TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINISCENCE^. 229 



ing papty was taken by the writer 

 some years ago, some ten miles 

 ' south of San Antonio, near a large 

 irrigated field and Cassin's Lake, 

 to the west. There are a number of 

 exceedingly attractive and pic- 

 turesque river bottom scenes near 

 the above place. From the old 

 renowned Berg's Mill fishing places, 

 with it's historic Mission San Juan 

 to the east of the river down to the 

 ancient and picturesque Mission 

 Espada. For the amateur kodakist 

 there is hardly any better field in 

 Texas. In olden times the old 

 Medina River bottoms were a very 

 prolific field for sportimen, and the 

 writer recollects the many fiine 



"Alligator Hollow" Magnificent Scenery 

 Along the Medina River 



ducks, geese, curlew, turkey and 

 squirrels and an occasional deer and 

 wild hog my companions and I had 

 killed some forty-five years ago, 

 and the large strings of fish that 

 were caught in the pellucid Medina 

 River. 



The elegant views herein, of a few 

 of the thousands of picturesque 

 fishing places along the Medina — 

 these about 40 miles northwest of 

 San Antonio — were taken by mem- 

 bers of an outing party.. One scene 

 is of especial interes and depicts 

 some of the huge precipices along 

 the Medina, extending for miles and 

 miles along its batiks. It represents 

 what is called the "Alligator Hol- 

 low," a very large and cave-like 



excavation inside the steep rock 

 walls seen on view above, and be- 

 yond is the picnic party gathered 

 on top of the huge rock piles facing 

 the River. 



The wild sceneiy along these rock 

 precipices, with their many caves 

 and mountain vegetation is indes- 

 cribably picturesque, and one must 

 go see these places to appreciate 

 them fully. 



The two other views show some 

 of the outing party in a small boat 

 close to a huge rock along the river, 

 and close to the romantic bank of 

 the Medina with its high cypress 

 trees, walnut, pecan, elder, poplar, 

 mustang grape vinas, cedar trees, 

 fern plants and brilliant flowers. 

 It is here, some ten miles north of 

 the gigantic Medina Dam project, 

 that the writer lately had a most 

 enjoyable outing and ate in one day 

 more fine fish than in a long time 

 in San Antonio, when we were the 

 guests of a relative who had pitched 

 his camp for a few weeks outing. 

 He had an up-to-date camping out- 

 fit with a fine tent, hammock, 

 cooking outfit, hunting and fishing 

 paraphernalia, besides all other 

 comforts of a modern camp, under 

 a large liveoak tree on a high em- 

 bankment overlooking the magni- 

 ficent Medina River scenery all 

 about. 



At the above mentioned outing ' 

 places lovers of nature and sport 

 will be amply repaid for a day or 

 more of recreation, and they will 

 feel like the country people living 

 in their humble but contented ways. 

 And, as I stood there, the guests of 

 my friend in his camp, I felt like 

 owning a nice little home there 

 myself, and thought of the in- 

 spiring poetry of Marvin C. 

 Jenkins, who, at such a moment 

 so marvelously depicts our own 

 feelings in the following verses: 



"What would ye give for a home 



like mine, 

 Cozily nestling 'neath the pines? 

 'Tis humble, I know, but, for all 



of that. 



