OUTDOOR Nebraska

IN THIS ISSUE:

OUTDOOR NEBRASKA of the Air

HUNTING BUCK BANDITS

SWARMING like bees around a bee hive, the crows poured in—scolding, yelling, really talking it up. We were fresh out of shells,- but still, Gene Hornbeck and Karl Menzel, a couple of Game Commission cohorts, continued to call, and in response, black clouds of crows poured in.

We were concealed in cedar trees along the edge of a crow roost near Axtell. The late afternoon was slipping into darkness, and we were winding up a great day of winter sport—crow hunting.

Our score was reasonably good, approximately 50 crows during a half day hunt. But by the time we arrived at the roost, which offered the best shooting of the day, our shell supply was low. And the elements had been against us all day. We'd picked a day when the weather was roughwinds up to 40 miles per hour, heavy snow, and a temperature which dipped to 5 below in early afternoon. With a calm day and a few more shells, we probably could have tripled our score.

Crow hunting provides the sportsman with an opportunity to keep his scattergun in action all winter. And while having fun,- the sportsman will be doing conservation a good turn by reducing the crow population, for the black speedsters are a menace to wildlife. It is a known fact that millions of crows follow the ducks north in the spring, destroying eggs and some young of the breeding fowl. Ducks Unlimited, the International waterfowl conservation organization, once estimated crows destroyed 30 million duck eggs one nesting season on the Canadian prairies. So crow predation on ducks runs in the high millions—a loss that has been estimated at between four and five times as many webfeet as are annually harvested by all the guns in Canada, United States, and Mexico.

This should be enough to make the crow wildlife enemy No. 1. So declare war on him and cut yourself in for some great sport.

The crow is noisy, quarrelsome, and mean. A coward alone, but ready to fight or frolic when in a flock. He has FEBRUARY, 1959 3   some qualities which make him fun to hunt. He is given credit for having sharp wits, good hearing, and keen eye sight. But he had that endless curosity which is his Achilles Heel. Blow the call so he thinks another crow is in trouble or having a good time, and he will investigate.

Crow hunting is excellent in Nebraska the year around. No two days of any one season will be the same, so you will have to improvise as you go along. Once you've experimented with the different ways to hunt the black bandit, your success should go higher and higher.

On this particular day, we tried three methods of hunting, and all paid dividends. We hunted a flyway which the birds used going to and from their feeding grounds. Next we tried the "wood hopping" method, which is very successful during the summer, and last we moved right into a crow roost to try our luck. It was in the latter where we ran out of shells, with hundreds upon hundreds of crows raining in around us. I will go into detail on each of the three hunting methods we used.

At the time we picked a spot on the flyway, we had no idea where the roost was located. We'd seen crows moving along the fence lines and shelterbelts, so decided to go into action. It turned out that we were only about three miles from the roost and were catching the early return of birds.

The hunter would do well to have a good blind or camouflage suit for flyway shooting. For winter hunting, an old white sheet will do the trick. Put a hole in the center for your head and two slits at the side to handle the gun. A smaller white piece of material can be draped over the head. This done, you will blend in with the snowy landscape. At other times of the year, the camouflage jobs available at surplus stores will fit the bill.

We were unwind from the flyway, so our crow call would carry. The cover was not too good; we had to use weed patches and small piles of dead branches for concealment. We learned fast that the crow can put on some evasive tactics to avoid gunners. This sly robber may come in fast and low or high and diving, looking frantically for the call. And once he spots a hunter or anything to spook him, he can do some fancy flying to get away.

Along the flyway, our prey came in very low against the wind, taking advantage of the wind protection offered by the fence lines and small brush. As I said, we had very little cover, and once we raised up for a shot, the crows would sideslip into the wind and blast off at tremendous speeds. One shot to a customer and the crows were gone tough shooting but fine sport.

We started out with two crow decoys and a papiermache owl. These were placed in the open on a fence post or small tree. On the flyway, the owl was very successful, as the crows swarmed in ready to challenge our fooler for a fight. After making several kills, we propped up dead crows on the fence or tossed some into low bushes for decoys. When hunting the roost later, the more dead crows we put in the tree, the better our luck seemed to be at drawing in large bunches of birds.

"Wood hopping" requires at least two hunters, and we had three. One hunter drives until a crow or crows are spotted. Then scan the roadside for good cover, and this is where the shooters will drop off. It must be on the side of the car opposite the crows. Just remember, crows spook easily; try stopping a car near a crow and see how long he stays put.

The car is kept moving at a slow pace while the hunters open the door and pile out, dropping down into the ditch for cover. Wait for the car to move down the road a bit, so the crows will get their minds on something besides the fellows in the ditch. Once the car is a half mile or so down the road, it is time to start working the birds. If it is a single crow, one hunter calls constantly and the other shoots. As there are usually more than two crows, both hunters will have plenty of roadside shooting.

This method of hunting works best on a calm day, when the sound of the call will carry. It is an ideal way to work the crow population in spring and summer, when the bandits are not bunched. In the warm months, you will see plenty of singles and doubles, and this method of hunting should add to your crow score.

No, we weren't violating the law by hunting from the road ditches. The law prohibiting shooting from a public highway applies only when hunting a game bird or game animal.

Then we moved on to the roost. A good hiding spot or camouflage is also necessary when shooting in the trees. We picked the cedar trees as the place to make our blinds. Crawling back into the lower branches so we were well 4 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   hidden, we waited for the birds to start working. The cedars also furnished fine shelter from the shivering winds. The weather was cold but our shooting was hot.

Remember, if a crow can see your shining face or any other movement, he will spook. So conceal yourself well in the blind or trees. We stayed deep in the cedars, avoiding any unncessary upward glances.

All we had left between us when the birds started to pour in were a few 12 gauge shells. Gene picked off six birds with his last seven shots. I had one double. After gunning up our last shotgun ammunition, we turned to a pistol and rifle. Karl scored with the pistol and Gene picked off a crow on the fly with the rifle.

At times the birds swarmed so thick to the call that you could almost picture yourself stepping out with a ball bat and smashing two or three. It was an invitation to go back and give this roost a try on another day with plenty of ammunition.

This hunt pointed up several things that I can pass on to beginners. One is that a hunter should do a minimum of moving around once in position, because of the crow's sharp sight. Camouflage or a good blind is one of the biggest factors in any kind of crow hunting. Once the old robber sees anything that resembles a human, he is long gone.

Any commerical call will work. We used two calls and had plenty of crows respond to both. With a little practice any hunter should be able to call crows. We found it best to keep the tempo of the call fast, giving a sound of excitement. Once you've had your shot, continue to squawk as more crows will be moving in and will be vulnerable to your call.

The simultaneous use of two calls by separate callers is often effective, many hunting experts claim. The two calls give the impression that two of the clan are harassing an owl, hawk, or some other victim. We used two calls in the roost and it was nothing to have 30 to 40 birds hovering around, berating and tongue-lashing us.

How do you find a place to hunt crows? Flocks, large and small, can be found throughout Nebraska during the winter. Big concentrations are found in the north-central, south-central and northeast sections of the state. Ask the local townspeople and farmers where the flyways and roosts are located. One man who can usually guide you to a roost is the rural mail carrier.

As to shot sizes, it should not make any difference what you use. No. 7% shot should work fine with a light load. Most of the crows will come in close and light loads are good enough. If you take some long shots, high brass No. 6 should suffice. A crow is all wings and feathers and doesn't take much to bring down.

The outdoorsman should find crow hunting an exciting challenge. And you will also be doing your small bit in helping the small game and bird populations. A dead crow is not going to destroy nests and eat young game next spring.

SNOWBALL TROUT

GILLS flared, the big rainbow tail-walked across the waters of northwestern Nebraska's White River this cold January morning. I stood transfixed on the edge of the pool, camera in cold numbed hands, trying to record his antics. John Kurtz, superintendent, Fort Robinson Park, held the bucking fly rod high, trying to keep him from running downstream into the tangle of a log jam.

With a burst of speed, the rainbow sliced line through the water as he raced to the head of the pool. Dogging the bottom he stayed put, fighting both current and fly rod. But as time passed, so did his resistance. Finally, in a lastditch stand, he swirled and then wiggled downstream and into John's waiting net.

The ever-present pink stripe of the 18-inch pug glowed like fire against the steely grays and whites of his sides. Gathering around the victor, the rest of our party—Carl Schmidt, Cecil Avey, Berlyn Johnson, and Dale Frenau, all OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   of Crawford—admired the fish. Cecil is the conservation officer in that area.

I got my two cents in, by saying, "From here on, the photographer is going to try his luck on these iceknocking trout."

Hanging the camera around my neck, I rigged up my fly rod. Six feet of four-pound-test leader, several split shot, and a long shank No. 8 hook, terminated by a lively minnow, put me in a position to bargain with the trout of the White River.

Snow crunched under my waders as I hiked upstream. There the beauty of the Pine Ridge area unfolded as I looked up the valley at the silvery ribbon of water—one of the state's better trout streams.

White River fishing is at its best near Fort Robinson in Sioux County. We were trying the area a few miles away, around Glen—a tiny gathering of buildings with a depot and a trout stream nestled between the walls of wooded canyons.

A herd of grazing whiteface cattle gave me a casual glance as I ambled past, enroute to a stretch of clear water, sparkling in the morning sun. At the end of the run, the tumbling water spilled into a deep, well-protected hole. Eddies swirled invitingly as I crept up on hands and knees to the stream edge. Stripping line from the reel, I flipped the minnow into the run and watched it disappear into the pool's depths.

Retrieving and recasting, I sent the minnow into each pocket, eddy, and other likely looking spot for lounging trout. I cast to the far bank, then fed line, allowing the bait to drift into the bend. Raising the rod tip, I brought the minnow toward the surface and dropped it, letting it swirl under the bank. Just as I was about to bring it in for another try, I saw a silvery flash under the surface, followed by a smash at my line as the fish took the minnow and raced back into his lair.

I fed him some slack line, holding my rod high to eliminate the drag. My pulse pounded in my throat as I gave him time to inhale the bait. Five seconds, ten seconds, I began tightening the line. The rod arched under the strike and I felt the hook take hold in a good fish. The tip, touching the water, found the trout going the opposite direction, exploding out of a swirling eddy.

Seconds later he was at the tail of the pool, digging his nose on the bottom. But pressure from my rod brought him slashing up across the surface, cascading spray against the snow on the bank. He hung, fighting the current at the head of the hole, then raised slowly in the water and rolled over on his side. The victory was mine.

Rod high above my head, I led him slowly to my waiting hand, then slipped by fingers behind his gills and dropped him in a patch of snow. I'd caught my first winter trout, a hefty two-pound rainbow.

At the head of a run farther downstream, I hooked my second trout, a 12-inch brownie. I fished down toward my companions, working the holes and pockets. As I rounded a bend, I saw Berl's rod bowed. Quickly I got my camera into action, just in time to see my rancher friend skid his 'bow into the bank. A big grin lighted Berl's face as he hoisted a 17-inch fish out of the water.

The two of us hiked toward a big pool below, where Carl, assistant park superintendent at Fort Robinson, was doing business. After a couple of casts, Carl hollered that it was time for picture taking. And it was, as the red-headed ex-Navy chief produced a nice 14-inch rainbow.

Back at the car, we found John and Dale waiting for us. Dale, a grocer, had a carbon copy of Berl's 17-inch rainbow. John, another ex-Navy chief, hadn't added to his creel since the opening catch. Cecil had a 10-inch brownie in his creel.

We called it quits and left the river for another day. Bumping over the winding roads along the river on the way into town, talk turned to winter baits. Carl offered that he'd used worms to great success. His 14-inch 'bow was proof.

"Worms," John injected, "are only for dunkers like Carl. Unlike real fishermen, like the rest of us, Carl can't float a minnow into a hole just right, so old granddaddy trout thinks he has a meal in the making."

"Keep talking," Carl mused, "and I'll tell 'em who caught that big brown you had your picture taken with last winter."

And John stopped talking.

"All nonsense aside, you two," Berl added with a chuckle, "I believe that either the worm or minnow will do the job for these winter trout. You have to use a natural bait now, for fish slow down in winter and you have to kind of dunk for them as Carl does."

Salmon eggs, too, do the trick. I reminisced about Michigan's Big Huron River where years back I reaped dividends with salmon eggs and spawn under conditions similar to these on the White. Dale added that a buddy of his in Crawford once fished Monroe Creek with single salmon eggs and just couldn't keep the brookies off the hook.

Berl came forth with a few weather facts that hold true during both winter and summer. "Last winter," he said, "I had my best luck whenever we had a thaw; the rise in water level discolored the clear stream, making it much easier to catch a fish."

"I'll buy that," I remarked. "Today is a good example of the opposite conditions. I saw one hole that had about 20 trout. I know; about that many spooked when just the shadow from my line floated over them."

Back in Crawford, we warmed our frozen anatomies in the local coffee shop. I accepted (Continued on Page 21)

WILDCAT HILLS

NOWHERE in the state is found such a fascinating panorama of picturesque peaks, cliffs, and canyons as in the Wildcat Hills of western Nebraska, sometimes referred to as the Wildcat Mountains. These hills contain the highest point in Nebraska, the tallest being Hog Back Mountain, with an elevation of 5,082 feet, and Wildcat Mountain, 5,038 feet.

Wildcat Hills have been a source of wonder and interest since the early days when the first explorers viewed the magnificent range. This group of hills played a great part in the overland travel of the early pioneers. Some of the buttes and other forms were landmarks to emigrants passing over the Oregon Trail.

Located between the North Platte River and Pumpkin Creek Valleys, the range extends south and east down through Nebraska from Bald Peak and Signal Butte to Court House and Jail House Rocks. The range is approximately 50 miles long and up to 10 miles wide.

The range was created by the erosion of the Platte River and Pumpkin Creek. C. E. Bessey, well-known University of Nebraska professor, proposed the name of Wildcat Hills.

Distance of the hills from the Platte River ranges from 6 to 12 miles, with three prominent spurs coming still closer. These spurs are Scotts Bluff, now a national monument, with an altitude of 4,662 feet; Castle Rock, with an altitude of 4,473 feet, and Chimney Rock. Though not as high as the others, the latter is one of the best-known land forms, standing out prominently in the valley and visible for miles.

To the east, Court House and Jail House Rocks stand as disconnected members of the range near Bridgeport. Many stories are told of how these two rocks were named. The most popular is that Court House Rock was named after a band of outlaws had been tried and found guilty, then shot to death on the summit. Jail House, nearby and somewhat smaller, was so named by cowboys because of a jail's proximity to a courthouse.

A prominent spur of the range extends a short distance to the southeast. And in this spur is found Hog-Back and Wildcat Mountains.

Nestled in this beautiful range is the Game Commission's Wildcat Hills Recreation Ground. An added tourist attraction at the grounds is a game refuge. The entire area covers approximately 833 acres, 123 of which are for recreation.

This area was established in January 1930 with the purchase of a quarter section. Additional acquisitions followed, the last of which was made in 1948.

The Wildcat Hills area is located 10 miles south of Gering on 29. This highway goes south out of Gering, 8 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   through the Wildcat Hills, through Harrisburg, and to Kimball. The area is approximately 40 miles from the latter town. Highway 29 crosses Stage Hill, so called because old stagecoaches from Kimball to Gering took this route. On this hill is the entrance to the Wildcat Recreation Grounds.

Here is nature at its best for anyone who likes to hike and view the wonders of the outdoors. Trees and flowers abound. In the summer, the area is frequented by many species of birds. Deer are regular visitors, and with some keen observation you may see such other animals as raccoon, squirrels, rabbits, and porcupines. And as expected there are wildcats, and some people see plenty of them.

The geological formation of the range near the recreation grounds is varied. Breaking through the grassy slopes of Brule clay are nearly vertical cliffs of sandstone in several colors. The canyons and ravines are deep and large. Ravines and high slopes are wooded with pine, and the canyon floors are overgrown with cottonwood, oak, box elder, willow, chokecherry, and buffalo berry.

There is much beauty to be found in the wild flowers which dot the open spaces. Found in great abundance are the wild rose, cream-colored yucca, and brush morning glory.

"Nebraska," a history compiled as a Federal Writers' project, states that "the drive along the game preserve presents a continuous vista of near formations and several good views of surrounding country. The North Platte Valley slopes gently away to the east and northeast while cutting further horizons are the familiar landmarks of the Old Oregon Trail days—Signal Butte and Bald Peak to the west, Scotts Bluff to the north, and down the river to the east the spire of Chimney Rock."

A creek runs through the recreation grounds but is dry during most of the summer.

Another point of interest near the area is Funnel Rock (altitude 4,502 feet), easily identified by its resemblance to an inverted funnel. Farther from the grounds is Wildcat Mountain, with its high, pine-covered ridge, and Hog-Back Mountain.

The state-owned grounds, one of more than 30 such major areas at which all entering vehicles must have the Recreation Use Stamp affixed to the windshield, is open the year round. Spring and summer find the area covered with its superb blanket of (Continued on Page 21)

CONSERVATION In The Classroom

THE story is told of a Nebraska teacher who took a class of seventh and eighth graders on a field trip to observe the effects of erosion in the community. It was a bright September day, the morning after a heavy rain. The pupils were walking across a small virgin prairie, shortly after the hay had been harvested. One of the larger boys in the group had steel caps on the heels of his boots. Unintentionally he scuffed loose a piece of the prairie turf and instantly a small black scar appeared. One boy saw what had happened, ran quickly to the spot, knelt down, and carefully placed the turf back where it belonged. He patted it carefully, lovingly, as the land to him was something very precious.

"Teach them to love the land." This statement appears in large letters on the cover of a conservation guide the Nebraska Department of Education recently prepared and distributed to teachers in the classrooms and to colleges preparing teachers. Loving the land covers a multitude of things. It is basic, I feel, to good conservation and to the attitude we wish to develop in school pupils throughout our state with respect to the land. We are not so likely to abuse that which we love.

Too often, perhaps, our young people, and adults as well, think of our good earth as simply so much dirt under their feet—so much space to be covered to get from one place to another in a fast automobile. Often the land is taken for granted, and there is little appreciation, much less gratitude, for the fruits of the earth.

I remember the story of a friend who, when a little boy, was frequently taken to the fields by his father. He still remembers his dad, standing in a golden field of wheat or a great field of corn, his head bowed, softly saying, "thanks be to God for the fruits of the earth." And then he looked at his son and said, "the land is good. We must take care of it and always be thankful for it."

A similar regard for the land was shown not long ago by parents in a certain Iowa community. A young superintendent of schools asked the parents to reply to a questionnaire in which he stated in effect: "We are going to teach conservation in your school next year. What do you want us to teach your boys and girls?"

By and large, the parents' answers revealed this desire: "Teach our young people to love the land and to be grateful for what it gives to us."

Doubtless the teacher's attitude is the most powerful instrument in teaching youngsters to cherish the land.

It is folly to think that the teaching profession can ever do justice to conservation education if too many teachers do not gain a reasonable knowledge of subject matter, and if they fail to be impressed with the need for conservation 10 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   and the methods whereby they may instill in our young people right thinking and acting in this regard. The teacher needs always to remember that to impart understanding with respect to the wise use of our natural resources is not enough; the will to do something about such problems must be developed in the hearts of our young people.

Obviously, the task of the teacher is not an easy one. It seems well to state at this point that school officials and lay people be ever aware of the importance of having the highest type of personnel possible enter the teaching profession, and requiring college training of the quality and length needed to produce a really good teacher. How else will the important work of our schools be done as it should be done?

Conservation education has received a growing emphasis in Nebraska schools during the past decade. The Department of Education has distributed approximately 500,000 copies of instructional materials to the schools during this time. Staff members have assisted at innumerable teachers' meetings to give instruction in the methods of teaching conservation of soil, water, and other natural resources. They have worked with the teacher colleges so that part of teachers' education may be concerned with "what to teach" about conservation and "how to teach it."

As a result, learning about conservation is at an alltime high in Nebraska schools. Never before have so many teachers been doing so many things in the way of helping children to see the causes and effects of erosion and to learn the basic principles in the wise use of our natural resources. A number of counties now regularly conduct County Conservation Days which include community tours to observe such practices as contouring, terracing, grassing waterways, and various other aspects of watershed development. Soil Conservation officials are co-sponsors with the schools on such occasions and give authentic assistance in teaching the many hundreds of pupils attending these conservation days.

In the schools, there is a concerted follow-up of such special days of emphasis. Children collect conservation news articles to be used in displays, scrapbooks, and language art work. They perform science experiments (from kindergarten on up) to show cause, effect, and prevention of erosion and other matters related to conservation. The students study films on conservation and carry on garden projects at home. They do creative drawings and posters in their study of art and in this way illustrate erosion and methods of fighting it. The beauty of the land has been brought out in many an artistic work of grade-school pupils.

Tree planting is an important part of the stepped-up conservation program. "Keep America Green" and "Keep Nebraska Beautiful" are two far-reaching slogans adopted by pupils in their zeal for planting and taking care of trees. Thousands of "Keep Nebraska Beautiful" posters have been distributed to the classrooms. On these the pupils may keep a record of the planting they do from year to year.

As stated by one teacher, tree planting offers an excellent opportunity not only to beautify home sites and school grounds but also to teach children the planting and care of trees. Certainly it is a wonderful thing for our young people to grow up to be adults who have a love for trees and who appreciate their value as a part of our natural resources. The love and care of trees can make a great contribution to the development of good character in our boys and girls.

Conservation officials in some counties have conducted tree-planting demonstrations for teachers and pupils. With these demonstrations they have given instructions concerning the kinds of trees to plant in given localities and the proper care of such trees.

But this is only the beginning in Nebraska. The Department of Education will never let up on conservation education for both rural and city schools. Our instructional guides will always give this phase of the school program prominent attention. The conservation pledge will never be something that our pupils will simply give lip service to; we want it to become an integral part of their everyday life.

In short, we want all growing citizens to become generations who truly love the land.

What's the difference? . . . Having a good conservation-education program in your school or not having one? You can get the answer by comparing the beauty and fruitfulness of land that is well cared for, with the desolation and barrenness of fields ruined by man's carelessness and misuse. This is a difference of life and death.

Don't Close The Book Yet!

AL SMITH'S stock reply 'to cavil was, "Let's take a look at the record." We do not lack for claptrap concerning the coturnix quail, and especially the current American stocking project, but we do lack much important and factual information that should be common knowledge. In short, it is time to "take a look at the record."

In any chronicle, the proper place to begin is at the beginning. Therefore, despite the personal implication involved, that is where this chronicle begins. The purpose is to present fact and unveil fancy.

In conceiving the coturnix project while at Missouri several years back, I had the help of two very able scientists on my staff — Charles W. Schwartz and Elizabeth Reeder Schwartz, in my opinion the best all-around wildlife team in America. They were especially well equipped to tackle the particular problem at hand, and subsequently made the recommendations on which the coturnix project was based. Incidentally, the events and studies leading up to the actual launching of the project covered about five years, pointing up the fact that a safe and sound project of this nature cannot be launched without much preparation.

In the management of most farm game, the major problem is inadequate and deteriorating habitat. Modern agriculture tends to put more and more pressure on farm game. Intensified use of the land, more livestock, new crops that require new and intensified culture, and the general trend to "clean farming," leave our ground-dwelling game inadequate food and protection. As their habitat deteriorates, quail, pheasant, grouse, cottontail rabbits, etc., become increasingly vulnerable to weather, predation, and other natural mortalities. If deterioration continues unchecked, they ultimately disappear from all acreage that no longer supports and protects them. "Islands" that produce game may remain, but much or most of the land no longer yields a farm game crop.

Naturally, the game manager does his best to restore and maintain habitat and to provide more food and cover on more acres for farm game. Sometimes he gets an assist from the weather, from new agricultural practices, or from a farm program such as the Conservation Reserve of the Soil Bank. Most of the time, however, he fights a losing battle. When the coturnix project was launched in Missouri, we were losing farm-game habitat at a rapid pace, despite a $200,000-a-year habitat-restoration program. On one study area it was found that we were losing habitat nine times as fast as we could restore it.

When a game manager is faced with conditions where he cannot improve habitat, or even "hold the line," he has big trouble. He has to find a solution, if any is possible. To meet the desires and demands of an ever-growing army of hunters, he must produce more game, not less. He cannot bring lost acres back into production with the species at hand, so his only chance is to find a new species possessing the ability to thrive on those non-producing acres to do well under the "new order of things," so to speak.

In any search for a new (exotic) game species, there are many hurdles that must be crossed. The species must be one that is not obnoxious in any way, nor likely to become obnoxious, so far as can be determined. It must not be detrimental to native species and cannot be destructive of agricultural crops of any kind. It must also be a good game species—good to hunt and good to eat. Last but not 12 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   least, it must be able to do well in habitat that is too poor to support good populations of native game.

These were the major specifications I laid down for Charles and Elizabeth Schwartz. They spent many months of study and research into the potentials, characteristics, and habitat requirements of the known game birds of the world. Eventually, they came up with the conclusion that coturnix coturnix japonica was the best bet. In this I concurred, and then and there the coturnix project was born. That was five years ago.

There was no evidence that coturnix were obnoxious in any way. No material competition with other species was uncovered, and subsequent research in captivity bore this out. We felt certain, also, that coturnix would not be detrimental to agriculture, since they exhibited no such tendencies in their native range. In fact, coturnix are widely favored by farmers in their home range, probably because they eat insects avidly.

Because of wide genetic differences, we felt certain coturnix could not mix with our native bobwhite. This was verified by subsequent pen-breeding experiments, indicating that it is impossible to produce fertile crosses. Whether coturnix could meet the most important requirement of all remained and still remains in doubt. The only way to learn the answer was to make adequate field tests.

Despite much bunk to the contrary, no one can forecast with certainty what a wildlife species will or will not do in a new range. All known factors can be studied and evaluated, but only adequate stocking and adequate time can provide the true answer. While I believe the current coturnix stocking to be an adequate test, I do not know what the final results will be.

There are a number of factors that appear to favor success. First of all, the coturnix is a bird of the open country and short covers. That is the type of habitat we seek to bring back into production. Secondly, the bird is migratory, and is being stocked simultaneously in many states. Hence it seems probable that somewhere within the vast area of release and migration the species should "take root" and build up.

Incidentally, the migratory habits of coturnix are advantageous rather than otherwise. In general, food and cover conditions are more favorable for reproduction and growth in the North than in the South. There is less predation also in the North during this critical period in the life of ground-nesting birds. In winter, however, the South provides the better range, including escape from severe winter weather. Actually, there are good biological reasons why most birds migrate. Apparently, however, an upland game bird that migrates is so new to many Americans that they forget migration is normal for most bird life.

Its migratory habits, coupled with its exceptionally high turnover, presented some problems that were solved in a very happy way. Realizing that an adequate test would be possible only through extensive stockings over large areas (mass releases), I proposed simultaneous stockings by all interested states. The interest was greater than anticipated. In fact, we had difficulty providing enough coturnix to give every participant a start of breeding stock. At present approximately one-third of the states are raising and releasing coturnix.

The first simultaneous releases were made in 1957, and the joint stocking project is to continue for a minimum of three years. This should constitute an adequate stocking, but it will probably be another three years or more before results are definitely known.

The small size of coturnix is criticized in some gunning circles. It would be just ducky if we could pick any bird we desire and just introduce it. However, there is one problem: we seek to provide a lot of new gunning on acres that are now unproductive. We found no big bird that would do this, and it is unlikely that any large bird can be the answer. Even if we disregard the fact that more units per acre can be produced with a small bird than a large one, there still remains the fact that we could find no large game bird adapted to life in our short cover. Unfortunately, what we would like and what we can have (maybe) are not the same in the farm-game field.

Among present species, the pheasant does best where covers are heavy, bobwhites thrive in medium covers, and we know that coturnix is a bird of the short cover. Under modern land use, we create more short cover than any other type, and the future promises "more of the same."

The sincere game manager strives first of all to restore and increase the game species already at hand. If he is a realist and knows his long-time problems, he will also welcome any new species that can add to existing game supplies. Coturnix quail hold promise of doing just that over a large part of the nation.

In my opinion, the species is most likely to start or succeed in the Great Plains. This big sweep of country, from Canada to the Gulf Coast and Old Mexico, affords ample room for migrations. The habitat existing on the Great Plains most closely resembles the environment in which coturnix live in their native range. Land fertility is generally good, hence the nutritional factor is favorable on the Great Plains. Since Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska are together stocking more than 100,000 birds a year, and since coturnix go where they choose, I consider it probable that (somewhere in the Great Plains) coturnix will find a favorable niche in sufficient numbers to become permanently established.

Should this occur, the species will probably build up, establish its migratory pattern in and occupy all favorable range east of the Rockies. I think the odds are about fifty-fifty that this will occur. I can only guess, however, because I do not know. The truth is that no one can know this early in the test, and those who have all the answers know the least of all!

Whatever the outcome may be, the coturnix project is the best-organized effort to introduce a new game species yet attempted in the United States. If it fails, it will follow a well-established pattern; more than 90 per cent of all past introductions have failed. If it succeeds, it will undoubtedly do so in a big way, for few birds in this world can multiply as rapidly and become as abundant as coturnix.

WILDLIFE TRACKS WHAT THEY TELL

TRACKS left in the snow, mud, or dust tell an interesting story. They present an interesting pattern of tiny trails of small animals and the telltale paths of bigger game in their wandering search for food and shelter.

Last month, we studied the tracks of beaver, muskrat, mink, skunk, badger, black-tailed jack rabbit, cottontail, and weasel. This month in OUTDOOR NEBRASKA, staff artist Bud Pritchard has drawn another set, ranging from the bounding mule deer to the tiny white-footed mouse.

But reading tracks is not always easy, for a track in the mud probably will 14 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   look different from one in the snow or dust, even if left by the same animal. So the tracker must be prepared to use his ingenuity to interpret what he has seen. With a little patience and practice, one should be able to read these signs and interpret what has happened. The drawings in the January and February issues will help acquaint the reader with foot patterns of certain animals common to Nebraska.

Bird watchers can produce a long sight list, but how many animals will a person observe on a "mammal walk"? Not too many. So why not play this game of watching for tracks. Studying tracks will open a complex mammal world which you never suspected.

For the person who plans to make a hobby of reading tracks, "A Field Guide To Animal Tracks" by Olaus Murie is a fine reference.

REJUVENATE YOUR LURES

WHY don't you some winter evening perform a fancy and rewarding overhaul job on some of your pet plugs? Pick out the ones that are badly nicked and paint-battered, and restore them to their former brilliant freshness.

With modern, quick-drying paints you can change a lure's design in a matter of minutes. Many old-time anglers even tote along a small brush or two and a couple of vials of quick-drying paint as standard equipment in their tackle boxes. They do this in order to change designs and color schemes on their plugs while on a stream, or in a boat, frequently changing colors until they hit a catching combination.

The best way to obtain a professional-appearing job, particularly on a lure that has been battered about considerably, is to sand off all old paint. This sanding will also smooth out most of the nicks and scratches on the lure's body. With the sanding completed, it's a good idea to give the plug an undercoat of white paint and allow it to dry thoroughly before you apply your designs to the plug.

The choice of colors you apply to your plug is part of the pleasure you derive in rejuvenating an old plug. Get at least six colors, including the three primary colors, plus a small bottle of solvent. In painting your lures you have unlimited color possibilities. Allow your imagination to run rampant. Anglers know that fish are unpredictable and will often strike only when a lure is painted a certain color.

Fish-scale effects (actually a mottled design) can be obtained by painting through a piece of screen material. Another gimmick to produce spiral effects is to wrap a heavy string around the plug, holding it tightly in place, and then brushing in your selected color at the open sections for a ribbed effect.

For a perfect edge, where colors merge, or join together, use masking tape. Make certain that the paint you apply dries completely before you remove the tape, lessening the chance of getting a ragged edge on your paint job. A good tip is to press the edge of the masking tape firmly against the plug with your finger nail, so no paint will seep underneath which might result in a sloppy paint job.

Use your imagination in creating new and unusual designs for your plugs. Make paper "templates" and cut the design with the point of a sharp knife or razor blade. 16 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   Make sure your template edges are straight and neat; fuzzy edges will mar your painting efforts. Hold template firmly in place, against plug, then paint in your design.

As you go about transforming old lures into fancy dressed-up jobs, you should remove all hardware from the plug's body. However, if you cannot remove your hook-up eyes of the lures, or the eyelets from which your treble hooks hang, try not to splash paint on these. If by accident you spot a dab of paint on your hardware, clean it off immediately. It's a tedious job to do later. If you allow this paint to congeal it will hamper and interfere with the free-swinging action of your hooks and won't give your lure that positive action which attracts lunkers to strike it.

One evening's work can restore your battered lures into tempting bits of baits. More than that, next time you open your tackle box they'll elicit an envious remark from your fishing crony like: "Where'd you get the new lures?"

That Old BLACK MAGIC

MILLIONS of sportsmen shoot billions of rounds of ammunition every year in these United States, everything from .22 shorts to .458 Winchesters, from ,410's to 10 gauge magnums. Did you ever wonder about the stuff between the primer and the bullet that makes the noise and provides the "oomph" to push the bullet on its way? Gunpowder is a mystery to most, but fascinating to those who know a little about it. Let's look at gunpowder, where and how it originated, what it is made of, and how it is used.

Gunpowder has been around a long time. Just who discovered it and when is unknown. Some people credit the Chinese, some the monk Roger Bacon, who wrote of its composition in 1249, and others the Hindus. Actually there is little proof concerning who discovered it, and the question is a hotstove topic among ordnance historians. One date generally agreed on is that gunpowder was used as a propellant in artillery warfare by the time of the battle of Crecy in 1346. From then until the 1890's, black powder was the only common propellant for military and sporting firearms. So, for at least 540 years, wars were fought and man shot his game with very little change in the basic propellant used.

Common black powder is basically a mechanical mixture of potassium nitrate, sulphur, and charcoal, usually coated with graphite. Its manufacture has remained unchanged over the years. The stories and legends connected with it are legion.

Because a small spark of static electricity can ignite black powder, its manufacture is rather dangerous. Tales of loosely nailing the siding to the powder mill so that an explosion would blow the boards off intact, instead of splintering them to match sticks, may be apocryphal, but they do indicate the danger involved.

One of the largest industrial corporations in the United States was founded for the purpose of making and selling black powder, a project that received President Thomas Jefferson's support. Our third president knew that a young nation with an expanding frontier and many foreign enemies needed a strong domestic arms and munitions industry. He also knew that our victory in the revolution was due in part to the supplies of French black powder received in one of the early "lend lease" programs. However, Jefferson was a realist, and he knew that the United States could not count upon foreign supplies in the future. Therefore he supported the idea for a basic domestic munitions industry.

Black powder has played other roles in history. There are historians who believe that the roots of individual 18 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   freedom and liberty closely parallel the development of firearms and gunpowder. History proves that a few people in full armor could rule large numbers of people who had only hand weapons, spears, bows, and clubs. When blackpowder muskets appeared on the scene that could easily penetrate the complete body armor of the time, the rule of many by the few was to be eventually doomed.

Black powder is still being made today.

There are areas in this world where governments deny people the right to keep and bear arms, except muzzleloading black-powder weapons. As any gun is better than no gun, black powder is an article of trade in those areas and in great demand.

Regarding governmental restrictions, concerning ownership of firearms, it may be of interest to note that in modern times no dictatorship has been successfully imposed upon any people except where the ownership and use of personal arms or ammunition was subject to strict governmental restrictions, regulation or licensing.

To complete our story of black powder it should be noted that ease of ignition and the speed of burning black powder are in inverse proportion to the particle size of the powder involved. Today, black powder is sold on the basis of the relative size of the granules. For sporting use, "Fg" black powder is the coarsest grain size commonly sold, and "FFFFg" the finest. The more "F's," the finer the grain size. Fg and FFg are used for the large-bored muskets and shotguns and the finer granulations are used for the smaller bored weapons and pistols. As long as the distinctive smell of black-powder smoke and the use of the hickory ramrod has charm and utility, black powder will be used somewhere.

In late years there has been a growing revival of blackpowder shooting in this country spurred on by the members of the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association of Portsmouth, Ohio. This return to the weapons and black powder of our ancestors is caused by very much the same type of thinking that has recruited so many archery fans in the last few years; namely that these folks obtain more enjoyment in hunting, or in shooting targets, by using weapons less efficient than those commonly used by other sportsmen.

In Nebraska, all game can be taken by black-powder weapons that otherwise meet legal firearms requirements. Deer can be taken with any muzzle-loading rifle of .40 caliber or larger.

The smokeless powder that most of us use now came onto the world ordnance scene in the 1880's, a direct result of military research. Ordnance men throughout the world had worked for years to reduce the bore size of military rifles and increase their efficiency. Reduction in bore of black-powder arms beyond a certain point (about .43 caliber) proved impractical due to basic limitations of the propellant. Bore fouling, from the prolonged firing of black powder rounds, was always a problem. In small calibers it was virtually insurmountable.

A smaller bore size was desirable for many reasons. Flatter trajectory was one reason which necessitated higher breech pressures and lighter bullets; also soldiers could carry more of the smaller rounds. Reduction in bore size had to wait for the discovery of practical, stable, smokeless powders. News of this epic discovery filtered around the world and within about a 10-year period every major power dropped their black-powder rifles and adapted a smaller bored weapon using smokeless powder. These then new high-powdered cartridges are familiar to every shooter; the 7 and 8 mm. Mauser; .30 Swiss; 8 mm. Lebel; .303 British; 6.5 mm. Jap; 7.62 Russian, and the .30/40 Krag are just a few of the smokeless powder rounds that came into being.

It didn't take long for American arms manufacturers to see which way the wind was blowing and get aboard the smokeless-powder band wagon. The famous Model 94 Winchester lever action was the firrst American civilian weapon specifically designed for using high-powdered smokeless powder rounds. With the Model 94, came two well-known cartridges, the .25/35 W.C.F. and the .30/30 W.C.F. These were the second and third smokeless powder rounds available to the public in this country, the first being the .30/40 Krag in 1894.

Smokeless powder can be divided into two main classes: single and double base. Single-base powder is essentially guncotton (nitrated cellulose), which has been dissolved in a mixture of alcohol and ether to form a colloid. It is extruded through various shaped dies, cut into short lengths, and dried to remove most of the alcohol and ether. Burning and pressure characteristics are altered by varying the length and weight of the powder grains as well as changing the diameter of the hole extending through the center of the powder grain. Pressure characteristics are also controlled by coating the outside of each grain of powder with a substance which slows down initial burning and therefore reduces pressure. This process gives us what is commonly called "progressive burning" powders. Examples of sirfgle-base progressive burning powder familiar to many riflemen are DuPont 3031, 4895, and 4350.

Double-base powders have both guncotton and nitroglycerine as explosive agents or fuels. Guncotton is able to absorb more than its own weight of nitroglycerin. Examples of double-base powders are British Cordite, Hercules Hi-Vel No. 2 and most pistol powders such as Hercules Bullseye and DuPont pistol powder No. 6.

Shotgun powders are mainly single base and are so made that pressures fall off rapidly after firing. This is necessary because of the thin walls of shotgun barrels towards the muzzle, which is a requirement for good balance of the weapon. Hercule Red Dot is probably the most common shotgun powder in use today. DuPont bulk smokeless and the powders imported from Sweden and Italy by the Alcan company are other popular smokeless shotgun powders.

A type of smokeless powder not yet discussed is "ball" powder. This powder is made in the form of spheres instead of the more common hollow cylinders, or granules. Ball powder was developed during World War II for .30 caliber carbines and .30/06 loadings. Its advantages lie in ease of manufacture and uniform burning due to the even spacing between the spheres for the primer flame to nenetrate. It is also used in the high intensity 7.62 mm. N.A.T.O. cartridge, the future service round of our armed forces.

The above is a brief explanation of the history and development of gun powder. Seventy years ago the only choice was what size black powder one wished to buy. Today the selection of powders on the market is almost limitless. Whether you are a shotgunner, pistoleer, or rifleman, there is a powder commonly sold or factory-loaded ammunition, to fill your exact needs. Quite a change in 70 years, and we haven't seen anything yet. New developments in colloid chemistry and internal ballistics promise even greater versatility, power and flatter trajectories in the ammunition we will all be shooting in the years to come.

DANNY MULE DEER LEARNS A LESSON

NATURE plays many odd tricks on its wildlife citizens. There is one in particular that I would like to tell you about, and how it saved the life of disobedient Danny Mule Deer.

First, perhaps, you should know a bit about the two major species of deer in Nebraska. They are the whitetail and mule deer. Both are deer, but beyond that they are as different as night and day. The whitetail lopes along in a level line, when he runs; the mule deer makes stiff-legged, bounding leaps, touching the ground briefly with all four feet before springing forward again. A mule deer runs with his tail down, stopping often to look back, while a whitetail carries his tail like a flag, and once he starts to run, seldom stops until he reaches his destination.

A whitetail's winter coat is buff cast, while a mule's is plain bluish gray. Both have white bellies, but the mule's chest is a rich brown. Also, a mule's tail looks like the end of it had been dipped in a bottle of black ink. So much for descriptions. Now for the story.

In the northwest corner of Nebraska, nestled in among the rugged pine-covered buttes, is a verdant valley many miles from the closest road. All is wild and rough. This was the home of Danny Mule Deer, a fawn, and Mollie Mule Deer, his mother.

"How many times must I tell you," scolded Mollie, at Danny, a brash, overly bold youngster, "that you should not move from your bed when I'm gone?"

Mollie was angry, for when she'd returned to where she had left Danny, he was nowhere in sight. Alarmed at his absence, she ran, following his wandering footsteps and found him at the edge of the woods, playfully gamboling. Angrily, Mollie butted Danny with her hard head. He meekly followed his mother back to the safety of his bed, constantly being chastised for disobeying her.

When they reached his bed of leaves, she said, "You must remember to lie very still. You can't run yet, and you're not strong enough to elude the likes of Sammy Coyote or Bobby Bobcat. If either one caught you, that would be your end."

Defiantly, Danny stood up on his wobbly feet and snapped back, "Pooh! I can easily escape them."

"Is that so?" barked Mollie, as she butted Danny's soft head. "You'll stay here and learn to hide."

For awhile, Danny obeyed his mother and practiced hard to hide when an enemy predator lurked nearby.

One day, Mollie said, "Let's play a game of hide-and-seek. I'll go over the hill and you hide. Then I'll see if I can find you."

"That'll be easy," boasted Danny.

For the first week, each time he tried to hide, Mollie had no trouble finding him. Then he began to improve. He would use a clump of Yucca, and blend so well with it that his mother to began have a hard time spotting him. And it wasn't too long before he did so well that she couldn't find him at all.

As the lessons progressed, he became bolder. Finally, he decided to see what was so important at the edge of the woods that his mother had so often warned him to stay away from. On that warm summer day, he sniffed the deliciously clear air and felt that he could outwit and outrun anyone. I can out-trick any enemy, he thought. But like all children, Danny was soon to realize, in a painful manner, that mothers know what is best for their children.

As he wandered near the edge of the woods, two huge, powerfully built dogs pounced upon him without warning. They knocked him down to his knees in their first savage rush. Quickly, on wobbly feet, he got up and tried to stumble away from the snapping teeth of the pursuing dogs.

However, when Danny tried to run off, one dog snapped at the tendon of one of his back legs. Danny screamed in pain and terror and when he tried to run off again, the dogs easily overtook him.

They brought Danny down to his knees again. The bites hurt. Silently, he now wished he'd listened to his mother. He vowed, if he escaped from this mess, that he'd never disobey her again. Gamely, he struggled to his feet, but the vicious dogs were ripping at his flanks again.

Then when all seemed lost, and the end seemed near, a miracle happened. Danny's mother, having heard his woeful cries, came bounding out of the woods in his defense. In her first wild rush, she killed one of the surprised dogs with a wicked swipe of her sharp front hooves. She whirled to face the other antagonist but this one, seeing what had happened to his companion, fled for dear life.

Danny had watched in wonder as his mother disposed of his assailants. Then, she turned slowly toward Danny and sternly asked, "What are you doing here? Haven't I told you that it's dangerous to stray away from your bed?"

Shamefacedly, Danny hung his head and mumbled, "I just wanted to see what was here at the edge of the woods. And—," he stuttered, "I guess I'll catch it for disobeying you."

Mothers are unpredictable. One moment they will paddle you and the next instant they will coddle you. Just when Danny expected the worst, he was surprised when his mother spoke softly, "You've learned a valuable lesson, the hard way. There will be no punishment, but you must promise never to disobey me again."

The still-frightened Danny gladly agreed. Then his mother gently led him back to thei safety of the woods.

There is one important fact the readers should remember about this story. It illustrates dramatically that whenever you come upon a young wildlife creature, don't pick it up and remove it from the scene. You can be sure, that somewhere nearby, ready to defend her young, is its mother, watching you. And like all mothers, it might attack you to defend its young. So leave wildlife young as you found them—alone.

What happened to Danny? Well, from that day on, Danny became one of the best-minding mule deer you ever saw. His mother trusted him now, and she knew whenever she left him that he would always remain hiding in his bed. In short, through a very painful lesson, he had become a very obedient son.

That old saying, "Mother knows best," fits this tale very well. Don't you agree?

SPEAK UP

"Just how low down can some guys get. This E. E. Gerish in December's OUTDOOR NEBRASKA, luring those sparrows to feed, then electrocute them. When the first cold snap comes, the other fancy pants birds head south and these little sparrows stay with us all winter. I feed them every morning all winter. How I would like to hook up a 20,000-volt TV power supply to this guy's feed bag."— D. W. Hoffman, Norfolk.

"How would you like to get hit with 110-120 volts at night. Please give those sparrows a little chance; spray or give them some insecticide. Don't be so lazy to keep those birds out."—George Virgin, Gresham.

"I have been watching with great interest the controversy be tween you and Mr. G. J. Owens. We may also include the two so called reptile authorities. And here goes. When I was a young lad on an Iowa farm, I saw a garter snake open her mouth and allow about 8 or 10 tiny snakes to run down her throat. I am positive she did not do it to devour them; it was to protect them. So stick to your guns, Mr. Owens, I know you are right."—F. W. Grau, Arcadia, la.

"When we were farming near Wilber, I was helping thresh wheat, and under one of the wheat shocks was a bullsnake. It opened its mouth and I'd say there were at least 8 or 10 little snakes that slid into the big one's mouth. Then I ran across another snake with a big bump on it. I killed it, cut it open, and found a half-grown cottontail in it. None of this may sound true, but I saw it, regardless of what some snake or reptile authorities claim."—Frank Kolar, Omaha.

"Years ago I saw a striped garter snake lying in a cow path. As I approached it, the snake made a peculiar noise, and as I stood there, I watched several young snakes emerge from the grass and hurriedly enter her mouth. Another time while plowing, the rolling cutter of the plow cut a bull snake in two. As this snake thrashed about, five small snakes came from its mouth. What puzzles me is that bull snakes lay eggs and the young are hatched in the sun. How and why did the bull snakes have these young in her body? Some people can do things other can't. Maybe snakes are the same."—Jennings Wyall, Falls City.

"I can top Mr. Fred Arterburn's hunting and fishing record. I have one bought May 10, 1911. The only one I do not have is for 1915. I was 22 years old in 1911; now I am 70."—Charles F. Clapper, Omaha.

"I have a permit dated June 24, 1911, and one for 1912, dated March 22. Both were purchased at York."—W. L. Golden, Hastings.

"My father, the late William H. Shaffer of Hooper, bought a permit. No. 10896, on May 24, 1911. I have that permit."—Mrs. Glenn A. Miller, Hooper.

"I have permits purchased in 1911 and 1912, and also have 37 others. Would like to know when permits were first issued."— Everett Miers, Seward.

As mentioned in December's OUTDOOR NEBRASKA, the first fishing and hunting permits were sold in Nebraska in 1901. The cost was $1, and the permit entitled the bearer to hunt and fish anywhere in the state. A license wasn't required, however, to hunt or fish in the county in which a person was a resident.—Editor.

"Is it legal to hunt jack rabbits at night with a car? By doing that you would be carrying a loaded gun in the car and shooting from the car. Also, do you have to keep a shotgun plugged to a capacity of three shells when hunting rabbits, or does this apply only to pheasants, etc.? The neighbor boys around here are doing this nights on farmers' alfalfa fields, and I was wondering if it is legal or not."— C.L.E.

There are presently no restrictions on hunting jack rabbits. They may be hunted at any time and in any manner. However, there are some regulations that are applicable, such as prohibiting the carrying of a loaded shotgun in a vehicle on a public road. There is no law, though, other than common sense, that forbids the carrying of a loaded rifle in a vehicle. Some rabbit hunters prefer rifles for jack hunting. The shotgun-plugged-to-a-ca.pacity-oj-three regulation applies only when hunting game birds.—Editor

SNOWBALL TROUT

an invitation to come back soon and try some of the other streams liked by cold-weather trouters in the northern panhandle, streams like Monroe, Sowbelly, Soldiers, East Hat, Big Bordeaux and Little Bordeaux.

Others, all of which I'd proved out in summer, are the Long Pine, Schlagel, and Plum Creeks, and the headwaters of the Boardman, Snake, and North Loup in the northcentral Sand Hills. Northeast Nebraska has three branches of the Verdigre and Steel Creek for the hardy trout fishermen.

"Warden Jim McCole at Gering told me," I went on, "that the Red Willow, East Wild Horse, and Nine Mile Creeks in the southern panhandle are trouty."

"Well," Carl quizzed me, "what are you going to tell readers of OUTDOOR NEBRASKA about winter trouting?"

"How-to and where-to," I replied. "And some of your experiences, too, if I can get anyone to vouch for them."

His booted foot narrowly missed my posterior as I headed for the door.

"O.K.," he shouted as I climbed into my car, "just make sure that next time you keep your waders pulled up tight or you may end up with one of those icicle trout somewhere other than in your creel."

WILDCAT HILLS

green. In the fall, it offers a splendor of vivid of beautiful snow-covered scences.

This area is well equipped and attracted approximately 15.000 visitors last year. There are fireplaces, picnic tables, and three shelter houses. For the children there are swing sets, tetter-totters, and a merry-go-round.

As to camping, the facilities are good, offering a grand chance for an individual or family to capture a little of the feeling of the old west. Water, camp grounds, and sanitary facilities are available.

All three shelter houses are placed to give a spectacular view of the surrounding country. One of the shelter houses, called the Community Shelter House, is built on a peak and overlooks one of the most agreeable vistas of the area.

Buffalo and elk, an added sight-seeing attraction, have been placed in a 457-acre enclosure, while mule deer roam in and out. Highway 29 runs right along the preserve fence and many times the animals are within sight of the road. In the winter, the animals are fed within view of the highway. Presently there are 26 buffalo and 18 elk on the grounds. A few are harvested each year to keep the herds in balance with the available grazing land.

If in the future you should care to visit this hilly land, it is certain you and your family are in for a scenic treat, and if you rough it, a memorable night of camping in the wilderness.

Beautiful recreation grounds in the state are yours and yours to use. The Wildcat Hills area is a wilderness, rugged and bold, and it welcomes you.

WINTER VISITORS

MOST observers of Nebraska bird life agree that the most exciting period of the year is during the spring migration months, when each day may bring the arrival of a new migrant on its way north. There is the ever-present possibility that, in its haste to reach its northern destination, an individual from a rare species will wander far from its usual route and present itself to Nebraska viewers.

Nature reserves some of her finest treats for those who are willing to suffer the minor discomforts or make the necessary preparations for extending their observations into winter. During these months, which on a bird calendar might extend from early December until late February, old friends will have returned from their northern nesting grounds and rare visitors may straggle into or across the state. On the average, about 75 species of birds may be expected to remain in or visit Nebraska, during the winter months, and in every part of the state there will be some species present that will not be found there during the other seasons of the year.

Being afield on a cold winter day has its drawbacks, but a hike, if one is dressed in suitable winter clothing on a clear, crisp day is surprisingly exhilarating, and it's amazing how quickly the chill wears off as increasing numbers of birds and other wildlife appear. In the cold, still air, bird calls and notes seem to carry greater distances with unusual clarity, whether it be the incredibly low-pitched and resonant hoo hoohoo hoo hoo of the greathorned owl or the extremely high-pitched and wiry see-see-see of the tiny golden-crowned kinglet. Furthermore, the bare branches actually make observations easier.

Two intriguing questions that are frequently asked about winter birds are: (1), Why do birds migrate in the fall or straggle about, apparently aimlessly, during the winter months, and (2), How do the species that remain here survive our severe winters?

According to some experts, one of the principal factors in the answers to both questions is the food supply. In part, birds in ages past may have migrated so that they could be assured of adequate food during the winter months, and this annual movement eventually became an instinctive reaction to various external stimuli (temperature, amount of daylight, etc.) that are still not well understood. In any event it is clear that those birds feeding only on insects active during the summer must surely perish unless they leave for warmer climates during the winter. Those birds which feed on weed seeds, mammal or bird life, or other constantly available foodstuffs may remain, provided that they do not stay in such numbers that they exhaust the food supply.

Extreme winter weather alone is rarely responsible for the death of winter birds, for Nature has endowed them with a splendid heating plant that is capable of carrying the birds through the winter. Investigations have shown that even small birds can easily survive long nights at sub-zero temperatures provided they've had good meals the previous day and that they are able to find some modest shelter such as that afforded by the denser trees (cedars, pines, spruces, etc.) or by heavy ground cover. In the absence of adequate food, the bird may freeze to death in a few short hours. Thus, the apparently erratic appearance of certain species after years of absence may often be explained by a failure of their food supply at the normal wintering grounds.

One such irregular winter visitor is the red crossbill, whose seemingly aimless wanderings appear to be due either to a poor crop of coniferous tree seeds in the Canadian forests or to such an extensive snow cover that gravel and grit, necessary as a digestive aid, become unavailable. During these periods large flocks of 100 or more of these red (male) or olive-green (female and young male) birds with their unusual crossed mandibles may appear in many localities throughout Nebraska, taking over the pine groves in parks, wind rows, and cemeteries, where they may be seen swinging about the trees like small parrots. Often the first indication of their presence is the crisp snapping sound heard as they peel off the scales of the pine cones to get at the seeds.

Another occasional but less irregular visitor is the snowy owl, which appears in fairly large numbers in the northern states at about four-year intervals. These periodic appearances apparently coincide with the depletion by disease of this huge owl's normal food supply of small mammals. During these periods a few individuals make their way from their usual Arctic home to Nebraska. Inasmuch as they are day-flying owls and are unusually tame, they are not difficult to spot. There were two reports of this species during the winter of 1957-1958, and they are expected again in 1961-1962.

Another species that appears to be dependent upon an adequate crop of pine cones is the red-breasted nuthatch, for its southern migration has been stated to be an irregular one showing this dependence. However, in recent years it has become a more common winter fixture in Nebraska. Apparently this tiny nuthatch, with its reddish sides, dark-blue back, and black stripe over the eye, is extending its winter range southward from the Canadian forests.

In general the principal movement of winter migration is from north to south, as in the foregoing examples, but other directions are observed. Thus, some species in Nebraska seem to move from west to east; other birds follow a vertical migration path in which the bird simply leaves the frigid, snow-swept slopes for the warmer valleys beneath. Still others wander about in a less orderly fashion.

One of the west-to-east wanderers is the Townsend's solitaire, which is normally regarded as an essentially western species. However, during winter small numbers of these slim, robin-sized birds appear in the central and eastern parts of Nebraska where they are sometimes mistaken for the somewhat similar mockingbird. Both are light-gray birds with white stripes along the sides of the tail, but the solitaire has a white eye-ring and buffy patches on the wing; the mockingbird has no eye-ring and has large, white wing patches. It is interesting to note that, paralleling the eastward movement of Townsend's solitaire, there has been an increasing number of reports of overwintering mockingbirds. For the past five years Townsend's solitaires have been recorded each year in the Pinewood Bowl at Lincoln, and it is to be expected that these birds will frequent cedar and pine growths elsewhere.

Another west-to-east wanderer is that striking black-and-white acrobat, the black-billed magpie. Although the magpie is a permanent resident in western Nebraska, it moves erratically eastward during the winter months, even across the Iowa border.

A more conventional but exceptional migrant is the long-eared owl. It normally winters in Canada and the northern United States, but in more recent years has been a regular visitor as far south as southern Nebraska. Like most visitors from the far north, these night-flying owls, which get their name from the characteristic long tufts of feathers or ears, are fairly tame and may be approached rather closely, provided that reasonable care is exercised. They are generally found in large groves of pine trees such as those at the Lincoln's Pinewood Bowl, where they usually appear in flocks of 15 to 40 birds.

One of the more spectacular winter birds is the lapland longspur, which appears in great numbers on irregular occasions throughout the state. This rather nondescriptbrown to buffy, striped sparrow is a cold-weather bird of the prairies and is rarely seen because it remains on the remote ploughed fields, golf courses, stubble fields, etc. However, during overcast weather or snow storms these birds take to the air and appear to be attracted to the lights from cities and towns below. The next morning large numbers of dead longspurs may be found at the base of television and radio towers or of the taller buildings.

Of the approximately 75 species of winter birds found in Nebraska, about 21 may be regarded as very common. During any given winter season they will be reported by more than three-fourths of the groups regularly reporting on the winter bird populations to the Nebraska Ornithologists' Union. These common birds include: marsh hawk, sparrow hawk, ring-necked pheasant, great horned owl, flicker, hairy woodpecker, downy woodpecker, horned lark, blue jay, crow, red-breasted nuthatch, brown creeper, robin, cedar waxwing, starling, English sparrow, cardinal, goldfinch, Harris's sparrow, slate-colored junco, and tree sparrow.

Most of these species are permanent residents of the state and as such are familiar to Nebraska observers. However, the actual individual birds present may have moved into the state from farther north to displace some summer residents which then moved into Kansas or perhaps Oklahoma.

In addition to the 21 species mentioned, 11 others are almost as common in that they will usually be reported by at least half of the reporting groups. These include: mallard, red-tailed hawk, rough-legged hawk, bob-white, black-billed magpie, white-breasted nuthatch, meadowlark, red-winged blackbird, pine siskin, Oregon junco, and song sparrow. Finally, there are more than 40 other species that are found to a lesser extent throughout the state or are only locally common. The entries in this group will vary from year to year and over a long period of time may shown considerable change.

Species reported by reporters from 21 localities across the state during the past few years include: great blue heron, Canada goose, white-fronted goose, common merganser, green-winged teal, common golden-eye, surf scoter, common scoter, Cooper's hawk, sharp-shinned hawk, redshouldered hawk, Swainson's hawk, golden eagle, bald eagle, prairie falcon, peregrine falcon, greater prairie chicken, sharp-tailed grouse, Wilson's snipe, mourning dove, screech owl, long-eared owl, short-eared owl, snowy owl, belted kingfisher, red-bellied woodpecker, yellow-bellied sapsucker, pinyon jay, tufted titmouse, winter wren, Carolina wren, mockingbird, brown thrasher, bluebird, Townsend's solitaire, Bohemian waxwing, northern shrike, loggerhead shrike, Brewer's blackbird, common grackle, brown-headed cowbird, rusty blackbird, purple finch, evening grosbeak, pine grosbeak, common redpoll, red crossbill, white-winged crossbill, rufous-sided towhee, whitecrowned sparrow, lapland longspur, McCown's longspur, chestnut-collared longspur, and snow bunting.

Can you add to this list? Others have; why don't you try?

ANOTHER BANNER YEAR

HOW successful was your Nebraska deer hunt? Successful or unsuccessful, most of you would probably like to compare your success with that of other hunters in 1958. Was your big buck near the record for 1958, or was it about average for its age class? If you did not get your deer, was this the pattern of success for most other hunters?

Perhaps I can answer some of these questions and help you evaluate the 1958 seasons.

The 1958 rifle seasons were met with apprehension in several areas. Many people were certain that the 1957 season reduced the herd drastically and that a season in 1958 would reduce the herd below safe and desirable levels. Were these apprehensions justified?

A picture of the hunting success should answer this question. Hunting success is determined by several factors, including number of hunters competing for the available animals, weather, vulnerability of deer to the hunter, and the chance of hunters coming in contact with deer.

The 1958 season conformed perfectly to pre-season predictions of the Nebraska Game Commission. Once again the hunters racked up an impressive success score, an amazing 60.4 per cent. This compares with an over-all success of about 69 per cent in 1957. However, in 1957, hunters were allowed to harvest deer of either sex in all management units with the exception of the Upper Missouri. In 1958, they were restricted to antlered bucks in five of the eight management units.

For those units having comparable seasons in both 1957 and 1958, hunting success was the same or slightly better m 1958.

In the Pine Ridge Management Unit, the success of hunters in 1957 was 69.1 per cent as compared to 69.4 per cent in 1958, essentially the same. For the Upper Platte, 70 per cent of the hunters were able to get their deer in 1958 as compared to 67.3 per cent in 1957.

When these statistics on success of hunters are considered, it leaves little room for the doubts and apprehensions so prevalent among sportsmen prior to the season. Hunters in units open to antlered bucks only also registered a high success. In fact the success rate was again exceptional compared to national standards.

The average physical qualities of mule deer and whitetailed deer taken in 1958 were the best on record, although weight records were not broken.

In the Pine Ridge, yearling male mule deer averaged 115 pounds, the highest ever for this management unit. This was about 10 pounds heavier than in 1957 and approximately 14 pounds greater than 1956. Average weights of yearlings were about the same in other units, with the exception of the Southwest and Central. In these two units, average weights for yearlings were an amazing 123.5 and 124 pounds respectively, the highest average ever recorded in Nebraska.

The Central and Southwest Management Units also produced some termendous trophy deer as evidenced by average weights in the older age classes. In both units, deer classed as 5 1/2 years or older averaged better than 200 pounds. These are big deer in anyone's book. Just to obtain a picture of the exceptional size of mule deer harvested from these two units, scan the average weights given in the following table. Terrific!

The weight records established in 1957 of 287 pounds for white-tailed deer and 310 pounds for mule deer still stand. However, there were many large animals with good racks taken in 1958. The largest deer taken by a rifle hunter scaled 265 pounds hog-dressed. It was taken in Custer County by Robert Forrester of Arnold.

Considering the hunting success and the quality of deer taken, the 1958 deer season will have to be termed' a big success.

The 1958 archery season again indicated the tremendous growth in interest in bow-and-arrow hunting of big game. The number of archers continues to grow by leaps and bounds.

Last year, 73 per cent more archers took to the field than in 1957. Archery can truly be called one of the fastestgrowing outdoor sports in Nebraska. And, the hunting success of archers in the state can be described only by such superlative terms as unbelievable, astounding, amazing, terrific, or greatest ever.

Success of archers in 1957 was good enough to rank Nebraska seventh in the nation. But 1958 dwarfs the success rate of 12.2 per cent scored in 1957. Of the 1,138 archers trying their luck in 1958, 206 or 18.2 per cent were successful. Late returns may alter this figure. This will undoubtedly rank Nebraska among the top states in the nation for the second straight year.

The increased success can largely be attributed to a very liberal season, one of the most liberal in the nation. Archers were allowed to hunt from September 13 through December 31 inclusive, with the exception of dates open to rifle hunting in areas open to rifles.

This extremely liberal season undoubtedly provided many hours of outdoor recreation to our Nebraska archers, hours filled with thrills, anticipations, or in many cases, frustration.

Another banner year for big-game hunters in Nebraska.

OUTDOOR ELSEWHERE

NEW HAMPSHIRE . . . Two lucky out-of-state hunters recently went home with venison, even though they didn't fire a shot. The two were hunting near a lake and came upon two large bucks with locked antlers. They'd apparently battled, at first on land and then in the lake, where they drowned. The men were told by a conservation officer they could have the deer. In dressing off the animals, it was found they were still warm deep in the chest cavity, evidence that the battle had taken place only shortly before. One deer weighed 248V2 pounds and had 10 points; the other weighed four pounds less and had eight points.

WYOMING ... An ice-melting operation, designed to protect a valuable brood stock of cutthroat trout, has been achieved successfully in Soda lake. Using over 2,000 feet of plastic pipe, which is floated on weights near the bottom of the lake, air is pumped into the lake to keep it free of ice, preventing a winter kill due to a lack of oxygen. This method circulates the warm water from the bottom of the lake to the top and causes the ice to melt. Thawing operations began in November when there was four to six inches of ice on the lake. The initial clearing of the lake took about 20 hours. Since then the ice has been melted daily.

NORTH DAKOTA . . . Upon occasion, mink travel for great distances, reports Bud Adams, Game and Fish department fur-research biologist. While live-trapping and banding mink and muskrats on a study area near Rugby, Adams released several mink that were carrying metal tags. The object was to find out how far and in what directions wild mink travel and over how long a period. On August 17, several mink were tagged and released. Within 3 1/2 months Adams had some results. Trapper Ted Lommen of Brinsmade caught one of the minks in his trap. The mink was trapped a distance of 34 miles from the place where it was tagged and released.

CALIFORNIA . . . The Fish and Game Department recently took an unusual step in work of the ocean-fish habitat-development project. Six old streetcars, donated to the department, were dumped off Redondo-Palos Verde coastline in 60 feet of water to form an artificial fishing reef. The streetcars weighed some six tons each.

OKLAHOMA . . . Recently Delbert Pinney of the Skiatook TV and Marine Service and Earl Herring were astonished by a loud wh-e-e-ring noise as they walked through the shop. Invesigation caused the discovery of a small covey of quail that had evidently flown in at the big door at the rear of the building. Feeling that this wildlife was sorely out of place, Delbert and Earl used one of the fish nets they stock for dipping fish out of the water after they have been hooked. With this equipment they managed to capture three of the quail, which they subsequently released in the country. Next day they were surprised when the wh-e-e-ring sound was repeated. One quail had been too well hidden in the rafters and had been missed.

OKLAHOMA . . . Plans are being studied here to create one fishing license for both in-state and out-of-state residents. Many prominent conservation officials believe this is a step in the right direction. The ancient idea of soaking out-of-staters because they allegedly catch "all the fish" has been punctured like an old tire. Texas instituted such a universal license in 1957.

WYOMING ... An unusual story illustrating the continual struggle for survival was told recently by two Game and Fish men. Allen Dow and Pilot Pete Lange, while driving a herd of elk by plane, spotted a buck that seemed to be dragging something with his antlers. The two men landed nearby and proceeded on foot to investigate. They found the large buck had the remains of another deer attached to his antlers. From the tracks in the snow the men were able to reconstruct the following story: The two bucks had engaged in a battle when their antlers tangled and were unable to separate. One of the deer died as a result of the battle. Later, some coyotes came upon the scene and devoured the dead deer. Dow and Lange succeeded in removing the remains of the dead deer from the antlers of the buck and he trotted off apparently unharmed by the entire ordeal.

PENNSYLVANIA . . . The Bureau of Correction and the Pennsylvania Game Commission have authorized a controlled hunt for antlerless deer at the state penitentiary at Rockview. Because of the nature and function of this area, the number of hunters will be limited to 500. The hunt has been scheduled to harvest some of the deer herd which has built up on the prison area.

PENNSYLVANIA . . . When a farmer living near Slippery Rock visited his chicken house recently, he discovered about 80 chickens dead and a greathorned owl sitting on a rafter, reported Protector Woodrow Portzline. In killing and eating one of the chickens, the owl frightened the others into crowding into one corner, where they smothered. The winged predator flew away when the man appeared, and the unhappy farmer piled the chickens on the ground outside. When the owl appeared for another feast, though, it met a shotgun blast which ended its chicken-killing forays."

Notes on Nebraska Fauna

PADDLEFISH

THIS queer-looking creature of the water world is a real oldie when thought of in connection with prehistoric times. The paddlefish, Polyodon spaihula, is considered one of the four primitive freshwater fish, the others being the gar, bowfin, and sturgeon. The paddlefish's relatives can be traced back some 350 milbon years into the Devonian Period. As the body form and likeness of today's lizards compare favorably with the long-gone dinosaurs, except for size, so the paddlefish compares with his predecessors.

Although the paddlefish may be old and set in his ways, humor emanates from his present-day existence. The common name, paddlefish, is in itself amusing, as to the fish's appearance—he reminds people of everything from a mobile pancake turner (due to his long, elongated, flat snout), to a nosey shark (due to his sharklike mouth and shape).

The accompanying wash painting will aid you should you ever be faced with the dilemma of correctly identifying a paddlefish. These points should be stressed, however:

Long, flat bill which almost screams, "I don't belong on a Nebraska fish!"

The nudist tendency exhibited by lack of scales, except at the very base of the tail, which, to say the most, is a very feeble attempt to preserve dignity.

Heterocercal tail, which is only a "highfalutin" phrase meaning that the backbone meets the tail, the backbone Curves upward and enters the longer upper lobe of the tail fin.

Long, pointed gill covers.

Slate-gray back and lighter belly.

Size, which can range up to six feet in length.

The appearance of the paddlefish is now exposed, but what can we expect it to be called in fishing circles? One of the more common names in Nebraska is spoonbill cat (although he isn't a catfish). Other common names are boneless cat, flatbill, and spoonbill sturgeon, the last of which is wholly incorrect. Paddlefish is the correct common name.

Paddlefish are found in the Missouri River and its surrounding flood-plain lakes. During the summer, they can often be seen basking on the surface in the relatively still water behind the flood gates at Gavins Point Dam. In the past, several paddlefish were artificially transferred to a small number of pit-type lakes in the state, and recent recoveries show their sizes range up to 60 pounds or more. Strangely enough, it was a much smaller paddlefish, on 26 OUTDOOR NEBRASKA   exhibit at the state fair, that prompted a very wide-eyed boy to blurt out to his mother, "Mama, look at the swordfish!"

Biologists often speak of the "reproductive habits" of fish, and with most fish they are just that—habits. We know when, where, and how they will spawn, but this is not so with the paddlefish. Some say the paddlefish spawns in the spring; others say they spawn in the winter; and still others say they spawn anytime. One group contends that paddlefish spawn in deep, swift channels while the opposition claims that shallow shoal areas are the spawning sites. All this reflects how little is actually known about the reproductive habits of paddlefish.

As young paddlefish grow (a five-incher is the smallest on record) to adulthood, the lower jaw becomes almost powerless. But this is of little consequence because the paddlefish, while feeding, simply swims around with his mouth wide open. Into this gaping hole go plankton (millions of minute plant and animal forms) that live in the water. The paddlefish's silky, long "gill combs" strain the food from the water. It seems a bit odd that a fresh-water fish attaining such a large size should eat anything so small. Paddlefish are known to reach 10 inches in length in one year, up to three pounds in two years, and up to 12 pounds in seven years.

Because paddlefish feed primarily on tiny organisms, they rarely take a fisherman's hook. Snagging them with a large treble hook is the most common method of taking them. This may not be legal in some states, but in Nebraska it is. After a paddlefish is snagged, it is great sport on a rod. And, if you land one, don't forget the paddlefish is almost completely boneless and delicious.

Those fishermen who have had the opportunity to dress paddlefish insist that the cartilage covered notocord, which serves as the backbone, be removed. This should be done as soon as possible together with all fatty and dark-colored tissue. The remaining white meat is truly fine eating.

The most-often-asked question about the paddlefish is, "What is the paddle (bill) for?" The two most educated guesses are that either it is an aid in feeding, or more likely still, it acts as a guide in the fish's movements. Among the commercial fishermen on the Mississippi River, the story is commonly told that the paddlefish places his paddle on the bottom, picks it up rapidly, and then eats the food stirred up. The paddle, however, is not indispensable, because even when broken off the fish still thrives. So who knows exactly what it's for?

Science has established that the paddlefish is found only in the drainage system of the Mississippi, in some of the Great Lakes, and in the Yangtze River and its tributaries in China. With the capture of a 200-pound fish at Spirit Lake, Iowa, in 1900 on record, the primitive creature ranks with the sturgeon (360 pounds) and the alligator gar (302 pounds) among the largest fresh-water fish in North America.

Although the paddlefish's presence in the Missouri River has been known for quite sometime, Nebraska's preoccupation with the fish has just been in recent years. In fact, the paddlefish did not appear in the Nebraska fishing regulations until 1957. That year the fish was listed with the sturgeon and there was no daily or possession limit.

The 1958 regulations carried the first season and limit on paddlefish. Nebraska's season on this odd fellow runs from July 1 to February 28. The limit is two and possession limit four. No state weight record has been recorded.

This species drew very little attention in bygone years because it was hardly ever the target of hook-and-line anglers. It could not be taken on baited hook but did show up in the nets of commercial fisherman.

The change, as far as fishermen are concerned, came with the building of Gavins Point Dam, completed in 1956. The paddlefish followed a pattern set at the TVA dams on the Tennessee and at other dams in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and elsewhere on the Mississippi River system. These fish moved upstream to the dam and concentrated in the tailwater. Also, the dam settled out the sediment and cleared out the water, giving a good view of the bottom. These two factors have made it possible to snag the paddlefish.

When fishing for paddlefish was started near Gavins Point and Fort Randall dam, 75 miles upstream in South Dakota, it was assumed that fishing could be carried out only in the winter season when the fish schooled. But it has been found that the fish, although distributed over a wider area, can be snagged in the warm months. His slowness and lack of agility enables capture at any time.

Knowledge of the status of the paddlefish in Nebraska should be increased through a stream study currently being initiated by fishery biologists of the Game Commission. It is possible that the paddlefish population in the Missouri River may increase as the river becomes less turbid. As has been stated this fish is a plankton feeder, and plankton production is increased by reduced turbidity. The environment for the paddlefish will consequently be improved, at least from the standpoint of food production—in general a primary limiting factor of fish production.

Changing Your Address?

MATCH EM UP

THE illustrations at right and left portray nine species of wildlife found in Nebraska. Test your skill in matching the following characteristics with the illustrations. Answers below, at left. Score 13 to 14 is marvelous, 12 is excellent, 10 is good, 9 is fair, and below 8 is poor.

1. In a span of two weeks it can quadruple its weight. (....)

2. At birth it is smaller than a bumblebee. (....)

3. This rabbit is a hare. (....)

4. In some states this animal is called a "hedgehog." It has a gestation period of 200 to 210 days. (....)

5. For thousands of centuries, it has been trying to imitate a bird. Meantime, it has become an expert glider. (....)

6. These are erroneously called "striped gophers." (....)

7. They have more different colored coats than any other North American family. (....)

8. A real hard worker, it is considered by many the world's first engineer. (..)

9. Looking right at its enemy, it can turn its back around and fire directly at him. Give this one a wide berth if you meet it. (....)

10. He can sail through the air for 150 feet, or twice as far if it takes advantage of sloping ground. (....)

11. He can be found almost anywhere in the United States, including most towns and cities. (....)

12. The newborn of this species are pinkish purple. Adults are mostly grizzled buff or rusty tawny brown. (....)

13. Next to Capybara, this is the largest rodent in the world. (....)

14 This one is rarely seen by humans. (...)

ANSWERS TO MATCH 'EM UP