370 HTKTS TO ACKERS. 



exertions of the art ; indeed, those wherein he has taken an active 

 part, are not to be excelled by any professor of any country whatso- 

 ever. I remember, before I went to America, and became intimate 

 with him, I was introduced to his sister, then residing in the county 

 of Down. I forgot to mention he has some Irish blood in his veins, 

 which may perhaps account for his superiority in skill and power. 

 His sister, to give me an idea of the wonderful prowess of her beloved 

 brother, gave me a letter to read which she had received from him on 

 his return to Boston from England. I will give an extract. 



" We had a pleasant sort of passage enough, but I missed my sport 

 sadly. We, however, managed to practise with the bow and rifle, and 

 I need not tell you, with some advantage over my less practised com- 

 panions. Occasionally, when the weather was fine, Captain Mizen, 

 knowing my love of the sport, had the boat lowered, and we mustered 

 up a shooting party. There is capital shooting on the Atlantic, but 

 the game, though plentiful, is by no means varied. During our 

 passage I met with no other than the "flying fish." One day I 

 managed, however, to bag fifty brace of these amphibious birds, the 

 sailors rowing us under the very trees in which they build their nests ! 

 We sometimes had some good fishing. The dolphin is an extra- 

 ordinarily rapacious fish ; an instance of which I will relate. We 

 caught so many, one day, that several were thrown in the sea again, 

 and we continued merely for the sake of the sport. One of the fish, 

 by some accident had his tail cut off, and, being short of bait, I put it 

 upon my hook ; in about a minute I hooked a fish, and, much to our 

 surprise, it proved to be the very mutilated dolphin, positively caught 

 by his own tail ! 



" I must not forget to tell you that we landed at Bermuda, and 

 found the niggers all bald, which I heard was occasioned by the habit 

 of butting in their personal encounters with each other. This fact 

 convinces me that the organ of combativeness is not, as Gall has 

 placed it, behind the ear. The Bermudians are a very singular 

 people. I was informed that those who lived on the other side of the 

 island are quite amphibious, and live for days under water. This is 

 in consequence of their living entirely on fish : I have no reason to 

 doubt the fact. Fish here is extremely good, but all kinds of meat are 

 inferior to those of England, except pork, which is so excellent that 

 the Bermudians literally eat it till the bristles grow out of their skin ! 



" The inhabitants have no occasion for lamps or candles of any 

 kind, for the atmosphere, at night, is positively in one blaze of il- 

 lumination with fire-flies. These beautiful little creatures not only 

 dispel darkness, but when we went to light our cigars we need but 

 catch one of these luciferous insects, and holding it to our tobacco, 

 fire is procured." 



I shall forbear quoting more of Mr. Cram's letter ; the reader will 

 doubtless be pleased with the spirit of observation displayed through- 

 out. I can myself vouch for the authenticity of his statements, for, 

 not long afterwards, I made the same passage, and witnessed the 

 things he describes. I had the good fortune, likewise, to bring down 

 many coveys of the amphibious birds he mentions, the flying-fish, as 

 well as several sea- woodcocks, which, having no dogs, he could not 



