Oct. 2, 1897.J 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
2 65 
at all. Schultz had not been heard from, and we were now 
almost at the end of even such supplies as we had. There 
was a craving for a solid meal of meat. The hard work of 
all this rough climbing was asking a great deal of us even 
had we been well fed. We were tired, grimv and hungry 
as we rounded up at the last meal of our last "camp on the 
goat trail. Probably I will never go on the trail for goats 
again, and so I may look with equanimity on that which 
is past; but if I had to face a second trip as hungry as this 
one, I am not sure I would care for any goat. 
Boak cleaned up the heads and hides all he could while 
Kearney and I rested at the fire for a while before making 
up the packs for the trail out to the railroad. . It was after 
noon when we started. I shall not say much of our long 
and weary snowshoe trail tbat day and night, lest readers 
may think I exaggerate or wish to pose. It is enough to 
say that it was uudnight when we got into the section 
house at Bear Creek. I do not know how far we had 
shoed, probably between twenty and thirty miles, on top 
of the hunt Kearney and I had made that morning. We 
were under good, stiff packs, and we were weak from 
hunger. Boak, who is not lit for this business at his time 
of life and in his physical condition, more than once 
slowed up and gave out during the weary night work in 
the half light of the moonless sky, which hardly pene- 
trated into the thick woods through which we traveled. 
We offered to divide his pack, but he . swore he would 
carry it in or stay behind on the trail. 
We could hardly have been called in very fine condition 
when we got to the railroad and knocked loudly on the 
door of the little section house which nestled under the 
foot of the black-clad, mountain in the heart of the range 
of the divide. T^uckily we-had here a woman quite difier- 
ent from the one at the tSummit station. She woke up 
smiling and said she would cook us a meal. And so she 
did, the best and biggest meal three men ever did devour, 
I reckon. Then we were comforted. Schultz, it appeared, 
had gone off on the train and never come back, so we had 
had a dozen miles or so of walk that day for nothing. Not 
that we cared, since now we were fallen upon great store 
of beef, pork, beans, bread, cotfee, and even— will it be be- 
lieved? of fresh eggs! For that very day the section house 
keeper had gotten in a case of fresh ranch eggs from some 
town east of us. After our rude and scanty fare back in 
the mountains, this sort of living seemed to us almost too 
good to be true. 
Around the Reservation. 
And so we came out the next morning by rail, leaving 
Kearney at his home at the Summit. I said good-bye to 
him with regret, for he was as cheerful and sturdy a fellow 
as I ever met in camp and a good hunter enough for any- 
body. When I got to Blackfoot I was almost ashamed to 
admit that I had had such good luck, right on top of Mc- 
Chesney's last bad luck, killing two more head of game 
while he was forced to go home without a single trophy. 
Yet such was the fortune of this singular trip, in which 
the luck certainly came my way if ever such a thing did 
happen. I had in reality hunted less than five days in all 
on account of storms and other delays during the trip, yet 
I had killed five fine specimens of the rarest and choicest 
of the big game of the Rockies, and had had the additional 
good fortune not to miss an animal out of all I shot at. 
Naturally I felt that I had far outclassed myself, and done 
much better than I should expect to do again. 
As to the game resources of that section, I have seen 
enough of it to know that it is the best big game country I 
have ever seen. For sheep and goats I presume it has no 
equal available to-day. Our game, I need not repeat, was 
all killed on the reservation of the Blackfeet, to which we 
had come by invitation; yet this same privilege is open to 
.all who go out with members of the tribe or the resident 
guides, Schultz and Jackson. 
After another visit with hospitable Joe Kipp on April 
2, 1 went over to the agency with Schultz to make my call 
on Maj. Steell, the agent. We met here a number of the 
leading men of the tribe, among these Eagle Ribs, Little 
Dog, Bear Chief and others, and here ^e met Billy Jack- 
son for the first time since we had parted on the Two 
Medicine. He said that his rheumatism had been giving 
him a great deal of trouble, and he looked none too well 
at the time. I spent a pleasant and interesting day at the 
agency, watching the people who came in, as it was issue 
day, and the little settlement was full of the unusual 
Bights incident to such occasions in the Indian lands. On 
the following day I attended the council of the 
chiefs which had been called on the occasion 
of my visit, so that the people might send back 
by me certain messages to their friend in the East 
who has since that time been chosen by them as the 
Father of the Tribe— a compliment which I think has 
been earned by no other white man at the hands of any 
Indian tribe. The impressions of all this unique and 
striking life of a tribe of men turning from the ways of 
the chase to the ways of civilization are things hardly per- 
tinent to this story. The story itself, wandering as it is, 
does not serve to convey the actual keenness of the pleas- 
ures off"ered by a sojourn in surroundings so unusual and 
so striking. j\Iy winter trip to the Blackfoot country I 
shall long treasure as one of the very best I ever made, as 
well as the luckiest. Almost the sole regret we felt was 
that McOhesney, who worked harder than myself, did not 
share in any of the good luck. Yet I know we shall touch 
upon no sore spot in his nature if we repeat that one 
should never take an umbrella to the mountains on a 
hunt, under penalty of pursuit by Ai so-pom-stan, Pah- 
ktik-kus, and all the other evil spirits of the mountains. 
E, Hough. 
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HOW IDEAS ARE CONVEYED. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I have been deeply interested in the papers on the in- 
tercommunication of the lower animals. The writers 
agree that in some way animals do communicate ideas to 
each other. I expected this unanimity when the subiect 
was first started. The writers to Forest and Strkam "are 
observers in Nature's domain, and with such an experience 
no other conclusion could be entertained. 
In order to intelligently consider this subject, would it 
not be well to look into the methods employed by the 
human family in intercommunication? Perhaps it will 
help solve the problem which relates to the lower animals 
First, let us place man where he belongs in the animai 
kingdom. Pie is simply the highest in a series of animals 
Highest in both mind and matter. I claim intelligence 
for all animal life, but confined to degrees. Mind and 
matter rise together. Simple intelligence requires simple 
matter. Progressive intelligence requires progressive mat- 
ter. It is nature's law that the progression of mind and 
matter shall reach its limit in the human family. The 
highest form of intelligence is the human mind which 
dominates the human brain, and the human brain is the 
highest form of matter known to science. Every faculty 
possessed by man is inherent in the lower animals, re- 
stricted by their needs and surroundings. 
Man does not inherit speech. It is acquired after birth 
usually by long-continued effort in childhood. Speech is 
a collection of audible words. Words are the signs or 
symbols through which we convey ideas bv sound. Sound 
is expressed by a combination of muscular acts, and is 
controlled by the muscles of articulation, of the larynx 
and of the respiratory organs, in speech. The child pos- 
sesses the necessary muscles and organs, but cannot utter 
a word without a teacher. Every word, and the idea 
which it conveys, must be drilled into the youthful mind 
before speech is mastered. 
A word ia simply a sign. A particular word is not the 
arbitrary expression of a particular idea. The same idea 
can be expressed by another word in tbe same languao-e 
or in a different language. The Englishman has an Eng- 
lish word, the Frenchman a French word, the Russian a 
Russian word, and the native of Australia a guttural word. 
The same idea may be expressed by a word in each lan- 
.guage, but each word will have Hs own peculiar sound 
controlled or created by independent muscular action, so 
it is evident that sound of almost any kind may convey an 
idea. 
By what rule of logic can we determine that the sounds 
uttered by animals do not express ideas? 
One reason often advanced is that the sounds are re- 
peated, but that is just what we say of a foreign language. 
The speech of a Chinaman, to the most of us, seems to be 
nothing but a jargon of repeated sounds. Our dogs can 
convey to our minds more ideas than we can receive from 
an unknown language, human though it may be. We 
should be careful not to make a mistake when we listen to 
the sounds of animals. It is just possible that we might 
detect a slight change in the tone; and even if we could 
not, it is possible that an animal belonging to the same 
family could. Within the last half hour I have had proof 
that animals understand each other, when my hearing is 
in fault. 
A chickadee drove another from a box of hemp seed 
that is on the table where I am writing. The disappointed 
bird flew into the door-yard uttering^ a series of cackling 
notes. No notice was taken of this cry by the various 
species of birds in the yard. Soon after a chickadee dis- 
covered a sparrow hawk and, to my ears, uttered the same 
series of notes. Instantly every bird scurried to cover. 
Two chipmunks and a red squirrel took the hint, and a 
mole that was engaged in carrying away seeds remained 
concealed for a long time. Such incidents, or similar ones 
have been of common occurrence during the last twelve 
years, and yet I fail to detect the difference in the cries. 
The crows have a language that is patterned, in part 
after Morse's alphabet. Besides, the voice is subject to a 
great variety of changes. I can imderstand many words 
of this crow language, or at least, I put ideas to the words. 
A crow watches the tide on the clam flats. When the 
flats are bare he returns to the woods and circles above 
the pine grove where the flocks are holding forth. His 
message is a string of caws, which he utters until he has 
made the circuit, when he drops into a ti-ee. I think the 
cries could be interpreted: "Come, come, come," or "Clams, 
clams, clams." Without doubt the idea of clams is under- 
stood, for sentinels post themselves without delay on the 
hills from the grove to the clam flats. The sentinel near 
the flats, in a measured tone, calls three times: "Caw, caw 
caw." I have translated this call, "All is well." This cry 
of safety is passed along the line until it reaches the pines 
when the crows begin their flight. If a sentinel sees a 
man with a gun, he cries out in rapid voice "Kerr, kerr 
kerr," which means: "Look out there." The crows do 
look out and stop in their flight until the danger is past. 
I believe it is possible, by careful study and observation, 
for man to master the crow language. We need not go to 
the jungles of Africa to study the language of the lower 
animals. We might commence with the dog. We already 
know that the dog's voice is capable of great change. It 
can be modulated to express fear or confidence, love or 
hate, joy or sorrow; in fact, it can express all the feelings 
known to mankind. Hearing, we understand. Would it 
not be folly to claim that dogs themselves do not under- 
stand the ideas they so readily convey to us? There is 
positive proof that dogs understand much of the human 
language. Necessarily they must acquire the sound of a 
word, and the idea which it conveys, from their associa- 
tion with man. We know this is true when we consider 
that the Esquimaux's dog acquires ideas from his master's 
uncouth language. 
Science cannot cite us to a reason why the dog could not 
acquire human speech if he possessed the proper vocal or- 
gans. On the other hand, man, though he possesses the 
necessary vocal organs, cannot acquire speech without a 
teacher. The deaf-mute cannot utter a word, because he 
cannot hear the human voice. If animals are born deaf 
they utter strange sounds, which proves tbat animal lan- 
guage is a fact, and that it must be acquired, just as human 
language is, from a teacher. 
A cat that was reared in a greenhouse in this city, did 
not mew when hungry like other cats, but instead, uttered 
a loud, harsh, discordant cry. The owner of the green- 
house thought that there must be something the matter 
with its throat. I suggested that, perhaps, the trouble was 
the want of a mother's voice when a kitten. The propri- 
etor took the hint, and put another cat in the greenhouse. 
The experiment was a success; the discordant cry was 
soon dropped for the orthodox mew of the cat language. 
Hermit. 
CrLOTJCBSTEB, April 12. 
f^nie md ^uit 
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A SOUTH FLORIDA DEER. 
In a late issue of Forest and Stream I told how I en- 
countered, down in South Florida, fny first deer, and how 
I missed it, promising at the same time to furnish vour 
readers with the sequel. 
Meeting my friend D. a few days ago, I showed him the 
former article, which, he was good enough to say, was 
"true to the life, and strongly indorsed every i word of." 
With regard to the unlawful killing of game out of sea- 
son, he said: "It's a scandalous shame that the pot-hunters 
of the State (they are not sportsmen) won't leave the game 
alone until the season .opens. Prettv soon there will not 
be enough left for breeding, and then the idiots will say, 
'Who'd have thought it possible?' Why, Squire, this sec- 
tion a few years ago, wh^n I first come here in '83, was a 
sportsman's paradise compared to what it is to-day; you 
could kill more game in a day then than you can see now 
in a week." 
And it's true. I know of an old man, old enough to 
know better, who claims that he cannot eat pork or bacon, 
and has to have venison for his regular diet, and his boys 
(one of whom is about ready for the asylum) are brought 
up with the same ideas, and the consequence is that they 
kill deer and turkeys all through the year. The trouble is 
that no one will take the initiative in reporting these law- 
breakers when caught in flagrante deUctii,, and ir they did, 
the probability is that no local jury would convict. " Pro- 
vision of game wardens to report and prosecute, and the 
State to rigidly uphold such, seems to be the only remedy. 
An example made of some of the worst offenders would 
go a long way toward stopping this contemptible practice 
of close season hunting and killing. 
When D. lived out on his homestead, which was prettily 
situated on the east side of a small lake called Grasmere, I 
used often to visit him and stay a few days at a time. 
Going out from town one evening toting a load of pro- 
visions, for I never went empty-handed, the Grasmere 
ranch was found tenantless, but upon making a tour of 
inspection and visiting the safe hung on the north side of 
the house, a fine, fat young gobbler, just freshly cooked 
and hardly cold, was found. I was tired and 
hungry after my long walk, and roast turkey seemed 
to be just the thing. I knew D. had gone off 
to put some of the bronze beauties to roost, so I said to 
myself: "The old boy will want some tea when he comes 
in, so I'll boil the kettle and have it ready." Soon the 
kettle boiled, and tea was made and put to draw; then 
quick footsteps were heard, and a voice from across the 
fence challenged: "Who's on my plantation?" "Only 
your old partner," I said, "tea's ready, and I'm as 
hungry as a tramp for some of that turkey." Soon we 
were deep into it, and our appetites, for the time being, 
appeased. With pipe and cigar going, after supper, we 
discussed the hunting prospects. D. said: "Well, I couldn't 
find those birds this evening; they've moved further along 
the creek from where they were in the morning when I 
bagged that gobbler off the roost; but I've seen some right 
fresh deer sign along tbe bay head, and to-morrow we'll 
go, and possibly bring one in." This suited my book 
down to the ground. 
Next morning at breakfast we decided to do some nec- 
essary work in the lemon grove, and to get an early start 
after dinner. 
We started off, he carrying his double breech-loader 
while I had my own favorite .32, a gun I would not part 
with to-day for twice its value if another could not he had 
like it. The .45 and .50cal. express rifles may be all very 
well for moose or bear up in Maine, or the JSTorthwest, but 
down here a .32 or .38 Winchester repeater will give better 
results for all-around shooting, with a shotgun for quail, 
etc. After going some distance we decided to separate and 
to meet again at a given point if nothing turned up. This 
oak and rosemary scrub was drawn blank, it was rather 
too early, so we took things easily, and wandered home- 
ward along a long bay head with a stream of water run- 
ning through, connecting two lakes named Grassy and 
Surveyos. We separated again, D. crossing a loot log to 
the other side while I remained on this. It was a good 
feeding ground for both bird and beast, and a favorable 
location was soon found. B. would always give me the 
choice spots, and had not neglected to on this occasion. 
Along toward sundown, getting som'^what weary of wait- 
ing, I suddenly heard a noise of splashing along the bay 
head to my right, and carefully gazing in that direction, 
saw a sight to gladden the heart of any true hunter. 
Standing in the water, stamping his feet to shake off his 
winged tormentors, the deer fly, and calmly pulling down 
and eating the young bay shoots, was one of the grandest 
specimens of deer it has ever been my good fortune to look 
upon . Close by were two does in attendance upon their 
lord and master. The only chance to get a good shot was 
to get down and crawl; so, regardless of snakes or other 
varmints, down on all fours I went, the gun carefully car- 
ried so as not to plug the muzzle. In this fashion I pro- 
ceeded for several yards, until one of the does spotted me 
and made a break for safety, and the other followed stut; 
