THE 



AMERICAN 



SPORTSMAN'S 



JOURNAL. 



NEW YORK, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1878. 



INDIRECTION. 



TfAlR are the nowors ana the children, but their subtle suggestion 

 x ts fairer ; 



Rare la the rosebud of ilawu, but the secret that clasps it is rarer ; 

 Sweet the exmtaoee of song, but the strain that precedes it is Bweeter; 

 And never was poem jet writ, but the meaning out-mastered tbenietre. 



K ever a daisy that grows, but a mystery guideth the growing ; 

 Never a river that dows, but a majesty sceptres the flowing ; - 



a Shakespeare that soared, but a stronger than be did enfold 

 him; 

 Nor ever a prophet foretells, but a miglitier seer hath foretold nlm, 



Back of the canvas that throbs, the painter is hinted ami hidden; 

 into the Btatue that breathes the soul of the sculptor la bidden ; 

 Under the joy that is felt lie the infinite issues of feeling ; 

 Crowning the glory revealed is the glory that crowns the revealing. 



Great are the symbols of being, but that which is symbolcd is greater ; 

 STast the create and beheld, but vaster the inward creator ; 

 Back of the Bound broods the silence, back of the gift stands the giving; 

 Back of the hand that receives thrill the sensitive nerves of receiving. 



Space is as nothing to Bpirit, the deed is outdone by the doing; 



The heart of the wooer Is warm , but warmer the heart of the wooing ; 



And op from the pita where these shiver, and np from the heights 



where those shine, 

 Twin voices and shadows swim Btarward, and the essence of life Is 



divine. 



— ltrctJAHDREALF, fil Atlantic Monthly, 



For Forest and Stream and Sod and Gun 



{Continued.) 

 T REACHED our camp at noon, and after partaking of lunch, 

 consisting of a royal bird stew, I started for Punta Kassa, 

 trusting that the message of "Ail well" would reach me by 

 telegraph. Eight miles from Doctor's Pass I noticed a narrow 

 pass, which may be entered at high tide ; one mile and a half 

 further, a small but navigable one. At the end of two miles 

 I reached and passed an island one mile and a quarter long, 

 with a good channel at its southern end, and at the northern 

 •end a wide pass, after which an island three miles long, 

 bounded to the north by a wide and deep pass, named Estero. 

 I entered this pass, and followed it to the eastward for half a 

 mile, and anchored under the lee of an island, Musquitoes 

 proving troublesome, I decamped. and anchored near the sandy 

 point of an island on the north side of the pass. I retired 

 early, and about 9 v. m, I was disturbed by my dusky com- 

 panion with the exclamation "My G — , Doctor, what is dat. 

 Ain't it something coming to catch this nigger?" I left my 

 blankets and noticed the outline of a large 'gater on the beach. 

 I seized my Winchester and administered a half dozen doses. 

 In the morning I found a dead 'gater eleven feet long— a 

 victim of keeping bad hours. From this pass (Estero) a navi- 

 gable inside passage exists to within twelve miles of Doctor's 

 Pass, and a survey in my possession shows a narrow inside 

 passage, extending two miles further to one of the narrow 

 passes previously referred to, As to its navigability, I cannot 

 express an opinion. To the north a wide and deep inside 

 channel leads to Bowditch's Pass, distant from Punta Rassa 

 two miles. Estero Pass is one of the main channels leading 

 into Estero Bay. Corkscrew Biver, a stream laid down on all 

 maps, enters the bay at its southeasterly end. Owing to the 

 Isolated position of the country on each side of this river, the 

 absence of inhabitants, and its never having been visited by 

 sportsmen, I deem it worthy of notice. 



Early in the morning I departed from Estero Pass, and left 

 Big Hickory Island, two and a quarter miles long, in the rear, 

 nest Little Hickory, one mile long, and then Estero Island, 

 six and a half miles long. Two miles from the northern end 

 of Estero Island, I landed at Punta Kassa. At half-past four 

 I received a telegram containing unwelcome news, necessitat- 

 ing me to depart immediately, and make all haste for home. 

 The weather was threatening, and unless a severe gale set in 

 I felt assured that I could find my way with the lead to the 

 island of TJsippi, at the northern end of the bay. Before dark 

 I passed Beca Ciego Pass, and as darkness set in I was 

 favored with a severe gale from the eastward. The rain 

 poured down in torrents. It was very dark. The bay ex- 

 tended six miles to the eastward, a heavy sea soon rose, and 

 the desirability of finding a harbor suggested itself, more 

 especially as the lead was my only guide to track a tortuous 

 channel. In most of the bays and in shoal water along the 



coast a thick coating of broad-leaved grass covers the bottom, 



and whenever the water Bhoals there is an end to waves and J Estero Pass (with the exception of about two mdes between 



breakers. I was on the leeward side of the channel, with inky 

 darkness and unknown country to windward. I put the JDoni 

 before the wind, and as I entered the breakers dropped the 

 anchor and luffed. I dropped sail, and as soon as the cable 

 felt the strain I was in shallow but calm water inside the 

 breakers. 



I was up by daylight, and found that the ga'e had abated, 

 and after attending to the wants of the inner man, T steered 

 north. Boca Grande entrance is nearly a mile wide, with one 

 of the strongest tidal currents in the United States. Before I 

 reached Boca Grande a fresh hand took a turn at the billows, 

 and the wind fairly howled. The wind was easterly, tide 

 half flood. At this point the bay is twelve miles wide, and a 

 very unpleasant, chopped and irregular sea presented itself. 

 I bad confidence in my bttle craft, fancied that her captain 

 knew a thing or two, and as I was anxious to reach home I 

 determined to attempt the passage. I shall never forget the 

 peculiar motions of my boat, or the shaking up to which I 

 was subjected. My darky had never been in such a lumpy and 

 dusty place, and I made him sit to windward. It was amusing 

 to see him present his bare cocoa-nut as the seas would break 

 over the boat. About mid-channel the performance became 

 decidedly unpleasant, and, with an elongated visage, Mr. 

 Darkey remarked. " The old woman will never see this nigger 

 again ; may the Lcrd hab mercy on us." The channel passed, 

 1 bore away for the shoals to the east of Big Gasparilla, and 

 then for my old anchorage at Little Gasparilla Pass, at the 

 northern end of Gasparilla Island. I retired early and pre- 

 pared for to-morrow's work, a trip outside for a distance of 

 thirty-eight miles to Little Sarasota Pass. By following the 

 inside passage to the northward, leaving Charlotte Harbor at 

 Kettle Pass, and entering Sarasota Bay at Casey's Pass, the 

 outside, or sea trip, can be made in about thirteen miles. As 

 I dislike beating about among mud flats, sand bars and oyster 

 reefs, I determined to take the outside track. 



Last fall two young gentlemen consulted me regarding a 

 cruise along the S. W. coast of Florida. They had an open 

 but able boat. I advised them to provide her with a move- 

 able cabin, but they fancied that a tarpaulin cover would an- 

 swer. I recommended them to leave Sarasota Bay at Casey's 

 Pass and enter Charlotte Harbor at Kettle Harbor Pass. I 

 suggested the advisability of starting at daylight, so that if 

 the wind died out they could reach their destination by the 

 aid of an ashen breeze. They started a little before noon ; it 

 became calm, and, instead of using their oars, they waited for 

 wind. In the afternoon a black cloud appeared in the west, 

 and very soon a stormy breeze set in, and instead of making 

 for Kettle Harbor, they anchored in eighteen feet of water 

 near the shore. They pitched a tent, turned in and left their 

 Fifteenth Amendment in charge of the boat. The latter slept 

 like a top and paid no attention to his lodging place. During 

 the early part of the night their batteau parted her punter, 

 and landed on the beach. About midnight the cable parted. 

 and the next moment their boat was in the breakers and 

 swamped. With great difficulty they saved their firearms 

 and other impedimenta in a damaged condition. The wind 

 abated, but, as they were unable to free their boat of water, 

 they were compelled to send a messenger to Sarasota Bay for 

 assistance. Between Casey's Pass and Kettle Harbor the 

 i I'M' | very steep, making it dangerous to beach a boat. 

 With a fair wind and an early start no trouble need be experi- 

 enced in making the trip between the two passes referred to. 

 I have made three trips along this portion of the coast and 

 found them pleasure trips. 



I left Little Gasparilla Pass at G a. m., reaching Kettle 

 Harbor Pass. 1 entered it and found it one hundred and 

 fifty feet wide with six feet of water in the channel. Cross- 

 ing Tampa Bay, I had to contend with a severe northeaster, 

 and found the road very lumpy and dusty. Leaving Halley's 

 Keys I had to beat to Cedar Keys in the teeth of a severe 

 norther. The second night at dark, after leaving Halley's 

 Keys (islands), I was in sight of the light of the stab 

 heap fire at the mill at Cedar Keys. Satisfied that if the 

 weather did not set in too thick, and I could keep the fire in 

 view, that I could make Cedar Keys, about eight miles dis- 

 tant, After dark the rain, wind and darkness increased, and 

 I lost sight of the fire. I was eight miles from land and a 

 stormy norther was blowing, and 1 deemed it advisable to 

 make a harbor. It was blowing so heavy and the boat cut bo 

 many capers I could not utilize my boat compass. Aware 

 that the wind was north, I resolved upon steering east and 

 trust to luck. After running for some time I beard the surf 

 breaking on what I had reason to believe was an exposed 

 oyster shell bar. Eyes were useless, bo I trusted to ears. 

 Listening to the break on the bar, I steered a course parallel 

 with it for several hundred yards, when 1 detected a point 

 where there was an absence of breakers. 1 steered for the 

 quiet spot and soon found myself at anchor under the lee of 

 an exposed oyster bar. When day appeared I examined my 

 surroundings and found that I had passed safely through a 

 channel not over fifty feet wide between the points of two ex- 

 posed oyster shell bars or reefs, very numerous between 

 Cedar Keys and the Withacoochice. 



Between Cedar Keys and the Anclote Keys, a distance of 

 sixty miles, the trip can be made inside the reefs in shoal and 

 calm water. From the latter islands the inside route (inside 

 of islands) can be taken to Casey's Pass in Sarasota Bay, a 

 distance of eighty-five miles. From Casey's Pass to Kettle 

 Harbor is thirteen miles outside work. From the latter to 



Punta Bassa and Bowditch's Pass) the inside route can be fol 

 lowed to Estero Pass. From this to Doctor's Pass, thirteen 

 miles, the outside route must be taken ; from the latter the 

 inside passage can be followed to the southerly end of Hons 

 Island, and from this point to Cape Sable, by keeping in shoal 

 water over the grassy flats, a mill pond surface will found. 

 Hence in a distance of 280 miles there are but two points of 

 thirteen miles each where the sportsman would be compelled 

 to go outside. If he was provided with a suitable boat, and 

 if wind and weather are studied, these outside trips would be 

 a mere bagatelle. 



The southwest coast of Florida is remarkable for the'ab- 

 sence of rain and storms during the months of November, De- 

 cember, January, February and March. Last winter was an 

 exception to all rules, more rain having fallen than during the 

 winter months of the preceding thirty years. Lust fall I was 

 favored with very rough and rainy weather for at least half 

 the time, and when I had the most exposed places to navigate 

 I was, as a general rule, favored with gales. In my first trip 

 on the southwest coast I saw no rain for fifty-three days. In 

 the morning it was calm, as the sun rose the wind would set 

 in from the eastward, working to the southward and west- 

 ward. During fifty-five days of cruising we did not reef a 

 sail. The rough weather of last winter was exceptional and 

 may not be experienced again within the next half century. 



Fancying that some of your adventurous readers may at- 

 tempt a cruise on the S. W. coast, a few suggestions may not 

 be out of place. I made the trip in a boat sixteen feet long, 

 carried fifteen gallons of water, supplies for six weeks, gun, 

 •ifle, fishing tackle, stove, bedeiing and other plunder. It is 

 surprising how much can be stowed in a small boat, and yet 

 ample room saved for sailing her and sleeping at nights. For 

 a party of two or three who are disposed to enter the passes 

 and navigate the inside passages, I would recommend a cat 

 or sloop rigged boat from 20 to 22 feet long, with 8 or 9 feet 

 beam. The boat should be supplied with a light, moveable 

 cabin to protect at least two-thirds of the cock-pit. In ad- 

 dition to this a canvas awning should be provided to place 

 over the boom and fasten on each side. This will keep out 

 rain and wind and supply sleeping quarters for a fifteenth, 

 amendment if one is carried. A small batteau or Bond boat 

 would prove very convenient. I have tested Bond's boats oa 

 the southwest coast and can recommend them. Owing to 

 their light draft and ease of handling they are peculiarly 

 adapted to the coast and requirements of sportsmen. Abat- 

 leau fourteen feet long with oars can be purchased in Cedar 

 Keys at a cost of about $14. If any party should contem- 

 plate taking a trip "down the coast" they could have .such a 

 boat: purchased or built by communicating with Doctor Robt. 

 Mcllvaine, the obliging host of the "Island House," Cedar 

 Keys. From .New York to Jacksonville by schooner the 

 freight on a 20 or ?3 foot boat would be about twelve dollars, 

 and by steamer say twenty-five to thirty. The freight by rail 

 from Jacksonville to Cedar Keys on a boat was $1. Oil per 

 cwt,, and I have reason to believe that this rate will continue. 

 Boat's adapted to the cruise may be purchased in Jackson- 

 ville. If the purchase and transportation of a boat proved 

 ill' ' li'aable, crafts from two to six tons can be chartered 

 in Cedar Keys at from four to six dollars per day. When 

 not under way the captain would assist in cooking, and his 

 int or chief officer, a sort of ship's " Jimmy Ducks," 

 can he utilized in any capacity— more especially in the con- 

 sumption of snake autidole lying around loose. The crafts 

 referred to are comfortable, and as a general rule the captains 

 are acquainted with the shoals ami the larger entrances. The 

 great objection to be urged to craft of from four to six tons is 

 their drawing two much water to enter many of the passes 

 " i '"ins, or navigate many of the smaller streams, the 

 very localities sportsmen wish to visit. The boat for the 

 sportsman south of Punta Bassa must be one adapted lo enter 

 shallow lagoons and run over mud flats— a craft of light draft, 

 and one that can be rowed in an emergency or propelled by a 

 pushing pole. 



If parties have the time to spare they could run down the 

 coast from Cedar Keys to Cape Sable and return. Without a 

 pilot they would find many troublesome places. I worked 

 the coast on several occasions between Cedar Keys and Punta 

 Rassa and have reason to believe that I am posted with 

 reference to the locadon of every sand bank, oyster reef, and 

 mud flat along the coast— the result of an intimate acquaint- 

 ance with these objects. The best course would be to trans- 

 port a boat by steamer to Manatee, and thereby avoid the in- 

 tricate navigation north of this point. From Manatee to 

 Charlotte Harbor with favoring winds is about two days' sail, 

 and about two more to Doctor's pass. In my noteB published 

 in the Forest and Stream and afterward republished in 

 "Camp Life in Florida," I have given more directions for 

 working the coast from Cedar Keys to Punta Bassa. 



If the tourist shipped his boat by steamer to Key West he 

 would save time, have favoring winds and could work to the 

 northward. After reaching Manatee, Tampa or Cedar Keys 

 the boat could be sold at auction, and would probably bring 

 two-thirds of her cost. If Key West should be made the point 

 of departure I would advise parties to engage a pilot to guide 

 them to Hurricane Key. The charge might be $10. Or else 

 purchase a portion of the series pt five charts showing the 

 Keys from Key West to Bay Honda channel. A pilot or 

 good chart: is absolutely necessary, for there is but one chan- 

 nel leading through the Keys. The map of Florida published 

 by the War Department and reproduced in 1873, is the largest 



