Sept. io, 1904.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
219 
Migrations. 
Knoxville, Tenn., Aug. 10. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
For a period of twenty-five years I have been an observer 
of the migration of the above, and as it may be of interest 
to some of the readers of Forest and Stream, I will state 
a few facts on the subject; 
The martins are the first birds to leave for the south— 
I mean the first flights of birds. Last year was the earliest 
on record, which was July 26; usually the first flight 
starts on August 12, followed by another, if the weather 
is clear, on the 18th ; if not, then usually on the 19th 
or 20th. 
They breed here in large numbers, and as soon as able 
to fly and take care of themselves, select some roost, 
always choosing a number of large shade trees, where 
they keep up an incessant twittering through the night, 
making it a veritable nuisance to people living near-by, 
and the heat of their bodies can be felt for quite a dis- 
tance; permission has often been asked, and granted by 
the authorities to drive them away, and so their roosts 
have often been broken up. Year after year thousands 
have been shot by permission, the average boy thinking it 
great sport to be allowed to take a gun and shoot into 
flocks that look like great swarms of bees, just to see 
them fall. This shooting may have caused their early 
flight last year. 
When getting ready for their long journey, thousands 
of them begin circling, going higher and higher; thous- 
ands of others following, and all at once a long string of 
those following will be seen to break away and return to 
the roosts; those circling look like an immense swarm 
of bees. I have observed them through a strong field 
glass until they completely disappeared, seemingly still 
rising; where their destination is, I do not know. They 
go to an immense height, always starting about sunset, 
and I think travel the entire night. The last flight leaves 
us about September 1. 
Bull-bats or night-hawks : The first flight leaves here 
August 27 to 29; they fly rather high, but not out of sight, 
,as-they are not a long flight: bird, stopping on their way 
to feed, and rising again with their craws filled. 
The chimney sweeps are the last of the swallow species 
to leave us, staying here until frosty nights come. They 
congregate in immense numbers, settling in some unused 
chimney to roost, going into it in a continual stream, 
seemingly taxing the capacity of the roost to hold them 
,all, and after the first real frosty night they all leave for 
their winter home. 
Butterflies migrate all during October. One fall Forest 
and Stream published an article giving an account of a 
very heavy flight passing New York city. Just twenty- 
seven days later an immense number passed here, all 
headed for the south, and seemingly in a big hurry. 
S. B. Dow. 
Some Animals I Have Studied. 
VI. — Major, the Clown Dog. 
The small "ugly red dog" mentioned in "Some Know- 
ing Dogs" (Forest and Stream, August 29, 1903), was a 
natural or self-taught clown. To> amuse spectators he 
would turn somersaults, forward or backward or side- 
wise, standing or running, high ones or low ones, over 
and over, or so long as the performance seemed to pro- 
duce sufficient amusement. Sometimes he even stood on 
his head for a brief moment in a manner that surely was 
not accidental or unintentional. He went through these 
antics without anybody's command or suggestion. This 
was a case of instinct and reason (or thought) combined. 
Dogs and all sorts of canines, even in their wild state, 
roll and tumble about with more or less skill when feeling 
comfortable, safe and happy; but reason, and not anything 
less, caused him to- like applause and to choose time and 
place to win it. 
• One of his favorite tricks was to snatch an ear of corn 
from the hogs in the pasture and run with it, while the 
whole herd followed, squealing indignantly. He would 
stop occasionally to allow them to catch up, lay the ear 
down, and wait until the nearest hog almost had his nose 
upon it, then seize it and run on; and all this time the 
expression on his face was indescribably roguish; he had 
a very beautiful face despite his ugly color. He so well 
knew the nature of the pigs that he could lead them thus 
as long as he liked. When they began to tire of the use- 
less chase, and seemed about to turn back, he had such an 
ingratiating look, and such a persuasive way of exhibiting 
that corn, turning it over and over, as if to call particular 
attention to all its fine points and superior qualities, that 
no hog of his acquaintance could resist the temptation 
to renew the pursuit. The hogs did not show such a lack 
of intelligence, either, as may at first appear in persisting; 
for their past experience with him taught them that they 
might confidently expect this little diversion at feeding 
time every day, if he happened to be present; and he took 
care never to be absent, unless upon most urgent business, 
such as chasing a rabbit or digging after a mole or chip- 
munk or keeping a squirrel up a tree. They understood, 
loo, that after a good long run, he would at last drop the 
ear, and pretend to . forget about it until the nearest pig 
pounced upon it, quickly followed by the others. If 
"actions speak louder than words," they emphatically in- 
formed me that that ear always was the best I threw out, 
for they would all take after it as soon as it was carried 
off, while I was still throwing out others. 
He was the best untrained "fetch and carry" dog I ever 
knew. At the shingle-mill, about one hundred yards from 
the house, if given a shingle, knife, piece of glass, coil of 
hay-wire, or small rod of iron, and told to "Take it to 
Mrs. M.," he would almost always immediately obey. Ar- 
riving at the back door, and finding it shut, he would 
scrape or thump the object against the door, or pound 
the floor of the porch with it, until the lady appeared. 
He almost always desired to help carry in the wood and 
kindlings ; also he liked to be allowed to take hold of one 
side of every basket or bucket, even when held much too 
high for him, and pretend to assist in carrying it. Now, 
although we encouraged him in all that, and sometimes 
rewarded him for real or mimicked services, we had taken 
no pains to teach him; why, it would be hard to say, for 
when an animal shows any unusual desire to please, I 
generally exert myself to cultivate its talent. 
He hadn't the slightest fear of a rifle, but would hold a 
wild hog by the ear and coolly look into the muzzle of the 
gun that pointed to shoot it. If the hog dropped at the 
shot, he would let go and stand calmly by; if otherwise, 
he would hang on, even though the powerful animal 
dragged him. This, I take it, showed reasoning; he de- 
sired to be useful, and reasoned how to be so. 
He was a "mighty warrior," too, despite his small size. 
As an instance, one of our half-wild sows came up with 
some large, lively pigs. When one of these had been 
caught, two big men hurriedly dragged it inside the yard 
for marking, while another temporarily beat the sow off. 
But she was so terrible in her wrath that she broke his 
guard and bursted through the gate as if it had been a 
toy. Major seized her, and not only prevented her from 
snapping a man's leg off (possibly), but soon, with a little 
assistance, dragged her back out of the yard. And there 
he, tireless as an automaton, held or retarded her until 
all the rest of the pigs that could be captured were marked, 
although she foamed at the mouth and ground her teeth, 
and shook herself with rage. I am convinced that only 
superior intelligence, not strength, enabled him to over- 
come this really formidable adversary, who was many 
times larger than himself, and surprisingly quick also. 
He seemed to know how to take hold of almost any- 
thing, after a little investigation; and if he caught on 
improperly, he saw his mistake as soon as any man did, 
and lost no time in changing his hold. 
In one important particular he was just like all the 
"smart" dogs (and men) of my acquaintance : if he 
placed himself in a ridiculous plight purposely, he liked 
to be laughed at; if accidentally, laughter offended him, 
as he showed by his deprecating look and manner. This 
evinces a high order of intelligence in dogs, whether it 
does in men or not. 
If one held a rock in the hand ten seconds, then threw 
it away, no matter where or how far away it fell, provided 
it did not get into some inaccessible spot, he never failed 
to find it, though sometimes the search was long, and re- 
turn it to the hand of the thrower, if the thrower seemed 
indifferent about its recovery ; but if the thrower wanted 
the rock badly enough to start to meet him on his return 
with it, he would run away, with it, occasionally looking 
back to challenge pursuit. The ability to find the rock 
may have been merely animal and purely instinctive—it is 
a common enough quality among dogs of many varieties — 
but the desire to return it to the thrower, probably for the 
fun of seeing it thrown again, or the roguish propensity to 
flee with it (now, boys, please don't pun about "a wise 
dog taking a stone to flea himself with"), must have re- 
sulted from a course of thinking — a reasoning from cause 
to effect. If it was only instinct, then only instinct in- 
duces a man to pay to see a show; but, on second thought, 
I must admit that anything but reason causes men to enter 
some shows, pay or no pay. 
He was as much at home in the water as any smooth- 
haired dog I ever knew, but appeared to have no object 
but sport for entering it. The tricks he performed in that 
element for fun only were numerous and ingenious — very 
similar to the antics of the average eight-year-old boy 
who goes swimming without parental consent in company 
with other wild, bad boys of different ages. Ye jolly boys 
of forty to eighty summers ! Look back a little. You can 
still appreciate those gay old times. I own up I am still 
charmed with such sport — while not exactly excusing dis- 
obedience — and cannot conceive of a time when I shall be 
too old or too infirm to at least look on with delight. 
And this calls up another point of resemblance between 
men and dogs. Both like sports, hilarious enjoyments, 
and, when they can not participate, show the keenest in- 
terest or sympathy in merely serving as spectators. If a 
dog likes a show at all, he follows it in every detail — 
absorbed, enraptured ! Just closely observe him and see. 
First he shows subdued wonder, then alert attention, 
pleasure, anxiety ; he trembles with excitement, his 
favorite actor seeming to be about to fail ; he is sorrowful, 
perhaps eager to fly to his succor. Now he barks with 
triumph, and in the end the victory is as much his as his 
friend's. 
This picture is not overdrawn ; I have seen the reality 
many a time. The dog not only is happy in the pastimes 
of his fellows, and of men, but the sports of all animals, 
no matter how much his inferiors, amuse him. 
The dog is probably the only animal that has more love 
for mankind than for his own race. At any rate, that he 
does love man more than dogs, more than his own near kin 
— aye, more than himself, even, in some instances — there 
need be no doubt. Evidences by the thousands have ac- 
cumulated since the dog took the place of the falcon in 
man's life at home and afield. Indeed, long, intimate 
association with man has evolved in the canine mind and 
heart a love and admiration for man which has been the 
best possible incentive for mental growth in the dog. And 
I claim that the dog mind is not stationary, notwithstand- 
ing the many brilliant dogs of the past, but is still de- 
veloping, not keeping pace with man's mind, of course, yet 
ever and steadily improving. L. R. Morphew. 
[to be continued.] 
All the game laws and fish laws of the United Stales 
and Canada are given in the "Game Laws in Brief," 
Protection for the Musk-ox, 
If there are any musk-ox robes lying about, and are 
to be had at a reasonable price, corner them. That is the 
advice given by a veteran and wholesale furrier. 
Just now they are worth, retail, from $100 to $200 a set, 
according to their condition, and they are a great favorite 
in Canada. What their price will be next winter and the 
next is difficult to foresee. 
When Governor Moody, of Hudson's Bay, the first 
Governor which that territory ever had, goes back to 
Fullerton, which is to be made the capital of the district, 
he will see that no more musk-ox, which virtually only 
inhabit the Canadian possessions near Hudson's Bay, will 
be killed for export. The Eskimos and Indians will be 
permitted to kill the animals for food and will, naturally, 
be permitted to sell the heads and pelts, but they will be 
severely punished if they kill more than they need. 
Whalers will be prevented from buying the skins, as 
they have been doing in the past. It has been for some 
time a mystery what the whalers really saw in the bay 
where whales have been thinned out pretty well. It was 
generally supposed that they did a good contraband trade 
in whiskey, arms, and ammunition; but Governor Moody's 
visit brought to light the fact that thousands of musk-ox 
have been brought away by these ships upon each return 
voyage. >\ : ; . '. 
Two ships which Governor Moody visited during his 
stay in the Arctic regions had respectively 200 and 300 
musk-ox on board, brought to them by the Eskimos. 
They pay them in provisions, a small amount for each 
animal. 
Considering the retail price of the skins, and the fact 
that the whalers receive $50 each for the head from whole- 
sale furriers, a shipload of musk-ox is not a bad 
investment. 
The Canadian Government, admitting that the native 
needs the flesh for food, the pelt for clothes, and the soft 
wool that is rubbed off from the skin in the molting 
season for underwear, is afraid that the animal will be- 
come extinct, and, therefore, forbids the killing, except 
as a necessity. — Montreal Dispatch Boston Herald. 
The Gopher and Spotted Fever. 
The pernicious insect supposed heretofore to be a wood- 
tick, that is responsible for the disease common in certain 
parts of Montana and Idaho in the spring, known as 
spotted fever, is, according to medical experts, an animal 
parasite. It is found particularly upon the gopher, the 
pest of farmers in many localities. The disease produced 
by the bite of this insect is similar in some respects to 
spinal meningitis, but it is even more deadly, the percent- 
age of recoveries being very small. Every farmer's boy 
who has pursued the elusive gopher to his hole and be- 
yond through the tunnels that connect the various cham- 
bers of his subterranean abode, knows how utterly impos- 
sible it is to exterminate these creatures by active assault 
or blockade. Thus, while to exterminate the gopher is to 
exterminate the tick and destroy the possibility of the con- 
tagion known as spotted fever, the chance of immunity 
from the scourge through war upon this creature is very 
remote. Gophers seem to thrive upon the toxin produced 
by the bite of their special parasite, while to human beings 
it is fatal. This is one of the idiosyncrasies of nature 
that is inexplicable, and to meet and counteract it is the 
task to which the bacteriologist has set himself. He will, 
no doubt, succeed in time in producing the anti-toxin 
necessary to nullify the bite of the parasite. The season 
of spotted fever ends for this year with the present month, 
and it is hoped that scientific research will disclose the 
anti-toxin sought before the season of the pernicious 
activity of the gopher tick again comes round. — Portland 
Oregonian. 
Duck Egfgs in the North. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
A friend writes as follows : "When I was in Cayuga, 
N. D., last fall hunting, I met a gentleman from Iowa 
who told me that there were vessels running into the 
Hudson's Bay every year and loading with wild duck 
eggs that are collected there by people who make a 
specialty of collecting them each year and delivering them 
to the different agents of these vessels. Those people 
have certain rights agreed upon for territory from which 
to collect eggs, the same as a farmer has his particular 
piece of land to cultivate. For instance, I have a certain 
island, or a part of it, or a certain piece of the shore right, 
and you have yours, and we do not trespass or interfere 
with each other. These eggs are carefully packed and 
shipped to England for food purposes. I noticed by the 
papers that you are trying to get some arrangement made 
with the Canadian Government about fishing on inter- 
national waters for the purpose of protecting the fish in 
those waters. It seems to me just as important to protect 
our wild ducks, geese, brant, and in fact all of our game 
birds that go across the line to nest and raise their young. 
■ Just think of a ship loaded with eggs, and then think 
what a lot of birds it means that has been destroyed. The 
gentleman who told me this is a first-class sportsman, and 
he told me that he would lay the matter before the game 
wardens; also their North Dakota Senators. He says on 
some islands there are thousands of nests, and they col- 
lect the eggs each day, and when a bird wants to set they 
break up the nest, and , in a short time they will commence 
to lay again, and that they figure on, I may say, two 
crops a year. I have been told of this thing, and I believe 
it is a fact, and 1 think there should be something done. 
It. is certainly worth investigating." 
If the facts are as given by my correspondent, this mat- 
ter should have the immediate attention of the Canadian 
authorities. Sam. F. Fullerton. 
[This appears to be a variation of the old duck egg 
fake story.] 
