Makch 2, 1893.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



179 



yourself as well as to the little fish from wliich he expects 

 to make his dinner. The grace of mcrvement of these 

 birds in ilight is to he noted too, and each one is to be 

 studied by itself. 



There are very few ducks in this part of the river, and 

 1 saw but few in early winter on the Indian River. 



The woods aboxmd in game, but not every one can suc- 

 ceed in secm-ing it, as ever)'' year finds it more wary. I 

 saw a. cabin 5resteixlay adorned with the skin of a bear, 

 while the other side "svas nearly covered with coon skins. 



Those who come liere year after year seem to grow more 

 in love with the country each succeeding season, and re- 

 turn each year with added zest. 



The hall of the hotel is well hung with implements of 

 sport, and the porch and smokmg-room in the evening 

 witness the curling smoke of the pipe and the oft told yet 

 ever new stories of bear, snake, fisli and deer. Told on the 

 porch and in the smooking-room, these tales go far toward 

 making kinship and fellowship among men, for they are 

 told with the same spirit and listened to with the same 

 allowance the world around. W. 



Pass a Grille. 



DuRlNa a residency of six years in Hillsboro county I 

 have several times been through Pass a Grille, a narrow 

 passage which leads into Baca Bay a few miles above the 

 main entrance to Tampa Bay, and each time that I was 

 through the Pass I found it ahve with those fisli which 

 most dehght the souls and stomachs of those brothers of 

 the anghng fraternity who ply the rod or cast the fly in 

 the waters which border on the Gulf of Mexico, grouper, 

 snapper, sea trout and bass, pompano, Spanish mackerel, 

 khigfish and others, and on three or four of these visits I 

 have found the surface of the water being ripped open in 

 every direction by the long gafftops'l-shaped back fin of 

 that king of all the Gulf fish, the great silvery tarpon. It 

 was impossible to count them, but I think that I have 

 during one trip through the Pass seen fuUy two dozen — 

 I)erhaps more — of them. I am no sportsman and there- 

 fore did not make any attempt to land any of them, and 

 they have never been fished for with the hook in the 

 Pass, although from five to ten have been taken in a day 

 by a single boat's crew with a harpoon. R. A. B. 



The First Punta Rassa Tarpon. 



Pltnta Rassa, Fla. — ^Mr. Hugh McNeill captured to-day 

 the first tarpon of the season after a two hom's' struggle. 

 The fish was 6ft. AUn. in length, girthed 35in. and 

 weighed 1141bs. 



THE GRAY WOLF IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Mr. Thompson's admirable picture of the gray wolf, 

 which appears in your issue of Jan. 5, has induced me to 

 oflfer a few remarks respecting the distribution and habits 

 of tins animal in British Coluaibia, and although I have 

 nothing of a very starthng nature to chronicle, stdl I pre- 

 sume that one of the objects of Forest and Stream's ani- 

 mal portraits is to draw out information from all portions 

 of the continent, and that no matter how meagre such in- 

 formation may be it cannot fail to be of interest to some 

 one of its readers. 



There are few places in this Province were the gray 

 wolf is not to be found. I have met him down along our 

 southern boundary on the head waters of the Thompson 

 and Eraser rivers, and away up among the frozen hills of 

 far away Cassice. 



In the dry, open country, east of the Cascade Mountains, 

 south of Fraser River, he is not often seen, his place being 

 taken there by the coyote, or prairie wolf. His center of 

 abundance seems to be along the coast and includes Van- 

 couver Island. The proportion of gray to black wolves on 

 Vancouver Island is about five to one, while along tlie 

 coast of the mainland the black and gray are about ecxual. 

 The dark colored ones vary from a dusky to a jet black, 

 some of the latter having a very fine quality of fm-. 



There are portions of the Province where the wolf was 

 once abundant and from which he has now disappeared, 

 or rather receded before the advance of settlers. Fifteen 

 years ago he was not uncommon at Burrard Inlet, and on 

 ^the peninsula between Burrard Inlet and New Westmin- 

 *Ster. He is now rare in these locahties. 



The gray wolf of British Columbia does not appear to 

 linger long in the neighborhood of settlements, and there 

 are few instances on record where wolves have molested 

 domestic animals. Indeed, the abundance of deer and 

 other game makes it quite unnecessary for him to carry 

 his depredations very far in that direction, and in the 

 matter of attacking human beings he certainly does not 

 possess those blood-thh-sty proijensities which are atti-ib- 

 uted to his kind in older countries. From my own ex- 

 perience I have found him to be a sneaking coward in 

 tha presence of man. I have had them follow my trail 

 over tlie frozen surface of one of our northern rivers for 

 days at a stretch for no other purpose, seemingly, than to 

 steal into my abandoned camps in search of \\'hat odd 

 scrajis of food might be left, and their pickings on those 

 occasions must haA^e been very slim, as I was not in a 

 position to aft'ord anj^ carelessness in what I threw away, 

 for I had started out on short allowance and had been 

 kept back by terrible eather from reaching a i)oint at 

 which my food was cached. 



Once, while foUowing the course of a mountain stream, 

 •a deer suddenly appeared around a bend some 200yds. 

 a^vay bounding toward me, and, without even noticing 

 me, swept past me with the speed of the wind. Feeling- 

 certain the deer Avas jjui'sued by some animals my first 

 1;hought was tliat they were Indian dogs and unmediately 

 a desire to mm-der took possession of me. Drojiping 

 down and resting my elbow on my knee I awaited de- 

 velopments, determined to dispute any further advance 

 of the pm-suers. Nor had I long to wait, for presently, 

 from round the same bend, came the forms of ten wolves 

 in hot pm-suit. Covering the foremost one with my rifle 

 I bowled him over, when immediately the band stopped, 

 threw up their heads, then timied and scampered back 

 Uke a lot of frightened sheep, followed by a couple of 

 pai'ting shots as they disaiipeared, 



Night after night 1 have had these animals howhng 

 roimd my camp, but aside from this annoyance and per- 



haps the theft of provisions left too far from camp, I never 

 had any trouble with them. The Indians will tell you that 

 they are not afi-aid of wolves, tliat they Avill not attack 

 human beings, but add, "All the time kill 'em Indian 

 dog." This latter in the face of the fact that the two 

 animals are known to interbreed. 



I haA'e, however, one circumstance to rela.te, which 

 proves that at least on one occasion British Cohunbia 

 wolves have attempted the life of a human being. The 

 source from Avhich this information comes is strictly relia- 

 ble or it Avould not find a })lace in this x^aper. The story 

 is told by Mi-. M. King, lumber merchant of this city; a 

 gentleman who has probably traveled over more of the 

 coast of tills ProA-jnce than any other white man hAdng, 

 and Avith Avhom I have had the pleasure of spending many 

 a night in the woods. 



For years Mr. Eang has followed the occupation of 

 "cruiser of timber," Avhich occupation has often taken 

 him single-handed and alone into the depths of the forest 

 to be gone for months at a time; meeting with no one, 

 camping where night overtook him., and finally, when his 

 object Avas attained, his claim located, making his way to 

 the coast, to be picked up by a chance steamer, or paddled 

 to the nearest port by some dusky native. 



During these trips Mr. King has had ample opportuni- 

 ties for testing the aggTessive characters of wolves, yet 

 this is the only instance where he has had any ti-ouble 

 Avith them, nor has he ever heard of any other case of tiie 

 kind in the Province. The story in his own words is as 

 folloAA^s: 



' 'I had left my morning camp a,t the head of Salmon 

 River about an hour when the howhng of a pack of wolves 

 behind me attracted my attention, and wonderhig 

 whether they were on my ti-ail or f olloAving the track of 

 deer I stopped to hsten. As the soimds appeared to be 

 coming my Avay I thought it prudent to make myself 

 ready for'Avhatever might happen; so throwing down 

 my pack and drawing therefrom a box of extra cartridges, 

 haATiig filled the magazine of my rifle before starting, I 

 waited for developments. Soon the wolves came in sight 

 and it was not long before I seemed to be surrounded by 

 the hungry brutes; so far as I could calculate there 

 Avere between forty and fifty of them. HoAvever, as long 

 as they did not close in on me too fast I was pretty well 

 satisfied I could stand them oft'. I Avas Avell supphed 

 with cartridges and carried a .•i4cal. Winchester, one of 

 the handiest httle guns a Avoodsman ever packed and time 

 as steel at short range. "Well, the fight, if it coifld be 

 called one, la.sted about half an hour, when a few of them 

 broke away into the timber and commenced hoAvhng, 

 which had the eftect of drawing the rest after them, 

 when the whole band started away on the full jump, 

 howling as they went. I listened till the sounds died 

 awav in the distance and felt satisfied that they liad been 

 foUowing the trail of deer or elk when they crossed my 

 track, and getting my wind f olloAved it up with the result 

 above stated. I found sixteen of then- number dead and, 

 probably, not a few Avere woimded." 



I have inquired of the dealers here as to AA^hat portion 

 of the Province furnishes the greatest number of wolf 

 skins, and their ansAver is that the receipts are pretty 

 equally divided and that the gray wolf is an animal of 

 general distribution in British Columbia. John Fannin. 

 A'iCTORiA, British Columbia. 



TIP AND ZIP. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Many years ago I hved for a year in Texas, a little set- 

 tlement in the town of Somerset, Vt. The place Avas and 

 is a noted resort for fishermen, the many mountain 

 streams in its vicinity teeming Avith trout. But I remem- 

 ber it more particularly as the spot where I found Tip and 

 Zip. One August day I Avas climbing the st«ep mountain 

 Avhich separates Texas from Dover, when in the road 

 before me I saw two brown mites about as big as young 

 kittens. They were coming toward me, but on discover- 

 ing me they stopped and looked at each other in a per- 

 plexed wav, evidently at a loss Avhat to do. On my mov- 

 ing toward them they tried to scramble up a steep bank, 

 but I caught them easily, and learned that though small 

 they had very sharp teeth. I put them into a two-quart 

 tin pail, where they had plenty of room, and then looked 

 to see what I had captured. My fii-st thought Avas that 

 they might be woodchucks, but happening to notice their 

 stumpy tails the secret was out. Faintly but unmistak- 

 ably they were ringed. Tip and Zip were young coons. 



Did you ever bring up a coon, or rather, two coons? If 

 not you have lost no end of fun and saved yourself some 

 trouble. Tip and Zip took kindly to civihzation. Instead 

 of sidking they greedily drank the first milk I gave them, 

 and from that moment became my devoted friends. I 

 never had a rival in their aft'ections. Other members of 

 the family who cared for them in my absence they 

 treated in a friendly manner, but for me was reserved 

 their Avarmest gi-eetings. On the approach of strangers, 

 they would scramble up my legs and body and perch one 

 on each shoulder, chattering in my ears noisy protests at 

 the intruders. EA-erywhere they followed me like dogs, 

 not forgetting to scold if I walked too fast for them; and 

 if the Avay was too long it generally ended in my havmg 

 to carry them home. 



They never from the first showed any desire to leave 

 me. Within a few days after finding them I took them 

 into the woods Avhere I was cutting firewood. For hours 

 they played like two kittens, chasing each other among 

 the leaves, along logs, and climbing trees. I stole from 

 them unobserA^ed and waited in the road some distance 

 away. First I heard a chittering, then a whimpering, 

 which grew louder and louder, a floimdering in the 

 leaves, and Tip and Zip tumbled into the road sadly out 

 of breath. After that they watched me closely. 



It was the next day, I think, that they had their en- 

 counter with a drove of cattle. They Avere foUowmg me 

 as usual when Ave met the cattle in a narrow roadway. I 

 had passed by them a short distance, when I became 

 aware there was trouble behind me. The right]of way Avas 

 in dispute. Most of the cattle (cows and young ones) had 

 given Avay. but one or two big oxen, with loAvered heails, 

 were making a, stand. I hurried back to save my little 

 friends, but "they did not need my aid. With bristling 

 hair and growls that would have done credit to small bull- 

 dogs thev started for the oxen. I saAV the big fellows 

 AvaA^eriiig for a moment, then they jumped to the side of 

 the road, and my coons had won the battle. Indeed Tip 

 was inclined to foUoAv the retreating enemy, but I called 

 h im off, and put liim in my pocket rmtU he became quiet. 



The great joy of my coons Avas to go fishing with me. 

 They lacked the sportsman's delicate sense of honor, I sup- 

 pose, for they would eat aU the small trout I gave them 

 and tease me for more. In fact, I was never able to 

 satisfy them, although trout were plentiful then. I con- 

 cluded their capacity for eating Avas inexhaustible and 

 gave it up. 



I have hinted that my pets AA-ere sometimes troublesome. 

 Well, if you were to let loose a dozen or two children in 

 your house Avith permission for an hour to overhaul, hide, 

 carry oft', and generally demorahze everything it con- 

 tained, I think they might possibly accomplish as much 

 as Tip and Zip Avould in half the time. I say possi- 

 bly, for to me it aviU. alAvays remain an open question. If 

 caught in mischief by any one else they would always 

 come to me for protection, and Avhfle I was pacifying the 

 enraged pai-ty, they would probably steal every tool or 

 portable thing I had been using. By all means, if you 

 want to enhven your household, get two yoimg coons. 

 You will neA^er know another dull minute. 



Sprin&field, Mass., Feb. 21. FRED L, BaLLARD. 



"Incidents of My Hunting Life." 



A NOTE intended to have been appended to the article 

 under the above title in last Aveek's issue was inadvert- 

 ently omitted and is now printed alone. Our correspond- 

 ent has apparently confused European and American 

 cuckoos. The latter usually build rudely constructed 

 nests for themselves and hatch out their own young, 

 although some cases have been recorded where their eggs 

 haA-e been f omid in the nests of other birds. An American 

 species that has the parasitic habit of the European cuckoos, 

 and never makes a nest of its OAvn, but ahvays depends 

 on Other birds to hatch and rear its young is the cowbird 

 or cow bunting {Molothrus ater). The young cow bunt- 

 ing is said to throw out of the nest the eggs or young of 

 its foster parent, all of whose attention is thus concen- 

 trated on the foundling. 



Owls. 



Cincinnati, 0., Feb. IS.— Editor Forest and Stream: A 

 correspondent from Lockport, N. Y., writes that he shot a 

 barred owl in that locality and wishes to knoAv if it is 

 rare. Seven years ago I procured two specimens in the 

 same county (Niagara), and also shot several on the 

 Canadian side of the Niagara River. This owl, with the 

 exception of the great gray owl, is the only species that 

 has brown or blue eyes. I have found the barred owl 

 quite common in Ohio, also the short-eared owl, which, 

 by the Avay, sees equally well by day. I have killed two 

 sawhet oavIs in the last three years in Ohio, and I believe 

 them to be rare, if not the rarest oaa-I throughout the 

 United States. F. B. ]\Iagill, 



An Eagle in a Trap. 



Bartlett, N, H., Feb. 19.— The news reached me this 

 morning that Mr. John O. Cobb had caught an eagle in 

 one of his fox traps, so I tied on my snowshoes and went 

 over to see him. He is a fine specimen of the golden 

 eagle, Aveighs 1341bs. and measures about 7ft. from tip to 

 tip as near as I could estimate. Mr. C. says that the eagle 

 had only the inner claAv of the left foot in the trap, so he 

 is not hurt except a shght sweUing in the toe. Blr. C. in- 

 tends to sell him. Jagare. 



A Snake on the Snow. 



West Chelmsford, Mass., Feb. 20.— A few days ago a • 

 farmer living neax here killed a blacksnake which meas- 

 ured about 5ft. in length and was lying on about 6in. of 

 snoAv. F. A. 



I^t^l^ ^ttd 



NEW MEXICO GAME NOTES. 



Eddy, New Mexico, Feb. 16. — Editor Forest and Stream: 

 Replying to an inquiry published in your issue of Feb. 2, 

 I am compelled to say that the story of the white bear of 

 the Guadalupe Mountains is another fake, such as those 

 of the cactus deer, the ibex of the Saw Tooth Mountains, 

 the red goat of jMount Tacoma, the one-horned deer of the 

 Big Hole, and numerous others that have been exploited 

 inlihe press during the last two years. Your correspond- 

 ent's friend, who told him the story of this Avhite bear, 

 was undoubtedly honest in beheving that there was such 

 an animal in the Guadalupe Mountains, but some one had 

 been workmg him. The white skins he saw must have 

 been those of Angora goats, or ordinary WiUiam goats. 

 The only bears native in New Mexico are the black and 

 grizzly, Avith colors running into brown and silver-tip. 



John Dimaw ay killed a big panther in Dark Canon, a 

 f CAV mites from Eddy, a short time ago. Thirteen of these 

 varmints have been killed in the foothills Avest of here 

 within the past two months. 



Ed. Piontowskv, of the engineer corps, retm-ned from 

 the Sacramento 'Mountains lately, where he spent some 

 ten days in hunting. He killed ten or twelve turkeys and 

 a large number of ducks on the Penasco. There was too 

 much snow in the mountains for comfort in deer hunting, 

 which Avas fortimate for the game, as Ed. is a good shot, 

 and Avould have brought in a number of head if he had 

 found them. 



John Buck and Mr. Welch, two homesteaders who live 

 in the Sacramentos, were more fortunate, for - they 

 brought in seven deer lately, which they sold to a local 

 meat market. , 



Hu-am W. McKloskey, a coav man Avho lives on the 

 Staked Plains, thuty miles east, brought in yesterday 

 fifteen coyote hides and one gray wolf hide. He filed 

 them with the County Clerk and obtained the boimty of 

 fifty cents each on them, after which he sold them to a 

 hide dealer. ^ ^ , 



Judge W. K. StaHcup, County Treasurer W. F. Cochran 

 and City Clerk George Duncan drove up Rocky Arroya, 

 twenty-five miles from Eddy. Hunted two days and 

 brought in seven deer. 



George Patton, of Chicago, who spent some three 

 months here hunting jack rabbits last winter, came back 

 a week ago to- renew his acquaintance with them, but was 

 surprised to find that the stock Avas somewhat diminished. 

 He went out on three or fom- dift'erent days, but aU he 

 could find was about fifty to one hundred jacks each day, 

 so he left the town in disguBt, G. 0. Shields, 



