May 19, 1894.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



4 HI 



cess of many families, I do not think it would do so. But 

 it is not determined that the matter amounts to this. If 

 Forest and Stream can keep the Park intact, and yet by 

 calm and temperate counsel show to these few inconsider- 

 ate and hard-talking men that Cooke City can still be 

 opened to the world, it has done a wise and good work. 

 This latter it has already shown, more ably than can be 

 done here, although further interviews may be interesting 

 as additional proof and will therefore be submitted. 



Additional News of the Park Buffalo. 



Later. — Since the above was written I have received a 

 letter from Mr. E. Hofer, at Gardiner, Mont., dated April 

 30, which is given below. The additional news that 

 Howell admits having been in the Park on the Pelican 

 "Valley for three winters, and that he says there are only a 

 few buffalo there, can only point to one conclusion, 

 namely, that the total number left alive in the Park are 

 even less than the Forest and Stream expedition of this 

 winter would make out. Capt. Anderson has always 

 thought it likely that a good number of buffalo had 

 moved over to winter in the Pelican hot countr , but no 

 report has been made of buffalo in that little- visited por- 

 tion of the Park, and no expedition has gone in there to 

 investigate. Howell has been investigating for three 

 years in a locality where it was next to impossibla to find 

 him, and his statements made to Mr. Hofer, nodoubtjmade 

 in candor, constitute the best available report of facts as 

 to the buffalo supply in the Pelican country. Outside of 

 this there remains practically only the Hayden Valley 

 herd, the largest count of which is 103 head. Congress 

 has done well to act speedily in passing the protection 

 act. It was time if any of the buffalo are to be left. 

 These facts, and the facts which I picked up after I left the 

 Park lead to only one possible belief — the Park buffalo can 

 not be counted for even 200 head this winter. There may 

 not be 150, perhaps not 125. This is not merealarmist talk. 

 We may hope and may even believe that there are 250 

 buffalo somewhere in the Park, but how shall we prove 

 it?. The Park has been better scouted this winter than it 

 ever was before, but by whose report shall we place the 

 number of buffalo actually seen at more than 125? 



On the heels of this sickening conclusion note the 

 statement that Howell is again at large, free to go in 

 again and complete a fourth year in the Park, free to 

 kill the remainder of the herd now left so sadly cut 

 down in numbers, free to finish up the rest of the great 

 animals which we found panic-stricken, timorous, run- 

 ning till exhausted in the deep snow, in terror for their 

 lives. 



Mr. Hofer'B letter follows: 



"Howell is out of the guard house as per order from 

 Washington. Capt. Anderson was away when the order 

 came. Howell was held about two weeks longer. 



"Howell called at my cabin to see me and the papers 

 that had an account of his arrest. He is pleased to know 

 he made such a stir. He says they can thank him if they 

 get laws passed to protect the game and the Park. He 

 says, too, that he had seven buffalo, not five, killed when 

 they found him, one was over a ridge, the boys did not 

 see or find it at all. 



"Howell has been in there three winters, and knows all 

 about the buffalo on the east side of the river, says there 

 are only a few there. I suppose you know the reason. 

 He spoke about the picture you made, and said he sup- 

 posed he ought to have let you take it, but you was so 

 fresh he did not like to. [Thanks., but the picture I got 

 anyhow will do very well.] 



' 'The snow is getting off the first hills and higher table- 

 lands, one can see a bit of green here and there. The an- 

 telope are scattered over more ground now. They can 

 go to the top of the hills and get grass, until they get on 

 the eastern side of the hills, where they find snow. I 

 have been out and had another whirl at the antelope with 

 the camera." 



Mr. Hofer's letter is the last word obtainable on the 

 grave question of the numbers of the Park buffalo. For- 

 est and Stream can well claim the credit of an exclusive 

 presentation of these important facts, unwelcome as they 

 are to the people of the United States and their represent- 

 atives in Congress. E. Houoh. 



909 Security Building, Chicago. 



A WEEK WITH THE BIRDS. 



Friday, March 31, was a very warm, spring-like day. 

 About half -past two I went to the Fresh Pond grove with 

 a friend. At the foot of Gurney's Hill a purple grackle 

 swung, now and then uttering his strident note. The 

 robins strutted about on the leaves as naturally as they did 

 last summer. We soon reached the cedar-lined avenue 

 that runs to the hill overlooking Fresh Pond. Looking in 

 through the cedars we saw about twenty robins bathing 

 in the gentle sunshine, now and then regaling themselves 

 with an angle worm. Further on we saw song sparrows 

 singing their customary cher-wit, witter, wiHer, witter! 

 At the foot of another line of cedars I noticed a great 

 mass of feathers. Looking more closely, I distinguished 

 them as those of a crow. Some half-dozen sparrows flew 

 among the pines, and apparently frightened at sight of us, 

 hid in a pile of brush where we had seen some song 

 sparrows. 



While lying on our backs we saw three birds anywhere 

 from 16 to 20in. long fly hurriedly away. They circled 

 far above us, showing some of their characteristics very 

 plainly. They flew with great ease and strength. The 

 wind now grew stronger and they drifted sidewise. 

 Underneath they were of a uniform white, with perhaps 

 a tinge or shade of light gold, which may have been only 

 reflected light. For an instant one turned his back; I 

 thought it was a very light chestnut. The bill and neck 

 were very long, while the tail and legs were comparatively 

 short. The latter were stretched out in a straight line as 

 the birds flew. 



We walked a little further when we saw a flock of 

 about a dozen juncos flitting about showing their con- 

 spicuous white tail feathers. A little further on about the 

 same number of bluebirds twittered and swung in the 

 highest twigs of an old apple tree. We turned home after 

 looking around to see if the unknown birds had returned. 

 At Gurney's Hill we saw three purple girackles, on© red- 

 winged blackbird and a flicker. Lastly, in the Botanical 



Garden I saw some half-dozen chickadees. During the 

 afternoon's walk I bad seen eleven kinds of birds. 



The first of April opened with clouds, but at 7 o'clock 

 the sun drove them away when I went over to the Obser- 

 vatory grounds. Robins filled the air with their varied 

 and interesting songs. In each of the two large elms on 

 Linnean street a flicker was alternately "drilling" and 

 "wicking." Two purple grackles flew noiselessly over 

 the Botanical Gardens; soon three crows flew silently 

 away to the north. Several chickadees were feeding in 

 the beach hedge. 



Easter Sunday opened very sunny, but with a stiff 

 northeast wind which blew more or less all day. The 

 air throughout the day was extremely clear. About 10 

 o'clock I set off to seek an interview with the birds in 

 the Fresh Pond Grove, now identified as night herons. 

 Last winter about Jan. 4 1 saw four fly from their sup- 

 posed temporary abode. From the top of the reservoir 

 several grackles wound their spiral course in the air. A 

 few juncos flitted cheerily about. Song sparrows were 

 heard in all directions. I had scarcely entered the grove 

 when one night heron flew away uttering his peculiar 

 note. I scared up three more later. They flew in the 

 same direction as those of last winter did. My attention 

 was now drawn by a herring gull which sailed far above 

 me. In a row of pines skirting the grove I saw several 

 beautiful fox sparrows. On turning my back a red squir- 

 rel betrayed the locality of her nest in a small elm. 



Monday was Warm, but for the most part cloudy. The 

 sun, however, burst out occasionally through the day. 

 The only birds seen were a few sparrows and robins. 



Tuesday, the 4th, was a warm rainy day, an excellent 

 one for robin music, for the birds do not seem to dislike a 

 warm rain. All day long the pair of robins in my back 

 yard, which I suspect is the pair that nested here last 

 year, Bang almost without cessation the whole day 

 through. For a few minutes in the late afternoon a 

 flicJter announced the appearance of the sun for a short 

 time by "wicking" vigorously. 



Wednesday's weather formed a great contrast to that 

 of Tuesday. The sun and wind disputed for the mastery. 

 The sun, however, conquered, and the afternoon was as 

 still as a July day. As the weather was so agreeable 1 

 took a train for Concord in company with two friends, 

 determined to procure a large list of birds. Near Hast- 

 ings three crows flew heavily across a neighboring hill, 

 and at Baker's Bridge we saw several grackles. After 

 leaving the train we soon came to the High School build- 

 ing, where we saw a pair of bluejays. Song sparrows 

 filled the air with their twitterings. Soon after dinner 

 we went along Thoreau street to "Fairyland," near 

 Walden. Purple grackles, song and fox sparrows, robins, 

 chickadees and thirteen crows constituted the fist for two 

 of the party. The third, however, left us for a time, and 

 at last met us with the news that he had started a great 

 horned owl out of its roosting place and flushed a grouse. 

 On our way back to the village we saw a beautiful sunset. 



Thursday morning a little before half past four we went 

 out in a driving snowstorm after birds. We were rather 

 disappointed to see over an inch of snow. The birds, 

 however, were out, robins, song and fox sparrows, red- 

 wing and crow blackbirds sang merrily. We hastened to 

 Nashantuck Hill and took shelter from the icy wind and 

 scudding snow on the piazza of the only house on the hill. 

 A few chickadees walked along the stone underpinning 

 of the house which the snow had not yet reached. A 

 flock of juncos flew hurriedly past us. We now were 

 warm enough to ascend still further. At the tip-top a 

 northeast view showed us that the water produced by the 

 melting of the late snows had overflowed Great Meadows 

 until they looked like an inland sea. Nearer by, the nat- 

 ural bed of the river could be distinguished from the over- 

 flowed region adjoining by an occasional bordering tree 

 or by low shrubs, growing on the latter. We now went 

 down the hill and crossed the bridge near F. B.. Sanborn's 

 ancient-looking house. Here we met several fox sparrows. 

 Bluebirds flew around us and a few crows attracted our 

 attention by loudly cawing. Soon a bluejay sounded his 

 shrill scream. Juncos had made themselves very conspic- 

 uous all the morning. Now it stopped snowing, and as 

 the sun came Out we saw several snipe on the wing. Just 

 before 9:30 we took a boat to go up the river. A flock of 

 about thirty black ducks flew into some neighboring 

 pines. A little way above the railroad bridge a muskrat 

 was espied swimming rapidly down the river. After 

 meeting the muskrat we ran aground on a submerged 

 cranberry meadow. 



The innumerable submerged cranberries looked like 

 jewels. We managed at length to push the boat into 

 deeper water, but the channel was hard to find. Soon we 

 found that there lay a sand bar between us and the main 

 river, but we rowed vigorously and were soon on the right 

 course. While looking up into the sky we saw a red-tailed 

 (?) hawk sailing gracefully along. Soon we espied a great 

 horned owl in a birch about half a mile away. Crows, 

 sparrows and juncos were angrily flying around it. A 

 white-bellied swallow skimmed over the river above our 

 heads. Phcebes were occasionally heard. . Having come 

 to another shallow I jumped out of the boat and walked 

 about; here I saw the first turtle I had seen this year 

 swimming lazily along. Taking to the boat again we saw 

 a red-shouldered (?) hawk a little down stream from where 

 we had seen the first one. We frequently heard that note 

 of the crow which so much resembles the "gobble" of a 

 wild turkey. After dinner we walked to a point near the 

 river beyond the Battle Ground. Along the sunny side of 

 a stone wall some bay-winged buntings flew up, and I 

 thought I distinguished a peabody bird and a chipping 

 sparrow. While we were looking at these sparrows I 

 saw the shadow on the ground of some bird in the air. 

 Hastily looking up I saw a pigeon (?) hawk sail into a 

 grove of young white pines. The juncos, sparrows and 

 robins made as much commotion as at sight of the great 

 horned owl. 



After tea we took a walk up to Battle Lawn to see a 

 friend interested in birds. About half way up Lowell 

 street the sound of snipe came to us from far up in the 

 air. We had heard meadow starlings all day at inter- 

 vals. 



On Friday morning the sun struggled to shine out, but 

 the utmost he could do was to redden the clouds in the 

 east for an hour or so. At 5 A. M. we found our way to 

 Nashantuc Hill and from there to the Lowell track. 

 Grackles, robins, white-bellied nuthatches, meadow larks, 

 song and fox sparrows sang on all sides. We thought we 

 saw a cowbird. The redwings distinctly repeated their 

 ofci€6-e-e, or kugree-e-e, as it may sometimes be translated. 



At 9 A, M. we started for home by way of the pictur- 

 esque Concord turnpike. A little way toward Cambridge 

 from Emerson's house a pair of jays flew near us, one 

 alighting in an apple tree on one side of the road and the 

 other in one opposite. During our homeward walk we 

 encountered perhaps a score of these brilliant birds, and 

 often heard their shrill scream, of which Thoreau says, 

 "It is as if it blew on the edge of an October leaf." In 

 three places along the turnpike flocks of robins varying 

 from twenty to fifty were seen. By the way, our list for 

 this common thrush for the day was 174. About two 

 miles from Concord we struck what seemed to be a bird 

 caravansary, or, more scientifically, a regular point of 

 migration for sparrows, snowbirds and robins. Here I 

 saw a flock of about a hundred juncos, who were warbling 

 and trilling by turns. The trees around us were packed 

 close with fox, song and bay-winged sparrows. There 

 were doubtless other species that I did not notice. A 

 meadow starling or two were heard here also. We esti- 

 mated that the number of supposed migrants was not far 

 from 300. About four miles further two birds flew past 

 that were ducks, probably black. We got to Belmont just 

 in time to escape a driving snowstorm which had threat- 

 ened us all day. My list for the trip was twenty-seven 

 different species of birds, one muskrat and a turtle. 



Thomas D. Bergen. 



Cambridge, Mass. 



BUFFALO IN TEXAS. 



AbOut four years ago Mr. H. S. Canfield, formerly man- 

 aging editor of the San Antonio Daily Express, painted a 

 vivid account of the killing of a buffalo on Devil's River 

 in west Texas, at the hands of Geo. W. Fulton, a wealthy 

 ranch man of San Patricio county. 



Mr. Fulton is perhaps one of the best known sportsmen 

 of Texas and his ranch is at all times open to legitimate 

 sportsmen who hunt and fish purely for pleasure. Any 

 one who has ever been fortunate to come within the 

 radius of Mr. Fulton's warm-hearted hospitality, will 

 readily testify to the truth of these fines. He is so popular 

 with people of all classes, however, that his name has been 

 prominently mentioned in connection with the guberna- 

 torial chair of this State, and as far as the writer is con- 

 cerned, no better man could be chosen by the people of 

 Texas. 



But as to the buffalo. Mr. Fulton did kill a buffalo in 

 Devil's River about four years ago out of a herd of about 

 40, but the statement of the killing was generally discred- 

 ited. 



On April 27, Mr. C. H. Moreau, a sheep man of Val 

 Verde county, brought news of the discovery of a herd of 

 about forty wild buffalo in the remote mountainous 

 region of that county near the Rio Grande border. 



Upon being interviewed by a representative of Forest 

 and Stream, Mr. Moreau stated that he received the in- 

 formation from his foreman, a Mexican by the name of. 

 Leal Martinez, who returned a few days ago from a trip 

 across the country from Mexico, where he had visited his 

 parents. 



"Martinez told me," said Mr. Moreau, "that he found 

 the herd in a small valley between two ranges of big hills, 

 many miles from any settler. That part of Val Vfrde 

 county is very remote and it is possible that the herd has 

 been there for several years without being seen by any- 

 body. Martinez stated that he counted the herd and that 

 there were between forty and fifty buffalo in it. He is a 

 truthful man and I believe his statement is correct. It 

 has been rumored for several years that a herd of buffalo 

 existed in that section of the border, but these rumors 

 were never verified to my knowledge; About four years 

 ago a wild buffalo was killed on the Devil's River, where 

 the recently discovered herd is said to exist." 



The buffalo that was killed by Mr. Fulton must have 

 been the one spoken of above by Mr. Moreau. and that un- 

 doubtedly was out of the same band seen by the Mexican, 

 Martinez. 



The publication of the above in a San Antonio paper has 

 called forth the following letter from Dr. J. B. Taylor, of 

 San Angelo, Tex., who writes as follows: 



Perhaps you will remember that some four years ago Geo. 

 W. Fulton, of Rockport, killed a buffalo on my ranch on 

 Devil's River, and that quite a long account of it appeared 

 in the Express subsequently. I know that Fulton never told 

 of this to any one, as he is far too modest to brag, and al- 

 though I have the head of the buffalo now in pickle and can 

 show the place where the buffalo ranged, I am satisfied that 

 many who read the statement doubted its truth. 



As George is now our candidate for Governor, I, as one of 

 his many friends, am anxious to see this calumny from which 

 he may have suffered all these years set at rest forever. I 

 find in an article in the San Antonio Express of the 28th inst. , 

 which I indorse, a complete verification of the original state- 

 ment made by the Express at that time. We supposed that 

 there were about thirty buffalo in the herd in which Fulton 

 did the killing, and I expected to hold them in the pasture, 

 but by some means they all escaped. Twice since I have 

 located them. I shall take steps at once to bring them back 

 to the pasture, and I hope you will do all in your power to 

 vindicate the character of our friend as a hunter of large 

 game. 



The publication of the above has served as a vindication 

 to Hon. G. W. Fulton, who undoubtedly saw the same 

 herd four years ago. Dr. Taylor was the first of Mr. Ful- 

 ton's friends to extend an apology for having harbored 

 any doubts as to the genuineness of Mr. Fulton's claim that 

 he had actually killed a buffalo, and his letter has called 

 forth the following feeling effusion from the facile pen of 

 Mr. Fulton: 



Gregory, Tex., May 3.— My Dear Doctor: Truly, modesty, 

 as well as virtue, is its own reward. For four long years I 

 have waited patiently for the removal of the doubts that have 

 been cast upon my title to the well-earned cognomen of 

 "Buffalo George." 

 And it ha« come at last! 



Many sleepless nights have I spent in wonder that my best 

 friend, with induMtable proofs of my prowess with bow and 

 spear in his possession, should have stood mute while a 

 doubting world cast sidelong glances at his friend who, for 

 so many years, had enjoyed a State-wide reputation for the 

 fleet foot, the stealthy tread, and, above all, the unerring aim 

 that go to constitute the truly great hunter of the monarchs 

 of forest and plain. 



If I rejoice for myself at this somewhat tardy vindication, 

 what shall I say for my veracious chronicler, our beloved 

 Canfield? Truly, my heart rejoices and is glad at the thought 

 that the only suspicion that ever rested upon him as a builder 

 of sensations has been fully and finally removed. _ 



Not the least of my joys in this connection springs from 

 the fact that, through my humble instrumentality, the tes- 

 timony of Mr. Moreau and Sr. Don Leal Martinez has been 

 I corroborated to a degree of certamty which leaves nothing to 



