April 28, 1894.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



8BB 



WOODCHUCKS AFIELD. 



I Soon it will bewoodckuck season in New England, and 

 Hhe young rodents will be abroad to forage on the spring 

 grass. The hill country of Massachusetts is a favorite 

 habitat for these creatures, whero they are troublesome 

 ■to farmers on account of their numbers. In some local- 

 ities they afford almost the sole sport at present for the 

 ■farmers' boys and their dogs. 



I Woodchucks hole in together for the winter, sometimes 

 las many as fourteen in a community. "When the young 

 nones have grown big enough to hustle for themselves, 

 ithey are turned out of the domicile, when they betake 

 Ithemselves to stone walls, where the dogs find them and 

 ■ kill many. One collie dog in Cummington, belonging to 

 ■A. S. Streeter, has a record of seventy-eight woodchucks 

 ■in one season. The boys often help by pulling away loose 

 Itatones so that the dogs can get at them. It takes a clever 

 |dog to yank a chuck out of a wall without being much 

 ■bitten. A chuck in a stone wall is almost as good game 

 las a badger, as he sits in the embrasure with only his 

 ■ivory muzzle presented to the aggressor. Sometimes the 

 Iboys bury steel traps in the sand and gravel which the 

 ■animals have thrown out at the entrances when digging 

 Ktheir burrows, and frequently they drown them out by 

 ■deluging the holes with, two or three barrels of water, 

 ■which they spend much energy in filling and hauling to 

 ■the spot on a wagon after school hours. Occasionally 

 Ifchey catch or shoot them afield, for often the woodchucks 

 ■forage at long distances from their holes. Clover is pre- 

 Iferred to other food, though havoc is made with the 

 ■growing stalks of small grains. Young woodchucks 

 ■dig new holes or appropriate old ones according to 

 ■circumstances. Frequently skunks take possession and 

 ■are caught in the traps, to recover which gives the boys 

 la sweet-scented job. If they happen to have no guns 

 Ithey cut a sapling as long as they can wield with effect, 

 Iso as to be beyond reach of the varmint's trajectory, and 

 I then beat him to death with the end. Generally they are 

 ■obliged to bury their clothes after the achievement. 

 ■There are sometimes two entrances to a burrow, which is 

 ■dug first downward and aslant if in a level field, or 

 ■straight into a bank, then upward for a foot or two, and 

 Ifchen down again at a steep incline to a big round cavity 

 Bit the terminus, which is used for a nest. Prairie dog 

 ■burrows are dug in the same fashion, the object being to 

 ■prevent their being flooded by heavy rains, as well as to 

 ■resist encroachment of intruders. Holes in banks have 

 Ian obvious advantage over those in levels, as it is im- 

 IpoBsible to flood them. Boys, however, locate the nests, 

 land digging down to them pour the water directly in. 

 (Many whip lashes used to be made of woodchuck hide in 

 ■New England forty or fifty years' ago, and the flesh was 

 ■often baked and eaten. A dead woodchuck is a superla- 

 Itive plaything for a young puppy, especially when on 

 ■chain. It amuses him more than a ball, a rag baby, or 

 Ian old bonnet; it educates his nose and stimulates his 

 ardor for field work. Chas. Hallock. 



NOTES ON FOXES. 



G-rand View, Tenn.— I suppose that I really ought to 

 know something about foxes, having caught them in 

 every possible way and manner that I ever heard of their 

 being, except, perhaps, the method which Samson took 

 when he captured those 800. There were some four or 

 five varieties in the States of New York and Pennsyl- 

 vania, but the red were the most numerous, say about 70 

 per cent. I estimate, as I found them forty years ago. 

 There were two varieties of the gray fox. The dark gray 

 is a fine specimen, a trifle larger and more heavily built 

 than the red, full furred, and the long hair tipped with 

 black, black legs and furred clean down to the toes, and 

 invariably with a tuft of long white hair on the end of 

 the brush. This fox when running on snow, directly 

 from or toward you, might easily be mistaken for a 

 genuine black fox. 



The cross fox is believed by many to be a distinct 

 variety, but I imagine it is only a cross between the dark 

 gray and the red. 



The light gray fox is a red-legged chunky little animal, 

 although considerably outweighing the red: his legs are 

 bare of fur and his tracks very much resemble tile tracks 

 of a small doe:. Under favorable circumstances he gets 

 quite fat. His fur may be reckoned as third rate. 



I describe foxes as they are found in early winter; they 

 appear somewhat different in spring and summer. The 

 Samson fox is about the size of the red and covered with 

 a short woolly coat of a dirty pale yellow, destitute of fur 

 and nearly so of hair, having somewhat the appearance 

 of being singed by fire, hence the name of Samson fox. 

 Whether this apparent freak of nature is caused by a dis- 

 ease of the skin, or whether it is a distinct variety as some 

 believe, I am unable to say. This I know, that when 

 stripped of its skin the body shows no signs of disease. 

 The red fox has wonderful running power, and is a 

 shrewd, sharp, cunning hunter Avith marvelous instinct, 

 reaching far beyond that of ordinary game animals. 



Antler. 



[The dark gray fox mentioned by our correspondent is 

 evidently the gray fox (Vulpes cinereo-argentatus), the 

 species which is somewhat notable for its tree climbing 

 habits. The Samson fox is not known. Its peculiar coat 

 may be due to disease or possibly to age.] 



Lincoln, Neb., April 10.— A friend writing from my 

 old hunting ground in Presque Isle county, Mich., states 

 that during a recent stroll through the woods, he came 

 upon and killed a fox or something of that species, and 

 describes it as follows. I cannot tell him anything definite 

 and submit his question to you. Is it a freak or some dis- 

 tinct species? 



"It is black from head back to behind phoulders, gray 

 and black back to tail, tail black all but tip end, say Bin.', 

 and this is white as snow. It is a very small fox, no one 

 here ever saw anything like it; may be you could tell me 

 something about the kind of animal it is and what is its 

 value as fur. Wjish I had got it mounted." E. E. 



[The animal was probably a gray fox {Vulpes (urocyon) 

 cinereo-argentatus), though the tip of tail in this species 

 js usually dark.] 



A HOLLOW-HORNED BUCK. 



Coutts, Alberta, Canada, March 17.— Editor Forest 

 and Stream: Not very long ago while hunting with a 

 friend near here we killed an ordinary black-tail (mule 

 deer) buck which had hollow horns. The animal is a 

 common deer with five points and was in very good con- 

 dition when killed. 



The head, which is now stuffed, belongs to a great 

 friend and fellow hunter here. He is also a taxidermist 

 and he values the head very much, so I am unable to send 

 you the horns. The hollow commences in the fork of 

 the top prong and consists of a small hole about the size 

 of a ,33cal. rifle. How big the hollow is further down I 

 cannot say, but my friend who stuffed the head says it is 

 a good deal larger. While examining the head I took a 

 small stick and could shove it down through the cavity 

 nearly to the head. This hollow is in the left horn; the 

 right antler has no hole that you can see, but on tapping 

 the horn it sounds hollow, and the owner assures me 

 that it is so. You can notice nothing strange about the 

 animal or antlers different to any other deer. 



I think that is all the information I can give you. My 

 friend who owns the head and who has had great experi- 

 ence in all kinds of deer, assures me he has never seen 

 anything like it before, and I can say the same for myself, 

 and I have seen and shot many deer in my time. This is 

 why I informed you of the matter, hoping it would in- 

 terest the readers of that splendid paper, the Forest and 

 Stream. W. Shaw Loogin. 



[We have hanging above our desk in this office a pair 

 of Virginia deer horns, the right antler of which has a 

 hole about an inch long, through the beam from above 

 downward . It is no doubt dut- to an injury to the an tier 

 when it was soft.] 



A Twenty-one Point Elk Head. 



Bozeman, Mont. — Editor Forest and Stream: We send 

 you a photograph of a 21-point elk head. The widest 

 spread of horns is 63in. We have had it mounted, and it 

 is now at our store, the Montana Armory. This elk was 



TWENTY-ONE POINT ELK HEAD. 



Property of the Montana Armory. 



killed last year in the upper Madison Eiver Basin. It is 

 an exceptionally fine head, and is quite a curiosity, even 

 to the old hunters. 



We also have a bison bull head, the horns of which 

 measure 16in. in circumference at base, 20iin. each in 

 length; and the spread of the horns is 33in. The head we 

 consider the largest perfect bison bull head in America. 



Montana Armory. 



A Snake in a Fix. 



Silverdale, Wash. — I was hunting ducks along a 

 marshy draw in Nebraska some months ago, and while 

 walking along a small brook fringed with weeds and 

 tules, I frightened a small garter snake into the water a 

 few feet ahead of me. As I came to the place where I 

 saw him slip down the bank I glanced down in the water; 

 there I stopped, for the snake was acting in a curious 

 way. The head was out of sight under the grass that 

 hung down from the opposite side of the brook, but the 

 rest of his body was twisting and turning in the water 

 until it struck a weed or grass stem ; then two or three 

 turns of the tail would wind about the object and a ten- 

 sion of the muscles would "bring it all adrift." I didn't 

 understand that kind of business, so I cut a big sunflower 

 and stuck it down within reach. Pretty soon I "got a 

 bite" and hauled out the snake with a freshwater clam 

 tightly closed on its neck. 



I laid the pair in the trail and sat down to see how the 

 snake would get out. Then came the curious part of it. The 

 snake would apparently extend its ribs straight and level 

 from the backbone and try to back out. In doing this he 

 would shorten about one-fourth in length and "widen" to 

 about three or four times his proper gauge; and every 

 time he did this the clam would shut down a little. Then 

 the snake would try his former tactics and try to get a 

 "tail holt" on something. I finally cut the muscles of the 

 clam and released the snake, but had to kill him too, for 

 the shells of the bivalve had broken his back before I got 

 him locse. 



While watching this performance I very clearly saw an 

 explanation of how snakes get through seemingly solid 

 stone walls and in other apparently impossible places, 

 through this power of expansion and contraction. This 

 snake was about 14in. long and probably an inch wide 

 when he flattened, but was only the thickness of his 

 spinal column, perhaps a quarter of an inch, so he could 

 get through a pretty small crack if he traveled "edge- 

 ways." 



I nad forgotten the circumstance until lately, and then 

 I didn't care much about telling it, for, like the genial 

 O. O. S., I thought maybe the "time wasn't ripe," but this 

 snake dance in Forest and Stream brings all things 

 snaky to the fore, El Comancho. 



An Unique Kingfisher. 



A registered parcel, bearing several kinds of stamps 

 so curious as to attract the attention of the postmaster, 

 arrived at Sandusky yesterday addressed to Prof. Moseley. 

 It contained a specimen which has traveled far enough 

 at one time and another to have gone quite around the 

 world. But its chief interest lies in the fact that no per- 

 son or institution in the world has another specimen of 

 the same kind. It is a beautiful kingfisher which was 

 shot by Prof. Moseley in the Island of Negros, Philippines, 

 one thousand miles southeast of China. It is not as large 

 as our American kingfisher, but has a greater variety of 

 colors, the breast being buff and white with bars of black, 

 and the back green, blue, buff, black and brown, arranged 

 in such an intricate pattern that a full description would 

 occupy a column. It was shot at dusk from a bamboo 

 on the bank of a little stream about a mile from the ocean. 

 It was alone and none like it was seen during: the re- 

 mainder of the expedition; nor did Bourne and Worcester, 

 who have since spent two years collecting in the islands, 

 obtain a specimen Prof. Steere, the leader of the first 

 expedition, on arriving in this country and comparing 

 the specimen with other kingfishers from the East Indies 

 and the descriptions in works on ornithology, decided it 

 to be a new species and named it Halcyon moseleyi. But 

 Prof. Moseley, not feeling sure that it was really distinct 

 from other species of Halcyon already known, took it to 

 the British Museum, which contains the largest collection 

 of birds in the world. The chief ornithologist of this 

 museum, Mr. R. B. Sharpe, has made a special study of 

 the kingfishers and is the author of a book devoted to 

 them, and illustrated with colored plates. Mr. Sharpe 

 pronounced the bird distinct from any previously des- 

 cribed and tried to induce Mr. Moseley to let the British 

 Museum have it, offering liberal exchange. Not succeed- 

 ing in this he obtained consent to keep it long enough to 

 have an engraving made of it. After this it was in some 

 way lost until a few weeks ago one of the ornithologists 

 of the museum in overhauling some cases^ ran across it 

 and sent it on. It will be kept at the high school build- 

 ing, and Sandusky may well be proud of having a bird 

 which is unique in the true sense of the word. — Sandxisky 

 Register. 



A Tame Snow Goose. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I have read with no little interest the article by Wm. W. 

 Hart in your issue of 14th inst., "A Bewildered Wild 

 Swan," as I once had an experience nearly the same. 

 Some twelve years ago I came from the West to visit my 

 old home at Glens Falls, N. Y. It was in the woodcock 

 season, and one day my brother-in-law and I went to 

 Lake George, where I have often had a good day's sport. 

 We followed up one of the little streams that come run- 

 ning down the mountain side, and finally concluded to 

 climb the mountain. As we were nearing the top, I was 

 looking up the stream and saw on a sheet of water where 

 the stream widened out so as to form quite a little pond. 

 Something snow-white was floating there. At first I 

 thought it a bunch of foam, but immediately discovered 

 that it was alive. Being so far from any habitation, I 

 concluded that it must be wild , and cocking both barrels 

 of my hammerless, I started to walk directly toward it, 

 expecting to see it rise and fly. It did not do so. I got 

 within 20ft. of it. I then saw that it was a genuine 

 snow goose. I actually walked up to and picked it 

 up. It seemed to be in perfect health, but very tame. 

 Then of course I thought it was some one's pet. We took 

 it down the mountain into the town of Caldwell and tried 

 to find an owner. But no one knew or had ever heard of 

 it. We put it under our buckboard seat and took it home. 

 My father-in-law, Mr. J. L. Kenworthy, had a nice lawn 

 with a large fountain and basin. He put it in the water, 

 and they kept it there for a year or two. It lived on the 

 lawn and in the fountain, and was a beautiful specimen 

 of the genuine snow goose. The very strange thing 

 about it was its being so very tame and where it could 

 have come from. I have never seen any common goose 

 so tame and such a pet. The only version I could ever 

 have was that it was entirely void of any brain or sense. 



A. M. Decker. 



" That reminds me." 

 She was Grateful for the Venison. 



Lebanon, N. H. — Last September I was in Errol on one 

 of my yearly fishing and hunting trips, and while there I 

 discovered a new kind of venison which I would like to 

 have some of your learned contributors classify. I was 

 awakened about 3 o'clock one morning by a racket in the 

 office directly under my room. Going down to investi- 

 gate, I found six sportsmen, who had driven over from 

 Colebrook for a day's hunt. We let them take our guide 

 and they secured another and started for the woods. 

 Along in the afternoon one dog drove a buck in at the head 

 of the pond. There was hurrying to and fro; two boats 

 were manned and then the fun began. One of them was 

 armed with a . 45-90 and when the cannon spoke you would 

 think the guns were bombarding old Sumpter. The 

 sportsman in the forward boat shot four times and then 

 the rifle went click; in the hurry he had forgotten to fill 

 his magazine. Well, they shot eight times at the game, 

 and then it swam ashore within 4 rods of them, and, I 

 presume, is still happy in its native wilds. When they 

 got back to the house their blood was up and some- 

 thing must be done, so they sent the guide to me to try 

 and buy the deer that we had killed the day before. (I 

 believe in that platform plank, no game for sale). Being 

 refused that, the guide came back and wanted to buy the 

 hide. I told him that they were welcome to that. The 

 old guide had a farm and on it some very large sheep and 

 lambs. So they gave the old gentleman $3 to go up and 

 shoot one of his sheep and to take the pelt off, so that there 

 would be no "give-away." Then they started for Cole- 

 brook. But the best of the joke was when the genial lady 

 editor of the Colebrook News came out in a card of thanks 

 to the boys for their generous slice of venison. 



Mascomy. 



The Forest and Stream is put to press each week on Tues- 

 day. Correspondence intended for publication should reach 

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



