144 
FOREST AN£) ;&TREAM, 
The following spHng^ Scribe came to CalifomU, and 
has never been back since, excepting in memory. 
Heigho! All this happened a third of a century ago. 
and probably the forest that was then so primitive and 
untamed, is now smilling fields of grass and grain, and 
the little lake has dwindled to a lifeless pond. It would 
break Scribe's heart to see it under such conditions, 
so he will ever keep it as it has been: a very dear 
memory. 
This little reminiscence is as true in every incident 
as the author is able to recall it. and he hopes it will 
not prove uninteresting to the readers of "our paper." 
Arei''.M{. 
Monhegan. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
I have just returned froiH A itip in which some of the 
readers of Forest and Stre.\m might be interested. A 
portion of if covers groun-d that is little visited, even by 
sportsmen, though why it is hard to .say, for although 
isolated it is not hard to reach. It lies only twentj'^ miles 
ot¥ the coast of Maine, namely, Monhegan Island. 
The. middle of last month found me at Waterford, on 
the upper waters of the Connecticut River, where I put 
up with an old friend. His place is eight miles from the 
railroad, with trout streams all around. The fishing this 
season h good, as almost all the streams are well slocked 
and pos'led, and being a little off the routes of travel are 
as }'et not fished very hard. The fishing is greatly im- 
proved by the way the law is carried out and upheld. 
The farmers are annoyed by the deer consideralily ; 
under the present law the animals have become a nuisance, 
destroying crops to a great extent; one farmer had two 
acres of beans destroyed and is bringing about negotia- 
tions with the State for the payment of the same. The 
deer were seen frequently feeding in the corn and oat 
fields within three hundred yards of the house, and when 
a gun was fired did not show any great haste to leave. 
One morning our attention was sailed to a large buck 
and doe in the corn field in front of the house. A little 
daughter, wishing for a nearer view, walked toward them 
until she came within fiftj' 3'ards before she Avas observed, 
when the buck threw his head high in the air and ad- 
vanced, stamping his feet in a threatening manner. The 
child became frightened at this, and let out a lusty scream, 
at which the deer trotted ofif in a leisurely manner. 
Partridge are very plentiful and are little sought. 
'Coons and hedgehogs are quite troublesome, and anyone 
wishing that kind of sport can have their fill. 
After a ten days' stay here, I went to Portland, Maine, 
thence to Monhegan Island. The island lies oft' the cen- 
tral coast of Maine, far out in the sea, yet in the track 
of coasters and fishermen and passenger steamers. It is 
the most primitive, most fascinating, most ruggedly beau- 
tiful place in all New England. It contains a hamlet of 
one hundred fisher folk, the settlement is one and one-half 
miles long and one-half mile Avide, and as yet is unspoiled 
by the vast army of summer pleasure seekers. The march 
of so-called improvement has not 3'-et smoothed its one 
rough and picturesque street, nor borne in upon it a 
flotsam of cheap and ugly summer cottages. The neat and 
simple homes are still scattered in delightful confusion, as 
if dropped dowi through some celestial sieve ; the thor- 
oughfares are over ledges, hills, and pastures. The one 
horse enjoys the freedom of the town unmolested, and 
life here seemed one blissful dream of idleness for every- 
body. The scene on entering the harbor is magnificent. 
On the right rises the sharp slope over which are 
sprinkled the houses of Monhegan. Back of them tower 
the noble ever green heights crowned by the powerful 
lighthouse whose gleam of light is familiar to thousands 
who have never actually seen the island. In front and 
to the north is the little harbor filled with rocking dories 
and larger fishing craft. 
On the left stretches Manana, which looks like a sleep- 
ing whale, a huge ledge rising over a hundred feet from 
the water, like a great rampart guarding the boats below. 
Monhegan has an ancient history. It startles the visitor 
to reflect that he is standing in a continuous settlement 
older than Plymouth ; that since 1607 it has existed with 
varying fortunes till this very day. The first sermon of 
New England in the English tongue was preached here on 
August 9, 1607, by the Rev. Richard Sigremont, chaplain 
to the Popham Colonies. The island was visited much 
earlier than this, for in 1605 Captain George Weymouth 
anchored his ship, the Archangel, and went ashore. After 
Weymouth many exploiters dropped into INIonhegan harbor. 
Most notable of them was Captain John Smith, who in 
April, 1664, made it the base of his operations for several 
months. 
Fishing, which includes the catching of lobsters, is the 
only industry on the island. Day after day the dories go 
out in the mysterious hours of the morning and return in 
the forenoon laden with cod, haddock, hake, and pollock. 
Then all is activity along the two beaches on whicli 
stand the crazily picturesque fish houses, looking as if 
they had been tottering to their doom for the past hun- 
dred years, and had never quite determined to give up the 
ghost. The people of Monhegaia are fishermen and the 
sons of fishermen. For two hundred years no industry 
has approached this, and the men of Monhegan have done 
nothing but catch, clean, and pack fish ever since they 
were big enough to handle an oar. The people are like 
one large family, with no aristocracy, no middle class, or 
any poor; "share even" seems to be the ruling motto in 
business. 
Every inhabitant owns a fishing boat, and can handle 
-her through a living gale in a manner to win admiration. 
There are subscribers to newspapers and leading maga- 
zines, with plenty of time for reading; and they arc 
remarkably well informed and cultured. 
In the fall and winter months all kinds of duck and 
geese are in great abundance. Monhegan lighthouse 
stands upon the most commanding land of the island, 
though far removed from the dashing roar of the sea. 
The lantern rises 175 feet above sea level. It displays a 
white light of great power. In the darkest night the 
beam pierces the gloom like a great meteor. With Seguin 
twenty miles to the westward and Matinicus Rock the 
same distance to the east, the light forms the outer cordon 
of hghts which illuminate the coast and warn ships from 
danger. 
J^ast §?ag9n'§ Qat?h 9i lobsters was 6o,ocx), which sold 
at average price o£ to cents apiece, and the season's 
<;atch of fish was about j,ooo kentals or quintals, at $3 per 
kental. 
As the island now stands a fine sense of equality per- 
vades everything. _ Acquaintances are easily and simply 
made, because it is somehow felt that the unworthy do 
not get so far out to sea. There is as 3'et no dressing for 
dinner, nor kindred vexations. Instead, there is a quiet 
good fellowship Avith a rational enjoyment of the gifts of 
nature, the most intimate acquaintance Avith the sea and 
the tonic of its air. A sojourn of but a week makes one 
love the little island, and when the day of parting comes 
and one sails aAvay he keeps his eyes fixed tenderly on the 
blue heights so long as they appear above the horizon, 
almost pathetic in their brave isolation, a tiny speck out 
there in the sea. H. L. Shaw, 
Philadelphia. 
Packing Without Profanity, a 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
The editor, in the number tor July 25, has something 
to say about Technical Langua.ge, as applied to pack 
mules, and concludes by giving his opinion that had the 
partjr, who Avas offended at hearing this language 
used, objected to its use at the time he first heard it, 
he Avould not have heard any more of it. This affair 
is a good deal like one that happened when I had the 
pack train, or rather another train, and its SAvearing 
packers, and it only took me a fcAv minutes to stop 
all swearing, not onlj' then but for the rest of the trip. 
In the spring of 1871 two English tourists came to us 
at Fort Richardson, Texas. They brought letters of 
introduction to the commcinding officer and Avanted to 
liunt buffalo. I Avas giA'en a detail of 10 men, 7 for 
the escort and 3 to pack and drive the mules; and Avas 
told to take the men out for 10 days or more and 
find them the bufl'alo. 
We had 7 mules packed with rations and a company 
outfit. We carried no tents Avith us, but I took two 
tent flies to put up in wet Aveather and had 
them put up each night while Ave Avere out, 
whether it rained or not; it Avould be less trouble 
to put them up and take them down in the day 
time than it would be to put them up in a 
rain storm after night. Except kir these flies, we and 
the touri.sts roughed it; they fared just as we did. 
One of them was an English lord, the eldest son of 
a duke, and he had been a captain in the English 
caA-alry and seemed to be at home here. This just 
suited him, he told me. The other one, a cousin of his, 
Avas a vicar in the Church of England, and it Avas on 
his account that I stopped the emphatic language. 
They both carried English rifles, but had the ncAV Smith 
& Wesson army pistol .45 caliber. These were the first 
I had ever seen, but a short time after this I had one 
myself; six of them being sent us to experiment on 
and report on to the War Department. 
Fort Richardson was built just outside of Jacks- 
borro, Jack county, that Avas at that time away out on 
the frontier, and 1 led the party directly Avest, meaning 
to strike the Brazos River first, then cross it and keep 
on southwest as far as the Double Mountains, at the 
head of the Salt Fork of the Brazos^ as from about 
the Brazos to the mountains and Avest of them Avas a 
good buffalo countrj% though we often met them Avithin 
50 miles of Jacksborro. No escort would be needed 
nOAv to hunt in that country, but at that time it Avas 
not safe to travel anyAvhere in it Avithout an escort; 
the Kohawdi Comanches had this part of Texas all to 
themselves and were on the Avarpath. This troop of 
ours put them off it, though, the next year after this, 
after we had killed about half of them. 
When leaving the post I told my packers to keep 
their mules close up behind ns at all times; I did not 
Avant to have to charge a party of Indians in order to 
recover the mules some day. A mule Avould stray ofif 
the trail, then stop to study botany or eat grass, and 
Avould get a cursing for doing so. Then another Avould 
take a notion to lie doAvn and try to roll off his pack, 
then he Avould get more of this emphatic language. 
The most of the mules happened to be females; they 
are, if possible, always meaner than a horse mule; and 
all of them had names; they Avere our regular troop 
pack mules; and each mule Avoukl be addressed per- 
sonally, then damned to the loAver regions and half 
Avay back again, in each string of oaths that Avould be 
fired at them. Had there been an officer here Ave 
would have had none of this cursing, he Avould not 
have allowed it. and had these strangers not been here 
they might have kept on cursing for all I cared; I had 
driven mules myself and knew that the mules needed 
it; but I soon made up my mind that it must stop, 
and dropping back to the pack train. I told the men 
to stop it and to begin right now. They stopped it. 
After Ave had camped the first night this minister 
says, "Sergeant, I, of course, have often heard the 
expression used to 'sAvear like a trooper.' Those 
troopers of yours seem to be adepts at it." 
"Yes, sir. they are; but they Avill practice it no more 
qpii this trip; I have stopped it; you won't hear any 
more of it. It is rather hard for us to handle mules 
and not swear at them; but it can be done." 
That evening, while at supper, I said, "Now, men^ 
while we are on this trip don't let me hear any more 
swearing at anything. There is a minister along Avith 
us, remember; and he does not Avant to hear it. Drive 
those mules for once Avithout cursing them. It can be 
done. Use your lariats on them, I will never punish a 
man for whipping a mule. The mule may not need all 
you give him just then; but he will need all he gets 
then some time else. It won't be wasted on him; let 
him have all you think he needs. But never strike a 
horse Avhile you are Avith me if you don't want a string- 
ing up for it." 
That minister, after he had got home, would no 
doubt write out his impressions of this country, and 
I did not want him to give an account of how I had 
hung a man up to a tree by the Avrists for damning a 
mule. This Avas a regular mode of punishing men 
then; it has been stopped though, long since. 
We found the buffalo on the third day. After going 
into camp that day at 3 o'clock, Loi-d C and I 
stiUrted off to look for them, leaving the camp in charge- 
of one of jny men. About three miles Avest of camp we 
came in sfght of half a dozen small bunches of buffalo 
scattered around and quietly feeding. I had his Lord- 
ship change horses with me, for Avhile I knew that my 
horse would carry him right alongside of the buffalo, I 
had my doubts about his doing it. Then I told him 
Avhcre to shoot to kill, and we started, and got to 
within a few hundred yards of the buffalo before they 
ran ofif. My horse put his rider right alongside of a 
young coAv, and Lord C shot her. I was up here 
but did not fire; one would be all avc wanted; their 
hides Avere of no use to us at this season of the year. 
We partly skinned the cow, then cutting off what 
meat Ave could carry Avent back to camp, and I sent 
out men and a mule to bring in more meat. 
"HoAv long do you expect to find these buffalo in 
your country, sergeant, before they all disappear?" he 
asked. 
"I expect them to be still here after I have died of 
old age, sir. This Avholc country Avest of this clear to 
the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to Mexico, a 
territory almost as large as all Europe, is Still covered 
with them." 
"I am afraid you will see the last of them long be- 
fore you die of old age, sir. I haA-e been in India 
and knoAV how soon this big game disappears, once 
Ave start to hunt it." 
Just nine years after he had told me this I saAV the 
last of them go. 
We Avent as far west as the Uouble Mountains at the 
head of the Salt Fork of the Brazos, and were out 
fourteen daj'S instead of ten, got all the buffalo we 
Avanted and passed thousands of them that we did not 
want, and got home Avithout having had any mishap 
to any of us. 
The more I saAv of this Englishman the better 1 
liked him. Ffe put on no airs with us, he had not been 
Avith us two days before he kncAv the name of every 
man in the party, and ahvays addressed each man by 
his last name; no man ever hears his first name in the 
army. There Avas no "me moir' Avith his Lordship, 
our men thought that he did this because he kncAv that 
he Avas not in England now and that "me mon" did 
not go here. "No," I told them, "he does it because 
he happens to have been born a gentleman, and never 
forgets that he is one, either." 
Cabia Blanco. 
Soldiers' Home, Erie, Pa. 
Our Batrachians and Reptiles. — VL 
It is a very general impression that a venomous snake 
may readily be recognized by its thick, clumsy body, short 
tail, small neck and Jarge, flat, triangular head, but this, 
like many other popular beliefs, is open to objection. It 
Avas pointed out in the preceding chapter of this series 
that certain perfectly harmless snakes have stout bodies 
?rid large heads. Moreover, there are some very danger- 
ous snakes with slender bodies and small heads, which, 
unless the observer is acquainted Avith the species, Avould 
almost certainly be regarded as innocent. Hoav, then, 
may a venomous snake be recognized? 
In a recent paper entitled, "The Poisonous Snakes of 
North America" (published in the Report of the United 
States National Museum for 1893), Dr. Stejneger has 
defined as venomous "all those snakes Avhich are provided 
Avith a specific poison and an apparatus especially adapted 
for the introduction of this poison into the wound of the 
victim." Now, the existence of a specific poison is a fact 
Avhich can be determined only by noticing the effect of the 
snake's bite on some living animal, but the special ap- 
paratus for its introduction into a victim can readily be 
found. All venomous snakes are provided with poison 
fangs. 
If, at his first opportunity, the reader will examine the 
mouth of any harmless snake he will find in the upper 
jaw four long roAVS of sharp teeth. The tAVO outer rows 
are on the upper jaw bones and those of the inner rows 
are borne hy some of the bones which form the roof of 
tiie mouth and the palate. These inner rows of teeth are 
also to be found in a venomous snake, but the outer row 
is represented on each side b}' usually a single very much 
enlarged tooth Avhich is deeply grooA'ed or even pierced 
by a slender longitudinal canal like the needle of a hypo- 
dermic syringe. This is the poison fang. It is always 
much larger than any of the other teeth and stands alone, 
except for a cluster of reserA'e fangs hidden at its base. 
It may be situated either at the extreme back or the ex- 
treme front of the jaAA'S. It is connected at the top Avith 
a canal from the poison gland so that, Avhen a bite has 
been inflicted, a quantity of poison can be squeezed out 
through the groove or canal deep into the Avound. The 
reserve fangs are proA^ided so that in case the one in use 
is broken off another may soon rise up to replace it. 
The poison of the venomous snakes dift'ers greatly in its 
action and somewhat in its appearance, according to the 
snake from Avhich it has been taken. It is secreted by 
certain glands situated at the sides of the upper jaAV, and 
is a transparent, yellowish or nearly colorless, sticky 
fluid, tasteless and with no appreciable odor. Chemically 
and physicallj' it is much like the white of egg. Its viru- 
lence is not destroyed hy drying, freezing, boiling, or 
treatment with alcohol. It may be rubbed on the un- 
broken skin or taken into the stomach Avith impunity, but 
if introduced into the blood in sufficient quantity causes 
great nervous prostration, interferes with the action of 
the heart, paralyzes the respiratory and digestive centers, 
and produces death. 
Leaving out of consideration the snakes Avhich have 
grooved fangs at the back of the mouth, and Avhich are 
hardly to be regarded as capable of inflicting a dangerous 
bite, except to small animals, we will find that the truly 
venomous snakes of our country, those which are danger- 
ous to man, are of two different tA'pes. Both have their 
fangs situated at the front of the upper jaAV bone, but 
Avhile in one group, Avhich A\'e may knoAV as the coral 
snakes (family Elapidce), these fangs are fixed and per- 
manently erect; in the other, Avhich are commonly called 
