206 
August 14, 1875. 
(Late THE AMERICAN SPORTSMAN), 
Pnblisbed by the Rod aud the Gnu .Association. 
into the highest places of Centennial management. Our 
American name has received new lustre from the ex- 
ploits of Gildersleeve, Fulton and Yale. In fine, sport, 
like every other human occupation, has its place in the 
Centennial, and we hope that some means will be de- 
vised for worthily presenting our National Sportsmen 
to the great gathering of the nations. 
WII.LIAM HUMPHREYS Editoe. 
T. C. B.AJvKS. Bcsixess Maxagee. 
S. H. TUKRILL, Chicago Maxagee. 
THE OXLY JOURXAL IX THE EXITED STATES 
DEVOTEJI EXCLUSIVELY TO 
6H00TIXG. FISHIXG, XATURAL HISTORY. FISH CULTURE 
AXD THE PROTECTIOX OF FISH .AXD GAME. 
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION; $1.00 A YE.AR IN .\I)VANCE. 
Thb Rod and the Gcn can be obtained from all News Dealers, 
Persons sending money to this office, by means of Money Orders 
should invariably make the same payablk to The Rod axd Gun, 
New York P. O. 
Parties requiring back numbers will please fortsard the price. 
All communications must be accompanied by the full name of the 
writer, and address to 
THE ROD AND THE GUN, 
SI Paee Row. Xew Yobk. 
We earneBtly request all our contributors to adopt the plan In 
regard to the use of scientifle names which some of them have already 
adodpted. viz. : to PRIXT all such names legibly in the manuscript, 
as this will prevent error by giving the cou'positor plain copy to fol- 
low. Above all things, wc say, do not venture upon the use of selen- 
tifle names at all unless certain of thair accuracy. 
SATURDAY, AUGUST 14, 1875. 
coisrTE:>irxs. 
Page. Page. 
From Carl Dittmar 259 A Snake Story, A Dnck Hunt,294 
A Nights Adventure 289 Library Table 295 
Letters From Sportsmen 290 Centennial, Polintion of 
Fish and Fishing 290-291 Streams. Rifle Range, 296 
Rifle 292 Pigeon Matchee 299 
History of my Pets 29.3 Queries and Answers 300 
CoRRESPOXDEXTS are requested to note change of 
address — The Rod axd Gux, 31 Park Row, N. Y. 
POLLUTION OF STREAMS. 
We find in our exchanges excellent suggestions 
which show not only the sound sen.se of the editors, but 
the growing interest of the public in fair sport ; in other 
words, the formation of public opinion outside of fish- 
ers and gunners, a point which we have always insisted 
upon as a gain to the sporting community. The pollu- 
tion of our streams by the discharge of sewer refuse and 
other deleterious matter is just oue of those practices 
which ought to meet the reprobation of every intelligent 
editor and reader. The poison kills the fish. Thej'can 
no more live in impure water than the human can in 
foul air. Even so seemingly clean a substance as saw- 
dust is highly injurious to fish, fouling or poisoning 
the water by its extract, and mechanically choking them 
by the floating indigestible particles. We went over 
this sawdust business some time back in our corres- 
pondence from the Truckee River, Cal., wTiere it was 
shown that the mountain trout were in a process of 
extirpation. Let it be understood, too, that pollution 
of streams involves some grave results which closely 
concern ourselves. The water supply of our cities is 
all drawn from surface drainage by purified filtration. 
W e may partially rid ourselves of the impurities held in 
mechanical suspension — the mere dirt ; but the infinitely 
more dangerous matter held in solution, the subtle 
poisons contained in chemical and manufacturing refuse, 
with the excretory matter of our towns and villages, 
cannot be disposed of by any practicable method of 
purification. We must go back to the fountain head. 
To sweeten our rivers and reservoirs we must begin at 
the brooks and streams. 
THE CENTENNIAL. 
At first sight it may not appear that an Industrial 
Exposition has any points in common with the interests 
specially advocated in this paper; nevertheless, an In- 
dustrial Exposition, if it do not concern sportsmen as 
sportsmen, has some claims on them as producers or 
consumers. The coming Centennial is invested with a 
special character that lifts it beyond the plane of ordi- 
narj' expositions. Its chief aim and interest are patriotic 
and national, in a large measure commemorative, con- 
densing into one vast display a century’s growth and 
experience. If, as we apprehend, the puerile inventions 
and simple contrivances of 1776 shall be exhibited, we 
shall see what we were, as contrasted with the might 3 ' 
works of the present generation, which teach us what 
we are. The spo.vtsmen of a hundred years ago bad no 
breech-loader, no cartridges, even. Dogs, however 
famous thej' may then have seemed, were slow and 
clumsy compared with the swift ranging, perfectly 
trained, living machine of the present day. Poets and 
field-writers, from Virgil to Somerville, celebrate the 
joys of the chase and the stream, but while we may 
question our gain in comparative enjoyment, there can 
he no doubt of our advance in specific excellence. Naj', 
more, the sportsman is always a citizen— if fowling, fish- 
ing and hunting be only amusements, the}' have their 
legitimate uses and purposes, and are entitled to some 
representation in the great gathering of the peoples, and 
will fit into some niche in the Great Exposition. Sports- 
men require implements which tax ingenuity and em- 
ploy industry. The finely tempered elastic rod, the reel 
and line combine the maximum of strength and resist- 
ance with the minimum of weight and bulk. Our fowl- 
ing pieces and sporting rifles have called out the powers 
of the skilled mechanic. The same laws which regulate 
the movements of the planetary system control the 
curves described by a rifle ball, and the science of pro- 
jectiles has been thought worthy the intellect of our 
most profound mathematicians. Even the minutite of a 
sportsman’s equipment are things of Industrial import- 
ance, while all history speaks for the significance of the 
hunter and trapper, the men who subdued the earth and 
subjugated its fierce habitants and made its wilds habit- 
able. 
Some of the leading men in the Centennial are sports- 
men of no mean repute. We have not the list before 
us, but General Hawley, of Connecticut, occurs to us as 
a leading name in Centennial councils and as a first-class 
shot; thus making a precedent for introducing sport 
RIFLE-RANGES. 
The lively feeling now exhibited throughout the 
countrj' by men of all classes and conditions in favor of 
rifle practice, reminds us of the need for a range in the 
vicinit}' of New York, with some accommodations and 
facilities superior to those of Creedmoor. Creedinoor, 
in point of distance, is sufflcientlj’ contiguous to the 
great city. Long Island has, however, alwa 5 'S been 
famous, if that be the word, for its miserable trans- 
port. In the coaching days it was a century behind the 
times; and now its railroads follow the slow-coach tra- 
ditions. It might be a joke, were it not so uncommonlj' 
like fact, that a dusty wayfarer trudging along with his 
pack was hailed by an engineer; “Hullo, Cap ! won’t 
you get on and ride?” “Thank’ee, no; I’m in a hurry!” 
was the response. At a recent practice shoot the sol- 
diers had to march home in the rain, there being no 
railroad accommodations. The disgraceful blundering 
at the Irish- American match last year will be in every 
Creedinoor man’s memory. No one goes.to Creedmoor 
without a fear of not getting home again. Dollj'mount 
has shown that a long strip of sea beach is a conven- 
ient site for a target ground, and New York has its 
miles of sea-beach at hand, either on Coney Island or 
at Long Branch. But mighty London shows us that 
long ranges can be made witliin walking distance 
of the habitations of four millious of people. If 
London can do this, why not New York? Americans 
never reckon distances; a thousand mile ride is less to us 
than a hundred miles to Europeans. If it be desirable to 
get up a good range in the suburbs of New York, it is 
easily done; and we are not bound to Long Island or even 
to Jersey. The Hudson River,the Harlem, the NewHaven 
and Hartford, the Erie Railroads, will all take our rifle- 
men and their friends to distances where shooting can 
be done in safetj', and whence the riflemen can return 
without the fear of a long tramp in dust of mud. Last 
week’s issue contained a shoot at Worcester, this week 
we have a shoot at New' Haven; we have a good sprink- 
ling of riflemen all along the Connecticut line — why not 
get up a good range this side of New Haven, or within 
an hour of the metropolis on the Erie. The traffic super- 
intendents on either of these lines W'ouldbe found equal 
to any rush; an extra five thousand would give them less 
anxiety than an extra corporal’s guard does those Long 
Island shellbacks. 
A white heron was shot at Moiris, Conn., last week 
ANTKiUITIES IN CALIFORNIA. 
BY REV. STEPHEX BOWERS, A. M. 
Southern California affords one of the finest fields in 
the United States for the antiquarian. Indeed, this 
entire coast, from Washington Territory to San Diego, 
is rich in antiquities; but Santa Barbara county has 
proved to be richest of all. Some months since the 
writer discovered a burial place at ^Moore’s Lauding, near 
Santa Barbara, which j iel Jed several skeletons, a num- 
ber of arrow heatls, shell ornaments, etc. Last month 
he conducted a division of the Wheeler Geographical 
and Geological Survey, under Doctors Yarrow and 
Rothrock, to this spot, who further developed it, and 
with success. This also led to the discover}- of another 
“bonanza” near by, on what is called the “Island.” 
The “ Island” is a circular tract of land, containing 
about seventy acres, and at high tide, twice a month, is 
completely surrounded with water. It is made up, 
geologically, of decomposed slate, with a dip to the 
west of about 30 deg., and is post pliocene. It is cov- 
ered with marine shells and other “ kitchen refuse” to 
the depth of from two to six feet. The overflowed laud 
surrounding it was once a bay, yielding vast quantities 
of edible mollusks, upon which the tribes living upon 
this and adjacent elevations subsisted. 
From the two locations mentioned, the AVheeler party 
shipped fifty boxes of antiquities, amounting to some 
ten tons, which, we judge, has almost exhausted the 
place. 
In the first-mentioned burial place, the skeletons were 
lying with faces downward and heads to the west, while 
on the “Island” the heads were generally to the north, 
faces down, and knees drawn up against the breast. 
The skulls differed but little from present races inhab- 
iting this coast, the facial angle indicating ordinar}- ab- 
original intelligence. The bones were large, and the 
markings of the muscular attachments showed great 
physical development. The remains of but few animals 
were found, except seals, fishes, mollusks, and an occa- 
sional bone of a dog. The bones of birds were quite 
common. With some skeletons there were found quan- 
tities of a small black seed, .supposed to have been used 
in making a beverage. A large number of pipes indi- 
cated the smoking propensities of their owners. They 
were made from steatite, some of which were a foot in 
length, having polished horn mouthpieces. 
The principal antiquities found were ollas (pronounced 
oyah), finely carved from magnesian limestone; pipes, 
vases, cups, ladles, tortilla stoves, etc., from same ma- 
terial; beads and innumerable trinkets manufactured 
from shells — the AaZwtw principally; mortars, pestles and 
war clubs, from sandstone, etc. The mollusks, upon 
which they suboisted, were principally halioiis, cliione 
sveeieta, pectens, tapes, crepuluta aud oysters. The 
ollas were used for cooking vessels, after which many 
were used for burial urns. Many of the smaller vessels, 
as well as haliotis shells, were used for drinking-cups, 
A few iron implements rvere found, wrapped in fur, and 
an old Spanish ax, ornamented with feathers, the im- 
pression of which was quite visible in the rust. Over 
the head of one individual was found a copper bowl, 
or pan, the verdigris of which had pre.served the skull 
and even the hair and the head ornaments. 
Among the ornaments were ear pendents, brooches, 
beads, etc. Rude knives of flint were common, and oc- 
casionally one of obsidian. Bone drill heads, perforators, 
etc., were somewhat abundant. Instruments of flint, 
from three to six inches long, chipped into the shape 
of a three-cornered tile, were with the skeletons. I jire- 
sume these were used for the double jiurpose of rasp 
and spear-point. The war clubs were made from sand- 
stone and limestone, and were from twenty inches to 
twenty-six inches in length. They were usually about 
tw'o and a half inches in diameter at the larger end, 
and gradually hipcred to about one and a half inches at 
the smaller end, where an ornamental knob or band 
prevented them from slipping through the hand. The 
lance and arrow-heads were very fine. The former were 
sometimes ten inches in length, manufactured from 
whitish flint, and showing the highest workmanship. 
Some of the vessels had been broken while in use, and 
cemented with asphaltum, after which holes were drilled 
on each side of the fracture, and thongs inserted and 
tied. A small portion of a fisli-net was found, ingeni- 
ously made from thread manufactured from some kind 
of grass. In some instances haliotis shells and small 
stone vessels were filled with paint; in other instances, 
the paint was made into halls and squares, and oma- 
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