228 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[March 16, 189S. 



former by striking his feet when off the ground. The 

 players are seldom hm.-t, for if tripped they fall on the 

 inflated skin of the seal. In this game the greatest ac- 

 tivity is disj)layed by both sexes. 



They all enjoy looking at pictiares and will gather around 

 a pictorial paper and study it for hours, and it makes but 

 little difference what the point of view is to them — ^top, 

 side or bottom— it is all right. 



Playing "cat's cradle" with a string is a pastime enjoyed 

 by old and yoimg, and is played alone. Many intricate 

 patterns are evolved from the manipulation of the string, 

 Avhicli in their imagination they ha ve likened to various 

 things and named accordingly, such as the tooMoo or car- 

 ibou gomg to the motmtains, the walrus, the breaking up 

 of the ice, the wolf, etc., etc. All these require -a patient 

 changing of the loops and crossings of the string. 



Wrestling is a constant som-ce of amusemenf to them, 

 and they are all experts. Little boys will pair off and 

 wrestle for' hours with great firmness and good nature. 

 Running, jumping, and all feats of strength are con- 

 stantly practiced, E. P. H. 



WILD LIFE ON THE PAMPAS. 



One of the most interesting classes of literature is that 

 which describes places visited and experiences with which 

 the reader is famihar. For this reason Mr. E. A. Robin- 

 son's graphic account of ' 'Life on the Pamx^as of Entre 

 Rios" leads me back to the sixties when I was managing 

 an estancia in Buenos Ayres. It brings back vividlj^ to my 

 memory the happiest days of my life, and as I sit writing 

 I can almost imagine I can hear the bell of the "madrino" 

 of the "troupilla" of riding horses as they are driven to the 

 corral the first thing in the morning. 



As for sport, the pampas cannot be discounted. Ducks, 

 geese, swans, spoonbills, snipe, partridges, etc. , are to be 

 met with in abundance. In those days I was not familiar 

 with the different varieties, but it appeared to me that 

 there were ail the different members of the duck family, 

 from one very large variety which strongly resembled the 

 domesticated Rouen, to the widgeon. Many a time have 

 I gone down to a small river which flowed through the 

 estancia, hobbled my horse, and under cover of the thistles 

 which attain a growth of 8ft. or over, have I bagged so 

 many ducks, that when strung together by the legs they 

 have been quite a load for the horse to carry home — where 

 they were given to the puesteros (shepherds). 



In the rainy season lagunas form in any slight depres- 

 sion on the pampas; here waterfowl of all descriptions 

 congregate. About a quarter mile fi'om the estancia one 

 of these lagunas had formed, and contrary to the custom 

 of the country, thither I hied on foot, for no one thinks of 

 walking out there, horseback being the mode of transpor- 

 tation whether the distance be 100 leagues oi:^100yds. On 

 approaching the laguna the ducks rose in myriads. There 

 seemed to be nothing but ducks, high, low and at all 

 points of the comiiass. I was so confused tliat I laid down 

 my gun, made a cigarette and also made a vow that I 

 would not fire at a duck that afternoon, but turned my at- 

 tention to jacksnipe, of which I baggee twenty -two brace. 

 Being intent on the sport I did not notice a lierd of cattle 

 approaching until a great black bull commenced bellow- 

 ing and showing signs of anything except amiability. 

 Knowing the consequences of delay, being on foot, I 

 dx-opped my snipe, discharged my gun at old blackie, then 

 dropped my gun and ran for the house, faster, I think, 

 than I ever ran before or since. When about half way I 

 met two "peons," who had seen my plight and were riding 

 to my aid. One of these fellows I sent for my gun and 

 snipe, then mounted behind the other and got home all 

 right. 



Mr. Robinson's account of the "chakar" reminds me of 

 a little experience I once had with one of these birds. I 

 was standing at my door one day and saw two of these 

 birds alight close to a small laguna. Getting down my 

 gun I mounted my horse, and liobbling him some distance 

 from the laguna proceeded to try and get a shot at one of 

 tliem. This I succeeded in doing, but only wounded the 

 bird. On my catching hold of it, it immediately brought 

 its wings into play, and the first thing I felt was some- 

 thing sharp penetrating my flesh whenever struck by a 

 wing. After despatching the chakar I proceeded to ex- 

 amine his anatom3% and found that the first joint of each 

 wing was provided with a weapon exactly like a rooster's 

 spur. The natural supposition is that I was pretty sore 

 for several days after this encounter, and the supposition 

 is strictly cori-ect. 



The "taro tai'o" (so named by its cry) is a bu'd very 

 similar to the English pe-witt; these are very common on 

 the ijampas, and like the chakar are armed with a similar 

 spur on the wings. It is most amusing to see these little 

 fellows standing over their nests, flapping their wings and 

 keeping off any sheep which they think are coming too 

 close to their domicile. I do not know whether the spur 

 appears in both sexes of these birds, or if it is only con- 

 fined to the males. 



Mr. Robinson's account of branding cattle further re- 

 minds me of a very narrow escape I once had on an occa- 

 sion of this sort. Several beasts were lassoed, one being 

 an old bull. Now, there a,re several ways of throwing 

 cattle when lassoed, one being to run your horse full force 

 into the animal's quarter, when the beast has the lasso at 

 full tension. A well trained horse is called a "pechador." 

 I was mounted on one of these and ran him into the bull's 

 quarter. The bull went over, but something failed to 

 connect, for the horse went over him and I over the 

 horse's head. This was a most dangerous position to be 

 in, as several other aiumals were surging and jumping 

 about, lassoed by different men, and I in the midst on 

 foot. But luck was ^vith. me, for by dodging I at last 

 managed to get a chance, and it would have taken a pretty 

 smart monkpy to mount the cross bar of the corral quicker 

 than I did. 



A branding is the signal for a general gathering of 

 neighbors, and ends up with a feed of "came conquero." 

 A good fat beast is killed and the hide stripped off all ex- 

 cept a certain portion of the carcass. This remaining 

 piece is then roUed up in the hide and cooked on a fire 

 made of bones. I can assure you that you never tasted 

 such delicious meat as this is when it has been freed from 

 the charred hide. After the "carne conquero" tliere is 

 generally a dance. Ladies are invited, but men, as is cus- 

 tomary out there, come uninvited, and it is no uncommon 

 thing to see 30 or 40 horses with their silver trappings tied 

 to corral posts all night, as dances do not break up tmtil 

 daylight, and not always even then. 



The only fishing we had was with a shovel, which took 



the place of rod, line, bait and every other article neces- 

 sary to a fisherman's outfit. The mode was as follows: 

 There is an animal there called the "nutria;" in shape it 

 resembles a rat, but is as lai-ge as a cat. These animals 

 have tlieir burrows in the banks of rivers, and when the 

 water rises higher than the burrows the fish (and only cat- 

 fish at that) enter these holes in great numbers. With the 

 spade we made dams at the outside of the holes; then 

 bailed the water out of the dams, and as it lowered and 

 ran out of the holes the fish came with it of course. There 

 was no sport in this, but there was lots of fun. It was 

 the only class of fish we could obtain, and the mode ap- 

 plied for their capture was the only sure one. 



For enjoyment and health the life in the Plate is the life 

 of lives, but I am afraid it is not now the country it was 

 when JMi'. Robinson and I were thei'e. It was then fuUy 

 a centmy behind any other country — everything primi- 

 tive. Now a certain amount of civilization has crept in 

 and spoiled the good old times. John H. Willmott. 



Beaumaris, Out. 



"DOWN THE BAY!" 



Sergeant DtdsrN with his cold waves has at last given 

 us an old-fashioned winter, and filled our beautiful New 

 York harbor with ice. 



Miss Liberty, though she be a stattiesque damsel, cannot 

 fail to appreciate the beauty of the scene that is spread 

 before her contemplative eyes in all the glow of these crisp 

 sunlit moi'nings. 



To tlie ornithologist the ice fields are an interesting study 

 dtiring long continued cold snaps. The ever present gull 

 is in his element, and rich pickings "glace" he finds 

 among the floes. The common gull, from the modest 

 gray clad form of adolescence to the full-fledged dignity 

 of snowy waistcoat, lavender back and jet-tipped wings, 

 glides, graceful as of old, o'er the glistening ice, or stands 

 with scores of his kind in solemn conclave, as though de- 

 bating an afi'air of moment. 



In couples liere and there, or more often in solitary oc- 

 cupancy of some detached ice raft, the black back graces 

 this ai'ctic scene with his presence. A superb gull, with 

 his immaculate white head and tail, neck and under parts, 

 and a back and upper coat of glossy raven black, the 

 black-backed gull is at once the peer of his family in our 

 vicinity. 



A living study in black and white, haughty, extremely 

 shy and difficult of approach, with an expanse of wing of 

 often 4ft. from tip to tip, he is a striking figure among the 

 feathered frequenters of the ice in thi;- Upper Bay. 



On a hummock that tops the otherwise even surface is 

 perched a dark form which the glass resolves into that of 

 an eagle. Near by the ubiquitous crows are gathered. 

 Like lieelers they dance attendance upon this king of 

 feathei-ed politicians. Let him spread his immense wings 

 and sail ponderously oft", arid in an instant they are clam- 

 oring after, ready to avail themselves of anything his 

 eagleship may put in their way. 



The bald eagle is not often witli us, although by no 

 means imconimon during prolonged cold. The golden 

 eagle, a.s generally known, is fairly numerous, and a trip 

 down the bay at this season will frequently discover sev- 

 eral to the keen observer. 



These royal birds give a touch of majesty to their bleak 

 surroundings, and being of great size, are conspicuous 

 objects amid the frozen expanse. 



Occasionally one will meet with the snowy owl; motion- 

 less lie sits, and were it not for the crows, who have rare 

 sport with this white-clad stranger, he would often pass 

 unobserA'ed, so perfectly does his dress harmonize with the 

 unbroken whiteness of the floes. These birds rarely f i-e- 

 quent the ice at any considerable distance from shore. 

 They seem to jJi'sfer terra firma, where, j)erched on a 

 fence i)ost or in the top of some tall cedar, they sit and 

 blink their big eyes in the brilliant sun glare for hours at 

 a time. 



This bird life on the ice-clad bay is seen at its best dur- 

 ing the morning houi-s, when all is glow and animation 

 with the ebb and flow of the tides. As the day fades the 

 chm of whiter asserts itself ^vith a rigor not felt before, 

 and at once a sense of loneliness steals over one. 



An Atlantic liner is just leaving quarantine; her bows 

 and high bulwarks, with delicate tracery of ice-clad rig- 

 ging, tell of wintry weather outside. As she plows her 

 way through the complaining ice. like fate, irresistible, 

 silent, a flash of white wings, as a flock of gulls rise ahead 

 a,nd scatter like living snowflakes, complete tlie picture as 

 seen from a distance, while the impressive stillness lends 

 an effect which is indescribable. 



The sun sinks, the gulls in silhouette against the gloAv- 

 ing sky are winging their way to their night camps in the 

 Lower Bay. Liberty has bghted her forehand harbor 

 lights are throwing a ghmmer over the ice as we seek the 

 fireside, leaving our. feathered friends to rest under the 

 stars, amid the mysteiy of the darkness and silence of the 

 wintry night. Wilbiot Townsend. 



Bay Ridge, N. Y. 



Curious Fatality Among Crows. 



CUJiBEKSTONE, Md., March .5. — I can not remember that 

 I have ever seen any notice by naturalists of a common 

 fact in the natural history of our common American 

 crow. I refer to the freezing of the cornea, followed of 

 com-se, by blindness and death from starvation. During 

 the winter just past hundreds of them died in this manner 

 near my house, although feeding f)lenteously in a neigh- 

 boring cornfield, where a large amount of corn was, and 

 stiU is, left out in the shocks. I have observed the same 

 thing during several severe winters in former years, but 

 this winter greater numbera than I ever before knew 

 have perished. The frozen eyes become entirely opaque 

 and finally much swollen. Besides those dead from los- 

 ing both eyes there are now, all about here, numerous 

 individuals bhnd of one eye, which are in good condition 

 in all other respects, I have never seen any other bii'd 

 similarly affected. I have seen several notices of crows 

 starving to death in large numbers in local newspapers; 

 no doubt all bhnd. Doubtless many thousands have so 

 perished. I do not think our game birds have suffered 

 materially, nor have I seen a single frozen small bird as I 



have often in former years. This peculiar weakness of 

 the eye in the crow is it seems to me a highly remarkable 

 fact. 1 take it to be a particular case of survival of the 

 fittest eye. I think perhaps five per cent, of the crows in 

 this immediate vicinity have suffered loss of one or both 

 eyes. From my own observations I think that two or 

 three successive days of zero temperature will always 

 cost some crows their eyes, and especially if there be high 

 wmd. I never knew any other creature to have the eye 

 frozen, nor can I find anything in the anatomy of the 

 crow's eye to account for it. Perhaps some of your 

 readers wiser than I know all about it. 



M. G. Ellzey, M,D. 



Aquarium Doctors. 



One of the most unsightly and dangerous enemies of 

 fish kept in close confinement is fungus. Persons who 

 breed and rear fish dread its appearance because of the 

 extensive mortahty following its attacks upon eggs and 

 fry; Readers of Forest and Stream have seen its ac- 

 counts of the salmon fungus (Saprolegnia ferox) which 

 has devastated salmon rivers in various quarters of the 

 globe. 



The most efficacious remedy for the disease aggravated 

 by fungus is salt, and many fish, both young and old, 

 have been cured by tem]3orary immersion in brackish 

 water. This treatnient kills, not only the ftmgus, but 

 also the parasites which frequently set up the inflamma- 

 tion in the cuticle of the flsh which makes the conditions 

 favorable to the lodgment of the fungus. 



The Fish Commission aquarium in Washmgton, D. C, 

 has other aids in the destruction of fungus, A stone 

 toter or black suckei- living in company with a large 

 school of crappies eats the fungus from their backs as 

 fast as it forms, leaving them clean and entirely free from 

 the pest. Some goldfish in a large tank with carp and 

 buffalo, perform the same service for the buft'alo which 

 were somewhat injured in transportation and became ob- 

 jects of attack. These fungus doctors, the sucker and 

 goldfish, are very expert in removing the vegetable 

 growth, and especiallj^ the former. Tlie sucker is ad- 

 mirably suited to aquarium life, and is in itself an inter- 

 esting animal to keep under ()l)servation. In youth the 

 fish has several broad, darlc li.uuls on the sides and in 

 adults the eye sockets are gi eall y elevated and the space 

 between them on the top of tJxe head is concave. The 

 general shape of the head is quadrangiflar, giving the fish 

 a groies(iue appearance. 



The National Zoological Park. 



Washtngton, D. C, March i">.— Editor Forest and 

 Stream: Under the head of "National Zoological Park," 

 in your last issue, is given what puriiorts to be a complete 

 list of animals now m said park. Tlie list as given, how- 

 ever, is incomplete, inasmuch as one of the most import- 

 ant o-roups in the whole collection is omitted, viz. : the 

 llainas {Aitcheiiia llavia), of Avhich there are eight five 

 specimens. 



Tb(^se animals were sent to the Zoo by Col. Wm. P.. 

 Tisdell, while he was in South America in tlie intei-est of 

 the World's Fair. They have been at the Park since last 

 July, and under the careful attention of ciie mauagement 

 seem to thrive and feel perfectly t:ontented in their new 

 liome. This group is an especial attraction to the thous- 

 ands who visit that natiu-ai oasis m this cits^ of beautiful 

 artificial parks. 



The benefits to be derived from a good collection of 

 (mainly) our native animals, placed in a situation of such 

 natural beauty and attractiveness as Rock Creek Park, 

 are many. One evidence of this is the great interest 

 manifested in the Zoo by the ];)ub]ic. 



After establishing the National Zf:)ological Parle, and 

 knowing the great good it is accoin])lishing. it will be a 

 perfect shame if Congi-ess now fails to properly support it, 



The project ought to have, been coiiipleted yeai-s since, 

 but better late than after some of the species have become 

 extinct. 



I inclose a photograph of the picturesque llama house, 

 situated on a hillside in a lovely valley in the Park. I 

 took the picture last January, when snow covered the 

 landscape. Charles H, Coe, 



The Cuckoo. 



Bethel, Me. — I noticed in a late number of Forest 

 AND Stream an article on the habits of the cuckoo. There 

 is but one species that occurs in northern Maine— the 

 "black bill," and it makes its ajipearance the last part of 

 May. Farmers in these parts say it is time to plant corn 

 when they hear the cuckoo. They make their nests of 

 sticks, very rudely and loosely put together, in some scrub 

 or bush about four or five feet from the gi'ound, in a thick 

 cover — often near human habitation. One summer one 

 built her nest and laid eggs on a snowball brrsh within a 

 few feet of my house, but she was so often distm-bed that 

 she abandoned it. They lay a pale blue egg, always two, 

 and never more, a little larger than a robin's egg, hut not 

 so deep a color. One can easily distinguish the bird when 

 flying In' the unusual length of its tail, I have never 

 known this bird to use other birds' nests for incubation. 

 There is no other bird that makes so rough and cheap a 

 nest as the cuckoo. They ai-e a jirominent morning bird, 

 commencing their singing soon as day break, not very far 

 from wb ere they nest." O ur cvonuig bird is the whip-poor- 

 will, commencing about sundown and continuing well 

 into the night, and on some moonshiny nights, all night 

 long. J, G. R. 



Specimens of the Miisk Ox. 



Philadelphia, March 7. — Editor Forest and Stream: 

 As the question of the numbei (if musk ox specimens in 

 American museums has rpcently been raised in your 

 jiaper, it may be of int(?rcst to call attention to the 

 mounted specimen in the Museum of the Academy of 

 Natural Sciences, of Philadelphia, presented by Dr. Kane 

 many years ago. At the time Prof. Baird ijublished his 

 work on North American Mammals (1857), this was the 

 only specimen in any museum in this country. 



The specimen is a very large male, but the skin was 

 lirobably somewhat stretched in mounting, as the vv-ork 

 of the taxidermists of fifty years ago was very inaccurate 

 compared with that of the present day. Nevertheless the 

 hoofs and horna both exceed the measurements given by 

 Mr. WebiJter. Witmeh Stonk. 



