^•20>i897.] FOREST AND STREAM. " 143 
;b a heavy, massive, clumsy-looking animal could do it 
ould never understand, for the banks were fully 30ft. 
;h and I had to pull myself up by the bushes to cret out 
i_ found it no easy job. The tapir seized hold' of the 
)ling with his proboscis and pulled himself up and went 
like a whirlwind, crashing through the underbrush and 
jaking down saplings as thick as a man's fist. These 
imals resemble in some respects the elephant, the rhi- 
3eros and the hippopotamus. They live on grass and 
latic plants. It is said by the natives of Central Amer- 
to conquer the puma and tiger, who often seize their 
jng ones. The female tapir, at such times, rushes for- 
rd and seizes the puma with her proboscis and tramples 
0 death under her massive forefeet. 
'he wild hog oripecca.ry (Dicotples labiatus) is very numer- 
1 in this part of the Isthmus. They are about .3 to 3^ft. 
ig and weigh about 751bs. They go in large droves of 
eral hundred and are very savage. The old boars have 
y formidable tusks, and do not seem to fear anything. 
By often surprise the lone hunter and oblige him to 
Qb a tree for safety. So dangerous are they that orders 
re issued to the surveying parties never to go away 
m camp without a gun. The company furnished a gun 
L ammunition to each party. One dav one of the par- 
i disobeyed these instructions and went off to work 
hout taking any firearms with them. They encountered 
cove of these animals, which charged on them, and they 
re all obliged to drop their instruments and climb trees, 
ere they were forced to stay for several hours, all the 
e watched by the drove, who rushed squealing around 
foot of the trees, mad with rage. 
'ortimately another surveying party, returning to camp 
1 before dark, found their comrades in this unpleasant 
dicament. Being well supplied with guns and revolv- 
they opened fire on the herd, and killed fourteen before 
y could be driven off and the men in the trees could 
le down. 
'hey emit a strong musky odor, and the location of a 
ve can often be determined by the scent long before 
y can be seen in the thick woods. 
n.e day I was making an extended exploration for the 
Ltion of a dam, accompanied only by my Indian guide, 
en we scattered a drove of "warri" or peccaries. I was 
led with my Winchester and my guide carried myRem- 
;on breechloader. We cautiously advanced toward 
in and soon came up with them in some thick under- 
wth. By standing perfectly still, each behind a large 
: about a dozen or two paces apart, and peering care- 
Y into the bushes, we soon saw them advancing toward 
iTJien I first saw them the foremost were not more than 
3s. away. Waiting for a good opportunity, I fired and 
Inded one, which immediately began to squeal loudly, 
s brought all the herd grunting and squealing up to the 
mded one, and I kept pumping in shells and firing, 
)ckingover a hog at about every shot. The Indian 
tied up to me, much excited, and said we must climb a 
, as the drove was advancing on us. 
ure enough on they came, the old boars in front, snap- 
g their tusks like castanets and grunting savagely, 
could see their long front, as much as 50yds. wide, aU 
,ds on toward us. They seemed to be puzzled to know 
ere the deadly volleys came from, for they could not 
us, as we kept out of sight behind the trunk of the 
;e tree from which I had begun firing. They would 
le forward a few steps, stop, snap their tusks and 
nap their feet, then glare all around in search of the 
imy. We had full belts of ammunition and kept up a 
idy fire. When within about 50ft. of us they sheered 
to the right, giving us good broadside shots. The 
jds seemed to be full of them, to judge by the noise 
y made. As fast as one fell another from behind would 
ply his place. 
'he situation w^as beginning to look ominous, when 
denly, without any warning, they took to their heels, 
ling off through the forest with a great squealing and 
nting and crashing of brush. 
'hen we sallied out and counted up the slain — thirty- 
en dead and dying. It was a close call for us, for if 
y had once seen us they would have charged us, and if 
ammunition had given out we would have had to de- 
d on our machete .swords, and I was assured by the 
lian and others that they would rush up and tumble 
ir each other to get at you, the smell of the blood of 
se killed apparently making them ten times more 
»ciou8. We took one hog to the boat and went to 
ip, and I at once sent a boat back which brought them 
loaded to the gunwales. They have a musk gland on 
top of the back in front of where the root of the tail 
hit to be, which must be cut out, or it renders the whole 
jass rank and strong. They are excellent eating after 
Ipg this precaution. They have no tail whatever, 
like the tame hog, they do not have fat all over the 
y, but the meat is more like venison in appearance and 
ie than anything else. 
^hen we commenced firing there was a large company 
monkeys on the trees overhead, which fled chattering 
ay at the fii-st shot. They were the red and gray 
■iety. These monkeys— the red monkey— are exceed- 
ly numerous and very bokl, often swinging by one 
id or tail directly over your head and breaking off 
gs and branches and throwing them at the intruder, 
ittering and scolding all the while at a great rate, 
'he men often shot them (the red and gray ones) to eat, 
;he Jamaica negroes, of which we had many in our par- 
! as boatmen and oxmen, were very fond of them for 
d. 
'he rnother monkey carries her young one on her back 
;il it is about half grown, and the men often shot the 
ther in order to secure the young one for a camp pet, 
was once witness of a very pathetic scene, which 
iwed the strong maternal instincts of the mother mon- 
r, and an intelligence almost equaling a human being: 
e of the assistant engineers shot at a female monkey 
rying a large young one on her back, but, his aim being 
i, he shot the baby instead. The mother felt the baby's 
QS, that were clasping her around the neck, relax, and 
mediately stopped and took the baby in her arms 
ictljy as a human mother would do. She looked inquir- 
ly m its face and stroked its headv She pressed it in 
■ arms and fondled it to her bosom, and .with one hand 
5 for the wound made by the rifle ball. When she 
md it she tried to stop the flow of blood by picking off 
ves and bits of moss and trying to press them into" the 
und. But the struggles of the poor dying baby grew 
weaker and weaker. In vain did the poor distracted 
mother hug the little form anjd pat it with her hand, then 
start and run along the branches and leap from tree to tree 
to overtake the herd that had gone chattering away in 
fright. Then she would stop again, look down reproach- 
fully at us, who were following along on the ground; then 
take the now dead and limp baby and look inquiringly in 
its little face, then with one arm clasping it to her breast start 
off again, then stop and hold her hand on the wound and 
look wildly around. 
It was the most pathetic pantomime — there in the deep 
shade and solemn stillness of those primeval woods — that 
I ever witnessed. She would chatter and 'talk" to the 
baby like a human being, and the wild, frightened, yet 
reproachful manner in which she looked "around her 
seemed so natural and so much like a human mother that 
it only wanted words from her that we could understand 
to complete the resemblance. 
Suddenly a shot rang out. One of our men following us 
some distance behind had fired at a turkey. The shot so 
startled the monkey that she dropped her dead baby and 
leaped off over the branches and was soon out of sight on 
the way to her companions. The scene produced such an 
impression on us both that we turned back feeling as if we 
had committed a murder, and both of us took an oath 
never to shoot any monkeys of this so human-like variety. 
The great black Congo or howling monkey {JSfycetes) is 
quite a different creature, being more like the baboons; and 
while the red monkey is sprightly and intelligent, and makes 
an interesting pet, the Congo is sluggish and stupid, and the 
white-faced monkey is vicious and hard to tame. 
The latter come down to the ground very often, but it 
was remarked by all that the red monkey was never seen 
on the ground in a wild state, and it was an open question 
how they ever obtained water to drink. The Congo or 
howling monkey also always stays in the tops of the high- 
est trees, and will often be noticed from the river lying 
apparently asleep on the topmoft branches, looking at a 
little distance like some peculiar fruit in the tree. 
They get their name of howling monkey from their 
habit of howling at sunset and just after, and it is truly 
astonishing how so comparatively small an animal can 
make such a terrific roar, resembling a lion in a small way. 
I have often J^ad newcomers who had just arrived and 
joined the expedition come in alarm to my tent to know 
what animal it could be that made such a frightful roaring; 
and one party of new men barricaded their camp with 
provision boxes and logs, expecting to be attacked by some 
unknown but hideous monster during the night. They 
are quite harmless, however. 
While passing in our boats up and down the narrow 
streams, where the branches meet overhead in an arboreal 
arch, we often espied numerous turkeys on the trees over- 
hanging the stream, and shot numbers of them. They 
were generally the "pavo" or tree turkey, and excellent 
eating. When picked they are nearly as large as the 
"povon" or curassow, but the body and neck is longer in 
proportion. I never saw them on the ground; but the 
curassow, on the contrary, is more often found on the 
ground, but when alarmed they take refuge in the trees 
and are easily approached. 
The mountain hens and quail are very numerous, and 
fine sport could be had with a good dog. Their meat is 
white, and they are very plump and fine eating. 
One day my dog, which was a long-bodied, short-legged 
Dutch hound, treed four pisotes, an animal resembling 
somewhat a raccoon, but larger and longer-bodied. They 
have the rings of dark fur on the tail like a raccoon. They 
were very tame, and I shot them all and took them to 
camp, where they proved to be good eating. 
The great tree lizard, the iguana, abounds on the Isthmus, 
and I have often shot them measuring 8ft.. in length. 
They have an alarming habit of dropping suddenly from 
an overhanging limb into the water direct! v alongside a 
boat w^hich might happen to be passing beneath them. 
Such a large creature falling from a height of perhaps 20 or 
SOlt., without any warning, into the water, often barely 
grazing the sides of the boat and throwing the water in a 
shower all over the occupants, has a startling effect. Thev 
never are seen again after striking the water, and must be 
able to swim under water for long distances. We often 
shot them and found them delicious eating, and their eggs 
are a great delicacy. They are a truly hideous and fero- 
cious-looking creature, but harmless. 
Pumas, tigers and leopards are very numerous in these 
forests, and are much dreaded by the natives. 
I was once sitting down resting after a long tramp, with 
my back against a large tree at the crossing of two picket 
lines, and my rifle lying across my knees, when suddenly 
a beautiful ocelot, or spotted leopard, stepped noiselessly 
into the path, about SOyds. in front of me, and stood still. 
To bring my rifle to my shoulder and fire was the act of an 
instant, and simultaneouslv with the shot the leopard 
bounded 5 or 6ft. into the air and fell with a terrific snarl- 
ing and roaring into the bushes by the side of the path. I 
fired again twice at the animal as it lay writhing and 
snarling on the ground, and soon had the satisfaction to 
see it stretch itself out and lie still. I did not venture to 
approach it for some little time, but contented myself with 
watchmg it closely, with my rifle ready for another shot. 
At last I cautiously approached and found it quite dead. 
It measured 7+ft. from the nose to the tip of the tail, and 
was splendidly marked with small black spots on a white 
ground. The skin now adorns my study. 
Some of the pumas are as large as a half-grown African 
hon. 
In a future article I will speak of the fishing on the coast 
and m the firesh- water lakes and streams of the interior. 
Goshawk in Michigan. 
NoRVELL, Mich., Jan. 22.— Editar Forest and Sti •earn: On 
the morning of Jan. 8 I shot and killed a fine specimen of 
the American goshawk or black-cap hawk. My natural 
history book says this bird is rare and scarce in north and 
east North America. It came to the poultry yards and 
pounced down on a Plymouth Rock rooster, having him in 
its talons when shot. The fowl escaped the charge of No. 6 
shot and ran away. I have taken the hu-d to Kief, the 
noted taxidermist, and had it mounted in fine shape. It 
weighed Slbs. when shot. H. H. R. 
[The goshawk is nowhere very common, yet * it is not 
especially rare. It is distributed over northern North 
America at least to the Rocky Mountains. It is one of the 
most audacious and fierce of our hawks— one of the few 
that is not regarded as useful.] 
t' 
IN IDAHO MdUNTAII^S. 
Otte morning late in August the Major and I stepped out 
into the deep, hot dust of an Idaho town. We looked oiit 
on what can be .'^een in a hundred other frontier towns! 
Straight away stretched the broad village street, beginning 
in the prairies and losing itself again in the prairies. On 
either side scattered, square-faced buildings. Here and there 
a loitering man , red or white, a stray pony or two, and a 
few swine were the only assurance of life, excepting of course 
the saddled ponies which stood at the railing before the two 
or three houses where by such token roulette, faro and 
whisky might safely be inferred. The scent of sage was in 
the air, and a pair of wheeling plover, questioning with sharp 
cry the intruding train, made buoyant our hearts for the day 
of freedom ahead. We were on the threshold of a trip into 
the mountains for big game, and here we were to meet our 
guide and a prearranged outfit; and John Hall, trapper, In- 
dian fighter, deputy sheriff and guide, stepped forward to 
greet us even as our eyes were noting what is already 
told. 
Typical of the characters developed in our Western coun- 
try before railroads and immigration, Hall stood before us, a 
man of forty-five years, his medium height cut down a trifle 
by rheumatism; a restless, clear blue eye; grizzled, stiff 
mustache: shiftless, easy speech, which had hardly out- 
grown a Yankee drawl ; a pair of legs which were shambling 
whether carrying him afoot, and equally when loosely flung 
about his pony, toes straight out; a grin which seldom sub- 
sided and often became a laugh, but never failed to disclose 
the absence of front teeth. This man commended himself at 
once as the survivor of rough experiences; and he was. As 
a hoy of twenty, emigrant from the East, he started freight- 
ing to the Black Hills. Shortly promoted to the shoes of a 
massacred predecessor in the mail service between army 
posts in the Sioux country, those amiable stoics scarred Mm 
for life with their arrows. Next and ever since a trapper 
and nomad, following the retreating frontier, the outer edge 
of civilization has at length caught hitn and harnessed him 
to her service as an oflQcer of law, where a gun is still as good 
as a court precept in sustaining the law's majesty. But be- 
hind this man were two entities, important as a true part of 
Hall himself and because of the part they later took in our 
adventures— two dogs, mother and son: Nell, a mongrel 
collie, mature, demure, with knotted muscles and a quiet air 
of experience which showed instantly the dog drilled to any 
experience likely to come to a frontier dog; Jack, her son, 
a bold, courageous young dog, spoiling for novelty and ex- 
citement. "Jack," thought I, "you have not yet had your 
baptism of porcupine quills." 
In twenty-four hours our small caravan was headed for the 
hills— eight ponies, two wagons, a teamster, a cook, Hall, 
the Major and myself. The first camp was pitched in the 
pines by a little pond, already possessed for the night by 
great nu mbers of sprigtail and mallard. From their numbers 
we levied toll enough to put off the day of salt pork famine. 
Early the following morning we struck up the shoulder of 
the first foothill, sending the team to a rendezvous agreed 
on, and by noon were in the heights, where blacktail and elk 
roam and fatten. Alas! we read the story of roaming Indian 
hunters in the numerous tracks of unshod ponies, in the 
smouldering camp-fires and burning forest, and in the scat- 
tered game. Clearly we must pass through and beyond their 
desolating path. 
For four days we drove and an added day we packed, until 
on the evening of the fifth day we laid our burdens down at 
the confluence of two streams, assured that the ruthless red 
men had not yet worked their annual havoc in the country 
about, although they came fast on our heels, as the future 
disclosed. 
During the few days just passed Hall showed us a trick in 
the use of a collie dog which deserves commemoration. 
Moving as we did along the ridges, there were often dis- 
closed on the hillsides and in the narrow draws below us 
patches of poplar and other cover, promising harborage for 
game. Digressions through such cover were impossible, and 
Hall was not a man to do unnecessary work. Out of just 
such necessity, often before presented in his trips, John had 
evolved an effective labor-saving plan, and his dogs were 
part thereof, as you shall hear. He first found a 
dislodged rock and summoned his eager dogs to his side. 
They were persuaded easily, for they had come to look on 
what was to foflow as a rare sport. Tipping the 50 or lOOlbs, 
of stone over the hill's edge, the dogs were cried on to the 
novel chase. Off they went, yelping in fall chase at the 
heels of the revolving meteor. Fast and faster rushed the 
wild, amazing chase, the stone bounding like a frightened 
deer, loosening other stones in its career, and dogs and stones 
beclouding with dust the hillside in the mad flight; Jack 
especially snapping and yelping so close to the deadly mis- 
sile that one's blood curdled in fear for his life. Finally all 
would disappear into the "poples" and their course there- 
after be traceable only by the path the stone cut in the 
mowed trees. My astonishment at this unheard of method 
of "hounding" deer so overcame me that at first I hardly 
stopped to consider how effective a "beater up" the combina- 
tion made, until at one trial there bounded out away from 
the pursumg bedlam foui- blacktails, one of them carrying 
as fine a head as ever sat on a mule deer stag. Thereafter 
until poor .Jack got caught under this car of Juggernaut, I 
restrained my mirth at the dusty comedy to save my streneth 
and profit by Hall's wit, / ^ 
When camp was shaped for the night I shpped off to the 
water's edge, partly for the company, partly to see the rieh 
sunset reflections on its surface as the stream hurried on 
toward the rainbow west, but shadowy forms in the still 
water of a deep pool sent me hurrying for the hollow steel 
rod which the Major had brought with him. At the first 
cast of brown-hackle and miller I was fast to a trout. In 
the next thirty mmutes I had stretched out on the sand five 
fish, only one of which fell short of an even 21bs. in weight. 
I confess with shame— and at times since with longing— that 
I did not once again wet a line during our week's stay in the 
camp. 
On the next evenmg Hall and I sat ourselves at sunset by 
a spring hole where ample evidence was of recent use by 
deer and elk. The spot afforded full view of long stretches 
of mountainside. Our horses grazed in the rich pasture at 
the brow of a ridge a mile away. The sun was down, twi- 
hght was not yet dim, and a quarter-full moon hung' free 
from the hill toward which we faced. My attention was 
caught by one of the horses which was separated from its 
companion and was feeding across the stream from the 
others and high up on the mountain. As we watched it 
work slowly down the hillside, its lowered head and curious" 
gait led to closer scrutiny. After puzding a little we turned 
the glass on it aod discovered that our horse was bear aod • 
