Description of a new Plumed Partridge from Sonora (<I>Callipepla elegans bensoni</I>)

106 FOREST AND STREAM. [March

3, 1887.

terror-stricken animals are soon overtaken and de- stroyed."

Inthe

town

of Huntington,on Dec.27,1685, it

was

''ordered that the Indianshavetenshillingsfor as

many

-wolves astheykillwithin our bounds; thatis,tenshillings ayear,ifthey

make

itevidenttheywereso killed." Itis also stated that

"At

the first settlement of the town, wolves, wildcats,wild turkies,swans

and

pelicans were found in abundance, and wolves were ^so mischievous, thatbountieswerefreelygivenfor their destruction."

Inthe

town

of

Hempstead

inthe year1658,"six bush- elsof

com was

allowedbythe

town

forthekilling ofa wolf."

Thatstockingponds with^fish

was

carried onto

some

extentisevidentfromthe following: "In1790

my

uncle, Uriah Mitchell, sheriff of Queens county,andmyself,

went

toRonkonkonia

Pond

in Suffolk county, a distance offortymiles, in awagon,for the purposeof transport- ingalivesomeof the yellow perch, from thenceto Suc- cessPond.

We

tookaboutthreedozenof thoseleastin- juredbythehook andputallbuttwoinSuccess

Pond

in goodcondition andintwoyears thereafter theyhadso multiplied as to becaughtbythe hookineverypartof thepond."

That

w

^Tolves also troubled the people of the

town

of Jamaicaispotentfromthe factthat"In1661,Jan.15,it

was

ordered that a rate be

made

to payfora wolfof Abraham's killing, and one that John Townsend's pit catched,"andthat the

town

"Agreed,Feb.6,1663,that whoevershallkillanywolf, theheadbeing

shown

tothe

town

ornailed

upon

a tree,shallhaveseven bushelsof Indiancorn."

In the

town

ofGravesend

"Wolves

were bothplentiful andmischievousatthattime, appearsfrom thefactthat onthe Sth of August,1650,three guilders were olfered for each wolf killedinthe town,

and two

guildersfora fox."

The

town

ofFlatlandstiled toexterminate thewolves byauthorizing

"The

constable and twooverseerstopay the value of an Indian coat for each wolf killed,

and

cause thewolf's head to be nailed over the doorofthe constable,there toremain; as also tocutoffboth theears intokenthattheheadisbroughtinand payedfor."

The

town

of

New

Utrechtseemedtohave beentheonly onethatwastroubledwitha ministerial scandal,inwhich casethesentenceofthe court

was

"afineof

two

hundred guildersandfortybeaver skins."

Wm.

Dtjtcher.

New Yokk

City,February,1887.

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM BUFFALO.

r~pHE

Washington Evening Star says ofthe National JL

Museum

buffalo:

"Omthe

floorofa large

room

ina big

wooden

buildingailjoining the National

Museum

builds ingarestretchedout the furry hidesof

two

dozenbuffalo, In cornersofthe

room

areboxes and bundles ofbones,

and

hereandthere arebleached bison skulls,pickedup ontheplains. Thesearethe trophies brought

home

by Mr.WilliamT.Hornaday,thenaturalistandtaxidermist

who went

recentlyon anexpeditionforthe Smithsonian Institution,tosecurespecimensofthe

American

buffalo before the species

became

extinct. Millionsofbuffalo once

roamed

theplains,andinthedaysofDanielBoone were foundin

West

Virginia,southeasternPennsylvania andother places about theAppalachianrange; butto-da3^r the buffalo has

become

sorarean animalthatProf.Baird

deemed

it desirable, inthe interest of science, tosend^- outaspecialexpeditiontosecure specimens. Mr.Horn- aday,

who

has followed the chase in the interest of scienceinAfricanforests,inthe monkey-liauntedwoods of Borneo and^thejunglesofIndia,

was

naturallychosen forthework.

He made

MilesCity,Mont., the baseof his operations, and with a well-equipped partyofcowboys

went

on a limiting expedition which resulted in liis

securing within

two

months over twenty-five buffalo, beside specimens of antelope, deer, wolves, badgers, porcupines,sage cocksandgrouse. Only a fewyearsago buffaloweresonumerousthattrainsonthe trans-conti- nental railroads had often to stop while large herds crossed thetracks.

Now

Mr.

Hornaday

figuresthat there arebut 200inthe countryoutside ofthe small herd of about100thatrange through the Yellowstone Park and are there protectedbylaw fromthe hunter'srifle.

Where

Mr.

Hornaday

hunted hethinks there are twenty-five or thirtybuffaloleft,buttheywillallbekillednextspring or the following spring

when

the cowboys

make

their annual "round-up."

The

terrible

work

of destruction following

upon

the completion,of therailroadshas been done byhunters

who

killed scores for sport,

men who

shot buffalofor their hides,and

when

buffalowerein large herds,usedtobe abletotake a"stand" near aherd and shoot

them

bythehundred,and cowboysthatneversee a buffalowithoutshooting. In thebuffalothatwerekilledby Mr.

Hornaday

inseveralinstancesbulletmarks,encysted bullets, or bones shattered

by

rifle balls, were found, showing

how

closelyandrelentlessly this lastremnantof a great familyhad beenpvu'sued. Theplainswere a few years ago whitened with the bleaching bones of the slaughtered animals,buteventhesetracesof the buffalo arebeing rapidlyremoved. The bones are gathered

up and

shippedto thecities tobe ground up and used as fertilizers. Thereareabout 100 buffalo leftinthepan- handleofTexas.

The

specimens broughtfrom

Montana by

Mr.Hornaday,

some

of

which

willbe

mounted

forthe National

Museum,

compriseeight oldbulls,eleven

young

bulls, sixoldcows,five

young

cows,two yearlings and onetliree-months-oldcalf. Thecalf which wassecured onMr.Hornaday'svisitto

Montana

lastspring,and

was

broughtherealive,butsoon diedfromacoliccontracted

by

eating

damp

clover. The animal has been mounted, and

now

standsasa sentryin front ofthe taxidermists'

work room

inthe oldarmorybuilding. Last spring Mr.

Hornaday

shotalsothreeor four buffalo,but they were thensheddingtheir coats,andthe skins are considered useless for the taxidermist's purposes. Mr.

Hornaday

broughtwith

him

alsosixteencompletebuffaloskeletons, besides fifty-one skulls,picked

up

ontheprairie.

A

suf- ficient

number

ofthesespecimenstogive afanrepresen- tation of the buffalo,from the naturalists' standpoint, willbe preparedforexhibitionin the National

Museum, and

theremainderwill be kept, toexchange withother institutions.

One

hugeskin Mr.

Hornaday

points towith

special,pride. Itisthatof ahugebullthat stood5ft.Sin.

high. Mr.

Hornaday

gave chase tothe bull onhorse- backand brought

him

tobay. Thebullturnedtocharge, buta shot crippledhim,sothathe tumbledtothe ground.

Thebull regained his feet andstood motionless. Mr.

Hornaday

leapedfromhishorse

and made

rapidsketches ofthefineanimalashestood. Such an opportunity of sketching abuffalo inlifecould not be neglected. So

by

rapid

work

hesecured considerable materialto aid

him

in his

work

as ataxidermist beforehe gave theanimal his deathshot."

PRAIRIE OWLS AND SCORPIONS.

AMONG

^{allthe birdsofAmericathere arenonebetter}

deservingtoreceive the protectionofthe lawsthan thelittleprairieowLsofthePacific slope. Although very numerousthey are harmlessandUnobtrusive,

They may

generally be seensittingon aheapofsand thrown up by theprairiedogindigginghis hole. This hole is appro- priatedbytheowlfor hishouse,and asyou drive past, he neverfailsto salute

you

withaverypolitebow,and inthestyleoftherealgentleman. The female

may

often beseenwithher half-grown broodsitting atthe entrance ofthe invariableprairiedoghole. Shouldyou

come

too nearshe

makes

her obeisanceand retires with herlittle onesasgracefullyasmighta fashionablelady. Because ofthepositivegood hedoes in the destruction of

many

harmfulinsectsandreptiles,andespeciallyofthescorpion, heshouldhave protection. In southern California and the

warmer

parts of

Utah

and Arizona,every

summer

eveningbrings forth great numbers of scorpions.

They

etintothehousesandinfestthepathsand walks about ooryardandgardens;andbutfor the appetite andin- dustry of the owl they would become an intolerable nuisanceinthose hot climates forthree orfour months oftheyear. At suchseasonsourlittleowl comesquietly about thehouse at dusk every nightand picksup the scorpionsbyscores. Usuallyhehas

some

placenear by, asthe corniceof the house orsome broad

beam

in the barn,where hedeposits hisloadandeats

what

hedesires.

He

devours only thesoftpartofthebodyofthescorpion, leaving the head,claws

and

tailofthereptileuntilthere

may

oftenbefounda quart or

more

ofsuch remnants at the place he has chosen for his nightlybanquet.

One

owl having selected a perch under the corniceof

my

house as the spot for devouring hisnightly catch of scorpions, leftin a

few

weekssolargea quantityofrem- nantsas toprovehe

must

havedestroyed the reptilesby the scoreeverynight,andofcourse the yard aboutthe houseandthe gardenwere correspondinglythinned of thesemostunpleasantcreatures. Thisgood work,aswell asthegrave courtly manners of our little prairie owl, have

made him

ourspecialfriendandinduce usto sj>eak agood

word

forhim. Geo.H.Wyjian.

St.Georoe,LTtah.

;-The

Hermit Thrush

(Turdus Pallasi)

near

Balti- more, Md., in

Winter.—

In a paper read before the

Academy

of Sciences,Feb. 11,1880,onbirds tobefound wintering near Baltimore, Md.,I

made

thefollowingre-

marks

aboutthehermitthrush(Turduspallasi),which I willquote verbatim: "Twice

we (my

brother and I) ob- served thrushesduringthewinter season,one specimen a

few

years ago, Feb. 6, 1876,

whde

the ground

was

coveredwith

snow

for

some

dayspreviously; a second specimen a

few

weeksago,Jan.29, 1880, alsoaverycold day. Unfortunately,however,neither one I could ob- tain so as toidentifythespecies,which cannot beeasily done

when

the bird is ata distance from you,allour tlirushesbearing

more

or lessthe

same

color. Neverthe- less,fromthe factthat none ofour thrushes,with the exceptionofthe hermit, winternorthofthe GulfStates, Iinferthatthis

was

thespecies,foritisaltogethera

more

northernbirdthan our other thrushes. However,Icould notsaypositivelyit

was

that thrush."

What

Icould not doatthattimeI

am

abletodo now.

On

Jan.8,1887,a very cold day, the thermometer about 10 below the freezingpoint,while ononeof

my

ornithologicalrambles throughthe woods,aboutfivemiles northfromthis city,

my

friend, F. Fisher,

who was

with

me

that day, shot a thrash,whichIatoncerecognizedasourhermitthrush.

Mr. R.Ridgway,ofWashington,to

whom

Iwroteabout thisobservation,informed

me

that inthe severe winter of 1879-80thesamebird

was

foundnear Georgetown,D.

C.,inshelteredravines. Ourbird

when

shot

was

sitting onafence,not veryfar

—

about10or 20yds.

—

from a farm house. TheothertwoI found

more

in the woods. It

woiddbe interestingto

know how

farnorththisbirdcan be tracedduring winter.

—

Arthur Resler

(Baltimore, Md.).

The Jack

Snipe

a Hardy Winter Bird.—Under

date ofFeb.1,yourmountaincorrespondent "P.," in a private letter,asks:

"Do

you

know much

ofthe jack-snipe?

A

pair of

them

have beencaught,probablybythe excessive

snow

blizzardsuphere,andnot being able to get

away

arespending the winterhere, and thus fax theyhave passedthrough averyseverewinter all right, theonly wateropenfor

them

being three orfour springsofvery smallextent.I

saw them

yesterday,Jan.31, after,a

—

36^° night, andyesterdaywiththehighesttemperature

—

^25°

during the day." I

am

unable to satisfactorilyanswer thisinterestingquestionofnatural history,andperhaps

some

other personwill do it.

How

these tiny, bare- leggedbirdscanlive

up

in thatverycold region,about 5,000 feetabovesealevel,isawonder tome, andletthe naturalistnote thefact,for"P."is a

man

of truth.

—

H.

W.

^Merrill.

Description of

a New Plumed

Partridge

from Sonora

(Callipepla elegansbensoni),

—

Characters: Similar to C.elegans(Less.),butwiththroat

much more

heavily spottedwithblack (this color predominating); rusty of scapulars,tertials

and

flanks

much

duller;lower back, rump, and upper^tailcoverts

much

grayer;tailandbreast morebluishgray,and under^tailcovertsedged with

much

palerbuffy. Hab.Sonora_(Campos).

—

^{Five specimens of}

this interesting and

handsome new

partridge have recently been received by the National

Museum

from Lieut. "H. C. Benson, U. S. A., to

whom

Itake great pleasureindedicatingit,as a testimonialto his zeal in ornithological investigations along our Southwestern frontier.—

Robert Ridgway

(Smithsonian Institution, Feb.26,1887).

Where Do Meadow Larks Winter? —

It is a httle surprising that "C.H. A."should ask if

meadow

^larks

winter so far northasBoston, as a ^strollthrough the bordersofalmostanysaltmarsh(andsaltmarshes abound near Boston) would answerthe question in the^affirma- tive.—L.

What are

these

Birds?—

Sheriden, O.,Dec.16,1886.

—

Editor Forest

and

Stream: In vourissue of Nov.25 isanote dated Madison, Wis.,Nov.15,

by

C.F. Carr. on eaglemeasurement, whereinhestatesthat a friendofhis

m

Nebraska,had shot aneagle thatmeasured 10ft. Sin.

fromtip to tipand40in.inlength. Ihavein

my

posses- sionaneagle'shead from a bird thatmeasured10ft. 4in.

fromtipto tipand

was

42in.hilengthand weighedover 231bs. I

am

not certainaboutthe weight,butitwas near aboutthe above. I

am

sorrytosay that Icould not get the body,asthe person thatkilleditjustsaved thehead and wings and threwthe remainder away.

By mere

chanceIgot possession of theheadand haditmounted.

It

was

afemalebird ofthegraveaglespecies.

— CHARLES Whitmer.

Golden Eagle

in

Rhode

Island.—Providence, R.I.,

Feb.21.—EditorForest

and

Stream: Idesire toputupon record in your valuable paper the takingof a golden eagleatWesterlya

few

dayssince. It is a magnificent specimenandis(presumably) a female; weight,ISlbs. It will be mounted,of course,

and

is the only oneIhave

known

takenin

Rhode

Island inan experience of over thirty years hard

work

in natural history.—

Newton

Dexter.

Belated Note

of

an Early Robin.—

Bradford, Pa., Jan.31.— "Robin(adare)"was on

hand Sunday

morning, Jan.30,withhiswhistle.— Sialia.

kme _§<ifl mid

fftttf.

Addressallcommunicationsto tlieForestandStream Pub.Co.

A BEAR IN A HOLE.

THIS

^{bear storyof so} long standing seemsyetto re- main fresh in

my

mind,while other things that happenedlongsince havefaded and gone fromrecollec- tion.

As

nearlyas Icanrecollect,itw-asin the winterof 1840 that David Moreland (who was quite asportsman and

who

afterwardbecame

my

father-in-law,andforthe lasttwentyyearshas been sleeping thesleepthatneeds no waking)

came

to

my

cabin, situatedon the southbank of the Big Turkey River, formerly

known

as Peck's Ferry (now Osterdock), Clayton county, Iowa, forthe purpose oftaking a hunt with me.

When we

hadfin- ishedourhunt

we

concludedto hunt throughthetimber

some

tenmilesto his place,

which

is

now owned by

Mr.

Jacob Smith, three-quartersof a mile southfromColes- burg,Delawarecomity, Iowa.

Our

hunt

was

to be

up

the

Peck

Branch,a tributarytotheTurkey,puttinginon thesouth bank one mile below

my

cabin,and heading nearMr. Moreland's placeon theprairie. According to arrangements,

we

startedfromthe

mouth

oftheBranch, he taking theeast bluff and Ithewest. Ithink

we

did notmeetuntil

we

reachedhishouseafterdark.

On

relatingourhunt and discoveries (as hunters will) hetold

me

thathehadseenthe tracksof abear,but the

snow

had meltedsothathecould not trackit. The con- sequence

was

thatItook the bear fever right away,but thenextmorningI

was

ableto startwithrifleand toma- hawk,followingMi'.M.'stracks

some

four milestowhere hehad

come

outinto a trail leading tohishouse. Fol- lowing this track probably three miles further,Idis- covered the

dim

tracksofa bearinthe ice from melted snow,

and

Ibegantryingtotrailitout. After a lengthy hunt,circlingback and forth,Ifound whereI thought the bearhad goneintoa caveinthe rocks,where Icon- cludedithad previously

made

its headquarters in the fore part' ofthe whiter. Ithen cutpolesandfastenedup thehole,andreturned well pleasedtoMr. Moreland'sand reported. Arrangements having been made, ajolly sled load started next morning,equipped with guns," dogs,

among them

a large bulldog,axes, ropes,stone

hammers,

knivesandeverything that

we

thoughtnecessary.

We

cut our

way

through the timber and

went

tothe den.

When we

got thereandunfastened the hole thefirstthing wastobreakoffsomerocktoenable

me

toget through.

The next thought

was

alight.

Bad

luck for ns. The bigbeeswaxcandlehadbeenforgotten.

What

next?

Go

backbadly disappointed. "Not yet," said

L

"Gather some dry bark and lighta torch." That being done, I

went down

intotheden; the torch

was

handed

down

to

me

burningnicely,and I started in search of thebear.

Butasthere

was

nocirculation of air the candle would not burn,andtheden

was

soonfilledso full of

smoke

as tocompel

me

togetbackand

hand

out the torch andget outassoonasj>ossible. After giving the

smoke

time to clearaway,Idescendedagainwitha butcher knife and told

them

to

hand me down

thebest dog in thelot.

No

sooner

had

thedog landed than he

commenced

a fierce barking; buthewouldnotgo anyfurtherthanIpushed

him

alongaheadofme. Aboutthattime aHttledaylight orcandle^-lightwould have been very acceptable, but as Ihadneither,Ipushedthedogalong,at the same time stabbing ahead with the knife in different directions, untilIstruck the bear with the knife in

some

place, at the

same

timespringingbacktowardthe entrance.

Dog

andbearbothlandedon

my

feet andlegs,and you can safelywagerthatIgot outasquickas practicable,andit

was

not necessary to call thedogafter me.

My

next

move

wastocuta*slimpole,leaving alongfimb,andcut- ting the top^offabovethelimb. In themeantime

we

kept the hole closedtopreventhisgettingput.

Then

with the crookedpoleand limbIpunched around the rocks and got

him

soenragedthat

when

Iwould

draw

the poleback he wouldfollowitoutaroundthe rockswhere

we

could seehim, and he would fight and strikethe wickedest kind. Ithengavethe pole to

some

oneto work, and fixed a slip-noose on a rope

and

let it down, and

when

he would rear up to strike I'd jerk the rope. Finally I got

him

fast by one paw, in- cludinga part of his toes.

We

then pulled his foot

up

gentlytowhere

we

could reach ^Iris foot.

We

then fastened the otherendof therope below.

Then

loosen- ing the first knot,

we

unfastened the hole and began tryingtodrag

him

forth. But

we

soon discovered that allof us could not drag

him

out forthwith.

He would

brace against therocks,and ^itwas only

by

steadyand hard, pulling that

we

could

move him

a little at a time. Finally

we

got

him

out; and thenforadogand bear fight,big bulldog and all.

The

dogs fought

him

untiltheyweretired out,but the bear didnotseem to