FOHEST AND STREAM. 
tAue. a, 49^. 
Second Occurrence of the Black Brant (Bern- 
icla nigfricans) in Massachusetts. 
Cambridge. Mass. — I have just had the pleasure of ex- 
amining a black brant which was shot by Mr. William 
Ayery Gary at Chatham, Mass., on April 15, I902,_ and 
mounted by Mr. J. T. Clark, who ascertained, by dissec- 
tioii, that the bird was a niale. It is a fine specimen m 
fully adult and perfectly typical plumage, having the char- 
acteristic belt or collar of conspicuous white marking 
almost completely encircling the neck, and the normal 
amount of sooty slate on the under parts. In company 
with six other brant it came Avithin long gun range of a 
shooting stand or box on the Monomoy Island Flats. As 
its companions escaped capture, and hence close examina- 
tion, it is uncertain whether or not they were of the 
same kind, but the presumption is, of course, that they 
belonged to our common Eastern species, for the black 
brant is an exceedingly rare straggler (from the Pacific 
coast of North America) to our Atlantic seaboard. It 
has been taken once before, however, in Massachusetts 
— "at or near Chatham," in the spi-ing of 1883 (Cory, 
Auk. I, 1884. 96). Mr. Cary, to whom T am indebted 
for most of the above details — as well as for permissioa 
to make them public — is, no doubt, personally known to 
many readers of Forest and Stream, for he is Secretary 
of the Monomoy Branting Club, and one of our most 
prominent Boston sportsmen. He has. in his business 
office, a small but choice collection of mounted birds, 
chiefly waders and waterfowl, all of which have fallen to 
his own gun. The black brant will be added to this col- 
lection as soon as it leaves the hands of the taxidermist. 
Mr. Clark. Wili-tam Brewster. 
"Weather Lore in Verse. 
Dr. Jenrier, of vaccination fame, foimd time, writes a contributor 
to American Medicine, to worsliip occasionally at the shrine of 
the muse. While he was not noted as a poet, yet some of hi.s 
tneU-ical compositions were quite clever. It is said that on receiv- 
ing an invitation from a friend to make a country excursion, he 
sent his excuse in the form of a poem, As this poem shows 
very acute power of observation, 1 think it worth reciting. It is 
entitled, "Signs of Rain": 
The hollow winds begin to blow. 
The clouds look black, the glass is low,, 
The soot falls down, the spaniels sleep, 
And syiders from their cobwebs creep. 
Last night the sun went pale to bed, 
The mr^on in lialos hid her head. 
The boding shepherd heaves a sigh, 
For, see! a rainbow spans the sky. 
The walls are damp, the ditches smell, 
Clos'd IS tlie pink-ey'd pimpernel. 
Hark! how the chairs and tables crack I 
Old Betty's joints are on the rack. 
Loud quack the ducks, the peacocks cry, 
The distant hills are looking nigh. 
How restless are the snorting^ swine— 
The busy flies disturb the kmc. 
Low o'er the grass the swallow wings; 
The cricket, too, how loud it shigs. 
Puss on the hearth, with velvet paws. 
Sits smoothing o'er her whiskered jaws, 
Tiiro' the clear stream the fishes rise. 
And nimbly catch the incautious flies. 
Tlie sheep are seen with early light 
Cropping tlie mea^s with eager bite. 
Though June the air is cold and chill, 
The mellow blackbird's voice is still. 
The glow-worms, numerous and bright. 
Illumed the dewy dell last night. 
At dusk the squalid toad was seen 
Hopping, crawling, o'er the green, 
The frog has lost his yellow vest. 
And in a dingy suit is dress'd. 
The leech, disturb'd, is newly risen 
Quite to the summit of his prison. 
The whirling wind the dust obeys. 
And in the rapid eddy plays. 
My dog, so altered in his taste, 
Quits mutton bones on grass to feast; 
And see yon rooks, how odd their flight 
They imitate the gliding kite, 
Or seem precipitate to fall. 
As if they felt the piercing ball, 
'Twill surely rain — I see with sorrow 
Our jaunt must be put off to-morrow. 
'^ni^ Hiul 0mk 
proprietors of shooting resorts will find it profitable to advertise 
them in Forest and Stream. 
Sport* 
I AM not certain that I read Jacobstaff's article in 
Forest and Stream for July 19 right, but if I did his idea 
of what constitutes sport is somewhat peculiar. If I un- 
derstand him correctly, sport, in his judgment, is genuine 
just to the extent that it is free from exertion, and to 
insure this indispensable feature, the game must be small 
so the sportsman can carry it easily. 
Now this is, to say the least, a novel view of the 
matter to me, and if all sport is to be measured by this 
new standard I cannot help wondering what will become 
of our rowing contests, our boxing contests, our baseball 
contests, our football contest.s— in short, all of our sports 
which demand supreme physical effort. Again, if size of 
game is to count for nothing, and the ease of the sports- 
man is to be the sole gauge of sport, we shall no doubt 
see salmon and tarpon anglers catching chubs and min- 
nows from nearby ponds and brooks, while the disciples 
of the mighty Nimrod sit in easy chairs and .shoot the 
ubiquitous English sparrow through the open window. 
I have cherished the belief tliat the true .sportsman de- 
lights, yes, glories, in the mo.'-:t arduous labor involved in 
his sport. I once saw a little dog kill a woodchnck almost 
as large as himself, and then lug it for a mile or more, 
finally laying down his prize near the spot where he killed 
it, I know of a hound that ran a trail steadily for three 
consecutive days. Now dogs cannot^ speak and give us, 
who profess to be sportsmen, definitions of sport, but a 
trite saying avers tliat "actions speak as loud as words," 
and we have in the action of these dogs an exemplification 
of sport wliich I think we may study with profit. 
Jacobstaff speaks of moose hunting and other hunting 
as though he thinks that all the fun lies in the killing 
of game, and that all the rest of it is repulsive labor 
which should be shirked and avoided as one would avoid 
a plague. 
I do not know how it is with others, but with me a 
moose hunt is a grand crescendo and diminuendo of 
sport, to which the killing of the noble game is but a 
fitting climax. The pleasure begins when I coinmence to 
outfit for_ the trip, and ends when I return and exhibit 
my trophies to my friends,_ No, it does not end then, for 
I have its memories to enjoy indefinitely. And what are 
those memories? I remeinber with pleasure and satisfac- 
tion the clean and sportsmanlike manner in which I killed 
the antlered monarchs, but far dearer and more pleasur- 
able are my memories of the rushing rivers, the placid 
lakes, the primeval forests, the vast solitudes where I 
studied nature — nature unscarred by man. 
And this is not all, for I remember with pleasure the 
storms and other discomforts which I endured, the weary- 
ing tramps, the contests with rushing waters as I pushed 
my canoe up .stream through rapids for mile after mile, 
the sweating under havy packs — in short, the overcoming 
of each and every obstacle, obstacles which only served 
to give zest to the sport. I pity the sport.sman who can 
see nothing btrt labor in all of this. 
I have no desire to belittle the sport which Jacobstaff 
seems to regard as the only genuine sport, although it 
must necessarily appear somewhat tame when compared 
with moose hunting. I enjoy "following and watching 
the movements of an educated dog" through "the stubble 
or variegated field," and cutting down the whistling cock, 
whirring quail, or booming grouse, and I have had the 
g6od fortune to enjoy my fvdl share of this sport in my 
day. I think I have reason to be thankful that I can en- 
joy this sport, as well as many other kinds, some of which 
require the expenditure of more energy and mu.scle and 
less powder and lead, and feel that they are all genuine. 
Jacobstaff, you have my sympalliy. 
Jo.s. W. Shurter. 
G.JlNiSEVOOR I , July 19. 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
A Sheep Hunt ia Mexico. 
Air. E. E. Bliss, of Denver, Colo., has been feeling 
around for a good bighorn head, and I take pleasure in 
giving the story of his hunt in Old Mexico, where he was 
successful in getting his bighorn, under rather discourag- 
itig circumstances. Interest turns more and more to 
Old Mexico as a .sporting country, and I am sure many 
readers of Fore.st and Stream will take pleasure in read- 
ing Mr. Bliss' story of his hunt. It is especially in- 
teresting to myself, because of my familiarity with the 
Southwest during a residence there of .soiue time. 
E. Hough. 
Shortly after hearing from you, says Mr. Bliss, I went 
to El Paso, intending to try for an Acapirico deer — if that 
is tiie name — and turkey in the Yaqui couiUry. I had 
killed the small deer a few years before in the State of 
Durango, but saved no head. 
The taxidermists, Townsend & Barber, and Messrs. 
Ramsay and Meade, of the Sierra Madre line, said the 
deer and turkeys are there all right. They also told of 
mountain sheep recently classified as a new species, only 
about eighty miles south, 
You know the things they do to you for Icilling sheep 
in Colorado? Well, this looked like a good chance, al- 
though Mr. Meade confessed to ticing King Bruce's spider 
with seven unsuccessful attempts, 
I lay my first failure to the poor quality of the Mexicans 
I had for guides. No. t didn't Icnow the water holes at 
all. No. 2 did, but had other business after a couple of 
days. 
The next outfit from Ahumada on the Mexican Central 
was good. Pedro knew the holes, but nothing aboui 
Icilling sheep. Burns & Daily, the all-right merchants of 
that place, had told me this, however, so the fact that I 
didn't get a shot, is to be charged to me. 
Jack Boyd, born in the Southwest and raised on a 
cattle ranch, is the only man in that section who knows 
the sheep. At the time of my visit he was running the 
Plaza Hotel, but is now on his cattle ranch. With him as 
a companion, the third and last trip was begun. 
Hough, if you wish to be real kind to some friend who 
thirsts for the gore of a mountain sheep, let him addres.s 
this rnan at El Paso. He would, I think, act as guide the 
coming Avinter, and has all the qualities to be desired. 
This should be a good place to say something of the 
Mexican officials, also. A writer in one of the sporting 
monthlies a short time ago was displeased with most 
everything at the customs office. I went there alone and 
discovered an inspector who speaks English. In fifteen 
minutes I had a thirty-day permit for my rifle and one 
hundred cartridges. This cost me twenty-five cents of 
their inoney. Of course there was a little red tape, but 
the trouble was theirs, not mine. 
On each of the three trips the grub was packed in drill 
bags and each time was duty free. No tips or bribes and 
nothing but kindness was my experience. 
At Ahumada we learned that a party of naturalists was 
camped at the spring west, where we intended to make 
our headquarters, so we decided to go east into a country 
unknown to all of us. This time we liad trouble getting 
an outfit, but finally started with two small mules hitched 
to a small wagon with Francisco as driver, and two sorry- 
looking saddle horses, all for six dollars Mexican money 
per day. 
The first day's journey was south of east to a water 
hole known to Boyd. Here we camped and filled our 
barrel and keg. The second day's course was the same. 
Toward noon Boyd got a nice antelope, and about 4 
o'clock discovered a second bunch. This time I got a 
small but very pretty head, and as it was rather late we 
camped. 
While we were caring for the heads and meat, Fran- 
cisco got supper and watered the horses, giving them a 
bucket and a half each, a little more than was intended. 
The third day in the same direction would take us to 
the Iron Mountains, and two miles out from the high 
part of these we had been told we would find Red Spring. 
Late that afternoon we had passed well down beyond 
the high part and 110 spring. Neither had we crossed 
a trail. The Mexican who had told us of the .spring also 
said San Antonio ranch laid fifteen miles south of this 
same range. Should we go on and look for this, or should 
we strike back for the water hole, two days away? Ap- 
proaching darkness made us prudent enough to decide in 
favor of the known water, but in the morning we were 
agajp brave, so we went on south to look for the ranch. 
The forenoon was half gone when we can;ie to an oldj 
little-used road, running east and west. We followed this 
east into the hills at the south end of the mountains. 
Here Boyd took a climb and with his glass looked south, 
but could see no ranch. From his point he could see that 
our road turned north on emerging from the hills. Con- 
sulting, we decided to take the road west, hoping to strike 
the railroad by morning, as it runs southeasterly below 
Ahumada. The night would be cool and our poor old 
horses could travel better. Saddles and harness were 
taken off at noon as usual to give the animals a rest. 
Heretofore they would feed around camp with trailing! 
ropes, but to-day they had to be tied to keep them away 
from the wagon. Three or four swallows for each of 
theiu had eiuptied the barrels the night before. 
About 5 o'clock that evening we saw three horses of¥ 
to our right feeding, and a little later as we reached the 
top of one more swell, a 'dobe appeared in the distance 
that an hour or so later proved to be San Antonio ranch, 
fifteen miles east of the mountains instead of south. A 
twenty-foot well is the only water, but it looked pretty 
good to us. 
That night Boyd killed a coyote that came right into 
camp after our antelope meat. 
The next morning we filled our barrels, took a few pic- 
tures of the Rurales, or country police, who are stationed 
here with their families, and also got them to set us right 
in regard to the water. Red Spring lies as the Mexican 
had told us, only east of the Iron Moimtains, at the end 
of the road we had followed, instead of on the west 
side, where we had understood it to be. 
Yes, there were sheep in these mountains, and wild 
hogs too. At noon we turned east on our back track, 
camping near the pass at night. With our horses we 
hunted around the south end the following forenoon, this 
time for sheep. Our water hunt was about ended. 
At noon we met the wagon just through the hills. That 
night we camped at the water, having seen nothing favor- 
able all day. 
Leaving Francisco and the wagon at the spring, we 
spent the day hunting north along the mountains, seeing 
old sign of wild hogs, for which we hunted a little, but no 
sheep tracks. We had now seen these hills from most 
every point, scanning the sides with our glasses and occa- 
sionally looking for sign on a low ridge or knoll at the 
foot. 
This is Boyd's method. The Mexican will take you toi 
the very top, believing the sheep are always there. Boydl 
says they sometimes go there, after a run along the base;, 
when alarmed. 
A small group of mountains about twenty-five miles; 
east of north from our camp looked good to Boyd, so in 
the morning, with our barrels filled, we made for them. 
At about 5 o'clock that night we reached the base and 
camped. As it was early, we hunted a little near by, Boydl 
afoot over some of the ridges, and myself on hoarse 
around. On returning to camp Boyd said: "Well, we 
will get our sheep to-morrow. There is plenty of sign 
here, but it is a few days old. We will probably find they 
are in some other part of the mountains." 
In the morning we rode around the east side, sending 
Francisco the other way with instructions to watch for 
signs of water and to camp out in the flat from the 
north end. 
We reached the small hills at the north end before, 
seeing anything except a few tracks. Here we crossed 
through and continued on north, stopping frequently to> 
look. Coming to a long ridge about 150 feet high, we' 
tied our horses and went to the top of it. Along the crest" 
to the right Boyd found deer sign, and while we stood' ^ 
there we discovered four deer just at the base of thei 
ridge in front of us. We admired them for some time.; 
till they scampered away to our left. Another ridge simi- ; 
lar to and parallel with the one we were on laid in front- 
of us a short distance. Boyd started for this, promising 
to give me the high sign if he should see anything. When' 
half-way across the flat he glanced back at the deer which;, 
were still in sight at the end of my ridge. As he turned' 
further to let me know there were now six of them, he' 
sank to the earth and pulled off his old sombrero. The 
sign ! With the little .30 carbine ready, I looked along, 
the top of the ridge just as a nice old ram stepped up'i 
in sight, head on at about seventy-five yards. 
In the three trips I had spent about thirty days looking' 
for just this. Very, very carefully I touched the trigger. 
With a bleat the old fellow laid over dead. 
Presently Boyd's gun cracked. A smaller ram had been 
behind. When his big brother fell he ran down across the 
flat in front of Boyd, making around the other ridge. ' 
Boyd can run some, too, but he couldn't head that sheep. 
One of his shots had drawn blood, however, so he fol- 
lowed the train. After a while I heard another shot, then, 
in a few minutes he came in sight with red hands, as the^ 
glass revealed. Jack is a true prophet, you see. He had 
kept the trail to where the blood stopped, and here the 
small sheep had cut the trail of a large one which Boyd ; 
saw and shot as he turned to run, hitting him from be- 
hind in the center of one horn, yet the .25-35 was instantly, I 
fatal. _ i 
We luckily found the wagon and camped with the 
sheep. Sixteen inches for my horns and sixteen and a 
half for his, was the way Boyd made it. 
Twelve o'clock found us ready for bed, Boyd having ■ 
measured and skiimed his sheep to be mounted wholev 
Hough, do you know where he could sell it? It's a fine 
specimen and in good shape. 
We had found no water, but that was not so very im- 
portant now. A half-bucket apiece was all the animals 
had. 
Isn't it hard to believe that these sheep and the deer 
were at least twenty-five miles from water? Boyd says 
he never found a sheep track around any water hole, and. 
he certainly has a keen eye. He claims they iion't drink. 
I think so, too, now. •; 
In skinning 6ut my head the chin muscles were found to 
be just filled with small spines, evidently from the prickly 
pear cactus. Isn't this where they get the necessary 
moisture? We found the ears of these sheep entirely 
closed with scab. They say that all the sheep in that' 
I 
