Terms, Four Dollar* a Yei 

 Ten Cents a Copy. 



NEW YORK, THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 1877. 



THE 



For Forest and Stream. 

 "EASTERN SHORE." 



rTTHKRE'8 a quaint little cot, near tbe Elk's quiet stream, 

 JL It la perched on the top of a hill; 

 My thoughts of time passed there, came back like a dream, 

 Yet a dream that recalls nothing ill, 



There's the meadow grass, fragrant and green, 

 Which hides the young covey, and old mother bird; 



The brake, where the woodcock are seen, 

 And the hermit-thrush's song may be heard. 



Then there's the ducking point, nnder the willows, 



Tbe cabin, quite bid by tbe trees. 

 The glassy cove, out of reach of the billows, 



And the wreck, with its jagged oak knees. 



Oh, The health-giving breezes, across that hillside. 

 Through the old swaying branches, so high in the air, 



The gay boating parties, adrift on the tide, 

 All bring sweet recollection of days free from care. 



J. W. H. 



For Forest and Ulream. 



fest ^loridn. 



HER CLIMATE, SOIL, BATS, RIVERS, LAGOONS, BAYOUS, 

 CHEEKS, GAME, PISH, OYSTERS AND OTHER ATTRACTIONS— 

 THE CITY OF PENSACOLA, AND THE GREAT HUNTER OF 

 LONG AGO. 



AS it is not altogether foreign to the mission of theFoBEST 

 and Stream to hunt up and locate new fields for the 

 occupation of the northern and western sportsman, and ob- 

 serving also frequent notices of East and South Florida in 

 your valuable journal, I have thought that perhaps some- 

 thing with reference to the attractions and advantages of 

 this section of the State which, apparently, are little known 

 to the sportsman and tourist from the North and West, 

 might be of interest, to some of your readers. 



By reference to the map you will see that Escambia 

 county forms the extreme western extension or boundary 

 of Florida, and with her numerous and magnificent rivers, 

 bays, lagoons, and bayous, and the most flourishing and 

 important commercial city in the State (Pensacola) and the 

 pet Navy-Yard of the South, appear to occupy an obscure 

 corner somewhere in the wide world. To the peculiar 

 geographical location, as much as to any other cause, may 

 perhaps be attributed the fact that we have been so long 

 overlooked by the many thousands who visit Florida an- 

 nually in search of health and pleasure, but now, since the 

 tide of immigration is flooding all South, East, and Middle 

 Florida, it is time that we of the West should wake up and 

 let people know, that notwithstanding the isolated position 

 given us on the map, we have railroad, steamboat and sail 

 communication "with all the world and the balance of 

 mankind," and that sportsmen, tourists and immigrants 

 from the great northern and western centers can visit us in 

 less time and with less expense than is required to reach 

 the extreme eastern and southern portions of Florida, and 

 that as lo health, climate and soil adapted to orange cul- 

 ture, game, fish, oysters, fotests, streams, and all other 

 beauties of nature, we yield nothing to any section of the 

 southern country. 



To enumerate a few of the advantages which we can 

 offer the sportsman, tourist, or immigrant in search of a 

 pleasant home, I will state first that we have more shell 

 hammocks and other beautiful and valuable locations for 

 homes and orange groves on the Perdido, Black Water, 

 Escambia, East Bay, a«d Choctawhatchee rivers, and on 

 Palmetto, Soldier, St. Johns, and Stone Quarry creeks, on 

 the Grand Lagoon, Bear and Deer Points, and on Bayous 

 Grande, Checo, Texar, Marquis, Garcon and Tarkill, all 

 within a few hour's sail of Pensacola and the Navy-Yard, 

 than can be found anywhere else in the world in the same 

 space and extent of territory. These innumerable locations 

 are all bounded by beautiful water courses, abundantly 

 supplied with oysters and fish of every description, and 

 can he purchased for a mere fraction in comparison with 

 the prices now paid for similar locations in East and South 

 Florida, and what is better still, are entirely exempt from 

 that type of Indigenous chill and fever so prevalent in 

 some sections of the State, and which is so much dreaded 

 by the new and unacclimated settler. 



Until recently very little attention has been given to the 

 orange culture in this section of Florida, but enough is 

 now known of our climate and soil in this respect to war- 

 rant the venture. We have three nurseries of young 

 orange trees now in operation within a short distance of 

 Pensacola and one within a mile of the Navy- Yard ; The 



young trees grow rapidly in the natural soil and present a 

 healthy and vigorous appearance, and what is most re- 

 markable, passed through all the cold snaps we have had 

 the past winter without injury, while young and old trees 

 were seriously damaged as far east as Indian river, and as 

 far south as Tarnpa Bay. We have also several full-grown 

 bearing trees at the Navy- Yard which are entirely exposed 

 to the north wind, and which sustained no perceptible 

 damage. Why they were so favored is a subject of much 

 speculation with the sage philosophers who advance many 

 theories, the most popular of which is that the large and 

 numerous bodies of water encircling us on the north and 

 our close proximity to the Gulf on the south, tempers and 

 moderates the cold dry winds in the winter season. It is 

 also a popular belief with many here, that orange groves 

 hi this section of the State will succeed best when reared 

 from the seed instead of transplanting young trees from 

 foreign soil; that is to say, the tree, to be hardy, must be 

 made native to the soil and climate in its germination. 



The sportsman and tourist in search of health or pleas- 

 ure can obtain first class board at private houses in Pensa- 

 cola, or here at the Navy- Yard, for $25 to $80 per month, 

 and for a trifle more at the leading hotels. Fishing, hunt- 

 ing, or excursion parties, can at all times secure small 

 steamers or sailing craft, suited to their purposes, at very 

 reasonable rates. By a well devised system of quarantine 

 regulations, inaugurated by commander John F. McGlen- 

 sey, U. S. N. , while in command of the Navy -Yard here and 

 the present able and energetic Mayor of Pensocola, Hon. 

 J. P. Jones, that city and the Navy-Yard are now as se- 

 cure against the introduction of yellow fever as any port 

 in the United States, and since which time, no city in the 

 South has advanced more rapidly in material development 

 and prosperity than Pensacola. With her city govern- 

 ment, railroad and commercial interests in the bauds of 

 able and experienced men, she could not do otherwise than 

 go ahead. More vessels, first class, foieign and domestic, 

 visit this city annualy, than any other cily of its size in the 

 world, and the yellow pine timber and lumber business is 

 immense, amounting to several millions annually. Several 

 cargoes of cotton have been shipped direct to Europe from 

 this port the present season, and by proper effort on the 

 part of our leading business men, Pensacola may be made 

 the grand outlet for the entire cotton crop of West Florida 

 and Alabama, besides drawing much of the staple from 

 Louisiana and Georgia. With 24 feet water on her bar, a 

 splendid land-locked harbor, the most magnificent bay 

 in America, backed by an interior country with abundant 

 sources of wealth, Pensacola, with all these advan- 

 tages, is bound to become one o( the leading com- 

 mercial cities of the South. She has now a thrifty popu- 

 lation of 7,000, and, speaking generally of this section, I 

 do not exaggerate when I say that West Florida^has mines 

 of wealth, yet undeveloped, amply sufficient to enrich half 

 a million of intelligent and enterprising men. 



So much for business prospects of this portion of Florida, 

 and now, if the Forest and Stream will indulge me, I will 

 change the "subject of my narrative" and give the readers 

 a brief account of one of the most remarkable hunters of 

 our country, who spent seventy years of his life on the 

 streams and in the shell hammocks and pine forests of 

 West Florida, and whose "headquarters"— a little log 

 cabin — stood on the summit of a high elevation, now 

 known as "Red Bluff," on the Grand lagoon, five miles 

 west of the Navy-Yard. This old hunter was a half-breed, 

 a mixture of Indian and Spaniard; the Indian in many Te- 

 spects, predominating. ' His "exploits by flood and field," 

 if faithfully related by a skillful narrator, would give your 

 readers some idea of the fi3h and game qualities cf this 

 section of Florida, and place his name high up on the roll 

 of distinguished hunters and sportsmen. He claimed to be 

 allied to the old tribe of Indians who first occupied East 

 and South Florida, and "sported," from individual choice, 

 the singular, and no doubt to him euphonious, name of 

 "Billy Buckhorn." His early life was spent in the wilds 

 of East and South Florida, and he was perfectly familiar 

 with the best fishing and hunting grounds from the Ever- 

 glades, in South Florida, to the western extremity of the 

 State. By his skill and success in fishing and hunting, he 

 accumulated a snug little fortune, but his love of sport, 

 impelled, no doubt, by force of habit, lead him almost 

 daily many miles away from his home, and within a radius 

 of one hundred miles of his cabin, he had many favor- 

 ite camping places. His camping grounds were always 

 selected and located near some beautiful "spring-head," or 

 running branch of Bparkling water, of which this country 

 abounds. His fayorite hunting grounds for bear and deer 



lie on the Alabama side of Perdido Bay, about 12 miles 

 west of this place. He frequently hunted, with great suc- 

 cess, on Santa Rosa Island and on what is now known as 

 the Live Oak Naval Reservation, six miles cast of the Navy 

 Yard. This "reservation" is a dense hammock of several 

 hundred acres and is reserved by the United States Govern- 

 ment for timber purposes. No one is allowed to live on 

 this vast track of land, which forms a sort of peninsula, 

 and being connected with the main land, is not only the 

 home, but the paradise of the deer, turkey, squirrel, 'pos 

 sum and other wild game, to this day. His mode of hunt- 

 ing, in the immediate vicinity of his home, was somewhat 

 novel aud peculiarly his own, and was adopted, he insisted, 

 for the reason that nothing would drive deer or turkey 

 away from their old range so effectually as would hunting 

 them with dogs. When he started out for a short hunt 

 and wanted to make sure of his game, he would take either 

 his trained deer or turkey for the purpose. He had also 

 a trained dog, of the common cur breed, who was taught 

 never to bark except on trail of wounded game, but by cer- 

 tain brisk movements of the tail, gave warning of the 

 presence of game. If in the pursuit of deer, "uncle Buck," 

 as he was called by the first settler of this Action, was ac- 

 companied by his cur and trained doe, ant when hot scent 

 was discovered by the dog, all came to a halt. The uoe 

 was then sent forward to scamper over and scour the 

 woods in ever direction, w T hile the hunter and dog found 

 the nearest hiding place. If a wild deer was anywhere 

 near, the lapse of a brief time was only necessary to bring 

 the coveted game within easy range of his unerring ritle. 

 By instinct or training, the instant the t.tmc deer was dis- 

 covered by the wild native of the woods, she would 

 speedily retcrn to where the hunter was concealed, closely 

 pursued by the wild deer, and uncle Buck had only to 

 make his selection, if more than one, and then for the 

 nearest cut home. In this way a great many deer were 

 killed within a few rods of his cabin. And so, if turkey 

 hunting, he would take his trained turkey — usually a young 

 hen — and when fresh sign was discovered or the turkeys 

 seen at a distance, he would stop suddenly, select an open 

 space, tasten his turkey with a small cord to a stake made 

 for the purpose, and conceal himself near by. When left 

 alone the tame turkey would exhibit signs of distress and 

 commence "yelping" in a manner which would put to 

 shame all inventors of the modern patent callers. By this 

 device and employment of the "genuine article," uncle 

 Buck was soon gratified with a shot which filled his bag 

 and satisfied his cravings for the lime being. 



About one mile north of Red Bluff, the site of the old 

 hunter's home, on the Grand Lagoon, is an immense ham- 

 mock, 12 miles long, running parallel with the Lagoon, 

 east and west, to Perdido Bay. This hammock, besides 

 being the native home of bear, deer, turkey, squirrel, 

 'possum and coon, is the favorite roosting place for all the 

 wild turkeys for miles around, and which, from undo 

 Buck's day to the present time, fly across to the Lagoon 

 beach at the crack of day in search of shell, coarse gravel 

 and whatever else in the nature of food that may have been 

 washed ashore during the night, and to bag one or more of 

 these elegant birds almost any morning, the hunter must 

 be an early riser in order to tecure a good position com- 

 manding a long teach of sand beach before the turkey 

 thinks of quitting his roost in the neighboring hammock. 

 „ During the prime years of his life, our old hunter made 

 several visits to the scene3 and hunting grounds of hi3 

 boyhood, in East and South Florida, but as often returned 

 to reassert his claims to West Florida, declaring that he 

 would not exchange the fishing and hunting grounds along 

 the west coast and the shell hammocks of our rivers, bays, 

 lagoons and bayous, for any country he had ever seen, 

 Uncle Buck, although spending half his life on the water, 

 fishing and ducking, was no part of a sailor. He always 

 used a small canoe or "dug-out," and a short, light paddle, 

 served the double purpose of rudder aud propeller. His 

 sporting operations in the line of fishing and ducking were 

 confined to or near the shore. He could never be in- 

 duced to commit his frail vessel to the fickle breeze or 

 treacherous wave, and whenever he had an occasion to cross 

 from shore to shore, would seek the narrow passes and 

 wait for placid waters. Uncle Buck had no particular or 

 favorite fishing or hunting grounds for small game. W hen 

 not off on a general camp hunt in the hammocks and pine 

 forests, he might be found on the Grand Lagoon or on any 

 one of our numerous livers, hikes, bayous and creeks. 

 Our rivers, bays, lagoons, bayous, and creeks, are all con 

 uected by water, and can safely be visited in small craft 

 and abound with all kinds of salt and fresh water fish 



