14 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



comparatively unmolested. During the earlier part of my 

 story, following the rule, I shot day after day from the 

 different points upon Long and its neighboring small islands, 

 and 'with but indifferent success. While thus occupied I 

 could see almost every day, with a powerful opera-glass, 

 flocks of geese at intervals along the opposing shore con- 

 tentedly standing at ease, and saucily pluming themselves 

 (on their safety). It was now the last of February, my 

 time nearly up, and I resolved to turn my attention to the 

 geese and give them the benefit of my previous experience 

 at Mouomoy. My host, Mr. Burroughs, possessed a number 

 of pinioned wild geese, great strong fellows, every one 

 insisting upon fighting a pitched battle as often as they 

 were required for use. Theie was also upon the premises 

 a good-sized plank box, originally made for the very pur- 

 pose to which I now proposed to put it. This was quickly 

 calked, pitched and placed in position on "The Band. 

 The spot selected offered a double advantage. Directly in 

 front a narrow sand spit projected some five or six rods 

 into the water, while on the right of the spit a little cove, 

 Considerably indenting the geueral shore line, and conse- 

 quently within easy range of the shooter's position, af- 

 forded an admirable location for posting a set of decoy 

 ducks. One problem remained. On that flat unbroken 

 beach the slightest object forced itself upon the attention 

 even at an immense distance. What disposition could be 

 made of the shooter's boat? The only answer was that it 

 must be disposed of and some birds lost, since the water 

 was wadeable for only a short distance from the shore. 



For some days after all was ready the weather was still 

 and unfavorable for all kinds of shooting, and gave 

 no results worth mention. But one eveniug said Mr. Bur- 

 roughs, "You had better try the geese tomorrow, as I am 

 sure we shall have a stiff southeaster." Thus encouraged 

 I made all ready to get off au hour or two before day, and 

 daybreak found me duly ensconced in my box, decoys in 

 position, and my boat half a mile distant to the north, well 

 drawn back from the shore, placed endwise to all birds ap- 

 proaching from a southerly direction, and well covered in 

 with the common drift grass of the locality. Concealed 

 in this manner, whatever birds might take it for it bore no 

 resemblauice to a boat. My arms were one sixteen-pound 

 gun and two smaller pieces of ten and eleven pounds re- 

 spectively — all of unexcelled quality, and to this day able 

 to speak for themselves in any company. 



A well-known aphorism runs thus: "The early bird 

 catches the worm," and, although much of RooseveltS 

 opinion that sometimes he does and oftener he doesn't, on 

 this particular morniag I must confess that I, the early 

 bird, did pick up in a very short space cf time a goodly 

 number of worms in the shape of pin-tail ducks, which 

 commencing to fly at daybreak in large numbers along the 

 beach, not having been molested at this point, and assured 

 of safety by the presence of wild geese (the decoys), lowered 

 and swung well in every time and gave me the only sure 

 thing f ever had on this shy bird. The next time I tried it 

 they had learned a thing or two, and in general avoided the 

 ambuscade. The flight lasted scarcely half an hour, and 

 in that time I had gathered in some twenty ducks, all but 

 one or two pin-tails. Clearly I had them foul. 



Fur same hours after sunrise little or no breeze stirred 

 and few shots offered, mostly at bald-pates. About 11 

 o'clock the promised southeaster put in an appearance, 

 and with it ducks in considerable numbers, trading in all 

 direction! as if enjoying the change. By noon the wind 

 was lively and the honking of geese was heard to the 

 southward. Soon they commenced working in my direc- 

 tion, and in the course of three or four hours I had made 

 a number of successful shots at small companies of a 

 dozen or less, but this scarcely met my expectations. Had 

 I not seen hundreds gathered at this very spot a fortnight 

 befofe? Where were they to-day? Not over two hours to 

 sundown, the wind rapidly falling and nothing remarkable 

 save the morning's shower of sprig-tails. A change was 

 at hand. Loud honking was heard in the distance. Yes, 

 there they are at last. As near as I could judge fifty of 

 them. On they come, low to the water and steadily head- 

 ing "up sand." Will they stop here? Yes, they are down, 

 and snaking direct for my answering honkers. A few minutes 

 later a second cautious look sliows them well out of shot 

 and apparently inclined to keep at a safe distance. Some- 

 thing is wrong. I now allow them full ten minutes to ex- 

 amine their surroundings, and lake a third peep. Slowly 

 aud cautiously I raise my head (covered by a snug sand- 

 colored skull cap with small visor) pressing my shoulders 

 hard against the back of the box in order to guard against 

 the slightest lateral motion, and lo! there are my geese in 

 the same place, and evidently in a state of uncertainty. 

 r/ all. I suddenly catch sight obliquely of an old 

 gandef standing on the sand within ten yards of me, and 

 to my infinite disgust and horror at the same instant he 

 sights me too, and away up heavenward goes his head in 

 vain endeavor to make his vision penetrate over and behind 

 and into the little sand knoll which he mistrusts to con- 

 tain something mysterious and menacing. Quick as thought 

 my tactics are decided upon. Even as we caught sight or 

 one another so I maintained my position front faced, eyes 

 le f t, rigid as a corpse, scarce venturing to breathe much 

 less to wink. Thus we two confronted one auother, eye lo 

 eye, if not altogether face to face, for full five minutes, for 

 all the world as if each were endeavoring to outstare the 

 other in a contest for victory, when he, half convinced, 

 took a step or two and pretended to drop a feather. On 

 ihe alert I at once comrneneed lowering my head as im- 

 perceptibly aa possible, but he too was watchful and again 

 fastened me with those piercing eyes. Again the same 



still pantomime, or rather tableau, but this second time, 

 less persevering than before and sooner relaxing his vigi- 

 lance, he gave me the coveted onportunily to complete my 

 "escamalage." This next look in my direction was un- 

 doubtedly reassuring, and this satisfactory condition of 

 things then telegraphed to his hesitating convoy, which 

 had steadily maintained its position well out of shot. 

 Once down and out of sight guns were inspected and the 

 best disposition made for rapid handling. A few moments 

 later, with my heavy piece in hand, I again straightened 

 up. The flock had divided, the smaller section had landed 

 a little to the left and were scattered along shore ju9t be- 

 yond the decoys, while the larger — some thirty in number 

 — were just getting footing on the convenient sand spit in 

 front. Heads and necks ranged beautifully, and delaying 

 just long enongh to make dead sure of my nerve and 

 ability to "hold on" I pulled four triggers in rapid succes- 

 sion, having first alarmed the birds with a low whistle. 

 Of the geese shot at few escaped unscathed, and of the re- 

 mainder half lay dead and half crippled. Again, losing 

 no time, I rushed to the point of the spit, discharged No. 

 3 at two of the handiest cripples, laid it down upon the 

 sand, and resorled to the old tactics of at once getting as 

 far outside of the cripples as possible. I thus succeeded 

 in driving ashore a number of them, which were soon 

 secured. The larger portion, however, made good their 

 escape. I was well out of my scrape with the old gander. 



By dark I had a dozen or mote ducks (mostly black 

 ducks) to the day's doings the exact score of which 1 lost, 

 as getting home long after dark, tired and hungry, I was 

 glad to hand boat, coys and spoils over to the old darkey 

 who had been patiently waiting at the landintr, torch in 

 hand, to guide me in the darkness, and who at sight of 

 my bonanza burst out with "Golly, Mars CharleE, yous 

 gub it to urn dis time, suah." The next morning 1 found 

 my birds hung up with others previously shot. 



I realized that day over thirty geese and about fifty 

 ducks. 



A market gunner informed me a day or two after that 

 he had witnessed my afternoon's proceedings from his po- 

 sition on Shell Point (directly opposite across the bay), aud 

 further that he had never known such a shot to be made in 

 that neighborhood, adding in his peculiarly bizarre dialect, 

 "We uus don't know lo destroy geese like you Yanks." 



My tale of "The Sand" as it was is told. Will some of 

 your numerous readers give us a tale of "The Sand" as if 

 is? Rusticus. 



Port Royal, fi. C. 



<■> 



jrur Forest and Stream. 

 SPORTING ON THE BIG SUNFLOWER. 

 V\ * 



IF there is a stream in the wide wot Id where navigation 

 is difficult and where steamboatmen have at least some 

 excuse for tall swearing, 1 would say that Ihe Big Sun- 

 flower is ahead of them all. There are a great many 

 "bars," and at limes every steamboat passing up or down 

 has to pull over these with a line. The boats are supplied 

 with steam capstans, or, as they are invariably called, 

 "niggers," but for which appliances it would be next to 

 an impossibility to navigate here at all. Each boat 

 is accompanied by a barge, upon which the cargo is car- 

 ried. The boats themselves draw so much water that put- 

 ting any freight on them is out of the question. The 

 course of the river is tortuous almost from its source to its 

 mouth, aud in many places the "bends" are so abrupt that 

 the boat has to be aided in making the turns by men in the 

 bow pushing her off with long poles. And there are places 

 where the barge, which is towed directly in front, has to 

 have one 3ide line cast loose, in order that it may swing 

 around the point. A pilot on the Sunflower Belle assured 

 me that the river was so crooked that a duck could only 

 make the worst bends by backing on one foot and "going 

 ahead" on the other. 



In most places there is no trouble finding trees on the 

 bank within reach of the cable to which lo make fast 

 when a pull over a bar or a sunken log is required; but 

 now and then, whtre there is a wide, flat, muddy shore, it 

 becomes necessary to bury a "dead man" for a hitching 

 post. A "dead man" in river parlance is a log buried in 

 the earti and staked down, with cord wood sharpened at 

 one end so as to be easily driven. On Oliphant's Bar, and 

 one or two other places, one may see quite a number of 

 these dead men. I was an eye witness to the burying of 

 one of these this morning. There had been a heavy rain 

 last night, and the wind shifting to the north about two 

 o'clock it had cleared off and turned very cold. The boat 

 had been laboring five days to get out of the river, the of- 

 ficers and crew were about worn out, and every one on 

 board was anxious to get into reliable waters. We had 

 passed the last "bar" but one, and were within two miles 

 of the Yazoo, when the boat ran hard upon a "lump" in 

 the "thin" water on this very bar; the wind blew her stern 

 over against the shore, making us lie almost broadside in 

 the river, and rendering a pull necessary. No tree or 

 stump being within reach the dead man had to be buried. 

 Capt. Stevens pushed off hi a "dug out" to make sound- 

 ings, and finding eighteen inches of water between the 

 bow of the boat and the shore nearest to it, the ponderous 

 wet and muddy hawser was piled into the yawl and run 

 over there. But even the yawl grounded, and the men 

 had to jump into the water aud. mire and haul the line out 

 to the position of the dead man. The Captain set the ex- 

 ample by first plunging in and shouldeiiug a part of the 

 line. All hands were cold, and as the men sank to their 

 knees in the mire while dragging out the line and carrying 

 up the long log for the dead man, one could not avoid 



shivering, even while in the cabin standing by a comfort- 

 able, fire looking at this cheerless funeral. 



Steamboatmen are, as a usual thing, liberal in the uae of 

 oaths. I have heard more swearing, louder and more 

 vigorous and emphatic swearing, on the present trip up 

 and dow T n this river than in many and many a day before, 

 and I have felt that if such a thing was necessary at any 

 time, or excusable under any circumstances, the necessity 

 and the excuse were found in the trials and hardships at- 

 tending navigation in this river. Every one has hard work 

 to do; the men are wet and cold half the time, they get 

 their meals and sleep irregularly, very little of the latter 

 at any time, unless the boat lies up. Hardly any one, even 

 the bent natured of men, can keep in a good humor half 

 an hour at a stretch; and thus there is one continual rump- 

 us after another. This morning two poor, improvident ne- 

 groes, half clad, wet to the skin, and nearly frozen, re- 

 fused to do their duty as deck hands, when the Captain 

 ordered them up to the clerk's office to be paid off and put 

 ashore. While standing outside at the window waiting 

 for their pay, one of them made some insulting remarks 

 about the boat. In an instant the clerk jerked a pistol out 

 of his drawer, fired a shot out of the window, took down 

 stairs after the lleeing darkies, who fled forward on the 

 cotton barge, and after firing two more shots returned to 

 his office. None of the shots were fired at the man, but it 

 had the effect of scaring all hands at the moment and of 

 putting an end to au incipient mutiny. 



One day, coming down, Hie boat made only sixteen miles 

 and lied up in the narrow and crooked part of the river 

 for the night. The barge was so heavily laden withcoltou 

 it was deemed dangerous lo run it, after dark for tear of 

 knocking out the bottom While going up, navigation is 

 carried on by means of torches at the bow of the boat lo 

 illuminate the channel. That night the hands were busy 

 till near midnight cutting wood for fuel. Wood piles are 

 not numerous along the stream, and occasionally boats find 

 themselves out of motive power. 



I started out intending to write you a short article giving 

 an account of another fishing and hunting excursion, but 

 it fell ic the way lo say something about this river, and 

 the two being so intimately connected, it may not be amiss 

 that it has been said. The fishing parly in u iud consisted 

 of Dr. "Birehett, of Yicksburg; Mr. Price, Robinson, my- 

 self, and George, the colored cook. They left Yicksburg 

 on the Sunflower Belle on the Gth lust., aud by fair sailing 

 will reach home about dark today. They made the same 

 encampment as the party I heretofore wrote you about, aud 

 spent near a week iu camp. Most of Hie party spent the 

 principal part of their time in hunting, but your corres- 

 pondent devoted himself to the fish. Game was seen in 

 some quantifies, but not much captured larger than squir- 

 lels aud coons. The party saw perhaps fifteen deer iu all, 

 and had some good shots, and were able to bring in hair, 

 but not any meat. Dr. Birehett wounded a bear, and had 

 sundry shots at wild turkeys, but unfortunately left them 

 all in the woods. It seemed to be. generally conceded that the 

 hungers wore not proficient, and that had they been so the 

 party would have been able to carry home large quantities 

 of game. Deer, bear, aud panther sigu was to be seen 

 everywhere, and the trees were alive with squirrels. The 

 howling of a gang of wolves across the river opposite our 

 camp at night kept our boy George in a continual fright, 

 and at the last he lefused to sleep in his own tent. Ducks 

 were scarce this time near our camp, but as we came down 

 they have been numerous, and to day some have been 

 killed from the bow of the boat. We have also aeeu to- 

 day some flocks of wild geese, one of which allowed the 

 boat to approach so closely that had any one been on deck 

 with his gun he could have secured one or more. 



Of fish the party captured a largo number of black bass 

 and auother variety of perch, the correct name of which 

 I do not know. Here they are called white perch (but here 

 they call black bass "trout"); in Kentucky they are called 

 "bachelor perch," and in Indiana they designate them as 

 "tin mouths." They arc a very broad fish, somewhat spot- 

 ted, the spots eveu extending into their fins, have a long 

 tiny mouth, are sluggish "biters," make but small resist- 

 ance when hooked, show all the colors of the rainbow 

 in the sun when first taken out of the water, and areas good 

 tish to eat, with as white meat as 1 ever saw. They rarely 

 exceed two pounds and a half in weight, and go in schools 

 it is supposed, from the fact that when you catch one in a 

 place you are apt to take others there at once. 



No striped bass were taken this time, and all the black 

 bass were small, the weight of none exceeding three or 

 four pounds, the preponderance in numbers being much 

 smaller. No artificial bait wa^ tried, live minnows being 

 in such wonderful abundance and so easily obtained were 

 used exclusively- A man who had a tish boat some 

 two miles below our camp rowed up to us in his skiff one 

 day, and in describing the merits of the different kinds of 

 bait for the Sunflower river, declared that cuts from the 

 sides of small perch to be superior. And iu proof of his 

 assertion he ran over to a tree top lying iu the liver just 

 opposite our camp and in a moment huuled in a bass 

 weighing about three pounds. 



As 1 said in my former letter, it is doubtful if there is 

 any place where one can find better fishing and bunting 

 combined than almost anywhere up this stream in the fall 

 of the year when the river is low aud swamps dry. Boats 

 make regular trips as high as they can go, the officers of 

 which lake great pains in malting a trip Willi IheW pleasant 

 and agreeable. Nearly all of them are themselves resi- 

 dents somewhere on its banks, and know lbs couutry thor- 

 oughly, They are ready almost anytime to accompany 



