22 4 
country, except for a few miles. I had been by water up the 
Caucomgomoc and also up the Caucomgomocsis, or, as we 
call it, the "Sis." Philbrook and Billings had written me 
that if I wished to find them if I would come to Daggett 
Pond I would find a bush in a bog on the north side 
which would point to a spotted line running across to 
Allegash, and that their camps were at the inlet of Alle- 
gash Lake. My objective point therefore was Daggett 
Pond, which is on the Sis, between Round Pond and 
Shallow Lake. It was about fifteen miles across country, 
and I had to depend almost entirely upon guesswork. 
About the middle of the forenoon I shot a partridge 
with the rifle, and we expected this to furnish our dinner. 
A little before noon we very unexpectedly came upon a 
lumber camp in the fork between two logging roads. We 
had not heard an ax nor seen a sign of lumbering up to 
this time, and by a curious chance we came out directly 
in front of the camp. There was here five feet by measure 
of soUd settled snow: the roads were shovelled and cut 
squarely down like so many canals. A man on snow- 
shoes above could hear the teamsters but could see noth- 
ing of the horses. If anyone on snowshoes got into one 
of these roads it was very difficult to get out again, and 
it could be done only by the help of some tree on the 
side. 
On entering the camp the cook at once called me by 
name. He was just fitting out a boy with a hand-sled, 
loaded with provisions and a large coffee pot, which was 
to be the dinner of the men working in the woods too far 
off to come in to the camp at noon. As usual, we were 
pressed to eat dinner, which we were not reluctant to do ; 
dinner consisting of the customary baked beans, ginger- 
bread and strong tea. He told us Ave were on Little Scott 
Brook at one of Thissell's camps. I gave him the par- 
tridge and we started once again without an ounce of any- 
thing to eat to finish our journey of some fifteen miles. 
On reaching a high ridge I got Farrar to climb and re- 
port the country to me. Caucomgomoc Lake was hidden, 
so he could not see it, but he reported a large body of 
open water to the northwest. I figured on this and finally 
concluded that it must be the bog on Great Scott Brook. 
I asked him if he could see three sharp pinnacles a little 
east of north. He reported that he could, and then I got 
him to throw a limb toward them, so that I could know 
the exact direction. Laying my course by this we soon 
crossed the Caucomgomoc and struck out at about the 
center of Daggett Pond. 
W'e found that the thaw had extended 'up here and the 
pond was glare ice. Crossing the pond I found the bush, 
but as the thaw had obliterated all snowshoe tracks, and 
as there was a wide bog back margined by cedar swamp, 
it was pretly hard work to, pick up the trail. However, 
we at last found it and had no difficulty in following it. 
When at least a mile from any water, looking between 
the trees, I saw something crooked lying upon the crust 
and said to Farrar that it looked like a dead sable. He 
replied that it was nothing but a dead linib. After pass- 
ing it 1 got another glimpse and as it still looked like a 
sable, I turned aside to investigate and found a mink with 
his skull broken and his brains gone, probably the work 
of an owl. I offered Farrar half its value ($1-75), but he 
said that if he was such a fool that he couldn't tell a mink 
when it was pointed out to him he wouldn't touch a share 
of it. 
Just beyond here the trail passed by the carcass of a 
large bull moose which Billings had still-hunted on a light 
snow and killed with a ten-inch pistol. 
Coming to Ellis Brook Bog, when about half way across 
our dogs left us and soon announced that they had a 
moose, but as we had no time to waste we kept on our 
way. A little further on we came to Upper Ellis Pond, 
at the outlet of which I found a bear trap setting for 
otter. I afterwards found that they had caught five otter 
in that trap this winter. A short distance further brought 
us to the shore of Allegash Lake. Here our troubles be- 
gan. I had never seen Allegash Lake before, and only 
knew that Philbrook and Billings' camp was on the inlet, 
which I judged must be in a northwest course. The lake 
was about six miles long and was glare ice, so that no 
track could be followed. After going about two miles we 
came around a point and from there I could see sorne- 
thing out on the ice which looked like a man. Coming 
up we found it to be a one runnered toboggan which I 
recognized as one that I had seen at Loon Lake in 1859 
when I was hunting with Philbrook. It had been stuck 
"up endwise and was frozen into the ice. 
From here I could see the valley in which the inlet must 
be. It was almost sunset when we reached the inlet. We 
could hear the water running under the ice, but all tracks 
were obliterated. Going up the inlet quite a distance we 
found a canoe on the north bank where it had been left 
in the fall and covered with boughs. Where the snow 
had melted away a small portion of the canoe was ex- 
posed. Going directly back from the canoe we soon found 
the camp. 
On entering I saw by the wavering yellow light some- 
thing shine on the shelf on the opposite side of the camp. 
1 found it was a gilt-edged Testament which I had given 
Philbrook two years before. 
There was no sign of anyone having been in the camp 
for a number of days, but there was a handsled, and, im- 
prciving the fast fading light, with the aid of Farrar's ax, 
we soon had a supply of wood. In the meantime I had 
been digging into the snow bank outside, hoping to find 
where meat had been hidden to keep it from the Canada 
jays. I was successful in this to the extent of finding a 
piece of moose ribs weighing three or four pounds. 
' When we had lighted the fire and investigated further 
we found a tent and a blanket or two for bedding, a very 
few beans and some dried apples. There were cooking 
Stools, so we soon had our meat roasting and a bean stew 
on the fire. 
The camp was a duplicate of one which Philbrook and 
I built two years before. It was ten by fourteen feet in- 
side and had a half-pitch roof; of course it was without 
windows, as there was no glass to be had in that wilder- 
ness. 
■ While walking behind the fire in the evenmg, I felt the 
ground spring under my feet, and on digging away a few 
inches of earth I found a cavity which contained moose 
tongues and noses covered with small sticks. 
My Indian moccasins had been like pieces of tripe most 
of the previous day after the snow had begun to thaw, 
and I was very much in need of something for foot-wear. 
F&rrar had on moose shanks, so while my feet were soak- 
FOREST . AND_STHEAM. 
ing wet his had been perfectly dry. There were two pairs 
of skates in the camp, so I proposed to Farrar to go back 
to Ellis Brook Bog and kill that moose the dogs had been 
barking at in order to get some shanks. 
It was a lovely morning when we started down the 
lake. We had put pieces of old mitten over the heel brads 
of the skates so as not to injure our foot-wear. When we 
were on skates I learned to my surprise that Farrar had 
never learned to skate well, and it was only by steadying 
himself with his snowshoes and a.x that he could get along 
at all. Our dogs seemed to enjoy the morning fully as 
much as we did, and kept skirting the shores and barking 
to express their high spirits, sometimes being so far away 
from us that we could hardly discern them. 
At the point where we came upon the lake the night 
before, I saw the name of Abiel P. Willard, Brownville, 
upon a tree close by the shore. He was the man whom 
Dirty Donald murdered a few years after, sinking the 
body in Eagle Lake Thoroughfare. 
Getting to Ellis Brook Bog our dogs soon found the 
moose, which proved to be an immense bull. As an ex- 
periment, I shot him near the kidneys, when he rose 
straight up upon his hind legs and fell back perfectly 
dead. We skinned him out and then skinned off the 
shanks, which is a rather difficult undertaking for a 
novice. In order to skin a pair of moose shanks the hide 
is cut around about eighteen inches above the hock joint 
and below as much as the length of the foot requires. 
Then a knife has to be worked around the inside from 
both above and below until the whole skin has been freed 
from the flesh, after which the hoof has to be disjointed 
and the skin slipped off. 
We took the shanks, nose, tongue and perhaps twenty 
pounds of the steak. The hide we prepared for hauling 
in the usual manner, which is by folding it lengthwise 
till it is about two feet wide, tying it in several places 
to prevent its unfolding and then cutting a narrow strip 
from the upper edge of each of the forelegs nearly to the 
ears and tying the two ends together, so as to pass over 
the shoulders of the one hauling it. A hide prepared in 
this way sleds along as easily as a toboggan. We hauled 
the hide out to Philbrook and Billings's spotted line and 
left it there for them. 
On getting to Allegash Lake, where we took off our 
snowshoes, Farrar said he could not see how the stuff was 
to be carried, as it was all he could do to get along on 
skates without carrjdng anything. I told him I thought I 
could take all the rest m3'self. So I laid down the snow- 
shoes one upon another, and by passing a string through 
one of the foot-holes on each side I tied them tightly to- 
gether. Then I placed the meat and shanks on top and 
also laid on a beautiful cock Canada grouse, the top of 
whose head I had knocked off with a bullet. These I 
tied fast with another snowshoe string while the fourth I 
tied into the toes of the snowshoes and took in my hand 
as a sled rope. In this way I drew the whole load along 
without any trouble. 
After reaching camp and sretting dinner the next thing 
was to prepare my shanks for wearing. This is done by 
turning the shank flesh side out, inserting a piece of split 
cut to fit and shaving off all the loose flesh and muscle. 
Then they are covered with salt, which is rubbed in with 
the back of a sheath knife. The distance the foot requires 
is next measured oft' and the toe is trimmed in semi- 
circular shape, the cutting being done from the flesh side 
so as not to clip the hair and make an ugly looking seam. 
After sewing the toe with strong thread, the seam is filled 
with moose tallow. More salt is put on and they are left 
over night, and again rubbed thoroughly in the morning. 
Shanks prepared in this way are perfectly water-tight and 
W'ill need no further attention till worn out, except to 
rub in more salt occasionally. When worn, small holes 
are cut around the top about two inches apart through 
which a string is passed ; they are pulled on like a stock- 
ing, drawn up tightly around the calf of the leg and the 
string is passed around the back of the leg and tied again 
in front'. 
[to be continued.] 
Watch, Compass^ Memory. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I have read with both interest and profit the enter- 
tainig contributions of your able contributor, "The Old 
Angler." In his last he alludes to the use of a watch 
to serve the place of a compass, and asks for an ex- 
planation of the rationale of the operation. He says, 
"Point the hour hand directly at the sun, and half 
the distance on the face between that hand and the 
figure 12, counting backward, will point nearly due 
south." 
I believe I can explain it in a way that may be under- 
stood: The sun generally does not rise exactly in the 
east nor set exactly in the west, nor is it exactly on the 
meridian at noon, except twnce a year, at the equinoxes. 
But for the purposes of a woodsman, to find his way, it 
will give a sufficiently close approximation when 
treated as so indicating the points of the compass. 
Now, suppose that the sun rises in the east at 6 
o'clock; lay the watch on a table at 6 o'clock in the 
morning, the sun then rising, with the hour hand point- 
ing to the sun, and to the figure 6. It is evident that 
the east and west line will pass through the figures 6 
and 12, while the south and north line will pass 
through the figures 9 and 3, the figure 9 being at the 
south end. Leave the watch lying in the same position 
until 10 A. M. The distance on the rim of the dial 
from figures 6 to 9 is the quadrant of a circle, or 90 
degrees. The sun travels in its apparent orbit 15 de- 
grees an hour, so that at 10 o'clock it will have trav- 
eled 60 degrees from sunrise, and will stand opposite 
the figure 8 on the dial, or two-thirds of the quadrant. 
Now, if the watch is moved around so that 10 takes the 
place of 8, the south and north lines will pass through 
ii and 5 instead of 9 and 3, the figure 5 being half 
way between. ID and 12, counted the longest way, and 
marking the north, not the south point. But suppose 
the watch had remained undisturbed until 4 P. M., 
that is, ten hours from sunrise. The sun would have 
traveled ten times 15 degrees, and the circumferential 
distance between the figures on the dial being 30 de- 
grees, it would have moved around to the figure 11, or 
five spaces from 6. Now, move the watch around until 
4 takes the place of 11, and we have 2 and S en the 
tMAncH ii, tgaj. 
south and north line, 8 being half way betweeii 12 and 
4 counted backward, and marking the north point ol 
the compass. Of course, the half-way point between 12 
and 4 counted the other way, marks the south point. 
This explanation can readily be understood by draw- 
ing a circle on paper and dividing into 12 spaces marked 
as the dial of a watch. 
The Old Angler also dropped some interesting re- 
flections on the subject of memory, noting the fact 
that some of the lower animals have this faculty highly 
developed, of course along limited lines; that im- 
pressions on the memory of human kind derived from 
the senses of smell and hearing have more strength 
and persistency than from sight, and that the blind 
generally have better memories than those who see. 
I have myself noted that illiterate people have much 
better memories concerning the things that they think 
about, than do educated people who do a great deal 
more reading and thinking; and particularly that many 
negroes exhibit astonishing memories along special 
lines. For example, negroes in the cotton fields, who 
were entirely without education, have been known to 
remember and correctly report at the end of the week 
the weights of cotton picked each day ' by a large 
number of cotton pickers. Also, the fact is familiar 
doubtless to many of your readers, that negroes sta- 
tioned at dining-room doors of hotels to take charge 
of the hats, umbrellas and canes of the guests, never 
make a mistake in returning to each his own property. 
My own explanation is that those who do the least 
thinking have the best memories; or, in other words, 
the "palimpsest" that is overlaid with the fewest im- 
pressions can most readily call into use those that it 
has received. 
This brings the suggestion that the nose and ears 
may have separate "palimpsests" from that used by the 
eyes, the latter being covered by a vastly greater num- 
ber of impressions than the former, with a resultant 
greater difficulty in recalling them when wanted. 
As regards the recurrence of childhood's memories 
in old age, it may be suggested that the impressions 
made on the mind of the child are deeper than on the 
adult; that during the active period of adult life the 
mind is wholly engaged with the passing events of 
current life, and that in old age, when the mind has 
ceased to busy itself with the thoughts and events inci- 
dent to the period of active effort, these are dropped 
out of the mind and the more lasting impressions of 
childhood are brought to the surface again. 
Coahoma, 
Some Pets. 
1 HAVE seldom seen an animal of any kind that could 
be made a pet of without trying to get one of them to 
experiment on. I tried for about two years to get a 
young coyote alive. I knew that if I could catch one 
that was still young enough I would have no more 
trouble in raising it than in raising a puppy. _ I finally 
got one by roping it; but I must have hurt it when I 
pulled it down, for it died in my hands in a day or two. 
Several years after this I had a greyhound that would 
catch them for me, and not hurt them; but I had a bear 
on my hands then and did not have room for a 
menagerie. However, I did get an old one that the 
dog pulled down for me; but after I had kept him 
several days without being able to get him to eat any- 
thing, I let him go again. 
The prairie dog was another animal that I wanted, 
and at last got. I at first tried to drown them out of 
their burrows in the spring, when I thought there 
would be young ones among them; but pouring water 
in one of these holes is much like pouring it into a 
rat hole. Their burrows would sometimes get flooded 
in a heavy rain, then I could catch them and get my 
hands bitten all over. They have teeth as sharp as 
needles, and know how to use them. I caught an old 
one, a male, and putting a cord around his neck 
brought him home and staked him out on the grass. 
In a short time he began to dig a hole; he meant to 
stay. I let him keep at work on it a while, then took 
the cord off his neck. He put down a slanting hole 
about three feet long, with a small chamber at the bot- 
ton; then made his bed in the chamber, using dead 
grass for a bed. I got him hay and excelsior, and he 
used these to make his bed. Every week or two I 
would leave a fresh lot of it near his hole; then he 
would rake out the old bed and make a new one. I 
fed him cabbage leaves, the tops of vegetables out of 
the garden, sugar, and when I could get it an apple 
once in a while. Apples were what he wanted, but i 
could not often get them, and they cost me 5 cents 
each when they could be got, so he did not often get 
any. He would sit up on his hind legs and take sugar 
out of my hand, but would never let me touch him. 
It is generally thought that these dogs live without 
water; it is true that their towns are often found miles 
from any surface water; but I have always thought that 
one burrow at least in each town was sunk far enough 
to reach the water. They certainly use it — mine did. 
I kept a tin can sunk in the ground near his hole with 
water in it; he would drink the water, then sit at the 
can dipping his paws in it; but I never saw him wash 
as some animals do. 
He was kept for eighteen months; then we were or- 
dered away, and he was so tame now that if I left him 
behind he would be killed sooner or later when I was 
not there to prevent it, so I got him into a basket, 
then carried him back to the town I had taken him out 
of, and turned him loose in it. 
The next wild animal that I tried to raise was a black 
bear. I got him when he was only a few_ weeks old. I 
was hunting one morning in May down in the Concho 
River, a few miles below where the North and South 
Concho unite to form the main Concho. Fort Concho 
stood up in the forks_ of the river then; San Angelo, a 
large town, occupies its site now. 
While going along close to the bank of the river, I 
came across bear tracks that led off through the tinj- 
I 
