Oct. 16, 1897.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
303 
barrela at once, and then ran away while she was spitting out 
thp shot. 
Thanking: them all for their well-meant and innocent 
chaflSng, and taking old Ben's advice as to where to look 
for the game, I made up my mind to kill the bear in what- 
ever way seemed advisable when I found him. 
The first week of bear hunting was a failure, for, outside 
of findina: a couple of rotten logs that had been torn in 
pieces by bears in search of grubs, and one track in the mud 
where one had crossed a small run, I saw no sien of a bear. 
The outlook was rather discouraging, but loafing in the 
woods or other where with a gun has agreed with my dispo- 
sition from the lonff affo, when I used to carry a crooked 
stic'r and fondly imagine it was a eun, up through the vary- 
ing: stages of horse-pistol, smooth-bore rifle, musket, single- 
barrel muzzleloading shotgun, ditto breechloading, to the 
acme — a double-barrel Parker ducking gun. 
Thus it was that I persevered — despite the facts which 
leaked out concerning the success, or want of it, of other 
bear hunters in that locality — to the grand,/?,na?e. 
. One afternoon I took the boat and paddled over to the east 
end of Spirit Lake, some three miles from the house, and 
leaving it, started across the divide on foot toward Hanging 
Kettle. 
The divide between the lakes is a high ridffe covered with 
oak, and a likely place for bears, which follow the oak ridges 
in search of acorns 
Along the west shore of the Hanging Kettle is a road 
which leads from Aitkin to the settlements to the southeast. 
I had wandered down as far as this road without seeing 
anything, when I met a boy who lived a little farther down 
the lake. 
Broaching the subject of bears to him, he was all excite- 
ment in an instant, and said he had seen three the day be- 
fore. To my eager query "Where?" he answered, "In the 
oaks on the ridge just above the east end of Spirit Lake." 
I had just come from there, but bringing the interview to a 
speedy close. I sidled off in that direction. 
For two hours I searched through the oaks, cautiously 
scanning every suspicious object, and listening intently to 
every sound without result, and finally sat down to rest on a 
log that had fallen across an old logging road. The road had 
been in disuse for several years, and had grown up to weeds. 
On either side of where I sat was a dense growth of under- 
brush, while the large trees formed an arch overhead which 
shut out the rays of the sun. 
How long I sat on that log, or what lands I traveled, or 
what adventure I experienced I do not now know; but I was 
brought back from pursuit of the imaginary to the real, by a 
crackling in the bushes down toward the lake on my right. 
As I listened the crackling became plainer. That some- 
thing was approaching through the underbrush there was 
no doubt; but what? 
There were domestic cattle running'at large in the wood, 
and in the distance I could hear the tinkle of a bell, and a 
horrible fear seized me lest the author of the crackling de- 
velop into a cow. 
It did not seem like a noise made by a cow, however, but 
more like a dog sniffing this way and that through the dry 
underbrush. I had done my best to make myself believe it 
was a bear, with but indifferent success, when the crackling 
ceased about 20yds. to the right of the road. 
Listening intently. I could detect no sound, and the sec- 
onds began to drag like the footsteps of a weary hunter cross, 
ing a marsh with twenty fat mallards on his back. I 
waited some time for a renewal of the sound without hear- 
ing anything, and then started down the road in the direc- 
tion of where I had last heard it. 
I had not proceeded 10ft., looking sharply into the under- 
brush at the right, when my attention was turned up the 
road by a snort and a commotion in the weeds just ahead 
and the next instant a long, black something, resembling an 
arrow in its flight, shot across the road and into the woods, 
followed immediately by two more. Though the glimpse I 
got was of the flash and gone variety, I had seen enough to 
know they were bear, and that they had seen all they wanted 
to of me and were gone. Remembering what one man had 
told me about yelling at the cubs, and knowing of nothing 
else to do, I tore into the bushes and yelled till the dead 
limbs fell from the nearby trees. But all in vain, for I could 
hear the bear crash through the brush like a whole herd of 
horned cattle, their feet thumoing the ground like a bass 
drum until the sounds died in the distance, leaving 
me alone there in the wilderness with my dead-hopes of 
ever killing a bear. 
An examination proved that the cessation of the crackling 
occurred when the three hears came to a cow-path. They 
had then followed the cow-path to its intersection with the 
road, and had turned down the road toward where I was 
sitting on the log. The weeds in the old road had concealed 
the bear from me, and I was probably up and moving before 
they came out to the road and looking intently in another 
direction for them; anyhow they made good their escape and 
I was left to mourn. 
From where I had met the bears it was only about 200yds. 
down a steep hill to where I had left the boat, and my 
thoughts were tinged with sadness as I reflected what a 
triumphal home-coming it would have been with those three 
bears aboard. 
The Lamere's were much excited over my adventure, and 
old Ben told me I had probably come nearer to killing a bear 
than many men who had spent their lives in the woods. 
And thus it was I finally came to look upon my bear hunt- 
ing experience as a grand success. E. P. Jaquks. 
[to be CONTrNUEr),] 
In Apache Iiand. 
Editar Forest and Stream: 
In connection with the article that appeared in your issue 
of the 18th inst. with the above heading, I thought the 
inclosed, taken from the New York Emiiiig Su7i of the Ist 
inst., might be interesting to some of your readers: 
The completion of the Rio Grande, Sierra Madre & Pacific 
Railroad brings within easy reach of travelers tde adobe 
town Cases Grandes, in Chihuahua, Mexico, built 400 years 
ago by the Aztecs. Remains of the palace of Rex 
Ferdinando, the last of the Indian Kings, and those of a 
convent built by the Spaniards in the seventeenth century, 
are among the interesting relics of the Aztec decadence. 
Another showpiece is the aqueduct which serves to irrigate 
the land in the vicinity of the town. Stone forts, 900ft. 
above the town, are yet in comparative preservation. But 
the ancient cemetery is remarkable for its dimensions, which 
are forty miles long and six miles wide. Thousands of 
mounds, from 3 to 5ft. high and conical, are scattered 
throughout the city of the dead, which is 125 miles from El 
Paso, Tex. R. 
LOCKED DEER HORNS. 
Fraptkfort, Ky., Sept. 10.— Editor Forest and S(/ream: I 
send you herewith a photograph of locked deer horns that I 
found in possession of Dan Divine, au old settler on Clear 
Lake, Wis., during the recent camp of the Kingfishers at 
Presque Isle Lake, closely contiguous. Divine had found 
the horns during one of his scouts through the forests near 
his cabin by the lake. 
The photo imperfectly shows the absolutely unyielding 
lock, interlaced and firm, of stock and prong, one within 
the other. It is not partial, but complete in^ each antler of 
both deer, showing the tremendous energyj exerted by the 
animals as they came together and struggled in mortal com- 
bat. A close examination showed that nothing less than.. 
liOCKBD DEEE HORNS/ 
Photo by Sam'l B. Smith. 
axe or saw could part the horns that, yielding to the crash 
of onslaught, had each bent to pass the opposing member 
and then sprang into natural position behind and within its 
antagonist. Grasping one of the prongs and shaking vigor- 
ously developed no losseness in the lock, but an embrace 
rigid and firm as if the whole were one piece. 
Placing the horns on a snow sled, the photo was taken by 
Dr. Elliott, of Lodi, O. In the background are shown the 
waters of Clear Lake, famous for pike and muskaling. Old 
Dan has lived by the lake eight years, and, though forty 
miles from the nearest doctor, has raised a family of eight 
healthy and fine-looking half-breed children — the mother au 
Indian of full blood. Sam'l R. Smith. 
THE CLOSE OF THE SEASON. 
As THE maples and chestnuts assume their gala robes, 
there is an unusual flutter and excitement among the birds. 
Eager notes come from the trees and hedges and from the 
grass and thickets along the byways and open recesses of 
the woods. Finches and sparrows and kinglets a'nd swal- 
lows begin to gather in small groups, which are daily aug- 
mented by fresh arrivals. The half dozen become a dozen, 
twenty, a hundred, and sometimes swell into thousands. 
They cover the branches of trees and rise like tiny black 
clouds from councils held in open pastures; they hold in- 
formal meetings on telegraph wires, along the roadsides, on 
the roofs of barns and sheds, and out among the apple and 
cherry trees. They are ea^er, noisy, impetuous, and each 
seems anxious to add his mite to the general stock of in- 
formation. There are reminiscences of former journeys to 
be related; of perils e8C)ped, of delightful stopping-places, 
and of places to be avoided, and the leaders listen with 
heads co ked on one side, and judiciously sift and digest the 
vast amount of advice and information poured into their 
ears. 
Presently long columns of lithe, dark-vestured swallows 
rise into the air and move away toward the South, and they 
are soon followed by finches and sparrows and kinglets. As 
the companies move away, the clear, sharp commands of 
leaders may be heard closing up lines of stragglers or giving 
directions as to the route. 
Among the deeper recesses of the woods the thrushes flock 
silently and disappear. We scarcely realize their departure 
until they are gone. One day we hear the clear, flute-like 
notes among the shadows of the trees, the next, their haunts 
are strangely silent. And it is only by this silence that we 
know our sweet, shy friends are on their way to their 
southern homes. 
Down in the meadows the bobolinks have already flocked 
and gone, and one by one the other small birds form their 
columns and move away. As we wander through the now 
quiet woods we have a strong, almost uncontrollable impulse 
to follow them. The silence of the woods, where there was 
so much song and life, is more depressing to us th9,n the in- 
creasing cold and frequent premonitions of snow; and were 
it not for the occasional appearance of a squirrel we should 
be almost tempted to forsake the woods ourselves. 
Little by little the red and gold of the maples change to a 
dull, uniform brown, and at last we notice a large, silent 
bird, high up in the air. It is a hawk going south, and 
marks the close of the season. P. H. S. 
Peace Dai.b, Rhode Island. 
Birds in Predicaments. 
Michigan City, Ind., Oct. Q.— Editor Forest amd Sti'eam: 
Several of your correspondents have, in recent numbers of 
Forest and Stream, related cases which have come under 
their observation of animals or birds having been accident- 
ally entrapped or captured in some singular manner. Re- 
cently a friend of mine had an experience of this kind which 
is worth relating. While driving along a country road 
which crossed a small bVook he heard the familiar cries of a 
chicken in the direst trouble, and, pulling up his horse, 
looked around for the cause of the disturbance. 
At first he could not locate it, but presently discovered a 
hen, evidently in great distress and calling loudly for help, 
standing in the brook where the water was 4 or Sin. deep. 
He went down to the spot to investigate, and as soon as 
Biddy saw him coming she plainly recognized a deliverer, 
and ceasing her cries and struggles, allowed herself to be 
taken up without resistance, when it was found that a turtle 
had hold of one of her feet. She would probably have been 
dragged into deeper water and drowned had not some one 
eome to her rescue. 
On another occasion 'I found a song sparrow entrapped 
where it must have met a lingering death but for friendly 
help. While driving in the countiy, where one of those de- 
testable wire fences bounded the road on one side, I saw a 
small bird hanging by one leg to the upper strand of the 
fence, motionless and apparently dead. I stopped my horse 
to have a better look, and saw the gleam of a bright eye 
which plainly belonged to no lifeless object. As I ap- 
proached the little thing began feebly to flutter its wings, but 
could not do much more. On examination, I found that in 
alighting upon the twisted wire it had got one of its toes be- 
tween the two strands, ^vhere the inserted barb holds them 
apart for half an inch or so, and on trying to fly away found 
it was fast. The foot was badly wrenched, but I carefully 
released the imprisoned toe, and had the satisfaction of see- 
ing the little bird take wing after resting for a few moments, 
somewhat crippled, but otherwise all right. I presume 
nature is kind to the wild things, which have only her to 
depend upon. 
I remember once when I was a boy hunting squirrels in the 
woods of eastern Indiana, I espied one upon a sloping tree 
but a short distance away, and was aiming at it, when over 
the sights of the rifle I saw that a forefoot was gone, but the 
stump seemed (and I could see it quite plainly) as nicely 
healed over as if amputation had been performed by a skill- 
ful surgeon. It had probably been taken off by a. ball from 
some other sportsman's rifle. 
I am glad to remember that boy as I was, when I saw that 
my game had but three feet I would not shoot, but lowered 
my gun and walked resolutely away from temptation. 
Lexben, 
&k>ng Birds and the Law in <3«or^a. 
It was with much pleasure that I received this week a 
letter from Hon. Mel Branch, stating that in accordance with 
my article of last week on the legal protection that should 
be given bull bats and some other birds, that he would 
introduce such laws in the next Georgia Legislature. He asks 
me to classify and enumerate the Georgia birds ; which with 
the help of my ornithological friend. Dr. Truitland Cleckley. 
I now do. _ The present Georgia law, which I give, is a 
positive invitation to gunners to kill during certain portions 
of the year insectivorous and singing birds! "It shall be 
unlawful to kill any wild turkey, pheasant, snipe, partridge 
or any insectivorous or singing bird, except English sparrows, 
crows, larks, rice birds and wheat birds in the State, between 
March 15 and Nov. 1, and it shall be unlawful to kill any 
dove between March 15 and Aug. 15." This law puts a 
mocking bird on a parity with a partridge and invites the 
slaughter of them both between Nov. 1 and March 15. 
The useful birds and the song birds, which I should pro- 
tect through all the twelve months are these : Turkey vulture, 
black vulture or carrion crow, cuckoo or rain crow, wood- 
peckers, blue birds, fly catchers, blue jay, orchard oriole, 
buntings, nonpareil, martins, swallows, vivoes or hanging 
birds, warblers, mocking birds, nut hatchers, chickadees, 
gnat catchers, bull bats or night hawks, whippoorwill, chuck- 
wills widow, yellow hammer. 
The present law enumerates the game birds and is a fairly 
good law possibly for their protection. This list is partridge, 
snipe, wild turkey, pheasant and doves. The dove law 
might be better if extended to Sept. 15. For doves raise 
two broods per season. Some nest as late as August and 
the young are not fully fledged till about Aug. 15. 
The following birds are considered detrimental to the 
public good and should not be included in protective laws: 
English sparrows, crows, rice birds, wheat birds, hawks, 
owls, kingfishers, herons or cranes, king birds, jackdaws, 
shrikes or butcher birds, cat birds, fig eaters or crested fly 
catchers, sapsucker. 
I should like to put in a good word in this list for the cat- 
bird, for his quiet, subdued songs are very sweet; but he is 
under the ban in more ways than one. 
No one expects that a law could put a total stop to the 
killing of insect-eating birds, But as with the game bird law 
when first introduced, it would have some effect, and that 
effect would be cumulative with succeeding years. Without 
a game warden, who is an important personage in many 
States, we cannot expect very many arrests and convictions. 
But good laws enlighten public opinion and public opinion 
of itself aids in their enforcement. — N. L. Willett, in Augusta 
Oh)'onide, 
Shooting Casualties. 
Tboy, N. Y., Oct. 8. — Editor Forest and Stream: Judging 
from the reports in the daily papers for the past week or 
two, this season's crop of "shot- by- mistake" victims prom- 
ises to be a fairly large one. Some of the cases reoorted, 
were it not for the fact that they were attended with loss of 
life or serious bodily injury, would be really funny. 
For instance, a few days ago on the Beaver River, in the 
Adirondacks, one hunter shot another, mistaking him for a 
deer; and the following excuse is given as the cause of the 
shooting : The shooter had heard or read that at this season 
of the year the deer are in the blue coat, and as his comrade 
wore a blue coat — navy blue, I learn the color was — ^he, the 
shooter, took it for granted that his victim must of course be 
a deer. At last reports the man in the blue coat was in a 
Utica hospital in a dying condition, the man who shot him 
remaining in the woods, presumably looking for another 
deer in the blue coat. The papers, however, say that he 
was too nervous to accompany the party out — a case of buck 
ague perhaps. 
On the night of the 6th inst., near Hudson, N. Y., a man 
named Yougonson, while out coon hunting, was fatally shot 
by a companion who mistook him for a coou. Yougonson 
died the next -,ay from the effects of the injuries received. 
How in the name of the seven wonders a man could mis- 
take another for a raccoon surpasses understanding. A 
navy-blue deer is bad enough, but mistaking a man for an 
animal scarcely larger than a house cat is a blunder worse 
than crime. 
The papers of this morning report a fatal shooting case at 
Tuckahoe. N. Y., where a fur cap was mistaken lor a wood- 
chuck. IJnfortunately the head of the owner of the cap 
happened to be in it at the time when the shooting occurred, 
and thus another was added to the long list of fool acci- 
dents. 
I imagine that if a few of these careless shooters found 
their way into the penitentiary each year there would soon 
be a decided falling off in the number of so-called shooting 
accidents. A mighty good rule to observe is, when you 
shoot be sure you know what you are shooting at. S, 
