tiiek h&tk^ibhiid thMt bitfefi ki fifst trance it is jldrd 
to see thte animals. THis, after all, is precisely •vpliat We seg 
in nature, for niost hunters of long experience Will ie- 
member cases where, after having cautiously inspected 
a stretch of Cotmtry before them for game without suc- 
cess, they have come up in plain view, and sitting down 
to rest and look over the distant landscape have, after a 
time, discovered deer or mountain sheep in plain sight 
and close to them. If occurrences like that happen fre- 
quently, as frequently they do, how very safe from detec- 
tion must be the hiding fawn, such as shown in the 
beautiful photogravure in the Preface of this work, or the 
half-tone which faces page 27. 
Mr. Wallihan's book was an assured success before it 
was published. Now that it has been issued, and that 
the public can see for itself what the work is, its success 
is emphasized. The first edition of the book was prac- 
tically exhausted as soon as published. However, we 
have a few copies left for our mail subscribers, and 
the plates will at once be put on the press and a new edi- 
tion printed, so that early orders will be filled from the 
first copies received. 
Armored Whales, 
In an interesting paper recently published in London, 
Dr. R. Lydekker comments on the conclusions of Dr. O. 
Abel, a German writer who has been investigating a novel 
and comparatively recently detected fact in nature. It 
has been learned within the last few years that the ancient 
whales which swarmed the oceans of early geological 
times were protected from the attacks of their enemies by 
a bony armor, not unlike that with which the armadillo 
is provided, and vestiges of this ancient armor appear to 
be found in certain species now living upon the earth. 
One of these is a Japanese porpoise, another a South 
American species, while traces of it in the shape of bony 
tubercles imbedded in the skin have been found in the 
common porpoise of European waters. 
It is obvious that the animals living the life of the 
modern whales and porpoises could not have been covered 
with a complete coat of plate mail. Such a protection 
would have interfered far too much with their movements, 
and its weight would have tended to impair their buoy- 
ancy, but it is altogether probable that their ancestors 
were covered with a dermal armor amply sufficient to 
protect them from their enemies. The ancestors of the 
whales and the dolphins were land animals, and it is prob- 
able that when .such ancestral creatures began to take to 
an amphibious life on the seashore or 'at the mouth of a 
large river, they may have developed such an armor. 
In a porpoise described by the late Dr. H. Burmeister 
from Argentina, there exist a number of spiny tubercles 
imbedded in the skin near the back fin, as well as on the 
fin itself. These are in three lines over the whole rounded 
front part of the fin, and further back their numbers in- 
crease until there are five lines of them. 
Similar tubercles were described on the back fin of a 
porpoise taken in the Thames River in 1865, and much 
more recently such tubercles have been detected on the 
front edge of the fin of a foetal porpoise; while the 
Japanese porpoise already mentioned has several rows of 
plates, which answer to these tubercles. 
Now, in a fossil porpoise from the tertiarj"- deposits in 
Croatia, the tubercles are still more strongly developed 
and are found in regularlj' arranged and parallel rows, 
while, of course, we know that in the still more ancient 
whale known as zeuglodon of the United States a part 
of the body was protected by bony plates. 
Dr. Abel's summing up of this matter is substantially as 
follows : In the earlier stage of development the toothed 
whales were fully armored, the armor was a defense 
against their carnivorous enemies, and such an armor 
would also be very valuable to animals exposed to the 
force of a strong surf on rocky shores. As these creatures 
took more and more to an aquatic life, greater speed 
would become more and more important to them, and this 
greater speed would be secured by diminishing the 
specific gravity and friction of the body by shortening 
of the extremities and by the development of a caudal 
fin to serve as the sole instrument of locomotion. Ac- 
cordingly the armor would very soon be lost by the deep- 
sea whale-like animals, but certain forms which took to a 
life in rivers or estuaries might retain vestiges of the 
armor. 
The writer believes that in the Japanese porpoise above 
mentioned, which lacks the back fin, as well as in the 
closely allied true porpoises, we have the most primitive 
type of living toothed whale. This conclusion is con- 
firmed- by the nature of their teeth, and by other char- 
acters. 
Fot Nearly Thirty Yeats« 
_ South Haven, Mich., Dec. 13. — There are many ques- 
tions being discussed in Forest .\nd Stream in which I 
am greatly interested, particularly a law to prevent so 
many accidents among hunters. I would suggest that' a 
law be enacted making it a misdemeanor to kill any but 
buck deer, as this would necessitate the hunters seeing the 
deer fully to determine what it was. 
And the question as to hunting and camping companions 
seems to be a hard thing to settle, as so many different 
things have a bearing. For cold weather a lady chum is 
hardly the thing, but in mild, lazy weather it is different. 
Myself and wife camped on the big Manistee River four 
weeks this fall, commencing Oct. 10. We had a fine time. 
For a part of our stay the weather was perfect for out- 
door life. We found both partridges and quail quite 
plentiful, and had no trouble in bagging all we needed for 
our table, and could have secured many more if we had 
hunted more. No one knows the delights of such a trip 
until they try it. 
I have been a constant subscriber of your most valu- 
able paper for nearly thirty j'ears, and its weekly visits 
are just as welcome as ever. H. W, Sweet. 
^ And 
Fixtures. 
March 5-19, 1902.— Eighth Annual Show of the National Sports- 
men's Association at Madison Square Garden, New York. 
iriiiifafw#'' 
All communications intended for Forest akd Streaic should 
always be addressed to the Forest and Stream Publishing Co., and 
aot to any individtud connected with the paper. 
The Old Gobbler at Last. 
As I sauntered down the street in Greenville, Miss., 
I met an old acquaintance, no other than Bill Fox — and, 
by the way, a good hunter. It was on April 10, warm 
and pleasant. The buds in the woods were swelling, and 
I knew what that old darky was "gwine" to say, and 
he said it. "Gobblin' time, Mr. Ed." 
"Yes, Bill; they ought to be gobbling, and what do 
you say to going out to Moorhead swamp in the morn- 
ing and try the big gobbler at the head of Muddy 
Bayou. The one that Uncle Tommy Page has been 
trying to kill for so many years." 
Bill agreed to meet me at the train at 2 A. M. I told 
him not to take a gun, and he looked disappointed. The 
fact was I did not want toi take any chances, for fear 
he might beat me to him. We started on time, and got 
down at a little station called Bli:e Lake. After a brisk 
walk of some three miles, we arrived at the place, where 
I knew the turkeys roosted. It was a large cypress brake, 
and at that time of year was covered with water several 
feet deep in places, forming a large lake in the woods. 
We selected an open place on the bank, which was stud- 
ded with huge oaks, and as daylight was fast approach- 
ing got everything in readiness for the expected game, 
well knowing that I had a task ahead that required the 
utmost caution. 
I had heard a good deal about the old gobbler. Tom- 
my Page said he would weigh 40 pounds, and nobody liv- 
ing could call him, for he had tried it five springs in 
succession, and in desperation had shot at him at long 
range, with a Winchester, missed him, and made matters 
worse. I knew tlie old fellow would be hard to fool, 
and why not? How he was ever hatched and reared in 
that great swamp was a mystery. But he had had a 
mother who was ever watchful. She placed her nest on 
a high, clay root to keep out of the water in case of a 
rise. She covered her eggs with leaves when she went 
to feed, and flew from it and back again, and left no 
trail. When the little turks were hatched she led them 
about very gently at first, for their little red feet were 
tender. When they were able to trot about pretty 
briskly, she took them to an old deadening, where grass- 
hoppers and crickets were plenty and taught them to turn 
over chips and dig in the decayed logs for grubs. She 
would meet the little blue darter hawks half-way that 
tried to pick up the little ones; even the fierce-looking 
wildcat would sneak away when she ruffed her feathers 
and dashed at him. At her warning cry, put! put! the 
little fellows would scamper into the grass and hide 
until her soft call would tell them that all was well. 
When the gobbler's wing feathers had grown, and he 
was able to fly up to roost, he was, beset by owls at 
night, and many a close call did he have; but he learned 
to duck under the limb as the owl swooped at him. The 
sly wolf followed him foot by foot under cover of brush 
and trees as he fed on chinkapins, but he avoided the 
rush and rose straight in the air to avoid the high leap 
that brought so many of his brothers to an untimely end. 
There were no foxes in the swamp, or perhaps he would 
not have lived to gobble. Many a hunter tried to get 
a shot at him, but his wits improved with age, and his 
sight and hearing were perfect. He could detect the 
tread of a stealthy foe in the leaves amid the clamor of the 
swamp, and some said his sense of smell was of some 
consequence, which I do not doubt in the least. 
From all accounts this was about the eighth or ninth 
year of the gobbler's existence, and I was very anxious 
to bag him. I wanted the turkey and I wanted to tease 
Tommy Page. When the first streaks of dajdight ap- 
peared I took my seat on a chunk, with a large oak for 
a background arid Bill did the same. It was not many 
minutes, when bur-r-r, that familiar sound came across 
the lake. I knew it was the big gobbler drumming 
on the limb. I took up my cedar box and piece of slate, 
and after adjusting it carefully scratched off four very 
good calls. It suited, for he came out with that shrill 
double gobble that made me get my gun ready. I 
didn't have long to wait, for he left the limb with a 
terrible hubbub, but to my disgust I saw him light in 
an open place fully 300 yards down the lake. There he 
strutted and wheeled. Round and round he went. There 
was a large log that hid him at times as he went the 
circle. I called him again. He only stopped and Hs- 
tened for perhaps a minute, and went at it again. I 
waited till he got behind the log, and skipped over to 
where Bill was, and whispered to him to try him. He 
had a cane caller in his pocket, and he made a very good 
imitation; but it was of no use. Sottiething had to be 
done. "Bill," I whispered, " wait till he gets hid from 
view, and then get back, quick, and go around the cane, 
strike the lake away on the other side of him and come 
up slow. He won't leave the lake, and I do not think 
he will fly if you are careful." 
I had to wait a long time, and the mosquitoes had a 
feast. Bill was so long getting around that I was 
afraid a wildcat or wolf would hear the turkey and run 
him off. But all at once as I was admiring the prize 
I so longed for, and thinking how big he was, there 
came a great change in his behavior. He slapped down 
his feathers, stretched his long neck and hopped up 
on the log. He had heard Bill, I was sure. and. great 
Scott! he got down and came as straight toward me as a 
line in his ungainly trot, his breast still inflated and his 
long beard swajnng from side to side. The sun shone 
on his glossy pluinage. and I caught myself trying .to 
push the safety slide off of my gun. There was a little 
hen with him that looked like a bantam in comparison. 
On they came. When the gobbler was about 35 yards 
away he stopped and turned sideways. My elbow rested 
on my knee, and it only took a movement of a couple of 
inches to put the sight on his neck; but he saw it and 
ducked his head to fly. He was too late. The load of 
No. 6 caught him. The little hen flew across the lake. 
The big gobbler fanned the leaves and broke down cane 
MallcS id his cieatii stfflg^iei.-. %\\\ cahii ^hd t)icketl 
him qp and grinned. He said he had seen two just like 
him back of the cane on an oak ridge strutting likK 
sixty, and coiild have killed them both if he had had a 
gun. I knew he was lying. We took the train for home 
and as we stopped at Baird Station Tommy Page was on 
the platform. I held the turkey up in the door of the 
baggage car. 
'■'Uncle Tommy," I said, "'this is your gobbler from the 
head of Muddy Bayou." 
"It's not big enough for mine," said he, '"and you 
couldn't kill him no way." 
"Big enough for me," I said, "twenty-four pounds and 
a half, and nothing in him but his gizzard." 
As we neared Greenville Bill came to me and said, 
"I reckon, old man, Mistah Tommy Page will be right 
crabbed wid you now for a spell," and I said, "I reckon 
he will." Southern, 
Autumn Leaves. 
The grass down on the Hackensack meadows had be- 
gun to turn to a dirty brown. A hazy atmosphere spread 
over the flats. Thistle and cattail down were to be seen 
floating in the air, the sport of the shifting breeze. The 
frogs had long ceased their evening concerts, and twit- 
tering swallows in long lines covered the telegrapliic 
wires; and later the blackbirds — crow and redwmg — and 
others of minor class, were congregating in flocks and 
wisely debating their southern journeyings. And there 
would creep o'er us 
A feeling of sadness and longing. 
That is not akin to pair. 
And resembles sorrow only 
As the mist resembles the rain. 
. And when one morning we looked out of our window 
across the way our eye caught the soft maple and note<l 
the ever-changing of autumn touch as it put on its coat 
of red and gold, we thought of 
The fallen leaves. 
Tawny, ruby-tinted, golden, 
From the yoxmg trees to the olden; 
Leaves drop down m abiding showers 
On the grove of summer flowers. 
The feeling did not abate. Longing? Oh! yes; but the 
chain prevented us from going forth pell tnell to gather in 
nature as our heart desired. One day there rushed into 
our sanctum like a young cyclone George E., our shoot- 
ing comrade of last year in Morris county. Now George 
is not only a good shot and an indefatigable tramper, but 
is very emphatic sometimes in his movements as well as 
language. He burst in with a shout, "Hurrah ! Judge ; 
get out o' here. Just had a letter from the folks. Lots o' 
game, and they expect us up on to-morrow's afternoon 
train, so as to be among the first in the field the following 
opening of the game season." 
Well, that settled it; and after a satisfactory interview 
with the versatile Bob Sneider, and replenishing our 
shooting coat with some Walrode and 7^4 chilled, we 
were at the train. 
We were met at Boonton by young Dory and Harmon, 
the factoti of the Mills farm, in the absence of Mr. M. 
Young Dory, ■ we found, was "firing" (as they call it) on 
the road, and only welcomed us as he remained for night 
duty. We were soon snugly ensconsed in the one-horse 
lumber wagon, and as soon as the beast's (I speak ad- 
visedly) head had been turned toward home, like a 
streaic of first-class electricity he, or she, was off. Whew ! 
We had to turn around to catch our breath and cling 
tenaciously to the open sides of the seats. Hold on ! 
For the Lord's sake go slower. The roads were in good 
order, but at every short turn we expected to be dumped 
out. They laughed at your humble servant. Said the bit 
was in the creature's teeth, and the harder they pulled 
- the faster we went. The rascal did not move that way 
when going from home to the depot. We reached the 
house safely, but I tell you we don't want any more such 
foolishness of a dark night. We found Mrs. M. as jolly 
as ever .and the children bright-eyed and healthy. _ Later 
Mr. M. was home for an hour, and we discussed railroads, 
crops, etc., until he had to hasten back to his engine. 
What a life! But Mr. M. (and he is eminently a prac- 
tical man) tells me he is getting his farm in such nice 
shape that he hopes to retire from railroading in another 
two years and live the life of (as he surely deserves) a 
successful farmer under "his own vine and fig tree" — 
cornfields and peach orchards, as it were. 
After an early breakfast we were off for Mr. Walter 
Trelease. We found him ready with his "faithful hound" 
—are not all hounds faithful?. The sun was hardly an 
hour high, but all creation and the rest of mankind 
seemed to be out in the fields and woods. Such a can- 
nonading! Bombardment at the right of us, bombard- 
ment at the left of us, on ahead of us and following on 
behind us. Crack of smokeless and now and then the 
heavy boom of the old black powder. Well, we give fair 
warning that the undersigned does not propose to be one 
of them to open the game season. Not much. We prefer 
to let these young enthusiasts have their dash at the 
nimble cottontail or the whirring quail, and after a few 
days, say a week or so, and when the flurry is over, the 
Mollies have calmed down and the coveys have gathered 
together, after their mostly harmless fright, then \ye can 
go out and enjoy a shoot and be pretty sure of a fair bag. 
After crossing a field we struck a low fence, along 
which were divers bushes and briers, and out jumped a 
Molly. It was so sudden and her movements were so 
quick, that none of us could get a shot. Of course Walter 
put his do.g on the trail and himself on a stump, lit his 
pipe and quietly awaited developments. George and I 
arranged ourselves along the fence, gun shot apart. But 
instead of coming back along the fence, the game cut 
across lots over a- clean field, and but for the sharp eyes 
of George would have got clean away. George's first 
barrel was a clean miss, two feet behind, as we could see 
by the ctit grass from where we stood; but his .second 
bowled the rabbit 6ver beautifully. Why is it that a 
hare when shot always timibles heels over head ? We 
had some fair sport, George E. getting the most of the 
game, with Walter a good second. Yours obediently got 
tired about 2 P. M. (we generally "fall early in' the 
action" on the first day's hunt), and when the hound 
werit off for what we thought may be a long run, we 
