164 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Feb. 27, 1897, 
witliin shooting distance, the moment their feet touch the 
ground is the critical one, for they are generally in a com- 
pact body, and almost immediately afterward they disperse. 
• I have often discovf^red them, while flying from one place 
to another, suddenly check their course for a moment or 
two, as if to look at the objects below, in the manner of 
curlews. 
While at JSTew Orleans on March 16, 1821, I wag invited 
by some French gunners to accompany them to the neigh- 
borhood of Lake 9t John, to witness the passage of thou- 
sands of these birds, which were coming from the northeast 
and continuing their course. At the first appearance of the 
birds, early in the morning, the gunners had assembled in 
parties of from twenty to fifty at difHerenl places, where 
they knew from experience that the plovers would pass. 
There stationed, at nearly equal distances from each other, 
they were sitting on the ground. When a flock approached 
every individual whistled in imitation of the plover's call 
note, on which the birds descended, wheeled, and, passing 
within 40 or 50yds., ran the gauntlet as it were. Every gun 
went ofl: in succession, and with such efffct that I several 
times saw a flock of a hundred or more reduced to a miser- 
able remnant of five or six individuals. The same was 
'brought up after each volley hy the dogs, while their mas- 
ters were charging their pieces anew. This sport was con- 
tinued all day, and at sunset, when I left one of these lines 
of gunners, they seemed as intent on killing more as when I 
arrived. A man near the place where I was seated had 
killed ^ixty-three dozens. I calculated the number in the 
field at 200, and supposmg each to have shot twenty dozens, 
48,000 golden plovers would have fallen that day. 
On inquiring if these passages were of frequent occur- 
rence, I was told that sis years before such another had oc- 
curred immediately after two or three days of warm weath- 
er, when they came up with a breeze from the northeast. 
Only some of the birds were fat, the greater number of 
those which I examined being very lean; scarcely any had 
food in their stomach, and the eggs in the ovaries of the 
females were undeveloped. The next morning the markets 
were amply supplied with plovers at a very low price. 
I have again applied to my friend William Macgillivray 
for an account of the manners of this species during the 
breeding season, which 1 now lay before you: 
"The golden plover is in many parts of Scotland, but es- 
pecially in the Northern Highlands and in the Hebrides, a 
v6ry common bu'd. When the weather begins to improve 
toward the end of spring these birds may be seen flying 
over the shores or fields in their vicinity at a greaf height, in 
loose flocks, which now extend into a wide front, now form 
irregular angular lines, move with a quiet and regular flight, 
frtquently emitting their peculiar soft notes, and at times 
utlering a singular cry, somewhat resembling the syllables 
courlie-wee. These flocks are leaving their winter haunts 
and returning to the Inland moors, over which they disperse 
in pairs, In the beginning of May, should you traverse one 
of the dreary heaths, yon will often bcfr the plaintive cry 
the plover, mingling perhaps with the feeble cheep of the 
dunlin or the loud scream of the curlew. Before you have 
advanced to any considerable distance there maj come up 
and alight on some mossy knoll beside you a male clad in 
his beautiful summer vesture of black and green. You may 
approach him within ten paces if yon are inclined, and in 
some districts it would be easy for one to shoot many dozens 
of them in a day at this season. After incubation has com- 
menced the females seldom make their appearance on such 
occasions. Whether the males assist their mates at that 
tihie or not, they certainly do not forsake them. The nest 
is a slight hollow in a tuft of moss, or on a dry place among 
the heath, irregularly strewed with fragments of withered 
plants. The eggs, of which the full number is four, are 
placed, as usual in this genus, with the small ends together. 
They are much larger and more pointed than those of the 
lapwihg, being at an average Sr'zin. in length and l-^in. in 
their greatest transverse diameter. The shell is thin and 
smooth, of a light grayish-yellow or cream colnr, irregularly 
spotted, doited and patched with dark brown, and some- 
times having a few light purple spots interspersed, the mark- 
ings larger toward the broadest part. The young leave the 
nest immediately after they burst the shell, and conceal 
themselves by lying flat on the ground. At this period the 
female evinces the greatest anxiety for their safety, and will 
occasionally feign lameness to entice the intruder to pur,9ue 
her. I have several times seen one fly ofl: to a considerable 
distance, alight in a conspicuous place, and tumble about as 
if in the agonies of death, her wings flapping as if they had 
beea fractured or dislocated. The eggs are delicious, and 
the young birds when fledged not less so. 
"When the young are able to fly the plovers collect into 
flocks, but remain on the moors until the commencement of 
winter, when they advance toward the pasture lands, and in 
severe weather betake themselves to the low grounds near 
the shore.s. During continued frosts they feed on the sands 
and rocky shores at low water, and in general during the 
winter remain at no great distance from the sea. 
"When a flock alights at this season on a field the indi- 
viduals disperse, run about with great activity, and pick up 
their food. Sometimes one finds ihem so tame that he can 
approach within 15yds., and I have often walked around a 
flock several times in order to force them together before 
shooting. In windy weather they often rest by lying flat on 
the ground, and I have reason to think that at night this is 
their general practice. In the Hebrides I have often gone 
to shoot them at night by moonlight, when they seemed as 
actively engaged as by day, which was also the case with 
the snipe; but I seldom succeeded in my object, it being ex- 
tremely difficult to estimate distances at night. The num- 
bers that at this season frequent the sandy pastures and 
shores of the outer Hebrides is astonisMng, 
"The golden plover, although occasionally addicted to 
wading, evidently prefers dry ground, in which respect 
it differs essentially in habits from the Totani and Liraom. 
It frequently probes the moist sands, and in summer the dry 
eow dung on the moors aind upland pastures is seen per- 
forated by its bill. It affords delicious eating, and in my 
opinion is scarcely inferior in this respect to the woodcock." 
! REPORT YOUR LUCK | 
1 With Rod or Gun \ 
I To FOREST AND STREAM, \ 
\ New York City. \ 
RANGE OF THE ANTELOPE. 
Fort Assiniboine, Mont., Jan, Vh —Editor Forest and 
Stream: Antelope am never seen in the vicinity of this post 
under ordinary conditinrs. Early last November there wa=» 
a snowfall of nearlv a foot without drifting. This was fol- 
lowed by about five weeks of the most intensely cold 
weather, the thermometer going down to 40° below and 
ranging below zero all that time. Toward the end of this 
period large droves of antelope moved into Milk Eiver valley 
for the food and shelter which they could not find in their 
usual haunts. They ■w-ere in this part of the country some- 
thing over a week when the weather broke, a "chinook" 
carried off the snow in forty-eieht hours and nearly all the 
antplope vanished. A railroad man who is also a sportsman 
tnld me that he believpd there were 40,000 head in Milk 
River valley between Havre and Glasgow — 125 miles — that a 
band of Ihem was seen every half mile. I saw six bands 
within three miles of this post and caught twa individuals 
with my greyhounds. These antelope were slaughtered un- 
mercifully; vou conld buy them at considerably less per 
pound than beef. For several weeks a band of several hun- 
dred were in a large field, four miles square, several miles 
from Havre. For all 1 know there may be some there yet; I 
know that some apparently had not been able to get out 
after several weeks. There are a few small bunches and 
scattered individuals that are still occasionally seen a few 
miles from the post. 
Now as to their usual distribution. Last summer I had 
occasion to accompanv a detachment conveying a band of 
Cree Indians to the Canadian line from the vicinity of 
Helena to Coutts. near the Sweelgrass Hills. I carefully 
inquired about srame and found antelope rare during sum- 
mpr along Sun River and the Teton, but reasonablv plenty in 
winter. Between Teton River and the Marias River I per- 
sonally saw none, but several lar^e bands were seen by our 
detachmpnt North of the Marias, esp'-c'ally between the 
railroad and Canadian line, they were more than plenty. 1 
suppose l8aw .adoz°n small bunches in the course of an 
afternoon. I learned that they were alwavs plenty in the 
vicinity of the Sweetgr^ss Hills, and was told by members of 
the mounted police at Coutts that they could And antelope 
any time without much trouble On returning to this post 
the detachment went to the eastward of the Sweetgrass. 
A.ntelope were not hunted, but one was killed and a number 
seen. 
I later spent a month hunting in the St. Mary's Lake 
country. On the return of the detachment from there, the 
line of the railroad was followed. Between Blackfort and 
Chester, about 100 miles, antelope were common, although a 
large surveying party was saM to have driven most of them 
out of the country. I know of the presence of a few ante- 
lope on Sage Creek, twenty miles to the west of here; and a 
sheep man on Milk River, about twenty-five miles west from 
here, told me he roped several fawns last spring. 
In 1895 I served at Fort Yates, K. D., about sixty miles 
below Bismarck. I heard that antelope were reasonably 
plenty a, day's journey back from the river, and I saw a tame 
one in Mandan at that time. I am told bv oflicera here that 
antelope were plenty on the Fort Buford Reservation, N. D., 
recently abandoned, and understand that they are plenty 
during" the fall and winter south of Glasgow. I bplieve an- 
telope are plenty on the great plains north of Milk River, 
from its source to its mouth, but they keep well away in the 
bad lands and breaks and are seldom seen This country is 
the "abomination of desolation," without wood or water, 
absolutely rather than relatively, and with ordinary winters, 
which will not drive them from their usual haunts, the ex- 
termination of antelope in that section is far distant. 
Edward L. Munson, Ass't Surg , U. S. A. 
PRAIRIE DOGS OF THE PLAINS. 
While conducting scientific Investigations in the West a 
few years since I became interested in the prairie dogs 
{Gynomys ludovicianua) of the arid plains, especially in south- 
western New Mexico and Arizona 
So murh has been written by various authors that a de- 
scription is unnecessary. Some facts were obtained by me 
which I have not seen mentioned by others, and many which 
other writers have chronicled, are here recorded mainly 
because of their value as corroborative evidence. 
In southwestern New Mexico these animals certainly ab- 
stain from the use of water, unless it be during the short 
rainy season, and I have no direct evidence that even th^n 
this animal makes use of its opportunities and uses it. It is 
believed by some that the prairie dog receives a sufHcient 
amount of moisture from the grasses and other plants on 
which it subsists to answer all demands for water. 
If this be the case, however, it could thrive without any 
water; for it has been demonstrated by long continurd obser- 
vations by me that the plants on which it lives contain such 
a small amcuntof moisture as at least to amount to practically 
nothing as such. 
At certain seasons of the year the prairie dog becomes Tery 
fat; but where it gets sufficient food for this, especially at 
these times of the year, is rather difficult to say. 
The villages vary from those containing only half a dozen 
holes to those containing tens of thousands and extending 
unbroken over a stretch of country seven miles in length. 
Such an extensive village exists on the plains west of Cook's 
Peak, in southwestern New Mexico. 
JSot infrequently the traveler will find old, abandoned vil- 
lages with perhaps not a single living occupant; or at most, 
not more than half a dozen inhabitants. 
At times a large village will quite suddenly become depop- 
ulated, and for no apparent reason. This phenomenon I 
have personally observed, and could find no good cause for 
it; neither could old plainsmen, who had observed the same 
thing, throw any light upon it. 
It is sometimes the case, however, that a few families of 
prairie dogs will for some cause leave the old village and 
start an independent one of their own; and sometimes the 
place they select will be located in a narrow, stony valley or 
gulch, among the foothills bordering the plains. 
During the late fall and winter the prairie dogs become 
very fat, as just stated, and their skins fine. In some cases 
during these periods large numbers are trapped for their 
skins and oil, both of which are said to possess considerable 
commercial value. 
StockMien generally look upon the prairie dog as an un- 
mitigated nuisance, and nee every known method to destroy 
them. During 1889-93, while I was in New Mexico, thou- 
sands were destroyed by various methods, poison being the 
most successful. The most barbarous and inexcusable 
method employed, however, was to fasten several large fish- 
hooks into a board and place it in the entrance of their holes. 
In coming out the dog would meet with no difficulty^ from 
the obstructions, but on entering the burrow would invari- 
ably be impaled on these hooks, and being unable to extricate 
itself would be left there to die of starvation or to be eaten 
by its companions; for although a true rodent, the prairie 
dog is also under certain circumstances carnivorous in its , 
habits, as I have abundant evidence to show. 
It is often noticed that with a species which has a very ; 
pTPat geographic range, especially in latitude, those indi- i 
viduals existing in the one extreme will exhibit in habits 
some q dte marked departure from those of the other extreme. 
It is of interest, however, to note that with the t»rairie dogs 
their general characteristics and habits are identical— so far. 
as I have observed and learned — throughout the great range }- 
occuoied by them, and which extends from the prairies of 
the British possessions on the north to the distant plains of 
Ml xico. ■ ,1 
This being the case, I cannot do better than to quote a few ,| 
statements regardina: their habits from the excellent paper on 
the subject by Mr. Vernon Bailey, of the U. S. Department 
of Agricullure, in its annual report for 1887: "The prairie 
dogs feed on grasses and various kinds of weeds indigenous 
to the regions occupied by them. ■ i 
"Their holes run down at an angle never far from 45°, and 
seem to go straight in at that pitch for about 8 or 10ft. at : 
least. (I often observed them to extend nearly, if not quite, 
straight down for the first 3 or 4ft.) The holes are usually 
smaller at the opening than further down; the entrances ara 
slightly flattened, so that the two diameters are not alike. 
"In most cases the dirt is thrown out of the hole all 
around, instead of in a pile on one side. It then forms a 
cone like a volcano around the opening, the rim varying in 
height from lOin. to less. The quantity of dirt thrown out 
varies much; at some places there may be two cubic yards 
of it, while at other places there is none. 
"The earth is very h9rd at the edges of some holes, and 
forms a sharp rim around the hole. The animals are very 
shy. When they see you they run to the nearest hole, and 
then sit up like a gopher and watch until you approach 
within forty rods or less; then they dodge down the hole, or 
sometimes crawl part of the way in and continue to watch, 
until you are quite close, bat if shot then and killed they will 
slide down beyond all reach. 
"When they are sitting up at a distance watching you, 
they keep up a chippering that is almost exactly like the 
bark of a very small dog, but is faster. 
"Whi'e barking they keep their tails flipping up and down 
very fast, and also when they are running and when they; 
start down a hole. In very many cases in these towns quite 
a large number of animals under ordinary circumstances oc- 
cupy various holes, but have one hole which appears to be 
home, and to which they usually run if scared ; and on reach- 
ing it they will all usually stand up sti aight around its margin 
to watch you, and when six or seven are there they certainly 
present a comical appearand. 
"When six or seven go into one hole, generally the last one 
stays out and barks until approached quite near, when he too 
dodges in ; and as you come nearer he gets lower down in 
the hole until almost out of sight, but keeps barking and flap- 
ping his tail until he thinks the danger is too near, then with 
a parting shake of his tail down he goes. 
"When they run into their holes they will often come out i 
again in a few moments, or perhaps not for an hour or even^ 
half a diy. So far as my own personal observations go, they 
do not hibernate, at least not in their southern range." 
In only one or two cases during my long series of observa 
tions on this animal did I observe the. burrowing owl to live 
with them, and never did I see a rattlesnake in any of their i 
villages, Clement L. Webster. 
Iowa. 
AN INTERESTING PET. 
Some years aso, while out in the mountains, I came across 
the works of a fittle animal that interested me very much. 
These occurred along the borders of mountain streams and 
wet, grassy places, and consisted of holes in the banks, trails 
under old logs, and always with places in the immediate 
neighborhood where grass and weeds had been cut down i 
and packed away, and although I have since noticed these 
signs in many different parts of the Province, I have never 
been able to satisfy myself as to the identity of the author 
until about a year ago, when I was out after caribou. 
We had climbed to the summit of the mountains between 
Adams and Shuswap lakes, and for two days had worked 
our way through a tangle of down timber and scrub pines till 
we finally came out on an open stretch of grassy land, which 
wf)Si to be our camping place dm-ing our stay in the moun- 
tains. , . , 
We pitched our tent beside a small stream, which, cours- 
ing its way down from the timber toward the open land, 
only showed itself at intervals from beneath a raft of moss- 
covL-red roots, fallen trees and brush. Here again I saw the 
work of the little "haymaker," as I called him, and I made 
up my mind to make his acquaintance before leaving. We ■ 
were camped about aOft. from one of the open places in ths 
creek, and next morning the Doctor and guide had started , 
ou,t after caribou, and while I was standing by the fire 
watching this open space a flash of gray darted round its 
upper end, rested on a piec3 of rotten wood, dipped its 
hands down into the water and commenced with very rapi I 
motions to wash its face. This done, it turned its head one • 
side, listened for a few moments, then lowered itself on all 
fours and started to feed on some weeds that grew on the 
edge of the stream. The mystery was solved. I identified 
my fittle "haymaker" as the sewellel or bank beaver {A'plo- 
dontia leporina). 
My gun was within easy reach, but the first motion I made 
toward it he was gone fike a flash, and I never saw hhn again 
or any of bis friends during our slay. 1 
In "September last a friend of mine in Seattle sent me aJ 
live specimen of this interesting little animal, and it did not! 
take us long to become great friends. I kept him in a bo^ 
with wire netting front, divided into two apartments, one fori 
his eating room, the other for sleeping in. I made his bed 
of excelsior, in which he would bury himself so that no part 
of him was visible. In the morning when I went to feed 
him I generally had to whistle to get him out, when he 
would come with a rush, and shaking himself clear of the 
excelsior he would spring up the wire netting, hanging on by 
his long claws and making his lips go aa if he were saying, 
"Now bring on your grub." I fed him on grass and dande- 
lion. Of the latter he was very fond, and his mode of eat- 
ing was very comical. He would grasp the dandelion by tue 
lower end, slap the stalk once or twice into the dish of water 
which was kept in the cage, then starting at the lower end he 
would feed it in through the aide of his mouth till the top or 
seed was reached. This he would throw away. I tried him 
