8 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
W. F. Hunt and all promised to meet again next fall 
if possible for a two weeks' hunt in the Maine woods. 
F, E. B. 
FiTCHBURG, Mass. 
Famine in the Forest. 
From the Asian. 
The present famine in India has a great effect, not only 
upon the human inhabitants of the country and their 
domestic animals, but to a large extent also upon the 
wild beasts and birds that inhabit the forests, hills and 
plains. To the casual observer this is not perhaps so 
apparent as is human suffering. The starving natives, 
with hollow fleshless cheeks and protruding b.ones, over 
which the dusky skin is tightly stretched, obtrude them- 
selves upon our notice, and may be seen everywhere in 
some parts of the country. The human remains lying by 
the wayside, at times in the shape of a skeleton with 
scattered bones picked clean by the vultures and jackals, 
with the wretched rags that once clothed the living being 
strewn around it, thrust themselves into notice, an un- 
mistakable evidence of famine, like a ghastly warning of 
the hand of fate. The cattle, mere skins full of bones, 
whose sharp points and edges are bursting through their 
scanty covering, can be seen dragging themselves about 
in tlie vain search for fodder and water, or gasping out 
their last breath in the pitiless burning sunshine in the 
fields that now bear the appearance of a shadeless desert. 
To them, moreover, comes relief, and man can draw water 
from the wells for himself and his belongings. 
Hut the misery and sufferings of the wild creatures, 
their vain search for food, and their unsatisfied craving 
for water, are as a rule hidden from human ob- 
servation; for wild life is given to concealment, and 
suffers and dies in hidden places, even though it may issue 
forth more o.ften into the light of day_ in time of trouble, 
when driven by stress of famine or thirst to forgetfulness 
of its. natural dread of man. 
But to the sportsman the effect of the dearth of food and 
water upon the fauna of the country is very obvious, and 
its signs are everywhere visible. He marks the growing 
scarcity of game, and its absence from its usual haunts. 
He observes the unwonted assemblage of wild creatures in 
dose proximity to human habitations, where there still 
remains in some of the wells that water which is now al- 
most entirely absent from the surface of the earth. Here, 
at least, the gasping birds and beasts may chance upon a 
little water, be it only in a cattle trough dug out of a 
hollowed tree trunk, or in a narrow irrigation channel that 
runs from the well, whence it is drawn by patient laborious 
bullocks into the green ricefields or millet crops which 
are now but seldom seen. 
Around such places the wild inhabitants of the fields 
and the jungles collect at morning and evening to quench 
their thirst. At night the prowling panther visits such 
spots, where he may find a victim from among the herd of 
gazelles which troop down during the hours of darkness 
from the neighboring stony hill, or perhaps may pick 
up a stray goat or dog belonging to the hamlet, or a calf 
that is perishing of want. All that passes during the 
nights, all the comings and goings of the beasts of the 
fields, may be read from the book of nature that lies 
open to the observant eye. There is a beaten track of 
many dainty little pointed feet — the marks of the gazelle 
and the larger spoor of the antelope. The pugs of the 
panther may be looked for upon any of the paths that ap- 
proach the trough or channel of water. All animals prefer 
to keep to a beaten track, and their M^anderings are thus 
more easily followed. The porcupines, most nocturnal of 
creatures, have come down from their cave dwellings in 
the banks of the dry ravines and in the hillsides, and one 
has dropped a quill on the margin of the tiny rivulet. 
Jackals, wildcats, foxes, hares, peafowl, partridges — all 
these and many others have been down to the life-giving 
fluid, and have left unmistakable impress of their presence 
At one point the panther has crouched, and crept toward 
some animal, stalking his prey. Then he has made a 
msh. but his victim has escaped him. There is such a 
mingling of footmarks here that it is impossible to tell 
what was the spotted one's quarry, only a buck gazelle 
has galloped off from the place, and may have been the 
object of the chase. All this — and much else — can be 
read upon the dusty path, and on the surface of the 
soft earth of the field that lies crumbled into powder under 
the heat of the sun. 
"I was out hunting a few days ago, and evidences of 
famine were plainly visible on every side," writes a corre- 
spondent. "We passed a human skeleton, evidently but 
lately dead, picked clean by foul beasts during the night 
that was just over, and now lying grim and ghastly in the 
light of the rising sun. A small pool of water, the only 
one in all that arid desert, lay in an adjacent nullali, to- 
ward which the bony arms were stretched as though in 
mute appeal. A wretched rag that had formed the cloth- 
ing of this image of God lay beside the sad remains. 
The wayfarer's staff was lying near. Perhaps his totter- 
ing steps had failed at the margin of the water, for which 
he was making. Who can tell? There he had gasped 
out his life. The eyes that once glowed in those now 
empty sockets had been plucked out by the vultures. 
The heart that once beat beneath those gleaming ribs had 
been torn out and rent by jackals which had stolen away 
from the scene of the tragedy at the dawn of day, 
"Further on a fox was seen and chased, and soon caught 
by the greyhounds. The poor little creature could not 
run far; he was too exhausted by famine, and soon gave 
in. It is noticeable that the foxes seem to be suffering 
severely; many have been found dead, and those that we 
have chased are so enfeebled that there is little sport in 
hutiting them, A hare that sprang from his form be- 
neath a bush gave better sport, and I was glad to see him 
escape from his pursuers after a long run, which finished 
the morning's hunt. The hares seem reduced in numbers, 
while the cover now is so scarce and scanty that when 
shooting it is difficult to get a shot at them, for they see 
one coming and generally get up a long way off. They 
also must find it hard to obtain food and drink, while 
the little cover that still remaitis offers them scarcely 
any projection from birds and beasts of prev. Only the 
Other day one was heard crying like a child in a com- 
pound in the station, and was found to have been attacked 
by a large hawk which had torn open its side. The hawK 
flew away on being approached, and the poor wounded 
little beast ran off, but was caught and put out of its 
misery by a fox terrier. Many must fall an easy prey in a 
similar manner to the kites and falcons that infest the 
country." 
The little bush quail seem to have entirely disappeared. 
During the earlier part of the year, when the water famine 
vvas only beginning to make its advent, these little brown 
birds could constantly be seen congregating under water 
pipes and at the issues of bath rooms, and about the 
bungalows, where some of them were frequently found 
dead. Perhaps they are more delicate than other birds, 
and suffer more from want of food and water; for none 
have been visible for many weeks, and it is feared that 
they must nearly all have perished.. The peafowl, too, 
must suffer greatly. They above all land birds require a 
plentiful supply of water, and are never found in local- 
ities where it is absent. Now it may be observed that 
these generally somewhat shy birds have in many places 
taken up their abode near villages, where they can ob- 
tain water from the wells, and from the troughs placed for 
the few surviving cattle. They seem less wary than 
usual, and may be seen picking up a precarious livelihood 
in the vicinity of the villages soon after dawn and in 
the evenings. The drought and scarcity will also greatly 
affect breeding operations among birds, which are going 
on from February all through the hot weather, and doubt- 
less many eggs will be destroyed by and many young 
ones fall victims to predaceous creatures. 
" Of the larger animals that inhabit the great forests, we 
cannot at present speak, but shall be in a position to do 
so later on. We have heard that wild pigs in some parts 
of the country have become so bold that, driven by hunger, 
they enter the cultivated inclosures in the precincts 
of villages in search of food and water, where they have 
attacked and in some cases killed people who have tried 
to drive them off. Will there be a general e.vodus of wild 
beasts from their native wilds? Will tigers wander over 
the country, seeking whom they may devour? Doubtless 
many strange and unwonted sights will be visible in the 
vicinity and in the haunts of the denizens of the jungle. 
The deer will assemble in the neighborhood of water, and 
will there fall victims both to man and to beasts of prey^ 
for Kipling's "Jungle Law" does not exist outside story 
books. The great carnivora cannot live far from water, 
and will follow the deer, and so will be easily brought 
to bag by sportsmen who will find them confined to 
limited tracts in the vicinity of water. 
In fact, it is to be feared that game of all kinds will 
suffer severely during the present year: the famine and 
drought are as yet at an early stage, and will in all 
probability produce a considerable diminution among the 
fauna of the country. There are still some of the worst 
weeks before us, and their effect will be great, for the sun 
will become more blistering and pitiless than ever, while 
water and food will become scarcer as time goes oh. It 
can only be hoped that sportsmen will be merciful, and 
will not slaughter a large quantity of game, but will con- 
tent themselves with shooting a reasonable number of ani- 
mal? as long as there is famine in the land. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST, 
Warning Posters. 
Acting with the officers of the Illinois Audubon So- 
ciety, State Game Commissioner Loveday has sent out to 
the postmasters of this State a large wall poster, in which 
the laws of the State regarding the killing of game and 
song birds are printed in- plain type, so that all who care 
may post themselves thoroughly in regard to the terms 
of the law. 
The Appalachian National Park Association. 
Dr. C. P. .Ambler, secretary of the Appalachian Na- 
tional Park. Association, writes entertainingly regarding 
the progress of the movement for the establishment of the 
Appalachion National Park, which has been mentioned at 
different times in these columns. It is very pleasant to 
record success in this movement, and this success must 
be a matter of much congratulation to the gentlemen in- 
terested. The appointment of the Commission is no 
doubt equivalent to the securing of the park, and we of the 
Northwest wish only that we were as far along with pur 
own park measure. Dr. Ambler writes: 
"The promoters of the Appalachian National Park 
have be&n in the field now something over a year. That 
their work has been well done, that energy and push 
have been applied to the same is now apparent from the 
fact that the bill which they had introduced at the hands 
of Senator Pritchard has passed the last session of Con- 
gress and becomes a law on July i next. 
"The bill as presented by the Appalachian National 
Park Association was for an appropriation 'not to ex- 
ceed $5,000, in the discretion .of the Secretary of Agricul- 
ture, to be used to invesHgate the forest conditions in the 
Southern Appalachian Mountain region of western North 
Carolina and adjacent States.' The commission will be 
appointed by the President, and it is expected that this 
commission will make a report to the next session of 
Congress. 
"While we sympathize with the promoters of the Min- 
nesota National Park in not obtaining recognition at this 
session of Congress, we nevertheless congratulate them 
upon the fact that the timber which they are now trying 
to protect is situated on Indian lands, and that the Com- 
missioner of Indian Affairs has given them assurance that 
no further cutting of timber would be allowed until the 
Minnesota Park question was settled by Congress. In 
our western North Carolina mountains the case is en- 
tirely different. Here we have probably the largest and 
finest standing growth of hardwood timber of any place 
on the Western Continent. It is nothing uncommon to 
find stretches of unbroken standing forest for twenty or 
thirty miles without sign of habitation. During the past 
five years the largest himber corporations in the country 
have been securing control of different tracts in this 
section, while many local lumber operators are pushing 
their saw mills deeper in the unbroken wilderness. 
"Some of the largest tanneries in the country have been 
built along the line of the Western North Carolina Rail- 
road during the oast three years, and they have to-day 
notices posted all over our mountain section, 'loo.ooo 
cords of tan bark wanted.' For this tan bark they are 
paying from $4 to $6 per cord, with the result that everj 
small land dwner who has a piece of woodland is temptec 
to cut the same and sell the bark, even if he has to allovi 
the logs to lie on the ground and rot. We have no public 
lands, with the exception of the Cherokee Indian Reserva- 
tion in western North Carolina, and if anything is to b« 
done to stop the wholesale destruction and devastatio; 
which is to-day going on, we must be up and doing. W! 
must not wait for the establishment of the Minnesota 
Park; we must not wait for our neighbors to assist us; 
we must not look to friends; we must put our shoulders tc 
the wheel on our own account, and wishing all succesi 
to any man or association to-day attempting to preservi 
the forests of America we intend to go on as we hav« 
commenced. 
"We appreciate the necessity of the Minnesota Park 
as the destruction of our own forests tells us what mus 
be going on there, but they should not, while trying tt 
preserve their own, either expect or ask us to desist ii 
trying to save what is dear and near to us. There ii 
to-day a feeling in the minds of the public toward th< 
preservation of our forests, and surely if this enthusiasm! 
which has now been aroused, can be kept up, what is gooci 
for the one will be good for the other. It will takti 
work, it will take work, and plenty of work — ^yes, mort 
work than any one realizes— to see either the Minnesoti 
National Park or the Appalachian National Park estab- 
lished. So let us keep at it. It is energy which has wot 
for us thus far, ^nd it is energy and push, and everlasting 
energy and push only, which will win in the end." 
Wonderland. 
Mr. Olin D. Wheeler, of the Northern Pacific Railways 
each year writes a book, which is handsomely produce* 
under the name of "Wonderland," and which is devotee 
to the region traversed by the Northern Pacific Railroad 
These books go beyond the customary grade of railroat 
advertising, and they are entitled to be called good litera 
ture. "Wonderland" for igoo is the ablest and most beau 
tiful of his productions which Mr. Wheeler has brough 
out, and it is as worthy of review as any book on westeri: 
topics of the year. It is prefaced by a full page in colors 
reproducing one of C. M. Russell's paintings callec 
"Lewis and Clark meeting the Mandan Indians." Thecoloi 
work is beautiful, as are the hundreds of good engravingt 
and the unique covers, engraved from clay modeled work 
It is. however, the text of Mr, Wheeler's book whicl 
deserves especially complimentary mention. He takes ui 
the story of that wonderful transcontinental journey O 
Lewis and Clark, and tells the story of the Louisian; 
Purchase, in style so fascinating that his book is one han 
to lay down when one has once begun to read it. Th( 
text of this story is accompanied with complete maps, q\ 
which the trail of this Homeric expedition is marked ou 
frorn stage to stage, so that one may mentally reproduce 
the whole of the journey from St. Louis to the mouth o 
the Columbia. There is much profit in following out thii 
trail — or at least there was in my own case, for I fount 
that I really knew very little about how the exploreri 
got across the Continental Divide. I did not know or hat 
forgotten that they had to back out from their attempt tt 
go down the Salmon River, and that then they had to gt 
north into tiie Bitter Root Valley. They then finallj 
went across the famous Lolo trail over the Bitter Roo: 
Mountains. It is a pleasure to trace out these historid 
points on the map, and to check them up with point 
where one himself has been in the West. Thus I find tha 
on the return voyage of Lewis and Clark, after the separa 
tion of the two leaders, and while Lewis was far north o 
the Yellowstone, he and his little party had the onb 
trouble with the Indians which was met in their whol't 
trip. These were Blackfeet, and it was up in the Black 
foot country, near the Two Medicine River and the Cu 
Bank Creek, where they had the fight in which two Black 
feet were killed. The white men made a run of 100 niilei 
the next day. I had read this before and forgotten it, bu> 
when I reflect that the Two Medicine and the Cut Ban! 
were streams which Mr. McChesney and I discovered fo, 
ourselves only a little while ago, the exploit of Capt 
Lewns, nearly a hundred years ago, gains added interest 
There have been some changes up in that country sinct 
then, but those changes are slighter and less to be noticet 
than those in this part of the country, where the white 
men have changed the whole face of the earth. There an 
still bears and sheep in the Two Medicine and Cut Banl 
country; the Bitter Roots are still as high and ragged 
the Three Forks of the Missouri still as wild and beauti, 
ful as they were 100 years ago. Over all this wonderfu 
and fascinating Rocky Mountain region, this wonder- 
land of America, there hangs still the veil of mystery 
from under which beckons the compelling hand of ; 
romantic fascjination. May it be many a year before thii 
region ceases to interest us and ceases to be a real lane 
of wonders, E. Hough. 
Hartford Buii-ding, Chicago, 111. 
How the Moantain Lion Carries Game. 
George F. Newton has solved a mystery — one that has puzzlec 
him during all the -many years he "has been a dweller in tht 
wildest districts of the Rock Mountains. He made this announce 
ment to Deputy Game Commissioner Holland yesterday. Mr 
Kewton is superintendent of Glen Beulah Park, a game preserve o 
900 acres, situated in Mesa county, about eighteen miles northwest 
of De Beque, which is leased from the State by the Glen Beulat 
Park Association, in which are several Denver sportsmen. 
"For years I have been bothered to know how a mountain lior 
carried the carcass of a deer after it had killed its prey. But 1 
learned all about it just a day or two before 1 left home. I hac 
been up on the trail leading to the flat tops; you know the trail 
Holland. When I was up near Rim Rock, near the end of ou! 
fence, I saw a nlountain lion in the trail in front of me, and wha 
do you think? The lion was carrj'ing a fine young buck slung ovei 
his shoulders. He held to the back of the deer with his jaws 
turning his head to one side, like that." Mr. Newton turned hi*! 
own head in imitation of the attitude of the lion. 
"As he trotted along the feet of the deer treaked in the snow; 
forming the queer tracks that have so long puzzled me. I knew 
always what tne tracks were, but I could never make out how th« 
deer was carried so that more of it did not trail on the ground. 
When the lion caught sight of me it dropped the deer and slunb 
off into the sage brush — they are cowardly whelps. 
"During last summer I discovered no less than thirty carcasses 
of deer that had been killed by lions and bears. These brutes 
have a way of getting into the park that would surprise you. Th* 
south end of the park, you know, is fenced purposely to keep thens 
out, and they can't get in over the flat tops, where the granite 
walls are precipitate for 50 to 75 feet in places. But the woven 
wire fence was built through a thickly wooded part, and in place: 
large trees wer* tnken advantage of as posts. The Hons and bears 
climb nne side of the tree until they are above the fence, then let 
themselves down on the other side.' —Denver Republicon. 
