Natural History

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XIIL Natural History Our Common Bird or Forty Birds that Every Boy Should Know THE Bald Eagle or White-headed Eagle {Haliaetos leucocephalus) is the emblem of America. It is three to four feet from beak to tail, and six or seven feet across the wings. When fully adult it is known by its while head, neck and tail, and the brown body; but when young it is brownish black, splashed and marked with dull white. The only other eagle found in the United States is the Golden or War Eagle {Aquila chrysaetos) . This is a little larger. When full grown it is dark brown, with the basal half of tail more or less white. The plumage of the young birds is somewhat like that of the young Bald Eagle; but the two species may always be distinguished by the legs. The War Eagle wears leggings — his legs are feathered to the toes. He is ready for the warpath. The Bald Eagle has the legs bald, or bare on the lower half. Redtailed Hawk or Henhawk ( Buteo horealis). The com- mon hawks of America are very numerous and not easy to distinguish. The best known of the large kinds is the Redtail. This is about two feet long and four feet across the wings. In general it is dark brown above and white beneath, with dark brown marks; the tail is clear reddish with one black bar across near the tip. In young birdsNatural History

the tail is gray with many small bars. It has four primaries notched on the inner web. The legs are bare of feathers for a space above the toes. It is common in North Bald Eagle! Redtailed Hawk or Henhawk. America east of the Rockies up to mid-Canada. It does much good, killing mice and insects. It is noted for its circling flight and far-reaching whistle or scream. The Barred or Hoot Owl {Strix varia) . This Owl is known at once by the absence of horns, the black eyes and the plumage barred across the chest and striped below that. It is about twenty inches long, in general gray-brown marked with white. It is noted for its loud hooting; it is the noisiest owl in our woods. Found in the wooded parts of America up to about latitude 50 degrees, east of the Plains.336 The Book of Woodcraft Great Horned Owl or Cat Owl {Bubo virginianus). This is the largest of our Owls. About twenty-four inches long and four feet a^cross the wings. It is known at once by its great ear tufts, its yellow eyes, its generally barred plumage of white, black and buff, and its white shirt front. This is the winged tiger of the woods. Noted for its destruction of game and poultry, it is found throughout the timbered parts of North America. Screech Owl {Otus asio). This is not unlike the Horned Owl in shape and color but is much smaller — only ten inches long. Sometimes its plumage is red instead of gray. It feeds on mice and insects and has a sweet mournful song in the autumn — its lament for the falling leaves. It is found in the timbered parts of North America. Turkey Vulture or Buzzard (Cathartes aura) . The Turkey Vulture is about two and a half feet long and about six feet across its wings. It is black everywhere except on the under side of the wing which is gray, and the head which is naked and red. It is known at once by the naked head and neck, and is famous for its splendid flight. It is found from Atlantic to Pacific and north to the Sas- katchewan. It preys on carrion. In the Southern States is another species — the Black Vulture or Carrion Crow — which is somewhat smaller and wears its coat collar up to its ears instead of low on the neck; also its complexion is dusky not red. Loon {Gavia immer). The common Loon is known by its size — thirty-two inches long and about four feet across the wings — and its brilliant black and white plumage. It is noted for its skill as a fisher and diver. Its weird rolling call is heard on every big lake in the country. Common Seagull {Larus argentatus). The common Sea- gull is twenty-four inches long and four feet across. The plumage is white with blue-gray back, when adult; butNatural History

Barred or Hoot Owl. Great Homed Owl. Turkey Vulture or Buzzard. Screech Owl.338 The Book of Woodcraft splashed brown when }'oung, and with black tips to the wings. Its beak is }'ellow with red spot on the lower mandible. It is found throughout North America. Loon. Common Seagull. Pelican {Pelccanus crythrorhynchos). The white Pelican is known at once by its great size — about five feet long and eight feet across the wings — by its long beak, its pouch, and its feet fully webbed. Its plumage is white, but the wing tips are black. It is found in the interior of America up to Great Slave Lake. Wild Duck or Mallard {Anas platyrhynchos) . Of all our numerous wild ducks this is the best known. It is about twenty-three inches long. Its bottle-green head, whiteNatural History

collar, chestnut breast, penciled sides and curled up tail feathers identify it. The female is streaky brown and gray. It is found in all parts of the continent, up to the edge of the forest. This is the wild duck from which tame ducks are descended. Pelican. Wood Duck or Summer Duck (Aix sponsa). This beau- tiful duck is about eighteen inches long. Its head is beautifully variegated, bottle-green and white. Its eye is red, its breast purplish chestnut, checkered with white spots, while its sides are buff with black pencilings. This I340 The Book of Woodcraft Wild Goose, Canada Goose or Honker is one of the wildest and most beautiful of ducks. It nests in hol- low trees and is found in North America up to about latitude 50 de- grees. Wild Goose, Canada Goose or Honker {Branta canadensis). This fine bird is about three feet long. Its head and neck are black; its cheek patch white; its body gray; its tail black with white coverts above and below. It is found up to the Arctic regions, and breeds north of about latitude 45 de- grees. It is easily tamed and reared in captivity. Swan. There are two kinds of Swan found in America: The Trum- peter {Olor buccinator), which is almost extinct, is very large and has a black bill, and the Whis- tling Swan (piorcolumbi- anus), which is smaller — about five feet long and seven feet across. Its plumage is pureNatural History

white; its bill black, with a yellow spot near the eye. It is found generally throughout North America but is rare now. Bittern {Botaurus lengtiginosus) . This bird of marshes is about twenty-eight inches long and can stand nearly three feet high. Its general color is warm yellowish brown splashed with dark brown. The black mark on the side Bittern Great Blue Heron of the neck is a strong feature, and its bright green legs and beak are very distinctive. It is famous for its guttural call notes in the marshes, and is found throughout North America up to about latitude 60 in the interior. Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias). This bird is com- monly called Blue Crane. Its great size will distinguish it. In general it is blue-gray above, white below; head,342 The Book of Woodcraft white, with black hind head, crest and marks on neck, and shoulders. Its thighs are chestnut. It is found throughout North America to the limit of heavy tim- ber. Quail or Bobwhite {Colinus virginianus) . This famous and delicate game bird is about ten inches long. Its plumage is beautifully varied with reddish brown, lilac, and black markings, on a white ground. Its whistle sounds like "Bob White." It is found in eastern North America up to Massachusetts and South Ontario. Quail or Bobwhite Ruffed Grouse or Partridge Ruffed Grouse or Partridge (Bonasa umhellus). It is known by its mottled and brown plumage, its broad and beautiful fan tail, and the black ruffs on each side of the neck. It is noted for its drumming, which is usually a love song — a call to its mate. Found in the heavy woods of North America, north of the Gulf States. Dcve {Zenaidiira macroura) . This is an abundant inhabi- tant of the farming country as far north as wheat is now grown. It is about twelve inches long, and knownNatural History 343 by its pigeon-like look, and its long wedge-shaped tail, with black and white marks on the feathers. Its breast is soft purplish gray. Its extinct relation, the once plentiful Passenger Pigeon, was eighteen inches long and had a reddish breast. Downy Woodpecker {Dry abates pubescejis). About six and and a half inches long, black and white. In the male the nape is red, the outer tail feathers white, with black spots. Carefully distinguish this from its large relation the Hairy Woodpecker which is nine and a half inches long and has no black spots on the white outer tail feathers. A familiar inhabitant of orchards the year round, it is found in woods throughout eastern North America. Flicker or Highhole {Colapks auratus). This large and beautiful woodpecker is twelve inches long. Its head is ashy gray behind, with a red nape in the neck, and brown- gray in front. On its breast is a black crescent. The spots below and the Uttle bars above are black, and the under side of wings and tail are bright yellow. The rump is white. Its beautiful plumage and loud splendid "clucker" cry make it a joy in every woodland. It is found throughout North America, east of the Rockies up to the limit of trees. Ruby-throated Hummingbird {Trochilus colubris) . Every one knows the Hummingbird. The male only has the throat of ruby color. It is about four inches long from tip of beak to tip of tail. This is the only Hummingbird found in the Northern States or Canada east of the Prairies. Kingbird {Tyrannus tyrannus). This bird is nearly black in its upper parts, white underneath, and has a black tail with white tip. Its concealed crest is orange and red. It is eight and a half inches long. Famous for its intrepid attacks on all birds, large and small, that344 The Book of Woodcraft approach its nest, it is found in North America east of the Rockies, into Southern Canada. Bliiejay {CyanociUa cristala). This bird is soft purplish blue above, and white underneath. The wings and tail are bright blue with black marks. It is found in the Dove. Flicker. Downy Woodpecker. •i^^- Kingbird.Natural History

woods of America east of the plains to about latitude 55. The Bluejay is a wonderful songster and mimic, but it is mischievous — nearly as bad as the crow indeed. Common Crow {Corvus hrachyrhynchos) . The Crow is black from head to foot, body and soul. It is about Bluejay. Bobolink or Reedbird. eighteen inches long and thirty wide. It makes itself a nuisance in all the heavily wooded parts of E. North America. Bobolink or Reedbird {Dolichonyx oryzivorus) . This bird is about seven and a half inches long. The plumage is black and white, with brown or creamy patch on nape; and the tail feathers all sharply pointed. The female, and the male in autumn, are all yellow buff with dark streaks. Though famous for its wonderful song as it flies over the meadows in June, it is killed by the thousands to supply the restaurants in autumn and served up under346 The Book of Woodcraft the name Reedbird. It is found in North America, cliiefly between north latitude 40 and 52 degrees. Baltimore Oriole {Icterus galbula). The Oriole is about eight inches long, flaming orange in color, with black head and back and partly black tail and wings. The female is duller in plumage. Famous for its beautiful nest, as Baltimore Oriole. Purple Crackle or Crow Blackbird. well as its gorgeous plumage and ringing song, it is abundant in Eastern North America in open woods up to Northern Ontario and Lake Winnipeg. Purple Crackle or Crow Blackbird (Quiscahis quiscald). This northern bird of paradise looks black at a distance but its head is shiny blue and its body iridescent. It is twelve inches long. When flying it holds its long tail with the edge raised hke a boat, hence "boat tail." In various forms it is found throughout the eastern States, and in Canada up to Hudson Bay. Snowbird {Plectra phenax nivalis). About six and a half inches long, this bird is pure white, overlaid with brownNatural History

on the crown, back and sides. The wings, back and tail are partly black. The Snowbird nests in the Arctic regions and is common in most of temperate agricultural America, during winter, wherever there is snow. Snowbird. Song-sparrow. Scarlet Tanager. Song-Sparrow {Melospiza melodia). The Song-sparrow is about six and a half inches long — brown above — white underneath. It is thickly streaked with blackish marks on flanks, breast and all upper parts. All the tail feathers are plain brown. There is a black blotch on the jaw and another on the middle of the breast. Always near a brook.348 The Book of Woodcraft It is noted for its sweet and constant song, and is found in all well wooded and watered parts of North America. Scarlet Tanager (Piranga erytJiromelas). This gorgeous bird is about seven inches long. The plumage of the male is of a flaming scarlet, with black wings and tail; but the female is dull green in color. The Scarlet Tanager is found in the woods of eastern America, up to Ottawa and Lake Winnipeg. Purple Martin {Progne subis). About eight inches in length, with long wings and forked tail, the Purple Martin Purple Martin. Bam Swallow. is everywhere of a shiny bluish or purplish black. Like the Kingbird it attacks any intruder on its lower range. This swallow is found in the wooded regions of east tem- perate America, north to Newfoundland and the Sas- katchewan. Barn Swallow {Hirundro erythrogaster). About seven inches long, this bird is steel-blue above, chestnut onNatural History

throat and breast, buffy white on belly. It is known by tlie long forked tail which is dark with white spots, ramous for its mud nest, it is found in open country about barns in America generally. Mockingbird {Mifnus polyglottos). About ten inches long, soft gray above, dull white beneath, wings and tail Mockingbird black and white, with no black on head — the Mocking- bird is famous for its song, and is found in United States north to New Jersey. Catbird {Diimetella carolinensis) . This northern Mock- ingbird is about nine inches long, dark slate in color, with a black-brown cap, black tail and a red patch "on the seat of its pants." It abounds in the Eastern States and Canada, north to Ottawa, Saskatchewan and British Columbia. Common House Wren {Troglodytes aedon). This little fairy is about five inches long; soft brown above and brown-3 so The Book of Woodcraft ish gray below, it is barred with dusky brown on wings and tail. It nests in a hole, and is found in wooded America east of the plains, north to Saskatchewan. Ottawa and Maine. Chickadee {Penthestes atricapillus) . This cheerful little bird is five and a half inches long. Its cap and throat are Common House Wren. Robin. Chickadee. black. Its upper parts are gray, its under parts brownish, its cheeks white, no streaks anywhere. It does not migrate, so it is well known in the winter woods of eastern America up to the Canadian region where the Brown-Capped or Hudson Chickadee takes its place. Its famihar song chickadee dee dee has given it its name. Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelinus). About eightNatural History

inches long, cinnamon-brown above, brightest on head, white below, with black spots on breast and sides, this thrush is distinguished from the many thrushes in America much like it, by the reddish head and round black spots on its under sides. It is found in the woods of eastern North America up to Vermont and Minnesota. Robin {Planesticus migratorius). The Robin is about ten inches long, mostly dark gray in color, but with black on head and tail, its breast is brownish red. The spots Wood Thrush. Bluebird. about the eye, also the throat, the belly and the marks in outer tail feathers are white. Its mud nest is known in nearly every orchard. Found throughout the timbered parts of America north to the limit of trees. Bluebird {Sialia sialis). About seven inches long, bril- liant blue above, dull red-brown on breast, white below. Found in eastern North America, north to about latitude 50 degrees in the interior, not so far on the coast. BOOKS RECOMMENDED

"Handbook of the Birds of Eastern North America," By F. M. Chapman, Appleton, N. Y. Price $3.00. (Technical.)

"Handbook of Birds of the Western United States," By Florence Merriam Bailey. Houghton, Mifflin & Co. Price, $3.50. (Technical.)

"Bird Homes," By A. R. Dugmore. Doubleday, Page & Co. (Popular.)

"Bird Neighbors," By Neltje Blanchan. Doubleday, Page & Co. (Popular.)

"Birds That Hunt and Are Hunted," By Neltje Blanchan. Doubleday, Page & Co. (Popular.)

How to Stuff a Bird

(By E. L. S. from Country Life, July, 1904)

A boy found a bird that was lying dead in the woods. Its beautiful plumage, its form and its markings delighted his eye. He carried it home to show to his mother and to ask its name. She admired it with him but she could not tell him what it was, and at length said, "Now go and bury it before it begins to smell."

The boy had not given a thought to the history of the bird, nor had its death caused him a touch of sorrow. He was interested in it as a strange and beautiful thing, and the idea of burying all that beauty, or — worse — see- ing it corrupt, now gave him a deep regret.

"How I wish I knew how to stuff it," he said, feeling that then he might always renew his present enjoyment. He was expressing the feeUng of most young people when they see a dead bird. All would like to save its beautiful plumage at least. They know it can be done, but haveNatural History 353 an idea that it is a very difficult thing. In a sense this is true. It is so difficult to stuff a bird well, that not many men in the world to-day can do it. As with all arts, there can be but few masters. But the main process itself is easy to learn; and if the boy who tries to do it fails in making a life-like bird of his specimen, he at least does three things: he saves its beautiful plumage; he adds to his bird acquaintance; and he gains a keener appreciation of the work of others. While each taxidermist has his own methods, all agree in the main. The directions here given are those, recom- mended by good authorities, and that I have found most practical in my own work. There are two ways of preserving a bird: (a) By making a skin. (b) By mounting the bird. MAKING A SKIN The first is removing and preserving the skin in such a way that it may always serve to show what the bird's plumage is like. Most naturalists prefer to keep their specimens as skins, not only because it is easier and cheaper to do so, but because then they take up less room, and the skin may be properly mounted at any later time. These are the tools and materials used in making a skin: A sharp knife, a pair of stout, short scissors, and a pair of small forceps. (It is, however, quite possible to dispense with all but the knife and scissors in making a bird skin. I rarely use any tool but the scissors.) For materials you will need cotton wool, needle and thread, arsenical soap (some naturalists prefer dry white arsenic) and cornmeal (or fine hardwood sawdust). Some354 The Book of Woodcraft plaster of pans and benzine will also be required if the specimen is soiled with grease. The hardest birds to begin on are the very large ones, and the next hardest, perhaps, are the very small ones. The easiest birds are those about the size of a robin or blue jay (leaving out the woodpeckers). Supposing the specimen to be skinned is a robin: First put a little plug of cotton wool in its throat and mouth, also into any wounds the bird may have, to stanch the flow of blood, etc. This should be done the moment the bird comes into your possession. Now lay the bird on its back, tail toward your right hand, part the feathers, and make a slit from near the end of the breast-bone into the vent (S.V. Fig. i p. 356), taking care to cut only the skin, not the walls of the abdomen. Separate the skin from the flesh by pushing it with the finger nail or knife-blade. As soon as the flesh is exposed, put a pinch of meal on it to keep the feathers from sticking, and also to soak up oil, blood, etc. Some use plaster for this; but plaster is disagreeable under the finger nails, it takes the gloss off the feathers, and if the specimen happens to be a game-bird it injures the meat for the table. The plaster is better however for white, fluffy birds, as meal or sawdust lodges in the down. Push the skin from the body till the leg is reached. Work the leg out of the skin till the knee-joint is clear on the inside of the skin; (H L, Fig. 2) cut the leg off at the knee, taking great care not to cut or tear the skin. The severed leg now hangs to the skin. When both legs are thus cut, work around the base of the tail, freeing the skin. Then cut straight through the bone and all, with the scissors, at the part marked with arrow and black line in Fig. 3 — leaving the tail bone with the tail hanging to the skin.Natural History 355 This is one of the most difficult parts of the skinning. It is so hard to get at, and so easy to tear the skin, that one is to be congratulated if in the first lesson he safely

• • rounds Cape Horn."

At all stages keep the meal applied to the body as fast as it is exposed, and in quantity enough to soak up all moisture; and avoid stretcliing the skin. With the tail and legs free, there is no diflSculty in pushing the skin off until stopped by the wings. Cut them off at the shoulder joint deep in the muscles of the breast (W. W, Fig. 4) , leaving them attached to the skin, just as the legs and tail are. The skin is now inside out. It can readily be worked along the neck and onto the head. Here it is stopped by the ears. In the robin these are like pockets of skin tucked into the small skull and may be easily pulled out without cutting. In large birds the knife must be used. The next and last difi&culty is the eyes. The skin must be cut free from them, carefully avoiding injury to the eyelids or the eyeballs. Now the skin is attached only to the forepart of the skull (Fig. 4). Cut off the neck at the back of the skull and the skin is freed from the body, but needs careful cleaning. Dig the eyes out of the sockets, taking great care not to break the eyeballs, as their liquid is very difficult to remove from the feathers. Cut out a section of the skull so as to enlarge the hole behind by extending it downward and sideways, as shown in Fig. 5, and remove the brains through this. Cut off any lumps of flesh left about the jaws, but do not break the jaw bone or its joints. Next turn attention to the wings. Push the skin back to the first joint (the elbow) in each. Cut and scrape the meat from the bone. But there is a joint beyond356 The Book of Woodcraft Skinning and stuflfing a RobinNatural History 357 this — the one that corresponds with our forearm. This must be reached in a different way. There are two bones in this, and the space between them is full of meat. The quill feathers on its under side hold the skin tight. In birds up to the size of a robin, this can be cut out after the skin is forced a little farther back than the elbow joint on the upper side, but in large birds it is well to slit the skin under the wing from X to J (Fig. i), along the line between the two bones. Clean off the leg bones in the same way as the first wing joint, turning the skin back as far as the heel joint (H in Fig. 2). Carefully scrape off any lumps of fat left on the skin, and especially remove the grease and flesh about the tail bones. Now this is the time I have usually found most con- venient to remove stains from the plumage. If of blood, hold the stained feathers on the inside rim of a cup of lukewarm water and wash till clear. Then dry the feathers with cornmeal. The shaking and turning they get in the next operation will make them fluff out as before. If the stain is grease, use a cream made of benzine and plaster of Paris. Let this dry on the feathers. It dries as powder and falls off, taking the grease with it. The next thing I now do is to tie the wing bones with a stout Unen thread, so that their ends are shackled together as far apart as in Hfe, (Fig. 6.) Some do not do this, but it strengthens the skin, and I find it a great help in several ways. Now comes the poisoning. After trying dry arsenic for long, I have come back to the old-fashioned arsenical soap. It is much less liable to poison any one, since it is not blown about by the wind. It does not look like anything but soap and hence is unlikely to be mistaken358 The Book of Woodcraft for something good to eat. And last of all the soap in it takes care of the grease in the skin. Every part of the under side of the skin and of the bones exposed is to be painted with this cream of the soap. It is well now to lay a thin film of cotton over the skin or sprinkle it Ughtly with sawdust to keep the feathers from sticking in the soap. Make two tight round plugs of cotton each as big as the eyeball, put one into each eye-socket. Now push the head back into its place. This is easy when the neck is slippery with the soap. Work the wing and legs back into their places after wrapping each of the bones with enough cotton to take the place of the flesh cut off. This wrapping is not necessary with very small birds, but the larger the bird, the more it is needed. Make a neck of the cotton, push it with the forceps up the neck skin, and well into the skull. Let it hang into the body part, under the string that joins the wing bones. Push another soft wad up the neck and into the throat. Shape a large piece of cotton for the body; set it in place, and draw the skin gently over it till the opening is closed. In large birds it is well to stitch this up, but it is not needed in small ones. All that is needed now is the prinking. Use a needle through the openings of the eyes to fluff out the cotton balls in each, till they fill out the sides of the head properly. Set the innermost wing bones parallel with each other. Aim to arrange the feathers by arranging the skin and bones to which they are attached, rather than by prinking the feathers themselves. If the wing was sUt open as at X J, (Fig. i), fiU the space with cotton and close with a few stitches. If at any time it is necessary to leave the specimen halfNatural History 359 finished, wrap it in a damp cloth and put it in a close tin box. This will keep it from getting dry. In skinning large birds, a strong hook, attached to a string from the wall in front and above, is a great help. As soon as the tail is cut off stick this hook into the bony pelvis. It holds the bird away from you and answers as a third hand. Finally, make a little shroud out of a sheet of cotton and wrap the bird in this before setting it to dry. Cross the legs as in Fig. 7, and attach a label to these, giving date, sex and place where the bird was taken. The work is now done. But it is wise to Hft the skin the next morning and see if all goes well. In a few days it will be dry and safe from ordinary corruption, but must be protected from moth and insects. This is a museum skin. It can be kept indefinitely in this shape, or at any time it can be softened up and mounted. MOUNTING THE BIRD For mounting the bird some additional tools and mate- rials are needed, namely: A pair of wire cutters. A pair of pliers. A file. Some glass eyes, Some annealed or soft iron wire of several sizes. Some tow, and a ball of stout packthread with needle to match. A few ordinary carpenter tools are needed to make the stand, but that is another department. The first part of the mounting is the skinning carried out exactly as in making the skin, up to the point where the cotton is put in. Now there is a difference. You36o The Book of Woodcraft cannot put a wire through cotton, therefore use no cotton in a bird to be mounted; use tow instead. Plug the eyes, wrap the legs and wings as before, but with tow. If it is a dry skin that is to be mounted remove the cotton body and replace it with a lump of cotton soaked with water. Wrap damp cloth or cotton around the outside of each leg, and on the bend of each wing. Shut this up in a tin box for twenty-four hours and it will be soft and can be treated like a fresh skin. Cut a wire (of stovepipe size) about a foot long. File a sharp point at one end and bend the other end into a hook (Fig. 8). Take tow in long strips and lash it tight over, around and through the hook — stitching it tight and binding it on with plenty of packthread — until you have a body the size and shape of the one you took out of the robin, with a neck on it also, lilvc the bird's own neck (Figs. 9 and 10). Of course the real body should be at hand to give the measurements. Keep the neck lower than it appears, because the real neck is supple and drops low between the shoulders in a way not possible for the substitute. This body should be hard enough to hold a pin or needle driven into it; indeed some taxi- dermists use bodies carved out of cork. Put the point of the wire up the neck, and out through the top of the skull between the eyes (N. W. Fig. 11). Gently work the neck up to the back of the skull and the body into its place. Now make two other sharpened wires. Work one up through each foot under the skin of the leg, under the wrapping, and on straight through the hard body — which it enters about the middle of the side (X in Fig. 9). When this is far enough through clinch it and drive it back firmly into the body; taking care to avoid tearing the skin, by easing up the leg on the wire, as it is drawn back.Natural History 361 Do the same for the other leg. Get the tail into its right place; drive a sharpened 3-inch wire through the pope's nose or tail bone into the body to hold it there; work the skin together till the opening can be closed with a few stitches; and now we are ready for the stand. The simplest is the best for the present purpose. A piece of a board slightly hollowed on the under side is got ready in a few minutes. With an awl bore two holes through this about one inch apart and run a foot-wire through each. Clinch them on the under side, fastening them firmly with tacks or small staples. Now we are ready to give the robin its natural pose. This is done by bending the wires in the neck and legs. A wire or a large pin will have to be driven into each wing to hold it to the side, at least while drying (X, Fig. 11); and another in the middle of the back (B P, Fig. 11). The prinking of the specimen is now done chiefly with needles reaching through the feathers to the skin. Pins may be driven into the body anywhere to hold the skin or feathers in place; and cotton thread may be lashed around the body or the wings and around the projecting wire till everything is held in the position that is wished. Then the bird is set away to dry. In a week the specimen should be ready for the finishing touch — the putting in of the eyes. A plug of damp cotton is fastened on each eye-place the night before. In the morning the eyelids are once more soft. The eyes are put through the opening in the sockets, the lids neatly set around them. Some prefer to set them in a bed of putty or plaster of pans. Cut off the projecting wires flush, so that the feathers hide what is left, remove the thread lashings and the mounting of the robin is finished. The process is much the same for all birds, but the larger362 The Book of Woodcraft the bird the more difficult. Seabirds, ducks, and divers are usually opened at the back or under the side. Wood- peckers and owls and some others have the head so large that it will not come through the neck skin. This calls for a sht down the nape of the neck, which, of course, is carefully sewn up in finishing. If the bird is to have its wings spread, each wing must be wired to the body in the way already set forth for the legs. If the bill keeps open when you want it shut, put a pin through the lower jaw into the palate toward the part in front of the eyes, or even wind a thread around the bill behind the pin (see Fig. 11). The mistakes of most beginners are: making the neck too long, stuffing it too full, or putting the body so far into it as to stretch the skin and show bare places. To make good accessories for a group of mounted birds is another very special business. It involves a knowledge of wax flowers, imitation woods, water, stones, etc., and is scarcely in the line of the present book. Therefore the beginner is advised to use the simplest wooden stands. Not every one has the taste for natural history, but those who have will find great pleasure in preserving their birds. They are not urged to set about making a collection, but simply to preserve such specimens as fall in their way. In time these will prove to be many, and when mounted they will be a lasting joy to the youthful owner. If the museum should grow too large for the house, there are many public institutions that will be glad to offer their hospitahty and protection. There is, moreover, a curious fatality attending a begin- ner's collection. It hardly ever fails. He speedily has the good luck to secure some rare and wonderful specimen that has eluded the lifelong quest of the trained and pro- fessional expert.Natural History 363 (From Country Life, June 1904) OWL-STUFFING PLATE (p, 364) Fig. I. The dead owl, showing the cuts made in skinning it: A to B, for the body; El to H, on each wing, to remove the meat of the second joint. Fig. 2. After the skinning is done, the skull remains attached to the skin, which is now inside out. The neck and body are cut off at Ct. Sn to Sn shows the slit in the nape needed for owls and several other birds. Fig. 3. Top view of the tow body, neck end up, and neck wire projecting. Fig. 4. Side view of the tow body, with the neck wire put through it. The tail end is downward. Fig. 5. The heay iron wire for neck. Fig. 6. The owl after the body is put in. It is now ready to close up, by stitching up the slit on the nape, the body slit B to C, and the two wing slits El to H on each wing. Fig. 7. A dummy as it would look if all the feathers were off. This shows the proper position for legs and wings on the body. At W is a glimpse of the leg wire entering the body at the middle of the side. Fig. 8. Another view of the body without feathers. The dotted lines show the wires of the legs through the hard body, and the neck wire. Fig. 9. Two views of one of the eyes. These are on a much larger scale than the rest of the figures in this plate. Fig. 10. The finished owl, with the thread wrappings on and the wires still projecting. Nw is end of the neck wire. Bp is back-pin, that is, the wire in the centre of the back, Ww and Ww are the wing wires. Tl are the cards pinned on the tail to hold it flat while it dries. In the last operation remove the thread and cut all these wires off close, so that the feathers hide what remains. STUFFING AN ANIMAL Mounting a mammal, popularly called animal, is a much more difficult thing than mounting — that is, stuffing — a bird.3^4 The Book of Woodcraft To illustrate the mounting of a Homed Owl.Natural History 365 It is so difficult that I do not advise any boy to try it unless he has the time and patience to go into it seriously. To do this he should get some standard treatise on Taxidermy, such as: Taxidermy and Zoological Collecting," by W. T. Hornaday. (Scribners. $2.50) or "The Art of Taxidermy," by John T. Rowley. (Mac- millan's. $1.75.) Nevertheless all may learn to preserve the skins of small animals for cabinet collections, or for mounting at some later time. The best instructions for this are those issued by the Biological Survey of the United States Department of Agriculture. I reproduce them. PRESERVING SMALL MAMMAL SKINS By Dr. C. Hart Merriam Directions for Measurement The tools necessary for measuring mammals are a pair of compasses or dividers, a steel rule graduated in milli- meters, and two large pins. Dividers with round points are better than those with triangular points. All measurements should give the distance in a straight line between the points indicated. They should be taken by means of dividers, or by driving pins into a board to mark the points between which the measurement is desired. They should never be made with a tape-line over the convexities or inequalities of the surface. The three most important measurements, and those which should always be taken in the flesh are: (i) total length; (2) length vf tail; (3) length of hind Joot.366 The Book of WoodcraftNatural History 367 (i) The TOTAL LENGTH IS the distance between the tip of the nose and the end of the tail vertebrae. It is taken by laying the animal on a board, with its nose against a pin or upright post, and by straightening the back and tail by extending the hind legs with one hand while holding the head with the other; a pin is then driven into the board at the end of the vertebrae. (See Fig. 2.) (2) The LENGTH OF TAIL is the length of the caudal vertebrae. It is taken by erecting the tail at right angle to the back, and placing one point of the dividers on the backbone at the very root of the tail, the other at the tip end of the vertebne. (See Fig. 3.) (3) The HIND FOOT is measured by placing one point of the dividers against the end of the heel (calcancum), the other at the tip of the longest claw, the foot being flattened for this purpose. (See Fig. 4.) DIRECTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF SKINS Skin all mammals as soon as possible after death. Lay the animal on its back, and make an incision along the middle of the belly from just behind the fore legs nearly to the vent. Be careful not to stretch the skin while removing it, and exercise great caution in skinning around the e3^es and lips, which are easily cut. Skin as far down on the feet as possible, but leave in the bones of the legs. Remove the bone from the tail by pulling it between the fingers (in the larger species a split stick answers well). Take out the skull, being careful not to cut or injure it in any way, and wash out the brains by means of a syringe or jet of water. Remove the tongue, and cut off the thick flesh from the sides and base of the skull. Tie a tag to the skull, bearing the sam^e number368 The Book of Woodcraft that is attached to the skin, and dry in the shade. In damp weather it is sometimes necessary to use powdered borax to prevent the remaining flesh from decomposing. Never put arsenic or salt on a skull. Remove all fat and tags of flesh that adhere to the skin. In cleaning off blood or dirt that may have soiled the hair an old toothbrush and a Hberal supply of corn- meal will be found serviceable. Poison all parts of the skin with dry arsenic (or better still, with a mixture of powdered arsenic and alum in the proportion of four parts arsenic to one part alum), being particular to put an extra supply in the feet and tail. Put a wire in the body, letting it extend to the extreme tip of the tail, but be careful not to stretch the tail. Use annealed iron wire of as large size as will fit easily into the tip end of the tail. In rabbits, foxes, and wildcats put wires in the legs also. Stuff the skin to nearly its natural size with cotton or tow (never use wool, feathers, or other animal substances) ; sew it up along the belly, and place it flat on a board to dry (belly down), with the fore legs extended in front and parallel to the body {i. e., not projecting sideways), and the hind legs and tail directed backward. The accompanying cut (Fig. i) shows the appearance of a well- made skin. Attach to each skin a label bearing the same number that is given the skull. On this label should be stated the sex, locality, date of capture (name of month should always be written in full), and name of collector. All skins should be thoroughly dry before they are packed for shipment. They should be carefully wrapped in cotton and packed in small wooden boxes. Cigar-boxes do very well for the smaller species. Washington, D. C, March, 1889.Natural History

TRAPPING ANIMALS Trapping wild animals with steel traps is a wretchedly cruel business and will doubtless be forbidden by law before long. The old-fashioned deadfall which kills the animal at once is quite sufficient for all the legitimate work of a trapper. But many boys wish to capture animals alive without doing them any injury, and this is easily managed for most species if a ketchalive is used. The yftodir. Trifftr ^ Stction of Boxtri/i o>* ketchalive or old-fashioned box trap is made in a hundred different ways; but the main principles are shown in the illustration. The lock on the side is necessary for some species, such as skunks, that would easily lift the lid and escape. For skunks, cats, weasels, mink, rats, etc., use a piece of chicken as bait. For rabbits use bread, turnip, apple, or other vegetable. The trap should be visited every morning or not used at all. THE SECRETS OF THE TRAIL It was Fenimore Cooper who first put the good Indian on paper — who called the attention of the world to the wonderful woodcraft of these most wonderful savages.370 The Book of Woodcraft It was he who made white men realize how far they had got away from the primitive. It was he who glorified the woodman and his craft. Yet nowhere do we find in Cooper's novels any attempt to take us out and show us this woodcraft. He is content to stand with us afar off and point it out as something to be worshiped — to point it out and let it die. Fenimore Cooper has had many imitators, just as Uncas has had many successors. The fine art of trailing is still maintained in the Far West, and it has always seemed strange to me that none has endeavored to give it perma- nent record, other than superlative adjectives of outside praise. TRAILING What is trailing? The fox-hunter has some idea when he sees a superb pack follow a faint scent through a hundred perplexing places, discerning just which way the fox went, and about how long ago. The detective does another kind of trailing when he follows some trifling clue through the world of thought, tracing the secret of an unknown man along an invisible path, running it to earth at last in the very brain that conceived it. In his trailing the Indian uses the senses of the "animal" to aid the brain of the man. To a great extent his eyes do the work of the hound's nose, but the nose is not idle. When the trail disappears, he must do the human detective work; but under all circumstances his brains must be backed by the finest senses, superb physique, and ripe experience, or he cannot hope to overmatch his prey. HARD TO PHOTOGRAPH TRACKS When, in 1882, 1 began my dictionary of tracks (see "Life Histories of Northern Animals"), I found that there wasNatural History 371 no literature on the subject. All facts had to be gathered directly from Nature. My j&rst attempts at recording tracks were made with pencil and paper. Next, realizing how completely the pencil sketch is limited by one's own knowledge, I tried photography; but it invariably happens that not one track in ten thousand is fit for photographing, and it cannot be taken except when the sun is about thirty degrees above the horizon — that is, high enough to make a picture, and low enough to cast a shadow of every detail. Thus photography was possible only for about an hour in the early morning and an hour in the late afternoon. But the opportunity in the meanwhile usually was gone. I then tried making a plaster cast of the tracks in the mud. Only one such in a million was castable. As a matter of fact, none of the finest were in the mud ; and the much more interesting dust-tracks were never within reach of this method. For most practical purposes I have been forced to make my records by drawing the tracks. NO TWO TRACKS ALIKE The trailer's first task is to learn the trails he means to follow. The Red Indian and the Bushman, of course, simply memorize them from their earliest days, but we find it helpful and much easier to record them in some way. Apart from other considerations, a form is always better comprehended if we reproduce it on paper. As a general principle, no two kinds of animals leave the same track. As a matter of fact, no two individuals leave the same trail. Just as surely as there are differences in size and disposition, so there will be corresponding differences in its trail; but this is refining beyond the purposes of prac- ticability in most cases, and for the present we may be satisfied to consider it a general rule that each species372 The Book of Woodcraft leaves its own clearly recognizable track. One of my daily pastimes when the snow is on the ground — which is the easiest and ideal time for the trailer, and especially for the beginner — is to take up some trail early in the morning and follow it over hill and dale, carefully noting any change and every action as written in the snow, and it is a won- derfully rewarding way of learning the methods and life of an animal. The trail records with perfect truthfulness everything that he did or tried to do at a time when he was unembarrassed by the nearness of his worst enemy. The trail is an autobiographic chapter of the crea- ture's Hfe, written unwittingly, indeed, and in perfect sincerity. Whenever in America during the winter I have found myself with time to pass between trains, I endeavor to get out into the country, and rarely fail to find and read one of these more or less rewarding chapters, and thus get an insight into the life of the animal, as well as into the kinds that are about; for most quadrupeds are noc- turnal, and their presence is generally unsuspected by those who do not know how to read the secrets of the trail. DOG AND CAT The first trails to catch the eye and the best for first study are those nearest home. Two well-marked types are the tracks of cat and dog. Most anatomists select the cat as the ideal of muscular and bony structure. It is the perfect animal, and its track also is a good one to use for standard. (Illustration i, p. 374.) In these separate prints the roundness of the toe-pads tells the softness; their spread from each other shows the suppleness of the toes; the absence of claw-marks tells of the retractability of these weapons. The front and hindNatural History 373 feet are equal in length, but the front feet are broader. This is the rule among true quadrupeds. The series of tracks — that is, its trail — shows the manner of the cat in walking. In this the animal used apparently but two legs, because the hind foot falls exactly on the trail made by the front foot, each track being really doubled. This is perfect tracking. There are several advantages in it. Every teamster knows that a wagon whose hind wheels ■ do not exactly follow the front wheels is a very bad wagon to haul in sand, snow, or mud. The trail for it has to be broken twice, and the labor increased, some say, 50 per cent. This same principle holds good in the case of the cat track: by correct following the animal moves more easily. But there is still a more important reason. A hunting cat sneaking through the woods after prey must keep its eyes on the woods ahead or on the prey itself. At the very most it may pick out a smooth, safe, silent place for its front feet to tread on. Especially at the climax of the hunt all its senses are focussed on the intended victim; it cannot select a safe spot for each hind foot in turn, even though the faintest crunch of a dry leaf will surely spoil the stalk. But there is no danger of that; the cat can see the spots selected for the front feet, and the hind feet are so perfectly trained that they seek unerringly the very same spots — the safe places that the front feet have just left. Thus perfect stepping is silent stepping, and is essential to all creatures that stalk their prey. The opposite kind of stepping is seen in very heavy animals which frequent marshy ground; to them it would be a positive disadvantage to set the hind foot in the tread of the front foot, where so much of the support has just been destroyed. The ox illustrates this. These principles are applicable in geology, where the trails are the only biographical records of certain species. From the manner374 The Book of Woodcraft front foot •^* ^* 'i^o (I .00 ^9 'H t hind foot No. I Cat. }iind foot No. 2 Dog.Natural History 375 of setting the feet we can distinguish the predacious and the marsh-frequenting quadrupeds. The next track likely to be seen is that of the dog (Illustration 2). In this the harder, less pliant foot and the non-retractile claws are clearly seen. But the trail shows the dog is not a correct walker. His tracks are out of register" as a printer would say. And he has a glaring defect — the result no doubt of domestication, of long generations on pavements and in houses — he drags his toes. All these things contribute to make the dog a noisy walker in the woods. WOLF It is well at this time to compare the track of the dog with that of the wolf. I have made dozens of drawings, casts, prints, photographs, and studies of wolf and dog tracks; and have not found a single reliable feature that will distinguish them. One hunter says the wolf has the relatively small outer toes. Yes, sometimes; but not when compared with a collie. Another says that the wolf's foot is longer; but not when compared with that of a greyhound, staghound, or lurcher. Another, the wolf's foot is larger; yet it will not rank in size with that of a St. Bernard or a great Dane. The wolf lifts his feet neatly without dragging his toes; but so do many dogs, especially country dogs. Thus all these diagnostics fail. On the whole a wolf is a better walker than a dog. His tracks do usually register, but not always, and in some wolves rarely. If a wolf-track in the snow be followed for a mile or two, it will be found to go cautiously up to an unusual or promising object. (Illustration 3.) It is obviously the trail of a suspicious, shy creature while the dog-trail376 The Book of Woodcraft is direct, and usually unafraid. But this does not apply to the dogs which poach or kill sheep. There is therefore no sure means of distinguishing them, III @ ,*. •do.' '€> WII^D J^i No. 3 Dog and Wolf. even in the wilderness. One can only judge by prob- abilities. I have often heard inexperienced hunters boast that they could "tell them every time"; but old hunters usually gay, "No man can tell for sure."Natural History 377 RABBITS AND HARES America is well provided with rabbits and hares. A score or more of species are now recognized, and two very well-known types are the cottontail of the woods and the jack-rabbit of the plains. The cottontail is much like an English rabbit, but it is a little smaller, has shorter ears, and the whole under part of the tail is glorified into a fluffy, snowy powder-puff. It leads the life of a hare, not making burrows, but entering burrows at times under the stress of danger. The track of a New England cottontail is given in Illustration 4. As the cottontail bounds, the hind feet track ahead of the front feet, and the faster he goes the faster ahead his hind feet get. This is true of all quadrupeds that bound, but is more obvious in the rabbits, because the fore and hind feet differ so much in size. The jack-rabbit of Kansas is the best known of the long-eared jacks. His trail, compared with that of the cottontail, would be as in Illustrations 5 and 6. The greater size of the marks and the double length of the bounds are the obvious but not important differ- ences, because a young jack would come down to the cottontail standard. The two reliable differences I found are: First, the jack's feet are rarely paired when he is bounding at full speed, while the cottontail pairs his hind feet but not his front ones. (Animals which climb usually pair their front feet in running, just as tree-birds hop when on the ground.) Second, the stroke that is shown (x in Illustration 5) is diagnostic of the southern jack-rabbit; it is the mark made by the long hanging tail. Each of the four types of hare common in the temperate37S The Book of Woodcraft t) ^ ft f- No. 4 Cottontail. No. 5 Jack-rabbit No. 6. No. 7.Natural History 379 parts of America has its own style of tail and fashion of wearing it: The northern or white-tailed jack carries his snowy- white tail out straight behind, so its general pure-white is visible; The southern or black-tailed jack has his tail jet-black on the upper part, and he carries it straight down; The varying hare has an inconsequent, upturned tuft, like a tear in his brown pantaloons, showing the white undergarment; The cottontail has his latter end brown above, but he keeps it curled up tight on his back, so as to show nothing but the gleaming white puff of cotton on a helpful back- ground of rich brown. The cottontail's tail never touches the ground except when he sits down on it. The most variable features of any animal are always its most specialized features. The jack-rabbit's tail-piece is much subject to variation, and the length and depth of the little intertrack-ial dash that it makes in the snow is a better guide to the individual that made it than would be the tracks of all four feet together. THE NEWTON JACK-RABBIT During February of 1902, I found myself with a day, to spare in the hotel office at Newton, Kan. I asked the usual question, "Any wild animals about here?" and got the usual answer, "No, all been shot off." I walked down the street four blocks from the hotel, and found a jack-rabbit trail in the snow. Later I found some cottontail tracks, though still in town. I walked a mile into the country, met an old farmer who said that "No rabbits were ever found around here." A quarter of a mile away was an orchard, and beside it a fence half buried38o The Book of Woodcraft in snow drifts that were yellow with tall dead grass sticking through. This was promising, so I went thither, and on the edge of the drift found a jack-rabbit form or den, with fresh tracks leading out and away at full speed. There were no tracks leading in, so he must have gone in there before the last snow came, and that was the night before. When a jack runs without fear of any enemy at hand, he goes much like a fox or an antelope, leaving a trail, as in No. 5. But when an enemy is close at hand he runs with long, low hops, from six to seven in succession, then gives an upright leap to take an observation, leaving a trail thus. (Illustration 7.) A silly young jack will lose time by taking one in three for observation, but a clever old fellow is content with one in ten. Here was the trail of this jack straight away, but taking about one observation in twelve hops. He had made a fence a quarter-mile off, and there had sat for some time observing, had then taken alarm and run toward a farmyard, a quarter-mile farther, taking occasional observa- tions. A dog was lying on a doorstep by the road, and past this dog he had run, doing twenty-foot leaps. Two hundred yards down this road he had turned abruptly, as though a human still in sight had scared him. I now began to think the jack was near at hand, although so far I had not seen him. The trail led through several barbed- wire fences and some hedges, then made for another barn- yard half a mile off. I was now satisfied that he was only a little ahead of me, therefore I ceased watching the track so closely, watching rather the open plain ahead; and far on, under a barbed-wire fence, sitting up watching me, I soon saw my jack. He ran at once, and the line of his hops, was so — (Illustration 8) — the high ones being for observation. No.Natural History 381 He never let me get within two hundred yards, and he wasted but little time in observation. He had now taken me on a two-mile circuit and brought me back to the starting point. So he had taught me this — a cunning old jack-rabbit lived in the region around which I had followed him, for they keep to their homeground. All his ways of running and observing, and of using barbed- ^' ^- ^N No. 9. Where the Jack-rabbit's track was doubled wire fences, barnyards, and hedges, showed that he was very clever; but the best proof of that was in the fact that he could live and flourish on the edge of a town that was swarming with dogs and traveled over daily by men with guns. The next day I had another opportunity of going to the jack-rabbit's home region. I did not see himself; but382 The Book of Woodcraft I saw his fresh tracks. Later, I saw these had joined on to the fresh tracks of another rabbit. I sketched all the salient points and noted how my big jack had followed the other. They had dodged about here and there, and then one had overtaken the other, and the meeting had been the reverse of unfriendly. I give the record that I sketched out there in the snow. I may be wrong, but I argue from this that the Ufe of the hardy jack was not without its pleasures. (Illustration 9.) FOX Of more general interest perhaps is the track of the fox. I have spent many days — yes, and nights — on the trail, following, following patiently, reading this life of the beast, using notebook at every important march and change. Many an odd new sign has turned up to be put on record and explained by later experience. Many a day has passed with nothing tangible in the way of reward; then, as in all hunting, there has come a streak of luck, a shower of facts and abundant reward for the barren weeks gone by, an insight into animal ways and mind that could not have been obtained in any other way. For here it is written down by the animal itself in the oldest of all writing — a chapter of the creature's normal life. One day, soon after the snow had come, I set out on one of the long decipherments. The day before I had followed a fox-trail for three or four miles, to learn only that he tacked up wind and smelt at every log, bump, and tree that stuck through the snow; that he had followed a white hare at full speed, but was easily left behind when the hare got into his ancient safety — the scrubby, brushy woods.Natural History 383 This morning I took up another fox-trail. The frost was intense, the snow was dry and powdery and as each foot was raised it fell back; so that the track was merely shapeless dimples in the whiteness. No tell-tale details of toes and claws were there, but still I knew it for a fox-trail. It was too small for a coyote. There were but two others that might have been confounded with it; one a Very large house-cat, the other a very small house- dog. The fox has the supple paw of the cat. It spreads even more, but it shows the long, intractile claws. As a stepper the fox ranks close to the cat. His trail is noted also for its narrowness — that is, the feet are set nearly in one straight line. This in a trail usually means a swift animal; while the badly spread marks, seen at a maximum in the badger, stand for great but sluggish strength. (Illustra- tion lO.) The region put the cat out of the reckoning. Besides, at one or two places, the paw had grazed the snow, showing two long furrows, the marks of claws that do not sheathe: dog-marks, perhaps, but never a cat's. The marks were aligned Uke a cat's, but were fourteen inches apart, while it is rare for a cat to step more than ten. They were not dog-marks: first, the probabilities were against it; second, the marks were nearly in a Hne, showing a chest too narrow for a dog. Then the toes did not drag, though there was four inches of snow. The register could not be distinguished, but there was one feature that settled all doubt — the big, soft, shallow marks of the fox's brush, sometimes sweeping the snow at every yard, sometimes not at all for fifty steps, and telling me with certainty, founded in part on the other things — "This is the trail of a fox." Which way is he going? is the next question, not easy384 The Book of Woodcraft to answer when the toe-marks do not show; but this is settled by the faint claw-inarks aheady noted. If still in doubt, I can follow till the fox chances on some place under a thick tree or on ice v/here there is very little snow, and here a distinct impression may be found. I have No. lo. often seen a curiously clear track across ice made by a gentle breeze blowing away all the snow except that pressed down hard by the impact of the toes, so that the black ice under has a row of clear-cut, raised tracks, a line of fox- track cameos, cut sharp on a black-ice base.Natural History 385 THE fox's hunt For a mile or two I followed my fox. Nothing happened. I got only the thought that his life was largely made up of nose investigation and unfavorable reports from the committee in charge. Then we came to a long, sloping hollow. The fox trotted down this, and near its lower end he got a nose report of importance for he had swung to the right and gone slowly — so said the short steps — zigzagging up the wind. Within fifteen feet, the tacks in the course shortened from four or five feet to nothing, and ended in a small hole in a bank. From this the fox had pulled out a common, harmless garter-snake, torpid, curled up there doubtless to sleep away the winter. The fox chopped the snake across the spine with his powerful meat-cutters, killed it thus, dropped it on the snow, and then, without eating a morsel of it as far as I could see, he went on with his hunt. (Illustra- tion II A.) Why he should kill a creature that he could not eat I could not understand. I thought that ferocious sort of vice was limited to man and weasels, but clearly the fox was guilty of the human crime. The dotted guide led me now, with many halts and devious turns, across a great marsh that had doubtless furnished many a fattened mouse in other days, but now the snow and ice forbade the hunt. On the far end the country was open in places, with clumps of timber, and into this, from the open marsh, had blown a great bank of soft and drifted snow. Manitoban winters are not noted for their smiling geniaUty or profusion of outdoor flowers. Frost and snow are sure to come early and continue till spring. The thermometer may be for weeks about zero point. It386 The Book of Woodcraft may on occasion dip down to thirty, yes, even forty, degrees below, and whenever with that cold there also comes a gale of wind, it conjures up the awful tempest of the snow that is now of world-wide fame as — the blizzard. .«  No. II. The record of the Fox's hunt. The blizzard is a terror to wild life out on the plains. When it comes the biggest, strongest, best clad, rush for shelter. They know that to face it means death. The prairie chickens or grouse have learned the lesson long ago. What shelter can they seek? There is only one — an EskimoNatural History 387 shelter — a snow house. They can hide in the shelter of the snow. As the night comes, with the fearful frost and driving clouds of white, the chickens dive into a snowdrift; not on the open plain, for there the snow is hammered hard by the wind, but on the edge of the woods, where tall grass spears or scattering twigs stick up through and keep the snow from packing. Deep in this the chickens dive, each making a place for itself. The wind wipes out all traces, levels off each hole and hides them well. There they remain till morning, warm and safe, unless — and here is the chief danger — some wild animal comes by during the night, finds them in there, and seizes them before they can escape. This chapter of grouse history was an old story to the fox and coming near the woodland edge, his shortened steps showed that he knew it for a Land of Promise. (Illus- tration II, B.) At C he came to a sudden stop. Some wireless message on the wind had warned him of game at hand. He paused here with foot upraised. I knew it, for there was his record of the act. The little mark there was not a track, but the paw-tip's mark, showing that the fox had not set the foot down, but held it poised in a pointer-dog pose, as his nose was barkening to the tell-tale wind. Then from C to D he went slowly, because the steps were so short, and now he paused: the promising scent was lost. He stood in doubt, so said the tell-tale snow in the only universal tongue. Then the hunter turned and slowly worked toward E, while frequent broad touches in the snow continued the guarantee that the maker of these tracks was neither docked nor spindle- tailed. From E to F the shortened steps, with frequent388 The Book of Woodcraft marks of pause and pose, showed how the scent was wanning — how well the fox knew some good thing was near. At F he stood still for some time with both feet set down in the snow, so it was written. Now was the critical time, and straight up the redolent wind he went, following his nose, cautiously and silently as possible, realizing that now a single heedless step might spoil the hunt. CLOSING IN At G were the deeply imprinted marks of both hind feet, showing where the fox sprang just at the moment when, from the spotless snowdrift just ahead, there broke out two grouse that had been slumbering below. Away they went with a whirr, whirr, fast as wing could bear them; but one was just a foot too slow; the springing fox secured him in the air. At H he landed with him on the prairie, and had a meal that is a fox's ideal in time of plenty; and now, in deep hard winter, it must have been a banquet of delight. Now for the first time I saw the meaning of the dead garter-snake far back on the trail. Snake at no time is nice eating, and cold snake on a cold day must be a mighty cold meal. Clearly the fox thought so. He would rather take a chance of getting something better. He killed the snake; so it could not get away. It was not likely any one would steal from him that unfragrant carcass, so he would come back and get it later if he must. But as we see, he did not have to do so. His faith and patience were amply justified. Instead of a cold, unpleasant snake, he fed on a fine hot bird. Thus I got a long, autobiographical chapter of fox-life by Simply following his tracks through the snow (see heading).Natural History

m €^ %0 Tracks of old man. "a young hunter. " "a city woman. if a J dog. " " cat.

.^' ® Snapping Turtle. Brook Turtle, „90 a>' -390 The Book of Woodcraft I never once saw the fox himself that made it, and yet I know — and you know — it to be true as I have told it. Deer. BOOKS AND ARTICLES RECOMMENDED "Tracks in the Snow," By E. T. Seton, St. Nicholas, March, 1888, p. 338, many diagrams, etc. "American Woodcraft," By E. T. Seton. 2 articles on tracks of animals. Ladies^ Home Journal. May and June, 1902, many illustrations. "The Life Histories of Northern Animals," Two large volumes by Ernest Thompson Seton, dealing with habits of animals, and give tracks of nearly all. Scribners, 1909. "Tracks and Tracking," Joseph Brunner. "The Official Handbook," Boy Scouts of America. Doubleday, Page & Co. 50 cents. Mammals of the Adirondacks," By C. Hart Merriam, M. D. Henry Holt & Co., New York City, Price $2.