406 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Nov. 11, 1898. 



nothing between him and the object of his ardent desire, 

 except some 30ft. of tiled floor and a step of exactly 5in. 

 downard. That was a mere trifle to a bird; had he not a 

 pair of uncut wings which had often safely borne him 

 from his perch to the window or to my table, and even 

 from the window ledge to ground, six dizzy feet below, 

 when he had missed the jasmine in his flight. 



So Parrico would boldly trot to the very edge of 

 the stone step, coolly peer down on the tiles, lift 

 his wings for the daring flight, and— back out. It 

 was too much. He could not face the danger of so great 

 a fall; therefore he would run back a foot, perhaps, from 

 that giddy height, glance over his back to calculate his 

 distance, lift his tail to clear the floor, and, like the Irish- 

 man's squad, would advance backward to the very edge 

 of that Sin. precipice, and stop. Then he would whirl 

 around, take another long look at the tiles below, trot 

 away a foot or more, and try again and again. Now and 

 then he would stop to appeal earnestly to us, and we 

 would cruelly laugh at him, and hold out toward him our 

 coffee cups, or even tempt him beyond endurance by the 

 sight of the uncovered butter. I am satisfied that, if he 

 could have given free expression to the feelings of his 

 soul he would have declared that "I wish I were a girl, so 

 that I could cry." 



He was a good little f elloWj after aU, and deserved bet- 

 ter treatment than we gave, for all his sorrows were 

 forgotten, and all his wrongs were forgiven as soon as 

 one of the tender-hearted little girls of the family picked 

 him up and set him on the floor of the veranda, as one or 

 other of them was sure to do after listening to his plaints 

 a minute. Then he would hasten to his dearest friend, 

 dearest to him at meal times, and seizing with biU and 

 claws the dress of la sefiora would climb to her arm and 

 so to the top of the table. Once on the table he would 

 etraightway march to the butterdish and dfligently strive 

 to reach its golden contents. Finding that the glass cover 

 kept him from the luxury he coveted, he would turn to 

 the nearest cup of coffee, and, after carefully eyeing it to 

 see that it was not too hot for his comfort, he would dip 

 his bill in and sip in a most companionable and friendly 

 way. 



After breakfast he was content to perch on a stick 

 driven into the adobe wall of the corridor that led to the 

 kitchen, and from that secure throne give orders to the 

 cook and to the waitress, scold the clarineros and the 

 pigeons that would now and then alight in search of 

 crumbs in the patio, and chirp cheerful accompaniment to 

 the laughing chatter of the always happy trio of girls. 

 But the instant he heard ray footstep or my voice he would 

 begin his intolerably rasping chirp, and would not stop 

 before I would take him on my finger. He would dance 

 along the length of the window ledge until I had washed 

 and was ready to sit down to read or to write, and then 

 he would insist on being taken. When perched on my 

 shoulder he would nestle against my neck, reaching up 

 now and then to softly nibble at my ear, in token of his 

 affection and contentment. Edwakd Perry. 



SEA GULLS. 



Reading in a daily paper of the arrival of some sea gulls 

 for the Central Park, brought from England, I have 

 thought that the park authoiities might not know how 

 easily the birds may be obtained in this coxmtry, at the 

 sea shores in winter. The eighteen gulls seen last summer 

 at Starin's Glen Island resort, were caught by Mr. John 

 DeNyse, at Gravesend Bay. 



I was accustomed when a boy about ten years of age 

 to catch gulls on the sea shore in England, and have 

 shown others how to catch them. To make the float or 

 bait, take a piece of cork 4in. long, lin. wide and tin. 

 deep, taper the coi-k from middle to each end to about 

 iin., taper the depth to about i-in. Cut a groove in the 

 bottom to receive a strip of lead. The lead acts as the 

 ballast of a boat, and will keep the float right side up. 

 Take two weakfish hooks, put shank of hooks together 

 and wrap them with thread. Spread open the bowl and 

 points of hooks. They will be like the new double Yankee 

 hooks. Now bore in from one end of the cork, and insert 

 the hooks as bound together, up to the bowl. This leaves 

 the points of hooks partly down the float, also about fin. 

 above the float. In the other end of the float, insert a 

 thin wire nail about 2in. long. Leave the head out enough 

 to tie on a piece of fine strong twine; reel line as used for 

 weakfish is best to use. Take a piece about 2ft. long. 

 Tie one end firmly to the two hooks, pass under the bot- 

 tom in the groove, draw the twine tight, and tie to the 

 wire nail. The head of- nail will keep the twine from 

 drawing off, and if done right the hooks will not draw 

 out, when the bird is fast. Tie on the lead in the groove 

 by a com'se or two of thread round the cork. Make a loop 

 on the end of twine. Bait this float with smelt a trifle 

 longer than the float. With a sharp pocket knife cut 

 down the back of the smelt, spread it open and take out 

 the back bone. The smelt is then of equal weight each 

 side. The smelt laid open will cover the top and part of 

 the sides of the float. Begin at the head part and wind 

 spool cotton aroimd both float and smelt, thus making 

 them one. Pass the cotton around about Jin. apart, 

 from head to tail, and tie the tail to twine near the nail 

 head. If done neatly the bait looks fit to eat. 



To set this float we will want about 30ft. of weakfish 

 line. Tie one end to loop of twine on float, the other end 

 to a brick. We are going to try in the bay. We have a 

 small rowboat and go out in the bay about 500ft. and put 

 out several floats distances apart. If your float is made 

 right it will just show the hait as barely swimming, or 

 Uke a fish on the water. Go on shore and watch and we 

 see some gulls flying away up in the air, but they are 

 coming this way and looking for food, and now they have 

 seen this smelt as it floats, and each one is eager to obtain 

 the prize as his breakfast. One quicker than the rest 

 takes the bait and attempts to fly away with it, but the 

 brick gives the line a jerk and pulls the bait out of his 

 mouth. It did not hook him, and now another grabs the 

 fish and is going away with it, but again the brick 

 snatches, and this time the gull has the hook through his 

 bill, and now what a commotion. One gull fluttering 

 but cannot get away, the other gulls screaming and some- 

 times attempting to get the bait which the caught gull is 

 fastened to. Now take your boat and boat hook and go 

 after the guU. As you near him, he wiU fly and dart 

 many ways, but you catch the line with the boat hook 

 and take him in the boat and loosen the hook, and now 

 twist one wing over the other or he wiU. get out of the 



boat. And now you have a live bird, not disfigured, but 

 clean and beautiful, as in his native element. 



Another plan is of catching them from the shore. Take 

 a bluefish trolling line, about 100ft. long, and a lead sinker 

 of about 21bs. weight. Tie one end to sinker and about 

 20ft. of the twine and float. Tie end of twine to sinker 

 and throw into the ocean as far as you can . But you must 

 endeavor to get it outside of the break of the waves. As 

 you have one end of the large line on shore, tie to a stick 

 and take it up the beach as far as it will reach. Now 

 retire from the shore and watch. We see the gulls flying 

 along the shore looking for food, they see the smelt and 

 make for it, take it in their bills and attempt to fly away 

 off shore. But the sinker gives a jerk, and the bird is fast 

 with one of the hooks in his biU, and you pull him on 

 shore. I have caught a dozen in this way some days. I 

 have caught them at Rockaway Beach and on the south 

 side of Staten Island. 



If this is a gull story, it is a true one. Proof, the gulls 

 seen at Glen Island last summer. I think it is very inter- 

 esting to watch several of these water birds as they were 

 at Glen Island. * In the year 1868 I caught and had Mr. 

 Ackerst, a taxidermist of Brooklyn, set up thirty -three for 

 me; and I presented pairs of birds to several of my cus- 

 tomers, as I was then in business in New York. And I 

 have some now that I caught thirty years ago. 



John Bateman. 



THAT ADIRONDACK RED DEER. 



TuCKAHOE, N, Y. — Editor Forest and Stream: The let- 

 ter of Mr. Burnham to clear the mystery of the Adiron- 

 dacks "caribou" has a great many points whicli are 

 untenable, when we consider the habite and signs of the 

 Eturopean red deer. I will point out only a few. I have 

 never in my life, except when it was perfectly at ease, 

 that is, in safety, seen a stag, as reported by Mr. Robin- 

 son, trot and keep trotting. On the contrary, when it 

 was not leisurely walking I always noted it on a lope; 

 and when in the least alarmed in tremendous flights, 

 bushes of 8 or 10ft. being absolutely no obstable for any 

 red deer to take in easy. And I should think when dogs 

 were sent after it, as Mr. Robinson states, it never would 

 keep ti-otting, unless badly wounded, when it certainly 

 would take on the hounds, but not otherwise, if it was a 

 European stag, which I doubt very much. His track is 

 given of such a remarkable size that I can only remember 

 once to have seen its equal, about the size of a. yearling 

 heifer, and this proved to be one of the strongest 10-end- 

 ers, and all the foresters in the district proclaimed they 

 had never seen the equal of his track in size. The photo- 

 graph you published certainly shows the antlers of a not 

 much over 4 to 5 year old stag, with one deformed end. 

 But do you not find sometimes similar sized antlers of the 

 Adirondack deer, say an old biick? As also the suggested 

 peculiarity of some offspring of this animal near Elizath- 

 town in its reported habits is certainly entirely contrary 

 to the habits of the European stag, as every hunter who 

 has hunted the royal game will bear me out. 



G. Muss-Arnolt. 



Mr. Wm. Pickhardt in commenting on the above said 

 that he did not agree with the strictures the writer has 

 made upon the article with reference to the red deer 

 killed in the Adirondacks, 



"The gentleman misses the principal thing altogether," 

 he said, "when he attempts to argue that the head as 

 illustrated could probably be that of an Adirondack deer. 

 The headis that of a perfectly normal red deer which has 

 no defei^t^ of horn development, but only the natural 

 character latics." 



Mr. Pickhardt went on to say that if the horns had not 

 been enough to identify the deer, the short tail and light- 

 colored patch of hair on the rump would have been suf- 

 ficient. The feet, he said, may not have been as large as 

 a yearling heifer, but that would depend upon the size of 

 the heifer, and at any rate, a little exageration with re- 

 gard to the size of the feet was natural and of no conse- 

 quence as affecting the identity of the deer. 



With regard to the gait of the animal Mr. Pickhardt 

 said that his red deer "was a beautiful trotter;" he added, 

 ' 'and trotted better than many horses I have seen. " What 

 his gait would be when pursued by dogs he did not at- 

 tempt to say. 



With regard to weight he said he was satisfied his deer 

 weighed SOOlbs. or more when released, which was about 

 the weight given by the hunters who killed the animal. 



In conclusion lIi-. Pickhardt said that if the habits of 

 the strange animal which was seen in the neighborhood 

 of Elizabethtown, and mentioned as a possible offspring 

 of his red deer, were not entirely in accord with those of 

 the red deer, no proprieties would be violated, as it would 

 only be natural to expect a cross to share the habits of 

 botli parents. J. B. B. 



A Pinto Deer. 



Dolores, Col., Sept. Q.— Editor Forest and Stream: 

 We mail you herewith two photographs of curiosities in 

 our possession, which we believe, if you can reproduce 

 them in Forest and Stream, would be of interest to its 

 many readers. One is the antlers of a black-tail deer 

 with a symmetrical point on each side turned downward. 

 The other is of the hide or skin of a "pinto" black-tail 

 deer. 



The animal that bore the odd antlers was killed by 

 George H. Goodwin, of this place, on Beaver Creek, a 

 tributary of the Dolores River. 



The pinto skin we purchased of a young buck Ute 

 Indian, who had killed the black-tail near this place dur- 

 ing one of their regular hunts. Some of the older Indians 

 told the writer that they had known of a similarly colored 

 deer that roamed on Pine River, this State, and they said 

 that it was "bad medicine" to kill a spotted deer. While 

 the majority of the Utes are superstitious about such 

 matters, there is now and then a young buck who will 

 (like a white man killing cats) chance the "bad medicine" 

 part of the business. This pinto's tail was the same in 

 color as those indicating the natural species, but a care- 

 less New York fur dressing concern broke or wore it off 

 in process of dressing, for which they received no extra 

 thanks from us. This pinto, judging from sixe, must 

 have been a two-year-old, and your readers wiU under- 

 stand that the white spots were there to remain and are 

 not fawn spots. We have bear and mountain Hon skins, 

 and other trophies of our own catch, but nothing we 

 prize so highly as the articles mentioned herein, 



John, J. Harris & Co, 



"Baggfing" a Rattler. 



Pine Ridge Agency, S. D.— For many years I have 

 lived in the Dakota country, where the rattlesnake 

 abounds. If I have destroyed one I have killed 500. I 

 have never observed that any of them ever ejected their 

 venom. Out here they are very sluggish in their move- 

 ments; when approached by a person they assume the cir- 

 cular position, with head erect and tail slightly elevated, 

 and rattling away so that it can be heard many yaxds. I 

 usually kill them with my buggy whip, and what is 

 strange, I never knew one to jump at all nor strike out 

 more than a few inches. If they are teased with the whip 

 cracker they pay no attention to it, but keep their eyes on 

 the person. They make no attempt to bite the stick or 

 whip, but seem to know where to strike. On one occa- 

 sion I had in my buggy a valise, and encountered a rattler 

 in the road; he was a fine specimen. I alighted, took out 

 the valise, placed it on the ground six or seven feet from 

 the snake, secured a stick about five feet long, placed the 

 end under his body and Uf ted him into the valise. With 

 the stick I then closed the valise and fastened it, replaced 

 it in the vehicle and returned home, some fifteen miles. 

 On my arrival I opened the valise and jumped quickly 

 away. I then put him in a tin cracker box, perforated, 

 and shipped him to the National Museum at Washington. 



I kiUed a large rattler in July with my whip, and he 

 made no attempt to jump or strike. Still, I always keep 

 at a safe distance, Avhich every one should do. 



I sometimes capture them with a slip string on the end 

 of a long stick, bring them to my office, and with pHers 

 extract their fangs. In this condition they are harmless, 

 and it is quite amusing to see dogs or cats fight and kill 

 them. Z. T. Daniel. M.D., U. S. Indian Service- 



Strange Tracks. 



From earliest recollection the sight of tracks of game 

 or fur-bearing animals possessed for me a charm only 

 surpassed by seeing these animals themselves; and now, 

 after passing more than fifty years in the woods, the sight 

 of a track, either well defined or obscure, impels me to 

 scan and determine the species that made it. My experi- 

 ence extends over a large portion of northern Maine and 

 Canada, and until within a few years I saw no tracks that 

 were unfamiliar. Twice, once, in Franklin county and 

 again in Aroostook, have I been nonplussed over a ti-ack 

 which at first sight looked like that of the domestic cat. 

 In each instance the tracks were well defined in the fresh, 

 damp snow of seven or eight inches. The size, shape, 

 length of step and spread and depth, all catlike. But 

 there was no breaking of the surface, not a particle of 

 snow was disturbed, and the depressions were nearly per- 

 pendicular, as if a smooth round stick had made them. 

 Evidently the animal had long, sUm legs, yet stepping 

 short, also that is rare. I am not familiar with works 

 giving the natural history of animals, and so am puzzled 

 and more curious than ever to know about this species. 

 Perhaps you or some of your readers wiU kindly enlighten 

 me. Pii^E Tree. 



Albino Specimens. 



Boston, Nov. 8. — ^Mr. E. W. Norcross, of Boston, whUe 

 spending his vacation in Vermont recently, shot a beauti- 

 ful albino robin. He seemed to have been deserted by 

 the rest of the birds, and was flying around the field 

 alone. Brewster. 



Greensburg, Pa,, Nov. 2. — A few nights since the Mc- 

 Curdy brothers captured an albino raccoon and afterward 

 shot it. The pelt is pure white with dim gray stripes and 

 the eyes pinkish. The coon weighed IS^lbs. DEACON. 



A Woodcock in the City. 



New York, Oct. 31. — As I came across the platform of 

 the Brooklyn Bridge to west side of Centre street, I noticed 

 coming down Centre street a bird which I thought moved 

 its wings too rapidly for a pigeon, and when it crossed the 

 platform, which was crowded at the time, about 20ft. 

 overhead, I recognized my old friend woodcock. 



H: C. Hawes. 



Buffed Grouse on the Nest. 



For the interesting photograph of the nesting grouse 

 we are indebted to Mr. W. H. Thompson, of Alexandria 

 Bay, N. Y. , the secretary of the Anglers' Association of 

 the St. Lawrence River. The camera shows a bit of bird 

 hf e which has been pictured before, but never with such 

 success. 



Mule Deer and Grass. 



Eldorado, Kansas, Oct. 32. — Editor Farest and Stream: 

 Rocky Mountain mule deer don't eat grass. 



T. B. MURDOCK. 



A Massachusetts Man on the "Danvis Folks." 



Onset, Mass. , Oct. 25. — Editor Forest and Stream: I have 

 read nearly every number of FOREST AND Stream since it 

 was published, and have ordered it from newsdealers, as my 

 business has kept me much on the move. The journal is 

 much improved, although it was always good. 



I wish here to express my appreciation of the writings of 

 Mr. Rowland E. Robinson. In giving us "Uncle Lisha's 

 Shop," "Sam Lovel's Camps," and "Danvis Folks," he has 

 been a public benefactor. But to fully appreciate these 

 books I think one needs to have been bred and born in the 

 "country" of New England, like myself and thousands of 

 others who have had the great pleasure of reading and re- 

 reading them. And if the wishes (which are prayers) of the 

 many thousands who have read his writings prevail he will 

 live long and enjoy what he has so beautifully and graphic- 

 ally portrayed in his descriptions of the "woods" and "fields" 

 —nature. D. W. Eldredge. 



Comforting in all Weathers. 



An Auburn. Gal., subscriber, who is none other than our well- 

 known contributor "Arefar," writes; "During the whole course of 

 the yeax there is no corresponding amount of expeuditure that yields 

 me one-tenth part of the pleasurable return that comes of my annual 

 subscription to Forest akd Sthbam. The columns of your journal are 

 to me as the toper's glass of whisky is to him, "they warm me up on 

 a cold day and cool me off on a hot one." 



As Viewed in Illinois. 



EvAifSTON, HI.— I can drop any other reading, at any time, in a 

 moment to read the Fore.st and Stream, with its hunting and fishing; 

 and I wish I were standing on a certain Michigan stream this very 

 moment, far away from the "madding crowd," after the nimble deer 

 and taking in great gulps of pine air, as well as "sowbelly" and 

 "hardtack-'" C. A. P. Q. 



