USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > History of Wayne County [Pa.] > Part 5
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55
THE MUSK-RAT.
white; the rest of the body is a lustrous brown. The fur is valuable, so much so that the keeping and breed- ing of the otter, for the sake of their skins, has been made profitable. More than fifty years ago Miss Polly Wright, a daughter of Nathan Wright, had a tame otter. (The Wright family were noted for their skill in taming animals.) I saw the animal several times at the house of Egbert Woodbridge, where Miss Wright lived. This fellow went where he pleased, and caught his own food. He would go to the Paupack, a half mile distant, at all times of the year, and often bring home a fine trout, take it to a large spring near the house, play with it as a cat does with a mouse, and de- vour it when he had finished his gambols. No one could coax a fish away from him, although he was as playful and harmless as a kitten. His smooth, glossy skin was very beautiful. He had a winding hole un- der the house where he would lie, and where he seem- ed to take a roguish delight in biting the nose of every dog that attempted to interview him. After living several years in a state of domestication, he went away one summer and never returned.
THE MUSK-RAT.
Old hunters used to call this animal a "musquash." The head and body measure about fifteen inches ; the tail nine inches. The fur is dark umber brown, chang- ing into a brownish yellow on the under part of the body. In summer its food consists of roots, tender shoots, and leaves of aquatic plants, and, in the win-
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HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
ter, of fresh-water clams. It is nocturnal and not of- ten seen in the day-time, swims and dives well, and can remain a long time under water without breathing. It yearly builds a winter habitation out of mud and long grass, and lives about small, grassy ponds, muddy, slow streams, or swamps. Many of the skins are year- ly exported.
THE MINK
In its habits and appearance resembles the otter, being much smaller, however, as it is only about twen- ty inches in length. It lives about bog meadows, ponds, or sluggish streams, and feeds on frogs, fish, and clams, and will kill poultry in the winter if it can get at them. Its depredations are all nocturnal. Six- ty years ago the skin of a mink was worth only a York shilling. A few years ago it was worth several dollars, but since that time their value has greatly depreciated.
THE WEASEL.
This animal with all its varieties is classified with the marten. They are cunning, silent, and cautious, and no animal exceeds them in agility. They can climb trees and follow the rat through all his wind- ings; having seized their victim, they never relax their hold, but, fixing upon the back of the head, drive their teeth through the skull. They hunt day and night and are accused of killing poultry and destroying their eggs. There are several varieties. The skin of the most common kind is brown on the back, and white
57
THE SQUIRRELS.
on the belly and throat. The white kind is called the ermine weasel. The movements of all the varieties are singularly graceful.
SQUIRRELS. 1
The black squirrel, never very abundant, is yet to be found in the vicinity of chestnut forests. In the winter its skin is of a fine, glossy black. In some years numbers of them are seen in the woods; at other times they cannot be found. They are not as large as they appear to be; their skins are of little or no value, and they are killed to gratify a morbid propensity to shed blood. The gray squirrels are larger and more numerous than the black kind, and remarkable for their beauty and activity. Like other squirrels it feeds upon all the nuts found in the woods and lays up a store of them for winter. It is easily tamed and is then cunning, playful, and mischievous. The common red squirrel is one of the boldest, most nimble, and thievish of all the rodents. He often lives in a hollow tree, and when he has a litter of young squir- rels on hand, he will run up and down his tree, and, with a rattling chatter, scold and threaten any crea- ture that approaches his home; for this cause he has been called a chickaree. He does not appear to dig up the planted corn, but steals and carries it away in the fall. The Indians called these squirrels tree-plant- ers. A solitary chestnut, hickory, or butternut tree is found a mile away from any of its kind. The In- dians believed that the seed of such isolated trees was
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HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
carried and planted by the red squirrel. It may be that the animal is impelled by the impulsive power of instinct to plant trees for the future support of its race. This squirrel overmasters all the others, driv- ing them from their holes and consuming their hoard- ed stores. When pursued it makes long leaps from tree to tree. Its tail is long and adds much to the beauty of this interesting, sylvan rover. When driven by hun- ger, it will live on the bark of trees. Flying-squir-
rels are scarce. The skin of their sides is extended from the fore to the hind legs, the expansion of which forms a sort of sail that enables them to descend from one tree to another. They build their nests in hol- low trees, and are the smallest of all the squirrels. The upper parts are ash color and the under parts white. Their skins are soft and silken, eyes large, black, and prominent. The ground-squirrel, or chip- munk, is the most abundant of all squirrels; it lives in hollow trees or in holes in the ground, digs up corn in the spring, and steals it from the ear in the fall. This is the laboring squirrel, ever busy and active; he hoards up abundance of nuts and grain which other squirrels steal from him, whenever they can get at his garnered treasures. It is the way of the world; the laboring class are subject to have their acquisitions taken from them by the crafty and improvident.
THE WILD CAT.
There are several varieties of this animal, one of which resembles the Canadian lynx, and among our
59
THE FOX.
hunters is called a catamount. It is larger than the wild cat and has longer ears 'and a shorter tail. The whole tribe are carnivorous, living upon squirrels and mice. They are cowardly in disposition, but, when forced into a fight, defend themselves with bloody desperation.
THE FOX.
This animal, noted in fable and in song and known in all the northern parts of Europe and Asia, as well as in all the northern portions of the American Con- tinent, consists of many varieties, all of which are cel- ebrated for cunning and rapacity. The variety most . common in Northern Pennsylvania is the red fox. Its fur is long, fine, and brilliant. It is a great thief, troublesome to poultry keepers, and does not scruple to devour small lambs, if they are found in its way. They are caught in traps and hunted by hounds and men, yet there are some of them still left. There is another kind called the gray fox, whose fur is not of much value. The most rare and valuable variety is the black, or silver fox. This variety is sometimes found of a rich, deep, lustrous black, the end of the tail alone being white; in general, however, the fur has a silver hne, the end of each of the long hairs be- ing white, and presenting a beautiful appearance. The hunters no sooner find out the haunts of one of this scarce variety than they use every art to catch him, as the fur fetches six times the price of any oth- er kind.
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HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
THE HARE.
This is one of the most innocent and defenseless of all animals, and its only chance to escape from its ene- mies is by concealment or flight. . It is remarkably swift, and when pursued is capable of making most astonishing leaps. It lives on the bark and buds of trees, in the winter, and upon tender herbage, in the summer, seeking its food in the night. From Decem- ber to May this animal is white, excepting the red- dish-brown of the ears. During the rest of the year the upper parts of the body are of a lead color. This hare has one peculiarity that has escaped the notice of zoologists. In the night, after some mild day in early spring, a strange sound is often heard in the woods, resembling the filing of a saw, which sound, it is generally believed, is made by a bird, which, consequently, has been named " saw-filer." Now this strange sound is not made by a bird, but by the male and female hare. This I know to be a fact, hav- ing stood, on a bright moonlight night, within two rods of the animal when the sound was made. Sam- uel Quick, of Blooming Grove, assured me that he had tamed the hare, and knew that they made such sounds.
THE RABBIT.
This animal closely resembles the hare in all its principal characteristics, size only excepted. It may, however, be at once recognized by the comparative shortness of the head and ears, as well as of the hinder limbs, and the absence of a reddish-brown tip on the
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THE RABBIT.
ears, and by the brown color of the upper surface of the tail. In habits it is different from the hare. Its flesh, instead of being dark and highly-flavored, is white, and, though delicate, is said to be insipid, es- pecially that of the tame breed. The animal is decid- edly gregarious, and makes extensive burrows, in which it dwells and rears its young. When alarmed it takes to its burrow and disappears as by magic. They produce three or four litters annually. The young, when first produced, are blind, naked, and helpless. The female forms a separate burrow, at the bottom of which she makes a bed of dried grass, lin- ing it with fur. There she deposits her young, care- fully covering them over every time she leaves them. It is not until the tenth or twelfth day that the young are able to see. The rabbit is of a fulvous gray, and does not turn white.
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HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
CHAPTER V.
BIRDS.
NO part of animated nature is enlivened with any- thing more interesting than birds. Their great diversity of forms, habits, and instincts; their plumage always attractive, often gorgeous and rich with varied colors; their singular endowments by which they are enabled to navigate the air ; their ingenuity displayed in the construction of their nests ; their songs and chants,- all combine to throw a halo of enchantment around them, which will ever find place in our memories.
Thomas Jefferson, in his "Notes on Virginia," upon many subjects is full and exhaustive; but when he comes to write about the birds, he merely gives us a catalogue of their Latin and English names, without any description of their plumage and peculiarities. This neglect his readers very much regret, when re- fleeting upon the descriptive ability of the noted au- thor. Although destitute of the descriptive powers of that eminent writer, we shall attempt to give a general description, imperfect though it may be, of some of the birds which have frequented, or, which do yet fre- quent, the fields and forests of Wayne county.
Birds are either carnivorous, insectivorous, graniv- orous, or omnivorous, and their digestive organs are
63
THE EAGLE, HAWK, AND KINGFISHER.
modified accordingly. Of the first kind are the eagle, hawk, kingfisher, owl, heron, and loon.
THE EAGLE.
That the eagle has been seen and killed in Wayne county may be a fact; but that it has ever made its aerie in our hills and mountains is questionable, as it ever builds its nest upon precipitous cliffs, higher than any that exist in the county.
THE HAWK.
The great hen-hawk is well known to all farmers, as they are subject to have their domestic fowls de- stroyed by him. When he can find no other food he catches the garter-snake and sails about with it at a great height, sometimes letting the reptile fall, as if disgusted with his prey. His sight is intensely acute ; he spares no bird that he can catch, and is the terror of all the smaller tenants of the air, excepting the king- bird and the purple martin, who drive him from the vicinity of their nests. The pigeon-hawk in habits is like the larger kind.
THE BELTED KINGFISHER
Is found along the Delaware and other large streams. He has a lond, rattling voice. His sight is remarkably acute. From a tree near his frequented stream he will descend like a dart, seize upon a fish, carry it to his tree, and devour it, or convey it to his young. This bird sometimes lives in an excavation in some sand bank
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HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
where its nest is made, to which it returns year after vear.
THE OWL.
This bird, once very numerous, was found in all the dark solitudes of the deep woods, and in the night made such sounds as seemed scarcely to belong to this world. Attracted by the dazzling fire-light of the hunter, he would, from some near tree, utter a sudden and frightful "waugh-O, waugh-O," sufficiently loud to alarm an army of men. In the same manner he star- tled the belated traveler of the night. The Indian must have learned his terrific war-whoop from the owl. By way of variety, the wretch had other nocturnal solos, which were like the screeches of a mortal in in- tolerable agony. Dr. Richardson, an English traveler, tells of the winter night of agony endured by a party of Scotch Highlanders who had encamped in the dark recesses of an American forest, and fed their fire with a part of an Indian tomb which had been placed in a secluded spot. The startling notes of the great owl broke on their ears, and they at once concluded that a voice so unearthly, must be the moaning of the spirit of the departed, whose repose they supposed they had disturbed. The Indians dreaded the boding hoots of the owl and forbade the mockery of his ominous, dismal, and almost supernatural cries. He is the sym- bol of gloom, solitude, and melancholy. He lives on all lesser birds and animals that he can surprise, and will destroy all poultry that he can reach. All his depredations are nocturnal. He builds a great nest in
65
THE HERON AND LOON.
some forked tree, lines it with grass and feathers, and raises three or four owlets at one brood. Occasionally one is heard in some large forest, but the most of them have been killed by hunters. There is a small kind called the screech-owl which is of habits like the one above described.
THE HERON,
Frequently called the night-heron, is peculiarly aquatic, has legs, wings, and neck longer than his body, and sometimes attains the height of five feet. He is both migratory and gregarious. He is a great fisher- man and seems satisfied with any kind of fish he can catch. He makes his nest of sticks upon the tall- est trees and when disturbed emits a loud, piercing cry. Sometimes he is improperly called a crane, which bird lives near the seashore.
THE LOON.
This bird, which is called the great diver, is scarcely noticed by any of our ornithologists. It is altogether aquatic and never seen upon land. Formerly it fre- quented our large ponds and was in the habit of pass- ing from one pond to another. Five or six of them would make their passage together, flying very high and emitting a distressing cry resembling that of a per- son shivering with cold. It can swim fifty rods under water, and so intensely acute is its sight, that it can, by diving, dodge the ball of a flint-lock rifle. Its food is fish and frogs. Its nest is built of coarse grass on some bog about a pond. Its color is bluish on the
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HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
back and wings, while the breast is nearly white. It is smaller than a goose and has a swan-like neck. Its feet being webbed, its movements are very graceful in the water.
THE AMERICAN SHRIKE.
This bird is occasionally found in the beech woods and in other parts of Pennsylvania. The beak is strong, decidedly toothed, and the upper mandible is curved and shuts over the under mandible, which is nearly straight. He feeds on grasshoppers, dragon- flies, and small birds. He takes his prey like the fly- catchers, by darting suddenly upon it from some post of observation, and, after satisfying his hunger, impales his remaining victims on thorns. When his supply of game is abundant, he leaves his stores to dry up and decay. He is bold and fearless, daring even to attack the eagle or hawk in defense of his young. In size he exceeds the kingbird. His tail is long and black, edg- ed with white. The wings are black, and there are stripes of black running backward from his eyes. The rest of his plumage is of a lead color, the breast being paler than the back.
THE CROW.
This bird, watchful and cunning, is too well known to need much description. He is found everywhere and he understands his enemies just about as well as they do him. He incurs the curses of the farmer for pulling up his corn in the spring, and for feasting upon the ripened ears in the fall. Great flocks of them meet
67
THE WILD TURKEY.
together in the spring and autumn, and, at their conven- tions, seem to deliberate over their concerns with true legislative solemnities, intermingled with a liberal amount of parliamentary jabber and jaw. The character and plumage of the crow are both black, and it is an un- settled question among agriculturists whether he is a blessing or a curse,-whether he is more sinned against than sinning. It must be admitted that being omniv- orous he destroys the larvae of many injurious insects and beetles.
THE WILD TURKEY.
These birds, never very numerous, were found in our original forests sixty or seventy years ago, and were shot by hunters or decoyed into pens made of poles and covered over on the top, a trail of wheat be- ing strewn upon the ground into the pen. The turkey, with his head down followed the trail into the trap, and upon raising his head endeavored to escape through the spaces between the poles, not lowering his head to see the opening at which he entered. Many were caught in this way, and all in consequence of holding their heads too high. Finally upon the invasion of the forests by the ax of the white man, being of a shy and retiring nature, they left for the more undisturbed forests of western Pennsylvania. They are natives of America. Being easily domesticated they were introduced into Europe as early as 1525. The nature of the bird may be inferred from the domesticated kind, though it is claimed that the wild bird is much larger than the tame one, and that the flesh is of a more delicious flavor.
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HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
RUFFLED GROUSE.
This is the bird called a partridge, and is so hardy as to live in our woods through our long, dreary win- ters, when, at times, it burrows in the snow. The food of the grouse consists of seeds, berries, wild grapes, and the buds of various trees. Their nest is made upon the ground, and they often rear a brood of twelve or fifteen chicks from one incubation. Up- on what the young are fed is unknown. The male is a noble looking bird, and while his mate is sitting, (and at other times,) he seeks out some secluded log, and, by the flapping of his wings, produces a very peculiar sound called "drumming." They are de- stroved by hawks, owls, and foxes, but their most ro- lentless foe is the hunter. The present law imposes a penalty of ten dollars upon any person who shall kill any ruffled grouse, between the first day of January and the first day of October in any year.
THE QUAIL,
Also called the Virginia partridge, is found through- out the Atlantic States. They live on grain and in- sects. In former times, when the farmers stacked out their hay and grain, they were quite numerous. The scarcity of food, combined with the severity of our winters, has made them very scarce. In some respects they resemble the ruffled grouse, in others they vary materially. The grouse roosts in trees, and is shy and untamable. The quail roosts or sits on the ground, and, if umolested, will feed with domes-
69
THE WOODCOCK.
tic fowls, and it is believed that they might be domes- ticated. Any person killing the quail between the first day of January and the fifteenth day of October, in any year, is by law subject to a penalty of ten dol- lars. Why not interdict the killing of them at any time ?
When calling his mate the male has a peculiar whistle. By some he is imagined to articulate the words, "no more wet;" by others, the words, "ah ! Bob White." What boy is there that has heard his whistle who did not try to imitate it ?
" The school-boy wandering in the wood, To pull the flowers so gay, Starts, his curious voice to hear, And imitates his lay."
THE WOODCOCK.
This bird resembles the English snipe, or woodcock. though it is less in size, and differently marked. In the day-time they keep in the woods and bushes, but, towards evening, seek wet and marshy ground, where they find their food. They seldom stir about until after sunset. It is then that this bird ascends spirally to a considerable height in the air, often uttering a quack, till, having attained his utmost height, he flies around in circles, making a gurgling sound, and in a few moments descends rapidly to the ground. If started up in the day-time, his flight at first is wab- bling, then in a direct line, when he is shot by the sportsman.
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HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
THE WILD DUCK.
There are so many varieties of this bird that it is difficult to determine what is the name of the kind that is found in our rivers and ponds, and which sixty years ago were found in large flocks, in the Little Equinunk pond, from which circumstance it was called " Duck Harbor." It is one of the largest ponds in the county, and old hunters used to say that the ducks often resorted there in immense numbers. Being shy and wary, as soon as they were annoyed by the hunters, the most of them left for safer quarters. Their peculiarities are like those of the tame kind. The wood-duck, however, is, in some respects, unlike all others. It formerly lived along the Middle creek, and perhaps in other parts of the county; unlike other ducks, it builds its nest in hollow trees near the water, and if the young cannot reach the water with ease, the mother carries each one to it in her bill. Audu- bon called this kind the most beautiful duck in the world.
THE THRUSH.
The brown thrush, or brown thrasher, as it is called in New England, is the largest of all the numerous kinds of thrushes. His morning song is loud, cheer- ful, and full of variety. His notes are spontaneous, not imitative. His back and wings are brown and his breast whitish, mottled with dark spots. His tail is long and fan-shaped. He flies low from one thicket to another. This bird has become very scarce, and may have left the county altogether.
71
THE ROBINS AND CAT-BIRD.
THE ROBIN
Is classified among the thrushes, and is often called "robin-red-breast." But our robin is larger than the English robin-red-breast, and is unlike it in habits and plumage. Our robin builds a nest of mud and lines it warmly, locating it in an orchard or in some tree near the habitation of man, its four or five eggs being of a pale blue. During the incubation of the female, and, at other times, the male, sitting upon some chosen tree, pours forth his loud and long-continued notes of "cheer-up, cheer-up, cheer-up," producing an enliven- ing effect upon the most dejected heart. It is one of our earliest birds, and is among the last that departs for warmer climes.
THE WOOD-ROBIN
Is a solitary bird of the thrush order, never leaving the woods, and but little is known of them. Their notes are short and mournful, but not often repeated. Their plumage is of a light snuff color. All the thrush- es are chiefly insectivorous.
THE CAT-BIRD
Is also ranked among the thrushes. Their nests are built in low bushes, and, when holding their young, are ably defended against all intruders. Both sexes are of a uniform slate color. Upon coming near their nest, they emit a cry which resembles the mewing of a cat. The song of the male is lond, varied, and imitative.
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HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
THE PIGEON.
These, of all birds, are the most gregarious. They fly in flocks and build their nests near each other, many of them on the same tree, and thousands of them in the same forest. A tract of land called " The Pigeon Roost," in Berlin township, sixty years ago, was one of their favorite places of rendezvous. Then they overspread this region in immense flocks of thousands. They lived upon the beech-mast. Since that time they have steadily decreased in numbers, until they have almost ceased their annual visits. Perhaps the great wheat fields of the West have allured them thither. Their rapidity of flight and ability to remain unflag- gingly upon the wing for many consecutive hours, is wonderful. Pigeons have been caught in Wayne coun- ty with undigested rice in their erops, which they must have eaten on the rice-fields of the South. "'Tis true, 'tis strange; but stranger 'tis, 'tis true." Once they were caught in nets by hundreds, but now they are not. caught at all.
THE WOODPECKER.
There are many kinds of these birds, the largest of which is the "high-hole," so called from his habit of seeking a high tree with a dead top, in which he makes a hole for his nest. His food consists of insects and grubs, which he digs out of decayed timber. Like his whole tribe, he flies by alternate risings and fallings. He may be called the drummer among birds. In a still morning he beats a reveille upon some dead tree,
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