614 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
PEARt. ft. 
fdrtr^it for Forest and Stream by Edm. II. Osthaus. 
found the rock well named, for it does slide if 3^011 
encourage it at all. To add to our difficulties a cold rain 
began to fall, and Ave were not warmly clad, as we could 
not stand heavy clothing and do the sort of climbing 
which was necessaiT- 
We found a crevice in the rocks which led us to the 
billy and his companion, and finally managed to skin 
them and remove the heads under difficulties, two of 
us digging- our heels in the soil and holding a goat so 
that it would not slide down the mountain, and the 
other skinning as well as possible. 
Then we .slid and fell down to Avhere the first nanny 
had lodged at the beginning of the slide rock, and re- 
moved the skin and hetsd, and after doing so we sat down 
in the rain and divided a piece of chocolate which the 
Cavalryman happened to have in his pocket. While 
eating this luncheon we happened to think Avhat day 
of the month it might be, and discovered tliat it w-as 
Labor Day, and very well named at that. We each 
packed a head and hide, and finalty reached cai-np tired 
and hvingry, but happy. There we fotmd Harry and the 
Indian returned from the big mountain with two fine 
goats. 
On Tuesday morning the Cavalryman decided to 
take the Indian and ascend the same peak where we 
had killed our goats on Monday, while with Thomas 
I attempted tine asceiit of Big Goat Mountain. We 
started of? to hunt the side furthest from camp, and 
after two or three hours' climbing we decided that 
there were iio more goats left, as all Ave had seen were 
the bodies of the tAA'O killed by Harry on Labor Day. 
While coming around the back of the mountain, I 
began to hear shots on Little Goat Mountain, and 
finally counted up to tAventy-one rifle shots. I con- 
cluded that my friend the Cavalryman had discovered the 
dAvelling place of a large family of goats, and that 
we should need no iriore heads pr skins after that day's 
shooting. . 
Just as Thomas and I had made up our mmds to go 
back to camp without any game Ave noticed a goat 
lying doAvn on the cliff about i.oooft. above us. Thomas 
was sure that it must be an old billy, since it seemed 
tq be alone^ and avc made a long detour to get above 
•tke atiimak Succeeding in this, I took the lead and 
crawled to tlie edge of the cliff just above the ledge 
Avhcre the goat had been Seen. As I looked over the 
edge the goat saAV me and iumped to its feet. With- 
out waiting for further investigation I fired and killed 
a yearling. The goat fell and rolled at least 700 or Sooft. 
down the cliff. When Ave had skinned it dusk was com- 
ing' on and I returned to camp, taking the skm and 
one hindguarter. I found the meat very fair eating, but 
could not dispose of much to the rest of the party, prin- 
cipally because Ave had lots of blacktail deer m camp. 
T found that the CaA^alryman had killed one large old 
hilly and had Avounded another which had lain doAvn 
on a ledge Avhich it Avas impossible to reach. He cottld 
see & little of the goat, and while tile Indian, w^s skm- 
ning the first billy, AA'hich unfortunately had broken 
one horn in falling, the Cavalryman endeavored to 
knock the second goat off the ledge or frighten him into 
falling off. He succeeded hi accomplishing neither, and 
the goat is probably there yet. 
Wednesday morning Harry, Avith the Indian, Avent 
up the smaller mountain. At first I Avas inclined to re- 
main in camp Avith the Cavalryman, but finally deter- 
mined to make one more attempt to procure a large 
head. So Thom^as and I again ascended the larger peak, 
and Thomas' dog. Hoodlum, accompanied us. We 
hunted the mountain faithfully on all sides Avithout 
seeing a sign of goats, and about 2 o'clock in the after^ 
noon we sat down on the top of the mountain to ea't 
some bread and bacon. Hoodlum had been following 
very closely at our heels all day, and after finishing our 
luncheon I stiggested to Thomas that he alloAV the dog- 
to run ahead, thinking that on the Avay home Ave might 
run across some grouse, which the dog Avould tree for 
us. The too of the mountain Avas covered Avith patches 
of small brtish, and the dog had not gone looyds. from 
us Avhen I heard him barking, and then a great crack- 
ling and breaking of brush, and from the direction in 
which he had gone I saAv a large goat approaching 
us. I shot the goat at about 50yds. distance and killed 
it instantly for a Avonder, the ball striking it in the 
back of the neck and passing through the animal, and 
on inspection found it to be a very large old nanny 
Avith a fine head. The noise in the brush Avhere Hoodlum 
had gone kept up, and Thomas and I ran down to see 
Avhat the dog Avas doing, and found that he had a kid 
AA'eighing about 6olbs. and Avas on the point of strangling 
it. We took the poor thing aAvay from the dog with 
the intention of releasing it, but the animal's neck was 
bleeding quite badly, and I Avas afraid that if it did not 
bleed to death some animal might track it that night 
by the blood and easily kill it. So I asked Thomas if 
he could carry it to camp, provided I took both rifles 
and the skin and head of the big goat. He did so, and 
it was no easy ivork, for the little goat was scarcely a 
quiet burden. 
C)n arriving- •at eamp I bandaged the kid's neck and 
fastened it to a tree for the night. It was too frightened 
to eat, and I decided in the morning that it would be 
of no use to try and carry it back to tOAvn Avith us; 
so I got the Cavalryman to take a couple of photographs 
of it — Avhich did not come out clearly, by the Avay — 
and then I carried it back to the foot of the cliffs and let 
it go, much to its satisfaction, judging frott-i the speed at 
Avhicii it climbed. 
While engaged in gettingf. l3x€ 143 home to camp I 
had not heard Harry fire a shot, but I supposed that 
he misht have done so Avithout my noticing the fact 
When"! saAV him at night, howeA^er, I found that he had 
taken his camera Avith him and had devoted his day to 
procuring a photograph of a goat on his native heatb. 
or rather cliff, and that Hatry succeeded in his attempt 
is proven by the photograph which accompanies this 
article. 
Harry and the Cavalryman spent one more day after 
the goats without result, and we all three spent one 
more day looking for deer, Avhile our men Avere search- 
ing in vain for tAvo of our horses, which had disap- 
peared, and AA'hich we never found. We then decided 
to travel southeast for a couple of days and spend some 
time Avith the caribou. H. L. Burdick. 
The Purple Sandpiper. 
From Andieioti's Omitkvlogical Biography . 
I AM surprised that tHy worthy friend Thomas Nnt- 
tall speaks of this species as being scarcely CA-er seen in 
the Lnitcd States, Avhere, to my knowledge, it is on the 
cjantrary very abundant, and noAvhere more so than in 
the neighborhood of the harbor of Boston, in the mar- 
kets of which city it is sold in autumn and winter. When 
I Avas there a gunner Avhom I employed brotight me 
several dozens, Avhich he had killed in the course of a 
single afternoon. 1 have seen some in the markets of 
NeAv York. Fuither south, hoAVCA'er, they are rarely 
met Avith. 
Timid, though not shy, they are seen in flocks of eight 
or ten on the rocky shores of the sea. They seem to 
shun sandy beaches, and seldom advance far inland. 
While I Avas on the Bay of Fundy I observed numerous 
small flocks Avinging their Avay northward, in the month 
of May. On one occasion a flock alighted almost at my 
feet, so that I Avas obliged to return to a proper distance 
before shooting at them. 
Their flight is pretty rapid, and when necessary sus- 
tained, for I have observed them flying in compact bodies 
across the Gulf of St. LaAvrencc. When started along the 
shores they emit a feeble Aveet, Avhicli is repeated tAvo or 
three times, take a SAveep OA^er the Avater, and return 
to the same spot or near it, someAvhat in the manner of 
the spotted sandpiper. They are generally very busy 
while searching for food, run nimbly, with the body low- 
ered on the legs, AA'hich are much bent, go to the edge 
of tbe water, seize on small shellfish, shrimns and 
Avorms, and search industriotisly among the sea Aveed:- 
for marine insects. Their marked predilection for rocky 
shores has caused them to be named rock snipes by the 
gunners of our Eastern coast. In autumn and winter 
the young birds become fat and afford delicate eating. 
I was sadly disappointed at not finding them breeding 
on any part of the coast of Labrador Avhich I visited, 
the more so because Dr. Richardson says they are abun- 
dant on the shores of Hudson Bay, where they breed. 
Their color is yelloAvish gray, interspersed with some 
irregular spots of pale brown, crowded at the obtuse end 
and rare at the other." The illvistration is gJ the adnli 
in summer and AAnnter. 
