260 
FOREST AND STREAM 
June, 1922 
HOW OLD-TIME MOUNTAIN 
MEN USED THEIR EYES 
Dear Forest and Stream : 
M aybe some of your readers have 
that Remington print of western 
life called “Government Scouts in the 
IMoonlight.” If they have 1 will ask 
them to look particularly at that won- 
derful old scout at the left of the pic- 
ture and try to feel the hawk-like vision 
— the intense alertness that the artist de- 
picts. 
hYom the moment these old-time moun- 
tain men rolled out of their blankets at 
break of day until they rolled in again 
at night, as long as they were awake, 
their eyes were forever on the job, look- 
ing, looking, looking — here, there, every- 
where; searching the ground at their 
feet, the trail ahead, the trail behind, the 
hills to right and left, the horizon and 
even the sky above them. How much 
more these grand old fellows saw than 
the average boy or man sees to-day when 
he is afield or in the woods. The very 
lives of these men and the lives of those 
they were guiding depended upon the 
use they made of their eyesight. 
They were constantly in hostile Indian 
country, where eternal vigilance alone 
let them live; they had to read the trails 
and tracks as we would read a book ; 
they were watching for the smoke of 
campfires, watching for anything or any- 
hody that moved anywhere. They spot- 
ted any object within the radius of their 
r ision that did not look natural — did not 
fit in with the general scheme of things ; 
they overlooked nothing — a newly- 
broken twig, grass freshly bent, muddy 
water in a pool or ford, the undue excite- 
ment of game, birds of prey, or even the 
startled flight of wild-fowl — all these 
things meant something to them. 
They watched the movement of their 
horses’ ears and nostrils, for a horse’s 
hearing and sense of smell is much 
keener than man’s. 
In following old pack trails in the tim- 
ber, they would often swing off the trail 
and let the pack outfit rest while a scout 
climbed up on some lookout point and 
searched the whole country into which 
they were going. In doing this they 
used the old Indian method of hunting 
animals or men, which consists in going 
to the country which they know the ani- 
mals or men are using and then in crawl- 
ing up on some high point from which 
they can see practically all the country 
and then to remain perfectly still and let 
the game do the moving. 
How easy it is to see anything move 
when you are dead still yourself. You 
can see even the smallest animals, such 
as porcupines and ground hogs, over a 
mile away, and the first step of a bear, 
or the first uptoss of a deer’s head is seen 
instantly. Try this method of the old 
scout and mountain man some time and 
see for yourself. 
These men not only used their eyes in 
order to keep out of the way or to catch 
hostile Indians, but they had to use them 
constantly in order to live off the coun- 
try — to battle with the elements. They 
also had to watch carefully for good 
horse feed and water and remember 
every place where they saw them ; they 
watched for good camp grounds for 
themselves where there was plenty of 
wood and water. They kept in mind any 
old shack or cabin they happened to pass 
so that in case of a blizzard they could 
make a run for it. They watched for 
and remembered where they saw any old 
trapline, for perhaps they might run out 
of grub and no big game being around, 
they would have to come back to where 
the traps were and use them to trap a lot 
of small animals like rabbits, muskrats, 
ground hogs or marten and thereby save 
their lives. 
For the same reason they remembered 
where they had seen porcupines, for the 
porcupine is about the only animal that 
man can kill easily without a gun or trap 
and many a one has proved to be a 
veritable gift from the heavens to a 
starving mountain man. 
If your readers, when they go afield, 
will think about the way the old scouts 
of the mountains and the plains kept 
their eyes everlastingly on the job, see- 
ing things, remembering things, ever 
ready to report things they will soon 
learn to do as they did and will take a 
keener joy in the outdoors. 
Malcolm S. Mackay, New Jersey. 
NESTS OF KILLDEER PLOVER 
Dear Forest and Stream ; 
O N Sunday, April 9th, I took a walk 
over to an old Indian camp ground 
on Staten Island, New York, where I 
generally pick up a flint arrow-head or 
two. The place now is cultivated with 
asparagus, raspberries, strawberries, etc., 
and the ground is mixed thoroughly with 
oyster shells, the soil being of a very light 
color, making it an ideal place to discover 
the objects of my search. 
In walking between the rows of straw- 
berry plants I noticed a nicely hollowed- 
out spot, about 4 inches in diameter and 
2 inches deep, with one egg in it. This 
little depression in the sand was lined 
with small particles of oyster shells and 
nothing else, not a stick or straw, and 
the nest is about 400 feet from the farm- 
house. Ploughing and general farm work 
are going on all the time within 50 feet 
of the spot. 
I thought it very queer, so on Sunday, 
April 16th, I went prepared to see who’s 
who in the strawberry patch. I took 
my field-glasses along and kept well con- 
cealed until within about 200 feet of the 
place ; then I stood erect and put the 
glasses on the spot. Slowly a killdeer 
plover rose and walked about 50 feet 
from the nest ; then she remained stand- 
ing still as long as I did, which seemed 
to be 5 minutes. The only movement 
the bird made was to stand on one leg 
and then the other. I walked up to the 
nest and saw there were 4 eggs in it, 
and no room for any more. I did not 
scare the bird, so she only walked away, 
and when I had retreated about 500 feet 
I took the glasses again and saw her 
slowly going back in the direction of her 
nest. 
It being Easter morning, and a good 
day to soliloquize, I thought I would do 
a little preaching myself ; so I went to 
the farmer and told him of the nest and 
what good a brood of killdeers would be 
amongst his berries — what great insect- 
eaters they were, etc. He promised to 
keep away from the spot and protect 
them the best he could. This spot is 
about two miles either way from the salt 
water near the middle of the lower end 
of Staten Island. 
In the afternoon I took a walk over 
the large farm and I found one nest of 
killdeer with 3 eggs, but I put up several 
of the birds, and there must be more 
nests ; so we are seeing the results of 
more protection to a useful bird. 
H. L. Allen, New York. 
WHITE CHINESE PHEASANTS 
Dear Forest and Stream ; 
T WAS interested in reading the article 
^ in the March number of Forest and 
Stream concerning pheasants and do- 
mestic fowls. It states that many white 
birds have been seen in covies of Chinese 
pheasants in the state of Washington. 
Speaking from 40 years of pheasant rais- 
ing and as a gamekeeper, I may say that 
it is not rare to find quite a lot of albino 
pheasants or ones that are part white 
every season. If you have many white 
birds it is a sure fact that your birds are 
getting inbred and need fresh blood in- 
troduced. 
As to crossing with leghorns, I know 
they rvould not do so in a wild state. It 
is an easy matter to breed white or partly 
white pheasants. If you place a white 
cock or partly rvhite (pied, as we calli 
them) with Chinese pheasants you wil| 
