t)EC. 10, 1904.31 
night. It is for this reason, as well as on account of 
the rains, that percussion guns are preferable upon the 
prairies, particularly for those who understand their 
use. The winds are frequently so severe as to sweep 
away both sparks and priming from a flintlock, and 
thus render it wholly ineffective." 
While following down the Canadian they found buf- 
falo very abundant, and the gentleness and lack of 
suspicion of the animal is noted. "On one occasion, 
two or three hunters, who were a little in advance of 
the caravan, perceiving a herd quietly grazing in an 
open glade, they 'crawled upon' them after the manner 
of the 'stillhunters.' Their first shot having brought 
down a fine fat cow, they slipped up behind her, and 
resting their guns over her body, shot two or three 
others, without occasioning any serious disturbance or 
surprise to their companions; for, extraordinary as it 
may appear, if the buffalo neither see nor smell the 
hunter" they will pay but little attention to the crack 
of guns, or to the mortality which is being dealt among 
them." 
Greeg's praiseworthy reflections on the wanton killing 
of the buffalo 'are made in entire good faith, yet only 
a day or two later he frankly confesses to some un- 
necessary killing that he did himself. He says of the 
excessive destruction: "The slaughter of these animals 
is, frequently carried to an excess, which shows the 
depravity of the human heart in very bold relief. Such 
is the excitement that generally prevails at the sight 
of these fat denizens of the prairies, that very few 
hunters appear able to refrain from shooting as long 
as the game remains within reach of their rifles; nor 
can they ever permit a fair shot to escape them. 
Whether the mere pleasure of taking life is the incentive 
of these brutal excesses, I will not pretend to decide; 
but one thing is very certain, that the buffalo killed on 
these prairies far exceeds the wants of the travelers; 
or what might be looked upon as the exigencies of 
rational sport." In a footnote he adds: "The same 
barbarous propensity is observable in regard to wild 
horses. Most persons appear unable to restrain this 
wanton inclination to take life, when a mustang ap- 
proaches within rifle shot. Many a stately steed thus 
falls a victim to the cruelty of man." 
Ill April, 1840, Gregg reached the end of his journey— 
his last trip upon the plains. He was as susceptible as 
other men have shown themselves to the attractions of 
the free life of the prairie, its "sovereign independ- 
ence;" but acknowledges the disadvantages which fol- 
low an almost entire separation from one's fellow men. 
Nevertheless, "Since that time," he says, "I have striven 
in vain to reconcile myself to the even tenor of civil- 
ized life in the United States; and have sought in its 
amusements and its society a substitute for those high 
excitements which have attached me so strongly to 
prairie life. Yet I am almost ashamed to confess that 
scarcely a day passes without my experiencing a pang 
of regret that I am not now roving at large upon those 
western plains. Nor do I find my taste peculiar; for 
I have hardly known a man who has ever become 
familiar with the kind of life which I have led for so 
many years, that has not relinquished it with regret." 
In his account of animals of the prairies, Gregg 
names first the mustang; and here we find one of the 
earliest mentions of a traditional wild horse, which 
has come down in many a story. 
"The beauty of the mustang is proverbial," he writes. 
"One in particular has been celebrated by hunters, of 
which marvelous stories are told. He has been repre- 
sented as a medium-sized stallion of perfect symmetry, 
milk-white, save a pair of black ears— a natural 'pacer,' 
and so fleet, it is said, as to leave far behind every 
horse that had been tried in pursuit of him, without 
breaking his 'pace.' But I infer that this story is some- 
what mythical, from the difficulty, which one finds in 
fixing the abiding place of its equine hero. He is 
familiarly known, by common report, all over _ the 
great prairies. The trapper celebrates him in the vicin- 
ity of the northern Rocky Mountains; the hunter on 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
the Arkansas or in the midst of the plains, while others 
have him pacing at the rate of half a mile a minute on' 
the borders of Texas. It is hardly a matter of surprise, 
then, that a creature of such an ubiquitary existence 
should never have been caught. 
"The wild horses are generally well-formed, with trim 
and clean limbs; still their elegance has been much ex- 
aggerated by travelers, because they have seen them at 
large, abandoned to their wild and natural gaiety. Then, 
it is true, they appear superb indeed; but when caught 
and tamed, they generally dwindle down to ordinary 
ponies. Large droves are very frequently seen Upon 
the prairies, sometimes of hundreds together, gam- 
bolling and curvetting within a short distance of the 
caravans. It is sometimes difficult to keep them from 
dashing among the loose stock of the traveler, which 
would be exceedingly dangerous, for, once together, 
they are hard to separate again, particularly if the num- 
ber of mustangs is much the greatest. It is a singular 
fact, that the gentlest wagon-horse (even though quite 
fagged with travel), once among a drove of mustangs, 
will often acquire in a few hours all the intractable 
wildness of his untamed companions." 
It is many years since the real mustang has been seen 
on the prairie. To-day his place is taken by the range 
horse, an animal of very different character, though of 
similar habits. Yet, we well recall a time, long before 
the day of the range, and its cattle or horses, when 
journeying through the southern country, little bands 
of mustangs could sometimes be seen. One such, which 
passed once close to our command, was noticeable for 
the presence among its numbers of a gigantic mule, 
which it had picked up from some traveling party, and 
which was now as wild as the horses themselves. 
Naturally, Gregg has much to say about the buffalo, 
and he voices an impression which long had currency, 
and may still be believed by people, that the bulls were 
sentinels and guards for the cows and calves. Speaking 
in general terms, he says, "A buffalo cow is about as 
heavy as a common ox, while a large fat bull will weigh 
perhaps double as much. 
"These are very gregarious animals. At some seasons, 
however, the cows rather incline to keep to themselves; 
at other times they are mostly seen in the center of 
the gang, while the bulls are scattered around, fre- 
quently to a considerable distance, evidently guarding 
the cows and calves. And on the outskirts of the buf- 
falo range, we are apt to meet with small gangs of bulls 
alone, a day or two's travel distant, as though per- 
forming the office of 'pique guards' for the main herds." 
He inveighs against the slaughter of the buffalo, 
which was even then so great, and says: "It is believed 
that the annual 'export' of buffalo rugs — often, but it 
would seem improperly, called 'buffalo robes' — from the 
prairies and -bordering 'buffalo range,' is about a hun- 
dred thousand; and the number killed wantonly, or ex- 
clusively for meat, is no doubt still greater, as the 
skins are fit to dress scarcely half the year." A good 
description of the mass of the buffalo, and of their 
alarming appearance, is given in a sentence, where he 
tells of having turned a frightened gang, which was 
rushing toward him. They had parted and run by; 
"still their advance is somewhat frightful — their thun- 
dering rumble over the dry plains, their lion-like fronts 
and dangling beards, their open mouths and hanging 
tongues — as they come on, puffing like a locomotive 
engine at every bound, does at first make the blood 
settle a little heavy about the heart." 
In his remarks about the gray wolf, and its habits, 
he touches on a subject which has more than once 
come up in Forest and Stream, and elsewhere — that 
is to say, the question as to whether the big wolf of 
America ever voluntarily attacks man. He says: "I 
have never known these animals, rapacious as they 
are, extend their attacks to man, though they probably 
would, if very hungry, and a favorable opportunity pre- 
sented itself. I shall not soon forget an adventure with 
one of them, many years ago, on the frontier of Mis- 
souri. Riding near the prairie border, I perceived one 
4&0 
of the largest and fiercest of the gray species, which had 
just descended from the west, and seemed famishedto 
desperation. I at once prepared for a chase and, being 
without arms, I caught up a cudgel, when I betook me 
valiantly to the charge, much stronger, as I soon dis- 
covered, in my cause than in my equipment. The wolf 
was in no humor to flee, however, but boldly met me 
the full half-way. I was soon disarmed, for my club 
broke upon the animal's head. He then 'laid to' my. 
horse's legs, which, not relishing the conflict, gave a 
plunge and sent me whirling over his head, and made 
his escape, leaving me and the wolf at close quarters. 
I was no sooner upon my feet than my antagonist re- 
newed the charge; but, being without weapon, or any 
means of awakening an emotion of terror, save through 
his imagination, I took off my large black hat, and 
using it for a shield, began to thrust it toward his 
gaping jaws. My ruse had the desired effect, for, after 
springing at me a few times, he wheeled about and 
trotted off several paces, and stopped to gaze at me. 
Being apprehensive that he might change his mind and 
return to the attack, and conscious that, under the 
compromise, I had the best of the bargain, I very reso- 
lutely took to my heels, glad of the opportunity of mak- 
ing a draw game, though I had myself given the 
challenge." 
Gregg devotes considerable space to a discussion of 
the aborigines of America, and among these he men- 
tions most of the prairie tribes. He speaks at some length 
of what we now call the civilized tribes — that is to say, 
the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws and 
Seminoles. He notes the dreadful evil that liquor has 
created among the Indians, and gives, at the same time, 
a somewhat amusing account of the Legislative Council 
among the Choctaws, where whiskey was banished from 
the nation: "Many and long were the speeches which 
were made, and much enthusiasm was created against 
the monster 'whiskey,' and all his brood of compound 
enormities. Still every one seemed loth to move his 
arrest and execution. Finally, a captain of more than 
ordinary temerity arose, and offered a resolution that 
each and every individual who should thenceforth dare 
to introduce any of the liquid curse into their country, 
should be punished with a hundred lashes on his bare 
back, and the liquor be poured out. This was passed, 
after some slight changes, by acclamation; but, with a 
due sense of the injustice of ex-post-facto restrictions, 
all those who had liquors on hand were permitted to 
sell them.. The council adjourned; but the members 
soon began to canvass among each other the pernicious 
consequences which might result from the protracted 
use of the whiskey already in the shops, and therefore 
concluded the quicker it was drank up, the more 
promptly would the evil be over: so, falling to, in less 
than two hours Bacchus never mustered a drunker 
troop than were these same temperance legislators. The 
consequence of their determination were of lasting im- 
portance to them. The law, with some slight improve- 
ments, has ever since been rigorously enforced." 
It is interesting to note that the Comanches, while 
bitterly at war with the Mexicans and the Texans, for 
very many years, nevertheless, cultivated peace with the 
New Mexicans, "not only because the poverty of the 
country offers fewer inducements for their inroads, but 
because it is desirable, as with the interior Mexican 
tribes, to retain some friendly point with which to keep 
an amicable intercourse and traffic. Parties of them 
have- therefore sometimes entered the settlements of 
New". Mexico for trading purposes; while every season 
numerous bands of New Mexicans, known as Coman- 
cheros, supplied with arms, amunition, trinkets, pro- 
visions, and other necessaries, launch upon the prairies 
to barter for mules, and the different fruits of their 
ravages upon the south." ■ ■ • 
Gregg's history of these first beginnings of the west- 
ward commerce of the United States is a most valuable 
and interesting repository of the facts of the period. 
It purports to be only a diary of a trader, but actually 
it is history. George Bird Grinnell. 
American Ornithologists' Union. 
The Twenty-second Congress of the American Orni- 
thologists' Union convened in Cambridge, Mass., Monday 
evening, November 28. The business meeting was held 
in Mr. William Brewster's museum, and the public ses- 
sions, commencing Tuesday, November 29, and lasting 
three days, were held in the Nash lecture room - of the 
University Museum. 
The fellows present were: Chas. B. Cory, Outram 
Bangs, and H. A. Purdie, of Boston ; William Brewster 
and Chas. F. Batchelder, of Cambridge ; Drs. J. A. Allen, 
Jonathan Dwight, Jr., and Messrs. Frank M. Chapman 
and William Dutcher, of New York city ; Ruthven Deane, 
of Chicago ; Henry W. Henshaw, of Hilo, Hawaii ; Drs. 
A. K. Fisher, T. S. Palmer, and Merrs. E. W. Nelson 
and H. C. Oberholser, of Washington, D. C. ; Dr. Louis 
B. Bishop, of New Haven, and John H. Sage, of Port- 
land, Conn. 
Among the other members present during the sessions 
were Glover M. Allen, Geo. H. Mackay, Walter Deane, 
Ralph Hoffmann, Francis H. Allen, J. D. Sornborger, E. 
H. Forbush, A. C. Bent, Miss Harriet E. Freeman, Rev. 
Wm. R. Lord, Geo. C. Deane, Chas. E. Ingalls, W. R. 
Davis, H. G. Higbee, Owen Durfee, R. H. Howe, Jr.; 
Max Boewe, Mrs. Lidian E. Bridge, T. Otis Fuller, A. C. 
Comey, J. Stanley Howard, C. E. Bailey, Miss Helen A. 
Ball, Miss Emma G. Cummings, Prof. C. F. Hodge, F. 
H. Kennard, Harold Bowditch, F. B. McKechnie, John 
B. Wheeler, Rev. H. W. Gleason, H. Porter Hall, Miss 
Harriet E. Richards, Bradford Torrey, Miss Helen 
Granger, A. H. Clark, Dr. C W. Townsend, Chas. H. 
French, C. W. Chamberlain, Mantin Copeland, Howard 
M. Turner, Wm. L. Underwood, Richard S. Eustis, Miss 
Fannie A. Stebbins, Mrs. Win. Howell Reed and Eliza- 
beth S. Hill, of Massachusetts; Prof. T. Gilbert. Pearson, 
of North Carolina ; Louis Agassiz Fuertes, Geo. O. 
Shields, John Lewis Childs, Miss Eliza S. Blunt, and 
John T. Nichols, of New York; Mrs. Elizabeth B. Daven- 
port, Mrs; Carrie W. Ormsbee, and Miss Isabel M. Pad- 
dock, of Vermont; Fred. B. Spaulding, of New Hamp- 
shire; Rev. H. K. Job and Mrs. Eustace L. Allen, of 
Connecticut; James H. Fleming, of Toronto, Canada; 
Arthur H. Norton and J. M. Swain, of Maine; W. E. 
Clyde Todd, of Pittsburg; Mrs. Irene G. Wheelock, of 
Chicago ; Henry Oldys, of Washington, D. C, and Wm. 
L. Finley, of Portland, Oregon.. 
Chas. B. Cory was re-elected President ; C. F. Batchel- 
der and E. W. Nelson, Vice-Presidents ; John H. Sage, 
Secretary; Jonathan Dwight, Jr., Treasurer; Frank M. 
Chapman, Ruthven Deane, A. K. Fisher, Thos. S. Roberts, 
Witmer Stone, William Dutcher, and C. W. Richmond, 
members of the Council. 
Three associates were elected to the class known as 
Members', and 125 new associates were elected, the largest 
number in any one year since the society was founded. 
Papers of universal interest on the subject of bird 
migration were presented by Prof. W. W. Cooke and Dr. 
Louis B. Bishop, and the conclusions reached seemed 
reasonable. 
Mr. E. H. Forbush referred to certain disappearing 
birds, and asked that information concerning them- be 
sent to the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture. 
Mrs. Irene G. Wheelock gave a detailed account of her 
studies, extending over many years, on the regurgitative 
feeding of nestlings. Her paper created much discussion. 
Mr. Wm. L. Finley's papers on the land birds of Oregon 
and California and the sea birds of the Oregon coast, 
illustrated as they were by beautiful lantern slides, showed 
what exceptional opportunities he had had for studying 
the -avifauna of the Pacific region. 
In his; paper on the nesting habits of the flamingo, Mr. 
Chapman exhibited most excellent views from photo- 
graphs which he had taken of the birds in the Bahamas. 
He observed much there that was new concerning the 
domestic life of the species. 
Mr. Henry Oldys spoke of some interesting bird songs, 
and Mr. Fuertes gave imitations of bird notes and ex- 
plained the. habits of the birds. 
A. valuable paper on the birds of the sandhill region of 
Nebraska was presented by Dr. Robert H. Wolcott. His 
observations covered a section of the country very little 
known. . , 
Rev. H. K, Job showed a large series of lantern slides, 
from photographs of shore birds, herons, and water fowl, 
and explained the ingenious expedients to which he re- 
sorted in , order t'o secure good results. 
From the, report of the Committee on Protection of 
North A.meri can Birds, read by its chairman, Mr. William 
Dutcher, it was evident that satisfactory results had been 
obtained during the past year, and that interest in the 
preservation, of wild bird life was not lacking at the 
present time. 
In the -absence of Prof. C. F. Hodge, of Worcester, so 
well known for his successful experiments in rearing 
ruffed grouse in confinement, Miss Helen A. Ball ex- 
