158 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Aug. W, 1892. 



oat or wiJd rice {Zizania aquatiao) is an interesting 

 plant, exceedingly prolific, the roots of whicli are peren- 

 nial, it grows at the edges of our prairies and bayous. 

 Stock of eTery description are fond of it, when green or 

 cured as hay. Tlie first settlers of Louisiana called it 

 folle nvoine. It is also found wild in all the Southern 

 States, grows tall, and will yield two crops a year of good 

 bay.'" Clearly the writer confounds the two species, the 

 one he refers to must be Z. miliacea, but his statement 

 is none the less intefesting. We learn from a later report 

 that an attempt was made to introduce the species into 

 Russia, but it appears to have failed. 



In the Report for 186;^ is a note from Mr, O. H. Kelly 

 of Itasca, Minnesota, remarking the unaccountable dis- 

 appearance of the wild rice from his neighborhood, with- 

 in eight years. 



The Report for 1870 gives a good plate of the plant in 

 seed (reproduced in Forest and Stream, Oct. 10, 1889), 

 and the following: 



Wtid Tiiu^ (Zizania iiquatim,Pla.te 9).— The Sioux call it psJm, 

 and the Chippewas inan-oni-in. It is a cotistaiit article ot foofl 

 with the Nortiiern Indians ot the lakes and rivers between the 

 Mississippi and h^ke Siiperior. This plant delights in mud and 

 water 5 to 20'."t. deep. W hen ripe the slightest wind shakes riff the 

 grain. After lieine gathered it is Laid on scaltolds about Ut. high, 

 8£t. wide and 20 to oOft. long, covered with reeds and grass, and a 

 slow Are is maintained beneath for thirty-six hours, so as to parch 

 slightly the husk, that it may be removed easily. Its beard is 

 totiarher than that of rye. To separate it from the chaff or htisk. 

 a hole is made in the ground, a font wide and one deep, and lined 

 with skins; about a peck of rice is put in at a time; an Indian 

 steps in, with a half jump, on one foot, then on the other, until the 

 husk is removed. Aft*r being cleaned the grain is f^tored in bags. 

 It is darlier than the Carolina rice. The hull adheres tightly and 

 is left on the grain, and gives the bread a darii color when cooked. 

 The hull is easily removed after being exposed to heat. In Dakota 

 the men gather this grain, but all other grain the women collect. 

 An acre of rice is nearly or quite equal to an acre of wheat in 

 BTitriment. It i>s very palataoie when roasted and eaten dry. 



Prof. Hind, who explored the Manitoba region in 1857, 

 dwelt much on the silence and birdlessness of the woods 

 traversed between Lake Superior and Lake of the Woods, 

 until the rice grounds were reached, when he says (pp. 

 115, 116-118): 



Below James Falls the poles of wigwams are numerous and 

 many Indians were seen at the foot of the different rapids, en- 

 gaged in fishing. The scarcity of animal life of all kinds was very 

 remarkable, liagles and lish-hawks, ducks and rabbits being the 

 only representatives seen. This scarcity is, however, confined to 

 the autumnal month.?, as to time, and to the Great Winnipeg 

 River in respect of area. Some distance from tne river the ex- 

 tensiv^e rice grounds cover many thousand acres and continue for 

 miles on either bank. Here the game congregates, and reveling 

 in the midst of snch an abundant supply of nutritious food, vast 

 flocks of ducks, geese and all kinds of aquatic birds common in 

 these regions, are to be found. It is here too that the Indians 

 assemble at stated periods amidst the rice grounds, procuring 

 without any diflnculty, in favorable seasons, a large surjply of food 

 for winter consumption. * * » * The Indians * * * de- 

 scribed the appearance in favorable seasons, of the ground 

 through which we were hurrying, as a vast expanse of waving 

 grain, from which they could soon fill their small canoes by beat- 

 ing the heads with a stick." 



In the early part of his report he says also: "Wild rice 

 {Zizania aquatica) grows very abundantly in the marshes 

 bordering the Lake of the Woods. It is an important 

 article of food to the Indians. They gather it about the 

 end of August and the beginning of September, and lay 

 up a store for winter consumption. A soup made of wild 

 rice and bltieberries is a very palatable dish, and eagerly 

 sought after by those who have been living on salt food 

 for several weeks." 



The following letter written to Mr. Chas. Gilchrist and 

 published in Forest and Stream of Oct. 26, 1882 (Vol. 

 XIX., p. 246) , is of interest as showing an effort to culti- 

 vate the plant in England: 



BrLGHBvcnAS-, IJangliythen, N. S, O., South Wales.— Dear Sir: 

 I fancy jou must have been rather surprised at my loug silence 

 about the success of the wild rice, but the fact is all our experi- 

 ments last year, 1881, were a failure; T gave it, to several friends, 

 but none seeded eircepting in one instance, two or three very 

 small weak seeds being the result. Tiie seeds you kindly sent me 

 by post last fall, and tne bnshel sulisequently sent I again divided. 

 The first seed .sen t by post began to sprout in February in the 

 house, and I sowed some of it in small tubs, wuich I placed out of 

 doors, and some in pans in the house. The later sent, or at least 

 what I kept myself of it, I sowed thickly in a pond, but it has not 

 done any good. That put out of doors in tubs has much of it bloe- 

 somed. but there does not appear to be any chance of seed form- 

 ing. Either it is too cold or the winds we have had have blown 

 the flowers off. I am glad to say, with wha,t I have in the bouse, 

 in a cool room, I am succeeding quite beyond expectations. Some 

 ot the plants have grown quite 5rt. high, and to my intense de- 

 light, two or three days ago I discovered that seeds were forming 

 on several of them in quite an unexpected way. I looked for the 

 seedat the lower part of the truss of flowers, whereas I find they 

 all form at the point. I expect to gather from fifty to one hund- 

 red seeds. They fall moat quickly I find, and I have been obliged 

 to put something under to catch them. In one of the ponds in 

 which I sowed a lot of seed, both last year and this, there is no 

 sign of anything, and I much fear tho rats and water-hens have 

 taken the seed. I sowed some of the seeds you sent me in the 

 spring of 1881 in another pond, but none came up, so I did not put 

 any there this year; however, to my astonishment about six 

 weeks ago I noticed five or six plants showing above the water 

 and looking well and healthy. Alas, in one week's time they 

 were all nipped off either by rats or water-hens. I wa« down at 

 the pond this afternoon, 'and there are now twenty plants up, but 

 I fear it is much too late for them to do any good: in fact never 

 were two summers more against the experiments— wet. cold and 

 stormy, and scarcely any sun. A friend to wQom I gave some in 

 Berkstiire succeeded very little better with the first seed I gave 

 itim ihan myself, his gardener getting only two or three weak 

 seeds, and when I paid Jiim a visit on .luly 1-i his gardener had a 

 number of strong and healthy plants growing in a pot in a well- 

 sheltered pond, and one or two wei*> then showing for flower. I 

 have not heard the result, but am in great hopes to have a satis- 

 factory account in a day or two. 1 must say I am now (as we get 

 a little more acquainted with the habits of the plant) very san- 

 guine as to acclimatizing it with your kind assistance. Am de- 

 termined to persevere. J think one mistake I have made in the 

 Dond is the sowing it in deep water, and so there is not sufficient 

 heat to make it vegetate early enough.— John Pugh V^aghan 

 Pryse. 



In FOEEST Aisp SlERAM for Jfov. 5, 1891, appeared the 

 following; 



Last fall 1 gathered about Sis. bushels of wild rice at Rice Lake, 

 Ontario, Canada. I took the same with me to Lake Nipissing and 

 planteo it, about the middle of September in one of the marshes 

 in South Bay. On my return there this fall I found (to use the 

 woi'ds of Mr. Hough) the result siniply ama?.ing. I found rice 

 growing abundantly over the entire marsh, thousands of yards 

 away from where any had been sown. How it spread itself in 

 this manner is a puzzle to me. Formerly the marsh was full of a 

 sort of joint grasH. of which I don't know the proper name. I 

 planted the rice whei'ever I found an open hole in this, and very 

 much feared that the .ioint grass woula choke it out, but instead 

 of that the rice has choked out the joint grass, and there is 

 scarcely any of it left. 1 also plantea some in several small 

 creeks, and in every case it did wtl!, except in one place where 

 the bottom of the creek was clayey, and where in spring there 

 must be rather a swift current, i "Nipissing,"' Boston, Mass., 

 Mov. 3). 



In Vol. XXXI. , No, 9, of Fokbst and Stream (Sept, 

 20, 1S88, p. Ititi) appeared the following brief butinaport- 

 ant article; 



r have bandied wild, rioe seed for several years, in fact was the 

 first person tq advocate planting it in waters where it did not 



grow naturally. I have never known it to grow well when planted 

 in the spring, and the sooner it is planted after It is harvested in 

 the tall, the better. After the seed has been gathered for some 

 weeks, the enamel on the outside of the kernel seems to crack, 

 and this I believe accounts for failure in spring planting. It 

 should be planted on a mud bottom; where tb ere is little if any 

 current, and if possible where there is no othpr vegetation. As it 

 grows only in the water, it should not be planted on ground that 

 goes dry in midsummer. It will grow in water from a few inches 

 to 4ft. in depth, but does best in shallow water. Before sowing 1 

 always soak the seed for an hour or so, in order that it will sink 

 at once. I also think it best to sow very thickly, rather than to 

 scatter a small amount of seed over a large space. Richakd 

 Valehtinb. 



Those who wish to follow further the literature on wild 

 rice may do so by turning up the following pages in 

 Forest and Stream: Vol. IV,, p, 39; Vol. TX., p. 148: 

 Vol. X., pp. 430, 447: Vol. XI., pp. 8, 170, 429; Vol, XV., 

 1G8, 251, 269, 381: Vol. XVII.. pp. 49, 91. 128; Vol. XIX., 

 246, 325, 364, 385, 427; Vol., XXt., p. 46; Vol. XXIIt., p. 

 4; Vol. XXV., p. 208: Vol, XXIX.-, p. 106; Vol. XXXI,, p. 

 166; A^ol. XXXIII., pp. 87, 236. 



Rice has been found doing well on prairie sloughs of 

 Minnesota, the water of wbich is more or less tinctured 

 with alkali; it has been successfully introduced into 

 many of the salt marsbes of the Hudson River and Long 

 Island, and it grows well in fresh-water marshes and on 

 the banks of slow-running streams. 



Its failure to grow in so many cases is due to the fact 

 that the vitality of the seed has been impaired by too long 

 beeping, and in a number of cases the seed used had been 

 threshed by the Indians, who scorch the grain to facili- 

 tate the operation. A few months seems sufficient to 

 destroy the vital germ, so that, though spring sovsring has 

 succeeded in some few cases, the trial of winter storage 

 is usually too much for this delicate .grain. 



A perusal of the evidence already cited, as quoted, 

 points to the following conclusions: 



Wild rice is a plant of very great importance. It is 

 useful as food to both man and game, and well worthy of 

 a wider dissemination. It is very prolific and grows an- 

 nually on the same grounds, requiring no care to culti- 

 vate. It will grow well in almost any water that has a 

 muddy bottom, is not too cold, and has not a strong cur- 

 rent and is not more than 8ft. deep. It will succed in 

 any of the Middle States and Northwest as far as latitude 

 50". The vitality of the seeds is extremely delicate and 

 is readily destroyed by too long keeping, by rough usage 

 in threshing, or by_ complete or too rapid drying. The 

 proper time for sowing the seeds is immediately after it 

 is gathered ripe, i. e., in September. The plant is hardy, 

 prolific and aggressive, and usually more than maintains 

 a footing once established, but it is readily extirpated by 

 cutting ic for fodder while yet in flower or while the seed 

 is in the milky state. Ernest E, Thompson. 



MAKING POISON ARROWS. 



Cripple Ceerk Gold Mines, Col. — About the most vile 

 use of which the rattlesnake is the vital factor is in brutal 

 practice among several tribes of Indians in Arizona and 

 New Mexico— that of poisoning the points of arrows. I was 

 an eye-witness at one time to the manufacuure of these 

 mucb-to-be-dreaded instruments of torture and death. 

 Part of the summer of 1884 I spent in Arizona and west- 

 ern New Mexico, and about ten days of that time in the 

 neighborhood of the Comanche and Apache Indians. As 

 I wandered one day up to one of their tepees I perceived 

 a number of Indians standing around some newly slain 

 cattle. Being at all times in search of new things in the 

 shape of knowledge, I soon found out the cause of such a 

 proceeding. The Indians had slain two full-grown beeves 

 and were taking the livers out of them very carefully. 

 When this operation was at an end, a box containing sev- 

 eral large rattlesnakes was brought and placed on tbe 

 gi'ound near the almost smoking chunks of liver. An 

 aged buck standing near by, who seemed fully to under- 

 stand his business, procured a piece of blanket, and with 

 its aid succeeded in taking one of the largest snakes out 

 of the box. Then unfolding the blanket so as to expose 

 the head of the snake, he procured a forked stick and 

 pinned its head to the ground, while another Indian took 

 a small switch and tapped it gently upon the head until 

 it was aggravated almost beyond endtirance: then taking 

 a chunk of the still steaming liver they let the snake bite 

 it repeatedly until it had turned to an almost purple hue. 

 Then the arrow points were thrust into it about one-half 

 inch deep and left a few minutes. When withdrawn 

 there appeared a scum on the points thus inserted. After- 

 ward the arrows were laid in the sun to dry, being ready 

 in a short time for such use as the owners of them saw 

 fit: whether it was to take human life or not, it ruattered 

 but little to them. BtiCKSKiN Harry. 



HUMMINGBIRDS. 



New York, Aug, IS.— Editor Forest and Stream: I 

 do not like to oppose a statement made in good faith, but 

 this new hummingbird question cannot pass imchal- 

 lenged. 



Mr. Hallock sHiys, "Observers here in Cummington 

 I Mass.] assert that they are visited very often by two 

 kinds, etc." Bo this is a second-hand matter. It has not 

 only been stated, but it is still stated that there is but one 

 species this side of the Eocky Mountains, and this state- 

 ment can only be disproved by securing a new one and 

 submitting it to the inspection of a competent authority. 

 I have rej)eatedly been told that at least two distinct 

 species have been seen, but a little questioning has al- 

 ways settled the matter. 



The throat of the male in our bird, in certain lights, is 

 like a coal of fire, while in other lights it is almost black. 



The whole of the under part of the female is white, 

 but the wing and tail coverts of both are green. 



Now, why these strangers, on two successive summers, 

 should have favored the little town of Cummington, ex- 

 clusively, with their visits is unaccountable. And why 

 should they visit that place in pairs? I have lived a great 

 many years, have had a great many tamed and have 

 studied tlteir habits from boyhood up, but I have never 

 seen them traveling round in pairs. The only time 

 when one will tolerate the presence of another is at the 

 mating season, and eren then they are seldom seen 

 together except at the nest, 



I thought it best before replying to this Cummington 

 puzzle to hear from Mr, Geo. N. Lawrence, who is proba- 

 bly the most scientific authority on hummingbirds in this 

 coirntry, and I find that we agree in the opinion that the 

 parties there have in some way deceived themeelvea. He 



says, "Such a bird could hardly escape the wide-awake 

 New England ornithologists. I cannot place such a bird 

 with any known one, and my collection contains 820 

 species. It can only be settled by a speciman being pro- 

 cured and submitted to competent authority." 



As an instance of how easily a person who does not 

 make these things a study can be deceived: A writer 

 some time ago described, in one of tbe daily papers, a 

 sparrow fight, where four or five of our common sparrows 

 attacked a smaller one of another species, and now the 

 little one successftilly defended itself against such odds 

 when be expected to see it killed. Now, this was simply 

 a little courting scene of every-day occurrence. The rival 

 males spread their feathers and strut around the female, 

 while she with her drapery gathered so close about her 

 that she seems but half their size, tries to fight them ofP, 

 sometimes holding on to one of them while he drags her 

 around, but they never attempt to hurt her. 



DlDYMUS. 



'nnje mid 0uti* 



MASSACHUSETTS GAME. 



Boston, Mass.— The season for shore birds in Mass- 

 achusetts is open, was open on July 15 in fact, but the 

 gunners have done very little yet. The weather has been 

 remarkably hot, and the lovers of the shore bird shooting 

 on ordinary seasons confess that the exertion, or the bare 

 thought of it, has been too much for them. It is not so 

 all along the coast, however. Eeports from Chatham 

 speak ot a f usilade of shot that every bird has to run that 

 dares to fly by that point. No good bags are reported 

 yet, however. Mr. Charles Canterbury is reported to 

 have killed a large number of "big birds" already. By 

 "big birds" the local gunners mean every bird bigger i 

 than a peep. It seems that Mr. Canterbury first tried ' 

 Chatham, but the gunners wei-e to many for him, and he 

 has since been seeking his own grounds farther north, ■ 

 along the shore, and has been having excellent sport. At | 

 the "dumping ground," the inner bay at South Boston, i 

 a good many birds are reported. They are chiefiy yellow- 

 legs and peep. But it is against an ordinance of the city 

 to shoot there, and a local gunner says that the birds 1 

 seem to know it: they are as tame as chickens at that j 

 point. E yen the small boy presumes to pelt them with . 

 stones. • i 



Mr. Al. Chiiiin and C. E. Davie, of Reading, have | 

 lately made a most remarkable bag or two of woodcock. ] 

 Mr. E. M. Gillam, of the Boston Advertiser, is a friend of 

 Mr. Davie — one of the most noted gunners in this part of ' 

 the country, and better known as Charlie. Mr. Gillam] 

 introduced him to Mr. ,1. C. Frost, of the Boston flour i 

 trade. Now Mr. Frost, has a beautiful place at Vernon, ij 

 Vt., and he is aware that there is some excellent shooting ^ 

 there. The result of the introduction was an invitation I 

 to Charlie and his friend to come up after the woodcock i 

 season opened, Aug. 15 in that State. They came, and| 

 at the same time a couple of gunners from Springfield. 

 The result of a couple of days shooting of the four was 

 thirty-two woodcocii. Charlie and his friend Al. think: 

 that they shot the larger part of the birds,. though all 

 shooting together the second day, they were unable to be 

 certain of the number to each gun. It was a most re- 

 markable shoot to say the least, and a siuprise to the 

 local gunners. The fact of well trained dogs had a great 

 deal to do with the success of the party. It is also alto- 1 

 gether likely that the first fl ight of woodcock was hit at 

 just the right time. 



The gunners at Vernon, Vt., mentioned above, found ■ 

 partridges to be remarkably abundant. They saw flock 

 after flock, and the chicks were well grown for so early 

 in the season. Indeed, the reports concerning partridge 

 shooting for fall are good from all directions. This is the 

 reverse of last year, which was pronounced by all the 

 worst season for years. It was thought that ticks, on 

 bad weather, or some other cause had destroyed the young 

 birds. This year the reverse is true, if reports have 

 not been exaggerated or those who have seen the birds , 

 have not mistaken their eyesight. Large coveys of par- 

 tridges are reported in almost every direction in the State 

 of Massachusetts, and the same is true of southern New 

 Hampshire. 



Reports are yet meagre and uncertain from Maine, but 

 so far as received, they indicate that grouse are very 

 plenty. It is hoped that these reports have not been over- 

 drawn, and that on the beginning of the open season , 

 partridge shooting may be the best for years. From 

 quail the reports areal so good. A gentleman tells me 

 that on a single ride from Bayfield to Newbury port he 

 started five or six bevies of quail, the most he ever saw 

 on the same road, and it is one with which he is familiar. 

 The same is true on the Cape, and in the western part of 

 the State. Special. 



Florida Bears. 



Duke, Fla., ,July 24.— I have killed three bears in little 

 over a month's time. Mr. Bryant and myself went down 

 on the edge of Graham one rainy evening. In the huck- 

 leberry patch, where we had seen the sign before, we had 

 some fun. We got two cubs apiece, but did not see either 

 one of the old ones. But last week I got into it right. I 

 was down in the swamps with the dogs, I heard some- 

 thing coming, the trees fairly snapping off, and I got 

 ready. The old bear was coming, and had the dog in the 

 lead. You know I did not have time to climb either, so 

 you know how my hair was; but I fired one barrel of my 

 gun at her, and shot her down. Up she got; did not have 

 time to catch my breath before she was on me; but the 

 last barrel I shot her brains out. Mr. Will Raulerson kil- 

 led one of her cubs, so that hunt was completed. To-day' 

 we had a little ftm, but it was calm. Just after sunrise 

 we heard a hog squealing about one mile oS, We 

 gathered our guns and heeled it to Graham. We got 

 there in time to kill the bear. E. A. E. 



Kansas Wild Geese. 



Sedgwick, Kans., Aug. 19. — Last evening about 6 

 o'clock a large flock of wild geese known in this locality 

 as "big Canadas'' passed over this city on their way south, 

 and this morning quite a number of people report having 

 heard wild geese passing over during the night. This is 

 something unknown before here, and may possiblj^ inter- 

 est 8ome of yoar reader?. A, G. 



