Aug. 19, 1911.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
297 
Mule Deer in Nevada. 
San Francisco, Cal., Aug. 10.— Editor Forest 
and Stream: The University of California has 
just issued a report of the Alexander Nevada 
Expedition made to Humboldt county, Nevada, 
by Walter P. Taylor and assistants, and in this 
are some interesting accounts of game animals 
found in that section which is but little visited 
by sportsmen generally. This expedition was a 
highly successful one and the discovery of sev¬ 
eral new mammals was reported on its return 
to Berkeley. The following observations on the 
mule deer ( Odocoilcns hemionus ) as found in 
that region are made by Mr. Taylor: 
"Deer do not seem to be common in the moun¬ 
tains. Their scarcity may, of course, have been 
more apparent than real, for in our bird shoot¬ 
ing we probably frightened many of them from 
the neighborhood of our camps. However, when 
it is considered that in the Pine Forest Moun¬ 
tains, thirty miles long and fifteen miles wide, 
there are ten thousand range cattle and twenty- 
two thousand sheep, with attendant cowboys and 
sheep herders, there seems to be a good reason 
for a scarcity of deer. 
“The heavy snows of winter drive Odocoilcns 
from the mountains on to the desert flat. F. M. 
Payne, of Quinn River Crossing, asserts that 
deer are often seen on nearby meadows during 
the winter months. This locality is eight miles 
from the Pine Forest Mountains. Tracks and 
signs were occasionally observed by us. On 
June 29 such evidence was seen on the east slope 
of Duffer Peak (altitude 9,000 feet), and near 
Alder Creek Lake (7,800 feet). Two prospec¬ 
tors, located at an elevation of 6,500 feet on 
Big Creek, wounded a large buck the first week 
in July. Matthew Price at the Dugout Camp 
(5,000 feet) told of seeing deer tracks around 
his garden at about the same time.” 
According to the notes of Charles H. Richard¬ 
son, Jr., entry made at the meadow (8,500 feet), 
on Duffer Peak, deer tracks were seen all over 
a nearby ridge. A doe followed by two spotted 
fawns was seen on the mountain side near camp. 
One of the fawns, a male, was secured. “I was 
surprised to see them, as I had just been shoot¬ 
ing small birds with the auxiliary barrel. When 
the deer were first descried, they were skipping 
along through the pines, the fawns often run¬ 
ning ahead a short distance. The female occas¬ 
ionally sniffed the ground, but did not see me, 
though she evidently scented me when I was 
about 125 feet away. The trio stopped, and the 
doe sniffed the air. Fortunately there was a 
group of pines between myself and the deer, 
which gave me a chance to creep up. When I 
fired, the doe ran a little distance, then stopped, 
and I was able to get within seventy-five feet of 
her again. The glands on the hind legs of the 
fawn emitted an odor resembling pine pitch, only 
it was stronger. 
“Several cast horns of deer were picked up 
from time to time. A four-point antler was 
seen on a ridge near the 6,ooo-foot camp on 
Alder Creek, west side of the mountain. Deer 
beds were several times found. One observed 
on a high ridge near Duffer Peak was on damp 
ground within ten feet of a snow bank. The 
deer usually bed on pine needles at the foot of 
a boulder. A small hollow is made for this pur¬ 
pose and the brown pine needles on the earth 
around the bed offer protective coloring. A dis¬ 
tinct deer trail was seen on the highest ridge in 
the mountains running through a pass between 
large piles of boulders. 
“On July 30, as I was walking up a little draw, 
a doe was seen west of the peak. Quaking 
aspens and white bark pines grew in compara¬ 
tive abundance along the creek at this point. I 
suddenly saw the animal not more than forty 
feet from me on the other side of the stream, 
cropping the aspen leaves. She acted as though 
she felt something was wrong, but evidently 
neither heard nor saw me. When first observed 
she had her back toward me. Turning, she 
walked a few yards along the other side of the 
stream in my direction. Still she did not see 
me, although she seemed to scent danger and 
had stopped eating. While the doe was standing 
broadside to me I made a squeaking sound with 
my lips. A nervous tremor seemed to run 
through her whole frame, and she looked around 
to see what was causing the disturbance. I 
called a second time. She wheeled about and 
faced me, ears erect. At the third call she 
jumped again, and almost immediately turned 
and bounded up the mountain side. The rapidity 
of her disappearance was remarkable. She 
bounded diagonally up the steep slope, leaping 
over fallen trees and even over a huge boulder. 
All that was audible at her departure was the 
‘Chug, chug, chug’ for three times only as her 
four feet hit the ground simultaneously. 
“As we were traveling with pack outfit around 
some open sage-covered ridges at an elevation 
of 7,000 feet, a couple of deer suddenly sprang 
up from the bottom of a little draw not far be¬ 
low us, one being a buck with good sized ant¬ 
lers. It seemed rather unusual to see deer in 
such open and exposed country. However, the 
prospectors living in the mountain assert that 
the bucks come down out of the pines at the 
time the fawns are born, while the does with 
their young remain in the higher parts of the 
mountains exclusively. Our limited observations 
of the deer are confirmatory of this statement. 
No antelope were found in this section, but a 
few were seen on the lower levels.” 
The recent resignation of David Starr Jordan 
as a member of the California Fish and Game 
Commission has made necessary the appointment 
of another commissioner, and Governor Johnson 
has just announced his selection. The new mem¬ 
ber of the commission is Frank M. Newbert, of 
Sacramento, a personal friend of the Governor, 
and a man well known in local hunting and fish¬ 
ing circles, he being a thorough sportsman and 
a trapshooter of national distinction. The retire¬ 
ment of Dr. Jordan was on account of the fact 
that he is to leave shortly on an extended trip 
to the Orient and would not be able to attend 
to his duties here for many months. Another 
change that has been brought about in the com¬ 
mission has been the resignation of Commis¬ 
sioner Connell as president of that body. Mr. 
Connell gave as his reason for this move the 
opinion that the president of the commission 
should be a resident of San Francisco in order 
that he might be present at all meetings, and 
that he could be in close touch with headquarters. 
F. G. Sanborn, of this city, has been elected to 
the position of president. 
The State Fish and Game Commission has sent 
word to the park commissioners of Oakland that 
a pair of each of the varieties of pheasants now 
being reared at the State game farm at Hay¬ 
ward will be sent as soon as the mating season 
is at an end, these to be placed in the aviary 
to be constructed in Mosswood Park. The 
breeding season at the State game farm has been 
a very successful one and a large number of 
game birds are ready to be distributed. The 
greatest success has been met with in rearing 
wild turkeys, and there are now more than 600 
at the farm. About 150 of these will be turned 
loose in the General Grant and Sequoia National 
Parks, where conditions seem to be ideal for the 
birds. Those released there a year ago have 
thrived and a number have been seen this sum¬ 
mer. Arrangements are being made with the 
military authorities at the parks to assist in car¬ 
ing for the birds after they are sent into the 
mountains. 
The revenue cutter Bear, now cruising in 
Bering Sea, has been ordered to capture twenty- 
five male reindeer in Alaska and take them to 
St. Lawrence Island where the Government al¬ 
ready has a large herd, it being the intention 
to introduce fresh blood into the herds every 
year if possible. Golden Gate. 
California Annual. 
Capitola, Cal., Aug. 5. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: Sportsmen who are interested in the 
protection of fish and game should make it a 
point to attend the annual meeting of the Cali¬ 
fornia Game and Fish Protective Association, 
to be held in Capitola, on Sept. 15, 16 and 17. 
The meeting on Friday, Sept. 15, will be an open 
one, to which the public is invited. Interesting 
papers will be read and addresses pertaining to 
fish and game protection will be delivered. 
On Saturday the business meeting of the as¬ 
sociation will take place. After the business 
meeting on Saturday, and all day Sunday, will 
be devoted to the pleasures of the visitors. The 
Santa Cruz County Fish and Game Protective 
Association is making elaborate preparations to 
entertain the visitors and has promised a grand 
time to all. Santa Cruz is noted for its hos¬ 
pitality, and if you fail to attend you will miss 
the treat of your life. 
Full information may be obtained in relation 
to special railroad rates, rooms, etc., by address¬ 
ing E. H. Mocker, Secretary, Capitola, Cal. 
Deserved Praise. 
Oakland, Cal., Aug. 9. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: It is with great pleasure that the 
sportsmen of California read in Forest and 
Stream of the magnificent preserve for our wild 
aquatic birds donated to the State of Louisiana 
by Messrs. Ward and Mcllhenny. It is an in¬ 
teresting and gratifying incident in these days 
when sordid unreasoning gain and money grab¬ 
bing seems to be the sole object of so large a 
portion of our population to learn of such a 
princely example of disinterested generosity, a 
gift so valuable and so far-reaching in its benefi¬ 
cent results that it is impossible to forecast its 
worth to the country at large. 
It really seems as if a new era had dawned 
upon us, and to those of us who, like myself, 
have passed the three score and ten mark and 
have personally seen the millions of buffalo and 
wild pigeons that formerly blackened the valleys 
of the Yellowstone and darkened the skies of 
Ohio, Illinois and Michigan, all swept out of 
