THE NORTH PLATTE 8EMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE.
BIRD
HIS splendid bird Is undoubtedly
the most powerful hawk mot with
In Montana, where It Is UBunlly
called onglo, nnd Its carrying
power la remarkable, as the so
quel will show. It does no harm,
but, on tho contrary, wages un
ceasing warfare against such
pests as prairie dogs, gophora
and meadow mice, and should,
therofore. bo universally protect
ed; nevertheless It hna unfortu-
"- nntelv become very scarce ex
cepting lu ono or two favored localities, whoro It
Ib strictly preserved. Although a good deal has
been written about tho ferruginous rough-leg
(Archlbuteo ferruginous), I nm not aware, that It
has, hitherto, been studied or photographed at
the nest. Last summer Mr. V. It. Felton kopt
four nests of this hawk undor observation for me,
and Isltotl them whenever his work allowed him
time, writes E. S. Cnmeron In Country Life.
These four nests woro within n radius of four
miles from Mr. Felton'a headquarters at tho
Square Butto ranch In Chouteau county, nnd
others wero reported seven miles away, llcsldes
the above, Mr. Felton found four disused, but well
preserved. eyrleB two of thorn within a quarter
of a mile of an occupied nost. All eight nests
wero placed upon rocky lodges or points. They
were constructed of the same materials, which
consisted of sago brush nnd greascwood sticks,
with some soapwood Intermixed, and lined with
dry cow dung. Ah will bo seen from tho meas
urements, the loose pilo of sticks mado the new
nests remarknbly high, but they settled consider
ably before the young had Down. A bilof his
tory of ono of thoso nosts, condensed from Mr.
Folton'B notes is ub followa: Tho nest was only
two miles north of tho Squnro nutto ranch, easily
visible from thero through powerful binoculars,
and was visited almost' ovory day. This partlcu-
tmt noray
OWING PCS l?
a:rzry
. rg-OTglgiS'
HrlHH'l K ddtor IT f i it ' yrlr UmwwUUmWB0IA ft l I irlfyy Sa, j AaBMsnHWKv JBkv -jliBl
YT
&B?ZBf&tfy&& CROZCHZZD jzow
lar nest wag pictureaquely situated on a rocky
point of tho "Chalk Cliffs" northeast of tho goo
logically famous "Squaro llutte," which, despite
Kb modest namo, Is an lmmonBo rock constitut
ing on isolated spur of tho Hlghwood mountains,
2.C00 feet above tho pralrlo. In ronllty tho so
called "Chalk Cliffs" consist of an outcrop of
whlto snndstano, chlofly In tho center 'of a rnngo
of grass-covered hills whoso green summits rlso
In strong contrast abovo tho whlto corrugated
rocks. This sandstone stratum has been worn
Into a series of porpcndlcular clIffB, pure whlto
i bovo, but stained light brown bolow by llgnltlc
matter, and projecting spurs nro carved Into fan
tastlo pinnacles nnd mounds. One piomontory
In particular Is a regular saw-tooth rldgo. Tho
neat herp shown Is poised upon tho apex of a pil
lar which terminates a knlfo-blndo projection
:i,G75 feet high, and suggests In soma photographs
tho prow of n ship. As thoro Is a sheer vortical
descent on throe aides, and tho surfaco of tho
connecting rldgo suddenly bronks off, loavlng n
wldo flBsuro In tho rock between It nnd tho nest,
It la a task of no smnll difficulty to reach the lat
ter and oue best suited to n sailor or a cat. It
can only bo accomplished by approaching tho
eyrie from abovo, and then crawling along the
ledge, when, by dropping Into nnd crossing tho
gap (which is well shown In tho photograph), the
nest can bo attained, Mr. Felton, making light
of tho danger, climbed frequently to the nest,
and made numerous exposures with n small
camera at tho rango of n fow feet Tho nost was
four feet In height nnd three and a half feet In
diameter, nnd was higher than any Montana
oyrles of tho goldon englo known to, mo, which
species has also nested In tho "Chalk Cliffs." (In
his recently published "History of tho Hlrda of
Colorado," Mr. W; L. Sclntor mentions a goldon
eaglo'B nest which measured "six feet In diame
ter and nine feot high.") Tho hawks carried
green alfalfa to tho nest for decorntlvo purposes,
nnd Mr Felton noticed a frosh supply thero on
throe scpnrnto occasions. When found on May
18 the eyrlo contained thrco newly hatohod young,
but only two reached maturity, as ono of tho
nestlings disappeared on July 9 when fifty-two
days old. Mr. Felton conjectured that it had
been blown out of tho nest by a vlolont thunder
storm, but tho two strongor birds might have
ejected their weaker brother. In any ovont, tho
outcast would ooqn hnvo boon picked up by somo
four-footed or winged mnraudor. Tho two re
maining fledglings permanently loft their nest on
July 25, when about nlno weokB old. While
matching at this nost, at two o'clock ono attar
non. Mr, Felton observed a great horned owl
flying along tho cliff fnco In nu easterly direction.
Tho owl passed closo to tho nestlings, when ono
of tho soaring hawks, presumably tho fomnle, wns
Heeti to ewoop at and strlko tho Interloper, which
thereupon dived obliquely to tho ground. The
hawk rnnde two morts dashes nt tho Bitting owl,
and a short squnbblo onsued ench tlmo botwoen
tho birds; but when Mr. Felton reached tho place.
' tho owl was nowhere to bo seen, nnd tho hawk
had returned to her nestlings. As tho gront
homed owl la a powerful nnd ferocious bird,
which oven nttflcks nnd cuts largo hawka (soo
Fisher, "Hawks and
Owls of tho United
States," pago 175), It
undoubtedly beat off
Its assailant without
difficulty. So far as
I have observed In
eastern Montana, tho
ferruginous rough
leg feeds chlofly up
on prairie dogs nnd
m o n d o w m I c o,
though not averse to
annkea. In my opin
ion It never takes
frogs. Llko golden
eagles, theso hawka
often hunt amicably
In pairs, nnd then
nppear to bo moro
courageous, attack
ing mammals as
Inrgc as Jnckrnbbits.
Mr. Felton mndo
many valunblo ob
servations on tho
food habits of these
hawks during tho nesting season, nnd discovered
tho fact, now to science, thnt they prey upon
birds as well as on mammals. Over tho whole
courao of his obBorvntlons. until tho young birds
hnd flown, pralrlo dogs wero found largely to ex
ceed all othor diet; but until tho nestlings wero
nbout two weeks old, their food consisted partly
of meadowlarks (Sturnolla noglcctn). Whllo
vory llttlo food wna found In the neat, tnklng lntp
conaldoratlbn tho frequent visits paid to It, there
Woro soon altogether nlno pralrlo dogs, one cotton-tall
rabbit, two bull snakea (ono 31 Inches
long) and some romnlnb of sharp-tailed grouso
and meadowlarka, On two separate occasions,
whllo Mr. Felton kopt watch near tho eyrie, tho
wary fomalo frequently passed and repassed over
head with a mendowlark In her talons, ns subse
quently Identified. Tho bill of faro at all four
oyrles was similar, and meadowlarks, as demon
strated by their down and feathers, wero pro
vided for tho nostllnga. Tho following interest
ing collodion of romnnnts wna seen nt ono nest:
Four pralrlo dog skulls, tho skeletons of two
ball Bnakes (ono of them being very large), tho
log of u Bhnrp-tallod grouso, tho wing nn4 scapu
lars of a mngplo and tho primaries' of a meadow
lark. Grouso and mngplo remains wore not found
until July 17 nnd 21, nnd woro proved by tho
feathers to belong to young birds. To tho bout of
my knowledge, this specloa never attempts to
tako poultry of any kind, and my own observa
tions nro strongly confirmed by Mr, W. P. Sulli
van, for 1G years manager of Mr. MUnor's beau
tlfui Squaro Butto vanch, where these hawks have
always boon protected on account of tho numor
oub gophers (Thomomya) which they deBtroy.
As abovo narrated, several pair breed annunlly
upon tho ranch, and nro constantly flying around
tho buildings, yet no chtckena have over been
molested, Mr. Sullivan, who Is a close observer
of nature, considers that, after the young can
fly In tho fall, these hawkB subsist chlofly upon
gophers, and ho has described to mo their meth
ods of capturing them as follows; "I lufvo
watched tho hawks often through glasses In our
alfalfa field after the first crop has been taken off.
Tho pockot gophers got protty busy tunneling,
and pushing all tho loose damp earth up In piles
on tho surfaco. Tho hawks fly slowly ovor tho
field until thoy discover a fresh pile of damp
earth. Hero they will alight softly, and wnlt for
tho gopher to push closo to tho surfneo. Thoy
will then spread tholi wings and, rising a fow
feet In tho air, como down stiff-logged Into tho
looso earth, when tho gopher Is trnnsllxed and
brought out. 1 novo seen them eat the gopher
whoro caught, and nt othor times enrry It away."
In tho summer of 1003 about an aero of ground
nt tho Squaro Butto ranch wna covered with plloa
of building material, such as lumber, poatB nnd
heavy shed timbers, which had been collected
there tho previous year. Numbers of cotton-tall
rabbits lived undor theso piles, nnd provided an
occasional meal, both for tho hawka nnd for tho
ranch cat, which was a female tabby. On a
certain day Mr. Mllner (ownor of tho ranch) hap
pened to bo ongnged In conversation with Mr.
Sullivan nour a pllo of posts, upon which tho
cat wns basking In tho sun with one eye open
for n chnuco rabbit, na usual. A ferruginous
cur Z&piyDzc-ozr?'
rough-leg, with neatllnga In the whlto
cllffa, wb gyrating low over tho build
ings, but neither tho gentlemen nor tho
cat took particular notice of this familiar
sight. Doth men were, however, sud
denly atartled by a loud whirring nofse,
when to their Intense surprise they saw
that the hawk had lifted tho now be
wildered and struggling cat from her couch on
tho posts and was slowly bearing her aloft. It
aeomed at first to tho astonished spectators aB
though tho hawk woMld actually succeed In dis
posing of this troublesome quarry, since it con
tinued to rlso easily with Its burden to a height
of nbout 25 feet. By this tlmo, however, tho fully
aroused victim was stirred to a desperate effort,
and it became clear that the audacious hawk had
"bitten oft more than It could chew." In Mr. Sul
llvan's Tvords, tho tabby "twisted round, gavo a
torrlblo splutter and scream, and clawed tho
hawk with a vengeance." Tho lnttor, flapping
wildly, nt once relaxed Its grip, whllo pussy, noth
ing loth, withdrew her claws, foil to tho .ground
and dashed under the post3. NumerouB downy
fenthers floating gently to tho ground convinced
tho onlookers that tho chagrined hawk had none
tho best of the encounter. Temporarily tired ol
cats, it now soared to n great height, and re
turned with empty talons to the "chalk cliffs."
Tho cat In question was a very small one, attd
Montana cats are notably thin In summer; but,
allowing for theso facts, the victim must have
weighed six pounds at least. Nevertheless, Mr.
Sullivan feels sure that had the cat behaved llko
tho rabbit for which she was mistaken, the hawk
would successfully havo convoyed tho quarry to
Its eyrie In tho rocks. Ab the nest wb two miles
distant this -would seom an extraordinary feat,
and presumably transcend any hitherto published
records of tho kind. I quite admit that under
favorable conditions of wind tho fomnle hawk
might tranaport n 'Ave or alx-pound Jnckrabblt to
tho eyrlo; but that any cat-llftlng. hnwk should
over surpass what thla ono achieved Beomsv to
mo Improbable1 The dexterous application of
tho cat's raking claws would not fall to prevent
It as In tho abovo romarknblo lnatanco. Where
n rabbit succumbs tp tho shock and tho hawk's
constricting grip, the agile and wiry feline, on
tho othor hand, Is stimulated to offer a desper
ato resistance, nnd, llko Mr. Sullivan's protege,
Is llttlo tho worse for tho encounter. It cannot
bo told whether tho hawk wns mistrustful of rab
bits after this ovont, but the cat became so sus
picious of a flying object that she would raco for
tho wood pllo If Mr. Sullivan threw his hat into
tho air.
VIOLETS AND ROSES
OF VELVET RIBBONS
ALWAYS GOOD FORM
A CORSAGE bouquet, worn In front
and Just abovo tho waist lino, Is a
lovely finish for almost any toilctto.
For tho Btrcot a bunch of violets is al
ways In good taste, providing it is not
too largo. Fortunato recipients of or
chids may wear them anywhoro, and a
roso could never look anything but all
right.
Violets and rosea are made of velvet
ribbons nnd nro valued permanent pos
sessions of tho good drcssor Orchids
nro mado bo wonderfully truo to llfo
that one must bo close to them to de
tect tho difference. Thoy nro tri
umphs of tho art of flower manufac
turers. Thoso dress accessories, tho woman
ai ample means takes ns a matter of
courBO. They aro really moro needed
by thoso who buy fow dresses and
mako them servo many purposes. An
nttractlvo sot of furs and such finish
ing touches as aro shown in the illus
tration given here, will mnke tho plain
est tailor-mado very dressy looking.
Tho roso Is mado of velvet ribbon
about two and a quarter inches wide.
It requires a yard and a quarter to
make a roso If the petals are not
double. This Is cut Into lengths of
two and a half Inches each, or a llttlo
more. Each petal is gathered at the
bottom and turned back at the upper
edges. The edges are tacked into
place vltu invisible stitches.
Tho stamens at tho center from a
millinery rose, core fastened at ono
end of a heavy silk covored wire,
wHIch Is to bo wired for tho stem.
The petals are placed about thla cen
ter and tacked to tho stem with silk
thread.
Millinery rose foliage in velvet is
mounted with tho roso and tho stem Is
finally wound with narrow velvot rib
bon In green.
A bolt of baby ribbon In velvet ami
In a violet color will bo required to
mako tho bunch of violets. Each flow
er is simulated by a. double pair ot
loops, each a half to threo-quarters ol
an Inch deep. Spool wire, covered
with green silk, Is wound about the
middle of tho tiny bow which slmu.
latcs tho blossom. It holds the loops.
In place and provides the stem. When
tho entlro bolt has been made up, thq
blossoms aro massed together in t
bunch nnd tho stems wound and cov
ered with tinfoil. Millinery leaveB may
bo added or fine maidenhair fern be
fore tho tinfoil Is placed. Quito often
tho atoms aro tied with a short length
of tho ribbon used In making the blos
soms. JULIA BOTTOMLEY.
Traveler's Kimono.
Ono feels n hesitancy about appear
ing beforo strangers In a kimono of
any description; but otttlmes, especial
ly in a sleeping car, Buch an appear
ance la unavoidable.
It Is surprising how much moro com
fortable and how much less Incon
spicuous ono feels in a kimono or neg
ligee of subdued colors, and it Is
only tho experienced traveler or tho
woman of wretched taste and 111 breed
ing who will persist in floating up
and down tho car alslo or hotel hall
in a kimono of conspicuous bright
ness. A professional woman who finds
It necesary to travel back and forth
over tho country many times a 'year
Bald sho is sure of attracting no moro
attention in her kimono than sho
would if fully gowned. Tho kimono
In -question wns of very dark bluo
china Bilk, smocked across tho back
and front to glvo It fullness, and tho
full sieves wero shirred Into straight
cuffs at tho wrists.
, New Mirror.
At last a woman may have both
hands free to fix .her backJmlr, as
she looks into a mirror. This Is mado
possible now by tho invention of a
mirror which can bo held in tho
mouth, thus reflecting the back ot
the- head from tho main mirror of tho
bureau.
This now mirror Is quite broad, so
as to givq a good general view side
wise, and, being fixed on a curved
bar, stands well out from tho face.
At the bottom of tho curved bar is tho
"bite," not too large for dainty..mouths
and covered with batting, so as to bo
easily hold. A number of thick envel-
opes just fitting over tho "blto" como
with tho mirror,
New Hcslery.
Leading tho winter fashions in hos
iery aro tho flesh-hued silk stockings
which exactly resomblo theatrical
"fleshings" and always startle the ob
server who first sees them worn with '
low-cut slippers and Greek angle
strappings in black satin, embroidered
with seed pearls or tiny rhinestones
If theso stockings Beem too outre foi
tho woman of old-fashioned prejudices,
sho may,, wear her evening gown
matching silk hosiery, embroidered
with gold or sliver pearls.
Furs in Midwinter Millinery.
A Thoughtful Wife
"Where's my now meerschaum plpof" asked Mr
Cumso, after dinner. "I thought I loft it on the
muntel, back of tho clock, when I quit smoking
last night"
"Didn't I hear you suy that It would take a long
tlmo to color that pipe, dear?" asked Mrs. Cumso.
"It is qulto llkoly you did. The operation can
not bo performed all at once. But where Is the
pipe?"
"You know how anxious 1 am to save you all tho
work I can, dear?"
"Yes, just llko tho precious llttlo woman you
aro; but what has that to do with tho pipe?"
"Juat thla, love. I got to worrying over the long
tlmo It would tnke you to got it colored, aud I won
dered If I couldn't help you a bit."
"What! You don't mean to say you havo been
smoking tho plpo yoursolf?"
"Oh, no! But a poor tramp came to tho house
this morning. lie wns smoking tho forlornest llt
tlo bit of n plpo, and "
"Go on!" commanded Mr, Cumso In a constrain
ed volco, trying to keep calm. "You havo mado
him a present of my moerschaum, I BUppoao?"
"Oh, no! Your llttlo wife Isn't quite' so foolish
as all that."
"Then what haB tho tramp to do with the plpo?"
"Don't bo lmpntlont, donr, and I'll toll you. I re
membered what you said about tho long tlmo It
would tnke yon to color It, and so I asked the
man If ho would amoke It all day for a dollnr. He
Bald no; that n dollar and a quarter waa tho lowest
ho could do It for. So I told him I'd pay him that.
Ho's out In tho back yard now, working hard; and
ho really Boema to enjoy It. Yet somo pcoplo say
that tramps'cun't be Induced to woik But where
nro you going, love? Not downtown n early, are
you? Now I wonder what's rnnde that raau so
crosB?" Bho added, as her hueband slammed tho
door. Puck
PRACTICALLY good senBo londs its
own attraction to tho prevailing
styles In millinery for midwinter. Tho
fabrics used in tho body of hats are
warm looking and actually cmfortablo
With black velvet far In tho lead, wo
havo plushes, velours, clipped beavers,
duventlno and brocaded fabrics, equal
ly comfortablo looking nnd equally
fashionable.
Turbans and small close-tlttlng
shapes aro supreme. Soft crowns,
amounting to a cap over tho head, are
almost universal, so that with the com
bination of fashionable shapes and
fashionable fabrics cntiroly in har
mony tho hat Bhnpcs for midwinter
leave nothing to bo desired.
There aro fow shapes mado entirely
ot fur. In Millinery, as in coats, furs
aro employed moro generally as a
trimming. Bands and borders aro
used, and some very interesting nov
elties In fur trimmings havo appeared,
which indicate that we shall seo furs
employed in new forms during tho
remainder of tho cold weather.
Two hnts pictured here aro fine ex
amples of tho prevailing styles. Ono
of them has a rolling brim ot black
velvet nnd a soft crown ot Crepo
Georgette. A band of whlto fur rolls
ovor tho brim edge, outlining It and
framing the face prettily, A pair of
loops of velvet, wired to 8upport them,
has tho effect of a wing trimming at
tho back and provides all the decora
tion necessary. Thero In a narrow
band of velvet about tho crown at its
base.
Tho combination of white fur with
blnck velvet is very smart. Only a
good quality In velvet will produce tho
best effect In combination with fur.
Tho second picture shows a beauti
ful combination in gray and black
with touches of white. Tho shape is
simply a largo soft cap with a. llttlo
wiring about the faco, Tho crown Ib
of duvetyno, with which tho entire'
shapo la first covered. Thero is a
band of civot cat fur about tho edge,
showing only tho black fur.
A pair of novel quills, poved to
ward tho back provide tho trimming.
Thoy aro mado of threa quills fused to
gether, a light gray with a black and
a third small quill in gray tipped with
white. At tho baae of theso quills
there is a small mounting of black and
whlto fur finished with a silver orna
ment. Tho brims of turbans are covored
with tho short haired furs, llko broad
tall, oftener than with shaggy furs.
Very smart email hats, with narrow
brims, hnvo borders of fur in which
the fur projects In a fringe beyond
tho edge. On theso tfnd on closo
fitting turbdnB of fur, tall standing
trimmings of fancy ostrich aro the
favcrlto of all trimmings. But mndo
far the same purpose nro Innuraerablo
fancy feathers in the prettiest and
most unusual forma.
JULIA BOTTOMLEY.
v ,
Is
( i
