204 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



HMaech 9, 1893. 



augurate the work. The public discussions of the i-ein- 

 deer project developed much adverse sentiment. The 

 plan was believed impracticable because the Siberians 

 would not sell live reindeer; further, it was supposed the 

 animal would not bear ship transportation; that it is such 

 a dainty creature that it wiU not eat food touched by 

 human hands; that the native dogs on the Alaskan coast 

 would destroy them or the Eskimos woidd kill them for 

 food. 



In 1891 the fallacy of nearly all these objections was 

 demonstrated. Capt. Healy boiight sixteen reindeer from 

 the Koraks, kept them on ship about three weeks, during 

 which time they traveled over 1,000 miles and passed 

 through a severe gale without injury, fed them on moss 

 collected in Siberia and some of it full of coal dust, and 

 landed them on the Island of Amaknak in Unalaska Har- 

 bor. Far from being daintj^ they freely ate potatoes and 

 meat and even tobacco, which the sailors offered them. 

 The danger from dogs has not yet manifested itself. 



Congressional aid has not yet been given to the plan; 

 but Dr. Jackson continued his purchases in 1893 with 

 private contributions. The Treasmy Department agam 

 made the work possible by furnishing him facilities on 

 the Bear, and Capt. Healey entered into the project. On 

 the way north the cutter stopped at Unalaska, where it 

 was found that the small herd had wintered successfully 

 and Avas in good condition with an increase of two. Dur- 

 ing the summer 175 reindeer were purcliased in Siberia, 

 and established at Port Clarence, Alaska, under the care 

 of Miner W. Bruce and Bruce Gibson, assisted by four 

 Siberian reindeer men and several young Eskimos. A 

 house, 20 X 60ft., was erected as a residence and store, and 

 dugouts were built for the hei-ders. 



When the Alaskan natives have learned to take care of 

 the reindeer, a small herd will be given to each of them, 

 and new apprentices will take their places at the station. 



Up to the time when the Bear left Port Clarence last 

 fall the native dogs had not injured the reindeer. The 

 coast dogs, said Dr. Jackson, have not been taught to Inmt 

 deer, but if any of them molest the herd the attendants 

 will shoot the dogs and afterward pay the owners for 

 them. The Eskimos are anxious to have the reindeer be- 

 cause they value the pelts. Some of them tried to buy the 

 animals from the oflB.cers of the Bear. The Cape Prince of 

 Wales men are greatly interested in the matter. Three 

 men actually discussed a plan by which two of them should 

 support their three f amiUes while the third went to Siberia 

 very late ia the season, hoiiingto be frozen in and obliged 

 to winter with the Koraks, from whom he would steal the 

 trade of herding the reindeer. 



Congress is now asked to appropriate $10,000 to continue 

 the work of introduction, and, as the results so far are 

 very encouraging, it seems hard to comprehend why a 

 measure of such importance and value should be longer 

 discouraged. 



The habits of the reindeer, according to Dr. Jackson, 

 have been little discussed by recent writers, and informa- 

 tion was obtained with great difficulty even from the gov- 

 ernments of countries in which the animal is native. It 

 feeds on "reindeer moss" and other hchens, grass and wil- 

 lows, preferably ''moss." It is beUeved that Alaska wiU. 

 furnish food enough for 3,000,000 of the animals. If their 

 introduction is successful they will serve the natives for 

 food, clothing and i>urposes of transportation, and, in 

 all i>robability, the people will increase greatly in num- 

 bers. 



In the discussion of. Dr. Jackson's address it was shown 

 by Drs. Gill, Dall, Merriam, Nordqvist and Stejneger that 

 there is a ereat deal of valuable, though scattered, litera- 

 ture about the reindeer, not only in the official documents 

 of Sweden and Lapland, but also in the works of old 

 writers. Leem's "Lapland's Beskrivelse," published about 

 1764, contains an excellent account of the animal and is 

 profusely illustrated, but lonfortunately the author's good 

 sketches were spoiled by tlie engraver. Middendorff"s 

 narrative of his Siberian travel has many incidental notes 

 on the reindeer, and so have Ki-asheninnikoff 's ' 'Descrip- 

 tion of the Country of Kamchatka" and other naiTatives 

 of voyagfrs. 



Kennan's "Tent Life in Siberia" includes graphic 

 sketches of life among the reindeer men. The January 

 Calif orvian contains an illustrated article on the rein- 

 deer in Alaska by Lieut. Cant well. 



Before leaving the subject we will refer to the intro- 

 duction of seven reindeer into Bering Island from Kam- 

 chatka in the spring of 1883. Dr. Stejneger saAV the suc- 

 cessful experiment and stated that there are now on the 

 i'^land about 300 animals as the result of this start. Prof. 

 Evermann found the herd in a thriving condition when 

 the Albatross visited Bering Island last summer. 



On the opposite page will be seen a pictuire taken in 

 Alaska, which shows a group of these imported domestic 

 reindeer. 



Notwithstanding the fact that inauguration and polit- 

 ical news has been crowding the columns of the New 

 York daily papers for the past week, they have yet de- 

 voted columns of space to an alleged bear which was 

 supposed to be ravaging the cheerfiil hamlet of Glen 

 Cove, L. 1. The story was a manifest "fake," but they 

 printed it all the same. 



KELLUP'S DREAM.— I. 



As the train moved off in the evening, KeUup stood on 

 the platform of the Httle depot staring at the few muffled 

 figures without recognition. Presently one reached out 

 under the dim lantern and both stood there grinniag and 

 shaking hands with never a word. Nobody said "Hullo, 

 Jake;" nobody said "Hullo, Kellup," but just stood and 

 smiled. They understood each other pretty weU, those 

 two. Then Jake took the bag and started: 



"Come on. Left the sleigh dowoi front the store." 



They crossed the track throixgh a stretch of gloom to 

 where the fight came out well softened through frosted 

 window-panes. They opened the door upon an atmos- 

 phere of molasses and salt pork and tobacco smoke, and 

 KeUup foimd himself waiting near a big stove with its 

 red, open warmth. There were several others in indolent 

 attitudes. The conversation was weU along on himting 

 topics, so he kept both ears open, and it wasn't long be- 

 fore he was wishing he knew half as muoh about woodsy 

 things as that boy who was speaking up so peit. and old- 

 fashioned, cafiing everybody by his first name. 



"Guess y' didn't git them bir-r-ds down by Cap'n 

 Doone's, did ye, Earnie?" 



A tall young f eUow had just laid down a single-barreled 

 gun and unslung a fittle bunch of quail and a woodcock. 

 His hair curled out long under his cap; his coat looked 

 tliiu for the time of year; his shoes beneath the overalls 

 were broken and his feet were no doubt wet, but he didn't 

 mind that. The thing KeUup liked least was the ex- 

 pression. It seemed to have been long looking on the 

 dark side of something; and yet his eyes were not so bad, 

 his eyes were pretty good, Kellup thought, but his face 

 was somewhat soiled and that made it woree. 



When the general guffaw had ceased, he was looking 

 malevolently at the fire. 



"No, dam 'im-m, I got a catrid-d-dge up 'thouse I made 

 f him, especial-1: four drachms a powder ''n' a chunk a 

 lead, three-cornered piece. I car it along when I go his 

 way. Dam 'im-m, he ever puU a gun on me-ee." He had 

 a way of bearing down hard on the end of a word. 



Kellup began to think he shouldn't care to go hunting 

 with this fellow, not after small game, anyhow. 



The boy's strident voice broke in: 



"You git any rabbits Simday, Richie?'* 



A smallish man, low down on a butter keg, took out his 

 pipe and reached forward to spit on the fire. His face 

 was smooth, except for Avrinkles and little gray side-tabs, 

 and the lines about the mouth fell into a wheedling smile. 

 His smile would agree with you whether or no, but you 

 couldn't tefi so much about his eyes. They were blue and 

 waterj\ You couldn't see in very far. He wore an old 

 cordm-oy cap tied up on top and a short coat well wrinkled 

 and molded to his form. 



"No. A got no rebbits. A seen two fine ones a-sittin' 

 on 'is nes'es, but one joomped. A popped at the otlier. 

 No— a — ah missed he." 



The last j)art of the sentence came back over his shoul- 

 der on his way out to see who was calling "Richie 

 Moore!" 



" Say, Earnie, y' know what Moore does if a rabbit's go- 

 in' by on the jump? Whistles 'n' hollers 'Zip!' " 



The look of contempt on the dark feUow's face tickled 

 the boy. 



"Say, Earnie, Earnie, y' know what he done the other 

 Sunday? He never started nothin', y' knoAv, an' bynebye 

 he heard a h'ound d'own the swamp, an' he sneaked 

 through the brush 'n' shot a rabbit ahead a that dog. 'N' 

 he kne-ew them McCarron boys was in the swamp aU the 

 time." 



By this time Jake had put the jugs and things into a 

 yellow sleigh and Avas taking the buffalo from the horse. 

 KeUup saw by the proud, smiluig expression that he was 

 expected to say something about that colt, so he got out 

 ia the snoAv Avith his hands ia his pockets and looked 

 wise. He could just make out in the gloom she Avas iron- 

 gray, about nine hxmdred and Mty, and liglit-footed as a 

 doe, Avith the snow aU pawed out from under, where she 

 was starting and backing and getting her haunches doAvn 

 in aU sorts of graceful, reckless ways. He kneAv the sign 

 of a horse judge was to find fault, so he looked hard. He 

 looked in vam, though. He caught a glimpse that seemed 

 as if the nose was rather aquiline in profile, slightly 

 Roman, but she wotUdn't keep it stiU long enough, so he 

 said the harness was altogether too large. He said the 

 coUar AA^as at least two sizes too big. Jake aUowed it was 

 an old harness and leaned on the reins, while she turned 

 round with her neck arched in tight, sawing hard on the 

 bit. They bumped over the tracks again and struck the 

 road leading toward the Avoods, and then the snow com- 

 menced to fly in their faces, and the beUs on the shafts 

 got to clanging lugher and Mgher till at last they sprang 

 to the tune of "The Ride from Ghent to Aix." After a 

 time she settled down and shook out her head. KeUup 

 Avas glad he had said nothing about her nose, she kept 

 pokiog it so rapidly into the future. The belLs had settled 

 doAvn to a murmming clamor — except at intei-vals. The 

 faintest chirrup from Jake seemed to start them up Uke 

 frightened thiag-s. After a time: 



"What you sighing about, Kellup?" 



The fact was he Avas just seeing himself standing on a 

 rock and wondering if a dog should come driving a rabbit 

 along, whether or not he should shoot, or, for that mat- 

 ter, Avhether any man AA^oiUd shoot — most any man fresh 

 from town, used to the business morals of city life; and 

 asfor[sayiag "Zip!" to a rabbit on the jump, it struck 

 him that was an excellent way to stop a rabbit and put 

 him ia a proper position to be shot. But aU that was 

 gone now — ^brushed away. He realized there Avere un- 

 written volumes, whole volumes, on the ethics of rabbit 

 shooting, outside the statute books. He knew his poor 

 skiU at best was no match for a decent bag, and noAv he 

 must be deprived of these small aids. So he sighed: 



"What you sigliing for, KeUujj?" 



"Oh, just thiaking. Jake, who's Captain Doone?" 



"He's an old rebel lives on a farm down below," and 

 Jake raised the mittened fist with the nigh reia iadefinite- 

 ly toward the valley. KeUup could see white acres and 

 black forest and glittermg stai-s, that was aU. 



"Some say he kUled a nigger once on a whaler, but 

 anyhow he shot Bass Bush last Avinter and got through 

 the law some way, and now he keeps a rifle loaded ia the | 



house— sure death to any hmiter he catches on the place. 

 Whoa!" 



The mare had swung round a curA^e off the road and 

 througli the gateAvay, and stood steajning in the barn- 

 yard. The house was all dark except the window near 

 the door Avith a big stone step. It was all sUent except 

 for a hound inside Avhiniug and jodeUng. 



"Yes," said Jake, getting out a httle stiff, "Bass was 

 drunk, I suppose." 



He looked gigantic in his coonskin coat. The mare 

 lieaA'ed a big sigh, and gave her nose readUy to be led off 

 to the barn. KeUup tvirned smUing toward tlie door to 

 get acquainted with the dog. 



When Jake came in, KeUup Avas teUing his most inter- 

 esting yarn in his most engaging way, but the old lady 

 paid little heed and kept about her work with a quervUous 

 mm-muring. Over 70 she Avas, with a wriakle for every 

 year, but nice wrinkles, more tracks of smiles than 

 scowls. She was bent, too, but got about well and said 

 she didn't miss her teeth — she could "gum it like a cow." 

 But Kellup couldn't coax a flash of interest. She Avaa 

 looking back all the time, away across the years. 



Jake looked up from the sink ia the corner, with his 

 hair bnished out Avet across his forehead: "What do you 

 think of him, Caleb?" 



Kellup was just then trying to measure the dog's ears 

 and haAing a hard time of it. Finally he announced: 

 "Twenty-tAvo inches," but he said he was sorry about the 

 dog, he had gi'own so big. He bought that dog for a 

 beagle puppy. After supper Jake said: "Well, if you're 

 going to see Ave don't OA^ersleep, mother, I ]:>etter fix that 

 clock. It's twenty -five minutes too fast. W^e'll leave it 

 stopped awhUe." It Avas quite a large clock Avith a faded 

 print of Washington inside the low-er glass. Then be 

 pulled his chau' over near the stove, where he coiUd reach 

 the hound's ears. 



"Yes, it does Avell enough for her. She looks out an' 

 sets it by the sun when I'm aAvay; don't y', mother?" 



"Yes, yes. Ain't i{ most time to set it goin' again?" 



"Then, there she goes. Y' see that clock's her only 

 company. She's heard it tickin', tickin' forty year or so. 

 Well, no wonder. Old clock's made er wood, too, wooden 

 wheels 'n aU. No, mother, it ain't time for twenty min- 

 utes yet." 



When Jake came up from the ceUar with the cider a 

 little later he found it going again. Jefferson Sceibb. 



MY CHANCE ACQUAINTANCE. 



Whew, but it was hot. No air was stirring; the sun 

 was just glaring down; not a cloud ia sight. My vener- 

 able friend said "It were too hot to go out." 1 felt too 

 limp to disj)ute him, so Ave opened the doors of the boat 

 house fore and aft, gaA^e the floor a thorougli Avetting, filled 

 our pipes, himg up our hats and unbuttoned our shirt col- 

 lars and gracefully gave om-selves up to smoke and loU- 

 ing. 



In a short time I called the attention of the old gentle- 

 man to a large turtle sheU Avliich was nailed up to the 

 side of the boat house. 



"Yes," he said, "he Avas a big 'un and I set great store 

 by him at one time. He made it his home about the boat 

 house for three or foiu- year, and got to be quite tame and 

 a good deal of a pet. We used to feed him Avith dead 

 shinei-s and the cleanings of tlsh. The old feUer Avould 

 come out of his hiding place if you'd thump smartly 

 on a boat pail. We aU knowed him; used to call him 

 Tim; had lots of fun feeding him. He'd snap a shiner 

 offen the end of a stick as quick as a himgry dog Avould a 

 piece of meat, and stick to it so as you could at times hft 

 him clean out of the Avater. A year ago last spring I were 

 a mending my boat, had some hon rivets 'bout an inch 

 and a half long lying around, and had a fire to melt some 

 pitch with. There were some boys down here from the 

 AdUage skylarkin' romid boy like. One of the j'^oimg ras- 

 cals, afore I knowed Avhat he Avas up to, het one of them 

 ere rivets red hot and drof)ped it into old Tim's mouth. It 

 burned a hole clean through him, and I cal'late it tasted 

 about as the whiskj^ we used to git here did, for I'll be 

 durned if he didn't turn round and swaUow it agin. 



"Along toward fall I noticed the old feller dichi't show 

 herself as oi'ten as usual; sometimes he'd stop in his hole 

 two or three days. He didn't moA^e quite so hvely; he 

 weren't so pert, wouldn't eat Avell; acted like a feUer Avith 

 the grip. One morning I found him Avrong side up. I 

 puUed him out carefully but he were a goner; dead as a 

 two year old robin's nest. 



"I felt sorry hke; my darter Avanted to go into half 

 mourning, but we finally decided to save as much of Ifini 

 as possible and give the rest a decent burial. I opened 

 him very carefrdly and inside found what aUed him. That 

 ere Uttle bit of an" iron rivet had growed tiU it Avere as big 

 as a hen's egg. The chunk weighed more'n two pounds. 

 It had disarranged and disriqrted his entire innards; busted, 

 him wide open, ia fact." 



I quietly asked, "HaA-e you that chunk noAv? I Avould 

 like to send it to the Foeest and Stream." 



"No; I let one of them ere fish commissioners feUera 

 have it for an anchor to a net buoy; aint seen it since." 



A. W. 



GRANDEAPros, Micli. 



Blooming Grove Park Association. 



The recently issued statenient of this association shows 

 the condition of the club to be a very satisfactory one. 

 Many improvements have been made dui'ing the 

 last yeai'. The finances of the club are ia good shape 

 and constantly getting better. During the past year the 

 club has reduced its floating indebtedness to -$8,633, and 

 besides paying all the running expenses of the club, have 

 sj)ent $5,457.31 in imjjrovements. This does not include 

 the bowling alley, which was paid for by voluntary sub- 

 scriptions. 



The vaiious tournaments held during the year have 

 more than i)aid for themselves, the receipts exceeding the 

 expenditm-es by $954.39. During the year 160,000 trout 

 fry were deposited in Blooming Grove River and 165,700 

 in the Shohola River. There are now on hand in the 

 retaining ponds 17,000 brook trovit fry, 7,500 yearhngs, 

 2,000 two-year-old and over, 8,000 landlocked salmon fry, 

 100 tAvo-year-old lake trout. 



The fishing record, according to the score books, SboAved 

 3,961 trout taken, 3,333 bass taken. The game account 

 shows five bucks kiUed ia the Park, 140 ruffed gi-ouse, .61 

 woodcock and 34 ducks. 



Various new buUdiags have l)een erected and some neAv 

 land acquired. The membership of the club ia 318. 



