IMC. 1, 1892.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



468 



THE BAY LYNX. 



{Lynx rufiis). 



Natdkalists call the long-tailed, round-eared cats 

 Felifi, while Chose with short tails and with tufted ears 

 are called Lyyia; The panther, jaguar and ocelot are 

 among the American forms of the genus Felis, while the 

 common wildcat and the Canada lynx represent the genus 

 Lynx in JNorth America. 



The lynxes which inhabit the northern and temperate 

 regions of both the Old and New Worlds are thus de- 

 scribed by M.r. Flower, the eminent English anatomist. 

 Toey are "all of moderate s'ze; that is, smaller than lions, 

 tigers and leopards, and larger than the true cats, with 

 long limb3, short, stumpy tail, ears tufted at the tip, and 

 the pupil of the eye linear when contracted. Tbeir fur 

 i-i generally long and soft, varying, however, according 

 toseason and locality, and always longest upon the cheeks. 

 Their color is always light brown or gray, and generally 

 more or less spotted with a darker shade. The naked 

 pads of the feet are more or less covered by the hair that 

 grows between them. The skull and skeleton do not 

 differ markedly from those of other cats, but the small 

 anterior upper premolar tooth found in many other 

 species is usually wanting. Their habits are exactly 

 those of the other wild cats; they are excelled by none in 

 the untameable savageness of then- disposition. They 

 capture their prey in the same manner, either lying in 

 wait or noiselessly stealing within reach, and then mak- 

 ing a sudden rush or spring upon it. Their food consists 

 I of any mammals or birds which they can overpower. In 

 inhabited countries they commit extensive rav- 

 ages upon sheep, lambs and poultry. They gener- 

 ally frequent rocky places and forests, being active 

 climbers, and passing much of their time among 

 the branches of trees." 



Such, briefly, are the characteristics of this 

 group, of which two well defined forms are gener- 

 ally recognized by American naturalists, while 

 several other varieties or sab-species have been 

 described. These are all known to people gener- 

 ally by the names wildcat, catamount, lynx or bob 

 cat, the last name being perhaps the best, since it • 

 seizes at once on a characteristic feature, the 

 short tail, bob cat being no doubt an abbreviation 

 for bob-tailed cat. 



The two best known forms are the bay lynx 

 figured in this issue, and the Canada lynx. The 

 former is much the more southern in its range, 

 and so is perhaps the better known of the two. 

 It is more common in the South and Southwest 

 than in the East — which is only another way of 

 saying that it does not flourish in a thickly settled 

 country — but no doubt it still exists in every State 

 of the Union. Both the Canada and the bay lynx 

 are still occasionally killed in Connecticut, and 

 the daily papers this fall have chronicled several 

 of these captures. One of the most recent of these 

 appeared in the New York Times of Nov. 26, and, 

 though no doubt somewhat highly colored, may 

 have a basis of fact: 



"Hamburg, Conn., Nov. 25. — Hayden Gray, 

 School Visitor in the Alder Ridge district, and 

 Alice Griswold, teacher of the school, had an ex- 

 citing experience with a wildcat a day or tw.o 

 ago. 



"The Alder Ridge district lies among the hills 

 in the southern part of Middlesex county. The 

 schoolhouse stands on a flat at the foot of a high 

 hill. 



"The day was warm, and a window on the side 

 of the building toward the hill was open. The 

 School Visitor had just dismissed a class that he 

 had been examining, when a dog came tearing 

 down the hill, and the next minute an immense 

 wildcat sprang through the open window and 

 landed on the floor in front of the teacher's desk. 



"At sight of the animal the scholars ran scream- 

 ing to a corner of the room and huddled together 

 on top of the desks. The School Visitor, a man well 

 along in years, climbed on top of the teacher's desk and 

 yelled for her to come up, too. Miss Griswold is a 

 plucky woman, and she had no intention of retreating. 

 She stood near the stove, and, picking up a heavy iron 

 poker, held her ground. 



"Close on the heels of the wildcat came the dog, which 

 sprang through the window and landed near the cat. 

 The two animals clinched at once, and in less than a min- 

 ute the dog sluhk under the benches with one side of his 

 scalp torn off and one forward leg so badly chewed that 

 it couldn't use it. 



"The cat was fully aroused and turned its attention to 

 the School Visitor, who had taken occasion in the brief 

 fight between the cat and the dog to lift a chair to the 

 top of the desk and climb upon it. The wildcat leaped at 

 ' the man. The School Visitor had picked up the school 

 bell as a weapon, and when the wildcat reached the desk 

 he struck the animal a blow on the head that knocked it 

 to the floor and made it madder than ever. Digging its 

 claws into the floor, it made another spring. This time 

 it reached the chair and knocked it and the School Vis- 

 itor in a heap on the floor. 



"The cat sprang again at the man, who fought the an- 

 imal off as best he could with the bell, but he would prob- 

 ably have suffered severely had not the teacher come to 

 his assistance with the poker. The woman hammered 

 the cat unmercifully with the iron bar and drove it into 

 a corner, where she belabored it until it was dead. 



"The School Visitor was scratched and his clothes were 

 torn, but he was not seriously injured. The teacher came 

 out of the fray without a mark." 



The bay lynx is said to be rather uncommon in Maine 

 and the Adirondacks, but becomes more abundant fur- 

 ther south and west. In some portions of the northern 

 Rocky Mountains, as also toward the coast ia Idaho and 

 Washington, it is very abundant, though not often seen, 

 owing to its secretive habits. 



We have seen a number of the young of this species in 

 captivity and have always found 4hem vicious, untame- 

 able little creatures even when very small. At all times 

 they were ready to use their teeth and claws on the hands 



of those who fed them, and it really was not safe to 

 touch them unless the hands were well protected. Even 

 when only half as large as a domestic cat they would 

 snarl, spit and fight most fiercely. 



Chasing the wildcat with hounds is a favorite sport in 

 some sections of the South and it may be imagined that 

 it is exciting sport. Usually the animal takes refuge in 

 a tree, from which it is dislodged by the shot of one of 

 the hunters. 



The bay lynx is a small animal and measures 3ft., or 

 less, in total length, the tail being about Tin. long. Above 

 and on the sides the fur is pale reddish in color, while 

 the under parts are white, more or less spotted with 

 black and brown. The inner surfaces of the legs are 

 banded with black or brown. The tail is white beneath 

 and brown above, with a black tip, Eirs black, with a 

 white patch within. 



The illustrated supplement, which goes with this issue, 

 gives a faithful portrait of the bay lynx, and a com- 

 parison of this sketch with that of the Canada lynx in 

 om' issue of Nov. 2 will show the different characteristics 

 of the two. 



CuRLESTOWN, N. H., Nov. 36. — Editor Forest and 

 Stream: John Danforth speaks of the "bobcat" in For- 

 est and Stream of the 17th as not a lynx. The "bay 

 lynx" is commonly called by that name and is a common 

 wildcat of the Southern States, but is found as far north 

 as Canada. It gets its name from its color, as a bay horse 

 does, and is slightly different from its cousin, the gray or 

 Canada lynx. 



Some of the early naturalists confused them and spelled 

 the word with a big B, deriving it from Hudson's Bay, 

 but the lynx of that latitude is the gray or Canadian, 



One of these red or bay one.s frightened a good many 

 sheep and some boys in this town two summers since, 



and killed a few lambs, and was plainly seen several 

 times sunning himself on a stump or stone. Von W. 



INTERESTING COLLECTION OF HORNS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In conformity with a request from the curator in charge 

 of the Smithsonian Institution, at Washington, to Mr, 

 Albert Friedrich, of this city, this is sent you : 



Inclosed you -will please find a photograph of a set of 

 most remarkable horns, of which it can justly be claimed 

 they have no equal on earth. 



The curator, Mr. F. W. True, says in his letter: "The 

 antlers are the most remarkable I have ever seen. In 

 the number of points it far exceeds any specimen of 

 which I have knowledge. Whatever you wish to pub- 

 lish regarding it I would suggest that you send to Forest 

 AND Stream, 318 Broadway, New York. This is, as per- 

 haps you know, one of the best sporting and natural his- 

 tory journals." 



Mr. Friedrich is justly proud of his collection, which 

 should be seen ia order to be fully appreciated. Besides 

 the head photographed he has a grand collection of 

 antlers and horns, numbering over a thousand specimens, 

 of which several hundred are finely mounted, many of 

 them with head and neck in proper style and shape, as 

 shown in this photograph. There is a perfect museum 

 of specialties of this nature only. Next in interest to 

 the head and antlers referred to, Mr. Friedrich has a 

 deer head with forty-two prongs, which is quite as un- 

 usual as the first named. But of just as much interest 

 as the horns alone is his collection of specimens of 

 heads, with their coverings and adjuncts, in the way of 

 horns, of similar defensive or offensive character. 



From Africa can be seen two heads, respectively, of 

 bull and cow buffalo. From the Cape of Good Hope the 

 Bos arne, African gems-bock, ibex. Bos tragelaphus syl- 

 vatica, yak, a common and brindle gnu, {Catoblephas 

 gnu and gorgon), and a hartebepst {Alcephalus cadma). 

 t'rom India come a musk deer {Moschus moschiferus), an 

 axis and mountain deer. 



The great State of Arizona is represented by a large 

 number of fine elk antlers, And last, out not least, comes 



Texas with heads and necks in proper natural style of 

 wild Texas mustangs, fine specimens of Texas antelopes, 

 fawns, etc. The Canadian moose has also a representa- 

 tive in this collection. Tv70 pair of Texas steer horns 

 which measure, one pair from tip to tip 7ft. +in., the 

 other pair 7ft. lin., mounted on their original heads, some 

 very large specimens of Russian deer, reindeer, Canadian 

 caribou, Rocky Mountain sheep and wild goats. Another 

 interesting feature is a large collection of rattlesnake rat- 

 tles, which form a fine display, under glass; the collecting 

 of these has taken a great deal of time, trouble and ex- 

 pens©, 



Mr. Friedrich is now making arrangements for num- 

 bering, grading and classifying this collection, as they 

 are now displayed in his place of business at 223 Dolorosa 

 street. We are also informed by the gentleman that if 

 the right kind of inducements were made he would re- 

 move the whole to the coming Chicigo World's Fair, 

 where it would be of special interest to hunters and 

 sporting people of the nations. Spobt. 



San Antonio, Tex., Nov. 3, 



SOME CHAT FROM TEXAS. 



Pecos, Tex. , Nov, 17.— I was surprised to read in Forest 

 AND Stream the expressions of the Rev, Thos. Dixon, 

 Jr., touching the robin. He says: "In my native South 

 the robin, so far from being considered a song bird, is re- 

 garded as a disreputable, gluttonous pest. * * * In 

 my soul I am sorry for the people whose stock of song 

 is so low as to prize as divine the cry of the robin." 



Mr. Dixon, I am told, is a Tarheel, like myself; in 

 other words, a native of North Carolina. Now, the robin 

 in that Soate when I was a boy was regarded as a very 

 lovable bird. They built their nests in the yards and 

 orchards and were very familiar creatures. While their 

 song might not be considered as divine, yet ac- 

 cording to my recollection it was very sweet. 

 Does not Mr. Dixon recollect the sweet old song 

 ■which the little girls of North Carolina used to 

 sing: 



"Robin, robin redbreast, 

 Oh, robin dear! 

 Robin sings so sweetly 

 When the summer time is here." 

 And does he not recollect the tale of the "Babes 

 in the Wood," which the little folks used to tell to 

 one another, how when the babes fell exhausted 

 from their wanderings, the robins gathered leaves 

 and spread over them to protect them from the 

 cold; and how the eyes of the little ones would 

 suffuse with tears at the rehearsal? All of this is 

 fresh in my mind, and I believe the robin was 

 h more beloved than the mockingbird, who had no 



I such pretty or affecting tales told of him. In those 

 days one would have been looked upon as hardly 

 better than a barbarian who would shoot a robin. 

 If it is not so now in the "old North State," I am 

 sorry indeed to learn it. And why does Mr. Dixon 

 call him a "glutton?" I have heard him charged 

 with sometimes becoming very drunk from eating 

 berries of the china tree, but never before heard 

 that he was a glutton. Even when drunk his 

 deportment was the best that any one in that 

 condition could put on. He simply went to sleep 

 and plept it off— which thing, according to my 

 observation, only good drunkards will do. 



We have not the robin in Texas, except in 

 winter, and I have often wished that we had him 

 here in summer too. He is a dearly beloved bird 

 to me, from the memories of the Auld Lang Syne 

 which he calls up, I am curious to know how 

 far south the robin nests. I know he nests in 

 North Carolina. Does he nest below that State ? 



As to the screaming of the panther, if 'that 

 animal does not do that, then all old Texas woods- 

 men err; for they all say that he screams. I 

 have several times heard' what I was told was 

 the scream of the panther; though I never saw 

 one open his mouth and let fly with it. If it 

 was not the panther, then my mind is exceedingly 

 perplexed to know what it was. A few months 

 ago I heard it at night, three several times, in a 

 deep forest on the Trinity river, I studied it with 

 close curiosity as I heard it distinctly, coming apparently 

 from no great distance. Others heard it, and said it was 

 a panther. To my ear it sounded more like the hollow- 

 ing of a rather fine- voiced woman than anything else I 

 could compare it with. Now if it was not a panther, 

 pray what was it, Mr. Editor ? You have worried me. 

 Was it the cry of an evil disembodied spirit? Will you 

 make my "hair stand on end?" Will you till me with 

 superstition ? Some may say that it ims a woman. But 

 that could not be, for the forest was uninhabited, and 

 uninhabitable from frequent and great inundations, and 

 of vast extent. 



And I believe that the hair sometimes does stand up 

 from a good, genuine scare. It has happened to me on 

 two occasions; first, during our late war, when, on a 

 miserable foggy morning, I ran all alone into about 17,000 

 "Yankees," supposing them to be Confederates, and sec- 

 ondly, since the war, when I thought that I was cornered 

 by about seventeen bloody Injuns, who were wild to kill 

 me and fully believed that they had me. On both these 

 occasions my hair actually "riz" and stood up like the 

 wires on a scrubbing brush, I did not see it so rise up 

 and so stand, but I distinctly felt it, and am sure that it 

 was so. However, I got away from both the Yanks and 

 the Injuns and did not have a hair on my head hurt. 

 Bless that kind Providence which takes care of fools! 

 Even to this day, when I think of these two episodes, it 

 almost makes my hair rise up. 



And does not the Bible in the passage from Job quoted 

 by Forest and Stream state point-blank that Job's hair 

 "stood up?" And whatever that Old Book states as a 

 fact, I believe. As Napoleon Bonaparte said at St.Helena, 

 "The Bible is not a mere book, but a living creature." 

 And it is a living creature that never told a lie. 



N. A. T. 



Bird Notes. 



Ithaca, N. Y„ Nov. 11.— This fall, up to a very recent 

 date, the number of robins inhabiting the sparsely wooded 

 lowlands adjacent to the Ithaca Marsh has been astound- 

 ingly large, A strolling minstrel from that shy, reserved 

 band of dun-coated fellows must have flitted cityward. 



A REMARKABLE PAIR, OP HORNS. 



