HARDVVICKE'S SCIEN C E-G OSSIP. 



2G9 



•-of May, wc tumcu our back to llic plonglied fields 

 ■ubeic we gatlicied arrow-points until tired of the 

 sport, and lazily lingered iu the dense shade of 

 giaut oalvS and elms that lined the hill-tops, and 

 listened to the erratic melody of the mocking-bird, 

 and watched, with no less deliglit, the cunning of 

 a flycatcher {'Empidoiiax acadica), as it tied gossa- 

 mer threads to the tendcrest of twigs, and wrought 

 an airy cradle from scarcely more stable materials. 

 So much of life abounded that was worthy of all 

 our time and attention, that we had not given our 

 day's " find " of relics of the dead a thought. The 

 leathern bag of two hundred specimens was lying 

 on the ground while yet we tarried ; and most 

 fortunate, indeed, was our lazy fit of that May day. 

 Just where we were we would have spent no time in 

 searching for relics had we been "out collecting;'' 

 and just here we picked up, we know scarcely 

 why, two thin stones, that were almost concealed 

 beneath the leaves and moss. Judge of our surprise 

 when they proved to be two of the handsomest 

 jasper spears we had ever seen ! 



could never impale a perch or pickerel with them. 

 Our Stone Age ancestors are so far in the past that 

 no trace of lisli-spcaring capability remains, 

 provided such slender little harpoons were used ; 

 but with these big spears we could get to work, 

 and so, after securely fastening them to slender 

 but strong ash shafts, we went to the creek, and 

 started on a little hunt, being favoured by having 

 a clear sky overhead, a light little boat to float in, 

 and water as clear as crystal beneath us. 



" What fish shall we look for ? " was the first ques- 

 tion we put to ourselves. "What fish more appro- 

 priate than the gar ! " we replied. " Very appropriate, 

 but where will we find him ? " Somehow we had 

 faith froai that moment that our search would be 



successful ; and so we sculled the little boat to that 



j 



part of the creek where the current was swift, and 

 a dense mass of vegetation covered the bed of the 

 stream. Nothing of note was seen on our little 

 row, or scull rather, except the lazy masses of 

 yellow jelly that has been honoured with the high- 

 sounding name of Tectinatella magmfica : the mag- 



rig-. 183. The Gui--Pike {I.epidusleus osseus), ,\ nat. size. 



We need not have wondered why they were 

 there, and so perfect too. Since the first occupancy 

 of this part of the State by the white settlers, there 

 has been no disturbance of the hill -sides that face 

 the Delaware and its meadows. Well, at any rate, 

 here they were ; one of them, a triangular blade, 

 three inches in length, and a trace over two in 

 width at the base. The stem is short for the 

 blade, so it seems to us ; but being clipped to its 

 end, it has never been any longer. The other 

 consists of a blade two inches and a half in 

 length, the sides being convex instead of straight ; 

 with a stem or tongue an inch and a quarter in length, 

 instead of half an hicli, as in the other specimen. 



We know that many a museum could exhibit 

 these spear-points to advantage, but we were not 

 in a generous mood, and so concluded to experiment 

 with them; and the most natural means of so 

 doing seemed to us, to spear fish, inasmuch as 

 we had no mammal about that would allow us to 

 come within reach. 



Such spears as we have mentioned, of course, are 

 not the true " fish-spears," such as Mr. Evans has 

 figured as arrow-heads in his magnificent volume.* 

 These, too, are common in New Jersey; but we 



* " Stone Implements of Great Britain," p. 339, fig. 302. 



nificeuce being reserved for those fortunate enough 

 to possess a good microscope. Reaching the grassy 

 portion of the brook, we stretched ourselves full 

 length iu the boat, and with one stone spear in 

 hand, and another handy to grasp, should we want 

 it, we peered over the bow, and looked for gars. 

 It is only by the merest good luck that we ever do 

 see them here in Crossweelssen Creek, or, indeed, 

 in the Delaware river; but our "feelings" were 

 true to us to-day, for very soon wc did spy out the 

 long taperiugjawsof aZey«V/'ayi'e/M',and weknew that 

 behind those jaws, well concealed in the long grass, 

 was a very active body which would dodge us, 

 should we be any way demonstrative. When lying 

 thus in the grass, with his head pointed up 

 stream, it will be noticed that he is always on the 

 edge of a patch of river weed, on the look-out for 

 fish, as they come leisurely down the more open 

 water. So it proved in this case ; for just as wc 

 had succeeded in getting down our anchor without 

 any commotion, and were lying perfectly still in the 

 middle of the stream, we saw, bobbing here and 

 there, over pebbles, sand, and sunken twigs, nose 

 down and tail up, a mammoth chub {Semotiliis 

 rJiothens, Cape), as big, lazy, and restless as any of 

 his kind. In a few moments he had reached a point 

 within a foot of the end of the gar's now partly- 



