FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Jan. 30 , 1909 - 
1 72 
Wild Things Tamed. 
]\IiLHURST, N. J., Jan. 23. — Editor Forest and 
Stream: During my vacation at the little 
“Bresh lint” in Woodstock, Connecticut, last 
summer, I could not but notice how fearless and 
even companionable the wild creatures became 
when not disturbed, and sometimes I think that 
if they were not troubled by anyone for a few 
years they would become so tame as scarcely 
to mind the presence of man. 
To illustrate, let me give here a few of my 
observations. 
When I first took possession of the hut about 
the middle of June last, two birds had nests 
under the veranda, one at each end, and each 
within ten feet of the door. At first they were 
a little shy, but in a short time they would come 
and go at all times, when I was going in or 
coming out of the door, when several of us 
were seated on the benches each side of the 
door, and even when I stood on the veranda 
and took an occasional shot at a target — a stone 
set up off in the field — with the rifle they would 
scarcely notice it. 
Each bird raised two full broods during the. 
season and probably they will be there again 
next summer if alive, since they or some others 
have raised broods there for several past sea¬ 
sons. And not only these birds, but others in 
the trees around, and several rabbits also be¬ 
came very tame. One big rablnt in particular 
had its quarters under the cabin during the sum¬ 
mer, and if it escaped being shot during the 
gunning season is probably there yet. 
The squirrels in the woodlot just back of the 
hut became so tame that they frequently came 
into the hut and helped themselves to what they 
chose. One old fellow in particular, that had 
a nest in a small tree nearby, would come out 
of the nest if I thumped on the tree and would 
chatter and bark at a great rate, apparently with 
no fear at all. Sometimes he would come down 
within a few feet of my head and let me know 
plainly in squirrel jargon just what he thought 
of my disturbing him. 
As for the woodchucks they became altogether 
too tame. They used to get into the truck patch 
and the clover and eat and trample down more 
than their hides were worth. Occasionally I 
felt obliged to take the old single-shot rifle and 
reduce their number by one big fellow at least. 
The skunks came out in the twilight fear¬ 
lessly and rooted about in the grass after bugs 
and worms. One bright moonlight night while 
lying in bed awake I saw one big fellow come 
hopping in at the open door, then heard him 
nosing around among the things on the floor, 
and after he had satisfied himself, he leisurely 
hopped along out of the door. During his in¬ 
vestigation I kept mighty quiet, not caring to 
become familiar with him. 
Even the snakes if let alone will become very 
tame and interesting creatures and have scarcely 
any fear of man. One morning when going 
through a gateway in the stone fence some fifty 
feet, or such a matter, from the hut, I saw a 
big snake lying partly out of a fissure under a 
ledge. As it was mottled like a banded rattle¬ 
snake. and as T did not care lo have a den of 
that kind of reptiles so near, yet not caring to 
kill it if it was a harmless snake, I took the 
garden rake and gave it a quick flirt out on the 
open ground, and when it began to spread it¬ 
self and hiss, I saw that it was a hog-nosed 
adder, by far the largest I ever came across. 
After that nearly every day during my stay at 
the hut I saw the snake in about the same place, 
sometimes with head just out of the fissure, 
sometimes with body partly out, and at other 
times extended or circled up near its den. Often 
when stroked along its back with a hoe or a 
stick it would spread its neck and hiss, and 
what a fierce looking creature it was then; but 
it made no effort to escape. By the way, al¬ 
though that species of snake is so fierce looking 
when it spreads its neck and hisses, it is per¬ 
fectly harmless, not offering to bite even when 
handled. Its teeth are very small, and even if 
it should bite it could scarcely make a scratch. 
A black snake — a perfect beauty some four 
feet in length—lived in a pile of brush near a 
path but a few yards away. At first it was a 
little shy, but in a few days it would let me 
approach within a few feet of it, and that snake 
was in and near that place during my stay at 
the hut. Let me here say that but a few per¬ 
sons except naturalists know that the black 
snake sometimes when disturbed will vibrate 
it ,5 tail similar to a rattlesnake, but not nearly 
so loud and keen. This one did so on several 
occasions. 
I found that even deer would become very 
tame if let alone. One day I saw a handsome 
buck standing on a little knoll in the truck 
patch and he was a beauty. I got quite close 
to him before he moved, and even then he 
walked off at a leisurely gait, not in the least 
frightened. 
Later on I saw three other deer — a five¬ 
pronged buck, a doe and a fawn — in a patch 
of sprouts not seventy-five yards from the cabin. 
From where I was standing. I could easily have 
hit either of them with a club or a stone, and 
when I went nearer they sauntered off a little 
further, showing but a little fear. During the 
summer I often saw that same family of deer 
near the cabin seemingly as tame as so many 
cattle or sheep. 
Many persons wonder why the Indian, with 
his crude weapons, a bow and arrow, a toma¬ 
hawk or a dull, could manage to get what game 
he cared to. The answer is easy. In his moc¬ 
casins he could go through the woods as silently 
as a ghost — as the saying is—with no crackling 
of brush, no banging of gun, shouting, or bark¬ 
ing of dogs to disturb and frighten every wild 
creature far and near. With his complexion 
and dress of a nearly perfect protective colora¬ 
tion, he could approach almost any wild creature 
as near as he cared to. Another reason why 
he could get so much game is that game in 
those times was a trifle more plentiful than it 
is in these days. A. L. L. 
English Plover. 
It has been suggested that efforts should be- 
made to stop the export of green plover from 
this country. A member of the Selbourne So¬ 
ciety states that enormous numbers of these 
birds are exported to the United States, where 
they are used for food in' the hotels and restau¬ 
rants. In one cold storage house in Jersey City 
there were over 18,000 of these birds which had 
been imported from this country. In the in¬ 
terests of agriculturists, the sportsman and the 
consumer, the export of these birds should be 
prohibited.—British Sportsman. ■ 
Belden, The White Chief. 
New York, Jan. 23.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: In reply to A. P. ItlcNab’s letter in 
your to-day’s issue concerning Geo. P. Belden 
and the time, place and manner of his death, I 
am able to quote from that interesting little book, 
"Sketches of Frontier and Indian Life,” by 
Joseph H. Taylor, of Washburn, N. D., p. 146: 
“One month later, after the events just re¬ 
corded, being the last day of August - as 
passengers on the boat Peninah, we steamed up 
to the landing at Grand River Agency about 
nightfall. Charley and John McCarthy, young 
Sam Galpin and one other came aboard as was 
the custom at wood landings. They had just 
returned as pall bearers from the new grave¬ 
yard where all that was mortal of the young 
and talented George P. Belden had been laid to 
rest. Three days before’’ (Aug. 28, 1871) “the 
‘White Chief’ left the agency astride his mule, 
bearing silks and fineries for his accepted bride, 
the Princess Grass, who resided with her father 
along the banks of the timber lined Moreau. 
Me was followed from the a,g-ency by a jealous 
red rival who watched his opportunity and mur¬ 
dered Belden while in the act of drinking from 
a spring on the lonely Moreau trail, twelve miles 
from the agency. These pall bearers have now 
also passed away, and two of their graves will 
remain to us unknown until Gabriel blows his 
last and final call.” De Cost Smith. 
Partridges in England. 
In 1508 the reports from the partridge “lies” 
have not been a whit more encouraging than in 
past seasons, and unhappily there is little reason 
to hope that any appreciable improvement wdll 
be witnessed in the immediate future, says the 
Scottish Field in a review of the year. The 
only reassuring element in the outlook is that 
sportsmen seem inclined to give some slight 
thought to the fortunes of the interesting brown 
birds, and to make a serious attempt to replenish 
our depleted meadows. The simplest and most 
certain way of mending matters is to turn down 
a suitable number of Hungarians; and head- 
keepers should, at this juncture, take an oppor¬ 
tunity of impressing on their employers the ex¬ 
pediency of adopting this excellent plan. If the 
strangers are to be introduced no time should 
be lost in placing orders with the importers. 
Pairing begins among partridges before January 
is ended, and if the continentals are early re¬ 
leased they w'ill at once associate wdth the native 
birds, and show' no inclination to desert. An¬ 
other point in favor of prompt action is that 
the price of the foreigners is sure to increase 
from month to month, and money will go con¬ 
siderably further now that it can in March or 
April. It is well to secure the necessary number 
from reliable dealers in this country who get 
their birds direct from the estates in Hungary, 
Bohemia and Germany. The best home firms 
do not offer partridges that have been long con¬ 
fined in continental pens, but make a point of 
filling orders with birds that have been freshly 
trapped. Hungarians are- vigorous and hardy, 
and in appearance indistinguishable from their 
British congeners. 
All the game laws of the United States and 
Canada, revised to date and nozv in force, are 
given in the Game Laws in Brief. See adv. 
