Mat 23. 1896.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
413 
PHILADELPHIA ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 
The twenty-fourth annual report of the board of 
directors of the Z ological Society, Philadelphia, was 
read at the annual meeting of the members and loan 
holders of the Society, April 23. The report of the board 
of directors shows a slight increase in the number of 
visitors for the year 1895-96 over the previous year, but 
the increase is only 3.000 for the year. The increase in 
tie receipts from admissions is over $1,200. As usual, 
Sunday is the day when most visitors come to the 
Gardens, and Saturday is the next, while Tuesday and 
Monday are the lightest days. 
The report of the superintendent shows that during the 
year there were accessions to the collections to the amount 
of 92 mammals, 181 birds and 710 reptiles and amphibians. 
Among the important specimens received are a male 
and female ostrich, an ant-eater, a pair of polar bears, two 
examples of the East Indian snake-eating cobra, a species 
which grows to the length of 12ft. or more and is the 
largest terrestrial venomous serpent. A number of inter- 
esting East Indian birds were purchased in August last, 
among them a pair of argus pheasants which are prob- 
ably the first that have ever reached this country alive, 
tfnhappily these two died soon after their purchase. 
Probably the most interesting specimens obtained dur- 
ing the year by the Philadelphia Gardens are the three 
mountain sheep, two of them brought East from Dakota 
by Mr. Howard Eaton, and the third deposited, along 
with two prong- horned antelope, by Mr. Alfred Harrison, 
of Philadelphia. The male mountain sheep (Ovis eervina) 
is 4 years old, and the two ewes are yearlings. The male 
was captured near Red Rock Lake, Idaho, while one of 
the females comes from the Bad Lands of the Little 
Missouri River. With the sheep brought on by Mr. 
Eaton were received six trumpeter swans, a species which 
is very rare in collections. 
It will be interesting to watch the antelope which are 
now in the Gardens. It has been for many years a com- 
mon saying that it is impossible to keep the prong-horned 
antelope alive east of the Missouri River, and we are 
inclined to think that past experience has justified this 
statement. We heartily wish Mr. Brown better success 
with his antelope than others have had, and trust also 
I that he may now have a foundation for a herd of moun- 
I tain sheep. As Mr. Brown is a mighty hunter, he will 
| unquestionably guard these last-named animals as the 
apple of his eye. 
CONFIDING QUAIL. 
Los Angeles, Ol., May 5.— Editor Forest and Stream: 
After an interval of nearly a year I again claim a portion 
of your valuable space to chronicle an incident which, I 
think, seldom occurs. But do not attribute my long 
pilence to any waning of interest in "our paper," or in the 
sports of the'field. Far from it; but the fact of the mat- 
ter is, nothing has happened worthy of mention, and a 
mere recital of the many pleasant hunts which I enjoy 
would prove monotonous, especially when the subject is 
so delightfully handled in almost every issue by pens far 
readier than mine. But this is digression; the incident 
above referred to is that a pair of valley quail have built 
their nf st (or rather apology for a nest) in a luxuriant 
heliotrope bush which climbs in rich profusion over the 
porch surrounding our house. 
This morning, as the gardener was watering the flow- 
ers, he was startled by hearing a quail flush noisily out of 
the heliotrope, and upon examination he found a nest full 
of eggs. In a short time the hen returned and immedi- 
ately took possession of her home; and she may rest 
assured that Bhe will not be again disturbed. 
Our house is situated on a hill, surrounded by orchards 
of orange, olive and lemon trees, and although quail have 
been unusually numerous this spring and have been seen 
running all around the house, I did not imagine that they 
were so charmed with the beautiful view which can be 
had from the hill that any of them would locate here per- 
manently. Or, maybe this particular pair are wise in 
their day and generation, and do not care to expose them- 
selves and their tender brood to the ravages of the hosts of 
their enemies on the mountain side — the coyotes, wild- 
cats, foxes, weasles, skunks, snakes and other "varmints" 
which prey upon tbein, their eggs and their young. 
Fortuuately for the quail, but, alas, unfortunately for 
me, I have no dog at present whose ambition might 
impel him to demand a closer acquaintance with the 
interesting family than would result in their good. My 
last dog joined the great majority of his kind last sum- 
mer, and he was the fourtetnth that I've lost; but that is 
another story and a very melancholy one. However, I 
see danger ahead in the form of several lynx-eyed and 
semi- wild felines that have taken up their abode beneath 
the house, and occasionally make the night hideous with 
their serenades. But dire vengeance will be wreaked 
upon them if they interfere, and as this enterprising quail 
has thus far escaped, I have great hopes of her ultimate 
success. 
The fact of her nesting where she has is rendered all 
|the more surprising from the fact that the nest is not 
more than lOifc. from where the horses are tied when the 
carriage is brought to the house, and that the gardener is 
daily passing back and forth and working in the very 
flower bed where she has her nest. 
I shall watch with great interest the progress she makes 
and shall report the result— favorable or otherwise — and 
that it may be the former is the prayer of 
Culpepper. 
%mt\t §zg nnd §>tttu 
IN THE ROCKIES. 
(Concluded from, page S95,~) 
Oct. 3. — Everything covered with snow. The day beau- 
tiful and clear and warm. After decorating my face 
under and around the eyes with pot black in order to pre- 
vent enow blindness, Van, Doc and I struck out in search 
of game, but with little result, I wore old rubber boots 
and slipped all over the mountains. We descended one 
place which had a sheer drop of perhaps 35ft., Van first, 
and struck bottom in a snowdrift. I followed and Doc 
brought up the rear. When in midair he turned over and 
came in head on. We had to dig him out. Then we 
climbed a mountain side almost perpendicular and nearly 
played us both out, as the boots wouldn't take hold. 
After reaching the summit we rested for a few minutes 
and then worked up a draw, where we found fresh sign. 
We tracked it for probably half a mile, when Van sud- 
denly stopped and says, "Captain, we don't want them." 
Of course I wanted to know why, as I was anxious to kill 
the fellow who could make such a tremendous impression 
in the snow as the one we had been following. Van says, 
"No, it's a cow." Then calling to me he says, "See where 
those tracks go between the trees? Well, a bull couldn't 
get through there; he would have gone to the right or 
left." It was now getting on toward 4 o'clock and he 
says, "Bays, can you walk five miles further? If so, I 
can promise you all the elk you care to see." "How far 
are we from camp?" "About ten miles." "And the 
extra five will make fifteen to camp. No. thanks, not for 
me. I'll take another day." So we started for camp and 
struck a windfall that was a "lulu." Doc had fallen be- 
hind, and in trying to do the squirrel act as Van did it 
slipped and sprained an ankle. We railed a halt and 
waited for him to come up. This little rest for fifteen 
minutes quite refreshed me, so that I felt ready to renew 
the tramp. Doc was badly used up and suffered much 
before reaching camp, though too plucky to give in. 
Reached there about 8 P. M, and stowed away a quantity 
of hot food. It is surprising how quickly fatigue leaves 
one in this country. 
Friday, Oct 4 — Van and I rode west by south over the 
mountains in search of sheep or bear sign. Saw both, 
but were two or three days old. Climbed a very high 
peak, which I have christened Painter's Peak. This peak 
is one of several used by the IndianR as signal stations. 
On top they have built, by piling stones one on top of the 
other, a circular place large enough to admit one man, 
and about 4ft. high. They are built in such a way that 
they look exactly as one would suppose the mountain 
peak would appear. These stations command the entire 
range. 
Tne country here seems to be eruptive rock formation, 
and both sides of the mountain seamed with dykes, look- 
ing for all the world like huge troughs for carrying off 
the water. At this point in the canon ihere is a stream 
that flows in two directions, one flowing northeast and 
the other southwest. There is much mineral float here, 
and I hope in the near future to return, prepared to thor- 
oughly test it. 
On our return to camp we saw a bunch of twelve black- 
tail deer within a mile of camp, but did not molest them. 
Saturday, Oct. 5, was the banner day for me. I shall 
never forget it. Van, Doc and I started on our horses, 
determined to bring in at least one fin° head. We had 
scarcely gone more than three miles from camp when 
Van got in one shot, however, before he reached the 
timber, but only succeeded in wounding him slightly. 
We followed him for perhaps a mile and a half through 
windfalls, and eventually gave him up. Mounting our 
horses, we rode on through windfalls until you couldn't 
rest. About noon we came out into an open park, dis- 
mounted and listened, as we had shortly before heard a 
bull whistle; soon found fresh sign, followed it for half 
an hour, and had the satisfaction of hearing him break 
and run 100yds. ahead. We retraced our steps to Doc 
and the horses, mounted, and rode on through more tim- 
ber and windfalls for half an hour, when once more we 
came out into open fields, as Pop calls them. Here we 
found more fresh sign and soon Van says, "Look ahead, 
see the elk." Van started to the right and I followed one 
which turned to the left as fast as I could run. My first 
shot had already wounded him, so that he wasn't making 
much better time than I was. He made for a narrow 
strip of timber ahead, passed through it, crossing another 
open space about 50yds. wide to heavy timber. Before 
reaching it he slowed up, giving me time to get through 
the first piece of timber, gather some breath and get my 
tongue, which was hanging out;, back into its proper 
place. Before entering the wcod* he paused a moment 
and looked back. This pause was a fatal one for him. 
Quickly raising my rifle, I fired and broke his neck. 
f lhe head was very symmetrical, but with only eleven 
points. 
Doc and Van came up, and we followed on into the tim- 
ber and got into a band of perhaps 200. They winded us 
and scattered. Here we made a running trail of five 
miles, horses going at full speed and Van hanging out of 
saddle, his face within 2ft. of the ground, picking out the 
trail of one immense bull. This was the most beautiful 
bit of trailing I have ever seen done in all my life, The 
trail led along the edge of a canon for fully five miles. 
Van would yell, "E>ep right to the crack in my coat, boys; 
we've got t o bead them i ff and turn 'em back, must have that 
bull, sure." We finally turned them into the timber, then 
began a zigzagging that almost gave me the blind stag- 
gers. Finally Van sighted one big bull and says, "Cap- 
tain, slide off and look ahead; see that bull standing there? 
Now I want you to shoot him in the ham, and when 
he turns give it to him in the shoulder (he was standing 
with head directly from us). It's your only chance, as the 
timber is thick, and two jumps will take him out of sight." 
No sooner said than done, and down he went. "He's all 
right," says Van. "Now let's turn our attention to another 
big fellow on the right." Scarcely had we turned around 
when I heard No. 1 going through the timber like a loco- 
motive. Van wouldn't believe it, but on going up to the 
spot where he had fallen, sure enough he wasn't there. 
"Now we've got to do some tall rustling or we won't get 
another shot, as that old bull will get them all on the go." 
He had scarcely finished speaking when we heard a 
whistle on our right, soon another, which we had no diffi- 
culty in locating. Sammy, these whistles remind me of 
the factory whistles blowing for 12 o'clock. 
Carefully picking our way through the timber, we came 
out into a park; crossing it and into another strip of tim- 
ber, we paused to hear the whistle again so that we could 
locate him exactly, as it was now a case of skill against 
instinct. Soon the old fellow gave that unearthly yell 
sounding more like the bray of a jackass than anything I 
can recall. Van says, "Do you see him? Look straight 
ahead, but don't move, wait until he whistles, then run, 
following my steps exactly." Almost instantly his head 
went up and the whistle begun. "Run, and stop when I 
do, and as I do; he's facing us and is liable to git a move 
on any minit." 
THE CAMP ON COLD CREEK. 
Photo by J. R. Paiiter. 
Starlings in the City. 
New York, May 19 —Editor Forest and Stream: On 
[Sunday, May 17, as I was returning from riding, I 
[started from the lawn of one of the places in Audubon 
[Park, between 156th and 157th streets, west of Eleventh 
[avenue, New York city, a bird quite different from any- 
thing we are accustomed to see here. The bird was 
[black, with a white bill and a short tail, and was less in 
Iflize than a robin. In short, it was an European starling, 
[unless I am very much mistaken. On the following 
[morning, not far from the same spot, two birds like the 
[one seen the day before flew up from the lawn and dis- 
appeared, flying north. 1 have no doubt that a family or 
[a little colony of starlings have made their home some- 
I where in the neighborhood, and I shall endeavor to in- 
jvestigate the matter further, George BrRD Grinnell. 
Van sighted a bull elk feeding on top of the mountain on 
our right. We immediatelv made for the timber and 
rode toward him, bearing off to the right in order to get 
to the windward. When within 200yds, of where we 
supposed he should be, dismounted and climbed toward 
the top; on reaching it we looked ahead and within 
50yds. of us stood a bunch of cows and calves; fortunately 
only one calf saw us. Quietly backing down until out of 
sight, we ran to the leic and up the slope. By this time 
they had become startled and were making off toward 
the timber. There seemed to be only one bull worth 
shooting, and he was surrounded by the cows and calves 
in such a way that to shoot him was almost impossible. 
Step by step we crept on him, often having to pause 
with one foot in the air, and keep the position until he 
Challenged again, when we would run perhaps 10yds., but 
it was all as noiseless as possible to go. When we got to 
within lOOyds. of him he suddenly wheeled around and 
walked off around the timber. This was what we wanted; 
as he walked from us we ran toward the opening, on 
teaching it halted, while he described a circle, uncon- 
scious that we were waiting for him to turn so that it 
would give us a broadside shot. As he did so Van says, 
"Now, Captain, take your time and do it right." We 
both fired simultaneously. I never felt so mean in my 
life as I did after the shot was fired. It was painful to 
