A WEEKLY JOURNAL, 
DEVOTED TO FIELD AND AQDAT1C SPORTS, PRACTICAL NATURAL HISTORY, 
FisnOui.TURB, tub Protection ok Cams, Preservation ok Imikbsts, 
and tub Inculcation in Men aSd Women op a Hkaltuy Interest 
in Out-Door Rbcrbation and Study : 
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NEW YORK. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1878. 
To Correspondents. 
AU communications whatever, intended for publication, must be ac- 
companied with real name of the writer as a guaranty of good faith, 
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or Trade supplied by American News Company. 
CIIARLE8 II A I.UM'K, Editor. 
T. C. BANKS, 
Business Manager. 
S. H. TURRILL, Chicago, 
Western Manager. 
Voyaging on tjie Upper Missouri. — We must not delay 
the correction of an ambiguity which appeared in our issue 
of Feb. 7 under this title. Mr. Ingersoll, speaking of the 
Gros Ventre Indians seen at Camp Cooke, or, as it is more 
generally called, Fort Claggett, at the mouth of the Judith 
River, says : “The Gro9 Ventres are a band of the Hidat9a 
or Minnalarec Indians, etc.” This is, of course, quite cor- 
rect, but it is misleading, for this reason. There are two 
bands or tribes of Indians in the Missouri region called Gros 
Ventres — the Gros Ventres of the Prairie, who live high up 
on the river, and some of whom are always loitering about 
Claggett’s, and the Gros Ventres of the Village, who live with 
the Mandans and Rees at Fort Berthold. The latter are a 
branch of the Hidatsas, while the former are really a band of 
Arrapahoes, who have strayed far to the North and have 
made peace with their hereditary enemies, the Crows. Of 
late years these Gros Ventres have wanted to move South 
and join their tribe again, but the mountain Crows 
will not allow them to go. The Gros Venires of the Village 
have never been up the river nearly so far as the mouth of the 
Judith. 
Solitude Hath CnAniis.— We spoke incidentally the other 
day of the seclusion so often indispensable to the scientist and 
student of natural history. Ihere is at least one man in 
America who appreciates such retirement, and it is certainly 
not his fault if he fails to have it. According to the New 
York World, Dr. Coues, the naturalist of the Hayden Survey, 
does not seem to care for company : 
On the door of his office at Washington is the inscription 
Notice to Visitors.- Blessings brighten ns they take tbeir 
flight,' and the walls are hung with such mottoes as these 
LxeuDt Omnes. " ‘ He who robs me of my time confers the 
charm of hm personal presence ut the expense of science ” 
“freedom from interruption confers a peace of mind Hmt re- 
ligiou cannot give " “ Brevity is the soul of wit in visiting.” 
t e i/ UC -' " f - n ,loor bl,s 11 ccr,ain auggestiveness ’’ 
Indeed the collection is so unique that people will often stav 
over a tram to visit this lover of solitude y 
Tho 11 Dolor ” is what the merchants call it now. 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
—We were honored last Friday by a call from George Daw- 
son, Esq., the veteran editor of the Albany Journal, who 
dropped in to talk fora moment of the “Pleasures of An- 
gling." 
«■ 
Kit Caii 80 N. — In a recent issue we had occasion to inform 
a correspondent that Kit Cursou did not serve in the war of the 
Rebellion— that is, ho was not in tho Confederate service. An 
old comrade at Washington, D. C., has very kindly recalled 
to mind the following facts of his war history. He says : 
“ Old Kit, together with St. Vrain (an old ftouliersman), 
raised a I'uion cavalry regiment (First New Mexico), in lool, 
to which lie succeeded St. Vrain as colonel in that year, and 
for gnllnut and meritorious services at Valverdc and other 
points, he was brevetted Brigadier-General by President Lin- 
coln, in March, 1865. Brave, modest old Kit Carson, whose 
only pride was in being an American, und, in his own language, 
‘one of the meanest of the lot,' served liis country loo faith- 
fully and well to have his services iguored or forgotten by the 
people lie so loved to represent." 
Alas ! it is too true that the deeds of our heroes are soon 
forgotten. The survivors of the past generation, however, who 
were contemporary with Carson and St. Vrain, will long che- 
rish their memory, not only for their services in the trying 
period of the war, but in the ante beUurn days of those hardy 
mountaineers and prairie travelers who were the pioneers of 
Suites which have since become magnificent. 
[FROM OUR SPECIAL TEXAS CORRESPONDENT.) 
RANCHE LANDS IN TEXAS. 
Second Letter. 
Fort Griffin, Texas, Sept. 26, 1877. 
Civilization, as a rule, comes asceitainly from tlioEast and advauces 
Westward, as does conquest come from the NortU aud progress South 
ward. The gradually abandoned posts of the United States troops In west- 
ern Texas mark Hue behind line of lovely territory where the siars and 
sirlpes had, In the Interests of civilization, to be heralded by the bayonet 
and sword ; but the sword has now been transformed Into the plow- 
share for at least iso miles west of Fort Worth, aud even the most 
advanced west Texan outpost— Fort Griffin, from which I write— la at 
least 100 miles too far east of where the .furthest outpost ought to be. 
In expressing this opinion, however, I rather anticipate *my personal 
experience of the outer frontier and Its Comanche Indian troubles. I 
shall Id time come to them, but for the present pursue my sketch of the 
proposed extension of the Texas and PaciQc line, with which subject 
the Senatorial halls of Washington will, doubtless, ere long be ringing, 
ai d ou which matter mighty and vigorous blows of logic will be dealt 
out, received and returned. 
in Texas, and especially In Northern Texas of course, to speak of the 
possible failure of the Texas-Pacific hill is to write or confess yourself 
an ass ; and Indeed, though I do not carry the lone star ou my banner, 
I sincerely wish the Texas-Pacific God-speed— first, In the Interest- of 
the nation and the world ; secondly, for the sake of Texas aud the 
great and useful cause of emigration; for It Is perfectly wonderful how 
little makes the Beitler comfortable and happy In Texas Moat Is cheap 
and abundant ; of game there is decidedly more In the Lone Star State 
than in the rest oj the Union put together. Once away from the Rio 
Grande fronUer-t hut source of so much disquiet and dlscomfort-you 
And the counties well organized, the laws well administered, and life 
and property safe and protecied. The wonderful collection of ruffians, 
robbers and scum of the earth, that the Eastern Hemisphere and, In a 
whisper be it said, not a few of the Eastern Slates contributed lo Texas 
and then accused her of harboring, never have found things pleasant 
here, und And them more disagreeable every day. The courts from 
Fort Worth— north, south aud cast— have filled the State penitentiary 
pretiy quickly, and turned the balance of kleptomaniacs and oppressors 
of the feeble aud weak, of which they had Judicially takeu coguizance, 
over to Col. T. W. Pierce, to perfect hlB already almost pei feet roud 
—the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio. 
Then out West, vigilance committees give short shrift to the evil doer; 
to fact, the same spirit that has made Kansas one of the very best gov- 
erned States in the Union Is at work In Texas. Capital, therefore, aud 
hoDcst labor need not be afraid to travel westward with the Texas- 
Pacific, nor, Indeed, to travel well ahead of It. 
Well, but about iheland? Jump with me lntoa little two-mule coach 
at Weatherford : the gentleman who professionally Indulges In games 
of chance Is ou the box with the driver, aud col. Strang, with me. In 
propria perbona, and the reader In fancy, behind. We drive through 
Borne rough ground, and down a sleep arroya, over, oh ! such a bad 
road ; Mien, if you are fond of conjuring up tricks, watch us 
The Colouel and 1 sit dlgniUediy bolt upright -crack, bang, over a 
rock. Tableau— the Colonel’s nose Is buried deep in the rear pocket of 
the gentleman who Indulges In games of chance. Crack, bang, over 
another rock ! The Colonel Is shot back Into position No. i , while I ad- 
vance upon him, chin foremost, with lightning-like rapidity, tquashlng 
him, aud more especially bis hat, Into a corner. Then with one mast- 
erly crash forward, we both lose our seats, and temporarily repose on 
the flooring of the coach ; as iu Pope’s Homer, 
" Thus fell two heroes ; one the pride of 'Bhrace 
And one the leader of an Epelan ruco.” 
This is nomer’s way of putting It, but probably my rendering would be 
more descriptive. It runs— 
Thus fell two tourists ; one was a hard case, 
He gave a yell, for he had bruised his face. 
But even rocky ravines come to an end, and this one eventually brought 
us up on a splendid platean, on the edges of which, next the water, cul- 
tivation, both of corn and cotton, was highly successful. Want of 
water is certainly the chief drawback to the majority of land out here 
and, except along the banks of tho few streams that constantly flow' 
agriculture Is a rather sickly experiment. In this couuty-parkcr-and 
Its oext adjoining oue-Palo Plnlo-tlie valley of the spleudld Brazos 
River (nearly all of which Is taken up, of course, however, only in alter- 
nate sections by the Texas-Pacific land grant) affords aDy number of 
miles of magnificent farming lands, and those who have gone still 
farthor west than (he Brazos valley, prospecting for agricultural sites, 
irmin^n'r^ 'T”- The ,<?W Wh ° hnve trlc " rul8l, *e crops near 
Griffin, have achieved only most lamentable failures. Sheep, caf.o 
and goats are the members of the dnmb creation that, ns the Texas and 
Pacific goes west, are destined loeupplant the wide, splendid ranges 
now the all but lust home of the lordly buffalo. 
Near the borders of Parker Conniy wed.lvc up aud down rather 
steep stony hills, very fairly timbered with oak and peccan. The con- 
tour of the country Is here handsome In the extreme ; aud the vu'ley 
soli is sandy red loam. Sleek, quiet, happy-iooklog cows grazed over- 
long, open glad' s, which ran everywhere between belts of timber until 
at length, they a, . run into an Immense, rolling, wall wS%E£ 
with only an occasional olurnp of timber on it. One or two more valley 
vistas present themselves to our view as wo top sundry unnamed hills 
and then we reach Big Sandy Creek, on which is the ronchc of Mr. New- 
berry. This Big Sandy, I presume, Is a constantly running stream, 
t hough It Is an luslguificant looking one ; but hero corn and cotton were 
both excellent, and Mr. Newberry's dear little children looked us 
healthy and as bright as though they had lived all their lives in the 
Gurden of Eden, or in some happy valley lu bracing, Invigorating Colo- 
rado : a healthy peach orchard proved thedhtrlct to be suitable for 
fruit growing. 
Two other Newberrys— all brothers— had ranches farther on ; and 
then, alter a long forest drive, Mr. Welles’ ranohe Is reached, aud a 
camp meeting shed, primitive aud rustlcully rough lu the extreme, trees 
felled and squared ou the upper side for seats. The pillars of this 
humble temple were rough poles, and tho roof leafy boughs arranged 
crosswise. Another long forest drive, and then we strike tho Mesquite 
tree for the first time. The pod of this tree Is simply lnvuiuablo for 
cattle, sheep, or horses, In the winter, and where It exists in quantity, 
animals cannot, ut any rate, starve. Tho Mesquite grass, however, we 
have, up to this, very sparingly struck, and, until the Brazos Is crossed, 
It does not appear in any quantity ; but, fortunately, across the Brazos 
Is Just where this valuable grass Is most needed, for It gets ou so well 
and vigorously with a minimum of molBture, and constitutes thuB rich 
cattle pastures, which without Its presence would be barren wastes. 
About Rock Creek a great deal of laud Is fenced In, .and fairly well 
cultivated. Over Rock Creek rises quite a mouutuln, densely timbered. 
The creek, the hill and the appearance of the timber, would hero 
strongly remind auy one who hus traveled in England of the ground 
above Taplow on the Thames. 
We had come fifteen miles In four hours, which Is the average pace 
put on by stage coucheB out nere, aud at a very nice little house we 
stopped for dinner. The soil beryls as red as red can be, and us It ap. 
proaohes the Brazos, gets immensely rich. First up a steep, timbered 
hill, and then down Its opposite stile,' brlDgs ns lo this very fine river 
which was up. The turbid vermilion water-level, with high banks' 
swept with mighty force onward. It waB about 600 yards wide, and the 
Btraln on the ferryboat ropo was intensely severe, as that uuroofed 
Noah’s ark bore the coach, together with a very heavy wagon, across to 
the westward shore. Had that well-worn rope given way, there would 
huve been to acertaiuiy a vacaut Brevet-Colonelcy in the Hrmy, a 
vacant special correspondontshlp In the Forest and Stream staff, and 
an Idle monte table lu Fort Qriffin; but the rope did not break, so 
the nrmy haa still its full conipicmeu; of Brevet-Colonels, tho Forest 
and Stream’s most blundering correspondent still runs his head ugalutt 
Mexican aud other all but unsolvablo problems out here, and the monte 
table at Griffin ruus full awing at a profit. s. Nuqknt Townsend. 
We append the following letter from a correspondent in 
Montana, bearing upon the subject of stock grazing in that 
Territory, which will prove most interesting to our readers ■ 
Montana Is well named, for at every point as far as the eye oau reach 
are mountains, wood and water In ubunlauce everywhere, and for 
grazing and pastui age it ranks far ahead or any country m tho world 
(so learned men say). Cattle, sheep and lnraes are the stock raised 
and the rankest scrub In Montaua ranks A No 1 lu a Chicugo market' 
Buffalo and bunch-grass grow on iho mountains, and what Is called 
"b ue Joint" In the valleys and badns below. There Is very little if 
any, hay cat, acd what Is cut Ib fed to the horses the) ride, or stock 
horses, as they are called ; but even those, if they are not used much 
are sometimes put In pasture, or even picketed out all winter. Horses 
as a general thing, can’t be made to eat grain as long as there Is a spear 
of grass or hay In sight. Tlure Is a mau on the next rauche that has a 
valuable young stallion. He has been trying for the ltst week to make 
him eat oats, but so far has not succeeded lu making him touch them • 
and It Is not the fault of the grain, for Montana, us a grain growing 
country, caq’tbe beaten. This will prove It: 1 can make bread y, U t 
will stand Inspection with any bread I ever saw. not excepting mv 
mother's, and that, too, with nothing but sour dough aud soda. 
There is little or norsln from the last of June till the following spring 
and the grass has no chance of losing Its nutriment, it comes on the 
ground, and as there Is very little snow, stock keep rolling fat all 
winter. Cattle have been known to come out In the spring actually too 
fat for the markot. A raucheman drove a lot of cattle last December 
to a corral, a distance of over 600 ml es. and had no chance to feed only 
at night, and he averaged twenty miles a day. when he arrived they 
ranked as “not beef" cattle, and he received the very highest price 
If I had time and space, I could relate a thousand similar instances 
As I said before, there Is very little snow, and what little we have will 
come one day aud go the next. Do. not Judge from this that we are 
troubled with sloppy weather, fur from It. The snow disappears from 
before what Is called a chenook wiud. It Is a sea-breeze aud very 
warm. It always follows a storm, and If we were blessed with a few 
orange trees.lt would make one think they were in Florida spending 
the winter. 
Charles Kimball. 
GAME PROTECTION. 
Connecticut. A Hartford correspondent writes of tbe 
working of the new game law in that State : 
The number of woodcock found in October and November 
was greater than before for ten years. Co otyerafion oTad- 
jaceut States will restore tbe ubuntlance of game lound in 
lormer years. Quail were scarce in tbe seaboaTd but abun'l 
“S usual in the intenor ; probably because tbe farmers m 
l0 ? h ! R ' 9 look .P u|n8 to feed them. The law allows 
landholders to trap quail on their own property, and where 
snarers took advantage of this privilege he LSSutkm if 
b rds was very noticeable- The Hartford Game SKccom- 
pltshed much by promptly securing the conviction of law- 
breakers in tho early part of the season ™ 
otitS iw? • E H y en 3°y ed > bu * l »y means of a renulnr con- 
ou u,e 
ami water in tire Adirondack tract, in eS„ coun.v A line 
fish-breeding house has been built, and Mr. Seth Sri sw r 
**1 °i i lllC 8,1110 ri8,ierie9 . has stocked it with’ 50 ('00 
eggs of the lake and brook trout. Mr. C G Atkina Superb 
tendent of Fisheries of Maine, has Beni 25 00oS i 
miZonw&fheripf 1 ? 0 ^ aud from SamuelWilSk Com- 
U famnns I ,t rw' f • N , ew Castle > Ontario, 50,000 egJs^ ’ 
land-locked salmon have been rc- 
SdamostSiififH^- not generally known in this Stale. * 
Sh ami will hi ni addition to tbe native Adirondack game 
nsn, and will be placed m Lake Henderson, one of the main 
