Dko. 8, 1804.] 
FOREST AND STREAM, 
4 87 
them drop to the ground in plain eight, we were puzzled. 
We began to surmise that either they had taken wing 
again without our noticing it^orelse that they had rapidly 
run off, when a bird rose from under our feet almost and 
darted away, John dropped him nicely and Don retrieved 
him in good order, Leaves covered the short green grass 
under the beech trees pretty thickly, and it was evident 
the game was hidden under these, and withholding their 
scent, so that the dogs were of little use. 
We at once concluded to walk up to the birds and take 
turn-about shooting at the single ones — both taking 
Chances if not dropped by the first barrels. It took close 
tramping^ for the quail Would lie until our feet were 
almost over them before getting away. The shooting 
was splendid, One bird after another being raised to 
wing, and when the first shot failed the second was 
almost certain to drop him. The dogs had nothing to do 
but retrieve, and they speedily seemed to understand this 
was the only business they bad there then, for they 
moved quietly along beside us and brought in the dead 
birds without unnecessary steps or noise. 
Our plan worked nicely, so that with one or two ex- 
ceptions we bagged the entire flock. Major Irvine hav- 
ing watched our sport and gotten his rest, came up when 
we could find no more birds, and smilingly said. "Boys, 
you are beginning to learn how to shoot." Then he 
added, "If I hadn't been tired, though, you would have 
had no need for a second barrel. I don't want two shots 
at a partridge that I kick up out of the grass." 
This was not the only instance in which I have seen 
quail withhold their scent, but it was the only one where 
the grass was green and short and not green and long. 
Several times I have known them to alight in thick, matted, 
green grass and it was impossible for the dogs to find 
them. Whether it is the green grass that obstructs and 
destroys the scent, or whether the bird has the power of 
withholding it under certain circumstances is a matter I 
would like to have solved. In the instance named the 
power of the bird, in addition to baffling 
the dog, of hiding under the scattered 
leaves so completely as to prevent our see- 
ing a single one before he rose on the 
wing, was conspicuously evident. It seemed 
only the certainty that we were going to 
place our feet on him that drove him 
from cover. 
And further, why should the entire flock 
resort to this close and puzzling style of 
hiding, and have to be fairly driven out, 
instead of easily taking to wing when one 
ot two were flushed? Was there some 
occult and mysterious bird intelligence afld 
means of communication that led each 
individual to proceed upon a common 
design? 
Feeling in excellent spirits over our suc- 
cess so far, we proceeded at once to the 
stubble field. The dogs went to work with 
fresh alacrity, evidently feeling that they 
were to have a chance to redeem them- 
selves. Here, however, we met our first 
failure in getting up a covey, though 
several roosting places were discovered. 
Crossing a ragged ravine, we entered a 
field of standing corn. The dogs shortly 
disappeared, and after waiting for them 
some time we concluded they had found 
birds. Separating, we proceeded to search 
for them. The field was scoured and no 
Sign of dogs. On the right of the corn- 
field the fence was thick with weeds and • 
pokeberry bushes ; with here and there a 
stalk of red sUmach. Surmising that birds 
Would go there for range, if anywhere, We 
proceeded to the fence and one on each 
side slowly began an investigation of the 
bushes. 
Scarcely 30yds. had been gone over when 
white spot among the weeds ahead. Closer 
investigation showed it to be the white back of Dash, 
rigid as a fence rail, with nose directed to a fence corner. 
Warning John to be ready, we cautiously moved, ahead, 
when with a burst of sound a covey broke from the fence 
corners and thick weeds in eager flight. John got two on 
his side of the fence, while I was fortunate enough to 
drop two with the first barrel and one with the second. 
Most of the covey went into the standing corn, but John 
marked down two that dropped by a stump in the clover 
field across the fence. These we easily bagged, as the 
ground was clear and afforded an easy shot. Having 
some distance to go and the afternoon waning, we con- 
cluded not to follow the birds that took to the standing 
corn. Don had been backing Dash where the covey rose, 
but was completely hidden from view under the bushes. 
Later one or two small coveys were found in a neck of 
stubble, and several birds added to our bag, when we 
entered a piece of open woods a mile from the house. 
Through the middle of the woods ran a division fence, 
and along its line, some distance off, were clumps of iron- 
weed and high grass. The dogs entered there and evi- 
dently scented birds, from their quick, eager movements 
and close search of the ground. John was eager to put 
up the covey, but by this time there was a tired feeling in 
my legs and body that sympathized with Major Irvine, 
who since noon had been simply trailing our steps. I 
suggested we had had fun enough and for John to mon- 
opolize the sport, while the Major and myself sat on the 
fence and watched the fun. It took but a few minutes for 
the dogs to locate the covey. At the rise John got his two 
birds. The remainder took a long flight down into the 
heart of the woods— too far to be followed. 
The day had been beautiful beyond expression, though 
slightly warm about noon; and feeling we had our full of 
glorious sport, we turned our steps to the house and 
counted out on the hearth in front of the big, old-fashioned 
fireplace our game. Sixty-five plump quail made a big 
bunch, of which the Major could only claim five as his 
quota, but consoled himself by remarking that "that was 
more than he could eat." Oid Sam. 
I noticed a 
and careful 
I IMPRESSIONS OF A TENDERFOOT. 
A "tenderfoot" I understand to be one born in the 
East, and who for the first time treads the slopes of the 
Rocky Mountains. I believe that mere transit on a 
through express, or even a stay at Colorado Springs or 
Manitou, does not relieve one of the contemptuous apella- 
tion. To lose this epithet one born east of, say Kansas 
City, must leave the paths, and the garb, in which he has 
been wont to walk, and immerse himself in the vast 
space of the West. It does not seem to matter whether 
he mines, ranches, fishes or hunts big game, but personal 
experience of ranges, mesas, gulches, sage brush, buttes 
and bronchos is essential. 
Having been born in the State which has succeeded 
Virginia in bearing the title of "Mother of Presidents," 
and to which the beautiful but unsatisfactory buckeye has 
given its common name, I had only seen the great West 
during various business errands, generally connected with 
the fruitless attempt to make the sanguine children of the 
setting sun carry out contracts to repay Eastern capital or 
to find why similar capital, like some of the rivers that 
flow from the eastern slope of the Rockies, seemed to sink 
into the ground and be lost, doubtless fertilizing and 
refreshing the immediate course of its flow, but never 
reaching the seaboard. In this happy summer, however, 
being temporarily free from such cares, I was invited to 
join a party to hunt and fish in the Elk Head Mountains, 
which lie in the northwestern corner of Colorado, and 
now can proudly boast a familiarity with many things 
and scenes which are peculiar to the boundless West. 
Whether the obnoxious name has really left me is still 
not a certainty, but as two big bull elk fell to my rifle, 
while my acclimated companions failed to get a single 
one, they seemed to believe that I was gaining at least a 
slight familiarity with the country. 
First on the list of my novel impressions comes acquain- 
tance with the broncho. He is of mixed descent, on one 
SPECIMEN COPIES. 
Any reader of the "Forest and Stream" may 
on request and without expense have a specimen 
number of the paper sent to a shooting or fishing 
friend. 
THE ENTIRE OUTFIT. 
side coming from the mustang and on the other from the 
eastern horse, but the proportions of blood must vary 
very greatly; still the type is distinct. He is generally 
small, perhaps averaging about 9001bs., and seems to have 
no distinctive color or marking. Ordinarily he is a sleepy 
and biddable beast, who travels with his head down and 
exerts only as much effort as is absolutely necessary; but 
this gentleness and quiet simply give an opportunity for 
the storage of energy, and, on proper stimulus, this calm 
and passive animal expends his accumulated force with 
terrific and tumultuous effects. 
Among our pack animals was a little pot-bellied brown 
horse who was one day plodding along under a pack of 
200lbs., and seemed half asleep. Suddenly, for no reason 
that I could see, he concluded to get his pack off. Down 
went his head; up went his back; and a fine exhibition 
of genuine buck-jumping was begun without notice. 
When this did not loosen the well-tied "squaw-hitch," he 
seemed to go absolutely mad. Screaming like a steam 
whistle he tore at the pack with his teeth, dashed against 
trees, reared, plunged and rolled, until finally the pack 
fell from him. Then, his aim being accomplished, a per- 
fect calm succeeded, and no objection was made to the 
replacing of the pack or to carrying it afterward. 
The broncho is a creature of the wilds, and is equal to 
any difficulty which they present. On my first day we 
rode forty miles over a range, with no road or path be- 
yond an occasional game trail. We went through spruce 
forests, over fallen timber, up steep and stony mountain 
sides and down again, and the orders to me were: '-'Leave 
your rein loose and let your horse go." I followed these 
instructions literally, although when my broncho was 
descending slopes of about forty-five degrees, and jumping 
over big logs on the down grade, it seemed reasonably 
certain that we were both going to everlasting smash, 
and one escape did not seem to furnish any reason why 
the next peril should be safely passed. On such a slope 
I remember coming to a couple of fallen trees lying across 
each other, perhaps two feet high on the upper side and 
four or five on the lower. My black carefully examined 
the obstacle, and then coolly leaped it, alighted in a 
sitting position, slid about ten feet, brought up and went 
calmly on. Looking back I saw my brother's horse go 
through precisely the same performance, and as he 
leaped, the pair seemed to be going directly into eternity. 
Nearly all our hunting was done from the saddle, in 
spite of the tremendously rough nature of the country. 
Several of the horses were the perfection of shooting 
ponies, and seemed to actually hold their breath when the 
rifle was lifted for a shot. All of them would stand, pro- 
vided the long reins were thrown down and allowed to 
hang, and it was a matter of only a moment to dismount. 
When game was known to be near we generally left our 
horses and hunted on foot, returning to them after suc- 
cess or failure. 
Second only in force and novelty to the broncho im- 
pression was that of the country where we camped. To 
reach it we had come eighty miles by stage, passing 
through a barren country, where only the immediate 
valleys of the rivers were fertile, and had ridden forty- 
miles, all the latter being through sage brush except 
while actually crossing the ridges, until we were within 
six miles of camp. There we came to the edge of the so- 
called "Park country," a region heavily timbered with 
magnificent spruces, and the forest frequently divided 
by open glades, varying from 50ft. to a mile or more in 
width, covered with grass and flowers, and dotted with 
single trees or small clumps of timber. It was a country 
of running brooks and singing birds, and especially fitted 
for game of all kinds. Out of it rose magnificent moun- 
tain peaks of purple-brown trap, giving grandeur to its 
beauty. The whole region seemed to have been laid out 
by a most skillful landscape gardener, on a colossal scale 
and regardless of expense, and had an air of finish that 
seemed incredible in an absolute wilderness, forty miles 
from anywhere. None of this timbered country can be 
less than 9.000ft. above the sea, and its fertility, as con- 
trasted with the barrenness of the lower country, is 
doubtless caused by the accumulation of snow upon the 
mountains, whose gradual melting keeps only the upper 
levels moist. 
The mule deer (Gervus macrotis) abounds in this park 
country, and we rarely saw less than thirty in any one 
day. There seemed to be two distinct varieties, differing 
decidedly in shape and color. Among the glades around 
our camp we found slender, long-limbed bucks, decidedly 
light brown in color, and with the face a nearly uniform 
mouse gray. In the scrub oak near the edge of the desert 
the deer were much larger, shorter and 
thicker, lighter and grayer in color, and 
with a very light gray patch, almost 
white, across the face. Our guides always 
made a distinction between the gray bucks 
and the "bald-faced" bucks, and insisted 
that the two types always kept at differ- 
ent levels, as we found them. 
Where elk can be found, however, one 
thinks but little of deer, and we were 
chiefly in pursuit of the greater and rarer 
game. For the first week after reaching 
camp, which was early in September, they 
could only be found in the dense spruce 
forest close to the mountain peaks. Later 
they seemed to travel more, and the sound 
of their trumpet became not uncommon. 
When the bull is young, and the call is 
heard at a distance, it sounds singularly 
like a human whistle. Heard closer at 
hand, or from an older animal, the note is 
more harsh and strident. The old bulls 
bellow in deep tones not very unlike those 
of a domestic bull. Fortune sent me the 
first shot at an adult male, and rewarded it 
with a handsome 12-point head, but with 
rather light antlers, the animal being stiJl 
young. My great prize came on the last 
day's hunt. 
Two of us had crof sed the ridge and were 
in the aspen timber about two miles from 
camp, when we heard a young bull call at 
a considerable distance down the mountain. 
Leaving our horses we started toward the 
sound on foot, but after walking a mile or 
more, we heard the call again on our left, 
and high up the slope. We then separated, 
my brother keeping on. and I went back 
toward the horses, and had nearly reached 
them when suddenly an elk appeared on my right, 300yds. 
up the hill. He was strolling slowly parallel with my 
own course, and occasionally taking a bite of grass. In- 
stantly I started toward him, keeping behind trees as well 
as possible, and running as fast as a defective lung and 
elevation of 10,000ft., and a pretty steep hill would permit. 
While running I saw that this bull was followed by other 
elk, marching slowly in single file, and appearing one by 
one from the thick timber. Knowing that the large bull 
is usually at the rear end of a procession of this kind, and 
having already a better head than the first one had, I de- 
termined to wait and take my chance of a big fellow, so, 
entirely out of breath and tremendously excited, dropped 
behind a rock about 150yds. from the line, and waited. 
Eight cows, a calf and another young bull passed me one 
by one, and at last a mighty head bearing a huge pair of 
antlers appeared between the aspen trunks, and in a 
moment the monarch of the herd stepped into a little 
glade before me and strolled slowly across it. As his 
head appeared I sighted just in front of it, and when the 
ivory bead of the Lyman sight showed fairly just back 
of the shoulder pulled the trigger. The bull did not even 
start or flinch. Then I forgot my breathlessness, my ex- 
citement and everything else but that elk. In an instant 
a second cartridge was in place, a steady aim taken, and 
at the shot the great bull dropped to his knees, but rose 
at once and continued his slow walk. So he kept on walk- 
ing and I kept on shooting until the aspens on the other 
side of the glade concealed him. Then I dropped on the 
rock and Bat and gasped from excitement and exertion 
together, for at least ten minutes. 
When breath came back I walked slowly up the hill to 
the point of his vanishing, and only a few yards beyond 
found the great elk stone dead and with four bullets clean 
through him. The orifice of exit was scarcely larger 
than that of entrance, and the balls had evidently lost 
but little velocity in passing through nearly two feet of 
flesh and bone, showing the great power of the .45-90-300 
cartridge. 
We had no means of weighing or exactly measuring 
this animal, but estimated his weight at l,1001be. or over, 
his height at the withers over 5ft. ,and the weight of his 
head and horns at about lOOlbs. The horns were very 
long and remarkably heavy, having the usual twelve 
regular points, and three large and four small reversed 
points, so that he could properly be called a nineteen-point 
head. Having a Kodak in camp I was able to get a good 
photograph of "the entire outfit," which Western expres- 
sion corresponds strictly to the Yankee "the whole kit 
and caboodle," A. St. J. Newberry. 
