242 



F0RES1 AND STREAM. 



San Francisco, is deprived of any but, land communication 

 with Hie rest of the Empire, for a similar period. This 

 climatic difference of course affect the fauna of each 

 country, and opens an extended field for the investigations 

 of the naturalist and scientist. I met uo one at the Amoor 

 who had given attention to these subjects, and such a thing 

 as a "fly," or even a fisherman, was unknown. Our fish- 

 ing was done entirely with nets. Every evening a barge, 

 filled willi Russian soldiers and an immense^se'ine, would 

 cross the river to the Southern bank, and manning our 

 boat we would put off from the schooner and join them. 

 Neat an encampment of Gillak huts was a piece of smooth 

 sunfiy beach, where one of the ropes would be landed and 

 the barge acain pushed off to surround the necessary space 

 of water. It seemed only necessary to drop the net and 

 haul it in to make an almost miraculous draught of fishes. 

 The aboriginees would gather around for a share of the 

 spoils, and their wolfish looking dogs fairly jumped into 

 the water for the fish. The G-lllaks, Tcmgoo's ana Goldees, 

 who have quietly submitted to the Russian yoke, find In 

 this bountiful supply their almost only means of Subsist- 

 ence. The Winter's supply is caught and cured in the sun 

 during the Summer mouths, and the few furs of a saleable 

 quality, Which they trap, are traded for tobacco and vodky. 

 A more degraded race do not exist in the scale of civiliza- 

 tion, and they are in strong contrast to the Manchoor 

 Tartars, who have been ousted by the Russians. A few of 

 these latter came into Niekolaefsk with strings of sable 

 skins for sale. They were tall, fine-looking fellows, neatly 

 dressed, and with intelligent faces; but, alas I vodky was 

 their enemy also, and the skins were all bartered for 

 spirits. 



The high expectations as to commercial results, which 

 were to follow the opening of the Amoor, do not appear, 

 as yet, to have been realized; but while it is true that the 

 agricultural development of the magnificent country the 

 Russians have so recently acquired will be retarded by the 

 extreme severity of the climate, they yet possess inexhaus- 

 tible mines of wealth in the timber and fisheries. With the 

 rapid settlement of California an impetus has been given 

 to the latter industry, which is sending our hardy fisher- 

 man, not only to the shores of Alaska, but to the almost 

 unexplored cruising grounds of the far Northwest, and as 

 the demand for whale oil gradually but surely decreases, 

 many of the former pursuers of the leviathan arc turning 

 their attention to a smaller but more profitable "fry." 

 China affords an almost unlimited market for lumber, and 

 the Russians, if their Government will permit; of it, can 

 compete successfully with the dealers of Paget Sound. 

 The Summer that we were on the Amoor a German vessel 

 sailed with a cargo of ice, a portion of which I assisted, 

 later in the season, in consuming at Shanghai. But I fancy 

 that in the eyes of the Czar whatever advantages, either 

 commercial or agricultural, the Siberian country may 

 possess, are but secondary considerations compared with 

 its strategical importance in the event of a war between his 

 own and either a European or the Chinese governments. 

 With fine foundries, as there are now at Nickolefsk, and a 

 base of supplies; with telegraphic communication direct 

 ■with St. Petersburg, they enjoy advantages superior to any 

 nation trading with the East. It is remarkable the facility 

 with which al'l this country was acquired. As early as 1722 

 numerous B»ttWm*nt» of Cossacka had been formed along 

 the banks of the middle and upper Amoor, but were driven 

 away by the Chinese. In 1854, one hundred and thirty-two 

 years afterwards, the descendants of these same Cossacks 

 quietly took possession of the great river from its com- 

 mencement to its mouth, and all in a space of six weeks, 

 ■without molestation; adding nearly half of Mautchuria to 

 the Russian crown, and placing the Chinese Empire at their 

 mercy should it ever become necessary or politic to pursue 

 an aggressive course. As a place of residence, Niekolaefsk 

 did not strike mc as being as desirable as more genial por- 

 tions of uur little world, nor did the offered inducements 

 of bear hunts, sledge rides, or unlimited fishing, appear 

 sufficiently tempting to persuade me to abaudon the little 

 "A Nat" for an undetermined stay on shore. The Russian 

 officers were most courteous and hospitable, and if they do 

 have a predilection for lansquenet and champagne, who 

 can wonder at it, considering their isolated position. It 

 "was With mingled feelings of pleasure and regret that wo 

 said the last adieus, and' with the little schooner, now in 

 ballast trim, pointed down the river, drifted away from 

 these wild shores. Reaching the sand bars, at the mouth, 

 we found them covered with flocks of the great China 

 goose, 'hey had apparently come there for the purposeof 

 moulting, and being unable "to By, the Gillaks were chasing 

 them about and catching them alive. Some of the canoes 

 coming off to us, we bought a number of the geese, and 

 throwing tliem on the ballast, where they had tud run of 

 the hold, and feeding them on paddy, or uuhulled rice, they 

 Were soon in fine condition for the table. 



Our run down the Tartar Gulf was without incident, of 

 note, and entering the Straits of Sangar, between the 

 islands of Xiphou and Yesso, we once more anchored in 

 the lovely harbor of Hakodadi. 



Wm. M. Tilestox. 

 . New York, October, 1874. 



<■> _ 



For Fonsi and Stream. 



A DAY'S DUCK SHOOTING. 



I SEND you particulars of a day's shooting I had last 

 week, which may, perhaps, interest some of your 

 readers. I was shooting on Lake St. Francis, and had ar- 

 rived at camp on afternoon of Tuesday, the 10th instant. 

 On at rival I at once started with Baptiste to look for the 

 feeding ground of a flock of divers; alter spending a couple 

 of hours in a vain search, Baptiste, who has eyes like a 

 hawk, declared he saw a large flock on the other side of 

 the channel, about a mile and a halt" distant. I laughed at 

 him and could see nothing; he was most positive that, he 

 saw the birds moving their wings in the sun. To make 

 mite lie climbed a tall tree, and as soon as he got down, he 

 at onee proposed to cross to the other side and build a 

 blind lot the morning's shooting. Of course I agreed, and 

 we found on crossing that he "had been right, and that a 

 flock of from six to eight hundred ducks were feeding in a 

 bay which, luckily, had a thick border of reeds. We at 

 once put the decoys out and backed my canoe into the 

 reeds, and wont on then to borrow another canoe and cut 

 bianeh.es to make a good blind. While he was at work 

 making a blind I managed to pickup some nineteen ducks. 

 As it was then late in the day. and w r e were far from camp, 

 we slopped shooting and paddled back to the shanty, reel- 

 ing pretty confident that we were in for a good day on the 



morrow ' 



At half past four on Wednesday morning the tea-pot 

 was boiling, and after a hasty breakfast Baptiste and I 

 started. It was a few minutes after six when we got down 

 to our blind, and at seventeen minutes to seven I fired my 

 first shot; at. two minutes to seven I had twenty-four blue 

 bills picked up. They were coming in small flocks of four 

 or live, sometimes two or three, and were liirlitine- freely 

 with the decoys. I had two breech loaders', one' ten and 

 one twelve bore, and as luck Would have it. 1 was snooting 

 very steadily, getting almost all the birds thai came im 

 For example, when a flock of fine ducks came in, I got two 

 with my first barrel on the water and three with ray left as 

 they went. I had rr.ro sport up to nine o'clock, "when it 

 came on to rain and then heavy hail. I stood out the storm 

 for some time,but, at last thought discretion the better part 

 of valor, and went ashore to get warmed and to dry my 

 guns. While on shore the ducks literally piled into my 

 decoys and I was chafing at the chances I was miss- 

 ing. At eleven I went out again, and now ill-luck com- 

 menced; eight times in succession did a single bird pass 

 quietly over the decoys and get missed clean with both 

 barrels. It w T as annoying, so I had to take a big dose of 

 milk punch and smoke my pipe most philosophically till T 

 got steady again, I soon'got to work, and by three o'clock 

 had bagged, in spite of the storm and spell of wretched 

 shooting sixty-four clucks. The wind had now risen so 

 much that it became a question whether my canoe could 

 live crossing the lake, and Baptiste and 1 ('nought it better 

 to stop shooting and cross by daylight, as the waves were 

 too high to be risked in the dark. We got back to camp 

 about six o'clock, pretty tired, very cold, and hungry 

 enough to eat double rations. At camp we found that the 

 storm had been so bad that none of our other three canoes 

 had ventured out, and that ours were the only ducks brought 

 in. I might, had I chosen to have remained till dark in 

 my blind, have easily killed one hundred ducks to my own 

 gun. Even had I shot reasonably well all day, 1 ought to 

 have had tit least eighty when we left at three o'clock." Th is 

 is a genuine day's shooting, and I enclose my card as a 

 guarantee of its veracity. I was paddled by the celebrated 

 Baptiste Bibean, a lord whom I took up with me. He did 

 not shoot, except at cripples, but picked up the dead as 

 they were shot. 



P. S. — I would like to know if any of your readers have 

 beaten the score of twenty-five ducks in fifteen minutes, not 

 getting more than three to any one barrel, this season. My 

 chum and self returned on the 10th with 280 ducks. 



Yours truly, Royal. 



Montreal, November 18, 1874. 



j For Forest and stream. 



A DEER HUNT IN THE ADIRONDACKS. 



AFTER dinner R. and R., with their guides, went 

 fishing, leaving old Johu Plttmbly (yes, Murray's 

 John), Jack, a houud, and yours truly to keep camp. 

 "Them fellow won't get back to night, suppose we go and 

 get. a buck," suggested John. I had not yet killed a deer, 

 so my answer came quickly — "All right, where shall we go?" 

 "Well, we'll go over to Betna ponds, and take a little "bait," 

 and ii couple of blankets with us, so that if we don't see 

 one afore dark, we can stay ail night ana trythe ■.lack" on 

 them." 



We were quickly ready, and leaving poor Jack to 

 keep camp, started for Betna, which we reached In- 

 going down the lake a couple of miles, and then striking 

 across a mile "cany," which at best has a poor reputation 

 with the guides. 



Those of you who know What they call a first class 

 "carry," and take into consideration that a short time be- 

 fore we had the heaviest wind stprm known in that sec- 

 tion for years, can, 1 think, sympathise with me, as with a 

 pack basket containing the "bait" and blankets on my 

 back, a rifle and double barrel shot gun, (which I never 

 used) on one shoulder; the puddle and "jack" on the other; 

 my pockets full of cartridges; no to? 1 on my face, (our stock 

 was low, and we were trying to economise, and may the 



d 1 take such economy) ,1 trudged along, beset at every 



step by several million insects, of various sizes and capaci- 

 ties, ail the way from the inidge, that will crawl up your 

 breeches, down your back, and under your hat, tapping 

 you where it sees"fit; to the moose fiy, who will bite through 

 wherever he chances to light, whether it be on your flannel 

 shirt, or buck skin moccasins. 



1 said a mile "carry." Well, that is all right, but we 

 walked a very short distance indeed in that "curry." 



You think us foolish, perhaps, but it wasthusly: 



We would, at every 100 feet, find a large tree blown 

 down across the path". Now a tree that proposes to fall 

 across a "carry" generally arranges things so that it will be 

 just too high to climb over, and yet uncomfortably low to 

 crawl uuder with a boat or pack basket on your back; at 

 least so I concluded after a few trials, and went round the 

 balance of them. Consequently the foregoing "statement." 

 You perhaps have heard of the little stream, that, shortly 

 after starting in its downward course, came iu contact 

 with a huge bolder and concluded to go round rather than 

 over ic. While crossing this "carry" I often thought of 

 that little.stream, and admired it. 



After a'little short of an hour of this most excrutiating 

 pleasure, we reachedBet.ua ponds, which are both. small, 

 say a half mile in length by a quarter in width, and con- 

 nected by a stream one eighth of a mile long and scarcely 

 navigable to our cockle shell of a boat. 



John now took the aforesaid boat off his shoulders, and 

 placed it iu the water. We got in, and from five to seven 

 floated noiselessly around iu all the little bays and inlets, 

 hoping that some deer would come iu to drink. "Nary a" 

 deer." We had just landed, and were seated on a large 

 rock at the water's edge partaking of some flap jacks about 

 thirty-six inches in circumference, when I heard a slight 

 splash, and on looking across the pond saw what caused 

 an immediate suspension of hostilities towards the llnp 

 jacks. A big buck. He did not see us, and was quietly 

 leoditig on the lily pads. John and 1 got into our boat in 

 a very short space of period, Johu in the. stern armed with 

 a, paddle, 1 in the bow With a title. I think you could have 

 heard a whole paper of pins, (not to mention one) drop, 

 while John paddled toward that deer. When about 

 twenty rods from him our prize raised his head and saw 

 ns. For one instant he looked, and then 1 suppose would 

 have bounded up the bank, but a crack from my rifle, and 

 a ease of "shuffling off this mortal coil" prevented. 



1 said a ease of "shuffling off litis moral coil." Well, so 

 it was, but John's remark— "I'll begol darned if it didn't 



who was standing in about 



' : rose above the 



Hh a splash on his 



•epeateel again and again. I 



"le fell had John hinted at 



tl there, I should have been 



peer pretty doubtful one spell there, who would "shuffle," 

 you or that old bunk" — gives to an imaginative mind a very 

 correct, idea of what followed; but for the benefit of those 

 who, like, myself are not imaginative worth one cent, I 

 give it in detail. 



1st. When I shot, the deer, a 

 three feet of water, dropped. 

 water probably five feet, and can 

 broad side. This operation he. i 

 had fired at his head, and when 

 such a thing as tfry not hitting hi 



very indignant. This strange conduct on the part of the 

 buck, however, made me very uneasy. I began to suspect 

 he was not hit. iu the head, but rurely wounded some 

 where, and would perhaps get away. 



2d. I was possessed of a large hunting kni'fe which had 

 never been stained with blood, and my friends at home had 

 cruelly remarked to me before starting, possibly never 

 would be. 



3d. And lastly, but not leastly, it was my first deer. 



Now reader (gentle or otherwise) do you wonder, taking 

 into consideration, 1, 2, and 8, that as soon as I was in l he 

 vicinity of the deer, I jumped overboard, nearly capsizing 

 the boat, and made a blind attack on that buck. 



The result of that attack agaiu requires three subdivi- 

 sions. 



Round 1st. Was indisputably the deer's. I was kicked 

 a considerable distance further than I cared to bo. 



Round 2d. I came to the scratch promptly, and left in 

 like manner. The deer had. evidently been playing with 

 me before. We (the buck audi) were in the water about 

 eight feet from the bank, which was thickly lined with 

 bushes. Mr. Buck now placed his hind feet agains^ my 

 chest (or a little lower) and I found myself sticking up 

 head downmost in the bushes. I got out into the water 

 as quickly as possible, and changed ends. I had not looked 

 at John since leaving the boat. I now did. There he sat iu 

 the stern of that boat, drenched with water, and bespat- 

 tered with mud, yet apparently happy. He was laughing. 

 At that moment there was not a doubt in my mind but that 

 he would have laughed had it been a funeral, lie did 

 not open his mouth (save to emit peal after peal of hearty 

 Adirondack laughter), so I again turned my attention to the 

 buck. 



Round 3d. After considerable sparring, in which I did 

 not come out first best, I managed to get a firm hold of 

 one of the horns of my antagonist, and in a second I had 

 disappointed my friends at home. My knife was bloody. 

 I had killed a deer. 



I then felt as I imagine a great conqueror must; in fact 

 I thought myself one, yet I was aware that there was noth- 

 ing in my personal appearance which would lead an unpre- 

 judiced person to any such belief. My hat was gone. Iu 

 round number two the buck had put, one of his hind feel, 

 in at the opening in my hunting shirt, and the principal 

 visible part of that was gone. My clothing that had re- 

 mained by me, was soaked with blood and water, and 

 my whole person besmeared with mud. 



Again I looked at John. This time he gave me an ap- 

 proving nod, and said, "welL done for a youngster." 



We then examined the buck, and found" that the bullet 

 had entered one car and passed out at the other. From 

 the time lie was shot till I cut his throat, was eight or ten 

 minutes] and during the whole of that time He Kiofeod rnul 

 splashed with a strength quite wonderful. 



We got him into the boat, John pronouncing him to 

 weigh from 225 to 250 pounds, and started for the other 

 pond, as it was the one into which the "carry" led. We 

 had difficulty in getting through the shallow stream which 

 connects the two"pond», when we had no freight; and now 

 with 250 pounds of buck aboard, we just had to get out 

 and wade, towing the boat after us. 



On reaching the place of embarkation and "skinning 

 out" our deer, keeping only the saddle and tenderloin, it 

 was too dark to think of crossing that "carry"; so we built 

 a tire, finished the flap jacks we'were struggling with when 

 the buck interrupted us, and turning our boat bottom side 

 up, crawled under and slept. F. H. W. 



Little Tappers Lake, Hamilton, Co., N. T., Nov. 1874, 



"TO FLORIDA FOR ONE HUNDRED 

 DOLLARS." 



Editor Forest and Stream:— 



I have just been Teading Mr. Beverly's paper of "Three 

 Months in Florida for a Hundred Dollars." It is very in- 

 teresting. 1 think a hundred dollars would hardly be 

 enough for you, or me, to start upon a three months trip. 

 Having spent quite a number of winters South, and about 

 half a dozen in Florida, living in tents, bonds, boarding 

 houses, and steamboats, some of my experience's might in- 

 terest some of the many readers of your interesting journal, 

 the Forest and Stream. The first consideration to the 

 Winter vistitor to Florida, is the climate, which is delight- 

 ful. I do not think so agreeable a place can be found in the 

 United States. I am not so good a judge of the Winter 

 climate of California, having spent but one Winter there, 

 and think the climate of Florida much mote dry, five days 

 out of six, bright, and cloudless; three, four, ami rive weeks 

 at a time, clear and bright, and of most agreeable tempera- 

 ture, and even as far JN'orlh as Pilatka there are generally 

 but two or three nights in the whole Winter that ice is 

 found, Rain rarely' falls, and this is the great charm of 

 Winter climate, and enables the spoilsman to be comforta- 

 ble iu his tent, when in Georgia, Texas, or California, he 

 would wish himself in the hotel. I can confirm what has 

 been said iu your journal of the great abundance of fish 

 ami game. The w'hole eouot, East and West, swarms with 

 fish, and of a very fine quality; pompino, sheepshead, 

 grouper, red fish, king fish, Spanish mackerel, mullet, tur- 

 tle, and such oysters— lor flavor and size they beat auy 

 thing to he found North, The St. John River is also full 

 ol fish. Shad are plenty all Winter, and in the Upper parts 

 of the river black bass were so plenty as to often jump into 

 our boats, and eight to ten pounders are very common. 

 Game, except quail] is getting scarce about' the larger 

 i I,,.. Hi you have only to go into the country to find 

 abundance of deer and turkey. 



When I commenced I intended from my experience to 

 tell of a more pleasant way to spend Winters in Klorida 

 than Mr. Kev'erly's (provided you have money enough), and 

 without Costing Hear as much us to live at the hotels, have 

 a better table, and lots of fine spoil, and willed the most 

 comfortable and pleasant way a company of gentlemen can 

 spend Winters iu Florida. Let a half dozen good fellows 

 get up a light draft, stern wheel steamer, to draw about 



