Sew, is, 1900.] 
FOREST_AND i^STREAM." 
208 
clog is attached The result is that the dog's racing ami 
barking is confined to one beaten track, and though he 
often vibrates between the two buildings like a shuttle, 
rhe Hves of many innocent chickens are temporarily saved. 
For the most part the Plymouth woods extend east- 
wfird close to the shore of the bay, and most of the scat- 
tered farmers of this region depend upon fishing for a 
livelihood. On a little bluff north of Ellisville, with the 
woods in the background and the booming surf at his 
front door, lives Capt. Ezra Pierce, who was raised at 
the Branch Pierce place, at the head of Long Pond. 
Capt. Pierce, though born in the woods, has lived a sea-' 
faring life, and now in his old age fishes and hunts with 
impartiality. He sauntered up to the house about dark, 
"with a gun in his hand, having been down the road a 
piece for a woodchuck, which he didn't get. His father 
used to keep a tally of his deer by notches on his gun- 
stock, and his record with one gun was 264, he having 
killed twenty-three for four seasons hand-running. "'That 
old gun, with a barrel more than 6 feet long, was bought 
by William T, Davis the Plymouth historian, for $30,'' 
said Capt. Ezra, adding, in a drawl, with a characteristic 
droll look: '• 'Twan't wuth 30 cents." 
Capt. Pierce said that when Daniel Webster used to 
come to hunt with his father lie would be allowed to go 
too, though but a lad, as he killed his first buck, unaid- 
ed, when he was fourteen years old. "Father used to call 
liie Cook," said the Captain, "and Avhen he catne homf 
to see that buck hanging under a tree at Gallows Pond 
he says: 'What you got there, Cook, a deer or a horse?' 
Well, we sent that buck up on a sloop bound for Boston, 
but the sloop made two tries, but couldn't beat by Minot's 
Light, so that deer was weighed in the Plymouth mar- 
ket at last and knocked the record." 
He said that Webster usually stuck close to his stand 
and would not leave it on any account; but one day when 
il was raining so hard that he could not do anything he 
left his stand and wei>t back to his house. When the 
great man found that young Ezra had stuck to his stand 
and shot a loon he promptly gave a quarter of a dollar 
k>T it Then Webster would inarch up and down the 
floor, swinging his arms and singing, and he sang well, 
in the boy's estimation. Capt. Pierce says the foxes are 
most all poisoned or trapped out in his section, but he 
still sees deer occasionally, "but they don't know my 
uationality or where I come from," he. naively remarks, 
in compliment to his own woodcraft. 
^ Five miles beyond Capt. Pierce's, to the north, the elec- 
tric railroad is reached and encroaching civilization is 
elbowing the woods out of the way. From Manomet to 
Plymoiith village there are farms on one side and sea- 
side cottages on the other, and a man prefers to ride, 
rather than walk, especially if he has done tvventv-four 
miles in the blazing heat the day before. 
Thinking the whole thing over, it is a pretty safe guess 
that neither the landed proprietor, the cottager nor the 
cranberry man will make any great change in the Plvm- 
outh wilderness for 100 years to come, while the forest 
fires only change it temporarily to perpetuate its bar- 
renness. 
The Cat. 
A FEW months ago our cat gave birth to two kittens. 
A- pile of straw had been provided for her in the middle 
of the barn floor, as being a sunny spot in the day time. 
She was very content with this place, only supplementing 
ihe straw with an old piece of lace curtain which the 
children had thrown across a camp chair. After several 
days — a week or more — the children announced that the 
knttens' eyes were beginning to open, and upon inspec- 
tion a barely perceptible slit was disclosed, scarcely 
enough to let any light through. 
The mother cat had done a wise thing. She had car- 
ried her kittens to the very darkest place she could find, 
to wit. the "back bedroom" of the girls' "dolls' house," 
over in the cOmer, and there she kept them until the 
kittens' eyes had completely opened and become accus- 
tomed to .the light. 
How did she know when it was time to take those 
kittens out of the light? 
When the kittens began to crawl around and occasion- 
ally to slip down the first step of the stairs, she carried 
them back to their dark corner with as much patience as 
a human mother would carry her baby back to safety. 
But a little later, when they seemed to her to have 
grown old enough to have some sense, she began to 
scold them, and in no uncertain accents. Still later, when 
their education began, the scolding sometimes gave place 
to a right smart boxing. It was irresistibly ludicrous to 
see her walk up to one of them and give it a smart box 
on one ear with one paw and then a similar box on the 
other ear with the other paw. But before I speak of the 
education of these two kittens I must not forget to re- 
mark the old cat's evident knowledge of modern medical 
science. She knows all about germs and the value of anti- 
septic conditions, for as soon as a person or a child got 
through "mirsing" or stroking or touching one of her 
'infant offspring she carefully washed it, or that part of it 
whicii had come in contact with the pel-son. It goes with- 
out sayin.g, therefore, that the kittens grew up into comely 
and healthy cats. 
As nearly as I can conclude from my opportunities for 
observing it. the process of education consisted in les- 
sons in climbing, fighting and hunting, in the order 
named: 'The method of instruction in each case was by 
cxam'ple. There Avas no lecture course in cat language. 
To teach them to climb, she began by getting them into 
a playftil mood, which was invariably accomplished in the 
good old human way of filling their stomachs. Then the 
motlier cat made for a post with a great flourish and 
cltii^l-jed up it about 2 feet. Before a long while the kit- 
t^rts-'tried it, but the minute they found themselves off 
the- ground they had an accession of juvenile fright and 
bni-ked down. Following le5?sons made them more ven- 
turesome, and the mother gradually increased her climb 
.111(1 gradually coaxed the kittens to follow her, until now. 
at sir^ months of age, they can climb trees as well as their 
mother, or think they can. 
Soon after beginning the climbing lessons she began to 
teach them to fight and by dint of many counterfeit maul- 
ings and boxing matches (1 imagine with 6-ounce gloves; 
they became skilled in the manl}^ art of self defense. 
Lastly she began to teach them to hunt. She would 
catch a large grasshopper and call to her progeny in a 
peculiar tone of voice which they soon grew to under- 
stand meant "Mother has caught us a grasshopper." She 
then dropped her prey in front of one of them, and if it 
tried to fly away before the kitten got it she caught it 
again and dropped it in front of it once more, when the 
kitten pounced upon it, doubtless making use of the 
skill in fighting and boxing theretofore acquired. Grad- 
ually the kittens began to follow their instructor afield 
and to catch their own hoppers, although the mother cat 
still continues to fetch them several fat ones each day, 
giving them to each of her children, turn about, and be- 
ginning, so far as I have observed, with the light gray 
one, for whom she entertains a preference. Perhaps it 
was her first born. Who knows? 
I used to think that animals were born with an in- 
herent knowledge of their fimctions and duties and pow- 
ers; but the more I see the more I see I was mistaken, 
They learn. . George Kennedy. 
St. Louis, Mo, 
A Bird Lover's Back Yard. 
The blucjay is a daily visitor to our back yard. His 
saw-edge voice is generally the first bird note I hear in 
the morning, but he sometimes intersperses this with a bit" 
of song of a tender, wheedling nature, which somewhat 
dulls the edge of that otherwise harsh voice of his. 
liis favorite retreat at the present time seems to be 
the grape arbor. How well he knows that the Concords 
are ripening there. In the early morning I sneak on him 
unawares, when he considers himself safe from any intru- 
sion, just; to note his momentary confusion. Although 
detected in the very act of eating a grape, he assumes an 
"I-didn't-do-it" expression that seems wholly comical. 
How he tries to brave it out! At once he is deeply ab- 
sorbed in other directions, as if such a tidbit as a grape 
never existed. Hopping here and there, he pretends to 
ignore my presence, but still giving me a stealthy glance 
now and then. This farce is kept up until finally he sees 
a good opportunity to leave, and emitting a defiant note 
he quickly grabs a grape and away he goes to the roof 
of the barn. 
Directly in the rear of this building is an alley where 
the telephone wires overhead serve as a convenient perch 
for passing birds to tarry for a moment to view the sur- 
roundings, if for nothing else. Bluejays resort there, 
sometimes half a dozen at a time, and an occasional 
blackbird, robin, catbird, sparrow^ hawk and oriole look 
that way also. The red-headed woodpecker and highhole 
prefer the smooth sides of the telephone pole to the wires. 
Whacking it a few times, through force of habit, I pre- 
sfime, they fly to the tali soft maple just beyond, where 
the latter invariably makes his presence known by his 
joyous call note. To me it is always associated with 
fresh and breezy things. To the back yard it brings the 
air of the fields, the woodside. It is a haunting refrain 
from boyhood. 
The Baltimore oriole is a famous and persistent grape 
tippler, and the catbird also loves to tast of the juicy 
clusters of the Concords. Day after day I heard her 
feline mew issuing from the leafy covert and saw her as 
she flitted to a more secluded position. I knew that she 
was there for something more than mere shade, and kept 
my eye on her accordingly, until I detected her sidling up. 
to a cluster, select a grape and fly with it to the big 
syringa bush hard by, where she spends considerable of 
her time. From this retreat she sometimes serenades 
us during the twilight-^a low, tender nocturne— that to 
some extent compensates us for her disagreeable squawks 
and catcalls. She is more voluble in the d-y time. Often 
for an hour at a time she will pour forth that curious 
medley that has won for her a sort of mockingbird rep- 
utation. While I admire and wonder at her singing, I do 
not_ understand it; there are too many twists and turns. 
In fact, it is all Italian opera to me. 
Our next-door neighbor, a lady kindly disposed to the 
birds, places a large dish filled with water day after dav 
under a maple in her yard. It attracts the birds as a con- 
venient bathing resort, as she intended it should. How 
the robins, bluejays and our lady graycoat, the catbird, 
vie with each other in getting the first chance to take 
their morning ablutions! The latter goes about it in an 
elegant, careful manner, characteristic of all her ways, but 
the bluejay usually tumbles into it with a swoop and a 
splash that scatters the water in all directions. , 
Almost daily I hear the weird notes of the yellow- 
billed cuckoo and sometimes catch a glimpse of him as 
he stealthily flits among the trees or shrubber3r. The 
other day one was bold enough to perch on the clothes 
lines near the house. It afforded me a fine view of this 
handsome bird, and I enjoyed it. When he finally de- 
tected me watching him, I caught the feaf-look in his 
AVild eye as he hastily took flight. 
Chickadees generally prefer the early morning to call 
on us. and they are indeed welcome \nsitors. Happy lit- 
tle fellows, their visits are altogether too infrequent A.t 
rare intervals I hear their phcebe notes. What a sweet 
bit of melody, so tender, plaintive and flutelike. The red- 
liead IS the prevailing Avoodpecker in the neighborhood 
A projecting piece of tin on the eaves of the house 
sen^es^him lately for a drum, and what a racket he 
makes, Downy and hairy are merely transients Gold- 
finches now come daily to the sunflowers for seeds and 
the few scattered blooms of the honeysuckle on the lat- 
tice still lure tlie hummingbird. We also have the 
screech owls. I hear their wailing in the big maple 
beside the house when nights are darkest. Since cherry 
time the^ cedar birds have not been in evidence, but yes- 
terday I heard an unmistakable fine, wheezy whistle 
Making a detour, I discovered a dozen or more perchine 
demurelv ni the cherry tree, the scene of bygone ban- 
quets, ihe fussy httle house wren pops up when least 
expected and generally in out-of-the-way places His 
vivaciotrs. gushmg strain is .still heard at dawn. Small as 
he is, he is a factor to be reckoned with,, He, takes de- 
light in berating grimalkin, for well he knows that the 
sneaking creature has been the cause of many a tragedy 
of a nest. The robin, with his open, unsuspicious ways, 
was the greatest sufferer. Even the bluejay, who built 
his nest in a maple in front of the house, was not safe 
from the depredations, and the home was broken up. 
Scattered blue feathers under the cherry • tree told part 
of the story. The bluebird is a rarity. I have not heard 
his warble or seen the flash of his blue wing since early 
spring. From my limited point of observation, such an 
event would be worth remembering. 
I love to see the blackbirds pass by overhead in the 
evening on their way to some favorite roosting place. 
What an exhilarating sight! The flight to the roost 
commences about sunset and is kept up until nearly 
dark. At dawn they return to their feeding grounds in a 
western direction. Just why these dusky cohorts should 
select the residence portion of the city to spend the 
night instead of some remote tree in field or pasture, 
close to their feeding haunts, is one of the mysteries of 
bird life. Sometimes, after the birds have passed in the 
direction of the roost, the whole band will suddenly re- 
turn in detached flocks, singly and in pairs. Flying 
about excitedly, they settle in- the nearest wayside tree. 
There is a noisy pow-wow and up they swoop again, 
more circling about, and finally again depart roostward! 
Theodore M. Schlick. 
SfRINGFIELD, III., 
Change in a Bird's Habits. 
Man's interference with the operations of nature is a 
subject so familiar as to be almost worn out. Yet it is 
interesting to notice the new directions in which the 
earth or its inhabitants are changed by this interference. 
We introduce rabbits into Australia and they devastate 
the land. A few pairs of English sparrows set free in 
North America have covered the continent from ocean to 
ocean. In the Island of New Zealand is found a parrot, 
the food of which was soft vegetable roots, dug from the 
ground, honey and the nectar of flowers, but since New 
Zealand and the islands of the neighboring seas were 
settled by man and the industry of sheep raising intro- 
duced, this parrot has given up its diet of vegetable food 
and now feeds on flesh. It began by devouring the flesh 
of sheep which had died, but at the present day it is said 
that thfe parrots alight on the backs of living and un- 
injured sheep and dig holes in the- flesh, which they tear 
out with their strong beaks and devour. 
A recent note published by Prof. E. Ray Lankester, of 
the Natural History Museum of London, tells of a some- 
what analogous change in mode of life in a group of 
birds found m South Africa, known by the common name 
beef eater or "ox pecker." These birds,' which are 
related to the stariings, have always been regarded as 
useful birds on account of their habits. They frequent 
the herds of cattle and large game found in South Africa 
and feed upon the ticks and grub which infest these ani- 
rnals. Ihey have also been called rhinoceros birds, from 
the fact that they are almost always found with these 
animals. The birds are said to run over the backs, sides 
and bellies of the cattle, like woodpeckers on a tree, search- 
ing for insects or for the grubs which lie close beneath 
the skin. So useful were these birds considered that, at 
the recent International Conference on the Preservation of 
Atrican Wild Animals, it was decided that special pro- 
tection should be given to this species. 
Recently, however. Prof. Lankester received from Capt 
Hinde, of the British East Africa Protectorate, some 
notes on this subject which are of great interest as show- 
rag the general adoption of a new habit. 
Capt. Hinde says: "The following case of wild birds 
changing their habits may interest you. The common 
rhinoceros bird (hiiphaga erythrorhyncha) here formerly 
led on ticks and other parasites which infest game and 
domestic ammals ; occasionally, if an animal had a sore 
the birds would probe the sore to such an extent that it 
semetimes killed the animal. Since the cattle plague 
destroyed the immense herds in Ukambani, and nearly all 
the sheep and_ goats were eaten during the late famine, 
the birds, deprived of their food, have become carnivorous 
and now any domestic animal not constantly watched is 
killed by them. Periectly healthy animals have their 
ears eaten down to the bone, holes torn in their backs 
and in the femoral regions. Native boys amuse them- 
selves sometimes by shooting the birds on the cattle with 
arrows, the points of which are passed through a piece of 
7^?,^, °- T'J ^" ^"^h, so if the animal is 
struck instead of the bird, no harm is done. The few 
thus killed do not seem m any way to affect the numbers 
ot these pests. On my own animals, when a hole has 
been dug, I put in iodoform, powder, and that particular 
wound IS generally avoided by the birds afterward; but if 
the birds attack it again, they become almost immediately 
comatose and can be destroyed." 
Capt. Hinde also believes that these birds carry the 
cattle plague from one herd to another and thus render 
useless isolation as a protection against the spread of the 
disease. 
Qtiail Tamed and Bantam Gone Wild. 
•Tryon, Oklahoma, Sept. 3.— Editor Forest and Streim- 
iiarly in the summer I found a quail's nest containing 
?"?hatS' T^'^ ' ""^^^ hen, Td S^^ 
egg hatched. The quail are now full grown and as tame 
as chickens, and do not wander far from the barnyard, 
vvm. 't.'"^"^^ *° that they roost 
^T feeT ^hn 'S''' °^ "^^k oak tree about 
^LlTwf^°r Another strange feature is 
tVfli^ '"^^"^ tame, the bantam hen thlt 
raised them has taken up with a covev of wild quail and 
..9"^f .f^ -""'y ^^^'^ h^ve left in this eastern 
P%rt of the Territory, and they are very plen Ll not 
withstanding the fact that market hunters killed and 
shipped out many thousands in violation of the Terrf 
tonal law last winter. Two market hunters k led 
i^ore'the Lrcev"b1r'°^°°V^ days llSt winter^'l 
nope tne Lacey bih will put a stop to such slaughter 
W. S. Chenoweth, M'. D. 
