FOREST AND STREAM. 



secret. It commands a high price, is greatly in favor, and 

 must afford the invenlor n good income 



Tin' war rig is somewhat different. The horse is painted 

 most fantastically, and ihe rider wears in addition 10 his 

 ordinary dress, ;i war bonnet made like a hood, ornamented 

 in front with a pair of small buffalo horns, placed as the 

 devil is supposed to wear his. Along flap Or tail to the 

 hood falls down the back, and is ornamented with row 

 upon row of eagle feathers. Now armed with bow and 

 arrows, shield and lance, our buck is ready for Texas, or 

 wherever his fancy prompts. The lance is but little used 

 in war: still it lias ils place. The credit of killing an ene- 

 my does not belong to the one who shot him, bathe who 

 first tlirnsts his hni'ce into him takes the scalp and all the 

 glory. Theoretically, be ia the brave win. -pears his cm- 

 m\ ; practically, the* lance is never used except on ihe dead 

 of wounded wad are unfortunate en, .ugh to Tall into their 

 hand?, The weapons named compose bis natural war out- 

 fit, but. wtfortitwuety he is now possessed of more formi- 

 dable weapons. 1 have vet to see the first Comanche buck 

 thai does not carry a Colt or other six shooter, and, bv the 



way, not all "<V Me oiden kind, ijraa movntsdr bui ■ te of 



the 1 51 improved breech loaders. In addition to this, 



Spencer and Winchester carbines are common among them, 

 over ball' of the bucks bi-iuc in possession Of one or the 

 other, and tlie remainder own Hi,- old Ion- I. .1 nearer rifle, 

 which, as you well know, at several hundred yards is a 

 very good weapon, flow these Indians have become pos- 

 sessed of these arms I leave for our Indian Department to 

 explain, but 1 can tell you that the weapons of those 

 " killed by Indians" m Texas accounts [or far too many of 

 them. 



I have already lengthened this article beyond reason, and 

 yet Have not explained all 1 desired. My next must have 

 a few more genera! remarks on material of bows, arrows, 

 and soon, and then we will come to traditions, rites, super- 

 stitions, etc., which I hopa you will find more interesting 

 than a general summarizing, as this initial letter must lie 

 from necessity. Yours, &c. "B." 



Fort Mil, Indian, Territory, July, 1874. 



■»■«■ — 



Jvr Ji'oreet and Stream. 

 CAMP LIFE WITHIN FIFTY MILES OF 



NEW YORK-THE WILDS OF NEW 



JERSEY. 



"QUPPOSE that we lake a Tew days in the woods, 1 ' 



O said a friend of mine to me recently. 1 had been 

 at his. house helping alomr the- glorious Fourth, ami we sal 

 with burned lingers looking at the lake and thinking of the 

 powder we had used up to eeiebrate the day. 



'•We can'i find any woods worthy of the name in New 

 Jersey, can we?" 



"There speaks city ignorance, Have you never been in 

 the Ramapo Mountains?" 



As my friend had explored every corner of his native 

 State, and as I had confidence in bis judgment of what 

 woods should be, having slept many a night beside him, 

 under the great pine irees of Canada, with' our camp lire 

 lighting up the swarthy faces of our Indian guides, 1 agreed 

 to his proposition, Out came the camping traps, and as 

 be said "trood night" at my door, lie admonished me 10 be 

 up at hali-pasl ibree, A. M., sharp, 



With sleepy, heavy eyes, 1 stumbled out of bed next 

 morning, and did not awake till 1 found myself on the 

 wagon "seat tilling up the valley at a rattling pace. The 

 morning misi rose slowly, and before the sun obtained the 

 mastery we were almost soaked through, bui we were well 

 repaid for the wetting. A- thegreal tog banks rose oyer 

 the hills and the morning sun threw its stout raysacross 

 the vallev. the scene was one of peaceful beauty. The 

 magnificent rolling hills, green with the young crops and 

 tupped here and there wiih a great COtton-like bunch of 

 raiSt; the little trim farmers' houses standing close alon- 

 ihe ro:i,l -ide, made a fitting foreground for the picture. 

 Wc pi--,d ihe inevitable head, rfll .iters ofOencrnl Wash- 

 illgLon. You could not be landed anywhere in Xew Jer- 

 sey, from say a balloon, without being within stone'sibrow 



ol'one i-t the headquarters >>f thai much quartered Father 

 Of il„ Republic. We drove along past Qen. Price's house, 

 and the road, dropping a lini, . nun- 10 the left and again 

 climbs up the hill. Jus1 v, here it is lowest, during the re 

 volulionary Uavs, a courier was galloping ahm- hard mid 

 fast when four Tory bullets . Mi nek him, filed out ot the 

 bj'UBh on the road side. lie kept to his horse, thouuh 

 bleeding from cvciy wound, and riding into a garden, fell 

 from hiB horse into the arm- of Mr. Garrison, dead, but 

 with Ihe papers entrusted to him safe. The siorv is poinl- 

 i,-- enough, but it has the true ring. A brave man's deed 

 [8 as brave though done nub a hundred years ago as if ii 

 was ..I" vi sierdav. We slopped at ihe Louse of Mr. Garri- 

 son, the grandchild of the one mentioned before. 



"Gould we get a wagon to take our trap; up the moun- 

 tain'?" Ii was possible, but apt easy, At last it came, 

 however, with Us two horses, rough and scraggy, bui 

 nevertheless able to thread their way along— what shall 

 I call it? scarcely a road, rather a space clear ol tret -, but 

 full of stones. But befoie 1 leave Mr. Garrison 1 must say 

 thai he is a doctor. No M I), disfigures his name; his 

 reputation is home made., and main a man and woman 

 along the Ramapo road can hear the best of testimony as 



t,, his skill as a dentist, lie showed us ihe old fashioned 

 turnkey with which he operated, mixed up with specimens, 

 petrifactions, old Indian .-pear beds, beautifully made 

 .ion. lint, ami massive stone axes, which, in the days long 

 ago, had felled iminv a Hit for the old Mihnisinck lu- 



dians, A clear headed, clever old geutleman was Mr. Gar- 

 rison, with a fund of original thought, aj)d bright ideas 

 cropping up at unexpected moments, and when 1 say that, 

 besides Ms collection of euriositiee, he owned some won- 

 derful apple jack, the reader will long lo rind out his exact 

 whereabouts. 



Up the mountain we went with our scant baggage, play- 

 ing, a cheerful tattoo on the wagon bottom hi each jolt. 



How far up we wect r shall never know, but l made a 



rough calculation that lor every mile of road traversed the 

 1 distance was about double, for when we were not on 

 top of a large rock we were struggling out. of the space, 

 bel ween two boulders. At last we cried enough, our things 

 were dumped out, and we were left on the banks of a little 

 bubbling stream. A lire and fried salt pork mutually 

 helped in that momentous undertaking, dinner, and then 

 ihe lend work began— lugging our things up the mountain, 

 tor the road followed the valley, till a good place was 

 found lor a camp. After much walking we came to rest, 

 and in H few minutes the white sides of our little tent rose 



amid the Irees, and wc were at home in the woods. The 

 evening shadows were beginning to make the firelight ac- 

 ceptable when we sat down to a quiet pipe, a small drink, 

 and a long sleep on the sweet hemlock branches, which 

 made a carpet and a bed. Sow we always can sleep in the 

 woods! The air, the bard work, the perfect feeling of 

 freedom, nil seem 10 help. Nexi day we went, rod's in 

 hand, in search of a trout brook, disdaining the one in the 

 valley. Weeiiher walked too far, Or not far enough, for 

 no 1 rout stream did we find, though we went over mountains 

 as though alinfbrng them. -was easy work, That night we 

 were treated to a thunder shower 'just at dark. Though I 

 have often heard thunder in the mountains, I have never 

 listened to anything so grand before. The sky became as 

 ink, ami the lightning Bashed Eor a good half hour before 

 our turn crime, and then ihe storm hurried up the valley, 

 sweeping over us. First came Ihe wind, and then a few 

 dashes of rain, beating in our lent, which every moment 

 swayed and trembled with the rushing air. A flash, sud- 

 den and quick, lit up the tree trunks, and for a half second 

 the lire seemed ..ill. ll e:in.ewith II rushing hiea as the 

 liiriilning struck near bv. A lew seconds and the thunder 

 followed, crash alier crash echoiiur up the valley; thrown 

 from hill to lull, now from one point, now from another, 

 the ground appeared to tremble, and Ihe canvas of the l.cil 

 served a slight protection indeed. A few minutes of the 

 swashing rain, and another Hash, with its grand roar of 

 thunder, and the storm had swept over us, tearing up Ihe 

 valley in its mad rush of rain, wind, and lightning. The 

 following day was calm and beautiful, and my friend, accept- 

 ing the good" things near home, fished ihe shining trout out 

 of" the brook till darkness put a Slop 10 further ily easting. 

 Again that night Nature treated us to a storm, but it was 

 greaterin the anticipation than in the reality, and we snored 

 in unison till sunrise and mosquitoes forced us up. Down 

 came the tent, everything is hurried into its appropriate 



place, except the frying pan, an arliclc which will never 

 til into any bag or box known to the writer, and we carl 

 our possessions lo where the wagon is wailing for us, and 



On 1 lie way we do not forget Mr. Garrison, and again 



that apple jack make.- el:id ihe heaii of man. \\ , have a 

 drive 01 iwenlv miles before us. and wbiie we arc enjoy- 

 ing it we agree that if people would only try u few days of 

 sue h life they would tind thai existence off a hotel piazza 

 was possible, and even agreeable. Wo go in search of 

 health hi crowds to the fashionable Watering places, we 

 breathe Vile air and eal vile food, and pay heavily for the 

 privilege, forgetting the while that Nature' has made a tem- 

 ple far grander than any built by the hands of man, and 

 that, to it we may go and live a life free as air. and as 

 happy as ihe day islong. B. 



Fiji Fin-*- ni.it -S'/o/-/'. 



LOOSE LEAVES FROM A SU H VliYO l-i'S 

 JOURNAL. 



A NIGHT Willi WOLVES. 



1 had 



IT was in the early part of our wood cspc 

 Iniil never killed a wolf. («ui*s lujru*), ana 1 was ex- 

 ceedingly anxious to secure as n trophy a pell of one of the 

 varmints Theyseerued quite numerous in the neighbor 

 hood of our camp, some eighteen or twenty miles north of 

 Stevens Point, on the Wisconsin, ai that time a much 



smaller place than now, for this was early in Ihe fillies. 

 We knew ihere were plenty of the critters around hv their 

 bowlings on the bill? at nighl ;ind ihe niullitudiiioiis iracks 

 ev.-iv I re-h snow around our shanty, but wiih only now 

 and then a short -iiuipse of one as he scud away in the 

 forest we bad seen none. Some old 1 rapper had "told me 



that by placing a Binall piece r,; assafoaiida on the ball of 

 my loot between the outer stocking .mo ihe moccasin, the 



wolves on cro-si my track would be attracted bj the 



scent and would susely follow up my nail to camp. Why 

 this should be .-o eiiicacimis I know not, unless ihe theory 

 be line thai the scent given oui closclv resembles ihaiof 

 a female lupus when in heat, and thus attracts the others; 

 1 do know thai one ol ihe best things lo put on the bait or 

 trail for either a lox or wolf is a touch of ihe oil of this 

 gum 



Well. I wanted lo kill a wolf, and I tried the experiment, 

 pui ;i good sized pill in each Of mv moeea.-iiis. ;n„l for two 

 weeks 1 trod the woods with my rifle in hand looking up 

 land Ac., but no animal took sufficient interest in un labors 

 to follow me home. Ii may have been because the w. athei 

 continued very cold, the snow was Iry and crisp, and I 



mint happened to cross my track when fresh. I became 



lYoii.Yainn without nivalin until tinaily" 1 b.-canie thoroughly 

 ' ihing was a humbug, but 1 ucg- 

 om my moccasin, in fad 1 had 



1: must have been three! weeks or 

 sion to go dOWn to the I'oint for 

 our mail and a supply Of provisions, that early ill lb.' even- 

 in. ol ., bright moonlight night with an empty bag thrown 

 Over mv shoulders I started on our bla/.-d line for the set- 

 ileuicni. 1 had proceeded on a moderate jojr nearly half 

 oi ii,,-. distance when my attention was attracted by a dis- 

 tinct howl ibat seemed to come directly from my rear. 1 

 had beard cries occasionally all the evening, but it being 

 -ueh a common thing 1 had paid no attention to them, bin. 

 somehow this lasl sound was ol a different tone. It seemed 

 lo cut th& crisp evening air like a knile, and there was a 

 mournful warning rim; to it, 1 stopped and n -t, i.ed a 

 monieiii and it w as an.-wered on the hill to my right; again 

 thai yelp went up and a reply from the left, ll struck me 

 then thai perhaps there might he an interest in thai direc- 

 tion toward your humble- servant and that a little more 

 celerity m m'v movements mighl be advantageous, and I 

 commenced measuring ofi the -round as well as I conven- 

 iently COUld in the snow mid follow the blazes; Ihere was 

 of course no path or load. 



Now our line to tne settlement ran across a lake of 

 about three quarters of a mile or more in diameter and I 

 thuUL'hi alter crossing that I would be able to tell if 1 was 

 really ihe object of this infernal concert. I reached and 

 had nearly crossed on ihe ice when 1 looked hack, and sure 

 enough, There were two lank bodies moving with that long 



.1, Lopi (so peculiar to the WOlf family) on my track. 

 They were soon joined by another, and as they threw up 

 theJu noser, and lei out thai terrible sound, they were an- 

 swered on either side, and another brute bounded from the 

 side of the lake and joined in Ihe race. I began to feel 

 decidedly uncomfortable. Miles from camp or a settle- 

 ment, With uiilv a pocket Unite as a weapon of defence, and 



convinced that the \ 

 Looted to lake Ihe gi 

 forgotten it altogell 



the point of that broken off. I began to look for a tree, 

 bui of course the ground being low in the neighborhood of 

 the lake (if was surrounded by a tamarack swamp), the trees 

 were all too small to alTord me a safe, roosting place. But 

 [ tell you (he way I go1 over the ground through that 

 swamp was marvellous to behold. When I gOI to hbhci 

 ground the trees seemed all too lav^clo be senlei I up e:i-ilv. and 

 that infernal howling growing louder and nearer. Matters 

 were growing desperate. "A tree, a tree, my kingdom for s 

 tree"iof the right kind). How eagerly in my rapid movements 

 I scanned the many trunks bui found not what I wanted. 

 (The next day on my return on the line I saw a number 

 that would have answered the purpose well enough), The 

 howls came nearer and nearer, until I could hear Ihe rush 

 on the snow, the snarls and even ihe quick breaths of the 

 devils when I sprang into- an opening where the charcoal 



n had been ai work the previous tall. One of the kilns 



had not been fired, and with Ihe accumulations of snow on 

 its lop presented a heap some fifteen or twenty reel in 

 lligbt, Up this I shinned with whal little life there was in 

 me, and jusl in time, as the pack burst oui from the woods 

 alniy very heels. They paused at the fool of the mound. 

 And What a diabolical looking sci they were, Bitting on 

 their haunches with lolling tongues and panting side-,' then.' 

 terrible eyes glistening in the moonlight fastened ,,n inl- 

 and with what a relish the scoundrels' licked their chops, 

 exposing their white tusks in anticipation of the feast before 

 them. But they were cowards and no mistake-, as long as I 

 faced them they were afraid to attack. I never before so 

 realized the effect of the human eye on a beast. Had there 

 been more of them 1 am sure 1 hud not been here now to 

 tell this tale. There were less than a do/.en, and not enough 

 lo thoroughly surround my fort. Now and then two Or 

 three would make a spring up the side when my eyes were 

 turned, but as I would wheel around, shake my slick at 

 them and yell with all my might, ihev would slide down 

 tumbling over each other to The bottom again. This iii.-Ji 

 lobe repealed over and over again all that lornr Winter 

 night. Now 1 believe 1 have a tolerable good ear for music 

 and was at one time quite a devoted disciple of Terpsii bore, 

 but the tones that night, though thrilling enough without 

 doubt, seemed harsh and discordant, and the jig] danced 

 then and there was loo imperative and prolonged to have 

 a repetition desired under the circumstances. The moon 

 rolled along in the heavens and passed dow u lo rest. The 

 wintry air grew colder and colder, but my audience main- 

 tained their ground; in fact they became if anything more 

 enthusiastic and demonstrative, and as it grew darker to- 

 wards morning, 1 feared that I should have to give up and 

 roll Off thai mound, even if they did not succeed in pulling 

 me down. How I (lid hate them. Oh lor my faithful old 

 double barrel-, with what superlative joy I would have 

 poured a broadside inlo those bloodthirsty demons. One 

 especialy 1 remember well, he was much larger than Hie 

 others (perhaps of a different breed), of a dirty yellowish 

 color and a very devil incarnate in appearance; a ragged, 

 gaunt, long legged fellow, the bab rough ami banging 



down ill lumps Ii bis sides through which the loiin ot 



the ribs could be -..-.n; his eyes were red and bloodshot, 

 his righl ear was gone, probably been bitten off in sou,..: 

 previous encounter, and he was lame in bis Off hind loot,' 

 perhaps bad lost some Iocs in a trap. He was the hi-»e-l 

 coward Ol th6 lOt, llfi just Sat OU bis haunches and licked 



his chops, protruding those gli-icning fanes as he snarled 



at the Otbel* when they came loo near him, probahly SCOid- 

 lliein for not bringing me down to him al once. 'U hai a 

 long night I hat was. Would morning never come- Hut 

 it did come ai lasl, ami as the first streaks oi li«lu cicpi up 

 in ihe Bast one ol lb. ■ beauties with bis lail between Ins 



legb.and a sidelong look, shink off into the n Is, Then 



another followed, then another. The old devil was the 



l.-.-l to leave, and as lie limped off he looked back a! me 

 with IhOse glOwing red eyes, and -eeincd to say, in his bal 

 lied rage, I'll lei you go Uiis time, bui we'll mcci again. 1 

 thought to myself if we do. you old scoundrel, 1 hope to be 

 belter prepared to entertain company, and a closer acquaint- 

 ance. 1 wailed some tune after the hist one had disap- 

 peared in i lie woods and it was quite light, and ilnu 

 Stiff and sore, wi.li feeble steps 1 pursued my way lo the 

 Point, where I airiv.it during the forenoon and told my 

 story. "Wall," said an old hunter, "Un snow haini bin 

 deep enul, anil we hainl had no crust yil, the.\ hamt bin 

 abul to uil many deer; guess they wcr kinder hungry, 

 though tftinl ol'n lhe\ lolly a man SO; did'llt mil heve 

 nolhiii bonl ye ter draw I hem on? No fre.-h bloo.l bout 



\ .-i shoe pack-?" Whew! that confounded stinking assafov 

 iida;and I told then, about it. Well bow they did laugh 

 al me. That was it, they said nu.ionbie.ilx . Ye.-, I had 

 1 1 nil the experiment and it was a auccefcs, emphatically, 



On my way back I diii'ni have any ot lie- odorous gum 

 with me, no sir, And though 1 have tried the thing several 

 times since, always carrying my gun with me when away 

 from camp, 1 have never met. wiih bk. -uec. — in towing 

 the varmints in, 1 have h to others lo judge from ihe 

 above true statement of agenuinc .. \;.cn. nee whether it 

 Was ihe assafcetida that night thai put me in such peril of 

 my life. Jacohstu i 

 ■*♦*■ ■ 



SorSontl unit Mmim. 

 THE BEAVER RIVER COUNTRY, N. Y. 



LAST Summer, from the Dili of July to the StJI.ll of 

 August, 1 made, wiih my family, my headquarters at. 

 Kenton A' llilbiian's. No. -1, Lewi.-: county, This anuler'.s 



home accommodates fifty people, n is pleasantly situated 



on a pla.cau surrounded at lii>t by valleys, and h. vond by, 



long ranges of mountains, which are seen stretching their 

 outlines in the di-tanc.-, at from twelve to twenty miles to 



the lb, cast, and south Half a mile lo the north is 



Heaver Lake, which is a mile and a quarter long, abonl one 

 third Of a mil. -wide and forty feel "c.-pin its deepest part ; 

 and through which the Beaver Kive-r flows, Su&daj Creek, 

 Slough Brook and Alder Creek, all good l.ioul streams, 

 empty their pure waters into the lake or river near by. 

 Eagle falls ttweiity feet perpendicular), two and a naif 



miles below the lakes and ihe intermediate falls and rapids, 



ureas picturesque anfl beautiful spots as the wilderness 

 affords. Op the river to the Stillwater, twelve miles by the 

 willdihgS of Ihe stream; there are nineteen distinct falls 

 and rapids; some of the larger falls being from thirty to 

 forty feet in height. 'Ibis part of the river can ue de- 

 scended in a boat, with a skilful guide, by carrying around 

 Ihe heavy falls and lower rapids about 4 mile. One and a 

 half miles to Ibe south of Fentoirs by load and trail is 

 Francis' Lake, a pleasant sheet of water one and a hull 

 miles long, more noted for deer Ihan for trout The house 

 is eighteen miles from the Ulica and Black River Railroad. 



