8 :4 
v. iiiing in 1824, observes that at that time the buffalo 
and elk had entirely disappeared from the western part 
of Virginia; but implying at the same time that those 
animals had formerly been found there. Dr. Doddridge 
had been familiar with that region from about the year 
1780. All the evidence goes to show that at one time 
the entire Mississippi Valley was the grazing ground of 
the buffalo. > l , 
Captain Carver speaks of the "amazing number Ot 
these animals in his day. The readers of Irving will 
recall his description of the vast, herds that formerly 
roamed over the plains of our Far West. All the earlier 
writers agree in their wonder at the size of these herds, 
which sometimes embraced thousands of individuals. 
The decimation of them, to say nothing of their ex- 
tirpation, would have seemed an impossibility. On down 
to the middle years of the century which is about clos- 
ing, the buffalo still existed in almost undiminished 
numbers; but the last fifty years have witnessed his prac- 
tical extinction. A few specimens are found in some 
private and public parks, where they are preserved at 
great expense and trouble. In spite of every precaution, 
The butcher of animals, from whose murderous hands 
nothing is safe, still occasionally gets in his work, and 
the few remaining specimens are made fewer still. It 
makes one indignant to read such an item as this, which 
I find in a recent newspaper: 
'•Lord Clifton and Mr. Robert Lowther, owners of the 
'N. F.' ranch, have returrfed from England. They first 
came to this country after the elks and buffaloes had 
disappeared, and are quite willing to spend several 
weeks in verifying some of the stories of the excitement 
of buffalo hunting, which have been told them by the 
old-timers of the Musselshell. Lester Moffett, of the 
"Keg Handle.' who is an experienced buffalo hunter, 
savs that he would cheerfully pay any reasonable fine 
h V Lhe pleasure < [ trying his hand aga:n at the most 
exciting of all sport. It is quite pcssible lie wi.l pilot 
the Englishmen in the wild and desolate country through 
which the hunters must jars befrrr U ey can reach the 
table land upon which the bisons are supposed to be 
ruminating." 
The pity is that the violation of the law can be com- 
pounded by the payment of "any reasonable fine." There 
are many rich men to whom the payment of a fine is a 
bagatelle when it stands between them and their selfish 
enjoyment. The penalty for killing the buffalo should 
be a long imprisonment without the option of a fine. 
T. J. Chapman. 
Pittsburg, Pa. 
Several Things. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Your correspondent, D. W. Prowse, in your columns 
Oct. 8 tells how he carried away a suspender, and 
was obliged to forego shooting because he could not 
manufacture one from twigs and rushes. 
I am surprised that he should have selected such poor 
material when there is a wealth of good material every- 
where in the woods. A small birch or hazel sprout 
twisted would answer very well, but if he wanted a gilt- 
edge pair of suspenders he could find the material in 
the ground. The roots of many trees and shrubs afford 
a good tough tying material. The bark on moose 
wood (Dirca), alias leatherwood, wicopy, etc., has a tough 
fibre. I do not know that moosewood grows in New- 
foundland, but the bark on an elm root is about as tough, 
and the small roots are all right anyway. 
I want to ask the writers for Forest and Stream 
if they ever saw a mink hypnotize a ruffed grouse? I 
was on the way to the city last Friday morning when 
a turn in the path brought into sight a large mink, ap- 
parently coal black. His peculiar actions caught my at- 
tention first, but soon I saw a ruffed grouse about 12ft. 
beyond the mink. Every feather stood up on the 
grouse, causing the bird to look as large as a small 
turkey. The mink was making figure eights, moving 
from side to side of the grassy path, which was over 5ft. 
in width. His movements were so rapid the eye could 
see only a black streak. While I could not see the mink 
move toward the grouse, I saw that the distance be- 
tween them grew less quite rapidly. Feeling sure that 
the grouse was doomed, for it seemed unable to do any- 
thing but follow the rapid motion of the mink, I stepped 
forward and gave a shout. The grouse flew away, and 
the mink let out a yell that seemed loud enough for a 
tiger. The mink yelled at me from a stone wall while I 
was near, and as soon as I went along he came out to 
the path smelling around for the grouse. If this was 
not a case of hypnotism, will some one please name it, 
I have a pet toad, a little fellow that hopped into my 
sleeping quarters one morning last spring. He preferred 
to get under a bit of canvas, but if he could do no better 
he would crawl under a newspaper. I fixed him a 
residence by knocking a hole in the side of a flower 
pot. I inverted the flower pot in a paper box partly 
filled with dry dirt. Inside the pot I put a circular piece 
of heavy duck. In warm weather he sits on the duck. 
If the weather is cool he , claws up the duck and sits 
on the dirt with the duck over him for protection In 
cold weather he burrows into the dry dirt with the 
piece of duck over him. I did not put the toad in his 
new house. I just placed it on the floor one morning 
when he was coming in to sleep, and he crawled through 
both holes in the box and flower pot, as if he knew all 
about it. Hermit. 
A Snake Bite and a Snake Weed* 
Mr. Herbert Brown sends us this report, taken 
from the Phoenix, Ariz., Republican: 
"A Mexican employed at Fowler ranch was bitten by 
a 5ft. rattlesnake a couple of days ago. The bite was 
on the hand, similar as to location to that received by 
M. Bourgougnon, and which resulted fatally. The Mex- 
ican's arm swelled rapidly, but the swelling did not ex- 
tend beyond the elbow. As soon as possible after he 
was bitten he applied a plant known as snakeweed, a 
species of euphorbia and called by the Mexicans gol- 
andrina. The swelling was arrested instantly-, and in half 
an hour had passed away, leaving no other marks than 
the punctures upon the hand inflicted by the snake's 
fangs." 
FOREST AND S1R&AM. 
An Alaskan Moose Head* 
Tacoma, Washington, Oct. r. — Editor Parent and 
Stream: In your issue of March 6, 1897, you showed 
cut of a pair of moose horns belonging to me that 
spread 73^in. — at that time the largest moose head on 
record. I have the pleasure of sending you photograph 
of a set of moose horns that break ah previous records, 
and stand to-day the largest and most massive moon- 
head on record. Spread of the horns is 7S'/ 2 \n.-, width cf 
the blades following the curve, i8in., with 40 prong*, 
four of the prongs on the under side not showing in 
photograph. 
I have some seventy-five moose heads, and h:;vo 
handled and seen hundreds of them, but this d'scoiv. s 
by far any moose head I have seen. The horns, as fi n 
will notice, are on the natural skull, and just as the :im- 
mal was killed. 
In showing this photograph to the readers of Fnki <t 
and Stream, I wish you wculd make the cut large 
[Oct. 22, 
would have given fight. It is possible it might he 
wheeled at the last moment and given me a slap with 
tail, as it fights dogs, but 1 rather imagine it would ha\ 
tried to bite my feet or legs, judging from the way 
was snapping its teeth. Its action impressed me as be- 
ing more than a bluff; if it was a bluff the porcupine cer- 
tainly had the nerve of a monumental poker player. 
J. B. Burnham. 
Frog and Pike* 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Mr. Mather's note in your issue of this week on the' 
frog and the fish prompts me to send you these observa- 
tions from Walton's Angler: ] 
"But before I proceed further, I am to tell you that ] 
there is a great antipathy betwixt the pike and some j 
frogs; and this may appear to the reader of DubraviusJ 
a bishop in Bohemia, who, in his book "Of Fish and 
ALASKAN MOOSE HORNS. 
The tape measure records from tip to tip 6ft. 6in. 
enough to show the figures on the tape line, and also 
show that the skull has not been cut. 
When you published the former cut of moose horns, al- 
though the cuts were splendid, they were not large 
enough to show figures on the tape, and I received hun- 
dreds of letters asking if the horns really spread that 
much, and what size was the man standing alongside, and 
all manner of questions. While it showed that Forest 
and Stream is read far and wide, it caused me to answer 
a great many letters, and if you will show the figures 
on the tape it will save me lots of writing. You might 
also mention that the horns are not for sale. 
W. F. Sheard. 
Fighting; Porcupines. 
Oct. 8. — Editor Forest and Stream: One characteristic 
of the Canada porcupine, which I have never seen noted, 
but which no doubt is common enough, is its_ pugnacity 
at certain seasons. As the two instances which I have 
noticed occurred in October, I suppose, the manifestation 
is directly connected with the rutting season. 
In both instances I had stopped to listen while still- 
hunting deer, having heard some noise made by the 
porcupine. The animal approached from a distance of 
30 or 40yds., moving quite slowly, its quills erect and 
making a snapping noise with its teeth. In the first 
case, which happened four years ago, it gave utterance 
also to a kind of noise like the clicking of a small hydrau- 
lic ram, but in the latest instance, two days ago, no 
such noise was made. 
In both cases the porcupine came within 6in. or so 
of my foot, and not wishing to lose any of my toes, for 
the animal could easily have bitten through my mocca- 
sins, I gave it a tap on the first dorsal vertebra with the end 
of my rifle barrel. In the first case I killed the porcu- 
pine, but in the other instance I purposely did not 
hit very hard, and after it had regained its feet it waddled 
off at a pretty fast gait along its runway, under a slash 
of fallen trees. I am curious to know how the porcupine 
Fish Ponds," relates what he says he saw with his own; 
eyes, and could not forbear to tell the reader; which 
was : 
"'As he and the Bishop Thurzo were walking by. a 
large pond in Bohemia, they saw a frog, when the pike 
lay very sleepily and quiet by the shore side, leap Upon 
his head; and the frog having expressed malice or anger 
by his swollen cheeks and staring eyes, did stretch out hid 
legs and embraced the pike's head, and presently reached 
them to his eyes, tearing with them and his teeth those 1 
tender parts: the pike, moved with anguish, moves u; 
and down the water, and rubs himself against weeds an 
whatever he thought might quit him of his enemy 
but all in vain, for the frog did continue to ride triumph 
antly, and to bite and torment the pike, till his strength 
failed, and then the frog sunk with the pike to the bot- 
tom of the water; then presently the frog appeared again 
at the top and croaked, and seemed to rejoice like 
conqueror; after which he presently retired to his secret! 
hole. The bishop, that had beheld the battle, called his 
fisherman to fetch his nets, and by all means to get the 
pike, that they might declare what had happened; and the 
pike was drawn forth, and both his eyes eaten out; 
which, when they began to wonder, the fisherman wisher 
them to forbear, and assured them he was certain thai 
pikes were often so served.' 
"I told this, which is to be read in the sixth chaptes 
of the first book of Dubravius, unto a friend, who re- 
plied: 'It was as improbable as to have the mouse 
scratch out the cat's eyes.' But he did not consider that 
there be fishing frogs, which the Dalmatians call tin 
water devil, of which I might tell you as wonderful ; 
story ; but I shall tell you, that 'tis not to be doubted, bu 
that there be some frogs so fearful of the water snake! 
that, when they swim in a place in which they fear tt 
meet with him, they then get a reed across into thei 
mouths, which, if they two meet by accident, secures* 
the frog from the strength and malice of the snake; am 
note, that the frog usually swims the fastest of the twpi'^ 
There is frog lore for you. Bishop Dubravius pub 1 
lished his work in 1552; and Walton took his extract 
