Hauling field gear up Gothic Mountain…
An Early Colorado Record of the White-tailed Ptarmigan.--There is an exceedingly interesting, but almost unknown book, dealing in part with pioneer times in Colorado entitled Thirty Years of Army Life on the Border.It was written by Capt.R. B. Marcy, who later rose to the rank of General in the U.S. Army; his daughter married General Geo.B. McClel[an• and his grandson was sometime mayor of New York.Capt.Marcy had in him the making of a splendid naturalist, but duties and training turned his activities into other channels.This particular book of his, contains many references to birds, and should be read by every one interested in western bird life.During the course of his military duties, Capt.Marcy made a trip froin Fort Bridger, Utah, to Fort Montgomery, New Mexico, crossing the Continental Divide over Cochetopa Pass, doing so in the dead of winter (January, 1858); he and his men suffered almost unbelievable hardships froin the arctic cold, and from hunger, yet they succeeded in reaching their goal.On page 234 of the above cited book, Capt.Marcy says, "One day we were .... near the suminit of the mountains .... my guide pointing to a snow bank, said there were some birds he had never but once before seen .... we .... killed two of them.They were white as the snow itself .... two specimens which were sent to Professor Baird of the Smithsonian Institute showed thein to be Sagopus leucurus [spelling as in original], or whitetail ptarmigan.This beautiful bird was before supposed to be confined to that part of the Rocky Mountain Chain north of latitude 54 ø north.The specimens sent to Professor Baird are said by him to be the first indication of their occurrence within the limits of our possessions, and it extends the supp6sed range about a thousand miles to the south."--W.H. BERGTOLD, Denver, Colo.Wild Geese at Moose Factory.--Inconnection with his work with
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