466 
^ "^"^^ -T- H 
quarters on St. Claif street, neaf Adams, Mr. Renner is 
himself a thorough-going sportsman, and has hunted over 
much of the ground made fani:Har to the readers of 
FoKEST AND STREAM by Koosevclt and Hough. In Cin- 
cinnati he was a member of the famous Cuvier Club, and 
has transported the name to Toledo. He also was (and is) 
a member of the immortal Kingfishers, whose rendezvous 
is at the Queen City, and among whom he figures as Ihe 
Deacon. The walls of the smoking room at the Cuvier are 
hung with reproductions of water colors by Frost and 
Huntington, and on the tables are to be placed a choice 
list of the best hunting and fishing periodical-, the first 
of which he assured me yesterday is to be the Forest and 
Stream. 
On Triton Waters. 
A few days since two Toledo gentlemen who are mem- 
bers of the noted Triton Fish and Game Club, of Canada, 
were most pleasantly reminded of a friendship formed on 
the lakes and streams of that sportsman's paradise during 
their fishing tour to its waters in Augvist last. It appears 
from the evidence that W. J. Walding and Noah H. 
Swayne, the gentlemen in question, while out for the day s 
fishing, had stopped at the noon hour at Lac de Passe, 
where'"thcv met two fellow fishermen who were also mem- 
bers of the club, but located at a different camp.. A 
courteous invitation by the Toledo party to join them at 
their noonday lunch was as cordially accepted by the 
others, and in the conversation which ensued our home 
people lamented the fact that they were obliged to obtam 
their time from the sun, moon and stars, Mr. Waldmg 
having broken the mainspring of his w^atch while Mr. 
Swayne's timepiece had suffered the loss of its crystal. 
Whereupon the younger of their guests remarked that he 
M'as fortimate in having two watches with him, and it 
would please him to have Mr. Walding carry one of 
them till his return to Toledo. The offer was thankfully 
accepted, and during the next few days the quartette re- 
mained together, casting the feathered lure from their 
respective canoes during the day, and exchanging 
reminiscences and divers colored "tokens" at night. A 
warm friendship grew up among the members of the party, 
and on one occasion when his companion was not by. the 
elder fisherman suggested to Mr. Walding that he would 
better keep the watch when he returned to Toledo, as its 
owner had really more watches than he had any actual 
use for, since he was a director in the New England 
Watch Company. Afterward, when the suggestion was 
heartily .seconded by the youngest man, the Toledoan 
said that he would be glad to retain the watch (an ordi- 
nary Waterbury) as a memento of the meeting. Perhaps 
it ought to be noted, before going further with the story, 
that the cards which the two visitors had tendered at the 
first meeting showed that the elder gentleman was Mr. 
George E. Hart, president of the New England Watch 
Company, of Waterbury. Conn., and Mr. George W. 
Burnham. of New York city. 
Before the party separated, with many mutual expres- 
s:oirs of gratification over the added enjoyment which 
their intercourse had afTorded Mr. Hart requested Mr. 
Walding to return the watch to him as soon as the Toledo 
man had reached home, .=o that the manufacturer of time- 
pieces might have the oppor. unity of "putting it in a better 
case," as he expressed it. Walding thanked him and 
thought nothing more about the matter till he received 
a letter not long after his return, from Mr. Hart, who 
insisted that Walding should "carry out his agreement" 
and send back the watch. Mr. Hart also asked that some 
picture which Walding valued for its associations be sent 
wilh the watch, in order that an engraving m ght be made 
from it for the case. The watch and photograph were 
sent accordingly, and a few days since Mr. Walding re- 
ceived, not a thick and heavy Waterbury, but a thin, high 
grade t mepiece, whose mechanism and ornamentation 
are the highest expression of the watchmaker's art. On 
the back of the case is an engraving showing a faithful 
reproduciion of a camp photograph taken some three 
years ago, when Mr. Walding had left home an invalid, 
and his camping companion had been cautioned by his 
wife, "on no account lo let Mr. Walding do any lifting." 
in the picture a log camp appears in the background, arid 
just in front of it stands the "sick man." who in the inter- 
vening weeks of free life in the open air had regained his 
wonted health, wilh a pack over his shoulders which would 
have staggered the most robust pack mule. The open 
face of the watch displays a most unique and beautiful 
design. On its snow white surface, instead of the usual 
Roman numerals are given miniature fac-similes of the 
first twelve cards of the diamond suit beginning with 
the ace for the first hour and ending with the queen. The 
diamonds in each card are reproduced in garnets, while 
over the center of each an emerald disk marks the point at 
which the hands reach the hour. The letter which advised 
tiie recipient of its transmission was inclosed in an en- 
velope of the full "official" size, and this ccn'.ained on its 
face a reproduction of the camp scene in water colors, and 
on the reverse side an original sketch also in colors, in 
which was depicted a camp table with a chair at either 
end and on its ba tered surface a stack of chips, a pack of 
cards, two half-burned cigars, and looming over all. an 
innnense demijohn bearing the legent. "Walding's Best 
Bail." 
JMr. Swayne was' ak& eompl:mented with a watch of 
exactly similar pattern, save that the engraving on the 
case represented ^ a birch bark canoe with an appropriate 
background. To say that these gentlemen are highly 
pleased with this lavish recognition of camp courtesies is 
putting it very mildly indeed, and nothing can afford 
either of them greater saf sfaction just now than to be 
asked by their friends for the time o' the day. 
Mr. Walding brought with him on his return from 
the Triton waters a 4'^ -pound male fontinali? which he 
has had handsomely mounted. He was taken on a 5-ounce 
rod, with a red bucktail fly and automatic reel, and 
afforded thirty-five minutes of that exhilarating suspense 
wh-ch brings a man's heart into his mouth, before he was 
lifted into the canoe. 
A Rare Visitor, 
I delay the signature to this letter long enough to say 
that an eider duck was shot in the marshes north of 
Toledo to-day, one of the extremely rare specimens 
which have been taken in the waters of this localit5^ The 
bird was in fine plumage, and is naturally much prized by 
its captor. Jay iBEEEE. 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
American Wildfowl and How to 
i^^:Take Them.-XIV. 
BY GEORGE BIRD GRIN NELL. 
{Continued from page 4jT.1 
Pintail. 
DaHla acuta (Linn.). 
The male pintail has the head and upper neck wood 
brown, darkest on the crown, often with greenish, red- 
dish and purple reflections. A part of the hind neck is 
black; lower down it becomes grayish, finely barred with 
dusky, gray and white. The front of back and sides are 
waved with very fine cross bars of white and black. Most 
of the wing is gray or brownish. The speculum is green, 
in some lights coppeiy, margined with \yhite tawny and 
black, and with a cinnamon-colored bar in from. A line 
beg'nning at the bacJc of the head and passing down the 
side of the neck is white, running into the white of the 
fore neck and under parts. The long feathers growing 
from the third bone of the wing are pale gray wi.h a 
black strip down the middle. The long scapulars or 
shoulder feathers, are black, edged with whitish. The 
upper and under tail coverts are black, touched with white 
on the outside, forming a line of white. The tail feathers 
PINTAIL DUCK. 
are mostly gray and brown, but the long central pair, 
which are narrow and pointed and extend far beyond the 
others, are black. The bill is bluish-gray, eyes brow'n, and 
the legs and feet gray. Length, 26-30 inches ; wing, over 
ID inches. 
The female is one of the plain grayish ducks, resem- 
bling in a general way the female mallard, or the female 
green-winged teal. The ground color of the upper parts 
IS rusty or Avhitish, streaked with dusky or brownish. The 
chin and throat are whitish ; the wing-coverts brownish- 
igray edged with white. The under parts are white, 
streaked with dusky. The bird is always to be dis- 
tinguished by its bill and its feet. 
The p-ntail is a bird of wide distribution, inhabiting 
the whole of the northern hemisphere, from Alaska on 
the west lo Japan and northern Kamschatka on the east. 
In America it is found all over the country, at different 
seasons of the year, from ocean to ocean, and from the 
shares of the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Sea. In 
winter it is found in Cuba also. Although breeding, in 
Alaska, on the Mackenzie River and in Greenland, it is 
also a summer resident of the Western United States, and 
breeds in considerable numbers in Dakota, Idaho. Mon- 
tana and Wyoming. I have found their nests there in the 
middle of June, the young not yet having made their 
appearance. 
The pintail is not very abundant in autumn on the New 
England coast, though it is found occasionally in Maine 
and Massachusetts, and in somewhat greater abundance in 
Connecticut, where it is known as pheasant. On Long 
Island it is more common during the migrations, and 
when we reach the coast of Virginia and North Carol na 
it is one of the abundant ducks. Here it often associates 
with the mallard and black duck, and when the birds fly 
to and fro from their feeding grounds a small bunch may 
contain four or five mallards, two or three black ducks 
and an equal number of pintails. On the other hand, little 
flocks made up only of pintails are often seen. 
In the first volume of the "Water Birds" Dr. Brewer 
gives the follow'ng abridgment of Mr. Kennicott's ac- 
coitnt of the pintail in the iNorth : "The summer home of 
the pintail is within the Arctic region, further to the 
northward than that of any other of our fresh-water 
ducks, comparatively few breeding south of Great S'ave 
Lake. In their spring migrations to the northward they 
move in immense flocks, which only d'sperse upon their 
arrival at tlieir breeding grounds. A few reach that lake 
about May i, but the main body arrive about a week 
or so later, and mostly pass directly on across the lake to 
the northward. On the Yukon the first specimens, were 
seen in the latter part of April, and before the lOth of 
May they had arrived in immense flocks, which remained 
some time together in that vic'nity before passing further 
north or separating to breed. At this time the birds 
were fat, and their flesh delicious, imich superior to that 
of any other duck, except the widgeon. At the Yukon the 
pintails are the latest in nesting of any of the fresh-water 
ducks, and generally hatch a week or two after the mal 
lard. He found them breeding in the same grounds and 
at about the same time, with FuUx aifinis, though they 
do not associate with that species. He always found their 
nests in low but dry ground, under the shelter of trees 
or bushes, though never among thick, large trees, and not 
more than two or three rods from water. They never 
build on hammocl<s in the water, nor on high land, but 
always just upon the edge of a marsh or lake. The nest 
is usually placed at the foot of a willow, among grass, 
rather than leaves or moss, and is extremely simple, being- 
composed of merely a few bits of broken dry grass and 
sticks, but well lined with down. The eggs are from 
seven to nine in number, and rather small in size." 
ft)Ec. IS, xgoo. 
Mf. E. W. Nelson, who-e studies of Northern birds 
afe so irttefestihg, has given a graphic account of the 
breeding habits of the pintail, and among other things, 
calls attention to an act by this duck curiously similar 
to the well-known drumming of the snipe. The bird falls 
from a great height, with wings held stiff and curved, and 
producing a sound which at first is low, but gradually 
grows louder, until, as the bird reaches the ground in its 
diagonal fall, the sound becomes very loud. A man who 
has had a bunch of canvasbacks or blackheads sweep down 
over him as they prepare to alight, can well imagine 
what this sound is like. The cry of the pintail in autumn 
and winter is a low lisping whistle, but at oJier times it 
is said to utter a sound something like the quack of the 
mallard, and also one similar to the rolling note produced 
by the blackhead. 
The pintail is quite a shy bird ; Us usual flight is high 
in the air, which gives it an opportunity to inspect the 
country for signs of danger. Often, however, if the 
weather is favorable, these birds come well to decoys, and 
are easily killed. 
There are few more graceful species than this. The 
long pointed wings, the slender form, terminating in a 
long neck and tail, and the swift flight, make the bird a 
very beautiful one. 
This species rejoices in many names, and some of them 
given by Mr. Trumbull are pied gray duck, gray widgeon, 
sea widgeon, split tail, sprig tail, spike tail,- picket ta.l sea 
pheasant, water pheasant, long neck, sharp tail and spindle 
tail. 
Wood Duck. 
Aix sponsa (Ltnn.). 
The adult male has the head and long thick crest rich 
green and purple, with brilliant metallic reflections. A 
narrow hne of whi.e starts from the upper angle of the 
bill, passing over the eye, and continuing down into the 
crest. Another wider line starts behind the eye and runs 
down into the under part of the crest. The throat and 
upper neck are white, sending out two branches one up 
behind the eye, another back behind the head, partly in- 
dosing the violet l-)lack of the lower back of the head. 
The lower neck find breast are rich ches.rtut glossed with 
purple, dotted in front with triangular spots of white. 
The back is purplish-black, with glossy reflection.s, as are 
also the upper wing coverts. The shoulder feathers and 
tertiarres are black, wdth blue, green and purple reflections, 
and the longest of the tertiary fea hers is tipped with 
white. On the side of the breast, just in fi-ont of the 
wing, is a broad white bar and below it, another bar, 
which is black. The sides and flanks are finely waved 
with black lines on a brownish-yellow ground, many of 
the feathers having a bar of black, bordered with wh'te 
at the extremities. The under parts are pure -white, but 
the under tail coverts are glossy black. The upper tail 
coverts are long, fall over the tail on either side and are 
rich with metallic reflccticns. The bill is deep red, with 
a black spot near the base, a white spot on the side, a yel- 
low border to the base, and with a black na'l. The eyes 
are bright carmine red, surrounded by orange-red or 
scarlet eyelids. The legs and feet are yellow, with dusky 
joints and webs. 
The adult female is generally gray, or greenish-gray, 
but her markings, in a general way, resemble those of the 
male. She has the crest, but riot so much of it as the 
WOOD DUCK, 
male. The throat and under parts are white ; the breast 
and sides greenish-gray, do.ted with white markings; the 
upper parts are more browni h and have purple and 
bronzj' reflections. The secondaries arc wh te-tipped. 
The bill is duskv, and there is a narrow line of white all 
about it. The length is about 19 inches, wing g}4 inches. 
The wood duck is easily the most beautiful of North 
American ducks. It is commonl5' compared with the 
mandarin duck of China, but it is larger and its dress is 
a li.tle more highly colored, and while more rich, is yet 
more simple. 
This is a bird of the South, and breeds everywhere 
throughout the Eastern and Southern United States, in 
suitable localities. Unlike most of our ducks, it is not a 
migrant to the far North, though it ha.s been found as 
far north as latitude 54 degrees, but it confines itself 
pretty well to the United States, and further to the 
southward. 
The wood duck is a bird of swamps and small inland 
waters, and is notable as being one of the few species 
which always nests in trees. Sometimes it take^ posses- 
sion of a hole excavated by a great woodpecker, or it 
may adapt a hollow in a trunk or branch to its use. It 
is very much at home in the timber, and threads its way 
among the tree tops at great speed, The eggs are often 
laid on the bare wood that forms the floor of the cavity 
W'hich it occupies, but, as incubation goe ; on, the mother 
plucks more or less down from her breast to cover them. 
When the youn^ are hatched, if the nest is over the 
water they crawl to the opening and throw themselves 
into the air to fall into the water. If, however, the nest 
is at a distance from tlie shore, the mother carries them 
to the water in her bill. When the young ducks are 
hatched their claws are exceedingly sharp, and th^ are 
