Forest and Stream 
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NEW YORK, SATURDAY, JULY io, 1909. 
j VOL. LXXIII,—No. 2. 
I No. 127 Franklin St., New York. 
A WEEKLY JOURNAL. 
Copyright, 1909, by Forest and Stream Publishing Co. 
George Bird Grinnell, President, 
Charles B. Reynolds, Secretary, 
Louis Dean Speir, Treasurer, 
127 Franklin Street, New York. 
THE OBJECT OF THIS JOURNAL 
will be to studiously promote a healthful interest 
in outdoor recreation, and to cultivate a refined 
taste for natural objects. 
—Forest and Stream. Aug. 14, 1S73. 
A BAND OF OUTLAWS. 
While the Pablo herd of buffalo in Montana 
1 was last year rounded up in part, and in part 
delivered to its purchaser, the Canadian Govern- 
| inen t, there was still a portion not gathered, and 
as we were then informed, not likely to be gath¬ 
ered. It was known more than a year ago that 
of the buffalo sold and intended to be delivered 
there were 150 or 200 head that were absolute 
outlaws, without fear or respect for horse, man, 
rope or fence. It was impossible to handle these 
bison. They were ready to fight any one who 
attempted to drive them, or if they ran they 
went so fast and so far that they could not be 
overtaken, or if overtaken and roped, they threw 
the horse and his rider and went off with the 
rope. It was stated that at one time last year 
ft looked as if the buffalo could not be gathered 
|for shipping. A train was expected to carry 
away 200 head, at a time when only sixty-nine 
had been corraled. 
After this train was loaded, efforts to gather 
r he remaining buffalo failed. The best riders 
pn the Flathead reservation had so many falls 
and made so many failures that they gave up 
he work and refused to ride for the buffalo. 
Word was sent across the mountains to the best 
iders on the Blackfeet Indian reservation and 
number were gathered there to do the work, 
ome weeks since it was announced that the 
oundup had begun and that soon all the Pablo 
uffalo would have left the United States ex- 
ept those that he had arranged to retain_ 
•velve head of full-blooded cows and two full- 
looded bulls. The statement made those aware 
'f l° cal conditions smile a little, and they were 
ot greatly surprised to see recently another 
atement declaring that a second attempt by 
ie Canadians to load the Pablo bison for ship¬ 
ment to the Dominion resulted in the corraling 
t 170 head, or about half the number of bisons 
■irehased and taken away last year. The work 
• rounding up is reported to have been hard, 
id it is said that the bison repeatedly broke 
’rough the fences and that many escaped to 
e hills. It is added that the attempt to gather 
l, e buffalo has been abandoned and that the 
mainder of the herd will be presented to the 
jaited States by Canada. 
This statement may be received with skepti- 
’ m > though the Dominion Government might 
perhaps be willing to transfer its contract with 
Pablo to the United States Government or some¬ 
one representing it. It is not at all likely, how¬ 
ever, that many of the remaining Pablo buffalo 
will ever be transported from the range they 
have so long occupied. If they or part of them 
could be transferred to the neighboring Montana 
National Bison Reservation it would be a very 
fortunate circumstance. They will always do 
well in this region. These huffalo are likely to 
end their days in the land of their birth—a band 
of outlaws. 
SILVER TIP SURPRISES. 
Viewed from whatever standpoint, the account 
of his brief trip on the upper Yellowstone River, 
given in part this week by Geo. Shiras, 3d, pos¬ 
sesses great interest. His discovery of the 
breeding ground of pelicans and gulls in Yel¬ 
lowstone Lake accounts for the abundance of 
these birds there through the summer. That a 
colony existed in the neighborhood had long 
been taken for granted, but its location was un¬ 
known. Plis observations on the moose are in¬ 
teresting and suggestive, for after all the moose 
of the Rocky Mountains is comparatively little 
known. Finally, every bear hunter, as well as 
every reader possessing a sense of humor, 
will enjoy the surprises which the grizzly gave 
the author and his party, and which the author 
so generously returned to the grizzlies. 
That Mr. Shiras has given the true explana¬ 
tion of the motive which led the hero of the 
first. surprise to charge the travelers is not to 
be doubted. Though few naturalists have made 
any observation on the point in question, the 
Indians who are close observers of nature and 
understand very well the habits of all large 
wild animals, know that it was a common prac¬ 
tice for the grizzly bear to lie in wait at stream 
crossings for the large animals that used these 
crossings. It has many times been pointed out 
that in early days the large-hoofed animals— 
buffalo, elk, deer 'and antelope—traveled by ac¬ 
customed trails and used definite and regular 
places for crossing streams, just as human beings 
wear out paths and trails in the country that, 
they are constantly traversing. The practice is 
common to all nonpredatory land mammals. 
Many Indian tales are related of bears pulling 
down or attacking at such places buffalo and 
elk, just as during the autumnal migrations, the 
Indians themselves used to lie in wait for deer 
and antelope at well known crossing places. This 
first bear undoubtedly supposed Mr. Shiras to 
be an elk and rushed at him under this misappre¬ 
hension. 
The extraordinary temerity of the second 
bear, which presumably was not one of the 
hotel bears, is most interesting, and not less so 
is the coolness, readiness and courage displayed 
by the author, as he stood facing the monster 
in the moonlight. 
Fewer casualties than usual attended the cele¬ 
bration of Independence day this year, and the 
good people who have worked diligently for a 
safer, saner Fourth” feel encouraged, as they 
should. It is reasonable, however, to assume 
that the growth of the vacation idea had some¬ 
thing to do with the smaller list of deaths and 
injuries. Those who passed their two or three- 
day vacation in the woods did not take part in 
the usual form of celebrating. Their number 
was legion, and who shall say that fishing or 
riding or tramping or canoeing, or merely rest¬ 
ing in a quiet camp is not a form of celebrating 
the national holiday that our ancestors would 
approve of, could they know the changed condi¬ 
tions that apply to American life to-day? 
K 
The giant tuna of the Pacific, which disap¬ 
peared suddenly from Catalina Island waters, 
may be returning. At any rate old anglers claim 
to have seen tuna within the past fortnight, and 
if they have in fact returned, our California 
correspondent will apprise our readers in due 
time. It has been several years since the big 
tuna deserted the favored fishing waters off the 
southern California coast, and tourists as well 
as resident anglers have had to content them¬ 
selves with black sea bass and smaller fry. 
Lighter tackle has replaced the tuna gear, but 
this may be laid aside for a time if the exciting 
pursuit of the tuna, which has attracted men 
from great distances, becomes possible again. 
K 
Our cover picture shows a quail which, in¬ 
jured by shot, was taken home by Mr. Schip- 
pang, a Pennsylvanian. When it had recovered, 
permission was obtained from the game com¬ 
mission to retain the quail, and it grew quite 
tame. Among its friends was the cat with which 
Mr. Conradi photographed it. Bobwhite was 
fond of and frequently climbed over Tabby, 
pecking away at intervals. Until the death of 
the cat they were good friends and the latter 
never attempted to harm her little companion. 
« 
The laws of India are very strict in reference 
to the possession of firearms by natives. Among 
the hill tribes and others a stolen rifle is a valu¬ 
able possession, and some of the natives take 
desperate chances in stealing firearms from 
sportsmen and soldiers. How the natives enter 
barracks filled with sleeping soldiers and carry 
off their rifles without being seen or heard is 
described in our rifle columns by W. R. Gilbert, 
the veteran hunter. 
It was stated in these columns recently that 
George W. Vanderbilt had denied the right of 
Dr. Schenck to lease a large portion of Pisgah 
Forest, in North Carolina, to a sportsmen's club. 
A recent press dispatch states that the question 
in dispute has been amicably settled, Mr. Van¬ 
derbilt taking over the property and reimburs¬ 
ing the club members in full. 
