Jan. 19, 1893.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



47 



tuid ' 'Ben Hur" and .nought a spot in the hazy wai'tnth of 

 the sun. and where a sylvan sougstei- waa warbling the 

 tuneful bars of an aria, and lost himself m the fascinating 

 |iages of the 



Abont to o'clock that raoi'iiing one of the boatmen of 

 the cxilltige l)0vs cmiiic ovqi- to cnir cani|) and with an ex- 

 coediunh 1 mil- a-^ix ( 1 as it Tiiouruing <h(> los-i of ■-oine 

 departed tneiid or tin absence of tobacco, handed nie a 

 scroU of b]icl) bark. I at iirst thought it contained a 

 ciiallenge tor anofchi;r tilt at vvhi.st, but on unrolhng was 

 agreeably surprised, as its contents were as follows: 



Wimlv Caiiip ici|iifsis the pleasure ol vour corn i)aiiv at dinner to- 

 il&y. Julv ]!). at half after 1 o'clock. ' " JR.. S- V. P. 



P. S. — Brin^- v'Oiii- chair.s. 



Ned recei\ (;d a sunilar invitation, which after reading 

 «'e replied iristanter. dispatching the tawny messenger 

 with tlie follo^^'lng acceptance: 



Maple Camp accept, with pleasure .your kind nivitatiou and will 

 delixlitfd to piae* their knees under your niahofcanv. Yours. I'ie.. 



.liiLy 19. 1891. S. .'v: H. 



i\ S. - We'll not only h\-\n^ our chairs, but tliat which every eiiter- 

 liUlier desires, a .superior appetite. S. iV H. 



We at oiice coinmenced prepannt;' an elaborate toilet tor 

 the occasion, ami s\ lien read^' to presenl ourselves tri the 

 hosts of Windy (. ainjj were as neat and tnmlv dressed as 

 a. bridc!.':i (M)iii. that is. as a. brideiifooiii would lie witii the 

 \\'ar<h ()in' I hen at <inr oominaiid. True, w e luid no swal- 

 low tads. v\ huc vests, satin ties, silk stockmu's. (»r patent 

 leathiMs: liiu we liad clean llannel shirts, corduroy sliort 

 coats. \ i'^is and panvs. cork-soird lioots. red lian dan lias an<l 

 soft felt hats. But tlie chef -d'ceurre was tlie liair dressing. 



iSTed chose to appear m ambrosial curls, which fell m 

 graceful lolds ovei- Ins lotty toreliead and adown the flan- 

 nel collar ol his laced .shirt, while I seli'ctcd the jionijia- 

 dour style, whicli Xod f^aid iia\e me the apjieaiaiue ol a 

 stat"sman from Hittei Creek Thii-. loilctetl we presented 

 oin-selves to the Windv ( ani)i entcrlaineis with a chair on 

 our right arm and a vacancy luider our vest. 



Our arrival ^^'as treated with tlie ninst pleasant consider- 

 ration. more like 1 > olieinian open-lieartedness than the cold 

 ffirmal manner ^^illcll so otten sits enthroned upon the 

 brow of aspu iuii- geniiLs. Wliile the menu was m prepara- 

 tion we had a, .)<illy tune in swapj.ung side-splitting stories. 

 In this Ned was cliampioii. for his repertoire, of amusing 

 and droll narratives ^vas wirhr>ut end. Many ot )us tunny 

 fancies were touched with a delicacy of dialect and pho- 

 netic shadinn thai were decidedly ]aoy ocati\ e of lieaily 

 laughter. He was 



•Tor ever loreniosl: m the ranks ol: lun, 

 The laug-hing- herald ot th(; liarmle.ss pun. " 



1 miner was at last announced, to which we .sat down 

 with an appetite that would have done honor to an alder- 

 uian. The bancpiet was elegantly prepared, as will be 

 seen by tlie bill of particulars winch was inscrdied upon 

 the native birch bark, and placed at each plate: 



MENU. 

 eoTAlaj. 

 .lulieiiiie. Poulet. 

 eoissoN. 

 Sardines & la huile. 



ENTREE. 



Harieots a la Bostmi. 



CiAMK. 



Bara Avis. 



DBSSEBT. 



Pates de Oingre Fromage Amertcain. Biscuits au Sel. 

 Cigars. . C'afe noir. 



Entertaining- is reaUy an art. and we must here state. 

 11 pleasantry aside, that these j^oung students acquitted 

 themseh^es in a highly creditable manner, and wdien we 

 parteil from them it was ^vith the hope that they meet us 

 soon at our sortial board, but a departure from Maple Bay 

 the next day prevented its materialization. This festal 

 incident was the most pleasant of the trip, and ^y^ll lono- 

 lie remembered l>y us. " 



The next morning Avas introduced to us in a light fog, 

 which fortunately wa.s soon followed by a clear sky and 

 glittering sunshine, which painted the woods and w aters 

 in a golden glow, while the sweet song of the lake rose 

 with a jubilant spirit, as if dreamland was floatmg b}'. 



Tlie University boys broke camp early that day and 

 sailed at once for Bachewanaung Bay. We prepared for 

 an luigle at (Grindstone Point, and while on the ^vkj 

 stopped at the largt^ reef, which was located about the 

 middle of the bay and in front of our camp. We liad 

 caught many a freckled monster here on a previous occa- 

 sion, and hoped w^e might now be rewarded with the same 

 good luck. We ke])t a sharp lookout for a sight of the 

 rocky bottom, and a.s soon as it showed up away went our 

 flies in search of some red-coated knight of the reef. It 

 was not long before Ned rose one of the patriarchs, and 

 unfortunately being a little unduly excited, rniased him. 



"What a. daiidyl" he exclaimed^ 



■•What a lamentable miss!" I replied. 



Ned tried once more to lure the spotted veteran, and 

 after a cast or two was greeted with a re.sponse that came 

 Avith a tigerlike ferocity, and this time the skillful angler 

 sent the cold steel into its quivering jaws. The melody of 

 the reel rang sweetly out wdiUe the infuriated trout was 

 speeding like a sih-ery arrow. The overjoyed angler was 

 cool, patient and watcMul, and as the Velocity of the 

 fitricken fisli faltered, the rodster slightly checked the un- 

 winding thread, and then the bewildered beauty leaped 

 up into the golden sunsMne, scattering the peaiiv drops 

 on all sides. Agahi he sails away in frantic circles, with 

 a hasty tri]i or two to the chasms below, as If seeking some 

 sharp-edged rock with a view of parting the line. Disap- 

 pointed in this, he again dashes upward through the silver 

 surface with a, vaulting that makes as clean a somersault 

 as au acrobat. His vigorous efforts to escape are telUng 

 on him. and liLs strength begins to wane. The happy ang- 

 ler now feels satisfied that the battle is more tlian half won, 

 and thinks it Mgh time to make tlie impaled fight for 

 every inch of line he seeks to gain. The reel is slowly 

 returning the cord, and inch by inch sulkdy comes the 

 liainted reveller of the reef, determined to make an effort 

 i.i- tw-o before he is ready to chant his death song. The 

 angler kuow^s fuU well the trick, and is on the qui rive for 

 its introduction. Here he comes, stiU struggling, with a 

 w icked gleam m his eye, and though lie may reacli the 

 net within a foot or two. will assuredly play Ms last card. 

 Ah! he is off' with a vigorous plimge, but it is his last, for 

 las strength is gone, his heart is broken. He is this time 

 led to his inevitable death, and now the meshes of tlie net 

 close aroimd him. and he is tenderty lifted to the boat. 

 What a beauty, truly a poem in crimson, purple and gold, 



tlie lovehestfish tJiat Re«?ks the crystalline pool or lies jioisecl 

 in rocky crevice. Ned was de'liglited with las spangled 

 prize, and gloated over it as if it were a pearl beyond 

 price. 



'•How much did it weigh?" Full tllis.. and tliat \vas as 

 large a trout tis we cauglit during the s(!ason. 



I .strove hard to emulate Ned. and kept my flies droii- 

 piijg and fluttering m the water m tlie most attractive 

 places. No response came, and after havino- ei ivered the 

 entire reef, which we did m aJiont an hour, we ]ailled 

 over to the piomf and fished alont;- tin' I'ofisf tor ;d)oiif two 

 miles. It was ]ust the place for a trout ui sport or f*'ed 

 in. The bottom was one entire series of deep crevices, 

 .shelvmg rocks, huge boulders and tlie hke. and over tliese 

 we whipped the waters witii industrious perseverance. 



Occasionally wr nia,d<' a cliainj-e m our tlies unttl we 

 had offered them the ciioicest ol our assortment, but no 

 jeweled darling spi^ang from his retreat. Altera w\\i\e I 

 grew tired and IoIIimI in idleness. w;if -clung tln^ iioldt-ti. 

 ghmmermg surface sparkling and flashing in, .sunliaiit, the 

 cruiisoned wood as if bowed to the genf Ip lire(-ze. the yel- 

 low-winaed butterflies as they sailed alont;- the sliore. the 

 tin\- dragon fl> , flie little blue-boilied sunlieam m its ram- 

 \k>\v win^s. and flie inevitable anil as it Ha.slied it> whiti- 

 vviiii;s a.uainst. the weal her-st-ai tied rocks thai, slioue with 

 metallic lustre in the bi'ight ravs tliat bciit upon them 

 from abovi^. 



Ned Imally wearied of bis work and proposed lunch 

 ashore, to wducli I gla.div assented, as we were all tired 

 and exce(.!dinL'ly hunu'i'v. The bovs iiiaile us a pid, of ti'a, 

 wdii(;h we found niori' e\liilaraiing than aiiv rank ccan- 

 pound which conies under the head ol '•golden grain. ' 

 or any other lane\' name, winch is smiph' imprinted as ;i. 

 delusion. 



While we were luncliuig a nortthwest wind began to 

 freshen, and t!ie;i our aslronomical Einerv was all in a 



SNOWY OWLS. 

 Fioul a pIiotO;jtap'.i \>y Hoft & La'-ey, Fremoat, lud. 



flutt.'r. declaring it would Soon blow great guns. The 

 breeze lieing faxorable for us we hurried not, for we 

 felt as if we a\ cmld like to see that old rotten sail torn to 

 tatters in a gale of some kind, as tlie boys were so remiss 

 in re]miring it. We at last took to the boat, and then 

 commenced the return, whipjiiug the waters as we slowly 

 moved along the shore. I finally had a rise from a petite 

 trout and was glad I missed it. for to have laid it along- 

 side of Ned's peerless beauty -^voidd have made the com- 

 parison unduly reflective. W^ell, to omit detail, we 

 reached the reef, and here Ned had another rise of a large 

 crimson and pearly s] lotted dandy that made his heait 

 beat a tattoo upon his ribs. He missed. I .sighed, the boat- 

 men groaned and the wdnd caressed his w-iiiskers. Alas! 

 poor Ned, he w^as a perfect picture of des[iair, for his first 

 rise was his last, and no matter how tempting a fly. how 

 lightly delivered, or how skillfully fluttered, the old 

 Roman in his rolies of crimson could not again be coaxed 

 to the surface. He -was doubtless laugliing^ in his lair as 

 he savA' the feathery deceits fall and flatter above. 



"Ah!" said Ned, '-the conflict is o"er, the struggle is past. 

 I have whipped and I have fluttered, and I have cast my 

 last fly, and now I am ready for the c£unp," and then he 

 slowly and sadly reeled up, content to await my verdict 

 in regard to a retreat honiew-ard. 1 was in the affirma- 

 tive, and so the prow^ of the Ixiat was turned to the A\-hite 

 tents on the sliore, ever in plain view. With a declining 

 sun. which was glinting the tinkling watei-s and paint- 

 ing the fleecy clouds in royal red and fiery gold, we. 

 reached camp quite weary , though not disheartened in the 

 pursuit of that priceless beauty of spotted carmine vy liich 

 file true angler travels so far and toils so hard to captm-e 

 with a bit of tinsel and feather. 



After we had partaken of supper Ned. who had sat in a 

 deep brown study for a few- minutes, impatiently arose- 

 and said: ■■rU try how the trout rise at twilight. ""^and so 

 at once ordered the boat and asked rne to accompany 

 him, but being aweary I dechned. Off he went to the 

 big reef where he had missed his last rise and where he 

 doubtless expected to capture the magnificent fish which 

 had so lamentably disappointed liini. I sat on the bank 

 in my camp chair and watclied the iin-eterate angler as 

 he was rowed to the reef. lie \vas CAddentlv bent on 

 securmg the ipiarry and would ha\ e parted wuth many a 

 ducat if he could only return wlxh that particular trout 

 which had so impudently flaunted his broad tail in his 

 face. He was. however, .sadly discouraged, for after a 

 fuU hour's hard and skillf ul work lie returned, hke the 

 Knight of the Rueful Countenance, without a trophy. 

 He was simply disgusted with the way trouting opens this 

 season. "Me too."' 



Ned's trout that he had caught early in the morning 

 disclosed, when cleaned, a full stomach of undigested 

 minnows, one reason evidently why the trout were not 

 eager for the fly. " Axkx. Stakbuck. 



[to be continued.] 



SNOWY OWLS. 



On Sunda-s, Dec 1 I IS!)U. while w.dkim; in thn f oimtrv 

 pest outside the city limits. 1 saw a, snowy nwl (Nt/cfea 

 ;/i'/e/c«) sitting 111 the fop of a dead tree about forty rods 

 frcmi the road. As this v as the first live specimen of this 

 species 1 In.id seen in twelve ^-ears' collecting I thought I 

 w oiild -,( (' how iKMi liould m't to It Bruming a large 

 tr<^e hetweiMi mii and fJie one the owd was m. 1 walked up 

 witlim .!() paces (as measured the next dav). where I stood 

 and \ i(w\ e<l bun thiough a held glass loi ;u |, n^t ten mm- 

 utes. and then turned aw%ay and leithnn umhstnrbi^d 



.\s J luul never secured , I shown owl aii<l i, llii-, was a 

 pure u liile s|)ecinuM-i, 1 wanted it foi ni v ( olkn tioii There- 

 lore, on Monday mormng I started ouf; Ivefore rlavlight 

 and tramped about that farm until half-past eight o'clock, 

 .ind auaiii in the a.fb'rnoon from until dark, but with- 

 out seeing his ow-lship. 



On W, diu->da\ aftei noon ;it :b'l<) T was there again and 

 to niv i.;ical surprise saw a snowy owd sitting in the top of 

 a sin;ill tree in the field. 1 followed il Ironi tree to tree 

 until dark, but was unable to get neai- enough tor a shot. 

 OnSafuid,i\ altenioon 1 staitcd immeui.dt 1\ .diet dainor 

 and lia,(l not got to the citv Imiifs when 1 found niv owl 

 in the topi of a small tree Ayithin twenty rods of the avenue. 

 :nid for Ihiet lioiiisi ios->, d and km loosed fhici l.irinsthice 

 times. The cdd .saying is •■Three tiinrs and out. and 1 

 began to think it would prove true in ni\ rase, and liad 

 turned my la,ce toward home, as 1 lia<l h ist siglit of mv 

 traveling corn|)anion. I tiiriKid througli the little pii^ce of 

 wood wliere w^e had seen the owd on Sunday, and had 

 passed nearly throiteh it, when 1 chanced to' look in the 

 top of the tree wlieic 1 had .seen the first one. and in the 

 vei\ same pl.u Xi/dca ni/olfia. [ o(,t l)eliind the same 

 large tree aiul advaiuinl to the foot of it wjfliout disturb- 

 ing the owl, but as 1 stef)perl out in sight, willi gun in po- 

 sition for us(\ away he went, but mv BB shot overtook 

 him wdien about 2()tt. Irom the to[) of" the tree, and down 

 lie came with a broken wing. As I came iqi to him he 

 tac(Ml about but showed no fight. 



I laid the gun acioss his hotly and took him by both! eet. 

 and got him home without any trouble, and then killed 

 liim with chloroform. Before i shot him I saw it was not 

 the wdiite siiecinieii 1 saw on Sunday before. 



On the following Monday a i.)arty told me there had 

 been two owds seen at one time on the tarni wdiere I had. 

 secured m\ specimen, iind ;it ,):','Ai P M 1 w is tlieie again, 

 and ha,d not hi-e.n in the field five minutes when f .saw a 

 uhu( olijMtoiij f(Mi( e stake, and on lookm-.^ at it through 

 ni> .L;la,ss sa,w it was another owl. I walki^d lieside the 

 tence and got witliin a, long shot range before he flew. 1 

 sent one charge ot liB shot alter htm. and not stopping 

 him sent another, but he kept .going for 40 or ,-)0 rods when 

 1 saw him drop down, and as I came up to him he was 

 dead. On my return I paced off the distance I had shot 

 and found it w^as t^yds. from the stake to where I stood. 

 This w;is not the pure white liird that I had seen at first. 



On Jan. I 1 was out again, and after tramping all the 

 forenoon without seeing anything. I turned toward home, 

 when I saw on a. fence stalve auotlier A'vc/^ca. and with the 

 .ula-^s -aw that it was the white specimen. But after a 

 three hour ch.ase I lost him. and at no time did 1 get within 

 '20 rods of it, although it Avas on tlie same farm where 1 

 got the others. This one kept entirely to the fences, while 

 the first one kept to the few isolated trees, not once alight- 

 ing on the fence. 



In ending this long sCreed I wiU say that within a week 

 I secured a red-taded hawk and the two snowy owls. 

 LocKPORT, N. Y . J. L. Davison. 



ABNORIVIAL DEER ANTLERS. 



Editor Forest and Strea.m: 



I notice in the issue of Forest akd Stream dated Jan. 

 5 a note by "N. A. T.," from Eddy, N. M., in which he 

 describes the antlers of what is called by an old hunter a 

 cactus deer. These antlers, instead of being of the ordi- 

 nary form of the mule deer's, appear in clusters of gro-wths 

 in place of the antlers, and he inquires if there be such 

 a distinct variety or species. 



There is no probability that the deer he saw is a distinct 

 variety, but is the ordinary mule deer which I understand 

 is the prevaihng deer in the Pecos Valley, with an abnor- 

 mal growth of the antlers. Probably if he had examined 

 carefully he would have found that the deer had been cas- 

 trated, which is sometimes found to be the case among 

 wild deer from some unexplained cause. 



In my own grounds I have know^n castration of the Vir- 

 ginia deer to produce an eft'ect upon the growth of the 

 antlers someyvhat similar to that described in this case, 

 where they grew in clnsters. An example of this kind of 

 growth is described on page 187 of the ■ -Antelope and 

 Deer of America,'" which gTew on the head of a deer 

 yvliicli I sent to the Central Park in New York in 1865. but 

 the extraordinary growth described by your correspondent 

 may have been owing to other causes^ 



What we call abnormal groyvths of the antlers of deer 

 are not very uncommon. I have many specimens of the.se 

 in my collection which grew on the heads of wild deer. 

 Many .specimens of female deer have been taken with 

 antlers on them, one of which I hav-e in my collection. 

 These are abnormal growths w-hich may not be ascribed 

 to injury or any other assignable cause. The suspicion of 

 "N. A. T." that they might have grown on a black-tail 

 deer, as the mule deer is there called, is probably correct. 

 If it was a full grown buck, upon examination he would 

 hav^e found on tlie outside of the hindleg below the hock 

 the metatarsal gland four to five inches long, yvhile on no 

 other deer does this gland grow to more than half that 

 length. Nor need the dark color of the specimen cast any 

 doubt upon the subject, for there is none of our Americaii 

 deer more variant in color than the mide deer, ranging 

 from white to almost black, though the latter is much 

 rarer than the former. Indeed, ordinardy when the ne-vv 

 coat on the mule deer first appears in the early fall it is 

 nearly of a black color and is short, fine and soft, though 

 usually as it grows longer it rapidly c-hanges to a lighter 

 color. 



If there be a distinct variety of this cactus deer numer- 

 ous .specimens must have existed and been met with by 

 other hunters and have lieen mentioned by them and 

 talked about and heard of. A single specimen or several 

 specimens cannot constitute a variety. 



Chicago, Jan. 10. JOHN Deak CatON. 



