^^2>-t^^:^-s.-^^ THE 'ORTSMA!^"^ Gazetteer •■ -i «t." GENERAL uUIDE. ^ ^NIMAIA BIRDS AJSD FISHES OP xVORTH AMERICA: ■'AhlTS AND VAiUOUS METHODS OP CATT^URE. COPIOUS INSTRUCTTONS • ■;, Fr-^HTNG, TAXIDERMY, W001.K?\' TOGETHKH WrTH A DIRa»^ ^ -■ TO THE PRINCIPAL GAME RKSORTS OF TIIC TRY; ILLUSTRATED WJTH M.\ VS. BY ARI.es HALLOCK, 'saw.^- AtTHOR or THE " FISHIKG TOnjIST," " GAMP ■- FU»RIDA," KTC. AftitRV YORK: PUBLISHING COMPANY, <»MrAXY, AGENTS, :•-:/- ../ ^/ i;^ ' ■ ;/ X ^ i:;^^'^^^?' THE Sportsman's Gazetteer AND GENERAL GUIDE. THE GAME ANIMALS, BIRDS AND FISHES OF NORTH AMERICA : THEIR HABITS AND VARIOUS METHODS OF CAPTURE. COPIOUS INSTRUCTIONS IN SHOOTING, FISHING, TAXIDERMY, WOODCRAFT, ETC. TOGETHER WJTH A DIRECTORY TO THE PRINCIPAL GAME RESORTS OF THE COUNTRY ; ILLUSTRATED WITH MAPS. BY CHARLES HALLOCK, MITOR OP "FOKKT «.,, STK.AU;" AOT-HOK OF TH. " ,l,„„„ TOTOST," « CAMF LIFE IN FLORIDA," ETC. NEV/ YORK: "FOREST AND STREAM" PUBLISHING COMPANY, AMERICAN NEWS COMPANY, AGENTS. 1877. J V cy Copyright, 1877, by Charles Hallock and James Woodward. Eleclrotyped by SMITH & McDOUGAL. Printed by E. O. JENKINS. DEDICATED TO If HE foVERS OF §EGITIMATE f PORT^j PREFACE. Brother Sportsmen : A S editor of a sportsman's journal for several years, and -^^- weekly purveyor of information continually asked for by its readers, I have long felt the need of constant refer- ence to just such a compendium as the volume in hand ; and hence, judging others' requirements by my own, I was prompted to undertake a work which has required much labor in its preparation and care in its revision. Whatever may be its estimation by the Fraternity, I am satisfied that the relief which ihe collocation will afford myself will prove an ample compensation, even if I should receive no other. The book must speak for itself. I am willing to let it stand on its merits, while conscious that its extended scope ren- ders it liable to defects, and the more vulnerable to criti- cism. To anticipate mischances, I have indicated in its proper place a list of reliable works of reference which will supply whatever is lacking here. With regard to the Guide to Game Resorts, which I know some gentlemen will take me to task for publishing, I wish to plead that the rapid spread of population and set- tlement, the multiplication of those who look to the rod and PREFACE. gun for sport, and the constant opening of new lines of communication to all parts of the country, make it certain that all accessible places will be brought to speedy notice; while, as for remote and difficult localities — well, if any sportsman has the pluck and energy to seek them out he deserves to enjoy the fruits of his perseverance. I regard concealment a virtue no longer ; although I may whisper it privately that with some latent consideration of the vested or pre-empted rights and prerogatives o^ old-time sports- men, I have purposely refrained from indicating many places where the woodcock, the snipe, the trout, and the salmon, have their sequestered haunts. These shall be held as sacred from intrusion as the penetralia of the Vestals. I have only to add that I have been materially assisted in the preparation of this work by Dr. H. C. Yarrow, of the Smithsonian, Dr. D. C. Estes, of Minnesota, Dr. G. A. Stockwell, of Port Huron, Michigan, and Geo. Bird Grin- nell, of the Peabody Museum at Yale College. Mr. J. H. Batty prepared the chapter on Taxidermy, and Messrs. Joseph Woodward and Chas. B. Reynolds have given valuable service in compiling the Guide. Fraternally yours, Charles Hallock. New York, June 151,1877. . ,, , :, .. GENERAL CONTENTS. PART I. Gamk Animals of North America. Game Birds of North America. Game Fish of North America: Eastern Coast Fishes. . . Northern Inland Fishes. Inland Fishes of the West and Northwest. Pacific Coast Fishes. Inland Fishes of the South and Southwest. Southern Coast Fishes. Dogs USED for SroRT : ' Their Different Varieties; Training and Management, Dis- eases and Remedies. Forest, Field, ant Prairie: Guns and Ammunition for Different Kmds of Game ; Hints and Recipes for Gunners ; Decoys, Blinds, and other Devices. Ocean, Lake, and River : Art of Dressing Artificial Flies ; Instruction in Fly Fishing ; Rods, Lines, and Lures ; Hints and Recipes. Sporting Boats and Canoes : Rules for Sailing Boats ; Useful Suggestions in Buying, Repair- ing, etc. y/OODCRAFT : Expedients in Emergencies ; Hints and Recipes for Camp and Cruise. Instruction in Taxidermy. Bibliography for Sportsmen. Dealers' and Outfitters' List. Index, - PART II. A Sportsmen's Directory to the Principal Resorts for Game AND Fish in North America. ^ PART I. GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. CATS. Felii coHcolor.— Linn. Puma, Panther, Cougar, Mountain Lion. THE Cougar is, with the exception of the Jaguar, Fe//s onca, which is scarcely, or not at all, found within the limits of the United States, the largest of the American cats. Its range is very extensive, including temperate and tropical America from Canada to Patagonia. In height it is about equal to a large dog, but the body is much longer proportionally, and a large animal will weigh one hundred and fifty pounds. The tail is long and tapering, and this point will serve to distinguish it, even when young, from either of the two species to be hereafter mentioned. The color of the Cougar is a uniform pale brown above and dusky white below ; the tips of the hairs are blackish brown. Young kittens of this species are at first spotted on the flanks, but attain the colors of the pa- rent before reaching their full size. The Cougar preys upon deer, sheep, colts, calves and small quad- rupeds generally, and when numerous it proves very troublesome to the fiirmer and stock raiser. When, however, its prey is so brge that it cannot all be devoured at one meal, the animal covers it with leaves or buries it in the earth and leaves it for a time, return- ing later to finish his repast. This habit is sometimes taken advan- tage of by his human enemy, who, poisoning the hidden care asswith strychnine, often manages to secure the Panther when it comes back to eat again. The use of poison against carnivorous animals of all kinds has become so general in the west within the past few years, that they are rapidly becoming exterminated in all districts within 10 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. reach of the settlements. All flesh eaters, from the skunk to the huge grizzly, are taken by this means, and the vultures, ravens and magpies suffer heavily by eating the remains of animals that have been killed in this way. Indeed, were it not for some such means of defence as this, the sheep raisers of Southern California and New Mexico, and the cattle growers of Utah, Montana and Wyoming would be quite powerless to protect their herds from the attacks of many enemies which could only be driven off by a large force of dogs and mounted men. As it is, however, each shepherd ?. .1 herder is provided as a matter of course with a certain amount of stiychnine, and all dead carcasses are poisoned, so that before long the country is freed from the depredations of animals injurious to stock. The period of gestation of the Cougar, as observed in the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London, is ninety-seven days. It brings forth in the spring from two to four young. ' Lynx ru/us. — Raf. Bay Lynx, Wildcat, Catamount, etc. The Bay Lynx is another species of wide range, inhabiting the whole territory of the United States and extending into the British Possessions on the north, and Mexico on the south. It is a small animal, measuring from the nose to the tip of the tail only about thirty-five inches, of which this latter organ occupies but five. In color it somewhat resembles the Cougar, but the brown is more nearly a red as is indicated by the name Bay. The tail is black at the tip as are the inner surfaces of the ears. The color of the un- der parts is white with some black spots. The Bay Lynx is a timid animal, preying chiefly upon grouse, hare, and still smaller birds and mammals. It scarcely deserves mention as a game animal. Its young, usually three in number, are produced in April or May according to the latitude which the animal inhabits. They are said to be from the first utterly wild and untamable. Variety niaculatus, Aud. and Bach., is found in Texas, and variety /a jrm/wi', Raf., in Washington Territory and the extreme Northwest generally. Lynx canadensis. — Raf. Canada Lynx, Catamount, Loup Cerver, Lucifee. The Canada Lynx is a more northern species than either of the preceding, and on the Atlantic coast scarcely enters the United CATS. - II States. On the Mackenzie River it is found as far north as latitude 66° and it inhal^its the mountains of Western America ; it occurs at least as far south as Fort Tejon, California, where specimens have been taken. Like many other truly northern species, it is found much farther south among the high mountains of the West, than on the Eastern side of the continent. The Canada Lynx is about forty inches in total length. The tail is very short and stumpy. The animal is wholly of a pale grey color with the excep- tion of the tip of the tail and the extremities of the ears, which are black. The feet are enormous and are densely furred. Alto- gether the animal presents a very savage appearance, but it is really very timid, and will always avoid ah encounter even with a small dog. In its habits it resembles closely the Bay Lynx. The Canada Lynx brings forth two or three young in the spring. It breeds but once a year. The three species referred to above are not to be regarded as game animals. They nowhere exist in sufficient numbers to make it worth while to hunt them systematically, and almost all that are taken, are secured by means of traps or poison. Occasionally, it is true, the burner may happen on one when seeking for game, or the angler while following a stream may start one from the brush or from a tree which overhangs the brook, but in such cases they are gone almost as soon as seen, and rarely give one time to shoot at them. Those that are killed with firearms are generally treed by dogs which are hunting bears, coons, or foxes, and are shot by the hunters who are following the dogs. There is no danger in any of these animals unless wounded or cornered ; an enraged cat, however, is by no means a contemptible antagonist, and the hunter should keep clear of its claws. Instances are on record of the death of more than one man who has put himself in the way of a wild cat, and of course the panther is more dangerous by as much as he is larger. WOLVES. Canis /.••/«*.— Linn. (? var.) Grey, Timber, or Buffalo Wolf. Canis /atrans.—Sa.y. Prairie Wolf, Coyote T T TE have always been taught to regard the Wolf as the type V V o^ ^'^ detestable qualities, but he has also been invested in romance and tradition with a courage and ferocity which is very foreign to his nature. He is in fact, the most cowardly of all our animals, possessing some of the intelligence of the dog, but none of the higher instincts which long association with man has v/orked into the being of the latter. The wolves unless pressed *' rribly by hunger will never attack any animal larger than themselves, and then only in packs. A cur dog, as a rule, can drive the largest wolf on th€ plains. Lean, gaunt and hungry looking, they are the essence of meanness, and treachery personified. The two common species of the plains are the Grey or Buffalo Wolf, Cam's lupus, and the ever present Coyote or Prairie Wolf, Cants lat*'ans, who makes night so hideous on the plains to novices unused to his unearthly serenade. The Buffalo Wolf is almost as tall as a greyhound, and is proportioned about like a setter dog. It is found of all colors, from jet black in Florida and red in Texas to snow white in the arctic regions. In the west the color is generally grey or grizzled white, sometimes brindled. The ears are erect, and the tail, long and well haired, is generally carried straight out behind, but when the animal is frightened is put between his legs like that of the dog under similar circumstances. The Prairie Wolf js in size about half way between the red fox and Grey Wolf. Its color is similar to that of its larger relation of the plains, but is of a more yellowish cast. The larger of these two species was once universally distributed throughout North America, but is now confined to the wildest and least settled portions of the country. The Prairie Wolf is an inhab- JVOL VES. 13 itant of the plains and mountains west of the Missouri, and is found from the British Possessions south into Mexico, from the inhab- itants of which it has derived its common name, Coyote. In the southern portion of its range it is a miserable cur scarcely larger than the common fox. These two species, C. lupus and C. latrans, are plenty generally throughout the west and the southwest, but are most numerous in a buffalo country. They subsist on any refuse they can pick up, and are always found on the outskirts of settlements or forts slinking here and there, eking out what sub- sistence they may by snatching any stray morsels of food that come in their way. A band of wolves will follow a party of hunters, and at any time half an hour after breaking camp in the morning, the scavengers may be seen prowling around the still smoking fires, and quarrelling over the debris of the morning meal. Very young buffalo calves, and decrepid bulls or badly wounded animals are attacked by these creatures in packs and torn to pieces. They will follow a wounded bison for miles, waiting and watching for the animal to lie down, when they will assail it from all quarters. Wolves breed freely with the dog and in any Indian camp the traveller will see dogs, so called, that cannot be distinguished from their wild cousins. The young are brought forth in May and number from five to nine. As often as the winter season sets in the hunters who make a business of it start out on a wolfing expedition. The stock in trade of a party engaged in " wolfing "consists in flour, bacon and strych- nine, the first two articles named for their own consumption, the last for the wolves. The first thing to be done is to procure a bait. Generally a buffalo is used, but if it happens to be out of a buffalo range, then an elk, deer, coon, or other animal is made to answer the purpose. The carcass is then impregnated with the poison and placed where it will do the most good. Sometimes as high as fifty woives will be found of a morning scattered about at intervals of a few yards from the carcass that they ate so ravenously of the night before. The " wolfers " proceed to gather up animals slain, carry them to camp, fix up another bait if necessary, and then commences the labor of skinning and stretching. It is no uncommon thing for a party of three men to come down in the spring with four thousand pelts, and as they will average about one dollar and a half apiece 14 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA, it is a very profitable business, if you are only successful in your " catch." Wolfers form a class by themselves and this is their regular occupation during the winter season. Spring time finds them in the towns where in a week's time they have gambled and drunk away all their earnings ; they then disappear, not to be seen again until the following spring. Wolves are sometimes hunted on horseback with hounds, but the speed they can attain when well scared is something astonish- ing, and they can easily distance any ordinary dogs. The method employed is to have among the pack, one or more greyhounds v.'ho will bring the wolf to bay and allow the other dogs to come up. Some day in the not very remote future, this kind of sport and coursing r^ares is destined to become popular and will be a favorite amusement among the sportsmen of the West, FOXES. Vulpcs vulgaris. — var. Penmylvanicus. Coues. Common Red Fox. Vulpes >«aalis.—Ba.ird. Little Grey Fox. OF the species enumerated above it is necessary to speak only of the Red Fox and the Grey. The others mentioned are never hunted and are only taken by means of traps or poison ; they do not therefore come within the scope of this work. The Red Fox is too well known to require description. He differs but very little from his celebrated English relative to whose capture so much time is devoted, on the other side the water, and like him he proves a terrible pest to the farmer. There are several permanent colors of this species analogous to the different colors in our squirrels, young of very different appearance being found in the same litter. The Cross Fox and the Silver-grey are the best known of these differently-colored animals. The Grey Fox is a more southern species than the Red and is rarely found north of the State of Maine. Indeed it is not common anywhere in New England. In the Southern States, however, it wholly replaces the Red Fox and causes quite as much annoyance to the farmer as does that proverbial animal. The Grey Fox is somewhat smaller than the Red and differs from him in being wholly dark grey " mixed hoary and black." The Grey Fox differs from his northern cousin in being able to c/i'md trees. He is not much of a runner, and when hard pressed by the dog will often ascend the trunk of a leaning tree by running up it, or will even climb an erect one, grasping the trunk in his arms as would a bear. Still the fox is not at home among the branches, and he looks and no doubt feels very much out of place while xxy this predicament. l6 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. In Ohio and in others of the Middle Slates, foxes are said to be hunted as follows ; On an appointed day the whole pooulation ol the neighborhood turn out and enclose as large a tract of country as possible, all hands leisurely advancing toward some point near the centre of the circle ; as they advance all the noise possible is made that the game may be driven before them. When the circle is quite small and the foxes are seen running about looking for an opening by which to escape, small boys are turned in with direc- tions to catch the animals, a task which is not accomplished with- out a good deal of exertion and perhaps a bite or two. When a fox is caught it is sold to pay the expenses of the hunt. Fox hunting as practiced in " merrie England " was transported to this country as early as the middle of the eighteenth centur)'. In the mother country it has attained a most important position among the national sports. A fox hunt there is one of the great- est pleasures accorded to the titled gentry, and the scene is often graced by the presence of some fair equestriennes who will even take part in the chase. Horses are bred for the purpose and a first- class hunter commands a large price. Fox hunting first came generally in vogue in Great Britain some two hundred years ago, and was introduced into Virginia perhaps a hundred years later. The old custom has been sustained with difficulty through many vicissitudes up to the present day. The topography of our southern country, however, prevents the use there of the orthodox English fox hound, since the heavy tim- ber lands and high fences would effectually prevent keeping a pack of these dogs in view. We need a slower hound, and this the F. F. V.'s, fond of this branch of sport, have procured by crossbreed- ing with the old English hunting stock. Fox hunting thus prac- ticed has been confined almost exclusively to the South, particularly Virginia. Many planters of leisure and means were accustomed, avant la guerre, to keep a number of hounds for no other purpose, and with the best riders of the neighboring county periodically held their " meets," when with horn, whipper-in and all other accom- paniments, according to true English fox hunting rules, they would proceed to start Reynard and follow him to the death. Since the war, however, the demoralised condition of many sections of the South, and the greatly impaired fortunes of the former participants FOXES. 17 in this manly sport, have combined to render fox hunting well nigh innpossible, and until horseback riding attains in both North and South a more national character, there is but little hope of resus- citating tnis delightful sport. The fox pursued in the South is ♦he Grey Fox, Urocyon cinereo-argentaius ; he is in part replaced north of Maryland by our common red fox, Vulpes vulgaris, and in the west by the Swift Fox, Vulpes velox, and other species. With us of the North, foxing is by some followed during the late fall and win- ter, for the skins of the animal, which bring a fair price in market. The hunters stand near the runways while the hounds start the fox. The latter traverses the country by regular paths and some one of the hunters, if careful, is generally successful in bagging Reynard. Foxes live in holes of their own making, generally in the loamy soil of a side hill, and the she-fox bears four or five cubs at a litter. When a fox-hole is discovered by the farmers they assemble and proceed to dig out the inmates who have lately, very likely, been making havoc among their hen-roosts. An amusing incident which came under our immediate observation a few years ago will bear relating. A farmer discovered the lair of an old dog fox by means of his hound who trailed the animal to his hole. This fox had been making large and nightly inroads into the poultry ranks of the neighborhood, and had acquired great and unenviable notoriety on that account. The farmer and two companions, armed with spades and hoes, and accompanied by the faithful hound, started to " dig out the varmint." The hole was situated on the sandy slope of a hill, and after a laborious and continued digging of four hours, Rey- nard was unearthed and he and " Bep" were soon engaged in deadly strife. The excitement had waxed hot, ana dog, men and fox were all struggling in a promiscuous melee. Soon a burly farmer watch- ing his chance strikes wildly with his hoe-handle for Reynard's head, which is scarcely distinguishable in the maze of legs and bodies. The blow descends, but alas ! a sudden movement of the hairy mass brings the fierce stroke upon the faithful dog, who with a wild howl relaxes his grasp and rolls with bruised and bleeding head, faint and powerless on the hillside. Reynard takes advantage of the turn affairs have assumed, and before the gun, which had been laid aside on the grass some hours I8 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. e greatest affection, and in defence of which she will sometimes even fight. In some localities in the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevadas these animals are enormously abundant. In the berry season their presence can be detected almost every where in the forests by the number of berries which they have stripped off the bushes, and the torn condition of the soil in many places where they have been digging for roots. In the summer this animal is also a frequenter of thickets where a species of buckthorn grows, as it devours the fruit of this tree with great avidity, though to \}i^t genus homo the fruit proves a most violent cathartic. The animal is but little hunted, notwithstanding its numerical strength, owing un- doubtedly to the cheapness of its fur, or else to the difficulty of finding its domicil during the season of hibernation, when its wardrobe is in the best condition for mercantile purposes. In the Adirondacks and the woods of Maine, the Black Bear is abundant, and we have often tracked them to their nooning places and jumped them out of warm sunny spots by the side of old logs where they were taking their siesta. The most agreeable way of hunting this species is, however, that first mentioned, and it is also by far the most successful. Black Bears are trapped in large numbers for their hides and are in some localities taken with set-g^ns which they discharge in their efforts to secure the bait. POLAR OR WHITE BEAR. Ursus maritimus* — Linn. '■"P^HE Polar Bear inhabits the extreme northern portions of JL both continents. In size it almost equals the Grizzly bear, attaining a weight of from one thousand to fifteen hundred pounds. It differs in many respects from other bears, and some naturalists have regarded these differences as of generic value, and have formed for it the genus Thalassarctus. A discussion of the points in which it is unlike its relatives, has however, no place in this work, and we prefer to retain for it, for the present at least, its Linnean name. The head of the Polar Bear is flattened, the profile being almost a straight line. The neck is twice as long and thicker than the head ; the contour of the body is elongated, the paws are of huge proportions, and thickly covei vz the under side with coarse hair, doubtless to keep them from slipping on the ice ; and the toes are armed with formidable claws. The hair all over the body is of a uniform yellowish white or straw color, while the eyes, nose, and claws are jet black. The mouth is somewhat small, armed with large, strong teeth, which seem well calculated to catch, cut and tear tough seal meat, the White Bear's natural food. The Polar Bear has been found in the highest northern lati- tudes ever reached by navigators. It exists on all Asiatic coasts of the frozen ocean from the mouth of the Obi eastward, and much abounds in Nova Zembla and Spitzbergen, though it has not been observed on any of the islands of Behring's Strait ; yet it is found in Greenland and Labrador, as well as along the coasts of Baffin's and Hudson Bay. • j, . In confinement the Polar Bear is savage and irritable, and vis- itors at menageries are generally impressed by the morose and unsociable temper of these animals. They never play together, but are continually quarrelling and fighting, and it is but a short 2 I 26 GAME ANIMALS OF NOK 77/ AMERICA. time since one of a pair in the Zoological Gardens at Cologne killed his mate after a savage combat which lasted for a long time. The young of this species, generally two in number, are brought forth in December while the mother is snugly ensconced in some crevice in the rocks beneath a warm blanket of snow. The female displays the most devoted attachment for her young, and will suffer herself to be killed in their defence. In confinement, how- ever, the mother usually^devours her cubs shortly after birth, so that in London at the Zoological Gardens the young are removed immediately after birth and are given to a bitch to rear. The White Bear is wholly carnivorous in his diet, and preys upon seals, fish, the carcasses of whales, and sometimes even upon the huge walrus. As might be inferred from his habitat, he is not a tree climber. In the water, however, he is at home, almost as much so as the seal. White Bears have been killed on the ocean forty or fifty miles from land, and that too at a time when there was no floating ice upon which they could res<^ themselves. The following account of the manner in which these animals capture seals is given by Capt. Lynn : — " The Bear, on seeing his intended prey, gets quietly into the water, and swims to leeward of him, from whence, by frequent short dives, he silently makes his approaches, and so arranges his distances that at the last dive he comes to the spot where the seal is lying. If the poor animal attempts to escape by rolling into the water, he falls into the bear's clutches ; if, on the contrary, he lies still, his destroyer makes a powerful spring, kills him on the ice, and devours him at leisure." During the summer these bears spend much of their time on the ice-floes, swimming from one to another ; they lodge in the large crevices ; and in winter, when it is always night, when the ice-floe is as stable as land, they bed themselves deep in the snow, and remain in a state of torpidity until the welcome sun returns to gladden the scene. The great size and strength and the ferocity of the Polar Bear have furnished themes upon which many a writer has dilated at length, and all accounts of Arctic exploration contain narratives bearing on the habits of this species. From a great mass of mate- rial the following anecdote from the pen of Mr. Lamont, is selected. " The bear was surprised on the shore, where the soft mud POLAR OR WHITE BEAR. Sf was intersected by numerous little channels and much rough ice - left aground by the tide. This seemed to embarrass her very much, as the cubs could not jump over the channels. The old bear became very anxious and uneasy at our approach ; but she showed great patience and forbearance with her cubs, always waiting, after she had jumped over a channel, until they swam icross, and affectionately assisting them to scramble up the steep sides of the rocky places. Nevertheless, the mixture of sticky mud with rough ice and half-frozen water soon reduced the unhappy cubs to a pitiable state of distress, and we heard them growling plaintively, as if they were upbraiding their mother for dragging them through such a disagreeable place. The delay was fatal to the old bear. After she was dispatched, and the cubs, which were about the size of colly dogs, bound together by a cord, they began a furious combat with one another, and rolled about in the mud, biting, struggling, and roaring until quite exhausted. Here I am sorry to have to record the most horrid case of filial ingratitude that ever fell under my observation. Without doubt the mother had sacrificed her life for her cubs. She could have escaped with- - out difficulty if she had not so magnanimously remained to help them. When, however, we proceeded to open the carcass of the old bear for the purpose of skinning her, the two young demons of cubs, having by this time settled their differences with each other, began to devour their unfortunate and too devoted parent, and actually made a hearty meal off her. When we had finished skin- ning her, the cubs sat down upon the skin, and resolutely refused to leave it ; so we dragged the skin, with the little animals upon it, like a sledge, to the boat. After another tussle v/ith them, in the course of which they severely bit and scratched some of the men, we got them tied down under the thwarts of the boat, and conveyed them on board the sloop." •f .. . '( • RACCOON. ProcyoH lotor. — Storr. THE Raccoon is one of the most generally known of Ameri- can Mammals, and is of frequent occurrence throughout the United States. Its total length is about three feet, of which the tail occupies one-third. In color it is pale grey, somewhat mottled with dusky cloudings. The face is lighter, but there is a black patch upon the cheeks and another behind the ear. The tail has five well marked black rings and a black hip, the interspaces between these markings being pale yellow. Although as an article of food there is great diversity of opin- ion concerning the merits of the Raccoon, yet he is hunted consid- erably for the sport alone, and some, not above it, enjoy also the pleasure of a palatable coon stew. Unlike the foxes, the raccoon is at home in a tree, although not possessing the agility of a squirrel. In fact this is the usual refuge he seeks when danger is near, and not being very swift of foot, it is well they possess this climbing ability. Their abode is generally in a hoUov/ tree, oak or chestnut, and when the juvenile farmer's son comes across a coon- tree, he is not long in making known his discovery to friends and neighbors, who forthwith assemble at the spot, and proceed to fell the tree containing his coonship. At this juncture the coon loses no time in scrambling out of his ruined home, but a half score or more of mongrel dogs, of terrier, hound and bull extraction, soon accomplish his destruction. But let it be distinctly understood he does not yield up his life gracefully and without a struggle, for he often puts many of his assailants hors de combat for many a day, his jaws being strong and his claws sharp. The Raccoon breeds in a hollow tree, and the young are generally from four to eight in number, pretty little creatures at first, about as large as half-grown rats. They are as playful as kittens and may be raised to be .--r- • •- -.r RACCOON. ■ > 29 docile and tame, but their nomadic proclivities are so strongly inbred that they will, unless chained, wander off to the woods and not return. Coons are hunted throughout New England quite ex- tensively and also down south. They are ranked next in merit to the opossum by the sable autocrats, who take great delight in ibl- lowing the broad-footed mammal. When the late September days are on us and the moon is at its fullest quarter, the yellow stalks with their milky ears of corn still standing — then is the season for the hunters to assemble, and with their coon dogs, from one to three in number, to start for the borders of swamps skirting the corn-fields, in search of this member of the ring-tailed family. He is emphatically a night animal, and never travels by day ; some- times being caught at morning far from his tree and being unable to return thither he will spend the hours of daylight snugly coiled up among the thickest foliage of some lofty tree-top. The corn is still in the milk and in a condition most attractive to the Raccoon. If he is not started in this locality, look for him along the banks of the lily pond near by. He is exceedingly fond of the bull frogs and catfish which here abound, and will travel far for these dainties. As soon as the trail is struck, off goes " Tige " or " Bose " and the only thing left for us is to sit and wait for the signal. The Coon is somewhat adroit in his attempts to baffle the dogs, and he will often enter a brook and travel for some distance in the water, thus puzzling and delaying his pur- suers not a little. Soon a distant barking reaches our ears, coming from a direction quite different from where we had anticipated, showing that the game has made good use of time and tactics, but is at last treed. After a tedious tramp o'er hill and dale, we arrive at the foot of a gigantic pine, among the topmost branches of which our quarry is concealed. The youngest and most nimble of the party is appointed to swarm up the tree and shake off our victim. As the climber nears the object of his pursuit, the latter retreats to the extremity of a branch, and finally in desperation springs wildly outward and strikes the earth, rebounding to his feet apparently unharmed. Upon him then, the dogs vent their rage. A good sized coon will weigh from fifteen to twenty pounds. Raccoons are frequently caught in steel traps, and exhibit much 30 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. less sly cunning than the fox in evading the gins which man pre- pares for their capture. They will eat anything, being particularly fond of eggs, meat and green corn, frequently holding a " swarry " in the hen-house and cornfield the same evening. Nocturnal coon-hunts frequently result disastrously to other animals ; and occasionally a party of hunters will return with a varied bag, without coon perhaps, but including skunk, wood- chuck, cat, etc. Sometimes, too, the dogs will go off on a fox trail, and in that case may not be seen again for twenty-four or thirty-six hours. \: I.' '■-.■! '■' ■■>, •■'! '1 ; > !■( ' V ) MUSK OX. Ovibos wofcAa^wj.— Blainville. THE Musk Ox is confined to the barren grounds of America, north of the sixty-fifth parallel of latitude. In spring it wan- ders over the ice as far as Melville Bay, or even Smith's Souod, where a number of its bones were found by Dr. Kane. In September it withdraws more to the South, and spends the coldest months on the verge of the lorest region. It subsists chiefly on lichens and mosses. It runs nimbly, and climbs hills and rocks with ease. Its fossil remams, or those of a very similar species, have been discovered in Siberia. At present it is exclusively confined to the New World. In size it is about equal to a two year old cow, weighing when fat from six to seven hundred pounds. The horns are very broad at their origin, cover the whole crown of the head and the brow, and touch each other for their whole breadth from before backwards. For a short distance from the base they grow directly outward, and then becoming rounded and tapering, curve downward between the eyes and ears until they reach the angle of the mouth, when they turn outward and upward to about the level of the eye. The horn is dull white and rough on its basal half but becomes smooth shining and black toward the point. The general color of the hair is dark brown, but upon the neck and shoulders it fades to a grizzled hue, while on the centre of the back is a patch of soiled white. The muzzle, instead of being naked as in the genus Bos, is covered with short white hair. The tail is but a few inches in length and is completely concealed by the long shaggy hair covering the hips. The legs are clothed with a coat of short brownish white hair, and, owing to the great length of the coat on the throat, chesc, sides and belly, seem very short in proportion to the size of the animal. There is an abundance of fine short ash- colored wool beneath the hair covering the body. The female 32 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. Musk Ox is much smaller than the male and has smaller horns which do not touch at their bases. The Musk Ox is scarcely to be rejjarded as a game animal, its habitat being such as to save it from pursuit by those who hunt simply for pleasure. It furnishes however much of the fresh meat which is obtained by arctic explorers, and is hunted as well by the Esquimaux and the Indians of the far North. Th^-se animals are usually killed by stalking them and it is said that if the hunter keeps himself concealed the Musk Oxen will not run but will permit him to shoot until all are killed cr until they are alarmed by the sight or smell of his person. The bulls are somewhat irritable, and it is sakl that the Esquimaux take advantage of this disposition " for an expert hunter, having provoked a bull to attack him, wheels around it more quickly than it can turn, and by repeated stabs in the belly, puts an end to its life." Remains of the Musk Ox are still rare in collections, and those who are fortunate enough to meet with this species in its native haunts should not fail to preserve both the skin and skeleton of those which they may kill, for the benefit of some of our institutions of learning. Owing to its arctic habitat but little is known of its mode of life, and a careful and trustworthy account of its habits and pre- sent range would be a most valuable contribution to our knowl- edge of North American mammals. A'.w^ 1.. '.' ■ I r-. -V' . fc * " t ^ ■ -■ — **.?.■ 1 »* » t BUFFALO. Bos Afnericanus.—GmeUa. if. ■x So much has been written during late years about the Buffalo, that almost every one is familiar with its history, and it is well that it is so, for he will very shortly exist only in the annals of the past. ' - The American Bison is known by but one name throughout the continent of America, being rarely spoken of by any other appellation than that of the Buffalo. Since the comparatively recent enormous exodus of population from the eastern portions of our country, and influx of the same into the formerly sacred and forbidden territories of the red man, the natural history of that vast territory west of the Missouri has been made more definite and clear, and its resources developed. In the acquisition of our knowledge of the former, the Buffalo has played the most important part. Fossil remains of a Bison of prehistoric times have been found in the same country now occupied by the present comparatively diminutive species. These gigantic animals were probably six to eight times the size of our present species and must have been fit contemporaries of the Mastodon, and the enormous sloths which in Post-Pliocene times inhabited our continent. The prehistoric man, to hunt an animal of these proportions, should have been as large as the fabled giants. In former times the Bison occupied the major part of the North American continent ; their migrations extending from Mexico on the South, far up into the present British Possessions, and their eastern and western limits being the States of California and Oregon, Virginia and the Carolinas respectively. But our authentic history of the animal dates back only to the earlier part of the past century when it had been driven west of the Mississippi. The range of the Buffalo in 1830, had been . •- 34 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. rowed to the following boundaries : the plains of Texas on the south to beyond the British line, from the Missouri and upper Mississippi on the east to the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevadas on the west. Every portion of this immense area was either the fixed home of the Bison, or mij,du be expected to have each year one or more visits from the migrating millions. The latest determination of the range of the few remaining Bison, 1876, fixes it mainly within the limits of the United States, and confines it to Texas, Colorado, Kansas, and the Indian Terri- tory on the south, and Montana and Dakota on the north. The rapid and appalling diminution in their numbers and range is owing entirely to their wanton and useless destruction by skin-hunters and pseudo sportsmen. The general ensemb/c of the Bison is so well known to all, that a description is hardly necessary. Owing to his great size, shaggy mane and hump, vicious eye, and sullen demeanor, he possesses the appearance of being a formidable adversary, but in truth, he is the mildest, most inoffensive, stubborn and stupid of all the western mammals. If not alarmed by sight of the ene- my, he will stupidly watch his companions fall one by one, until the whole herd are killed or wounded. When in their migra- tions, they select the most easy and available routes, and a well defined bufi"alo trail will always be found the best path for the horseman. In crossing streams they show little instinct and no intelligence ; the foremost plunge recklessly in and, where quick- sands exist, or the current is too swift, many perish, but their fate does not deter those behind from attemp .ig the passage, and whole herds may be annihilated in this way. Although they fol- low in migrating the easiest routes, yet they by no means lack the ability to travel over rough or bad ground, and can descend or ascend a cliff, which for man lo attempt, on a horse or off one, would be certain destruction. The habits of the Bison are almost identical with those of domestic stock ; very little fighting, how- ever, takes place among the bulls, even during the rutting season, which occurs in July. The young are brought forth in April, and the female bears one calf ; the mother seems to evince little affec- tion for her offspring, and its protection devolves almost wholly upon the bulls. At the least fright, she will scamper off, utterly BUFFALO. 35 unmindful of the helpless young, who would soon fall an easy prey. to wolf or coyote, were it not guarded by the bulls, who fight fitTcely for the safety of their offspring. Tlie following story is related by an army officer, and bears upon this point : While riding into camp alone one night, he observed some six or eight Buffalo bulls on the prairie arranged in a compact circle with heads facing outward ; all around, and at a little distance from the ring, sat numbers of grey wolves eying the Bison. At a loss to account for this singular sight, he drew up to watch their movements. Soon the Buffalo SLparated, and now a young calf, evidently newly born, was seen in centre of the group. They trotted away some hundred yards, meanwhile pro- tecting the object of their solicitude, on all sides, the wolves mov- ing along with them. Soon the young one becoming fatigued, lay down, when the bulls stopped again, forming the same impassable barrier against their ferucious enemies. Thus they escorted their ward back to the main herd. When feeding, the cows and calves occupy the middle space, the bulls forming as it were the circumference of an enclosing cir- cle. When attacked, however, they lose all control of themselves and dash hither and thither in every direction. If governmental protection can be obtained at all for the Bisons, it should at least save them from wicked and indiscriminate slaughter during the spring and summer, while they are breeding and rearing their young. But with regard to buffalo protection another and better method for saving the few remaining herds from utter annihilation may be suggested ; namely, by forming a buffalo reservation. In the Yellowstone National Park we have the necessary ter- ritory, and it is already stocked ; but the skin hunter, that ruthless destroyer of game, must be kept at a distance, if we would hope to save this species. This section of territory is by law forbidden ground to the hunter, and could the statute be enforced, the buffalo, which at present exist in considerable numbers in this region, would have an opportunity to increase, and might endure there long after their recent prairie range has become a region of smil- ing wheat farms and well stocked cattle ranches. The bill setting aside the Yellowstone Park as a Government reservation says that the Secretary of the Interior shall "provide against the wanton 36 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. destruction of the fish and game found within the park, and against their capture or destruction for the purpose of mer- chandise or profit." Then again if the wild buffalo must become extinct, why not make preparations for it. An animal which in all essential respects agrees so closely with the domestic cattle must surely prove of vast importance to the farmer and stock raiser, if its oomesticatioii were but systematically attempted. We have at various times seen in Montana, Nebraska and Kansas young buffaloes running at large with the herds of domestic cattle, and in their actions resembling in all respects their tame comp.inions. With the cat- tle they would wander off for days or weeks to distant parts of the range, returning from time to time, and being quite as gentle and docile as the other individuals of the herd. When these calves approach maturity, what more natural than that the males should be broken to the yoke .'' The owner is not slow to avail himself of their enormous strength, and teams of young bulls are by no means uncommon in the vicinity of the buffalo range. Their power and endurance are undoubted, though their temper is not, perhaps, of the best. In fact it is said that if they desire to go in any particular direction, or not to go at all, nothing that the driver can say or do, will have the slightest effect in changing their determination. Such little eccentric't/cs as these, however, would no doubt be overcome after a gener: " - v or two of domestication, or might be more immediately moaified by a cross of domestic blood. The old buffalo ranges are filling up with cattle, and by the importation of blooded bulls the quality of the stock is being continually improved. From these plains a large portion of the beef for Eastern and European consumption will ultimately be derived. Before the buffalo wholly disappears some intelligent effort should be made for inter-breeding on a large scale, so that ere the last of the shaggy wild brutes have yielded up his life there shall have been infused into our western cattle the hardy blood of their obliterated relatives. Of the modes of capture practiced in hunting the Bison the two most in vogue are still hunting, confined for the most part to that great exterminator, the skin hunter, and hunting on horseback, the legitimate and only sportsmanlike manner of pursuit. Owing to BUFFALO. 17 the incredible decimation in the ranks of the buffalo within the past few years, every cruel and cowardly device is now resorted to, to accomplish their destruction. Herds are sometimes kept days from water by the hunters in some sections, notably that south of the ., Platte, where the precious and necessary fluid is comparatively scarce, and the rivers few and far between. The animals at last, from sheer desperation, rush to the water, and are met by the death- dealing bullet, preferring an end in this way to the slow pangs of an all torturing thirst. At night, fires are built along the streams to keep them off, and the poor beasts are in one way and another kept from the water and killed off until herd after herd disappear* The desire to kill seems to blind many men to all other consid- erations. Animals are shot down and left, with the exception of the tongue perhaps, entire, to rot unskinned, merely because the hunter wishes to kill as many as possible before they get off. In his recent work, Colonel Dodge gives some startling computations of the appalling and useless slaughter of th'^ Bison within the last six years. He gives it as his opinion that one skin in market rep- resents from four to six beasts killed, and we think these figures not too large. Still hunting should be resorted to only when a camp is in pressing need of fresh meat. Still it is always difficult to curb the ardor of the young tyro, whose sole desire seems to be to kill as many buffaloes as possible for no other reason than that he may relate his stories to admiring friends, on his return to the settle- ments. The still hunter, if he be an adept and understands the habits of the game he pursues, may very soon wipe out of exist- ence a moderately large herd of buffaloes. He will take into consideration the direction of the wind, the lay of the land, and other minor points ; he will use creek bottoms, gulches and ravine approaches in his stalking. When within shooting distance he commences to kill off the herd one by one at his ease, meanwhile, keeping himself entirely concealed from view. The Bison stupidly watch their comrades stagger and fall, but do not offer to run. They are startled by the rifle report, but are un- aware in which direction to look for an enemy. The skin hunter strips the animals of their hides, and leaves the carcasses to decay or become the food of wolf and jackal. The mortality of the buf- falo from the slaughter of Indians, but more particularly white 38 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. hunters, is simply frightful, and when it is stated by one who knows that during the three years of 1872-3-4 wtx four and a half millions of these beasts were slaughtered, it can be readily imagined by the most uninformed that the species will soon cease to exist. Hunting from horseback is followed in the same manner by whites as practiced by the Indians. It was our good fortune a few years ago to accompany the Pawnee Indians on their grand annual Buffalo Hunt, and a short description of how the hunt was conducted after the herd was discovered will suffice to give the reader an idea of a Bison Hunt on horseback. After the scouts had brought into camp notice of the proximity of a herd, the men removed the saddles and bridles from their horses, substituting for the latter a strip of rawhide around the lower jaw. They also stripped off their own clothing and stood forth as naked as when they came into the world, save for a breech clout and a pair of moccasins apiece. Their bows and arrows they held in their hands. At a given signal they started off, at first on a slow trot, but gradually increasing their speed until the trot became a canter, and the canter a swift gallop. At length we reach the top of the last ridge and see the buffalo lying down in the creek bottom a mile beyond. The place could not have been more favorable for a surround had it been chosen for the purpose. A plain two miles broad and intersected by a narrow stream, is encircled by high bluffs, up which the buffalo must toil slowly, but which the more nimble ponies can ascend almost as fast as they can run on level ground. As we commence to descend the face of the bluff, the pace is slightly accelerated. The Indians at either extremity of the line press forward, and its contour is now crescent like. Men and horses commence to evince more excitement, but the five hundred buffaloes reposing below us do not seem to notice our advance. A few wily old bulls, how- ever, that occupy the tops of the lower bluffs, take the alarm and commence to scud off over the hills. At last when we are within half a mile of the ruminating herd a few of them rise to their feet, and soon all spring up and stare at us for a few seconds ; then down go their heads and in a dense mass they rush off toward the bluffs. As they rise to their feet the leaders of our party give the signal, and each man puts his horse to its utmost speed. The BUFFALO. 39 fastest horses are soon among the last of the buffalo, but still their riders push forward to try and turn the leaders of the herd, and drive them back into the plain. This they in part accomplish, and soon the bottom is covered with the flying animals. They dash madly along, and the trained horses keep close to the buffalo without any guidance, yet watch constantly for any indication of an intention to charge, and wheel off, if such intention is mani- fested. The Indians discharging arrow after arrow in quick suc- cession, ere long bring down the huge beast, and then turn and ride off after another. Ourself and comrades having brought down three or four apiece, come together on a little hill that overlooks the valley and become spectators of the scene. Soon the chase is ended, and the plain is dotted with dark objects over each of which bend two or three Indians busily engaged in securing the meat. Every ounce of this will be saved, and what is not eaten while fresh will be jerked and thus preserved for consumption during the winter. How different would have been the course of a party of white hunters had they the same opportunity. They would have killed as many animals, but would have left all but enough for one day's use to be devoured by the wolves or to rot upon the prairie. The Mountain Bison diifers in various respects from the Bison of the plain, notably in size. His legs are shorter and stronger, apparently eminently fitted to his habits, which necessitate consid- erable climbing. The animals are not plenty although they are said to have been so once in those happy past days, which are always the favorite theme of the " old residenters," but he is still to be found in the Yellowstone region in considerable numbers. They inhabit for the most part, inaccessible cliffs and the dark defiles of the moun- tains. They are extremely shy, and possess much more intelli- gence in avoiding danger, than their lowland brother. They are incredibly active in scaling or descending precipitous places, and are much more agile than their bulk and clumsy appearance would seem to indicate. Th^re seems to be no good reason for re- garding the Mountain Bison as specifically distinct from the Buf- falo of the plains. The differences seem to be only those which are characteristic of an inhabitant of the woods and hills, as dis- tinguished from a dweller on the plains and lowlands. THE MOUNTAIN GOAT. Aplocerus columbianus. — Coues. THE White Goat is confined to the loftiest peaks of the Rocky- Mountains : it is not known south of Colorado, and is prob- ably rare south of Washington Territory, but is found to the north- ward as far as Alaska. In size this species about equals the domestic sheep, which it somewhat resembles in shape, but the long spines of the dorsal vertebras give it the appearance of having a slight hump just be- hind the shoulders, and it is thus not particularly graceful in form. The horns are from six to eight inches long, awl shaped, ringed at the base and bending slightly backward. In color they, with the hoofs, are shining black like polished ebony. The hair is long except on the face and lower legs, and is underlaid by a fine soft wool, the whole fleece being snow-white in color. The ciiin is ornamented with a beard-like tuft of long hair, as in the common goat. Notwithstanding its common name, this animal is regarded by naturalists as an antelope, and not a goat at all. It is almost nevei hunted, and even in those districts where it is most abundant, it is one of the rarest of mammals. Besides this, it is said to be most shy and vigilant, and is not to be approached unless some accident favors the hunter. The true home of this species is among the loftiest pinnacles of the snow-covered mountains, above timber line where no vegetation is to be found save mosses, lichens and a few Alpine shrubs and grasses. Here the goats live a quiet, peace- ful life, undisturbed except by an occasional hunter, from whom they ordinarily escape without difficulty by fleeing to the neighbor- ing heights. The few that are annually killed are only secured after the most toilsome pursuit. As their flesh is dry and taste- less, they are rarely disturbed by the Indians, who can always obtain better meat at a less expense of time and labor. THE MOUNTAIN GOAT. 41 Like the Musk Ox, the Mountain Goat is extremely rare in collections, and their skins and skeletons are quite valuable and should always be preserved. It is reported that several years since, in Montana, five individ- uals of this species were captured alive. The hunters who were provided with dogs, are said to have approached as closely as pos- sible to the herd, and then to have slipped their canine assistants, remaining concealed themselves. Before the goats took the alarm, the dogs were so nearly upon them that they took refuge on some high and broken fragments of rock, where they stood at bay. Here their attention was so occupied by their immediate assailants, that the hunters were enabled to surround them and secure five with their riatas. This account would seem to indicate that the Mountain Goat is not a particularly fleet creature, and this sup- position is confirmed by a study of the skeleton ; the animal seems fitted more for clim!)ing than for running, and to possess great endurance rather than great speed. Various absurd stories are told by hunteis of the wonderful power which these animals possess of leaping from great heights and alighting in safety on their horns. That these tales have no foundation in fact, any one who has examined the skull of a Mountain Goat will readily comprehend. The species is also said to prefer death to capture, a statement which is on a par with the one just referred to. If one of these animals throws himself over a precipice, it is lot because he wishes to spite the hunter, but because in his fear of his pursuer he takes an unusually dangerous leap, or makes an effort to pass over some path where the foothold is too precarious even for such a sure-footed climber as he. The females of this species are said to bring forth their young in June, but the period of gestation is not known. It is said that in winter, when the tops of the mountains are deeply covered with snow, and food is inaccessible, these animals descend to the timber and remain there until the heights become partly bare in spring. On the whole, but little is known of the habits of this species, but it IS stated, and no doubt truly, that the race is far less numerous now than in former days. BIGHORN ; MOUNTAIN SHEEP. Ovis tnontana. — Cuvier. THE Bighorn is an inhabitant of the mountains of Western America, and is found in greater or less abundance in suita- ble localities from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean. It is said to be abundant in New Mexico and Arizona, and occurs in Southern California, but is probably not found in any numbers south of the United States. Its northern range extends as far as Alaska, and it is reported to be more abundant north of the 49th parallel than farther south. Although most numerous in the Rocky Moun- tains, the Sierra Nevadas and the Coast Range, this species is by no means confined to the mountains. It occurs also among the rugged Mauvaises Terres or Bad Lands of the White River, the Little Missouri, Yellowstone and Upper Missouri, and seems to delight in these grey, desolate and arid wastes. Indeed, any very rough country answers all the requirements for the Bighorn, and it demands only that there shall be steep and difficult heights to which it may retreat when pursued. This species has been aptly described as having the head of a sheep with the body of a deer. In size, however, it exceeds the largest deer, and a full-grown individual is said to weigh three hundred and fifty pounds. The following measurements of an old male are given by Sir John Richardson in his Fauna Boreali Ameri- cana : — Length to end of tail six feet, height at shoulder three feet five inches, length of tail two inches, length of horn along curve two feet ten inches, circumference of horn at base one foot one inch, distance from tip of one horn to tip of its fellow two feet three inches. The female is somewhat less in size than the male, the horns are much smaller and are nearly erect, having but a slight inclination outward and backward. They somewhat resemble the horns of a common goat. The general color of the Mountain BIGHORN; MOUNTAIN SHEEP. 43 I % 3i Sheep is a pale wood brown, dark in summer and lighter in win- ter and spring. The posterior portions of the legs and belly, and a triangular patch upon the buttocks, are white. The coat is soft to the touch, though the hair resembles that of the Caribou, and in a less degree that of the Pronghorn Antelope. It is short, fine and flexible on its first growth in autumn, but becomes longer as the season advances until in winter the hair is so thick and close-set that it stands erect. As the winter advances the dark tips of the hair are rubbed off, so that by spring the old males are quite white. A fine wool covers the skin under the hair. The Bighorn is very graceful in all its movements, and the light- ness and agility with which it scales the steepest bluffs, runs along the narrowest edge on the face of a precipice, or leaps from rock to rock in its descent from some mountain-top, are excelled by no animal with which we are familiar. Like all other wild ruminants, they feed early in the morning, and they retire during the middle of the day to points high up on the bluffs or mountains, where they rest until the sun is low in the heavens, Vv^hen they proceed again to their feeding grounds. Except during the rut which takes place during the month of December, the old rams are found in small bands by themselves, the females, lambs and young rams associat- ing together in companies of from five to twenty. Occasionally much larger herds are seen, but this only in a country where they have not been at all disturbed by man. The successful pursuit of this species requires the exercise on the part of the hunter of the utmost patience and deliberation : no animal is more shy and wary than the Bighorn, and if it receives the slightest hint of the enemy's presence, it is up and away, not to be seen again. No tyro in still hunting will succeed in securing one of these vigilant climbers, and we have seen many a hunter of experience who had yet to kill his first mountain sheep. The diffi- culties which attend the capture of this species, however, only serve to render its pursuit more attractive to the ardent sportsman, and when in a country where it abounds, buffalo, deer, antelope and even elk, are likely to be neglected for Bighorn. The flesh too is most delicious, and is regarded as far superior to any meat which the West affords. We know of no more delicate dish than is afforded by a yearling ewe in good order, seasoned with that won- 44 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. derful sauce furnished by the tree open air life of the plains and mountains. The glory of " fat cow " pales, and even elk and black- tailed deer meat hide their diminished heads before the rare tooth- someness of a juicy saddle, or the dripping ribs of a young and tender Bighorn. . ■>,«.•.. ,.i ^.» .;' . [.';.. ;' To hunt the Mountain Sheep successfully the candidate for honors should have had some experience with other large game, should have the patience and endurance possessed only by the most enthusiastic of sportsmen, and should be a fair shot with the rifle. In the grey of the morning, before attempting to look fc ■ his game, he should seek the highest ground in his vicinity, whence a wide view of the surrounding country may be obtained, and from this point with the good glass that is an indispensable part of a hunter's outfit, he should search the little ravines and grassy meadows running down from the hills. The sheep are always on the watch for enemies from the lower ground, but rarely turn their glances to the heights, which, if disturbed, they will seek for safety ; nor is the danger of being winded nearly so great when the hunter is above the game. The chief object to be accomplished is to discover the herd before it is aware of your presence ; after this the task becomes only a matter of the most careful stalking. All inequalities of the ground, all rocks and vegetation will be utilized by the skillful stalker who would approach within shot, and especially will the wind be regarded, for it is quite certain that if the baiid catch the scent of the hunter, his labor will all have been in vain. .;, . , The facility with which these animals descend the most abrupl precipices, and cross canons of which the sides are apparently ver- tical, has given rise to the idea, vouched for by many an imagina- tive hunter, that they can throw themselves from great heights and striking on their horns can rebound uninjured, and land on their feet. The vast size of the horns in the male, together with the fact that these are often battered and splintered, has caused many to re- ceive this statement as at least possible ; but it is scarcely necessary to say that even if the animal's head could stand the shock, its neck would not. Besides this the story makes no arrangement for the manner in which the females and young males, whose horns are but little larger than those of a goat, shall descend the cliffs, yet any one BIGHORN; MOUNTAIN SHEEP, 45 who is familiar with the species, knows well that these individuals are no less active and successful climbers than the rams. The splintered condition of the horns of the old males is due to their battles during the rutting season, and their play at all times of the year. The feet of the Mountain Sheep are precisely fitted for their life among the crags and precipices, and they seem to be able to cling to any surface which presents the slightest inequality. They can thus pass over dangerous places which would be certain death to any other quadruped except perhaps the White Goat. As has been remarked, the rutting season is in December, and the young are believed to be brought forth in March, although in some of the best works on Natural History the time of birth is variously stated as May or June. : f ■■",■■■:■•,■.■ •■>,.• •■■ ■ / ANTELOPE. Antilocapra Americana, — Ord. THE Antelope inhabits the plains of the western portion of North America. It does not now exist east of the looth meridian but occurs in suitable localities to the westward as far as California. Its northern range is bom\ded by the fifty-third paral- lel and it is found even south of the Rio Grande. It is essentially an animal of the plains, and is never found among timber, though abundant on many of the elevated plateaus which exist among the Rocky Mountains, in the great Interior Basin and toward the Pacific coast. The horns of the Antelope are black and rise from immediately above the orbit upward and outward without any inclination forward or backward. About half way up a flat triangular process rises, pointing forward and outward, from which the animal has received the appellation " Prong Horn." The horns within two or three inches of their extremities curve sharply, either toward each other almost meeting over the head, or backwards like the horn of the Chamois. One specimen which has come under the notice of the writer, had the point of one horn directed inward and the other backward. There is no re,"- 'arity in the way in which they point, but the tips are never directed either forward or outward. The general color of the upper parts of the body is a clear yellowish red which deepens on the dorsal line to a brownish black. The face and a spot below the ear are of the latter color. The under parts, with the posterior and inner surfaces of the legs, the cheeks, and ower jaw, two or three patches on the fore neck, the rump and tail are white. There are no false hoofs or dew-claws as in the genera Cervus and Bos. The length of the animal is about four and one half feet, and the height at the shoulders three feet. ■ ANTELOPE. 47 On the vast plains which the Antelope inhabits, and which are often level and always destitute of timber, it might be imagined that this animal would be secure from the attacks of any enemy. But the little ravines, by which these prairies are so often inter- sected, furnish a cover for the still hunter, and in a few localities the Antelope are hunted with greyhounds. Then too the senti- ment of curiosity is implanted so strongly in the nature of this animal, that it often leads him to reconnoitre too closely some object which he cannot clearly make out, and his investigations are pur- sued until the dire answer to all inquiries is given by the sharp " spang " of the rifle and the answering " spat " as the ball strikes the beautiful creature's flank. The Antelope is a very wary animal, and although it will often permit the hunter to advance within 500 or 600 yards without manifesting any great alarm, it is a very difficult matter to approach within easy range after it has once noticed his presence. As soon as the first suspicion of danger crosses the mind of the game, it betakes itself to the highest point of the bluffs near at hand, from which coign of vantage it watches with the utmost intentness the movements of its pursuer. Let not the latter vainly imagine that if, by a careful flank movement, he shall succeed in putting a bluff between himself and the object of his pursuit, he may still approach within shooting distance. At the instant of his disap- pearance, the Antelope is off again to the top of another bluff, and when the hunter cautiously raises his head to shoot, the animal is still as far off as before. In hunting the Antelope, and the rule applies to all large game, the hunter should endeavor to discover his game before it is aware of his proximity ; if he can accomplish this, his success, if he be a skillful stalker and the ground is favorable, will be assured ; if however the game has been made suspicious by seeing him, the chances against him are much increased. Should he discover a band before it has been disturbed, he will do well to bring his horse as near as possible to that spot from which he is to shoot, for an Antelope, though mortally wounded, will often run off for seme distance and will then conceal itself in the nearest ravine with such care that the hunter will be unable to discover it. Un- less the animal falls dead, the hunter should lose no time in 48 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. sprlnginfj on his horse and followin^r it. If the wound is a severe one and the horse llect, the Antelope may generally be secured by this means, though often only after a long chase. If however it be but slightly wounded another herd should be sought without delay. Pursuit under these circumstances will in all probability result only in injury to the steed, while the game will easily escape. The early morning, when the herds are feeding, is of course the best time to hunt the Antelope, and the sportsman who starts be- fore sunrise will get more shots during the first two hours hunt- ing than during all the rest of the day. The officers of posts in the Antelope country, often hunt them with greyhounds, and a most noble and exhilarating sport this is. To cope successfully in speed with these animals, however, dogs of unusual fleetness are required. Besides this the Antelope do not regard cactus at all, while a dog, in running through a thick bed of these pestiferous plants, may often be absolutely crippled. The dogs are brought within view, as near the quarry as possible, the hunters are to follow on their horses as best they may. The hounds having been slipped the chase begins. The startled herd stand gazing for an instant as if to determine the character of the approaching whirlwind, and then wheeling seem to float from view beyond the bluff. The dogs, fresh and eager, soon narrow the intervening space, but the Antelope, finding themselves so hotly pursued, redouble their exertions. In their headlong flight their hoofs scarce touch the ground. The hunters find difficulty in keeping the chase in view, but by dint of whip and spur, those best mounted are able to follow. The aspect of the " field " is continually changing. Stragglers are left behind, and winded dogs withdraw, till at the end of fifteen minutes the game has outstrip- ped men and dogs, or the exhausted quarry is dragged to the ground, and is soon dispatched by the panting, but exultant rider, who is first in at the death. During the Yellowstone expedition of 1873, General Stanley's dog Gibbon is said to have captured unaided, no less than twenty- four unwounded antelopes. There is probably no other dog in the country that can approach this record. Where Antelope are numerous, but the prairie is too level to afford the requisite cover for the stalker, the animals may some- AN TELOPE. 49 times be brought within shooting distance by playing upon their curiosity. The hunter approaches his game as closely as possible without alarming it, and then lying flat on the ground elevates a flag, handkerchief, arm or leg. This soon attracts the attention of the animals which proceed toward him, not directly but in cir- cles, and generally with many pauses and halts. Sometimes they will turn and run off as if quite satisfied, but before they have gone far, will circle round and advance again, approaching a little nearer than before. This continues for some time, and with care, the game may be brought within three or four hundred yards, but rarely nearer. The task requires more patience than most hunt- ers possess, and is only to be recommended to a man who is very hungry, or very tired of " sow belly " and anxious for fresh meat. The Antelope ruts about the ist of November, and drops its young, in couplets, about the middle of May. ';^"^':, MOOSE. Alee Americana. — Jardine. UNTIL within the last half centui j. the Moose was almost uni- versally distributed throughout the swamps and forests of North America north of the forty-third parallel of latitude. In many localities throughout the British Possessions it is still abundant, but in the eastern United States it has almost disappeared. It has been almost wholly confined within the last quarter of a century, in its southern range on the Atlantic coast, to the State of Maine, where there are still a very few living in the northwestern portions of that State in the vicinity of the upper waters of the St. John River, and far into the almost inaccessible parts northward of Moose Lake and adjacent to New Brunswick. The time is not far distant when this noble animal will iiOt inhabit our country. The process of extermi- nation is beinf ':arried forward with great rapidity. The Moose is also found in Uie West among the Rocky Mountains as far south as the northern boundary of Wyoming, and in the Sierra Nevadas and Coast Range throughout Idaho, Oregon, Washington Territory and Northern California. In the more thickly settled portions of Canada their range is somewhat limited, but in the Province of Quebec they are still met with about the Coulonge and Black Riv- ers, and eastward of Quebec down as far as the Saguenay. They are also more or less abundant in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The Moose is the largest member of the deer family ; a mature male standing higher than the average horse, measuring from seven- teen to eighteen hands, and often weighing over .1 thousand pounds. The males are considerably larger than the females. Their color is quite variable, depending upon season and climate, some being of an ashy grey, others of a darker grey, and a few in the autumn a glossy black. The extremities of their hairs are usually brown or black, and toward the centre and roots, dingy white. MOOSE. 51 I In the wilds of Nova Scotia, Moose have been seen W\i\\ spark- ling grizzly coats in September. The young are of a quakerish brown color, which grows darker with age. The hair is exceed- ingly coarse and strong, and somewhat brittle. That it breaks when bent is not true, since the squaws color and use it in their ornamental work. With the advance of winter the coats assume a darker hue, and the hairs grow longer and thicker. The necks ot the males are surmounted with a mane of stiff hairs, varying in length from five to ten inches, which, when the animals are enraged, bristle up like the mane of a lion. Two fleshy appendages —dew- laps of loose skins — hang from the throat, and are covered with long black hairs. The tail is very short, so short that Thoreau, in an examination of a moose in the Maine woods, overlooked it al- together. The most striking peculiarities of these animals are enormous length of legs, head, and ears, short and thick body, small eyes, immense nostrils, and an elongated, thick, ponderous, and flexible upper lip. And this lip is so peculiarly and curiously constructed as to warrant a full and particular description of its formation and use. Some writer has described it as of a "size between the lip of the horse and that of a tapir." It is square in shape and furrowed in the middle, appearing divided. The varied and rapid movements of this heavy protruding muscular develop- ment are due to four pairs of strong muscles arising from the max- illaries. The hind hoofs of the moose are perfectly formed, and so well proportioned as to make a beautiful foot ; long, slender, convex, and tapering. The horny points or spurs, and not the hoofs, make the clattering sound when the animal is in motion. The fore feet are flatter, somewhat shorter, and less tapering than the hind feet. The average length of the hoof in the mature ani- mal is about seven inches by four in greatest breadth, but they are sometimes much larger. The peculiar lip, long legs, and short neck have direct reference to the mode of life of these animals. They live only in forests, and subsist alone by browsing, since in the wild state they never graze. Their long fore legs enable them, to reach far up into birch and maple trees to seL"-"'j the tender and nutritious branches, and to feed on the side of lieep acclivities where the moosewood and the willow trees grow in great abundance. By these giraffe-like legs 52 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. they are also enabled to obtain foliage out of reach by riding down young trees. And the lip is used as a hand in seizing, tearing off, and gathering the twigs and leaves of trees and carrying them to the mouth. The horns of the full grown Moose are most striking and im- pressive, both from their size and peculiarities, and merit somewhat detailed description. The young bull moose grows two knobs, of from one to two inches long, the first season. These are not cast in the fall of the first or second year. When a year old these knobs are developed into spike horns, —rying from five to eight inches in length, and remain on the head until the following April or May, when they drop off, and are replaced by long cylindrical or forked horns ; in the fourth year they begin to branch forward and become palmated ; in the fifth and sixth years they grow in a triangular form, the palmated portions ending in from five to eight points or fingers, the whole resembling an expanded hand. The moose produces the most perfectly developed antlers after the fifth year, the horns of a mature animal often measuring from the root to the extremity, following the curve, four and five feet, as much across from tip to tip, and the palm on the widest surface sixteen inches. They cast their horns annually, after the second year, during the months of December and January, and so prodigious is the growth that by the following August they are furnished with a new and complete set. During the summer months these, as is the case with all deer, are covered with what hunters call velvet. During the velvet state the horns are so tender as to bleed freely when cut, and may like vegetables be sliced with a knife. They begin to harden in the month of August, and animals are sometimes seen in the latter part of that month with peeled and ripe horns. Usually, however, it is in the month of September that this velvet peels oft and leaves the antlers hard. In August the velvet splits into nar- row pieces, and oftentimes the antlers are seen draped with ribbons. Only the males have horns, yet we have been told of three cows killed bearing small antlers. This is not improbable, since female deer (C. Virgintanns) have been known to bear horns. These antlers sometimes attain a weight of sixty pounds. The period of gestation with the moose is about nine months. They bring forth aliout the middle of May one calf the first and second m MOOSE. 53 1 years, and afterwards two at a birth. Very old cows become bar- ren. With the mother the summer is a season of retirement. She goes alone to the wildest unfrequented, moss-covered swamps of the forest, and never leaves them until the month of September, when she comes forth to select a companion. No doubt but that she withdraws to these deep recesses near lakes to protect her young from carnivorous animals, and the bull moose. The calves continue to follow the mother long after she ceases to feed them. It is probable that in many cases they keep with her until they are two or three years old. The Moose is much annoyed during the warm weather by the attacks of flies and mosquitoes, and at this season they remain in the vicinity of lakes, feeding on aquatic plants, standing much of the time in water, where they will remain for hours immersed with nothing but their noses above the surface. Here they feed upon the roots, stalks, and leaves of the yellow lily. Their habit of reaching under water, so as to feed on the roots of these plants, gave rise to the Indian belief that the moose possessed the power of remaining under water the whole day. That they entirely dis- appear from view when thus feeding is well established, but that they can live under water for any length of time is only credited by In- dians. They are strong and rapid swimmers, and have been known to cross a distance of two miles from one shore to another. The Moose on the ist of September, the beginning of the rut- ting season, commence to " travel up," as the Indians term it, and in a few days work out of the bogs and marshes and appear on the higher lands of the forest. During this period — September and October — the bull moose drinks and feeds but little for days at a time. He stalks the forest a proud, haughty, defiant monarch, con- scious of his strength and beauty, with horns stripped of the last ribbon of deciduous skin, and polished by constant rubbing against the hacmatack, and with immense round powerful neck, and in the finest bodily vigor and condition. He goes forth to assert his de- mands among his rivals. He is no longer timorous and shy, but bold, defiant, and dangerous. His weapons are h's horns and hoofs, and few animals can use the latter to better advantage. At this time he loses in a measure his fear of man and if only 54 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. wounded will not hesitate to attack the hunter with the utmost fury. In this season no animal could present a nobler appearance. View him as he stands with glossy coat glistening- in the early sun, with wide-spread antlers upward stretched like the hands of some fable god, and say if you can, that there is nothing in him to admire. He at times during this period becomes furious with rage, tearing wildly through the thickets, pawing the earth with his feet, and making dead branches crack like pistol shots. This is when, as the Indians say, he is " real mad." This is in reality the bel- lowing season. The bull roars, and utters his peculiar, short, gut- tural sounds, and the cow pours forth a wild, prolonged call. Th', latter goes forth of a still October night, with the go'- down CI the sun, to some high barren ridge, surrounded with >. ^ep and heavy forests, and there she bellows forth the wildest of straiub until answered by the bull. We believe the call may be heard on a still night three miles or more. During this season the bulls fight many desperate battles. In these conflicts one or both are sometimes killed. With the close of the rutting season (November ist) the bull Moose appears like another animal. He no longer trails through the forest bidding defiance to his foes, but mopes along with down- cast head and dragging limbs, paying little or no attention to pass- ing events. His coat is now rough and dingy, and his antlers seem to serve no purpose save as a heavy weight to keep his head bowed down. He is cadaverous, gaunt, and exceedingly stupid. Recovering not from his fall campaign, he remains poor until the next spring when he again rallies. About the ist of November Moose begin to look about for winter quarters. These are usually selected with reference to the abundance of white birch, maples (white, striped, swamp,) poplar, witch hazel, moun- tain ash, and the different species of firs. While Moose are not gregarious, several are often found feed- ing together in what are called moose yards. These yards are simply their feeding grounds, and are made by the animals' con- stant browsing about the pasture grounds, and are not the result jf plan or thought. During the time of the falling of snow they go around browsing, following each other unconsciously making MOOSE, 55 paths. Of course, this process is kept up every day, so that when \ the snow becomes very deep they have well-beaten roads running in every direction over quite a large territory. They have a very delicate way of eating, nibbling only a little at a time. It some- times happens ere the snow lies very deep on the ground that they change and form new yards. They never venture far, however, after the first snow falls, in search of new browsing pastures, and the change is never made unless there be a necessity for it in the scarcity of food and imperfect shelter. The Moose cannot be strictly called a migratory animal, since it never leaves its native ground and forests for strange lands and woods. True, they are obliged to visit and live in the different neighborhoods of their own wilds in order that they may obtain sufficient food, but this can hardly be called migration. The Moose is easily tamed, and can be broken to the harness without much difficulty. There was one some years ago, owned by an old man in Nova Scotia, which he drove to town and drew wood with. The author of " Camp Life " tells us of riding several miles in Maine after one of t'iese animals. From Pennant we learn that they were formerly used in Sweden to draw sledges, but the escape of criminals being often facilitated by their speed, their use for this purpose was prohibited under heavy penalties. The Moose is hunted in a variety of ways, but whatever be the method employed, great care and skill must be exercised to cap- ture it. Calling, stalking, hounding and running down on snow shoes are the most common means by which it is captured. The first of these methods is employed on moonlight nights and only during the rutting season ; and consists in luring the bull to the spot where the hunter is concealed by imitating the call of the cow. The Indian guides of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, if not the only men that can imitate this cry, are at all events by far the most successful callers, and when this description of hunting is to be engaged in the services of one or more of these men are essential requisites to success. The " call " which they use to produce the deceptive sound is a trumpet of birch bark about eighteen inches long—the small end an inch in diameter and the large end about four or five. With this simple instrument, long practice enables a good hunter to imitate the lowing of the cow moose so perfectly $6 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. that the finest ear can scarcely distinguish between the real and simulated sound, ^7 The sportsman being concealed in the bushes, the caller ascends 'f, ^ to a tree near at hand, and proceeds to sound the note of the cow 1;^ which is promptly responded to by any bulls in the vicinity. The oldest and strongest of these at once advance to secure the favors of the supposed female, and to do battle with any rival that may be on the ground. Sometimes when two old males are hastening to the spot whence the call proceeds, they meet, and a furious com- bat ensues. If however there is only one male near at hand, by delicate manipulation of the call, the animal is sometimes drawn to within a few yards of the hunter, who is usually enabled to shoot it dead at the first fire. JP Of stalking it is unnecessary to speak at length, since the same directions for this mode of hunting apply to the Moose as to other animals, with some minor modifications, depending on the nature of the country. Hounding is practiced during the winter when the snow covers the ground. Having found the game or very fresh "sign" the dogs are slipped, and the Moose is soon brought to bay, especially if the snow is deep and crusted. Its attention is then so occupied that the hunter has little difficulty in approaching, and giving the fatal wound. These animals are also run down during the deep snows ot winter by hunters on snow-shoes. This requires great power and endurance, but very little sportsmanlike skill. Although the legs of the Moose are long, and it can travel with considerable ease through drifts of moderate depth, it is easily overtaken when a crust, hard yet not sufficiently strong to support it, covers the sur- face of the snow. The poor animal breaks through at every step, its legs are cut and bleeding, and its enormous powers are before long exhausted. The hunter coming up, can butcher it at his lei- sure. By this means in severe winters many of these noble beasts are slaughtered for their hides alone. The gradual destruction of the Moose is a matter of history. Space and time are both too valuable for the discussion of such an unprofitable subject. The being with the skin and clothes of a white man, who in one winter butchered seventy-five of them for MOOSE. 57 their hides alone, leaving their meat to pollute the air, still flourishes on the upper waters of the Passadumkeag in Maine. His memory deserves to be execrated more than him who burned the celebrated temple of antiquity, for destroyed temples can be rebuilt, but ex- terminated species cannot be recreated. »" •K-n, -'.■'> > cV y.^ t/, »". - , I *" n BARREN GROUND CARIBOU. Rangifer groenlandicus. — Baird. OF the Barren Ground Caribou but little is known beyond what is contained in the very interesting account given of this animal by Sir John Richardson in his Fauna Boreali Ameri- cana (London, 1829, Mammalia, p. 241). Although the two Ameri- can species of the genus have been separated by high authorities, the distinctions between them are not well defined, and would seem to be of doubtful specific value. The chief differences mentioned by the various writers who have discussed this matter, are, the smaller size of the northern I'orm, R. groenlandtciis, and its pro- protionately larger horns. The following note by Mr. R. Morrow, published in 1876, is of interest as bearing somewhat on the ques- tion of their identity : — " Our Caribou (woodland van) has a peculiar liver, rather small, ovate, long diameter nine inches, short diameter six inches, (from an animal supposed to be about eighteen months old,) situated on the right side, long diameter nearly parallel with the back bone, divided almost in the centre by a shallow sulcus, and having a protuberance, or small, somewhat conical lobe, which the butcher calls a button, upon the upper part of the concave side, with a broad base, and another very small one like a flat teat, not inva- riably present however, in the same line as the large one, one and a half inches below it, in size about half an inch long, three- eighths of an inch wide, and about one-eighth of an inch thick ; and it has no gall bladder. It is more than probable that this form of liver and absence of the gall bladder is common to the deer tribe : Goldsmith says ' all the deer tribe want the gall bladder.' " I have never seen a Barren Ground Caribou, nor any descrip- tion of the animal giving the peculiarity in the form of the liver of BARREN GROUND CARIBOU. 59 this species, so called ; but the structure of the Barren Ground and woodland varieties of Caribou is most likely the same, and the dif- ference in size and horns is probably due to climate and food, while the migrations in contrary directions of the two ' varieties in the barren grounds' and 'woodland districts' of Sir John Richardson, may be accounted for by the fact that each is taking its nearest course to the sea coast. "Dr. Gilpin, in a paper read February ii, 1871, says, speaking of the varieties, ' Reindeer, Caribou, and Woodland Caribou, are their local names. In addition to this the extreme north possesses a deer smaller than any of those, with much larger horns, and with no gall bladder ; otherwise the same. Sir John Richardson calls them a permanent variety, naming them Barren Ground Caribou. The absence of the gall bladder seems a very great di- vergence ; yet can any one tell me has our Caribou one } ' With regard to the gall bladder I know that Dr. Gilpin has been for some time aware that our Caribou does not possess one, but he has not mentioned the peculiar form of the liver, nor do I think that it has been previously noticed." The Barren Ground Caribou inhabits Arctic America, and in its migrations it is said never to proceed farther south than Fort Churchill, which is situated near the fifty-ninth parallel of latitude. It is, when compared with the Woodland variety, quite a small ani- mal, a buck in fair condition weighing when dressed only about one hundred pounds. Nor is it as shy and difficult of approach as the preceding species, no doubt because it is not so much hunted. At the approach of winter, this species, which has passed the summer on the shores and islands of the Arctic Sea, retires south- ward to the wooded districts, where it feeds on ihe mosses and lichens which hang from the trees, and on the long grass of the swamps. In May the females commence their advance northward and are followed by the males about a month later. Except du- ring the rutting season, the males and females do not associate to- gether, but live in separate herds. The females give birth to their young on reaching the coast, and by the time the return journey is commenced, which is in September, the fawns are well grown and strong. The Barren Ground Caribou is said to constitute almost the 6o GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. entire means of subsistence of the Indians who inhabit the deso- late regions of the far North, and they would be utterly unable to exist were it not for the immense herds of these deer. This ani- mal furnishes them with food, clothing, tents, fish-spears, hooks, nets, and indeed with all the implements which they use or require. The Esquimaux shoot them, and also take them in traps constructed of ice or snow, and the Indians capture them in pounds, and kill them in large numbers while swimming the rivers. It is remarkable that the horns of the caribou vary more than those of any other s])ecies of deer, in fact no two adult stags have horns precisely alike. Some very remarkable antlers have been brought to our notice at various times ; one pair so lofty that when reversed on the shoulders of a man five feet ten inches in height, the horns touch the ground. Another pair has thirty-two points, including those on the brow, one of which is palmated, while the other is a mere snag. These horns, with just sufficient skull left to hold them together, weigh thirty-two pounds. Others are perfectly straight, and have the brow-antlers of similar form. The horns of the female are probably never palmated, but are slender and straight. A careful investigation into the anaton>y of this species will, it is hoped, before long be made. In this way only can its relations to the Woodland variety be ascertained, and the affinities of the North American Caribou with the Reindeer of Europe be deter- mined. •( ■ T . •» WOODLAND CARIBOU. Rangi/er caribou. — Aud. and Bach. THE Woodland Caribou is a near relative of the reindeer of Northern Europe, and since this genus alone of all the deer tribe has been donnesticated, we may regard it as the most useful, if not the most comely of its race. The clear, dark eye of the Caribou has a beautiful expression, but the animal has neither the grand proportions of the wapiti, nor the grace of the roe buck, and its thick, square formed body is far from being a model of elegance. The front hoofs are capable of great lateral expansion, and curve upwards, while the secondary ones behind, which are but slightly developed in other members of the family, are considerably pro- longed, a structure which, by giving the animal a broader base to stand upon, prevents its sinking too deeply into the snow or morass. The short legs and broad feet of the Caribou likewise enable him to swim with great ease, a power of no small importance in a country abounding in lakes and rapid rivers, and where scarcity of food renders frequent migrations necessary. When the Caribou moves a remarkable clattering sound may be heard some distance. This is produced by the long hoofs which separate as they press the ground and close when raised. A long mane of dirty white hangs from the neck of this deer. In summer the body is brown above and white beneath. In winter, long haired and yellowish white. Its antlers are widely different from those of the stag or wapiti, having broad, palmated summits, and branching backward to the length of three or four feet ; their weight is considerable, twenty or twenty-five pounds, and it is re- markable that both sexes have horns, while in all other genera of the deer tribe the males alone are in possession of this ornament or weapon. The female brings forth in May or June a single calf, rarely two. This is small and weak, but after a few days follows its mother. 62 GAME AXIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. who suckles her young hut a short time, as it is soon able to seek its food. The only food of the Caribou during the winter, is said to be the moss known as Lichen rangi/en'na, and his instinct and acute- ness of olfactories in discovering it is surprising. No matter how deep this lichen is buried, the animal is aware of its presence the moment he comes to the spot. Having first ascertained by thrust- ing his muz/.le into the snow whether the moss lies below or not, he begins making a hole with his fore feet, and continues working until at length he uncovers the lichen. When the snow is too deep, as sometimes happens, he betakes himself to the forests and feeds upon another lichen which hangs on pine trees. In summer their food is of a different nature. They then feed upon green herbs or the leaves of trees. Judging fi jm appearances of Lichen rangiferina in the hot months, when it is dry and brittle, one might easily wonder that so large a quadruped as the Caribou should make it his favorite food and fatten upon it ; but toward the month of September it becomes soft, tender and damp, with a taste like wheat bean. In this state its luxuriant and flowery ramifications somewhat resemble the leaves of endive, and ar*^ as white as snow. Wherever the Caribou abound they are eagerly hunted, for their flesh, when in season, is most delicious. Then, too, in dis- tricts where they have been much persecuted, they become very shy and watchful, so that it requires no little skill to capture them. But besides the attacks of its human enemies, the Caribou is sub- ject to the persecutions of two species of gad fly. The one de- posits its glutinous eggs upon the animal's back. The larvae, on creeping out, immediately bore into the skin, where they cause swellings or boils an inch or more in diameter, with an opening at the top of each, through which the larvae may be seen embed- ded in the purulent fluid. Aware of the danger, the Caribou runs wild and furious as soon as he hears the buzzing of this fly, and seeks refuge in the nearest water. The other species of fly lays its eggs in the nostrils of the deer, and the larvae boring into the fauces and beneath the tongue of the poor animal, are a great source of annoyance. .,.,: In Newfoundland the Caribou are still quite abundant, though WOODLAND CARIBOU. 63 the vast number of deer paths which, hke a net work, seam the surface of the interior in all directions, show that the number of deer was formerly enormous. Their great enemies are the wolves, which are continually chasing them from place to place, especially during the winter months, when the deer leave the mountams and come to the jilains below to feed on the " browse " of the birch. A few settlers who are in the habit of deer stalking, go into the hills in pursuit of deer about the middle of September, which is just prior to the rutting season, and consequently at a time when the stags are in their best condition The migrations of the Newfoundland reindeer are as regular as the seasons, between the southeastern and northwestern portions of the island. The winter months are passed in the south, where •' browse " is plentiful, and the snow on the lower grounds is not so deep as to prevent them from reaching the lichens. In March, when the sun becomes more powerful, so that the snow is softened by its rays, permitting them to scrape it off and reach the herbage beneath, the reindeer turn their faces toward the north- west, and begin their spring migration. The whole surface of the country is now alive with the deer, as herd follows herd in rapid succession, each led by a noble stag as tall as a horse, and all bending their course, in parallel lines, toward the hills of the west and northwest. Here they arrive from the middle to the end of April, and amid the rocky barrens and mountains, wheie their favorite moss abounds, they remain until October. Here they bring forth their young, and here they are in a measure free from the persecutions of the terrible flies above referred to. So soon, however, as the frosts of October begin to nip the vegetation they turn toward the south and east, and repeat their long march in the same manner, and pursuing the same paths as when on their northern migration. Thus for countless r 1- turies, it may be, have these innumerable herds been moving r' j the same route, unless when interrupted by the Indians or the irregularities of the seasons. Their movements are generally in parallel lines, uidess where the narrow necks of land, separating lakes, or the running waters or straits uniting them, or intervening chains of hills, cause them to concentrate on one point. It was at such points that the Boeothics, or indigenous Red Indians, were ^4 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. accustomed to wait for the deer, and slaughter them in great num- bers. Not content with this> however, they erected deer fences, the remains of which can still be traced for many miles. Inland from Notre Dame Bay and far to the northwest of Red Indian Lake, a double line of strong fence was put up by the Indians, which at its commencement diverged many miles. The southern fence ran down to the lake, so that deer should thus come near their own encampment ; and the northern line was to prevent their escape near the shore. The northern fence ran down to the river Exploits, along the bank of which another fence was raised, with openings at particular places for the deer to go to the river and swim across. These openings were called " passes." A number of men now go within the fence, and from the wider enclosure they drive them to the narrow part, or to passes of the river where others were stationed, and thus killed the deer at their leisure. These deer fences are actually seen to extend thirty miles on the river Exploits, and how far into the interior no white man can tell. They are formed by felling trees, and must have cost immense labor. The tribe which constructed them originally must have been numerous and powerful, though now without a single living representative. The Indians, especially the Mic-Macs, have another method of capturing the deer, which if it were not well attested, would seem almost incredible. Some of these Indian hunters will actually run down a stag. Only when fat is the stag worth such an arduous pursuit, and then only is he liable to such fatigued exhaustion. The hunter will commence the chase early in the day, and follow it up without intermission, and before night will make the stag his prey without firing a shot. The stag at first easily outstrips his pursuer, but after a run of four or fiv*. miles he stops, and is by and by overtaken. He lies down fatigued but is again surprised ; and thus the chase is kept up until the poor stag plunges into a pool or morass to escape, where he soon meets his dc >m, man at length winning the day. How useful the tamed reindeer might become to the New- foundlander, may be imagined from what we read of the Lapland reindeer. It can draw a sledge over the frozen snow at the rate of twenty miles an hour. To the Laplander the reindeer is every- WOODLAND CARIBOU. 65 thing; and in his cold and barren country, covered with snow and ice nine months of the year, and producing few vegetables, he would perish were it not for the milk and flesh of the animal. The country of the Woodland Caribou includes Newfound- land, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Labrador and Canada, and is said to extend westward through a narrow strip of well wooded territory about one hundred miles wide from Lake Superior to Lake Athabasca. To the northward it is replaced by the Barren Ground Caribou. The only method of taking the Woodland Caribou is by stalk- ing. If there be snow on the ground, the hunters follow the tracks of the animals, and by great care are often enabled to come within shot of them. When there is no snow and the deer cannot be tracked, a tall tree is climbed and the neighboring country is swept with a glass until a drove of Caribou are seen feeding in one of the open treeless spots called " Caribou Barrens." The bear- ings of their position are taken, and the hunters proceed to stalk them. Guides, men familiar with the haunts and habits of these animals, are essential to the successful pursuit of the Caribou in regions where it is much hunted. The Indians and half breeds are highly recommended for this work, though no doubt whites of experience are quite as serviceable. ELK, WAPITI. Cervus Canadensis . — Erxleben. " '' I '•HE antlered monarch of the waste." How applicable is J_ this term to the stately elk, the giant deer of the forest, the plains and the mountains of North America. Standing as tall as a horse, bearing a superb pair of antlers worthy to adorn any baronial hall, with senses than which no keener can be found among all our varied examples of animal life, and a form, faultless in the grace and symmetry of its outlines, the Wapiti justly holds the first place among the game animals of our continent. It is in the sportsman's breast that the Elk arouses the greatest enthusiasm, yet his grace and beauty might well attract the pencil of the artist, and his great size and wonderful powers of endurance furnish an exhaustless theme for the pen of poet and romancer. No more striking and beautiful sight can be imagined than a band of these animals just started from their feeding ground. Their swift and swinging trot, as they move off over the rough ground or through the tangled forest, is the poetry of motion. Each grand bull carries his head well up and his polished antlers stretch far back over his flanks. The more dainty and light-footed cows press to the front and with their calves first disappear, and in a moment more the last of the bulls vanishes over the top of the neighboring bluff. Then perhaps, oh reader, you advance from your place of concealment, and w'th feelings of indescribable pride and exultation stand over your first bull elk. In former times the Wapiti seems to have been distributed throughout the whole of North America, south of the Great Lakes on the eastern side of the continent, but extending northward as far as the fifty-sixth or fifty-seventh parallel of latitude on the plains and in the mountains. It was abundant in California, and nowhere more so than on the banks of the San Joaquin, about which stream all old Calilbrnians are so enthusiastic. In Northern ELK, WAPITL ^7 California it still exists, though not in such numbers as formerly. East of the Missouri River there are one or two localities where the Elk still linger, though in sadly diminished numbers. One of these is in Michigan, in a tract of almost impenetrable forest land. A few have been reported to inhabit the wildest and most unsettled portions of the Alleghany Mountains in Pennsylvania, but this is merely a tradition and it is doubtful whether any exist there at present. The species is now almost entirely confined to the high plains of the Missouri region, and the mountains which stretch away to the westward toward the Pacific Ocean. Here the Elk in many localities is still to be found, but the onward march of the settlements, and continual ravages of the skin hunter, or as he is contemptuously styled by the better class of frontiersmen, the " Elk Skinner," are driving them farther and farther back, and are constantly reducing their numbers. As has been remarked the Elk stands about as tall as a horse, but its proportions are those of a deer. Its horns are long and branching, and are generally very symmetrical. They usually attain a length of five or six feet and often weigh sixty or seventy pounds. In color the Elk is, during the summer months, light reddish chest- nut. At the approach of autumn the coat becomes darker and the length of the hairs increases until in winter, the longer hairs be- coming tipped with pale brown, a greyish cast is imparted to the whole pelage. A triangular patch of pale yellow is seen on the rump and includes the tail, which is very short. The bull elk, e.. -'pt in summer, has a gro^"*h of long hair on the neck and breast which the cow does not possess at any season. The latter differs from the male in being somewhat smaller, and in lacking horns. Elk rut early in September and it is only at this season that the peculiar " whistling " of the bulls is to be heard. The rut lasts but a short time, and at the end of the season the bulls are much run down and are very thin. They soon recuperate however and by the last of November are quite fat and in good order. The females bring forth their young late in May or early in June, and some time before this important event takes place, withdraw from the herd and remain in the thickest brush preparing for the duties of maternity. At this time too, the bulls are having trouble with 68 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. their horns. These huge weapons are grown in about four months, and it will readily be conceived that the drain upon the animal's strength is thus enormous. The bulls laie in July are more thin and weak than the cows, which have for two months been suckling their calves. In a mountain country the males are now to be found on the highest ridges, feeding above timber line and passing most of their time in the densest thickets where they are in a measure protected from the flies. On the plrins, they spend most of their time lying in the thick willow brush which lines the borders of the streams. The cow Elk produces usually only one calf, and no instance of the birth of twins has ever come under our obseiTation. The calf is a beautiful little creature, spotted like a red deer's fawn, which it much resembles in general appearance. As already re- marked, the " whistling " of the Elk is heard only for a few days during the early part of September. It is made up of several parts, and is so peculiar a cry that it can hardly be described, much less imitated. The first part consists of a prolonged, shrill whis- tle, which seems to come to the hearer from a long distance, even though the animal uttering it be quite near at hand. This is fol- lowed by a succession of short grunting brays or barks, three or four in number, and the call is completed by a low, smooth bel- low. Sometimes the whistle is sounded without the succeeding parts. Withal, the cry is an odd one, and once heard will always afterward be recognized. The whistle is ver)' musical, and no more delightful sound can come to the sportsman's ear, as in the grey dawn of the morning he ascends a mountain side to obtain a good view of the undula- ting slopes and park like openings, which stretch away toward the valley beyond. Watch carefully brother, keep yourself well con- cealed, and be sure that the wind is right. Then when you spy the herd, slip cautiously down yon little ravine, and you will ere long be within easy reach of as fine a bull as hunter ever bagged. The Elk and Mule Deer differ widely in many of their habits from the Virginia Deer, and in nothing more than their intense fear of man, and then hatred of the " march of civilization," so- called. While the White-tail, if shot at or pursued with hounds, will only run far enough to escape the immediate danger, and ELK. WAPITI. 6g will in a short lime return to his accustomed haunts, the Elk and Mule Deer will almost immediately desert a country where they have been much shot at, and the sound of a gun, even though at a great distance, will alarm all the bands within hearing. For this reason, hunters, in the mountains where the report of a gun is taken up, and a thousand times repeated by the echoes, use a rifle which carries but a small charge of powder, as the Smith and Wesson rifle or the Winchester ; stating that the needle gun with its 70 grains of powder makes too much noise, frightening^ or at least rendering suspicious all the game in the neighborhood. Old hunters have a saying, that a band of Elk when fairly started, will not stop until they have crossed flowing water ; and a plainsman of experience and reliability, in whose company we have often hunted, said to us once, as a noble band of Elk disappeared over the bluffs, on the north bank of the Loup Fork ; •' those fellows won't stop until they have crossed the Running Water." This stream, perhaps better known in the " States " as the Niobrara, was forty miles distant, yet we doubt not that the Elk were able to keep up their swift trot until they reached that stream. The usual gait of the Elk, when much alarmed, is the long swinging trot before referred to, which is a far more rapid gait than would be imagined by one who has had no experience of the rate at which these animals move. A very good horse will have great difficulty in keeping up with a trotting Elk unless the coun- try is exceptionally favorable. The Elk, however, cares nothing for the character of the ground which it traverses, or rather seems to prefer that which is worst for a horse. It apparently moves quite as fast through the most rugged Bad Lands, or along the side of a mountain, rough with huge rocks -and down timber, as over the smoothly undulating prairies of the open country. Moreover this trot does not seem to tire it at all, and it can keep up the gait for an indefinite length of time. Its run, and it only runs when very badly frightened, is an awkward clumsy gallop, utterly devoid of grace, but somewhat swifter than its trot. Running however is very exhausting to the animal, a.id an essential to success in pur- suing the Elk on horseback is to get him to break his trot. If that can be done and the country favors the horse, the hunter may succeed in getting along side. The writer remembers on one occa- 70 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. sion to have followed on an unusually fast pony, a cow Elk whose hind leg he had broken, for two miles before getting near enough to shoot from the saddle and kill her. In this case every thing favored the horse and he was put through at railroad speed. The Elk was quite thin, and really seemed to run just about as fast after receiving the wound as she did before. The most successful method of capturing this royal game is by stalking, though to succeed in approaching a band of Elk requires no little care and skill, and is a good test of the sportsman's capa- bilities as a still hunter. On the Loup Fork and its branches, in years gone by, the writer has enjoyed glorious sport with this game, and it is no doubt still abundant in the section beyond the settle- ments. The Loup is a miniature Platte (of which it is a tributary), in very many respects, and drains with its branches much of north- western Nebraska. The upper Middle Loup, where much of our hunting has been done, has the same broad channel and innumer- able sand-bars. Its low banks and many islands are densely covered with a thick, tall growth of coarse grass, weeds, and willow brush. The country lying adjacent to this river, and its main branch, the Dismal, is, to say the least, very hilly, being composed of ranges of bluffs lying parallel to the river, and succeeding each other at intervals of one or more miles as far as the eye can reach. '^1 itervening valleys are made up of sharp ridges and steep- sided knolls, usually but a few yards apart. Deep canons from the river, wind out into the various ranges, furnishing timber of several kinds, including cedar, elm, ash, box-elder, and many brush thickets. The first grows in thick dark clumps along the steep sides, and is intermixed with ■ the latter varieties along the level floor-like bottoms of the caiions. Such grasses as are indigenous to the soil, among which is the famous buffalo or gramme grass grow sparsely on the up-lands. The lowlands furnish a rank growth of "blue-stem," or "blue-joint," everywhere common in the West. This country has long been a favorite feeding ground of the Elk, and here for centuries it has been hunted by the Sioux and Pawnees. The outfit necessary for pleasant and successful hunting in this country, should be, in addition to the usual covered wagon ant' ELK, WAPITI. 71 camping utensils, an extra, steady-going saddle horse, accustomed to the picket-rope, and not easily frightened by the use of fire-arms. The clothing should be of heavy woolen material, and of a pale yellowish- brown. The rifle used should be breech- loading, of small bore, heavy charge and light express, or an explosive ball. Such a rifle is found to have the main elements which make up a good hunting gun. It gives a flat trajectory up to three hundred yards, outside hunting range, and is deadly enough for the largest elk. A powerful field glass will be found a most useful accessory. Sportsmen who intend to bring back with them the heads of Elk which they may kill, will do well to provide themselves with some presen^'^tive to be applied to the skin, especiaHv about the nose, lips and eyes. Dry arsenic is as good as anytliing, and is besides inexpensive, and easily carried and applied. Few sportsmen, we imagine, realize that the days of the Elk as well as of the buffalo are numbered, and that this beautiful and magnificent game will soon live only in the annals of the past. This state of things we owe to the presence in the wilder portions of the country of the skin hunter. What is true of the Elk, is also true to a greater or less extent of all our game animals. Good hunting is at present scarcely to be found east of the Missouri River. West of that stream, however, there is a wide extent of territory, in many parts of which large game of all de- scriptions may still be found in considerable abundance by those who are sufficiently acquainted with the country to know where to look for it. There remain on the plains and in the mountains seven species of ruminants that are sufficiently abundant to make it well worth while that the different State and Territorial Govern- ments should attempt, before it is too late, to protect their game by severe laws. Buffalo, elk, white-tailed deer, mule deer, antelope, mountain sheep and moose are still to be found in considerable numbers in various portions of the trans-Missouri States and Terri- tories, but owing to a savage and indiscriminating warfare which has been inaugurated against them within the past few years, their numbers are decreasing more rapidly than ever before. Most of us remember the good service done some years ago by General Hazen, in bringing before the public the facts in regard to the wanton destruction of the buffVilo along the line of the 72 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. Smoky Hill Road in Kansas and Colorado. The discussion at that time, resulted in the adoption of some measures to protect the buffalo, though it is to be hoped that ere long still more stringent laws may be enacted and enforced. But we have just now to speak of a country distant from the railroads, out of the way of the average tourist, and far from the haunts even of the gentleman sportsman ; we refer to the territory lying between the Missouri River and the main divide of the Rocky Mountains, north of the Union Pacific Railroad. It is in this region that the most abundant supplies of wild game are to be found, and it is here that these animals are slaughtered for their hides alone, by the professional hunter. Buffalo, elk, mule deer and antelope suffer most, and in the order in which they are here mentioned. They are destroyed with- out rgardto season ; the hides only are taken and the meat left to feed the wolves, or to rot when the spring opens. We know directly of thirty-four cow Elk killed out of a band of forty, about the mid- dle of April, 1875, by one man. The snows were deep, and the butcher followed the poor animals until all but six were slain. Each of these animals, if allowed to live, would have produced a calf in a little over a month after the time of its slaughter. Here then were sixty-eight elk killed by one man in a day and a half. It is estimated from reliable information, that in the winter of 1874-5, during the deep snows, over three thousand elk were killed for their hides in the valley of the Yellowstone, between the mouth of Trail Creek and the Hot Springs. For the territories of Wyoming and Montana, the destruction must have been twenty times as great. An elk skin is worth from $2.50 to ^4, and to secure that pitiful sum this beautiful life is taken, and from three to five hundred pounds of the most delicate meat is left on the ground. A buffalo hide is worth $1.50 in September, $2 in October, and $2.50 in November, and at those prices many men can be found to do the work of butchery. For, as many of us know by experience, a man without any pretensions to being a skilful hunt- er can slaughter a dozen or two buffalo in a day wherever they are numerous. Mule deer and antelope are more difficult to kill, but in these days of breech-loading rifies, a fair shot can kill several out ELK, WAPITI. 73 of a band before the rest can get out of reach. It is a melancholy sight to see as we have seen in a morning's march, half a dozen fresh doe antelope carcasses stripped of their skins, with the milk still trickling from their udders ; and it is sad to think that in ad- c'ilion two little kids must starve for each of these. « • Mountain sheep and moose do not suffer to any considerable extent from these skin hunters. They are too wary to be success- fully pursued by these men, many of whom are vagabonds of the most worthless description. There are some good hunters and good fellows among them ; men who would gladly relinquish the business could it be wholly stopped, but who think and say that if the game is to be exterminated, they must make the most of it while it lasts. Taken as a whole, however, they are a miserable set, and many of them do not kill more than enough to keep them- selves in provisions and ammunition from month to month. This skin hunting is quite a new thing in the territory, having been initiated, as has been said, only three or four years ago. In 1872 or '73 a firm of Fort Benton traders, who have since achieved an unenviable notoriety by selling arms and ammunition to the hostile Sioux, conceived the idea of fitting out parties to kill game for the hides, and the result was so successful that the trade in wild hides has been increasing ever since. What now can be done to remedy this state of affiiirs } Strin- gent lavv^s should be enacted, and not only enacted but enforced. Game should not be killed except for food, and then only during the autumn. In other words, no more game should be killed thau the hunter can use, and indiscriminate hunting at any and all sea- sons should be prevented. But we know that legislative bodies move slowly, and that knots in red tape are as difficult to untie as that of Gordius of old. In the meantime much, very much, may be done by the officers of the army who are stationed on the fron- tier. The skin hunters who, of course, violate the laws of all the territories which have game laws, may be warned off, arrested, and so annoyed that they will in future sedulously avoid the vicinity of posts where they have received such treatment. Action to this end at Camp Baker, by Major H. Freeman, Seventh Infantry, has quite driven the skin hunters out of the country. The little exertion en- tailed by this course will be amply repaid by the increase of large 4 fi GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. game in any section of the country where its wanton and unneces- sary disturbance is prevented. As things stand at present, the country where game most abounds is that which is now, or has lately been, infested by hos- tile Indians. The red fiends know enough to preserve their game from excessive and continual persecution, and it is where the white man dare not go that it is found most abundant and most unsus- picious. The Indians are the only real preservers of game in the West. Will not every officer and every Western man to whom these lines come think seriously on this matter, and endeavor to do his part to put down terrible butchery ? MULE DEER. Cariacus macrotis. — Gray. THE Mule Deer, or as it is commonly called in the West the Black-tailed Deer, is found throughout the Missouri Region and in the Rocky Mountains. The species is quite abundant in many localities, and where it has not been too much hunted fur- nishes good sport to the still hunter. In size the Mule Deer considerably exceeds the common deer of the Eastern States, the White-tail of the West, and as an article of food its flesh is far superior to that of the latter species. The color of the Mule Deer at certain seasons somewhat resembles that of the Virginia Deer, but its horns are much larger, and do not bend so far forward. Its tail is widely different, being for the greater part of its length, thin and rat-like, naked below with a covering of short white hair above, and a heavy brush of jet black hairs at the tip. There is a triangular patch of white at the root of the tail on the buttocks, which somewhat resembles the same mark on the Elk and Bighorn. The true C. macrotis is found throughout the Mountains nearly or quite as far west as the main divide of the Sierra Nevadas. In Southern California and Arizona, among the mountains of the Coast Range, it is replaced by a recently described variety called in that section, the Burro Deer, an appellation about equivalent to the name of the Eastern variety, bttrro in Spanish signifying jackass. This variety was described in a recent number of the American NaU uralist by the Hon. J. D. Caton. It was first met with by this gen- tleman near Santa Barbara, Cal. While at this place Judge Caton made an excursion into the Coast Range at Gaviota Pass, and se- cured three bucks. These were evidently a variety of the Mule Deer, and not of the Black-tailed, having all the distinctive peculi- arities of the former. The variety difters from the type in being 'jd GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. smaller, of .1 more decidedly reddish shade, in havinj; a lesser pateh of white on the buttocks and, most prominently, in tiie markinj^i^s of the tail. The tail of C. macrotis is entirely white except a black tuft at the tip ; in the variety a black to reddish-black line extends along the upper side of the tail from the root to the tip. The habitat is not as yet well determined, but Judge Caton thinks it safe to say that this variety predominates in the Coast Range south of San Francisco, which seems to be its northern limit. The Sierras seem to ilefine its eastern limit, east of which it is re- placed by the true Mule Deer. It ascends to higher altitudes than any other American deer, being frecjuently found above timber line. Those living in the high mountains are the largest. They are not uncommon, and further information, it is hoped, will soon be ob- tained of the distribution and |)eculiarities of this novel variety. A skin and skeleton are said to have been sent to the Smithsonian Institute by Judge Caton. The Mule Deer is always found in a rough country. The white blufi's of the Bad Lands, the sparsely wooded buttes that rise here and there above the level of the prairies of Dakota and Montana, and the rockiest timbered ridges of the mountains, are its favorite haunts : in fact it may be said to be the deer of the plateaus and mountains, as the Virginia Deer is of the forest and lowlands. Its flesh, as has been remarked, is very palatable, and is superior to that of any of its congeners except the elk. It is somewhat diffi- cult of approach, as it is very vigilant and a rapid runner ; hence, one must have a sure eye to kill many during a season. It is said to be more al)undant in the Blue Mountains, which traverse East- ern Oregon, Washington Territory and Idaho, than in any other portion of the continent, as it finds there plenty of food and shel- ter. The does of the Mule Deer are found throughout the foothills the whole year, but the bucks retire in the spring to the highest mountains, to " grow their horns," where they remain until about the tirst of October. While on the mountain tops they collect generally in small bands of four or five. They are generally found near timber line, in the heat of the day, but in the morning and evening they leave the shade of the forest and go further up the mountains to the grassy tops, to feed on the young rich growth MULE DEER. yy which is nourished imd fed by the water from the snow banks on the mountain peaks. When thus feeding, it rc(|uir('s the utmost skill of the hunter to ai)proach them within shoot inj,'- distance. When one deer is killed in a band and is seen to fall by the others, they often run in a body a short distance from the slain buck, and halt, looking back at the point of danger, standing as still as a statue, with their large ears brought forward to catch the slightest sound. If nothing is seen, in a few moments they wheel about and gallop away to the nearest timber, wlien they are soon lost to view. When shot at in the forest, they retreat at a furious rate, often falling over prostrate tree trunks, and crashing through thickets, making the dead sticks crack and fly in every direction. They sometimes charge diiectly toward the hunter. The scent of the Mule Deer is very keen, and it is useless to hunt them to " lee- ward," as they will smell the approaching hunter, and bound away long before he is near enough to sight them. They are re- markably sharp sighted, and are constantly on the lookout for danger, particularly the does when they have their young with them. When a band is resting, they lie down within a few feet of each other, doubling their fore legs under the body, and in wet weather they dry their coat by licking it with the tongue, in the same man- ner as a dog. The bucks often return to their "beds," sleeping in the same place several nights in succession. The Mule Deer rut during the latter part of October, and the does bring forth their young, generally two, though sometimes only one, late in May or early in June. The fawns are prettily spotted with white and become quite strong and active a few days after their birth. When a doe tirst has her fawns, she remains in the thick woods and underbrush for several weeks, until her offspring are able to keep up with her when running from danger. The Mule Deer found on the plains, that is among the Bad Lands in the vicinity of large streams, are to be looked for just before sunset and after sunrise Vv'hen they come down to the water's edge to drink. The hunter will find these hours of the day by far the best for the pursuit of this animal. BLACK TAILED DEER. Cariacus Columbianus. THE Black Tailed Deer is a Pacific Coast species which does not, apparently, extend its range much east of the Sierr.a Nevada Mountains. Its favorite haunts are among the dense forests of redwoods which clothe the sides of these mountains in Oregon and California. Further south it frequents the dense thickets of chapparal and manzanita which cover the hillsides, and through which it is quite impossible for a man to force his way. To these thickets the deer betake themselves when wounded, and in such cases are sure to be lost. The Black-tail is a somewhat larger animal than the Virginia Deer, but does not equal the Mule Deer in size. Its ears are pro- portionally less than those of the last named species, it lacks the white patch on its rump, and its tail is quite differently haired and colored, resembling that of the White-tail as to its coat, and being black above and white beneath. The flesh of this animal is very poor eating, and is not to be compared with that of any other member of its family inha' uig North America. The animal when hunted affords some spoi . to the stalker, but unless ihe hunter is a dead shot he will lose a large number of wounded animals, from the habit above mentioned of taking refuge in the densest thickets. This species is also hunted with hounds to some extent in Oregon and Washington, the hunt- ers taking stands by the runways and waiting for the deer to pass, just as is done in hunting the common deer of the East. But lit- tle is definitely known o'i the habits of this species and a careful biography of it is much to be desired. In some localities this deer i^ calk Brush Deer and in others Mountain Deer, both names having reference to the character of the country it piefers. VIRGINIA DEER. Cariacus Virgin ia ntts. — Gray. THE Virginia Deer, in one or another of its varieties, is univer- sally distributed throughout the United States and an east and west belt of country including the southern portions of the British Possessions, but probably not extending north of the fifty- fourth parallel of latitude. It is however a lover of the forests and of dense cover, and on the high plains of the Missouri region is confined chiefly to the wooded river bottoms. There are tew bet- ter deer ranges than the willowy banks and islands of the Platte, the Running Water, the Yellowstone and the Missouri Rivers, and deer started from the neighborhood of these streams take refuge for a time on the wide plains above, but return to their cover as soon as possible. The deer of the Rocky Mountains has been dignified by the varietal name inacrourus, but it seems to us some- what doubtful whether it deserves to be separated from its more eastern relative the true Virginianus. There is a very wide range of size among the deer of some portions of the Mountains, and it is not unusual for a hunter to kill in the same localities fine bucks fully equalling in size the largest eastern deer, and others appa- rently just as old VN'hich weigh but half as much. The true Virginia Deer is an inhabitant of the United Statei^ as far west as the plains, and occurs in more or less abundance ii. every State from Maine to Texas. In Florida and in the other Gulf States these animals l>llowing well-known laws of geographi- cal variation are much smaller than farther to the northward. West of the plains occurs, as has been said, the variety inacrourus, said to be somewhat smaller and with a proportionately longer tail, denominated ip frontier parlance the White-tailed Deer, to distin- guish it from its congeners the Mule Deer nd the true Black-tail of Uie Sierras. In Arizona a still smaller variety is m^t with *vhich 80 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. is described l)y Drs. Coues and Yarrow in their recent important work on the mammals observed by Lieut. Geo. M. Wheeler's Sur- vey, published in the Reports of the " United States Geog-raphical Surveys West of the One Hundredth Meridian," Vol. V., Zoolojry. The largest bucks of tliis variety do not exceed seventy pounds in weight, and the does are of course still smaller, falling under sixty pounds. On the Pacific Coast, and especially on Whidby Island, are found deer, white or moitled, which have been designated as Cer- vus albus or C. virginianus, var. variafus, but there can be little doubt that these are simply cases of albinism, which is not very un- common with this animal, ard that the supposed species or varie- ties have no zoological stanaing whatever. The common deer has, for so widely distributed a species, but few appellations. In the cast it is generally called Red or Virginia deer, in the west it is almost universally called the White-tail. This species is so well known as scarcely to need any description. Every one has seen it either alive or dead and many of our readers have felt the proud delight of standing over their ^irst buck. In summer its coat is bright red, but on the approach of autumn the color deepens, becoming more grey until in October the short close hair is nearly of a mouse color, and the animal is then said to be in " the blue." The throat and under surface of the tail are always white. The horns, which are not large but are usually very sym- metrical, bend gracefully forward and the points are directed some- what downward. These weapons are shed in February or March according to the latitude which the wearer inhabits, " The ani- mal at once retires from the herd to hide itself in the thickets and unfrequented places, venturing abroad for pasture only in the night. The horns are yearly shed, to be renewed in ampler devel- opment. In his first year — for it is the male alone that is fur- nished with horns — he has only a kind of corneous excrescence, short, and covered with a thin, hairy skin ; in the second year simple straight horns make their appearance. In the third they have two antlers, in the fourth, three; in the fifth, four; in the sixth, five ; after which the antlers do not always increase in number, though they do sometimes amount to six or seven on either side ; but the stag's age is then estimated rather from the VIRGINIA DEER. ,%l size and thickness of the branch that sustains them, than from their numbers." The doe is considerably smaller than the buck, and may be said never to have horns. It is true that there are half a dozen instances on record where a female deer has been found to be provided with short horns, but this state ol things is quite abnormal. Deer i-ut in October and November and the doe brings forth her young, generally two but sometimes three, in May or June, earlier at the South than at the North. These animals should there- fore never be shot before October first, or at the earliest Septem- ber fifteenth. The fawns are not fit to eat before that season, and if the does are killed before that date, the young will have a hard time of it during the autumn. The food of the Red Deer varies according to the season. In autumn they crop the buds of green shrubs, leaves of small bram- bles, the tender parts of brakes or ferns, etc.; in winter, when snow covers the ground, they eat the leaves of laurel, and the bark and moss of trees ; and in summer they find abundance of vegetation, especially in the rank grass and lily pads that border the margin of ponds and sloughs. In districts where they have been much hunted, the deer feed mostly at night, and during the day they retire to the hills to rest and bask in the sun. In a level country they resort to thickets near the water to rest during the day. The best time to still hunt deer is just before sunset, when they come down from the hills to drink. They always make straight for the water and quench their thirst, and then commence feeding. Early in the morning you will find them on the sunny side of a mountain or hill. Never hunt below them — that is, at the foot of a hill — for if you do nine deer out of ten will see or smell you, and bound away without your knowing of their presence. Get on the top of a mountain and look below for the deer. Always hunt to windward and move slowly and do not try to cover too much ground, and you will be success- ful if in a deer country. The modes employed in capturing these animals are very nu- merous, but those most practiced are hounding, i. e., running with dogs either by a runway where the hunter stands, ^ r into the water, driving, floating or jacking, and still huntinjj. Of all these methods 4* 82 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. the last is the most difficult, though by far the noblest and most sportsmanlike. Hounding requires that the sportsman should have the assistance of a guide and dogs. The former must be familiar with the runways of the deer, and the hounds must have good noses and considerable endurance. The hunters arc sta- tioned at the various runways, and the dogs put on the track of the game. The cry of the packs generally notifies the expectant sportsman of the direction which the deer is taking, and if it is running toward his stand he usually has time to prepare himself for its coming. If the animal passes near him it requires but little skill to bowl it over with his double barrel as it goes by. But there are a great many right and left snap shots, and capital statu- ettes on a runway wlio don't know much more of the haunts and habits of their game than they do of crochet work or knitting. They have an intelligent bush-beater who knows the lay of the coveys, a dog with a good nose and well broken, a splendid pair of barrels, and a keen eye and quick trigger. The guide leads up to the hunting ground, then the dog takes the van and attends to business, and when his tail gets stiff and a bird rises, the gun drops him neatly, the attendant marks him down, the dog retrieves, and the gunner puts him exultingly to bag. Precisely the same on a runway. The guide who has previously tracked the deer or knows his habitat, puts out the hound, which runs the deer to water, or to cover by secluded or well known by-paths, and the sure aini ot the practiced marksman brings the game to grass. Now, so far as the requirements of this sportsman go, all is well ; but his edu- cation is anything but complete. He has actually begun at the finishing school instead of the rudiments. By the other method of hounding practiced chiefly in the Adi- rondacks, the deer is driven until it takes to the water, and when so far from tlie shore that it cannot return, the hunters row after it, and having approached within a few feet, one of them blows out its brains. When the deer are thin they sink immediately after being shot, and it is customary for the guide or one of the hunters, if there be tzcjo in the boat, to hold the struggling brute by the tail while the other shoots it, thus saving the carcass. Com- ment is unnecessary. Driving deer is a far different kind of sport. It is chiefly em- VIRGINIA DEER. 83 ployed in the South and Southwest, and requires not only a quick hand with the shot gun, but a firni seat in the saddle. The dogs having started the deer, the hunters follow them on horseback, striving by their knowledge of the animal's habits, to gain as much as possible on him by cutting off corners and following short cuts and thus coming within shot of the fleeing animal. The weapon used in this description of hunting, is the double barrel, loaded with buckshot, and in the hands of an experienced hunter it is a deadly weapon up to one hundred yards. In jacking or floating the shooter sits in the bow of a canoe just behind a lantern which throws a powerful light ahead, but is shaded from the hunter so as not to interfere with his powers of vision ; the deer raising their heads, stare at the light as it ap- proaches, and when the boat is near enough the hunter shoots. This method seems to us unfair and unsportsmanlike; it gives the deer no chance for their lives. Besides it sometimes proves an expensive pleasure, for horses and cattle are not unfrequently shot instead of deer. The greatest objection to it, however, is, that as it is only employed during the warm weather, does are killed which have fawns too young to take care of themselves and which must perish soon after the death of the mother. The advocates of this mode of hunting say that in no way can more exciting sport be had than by this same night hunting. Your guide must under- stand paddling and the habits of the deer thoroughly, or it is use- less to hunt, and it requires something more than an ordinary shot to take a correct aim at a couple of shining specks twenty-five or thirty yards off in the darkness. Add to this the fact, that the favorite feeding grounds of deer, particularly in the Adirondacks, are where the lily-pads are thickest, often making it fiext to impos- sible to shoot, and to jack a deer becomes as difficult a feat as to stalk one. The sensation of sailing over the dark waters of the lake or river, every nerve strained to catch the faintest sound which may signal the approach of the game, is delightful, and the intense stillness which prevails over everything, broken now and then by the sharp plunge of a muskrat, or the breaking of a twig in the bush, by the step of some wild animal, or perhaps by strange sounds, which even the trained ear of your guide cannot recognize, all combine to make an experience as pleasant as it is novel. All 84 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. of which may be very true, l)ut still we do not believe in jacking. In Wisconsin deer are killed by a method somewhat similar to the one last mentioned, and which is to be classed under the same head. Scaffold shooting is resorted to during the summer and fall months on the Peninsula. The deer go north from Central and Northern Wisconsin in the spring, and are then called "spring poor." Though the game law prohibits it, they commence float- ing for deer in July, and also shooting from scaffolds. Scafiblds are generally built from ten to thirty feet high, with a place on top for the hunter to sit. The latter generally takes advantage of small trees close together, and nails slats on them to serve as lad- ders. They are placed along the deer trails, which here run nearly due north and south, unless there should be strCc-Mns or lakes near, when they diverge to them. For the month of July they place salt licks early in the spring, and shoot from scaffolds when they come to the salt licks. From Escanaba to Negamm the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad runs northwest and southeast. As these deer trails are, in some places, close together, some are called main trails, and some branches. They generally go back from the rail- road track fifty to one hundred rods, as it is nearly all woods along the line, and run a deer fence, consisting of small and medium trees, lapped over in one direction, with the interstices filled with small branches, etc. As this fence is built parallel with the track, it cuts across several deer trails in a diagonal direction, so when deer are travelling south they reach the fence and turn east to find an opening. This takes the travellers over several trails, all down the fence, to the lower or southeast end, where the scaffold is placed. By cutting several small avenues through the brush, the hunter can get a good range on the deer. They travel mostly from daybreak to nine o'clock, few crossing from eleven o'clock to dark, as they then stop to feed. As the road runs in the direction north- east and southwest, the deer cross the track going south earlier on the north end than on the south end. From Little Lake south to Day's River are good hunting points. They commence crossing at Little Lake about August 5th ; Helena Switch, about August 8th to loth ; McFarland's Hill (halfway between Helena and Cen- treville.) about 15th to 18th, and so on. VIRGINIA DEER. %% There is good deer hunting along the line between Menomonee and Escanaba, in August and September. Though the law does not allow it, hunting is done in these months. As the deer leave the peninsula so much earlier than they go south in Lower Michi- gan, it is a manifest injustice to sportsmen to be prevented by ihe law from shooting them when they are in their best condition, particularly as deer are abundant in this section. There is a good wiiiter hunting spot eight to ten miles north of Day's River, and on Red Division (twelve miles north of Escanaba) on the Smith River. On Bayde Nouquet the deer congregate in a section of heavy tim- ber, and winter there. Splendid hunting may be had here in the months of October, November, and December. Guides may be had here at about two dollars per day. Guides make their headquarters here, and this, without doubt, is the best point to fit out with everything necessary for the trip, with exception of arms and accoutrements. Stalking is by all odds the most difficult method of capturing the deer, and is one which calls into play all the sportsman's best qualities. An eminent Scotch writer and hunter, whose kindred excel in deer-stalking, designates the qualities requisite for success in this method of hunting, as follows : " It may readily be supposed, that for the pursuit of deer-stalk- ing a hardy frame and plenty of pluck are required. These qualities are indispensably necessary ; but in the other points he may vary as much as the average of men are seen to do. The model deer- stalker, however, should be of good proportions, moderately tall, narrow-hipped to give speed, and with powerful loins and well-de- veloped chest for giving endurance and wind. No amount of fat should be allowed ; indeed, the deer-stalker ought to be in as good training as the race-horse and greyhound. 1 he foot should be sure, and the eye keen and long-seeing, as the telescope cannot always be applied to that important organ. He should be practiced in running and stooping, in crawling on his belly, or on his back, by means of his elbows or his heels ; and should care neither for business, cold, nor wet. The nerves should be good, for the ex- citement produced by this sport is such as to render unsteady the hand of all but those who are of the phlegmatic temperament. • Dutch courage ' is not desirable, but ' Dutch phlegm ' will here 86 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. serve in good stead. The bodily powers are not the only ones which should be well-developed, for the brain should be active and energetic as the body itself. Great control over the feelings is ab- solutely essential ; for the giving way to exultation and hope, or depression produced by the fear of losing a shot, will generally cause that which is most to be feared. Above all, temperance must be practiced — no shaking hand or flinching eye will serve the purpose of the still-hunter ; nor will the parched throat or the per- spiring skin avail him when rushing up the hillside or through the winding valley. In fact, strict training, in all its details, is required ; and the more it is carried out, the more complete will be the suc- cess of the ]:)racticer of its disagreeable duties. The dress of the deer-stalker should be light and elastic, yet tolerably warm. The head should be covered with a close-fitting cap or soft hat. The color of all should be sober and natural ; grey or a mixture of black and white, or brown being as good as any, since it accords well with the rocks and ground which are so common in the haunts of the deer." The sportsman should ne/er attempt stalking the Virginia Deer unless he lias nerves of steel, is strong, active, and an untiring walk- er. Not only the greatest walking powers are required in stalking, but it becomes a tiresome gait, as stooping and not unfrequently crawling on the ground for a long distance is necessaiy in order to reach a particular spot, unseen by the deer. Deer-stalking is sim- ply man vs. brute ; and requires all the strength, craft and coolness of the man, before he can lay low the deer, who is possessed of a much keener sense of smell, immense speed, excessive nervous or- ganization, and is ever on the alert to circumvent its human foe. The deer has by no means a quick sight, but his hearing and nose are of the most refined order. The garments of sportsmen should assimilate as nearly as possible with the autumn foliage of the forest ; the boots to be worn should be a kind of moccasin with a not too thick, but llexible sole without nails of any kind as nails coming in contact with stones and rocks, alarm the animal before the hunter can get within range. In walking lift the feet well off the ground, and let the ball of the foot touch the earth first ; step high, and in fact imitate the Indian's peculiar gait. In shooting never aim at the head of the deer, unless you are a dead shot, as VIRGINIA DEER. 87 the heart is as large as the brain, and if the ball misses the brain, the deer continues on his way, apparently as well as ever, or even if the ball has lodged in the face or muscles of the neck, you will still have-great difillculty in finding your deer unless accompanied by a dog. This is where the deerhound is so useful, saving the sportsman an all tlay s tramp after a wounded animal. The Scotch plan is to keep the dogs in leash until the deer is shot, and if only wounded, to slip the dogs, and in a short time the deer will be brought to bay. Many sportsmen and good ones too, take great exception to still-hunting, and some are "down " on the man who silently and carefully watches through the forest up wind for hours and hours, ultimately coming across a deer track, following it up again for hours and hours, finally creeps up to within 100 or 250 yards of the deer and kills it, and lastly by a short cut finds him- self fifteen miles away from home or camp, with every likelihood of having to sleep in the forest all night. Is not this sportsman, by all the laws laid don'n, t\c\\ by the most fastidious of men, entitled to his game } It cannot be doubted that sportsmen generally, and especially novices in still-hunting, make the mistake of hi0itin<^ too much. Moving about through the woods has the effect to scare the game away, and in consequence a ma.i may often cover a large tract of good ground and see absolutely nothing. The less "hunting" the more game usually. A dozen sciuirrels can be shot from the same stand oftentimes, if one will only be content to remain quiet. In deer stalking, too, it is not necessary for a hunter to run the animal to earth as he would a fox. Let him but stand still as soon as he discovers the deer and perceives that he is discovered in turn, and the deer, if not much frightened, will not run far. After she breaks cover she will make a few wild leaps and then stop and turn to ascertain the cause and character of the alarm. She will not run far if not followed, and will remain in the vicinity until her curiosity is satisfied. There is a natural inquisitiveness about animals. They don't become frightened as much through the sense of sight as through the senses of smell or hearing — particu- larly the first. Naturalists are the most successful hunters, for in their search for information it becomes necessary to lie perdu for hours, in 88 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. order to pursue their investigations of the habits of the animals and birds they study. That which is to be most guarded against is giving the animals your scent. It is all important to hunt up wind. The first light snow of the season gives the hunter a great ad- vantage ove»" the game, and in the case of caribou one has only to dress in white clothes to approach within close range and ensure his success. When there is no snow on the ground you cannot follow the deer's tracks, but have to move quietly about over ground most likely to be frequented by them, keeping a sharp lookout and reviewing the ground at every step, for in the thick woods you are liable to come on one at any time. When the ground is covered with soft, light snow, six or eight inches deep, during the month of November, or the fore part of December, is the best time for " still hunting." Then, as you enter the wood.3, the first thing to be done is to find a deer's track in the snow. The next thing is to ascertain the length of time the track has been made. This requires much experience. If the track is just made, the snow in it, where it has been moved, will look new and bright, but grows dull by age. A good test, when it is cold weather, is to feel of the track with your finger, and if just made, it will be soft ; if not, quite hard. One of the best ways to tell if it is a new track is by the manure, if the animal chrnces to drop any, as it will soon freeze if cold ; at any rate, it soon changes its appearance. Having found a track and ascertained that it is new enough, the next thing is to follow it cautiously, travelling at the same rate as the deer travels. An experienced hunter can tell about how fast he has to go to overtake the deer. If the deer is feeding along as he goes and stops to browse at every fallen tree-top, you must move slowly, looking in every place, at every step, for he is not far distant. But, then, if the deer is " travelling," as it is called, one has to walk much faster and scan the ground as best he can. But the chance of getting a shot is less than when one moves slower and looks the ground thoroughly over. To still-hunt with success, to tell in what locality to look for deer in different states of weather, to know when to follow fast and when slow, to know where a deer will be most likely to stop VIRGINIA DEER. 89 after he has once started, and to know how to get more than one where there are two together, is only acquired by long practice and judgment. But not more than one in fifty, with all the ex- perience in the world will make a good still hunter. It requires a special adaptation to it. It is very hard work, as it necessitates much travelling. But, then, it is the rarest of sports, and is the most exciting mode of hunting deer. Minnesota has always been noted for the great numbers of deer found within its limits, and during the late autumn enormous numbers of these animals are killed in that State. When the leaves are falling, the nights cool and the October moon is full, the lordly bucks begin their nocturnal rambles over their favorite run- ways and scraping grounds in search of the timid does that hide away from them in the thickest " popples " and willow swamps. A little later in the season the deer will be found running in pairs, and then the still-hunter has but to watch the scraping grounds in openings in the forest, and the "jack " oak ridges which are so common in Minnesota and other States. Early in the autumn the deer browse in poplar thickets on the outskirts of the prairie or near the settler's clearings, and at such times they lie very close, often jumping from their beds within a few rods of the hunter. As the season advances and the snow falls, the cold north winds drive them into the heavy timber where they browse on hazel bushes and red willow, (kinnikinic,) the inner barks of which the Chippewa, Sioux, Dakota, Arickaree, and other north- ern Indians smoke clear, and mixed with tobacco. When the twigs of the trees become toughened by the cold, the deer browse on species of the white pines, and visit lumbering camps regularly at night to feed on the twigs of the fallen trees. There are several species of fungi that the " white tails " are very fond of, which grow on the white birch and sugar or rock maple. The speed of the deer is considerable, and it is often spoken of as one of the swiftest of animals. Few, indeed, realize that a good horse in open country can overtake it without very much exertion. Its powers of leaping are enormous, however, and there is one instance at least on record, where a buck cleared a board fence sixteen feet in height. Deer change their feeding grounds somewhat at the different seasons, but cannot be said to migrate IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) Pm vQ ^;. >:? >' « A ^^ % // 1.0 I.I 1.25 125 1^ li^ 12.2 40 12.0 lit u 4. ^ 1.8 U IIIIII.6 !■ i I 90 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. from one district to another. The changes of locality, however, which are made by the different members of the deer family, deserve more close attention than has yet been given them. If we know that we have but one species of deer in North America that is strictly migratory in its habit — that its members entirely change their habitat with the changing seasons — we have reason to believe that several, if not all of the other members of this family, are more or less migratory in their habits, but to what extent we may consider at present an undetermined question. We think we may safely say that the Barren Ground Caribou is the only American species which is strictly migratory. They occupy the district of country between the Atlantic coast and the Rocky Mountains north of the sixtieth parallel of latitude. They move to the north in the spring, the females in advance, to the shores and islands of the Arctic Ocean, where they drop their young, and in the fall return south, and spend the winter in the lower latitudes, individuals passing sometimes south of the sixtieth parallel. The Woodland Caribou is undoubtedly migratory, but to a less extent. Sir John Richardson informs us that contrary to the gen- eral rule, they migrate north in winter to about the sixtieth degree of north latitude, and south in the summer, yet we think it certain that this migration is not usual as with their smaller congeners of the north, for many individuals at least remain near their southern limits throughout the winter. The great body of those occupying the islands of Newfoundland spend their lives upon the island, though they change their range at different seasons of the year, while some cross the straits on the ice to Labrador. If our moose or elk are to any considerable extent migratory, the evidence to establish the fact is wanting, although it is well established that the moose seek the elevated ridges in winter, and the low marshy grounds and water courses in summer. We lack the data which would enable us to speak with any assurance of the habits of the mule and the Columbia black-tailed deer in this regard. The Virginia Deer originally occupied every portion of the United States. It has been more carefully observed than any of the other species. The weight of evidence is, we think, that these deer are partially migratory, though their migrations are limited in VIRGINIA DEER. 91 extent and in numbers. They do not entirely desert any district which they occupy at any season of the year, yet in the northern portion of their range numbers seem to change their abode from the north to the south in September and October, for a few hun- dred miles at least. We shall not stop now to detail the evidence tending to this conclusion. We have found the testimony of all our Indians to be in favor of a general migration of the deer. It is a subject on which little has been written by naturalists or sportsmen. HARES. Lepus timidus, var. arcttcus. — Allen. Habitat, Arctic Amer- ica, southward on the Atlantic coast to Labrador and New- foundland ; in the interior to Fort Churchill, the northern shores of Great Slave Lake and the valley of the upper Yukon. Leptis campestris.— Bachman. Habitat, Plains of the Sas- katchewan southward to middle Kansas, and from Fort Reily westward to the Coast Rang^e. Lepus americaniis, — Erxleben : with several varieties. Habitat of var. americaniis, from the Arctic Barren Grounds, southward to Nova Scotia, Lake Superior and Northern Canada, and in the interior throughout the wooded parts of the Hudson's Bay Terri- tories, and Alaska ; of var. virginianus, Nova Scotia to Connecticut on the coast, the Canadas, and northern parts of the northern tier of States westward to Minnesota, and southward in the AUegha- nies to Virginia ; of var. Washingtonii, west of the Rocky Moun- tains from the mouth of the Columbia northward into British Columbia ; of var. Bairdii, the higher parts of the Rocky Mountains southward to New Mexico. Lepus sylvaticus. — Bachman, witli vars. Nuttalli znxdi Auduboni. Habitat, United States at large except Northern New England and the more elevated parts of the Appalachian Highlands. Lepus Trcnvbridgei. — Baird. Habitat, West of the Sierra Nevadas from northern California to Cape St. Lucas. Lepus callotis. — Wagler. Habitat, United States between the ninety-seventh meridian and the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and from North Kansas and the Great Salt Lake Basin southward into Mexico. Lepus calif ornicus. — Gray. Habitat, California west of the Sierra Nevada range, south to Cape St. Lucas, Lower California. Lepus palustris. — Bachman. Habitat, South Atlantic and Gulf States, HARES. 93 Leffus aquatkus. — Bachman. Habitat, Gulf States south through the lowlands of Mexico to Central America. The above list of the Hares of North America found north of the southern boundary of the United States, is drawn from Mr. J. A. Allen's recently published study of the genus, and includes all that the sportsman will be likely to meet with. Hares are grey, or brown, but their specific distinctions are so slightly marked, that it requires the eye of a practiced naturalist to distinguish between two nearly allied species. For this reason no detailed description is given of the different species and varie- ties above mentioned. Of all those of which we have spoken, but three, to |. j mentioned hereafter, turn white in winter. Among all the numerous representatives of the Leporida, which are found in every section of our country, we have no true rabbit. Hares are common in all parts of the United States and the British Provinces, but they all differ in essential particulars from the Rabbit proper, Lepus cuniculus of Europe. Briefly, some of the distinctive traits are as follows, and may be classed roughly under two heads : — first, anatomical differences, secondly, differ- ence in habit. Of the first, it is unnecessary to speak at length, for its truth is well known to such as have examined the structural features of both. In habit, there is also a wide difference. Hares do not live in burrows, as is the case with the rabbit, but lie in a form, in bush, or thicket, a slight depression in the . ground fre- quently serving for a nest, or occasionally they select a hollow stump or the under side of a detached ledge of rock as a domicile. The young when they first make their appearance are covered with hair, their eyes are open, and they are able almost immediately to support themselves. On the other hand, the rabbit is born naked, with closed eyes, and requires the constant attention of the mother for some time. The Hares are not so prolific as the Rabbits, the female bring- ing forth but from three to five leverets at a litter, the Lepus cu- niculus bearing from five to eight. Hares feed generally at night, lying in their forms in some bush or copse, during the ^eater part of the day. The Rabbit, on the contrary, generally remains en- sconced in the warmest corner of the burrow during the dark hours. Of the principal representatives of the genus in this country 94 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA, may be mentioned the following, Leptts sylvaticus, the ubiquitous cotton tail found generally distributed throughout almost all sec- tions of the United States. L. americanus, the common large Hare of the east and north-east, which changes its coat in spring and fall. L. timidus var. arcticus, the great northern Hare, L. cafnpestris, the " Jack Rabbit " of the plains, L. callotis, the " Jack Rabbit of Texas and California, and two southern swamp species, L. palustris and L. aquatkus. Of these, the species which change color on the approach of winter are L. americanus, L. campestris, and L. timidus var. arcticus. Pending the complete change from the summer brown to the snowy white coat of winter, the animal presents a very singular mottled appearance. Hares are becoming a ver)' important article of commerce, and during the winter season tons of them are daily shipped to our principal markets from all quarters. They are sold at cheap rates, and are frequently peddled around the streets by the cart load at astonishingly low figures. The methods of pursuit and capture of these anim.als are very numerous, but of the most common and successful, three may be mentioned ; viz. : trailing in the snow with dogs, hounding, and coursing. To trail hares in the winter, one must have dogs with fair noses, and a light fall of from two to four inches of snow must have been deposited the night previous to an early morning start. Two or more hunters start out equipped thus with dogs and guns. Thickets of elder and blackberry are sought where the game is known to lie. A hunter skirts each border of a patch and the dogs are sent in. As soon as the hares are started, the dogs fol- low the trail and drive them from cover, and on emerging from the brush they give the gunner the best of chances. We have known of forty hares having been killed in following in this manner, a mile of hedge. Where the ground is rocky, they will try to hide by run- ning into any hole or crevice which may offer an asylum. Hounding hares is generally carried on in much the same man- ner as deer driving. The hunters are stationed at various points on the paffcs, for hares, like deer and foxes, follow regular beaten tracks. The hounds start the game from belts of pine, cedar or hemlock. Each hunter waits for the animals to pass his station, and in case he is in a lucky place the shot is lired as bunny goes HARES. 95 by at full run. He is bag-ged and the position taken again. It might be added en passant that this ability to tunmble a hare at full speed with the shot-gun is no mean accomplishment. Bags of twenty and thirty are sometimes made in this way in the course of a morning. Of trapping and snaring there are so many methods and appli- ances that it is unnecessary to attempt a detailed description of these various engines of destruction. They are principally employed by pot-hunters, and many make it their sole business during the win- ter months. Coursing hares is carried on to some extent in the West by garrison officers who are the ow ners of grey or deer- hounds. The animal pursued is the "Jack Rabbit," whose dis- proportionally great ear-development has earned him this title, Jack being jackass in brief. The topographical lay of the land is highly favorable to this sport, but the legs of the hare frequently discom- fit both horse and hound. The two Southern varieties of the hare tribe L. aquaticus and L. palustris, are hunted a good deal by the darkies, but every man has his way of catching the " varmint," and owing to their habits they are not systematically pursued. Of the Great Arctic Hare not much is known. It inhabits the white wastes and snowy soli- tudes of the far North. Its companions are the snowy owl, the Caribou, and the Musk Ox. Unlike the prairie marmot and bur- rowing owl, however, who are fast friends, the rodent of the North and the great white owl are not congenial comrades. In short the bird loves the beast too fondly, and her caresses are generally car- ried to such an extent that within an hour after the commencement of one of their little seances, bunny finds himself in a semi-digested state in the membranous stomach of Nyctea nivea. SQUIRRELS. Sciurus vulpinus.—GmeWn. The Southern Fox Squirrel. Sciurus cinereus.— Linn. The Cat Squirrel. Sciurus /udovtcianus.—Cxistis. The Western Fox Squirrel. Sciurus carolinensis. — Gmelin. The Grey or Elack Squirrel. THE Southern Fox Squirrel inhabits the Southern States from North Carolina to Texas. It is the largest and finest of our North American Squirrels. The length of the head and body is twelve inches, and that of the tail fifteen. Its color is oftenest grey above and white below, but it is also found of all shades of fulvous, and is sometimes a deep shining black. Its ears and nose are always white. The Cat Squirrel is found in New Jersey and Virginia, and west to the Alleghanies. It is about the length of the preceding species, but is more heavily built, and has a somewhat shorter tail. In color too, it resembles the Southern Fox Squirrel, but its ears and nose are never white. The Western Fox Squirrel occurs in the Mississippi Valley. It is about twelve inches long, with a tail of about the same length. Its color is rusty grey above and bright ferruginous below. Ears and nose never white. The Grey or Black Squirrel is found throughout the wooded portion of the United States east of the Missouri River. It is about ten inches long to the root of the tail, which number ex- ceeds by about an inch the length of the head and body. The usual color is pale grey above, and white or yellowish white beneath, but the individuals of the species grade from this color through all the stages to jet black. The above mentioned varieties of the Squirrel tribe are the only ones which are followed for the bag or pot. The Fox and Cat Squirrel are never met with in the Eastern States, but are the common species of the Mississippi bottom lands, and the southern SQUIRJ^ELS. 97 sections of the country. Grey and black squirrels are often found associating together. They are in every respect alike, in the anat- omy of their bodies, habits, and in every detail excepting the color, and by many sportsmen they are regarded as distinct species. Naturalists, however, at present agree that the two are identical, and that the black form is merely due to melanism, an anomaly not uncommon among mammals. Squirrels feed in the early morning just after sunrise, and dis- appear soon after eight or nine o'clock, retreating to their holes or nests, there to remain during the midday hours. They appear again in the late afternoon to feed, and may be heard and seen playing and chattering together till twilight. They are very shy and are not easily approached, but one may seat himself in full view, and if he remains without motion, the squirrels will reappear, and take little notice of the intruder ; at the slightest movement, however, they are off'. This fact is taken advantage of by the sportsman, and be he at all familiar with the runways of the squirrels at any particular locality, he may sit by the path and shoot a goodly number. We have known of eighteen, both grey and black, hav- ing been secured at the entrance to a cornfield by two individuals in this way during the first hours of morning. Grey and black squirrels generally breed i\V\ct during the spring and summer. They have several young at a litter. The young mature in Au- gust and September, and the season for shooting is fall and winter, although a great many are killed during August when young and very tender. The migrations of Squirrels have never been satisfactorily ex- plained. What instinct brings together such immense droves of these animals from all parts of the country, and causes them to move with solid phalanx to distant localities, overcoming all opposing obstacles ? A few years since, there was witnessed a wonderful sight by the inhabitants of Pike County, Pennsylvania. An immense army of Grey Squirrels arrived at Lhe banks of the Delaware River late one night, and commenced its passage by swimming the following morning. The whole population turned out, and boys and men, equipped with large grain sacks and clubs, killed them by thousands. They kept coming in a continuous stream throughout the morning, and passed on to the woods s 98 GAME ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. beyond. Nothing could deflect them from their course, and they were evidently bound for a fixed point. A similar instance occurred not long ago in the west, where a vast assemblage crossed the Mississippi and were killed in great numbers in the back yards of the village houses. Of course, the first and most obvious explana- tion is, that these migrations are caused by scarcity of food, but it is probable that this is not the only motive which induces them to undertake such extensive journeys. As with the pursriit of Hares, there are numberless devices for accomplishing the capt' re of squirrels. Sportsmen who are fond of this department of La venerie, use either rifle or shot-gun, as their skill in handling one or the other may warrant, but the important factor in this animal pursuit is the small cur-dog trained for the purpose. He will run ahead through bush and wood, tree a squirrel, and after barking sharply, wait for the master to put in an appearance. A squirrel thus treed will run up the trunk a short distance, and curling himself down on a limb, will watch his canine pursuer, unmindful of the approach of the death dealing biped. When the squirrels are quite young and inexperienced, a good bag can sometimes be made without a dog. Seat yourself near the point where the woods skirt the cornfield or wheat stub- ble in the earliest morning— or perhaps among the beech trees, where at this season the mast is tender and succulent, and the animals will give you plenty of chances. Still they are not very generally hunted till the later months. When treed by the hunter they are very skilful in secreting themselves from view, and the grey species particularly, being so near in color to the bark of many of our forest trees, is exceedingly difficult to detect, and both he and his black brother are always careful to keep the tree trunk between themselves and the intruder. A dog's presence, how- ever, seems utterly to upset all calculations of concealment, and they will sit on a limb and not attempt to hide, knowing the ina- bility of the cur to do them harm. The cruel method of smoking out, is often made use of in squirrel hunting by the farmers' sons in winter time, when the animals are snugly curled up in their nests. A squirrel tree is selected which has two or three holes above, and is partially hollow to the foot. An axe soon makes an opening below, into which straw, leaves, and grass or green twigs SQUIRRELS. 99 are introduced. This is then fired, and the hollow trunk acting as a chimney, creates a draft and the smoke is soon seen curling lazily from every hole and crevice. The poor inmates, some- times to the number of six or eight, endure the torture as long as possible, and are finally forced, singed and smoking, to seek safety in. flight from their wood-locked home. The yelling demons be- Jow, armed with guns, sticks, clubs, and all manner of destructive implements, soon finish the half roasted creatures, who are so confused on reaching the open air, that they do little more than drop to the earth. Sometimes they remain so long in the tree, that their claws are burned off and being unable to hold to any thing, they fall helpless to the ground, and the horde of savages pounce upon the unfortunates. The charge of shot from the old Queen Ann, or flintlock musket, is saved this time for the next victim, who may not be quite so much cooked and helpless. OPOSSUM. Dideiphys virgintana. Shaw. THE Opossum is the only member of its order, the Marsu- pialia, which inhabits North America. It is confined to the southern portion, its range not reaching much north of the Ohio River on the west or New Jersey on the east. It is probably never found east of the Hudson River. Other species of the genus in- habit South and Central America, and one, doubtfully distinct from that of the Southern States, occurs in California and Arizona. This animal is about twenty inches long to the root of the tail, which appendage is fifteen inches in length. The color is pale greyish, the hair being nearly white with brown tips. The tail is nearly naked and is prehensile ; and the general aspect of the creature is rat-like. It is with a certain feeling of sadness that we chronicle the dying out, one by one, Oi" old customs and habits. Each year old usages give place to new, and the change certainly in very many cases is not for the better. The Opossum can hardly be classed among the game animals of America, yet its pursuit in the South in old plantation days used to afford the staple amusement for the dusky toilers of the cotton States. It was the custom in ante-bellum times, as often as the re- volving year brought round the late fall days with their ripened fruit and golden grain, for the dark population of the plantation, occasionally accompanied by young " massa," to have a grand 'Possum hunt a la mode. This custom, through desuetude and change of circumstances, has been well-nigh consigned to oblivion, and we cannot but regret its death. The opossum is not often found north of Maryland and Virginia, but is rather abundant south of these States. Its food, upon which it becomes fat and toothsome to the dusky OPOSSUM. lOI palate, is persimmons and wild jjrapes, together with the various berries and fruits that abound in the Southern States. After the first hoar frost has whitened the hills the 'possum is most eagerly sought for by Cassar, Pluto, and Mars. At night the darkies start forth en masse, armed to the teeth with every available weapon, and accompanied by a number of nondescript dogs, generally well trained for 'Possum or Coon hunting. These dogs have some hound blood in their composition, and understand the require- ments of the occasion perfectly. Some ancient shade of Dis with snowy hair is selected a? leader, and he controls the dogs and manipulates the horn. The favorite haunts of the " varmint " are familiar to the negroes, and the "meet" is generally held on the borders of the swamp where persimmons abound, or, if the moon shine too brightly for the game to venture far from cover, in the darker vales where the luscious grapes run wild and plenty. The dogs range far from the party, and the moment one of them strikes the " trail ob an ole 'Possum " he gives the signal note to the expectant party by a short yelp. This sets the sable hunters wild with e .citenient ; they listen for the second sound, sure to come, which will betoken that the varmint is treed. They are not long kept in suspense, for faint away down in the valley comes the joyful bay, and at the signal the whole party stampede, spite of all "Ole Uncle Caesar's" attempts to restrain them, and rush pellmell through bush and brake in the direction of the sound. They arrive panting and breathless from the wild race, in twos and threes, and are soon all assembled at the foot of a small sapling, in the branches of which the 'Possum has taken temporary refuge from his pursuers. Soon a nimble young buck shins the tree, and the marsupial is shaken off after some difficulty, for he clings with the utmost tenacity to the limb, using the tail not the least in this battle for freedom. The anxious dogs below await his fall, and his death is compassed in less time than it takes to tell it. This is the only method employed in the capture of the Opossum, and this is rapidly becoming traditional. GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. WILD TURKEY. S^ Meleagris gallopavo .—\J\aa, THE Wild Turkey is by many regarded as the finest game bird on this continent. Large, with burnished plumage, spurred and bearded, he is a magnificent fowl. The flesh is tender and juicy, and as gamey in flavor as a partridge. His endless variety of food makes it always procurable, and in season he is never found thin in flesh. To hunt him successfully in regions where he is much sought after and shot at, requires the utmost skill and tact on the part of the hunter, and an intimate knowledge of all the habits of the bird. Exceedingly shy, with a keen eye, an acute sense of hearing, a quick flight and a fleet foot, he is extremely hard to get within range of. After many hours spent in calling or stalking him, just at the moment you think he is safe for a " bag," a slight move- ment or exposure of part of the body of the hunter, the breaking of a dry twig or the cocking of your gun, is sufficient to alarm him, and he is off" instantly. In the spring when they " pair off," is perha|)s the most favora- ble season for hunting them. Many are often killed in the autumn before they are fully grown, when they become comparatively an easy prey to the hunter, who coolly knocks them off from the trees in which they will alight when frightened. They are occasionally hunted by parties who, obtaining sight of a flock, watch them care- fully so as not to disturb or frighten them until they go to roost, and deliberately pick them off; but this hardly seems to be sport. The necessary equipments for stalking are a good gun, a turkey call, clothing as near the color of dead leaves as possible, and some knowledge of the habits of the game. 104 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. Time was when this most delicious, as it is the largest, of all our gallinaceous game, might have been taken in almost any State east of the Rocky Mountains ; but now, the would-be Wild Turkey hunter must seek his game in the Southern and Western portions of our Union, In the Southern States, especially Florida, any one, even the veriest pot-hunter, may secure his bird provided he has money enough. The sudden appearance of a fleck of Wild Tur- keys upon the banks of the St. Johns, as the steamer rounds some wooded point, is not of uncommon occurrence. Their relative abundance in any particular locality depends upon the supply of their favorite mast — nuts, acorns, etc., and the seed of the palmetto, wherever found. Their presence is indicated to the experienced hunter by their " scratching places," and he can tell by the freshness of these, and the character of the surrounding forest, where to look for them. In October, the males have in a great measure recovered their strength and plumpness, the females their good condition, and the young are able to take care of them- selves, and, withal, are tender and juicy. Then according to Au- dubon, the males and females hunt in separate parties. At this time the gobblers may be enticed within shot by the hunter lying concealed and imitating the clucking sound of the hen. Of the various methods employed, probably this is the most successful, though even this may be better used in spring. Old hunters are adepts in the art of calling, and their peculiar inimitable call is somediing the gobbler is hardly proof against, provided the liunter lies close. Sometimes, however, he will answer the call without putting in an appearance, thus depriving the worthy hunter of his meal. The best call, by the way, is made from the wing-bone of the turkey itself; though tolerably good ones may be obtained from dealers in sporting goods. The old style of trapping the bird in pens, is of course, out of the question, except to residents in a good turkey country. Shooting by moonlight, also, is only to be indulged in by the occupants of turkey-haunted sections ; though those favored be- ings whose lives are cast in such places, may depopulate an entire neighborhood in a short time. Probably the most sportsman-like method of procedure would be to hunt v;ith dogs, though, even then, the sport savors of pot- WILD TURKEY. lo: hunting, as it is rarely a wing shot can be procured, for the turkey soon takes to tree, and must be sought out, Hke the ruffed grouse when in similar position. Like the grouse, too, it remains per- fectly immovable, and is overlooked. It is in early spring, and early in the morning, when the gob- blers are saluting each other from the different tree-tops, that a good hunter may expect sport. Then his success depends upon his skill in threading the tangled thicket without noise, and in nearing the wary bird unperceived. If he wishes to bring that bird to bay, he must move with the rapidity of a deer, when necessary, and at times stand motionless as a ^tump ; for there is no more suspicious bird than an old gobbler that knows that he is inform- ing a whole forest of his presence. It may be unsportsmanlike ; it may be pot-hunting ; but there is a deal of satisfaction in seeing a plump fifteen-pounder drop from his airy perch at the report of your gun — especially when you need his presence in camp. Frank Forester says, " that, though he is always delighted to see a well roasted turkey on the board, especially if well stuffed with truffles and served up with well dressed bread sauce, he would not give the least palatable mouthful of him — no, not his ungrilled gizzard — to pot-hunt a thousand in such a style." But then he never shot one. The weight of the hen turkey, full grown, should be about ten pounds. Gobblers, from fifteen to twenty ; though in- stances are related of the capture of thirty-five pounders. Though a full grown bird will carry away a heavy load in the body, a charge of an ounce and a half of number two shot, backed by three drachms of good powder, well placed in the neck or head, will always prove effective. Even number eight shot have proved too much for young males, though hunters generally prefer buck-shot. When full grown, the wild turkey averages probably twenty pounds in weight, and he not unfrequently is found weighing as high as twenty-five or six. The plumage is very dark, nearly black in many cases, and glossy ; the usual color is a bronze deepening into greenish black. The hens are duller in color than the gobblers. A pair of turkeys raise from ten to twenty young in a season. So wary and watchful are they that it is seldom an opportunity I06 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. > . can be obtained in which to observe them when in their ucmestic relations. Their habits are therefore unknown to many. Severe battles often take place between the gobblers to determine which shall be the happy spouse of some hen that watches without seeming ir.terest the struggle going on for her sake. The vic- torious hero, strutting proudly by the side of the well pleased hen, becomes so much excited over his victory, that the red and white of his head and neck assume a deep purple. With tail spread to its utmost extent, and one wing sweeping the ground, an old gob- bler presents a fine picture of self-satisfaction and pride. A spot in the far off mountain is selected under a sheltering log or jutting rock, the dried leaves and grasses of the last fall are scooped out, and in the hollow thus formed the eggs are deposited. These number from ten to twenty, and are most carefully guarded by the mother. In leaving or approaching the nest, she always makes use of a circuitous route, and the eggs when left alone are always covered with dead leaves to protect then, from the prying eyes of prowling opossum or crow, who would make short work of the clutch if the opportunity offered. As soon as the young are hatched, a spot easier of access is sought where the young birds may obtain food more readily. Both parents take great interest in the growth and progress of their young family. The wild turkey is more hardy than its domestic cousin, and the rains of spring and the early summer months affect the health of the young brood much less than our tame and domesticated varieties. A dry season is preferable for their rapid development. At one month old the real trials and dangers of the young family begin. At this age there is sufficient good eating in the young turkey to make the chops of Reynard, water with delight, and the numerous hawks are not insensible of their delicious flavor. The young birds are exposed to the greatest amount of danger in the latter part of August and the first of September ; they are then about the size of a common barn-yard hen, and are an easy prey for the hunter. A flock of half grown turkeys startled by the approach of any one, will take immediately to the nearest trees, and can be shot one after another from their perches. This mode of slaughtering the poor birds is poor fun and a disgrace to a true WILD TURKEY. IO7 sportsman. Five turkeys at that season will about equal one good one killed during the months of November and December. The two last named months are the ones in which the turkey ought to be hunted. In the morning after the snnw has covered the ground to the depth of an inch or two, is the best time to start upon a hunt for wild turkeys. They will then be actively searching for food, and every movement and turn may then be traced in the snow. Great caution is necessary in approaching them ; their sight is excellent, and their hearing good. Many a fine gobbler is lost by the crack- ing of a twig or the movements of the hunter. Every precaution should be taken to see as far ahead as possible without being seen. If provided with a turkey caller, it is well every now and then to see if an answering " keouk " cannot be obtained. If the hunter be fortunate enough to get within shooting distance, let him take deliberate aim at the head (if provided with a rifle). But the pos- sessor of a shot gun should aim to cover the whole body. After being mortally wounded, a turkey will frequently run or fly for half a mile, but in a straight line. And very many turkeys are thought to have escaped injury, when by a careful search they might have been found dead a short distance from the place where they received the fatal shot. The " call " which is used to entice the gobbler within shoot- ing distance is made in a variety of different ways. The small bone from the wing of the turkey makes a very good caller by put- ting one end into the mouth and drawing the air through it, but the best one can be obtained by sawing about two inches from the end of a cow horn, then cut a piece of a shingle so as to fit the small end of the piece sawed off, bore a hole in the middle of the shingle, and insert a stick about the thickness of a ten penny nail, allowing the end of the stick to come through the piece of horn and to project a short distance beyond the open end. Put the end of the stick thus projecting upon a piece of slate and the sound produced thereby is the best imitation of the " keouk " of a turkey known. October is, all things considered, the best month for " calling " Wild Turkeys, although some sportsmen prefer the spring. Now, as all the devices which man employs to allure and ensnare the I08 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. victims he pursues are but imitations of what nature has riven her creatures for specific purposes, "t becomes us to inquire and understand the character of these peculiarities and learn why they are bestowed ; and by our investigations to determine the periods when game is in season. For instance, the call of the turkey may be either the warning note of the mother to her collective brood, as in the autumn, or the invitation and response of the wooing as in the spring. At the latter season, all birds are full grown, ^"'' the yearlings are in their prime. In October the flocks have not yet scattered ; the young turkeys, though large and strong of wing, are not fully grown, and the family circle re- mains unbroken. In both cases, it is apparent, the birds are noble and legitimate game. A turkey-call is easily imitated by using the hollow of the two hands placed together ; but these devices can only be learned by careful attention and practice. The early morning is the best time of day for calling, as indeed it is for all manner of hunting. Beside? the ordinary method of capturing the turkey, detailed above, '.ht e are others only to be -employed where the birds are very abundant. In Texas and the " Nation," as the Indian Ter- ritory is often called, they are shot at night from their roosts in considerable numbers. They are also trapped in the following way. A spot must first be found where the Turkeys are d ,':s- tomed to " use." This will Uwaysbe found to be an unfrequented place and near some swimpy or large forest growth, where they may find high trees to resort to when alarmed by the approach of huntsmen and to roost in at night. Having found such haunts and feeding grounds, the baiter scatters peas, wheat, or corn about in small quantities in different mar'