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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (March 13, 1902)
m 10 Conservative * WHEN THE SCHOONERS ROLLED OUT OP ST. JOE. Those exciting old scenes arc but memories now , When the pop of the bullwhacker's whip Sharply rang , ere the Wild West had scarce felt the prow Of Progression's great oncoming ship , And but few now remain of that dust-begrimed host Who had nerve in the dim long ago To fight and if need be to die at their post When the schooners rolled out of St. Joe. In the dust of the valley great serpentine trains Rolled from civilization's last gate 1 \ And slowly plains wound onward toward the great Where the red men were lying in wait , But every bronzed whacker trudged bravely along , Feeling never a fear of the foe Their heavy whips cracked to the voifings of song As the schooners rolled out of St. Joe. When the sun seemed a ball of raw flre in the skies , When the torrents the rain sheeted down , When the wind blew the alkali dust in their eyes , When the clouds wore a threatening frown , To the men with the bulls it was always the same , They'd the duty mark manfully toe , True philosophers all , they took things as they came When the schooners rolled out of St. Joe. Those schooners of old are now rotting away , But bones of the cattle remain. The whackers surviving are wrinkled and gray , No moro does the wagon-boas reign , The swift-flying trains drawn by monsters of steam Now fly o'er the plains to and fro , And the stirring old days we recall as a dream , When the bchooners rolled out of St. Joe. Denver Post. NATIVE BIRDS. The northern migration of the water birds is on in earnest , as anyone may know who happens to be on the J street in the evening when the heav ily laden hunters return trom their visits to the sloughs or the river weighted down with a great bundle of dead birds. Our attention was called to the fact that there wore birds not usually classed as game to bo met with by a younc man who had proof sufficient of his prowess swung over his back. Ho said that he had been "a Loon and a Hell Diver" but could get neither ; "they're too blamed quick" ho re marked. These birds arc usually met with a little later on although there is no particular rear on why they should not bo found-north all through the winter whore there is any open water for them to feed in. The Loon is perhaps seen more often than the Hell Diver , or Grebe , as it is much moro liable to attract attention not only with its brighter and more showy plumage but moro particularly with its harsh and discordant voico. The phrase" as crazy as a loon" is familiar to all though it may not bo so well known that the phrase originated from the maniacal "laugh" which character izes this bird during certain seasons of the year. Do you remember in the chronicle of his experiences at Wai- don Pond the description that Thorean gives of the Loon that settled there for a season ? The wonderful dexter ity of the bird while in the water called forth the greatest enthusiasm from the Concord Hermit ; but it seemed to bo a matter of regret to liim that the Loon would not let him make friends with it as most wild things did. Ho could got about so close and then like a flash it was gone to appear perhaps a quarter of a mile away and send back across the water its wild unearthly laugh. The Hell Diver seen was probably the Pied Bill Grebe , a bird that is oven more export in the water than the Loon. It does not attract much attention in its dusky brown coat as it floats and swims about in the cen ter of the pond or lake ; but try to shoot one and the chances are very much in favor of a miss ; for the bird will dive at the flash and unless at very short range it will get under the water before the shot can reach it. Thou supposing the body of water in which the bird is found to bo clear of weeds and brush , if the hunter expects to see his victim bob up at some dis tant point he is doomed to disappoint ment. Swimming swiftly along un der the water until he has reached a safe distance the wily bird will thrust his bill out of the water far enough so that ho can breathe and float about just below the surface until the man with the gun begins to feel tl > at it surely is a water witch and has disappeared. The ducks that arc being brought iu are largely Butterballs , Pintails , Widgeons , Red Heads and Mallards. The Butterballs and Widgeons seem to bo in the majority although the others are quite common. The But- tcrball is the bird that was found to acquire the highest speed for long sus tained flights in the series of experi ments that were made a few years ago by the American Ornithologists Union , and it was stated that they habitually flew 100 miles an hour and when iu a hurry had been observed to go at twice that speed. The Widgeon or Bald Pate is one of the finest of table ducks.Vhou fat and well fed the meat is said to bo indistinguishable from the more famous Canvasback. The peculiar whistling sound which this duck makes as it flies rapidly through the air gives the hunter notice of their coming , but unless ho is very well hidden the bird will hear him and away it goes at a very decided angle. The beautiful Redhead is first cous in to the Canvasback and it is often mistaken for that bird. Its finely chocked back certainly looks like 20- ounce canvas , much moro so in fact than the bird that bears that name. The Mallard is too well known to need comment , every body being ac quainted with this beautiful green headed bird. With the ducks and feeding upon them , comes the Duck Hawk , the most deadly enemy of the family next to man. This falcon may bo seen flying swiftly about over the marsh aud ponds , except when hungry , when he soars about high in the air and after his game has been selected ho drops with unerring aim from a great height , striking the victim square in the neck and then hangs on until the poor duck is strangled to death. This bird is the American representative of the hawk used in Europe during the middle ages in the royal sport of falconing , beside which ' ' Other joys Are but toys. " This bird has no sense of fear whatever - over and on the very best authority it has been stated that it has been known to attack a wounded snipe at the very feet of the hunter. The small woodland birds are be ginning to come in noticeable num bers. Wo have seen in our walks a number of Robins , a couple of Car dinals and a band of Redheaded Woodpeckers. THE NEW BOOK ON WESTERN HISTORY. A significant feature of the book trade at present is the number of works on early western history that are appearing. Apart from the seasonable literature to be looked for in connection with the coming World's Fair at St. Louis , it is evident that the approach of the first centennial of the acquisition of the Trans-Mississippi country by the English- speaking race is arousing an interest , hitherto confined to a few , in the details of the process by which the unknown desert of a hundred years ago has been transformed into the Great West of to day. "The American Fur Trade of the Far West , " by Captain H. M. Chitteuden of the Corps of Engineers , the latest publi cation in this line , is a most timely and valuable work. It is much more than the title seems to express , until one re flects that there was practically noth ing done in the west in the first half of the last century , that was not directly dependent on the fur trade. This traffic , begun by the French colonists of St. Louis , was taken up with eagerness by the American frontiersman , and it 'was the fur trader and his band of trappers who found out and visited the unknown Indian tribes who learned their lan guages and customs , intermarried with them , and paved the way , for the inevit able by acquainting them with the ac cessories of civilization ; who convoyed the missionary and the naturalist ; who explored every nook and corner of the mountains , found the Platte , the South Pass , the mountain parks , the great Salt Lake ; who discovered and forgot again the Yellowstone Park ; and who finally guided the surveyor and ougincer when the day came for the laying out of mili tary highways and railroads. There is , it is safe to say , a compara tive blank in the minds of most people
