FOREST AND STREAM. 
wearing, Tint rut) up to a perfect right angle, which is 
hounded on one side by the cross-section of strata which 
lately were horizontal, and on the other by the ground sur¬ 
face, now tilled, of the same. Those were the nearest ap¬ 
proach to the mesas, or isolated tables, which we saw in 
California. How the shell of the earth must have writhed 
in distortion in the days of these upheavals? At one point, 
we stood on a sharp summit from which the layers sloped 
in all directions, showing that here, yielding to some 
mighty pressure underneath, the crust, had swollen and 
broken in eruption, and remained piled around the mouth 
of this crater in great slabs, each a thousand feet thick, 
hooking around you, there could be seen iMsas sloping On 
all sides, eacii witli its own idiosyncrasy ol’ angle and direc¬ 
tion. And not only were the shapes grand, but 1,1m colors 
were vivid, and the transition from the black or red sand- 
stoue shore to the white was very abrupt. Such is the Held 
th^ inspires the water-color artist, and in this array of an¬ 
tagonistic colors, and in these earths of beautiful liues, held 
between tinted strata, vertical, Hal, and inclined, ismaterial 
tor a picture whose effect would be intense. 
The entire physical geography of this region is remarka¬ 
ble, seeming as if the internal fires were yet hut a short 
distauce under ground. In a neighboring low, bald range 
of hills there is, according to popular belief and report, a 
fissure from which constantly issues a current of heated 
air of sulphureous smell, too hot to he tolerated 
with the bare hand, and there are men living 
not many miles away, who are willing to make affidavit 
that on certain nights they have seen sheets of flame break 
forth from here as from the chimney of a furnace. Mak¬ 
ing all due allowance for the superstition of these worthy 
men and their tendency to see the devil in every phenome¬ 
non of physical geography, there is still reason to believe 
that, there is in this locality an escape of hot air or gas, 
which is not moist vapor, such as would arise from a hid¬ 
den spring of boiling water, but is dry and stifling like 
the breath of a volcano. For a whole day we sought this 
mysterious surface vein from our earth’s fiery heart, but, 
found it not, and so it is yet undemonstrated whether this 
is a physical fact or a popular myth. Very probably it is 
half of each, a little heavy science being embellished with 
a little light superstition, 
We traced a tepid branch of Cespe Creek to its source, 
and there it boiled up from the valley and down from the 
bluffs in a multitude of hot- springs, whose temperature 
was 195% and whose waters were strong with mineral sub¬ 
stances. Everywhere the red sediment of the chalybeate 
spring and the whitish coating of the sulphur stream are 
seen in the ledges and on the marsh, while the distasteful 
odor of the latter meets you from afar off. On the San 
Emigdio Creek an epidemic, more painful Ilian fatal, 
visited our camp. Its effects were peculiar, that, is, pecu¬ 
liar usually to small boys in the season of green apples and 
faded watermellons. People went about the camp in de¬ 
vout attitudes, with bowed heads like patriarchal Davids, 
with hands clasped across the bosom, or thereabouts, and 
crying, “Ob, my soul!” or words to that effect. These 
were the symptoms; let the doctors decide upon the malady, 
and also upon its cause, which the natives attribute to the 
arsenic which they say infests the springs which feed the 
San Emigdio Creek, but for which, previous to our analy¬ 
sis of the waters, out chemical savant blamed the leads of 
antimony which traverse the Ban Emigdio Mounlains, and 
which are washed by the subterranean channel of these 
springs. There we saw that thing so rare In our country's 
mineral wealth, an antimony mine, whose sulphuret is 
found in masses, shining with the color and sparkle of 
broken lead, but more brittle and of easier fracture than 
that. This vein is thirty feet wide, and has been pros¬ 
pected and claimed for two miles of its length, but it 
eanuol, be a source of sudden gain, for its product, when 
purified of its rock and other refuse matter, leaving the 
sulphuret alone, is worth but eighty dollars a ton in San 
Francisco, which city is a great distance from these fast¬ 
nesses. 
In the Ojai Valley., just over the hills from Cespe Creek, 
was more novelty. It was the “tar springs,” whose ebon 
products oozed forth and overflowed the read in a vicious 
coating, in which the hoofs of the traveler’s horse would 
stick, balling with an accumulation of the stuff, which 
would prove a source of stumbling to the beast and of 
vexation to the smith when lie should come to shoe him. 
In reality these “tar springs" were an outburst of asphal- 
lum which welled forth on either side of the valley for 
miles, and, in sheets of a stygian darkness, flowed with a 
motion slow and invisible, like that of a glacier, and cov¬ 
ered the road; hardened in the sun, became dusty from 
usage, and was as excellent an asphalt pavement as ever 
you saw in the city. At places it, leaked forth in streams 
along the side of the hill; at others it bubbled up ponds 
of heavy liquid, which must he fenced around, in order 
that the settler's cattle might not be swamped in it and die. 
At one of these, twenty feet in diameter and of depth un¬ 
known we stopped to observe, while our chemist was 
gathering a botUe of tbe product for analysis at home. 
Domestic reader, did you ever see a housewife making a 
kettle of mush? and did you ever notice the ebullition, 
clow and labored, which took place upon its surface? How • 
a bubble would heave upward gradually until, having be¬ 
come a diminutive hollow cone, charged with hot air, it 
would break at the apex and discharge Us contents with 
a noiseless burst and escape of steam? Just so with I lie 
cold ebullition upon the face of this black pool, only 
sometimes a jet of water was projected from the point of 
Hi is cone, whose shell fell backward in a crater or glisten 
ing blackness, which slowly subsided to the general level. 
As for its temperature, the exact degree of it will always 
remain a mystery, for our chemical gentleman, fearing that 
the beauty ot his thermometer would suffer defilement if 
it touched this pitch, inserted a finger instead, and with¬ 
drawing it as black as a Nubian’s, reported the warmth 
“ordinary," Even in the present unsettled state of the 
country enterprising man has begun to utilize these tarry 
products, uud at one of the largest springs had erected 
vats and other works for the collection and the clietaiicai 
processes necessary for the purification of the crude mate¬ 
rial But in an unfortunate conflagration these had been 
destroyed and not only the buildings aud (lie stores, which 
were lood’ for a flame which illumined the country for 
miles around, but also the dry chaparral ou the adjacent 
mountains for miles, and the springs themselves, which, 
after these many days, were still smouldering and smoking. 
Farther down the valley was a deserted artesian well, 
whose shafts had been sunk to penetrate a vein of petrole¬ 
um The machinery was still there, aud the vessel of un¬ 
refined oil. These also must surrender a vial of Uieir con¬ 
tents to the service of science. Once in the bottle the mix¬ 
ture began a voluntary process of self-purification, the wa¬ 
ter fell lo the bottom, and the less ponderous petroleum, 
with its impurities of paraffine, naphtha, and asplialtixm 
climbed to the top in a mass of inky blackness, overhang 
ing the crystalline water as a thunder cloud overhangs a 
pure atmosphere. On being shaken, tatters and streamers 
fell darkly down from the upper stratum, as shTeds draggle 
from a wind-driven cloud. It may not have been worth a 
second thought, but somehow I could not help considering 
it a very pretty Right, and a neat, illustration of the law of 
nature which tends to adjust ail bodies to their own prop¬ 
er level, and as such worth a place on the parlor table or 
in (lie physicist's laboratory Frank. Carpenter. 
The Wheeler Exploring Expedition, California, 1875. 
q Mu' Mirsst and Stream. 
HUNTING NEAR ENTERPRISE, FLOR¬ 
IDA. 
T nE morning of March 1st broke clear and beau tifu 
with the orange blossoms breathing their fragrance 
and the mocking-birds making the woods vocal witli their 
song. Tlie deep blue of the sky and the bracing air of the 
pine woods combined to render it. a day fit for Diana her¬ 
self to take the field. I had not yet killed a deer nor had 
a shot at one, and was desirous of showing the “Cracker’s” 
that I could keep cool and avoid the “buck ague," which 
they ail predicted I’d have; consequently I Teadily acceded 
to O'Steen's proposition that we should drive the “nine 
mile” hammock some four miles from his house. Sound¬ 
ing his horn for tlie dogs we shouldered our guns and 
started. We reached the “nine mile" after a brisk walk, 
and kept some distance along its edge without seeing any¬ 
thing, when all at once the yelping of old Lee as she dashed 
through the hushes, told us she had struck a trail, aud in a 
few minutes the oilier dogs took up the cry and we knew 
they had jumped a deer. Away they weut the sounds 
growing fainter and fainter in the distance, until almost in¬ 
audible, when suddenly we heard it more distinctly; the 
deer had turned and was coming back. We were within a 
hundred yards of a point in the hammock that makes out 
into the flat woods; on the other side of the point tlie dry 
grass was all ou Are, so the deer must either turn back or 
come out to us. Taking in the situation at a glance 
O’Blocn started full run for the point, while I remained 
where I was with my gun ready, forgetting entirely the 
“buck ague." Before O’Steen reached the point and 
while his back was still turned to me, 1 heard a crashing 
through the bushes and out dashed the deer, within twenty 
yards to my left. I raised the breech loader and fired, aDd 
with a tremendous somersault the noble creature fell dead; 
thirteen buckshot behind the shoulder. Witli a wild yell 
tbe old hunter rushed up to me and grasped my hand, and 
such a war dance as we executed then and there has not 
been witnessed since the days of “Billy Bowlegs." Having 
removed the entrails of the deer O’Bleen coolly slung it on 
his shoulder and we started home. On the road we were 
joined by one of his sons who relieved him Of his gun. 
We were within two miles of the house, when a wild 
turkey started out of a bunch of palmetto, and running a 
short distance rose in the air; when about twenty feet from 
the ground a load from the-breech loader “went for him" 
and he fell to rise no more. Another hand-shaking and 
war dance, this being my first, turkey. I estimated his 
weight at fifty pounUs before we arrived at the house, 
though he proved rather thin and only weighed sixteen by 
tbe scales, but they may have been wrong. I neglected to 
mention that I carried him myself some distance. I had a 
delightful sojourn of two months in Florida, spending 
most of the time with the “Crackers,” and think they have 
certainly been belied. 1 always had a clean bed to sleep in 
aud plenty to eat. Venison was a drug with us, turkeys by 
no means scarce, and I have proved to my satisfaction that 
a man can eat quail every day aud survive. Then the 
charm of wearing old clothes all the time and being able to 
start out into the field at a moment’s notice is very great. 
A friend of mine had his wile with him in Florida, conse¬ 
quently could not rough it as I did. He pitied my lonely 
condition very much when we first, arrived, but after kill¬ 
ing tlie deer above mentioned he came out to have a day 
with me in tlie woods and enjoyed it so much that ou 
leaving he said, “ S. you are having a fine time here, I’d 
like to stay with you, flrstrate, hut the devil of it is, I have 
my wife ‘with me.” In conclusion I would advise any of 
your readers who wish to have real sport, and don’t mind 
roughing it, to go to Enterprise, aud drive out from there 
to Aiken’s, twelve miles on the road to New Smyrna. 1 
spent three weeks there very enjoyably killing deer, turkeys 
aud quantities of quail. A creek alive with trout (black 
bass) runs by the gate, aud there is a beautiful lake within 
two miles, where Aiken has a boat. The fishing there is 
spiendid. I found my setter invaluable, his retrieving 
qualities being particularly needed. In fact sportsmen 
make a great mistake in going anywhere without a good 
setter or pointer, if they expect to kill birds. Nearly all 
the natives have bounds. Aiken is an old Indian fighter, 
and at night around his blazing hearth, frequently enter¬ 
tained us with his hairbreadth escapes, some of which I 
may try to give you in a future paper. S. 
An Ini?ali,i:hlu Bait.—No more empty baskets! Mr. 
Joseph Labadie, of Galveston, .Texas, having made a study 
of fish bails for years has at length discovered an infallible' 
bait. Like tlie magic ungents of tbe barbers, which make 
the hair to grow where no hair grew before, this bait will 
enable you to make a sure basket, whether there be fish in 
the stream or no. Seriously, Mr. Labadie has a new bait 
which is advertised in another column, aud which appears, 
from accounts we have of it, to be a lure for fish of a most 
remarkable character. The cost is trifling, and the paste 
Weil worth a trial._ _ 
—An English writer says that iu the case of Are ill build¬ 
ings containing horses, if the harness be merely put on, 
however loosely, the horses will quit the place without 
difficulty. 
—The Pifctstmrg Commercial snys: A cow in Illinois 
gave birtli to six calves the other day—or else some body 
Ties. 
—If you intend to do a mean thing put it oil till to- 
movrow- 
—H it is better to bend than break, how is that chaps 
who go off ou a bender so of teu get broke ? 
358 
#4 » 
W THE AQUARIUM. 
I N tbe hope of supplying a want that has been expressed 
by readers of Forest and Stream for information re¬ 
garding aquaria, we give on our title page an illustration 
of marine life, and add some simple directions about the 
management of the aquarium. 
Though a very simple matter, it was never understood 
until recently. On the introduction of gold fish, a taste 
was suddenly developed for keeping fish in globes, or 
tanks, in which tlie water was ofteu changed. Though 
fish may be kept alive for some time in this way, they can 
not long remain in a healthy condition. Tbe water should 
never be changed, and if we will but go to Nature for direc¬ 
tion, we can easily learn how the water may be kept pure, 
and support animal life. All animals breathe oxygen, and 
throw off carbon, while plants breathe carbon, and throw 
oil oxygen. If we establish in our aquarium a proper bah 
ance of animal and plant life both will thrive as in their 
natural homes. It is hardly necessary to give any direc¬ 
tions about making the tanks, as they can be had of dealers 
everywhere in great variety. There has been introduced 
recently a new form of glass jar, with a capacity of from 
two to five gallons, that is especially adapted to the marine 
aquarium, as it does not maguify or distort as does the or¬ 
dinary glass globe. 
Supposing that our tank has been selected, we should 
first place in it enough clean pebbles to cover the bottom, 
to a depth of two inches, Above these we may'arrange 
larger rock forms, and if done with taste and judgment it 
will add much to the beauty of our aquarium, and also 
furnish hiding places for the fish. The plants should now 
be introduced. If out tank is to contain fresh water, most 
of the plants will need to be anchored down by fastening 
a bit of stone to their roots. The plants most useful are 
Myriojihyttum, Valisnerin s GeratophyUam. spiralis,Antippritim, 
and Potamogelon. They are to he found slow-i mining 
brooks, and ponds. A tank holding twelve gallons of 
water should support tweniy-five small fish, and we would 
recommend the following: Gold and silver perch, the 
striped dace, sun-fish, rock sun-fish, rock-fish, cat-fish, eel, 
lizzard, tadpole, and a small turtle may be included. An 
island may be formed by covering a piece of eork with 
moss. II is a pretty addition, and gives a chance for the 
lizzard and turtle to crawl out for an airing. 
The salt water aquarium should be treated in much the 
same way. One of the best plan la is Ulna Ittmima, which 
may be found iu laTge fronds cast upon Ihe beach after a 
strong wind has been blowing from tbe sea. Its color is 
rich dark green, and when in a healthy condition it is firm 
and crisp to the touch. Another very handsome plant 
that thrives well in the aquarium is C'a.troniuiphu. It is 
found in deep water, and can only he got by dredging. It 
resembles a mass of fine green threads which, when un¬ 
tangled, are sometimes found to he thirty feet in length. 
Entromorpha eompremi is a beautiful green plant found on 
nearly every shore at low tide. It grows in long grass-like 
leaves, that move in most graceful lines with every motion 
of the water. We have never found it very hardy iu tlie 
tank. Tlie plants of a brown color, though very beautiful 
for a time, will soon decay in tbe aquarium. Some of the 
red algte do very well and are a great, addition. The Qriri- 
nAla mnericana is one of the best. Ohondrus crispvs, or 
“Irish moss," will sometimes do well, and Solaria, if found 
growing to a bit of stone, will live in confinement, but 
should uot be exposed in much light. There are innumer¬ 
able beautiful plants to be found at low water mark, that 
will always tempt us to try, and if watched closely, and 
removed if found decaying, will do no harm. 
Our illustration shows many of the most interesting ani¬ 
mals that are adapted to the marine aquarium. In the 
central part of tbe picture Is a fully-expanded anemone. 
Seen in this condition one can readily see why it has re¬ 
ceived the name of that beautiful Bower. At times it ap¬ 
pears a mere mass of jelly, and the fishermen along the 
coast.have called it “halibut slime,” supposing it merely a 
mass of slime from that fish. The body of the anemone 
may be described as a double gelatinous sac; the inner 
sac is the stomach, the space between it and the outer 
membrane is divided by vertical partitions, each compart¬ 
ment being connected at the upper part with a hollow ten¬ 
tacle, The tentacles serve to catch, and convey to its 
mouth, such animals as happen within its reach. The 
anemone is reproduced by eggs that arc thrown out in 
different degrees of development, sometimes, as perfectly 
formed anemones. They also multiply by self-division: a 
portion of the animal, usually near the base, gradually 
separates itself from the main body. If closely observed 
Jor a few days a single row of tentacles will make their 
appearance, and increase in number with the growth. 
Though a low form of life, the auemoties are among the 
most beautiful aud interesting objects in nature. In color, 
they vary from a light brown, to a deep chocolate. They 
are found on the coast north of New York, very abun¬ 
dantly in the vicinity of Newport. To the left of them are 
three of a bright red color that were brought from Barmu- 
da. They differ from the Others iu haviug less power of 
expansion to the body, and have fewer teutacles, but make 
.up for the lack of grace iu fom, by their gorgeous color. 
The general scientific name for them is Actinia. Just above 
is shown a bunch of Serpvlw contortuplicala. They belong 
to the Annelida ,or worms proper. They breathe through 
the skin by sacs or gills, la the present geuus the reap irk' 
