Maeoh 17, 1881.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



127 



A Winter Resident in Pennsylvania — Willianisport, 

 Pa., March 1. — There are numerous notes from correspond- 

 ents in FoEBBT and Stream referring to various kinds of 

 birds beii g seen at unseasonable times, but I have observed 

 One migratory bird -which has surprised me more than any of 

 them — namely, a song sparrow (M. melodia)— which has kept 

 around our place all winter. Only this morning, aftera snow 

 storm lasting twenty-four hours and with twenty inches of 

 snow on the ground, the little fellow (it is a male) perched on 

 a vine before my door and chirped his little song ; but, alas ! 

 in melancholy contrast, with his cheery notes in the spring 

 time. My nephew has been feeding the birds all winter and 

 little M. melodia has come regularly for his rations with the 

 European sparrows and snowbirds. The bird has a rather 

 dilapidated appearance, but I presume a new spring suit and 

 a couple of weeks of warm sunshine will remedy that.— 

 Ltoomino. 



Spring rs Minnesota— Burnhamville, Minn., March 1 — 

 " Spring, beautiful Spring " has come, but it isn't the time of 

 the singing of birds, neither is the voice of the turtle heard 

 in the land. The snow is fully three and a half feet deep on 

 alevel, and thismorning the thermometer indicated 27 degrees 

 below zero. _ It. is reported that a coon was seen a few miles 

 from here this morning walking about on snowshoes, and it 

 is feared that all hiber, ating animals of this latitude will 

 adopt the same means of locomotion and go South.— J. P. L. 



Breeding of the Hoened Own — A couple of friends of 

 mine collected a set of four great horned owl's eggs near 

 Boston Mass., yesterday (March 10).— E. M. 



Animal* Received at Central Park Menaoerie fob Week 

 Ejsdejq March 12 — One brown capuchin, Debus fcrtuettus, pre- 

 sented by Mr. A. E. Smith; one horned ov.i, Buhn virginianus, pre- 

 sented by Dr. E. Edaon, Whiteplaius, N- Y. ; one pure white opos- 

 sum, jjedelph>js Virginia, presented by Mr. E. E. Stewart; one 

 mona monkey, OercopWtecw mono.; ono spider monkey, Aleles 

 geoffrogi ; one Salle's anmzon, Chrysalis xnii.irl, purchased ; two 

 giraffes, Camelopardalig giroffq, placed on exhibition. 



W. A. Cohkun, Director. 



f<m\e §*ag a 



nd 



mn. 



IN EAST TENNESSEE. 



EARLY in the month, one bright October morning, and 

 before the unpleasantness that once existed between the 

 North and South, the writer of this with three friends, all 

 tuouuted on mettlesome steeds, might have been seen at a 

 brisk trot on what was called the Bottom Road that ran along 

 the right bank of the upper Tennessee River. Our objective 



point was B . The road was very crooked, had probably 



been "blazed" by a pioneer full of new corn whiskey, or, 

 more probably, an original cow path. At times it led us near 

 enough to the stream to afford the eye a momentary feast 

 upon the glinting, silvery water through a many.colored cur- 

 tain of autumn leaves, then, turning' abruptly again, would 

 plunge us into a lofty growth of oaks and hickory with beech 

 gums and alder, the dense foliage of which tempered the 

 bright sunshine of the morning almost to the gray of an even- 

 ing twilight. 



Meeting an ancient, specimen of the colored race and inquir- 

 ing the distance to B- he imparted the definite opinion 



that he having "leP dar afo' sunup, it must be free or fo' 

 mile." It was now nearly nine o'clock and we had been in 

 our saddles since five o'clock. On we went, however, and in 

 half an hour or so, coming suddenly upon a low, tumble- 

 down fence that marked the extreme boundary of a field of 

 tall corn, and the sight of a group of stick-and-lath chimneys 

 and low, shingle roofs in the distance, announced to us that 

 B lay just ahead. 



As we galloped through the village little towheaded urchins 

 peeped at us from behind house corners and coy maidens in 

 calico dresses, sallow faces and flax-colored hair timidly ap- 

 peared at windows to catch a glimpse, of the disturbers of 



their usual quiet life. B had been "finished" many 



years before our ad vent into it. It consisted of twenty-five or 

 thirty hewn log houses, innocent of paint or whitewash— each 

 flanked- by tall weeds and an occasional sun flower— strung 

 carelessly along the road, the lofty Cumberland Mountains in 

 the rear and in front the crystal waters of the Upper Tennes- 

 see and hoary headed hills. 



Fronting the river and standing sideways upon a road that 

 led back toward the mountains stood the grocery — the most 



pretentious building in B , and teining up in front of it at 



the cheerful command of the proprietor (a tall, thin person- 

 age, in all the glory of a brand-new broad-brimmed hat and 

 shirtsleeves, leaning carelessly against the door-jam), "Git 

 deown, gentlemen," we dismounted to reBt the seats of our 

 trousers and await the arrival of the team that was following 

 us. 



The " grocery " combined within its dingy portals a care- 

 less selection of cheap dry goods, groceries of the coarser 

 sort, numerous jars filled with highly colored stick candy, the 

 post office, and, arranged in a row like a file of soldiers at 

 a "dress parade," stood eight barrels with wooden faucets 

 near the h >wer heads, emitting an odor not exactly from 

 "Araby, the Blest," but more suggestive of a still-house. 

 Obeying the mandate that in rude letters on a broad board 

 securely nailed over the door, admonishing the wayfaring to 



SToP. AND. TREET, 

 we sampled the contents of a barrel, which, the landlord as- 

 sured us, was the best peach brandy made' in that county. 

 Mixed with wild honey it formed a verv deceptive and head- 

 achey compound. 



Sitting astride of a molasses barrel, resting his shoulders 

 against the counter and cracking the joints of his fingers, his 

 old slouch hat slightly pulled down so that the brim shaded 

 his left eye, sat a rotund individual dressed in linsey-woolsey 

 pants, tow-cloth vest and check shirt. His feet were shoe- 

 less and bare. Great bags under Ms eyes and a general 

 puffed and translucent appearance would indicate him to be 

 a thorough lover of "peach and honey" or some other vil- 

 lainous compound of alcoholic tendencies. This man the 

 landlord introduced to us thus : 



"Gentlemen, this is my naber and friend, CaptaiD Blum. 

 He is crippled bad ; he fit in the war and got winged in the 

 leg by one of Saintanny's bullits." 



" Captain Blum, we are glad to see you, and we honor all 

 old soldiers." 



"CaptaiD, will you join us ? " inquired the Colonel, with 

 a slight inclination of his head in the direction of the rank of 

 eight barrels, and the gallant Captain joined ! 



"Ven ve vos fitin' dem vellers in Mexigo, eef Sheneral 



Schott bin geef beech and honigk like dees war, den ve vere 

 cabdure dat ceety sooner as any Yangee speeks Shack Rober- 

 son." This compliment to the landlord's peach and honey 

 the Captain leisurely paid while he placed himself outside of 

 a bumper of the compound large enough to make the head of 

 the Hudson River ache for a month ! 



As the last drop disappeared down his capacious throat 

 his bleary eyes rolled in their sockets, and his great fat lower 

 lip also rolled from the left to the right corner of his mouth 

 something as soil leaves the mold-board of a plow! A good 

 careful look at Captain Blum was a temperance lecture ex- 

 celli g any of Gougb's in practical impressiveness. 



East Tennessee was, at the time of which we write — and 

 probably now is — a paradise for the hunter. The valleys 

 lying between the numerous spurs of the Cumberland Moun- 

 tains were sparsely inhabited and very fertile, and mast pro- 

 ducing trees grew most luxuriantly, affording a never failing 

 supply in a season for mast eating game of all kinds; 

 while frequent saline springs and grassy glades furnished at- 

 tractive haunts for deer. 



It was to one of these valleys that we were bound when we 

 left Colonel Brettle's hospitable home in North Alabama for 

 a week or ten days' hunt after game as was game. 



Our party consisted of Colonel Brettlc, our host, a genial 

 Southern gentleman and true sportsman. Mr. Adams, then 

 a member of the Bar, but now before the Highest Court. 

 (May he rest in peace.; Mr. Samuel Evans, an Englishman, 

 a crack shot, good singer, and chock full of hearty John Bull 

 growl ; but 



"He was a jolly good teltow 

 As nobody will deny," 

 Rube, the Colonel's "boy," capitd cook and good fiddler, 

 and full of fun as any darkey in the State of Alabama. Tom, 

 another of the < Lionel's "boys," general teamster and man of 

 all work ; and the humble writer of this truthful story. 



A pleasant chat of an hour with the doughty Captain Blum 

 and the proprietor of the grocery was interrupted by the dis- 

 tant rumble of an approaching wagon, the white cover of 

 which was seen undulating above the tall woods that gar- 

 nished the roadside, and we were soon joined by Rube and 

 Tom. Giving the mules a rest we prepared for" the tedious 

 portion of our journey, to wit, crossing the mountains. 



Bidding our new acquaintances good bye we mounted, 

 and taking the cross-road leading back toward the hill, the 

 sleepy little village of B- was soon lost to view. 



Gradually ascending a broken, rough, seldom traveled 

 stony road, apparently winding around the base of the moun- 

 tain, we entered the gorge. The way was dangerous besideB 

 being tedious. On either hand the mountains arose for prob- 

 ably a mile in height, covered sparsely with scrub oaks and 

 dwarf pines, with numerous immense rocks jutting out their 

 bold bare heads, as if threatening to tumble down upon any 

 intruder upon their desolation. 



The five weary miles 'hrough the gorge were, covered, un- 

 cheered by the sight of any living thing except the skipping 

 of an occasional" squirrel as he, frightened, fled from our 

 presence through the tree tops. 



At length a point was reached where the mountainsappeared 

 to recede and suddenly widen, opening to our view a cup- 

 shaped valley many feet below us, penned in, as it were, by 

 lofty hills This valley was probably four miles in diameter, 

 anda careful examination revealing no smoke ascending above 

 the tree tops, we confidently expected, therefore, to go upon 

 ground rarely visited by Nimrods. 



The pleasant, prospect before us infused new life into our 

 already jaded animals, and the declining road soon brought us 

 to the base of the mountain, along which prattled a lively 

 little stream of water, cold as ice and clear as crystal ; man 

 and horse were soon refreshed. Now leaving the almost 

 trackless road, and crossing the stream we turned to the left 

 through a glade covered ith soft hickories and oaks. Here 

 we halted on a gentle knoll shaded by an immense white oak 

 tree convenient to the stream. 



Tired as we all were we were ready to shout Eureka! with 

 hearty good will. 



Our wagon bad been packed with considerable care and 

 contained besides many minor matters which "come in" 

 just right when they are wanted, such as matches, condi- 

 ments, axes, extra ropes or strong twine, etc., a goodly sup- 

 ply of clean straw for beds, blankets, Horn-, smoked bacon, 

 potatoes and apples, besides which a good sized box con- 

 taining dried unmanufactured tobacco and a number of Vir- 

 ginia clay-head pipes were placed with the other things with 

 the possible hope that some one in the party would feel like 

 taking a comfortable smoke, and the boxes containing our 

 rifles, ammunition and gunning clothes. 



The broad wagon body was to be used as a bed room and 

 the "boys" were to sleep under the wagon. 



Selecting the spot, for our camp Rube and Jim were not 

 long in getting a substantial lunch ready for the tired party. 

 A suitable corral for the animals was constructed, and at a 

 very early hour all turned in and were soon in the embrace 

 of "tired nature's sweet restorer." Long before the morn- 

 ing sun appeared above the hill-tops to the east of us we were 

 awakened by the sharp, ringing crack of a rifle. 



Our first thought, upon hearing this soimd was that we 

 wera encamped near other hunters, but that fear vanished 

 with the immediate appearance of Rube holding by the legs 

 a full-grown, young wild turkey that had paid tribute to the 

 accurate aim of the "boy." 



"Oh my I Mass John, you should a seen dat gang (flock)— 

 more 'n fifty ob em — One ole chap wid a goat, longer dan dat 

 off mule's tail," said Rube, exultingly lifting his prize and 

 smiling all over the country. 



"Where did you find them, Rube?" inquired the Colonel. 



" Fo de day break I hearn a tweet-tweet along up de branch 

 (little stream), an' I says to myself , 'Rube, dem's turkeys ;' so 

 I takes yer rifle, Mass John, and fotch dis fella back wid me. 

 I foun' dem under dem buches rite oberdar, " pointing his fin- 

 ger in a direction northward from us. 



" How will you hab imcookt, Mass John?" inquired Rube. 



"Suit yourself," said the Colonel, well knowing Rube's skill 

 in the culinary art. 



Unpacking our rifles, abluting in the rivulet and donning 

 hunting clothes consumed time, and welcomely Rube, in 

 pleasant tones, announced, " Gemmen, de breakfas' am wait- 

 ing." 



Our breakfast, as prepared by Rube, consisted of bread and 

 butter, potatoes baked under hot ashes, tie young wild tur- 

 key nicely cut up, the pieces broiled over live hickory wood 

 coals, and tin cups of fine aromatic coffee. This breakfast, 

 for appetites whetted by the shaking of a thirty-mile horse- 

 back ride of the day before, was not hard to take. 



He who has never eaten of broiled wild young turkey in 

 the crisp air of east Tennessee has in store for himself a 

 toothsome relish that the gods might envy and before which 

 all the fine " fancies " conceived by the brains otparUzsovJ 

 cooks pale in utter insignificance. 



Even now, retrospecting a time longer than I care to men- 

 on, as memory brings up the superb satisfaction of that 

 mountain meal, the salivary g'ands exude copiously, and all 

 subsequent repasts compared with it are as the sound of the 

 twanging of a guitar to the trumpet tones of a great 

 organ 1 



Oh! ye of poor digestion and nerveless muscles, 'whose 

 very brains ache at the thought of food, whose lung cells are 

 clogged with the impalpable dust of your offices, bio yc 

 thitherward, and on the mountain top or in the dee]) valley 

 inhale for a month the health-giving ozone of that lovely 

 country, eat game and kill the game you eat, and my word 

 for it you will come back with a. new lease upon life and 

 stomachs that an average saw-mill would be. ashamed of ! 

 Try it, I make no charge for the prescription. The result of 

 our first day's shoot was one deer and a small brown bear. 

 The deer was cleverly knocked off its legs by Mr. Evans, and 

 Bruin gave up to a combined fusillade from all hands on 

 horseback, he having tried the experiment of climbing partly 

 up a gum tree to escape. 



The second day our hunt was more systematic and with 

 better results, the first day being spent more for the purpose 

 of ascertaining certain facts as to haunts, etc., etc. 



A careful examination of the valley we were in showed it 

 to be about five miles in diameter. We found evidences of 

 abundance of large game, and ourselves the only gunners 

 there. 



Learning this definitely we were free to lay such plans as 

 suited ourselves and to take matters coolly as possible, under 

 no restraint or danger ofclashing with others' interests. The 

 valley was practically ours and all that was in it, if we wanted 

 all that was there. 



The next day wa3 devoted to a still-hunt for deer. Stands 

 were taken by each one of us before daylight, and the fruit of 

 the work was six deer — a buck and a doe falling to each of 

 the rifles of Colonel Brettle and Mr. Adams, and a doc each 

 to myself and Mr. Evans. 



The deer were skinned and the saddles and antlers hung 

 up near camp. Rube's "gang" of wild turkeys were all 

 trailed, and, by careful manipulation, "turkey broiled over 

 hickory coals " was with us a common article of food : for 

 "dat gang" lost numerous members — the "olefeller" among 

 them. That fell to the keen aim of Mr. Adams and the Colo- 

 Bel. The grand climax of our hunt was a day devoted to 

 bear hunting, and resulted in the destruction of three animals. 

 Stealthily crawling to within rifle-shot upon one that appeared 

 to be entirely absorbed iu crunching delicious beech nuts, and 

 forgetting for the time that there was a state other than the 

 living, Mr. Bruin slood with his short tail exactly toward me 

 and his nose in a direct line away. A deadly aim, with my 

 rifle resting upon the root of an upturned tree, the report of 

 the piece was answered by a short grunt of pain and bruin 

 fell in his tracks. Examination showed that the bullet, en- 

 tering the body an inch below the vent, passed through, 

 riddling the intestines, tlrrough the heart and emerged at the 

 junction of the neck to the shoulders — not a bonewas touched. o 

 That bear was killed instantly — was nearly turned inside out! y 

 Mr. Evans also gothis "work in" on a half-grown cub, as also 

 did Mr. Adams with a larger one. Days wore spent one after 

 the other, each one yielding tribute to our rifles. Two days 

 of storm and mist kept us under shelter of the wagon cover. 

 Rnbe, while not engaged in his specialty of getting up some- 

 thing good for us to eat (and he kept us stall fed), was also 

 on the' alert for game. Mornings, long before svo were awake, 

 Rube would steal away for a quiet little hunt on his own 

 private account. 



One day at dinner he said : " Massa John, dars a Ifck ober 

 yander, 'bout two mile, an' dis mornin' I seed an ole buck 

 leaviu' dar wid a head on him 'bout five feet. Yon jess bet 

 he's a honey !" (Rube's " head " referred to the antlers.) 



The Colonel, led by Rube, went to the lick that afternoon, 

 and coming hack, reported that he thought we could bag that 

 buck if his instructions were carefully executed. 



From Rube's description it was evident that the buck was 

 an old one and as cunning as they usually get when they aTe 

 old. We must "lay for him" on the windward side or he - 

 would never come within rifle range, and his visits to the lick 

 were either in the night or just at daybreak. We were fa- 

 vored by the wind the next evening, and, stationing ourselves 

 at selected points, awaited in breathless silence the approach 

 of the deer. Just as daylight streaked the crests of the east- 

 ern hills the sharp ring of a rifle, a little distance down the 

 valley, announced that one of our party had seen game, but it 

 was yet too dark for accurate aim and the shot would at hest 

 be uucertain. 



"I Bay, Colonel! There he goes, hup that way," shouted 

 Mr. Evans, as he rushed toward us. " 'Ees 'it, though, I'll 

 wager a sovereign." 



We decided to wait until it was light enough to see clearly 

 before we gave chase. 



Rube went back to camp, and long before he returned, 

 bringing the horses with him, the sun wa3 shining brightly 

 and "the trail of the deer could easily be followed' over the 

 dewy grass. Going at a lively canter across the valley on the 

 trail to the foot of the opposite hills our chase was brought 

 to a sudden slop by a precipitous bluff, and there he stood at 

 bay — a splendid buck of large proportions, and by his de- 

 meanor determined to sell his life at the highest possible. 

 figure. We approached as near as was prudent, when two 

 simultaneous reports were instantly followed by the dropping 

 of the head of the deer, the body falling heavily to the ground 

 immediately. 



To kill a deer his brain must first be killed ; so long as his 

 brain is intact he will run or crawl or show fight. A bullet 

 through his heart is death, but not always instantaneous. Of 

 course, he will bleed to death ; but it is well established that 

 a deer with a hullet hole through the heart has run a long 

 distance before he dropped. Severing the spinal cord, where- 

 by the hind quarters lose their nerve force, only paralyzes a 

 portion of the animal, and he will do his best to drag himself 

 away by his forelegs. And won't he "light out "on three 

 legs ! Try him, and see. To polish off a deer the shot must 

 be a deadly one. None, of your footy flesh cuts will do more 

 than to put new vigor into his already overcharged nervous 

 system and render your chase a stern one. A quick shot 

 while stalking stands about the best chance to bring a deer to 

 bag; for a deer running before dogs has his mind intent on 

 the danger that is following, and will, if not too faraway, 

 throw his head high as be halts at the sudden yell of the 

 hunter, thus exposing his most vital parts to aim. But, the 

 great secret about killing deer is to be cool as a cucumber, and 

 if you miss your shot dou't cuss and cavort around like one 

 wild with nonsense of the put-on-mad sort, hut "pick the 

 flint and try it again." You will bag him after awhile, and 

 then you may carry your rifle as you please — muzzle front if 

 you like. 



Taking our deer across one of the horses we went to camp. 

 On the way Mr. Adama had a return of bleeding from his 



