Oct. 17, 1903.] 
FOREST AND STRKAM. 
299 
from the grounds as if a drove of cattle had been there. 
I have seen seventy-five elk huddled at that marsh. 
That was the 'Big Elk Lick' of legend which the reser- 
vation [Cornplapter] Indians had often talked to me 
about when I lived in Allegheny county, Newr York, 
as a boy, and it was to find that lick that my father 
and I, following the rather indefinite directions of one 
Johnttyhocks, an old Shongo Indian, entered the Penn- 
sylvania wilderness in 1826. The marsh is now the 
site of a big hotel, it having been found that the depth 
of the swamp concealed waters [Parker's Springs] of 
fare medical value. 
"To follow an elk forty miles before running it down 
was considered nothing remarkable. 1 have done it 
many a time. Leroy Lyman, Jack Lyman and A. H. 
Goodsell once started on an elk hunt fi-om Roulette, 
Potter county, stfUck the trail at the head of West 
Creek in McKean county, thirty miles from Roulette, 
fplJowed it through Elk, Clarion and Clearfield coun- 
ties, and finally drove it to its rock eighty or ninety 
Itiiles from where the trail was first struck. They had 
foiioiyed the elk ttlaiiy days, and finally the quarry was 
found, an enormous bull with a spread of horns like 
a young maple tree. The horns were the only trophy 
that the hunters got from the long and tedious chase 
[meat being unfit to eat], and that trophy was Well 
worth it. It was the largest and next to the finest pair 
of antlers ever carried by an elk in the Pennsylvania 
forests, so far as there is any record. 
"There are scattered through the woods, generally 
high on the hills, from the Allegheny River down to 
the West Branch and Clarion River, huge rocks, some 
detached boulders and other projections of ledges. 
These are known as elk rocks, and every one of them 
has been, in its day, the last resort of sorne elk, when 
it had in vain sought to throw the hunter and hound 
from the trail to make its stand at one of these rocks. 
Mounting it, and facing its foes, it fiercely fought of? 
the assaults of the dogs by blows of his fore feet or 
tremendous kicks from its hind feet, until the. hunter 
came up and ended the fight with his rifle. It would 
be strange if one or more of the dogs were not 
stretched dead at the foot of the rock by the time the 
hunter arrived on the scene. 1 have more than once 
found dead wolves lying about oiie of these elk rocks, 
telling mutely, but eloquentlj'-, the tragic story of the 
pursuit of the elk by the wolves, his coming to bay on 
the rock, the battle and the elk's victory. The elk was 
not always victor, though, in such battles with wolves, 
and I have frequently found the stripped skeleton of 
one lying among the skeletons of wolves he had killed 
before being himself vanquished by their savage and 
hungry fellows. 
"In the winter time the elks would gather in large 
Iierds and their range would be exceedingly limited. 
Sometimes they would migrate to other regions, and 
would not be seen for months in their haunts, but sud- 
denly they would return aiid be as plentiful as ever. 
They had their regular paths or runways, through the 
woods, and these invariably led to salt licks, of which 
there were many natural ones in northern Pennsyl- 
vania. One of the most frequented of these elk paths 
started in a dense forest, where the town of Ridgway, 
the county seat of Elk county, now stands, led to the 
great lick on the Sinrteraahollilig portage, and thence 
through the forest to another big lick, which to-day is 
covered by Washington Park, in the city of Bradford 
[McJCean county]. I have followed that elk path its 
whole length, when the only sign of civilization was 
now and then a hunter's cabin, from the headwaters 
of the Clarion River to the Allegheny, in McKean 
county. Hundreds of elk were killed annuall}' at the 
licks or while traveling to and from them, along their 
well-marked runways. 
"The biggest set of elk antlers ever captured in the 
Pennsylvania woods Was secured in the Kettle Creek 
country by Major Isaac Lyman, Philip Tome, George 
xA.yres, L. D. Spoffard and William Wattles. Philip 
Tome was a great hunter, and the famous interpreter 
for Cornplanter and Blacksnake, the great Indian 
chiefs. He came over from Warren county to help 
Major Lyman capture an elk alive, and the party 
started in on the first snow, with plenty of ropes and 
things. ► They camped, but the elk were in such big 
herds that they couldn't get a chance at a single bull 
for more than a week. Then they got the biggest one 
they ever saw and gave chase to him. They started 
him from his bed on Yocum hill. The dogs took him 
down Little Kettle creek to Big Kettle, and up that 
two or three miles. There the elk came to ba^' on a 
rock. He kept the dogs at a distance until the hunters 
came up, when he left the rock and started away again. 
Tome, knowing the nature of elk, said that all they had 
to do was to wait and the elk would return to the 
rock. They dropped poles and fitted up nooses. They 
waited nearly half a day, and then thej-^ heard the bull 
coming, crashing through the woods, down the moun- 
tain sides, the dogs in full cry. He mounted his rock 
again. The hunters he did not seem to mind, but the 
dogs he fought fiercely. While he was doing that the 
hunters got the nooses over his immense horns and 
anchored him to surrounding trees. They got the elk 
alive to the Allegheny River, and floated him on a raft 
to Olean Point. From there they traveled with him 
through New York State to Albany, exhibiting him 
with much profit, and at Albany he was sold for $500. 
That elk stood sixteen hands high and had antlers 
six feet long, and eleven points on each side, the usual 
number of points being nine on a side. 
"The last elk in Pennsylvania is supposed to have been 
killed in the winter of 1867. by an Indian named Jim 
Jacobs, from the Cattaraugus Reservation. Jacobs 
followed the elk from Flagg Swamp, in Elk county, to 
the wilds of Clarion county, through a hard snow- 
storm, where it came to bay on a rock, and the Indian 
shot it. It was a bull elk and none had been seen or 
heard in the region for several years before that." 
I wrote Mr. E. O. Austin, of Austin, Potter county, 
flistant seven miles from Gardeau, as to his view of the 
parrative of Capt. Parker above quoted. He writes me 
i-hat he knew Parker, Lj'^man. Pritchard, and others 
uanied, nearly all of whom, including Parker, are now 
iiead. Sterling Devins stUl lives in Homer township, 
fftter pounty. They all tol<} substantially the same 
stories of elk habits as given by Parker, who was an 
old veteran, not only in age, and hunting exploits, but 
in his latter days a' s a story teller. Mr. Austin writes: 
"What Col. Parker says of the habits of elk and other 
wild animals is very correct, but he was in the habit 
of making a good story of his exploits." A failing, I 
might add, which is common to so many "great, old 
men," that the world Icnows how to ttlakje allowance 
for it.— Rhoads, 1902. 
Grouse Self Killings. 
RiDGwAy, Pa., Oct 4i^Editor Forest and Stream: A 
rather singular action ott the part of grouse in Potter 
county was called to my attention on a visit to 
Coudersport, Pa., county seat of that county, last week. 
Four years ago a new brick building was erected on 
the main street, of the town on the west side. The 
building has two stories in it, with large plate glass 
fronts on one side. The first year the glass was put 
in, in the fall, a grouse was picked up dead inside the 
store, having gone through thes glass in full flight in 
the morning. 
The glass was renewed, and the next year another 
grouse went through it. The window was patched up, 
and last fall another unfortunate grouse went through 
the patched up window. Tired o/„ buying plate glass 
windows for the birds to break, the owner, had a wire 
screen put over the upper half, and this season recently 
a dead grouse was picked up on the street, having 
been killed by fljang into the screen. 
The only explanation of this is ofifered in this way. 
The east side of the street, opposite the, .store, has 
large shade trees, and if the sun is shining in the morn- 
ing the trees are reflected in the glass,' which deceives 
the birds into believing they are about to fly through 
trees in place of plate glass. E. H. Kniskern. 
[The case cited is very interesting, but not unex- 
ampled, especially at this time of the year. All sports- 
men know that during the middle fall — and especially 
during the month of October — grouse, and also quail, 
wander about and are frequently found in situations 
which seem absolutely misuited for them. We have 
seen ruflfed grouse in the branches of the trees on the 
main street of a New England village, and very recent- 
ly Mr. Emerson Carney has called attention to a flock 
of quail in town. Moreover, during late September and 
October, it is not at all uncommon for ruffed grouse 
to kill themselves by flying against houses, and in at 
least one case that came under our own observation, 
a grouse flew against a window and was killed. 
At two houses on a single farm in Connecticut, three 
grouse have been killed in this way within the last 
tw^enty-five years. In two of the cases, the birds flew 
against the side of a red brick house; in the other, the 
house was wooden and painted a light color. These cases 
of self-killings undoubtedly have some relation to the 
wandering spirit which seems to attack the grouse at 
this season of the year, and there are many sportsmen 
who declare that at this time grouse are foolish or 
crazy. The case cited by our correspondent mai"^ pos- 
sibly be explained as he suggests, by the reflection 
from the glass. At all events, the case is an interesting 
one, and we should be glad to hear of its parallel, if 
one exists. Since these lines were written a case has 
come to our notice of a grouse flying against a light 
wire netting topping a fence about a poultry yard. The 
bird was found dead near the fence.] 
Forestry at St. Loufs. 
The United States GoArernment, contrary to all prece- 
dent, will participate in a competitve exhibit at the 
^yorId's Fair in St. Louis. Uncle Sam will have for his 
rival the German Empire. Which nation's methods of 
forest management is best and most practical is the prob- 
lem to be solved by actual demonstration. 
Two tracts of land, already partially covered with trees, 
and each about five acres in extent, have been assigned to 
the United States and German Governments as the 
laboratory for their tests. The two lie side by side, so 
that the visitor may walk through what the Americans 
call an "arboritum" and observe all American methods 
of forestry, and then step across into what the German 
designates as a "forest garden" and learn the German 
method. 
No trees will be cut from either tract. Rather trans- 
planting will be resorted to, and when the Exposition 
opens miniature forests, perfect in every detail, with 
narrow gravel walks winding in and out, may be seen. 
Every tree that thrives in the latitude of St. Louis will 
be represented and the specimen can be easily designated. 
Attached to each tree will be an aluminum label on which 
will be stamped the botanical and common names. 
In one respect the exhibits will be the same. Each 
display will embrace practically the same number o£ trees 
and they will be practically of the same varieties. Here 
all similarity ceases. The treatment will accord with the 
practices in vogue in the respectice countries. In the 
American arboritum the trees will be planted, trained, 
and pruned and treated according to the American idea. 
In the German forest garden will be reproduced, in the 
miniature, the effects that obtain in the forests of the 
Fatherland, and the story of hov,' the wonderful forests 
of that wonderful country have been preserved through 
ages, and renewed from time to time, will be told by 
practical demonstrations. 
The exhibits will be in charge of the most expert for- 
esters to be found in the two countries. Interest will not 
center in tlie exhibits merely because they represent all 
that is best in the forestry of both countries, but because 
of the practical demonstrations and tests that will be 
made every day 01 the Exposition. Trees will be trans- 
planted and the most approved apparatus for this work 
will be shown in actual operation. Trees will be pruned 
and trained, and all of the_ implernents used will be a part 
of the exhibit. Trees will be inoculated with disease, 
and when the disease is fully developed the most ap- 
proved treatment will be accorded the aifected trees. 
Careful data will be kept on all such experiments, and the 
results will be made known, together with a full descrip- 
tion of the treatment, in order that the preservation 
of ^he forests may be accomplished 
Forests probably have more deadly foes in the insect 
world than they have in the ax of the woodman, and far 
more difficult to circumvent. This will afford an exhibit 
of exceptional interest. Collections of the insect enemies 
to trees will be gathered and kept carefully isolated. On 
occasions best adapted to experiments that will reveal 
all of the effects of the destroying powers of the insect, 
and the efficacy of .th,e treatment to be given, the insects 
will be released and permitted to attack the trees. Then 
sprays, washes, and other treatments will be resorted to. 
Some valuable experiment will be made every day, and 
full details may be had of the processes and results. 
**Of the Kind Known as the SqwimI Hawk,** 
Worcester, Mass., Oct. 12. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
I was just a bit amused on reading C. G. B.'s contribu- 
tion in last week's issue relative to "Duck Shooting Ex- 
traordinary" taken from the New York Sun. 
From yesterday's issue (Sunday, Oct. 11), of the Bos- 
ton Globe I cut the inclosed paragraph, also taken from 
the New York Sun : 
The park atithorities have been at a loss to account for the num- 
ber of dead squiirels in Central Park lately. Yesterday afternoon 
Keeper Billy Snyder was near the sheepfold when a number of 
nurses came up to him and said that a "big eagle" liad been 
flying around and alighting near the children, as though it meant 
to carry them oS. 
Snyder got a shotgun and pretty soon discovered the "big 
eagle." It proved to be a hawk of enormous size. Wlicn Snyder 
found him he -was perched on the top of a tree eating a gray 
squirrel. 
Snyder filled his gun with buckshot, and at the first shot 
brought down Mr. Hawk. The bird, Snyder says, weighed 50 
pounds, and was of the kind known as the squirrel hawk. It is 
believed that he had flown over frotei the woods in New Jersey. 
Snyder said he would have him stuffed as a trophy. — New York 
Siin. 
If you think it worth the space, will you kindly repro- 
duce it, to the end that sportsmen and naturalists may 
know that there are some pretty large hawks abroad out- 
side of Wall street. J. W. B. 
[A tjrpographical error or a reporter's imagination is 
responsible for the story. No North American bird 
weighs 50 pounds.] ' ' 
— ♦ — - 
All communications intended for Forest and Stream should 
always be addressed to the Forest and Stream Publishing Co., 
New York, and not to any individual connected with the paper. 
The Game Laws in Brief 
is the standard authority of fish and game laws of the United 
States and Canada. It tells everything and gives it correctly. 
See in advertising pages list of some of the dealers who handle 
the Brief. 
American Game Birds 
I. — Woodcock Shooting. 
Or all the kinds of shooting of field and forest, the 
sport of woodcock shooting holds the warmest place 
in the hearts of its devotees. The woodcock shooter 
is an enthusiast of enthusiasts. He' may take a keen 
pleasure in bringing other game birds to bag, but when 
woodcock shooting is under consideration comparison 
ceases. And indeed this sport possesses inany fascinat- 
ing features peculiar to itself. First of all, it can at 
best be indulged in but in very small quantities. There 
is but little of it whea compared to the abundance of 
other kinds of shooting, for the woodcock is compara- 
tively a rare bird, and its season is a short one, there- 
fore the keen edge of enjoyment of woodcock shooting- 
is never dulled by surfeit. The habitat of the bird is 
distinctly different from the habitat of all other game 
birds, and of the vast tract of land which makes the 
earth's surface' there are but tiny spots here" and there 
which meet the wants of its nattire, and many vast 
tracts of fertile country haA^e no woodcock ground at 
all. 
It, too, is a bird of mystery, of whose cOming and 
going no one knows. It is nocturnal in its habits, and 
its haunts being sttch secluded and tinused spots, ones 
rarely invaded by man, it is rarely seen. The residents 
of sections wherein is the home of the woodcock may 
never see one from year's end to year's end, and, in- 
deed, may go through life with no more knowledge of 
them than that derived from hearsay, or, seeing one, 
may still remain in ignorance of its identity. While 
the quail, the partridge, the snipe and other game birds 
are not unfamiliar to country residents and are readily 
identified by them, that of the woodcock and its doings 
are shrouded in mystery. The large woodpecker in 
some sections is called woodcock by the country folk, 
while in other sections any plover with a long bill is 
classified as being the same bird. So little is the bird 
known that sometimes when killed it is called snipe 
and sometimes the snipe is called woodcock by those 
who have not given the bird special study or attention. 
Its life being so entirely without the sight of man and 
in general so little being known of its haunts and hab- 
its, it is not at all strange that the little accurate knowl- 
edge is obscured by the air of much mystery, and that 
those who seek the bird find a fascination in it greater 
than that of arty other form of game bird shooting. 
The bird itself is of peculiar form and of rare richness 
in its colorings, and its flesh is esteemed a morsel of 
rare excellence, fit for~the palate of the most fastidious 
epicure. Thus it affords great sport in its capture and 
\s pleasing to the eye and palate. 
