S04 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
tdct. iO, iQoi. 
there and turned that rock over with my plow, and that 
snake ran off. It had "assembled" itself and grown to- 
gether again, and as it wriggled away I saw where it had 
healed and there was a ridge around it there, raised about 
a quarter of an inch all around. Mrs. Blanton does not 
like me to imperil my reputation by repeating this story, 
but it is true, nevertheless. 
''I told it once to Uncle Joe O'Bannion, over at Fred 
ericktown, and he said: 'Well, Thompson, I can tell you 
a snake story that beats that a mile. Po you know my 
nephew Jim?' 
" 'Yes,' I said. 'I've known him as long as I've known 
you.' 
'' 'Well, do you know where the old Johnson farm is?' 
" 'Yes,' I sai(i ; 'I've been on it a hundred times, I 
reckon.' 
*' 'Well, Jim and I were riding along the creek down 
there one time and I saw a cottouraouth moccasin run 
into a drift, and I says, "Jim, let's get oft our horses and 
kill that cottunmouth," and Jim says we couldn't get it 
out of that drift. 
' "Yes Ave can." says I. "You get you a good club and 
stand across the branch and kill it when it comes out," and 
I touched a match to the drift, and when it took fire, out 
crawled the cottonmouth and Jim killed it, and there were 
ninety-nine little cottonmouths ran out of that snake's 
mouth.' 
"When Uncle Joe got through 1 didn't say anything 
right away, but after a little I says: 'Uncle Joe, why 
didn't you make that one hundred?' 
"And he turned to me kind of sad and said : 'Thomp- 
son Blanton, do vou suppose I would tell a lie for onr 
little snake?' " ' George Kennedy. 
Old Cronies. 
You all know them, but I don't think they are foimd so 
often as among the ones who enjoy the sports of forest 
and stream. There is a bond of sympathy between them 
that they do not understand themselves. They num- 
ber members of all ages and nations, and even can be 
found among the animals. I will write of two men 1 
know of middle age. How or when their friendship 
originated is a mystery, for they are directly opposite in 
nature — one quick, nervous and inclined to weight; the 
other, lean, slow, and I do not believe he has nerves. 
Living some distance apart, they don't meet more than 
twice a week, but every two or three days Jack will 
begin to look toward Joe's and have spells of absent 
mind, standing with hands crossed, staring into space, un- 
til finally the desire canot be resisted longer, and off he 
is to Joe's. The meeting is quiet, and they wander off to 
some shady nook and will sit for an hour without saying a 
word, seemingly happy in the silent companionship. 
Finally, the silence will be broken by a remark on the 
weather, then their Httle troubles are told, confidences are 
exchanged and the troubled looks will vanish, smiles will 
come and those kind old faces will look years ydunger. 
A momentary stop at the house and he comments on the 
looks of Joe, Jr. — how ugly, etc. — but Joe takes it as 
meant, knowing if another were to say such, in Jack's pres- 
ence, there would be war. Back home again with the bur- 
den lifted for a few days he goes, only to return for the 
consolation of that other presence— one's troubles the 
other shares, thus mutually smoothing life's rough path- 
way. 
When the troubles came thick and fast, many might 
come and speak words of sympathy, but the silent com- 
pany of his Old Crony was the balm of his suffering 
soul. When the end came and she had gone to her rest — 
the last, long sleep— then it was Joe who saw that every- 
thing was done that mortal could do for one so afiflicted. 
Then came words of thanks to all but Joe — not a word 
for him. The eyes — that beautiful spirit's shrine — ^then 
told a story mortal lips cannot express — the thanks of a 
troubled soul to the one who had tried to bear its burdens. 
Thus sharing life's burdens, those old cronies will go 
through life, and when that grim destroyer comes for 
one, the other will wait with impatience for the day when 
again they can exchange confidences on that other shore. 
J. H, Pierce. 
Out of Their Latitude. 
In the notes just published by tlie United States Fish 
Commission, of observations at Wood's Holl, Mass., in 
1900, Messrs, George H. Sherwood and Vinal N. Ed- 
Avards record the occurrence in Massachusetts waters of 
several fish which belong in more soitthern latitudes. 
Among the most interesting are these: 
Tarpon (Tarpon atlanticus). — Mr. H. M. Knowles, of 
Wakefield, R. I., is authority for the statement that a 
tarpon 5 feet long, and so slender that it only weighed 30 
pounds, was caught in a fish trap near Dutch Island Har- 
bor, Narragaiisett Bay. Another weighing 80 pounds was 
taken at A5artha's Vineyard, and a smaller one in the 
Fish Commission trap at Wood's Holl, The northern 
limit of range of this species is southern New England, 
but it probably does not breed north of Ctiba. 
Smooth Puffer (Lagocephahts IcBvigatiis) .—During 
1900 several specimens of this occasional visitor were 
taken in the vicinity of Wood's Holl. In the fall twp 
adults were caught in a trap at Cedar Tree Neck. The 
Rhode Island Fish Commission reports three specimens 
from Narragansett Bay; the largest, taken Oct. 4, at 
Tiverton, R. I., weighed 10 pounds; the other two were 
caught the week before at the mouth of the bay. The 
smooth puffers are common in the South, but very rare 
north of Cape Hatteras. Their average length is 2 feet. 
The young, from 2.5 to 4 inches long, were found by 
the U. S. Fish Commission in the waters of Porto Rico. 
Flasher, Triple-Tail (Lobotes stirinamensis.) — The 
Rhode Island Fish Commission has in its possession a 
specimen of Lobotes weighing 6 pounds and measuring 22 
inches in length, caught on Sept. 10 in a trap off Prudence 
Island, Narragansett Bay. This inhabitant of all tropical 
seas is a very rare visitor in the waters of southern New 
England. Not more than six specimens have been recorded 
from this vicinity in the last twenty years. 
Of the additions to the fish fauna in 1900, Dr, Hugh M. 
Smith writes :' 
The already surprisingly large fish fauna of the Wood's 
Holl region was augmented by four Southern species dur- 
ing the fall of 1900. These bring the total number of 
known species from the vicinity to 343. Following are the 
species new to the -region: 
Flying Fish {Exoccchis rondcletU). — This common 
.species of the West Indies and the Mediterranean has 
been recorded from United States waters only in Florida. 
A specimen 7.25 inches long was caught in a trap at 
Menemsha Bight, Oct. 13. 
Yellowtail (Ocyitrus chrysurus). — The normal range 
of this species is southern Florida to South America. It 
is an abundant food fish at Key West. On Oct. 4, an ex- 
ample 5.5 inches long was seined in Katama Bay, 
Parrot Fish (Scarus croicensis) . — This is a common 
West Indian species, the Northern limit of whose known 
range heretofore has been Key West. Two specimens 3 
inches long were taken in Katama Bay, Oct. 20, the 
water temperature being 57 degrees F. 
Mud Parrot Fish {Sparisoma Aavescens) . — This, the 
commonest species of the genus, is abundant at Key West 
and throughout the West Indies. It was not known north 
of Florida until a .specimen 6 inches long was found at 
Wood's Holl on Nov. 13; it had been benumbed by the 
cold and was picked up on the shore of Buzzard's Bay. 
Subtropical fishes, observed during the year, are noted 
by Dr. Smith as follows: Spanish sardine, squirrel fish, 
snowy grouper, red grouper, marbled rockfish, yellow- 
finned grouper, short big-eye, gray snapper, schoolmaster, 
red snapper, muttonfish, butterfly fish, blue tang, tang, 
cowfish, scorpion fish. 
The season as a whole was unfavorable, and com- 
pared with 1899 there was a scarcity of tropical species. 
No Gulf weed was seen in any of the inshore waters, and 
there was little wind from the direction of the Gulf 
.Stream. Nevertheless, some rare fishes were found, and a 
immber of species which, until 1899, had been considered 
very uncommon, were taken in abundance. Most of the 
collecting was done in Katama Bay, which the previous 
season's experience had shown to be the most favorable 
locality in the vicinity of W'ood's Holl, and only in this 
body of water were any of the typical Southern fishes 
found. Large bluefish and flounders were abundant at 
the inlet of the bay through the summer, and may have 
picked up many of the small, gaily colored stragglers from 
the South. 
Caribou in Bronx Park* 
Seven young caribou were received at the New York 
Zoolog^ical Park last week. They came from Newfound- 
land. The band consists of five does and two bulls. 
In this connection it is interesting to recall that the 
first caribou ever brought into the United States was for 
Blooming Grove Park, in 1871, from Antigonish, Nova 
Scotia, by Charles Hallock. It was carefully crated, fed, 
and personally attended to by Mr. Hallock, and had a 
smooth passage, by steamer, to New York. It went up 
the Erie Railroad to Lackawaxen, and arrived at the park 
grounds in good order. It was turned into the breeding 
paddock, a mile square, where it seemed to thrive at 
first, but, after a few weeks was found dead, manifestly 
from lack of suitable diet. 
^^nie ^ug and ^m. 
' — * — 
Proprietors of shooting resorts will find it profitable to advertise 
them in Forest and Stream. 
The One Incident. 
It is the experience of every man, I fancy, to have some 
particular incident of each hunting trip leave a deeper 
impression upon the memory than the total of all his other 
adventures combined. This is the occurrence that marks 
distinctively a visit to the Maine woods last fall. The 
.story is simple enough, and relates to a deer which I might 
have shot and did not. 
One day I was walking with my guide along aii old 
wood trail on the lookout for moose, when we spied a 
young buck deer about 50 yards ahead of us in the trail. 
He probably never had seen man before — at least, he 
looked at us very curiously and fearlessly. My guide 
urged me to shoot, but I refused, for the little fellow's 
trustful tameness impelled me to spare his life, and be- 
sides, we were after larger game, which a shot might 
alarm. I determined, instead, to see how close I could ap- 
proach, so I walked steadily forward to within 25 yards. 
At this point a big tree had fallen across the trail with its 
trunk nearly breast high. I thought to myself that in 
crossing this obstacle, where more or less of violent effort 
must be used, certainly, the deer would take alarm and 
make off. But not a bit of it ; he watched me in the noisy 
process of clambering up and off the trunk with a look of 
wise amazement, but without any demonstration of fear. 
As I further advanced he went on browsing, with an air 
of calm contentment, now and then glancing up at me 
with his big, brown eyes. He was a beautiful little fel- 
low, with quite the prettiest head and face of any deer I 
have ever run across. I may remark here, what every 
deer hunter well knows, that there is a marked in- 
dividuality in deer, and some have far handsomer heads 
and faces than others. Not till I had approached to 
within 25 feet (I afterward measured the distance) did 
my confiding forest friend show any trepidation. Even 
then his sense of alarm was not much exercised, for he 
merely gave a couple of graceful bounds to a mossy bank 
alongside and stood there watching me as I still continued 
to approach him. Again I ad's'^nced to within 25 feet, 
when whoof ! he must have got my wind, for with bound- 
ing leaps, white flag displayed, he madly sped through the 
woods as if the devil himself were behind him. 
Now the Maine laws allow one bull moose and two 
deer each season to the successful huntsman, but. as a 
matter of fact, I shot neither my one moose nor either of 
my deer last fall. There were numerous opportunities 
to shoot deer, to be sure, which I always declined, for I 
was after moose primarily, but no other deer offered me 
so certain a shot. 
I confess I would like to have shot my lawful quota 
of both moose and deer, but I am far from regretting 
that I did not shoot this trustful little spike-horn buck 
in the wood trail. On the' contrary, I rejoice to think that 
I did not betray his simple confidence in my friendly in- 
tentions. The memory of his gentleness and beauty will 
always remain with me as one of the valued recollections 
of my woods adventures. The fact that I spared his life 
is a matter of keener gratification and one more heartily 
cherished than the recollection of the savage joys of many 
a successful liunt. W. N. Amory. 
Moose Hunters* Luck. 
A gentJeman who has hunted big game in Maine every season for 
several years hands me the followmg for the Forest and Stre.-vm. 
He directs me to cut it down or change it, as it may seem best to 
do, but it contains so much of truth, well put, that I give it entire. 
— Speciai.. 
A love of nature and an appreciation of her forests, 
fields, mountains, rivers and lakes, coupled with the re- 
maining traits of the savage which are in our com- 
position naturally, seem to be the only essential requisites 
for acquiring a full measure of enjoyment in hunting, 
especially big game. That there is an immeasureable 
amount of the savage in the personality of the white 
man, subdued by the artificial life we call civilization, 
is evident the moment he finds hiinself in the forest, with 
rifle in hand, facing fair game. His first impulse is to 
kill. It is as natural for him as it Is to breathe, with 
the only difference that it is not as easy. Man himself 
is an uncertain instrument; not half as true as the rifle 
barrel his eye glances over, but the savage in him is 
given full swing in his desire, to kill. But the killing 
of game, beyond that which he requires for food or 
trophies, will, at each succeeding hunting trip_, be a 
lesser consideration, till finally he may come to hunting 
with the camera only. His freqiient contact with nature; 
with the largeness of things out o£ doors; with her 
beauty and bounty, her silence and sombreness, forces 
a broadening and a new view. He wants to know more 
of the secrets of things in the great woods. Instead of a 
desire to kill, he now watches and investigates. He 
spends hours in attempting to successfully snap a camera 
on a feeding deer, a wading moose or a brood of par- 
tridges. His love for the woodfolk will increase in ratio 
with his success in learning their habits, and their life- 
taking will no longer seem necessary to his happiness. 
Finally, for food only will he kill. 
Such is the logical and increasing process of evolution 
in the composition of the intelligent sportsman. It de- 
velops by constant contact with nature. While the trans- 
formation of a huntsman into a naturalist is by short and 
slow steps, and impresses generally only the older and 
more intelligent, it is nevertheless sure. Its influence 
can already be recognized in the fact that a huntsman's 
outfit nowadays is not considered complete without a 
camera. The use of the camera by the ornithologist or 
naturalist is without limit, and through its agency the 
killing of the woodfolk is decreasing in the ratio of an 
increasing spirit of humanity in the development of the 
sportsman. Twenty years ago but little was known by 
amateurs of photography, and the pictures they produced 
were few in number, and more often failures than suc- 
cesses. To-day the camera, in developing and trans- 
forming the sportsman into a student of nature, furnish- 
ing him pictures of living mammalia, birds, fishes and 
flowers, conveys the precise knowledge he desires 
without resorting to individual anatomy. 
An increasing respect for, and better enforcement of, 
the wise game laws of New England, and several of the 
other States, are to some extent the educational factors 
which have led to these conditions. The record may or 
may not show it, but it is generally accepted fact that 
game law breakers and poachers are not the visiting 
sportsmen. The receivers of game in Boston markets 
can best attest to this statement as the true condition of 
affairs, up to the last fall hunting season at least. The 
amount of game illegally shipped from Maine, in open 
and close season, has matei-ially decreased, however, 
during the past two years, and by reason of the vigilance 
of the wardens and prompt convictions in the Maine 
courts. The convictions and sentences of several regis- 
tered guides for illegal killing last fall seems to have 
had a very beneficial effect upon all poachers, and very 
little illegal game in the shape of market shipments is 
now attempted. Most of the game received in Boston 
the past open season came in the form of the trophies 
of returning sportsmen; the game sent into the Boston 
markets to be sold. To what extent this game was 
actually killed by the persons bringing it to Boston is a 
good deal of an open question. 
Large bull moose appear to be decreasing in num- 
bers or leaving the country, while young bulls are more 
numerous than a year ago. Many of the latter were 
seen the past fall, but were in the spike-horn stage, and 
were generally unmolested. It has been a rare piece 
of good luck and a glory to a sportsman in Maine this 
year to get a moose head worth setting up as a trophy. 
It is a safe assertion to make that not 10 of the 138 
moose shipped through Bangor last season were above 
fair specimens. One particularly fine head was shipped 
from Patten in October. A description of the trip made 
by the party securing this splendid moose demonstrates 
the element of luck which enters so largely into moose 
hunting in Maine. The party consisted of three Boston 
newspaper men and two guides. The itinerary was to 
remain in the woods till a good specimen of moose was 
secured. With a suitable tenting outfit and necessary 
provisions, with a few luxuries, the start was made from 
Patten at noon, Oct. 13. Very bad roads, by reason 
of recent heavy rains, prevented the outfit making 
over twelve niiles by nightfall, and it put up at Shinn 
Pond sporting camps the first night. An early start the 
following morning made Seebois at midday, where 
hunting clothes were put on, guns unpacked, and still- 
hunting for big game was commenced. A twenty-mile 
tramp northwest, to the Allaguash region, through as 
beautiful a country as there is in Maine, with the antici- 
pation of getting a shot at game every mile of the way, 
