88 HUNTING AND FISHING IN FLORIDA. 
and-so on, the last and fifth prize being the hide and tallow. <‘ Al- 
ligator ” Jim Russell was the life of the occasion, discoursing upon 
the great numbers of enormous alligators he had killed and the 
wonderful shooting he had done; but on this occasion his wonted 
skill failed him, and the writer succeeded in winning three of the 
four quarters, so that our boat 
had fresh ‘‘ beef” (forgive 
me, thou shades of Chicago 
bovines,) for several days in 
consequence. 
There is at times very good 
fishing at Indian Inlet, which 
is nearly opposite Fort Cap- 
ron, and the long, narrow, 
sandy peninsula which separ- 
ates the Indian River and the 
ocean is covered with pal- 
metto scrub and scattered 
hummocks in which small 
game (and large, also, for 
that matter) is abundant in 
places, but of course one 
must know the country to 
have good sport. 
Turkeys are not found on 
the peninsula, but bears, deer, 
and an occasional panther 
may be killed by those who 
‘* know how” and are willing 
to work. Small game, such as wildcats, coons, and opossum, 
are very numerous. I do not, as a tule, allow my young 
hounds to run wildcats, but occasionally, when other game 
was scarce, I have put the older dogs on the track of a cat to give 
them arun. Cats have a habit of running in a circle, going over 
the same trail again and again, unless they are hard pushed. Some- 
WILD CAT CLIMBING A TREE. 
