Nov. I, 1902. j 
FOREST AND STHiEAM 
Tt licks up the earth, plays with the boulders, and car- 
I K'S its rich hootj^ down to the meadows, miles upon 
miles away. Where now it rules another month will 
show a dry arroya. where great rattlers siin themselves 
and tin}' lizards ])]ay. 
The hepaticas, wake-robins and showy orchis are waiit- 
ling; nor is there oxalis or arbutus, azalea or laurel. 
But there are violets and adder's tongue, with mottled 
leaves, to remind of the eastern flora, while dwarf 
astragalus and a dozen species of the borrage family 
flaunt themselves in every direction. Here the bench- 
land stretches about us, level as the prairie. It is a 
huge triangle, with base resting on the lower mountains, 
and sides formed by ravines that deepen, though they 
become less steep toward the apex. Encircling it is 
an amphitheater of hills, the only opening being the 
main canon, toward which all mesas point, into which 
all side gorges open. To-day. the bench is carpeted 
with jrdung lucerne and a '"nurse" crop of barley, the 
two greens blending beautifully. It is a dancing floor 
en which numerous cock grouse are performing minuets 
to the adiniration of their prospective partners in 
hymeneal bliss. They are tame enough Jiow, but after 
the young broods are hatched and the males return to 
h'ves of celibacy, he will be crafty indeed who can get 
within gunshot without flushing them. So, too, the 
rabbits seem to know that they are safe, and bird and 
beast alike invite the companionship of man. 
As the day advances breezes from the snow banks 
cease to blow, and for the hour ere the up-cafion w'ind 
begins the sun asserts his power. A cowpath leads 
downward to a shady brook that sings season after sea- 
son. Its banks are mossy, but here and there receding 
water have left small tablets of mud on which mink, 
wildcat, fox and deer have each inscribed an autograph. 
Petals of haw, of choke-cherry and service berry fall 
on the stream like snow, and the budding brier begins 
to send out delicate perfume. Under overarching boughs 
and in rocky pools are trout galore. The water is not 
yet clear and almost any bait will tempt them, but spawn- 
' ing is only fairly underway, and it were a shame to fish 
I at such a time. Every bush and tree has its half-finished 
I nest. It must have been amid such scenes that Izaak 
Walton wrote: 
"I in these flow'ry meads would be; 
Tliese crystal streams should solace me; 
To whose harmonious, bubbling noise 
I with my angle would rejoice; 
Sit here, and see the turtle-dove 
Court his chaste mate to acts of love. 
''Or, on that bank, feel the west wind 
Breathe health and plenty; please my mind 
To see sweet dew-drops kiss these flowers, 
And then washed oflf by April showers; 
Here, hear, my Kenna sing a song; 
There see a blackbird feed her young. 
"Or a leverock build her nest; 
Here, give my weary spirits rest. 
And raise my lo-vv-pitched thoughts above 
Earth, or what poor mortals love; 
Thus free from lawsuits and the noise 
Of princes' courts, I would rejoice." 
From noon to twilight is short time in caiions such 
•as these. First come the lengthening shadows; then 
the chill that says, "It is not summer yet." Birds begin 
their vesper chimes, and, ere the cabin is reached the 
sun has dipped behind the western peaks, leaving a 
ruddy haze on all the land, and this fades out, through, 
purpling tints and pink and apple green, to pearl and 
ashen gray. Anon the stars come out, slow, one by 
one; the warbler's note becomes a plaintive chirp, then 
dies away, and tired Nature, her day's work well done,, 
lies down to pleasant dreams. 
With many-colored palette midsummer comes to 
change the picture. Over naked mountain tops a golden 
ball rolls into a cloudless sky. Bird, beast and fish, 
great tree and tiny plant alike have filled the law of 
their existence. Now is the Sabbath of their lives when 
I they may rest and with their great Creator say that it 
is good. They rest happy in that which is accomplished, 
fearing naught of what may be. On the bench the 
• lucerne has purpled for its cutting, and the yehow, 
* bearded barley awaits, with drowsy head, the reaper's 
j blade. The vivid green of spring has assumed a sober 
hue, and the berries are beginning to blush with thoughts 
.11 their own maturity. Among upland oaks the grouse 
leads here luottled brood, and when alarmed the fledg- 
lings run to cover as fast as their small legs can carry 
them. But their cousins, the ruffed partridges that live 
along the stream, squat when they hear the mother's 
warning ■"cluck," and sit motionless until the same voice 
reassures. Only their sparkling eyes give sign of ani- 
mation. This is the season when doves gather in great 
flocks and meadow larks come up from the hot valleys- 
to pastures new. 
But most of life is found along the brook. Here in. 
the heat of day come hundreds of cattle, with a score 
of brands and earmarks, come from the dry hillsides 
where they feed. Wild are they as the deer, and the 
cows all cache their young calves while they come down 
to drink. Overhead the squirrels are chattering, but they 
alwai'S manage to keep out of sight. Song birds are 
silent. With noiseless wing they flit about and undis- 
mayed survey the stranger. Lusty trout sun themselves, 
in the riffles, then return to the seclusion of the deepest, 
coolest pools. The water is clear as crystal now, and 
bait has not been invented that can entice the fish at 
tiiis season, but the proper flies — small, delicate, well 
handled — will work wonders at any hour. 
The heat of early afternoon provokes a dreamless 
sleep, and, later on, the human part of canon life dis- 
plays its sociability. Some kind-hearted neighbor 
woman, down the- road, .•sends word that she will make 
ice cream at four o'clock. Naturally that includes cake, 
pie and fruit, such things as seldom grace a lone man's 
board'. So we meet and enjoy church, lodge and pic- 
nic," all combined; talk crops and politics, business and 
sport, till the shadows warn that it is time for nightly 
diores, and thus the Sunday passes happily away. 
Gray and cheerless the morning! Clouds hang low on 
hills already whitened by the first snow. Even the sun 
seems sad as he looks, belated, upon the cabin roof. 
Chill are the winds, and they sing a doleful song. 
"There was no bird, no bloom up the bowers, 
The spiders spun their tbirj tihmud.s night by night; 
Tlie thistle-down, thb rtnly ghost of flowers, 
Sailed .s'owly by, passed noiseless out of sight." 
Aspen branches are bare, but the ground beneath is 
yellowed with their sere leaves, now the sport pf every 
idle breeze. Only oaks and maples show the brilliant 
hues of autumn, and their gay colors are out of place 
on such a dreary day. But the crackling of cedar and 
glow of oak on the hearth will soon dispel the gloom 
and make bright the inside of the cabin, no matter what 
the weather out of doors. 
Long before breakfast is ready tht harsh chatter of a 
magpie comes frojM the ridge-pole. We never sec mag- 
pies in the cafion in spring and summer, but in the 
fall this is the rallying groun.d for the clan. The bird 
life has changed completely. Doves leave early in Sep- 
tember. With them go the thriishes and other songsters, 
IRobins innumerabk take their places. This particular 
magpie is waiting for his breakfast, too. If ft were not 
for studying his antics there would be a cold-blooded 
murder. For hawks and magpies I have no mercy. A 
magpie will destroy, jn orte season, half a bushel of the 
eggs of better birds, and as for hawks — their depreda- 
tions are even worse. But I have a dog, a timid little 
lady, who will let M:aggie take the meat from her very 
teeth, and then run whimpering to me for protection, 
except when her puppies are around. Then there is a 
lively "scrap," in which the dog sdways comes o& vic- 
torious. 
A shadow darts by the window. There is a crested 
b'rd on the ground, hopping about after erumb.s. Surely 
I have seen him before, but he is a stranggf here. I 
go to the door for closer observation. The rascal flies 
to the nearest tree, whence he hurls jaylike epithets at 
me. Companions join in his insults. I refuse to be 
blackguarded in any such a manner, and the cause of 
science must be upheld. There he lies, with plumage 
scarcely ruffled by the No. 12 shot, ready for knife, 
brain-spoon and arsenical soap! He is the long-crested 
jay (C. stellcri macrolopha) . The margin of my 
iRidgeway shows that I had met him before in the Buck- 
skin Mountains of Arizona, in June, 1895. By the way, 
H find my bird notes better than even a camera for re- 
tcatling scenes and events. Lewis' woodpecker is a 
(COfflimon autumn visitant, and once this fall I saw a real 
catbird. Catbirds were also seen in Utah Valley, in the 
fspring. by ornithologists who were raised in the East 
;and who could not have been mistaken in the bird; so 
•its territorial limits will have to be extended. I believe 
It to be the latest immigrant from the other side of the 
continental divide. 
After breakfast a walk is in order; not on the bench. 
"That is a maze of stubble and rowen. The chickens 
have all been shot ofif, or have bunched in the friendly 
shelter of the pines. But the brook still sings, although 
the time of fishing has long since passed, and here 
uature fondly clings to the httle that is left of life. Un- 
der the haws the few remaining partridges feed on de- 
caying berries, and scratch amid the crackling leaves to 
find a richer diet. As the sun comes out more brightly 
and an almost Indian summer haze enfolds the earth, the 
squirrels leave their nests and, lying prone upon some 
swaying bough, enjoy the genial warmth. A toothsome 
dish these squirrels make when properly dressed and 
cooked. They are clean feeders; yet the ranchers here- 
about, who live nine months out of the twelve on rancied 
bacon, assert that they would as soon think of eating 
rats and mice as the flesh of squ'rrel. Once this sum- 
mer, while on a dusty, open trail, I spied a squirrel com- 
ing toward me. Fortunately I had no gun, so I stood 
motionless. The squirrel came within a half a dozen 
paces before he was aware of my presence. Then he 
stopped short. His tail, that was flat and prostrated, 
now stood erect, and bristled like a wire brush. Seeing 
uo sign of life he stole nearer, stopping every few steps 
to gaze at the strange object, .'^.t length he reached 
my feet. He climbed over luy boots and smelled of 
them. I believe he would have tried to climb this new- 
species of tree had I not moved my head slightly to 
•observe his actions. That settled it. He ran off a few 
feet, halted for a farewell glance, and then disappeared 
in the underbrush. 
Noon! It is time to sit upon some moss-grown log, 
and rest and think — think not of the future but the past, 
for this is the season of dead hopes, of dreams un- 
realized. Yet in the atttumn chill Natttre will breathe 
her gentle spirit into all who stop and commune with 
her. Where did Moses learn his lesson of meekness. 
Gautama his lesson of self-sacrifice, Jesus acquire his 
boundless love, but far from haunts of men? And. be- 
ing far from men. they learned to love them more and 
to become the greatest helpers of mankind. Under the 
Bodhi tree, in the Wilderness, by Walden pond, the 
mere place matters little; the inspiration and the bless- 
ings are for all who seek. Man grows more manly, aye. 
more divine, each time he lets sweet Nature's teach- 
ings sink deep into his soul; and in his heart a new 
life burns, and on his face a new light shines beneath her 
heavenly influence. 
The day wears on. Clouds hide the sun, and cold 
winds wail among the barren branches. Softly the flakes 
of snow descend to shroud a dj'ing world. The leaves 
that, m the luorning, clung with tremulous grasp to 
withering supports now rustle in my path. The birds 
have flown to warmer climes. There is no fire upon the 
hearth. I saddle my horse and bid farewell to the 
■cabin forever. Shositone. 
There is ■ a plant, popularly known as "sheepweed." 
which grows in great profusion around sheep pens, hence 
its name. This weed is possessed of decidedly poisonous 
or at least deleterious qualities, and the Indians gather a 
quantity of it and set it afloat on a pool in the river, and 
standing down stream from it they thrash it with tree 
branches unt l the juice exudes and becomes mixed with 
the water. The result is that every trout for a hundred 
yards or so below that point is "doped" or stupefied and 
rendered helpless and an easy captive. — San Francisco 
Examiner, 
Diana Visits the Farm. 
PuiKCE Edwaro Island, Aug. 24.— My Dear Nimrod: 
\Wc had rather an unpleasant voyage on account of the 
thick fog Avhich set in soou after leaving the harbor and 
contmued to the end of the trip, but the sail down the 
harbor was delightful and I saw a number of interesting 
things, one of which was a six-masted schbonelr with het 
sails filled by the breeze, sailing into port. . , , 
Wte arrived at Halifax Sunday night and il'eft early 
Monday morning. When I awoke w^e were at sea again 
and the ship was rolling considerably, so that I felt dis- 
posed to remain quiet, although I was not sick. The 
fog was very thick, so that there was nothing to be seen 
but gray, above, below, and all around us. We reached 
Charlottetown about 4 o'clock Tuesday morning, and 
after breakfast took a walk about the city. At 3 P. M. 
we took the train for the Mills, thirty miles from the 
cty. 
This is a delightful place. The farm contains three or 
four hundred acres, and Uncle also has a grist mill down 
m the valley on the brook, or httle river, and the house 
is on a hill near hy. — ' 
Tuesday night we walked down to the brook and 
watched the water flowing over 'the dam, and saw a most 
beautiful sunset, all gold, and red, and purple. It was 
very quiet except for the sound of the water. As we sat 
there on a pile of logs we saw seven, then two, then five 
black ducks fly over our heads quite low. also two cranes, 
and Uncle says the woods are just full of rabbits and 
quad. He says the rabbits are quite tame, and come out 
often in the evening. He never shoots them, but likes to 
watch them about the woods, though the folks kill quail 
for the table in the fall. 
The fishing is not just what I expected from the report 
of last year. The trout are not so large, although in 
June a good many were caught weighing from two to 
three pounds. We fished all day Wednesday, but only 
.caught about fifteen. They run from seven to twelve 
mches, and are just darlings in shape and color, the 
spots are so bright and their dear little bellies are a 
beautiful salmon color. 
Thursday it rained all day in showers, but your Diana 
was out just the same and got wet to her skin. Friday 
was a beautiful day, and I was up very early and out by 
the dam, fi.shing long before breakfast, and had half a 
dozen beauties by half-past seven. In the afternoon I 
had become tired fishing in the same spot all the time, and 
made up m'y mmd to do a little investigating and find out 
where the water came from ; so I walked along up the 
road by the side of the little river till I came to a place 
where it ran under a bridge, then I left the road and 
followed up a most delightful little stream something like 
cur Nineteen-Mile Brook, and I dropped my line in and 
,oitt came a little jeweled be'autv, and in about twenty 
minutes 1 had half a dozen. 
Saturday was another lovely day. In the morning we 
citught twenty-two trout by the mill and sent them to the 
Village to a friend, and in the afternoon we got eighteen 
from the little brook, and to-morrow morning I am going 
up there the first thing and try some flies. Yesterday I 
came to a shallow place in the brook and saw huncireds 
of trout all headed up stream under a big tree over- 
shadowing the water, and T dropped in a nice fat worm 
and a big trout made a rush for it, and I lifted him up. 
to land him when he dropped back into ,the water, and do 
you know I just believe he told all those other fish that 
the nice juicy worm had a hook in his head, for not 
another bite did I get from that spot In another shadv 
place I cattght fotir and lost two. Indeed, the ones I 
didn't land were many, and if you were with me, Nimrod, 
you would have just enjoyed yourself laughing at me J 
know. Please tell me the why of this. I saw a big fellow 
about fourteen inches long in the big pool at the foot of 
the dam yesterday morning and dropped in a nice bait 
right in front of his nose, and he wouldn't take it and 
wouldil't budge an inch, just kept his tail wiggling all the 
time, till I got tired trying to tempt him. Now why 
wouldn't he bite do you suppose? He couldn't have seen 
me, for I was leaning over a log fifteen feet above him. 
Last night was delightful, and I wish I could paint a 
word picture for you. but as I am not gifted in that line 
my description cannot half do justice. 
It was sunset, and the sky was most beautiful, with 
brilliant colors. Just to the south was a mass of black 
clouds, from Avhich the lightning flashed, showing a storm 
in the distance. The sky was reflected on the water and 
hundreds of trout were jumping, some of them away out 
of the water. Not a sound was to be heard except the 
mus-c of the water flowing oyer the dam, and the old 
gray mills added to the beauty of the scene. It was just 
perfect, and I do Avish you might have enjoyed it with me. 
I must tell you about Monday, the best fishing day I 
had. We were to start for town in the afternoon, and I 
wanted to try the brook again; so I was up very early and 
started off alone with my dear little rod, a can of vvorms 
and some flies. I turned off by the brook and thought I 
would try a fly. I intended to wait until I got to the 
head of the stream and fish down, but I came to a nice 
little pool under a big tree and just couldn't resist the 
temptat-on, I didn't have very good luck, however, with 
the flies.* either I didn't cast right or the hooks were 
too small, probably the former was the real reason, for 
the trout would make a rush for them, but I couldn't 
seem to hook them. I managed to get two nice ones, 
however, and was proud enough of them, as they were 
ray first fish caught in that manner. 
Then I .started off through the woods again until I 
came to a natural fall of water over rocks formed like 
steps just beside another dam. and the water was pour- 
ing down, forming a great pool at the foot of the dam. 
I climbed down the steep bank about half-way, and put- 
ting on a nice big worm, let it drop into the pool. In 
an mstant a great salmon-colored trout had it and as I 
landed him my rod bent like a bow^ He was a foot 
long, and as fat as butter. That was the largest one I 
caught but I landed seventeen out of that one pool as 
fast as I could bait my hook, beside a lot of small ones 
which I put back. I didn't land every one that took the 
hook, but nearly all. Then I cut a branch and strung 
the little dears on it, and started down the stream. I 
had one big fellow landed and he gave a jump and 
landed himself back in he brook, and I saw no more of 
him. In another place under a big rock I took ten more 
