from above, of a 

 small massasauga ready to strike. The head is drawn 

 back and the body arched out so that it can get the full 

 spring of its tense muscles, and which it could not do 

 from a coil. This is the exact position a massasauga 

 assumes when badly bothered and from which it strikes 

 about quicker than a flash and with remarkable accuracy 

 within a short distance. It will be seen that there is no 

 coil, or at least what we should look for from the des- 

 criptions we read of the marvelous, convolutions rising 

 coil on coil, etc. At C is represented the head when 

 thrown or sprung forward and which is elevated con- 

 siderably, as could be seen if viewed from the side. B 

 is the central point which I use or figure from as a stan- 

 dard from which to measure striking distance. Of course, 

 the position varies constantly in an irritated individual, 

 and frequently I have teased specimens so that they 

 would flop about, first biting from one side, then the other, 

 until finally they refused to strike at all. One word 

 more and I have done on the subject of striking. Who- 

 ever answers this article let him' quote no authority, but 

 give only personal observations. "I'm weary of conjec- 

 tures." Snakes cannot and do not strike from a coil, 

 and though a portion of the body remains coiled, that 

 portion thrown forward from a central point must cer- 

 tainly be free from the coil. Another time will consider 

 snakes' methods of ejecting then- venom. 



Dr. Morris Gibbs. 



The Red Desert Buffalo. 



The Raivlins (Wyoming) Journal says that a buffalo 

 bull was discovered on the range near Bridger Pass one 

 day this sprmg and that he is belit-ved to be one of the 

 bunch that range up on the desert nonh of Bitter Creek. 

 This bull was probably one of the survivors of the burch, 

 now we fancy all gone, which used to range in the Red 

 Desert country. Not so very many years ago there were 

 450 of these, but they have been growing fewer in num- 

 bers, and when we last heard of them, a year or two 

 since, there were only about fifteen left. 



')^tnie ^iig md 



Nero Editions: The Gun and its Development, $S.5o, 

 The Modern Shotgun, For sale at this office. 



RIFLES FOR BIG GAME. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



With regard to the size and weight of rifles for deer, it 

 is plain that it depends not only upon the shooting capa- 

 bilities of the man, but also very greatly upon the make 

 of rifle and kind of ammunition used. The .45oal. Win- 

 chester need not weigh more than Olbs. , even when used 

 with lOOgrs. good powder, if it is held propprly. What 

 difference will 1 or 2lbs. make to a PT'origmanV 



I have shot a deer dead with a .33 long, and then had 

 another run off, apparently unhurt, with at least two 

 bullets in him. 



1 should like your correspondent to see my. 33 40 do the 

 work, and see whether it is a "bean- blower." A rifle 

 with a good powder charge and a light bullet will do far 

 better work than a much larger caliber, using a badly 

 proportioned cartridge. A .32-40 should have a rapid 

 twist, because otherwise, sufficient rotation will not be 

 given to the bullet, to enable it to maintain its accuracy. 

 Finally, though I prefer a .45 for all large game, I main- 

 tain that a .'?yi 40 properly handled and using a split 

 bullet is quite large enough for deer, "Aztec'' says the 

 ,38 40 is large enough; well, my 32 40 is a long way ahead 

 of a .38 40, as regards power, penetration, accuracy and 

 long range. All sportsmen should bear in mind that 

 good cartridges, good shooting and good rifles do the 

 work, whether the calibers used are large or tmall. 



Bbrgehville, Quebec^ L. D. VON I. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



The comparative general pffects of the .33cal. with any 

 powder charge, and the .50 110 will be as follows: A deer 

 struck by a ,50110 hollow point ball back of the shoul- 

 ders is virtually dead the instant the ball hits it. If 

 struck in the shoulder the animal is paraKzed, and re- 

 mains in that condition until it dies. The opposite 

 shoulder will be uninjured. If struck too far back, it is 

 so badly hurt it cannot go away, and can be diepatched 

 by a second ball. 



A deer shot with a .33, any powder charge, will feel a 

 sting, and being frightened by the report of the gun, will 

 make a run. If the ball in passing through the animal 

 should happen to sever any large artery, the deer will 

 die— give it time enough. If shot in the shoulder the 

 hunter may get it. The meat of the forequarters will 

 be badly "bloodshot," the certain result, if the animal 

 lives after getting the wound. If shot too far back, and 

 the intestines are "distorted," it will also die. If not 

 shot again it will go about one mile, and then lay down. 

 And the hunter when he finds it — if he finds it — will also 

 find from eight to twelve beds the deer has made, beds of 

 great suffering. The meat of the deer will be valueless, 

 but the man that shot it will have the satisfaction of 

 knowing that by using a ti-ifling gun he has added hours 

 of agony to the death of a beautiful, harmless creature. 



Ei>, Richmond. ' 



Colorado. 



