250 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Sept. 33, 1893. 



tiraes, while ever and anon the tail gives a spasmodic 

 twitch. 



The incoming tide creeps, lapping, lapping, along the 

 sand and forces him back a few feet, where he Ues down, 

 only to he forced on again in a little while. 



The second time he stands for a few moments, licking 

 two or three deep cuts, then slowly and painfully limps 

 toward the timber, leaving only the torn sand and the 

 spots in the white moonUght. 



Everything is still save that soft, indescribable lapping 

 made by the tide as it comes in, creeping along, higher 

 and higher, covering the dark spots and washing smooth 

 the great holes in the sand. 



A light breeze from the nor'ard brings a mist athwart 

 the water and a chUl into the air, a loon's call proclaims a 

 change of weather, and a slight jerk on the cable brings 

 us back to common-place thmgs as the sloop begins to look 

 into the wind. 



Ere we sailed at morning we foimd two bodies, torn 

 and cold, within a hundred yards of each other, both 

 sacrificed to the ruling ambition for mastery, mute wit- 

 nesses to a grand but fearsome forest tragedy. 



El Comancho. 



WHAT AN ANGLER SAW. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



When a barefoot boy I used to go a-fishing after the 

 Apostolic example. That is, I did fish, but perhaps that 

 is the only point in which I resembled the great Apostle, 

 For it is not written that he went barefoot with an alder 

 pole over his shoulder, whereto was attached a stout cord 

 furnished with a sinker that went "ker-chug" and a hook 

 of avouched strength, whereon was impaled the writhing 

 angle worm. With such equipment, and for want of bait- 

 box carrying the worms in a fold at the bottom of my up- 

 turned trousers, I used to patrol tUc i^anks and wade the 

 bed of the creek whenever I could get consent, or in lieu 

 thereof could escape the paternal eye. 



On one such occasion a frog on the bank was a^ ing in 

 a strange manner and arrested ray attention. He was 

 scratching his back as well as he could and seemed to ex- 

 perience as much difficulty in that operation as we, the 

 lords of creation. From my post of vantage he was 

 watched closely, and I can truthfully say that the boyish 

 impulse to give him a "whelt" with my pole was entirely 

 overcome by curiosity. 



He scratched and winked (I think he winked) and 

 gaped, and at length the skin upon his back cracked 

 lengthwise, then he clawed and scratched in a most lively 

 and amusing way, until finally he stripped ofl' his whole 

 integument, much as a boy i-emoves his jacket. In this 

 case, however, jacket and trousers were one, and the for- 

 mer opened at the back instead of front, and perhaps this 

 suggested the modern shirt. AVell, he came forth shining 

 in a new livery of green, and, with a triumphant croak, 

 sprang into the water, doubtless to exhibi his new clothes 

 to his fellows. This was many years ago, and in a far dis- 

 tant State. My head has become frosted, my limbs a little 

 inactive and my memory treacherous, especially as to 

 events of recent years, but I don't think I can be mistaken 

 as to the fact that I saw a frog undress himself. Perhaps 

 others have witnessed the batrachian toilet. 



Near the ba,nk of this same water I came suddenly upon 

 a big water snake, which I should have soon dispatched, 

 moved thereto by the scriptural injunction to "bruise the 

 serpent's head," but for the peculiar actions of her snake- 

 ship. She lay with mouth agape, and a streak of little 

 thread Hke things was going down her throat, and after 

 all had disappeared she made for the water. Then the 

 biblical command compelled her destruction, and the 

 amateur autopsy revealed not less than forty little snakes 

 concealed in her internal economy. They were somewhat 

 larger than a knitting needle, and of course were all killed 

 eo instanti. 



A few years ago while camping in the Adirondacks — 

 Avhich, as your last issue says, is often called Adriondacks 

 Ijy well-informed people— a red squirrel used to come out 

 of a hole in a big pine about the same time every morn- 

 ing, just while the guide was washing the dishes. She 

 was accompanied on every occasion by a smaller squirrel, 

 two-thirds grown, which she appeared to be educating in 

 the matter of house building. She would descend the 

 pine and come to a birch near me, which was amply pro- 

 vided with the^light, loose, feathery bark so dear to the 

 squirrel heart. She would gather a lot of this bark in a 

 surprisingly short time, stuffing it into her mouth with 

 her paws, and off she would scuttle for the hole in the 

 pine, where, having deposited her store, she would quickly 

 return for another load. All this time the little fellow 

 was close at her heels, going up and down the trees, and 

 watching the gathering, transportation and deposition of 

 the bark with apparently the greatest interest, but gather- 

 ing none himself. 



Do you suppose the mother (or was it the father?) was 

 really teaching the youngster? Kenn E, Bece:. 



Attgxjsta, Me., Sept. 12. 



A Califoi-nia Vuiture. 



The follomng letter from Archibald Campbell to San 

 Diego (Cal.) Sun, from Laguna, on the border of the 

 desert, seems to refer to the California vulture, of which 

 latt-ly- we are hearing more and more. The letter is 

 desert, seems to refer to the California vulture, of which 

 lately we are hearing more and more. The letter is 

 dated Aug. 1, and says among other things: 



"To-day as Henry E. Clark w^as riding near the laguna 

 he noticed, a large bird among some carrion crows, eating 

 at a steer which had died from a rattlesnake bite. It 

 flew up into a ti-ee, where he shot it with a rifle, and the 

 shot broke its thigh. It then flew away among some 

 rocks, when he threw his riata over it and caught it, and 

 it tried to get away and it nearly unhorsed him. He 

 gave it another shot through the wing and disabled it. 

 He brought it home and it measured 9ft. 3in, across the 

 wings and 4ft. 4^in. long from the beak to the end of 

 its tail. Valentine, the captain of the Indians, says it is a 

 female and not near so large as the males. The males 

 have the under part snow white, while this is pretty 

 dark. I think it is the California vulture, which 

 approaches the condor in size and has wings even longer 

 in proportion. Last Sunday, as a party of us were out on 

 the high peaks overlooking the desert, three of the birds 

 kept circling around overhead, and now and again by 

 far the biggest of the birds would swoop down suddenly 

 toward us and make such ugly demonstrations that the 

 ladies got scared and we all left on that account. I think 

 their young were in the clifis above us and they wanted 

 to scare" us away. The biggest was whiter ujiderneath ' 



than the other two, and I think that it was one of the 

 smaller birds that was shot. Mrs. Wiegar from San 

 Diego, who was up here on a visit, skinned tlie bird, and 

 on her return wiU take it with her and put it on exhibtion 

 at the Chamber of Commerce. They are very rare here 

 now. Valentine says they used to be very numerous here 

 when he was young. Two years ago we used to see a 

 solitary vulture every now and again, but he disappeared, 

 and now these three are to be seen near the same place. 

 This one, I think, could have easily carried off a spotted 

 fawn, a young calf or a baby," 



In the report on the ornithology of the Death Valley ex- 

 pedition for 1891, Dr, A, K. Fisher reported this bird as 

 moderately abundant in certain localities west of the 

 Sierra Nevadas in California, Dr. Palmer reported it 

 from Frazier Mountain and near the Tejor ranch, Dr. 

 Fisher and Mr. Bailey saw one near Walker's Basin in the 

 San Joaquin Valley and at San Emigho, and near there 

 Mr. Nelson found it quite common in October. The same 

 gentleman found it common along the coast near San 

 Simeon and in the Santa Yfiez Mountains. 



It is said that not long ago a Mr, W, A, Burris killed 

 one of these birds near Sargent's, San Benito county, 

 California, with a charge of No. 9 shot. The specimen, 

 which weighed 251bs. and measured 9ift. in extent of 

 wings, was preserved, and is now in the collection of the 

 California Academy of Sciences. 



Black Tern in Connecticut. 



MiLFOUD, Conn. , Sept. 6. — During the heavy blow of 

 Aug. 24 a large flock of birds made their appearance on 

 the Housatonic River a mile or two above the railroad 

 bridge of the N. Y., N, H. & H. E, R. The birds when, 

 seen were headed toward Long Island Sound , but could 

 make no progress against the wind. A shot fired into 

 the flock by a' son of Mr. Claxk Baldwin killed two of the 

 birds, one of which came into possession of Dr. M. Grin- 

 nell, who preserved it. It proves to be a black tern 

 (Hydrochelidon nigra surmamensis), a species not often 

 taken in Connecticut, and so worth recording in Forest 

 AND Stream. B. 



Winter Breeding of Birds. 



The article on the moose bird in last issue, by "J, C. R,," 

 recalls to me my discovery of the breeding of the cross- 

 bill. Many years ago, with Dave Haynes and Rufe 

 Crosby for mates, the winter was passed in hunting on the 

 Boundary Ridges, having a home camp at Little Island 

 Pond. One day my mates felled a tree for firewood, 

 which in f alhng" dislodged a nest of five callow young. It 

 was marvelous that they should hatch and thrive; yet they 

 were plump as squabs and as warm as a new-laid egg. 

 It was February and bitter cold. Pine Tree. 



•^wf^ ^ttd §uij. 



The FoRKST AKD Stream is^mf to preas each week an Tues- 

 day. Correspondence intended for publication should reach 

 us at the latest by Monday, and as much earlier as practicable. 



CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 



[lYom a Staff Correspondent.] 

 Seven Devils. 



CjiiCAao, Sept. 4.— This week Mr, B. D. Wilson, of Dal- 

 las, Texas, one of the most ardent and most widely known 

 sportsman of the Lone Star State, was brought into this 

 ofiice by a friend, and we spent a very pleasant hour to- 

 gether talking over things in general, jVIr, Wilson mean- 

 time posting me up on where to take a winter shooting 

 trip. He tells me that the (juail shooting about his city is 

 still as good as any one could ask, and he is a member of 

 a club which owns a fine duck j)reserve not far from 

 Dallas, For turkey and deer the Dallas shooters usually 

 go into the Indian Nations, where also the chicken shoot- 

 ing is better. On these trips Mr, Wilson's six hunting 

 associates, the whole being known to the public as the 

 "Seven Devils," usually accompany him. The dunnage 

 of this stalwart crowd is all marked "Seven Devils," and 

 they are recognized throughout the countryside as a public 

 and permanent institution. 



It is an odd coincidence that of these Seven Devils each 

 is a native of a diflierent State, yet they affiliate so well 

 that they make a unit when they travel afield. Their 

 name was given to them by the Indians because of their 

 going into and camping among that mysterious range of 

 mountains in the lower Nations known as the Devil's Hills. 

 This region the Indians firmly beheve to be inhabited by 

 spirits. There is a legend that De Soto and his party were 

 betrayed and murdered here by the savages of long ago, 

 and there are ruins of fortifications to lend color to the 

 belief. From the crumbled battlements there once was 

 hove the ancient culverines, which fell into the lake. Yet 

 still, so say the children of the soil, there may be heard at 

 times the boom of these sunken cannon. Fire flashes 

 again along the lake as their dull boom shakes the air, 

 there is the rattle of old musketiy, and spirit forms direct 

 a fight which shall never be concluded. None but devils, 

 so think the Indians, would venture in this devil's coimtry. 



Mr. Wilson and his friends f oimd that the night lights 

 on the water were due to phosphorescence, and learned 

 that the hollow sounds were made by the action of water 

 and air beneath the earth. The river sinks into the 

 ground and the whole region is honeycombed with caves. 

 Given the trickling of water and the proper direction of 

 winds blowing among the subterranean cavities, with a 

 phosphorescent condition of the water, and the thing was 

 done. This is a pretty story of a hunting name, for 

 which let us thank the Indians, 



Bass fishing is good noar Dallas, IVIr, Wilson tells me, 

 indeed, one can be supplied with almost any fine of sport 

 if he has the entree of the land. Thoroughly acquainted 

 with the entire big State, Mr. Wilson also told of the 

 turkey hunting west of San Antonio and of the big game 

 of the Big Thicket of the Sabine, and of the turkey shoot- 

 ing a score of miles from BeeviUe. He would rather 

 hunt turkey than deer he says. 



Mr. Wilson has a dog, a big old pointer, which he is 

 disposed to back against the world for an all-around 

 hunting dog. He uses him for quail, chickens, ducks 

 and all sorts of fowl. The dog will trail a turkey, bay a 

 peocarj^ or^point a deer, and Mr. Wilson has kUled (with 



his shotgun) three mountain lions which the dog had 

 ti-ailed and treed. That is a good combination dog, and 

 a time and money saver — what I caU a practical dog. I 

 wiU gamble you can run a wagon over him and not hurt 

 him. 



Cowboy Law. 



There was a certain firm of game dealers of Chicago 

 who this season contracted to supply several thousand 

 dozens of prairie chickens. The firm sent 200 shooters 

 down into Texas and just before Mr. Wilson left for the 

 Fair these men were reported to be shooting up in the 

 Panhandle country. The greatest indignation was felt 

 over this by the Texas sportsmen and it was proposed to 

 raise a fund of |8,000 to get rid of these gentry. Our 

 Texas friend, who contributed to this fund, was veiy 

 quiet and reticent, but I gather that the invitation to 

 leave the State was to be tendered the shooters by a 

 selected lot of cowboys. I never can get over my respect 

 for the simple methods of Western justice, which gets 

 there so easily and directly, and withal so accurately and 

 usefully. 



The Deer of the Wilderness. 



One more word, as saith the preacher, and I am done. 

 Our Texas friend was in the army in the late unpleas- 

 antness, on the south side of the line I believe, and he has 

 this incident of the war: "It was in the Wilderness 

 fighting," said he, "one day when the Federal and Con- 

 federate lines were hotly and closely engaged. The two 

 lines came up within a few hundred yards of each other, 

 and the firing was very hot. At the thickest of it a big 

 buck deer sprung out of the cover, about halfway between 

 the two lines. He was apparently confused by the firing 

 and did not know which way to go, but ran this way and 

 that, and at length stood stiU for a moment and then 

 began to jump up and down as if he had gone clean daft. 

 He jumped this way on a small space for fully ten min- 

 utes. I should think, in full sight of both lines, and finally 

 made off to our right flank, and escaped unhurt, no one 

 firing a shot at him. The incident was so remarkable 

 that I often wonder if any one else who was there that 

 day recalls it. Perhaps Forest and Stream can find 

 some one who saw it." 



There would be harder quests than this. Why? Because, 

 the other day, on the Frisco road down in the- Indian 

 Nations, a gray-hau-ed gentleman accidentally got Mr. 

 Wilson's seat on the car. They got acquainted, and it 

 ti-anspired that they had met before. In short, the gray- 

 haired Northerner was the Yankee yjicket ^vho swam the 

 Rappahannock to trade coffee for tobacco witli the Con- 

 federate picket on the other side, which Confederate 

 picket was none other than Mr. Wilson, a little changed 

 by thu-ty years of time. It is a small world, and Mr. 

 Wilson will probably find some man who saw his deer in 

 the Wilderne.ss. But where shall I find another man out 

 of whom I can get so many stories in an hour? 



Death of Dick. 



Last year, when I was out at Great Bend, Kas, , at the 

 meet of the American Coursing Club, I had some very 

 good quail shooting with Mr, Richard Taylor of Great 

 Bend, We used his setter, Dick, which I mentioned at 

 the time as being about my idea of a practical hunting 

 dog. A recent letter from Mi\ Taylor brings me unfor- 

 tunate news that we shall never see the old dog again. 

 His owner speaks of his death as follows, and from what 

 he says one may judge for himself whether or not Dick 

 Taylor had a big heart in him. He writes: 



"Twenty miles south of here, in the sand hills, prairie 

 chickens are plentiful, so I hear to my sorrow. Cal. Crilly 

 came and borrowed my dear old Dick, Jr., a day or two 

 to break a young dog, but instead took a party out with 

 him twenty miles to the chicken grounds about the 12th 

 of August. He says the dog fell out of the wagon which 

 ran over him and killed him, but I do not believe a word 

 of it. As I hear they killed sixty -five chickens I have con- 

 cluded they ran my dog to death in the hot sun, 



' 'It would have taken a lot of money to get that dog 

 from me. You remember how he worked for you on the 

 quail last year. It makes it harder to think that Crilly 

 left the poor, faithful fellow on the prairie where he died. 

 If I had had him home to give him a decent burial I 

 would have felt better. I know you will feel grieved to 

 hear of his death. 



"There are a good many quail this year, I have seen a 

 good many large flocks, from twelve to twenty in each. 

 The reason that chickens are scarce is that a few fellows 

 go out and kill them when about half grown," 



Mr, Taylor's last sentence brings up a chain of thought. 

 Poor old Dick died in tlie hot sun, hunting in the sand 

 hills on Aug, 1 2, and hunting, therefore, illegal chickens. 

 He knew no better, and he was game to the death, kilHng 

 himself to oblige a fellow who was breaking the law, and 

 who did know better than do so — a fellow who wouldn't 

 pick up and take the old dog home, after he had killed 

 him, to his too credulous and too obliging but law-abidhig 

 master. That isn't a good enough end for so good a dog. 

 Mr. Taylor is quite too lenient. He sliould run the wagon 

 of the law over this fellow not only once but several 

 times, and wear him out until he learns a little citizenship. 

 Talk about breaking dogs! Who is going to write a book 

 about breaking men? 



Few Greyhounds from the Bend. 



By the way, Mr. Taylor thinks that there wfll be few 

 of the greyhounds sent from Great Bend to the Interna- 

 tional meet at Huron, S. D., this faU, and he hears that 

 the California men wiU be absent. Let us hope that he is 

 mistaken. For my part, I shall join many others in miss- 

 ing Dick Taylor's face at the meet. No one more positive 

 than Dick about a dog, or of sturdier or more honest 

 character, as I think all will agree. Differences beyond 

 this on canine creeds must go to the kennel department, 

 the dark and bloody ground where most of the rows on a 

 sporting paper go on. Have to have rows in the business, 

 don'tcherknow. 



The Bend Again. 



By the way again, speaking of Great Bend; I don't 

 know whether or not the reporters wiU be glad that the 

 big greyhound meeting of the year goes to another place 

 this fall. We used to hail Mr. W, W. Carney's ranch as 

 an oasis good for a square meal and a good time until Mr. 

 Carney left and went to Portland, Ore, Just at this pres- 

 ent writing Mr. Carney is here in Chicago, seeing the 

 Fair, and we are all trying to persuade him to stay here. 

 The hot chicken tamale grows nowhere else as it dgeg 

 here, 



