Aug. 28, 1909 ] 
— 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
Q O 1 
OO 1 
.ake Nipigon] fo’ev’, an’ de feesh een lak, an’ 
ov’ment giv’ Indian fo’ dol’ ev’year. So ol’ 
,ans t’ink eet good treatee an’ sign. All In- 
an he gat fo’ dol’. M’ fader, he haf beeg 
tm’lee, manee childrens, ver’ manee. An’ he 
it fo’ dol’ fo’ ev’ childrens. Indian haf lots 
onee. He reech. But fo’ dol’ eet no las’ 
;r’ long, an’ den Indian fin’ he sol’ lan’ fo’ 
is’ fo’ dol’. White mans say treatee all signed, 
idian haf to go leeve lak. So Indian can do 
jt’ing but go leev i’lan’s een lak, an’ feesh all 
immer. Een summer plentee moose. Een 
int’ Indian eat feesh an’ rabbit. Indian can’ 
iy flour an’ bacon. Eet cos’ too mooch. An’ 
eav’ skeen onlee wort’ two, t’ree dol’ at pos’. 
idian leev good een sum’r. Een wint’ Indian 
jngree, ver’ hungree. Een sum’r Indian he 
fide fo’ feesh’mans who com’ feesh fo’ trout. 
“Now, lumb’mans come an’ Indian work in 
imb’r camp. Gat twent’-six dol’ mont’ an’ all 
an eat. No work fo’ all, an’ Indian on lak 
he ver’ hungree. Manee year ’go beeg comp’nee 
wan’ mak mine on lak. Build bo’t, steambo’t. 
Bring eet een wint’ on snow. But white mans 
no fin’ mine an’ haf giv up. Las’ sum’r come 
new white mans an’ mak beeg house fo’ eis. 
When wint’ come dey cut eis, t’ree, fo’ feet 
t’ick, an’ feel eis house. Indian no un’stan’. 
Hav’ eis plentee een wint’. No need him sum’r. 
But white mans say not’ing. When eis all gaun 
from lak white mans he begeen feesh een lak, 
an’ tak Indian’s feesh an’ put de eis on. In¬ 
dian ver’ mad. Indian say treatee giv’ lak to 
Indian fo’ev’, an’ white man mus’ stop feesh 
een lak. White mans stop fo’ leetle while, but 
Indian can do not’ing, an’ when time com’ fo’ 
gat treatee monee, all Indian com ’gedder at 
pos’ on lak to talk wi’ Gov’ment. Gov’ment 
wan’ Indian let white mans use net in lak. 
Gov’ment haf promis’ white mans. Indian say, 
‘No. Can’ giv’ up lak an’ feesh. Mus’ hav 
feesh or Indian starve een wint’.’ Gov’ment 
say, ‘Go horn’. T’ink eet over.’ Indian go back 
horn’. He feel sam’ way yet. An’ he know 
white mans haf hees way. Indian can do not’¬ 
ing. White mans tak feesh, tak lak, tak i’lan’s; 
Indian haf not’ing lef’; he hungree; he die.” 
We sat long before the fire, thinking. Cer¬ 
tainly civilization could not successfully face an 
indictment the Indian could bring against it. 
Toma had unbosomed himself of his tale and 
now lapsed into silence. Neither had more to 
say. The fire had burned to coals that glowed 
cherry red among the ashes. Flames no longer 
leaped skyward; the chill of the night enveloped 
them. Clouds covered the stars, the forest 
seemed nearer and darker, and no sound broke 
the stillness of night save the voice of the 
rapids below camp, now nearer, now more dis¬ 
tant, as the breeze rose and fell. The white man 
finally rose and found his blankets, leaving the 
Indian alone, seeing visions of his vanished 
people in the dying embers of the fire. 
A Rambling Talk on Butterflies. 
Had I written these lines a few years ago, it 
rould have been with a word of apology— 
pology for taking seriously what was gener- 
lly considered child’s play. The man running 
Lout a field with a butterfly net or turning 
tones in search of bugs was considered crazy, 
:ot an iota of doubt about it. Later, public 
/pinion changed somewhat and such a man was 
lassified as a crank, simply. At the present 
ime, however, the student of nature is assum- 
ng the position of importance to which he is 
ntitled. 
The widespread ignorance of the public re- 
ating to the value of scientific research in en- 
omology is gradually passing away, and 
naturally would do so when the importance of 
/arious “bugs” is made prominent by large 
ppropriations of money by cities, States and 
he Federal Government for purposes of re- 
earch, control or extermination of certain 
nsect pests; nor should the val-ue of insect life 
rom the lowest forms, as represented in fossil 
nsects, to the more perfect forms of to-day, be 
orgotten in its connection with the world’s de¬ 
velopment, forming a splendid corollary to the 
tudy of all animal life in that important*aspect. 
Butterflies and moths, the most marvelous 
xamples of design and color the Lord has given 
is, are unfortunately the product of those un¬ 
popular things called caterpillars. These small 
hings always attract the interested and in- 
luisitive attention of children and the abhorrent 
ttention of their elders. The child, however, 
hrough its curiosity, is apt to develop a serious 
Merest in them and later develops a desire to 
orm a collection of their imagos, the butter- 
lies and moths. Who of us has not, in early 
lays, formed a butterfly collection? If this 
embryonic collection is preserved and added to 
from time to time, it is more than likely that 
the child, grown up, will join the ranks of 
students and scientists. 
So it was with me, and the resulting love of 
nature in all its forms has given me many 
pleasant, healthful hours of relaxation. 
The formation of a collection always starts in 
this small way. Later on, when the local 
ground has been covered by days afield and the 
common species secured, correspondence is be¬ 
gun with other youthful collectors throughout 
the country and even abroad, the addresses be¬ 
ing secured from entomological journals. As 
time goes on and the collection increases, the 
exchanging of specimens decreases and the col¬ 
lector seeks a still broader field by making 
purchases from various collectors and dealers 
and entering into contracts for the results of 
collecting trips in various parts of the world, 
oftentimes sending men out independently of 
others. The average reader does not realize 
the extent to which this collecting is carried 
nor the value of the reports on various sub¬ 
jects, even political, that the collectors bring 
back. 
The outfit required for a collecting trip is ex¬ 
tremely small and compact. The specimens, 
when captured, are killed by a very simple 
method, pressing of the thorax between the 
thumb and forefinger, although the cyanide 
bottle is sometimes used. They are then placed 
singly in triangular envelopes with the wings 
closed over the back. Details of date, locality, 
altitude, etc., are noted in pencil on each 
envelope. The packing and shipping box is 
often lined with tin and always well dusted with 
naphthaline. A box eighteen inches r-quarc 
will hold several thousand specimens'. On 
arrival here, the butterflies are removed from 
their envelopes and placed in the damp box 
for a day or two. This is any ordinary box 
which may be closed tight, with wet sand or 
blotting paper, on which the insects are placed. 
This dampening process renders the wings, 
antennae, etc., limber, as in life, and the speci¬ 
men is ready for the mounting board, where 
the wings are placed, spread in a horizontal 
position. In a few days they are dry and 
ready for the cabinet or work of identification. 
The various species are sorted out and 
placed together and labeled where indentifica- 
tions are possible. In receiving a lot of ten or 
fifteen thousand direct from a collector, this 
entails much very interesting work, as each 
envelope may contain a find. It has been my 
custom to send those unknown to me to some 
large collector in this country who, by visiting 
various collections and libraries, identifies a 
goodly portion of them. The remaining un¬ 
identified species I send to London, where 
similar research is undertaken. If there are 
still species unidentified, it is reasonable to 
suppose they are new to science, or, in other 
words, never before described or named. This 
work of research usually consumes several 
years. Having my new butterfly at hand, I pro¬ 
ceed without delay to place it in its proper 
genus or group and to write a detailed descrip¬ 
tion of the markings, coloring, size, etc., with 
notes as to origin, giving the species such name 
as I may select. This description is then pub¬ 
lished in some scientific journal. The identity 
is then permanently established, the record be¬ 
ing on file in practically every scientific library 
in the world. Colored plates are often issued 
with the description or, as with me, at a later 
date in book form. 
The experiences of the collectors are always 
interesting, sometimes thrilling. The nature of 
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