Sept. 18, 1897] 
FOREST AND STREAM, 
22B 
dealers in the United States who issue regularly price lists of 
the eggs they have to sell, and ask for exchanges and lots to 
purchase. These dealers, too, deal with foreign dealers, 
whose price lists are also being constantly sent to this coun- 
try, and more, many of these dealers send collectors to the 
breeding grounds on purpose to collect bird's eggs for sale. 
In fact, there is a low, mean trade going on all the time at the 
expense of the poor birds, and not alone to them, but also to 
the farmers and fruit growers of this great agricultural con- 
tinent. You still doubt, then let me tell you of one little 
incident which occurred on the Canadian side, opposite Buf- 
falo, a short time ago. 
A so-called scientific observer, a member of the Buffalo 
Ornithological Society and a leader in the same, was noticed 
by one of the game wardens a year or two ago to be collect- 
ing eggs— he had no permit, so was reasoned with and asked 
to desist. This was done more than once, until this season 
when he was caught in flagrante delictu and brought before 
the police magistrate. He had in his possession six cigar- 
boxes full of small eggs of diiferent kinds, among 
them fifty-four of the spotted sandpiper, a number 
of warbler's eggs, bluebirds, etc, He urged that they 
were collected for scientific purposes and that on 
that account he should not be interfered with. What 
scientific purposes, I ask, could be served by this noble- 
hearted scientist in taking fifty -four eggs of one common spe- 
cies, and that year after year? or in taking bluebirds' eggs, 
unless in the latter case to see if the eggs were smaller, now 
that the bird is so scarce? It is evident this scientist had 
collected these eggs for the few cents there were in them. 1 
am sorry to say the magistrate let him off on suspended sen- 
tence, but such offenders may rest assured that in the future 
if they are caught they will receive the severest penalty of 
the law. This man had a number of assistants ; for instance, 
- two would drag a long rope over a field and two or three 
would follow and notice where a bird left its nest — noble 
and scientific occupation! "Fanciful and fallacious!" Why, 
it is not long sioce Fobest and Stream reported that no 
less tban ^100,000 worth of birds' eggs were collected by the 
lighthou&e keepers and others on the Carillon Islands, and 
^asking that the abominable practice be stopped. It is high 
time ihat the public sentiment of this great continent were 
cultivated by the press and otherwise, against the so-called 
scientific collecting of the eggs and skins of our native birds, 
the former chiefly for boys to play with, and the latter for 
millinery purposes or to fill cases of mounted birds to adorn 
bariooms, etc. Pko Bono Publico. 
The Ways of Snakes. 
San Angelo, Texas; Aug. 28— Editor Forest and Stream- 
I was reminded a few days since of the discussion carried 
on in Forest and Stream some time ago, as to whether or 
not rattlesnakes swallowed their young, by meeting with 
Mr. H. C. Baumann and Mr. A. C. Honig, both thoroughly 
reliable ranchmen of this county, who informed me that 
they had on that day killed a rattler, and on cutting it 
open they found within it twenty-three young snakes, 
measuring about Sin, in length, and having the imprint or 
indication of two rattles on their tails. 
They aver that they saw the snake before it discovered 
them, that it was in an open space, and they know that 
the young snakes were not swallowed after they discovered 
the old one. The young snakes appeared quite active, but 
did not have the appearance of having been exposed to 
the elements; and they were both decidedly of the opinion 
that they had not yet been born, notwithstanding their 
extraordinarily perfect development. 
I remember once, when a boy, seeing seventy-two young 
ones taken from a rattler, all alive and active, but they 
were not more than Sin. in length. I do not now remem- 
ber which side had the best of it in the discussion referred 
to, but I don't think any one reported ever having seen 
any swallowed or found within the old snake as large as 
these I here report; therefore, I thought it worth re- 
porting. 
I was very particular in interrogating them as to the 
length, and they were both quite positive that they could 
not have been less than Sin. Milton Mays. 
[There seems to be good evidence that the mother 
snakes do offer a refuge to their frightened young within 
the body. Entirely competent observers have testified to 
witnessing the "swallowing" of their young by the mother 
snakes, and their testimony «annot be ignored or dismissed 
as an error f^f observation. The belief that the mother in ■ 
time of danger receives the young into her throat or belly 
is a very ancient one among many peoples, both civilized 
and savage.] 
Pinnated Grouse in Trees. 
Geneseo, Editor Forest and Stream: Having noted 
your remarks in regard to pinnated grouse not takino- to 
trees as their cousins do, and Mr. Hough's correction of 
same, lest an error creep into the records, I wish, in turn to 
coirect Mr. Hough. ' 
Pinnated grouse do not roost in trees, but roost in the long 
slough grass along the bottoms or burrow in the snow when 
the snow is deep enough for that purpose. They tiy into the 
trees on still, frosty mornings, as I have ol ten seen them do in 
the long ago, when these birds were more abundant in this 
section. ISfow, will someone who has been a closer observer 
than I have been, tell us if they went to the trees after buds 
as the sharp-tail and ruffed grouse do, or did they fly up there 
to get a belter view of that celebrated artist J. Frost? 
1, too, have shot (at) them with a rifle. Finding them too 
wild to get within range of the Belgian musket I wielded in 
those days, I borrowed a rifle of a neighbor and went after 
them. I distinctly remember standing behind a huge tree 
and loading and firing at grouse in the adiacent tree8°nearly 
all of one forenoon, but the grouse kept right on communing" 
with nature. I had not yet learned the trick of firing at the 
lower bird in order that the falling bird might not trighten 
away those beneath, but as no birds fell, I escaped the conse- 
quences of ignorance. E. P. Jaques. 
The Sense of Smell. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Assuming the good faith of Shaganoss, I must tell him that 
the marvelous powers of discriminating between differing-, 
smells, shown by JuHa Brace, a deaf-bhod girl, educated at 
the American Asylum for the Deaf, in Hartford, Conn,, are 
as well substantiated as that there was such a deaf-blind person 
as Laura Bridgeman; having been carefully noted and de- 
scribed by the principal of that institution, and specially 
examinea and reported on^by the famous Dr. Samuel G. 
Howe, the_ rescuer of Laura Bridgeman, and head of the 
famous Perkins Institution for the Blind, in Boston, Mass. 
But to be critically exact, the challenge of Sbaeanoss, 
awakens in my memory a .suspicion that il is not distinctlv 
attirraed that Julia did actually assort the clothine of her 
fellow pupils, but the firm conviction of the staff of the 
institution was expressed that she could do so. I can prob- 
ably establish exactly what was said on this point by a long 
search through old papers if the exact point is deemed of 
sufficent importance, hut being quite certain that she could 
smell at a dozen or more persons, and then sel* ct their gloves 
from a pile, and that James Mitchell (the first deaf-blind 
person whose case was scientifically studied, and who died 
about 1830) recognized all his acquaintances by their smells, 
and even formed bis opinions of them by that sense, seems 
sufiacent in showing the extreme sensitiveness of this sense 
when properly trained. 
As the "soap" troubles Shaganoss not a little, I can give 
my own testimony on that point, within my own personal 
knowledge, for I have seen Helen Eeller pick up a perfectly 
clean handkerchief, and other clothing, that was in the pile 
from the wash, put it to her nose and drop it, finding by 
the smell that it was not her own, and Helen is less distin- 
guished in the matter of sense of smell than most of the deaf- 
blind are, I would remark, however, that if Shaganoss 
undertakes to investigate the sense of smell in the deaf-blind, 
he must remember that some of this class have no sense of 
smell whatever, the sense, and taste, having been destroyed, 
or greatly impaired, by the disease that ruined their sight 
and hearing. ^ Wade. 
What Did It? 
North Chelmsford, Mass. , Sept. 11 —A pair of chimney 
swifts occupied my neighbor's chimney as a summer resi- 
dence this year, the nest being located low down in one of 
the flues, and resting on the damper grate of an open tu-e- 
place. All through the summer, the loquacious twitter of 
the birds and their offspring was distmctly, and sometimes 
unpleasantly, audible. 
_ A few days since, however, it ceased entirely. Investiga- 
tion disclosed that the mother bird and her young ones were 
dead in the nest, and, strange to relate, the eyes of each had 
been plucked out. What visual enemy could have reached 
thpm in their secluded retreat? Corporal. 
[Might not the eyes have been eaten out by ants after the 
birds weie dead?] 
What Tidings of the Captive Caribou? 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
About three years ago there was an account of the capture 
of a baby caribou at Moro Corners, Me., followed by several 
reports during a year or so of its welfare. Some doubts 
were expressed of its surviving long in captivity, and I think 
I express the wishes of others as well as my own in hoping 
to hear of its later history. Dunbar Hill. 
'^ni^ und ^tttL 
The "Briefs" Pictures. 
There are twenty-nine illustrations in the current edition of Game 
Laws in Brief, most of them full- page half-tones, and all admirably 
printed. The book is a beauty, and well worth having for the illus- 
trations which, Mr. Charles Hallock says, so well represent America's 
wilderness sports. The Brief gives all the laws of the United States 
and Canada for ihe practical guidance of anglers and shooters. As 
an authority, it has a long record of unassailed and unassailable ac- 
curacy. Forest and Stream Pub. Co. sends it postpaid for 85 cents, 
or your dealer will supply jou. 
NEWFOUNDLAND CARIBOU. 
In Capt. Kennedy's interesting book, "Sports and Adven- 
tures in Newfoundland," there is a spirited description of a 
conflict between two caribou stags, which the captain wit- 
nessed, in company with Iris guide, a friend, and a number of 
interested hinds that grouped themselves around the party, 
apparently to see fair play. They were in the midst of a 
heavy snow squall at the time, and the captain describes this 
wild and unusual scene as extremely exciting and p.ctur- 
esque. The fight was soon ended by the death of botfi stags 
by the rifles of the captain and his companion. ° 
In the fall of 1891, while hunting caribou in Newfound- 
land, accompanied by my friend, Col. Cecil Clay, and his 
son, we happened to have in our employ two of the guides, 
Richard Lebuffe and Joe Busky, who were with Capt. Ked 
nedy on that occasion, and on our expressing a wish to visit 
the locality of the battle, they offered to pilot us to the very 
spot, which was on Wolf Hill, some five miles from our 
camp on the big marsh, so we agreed to make the trip the 
following morning, and in order to make an early start con- 
cluded to retire early ; before doing so I made the following 
preparations for a good breakfast, knowing we should have 
a long, hard day before us: I selected hall a dozen fat loin 
venison chops which I placed in my wire gridiron, together 
with a few thin slices of bacon, the whole well seasoned. I 
then measured out a liberal amount of coffee into our coffee- 
pot, and after a last pipe crept into our sleeping bags. At 
the first signs of day we were up and making ready for 
breakfast. Lebuffe, our head guide, brought a kettle of boil- 
ing water. Col. Clay made a big dish of Indian meal ban- 
nocks, while 1 made the coffee and broiled the chops. These 
important matters attended to, we left camp with our guides, 
Richard Lebuffe, Joe Bushy aad Martm Williams. After 
crossing French Woman's Creek, on the opposite side of the 
marsh, we separated so as to cover more ground. The 
colonel and his son wished to bring in a stag they had killed 
the day before, while Lebuffe and i intendefl hunting toward 
the summit of Wolf Hill. 
As we were in the midst of good caribou ground, we went 
slowly, carefully scanning the ground ahead of us. As we 
were crossing a small marsh I called my guide's attention to 
a gray stone at the upper end of the marsn, telling him how 
much it resembled a caribou; just then the stone jumped 
quickly to its feet, and to our surprise the supposed stone 
turned out to be a handsome yearling stag. Not getting our 
wind, it did not seem to be the least bit afraid, but pranced 
about, evidently curious to make out what kind of creatures 
we were. First it would walk slowly up to within 50yds., 
or even less, then with a snort dash away 100 or more'. 
What a chance for the colonel and his camera bad he only 
Ijeen with us. I could have easily made venison of his pranc- 
ing lordship, and very good venison he would have made 
too, but we did not need it, so let it go, though it was an 
easy and tempting shot. 
After fording another rapid and difiicult stream we fotmd 
ourselves at the foot of Wolf Hill, which, after a short rest, 
we began to climb. Though the October nights in New- 
foundland are freezing cold, the days, when clear, are ex- 
ceedingly hot, and we were pretty well blown and hpated 
befoie reaching the top. When near the spot where Capt. 
Kennedy witnessed the combat between the big stags, my 
guide held up his hand warningly and dropped back into 
the bushes. "I see deer," he whispered. The natives of 
Newfoundland always speak of caribou as deer. Sure 
enough, less than half a mile to our right were four or five 
caribou feeding rapidly up the bill ;"but before we could 
overtake them they disappeared in the thick brush and we 
resumed our climb. After half an nour's stiff work we 
reached the summit tired and hot, so we stretched ourselves 
out on the moss and enjoyed a refreshing pipe. 
The wind blew a gale from the west which was strongly 
in our favor, as it would prevent any deer in front of us get- 
ting our scent. While carefully scanning the ground ahead 
of us with my glass, I made out a small herd of caribou 
some 600yds. in our front ; how handsome they looked with 
their white necks glistening in the sun! After watching 
them a while to make sure of their direction we started on a 
run to head them off, ducking low down so as to keen out of 
sight. 
But to our great disappointment, when we reached the 
spot where we expected to find them, they were nowhere to 
be seen. And to our surprise and disgust, a few minutes 
later we saw them feeding calmly near the spot we had juat 
left. They had— from no fault of outs— doubled back on 
their tracks and given us the slip. But such are the disap- 
pointments the deerstalker must make up his mind to bear. 
We followed them sadly, and somewhat discouraged at our 
bad luck. Suddenly Lebuffe, who was a httle ahead of me, 
dropped behind a big rock, beckomng to me as he did so. 
"There are deer ahead of us," he whispered, his face all 
ablaze with excitement as he pointed them out. Sure 
enough, about 200yds. to our front, among the straggling 
bushes and feeding toward us, were three hinds and a fine 
young slag. When within about 150yds. they became sus- 
picious and turned sharply oft". Knowing this was my only 
chance, I aimed carefully at the stag and fired a quartering 
shot into his short ribs. At the report of the ,40-65 Win- 
chester he dropped stone dead with his legs spread out in 
spread-eagle fashion, not a kick or a struggle. The other 
three were not a bit alarmed, but walked up to the dead stag, 
smelled of him, evidently wondering why he acted so 
queer. I am quite certain I could have killed them all, but 
1 had no excuse for the slaughter. While Lebuffe went to 
work butchering and skinning our prize, 1 busied myself 
making a rough sketch of the scene. Whde at work a great 
big, innocent-looking doe, with only one antler, came up and 
almost walked over me. Suddenly she got our wind, and 
with a loud snort dashed off like a racehorse. 
The view we had from the crest of Wolf Hill wa^ superb. 
Sheffield Pond, a bright blue gem of a lake, nestled at our 
feet, entirely surrounded by virgin forest; far away to the 
south the purple hills at the head of Hall's Bay lay bathed 
in the warm sunlight toward the northwest. The queer and 
picturesque formations known as the "Topsails" stood out in 
bold relief, while in evtry direction ponds, lakes and streams 
glistened in the bright sun; a perfect paradise for caribou, 
and all these waters swarmed with speckled trout which had 
never had a fly cast over them. By the time Lebuffe had 
completed his work, we had another caribou feed up to 
within easy shot of us. It went off badly scared but un- 
harmed. We did not shoot, though sorely tempted. We 
ate a hmritd bite of lunch and then started back for camp. 
On our way home we saw twelve more caribou, and had we 
had any good excuse could have easily killed at least three of 
them, but 1 had killed all my license allowed and venison 
was plenty in camp, so we rebisted temptation and returnea 
without further incident to our comfortable tent on the 
marsh, where we soon consoled ourselves with a hearty sup- 
per of venison steak and frymg-pan bread. The colonel and 
his son soon joined us; they reported having seen thirty-five 
caribou during the day's tramp. 
WaKEIHAN H0LBEKT0>r. 
Uackensack, Sept. 6, 
ZIGZAG EXPERIENCES.-!. 
The New England sportsman, when planning for a day 
out with gun and dog in the stubble for the swift flymg 
quail, or along the wooded hillsides for the peer of American 
game birds, the lordly grouse, or along the sluggish brook, 
that winds its sinuous course through alder runs, for the 
erratic woodcock, makes an elastic programme, having 
learned in the school of experience that it is the unexpected 
that often happens. 
An unlooked-for experience frequently overturns his plans, 
a difficult or peculiar shot may surprise him in its result, 
and when a certainty seemed inevitable a humiliating failure 
is often his only reward. What is planned as a pleasant 
adventure naay end in disappointment, and that of an un- 
toward beginning may have a very pleasant ending. 
These ins-and outs, these ups-and-downs, for the want of 
more expressive terms, I call zigzag experiences. 
Under this caption 1 will briefly relate, from time to time, 
some of my personal experiences, and those of others to 
whi ih I was a party. Some of tbeae were pathetic, some 
marvelous and some ludicrous. With one of the latter I 
begin the narration. 
It occurred some few years since in the town of Charlton, 
one of the three towns of Worcester county that Hallock, 
some tw^enty years ago, thought of suflicient importance to 
be pointti out to sportsmen, m his "Sportsman's Gazetteer," 
as a goo^' place for "quail, ruffed grouse, woodcock, etc." 
Time, i his zigzag flight, has marKed his changes here as 
elsewhere. . , A growing army of shooters has made sad 
havoc with the birds, many of the best covers of former 
times have been destroyed by the woodsmen's axe, and to 
others the "No Trespass signs forbid an entrance. 
Being invited to spend a few days in November at the 
Holmes Farm at Dresser Hill, of Revolutionary and subse- 
quent fame and a good place for birds, a trio sauntered 
lorth in the clear crisp, and bracing morning air — Erford, 
Charley, and the writer — hold! a quintette, for Shot and 
Doc, two as good setters as ever pointed a bird, were also of 
the party. 
We journeyed to the north and west, and covered quite an 
extent of country, making some nice clean kills and some 
scandalous misses. 
We added to our game bags in the Mclntyre cover, and 
after marking it out, started lor another cover neai-Iy a" mile 
away. To gel there, we had to pass a very promising cover 
of considerable extent, which was posted with an abundanc 
of no trespass signs 
