Sept. 24, 1898.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
243 
It there were no other evidence in the world on this 
question that one statement would convict. If Captain 
Langford had actually made that "perilous ascent," his 
wildest dream or freak of imagination could not have 
drawn that statement from him. It is too absurd to dis- 
cuss. A cat might crawl up that slope, but the moun- 
tain sheep would stop 600 or 700ft. below. 
The last and very convincing proof that these gentle- 
men did not reach the summit lies in the fact that we 
found not a shadow of a mound or other evidence of 
man's having been there before. 
Every mountaineer will appreciate the value of this 
fact, and for Mr. Langford to say that he and his party 
devoted several days to preparing for this trip, passed 
through all the perils of life and limb described in his 
article, reached the summit of America's grandest peak, 
and then ran away without leaving some little evidence 
of his visit, is altogether too ridiculous to dwell upon; 
I will leave it for the world to judge. 
Nesting Notes on the Raptores of 
Wisconsin. 
II. — Hawks. 
The red-tailed hawk (Buteo borealis) is the most com- 
mon species in this locality. It is commonly called chicken 
hawk, which name in fact is applied to almost every 
species by the farmers. In talking with the farmers 
in regard to hawks and owls, I find that most of them 
believe all'are more or less an injury to the farmer, and 
that the only~way to rid themselves of the nuisance is to 
keep up a war of extermination. In fact, it is but a 
few years since the farmer lads, led by some of the older 
ones, organized a hawk, owl, crow and gopher hunt, by 
choosing sides, the side obtaining the most heads to 
be treated to a picnic dinner by the losing side. Every 
nest they found was spotted, then the eggs were allowed 
to hatch, and at the proper time the homes were ruth- 
lessly destroyed, and the parents shot. Each side closed 
the season with some hundred heads to its credit, and 
the destruction could not help but react to the direct 
injury of every farmer for miles around. A little more 
Government literature on this subject would be a good 
thing to distribute among our farmers, instead of so 
much political trash, most of which is never read. The 
efforts made along this line by the eminent ornitholo- 
gists of the Biological Survey are highly commendable 
and cannot fail to bring about good results. The same 
may be said of the various societies for Uie protection 
of birds. 
But to the notes. A pair of red-taib were seen sailing 
about over a piece of timber on March 17. j8q6. and a 
short search disclosed the nest in a large black oak- 
tree. It had evidently been lately repaired, as the 
lining was freshly arranged, made irp of leaves and 
bark, some of which showed fresh blood stains, but no 
eggs had been laid. The nest was 60ft. up, and was 
2\t. across the top. When examined again on the 31st 
the nest contained two well rnarked eggs, with incuba- 
tion started. One was heavily blotched with reddish 
brown at the largest end, and the other was finely 
speckled all over with lighter brown. The bird had 
left the nest on our approach. 
T found another nest on April 5, while walking through 
a piece of oak timber. It was placed in a small black 
oak, 40ft. from the ground, but was a much smaller 
nest than the preceding. It was lined with bark, leaves 
and feathers. There were many green poplar twigs 
with the large, downy buds on them in the make-up of 
the nest. The bird left the nest as soon as she espied 
me, and soared above during the time I was at the 
nest. Both eggs have faint under splashings all over, 
one of slightly deeper color than the other. The nest 
was within forty rods of a farmhouse. 
I next visited a small piece of heavy timber close to a 
farmhouse on April 6, just at the close of day ; and was 
not long in locating a red-tail's nest on the edge of the 
timber, overlooking a broad expanse of marsh. A few 
sticks dislodged the bird, and she continued to soar 
and scream during our visit. After a hard climb, the 
nest was reached far out on a treacherous limb, 66ft. 
from the ground. The liniug consisted of a few leaves, 
and on the whole it was a slovenly nest. But what the 
bird lacked in the way of nest building was made up in 
the coloration of her eggs. The markings on one egg 
seem to be entirely under the surface, and show almost 
a lavender shade in heavy blotches; the other has surface 
markings of a deep brown, the blotches on both being 
scattered over the entire egg. 
On the Qth I went to a large piece of timber bordering 
on another marsh, which is a great hunting ground for 
hawks. A nest was seen along the edge of an open- 
ing; the bird left it quickly, but soon returned, fol- 
lowed by the male. The nest was placed in an immense 
crooked white oak, impossible to climb. A small sap- 
ling grew close by, which met the oak about 30ft. up. 
My companion climbed briskly up the sapling, but when 
the main trunk was reached the struggle began, the low- 
est branch being still about 20ft. above. At last the 
nest was reached, and a fine set oi three eggs was 
found. The entire set is almost uniform in style and 
color of the markings, which are large blotches of an 
amber color. The nest was 80ft. from the ground, and 
was built close to the trunk on a large limb. It was 
a well made nest, but formed to fit the crotch it filled. 
On the afternoon of the same day we took a long 
drive to some heavy timber. A large, dark object was 
seen long before we reached the woods, and the nearer 
we approached the more it looked like a hawk's nest, 
and such it proved to be. It was placed in a gnarled and 
knotty white oak 3ft. in diameter. I was half-way up 
to the nest before I knew what the prospect was, but the 
bird then left the nest, which gave me a little more in- 
spiration to climb. The nest was placed about 15ft. 
out on a limb, which was perfectly safe; it was lined with 
leaves, and was 40ft. up. I found a beautiful set of two 
eggs, lightly washed with chocolate, mostly about the 
smaller end. The bird kept sailing about overhead, 
and the next morning, as we passed the place at 10 
o'clock, she Hew from the nest again. 
After crossing a road and striking into the timber 
this second day, we caught sight of an immense nest 
in a very tall poplar. The bird was soon induced to 
leave, to soar above while we investigated. After a 
long, slippery climb (for it had rained the night before 
and had so dampened the moss on the tree trunk that 
it reminded one of the greasy poles so often used on 
Fourth of July by the small boys), the nest was reached. 
It was in a fork formed by several branches. It had 
little lining besides the downy buds of the poplar, and 
was the best built nest I have seen, being compact and 
RED-TAILED HAWK, SHOWING THE BIRD FLYING. 
solid, with well formed brim. There was but one egg. 
and this was perfectly fresh. It was heavily marked 
with dark reddish brown spots all over. I resolved to 
visit the nest again to see if the bird would finish her 
complement; so on the 27th, sevemeen days later. I 
went back and found one more egg. This was about 
half-incubated, which showed that the bird had laid 
it soon after my former visit. The size and amount of 
markings are about the same as in the first egg, but they 
are under the surface, which is in strong contrast to the 
other. 
The next nest was found in a large black oak, on 
RED-TAILED HAWK'S NEST IN BLACK OAK SOFl\ HIGH. 
the edge of a large woods, with no marsh near. The 
eggs, two in number, were entirely free from markings 
of any kind, just a plain bluish white ground color, 
which is in great contrast to the richly marked set 
preceding. After leaving the nest the bird soared 
about overhead, coming down quite close at times. 
This was observed on April 12. The nest was loosely 
built, with a few leaves for lining, placed 40ft. up. 
On the 19th I again visited the island where I had 
seen a set of red-tails on March 31, and found a small 
nest within a few rods of the great horned owl's nest. The 
bird did not leave, the nest until I was part way up the 
tree, after which she hovered near without any scream- 
ing. The nest was out some distance on rather a small 
branch, and it was some time before I ventured to take 
the climb; the nest proved to be 70ft. from the ground, 
and it was with feelings of thankfulness I reached the 
main trunk again safely. This is the smallest nest I have 
seen; it was loosely built, and lined with leaves. The 
eggs were two, and perfectly fresh. One was marked 
heavily with brown and red at the larger end, and the 
other was lightly painted in small chocolate patches 
all over. - sJMw 
Driving along the"" road" April 27, as we were return- 
ing home, we noticed a large nest in a small piece 
of timber about eighty rods from the road. Quickly 
turning the horse, we entered an opening in the fence 
and. drove down across the field. When within a short 
distance we saw the bird standing on the edge of the 
nest, and there, she remained till I began to climb. The 
nest was 40ft. up, and was lined with leaves. It con- 
tained two fresh eggs and a gopher which had re- 
cently been killed. One egg was heavily marked at the 
small end, and finely speckled elsewhere with red- 
dish brown, and its mate was marked exactly as one 
egg in the set preceding, being lightly painted in 
small patches of chocolate. Geo. A. Morrtson. 
Fox Lake, Wisconsin. 
Animal Intelligence. 
Ct-iarlestown, N. H., Sept. 16. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: 1 cannot refrain from expressing my delight 
at the admirable answer of your correspondent Her- 
mit to the metaphysical meanderings of Mr. Alex- 
ander, in your issue of TOth hist. I had thought of tak- 
ing up the question myself, but decided that "chopping 
logic" was not in my line of business, and that I could 
find enough to do in examining mechanical and eco- 
nomical questions and fallacies, without fooling with 
"egos" and "sub-egos." I long since expressed my 
belief in the columns of Forest and Stream, that what 
is called "instinct" was simply "inherited experience," 
and though, like Haeckel, I decline to attempt to in- 
quire into the original mystery of life, I think that 
both his writings and those of Darwin prove very 
clearly its progressive development, and its upward 
progress from the simple "cell" to the complicated 
structure of vertebrate life. 
It certainly is beyond question that the animals of 
newly-explored countries do not show the fear of man 
which follows on their experience of his destructive na- 
ture, and continually increases with that experience. 
That the wisdom acquired by experience is transmitted 
to the offspring from generation to generation needs 
no argument is shown by the knowledge of every 
sportsman who ever owned a well-bred setter, or point- 
er, or a full-blooded horse, and I will not try the pa- 
tience of your readers by entering into one, but will 
simply endorse Hermit fully. 
Let me repeat, what I believe I have already said, how 
much I enjoy the reminiscences of Shadow, which recall 
many old friends, and scenes with which I was familiar 
forty years ago. though I never shot over that coun- 
try as much as I have fished in it. I want also to com- 
mend Fred Mather's admirable series of practical articles 
to the attention of the younger generation of your 
readers (and some of the older ones too;, and see if 
he Tan cure them of calling the genuine pike either a 
pickerel or a muscalunge, and the pike perch a pike, or 
the black bass a trout. By the way, quite a number of 
bass have been reported lately as caught here in the 
Connecticut, though I have heard of no more pike 
perch. Ruffed grouse are reported as plenty. I do not 
know about gray squirrels, but the sound of guns was 
heard yesterday (opening day) on the hills back of the 
village. Von W. 
An American Blue Grotto. 
In a recent number of Science, Mr. H. Carrington 
Bolton writes from Lake Minnewaska, N. Y., of his 
discovery there of a blue grotto, which must certainly 
be well worth seeing. Mr. Bolton is anxious to learn 
whether similar blue grottoes are common at other 
American lakes. His description of this one is as fol- 
lows: 
Many of the beautiful phenomena seen at the cele- 
brated Blue Grotto of the Island of Capri are reproduced 
on a small scale in a cavern at Lake Minnewaska, N. Y. 
This lake is situated on the Shawangunk range of 
mountains, at an elevation of about 1,700ft.; it lies in a 
basin, excavated in glacial times, about half a mile long 
and less than a quarter in width, and of a depth reaching 
70ft. The rock on all sides is a white quartzite known 
as Shawangunk grit, which rests upon shale, but no out- 
crop of the latter is visible at the lake. The quartzite is 
compact to granular and contains in places pebbles of 
white quartz; it is very free from feldspathic admixture, 
so that it yields to the water very little soluble matter. 
Bare cliffs rising to the height of 150ft. bound the east 
side of the lake, while the western banks are well 
wooded. The cliffs are vertical and fringed at their 
base by the usual talus, which, however, is made up of 
blocks of unusual size. The cavern is formed by several 
huge rocks overhanging the water, so as to form a 
comparatively dark hole, and the space between the 
under side of the sloping rocks and the water varies 
from about 2ft. to not more than 2in. The cavern faces 
the southwest; it is very irregular in shape, and at one 
point the roof and walls reverberate in response to a 
deep bass note. The water just at the entrance to the 
cavern is 33ft. deep, and 2 or 3ft. away 40ft.; it is very 
transparent at considerable depths. As the rocks over- 
hang so close to the water the optical effects can only 
be seen by a swimmer, and it was while swimming 
along the shore that I discovered the American Blue 
Grotto three years ago. As one approaches the mouth 
of the cavern the bluish color of the water is noticeable, 
but the beautiful effects are best seen by entering the 
opening and looking outward toward the light. The 
water varies in color from Nile green through turquoise 
blue and sky blue to deep indigo blue, and in all these 
shades exhibits the silvery appearance, when agitated, 
characteristic of the grotto at Capri. A body immersed 
in the water has a beautiful silvery sheen, similar to the 
reflection of moonlight. The water has these colors at 
all hours, but they are strongest when the sun is in the 
zenith; late in the afternoon the slanting rays of the 
sun enter the opening and light up the cavern, greatly 
diminishing the optical effects. 
The water retains the characteristic color (but with- 
out the silvery sheen) on cloudy days, and even during 
rain, being especially strong when fleecy white clouds 
bar direct sunlight. The relation between the different 
hues, green and blue, to the aspects of the sky, whether 
clear or overcast, is not evident. 
Another pleasing phenomenon must be mentioned. 
Just below the water line, where the rocky sides are 
lapped by waves, the white quartzite exhibits a brilliant 
