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