FOREST AND STREAM. 
eyes, nose and chin. They arc known as kyaks lo the na- 
tives and lo the Russians as bidarka. The Russians use a 
boat exactly similar to the preceding, except that it is large 
enough to hold two or three, having a hole for each per- 
son. All these boats are light, strong, safe, and conven- 
ient, and so buoyant that it is almost impossible to swamp 
them, provided one understands their use. The paddles 
used for propelling thorn have double blades, so that a per- 
son cau paddle alternately on each side; and uuder a vigo- 
rous arm they attain wonderful speed. 
Thus we see that each tribe produces a canoe suitable to 
its wants, and that this is small or large according to the 
character of the water on which it is to be used. The 
greater number of the Indians of the Northwest live on 
fish, so that they would starve were it not for their boats. 
This is why they appreciate their coruchs so highly, and sel- 
dom part with them on any condition. They have a pretty 
legend, which states that but for a canoe the Indian race 
would have been destroyed. According to this quaint tra- 
dition, a great Hood swept over the country long, long ago, 
and destroyed every living thing except a youug chief and 
his bride. He saw the mountain of water rolling onward, 
making a noise like deep thunder, so he jumped into his 
ennoe, and by making a rope of seaweed, and tying a large 
rock to it, secured an anchor. As the water increased in 
volume he played out his rope of weed, and hence man- 
aged to retain his position. When the flood subsided he 
went ashore, rebuilt his house, and lived happily ever nftcr. 
lie wos the Noah of the red man, und from him all claim 
descent. 
Cdina and THE Centennial.— The Imperial Govern' 
ment of China lifts appropriated 40,000 taels of sycee silver 
for a department to represent the Empire at the Philadel- 
phia Centennial Exhibition. A tael represents a weight of 
silver equivalent in value to about one and a third Mexican 
dollars. This would make the sum appropriated, with the 
favorable exchange, about fifty-live thousand dollars— a 
small sum for a wealthy Government like China to devote, 
but sufficient to make a very elegant display, if properly 
I expended. All who attended the great Paris Exposition 
will remember the gorgeous Chinese department, with its 
tea gardeus and native attendants. The money for that 
display, however, was furnished by the French Govern- 
ment, and we believe that '7G will be the first occasion on 
which the Chinese have endeuvored to have their arts and 
manufactures represented nt an outside barbarian show. 
It is also reported that the city of Hang Chow has de- 
cided to spend the sum of 10,000 fuels in silks aud porce- 
luiu ware for the same occasion. If the wires have not 
reported the name wrong, it is worthy of comment, us 
Ilang-Cbow is not a treaty port, but one of the most con- 
servative of celestial cities, and considering its proximity 
to Shanghai, one of the most difficult for the foreigner to 
obtain access to. It is situated but a short distauce from 
the coast, midway between Shanghai and Ningpo, in the 
Province of Che Kiang, and is celebrated for the number 
and benuly of Us tombs and temples. The Chinese have a 
proverb, in which to be born in Peking, to live in Soo- 
Chow, and be buried in Hang-Chow, constitutes the acme 
of human felicity. 
The Surveys.— The various parties engaged in the work 
of surveying portions or the Western und Southwestern 
8tatcs and Territories are now fairly in the field. The 
■' Hayden Expedition left their camp near Denver, Colorado, 
■ l° 8t weck i ^ or the mountains, and the various parties of the 
■ Wheeler command were iu their organizing camp at Pueblo 
■ preparing to move. Lieut. George M. Wheeler, with the 
■ California section, left them at Denver, and proceeded to 
■ Los Angeles, Cal., where his labors commence. One party 
■ under Lieut. Marshall proceeds to South Park, in the 
■ Rocky Mountains, and from thence to the mouth of the 
■ Southern Arkansas and along the Atlantic and Pacific di- 
■ Tide, between Cochetopa Pass nnd Mount Stewart . Oue 
of the objects of this party is a careful examination of the 
L mincs about fhe Upper Animas River and about Del Norte 
and Rositn. Another party under Lieut. Carpenter, goes 
first to Spanish Peaks, and then work on the drainage 
areas of the Purgatoire and Apishaba Rivers. They will 
also make further examinations of the fossil beds to the 
West and southwest of Tierra Amarilla. Lieut. Morrison's 
party goes first to Fort Garland, thence to the head of Cor- 
rejos Carton. After visiting the Manzana, Zandia, and 
Plover Mountains, they proceed to Sauta Fe and the Rio 
r Pecos. The pnrties will not meet again until about the 
15th of November, when they will disband at Lyons, New 
f Mexico. The objects of the survey arc, first— to determine 
the exact. topographical features of the country west of the 
100th Meridian, and to establish the best routes for the 
I supply of interior posts; and secondly, to examine closely 
Into the mineral and agricultural capabilites of the coun- 
[ try traversed, for which purpose competent scientists ac- 
company all the parlies. 
347 
English Gentlemen in Vuiq.n.a.-Wc have a private 
letter from Cnpt. J. M. Taylor, now of Nottoway, Vir 
gmia, accompanying the very interesting kennel letter 
which appeared in its proper department lust week Tl.is 
pnvate letter contains so much of interest that wo shall 
venture to give its salient points to onr reader-, many of 
whom arc aware that there has already been formed re 
cently in Virginia quite a colony of English gentlemen, 
who have wisely availed themselves of the existing depres- 
sion in real estate there to purchase large tracts of land at 
a low figure. These already see prosperity and emolument 
before them, with lots of recreation thrown in— a combi- 
nation most essential to happiness and contentment. As 
tegards tiie abundance of beavers spoken of, we would 
naturally advise some one of the half dozen inquirers, who 
have recently asked us to direct them to good trapping 
grounds, to pay Nottoway an Autumn visit:— 
The "Retreat," Blacks akd White*. ( 
NOTTOWAY CouKTT.Va., June 26th, 1875 ( 
Editor Forest ahd 8trram:— 
I like this place much. We arc most comfortably situated. The so- 
ciety is good, but rhe people poor nnd not possessed of much energy. I 
ussure you thut, with care and moderation, any gentleman with cu'illul 
can pass an agreeable time and make money. I hnve been fishing n lit 
tie; no game fish of any klud, hut in order to vary our diet have caught 
a few pike, chub, and catfish. The wild tnrkeys have all hatched out. nnd. 
1 should judge, promise some good sport. The great complaint here Is 
the destruction of plantation* by beavers, and I intend as soon a* possi- 
ble to destroy, if possible, some of these rodents myself They are 
very wary, and, ns you know, make so Utile noise in entering or I, avlng 
the water that they have to be pursued on a quiet moonlight night. My 
ftiend Major Ncblelt, of Forklnnd, has purchased a Inrge number of 
trups, and we Intend selling them on the River Nottoway, which passes 
through his plantation. lie also Informs me that he has tnkou some 
pains to preserve hi* quail, so that you aud your friends when they visit 
me in the Full will have no reason to complain of the scarcity of bird-, 
as the Haskins nnd Neblctt plantations consist of 6,000 acres of good 
quail shooting, nnd I have received carle blanche from both gentlemen to 
bring my friends. On my own plantation there is just enough shooting 
for three guns. My kennel is fa-t increasing, and I intend that every 
dog I dispose of shall be the purest of the pure or else I will kill him 
A very pretty sight occurred in oar hall on Sunday. While sitting In 
the porch I noticed a slight twittering, and on looking up saw the ruby- 
throated humming bird fighting the emerald back, both dashing through 
the hall at a great pace; afterward returning, they continued their lilli- 
pntian buttle, when the ruby darted and crossed the eon’s ruy* and 
alighted on the deer's antlers in our hall. 
1 see most of tho sporting papers of both home and abroad, and there- 
fore continue to keep myself posted on things in general 
If the season continue# good and pleasant we shall raise somo five or 
six hogsheads of tobacco— some 7,500 pounds; also com, Ac, Believe 
me to be sincerely yours, j«,-o. m. Tayi.ob. 
Pi 
Five Atlantic cables are now in operation, and one 
Ihundrcd and forty-nino ocean telegraph lines, of which 
| number twenty-nine are over rtvo hundred miles in length, 
[Which carry the news of the world. And the first of these 
|Atluntic wires was laid only a few years ago. It only needs 
» line now from California to the Sandwich Islands and 
from thence to Japan, the surveys for which have already 
been made, to complete the circuit of the globe, and fulfill 
Puck’s prophecy that he'd put a girdle round the earth in 
orty minutes. The last cable laid has its terminus at Rye 
Peach, N. H., and is 8,060 miles in length. 
The Colvin Canvas Boat.— Many of our readers will 
be gratified to learn that R. A. Scott, of Albany, is manu- 
facturing the Colvin canvas boat. Mr. W. II. Hill, of that 
city, well known as the Adirondack traveler, has had one 
made for him with which lie proposes soon to start for the 
Adirondacks to explore uuknown lakes aud ponds, and add 
tljem to his maps. A short time since Mr. Colvin took his 
boat, the "Ampersand,” weighing 10* pounds, on an excur- 
sion of the Albany Institute to Seth Green’s Camp, ten 
miles down the Hudson, and an excellent opportunity was 
offered to lest its merits. Mr. Hill and party paddled it 
for two hours in wind and carried four persons in it, and 
with perfect satisfaction to all. The boat can he rolled 
into a very small bundle and carried under the arm or on 
the hack. Mr. Hill says he intends to make it take the 
place of a rubber blanket, thereby adding but a mere trifle 
to weight of baggage. 
Mr. Colvin delivered an address before the Albauy Club 
recently ou the subject of boats and his own recent 
invention in particular. Before cntcriug into an expla- 
nation of the latter, he gave a brief account of porta- 
ble boats which have hitherto been used, beginning 
with that iu which Moses floated among the bulrushes, 
and ending with the more recent constructions of rubber 
and canvas. Of his own invention he spoke asfollows: — 
"The peculiarities of the boat which I place before you 
to-night, are the means by which I so readily attach a frame 
withiu the canvas boat exterior. 
The canoe exhibited is twelve feet long and four feet 
wide; the portion of the boat which is carried weighs ten 
pounds eight ounces (leaving out the light learthern pieces 
which receive the corners of keelson and gunwales), and 
when compactly folded it occupies the space of less than 
864 cubic inches, or less than half a cubic foot. It has 
carried in a heavy storm, far from land, a burden of seven 
hundred pounds, and will probably, in smooth water, con- 
vey a much greater burden. The prows, as seeu, are 
guarde l with brass cut-waters, riveted on. One great pe- 
culiarity of the boat is, that no iron or steel is placed in it, 
nnd tlie surveyor using it in the reconnaisance of a lake 
will have no trouble with local attraction of the needle. 
The name which I have given it is that of the Adirondack 
lake ou which it was first practically put to the test. 
Ampersand Pond! Glorious lake, silent aud remote in 
the depths of the Adirondack forest. Well do I re member 
that day, when the guides, having tied in the light houghs 
that we had cut a short while before, carried it dowu 
and placed it lightly on the water. Their merriment at the 
idea that "such a pork hag," as they called it, could float 
or carry anything, was scarcely concealed. But when the 
huge hound, after gazing at it with gravity, walked out 
upon the log beside which it floated, and soberly climbed 
in, they could not restrain their lnughter, but yet exclaimed, 
"Well, it looks just like a boat!” And then I persuaded 
first one and then the other to enter— the boat floating 
meanwhile like a feather, and with the dip of the paddles 
we were off, over the flashing waters, seeing each wavelet 
as it rippled against the sides flash in the morning sun. 
How we traversed the lake over its deepest waters, with 
nothing between us aud the water hut the thin canvas; how 
witli sextant and compass from the boat we had so lately 
used as bed or tent by turns, the figure of the lake was 
mapped; how iu it we chased a deer, almost catching him 
as he leaped ashore, or how, shortly afterward, in pushing 
down into the outlet of the lake, we suddeuly came upou a 
monstrous panther stretched at full length upon a log, 
watchiug for deer, permitting us to come withm a rod or 
«v 0 0 W^ C T re . lreat ^ ,CaV ‘ nK U - 9 ^prised, forgetful of our 
revolvers, I cannot here expatiate upon. 
* 1 ,?' y ° U our more dangerous experience on 
rafnv datff ® ar ? nac ^ »> cold and storm, ' A stormy, 
"V y l 01 "" 1 UB .On tlie beach of Cold Brook, an afflu- 
Sir ho2 ri» na fi. Rlv X' Huro we designed reconstructing 
tin- frame, the old oue having been thrown away at 
tarn nl £ T? t , h l U ? horl 11,0 guides had cut a young 
c mw .Tea Wi, «, kee 8 i° n ’ a ? ou P ,c o( 8lout roll* served as 
* while two dozen boughs cut among the bushes 
were h X? fll® f ° m 7 1 tho »*>"• A couple of paddles 
r from wl,Ue cedar near. While one guide 
cooked dinner, another, with my aid, tied in the ribs of 
and 8 cioM &‘ d ln tke . keelso ». hn d bound on the gunwale# 
1,1 an hour , und a ‘"‘ lf from the time 
. ' k V brook wc were gliding down stream, three 
and tl ,'m, ) U ? <1rc< . P ° U . nds , of b "KS a B w and instrument*, 
and Ire huge hound sedately standing toward the prow, 
the navigation of tho stream was easy. Out in the 
fu le d an r r er i ,hC v,ol r U cold wind made °" T « af ‘ veer ft 
hmad Sarnn!‘.? n i l Y! Ur lat ? !r ' wc Rl ™ck out into the 
Claimed n ?? Lnk<? ' ,h ? w,mc ca P* in the distance pro- 
a bc *vy. sea. It was a wintry day. Snow lay 
H P i i l i IC I no j ,ntam t0 P s . imd when another hour passed 
‘ , ck ' foam-crested billows swept around us, and our 
.i C ly 7 now ll,Bh on *hc crest, now low in the 
ron.h we felt, though chilled and shivering, that it was a 
triumph when we floated up lo Martin’s in safety." 
Costs of the Beecher Trial.— W e think wo arc safe 
in saying (with a degree of pride, too,) that tho Forest 
and Stream is possibly the only paper In the United 
States that has never alluded to what is known as the 
"Beecher Scandal;" hut now that the triul is concluded and 
the jury discharged, it may he well lo sum up the costs of 
this public entertainment. Our readers ought to know the 
price of these luxuries. The triul has lasted six months, 
and has cost Kings county upwards of $50,000. It is stated 
Mr. Evans’ fee in tlie case is $25,000, Mr. Tracy’s, $10,000, 
and Mr. Hill’s $5,000, and that Mr. Shearman makes no 
charge for his services. It is reported that Mr. Beach re- 
ceives $5,000, and Messrs. Fullerton, Morris and Pryor 
$2,500 each. * 
—Seventy-five Indians, including chiefs and warriors of 
the Cheyennes. Comanches, Kiowas, Arrapahoes, and Cad- 
dos, are now undergoing imprisonment in llio fort at St. 
Augustine, Fla., having been sent there from Fort Leuven- 
worth, Kansas. Col. Hamilton, commanding the post, lias, 
treated them with so much kindness that they uro quite 
reconciled to their position. Their hill of fare is probnbly 
morc varied, as well as bountiful, than anything they ever 
obtained on their native pluins, and comprises, besides the 
regular allowance of bread and coffee, beef, bacon, rice,, 
sweet potatoes, stewed tripe, soups, and a variety of luxu- 
ries. They were recently treated to a balloon ascension,, 
which all declared to he “very big medicine." 
—The second annual meeting of the Illinois State Spoils- 
men's Association was held ut Chicago, June 28th. The. 
Field says; — 
"Hon. J. V. LeMoyne, calling the meeting to order, re- 
minded the members of the efforts which hnd already been, 
made in order to enforce the game laws already in exist- 
ence, and of attempts to make new ones more suitable to 
the proper preservation of game. He recommended also 
that a case should he taken in hand in order to test the 
question whether or not we cannot prevent game dealers 
from selling game out of season, even though the game 
may have been killed in another State, the precedent giving 
it as bis opinion that they could he thus preventeufrom 
serving as a kind of cover for those who disregard the 
came laws of the State." 
The following gentlemen were elected officers: Presi- 
dent, C. E. Felton, Chicago; First Vice President, J. L. 
Pratt, Sycamore; Second Vico President, C. B. Miller, 
Geneseo; Treasurer, R. It. Clark, Lake View; Secretary, 
J. L. Stockton, Chicago. 
f A* gift*. 
The American Team in Ireland.— Notwithstanding 
the conclusion of the great match, the presence of our ri- 
flemen appears to excite as much enthusiasm as ever among 
the people of Dublin. The leading newspapers comment 
upou the match as follows; 
The Freeman's Journal compliments the Americans on 
their superior discipline, and Jays: — 
"The events and its incidents will have drawn closer tlie 
amities of the two nations engaged, and while heartily 
congratulating the gallant couquerurs oil their magnificent 
triumph, we look fonevenge lo the future." 
The Dublin Express trusts that 
"The contest will become annual, and if it should he car- 
ried on with tho same good feeling, not only on tho part of 
the competitors, hut on that of the spectilors, and of the 
two nations generally, which has marked the first two 
meetings, it will do much to cement the friendship of Ire 
land aud America. To this Col. Gildersleeve lias justly 
directed attention as tlie most valuable outcome of this rf- 
vtdry of marksmen; and we hope tlie Irish 'six' will spare 
no effort to give future meetiugs that interest which alone 
can insure tneir continuance." 
Saunders' JVetes Ixller speaks in a similar strain, und 
says;— 
"Nor should it be forgotten, as slight extenuation of our 
failure, that, while the American team was selected from a 
nation of 40,000,000, who are familiar with the rifle from 
their cradle, ours was selected from u province of 5,000,000 
where, except iu privileged cases, the use of that weapon 
is forbidden." 
The Dublin Mail remarks:— 
"The Americans' visit to Europe will assume the propor- 
tions of an exchange of national hospitalities, aud we in 
Ireland hope that the result will be a better appreciation 
