424 
FOREST AND STREAM„ 
[Not. 37, 1897. 
men drawn from the ranks of professional poliiicians, whose 
fitness for the execution of a fiduciary trust is often first es- 
timated on their value as party workers. Such men cannot 
administer an office of trust, consistent with their appoint- 
ment, in an impartial manner when moneyed contingents 
urge their demands on adverse lines. This proposition is 
supported by the situation in Alaska, where a body of 
people, denied the right of suffrage, demands humane treat- 
ment, and is opposed by organized wealth controlling a 
voting power. 
Many people have, no doubt, been informed that the seal- 
ing and caanery industry has been handled to the benefit of 
the Indian by giving him employment. But if these tales 
from the North are true no blessings have been showered on 
the natives, and my own personal observation of the way 
the Siwash on this coast have been benefited by trading 
with the white men, makes me skeptical of any redounding 
benefits that would accrue to the Eskimos through dealings 
with the companies operating further North. 
From the evidence at hand, it seems clear that the com- 
panies in their transactions with the Indians have cheated 
and demoralized them — cheated them in trading arms and 
supplies for skins at prices that would paralyze a Bowery 
shylocls As an example of profit possible heretofore under 
government license, consider the trading of a rifle wholesal- 
ing in the States at less than $10 for a pile of furs market- 
able at $1,000, also the exchange of a pound bag of tobacco 
mixture, dear at 50 cents, for a sea otter pelt worth $300 
What follows? Having exterminated th- seals, the whales, the 
salmon, and other profit-bearing fish and animals, there will 
be no further opportunity of trading at 1,000 per cent, profit, 
and the Indian robbed of his original base of supplies, and 
deprived of his later and more short-lived commercial pros- 
perity (?) dirs. Following this system of robbery under the 
guise of trading, demoralization and extinction is hastened 
by iDOCulation with disease through the corrupt and heart- 
less brutes in human shape in the employment of the com- 
mercial organizations at their trading posts. 
Pages have been vpiitten on the treatment of the Indian 
until the story is an old one. We have been too often in the 
habit of accepting the trite saying that "The only good In- 
dian is a dead one," in order to dismiss the consideration of 
a disagreeable subject. This sentiment is brought about 
largely through the representations and conduct of callous- 
minded speculators, and through the cupidity and cowardice 
of public office-holders, whose influence has been greater 
than that of the few missionaries and travelers who have 
attempted to arouse the people to thoroughly sift the cause 
and effect underlying the Indian question. Investigating 
committees have, therefore, invariably failed to settle the 
matter. Again, the name of Indian has been associated with 
the warlike tribes of the plains, until no distinction appears 
in favor of the many peaceful races of dusky-hued people in, 
habiting the Northwest coast. Yet with all their timidity- 
there may come a time when the realizition of the wrongs 
heaped on them may cause bloodshed at the hands of the 
Eskimos. Even a rat will turn when cornered. 
Does robbiog a race of the means of livelihood and inocu- 
lating a people with a loathsome disease warrant a civilized 
nation responsible for such conditions, when retaliation is at 
band, in acting solely on the theory that only a dead Indian 
is a good Indian? To answer in the affirmative would be an 
argument of inhumanity and sounding the slogan of the de- 
praved. After more than a century of vacillation on the 
Indian and kindred subjects by individuals holding public 
office under party management, it does seem that the body of 
the people will never get at the bottom facts except through 
the instrumentality of a non political press, or perhaps the 
church. 
Forest and Stream has done excellent work in the in- 
terests of game protection and humane sportsmanship, hence 
I suggest here a field of investigation on a higher plane of 
humanity. Cayuga. 
Everett, Wash , Oct. S5 
NEWS FROM THE KLONDIKE. 
Extracts from a letter written by J. B. Burnham, dated 
at White Pass, Alaska, Sept. 35: 
"I am still enjoying the same perfect health. * * * i 
feel as if I could never stop eating while there is anything 
edible in sight. I have not had a cold or sore throat, or 
anything of that kind since landingj'^Iiich is good proof of 
the healthfulness of this out-of-door life. It rains three out 
of four days, now. I wear a Macinac coat and slicker, and 
rubber boots and an oil-silk hat, heavy underwear and flan- 
nel shirt. Men, camped here with us last night, remarked 
upon my healthy condition and said that the trail certainly 
agreed with me. The party seem determined that I shall be 
one to go in, and it seems the general understanding that i 
shall select the one to go with me. 
"Now as to prospects for getting through. We have all 
the grub— 2,000lbs. — for two men, through to within a few 
days' trip of our starting point at Lake Bennett. In my 
opinion, Lake Bennett and the other big lakes will not freeze 
for more than a mouth yet. Last year Take Bsnnett did not 
freeze before Nov. 15. Two weeks should take us down the 
river. This would bring us to Dawson Ciiy in good safe 
season, or we will be in position to winter, if forced by any 
unforeseen conditions. We are told that provisions are being 
confiscated at Dawson. We will take good care that ours 
shall not be, by ascertaining if there is any tiuth in the 
rumor, before reaching Dawson, and 'caching" a part, if 
there is reason to believe it. 
"Old trappers who have been all through this country be- 
tween here and Dawson say that there is yet ample time, and 
that, aside from Lake Lebarge, the country is all good for 
wintering on the way if stuck. 
"I shot two ptarmigan yesterday and picked up a wounded 
duck in Summit L^ke the day before. 
"Lots of men on this trail have not got far enough over its 
endless forty-five miles of mud to give any promise of get- 
ting througn, and hundreds of log cabins are being built at 
points where they happen to have their supplies. 
"There is a wonderful freedom from sickness on the trail. 
A man was drownt-d the other day in crossing a pond by 
getting mad at a horse and causing him to pull him into the 
deep water of Shallow Lake immediately below, but there 
have been very few deaths and very few accidents of any 
kind. Horses die like sheep, but their deaths are due to 
starvation and overwork combined. None of ours have 
died unless on the last trip, from which our boys have not 
yet returned. We have fed them well and still have 1, SOOlbs. 
of oats and two bales of hay and a sack of barley. The 
trail ahead of us Is in better condition than for a long time. 
There is no snow at this point, but at the summit there is 4 
Qir ^ifl. It wUl eoon m^lt pff^, h9\YeYer, 
"I had no idea of being able to write again, and am trust- 
ing to Providence for some means of sending out this letter. 
I feel confident of getting through to Dawson City safely. 
If delayed beyond reason I shall not risk needless danger. 
"Our boats are very staunch and splendid sea craft; they 
exceed my hopes One great point in their favor is the fact 
that they can be handled very easily, rowed against head 
winds, etc., where most of the craft sent here are useless and 
helpless, I have been lying idle now for nearly a day, rest- 
ing and waiting for Sheriff and Macurcher, who are down 
at the last camp bringing in the last load." 
J. B. BXJRNHAM. 
[Note by Rev. Geo. W. DuBois, E5sex, N. Y.— I infer 
that Herrinaton and Baskoville were resting in camp with 
John Burnham at the time of writing, and all well and 
hearty.— G-EO. W. DuBois ] 
OUR SNOWY EGRET. 
Between our house and the lagoon is a lawn that is 
smooth and grassy, except where it is covered by that 
thick and juicy vine which loves the loose sand of salty 
beaches and bears a wealth of blossoms that look like 
morning glories. The salt water laps eternally against the 
edge of that lagoon, except when the trade wind dies away, 
as it sometimes does for an evening, and the land breeze 
comes down from the distant mountains. 
When that wind blows our shore is a busy place, for 
that chill breeze drives from pastures and thickets back of 
the village bugs, beetles and flies of many kinds and as- 
sorted sizes. The hum of their wings is like the roar of a 
coming hurricane. Thousands are caught in their flight 
by birds or bats, which dash here and there, and swoop 
down to the smooth lake. Other myriads drop to the 
water and are snapped up or down by fish that swarm 
close to shore. Pelicans and other birds hover over the 
lagoon and little sharks dash about, all preying on the fish 
that prey on the insects,! which in their turn perhaps prey 
upon each other. 
Egrets come to these feasts and patrol that sandy shor^, 
alert to snap up any insect unlucky enough to fall within 
reach, and quite as ready to spear any minnow foolish 
enough to venture close to the beach in its eagerness to 
catch a bug. 
These herons are more at home on the narrow strip of 
sand two miles away, which separates the laguna from the 
sparkling Caribbean Sea. There they may be seen in 
scores any day, standing like trim sentinels in snowy uni- 
form, or marching with immense gravity near the water's 
edge, but always ready to rush at any careless crab that 
may be too far for safety from his refuge in the wet sand, 
and fully as eager to thrust a keen beak into any eatable 
thing luck may send their way. 
Best of all, it seems to me, these little herons love to 
live among the hundreds of islands of tall grasses, which 
float about on still Nicaraguan lagoons where man is sel- 
dom seen. There they may dream in peace all the day, 
if they will, beside the deep, dark channels between the 
shifting masses of green. But I doubt if egret is ever 
deep enough in day dreams to miss any silly frog or bold 
mouse that may come within striking distance of that long, 
sharp bill. It shoots out like a flashing spear, and the 
foolish one is bayonetted. 
We have in our home a white egret, to keep company 
with two blue herons of his own size, and a lead-colored 
giant of a cousin of theirs. They stroll about most of the 
day, beneath the bananas and the limes, the orange and 
the mango trees. They peer into every crevice in search 
of a bug, beetle or roach. They are ever alert to rob any 
chicken which may be unwise enough to tell of the finding 
of a wormy prize They snap at passing flies, and chase 
butterflies with exceeding earnestness. 
Often our egrets lie in wait near the kitchen for what- 
ever scrap of meat or fish the cook may toss to cat, or dog, 
or chicken. Such a bit can scarcely more than touch the 
ground hefore one or other of those birds has saved it. 
No cat, nor dog, nor chicken is swift enough in a race 
with any of those egrets to capture a flying bit of food. 
Blanco is boldest of that flock. I gravely fear he de- 
serves to be denounced as a robber. He regards the rights 
of no living thing about the place. Dogs dread him; cats 
fear and hate him; the gamecock that is ever eager to at- 
tack any other bird of his inches, readily stands aside for 
that little white demon. Even the cook and the waitress 
are laughingly afraid of Blanco. But so they are of the 
big blue heron also. 
Often we hear a womanly squeal, and look up to see 
one of those girls scurrying for the kitchen or the dining- 
room. She has offended, perhaps by trying to "shoo" a 
heron away, and he has resented it by jabbing with his 
spear of a beak at her bare, brown toes; or perchance Big 
Blue has seen fit to send in his bill merely because a skirt 
innocently fluttered when passing. 
Sometimes those girls give a dish of meat to the cat, but 
meanly set it down outside of the kitchen, then wait to 
see the fun. But it is no fun to poor puss. She begins 
growling fiercely and foolishly, as soon as her nose is over 
the dish, and when Blanco hears that he comes running. 
His long neck goes out toward that dish and puss 
threatens him with a paw. He pecks at her tail, for which 
he has a standing grudge, and puss jerks it aside. He 
thrusts the point of his bill into the fur on her rump with 
emphasis, and she half turns to cuff his saucy ears. He 
nimbly hops aside and puss seizes a piece of the meat and 
keeps her head over tbe rest to guard it. Blanco digs her 
severely in the ribs, and in her pain and rage she forgets 
the nimbleness of that thief. She whirls around to give 
him a lesson he will not soon forget, and he has a piece of 
the meat that instant, and is off to enjoy it at ease, then ' 
comes back for more. 
Any one of our herons will attack our turkey and make 
no bones about driving away any number of zopilotes— 
which other folk might call buzzards — that may see fit to 
gather in the grounds, but not one of our long-legged pro- 
tectors will trouble cat, dog or bird at mealtime, unless one 
of these so far forgets good manners as to go near the 
table. 
When the girl brings the soup, the herons muster 
for duty. Big Blue stalks with immense dignity to his 
post, 6 or 7ft. from the table, ^nd there he waits; for he is 
not quite as tame as the others; and he is more dignified 
than they. Little Blue and Azulito — that is only, the 
Spanish form of the same name for the other little blue 
one— take their places not far from the chairs, ready to 
pick up any crumb of meat, dodge any blow from napkin, 
run from any threat by their big blue cousin, and most 
especially to flee from any rush by Blanco the bully. 
And Blanco? Does he stand modestly back and bash- 
fully wait to be coaxed to take a mouthful? No, not 
precisely. Instead, he takes a stand beside one who has 
been his fast friend and protector from the very hour in 
which he was first touched by human finger, and if the 
morsel of meat or fish is not given soon enough to suit his 
notion of right, he gently tugs my sleeve. It _ happens 
sometimes that two or three such hints go seemingly un- 
heeded. Then comes a stroke that any one would notice, 
if his skin was not like boiler iron. No use now to sav- 
agely flirt a napkin at Blanco's head. Time was when 
that might have driven him away for as much, possibly, 
as half a minute. Now he scorns so vain a trick, and re- 
sents it with bold vigor. 
Some one at table tosses out a piece of fish or a bone, 
that we may see what may happen. All four herons start 
for it together, that is, unless it has fallen near Big Blue. 
No use of going if he is near. One stride of his tremen- 
dously long legs, one straightening of his prodigiously 
long neck, and he has the prize almost before the most 
agile of the others can start. If it is a mouthful he can 
gulp down Big Blue thrusts his bill upward and outward, 
a bad case of mumps passes along his throat down, down 
until it is lost in the feathers on his breast, and that tidbit 
has gone where it will do the most good. But if it is too 
big to go down at one swallow, or if there is a bone to 
pick, there is a dash of white amid the blue, a scattering 
of herons, and Blanco has the prize. Even Big Blue 
gives way before the fearless rush of Blanco, the bravo. 
Every woman who comes to the house hates that bird 
for his thrusts at her bare feet; yet every woman likes him, 
as does everybody belonging to our household. Perhaps 
this is because of his courage and dash; maybe it is for his 
swift alertness and manifest confidence in the good will of 
people who belong to him; perchance it is because he is 
always a model of neatness; and possibly it is because of 
his sublime audacity in trying to boss the whole ranch — 
but whatever the reason, he is certainly a favorite with 
all. 
There are along the shores of the waters of warm cli- 
mates many thousands of birds like Blanco. And ea,ch 
year many thousands of them are murdered that their 
aigrettes may adorn women wnose attractions are so many 
that they surely need no such help as can be got only by 
slaughtering these brave, dainty and beautiful little 
herons. E. W. Pepuy. 
COON EDUCATION. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Your correspondent, Mr. R. L. Warner, writes of a young 
coon that protects its eyes with its "front hands" when 
grasped by the throat. Mr. Warner hazards the guess 
that the act is hereditary. This idea is not so bad, if the 
coon, when captured, was too young to have received edu- 
cation from its mother. A thing that favors the hereditary 
idea, is the evolution of "front hands" and forearms so 
perfectly adapted to the work of protection. But, perhaps, 
after all, the coon was old enough before its capture to 
have received some education from its kind. 
Coons educate their young in rough-and-tumble play, 
just as cats educate their kittens. It has been my good 
fortune to have the chance to observe the development of 
a young coon from a helpless, sprawling bunch of fat and 
fur, to a bristling battery of claws and teeth operated by 
chain lightning. 
Looking through my notes for the years 1885, 1886, 1 
find that I had in captivity seven coons, all of different 
ages when captured. I herewith select and re-write some 
of the observations jotted down in my note-books. 
Tne young coons spent the greater part of the time in 
play. Sometimes the play ended in a lively scrap, then 
each tried to seize the other by the throat, or neck, under 
the ear. If one succeeded the other immediately covered 
its eyes with its front feet. The reason for the act was 
evident enough to an observer. It was to protect the eyes 
from the fierce clawing which was sure to follow. The 
victim would not give up, but would continue the flight 
with its hind claws, and usually kicked itself free in a short 
time. 
Instinct plays no part in coon lore. A coon can reason 
quite as well as the average human being. An old coon, 
one of my captives, was as artful as Lucifer. Whenever 
my back was turned he would be up to all sorts of mis- 
chief. When caught red-handed he could put on a look of 
innocence too comical for anything. I put a collar on him 
when he was first captured, and for two weeks he fought 
against the indignity, then suddenly appeared to be con- 
tented. By the end of the first month he had got all of 
my ways of life down fine. If I went into the woods with 
my gun, on my return he would tear around in his cage 
anxious for the squirrel he had not seen, but was sure to 
get. When I went away without the gun he paid no at- 
tention on my return. I do not think he was guided by 
scent, for sometimes the wind would not be right._ With- 
out doubt he connected the gun and squirrel in his mind, 
and perhaps knew more about a gun than I thought. 
He did not take kindly to cage life, although his cage 
was under a small pine tree, so when I was about the 
cabin I chained him to the tree and let him run outside. 
I put him into the cage every day before going to the city 
for my mail. He resented this, and would run up the pine 
tree when he saw me lock the cabin door. One day I 
pulled him down and whipped him while he lay prone 
on the ground, with his eyes covered. I took away hisi 
food and water. He must have been downright hungry 
before I fed him. He never forgot the lesson. After that 
when he saw me lock up he would sneak into his cage, 
fearful, I suppose, that if found outside he would be. 
whipped and starved. My notes on this coon cover nine 
months and contain many things of interest. He settled^ 
"the cry of the coon" forever. 
Tell Mr. Hough that he can have my goat! I held my 
breath while reading his goat shooting experience. When 
a human being sleeps between two ice cakes, freezes to' 
death, starves to death, and is smothered to death in a 
snow-slide, to get a goat that he can't eat, it takes me away 
off my feet. No one but Mr. Hough, outside of a Itin^tiQ. 
