ApRn. 17, 1897.] 
FOREST AND STREAM, 
SOB 
long time to know how they did that, I finally settled the 
question to my entire satisfaction. The wolves instinctively 
seem to know the runways, and a part of the band would cut 
across a nearer way to the runway on the lake and intercept 
the deer. I have seen wolves station themselves out on the 
ice and wait for the deer to come. Such things were com- 
mon at one time, but for the last twenty years Volves have 
been too scarce for any one who lives in this section to be- 
lieve the Adams story, although 1 think there maybe a dozen 
wolves left in the Adirondacks. 
I have been in the Adirondacks every winter more or less 
for thirty years, and have tramped through some portion of 
it in Herkimer and Hamilton counties on snowshoes. but I 
have not seen a wolf track in eight years. H. S. J., from 
Clayton, wants to know when the last"woLf was killed. In 
1888 or '89 the writer and Fred Hess, a well-known aruide, 
kiJied a large wolf oh the head of Fourth Lake, Fulton 
Chain. He had come out on the ice about forty rods and 
lain down in the snow to await the arrival of another wolf 
that was after a deer. We saw him and went out and killed 
him That was one of the last. The very last was killed at 
Brandith Lake in 1894, about ten miles from here, by Eeuben 
Carey, the Brandith's game keeper. I think the bounlv cer- 
tificates will show the same. 1 have not heard of a wolf's 
track being seen since. 
We had moose at one time, and panthers not many years 
ago. I remember one moose my father killed. When I was 
aiboy panthers were plenty; they are all afone and the wolves 
are nearly gone— too nearly gone to attack any one in a band 
of a dozen. j. h. Higbt. 
BIRD PROTECTION. 
The recently organized State Audubon Society has 
issued the following circular, which explains itself: 
Attention is called to the fact that the fashion of wear- 
ing feathers for ornament causes the destruction of millions 
of birds each year, and is rapidly lessening their numbers. 
Birds are the natural protectois of vegetation against 
the attacks of insects; in this way their utility is beyond 
estimate. They are endowed with beauty, the gift of 
song, wonderful instincts, and a high order of intelligence, 
and display a vivacity that places them among the most 
fascinating of nature's creatures. They thus appeal to om- 
esthetic sense as well as to our economic interests. 
Already our song birds have greatly decreased in num- 
bers; while the beautiful egrets and snowy herons, and the 
graceful terns, once so abundant, have become almost ex- 
terminated. What is the cause? At least nine-tenths of 
tbis destruction is due to the habit of wearing dead birds, 
or parts of them, for ornament. 
The remedy is in the hands of women; if they will re- 
fuse to wear the feathers of wild birds the destruction will 
cease — but never until then. 
The wearing of aigrettes is especially to be condemned, 
since they can be procured only through the destruction 
of the parent birds in the nesting season, which entails 
death by starvation of the helpless young in the nests. In 
our own country we have few egrets left to protect, but the 
war is still carried on in other countries, and will be waged 
until these beautiful birds are practically exterminated 
the world, over, unless the use of aigrettes is abandoned. 
This Society appeals to women to refrain entirely from 
the use of aigrettes, and the wings and feathers of all wild 
birds; and to intelligent and humane men to secure in 
every way possible the protection and preservation of our 
native birds. We appeal also to teachers to use their in- 
fluence to interest and instruct their pupils as to the use- 
fulness of birds, and to stimulate their love and admira- 
tion for these fellow creatures. 
Believing that it is only necessary to call your attention 
to this important matter to secure your cooperation in so 
good a cause, we trust that you will not only become a 
member of this Society, but will use your influence to en- 
list others as helpers in the work. 
Declaration of Principles. 
First— The purpose of the Society is to discourage the purchase or 
use of the feathers of any birds for ornamentation, except those of 
the ostrich and domesticated fowl. 
Second— Members shall discouraore the destruction of bu-ds and 
their eggs, and do all in their power to protect them. 
Third -Members shall use their influence to establish "Bird Day" 
in the schools of the State of New York. 
Fees. 
A fee of $1 shall constitute a life membership in this Societv ex- 
cept for teachers and scholars in any of the schools of the State of 
New York, who shall pay 25 cents for a life membership. 
There is no annual assessment. A certificate of mem- 
bership will be sent upon receipt of the inclosed card, 
signed with your name and address, and the membership 
fee. The fees are devoted to the work of the Society, 
which includes free distribution of circulars and reports 
relating to bird protection. Address: Miss Emma H. 
Lock wood, Secretary-Treasurer, 243 West Seventy-fifth" 
street, New York. 
The Plumage of Hesperornis. 
As long ago as 1870 Prof. Marsh, of New Haven, dis- 
covered in the cretaceous chalk of Kansas the remains of a 
large swimming bird which had teeth. Subsequently other 
specimens of this bird, some of them extremely perfect, were 
discovered, and Prof. Marsh described them under the'name 
Eesperornu. These, together with a number of other forms 
of birds havmg teeth, were fully described and figui-ed by 
Prof. Marsh m a monograph on Birds with Teeth, which was 
published in 1880. 
This large bird, Hesperornis, resembled iu many respects 
the loons of to-day; that is to say, it was a swimmino- bird 
with a long neck and pointed bill, and with greatly developed 
leg^•. But it was wingless, and the sternum, or breast bone 
was absolutely smooth and without the keel which is charac' 
teristic of aU flying birds, and to which the pectoral 
muscles are attached. The only bone remaining in the 
wing of Besperomis rwas the humerus or bone of the uoper 
arm ^' 
In his discussion of the relationships of Hesperornis pub- 
lished in the volume refeired to. Prof. Mai-sh considered 
these diverse characters, and concluded by expressino- the 
opinion that (he hind hmbs, which so strongly resemble 
those of the loons, were adaptive merely, and that the bird's 
nearest relationships were to the ostriches, which it so closely 
resembles in its breast bone, in the bones of the shoulder to 
which the wing bones are attached and in some of the 
characters of the skull. Thus, in his opinion, Hesperornis 
was a carnivorous swimming ostrich. 
This view of the relationships of the great bird did not 
meet with general acceptance. The characters of the hind 
limbs seemed to be much more impressive than the ostrich- 
like characters of the sternum, shoulder gii-dle and skull, 
and many authors spoke of Hesperornis as related to the 
loons. 
It IS interesting to learn, as stated by Prof. Marsh in an 
article in the last number of the American Journal of Science, 
that in the same region where the early specimens were dis- 
covered another remarkably perfect Eesperoi'nis has been 
found with feathers in place, and that these feathers show 
the typical plumage of an ostrich. Thus Prof. Marsh's 
earlier conclusions have received strong confirmation. 
Carnivorous Squirrels. 
We have here a character who among other singularities 
has large imaginative powers, but whose reputation for 
strict veracity might be hazarded without an alfidavit. He 
lays his claim to being something of a sportsman, as having 
some years ago done the part of a peripatetic vender of cheap 
guns among the mountnineers of western Pennsylvania, 
In a recent talk with our brother clubman and all-round 
sportsman, Dr. P. W. Levering, the question of squirrel 
shooting came up, when our friend (the peripatetic) told of 
an extraordinary time he had had with the bushy tails. The 
scene is laid in Pennsylvania, about seven miles from 
Williamsport, some twentv-five years ago. He told Lever- 
ing that in two hours he killed seventy- dght gray and black 
squirrels with a muzzleloader. That it was in a corner of a 
pasture close to woods where the squirrels came in on two 
linps of rail fence to feed on the carcass of a dead horse. 
This was too much for .Jacobstaff, so he interviewed the 
peripatetic with the following result. In all seriousness he 
informed us that it was 105 eray, black and a lar?e kind of 
red squirrel that he killed in that time; that the nut crop 
and the corn crop in that region had utterly failed, and that 
the squirrels were almost famished and would eat anything. 
I remarked that I did not see how they could very well, as 
squirrels' teeth are designed for an exclusive granivorous 
diet, and didn't believe them well adapted as flesh masti- 
cators. He sticks to his story and says he can bring proof of 
th° facts, time and occasion. 
The foregoing is about on a par with a story Doc Cum- 
mins, also one of the reliable shots of the J. G. H. G-. Club, 
tells of a friend of his that bagged (so his friend says, not 
the Doctor) twenty-seven woodcock down in the swamp 
back of the house one afternoon with a Flobert rifle; no dog. 
Jacobstaff. 
[But squirrels are known to be carnivorous on occasion.] 
Dakota Rabbit Traps. 
Many of the Eussian farmers west of town are complain- 
ing about jack rabbits falling down their chimneys and fre- 
quently lodging therein, stooping the passage of the smoke. 
Their peasantlike houses— which are all provided with large 
fireplaces and proportionately laree chimneys — are mostly 
low and covered with the "beautiful." The chimneys, o'f 
com'se, have to be kept clear of snow. After it has been 
shoveled away several times, a large funnel-shaped cone 
remains, the walls of which are rendered icy by the alternate 
influence of the fire below and the cold above. Any wild 
animal prowling around on a bitter cold night, upon near 
ing one of these smoke cones and feeling the warmth, would 
naturally .seek closer proximity thf^reto," whereupon its ven- 
tures would invariably rrsult in a slide, Mr. Animal landing 
in the fire-box below.— ATz^?//;, (A^ D.) Wind. - 
Doom of Two Pugnacious Robins. 
Windsor, N. C, April .1— It is not a very unusual occur- 
rence for quail to kill themselves by flying against a house or 
other obstruction when frightened, as I have known of at 
least a dozen killed in this "manner in the last ten or fifteen 
years. Isot very long since one killed itself against my ofli ;e 
window. However, 1 started out to tell not about quail, but 
robins. Eirly last Wednesday morninsr two maie robins 
flew against a house and were picked up by my hired man, 
one perfectly dead and the other very near it. They were 
fighting, and were so busily engaged no doubt that they did 
not have time to look out for houses and such small things. 
A. S. R. 
^mtic mid ^nn. 
THE SCHOOLHOUSE COVER.— 1. 
AmoisG the many favorite haunts of the woodcock that it 
has been my good fortune to explore none take higher rank 
than a sequestered nook nestled among the Berkshire Hills, 
known to a select few as the "schoolhouse cover." 
I first visited the romantic spot early in the sixties in com- 
pany with a veteran sportsman who for several years had 
made numerous visits each season to the place, always re- 
turning with a good supply of the feathered dainties and an 
increased love for the favored spot. The cover, or rather 
succession of covers, is delightfully situated just under the 
brow of one of the numberless Berkshire Hills, and con- 
sisted of patches of alders, birch-covered knolJs and an old 
orchard, partly grown up with'witch-hazsl and briers. Just 
below the orchard, in the angle where two roads joined, was 
the little brown schoolhouse that suggested the name by 
which the locality was known to the elect. 
It was a bright morning in early October when, at the in- 
vitation of my friend the veteran, I accompanied him to the 
place. When we arrived at the schoolhouse it was almost 9 
o'clock, and nearly two score of bright-eyed, rosy-cheeked 
lads and lasses at once surrounded us, and with merry 
voices gave us a most cordial greeting. 'The evident delight 
of the children was a mystery to me until the veteran 
brought out from under the wagon seat a box that contained 
nearly a half peck of candy and placed it for distribution in 
the hands of one of the older ones. This, he said, was to 
pay them for taking care of the team, a charge which they 
attended to in the best manner, and we alwaj^s felt perfectly 
safe in leaving the horse in theh care. 
Starting up the road toward the old orchard, we soon 
came to a steep bank some 20ft. in height, covered with alders 
and maples, and just at the foot of the bank was a level piece 
of ground that was also grown up to alders, making a strip 
of beautiful cover some twenty rods in length. In order to 
save time, as we wished to go over all the cover, my com- 
panion directed me to go to the right while he beat out the 
opposite end. Sending on my dog, he took a few strides and 
came to a point just at the edge of a green grass plot that 
was bordered with graceful ferns, and as I walked in ahead 
of him I was greeted with the querulous whistle of a noble 
woodcock that I cut down as he topped the alders. This 
was the first of a long list of these royal birds that, first and 
last, I have bagged in this ideal spot, known to aU who vis- 
ited here as the "woodcock's parlor," and a surer place to 
find one or two birds I never saw. Indeed it was many 
years before I failed to find the parlor without at least one 
occupant, although I visited the place several times each 
season. In fact, the whole of these extensive grounds was 
noted for the celerity with which other birds came in to take 
the place of those that were killed, and it was frequently the 
case that a party would shoot over the grounds, bringing to 
bag all, or nearly all, the birds they found, and another party 
the next day would find the same abundance. Upon one 
occasion T knew of three different parties shooting over this 
ground upon three consecutive days, and all of them reported 
capital sport and lots of birds. 
After working out the alder strip 1 have mentioned, we 
climb the bank and beat through the orchard, which lies 
just at its upper edge. Here, among the patches of witch- 
hazel, was also a sure place to find three or four birds, and 
occasionally a full dozen would be found. Eastj and north 
of the orchard were scattered trees and some dense patches 
of birches that often held a few birds, while still further 
north was quite an extent of scattered clumps of birches 
that looked very inviting, but, with the exception of thi-ee 
or four favored spots, no birds, to my knowledge, were ever 
found here, although it was worked out thoroughly a great 
many times both by myself and others. After beating out 
the orchard the usual course was to cross the road to the 
left, then go down the slope to a swampy piece of ground 
that was sparsely grown up to maples, with an occasional 
clump pf alders. Although no woodcock shooter would 
ever think of looking here for his favorite bird, it was one 
of the best and surest places to find them in the whole region. 
I well remember that upon my first visit here I chaffed the 
veteran for proposing to beat out so unlikely looking cover, 
but he only smiled and sent on his dog, and I was soon con- 
vinced that thpre was at least a brace of the beauties here, 
and when we had gone through it I was thoroughl}^ con- 
vinced that appearances are sometimes very deceptive when 
you are looking for woodcock. 
We had brought to bag some eleven birds, and three years 
later with the same companion we found no less than seven- 
teen in this small patch of not more than three acres It was 
here that the late Hon. George Ashmun covered himself and 
the Roper four shot repeater with glory bv handsomely bring- 
ing down in four seconds four birds that he flushed from one 
point. 
Beyond this spot, and covering more than 100 acres, is a 
succession of birch-covered knolls interspersed with small 
alder runs that was always, in the good old days, a famous 
place for both woodcock and grouse : and there is scarcely a 
square yard of the whole ground that has not furnished its 
quota of sport. At the end of this cover we come to open 
pasture, which we cross to the birches on the opposite side. 
These we pass through, down a steep slope to the little 
brook, when we turn to the left and follow up the brook to 
the road, some half mile above, coming out only a few rods 
below the schoolhouse. This last run was a capital place 
for grouse and occasionally a few woodcock wouldbe found. 
When we had the time to spare, we would cross the road and 
beat up the thicket beyond for grouse, which were nearly 
always plentiful there, although 'the dense growth of brush 
and briers made it a hard place to work both for man and 
(iog. 
This was the schoolhouse cover in the good old days. What 
thronging memories of rarest sport come to me as in fancy I 
revisit the dear old spot. Familiar forms of dearly loved 
companions, many of them long ago translated to the happy 
hunting grounds, in fancy again tread with me the springy 
turf. Once more I see the soaring woodcock deftly brought, 
back to earth again by their unerring aim Again I see the 
arrowy flight of the "hurtling grouse" suddenly cease as eye 
of faith and finger of instinct have proven more than a 
match for crafty cunning and wondrous speed. Once more 
old Mack and Trump, and a score of other well-remembered 
forms, are gaylv bounding before me over the beautiful 
knolls and through the lovely valleys of the dear old place. 
What hosts of wonderful living statues gladden my eyes as 
they glance over the many favored spots that woodcock and 
grouse loved so well. In the silent watches of the night, 
when worldly cares have banished sleep, blessed visions of 
bygone days of rarest sport often come to cheer my saddened 
heart and bear me upon their widespread wings to happiness 
and peace. Visions of many, very many, widely separated 
resorts, and memories of many, very many, glorious days 
afield thus come to me; but none take higher rank, and but 
few can equal the beautiful surroundings and happy days of 
the dearly loved schoolhouse cover. 
One of the best days that I ever enjoyed here was in early 
October, just after two or three heavy frosts. In company 
with the veteran and our mutual friend Sabin, we took an 
early start and arrived at the schoolhouse about 8 o'clock. 
Hitching our horse, we took our guns from the wagon and 
proceeded to load them — this was in muzzleloader days— the 
veteran walked a few steps away, and just as he was about 
to ground arms a grouse with a" tremendous roar and racket 
started nearly under his feet and flew toward the run across 
the road. jSTowthe veteran was one of the coolest men under 
fire that I ever met, but he was a bit rattled this time, for he 
whirled completely around, and as he caught sight of the 
bird he deliberately drew a bead on him and pulled Irieger. 
It was very seldom thit we had the laugh on the veteran and 
I assure you we fully enjoyed the opportunity, and when 
Sabin in a severe tone asked him if he didn't know it was 
loaded he heartily joined in our mirth. 
After we had steadied down we loaded up and returning 
ramrod started for the old orchard, but after taking a few 
steps the veteran, bidchng us go on, turned on his heel and 
started for that bird. "I'll show him what's what," said he, 
and he soon disappeared over the waU Sabin anti I had 
just entered the alder strip under the bank wnen we heard 
Tiom the veteran, both barrels in quick succession. Sabin 
shook his head and remarked that in such cases the result 
was usually most unsatisfactory, but I had unlimited faith in 
the veteran and offered to back the gun, and as soon as I 
caught a glimpse of him coming up the road I knew by the 
way he carried himself that all was well with him. When 
he joined us and pulled from his pockets a brace of the royal 
birds, even Sabin was convinced that there were exceptions to 
this rule when our friend was behind the gun. 
Beating out the strip, we found in the parlor a brace of 
woodcock, which gave the veteran a very pretty double, and 
at the far end Sabin stopped a twisting bird in capital style. 
As we neared the top of the bank an evil-disposed bird flushed' 
not 3ft. in front of me and started down the bank, almost 
brushing my legs as he passed me. I whirled around, and 
