224 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[March 23, i^T. 
Now one little story of a bear that did run and then 1 
am done with Mr. Bear. Probably, if I did not have 
to write of myself I could tell a better story. In 1877 I 
was one of a party of prospectors in the mountains of 
northern Mexico. At the time in question we were 
camped near the mouth of a rather narrow and deep 
canon, throvigh a portion of which ran a beautiful little 
stream of water. It was during the rainy season, and 
the country thereabouts was as pretty as a picture. 
Turkey and deer were plentiful, and of bear sign there 
was no end. Every foot of the cation was wild and 
grand. The intersecting canons, of which there were 
many, were nothing more than great cracks in the 
earth,' through which the stars could be seen in mid- 
day, and in which the shadows hung heavy and dark at all 
times. Once, when exploring it alone, I was overtaken 
by night while still several miles from camp. So long 
as I held to the caiion I could not go astray, and by 
keeping to the stream I was sure to strike camp. The 
darkness of a deep canon on a stormy night can be felt 
but not seen. It had been raining pretty much all after- 
noon, and with the exception of short intervals it fell 
steadily through the night. Considering the intense dark- 
ness. I experienced but little difficulty till I reached a belt 
of Cottonwood timber, every tree of which had been up- 
rooted by a furious storm of apparently the year before. 
Shortly after entering this I was obliged to leave the 
water, and was slowly feeling my way over and between 
the prostrate trees, when I was brought to a standstill 
by the breaking of some sticks, apparently 15 or 20 feet 
in front of me. I rightly surmised that I was facing a 
bear, and, although I could not see it, I imagined the 
spot in front of me to be a little darker than the sur- 
rounding blackness. Just how long we stood and faced 
each other I cannot say, bttt on a hasty sizing up of the 
situation I decided to try the straight goods and go ahead. 
I held the muzzle of my rifle (Sharps) well in froiit 
of me, with the intention of discharging it the moment it 
came in contact with the bear's body, and then trust to 
my knife. I had, however, not taken more than a half- 
dozen steps when with a frightened snort it broke and 
ran. It was absolutely panic stricken, and in its frantic 
efforts to get away it crashed through a dead tree top 
with as much noise as a runaway team. Here, then, was 
clearly a case of scare, but had I done differently it is 
impossible to tell what the result would have been, but 
it could not stand the pressure of being bumped into 
by a stranger on a dark night. I have already been too 
long winded on the one subject, but I wanted to show 
that while the great majority of brutes will perhaps run 
at the first sign of alarm, there are others. 
Of Avolves I know but little. Although quite plenti- 
fully scattered about the country, I never had the pleas- 
ure of killing one. The theory of their pacific intentions 
finds jio favor with Hon. M. F. Shaw, ex-sheriff of Pima 
county. Some years since, when driving in a buckboard 
between Pantano, on the Southern Pacific, and the Em- 
pire ranch, he was attacked by a big timber Avolf. It 
ran alongside of the wagon, snapping and snarling, and 
but for the fact that he was driving a spirited pair of 
animals it would, he thinks, have been in the wagon 
with him. 
Some three years ago I saw a fine litter of six wolf 
whelps. They w-ere about a month or six weeks old, and 
had been brought in by a scalp hunter. He told me that 
although the mother was a large animal, she made no 
attempt to defend her young, but got away. 
Last summer a statement was published in the Phoenix 
papers to the end that a young man of that place had 
been badly bitten by a mountain lion. With a brother, he 
was prospecting in the Superstition Mountains. One 
evening, while they were sitting outside their tent, they 
saw several large animals prowling about, and as they 
came uncomfortably near, a stick was thrown in their 
direction. Instantly one turned, sprang on the yottnger 
brother and inflicted several ugly and dangerous wotmds 
before it could be driven off. 
About four months since a Mexican rancher near this 
place reported that he had been attacked by a mountain 
lion, but that he had killed it. The animal had, however, 
been previously shot, the bullet having entered the left 
eye, ranged downward and otit under the lower jaw 
on the opposite side of the head. By whom this bullet 
was fired is not known, but the animal was probably 
more dead than alive when met with in the Gila bottom. 
Dr. H. W. Cotter, a well-known physician and a 
prominent citizen of this place, stated to the writer that 
he had once been followed by a mountain lion. In com- 
pany with another gentleman, he had been visiting a piece 
of mining property a few ihiles up the Colorado, and 
was returning in the dusk of the evening at the time the 
attack w-as made, I do not now remember how he said 
the affair started, but he told me that it bounded along- 
side of the buggy, making one great leap after an- 
other, but made no attempt to spring in. It finally fell 
behind. 
Once, when in the hills. I was conscious of being fol- 
lowed by something, and presently saw the head of a 
mountain lion rise from behind a rock. I walked to- 
ward the place and it ran back, but when I stopped.it 
stopped, and when I turned from it it ?tood for a time 
and then came sneaking back. Not caring to be followed 
by even so cowardly a brute, I chased it with rocks, and 
it made no further attempt to follow me. It carried its 
tail low to the ground, with something like a half-curl in 
the end. 
On another occasion, when camped in a sandy bottom, 
one of these same individuals walked repeatedly around 
us, but withotit daring to come in. The nearest approach, 
as shown by the footprints in the sand, was to within 
about 30 feet. 
A shepherd dog we once had with us ran a lion up a 
mesquite tree. When I first saw it it was lying on a 
limb not more than 10 feet from the ground, contentedly 
watching the dog and slowly waving its tail from side to 
side. When shot it ran directly along the limb and then 
sprang to the ground. 
In the Santa Catalina Mountains I saw a man shoot at a 
red lion as it stood with its head exposed from behind a 
thicket of brush. The bullet cut too low and knocked 
dirt in its face. It sprang forward and disappeared like 
a flash among the rocks. 
When a boy in West Virginia, we had for a neighbor a 
very old lady by the name of Northumberland, Her 
people had been among the early settlers of that sec- 
tion of the country, and she spoke frequently of the 
dangers that surrounded her early life. It appears that 
then, as now, the natives thereabouts gathered ginseng 
for the market, This ginseng, as many of your readers 
well know, is indigenous to the woods of that State. It 
is, or rather. used to be, gathered by women and girls, and 
the act of going to collect it was known as "gauging." 
For the purpose they used a small light hoe with a narrow 
blade on one side and a sort of fork on the other. .\n 
implement similar to this appears to have been long used, 
for Mrs. Northumberland often told of going "sanging'" 
with such hoe when a girl, and of being once overtaken 
by darkness and of getting lost in the woods. As a pro- 
tection against wild animals, she climbed a tree and took 
her "'sang" hoe with her. In the night a panther came 
and repeatedly climbed to where she was. and every time 
it did so she struck it on the head with her hoe and 
knocked it down. In the morning it lay dead at the foot 
of the tree, with the skin of its head and face hacked into 
ribbons.' It may have had pacific intentions when it 
climbed the tree, but if it did she failed to appreciate 
them. 
I remember also her telling of a mare and colt that be- 
longed to her father being driven from the woods, where 
they were feeding, by a panther. The colt had been badly 
torn by the animal. Her father and two brothers fol- 
lowed the trail of blood and presently met the panther, en- 
gaged in a like occupation and licking the blood frorn the 
leaves as it came along. It was supposed that when it 
sprang on the colt the mother attacked it and drove it 
away. This class of animals have always liad a weakness 
for colts, and T merely mention the above becau.se it is a 
tale of the long ago. Among the mountains of West 
Virginia these "varmints" were known by the name of 
"painters." 
Now for a couple of deer notes and then adios. Deer 
are dangerous at both ends, I once received a kick in the 
pit of the stomach from one. and "subseqitent proceedings 
interested mc no more," so far as that deer was con- 
cerned. 
Two acquaintances of the writer — John Dowdle and 
Jeff — were hunting deer near old Camp Cameron. They 
were in a canon, and according to arrangements Jeff had 
entered the canon lower down and was to drive the deer 
in the direction of John, who stood behind a bush and 
was to do the killing. The latter allowed two does to 
pass unmole.sted, but the third deer, a handsome young 
buck, he decided to kill, and stepped out for that purpose, 
but was instantly knocked down by it. His gun went one 
way. he another and the deer with him. He caught it 
by the horns, but was unable to protect himself from the 
horns and hoofs of the infuriated animal. Fortunately 
his shouting apparattis was .in good condition, and it 
brought Jeff to his assistance, otherwise he would most 
sttreh^ have been killed. 
One morning a Mexican vaquero was gathering cattle 
almost in the neighborhood of the above occurrence. He 
was attracted by the barking of his dog a short distance 
away, and rode to see what the trouble was. The dog 
had a white-tailed buck at bay, or rather the deer had the 
dog in that predicament. Urging the dog on, he rode 
up with the intention of roping the deer, but was charged 
on sight. He saved himself by slipping from his horse 
on the opposite side, and then to a tree a short distance 
away. The deer struck the horse just back of the left 
fore leg and dropped him dead. Although the skirt of 
the saddle did much to protect the horse, it failed to save 
him, as one prong struck it squarely on the heart. The 
horse was subsequently opened, and although the heart it- 
self had not been broken, the point of the horn had been 
pressed deep into it. I was told by one of the parties 
who examined it that the hole in the heart was more 
than a half-inch deep. Kindly bear in mind that this is 
no cock-and-bull story, but that of an actual occurrence. 
P.APAGO. 
Ducks Breeding in Maine. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
On page 161 of Fore.st and Stream for March 2 you 
ask for information about ducks breeding in the United 
States. I will sa}' that they regularly breed in many of 
the ponds in the settled portion of Maine. Lake Pennes- 
seewassee, here at Norway, is in latitude 44° 13' to 44° 
15', and in pleasant summer morning or evenings cot- 
tagers and boating parties are frequently entertained by 
the sight of wood ducks and their j'oung di-sporting 
themselves in the water. 
The lake is six miles long, has good shores partially 
wooded. About half a hundred cottages or camps, one 
small village and several farmhouses are close to the 
water. The islands are inhabited during warm weather. 
At the foot of the lake are two villages containing 3,500 in- 
habitants. 
A healthy public sentiment protects the birds till the 
}-oung are fully grown and they have learned to come out 
in sight of folks fearlessly. This is only one instance, and 
there are plenty of others. 
Quoting from Knight's "Birds of Maine," I find that of 
the Order Anseres family Anatidse, that species of 
this class of birds are known to breed in Maine. (The 
numbers are those of the American Ornithological Union.) 
129. — American merganser. Breeds in the lakes of the 
great Northern forest. 
130. — Red-breasted merganser. Breeds commonly along 
the Eastern coast and some in the interior. 
131. — Hooded merganser. Breeds in the lakes of the 
great woods. 
The three preceding species are called geese. The next 
three are river ducks. 
133- — Black duck. Known to breed in fifteeri 6f Maine's 
sixteen counties. 
140. — Blue-winged teal. Breeds in limited numbers in 
eastern and northern Maine. 
144. — Wood duck. Common summer resident in four- 
teen counties and occasionally seen in the other two. 
The next few are called sea ducks. 
146. — Redhead. Breeds rarely. 
151. — American golden-eye. Breeds in some of the 
Northern lakes. 
153. — Buffle-head. Breeds in the forests. 
160. — American eider. Breeds in a few places on the 
coast. 
167.- — Ruddy duck. Breeds in limited numbers in 
northeastern Maine. 
Of these birds, No, 144 and several species ought to 
breed quite commonly in New York State, especially in 
the Adirondacks. 
Mr. Ora W. Knight of Orono, Me., is the recognized 
authority on Maine ornithology, and could doubtless give 
you exhaustive information on the subject at issue. 
Wishiiig you success in the campaign for bird protec- 
tiQn. ^ D. C. Clark. 
D«cfcs Breeding in Illinois. 
Lnmanapolis, 111., March 16.— Just a thought— that my 
information regarding the breeding of wild ducks might 
be appreciated by you and your many readers, I will con- 
tribute my limited experience. 
From the spring of 1865 to the summer of 1870 I spent 
on the prairies of central Illinois. During these years 
ducks were very plentiful, especially in the spring season. 
But with the prairies becoming more thickly settled, and 
the draining and tiling of the lands, they are few now 
compared with a third of a century ago. 
In the early summer of 1865 I knew of three pair of 
ducks that hatched on these prairies near a few small 
ponds, and these ponds were not particularly isolated ones 
either. I knew the location of two of these nests whUe 
hatching. 
Again, in the spring of 1870 I had occasion to pass a 
pond daily, just at the edge where prairie and timber met, 
and my passing often disturbed a male mallard. Occa- 
sionally a female was with him and rising from the pond. 
They together would fly away out on the prairie. To my 
surprise one day there were not only one or two ducks on 
this pond, but there were eleven. Nine of them I thought 
the prettiest, downiest and sprightHest little ducks I ever 
met. After seeing the young, I had no doubt but that 
they were hatched in close proximity to this pond, but I 
could not find the vacated nest. I saw these ducks al- 
most daily for a period of three or four weeks, Avhen all 
.suddenly disappeared. 
Ducks have bred in this latitude, and if undisturbed 
would do so again. ^ J. C. L. 
Birds and Ligftithouses* 
A FEW years ago an official order was promulgated by 
the Lighthouse Board calling for the assistance of light- 
house keepers in the work of bird protection, and recently 
an order to similar effect was sent out bv the General 
Superintendent of the U. S. Life Saving Service as fol- 
lows: 
CONCERXING THE UNLAWFUL KILLING OF BIRDS. 
Treasury Department.— Office of the General Superintendent 
t- i'. Life Saving SerA'ice, Washington. D. C. Feb. 26.— To 
Ofhcers and Crews of the United States Life Saving Service: The 
attention of all officers and crews of this service is called to Section 
3 of an Act of Congress, approved May 25, 1900, as follows: 
Sec. 3. That it shall be unlawful for any person or persons to 
deliver to any common carrier, or for any common carrier to trans- 
port from one State or Territory to another State or Territoy, or 
from the District of Columbia or Alaska to any State or Territory, 
or from any State or Territory to the District of Columbia or 
.Maska, any foreign animals or birds the importation of which is. 
prohibited, or the dead bodies or parts thereof of any wild animals 
or birds, where such animals or birds have been killed in violation 
of the laws of the State, Territorj' or District in which the same 
were killed: Provided, That nothing herein shall prevent the 
transportation of any dead birds or animals killed during the 
season when the same may be lawfully captured, and the export 
of which is not prohibited by law in the State, Territorv or District 
in which the same are killed. 
It has been brought to the attention of this Department that a 
great number of sea and shore birds that breed or live in the 
vicinity of the several life saving stations of the United States are 
being killed for various purposes, in many cases contrary to State 
laws for the protection of birds. 
The attention of keepers and crews of such stations is, there- 
fore, called to the matter, and they are hereby cautioned against 
killing birds in violation of the game laws "and the laws pro- 
tecting birds w-hich have been enacted by the States having juris- 
diction, and are still in force; also against aiding or abetting in 
any way the killing of birds in violation of law. The keeper will 
report to the General Superintendent of the life saving service 
any member of a live saving crew whom he may know to be 
guilty of killing birds thus protected, and all members of life- 
saving crews, as far as they consistently can without interfering 
with their other duties, will give information and aid to the local 
authorities who are endeavoring to suppress such unlawful killing. 
District officers will give their aid to the enforcement of the 
foregoing instructions and promptly report to the General Su- 
perintendent any neglect to comply therewith, 
S, I. Kimball, General Superintendent, 
Approved : 
L. J. Gage,. Secretary of the Treasury, 
"Wolves Attacking Human Beings. 
The remarks about wolves in your Natural History 
column of Feb. g reminded me of an incident related by 
a professional hunter in the bush of western Canada, with 
Avhom I lived for nearly two months about 1865. 
There were many Indians in the neighborhood, and the 
hunter told me that one of them, when traveling alone 
in winter, and armed only with a tomahawk, was at- 
tacked by a pack of wolves. (I think he said nine in 
number.) The Indian placed his back against a tree and 
killed several, but one, in whose body the head of tiie 
tomahawk was buried, made a spring, which snatched the 
handle from the man's grasp. The other wolves then 
killed and devoured him. All this was plainly dis- 
cernible from the marks in the snow and the remains of 
the carcasses lying about. 
I cannot, of course, vouch for the truth of this narra- 
tive, but the hunter always appeared to me to be very 
truthful and without the slightest tendency to exaggera- 
tion. J. J. Meyrick. 
Devonshire, England. 
St* Atfgttstine Mockingbirds. 
The trees are alive to-day with mockingbirds, and the 
air is filled with their happy caroling. Since the en- 
forcement of the law for the protection of song birds, our 
welcome little visitors are returning from the woods, 
whither they were driven. The law cannot be too 
rigidly enforced in this particular. We want the birds, 
and they should be as sacred as the buzzards, if we ex- 
pect to prevent their extermination. — St. Augustine Rec- 
ord, March 9. 
The hunting dagger which belonged to Col. James 
Bowie, and which has served as the pattern of all subse- 
quent bowie knives, is a formidable double-edged weapon, 
with a horn handle and a curved blade 15 inches long and 
1% inches wide at the hilt. Like Dr. Guillotin, Col. Bowie 
unwittingly gave his name to an invention that has earned 
for itself a rather unfortunate reputation. 
