May 5, 1894.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



879 



the amusing spectacle was presented of the timid tourist 

 viewing at close range a harmless looking hot spring with 

 his carefully-adjusted opera glasses and seeming fearful 

 lest at any moment it might "bust." 



The borders of the lake contain numerous hot springs, 

 the temperature of whose waters ranges from 180 to 190°; 

 several of these springs and paint-pots are located at 

 "The Thumb;" some have an intermittent overflow, their 

 contents rising and falling like the bosom of a sleeping 

 giant. Many of the springs are in the edge of the lake, 

 the disturbance of the water indicating their presence. 

 Within a few feet of the lake's edge is an immense hot 

 spring 20ft. in diameter; its waters are placid but very 

 hot; and its perpendicular walls are covered with sulphate 

 of copper, giving to its contents a beautiful blue color and 

 yet not marring i's crystal clearness. Stepping to its 

 edge and looking down one can see to the appalling depth 

 of 60ft. and yet fail to see the bottom hid in its azure 

 depths. 



Four or five hundred feet from the edge of the lake is 

 one of the most famous paint pot basins in the Park; by 

 many it is considered the prettiest to be seen. This paint 

 pot is a flat basin 50ft. in diameter, its edges being slightly 

 raised and containing a seething mass of finely colored 

 clay. Each boiling point is surrounded by a series of zones 

 of many colors from cream white to red; every hue of the 

 rainbow can be seen, the most attractive tints being the 

 pink, red and pale blue. 



Yellowstone Lake, as do most of the streams in the 

 Park, contains speckled trout, and the reputation 

 of the Park as a fine fishing ground is world- 

 wide; but he who has not cast a fly in the famous waters 

 of Kern River, California, or stood on the banks of the 

 lovely, peaceful Ten Sleep and the joyous Paint Rock in 

 the Big Horn Mountains, knows little of the pleasures of 

 trout fishing. Fish in the lake are not plentiful and are 

 nearly all diseased; split open the flesh along the spine and 

 you find it infested by myriads of small worms. With 

 the exception of a few of these parasites attached just 

 behind the forward fins the fish appears healthy. The 

 diseased condition of these fish may perhaps be accounted 

 for by the presence in the water of large quantities of 

 alum, lime, sulphur and copper. 



Nineteen miles from the Thumb in a westerly direction 

 lies the Upper Geyser Basin, and thither we proceeded, 

 traveling over the beautiful highway recently constructed 

 by the Government. Three miles this side of the Basin 

 is to be seen the prettiest geyser in the Park, the Lone 

 Star. The [ cone of this geyser is 12ft. across the base, 

 tapering gradually toward the summit, which is 8ft. 

 across. In the center of this cone's summit is the crater, 

 an irregular oblong opening 2 by 3ft., and from which 

 there issues every half hour a column of hot steam and 

 water to a height of 60ft., the eruptions being accom- 

 panied by tremendous hissing, thundering sounds, which 

 are heard at a great distance. The beauty of this geyser 

 is in its attractive cone, bearing stripes of brown, yellow, 

 lavender and red, and being thickly covered from sum- 

 mit to base with a variety of beautiful pearl-like beads. 



A short distance from this geyser runs the pretty stream 

 called Firehole River. In it Mr. Broder caught a number 

 of the famous Loch Leven trout imported from Scotland. 

 Tbese fish deserve more than a passing mention. Their 

 average length is 6 to 7in. The belly is a light gray, and 

 the sides are dotted by a number of bright carmine spots 

 upon a greenish background, each spot being encircled 

 by a distinct zone of delicate blue, while the back of the 

 fish is marked^by^a number of dark wavy lines, strongly 

 resembling those seen in a "stub and twist" shotgun bar- 

 rel. Holding the fish in the hand and occasionally 

 changing its position, a number of rich colors are given; 

 now it appears covered with a sheen of silver, then 

 green; a slight change of position and it is all carmine or 

 blue. 



The Upper Geyser Basin has an area of three or four 

 square miles and is drained by Firehole River. A large 

 hotel provides accommodations for tourists. This basin 

 contains twenty -six geysers and about 400 hot springs. 

 Within this narrow domain are the grandest and mighti- 

 est geysers in the world. 



Here are seen hundreds of pools of scalding water, 

 whose varied tints of color, immense size and appalling 

 depth make them universal wonders. 



The Basin* is almost devoid of vegetation; clouds of 

 white vapor hang like a canopy above it; upon every hand 

 columns of hissing steam shoot upward; the air is filled 

 with sulphurous fumes; the earth trembles and is filled 

 with weird, awful sounds. It is a realization of Dante's 

 Inferno. 



The moBt popular and one of the most remarkable gey- 

 sers is Old Faithful. Once every sixty-five minutes, 

 year after year, with unvarying regularity, this remark- 

 able curiosity gives a free exhibition to all who lend their 

 presence. About five tninqtes preceding an eruption a, 

 tremendous rumbling is heard, a quantity of water is 

 thrown out and the geyser shows signs of great agita- 

 tion; all seems quiet for a time. Suddenly, with the 

 shock of a cannon, a column of water two feet in diame- 

 ter is thrown to a height of 150ft., where it remains 

 stationary for five minutes. A geyser is due to the 

 presence of a large steam chamber at a considerable dis- 

 tance beneath the surface of the ground, whose outlet 

 passes through a body of water; the steam accumulates 

 in the chamber until its pressure is sufficient to force out 

 the water. 



Some other remarkable geysers of the Upper Basin are 

 the Beehive, Giantess and Giant. The Giant plays every 

 six days at intervals of two hours, its eruptions reach- 

 ing a height of 250ft. 



Lower Geyser Basin, eight miles away, was the next 

 point of interest. We passed numerous hot springs and 

 geysers, the most noteworthy being Excelsior. This gey- 

 ser was discovered in 1871, but it was not until 1881 that 

 it was found to be the powerful geyser that it is. Its 

 crater is 400ft. long by 200ft. wide and filled with water 

 of a deep blue color in a state of great agitation. The 

 eruptions occur once every five to eight years, at inter- 

 vals of one to two hours, during which water enough is 

 thrown out to raise Firehole River several inches; columns 

 of water are thrown 250ft. high and tons of rock are 

 hurled into the air, some pieces falling 500ft. from the 

 crater. Lo wer Geyser Basin is a large valley of thirty or 

 forty square miles and containing over six hundred hot 

 springs and seventeen geysers. They do not compare in 

 size and interest to many of those already described. 



The Yellowstone Park Association have erected a fine 

 hotel here. Eighteen miles northeast we entered Norris 



Geyser Basin, occupying an area of six square miles and 

 containing numerous hot springs and geysers that bear 

 trifling interest to one who has visited the upper basin. 



From Norris Basin a side trip of 11 miles almost due 

 east was taken to see the great falls and grand cation of 

 the Yellowstone, and though the journey was made in a 

 storm of snow, rain and wind, each felt greatly compen- 

 sated for his trouble. The falls are 18 miles below Yel- 

 lowstone Lake. Here the Yellowstone, a stream the size 

 of Big Kern River, plunges into a canon 7 miles long and 

 1,500 to 2,000ft. deep. The river suddenly contracts from 

 a width of 200ft. to 75ft., and makes an awful leap of 

 360ft. The solid sheet of wa,ter as it pours over the preci- 

 pice bears a beautiful green color that is soon displaced by 

 one of snowy whiteness as the mass in its descent breaks 

 into fine spray, which, striking upon the boulders beneath, 

 rises in fine mist high against the majestic walls of the 

 canon, where it condenses and returns in innumerable sil- 

 very streams. Beautiful and grand is the canon below the 

 falls, and upon this occasion it was seen under the most 

 charming conditions. A light snow had just fallen and the 

 highly colored walls were dappled with pure white, while 

 far, far below ran the beautiful Yellowstone, now seeming 

 but a tiny silvery ribbon and not the great river which a 

 moment before rushed so madly over the precipice. 



To the Californian the weather was now quite cold, the 

 ground being covered with 4 to 6in. of snow. We began 

 casting about for a more congenial climate; visions of 

 sunny California ro=<e up before us, and we determined to 

 bid adieu to the Park. 



A journey of 30 miles brought us to a small town called 

 Cinnabar just outside of the northern boundary of the 

 Park, it being the terminus of the Park branch of the 

 Northern Pacific Railroad. And when near this point we 

 effected a sale of our outfit, save personal effects, at a 

 price slightly above cost, our joy knew no bounds. Four 

 or five days' travel by rail brought us home, having made 

 the entire journey in 90 days, 800 miles of which was 

 accomplished on horseback. T. J, Patterson. 



"THE BIRDS OF ONTARIO." 



In the recent bibliography of North American ornithology 

 few local lists have more importance or are more frequently 

 quoted than those of Mr. Mcll wraith, of Hamilton, whose 

 last contribution, "The Birds of Ontario," has just been 

 published, brought up to date. 



It was in 1860 that the author published his list of the 

 birds of Hamilton, which half a dozen years later was 

 printed in the "Bulletin of the Essex Institute," and then 

 included 241 species. The list attracted much attention, 

 and was at once valued at its true worth. As time went on 

 the field of Mr. Mcllwraith's observations was broadened, 

 and in 1885 he read before the Hamilton Literary and 

 Scientific Association an extended paper on the birds of 

 Ontario, and this paper was published in book form the 

 following year under the auspices of the Hamilton Asso- 

 ciation. The original volume was modest enough, but 

 ornithologists were quick to recognize that it was full of 

 valuable information. It has been long out of print, and 

 to those who do not possess a copy is accessible only in 

 libraries. 



It is interesting to observe the growth of this list from 

 its first modest beginning, covering the avifauna of a 

 single town, to its present proportions — a book of more 

 than 400 pages, covering the area of a great Province. 



The recent announcement that a new edition of this 

 useful work would soon appear was received with satis- 

 faction by all ornithologists and collectors, and it is grati- 

 fying now to have the volume before us from the press of 

 Wm. Briggs, of Toronto, Can. 



The region where Mr. Mcll wraith has conducted his in- 

 vestigations is on many accounts a most interesting one, 

 for here species of the far north sojourn in winter, 

 while many southern birds breed there in summer or 

 occur as stragglers far away from their real homes. It 

 possesses in a peculiar degree advantages for birds of the 

 north and of the south at their proper seasons. We can 

 well understand, therefore, that so keen an observer as 

 Mr. Mcllwraith, whose observations have been extended 

 over many years, would give us a most interesting list of 

 birds as well as one much larger than was to be expected. 

 This we find to be the case; no less than 317 species being 

 enumerated in this handsome volume of 426 pages. 



Each species mentioned is described briefly but charac- 

 teristically, its habitat is given, and the position and 

 material of its nest, together with the number of eggs and 

 their color. Then follow the author's notes on the spe- 

 cies, sometimes brief, but at others extended through a 

 length of three or four pages. 



The classification and nomenclature used are of course 

 the most modern, and correspond with the A. O. U. check 

 list of North American birds. The notes on the different 

 species are, as was to be expected, of very great interest, 

 and will be read by every one who is interested in birds. 



Many surprises will await the reader of these pages. 

 Species like Cory's bittern, the black rail, the ruff, Rich- 

 ardson's grouse, rock ptarmigan, Aiidubon's caracara and 

 the summer tanager seem quite out of place in Ontario, 

 and some of these records greatly extend the limits of par- 

 ticular species. On the authority of a less experienced 

 observer than Mr. Mcllwraith we should hardly credit 

 the occurrence of a form of the blue grouse from the 

 neighborhood of the Sault Ste. Marie. 



A very important though small fraction of the book is 

 its introduction. The four or five pages which treat of 

 our birds and their habits are very interestingly written 

 and are full of suggestion to the student. The subsequent 

 pages on collecting and preparing specimens and nests and 

 eggs are also extremely interesting and cannot fail to be 

 most useful. 



The volume is quite fully illustrated, many of the en- 

 gravings being drawn by Mr. E. E. Thompson, while some 

 are from ornithological works with which we are all 

 familiar. There is at the end of the volume a glossary of 

 technical terms used in the description, together with a 

 good index. 



The volume has distinctly been brought down to date 

 and contains the results of many observations on different 

 species of birds from all parts of the country. Among the 

 works especially to be mentioned are Mr. E. E. Thompson's 

 "Birds of Manitoba," Mr. E. W. Nelson's "Observations on 

 Birds of Alaska," Dr. Fischer's "Hawks and Owls of the 



United States in Relation to Agriculture," Capt. Bendire's 

 "Life Histories of North American Birds." Mr. Davies's 

 "Nests and Eggs of North American Birds," and Mr. 

 Chamberlain's "Catalogue of Canadian Birds." All these 

 works are spol< en of in his preface by the author. On the 

 whole, it may be said that Mr. Mcllwraith has given us a 

 volume of northern birds which is of great value. 



JAGUARS AND DOGS. 



(See "Jaguars in Honduras " in issue of April 7.) 



Jaguars are not really such bad neighbors as they 

 might be; in fact, I am "inclined to think that they are 

 generally rather friendly, although one will sometimes act 

 rather unpleasantly. As, for instance, when one lit on the 

 back of one of our Waika lads as he was passing, with 

 head bent low, beneath the branches which overhung the 

 trail of the warees that he was hunting. 



Jaguars — tigers they are called in tropical America — 

 have a warm appreciation of the virtues of dogs; a,nd if 

 these had not keen noses, tongues ever ready to loudly 

 voice objections to the near approach of the big felines, 

 and wholesome respect for the sharp claws of their lithe 

 foes, many if not most of the dogs of Central and South 

 America would find snug quarters inside of the spotted 

 skins. The dogs would not be safe even in the towns, for 

 the tigers, like the mountain lions, travel far in a night, 

 and do not greatly fear the near neighborhood of man. 



He who was once Governor of a department of Hondu- 

 ras told me this story of an experience a dog of his had 

 with a jaguar, as evidence that a tiger prefers dog to 

 man: 



"I left my canoe one day, when making a trip up the 

 Rio Tinto, to cut across a narrow point while the crew 

 paddled around the long bend, for a norther was blowing 

 fresh and sitting in the pitpan was cold work. The trail 

 across the point was pretty good, although it was walled 

 by gamelote and by needle palms and other bushes much 

 of the way." 



The needle palms (Bactris major) are covered from root 

 to extreme tip of midrib of every leaf by slender black 

 thorns, their points as sharp as any needle. These enter 

 the skin with perfect easo and break off quite as easily, 

 therefore are things to be avoided. And gamelote is a grass 

 which grows to a height of 6 to 8ft. , so densely that iguanas 

 often scurry away on the tops of the bending leaves and 

 stalks. No man can make his way through a patch of this 

 grass without cutting a path; but the, thick-skinned tapir 

 crushes through to his bath, and peccaries, tigers, pumas 

 and other beasts of the forest follow the way thus opened, 

 until in time it becomes worn into an established road 

 which is only a leafy tunnel. 



"A tiger suddenly jumped out of the grass into the trail 

 before me," the Governor continued. "My heart struck 

 the nails in my shoes, for the only deadly weapon nearer 

 than the canoe was the penknife in my pocket. 



" 'It's all up with you this time, my friend,' said I to 

 myself. But I needn't have been scared, for when she 

 jumped, as she did before I could say 'scat' to her, she 

 merely brushed against my leg hard enough nearly to 

 knock me down, and lit on my dog like a hawk on a June- 

 bug. He gave just one little yelp as she swept on into the 

 grass on the other side of the trail. 



"I just tore along that trail back to the canoe — I knew 

 that I would find it where I left it, and that the crew 

 would be smoking, if they were not asleep. You may bet 

 your life that I said things to myself about myself as I 

 went, for being fool enough to go into the bush without 

 gun or pistol, or even a machete to defend myself with. 



"I got my revolver and went back with one of my In- 

 dians. The Paya stopped before we reached the place 

 where the tiger had jumped the dog. 



" 'Tigre there,' said he, pointing to a big ceiba. 



"We sneaked through the bushes perhaps thirty feet, 

 then the Paya stopped and pointed ahead. There that 

 tiger was, stretched on the ground, with her forepaws 

 resting on the dog, growling to herself. 



"Well, she never knew what hit her. She scarcely 

 kicked once, but the .44 tore the skin on her head pretty 

 badly." E. W. Perry. 



The Baby Caribou on the Stage. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Last summer the Forest and Stream published an 

 account of the baby caribou which I had found and had 

 taken home and given into the maternal charge of a cow, 

 which had lost her calf. The little fellow sucked for a 

 fortnight, until it got so strong and showed the caribou 

 nature and pawed the cow's bag with his fore feet, that 

 they feared it might get injured when striking so hard, 

 as the cow would look surprised. 



He drank the milk of the cow all summer and was as 

 healthy and happy as any of the domestic animals. 



In the autumn I started from Maine for Boston with the 

 little caribou. It stood the journey well and met with 

 friends everywhere on the way. I only feared they 

 would kill it with kindness. Children especially were 

 delighted with it. 



Mr. Crabtree, of the Park Theater, Boston, had been writ- 

 ing for it to appear on the stage in the play called 

 "Venus." The little fellow went through his part well, 

 and for his reward I gave him an apple. He was not 

 afraid of the music and people, but seemed right at home. 



To make a long story short, he is alive and well to-day 

 and has every promise of a long life. He is very quick to 

 learn tricks, and will jump over a pole, when held before 

 him, as many times as you want him. He loves to be 

 petted and fondled, and shows jealousy if I caress another 

 animal before him. Once a little dog strayed into his 

 yard. I petted the dog and gave him milk. The caribou 

 showed temper and struck at me, for the first time, much 

 to the amusement of the men looking on. They asked me 

 to pet the dog again, which I did, when he showed the 

 same disposition. I then petted him; and he ran his head 

 under my coat front and forgot the insult. He is kind and 

 gentle to every one, but has a preference for me; he loves 

 to swim in the Charles River and enjoys a run when taken 

 out. I shall have him in a park this summer, if I do not 

 sell him. 



I noticed in Forest and Stream that Mr. Vanderbilt 

 had no success with his caribou. They must have been 

 captured when quite old and pined for their freedom. 

 This one knows nothing about the woods and freedom. 

 He is acclimated here and I feel confident that he would 

 thrive in the Middle States as well as in Massachusetts. 

 He is the cutest pet 1 ever knew, and can be taught easily. 



L. Uhas^, 



