24 
FOREST AND STREAM, 
[Jan. 9, 1897. 
75lb8. loose from the pen into the inclosure around the 
house for exercise, he was about midday suddenly startled 
to see a gray wolf, "mighty nigh as big as a yearling calf," 
jump over the fence, and seizing the unfortunate porker 
across the nose just below the eyes, with one awful, 
wringing, slashing snap completely separated the nose 
from the head. 
As Jim. turned toward the great brute it turned and 
sprang back over the fence and disappeaired in the 
bushes, while the pig fell and bled to death almost in- 
stantly. 
As the pig was fat and otherwise entirely unhurt, Jim 
dressed it for his own use, and again the wolf went 
hungry. 
Jim's story passed quickly through the little settlement, 
and mothers listened to its repetition with paling cheeks, 
and all concluded that we had a something worse than a 
white elephant on our hands. 
Down tbe river below Jim's place lived a neighbor, 
whose name I have forgotten, wno owned a bull dog of 
undaunted courage and ferocity, which would at the 
word of command tackle anything short of a buzz saw. 
I think it was two days after the death of the pig, 
about the middle of the arternoon, while this man was 
employed in front of his house, and while his dog stood 
at a little distance, the wolf sprang over into his inclosure 
and made straight for the dog, which instantly bounded 
forward to the light. 
Seeing the formidable appearance of the wolf, without 
an instant's pause, the man sprang for his axe, lying but 
a few steps distant, and rushed to the help of his gallant 
dog. He was too late. 
The fray was measurable only by seconds — few in 
number — when the wolf sprang from the uplifted axe, 
over the fence, and again vanished in the bushes. 
The dog lay on the chips utterly unable to rise. 
Gathering the noble animal up in his arms, he carried him 
to the house, and, as some affair of business which I have 
now forgotten made it imperative for himself to go a few 
miles down the river, and to stop over night at the house 
of another settler, as night was approaching, he made a 
pomfortable bed for the poor brute against the outside 
Wall of the cabin, and hastily building a kennel around 
Hm with a lot of barrel staves and boards to make him 
comfortable as possible for the night, in spite of the pro- 
testations of the frightened wife and children (whom he 
knew to be perfectly safe so long as they remained in- 
doors), he departed on his errand, hoping still to be able 
to cure the saber-like slashes in the body of his unfortu- 
nate dog. 
' Abtmt midnight the wife and children were aroused by 
an appalling racket of tumbling boards and dying cries, 
and when search was made in the morning by a neighbor, 
who followed the bloody trail of the wolf to the foot of a 
hill in the bushes below the house, the remains of the 
hapless dog were found, he having been half devoured. 
' Down the river a short distance below lived a man 
nained Hall, and as he knew that I had poison, and un- 
derstood the preparation of baits for wild animals, about 
noon he sent his girls over to request me to prepare a 
dose for the monster. Preparing what I believed to be 
a quickly fatal dose, and putting it on the end of a splin- 
ter of wood, I instructea her to be careful that on no 
account must it be touched by the fingers, but dropped 
on top of the remains of the dog; and on going down the 
next morning the old man found the wolf lying dead 
hear his victim. 
He was quite excited, and sent word to me to come 
and see the brute, adding that its size was amazing, and 
thai it was "about-6,in. between the eyesl" 
" 4s I liad seen wolves before, I didn't take the trouble 
to go to look, and the old man got $^.50 for the skin. 
The only probable solution of tne mystery of his ap- 
pearance seemed to be that he had drifted or wandered 
away from the buffalo groimd to the far Northwest (prob- 
ably impelled by winter blizzards, which he could not 
face) until he had struck the headwaters of the Des 
Moines River and followed it down. 
As the country he had lately traversed was the very 
barest of ground game in winter of any land I ever 
knew, he had reached the settlement with a fairly craving 
appetite, 
Had he had a comrade as sharp set as himself they 
would probably have pulled down and devoured the. 
young man mentioned on the first night of their appear- 
ance. 
5ad there been a half dozen of them, and had they 
met an equal number of Russian wolves, backed by all the 
"offskys" of the Russian army, I fancy that when the 
little discussion was settled tne hides of the Russian 
wolves "wouldn't have held cornshucks." 
Obin Belknap. 
State of Washington. 
THE PlKA. 
The North American pika is a p--culiar tailless rodent, 
very interesting, and worthy of more than passing notice. 
It was met witn irequently and in numbers in the earlier 
surveys of the West, and nas^ received no little attention 
at the hands of naturalists. It generally stays about tim- 
ber line, but is frequently met with lower. They are 
quite numerous above timoer line at fike's Peak, where I 
captured a number several years ago, I also shot one 
specimen below timber line at Mount Lo Lo, Montana, 
In a museum publication I gave not long ago the fol- 
lowing notes on this species; 
"The Little Chief hare or Rocky Mountain pika {Lago- 
Twys princeps) was described by Dr. Richardson in lo2tf 
(Jf'auna Bureuli Amerieana) from a specimen collected 
near the south branch of the Mackenzie, considerably 
north of the United States boundary. It ranges south- 
ward along the summits of the Rucky Mountains, increas- 
ing its altitude with decrease in latitude. In Colorado it 
is never found below timber line. Only one species was 
recognized in the United States prior to 1889, when Dr. 
C. Hart Merriam described anotuer species irom the Sier- 
ra Nevada Mountains in California. Dr. J, A. Allen 
gives generic and specific descriptions of Lagomys pHn- 
ceps in 'Mjnjgraphd of North American Roaen act,,' 1877. 
Tuey range mucn in bizcj and color, irrc spective of age, 
sex, season or locality. Above they are grayish brown, 
varied with black and yellowiah-brown; sides, yellowish- 
brown; below, grayish, more or less strongly tinged with 
pale yellowish- brown. They are nearly tailless, have five 
toes in front and four behind, armed with short, arched, 
compressed nails, with a prominent, naked pad at the 
base of each toe. They range in length from 6, Sin. to 
Sin., averaging about Tin, Ears large, broad, rounded. 
Whiskers numerous and long (lin. to 8.5in,). They are 
found very abundant in many places in the Rocky Moun- 
tains. 
Concerning the habits of the animal Dr. Allen says 
(Op. cit.): "Their habits seem everywhere much the 
same. The animals are everywhere found in communi- 
ties, living among the loose rocks from a little below 
timber line nearly up to the snow line. They appear to 
rarely wander from their homes, are timid, yet easily be- 
come familiar. Though retreating to their holes when 
first alarmed, they soon come cautiously out, one after 
another, till one may hear their sharp little cries in every 
direction. Their color so nearly resembles that of the 
rocks they live among that they are not easily seen, and 
their cry is of such a character as to easily mislead one in 
respect to the point from which it proceeds, seeming to 
be far away when really only a few feet distant. They 
sit erect like marmots, and in no way resemble the hares 
in habits. They carry into fissures of the rocks lar^e 
quantities of grass, which they lay up for winter con- 
sumption. They are weak, sedentary animals, and are 
apparently strictly diurnal in their habits." 
The pikas, living and fossil, are all traceable to a single 
genus, Lagomys, with eight species, found only in west- 
ern North America and northern Asia. Two species are 
found in North America, three in the elevated parts 
of northern India, and three others further north- 
ward. Formerly they extended much further south- 
ward and westward, their" fossil remains having been 
found in the Pliocene strata of England, France and one 
of the islands of Corsica and Sardinia (Op. cit.). They 
represent an ancient family, being a less specialized form 
than the hares. M. J. Elrod, 
Illinois Wesley an University, Bloomington, ni. 
[No one who has epsnt much time among the high 
mountains of western America can have failed to hear — 
if not to see — this little animal, which is better known as 
the Little Chief hare. It is an interesting species, found 
often in great numbers on the mountain side, where it 
makes its home in crannies and holes among the slide 
rock,] 
"That reminds me." 
A Yermont Rattlesnake. 
"Hey? Didn't s'pose the' was any rattlesnakes in Ver- 
mont?" said Dan'l, as loudly as if he was talking to him- 
self, and turning his best ear to me, I signaled a nega- 
tive, and he continued in undiminished volume: 
"Good land, yesl The' use' t' be lots of 'em on the 
Barnum Hill, so I've hearn ol' folks tell, and the's been 
some killed there since I can remember. 
"Why, one day in harvestin' I was goin' 'long the road 
towards the house, an' I see what 1 thought was a snake 
a-layin' 'crost the road, clean acrost both wheel tracks, 
an', by George, when I cum clus tew, it was a tormented 
. great blacksnake. I got me a stake out o' fence an' 
killed it, an' it measured six foot. That was consid'able 
of a snake for this Northern country." 
"But it wasn't a rattlesnake," said the listener. 
"Well, I was goin' to tell ye. Levi Fuller had a piece 
o' wheat ready to cut an' wanted me to cradle it for him. 
I was a pooty good hand with a cradle in them days. So 
we ground up the cradle scythe, an' I went at it an' he 
follered me up a-rakin' an' bindin'. It was the next day 
after I killed that blacksnake an' my head was full o' 
snakes." 
"None in your boots, Dan'l?" 
"No, sir; I never indulged. Well, I hadn't cradled 
more 'n half way acrost the piece afore I heard a kind o' 
sharp buzz in' sort of a noise just ahead of me, an' I stood 
right still an' begin to look, an' by lieorgel there I see a 
snake kinked along 'mongst the wheat, with his head 
raised up a little mite, not quiled up rattlesnake fashion; 
but I knew he was one, tor he was all spotted, an' that 
buzzin' noise kep' a-goin' all the time, the wheat a-wig- 
glin' right where the sound come from. 
"You'd better b'lieve I backed off pretty lively, but 
mighty careful. I hollered to Levi to come there, an' I 
as'd him if that wa'n't a rattlesnake, for I knew he'd 
know, 'cause he'd kiUed 'em, 
"He stood off quite respectful, but he looked at it 
hard. 'Yes,' says he, 'that 'ere's a rattlesnake, sar- 
tain.' 
"Well, we held a cQtmcil of war^ an' the upshot was, 
Levi put for tbe house to git his gun 'at had been loaded 
for woodchuck all summer, an' 1 staid an' watched the 
snake, but the snake didn't stir none to speak of 'fore 
Levi got back, all out o' breath. 
"We made up our minds we hadn't better depend alto- 
gether on the gun, seein we hadn't but one charge, so I 
got me a good oak stake out o' the fence, an' crep' up, 
whilst Levi stood ready to give him a shot if I didn't lay 
him out. Well, 1 up with my club an' let the snake have 
it right on the head. Lhvi stood tquintin' along the gun, 
with his finger on the tricker, Tne' was a locus' riz up 
an' went cff snappin' his wings, but the snake only kind 
o' flopped up an' lay stiff as a maggit." 
"Kuled him the first licfe, didn't ye, Dan'l?" 
"Good land, nol 'T wa'n't nothin' but a butt'nut root — 
but it was the nighest I ever come to seein' a wil' rattle- 
snake." - AWAHSOOSE. 
A Russian grand duke, one of the Czar's predecessors, 
was once the guest of a German prince. It was early m 
the century. In Russia the imperial double-headed 
eagle is to be seen everywhere and on everything 
throughout the empire, stamped, painted, embroidered 
or sculptured. At that period the education of grand 
dukes was somewhat Umited. This grand duke went 
out shooting in Germany, and, among other things, shot 
a large bird. He asked an experienced huntsman who 
accompanied him what the bird was. "An eagle, your 
highness," was the answer. The grand duke turned on 
him in an irritated way. "How can it be an eagle," he 
asked, "when it has only one headT'— Argonaut. 
Photographs of Dead Game. 
Marietta, O., Jan. 2.— Forest and Stream Pitb. Co.: Enclosed find 
one aoiiar and twenty-five cents lor copj' of tlie aead bii-d picture, 
"Woodcock.'' TJie other two orderea from y ou are so good that I 
•will complete the series. Tom-s very truly, Bobt. N. Payseu. 
^mne §dg mtd §mu 
ON SNOWSHOES TO THE BARREN 
GROUNDS. 
Until within a few years, the little that we knew of 
the musk-ox and his home all came to us from arctic ex- 
plorers and from employees of the Hudson's Bay Co. 
Lately, however, at least two most excellent and interest- 
ing volumes have been written about this far distant land 
by sportsmen who have visited it for the distinct purpose 
of killing muak-ox, and it is with the last of these that we i 
have to do. 
In his book entitled "On Snowshoes to thie Barren' 
Grounds" (Harpers), Mr. Caspar Whitney gives us the 
narrative of a winter trip made from Edmonton, N. W.' 
T., to a point in the Barren Grounds within the Arctic* 
circle and back again — a narrative so well told and ao> 
graphic that the thoughtful reader, and above all the 
reader who himself has endured some of the hardships of 
outdoor life, may in a slight degree comprehend what is 
needed in the way of coura.ge, hardihood and endurance to 
enable a man to successfully face the horrors of that 
land of desolation. We are most of us so thoughtless in 
our reading and our talk that descriptions of suffering 
make little impression on us. 
Most of us indeed have never really suffered. We do 
not know what it is to starve, to freeze, or — worst of all — 
to endure the tortures of thirst. It is not strange, there- 
fore, that we fail to comprehend descriptions of such 
hardships. He who has passed through suffering of this 
sort, however, remembers, as the days passed and no food 
could be had, how he grew weaker and weaker, not suf- 
fering much actual pain, but realizing hour after hour > 
that he was becoming less acd less able to do a man's. 
work. So the man who has faced the horrors of the 
waterless desert preserves a keen memory of the gradual 
drying up within him of the water springs, unthought of ■ 
in a land of lakes and streams. \ 
Mr, Whitney's story is one of endurance rather than of 
adventure. He dared to face the rigors of an arctic win- ■ 
ter, and to hunt on the Barren Grounds at a time of the . 
year when even the Indians inhabiting the country never . 
venture thither. On these Barren Grounds there is no 
wood, and the only protection from freezing at a time ■ 
when the thermometer goes down to 50, 60 and 70 degrees ' 
below zero is the clothing the man wears. True, a little 
wood is taken along for cooking purposes, but the fire 
lighted is only enough to boil the kettle, and when this 
has been done no artificial warmth can be had until the 
next time comes for eating or for boiling the tea-kettle. 
For food the travelers dtpand. wholly on the country, kill- 
ing the caribou, if these are found, or, if it is summer, 
depending on the fish in the lakes and streams. As the 
only means of transportation are dog sledges in winter and 
canoes in summer, it may readily be seen that the carry- 
ing of food for the men and animals of a party is out of 
the question 
To go to the Barren Grounds does not necessarily mean 1 
to kill musk-ox. However it may have been in the past,, 
it is certain that to-day the range of this animal is much 
restricted. While we are told that in former years the i 
musk-ox was found as far south as the timber and as far 
west as the Mackenzie River, it is said that now it does, 
not reach the timber nor the Mackenzie River by a good i 
many miles. Mr. Whitney says: "Many parties go to- 
the.Barren Grounds and never see even a musk-ox track, 
and many more skirmish along the edge, fearful of a. i 
plunge into the interior, yet hoping for the sight of a. > 
stray ox." As the musk-ox retreat the hardship of reach- 
ing them constantly increases, and one wonders whether 
a time will ever come when their remoteness will pro- 
tect the species from absolute extinction. 
On a trip such as that made by Mr. Whitney the trav- 
eler has to depen d almost altogether on himself, It is 
true, he travels with Indians who know the country, and 
who are always on the lookout to kill food which all 
share, but he can not expect any one to work for him. 
He must ur.ve his own sledge, feed his dogs and do all! 
nis own work. To get along at all he must show himself 
as good a man as the Indians who were born and have 
always lived in this arctic region, and so are inured to I 
the hardisihips of its lite. He must do all this and be ' 
ready to travel on snowshoes from twenty to forty miles 
a day, and when the supreme moment comes and game 
has been discovered he must take part with dogs and In- 
dians in a mad race after the herd, and must literally run 
down what he kills. Mr. Wnitney did all this, and be- 
sides did not even have an interpreter. 
Let us see how Mr. Wnitney got his first musk-ox, re- 
membering that in this hunting so called it is each man 
for himself. The robe belongs to him who kills the ani- 
mal. Hence each man tries to get the first shot and as 
many shots as possible before his companions can get up; 
there is no concert of action. Each man is working for 
himself and is wholly careless as to the success of his 
companions. Mr. Whitney says: 
Instantly there was excitement enough on top of that ridge to put 
life into ei^ht hungry men. I never tieuela -ueh agitation. The In- 
dians for a miuuie iiuQoled togeilaer, chattericg aua grinuing and ■ 
gesticulating, and then each oiau ruatied to his siecige and began 
supping his aogs trom tne harness. 1 i-,ne\v then we bad sighted ! 
musk-OS. Of course I had suited my action lo the Indians', and be- I 
gan unhitching my dogs also, but my liainess came from tbe fort | 
and tiad buckles, which m the bitter cold were unyielding; and by I 
the time 1 had got ali my dogs loose, put on my lieliter cai.ote for I ■ 
saw we were iu tor a long run-and siraisped on my cartridge belt, | 
ah the Indians and all ttie dogs hai several huudrea yards .start, and ] 
were going along at a ratillDg pace. I saw at once tuat it was every 
man for nun self on this expeuiiion, and if 1 got a musk ox I should 
have 1,0 work for him. Ana then I sctiled grimly to the business of 
running. Withiu about two ojiiCS I caught up with the Indians, who i 
had stretched oui into a long column, with Hvoo and iicheena leaaiug | 
by half a mile. In another mile I uad workea my way through the j 
stragglers and was hard on the heels at Echeena, but Seco was still 1 
about iOOyds, atieaci, an-i going as tuougti lie comd keep it up inde- ' 
finitely. On my attempt to pass him Echeena let out a link, and I 
had all 1 could do to keep at ms he. is; but in our race for second 
place we cut down Seco's lead by lOOyds. 
Mile after mile was passed over before the musk-oxen 
were sighted. Through knee-deep snow, over rocks, 
racing, staggering,- falling, the struggle continued. But 
at last, says Mr, Whitney : 
As we were working our way up a rather higher and broader ridge 
I heard tbe dogs bark, and, rushing past Keiieena, reacned tbe top 
in lime to see a herd of aoout iweutj, -ilvo to thirty musk-oxen, jusc 
startled into movmg along anotner ridgiis about a quarter mile be- 
yond Seco, who with his three dogs was racing after them not 
50yas. ahead of me. Disgust, uisappointmeni ana physical distress 
momentarily stupefied me. Then the sight of the musk-oxen, and 
the thought of what I had endured to reach them, fired me to re- 
