June 21, 1888.] FOREST AND STREAM. 4S1
on the beach. Hastily getting my rifle, I tired at him,
breaking bis back. Having cleaned the deer and cooked
our breakfast, we started clown the lake and spent the
rest of the week cruising along the shore toward the
town,
I would tire the reader were I to give a detailed descrip-
tion of every trip we took from May to January. How-
ever, I shall give a general outline of our expeditions.
The next week was spent in fly-fishing in the lower end
of the lake and the Spokane Eiver, having a glorious
time with the trout. After that we formed a parly to
hunt deer on a table-land about 11 miles up the lake.
There we spent three weeks killing deer and fly-fishing,
From there we went to
.
a small lake lying on the
left of the Cceur d'Alene River, where the trout were
large, running from two to three pounds, and very gamy
and finely flavored. There are a great many lakes oil
both the Cceur d'Alene and " St. Jo" Rivers in which the
fishing is good, but none, compare to this particular one.
The game also appears more plentiful bere than on the
others. We killed five deer, a couple of lynx, and a large
silver-tip bear, and caught a great many trout. Most of
the dear and trout we sent to our friends in Coeur d'Alene
by the steamer Cceur d'Alene which makes daily trips
from the town to the mission on the river for passengers,
freight and ore from the mines; it was then in charge of
a most obliging gentleman, Capt. Sanborn.
The water now being quite low, we turned our attention
to the " St. Jo " and St. Mary's rivers. We had a number
of exciting little incidents as we poled and packed the
canoe up the riffles, and when about four miles up the
"St. Jo," above the swift water, we found the best trout
fishing it has ever been my good luck to find, all large
and^gamy and very finely flavored. Higher up the river
we found the signs of game, or, I should say, animals,
plentiful. The bear, cougar and lynx keeping the deer
in constant readiness to jump into the river at any mo-
ment, but these wild animals were very shy, and Ave had
a good deal of trouble and luck in getting any. We also
saw a good many elk signs, but they were nearly all old,
and the elk seemed to have taken back into the hills
We saw a few mountain goats and had the luck to get
•two, the other game killed being deer, two bears, a cub
and a female, two cougars, three lynx, and plenty of
pheasants.
Thinking we had worked pretty hard, I proposed as a
rest a duck and goose hunt at " St. Jo " lake and bar.
The ducks, geese and swan now going south, stopped
there in vast numbers, and for nearly five weeks we had
most excellent shooting. None of the game went to
waste as we gave all we didn't use to the " Siwashes,"
who were there in good numbers limiting deer and fish-
ing, drying all they got for winter use.
We had also some good trolling for "bull trout," get-
ting some very large ones, the largest being 81bs. (The
largest bull trout caught in the lake last year was caught
on a spoon by Corp. Guy Norton, Co. D, 4th IT. S. In-
fantry.)
This ended our hunt with the exception of a short visit
to the head of Blue and Wolf Lodge Creeks,Jbut the snow-
being very deep we had rather indifferent success, our
party killing five deer in seven days.
I wish I could give a full outline of the whole trip. I
am sure I could induce some of our sportsmen to forsake
the old fished and shot-out regions for these compara-
tively new fields. Should any one contemplate the trip, I
should be pleased to give Mm hints as to the best shoot-
ing and fishing points, etc.
Let me also say that at Spirit Lake, only twelve miles
from Rathdrum, Idaho, on the N. P. R. R., one can find
elegant fishing, plenty of deer and bear. An old hunter,
Pete Rhoterbeck, has cabins there and will show any one
the best places.
The following flies are the best in April and May: Gray
drake, Abbie, professor, scarlet-ibis, March-brown; on
hooks from 10 to 6.
June and July: The gray-professor with yellow body is
best, ibis, Parmachene-belle, Seth-Green, orange-miller;
hooks C to 4.
August, September: Cowdung, grizzly-king, ibis, Seth-
Green. Nica,
A POCONO PARADISE.
IF among your readers there be any who are in search
. of a good place to go to for wholesome air, fine
scenery, fair trout fishing and decidedly a surplus of
game if they can kill it, we would inform them that we
have found just such a place. It is in a region 2,500ft,
above the heated walls and slums of Gotham, where
ozone abounds in inexhaustible quantities and free to
all, where nature is seen in its pristine grandeur, and
moreover where the speckled trout gleam in the spark-
ling brooks, the ruffed grouse drums in the neighboring
eopse, "the stag at eve," does "drink his fill," Bob
White whistles from surrounding thickets, and bunnie
scurries away at sight of sly reynard's approach. Even
dusky bruin is not far off, and the panther is occasionally
an unwelcome visitor to the farmer's pets.
On the 1:15 P. M. train, D., L. & W., from Hoboken
not long ago might have been seen the following party,
all enthusiastic members of the J. C. H. G. C. : K. , the
able and genial teller of a Bowery bank and the hero of
the slaying of two bull caribou in Maine last fall, he
has the head of one of the caribou, a magnificent speci-
men, mounted in his dining room; Dr. L, , the popular
clerk of the Circuit Court of this city; the versatile Jerry
M., the champion wild goose shot of the club, having
bagged thirty-eight last fall down in Maryland; and
lastly your hxmible servant. We were bound for a day's
trout fishing. Our objective point we understood was
Pocono Mountain or thereabouts, somewhere in the
wilds of Pennsylvania. We found both the mountain
and the wilds.
Having got pleasantly fixed in the smoking car and
cigars alight, we interviewed the conductor. Now there
are conductors and conductors. This conductor was a
sportsman, therefore a gentleman. He was posted and
willing to post us. Long may he conduct, or until he
does better and perhaps superintends. Well, we rushed
through the State of Jersey and tits magnificent scenery
piled up all along the Delaware Water Gap and adjacent
thereto, but we have no time nor space to go into the
raptures; it has been done too well and too often before.
We disembarked at Cresco station, a little one-horse
affair with a one-horse station master, we don't know
how many miles from Hoboken. The exclusion ticket
there and back is $4.60. We wanted to take a certain
tram back that did not stop regularly at Cresco; the
station master informed us positively that he could not or
whs not allowed to flag that train; the superintendent of
the road tells us differently, and that station master is
lazy or unaccommodating and may get into trouble. We
were met at the station by Milton Price with a spanking
teatn
.
who drove us some three miles to the domicile of the
Price brothers, whose post-office address is Canadensis,
Monroe county, Pa. Here we found a capacious farm
house with the appurtenances owned by the brothers
Milton and Westley, and (very successfully) presided over
by their niece, Clara Price, not to forget her able assistant,
little black-eyed Fanny Crowe. The Prices own a farm
of 800 acres, 40 of which are under cultivation, situated
on Broadhead Creek, a tributary of the Delaware, and
right in the heart of the wilds of Pennsylvania. They
are good fishermen, good shots, and good hosts. You
are at home at once. Upon jumping out of the buggy
we were asked if we would have supper right away; it
was then about 6 o'clock. Supper! not much—the roar
of the water over the dam and the rapids just below the
sawmill and but a short distance from the house had
excited the Doctor and Jacobstaff, and the joining of
rods, donning of rubber boots and discussion of flies were
more important just then than supper. We were soon
at the stream, where your correspondent landed the first
fish, of about 4oz. It was the first one in eight years.
He felt good, it brought back old times. He was soon
followed by K. with one of about the same size, then by
the Doctor with a littler one, while poor Jerry, whose flies
and leaders had become inextricably mixed, was using
words akin to club language when pinocle goes wrong.
Then we were called to supper. Ab! what a supper, and
what an appetite that high mountain air had given us for
those biscuits, that butter and cream and coffee (that
was coffee) and honey and cider, to say nothing about
the crisp, delicious trout freshly caught from those cold
waters.
We were up early in the morning after a refreshing
sleep on hair mattresses and spring beds. K. and Milt
took the buggy for the Buckill, a stream four miles away,
the Doctor and I a small brook near by, called the Spruce-
kill, while Jerry, wanting larger game, proposed to con-
fine himself to the main stream; and Charlie, a younger
brother and quite a boy, started for a stream some four
miles over the mountain. I need not describe our day's
sport nor could I do it justice. What a time we had get-
ting through laurel thickets and black alder brush, over
blackened logs and mossy stones as slippery as the eel of
historical note, taking a little beauty from that ripple, a
larger one from under that mossy stone and a bigger still
from just above the foam lying above that driftwood,
while the dull roar of muffled thunder on either moun-
tain side told us that there were grouse and more than
one in the neighborhood. Suffice is to say we bad a right
good day. Comparing notes we found that having a
guide to the manor born was a good thing, for K. with
Milt had beaten us two to one, and even the boy was
ahead of us individually, but was not that to be expected?
These country boys know where to go, when to go and
what to do when they get there, and don't you ever bet
that they won't beat you on their OAvn ground.
Well, we enjoyed a good time. K. had to be in New
York by 8 A, M. the next day, so he started homeward
that evening. The rest of us did some more fishing in
the dusk and the dawn, and took the 6:12 train in the
morning, arriving in Hoboken at 9:30, well satisfied with
our one day's fish.
The Price boys have a well-broken Gordon setter and a
black and tan hound, part beagle and part foxhound, that
they say it Al on the Molly Cottontails. We are going up
there again when the season opens in November. We
hope to be in time before the woodcock get away south.
We saw many borings, though we put up no birds. The
boys say there are many around there and nobody shoots
them. By driving only a few miles north a good deer
region is reached, and it is only about twelve miles, we
believe, from the celebrated Blooming Grove Park. We
are going up after the timberdooclles, grouse and Bob
White and the hares, and may be a deer or a bear, who
knows? We will tell you about it. Jacobstaff.
MUSSEL, BOWFIN, OTTER.
Editor Forest and Steam:
I can add my testimony concerning the edibility of
the fresh-water clam. "N. A. T." need not be afraid
of their hurting anything but his jaws and perhaps his
feelings, when he finds that what looks as good to eat as
an oyster or salt-water clam is a rank-flavored delusion
and a leathery snare.
When we boys used to go fishing at the lake we often
tried them, raw, stewed, fried and in soup, but a little in
any way was enough, if not as good as a feast, and we
soon gave over begrudging the muskrats all our share of
them. Yet tastes differ, and I have seen old Hi Potter
get the better of three dozen, raw on the half shell, with
the addition of a little salt which he had brought on pur-
pose in a little calico bag all the way from Monkton; and
he swore they were better than oysters, But his example
and his profanity failed to convince us. Also an ancient
worthy of more pleasant memory, one of the old-time
hunters, used to aver that if you would "bile 'em into
brine and fry 'em into butter they'd be good," but we
never tried his recipe.
Did "N. A. T." ever examine his unios for pearls? Some
valuable ones have been found in the fresh-water clams
of the Winooski.
I remember that not long ago the edible qualities of the
bowfin were discussed in your columns. I have had
recent experience in this matter which may possibly in-
terest some one now. One night this spring our men
went fishing for pouts in the Slang and caught a bowfin
of about 21bs. weight, which they brought home, and after
dressing it nicely and removing all traces of its identity,
handed it over to the womankind under the attractive
name of sweetfish. They marveled somewhat at this
heretofore unheard of fish, but fried it according to the
best of their skill along with bull pouts, and it was served
up with them. It was not ill-flavored, but it was soft
and yet it was not soft. It separated easily into fibers,
but beyond that no amount of chewing would reduce it,
and if swallowed it must be as a bit of soft wood would
be, ground into a stringy pulp. Though all who partook
of it agreed that it might be better than no fish, if one
were fish-hungry, no oue asked to be helped to it a
second time. It was like a "chip in porridge, neither
good nor bad." If I could be informed in time of the
next impending battle of the Ichthyophagi with the un-
eatable, I would try to send them this' adversary, worthy
of their ivory if not of their stomachs.
Of the otter killed in the township of Monkton, t ha ve
heard that it was somehow taken in the outlet of Bristol
Pond, near Hog's Back Mountain. It was a fine speci-
men, and the captor sold the skin in Bristol for $1&A third of this he invested in illicit strong waters, and
therewith so loudly celebrated his good fortune, and mis-
taking his wife for a drum, beat her, that he was mulcted
in a fine of $8. His neighbor, S. L., who was never
guilty of a pun, says, "He hadn't ought 'er then."
Some may think this an inglorious end of the story of
the last otter in the county, but many an otter of the
olden time went in much the same way, only in those
happy days a man was not fined for ever so much rejoic-
ing over his luck. Awahsoose. •
Febhisbuugh, Vt.
TREATMENT OF SNAKE BITE.
BY DR. H. C. YARROW.
LSeveuth and concluding paper of the Series, " Snake Bite and its
Antidote."!
CAN we now in view of the results of our experiments
propose any plan of treatment for snake bite which
will afford reasonable ground for a belief that danger
may be averted and human lives spared? It is thought
the question may be answered in the affirmative, especi-
ally as regards those persons bitten by North American
species of poisonous reptiles, and the following sugges-
tions are offered with the earnest desire that they may
realize fully the hopes of the writer.
What shall a person do who is bitten by a venomous
snake? The first advice to give is that he or she should
not lose presence of mind, and become so nervous as to
be incapable of cool and deliberate thoughts. If the bite
is upon one of the lower limbs or upon the arms, a broad
bandage of unyielding texture, if possible, should be
placed tightly around the affected member, and between
the bite and the heart, and be securely fastened. This
bandage or ligature can be made by tearing up a shirt
and using two or three thicknesses of the material, an
inelastic suspender will answer, pieces of a handkerchief
may be used, or if in the woods a strip of bark from a
sapling can be hastily slit off and applied. A leather
strap or thong is better than anything else, but even long-
grass rolled together so as to form a cord may be used hi
an emergency. In applying the band or ligature of what-
ever nature, it should be started about six inches above
the bite and the turns made to run downward toward
the puncture, and should be wrapped so tightly as to cause
the injured limb to become turgid with venous blood.
Having fastened it securely, a number of cross cuts
should made through the points of the puncture from
the snake's fangs, deep enough to pass down into the
muscular tissue, taking care to avoid veins which will be
seen standing prominently forth, anil bleeding from the
cuts can he encouraged by rubbing the limb gently up
and down below the ligature. A wide-mouthed bottle or
similar utensil, from which the air has been driven forth,
by burning some whisky or a piece of paper in it, should
be applied to the wound and it will act as a cupping gla^s;
or still better, let the bite be sucked by the patient him-
self, if he can get at it, or have some courageous friend
with a healthy mouth perform this act for him. The
pulse should be felt, and if it weakens, showing that pos-
sibly a portion of venom is reaching the general system
notwithstanding the constricting band, whisky should
be given in moderate quantities. From time to time the
band should be slightly loosened and then replaced so as
to admit of partial circulation, but as the heart flags, the
stimulant must again be administered. It is no use to
make the patient drunk, for alcoholic liquors are not
antidotes, in any sense they simply act as a tonic to the
failing circulation.
The writer has been informed by a gentleman, long
resident in Texas, that the plan proposed has been con-
stantly employed in that State; and that few deaths re-
sult there from the bite of venomous snakes. Of course
it will be understood that these suggestions are intended
to meet sudden emergencies and not to take the place of
treatment by intelligent bystanders or physicians. Under
all circumstances, the ligating band should bo first ap-
plied and the incision made, and then if circumstances
will admit the following procedure, it is thought, will be
the best. Cupping glasses should be applied over the
wound, after which a 20 per cent, solution of permangan-
ate of potassa should be injected with a hypodermic
syringe directly into the wounded tissue and retained
there by means of the finger or compress. The flesh
should also be kneaded so as to distribute the solution
through the tissues in the immediate vicinity of the bite.
In addition the patient should be made to swallow 20
minims fluid extract of jaborandi, or its alkaloid, pilo-
carpine, may be used hypodermically. If the venom ap-
pears to be gaining ground another injection of the per-
manganate may be given, followed by more of the jab-
orandi, or pilocarpine, but the latter drug should be sus-
pended Avhen it is found the patient is perspiring freely
and when excessive salivation is produced. Carried too
far this remedy would weaken instead of strengthening
the heart. Whisky or brandy may also be used in lim-
ited quantities from time to time. In the absence of
any of the means suggested in the way of remedies the
primary fact tq keep in mind is the importance of the
ligature, incision or scarifying the affected part, and
the promotion of a free flow of blood. If nothing can he
found to use as a cupping glass or no one is courageous
enough to use the mouth, the old-fashioned country
remedy of splitting open a live chicken and applying it
over the wound may be tried, or as has been tried in
India with success, the anus of a chicken may be ap-
plied over the wound, using a number of different fowls
for the purpose. The writer recommends these methods
only because there is undoubted evidence of th eir efficacy.
A piece of porous clay might be applied as it would
doubtless act in the same manner as did the snake stone
in our experiments. It is very important to remember
that the ligature or constricting band cannot be allowed
to remain very long as gangrene would inevitably result,
432 FOREST AND STREAM. [June 21, 1888.
it should be loosened from time to time so as to admit of
a slight circulation through the affected part, and to per-
mit a small amount of the venom only to enter the sys-
tem, and the effect of this should he met by the adminis-
tration of the remedies already indicated. In the case of
a rapidly weakening heart, tincture digitalis in 15 drop
closes might be given every two hours, or, if at hand, a
few drops of nitrate of amyl might be inhaled. Every-
thing failing it might be worth while to attempt artificial
respiration, in the hope that if life could be prolonged,
the system might throw off the poison, as it has been
shown by the Indian Snake Commission that the action
of venom actually is delayed by this method. In one
case mentioned by Vincent Richards £ of a grain of cobra
venom was injected into a dog. "It took four hours and
ten minutes before the animal appeared to be dying, un-
til artificial resph*ation was resorted to. In four minutes
more in the absence of this system this animal's heart
wo Id have ceased to beat and somatic death been com-
pleted. But by its steady application life was extended
to forty-one hours and fifty-two minutes. In a desperate
case there should be no hesitation in trying the effect of
artifici 1 respiration.
* Before leaving the subject of snake bites it seems proper
to allude to a matter which has of late received some little
attention, viz.. the preventive inoculation of serpent
venom to prevent danger from bites, and whflethe writer
does not commit himself to the theory he believes it may
be worth of serious consideration. As has already been
stated in this paper the Ann Arbor experiments showed
conclusively that after a time with repeated inoculation
of venom the animals experimented upon seemed to be
much less susceptible to its effect, and quite recently an
individual has been visiting the principal cities claiming
an immunity from snake bite, o i account of an inocula-
tion performed on him by some South American Indians,
and offering to have the matter tested upon a large dog,
which had also been inoculated. It has been stated that
in Philadelphia these experiments were successful.
Tschudi informs us that some of the South American
Indians are said to acquire an immunity from snake bite,
having been previously inoculated, but the process has to
be repeated from time' to time. In this connection the
following extract is given from "The Veterinarian,"
Loud., 1887, LX., 565, as it seems to bear the impress of
truthfulness. "Three of the oxen were bitten by snakes.
One of the bushmen undertook to cure them, and taking
a knife made one or two slight incisions round the place
where the bite was, which was easily seen by swelling,
and rubbed in a powder which he said was made from
the dried poison sacs of another snake. In a few hours
the poison had entirely subsided and the cattle were as
well as their half starved state would allow them to be.
I expressed some doubt whether this cure would be
efficacious in the case of the more deadly kind of snake,
but the bushman assured me that it would, and that he
was not afraid of being bitten by any snake in this
country so long as ho had the poison sac of another snake
to use as an antidote.
"The very next day I had an opportunity of putting him
to the test. While walking ahead of the wagon I saw a
full-grown capell or spunghe slange lying under a
bank, and calling the bushman said, 'Catch that snake
alive. You are afraid of it, are you ?' 'No, boss,' he
replied, 'I am not afraid, and will catch it for a roll of
tobacco.' Not wishing to be accessory to his death, I
refused to bribe him, and went to get the driving whip to
kill the snake with. I had scarcely returned when he
gave it a kick with his naked foot, and the horrible rep-
tile bit him. Coolly taking out some dried poison sacs
he reduced them to powder, pricked his feet near the
puncture with his knife, and rubbed the virus powder in
just as he had done with the cattle. In the meantime I
had put a stop to the snake biting any more by a blow
from the whip stock, and the bushman extracted the
fangs, drank a drop of poison from the virus sac, and
soon fell into a stupor, which lasted some hours. At first
the swelling increased rapidly, but after a time it began
to subside, andnext morning he inoculated himself again.
That night the swelling disappeared, and in four days he
was as well as ever."
In conclusion it may be mentioned that this record of
experimental inquiry is not intended as an exhaustive
treatise, for as opportunity occurs other experiments will
be tried with such supposed remedies for snake bite as may
be offered, and the results will be duly published. In
conducting the experiments the writer has been influenced
by the motives only of adding to the sum of human
knowledge and alleviating human misery, and if he has
succeeded in this he will be amply repaid for the labor
and dangers incident to the research. His thanks are
offered to several porsons who have aided him, more
especially to his industrious and energetic assistant Mr.
E. B. Rheem and to Capt. Bendire, U. S. A. It is proper
to add that the greater part of the expenses of the investi-
gation have been borne by the National Museum.
and all seemed to take a good deal of interest in what I
was doing and what I had a fire for. Finally they ap-
proached quite near, and taking some crackers from my
pocket I broke them in pieces and tossed them to the
birds, and they at once scramblod down to where the
dainty morsels were and proceeded to walk off with them.
I then put some pieces on top of a stump beside me, and
it was not long before they alighted within two or three
feet of where I was sitting, seemingly not in the least
afraid, and picked up pieces of cracker. They continued
doing this until finally they became so bold that they
would take the pieces from between my fingers, and one,
more courageous than the others, seemed to be quite
vexed because I pinched the cracker and would not let it
get it at once, and twisted his head and pulled at it three
or four times as you have seen chickens do when you
held something tightly between your fingers for them to
take. I was very much interested in their actions and
anxious to know what kind they were. Later I found
that they were the gray jays.—W\ B. Mershon.
A "Woolly Crocodile."—Editor Foi-est and Stream:
I see it reported that "a curious creature was brought to
San Francisco by a ship which arrived there the other
day. It has some characteristics of the crocodile, but is
covered with a coat of short bristles or hair, which giv.es
it a most peculiar appearance. It has been domesticated
to a certain extent and will permit the captain or any of
the crew to approach it and receive their caresses with
evident pleasure, but if a stranger approaches, it distends
its big jaws and shows fight. The crew call it a 'woolly
crocodile.' It is active and weighs about forty pounds."
I think you will ag ee with me that this is "important if
true," in its bearing on the theory of evolution; for if the
"woolly crocodile" actually exists, and is possessed of the
characteristics here described, it is in truth a "missing
link."—C. F. Amery.
The Birds' Return.—Charlestown, N. H., May 27.—
I note your remarks on "The Bird Hosts" in last number,
and can add the result of my observations to confirm the
opinion that our native birds are decidedlymore numerous
this year than for some years past. The spring of 1886
was the first but one for many years that I have spent in
in a country village, and I was then struck by the absence
of my old familiar friends. Last year, 1887, there were
more, and several orioles, of which I only saw one in '86,
built their nests in my immediate neighborhood. This
year, although a few days later, there are decidedly more
of them, and 1 have seen the scarlet tanager and the
indigo bird again, and in my rambles along the trout
brooks, or in search of flowers, have been greeted by
hosts of brown thrushes, bobolinks and red-winged black-
birds, while one village street is thronged with flocks of
the little gold finch or yellow bird, as the boys call them.
Now, as the English sparrow has not infested this entire
neighborhood very much yet, I am inclined to attribute
this marked increase to some extent to the good work of
the Audubon Society.
—
Von W.
Familiarity of the Gray Jay.—Editor Forest and
Stream: I was very much interested in Mr. Grinnell's
description in the article on the "Autumn Birds of the
St. Mary's Lake Region," relative to the habits of the
gray jays. Some years ago while deer shootingin northern
Michigan I was seated on a runway back in the woods
waiting for something to turn up, and had kindled a little
fire to warm my stiffening fingers, when I noticed a flock
of birds of a kind unknown to me at that time, in the sur-
rounding trees. They were chock-full of curiosity and
impudence, and seemed to be chattering at me; and every
little while one would hop on some twig a little nearer,
Sparrows and Song Birds.—Philadelphia, May 14.—
Some twenty years ago I had a nice home in the country,
where our happiness was increased by the companionship
of wrens, orioles and bluebirds. Business compelled me
to move into the city. After years of labor I have been
enabled to escape the hot streets, sewer gas and other
offensive odors and to return to my lovely old home in
the country, with its grass, shade and fruit trees. My
walk over the grounds was saddened by the positive ab-
sence of the little songsters that made its former posses-
sion so bright and cheerful, and I am told that their
absence dated from the advent of the English sparrow.
I write now for advice. I want my wrens, bluebirds and
orioles, and care nothing for the sparrow. If I kill the
quarrelsome pests do you think I can coax the little war-
blers to come on the ground where sparrows are forbidden?
My .22 Ballard will soon ridme of these English emigrants
if such riddance will bring back my little friends.—G. N.
j§ag mid
IN THE MATTER OF BUFFALO.
LAST May I clad myself lightly in a photograph outfit
and an editorial pass and started out to Garden
City, Kansas, to visit my old friend C. J. Jones and his
herd of tame buffalo. I had helped catch some of these
buffalo two years before, or at least had stood around
and watched the other fellows catch them, so I felt a
sort of two-ply interest in the outfit.
The familiar gray landscape of the upper Arkansas
country swam by the Pullman window, and I lay and
let it swim till the porter, who should have called me
half an hour before, poked hi3 head through the curtains
at 8 o'clock and hurriedly called out, "Boss, get up, quick,
we're pulling into Garden City now!" That porter missed
my quarter, but received my blessing, as I gathered my
vestments, my photograph outfit and my editorial pass
all in my arms together and stepped lightly and grace-
fully into the depot building to complete my toilet. I
dressed in the simplest and swiftest manner within my
power, thanked my admiring audience for their kind
attention and went up to Ben Phillip's Buffalo Hotel for
a good breakfast.
It began to rain after breakfast and it was therefore
impossible to go out to the herd, which was some four
miles down the river, with any prospect of successful
results at photographing. I found Mr. Jones at his
office, up to his eyes in some political scheme or other. I
believe he was laying for the honor of being a delegate
to the Republican convention at Chicago in June. Mr.
Jones divides his time between politics, a big irrigation
ditch, the glorious climate of Kansas and buffalo catch-
ing. He is a rustler in all these pursuits, but I believe
he rather has a leaning to the latter.
The moment lie saw me, Mr. Jones insisted I should
stay over and start next week with him for the Pan-
handle, on a hunt which, should be positively the last
appearance of the North American bison on the stage of
history or of sporting journalism. He explained that
he already had the teams and running horses down on
the range, with half a dozen men, and that word was up
that the boys had found the herd, which numbered forty-
two head all told. Mr. Jones again affirmed his ability
to rope and throw a full grown buffalo (at which I again
laughed) and further expressed his determination not to
be contented with a few paltry calves, but to bodily round
up, wear out, tame down and drive in the whole exist-
ing band of buffalo then on the range. There was "go"
enough in this idea to fairly set me wild; but at the
expense of all my effort, I was forced to confess that I
could not possibly get off to join the expedition. I knew
very well what I was missing, for I had been out with
Mr. Jones before on one of these wild hunts.
The rain abating somewhat, we started down to the
herd. At the distance of a mile, we could see the black
humps of the buffalo strung out in line among the herd
of cattle with which they are kept. A half-wild old
herdsman, covered with a tattered blanket, was urging
his pony about the herd, and gradually working them up
toward the corral, away from the river. Twice before,
some of the buffalo had crossed the Arkansas, and led the
herder a pretty chase.
As we drew near, it was easy to see that the buffalo
were no longer wild buffalo, but quite thoroughly
domesticated. It was almost impossible tosexoarate them
from the cattle, and they seemed not to care much for
the approach of the mounted herder. They would let
him ride up close, then dodge around him and cut back
into the bunch again. They frequently passed within a
dozen yards of us, as we stood by the wire fence. I
recognized one two-year old as he passed, carefully
avoiding the barbs of the fence. I remembered the hot
run at sun-up when we caught him, down on the plains
forty miles from water; and I remembered how the herd
of big buffalo ran directly over and through a strong wire
fence that morning, and scattered it as if it were built of
straw.
There were yearlings, two-year-olds and three-year-
olds in the lot, thirty-nine in ail, I believe. Mr. Jones
had purchased one large young cow in Colorado, and I
think also one from the Cimarron country; he had also
sold three two-year -olds to Pawnee Bill's Wild West show.
I saw these three specimens at Wichita. They were the
poorest of the lot, one of them being a spindling, big-
headed brute. Those left on the Jones ranch appeared
to be in very good condition. I recognized thebig heifer,
Paladora. She was smooth as a seal.
I made several flying shots with the drop shutter at
members of the herd as they passed, but feared the light
was too dim to get a good negative on an instantaneous
exposure, as the clouds had now again entirely overcast
the sky; moreover, I wished a view of the herd as a whole,
if possible; we accordingly undertook to drive the buffalo
into the small corral near the cabin, where wo oould
inclose them and approach closely. As the herder cut
them out from the cattle, Mr Reeves (Mr. Jones's brother-
in-law; Mr. Jones himself could not come out Avith us)
and I directed them through the little gate. As I stood
with the camera near by, and nothing but a little switch
in my hand, the buffalo passed within ten feet of me.
They cei'tainly looked very large, some of them, and quite
capable of making away with one; but beyond a wild
look from under their shaggy frontlets, they seemed dis-
posed to keep the peace. In a short time we had them
nicely inclosed, and walked up to the fence to look them
over. What a strange sight it was! Here, on the native
ground of the buffalo, but ground long since swept clean
of them by the skin-hunter, we had a band of buffalo
rounded up; we had a "stand" on them; they were not a
dozen feet from us. And they were genuine buffalo,
shag-headed, mournful-eyed and grim. No doubt of it.
I tickled one with the switch. It kicked, shook its head,
and ran off a few steps, much like a domestic calf. Half
a dozen of the herd were large, nearly full grown. From
this they ranged down to curly little rascals which would
make the sourest cynic laugh in spite of himself.
A number of negatives were takenfrom different points
of view, the buffalo being very_ patient under the process,
and not even taking much fright at the flapping of the
camera cloth. The animals were usually from twenty to
fifty feet away from the instrument. The herder went
into the corral and drove them about, so that often they
passed so close one could almost have touched them with
his hand through the fence.
A drizzling rain had by this time set in, so that it was
very difficult to operate the camera. We adjourned un-
til after dinner, and then came out with a larger instru-
ment, which belonged to Mr. Jones. We had again to
drive up the buffalo, and by the time this was done the
blackening clouds were just on the point of saturation.
I had just gotten a group arranged to my liking and was
adjusting the focus of the instrument when the heavens
opened and a sheet of rain came driving across the sand
hills in a way which might have pleased William Black,
but which didn't please us at all under the circumstances.
The rains in that country are often very heavy. This was
one of the worst. The earth narrowed to a circle of
steaming mist as the cloud swept over us. It was impos-
sible to tell anything about the focus. I tried to protect
the lens as best I might, and as the buffalo stood there
staring dumbly at me, I ran through plate after plate in
the blinding rain, and only started in when the wet began
to swell the slides, and I realized that perhaps I was ruin-
ing another man's instrument.
As I turned to go the rain fairly redoubled, and shut
in the little corral in a veritable fog. Out of this frame
of mist, gray and twisting, showed the silent, patient,
motionless front of the group of buffalo, standing face
toward me, wondering, dumb. Their brown backs
loomed up high over their lowered heady. Their big,
melancholy eyes stared out mornfully, asking that old
question which looks out always from a buffalo's eyes, of
" What next, Mother Nature?" I came away and left
them standing there in the rain, patient, motionless.
Soon I was whirling away east again, back to work.
The buffalo have, been with the herd of cattle since
their captivity, and Mr. Jones has looked forward to this
spring with great interest as a time which would deter-
mine some of his notions as to cross breeding. At the
time of my trip nothing could yet be known, though it
was expected cross-bred calves would be dropped both by
domestic and buffalo cows. I shall be glad to report upon
this phase of the interesting question of buffalo raising
as soon as I can hear definitely. Mr. Reeves, who was
well posted upon the history of the herd, was of the
opinion that Mr. Jones made a mistake in allowing to run
with the herd a black Galloway bull, whose known fight-
ing propensities may have ariven off the male buffalo,
which were younger and not so strosg.
When Mr. Jones started down on the hunt he took with
him a number of carrier pigeons, which were subsequently
used in sending up reports to Garden City, a distance of
two or three hundred miles. By the last report, sent
from Mount Blanco, Texas, I learn that the party have
gotten among the buffalo, and have caught several calves.
From the camp on the Canadian, exploring parties were
sent out in all directions. I have no definite knowledge,
but presume that Lee Howard's old camp -is the rendez-
vous, and that Lee himself is helping Mr. Jones on the
hunt. Last year he did so, and in pay for this Mr. Jones
gave him the game Kentucky running mare Jennie, who
did such noble work on the hunt which I accompanied.
The buffalo are reported now to be broken up into small
bunches. Mr. Jones had given up the idea of roping and
hobbling the full grown buffalo, as after being chased
they show themselves ferocious and unmanagable. An
adult buffalo is nearly as strong as a steam engine. On