142 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



pnoh on onr right as we go flown stream is Bpi 



.■nt stream cowing in Cri td; dossil 



1 ■ i"..iin, on the point of 



■ i i bi iwi.'cn crook and iner lies our camp. Around this 



point of mountain, about a quarter ola mile Lack from the 



r.v.'i-. niii.-, 1-1 i jeofi ■■■'■-. sod letimea br il a down bo u&to 



lie easily surmounted, Lu other places forty oi fifty feet high. 



Cifiwing th i bins to th « - .: this ledge, we 



fti! i f l1 some '.■ .. i I ill . • i fcrear. until we come ton 



i vine, cut down the mountain-Bide by a cold spring 



\' ■■■!' fufibling across this we mount the other side, and 



re are near home. A splendid wall of rock rises verti- 



no Lding birch 

 fellow 

 felled by iis for wi 



We walk the length of its 

 1 'i ill', and we are at < 

 river, ie o ley, eomi 



thirty < 

 3 stiff-necked 



tore feet high, crowned with 

 iruei nested all of them, 

 58, soft and deep. A great 

 prone along the cliff foot. 

 ump down, turn the angle 

 Under this cliff, facing the 

 into which no storms beat: 



- >n1 n-idi igh to admit a largo fixe and 



BO it; shelves are handy for laying tip 



- he dry, and hole:- to stow them away out of sight. 



Th&r is room for fonr men with comfort. Some ten steps 

 awviy, a little down hill, is the dog-hors". another dry cave 

 with water convenient; for the cold spring which bubblesottt 

 a 1 most within arm's reach of our bed of houghs, and trader 



iver, tun, trickles down through the rocks and forms abasin 

 at the kennel. 



But. we mast finish our wood-cutting. Franz stood axe 

 in hand at the top of our big Leech, looking up at the black 



1 ii ii hes crowning our cliff like ferns stuck in a "Gresde 

 Flmdres" mug. Preseur.lv he speaks. "What do you 

 think of them birches, Colonel?" "What do I think of 



Admirable trees; I always did like them; graceful 



lit'iesome creatures, tough as the mischief, too, like some other 



g] a- etui things; the lumbermen, you know, used to cut 



them sometimes and sell the stuff with their cherry." "I 



lull. sve, byjing, I'll cut that one," says Franz, and" off he 



-embling among the rocks; after awhile he comes 



he edge of the rock above us and peeps over; with 



! ■ - ■.:. ■; around the very tree that is holding hire, that mo- 



nieiit. to be so.m hacked and hewed until it tumbles 



headlong from its perch, No more useless standing stdl on 



top of rocks; no more whispering and rustlings; no more 



:nd noddings from the innocent looking spruces, 



ood in the soft breezes under the moonlight: but 



the axe, a relentless shove, then a 



dlong, a crash, and there he lies be- 



se Strokes, and then tierce heart- 



O birch is left at all, but in the mind 



c in i if tow much good it did. 



as a tire," Franz says, "Did you see 



ind and twisting away ? I thought 



always rolling in between me and 



tie. 



- I ' 



Bide the beech ; more i 



burnings, until at last i 



oi man lives the rem err 



" I tell you what, that \ 



Towusend Brawling aro 



I'd give him a dose, he'i 



tiie fire. I thought the birch 'Id fetch him. Did you see 



him scoot off down the hill ?" " Birch \ you did sonie good, 



after all." 



jcond expedition to the Eock Camp proved as bar- 

 ren as the first, at least so much as the killing of bears was 

 concerned, and the returning home in triumph laden with 

 hides. I have no doubt that the others enjoyed themselves, 

 however, despite the "bare" hunt. I am very sure I did. 

 for tome, half the- pleasure, or more, to be found in such 

 lition comes from the general conduct and changing 

 I the ever - I. 3 life in the woods. The freedom 

 from restraint, the self-imposed activity or laziness as the 

 the moment may dictate, the delightful effects 

 1 tig lights and shadows about the camp-fire as seen 



fn 



„-l. 



itself 



the 



-in-, 



ould 



eter- 

 king 



which help to rill up the completed ] 



e came to the reluctant cone 



have no snow, no matter how long m 



mined to go home m Jl, -Coy's and tal 



t We started, therefore, early one morning, and 

 thought it well to make the journey more, interesting by go- 

 ing a new and roundabout way home, that was, to go up the 

 reek three or four miles, then cross the parks, turn 

 south, surmount the big Spruce Creek Mountain and camp 

 some where in the great basin beyond it, from where we 

 Could reach McCoy's house the next day. We traveled 

 quietly along without incident until near il o'clock in the 

 morning, when we were suddenly startled outof ourtranquil- 

 ity in o manner not altogether "unexpected, and assuredly 

 not unwelcome. We were going along on a bench, about 

 half-way up the side of the ridge separating the forks of 

 Bet, through an open beech and maple forest, 

 when all at once "Nig," the shepherd pup, who was nosing 

 about on his own account, gave a yelp some where to our 

 rear and above us, and almost at the instant, as we turned 

 to listen, down dashed in front of us from the next 

 higher bench B tremendous buck, his horns white and 

 potished glistening in the morning sun. 1 was behind, 

 McCoy and Townsend Justin front of me. My Winchester 

 was slung <m my back over my pack, encased in a heavy 

 mitten and had wrapped around it a dozen turns o'f 

 the leather thong, by which I was leading one of the bear 

 logs lo unwind the trap with the dog jumping and pull- 

 ing like a stump extractor took some time, and then my 

 hand was so moist with perspiration that I tugged hard at 

 my mitten with my teeth before I could get it 'off, and by 

 then the deer was out of reach. Meantime. McQoy had 

 blazed away as soon as he could, but as one or the Jogi 

 jumped against bis legs just as he was about to touch the 

 trigger, he accomplished nothing. Townsend had a fair 

 shot, and the deer running within twenty steps of him, he 

 cut-loose at him, as he cidled it, and "scalped," that is to 

 say, grazed or scratched him, low down through the body. 

 He thought he had missed him and so did Franz and I, until 

 we happened to notice the splashed blood on the leaves, 

 while we were laughing at eaffh other. When I untied the 

 dog string from my hand, I threw the end of it on the 

 ground, and as I supposed, put my foot on it to hold the 

 dog, my hand being thus free for my gun; but the dog did 

 not -wait for my foot to fasten him; he darted off, taking the 

 trap with him, and about the moment we thought about 

 and missed him he set up a tremendous tonguing down the 

 valley. We followed as last as we could for some half or 

 three-quarlers of a mile, still hearing the dog in front, when 

 suddenly it occurred to Franz and me to look in the creek 

 and see whether the deer might not have doubled on the dogs 

 and be now r. I racing his steps to escape in the water. This 

 all til I for as we reached the bank there was the 

 burk, some thirty yards off and entirely ignorant of our 

 neighborhood. Nig had come trotting 'along contentedly 

 alter us. well assured apparently that we would manage it 

 all right without any further help from him, and certain 

 that he would u m acted hen [feeding time came. 



The sight of the deer which he headed off roused him, aud 

 he dashed into the water at the buck, who bristled up and 



thiss 



raked at him with his horns. AVak-hirig the deer's graceful 

 movements for a few minutes, I waited until he hell his 

 head still un instant, and tired at the butt of his ear, knock- 

 ing him over. No sooner had we dispatched our game than 

 we set to work to prepare a h as; for ourselves and 



■- were hung up, ft lire built, and we soon had the 

 deer's liver and heart broiling on the sticks for our delecta- 

 tion, whih. 1 lined 1 1 -m selves with such pieces 



BWi threw i 1 them until they had eaten all the meat and 

 offal, except what we proposed to etiiryhome. We had an 



injoyabli meal of hrofled live* and toasl and then took a 

 a lie! u i:e. leaning lazdy pM our elbowB and watching the 

 ■bjch, stuffed as lull as they could waddle, looked 

 , as much as to say, "Keep doing 

 .-"Hid not spare much time, how- 

 ever, if we meant to carry out our programme, so we soon 

 slung our packs and Started off again. "" Franz took the Bftd- 

 dle — cut short— with the hide and legs left on ; I took my 

 pack full of fdre-i|nartei meat, and Townsend took Boini in 



his pack, e.-i-i- -iii_ - ; ■ M -'. 1 1 v'- gun and leading one bear 

 dog. I mid !- ,- o-'u-r '.-lead, letting Nig, who was a priv- 



II- 1 sceilt "i ■' ,- I [g -i,riice Creel; Mountain was a tough 

 -1- moss-covered rocks and through plenty of fall- 

 en timber. We did not reach the far-brow until about, an 

 hour and a half before dark, when we stood in a little open- 

 ing at the edge of the descent and looked out over the great 

 basin below us, in which we would somewhere have to 

 spend the night, and beyond which we would have to go to 

 reach home. We looked out over the sea of forest below us 

 for some time in silence, until at last Franz said, "Look 

 here Colonel, don't you believe we could rind old Tom's ? 

 If we could do that," he would be just the tiring." "Where 

 is old Tom's? " " Well, I don't know where it is. but surely 

 yon and me can find it. I ain't never been there, but they 

 tell me he's gone in there to make a hacking for old man 

 Moore, and 1 judge he's got hands a helping him and pro- 

 visions plenty, so we could have a good time and stir the 

 old fellow up a bit." " How are we to find him if we imii 

 know where he's gone V " " Why, I'll tell yotL 1 !. ■ 

 Camp Run?" "No; where is it?" "'Why don't you 

 mind where you and me and old Tom came out and killed a 

 panther two or three years ago ; we crossed a low divide at, the 

 foot of a steep spruce ridge, just where the panther had killed 

 a deer?" "lies, I do," "Well ! that run beyond the di- 

 vide is Camp llun, I believe, and it must be in "there some- 

 hat old Tom is now," 



The next point was to settle to our satisfaction j list where we 

 thought Camp Run lay from our stand-point ; a few minutes 

 settled that as near as we could guess, for Franz never disa- 

 greed much with me as to direction in the woods, if it was a 

 country Fknew anything about. I glanced at the compass 

 in my gun-stock, and we determined to strike a perfectly 

 straight course down the mountain and across country, 

 regardless of any and every obstacle, until we should either 

 get to the desired point or be overtaken by darkness. We 

 started. "Franz, let me carry them saddles," said Town- 

 send. "Pshaw!" Franz replied. " You can't carry them ; 

 go ahead." However, Townsend would try it, so Franz put 

 them on his back and took gun and pack instead. The un- 

 lucky Townsend found his new load more than he had bar- 

 gained for, and gave it up sooner than he had expected to, 

 for his foot slipped just as he started down hill, and away 

 he went ' head-over-heels for several hundred feet, rolling 

 and tumbling, unable to stop until he brought upi against a 

 big spruce. Franz took his proper load again and 

 went at a round pace. We kept a straight course, up hill 

 and down, until just about dark, when we halted in an 

 open field of beech and maple woods to consult as to what to 

 do. I suggested that we had come straight to the point of 

 the ridge which we had picked out as most likely to be. the one 

 overhanging Camp Run, and that a= we had not reached any 

 clearing and had seen no signs of any man having been 

 about, we had better camp. We had not talked two min- 

 utes as we stood there, when suddenly we heard hack! 

 hack! hack! " There's an axe," said Franz. We ran for- 

 ward a hundred yards, and looking round the point of the 

 ridge there lay the clearing. Franz looked at Townsend— 

 " Bill, didn't I tell you the Colonel and me could find any 

 : : these woods?" 



-. delightful time that night. Old Tom had just 

 finished his log-cabin so thatit could be occupied, 

 a grand supper and a smoke, and no end of stories after- 

 ward. Townsends pack was made a thing of naught to give 

 the old man a piece of venison. We felt almost as if we 

 were home but I can tell you we had a hard enough tramp 

 next day. It began to rain early in the morning, and we 

 had to travel from early breakfast time until half-past three 

 in the afternoon to get to McCoy's, through a drenching 

 storm. At last, however, we castori* our packsat the familiar 

 porch, tied up the dogs, took a good wash, lit our pipe.-., and 

 then gave Mrs. McCoy our several and particular accounts of 

 our bear hunt, and how and why it was that hides were 

 scarce, and that Franz would go without his velveteen coat, 

 and she and the children would miss their promised gd'ls. 

 As I said before, a bear hunt to be interesting needs three 

 things : bears, snow, and dogs. Having only one of tln.se, 

 the dogs, we were obliged to go without the other two. 



I spent seveml days after this shooting deer, which were 

 tolerably numerous about McCoy's, and then with a fine 

 pair or two of horns as trophies, mounted my old mare 

 "Stoopid," and started on my two days' ride'to civiliza- 

 tion. C. C. 



For Forest and Stream. 

 HOUNDING DEER IN MISSISSIPPI. 



WE live twenty-two miles below Natchez, entirely iso- 

 lated from the world, seldom seeing a stranger, as 

 they have no business in this country. Our only communi- 

 cation is through a boy em a mule, who carries the mail be- 

 tween Natchez and Woodvilh;: tri-weekly, that is, he trys to 

 to make the trip in a week. We never go any where, as 

 after meat and bread is paid fur we have nothing to goon. 

 We heard incidentally that there had been some sort of a 

 show in Philadelphia last year, and they say there ha-, been 

 :■ presidential election, but we don't know who was elected. 



We ..o- not id. j ■ ill-:,: n por, - the proper 



administration of ottr hi BH afiaii . a organiza- 

 tion known as "Bulldozer.-,, hat dispel jusi 



all that we. require, as results prove. 



We have during the winter many idle days, which if it, 

 were not for on wo'uld find dif- 



ficult to dispose of. Deer are plenty, but owing to the im- 

 mense country they have to run in, they are difficult to kill. 



I have a breed of hcniuds that I think are superior to any 

 in the world: they are descendants from a pack owned by 

 the Chmchesteis of Virginia. A few days ago I left home 

 early in the morning to see a neighbor, "two of my hounds 



persisted in following me ; they soon got a deer trail going 

 parallel to the road. Eo b shorl ... 



■■■■-. 01 due south, away from home iml ihe river: I could 

 hear (hem some time, as the wind was from the BOi 

 my return home about '2 o'clock p. w., I found the buck 

 dressed and hung up. The two dogs had caught him within 

 a hundred yards Of the house. They had run him about 

 five hours. 



About a month ago I was out driving, started 

 van her in the river. The dogs— f'oui'— on the way "oaek 10 me 

 bounced a buck; who ran straight away from the river. 

 After a while he turned and made for tiu river, but he had 

 a, .1,1, , tit too far, and they caught and killed him within two 

 ' dred yards of me. Time from start about two hours. 



[■the 



Aftt 



self ii 



ran him out one u 



I knew he would 1 



stand for him the 



water, but he ma 

 him in sight of th 

 though ' 



g season was c 



old buck located liim- 

 uarter of it mile of the house. I 

 ind he went straight to the river, 

 k that night, so I sent a friend to 

 ming. I soon had the old fellow 

 circle a while before he v. 

 1 .- i .... many, for they caught 

 •, who was near the river. And 

 jngathim, he dragged along up 

 .rider, who drove him off and shot the buekin 

 the head. Time from start about three and a half hours. 



One morning in December the hounds took a trad that 

 went away due south (away from trie river): they were 

 soon out of hearing. We (W. C, Cage and myself) "posted 

 ourselves on Stands, through which the deer would pass on 

 the way to the river. After several hours Cage heard the 

 dogs. When within a quarter of a mile of him he saw a 

 buck coming, mouth open and much distressed. It ran 

 up to him and he killed it — a three point, Just tl 



the pack stop, 

 found tl- ;.y had -a 

 dead that he had 1 

 were hung up for 

 Upon btttcbe 



ek. H 



ng his t 



to the 



heard 

 ,d 



buck 



had dislocated his right knee in 1 



ght, 



him— the leg 



They 



itornmg brought 

 rs found that he 

 endoring il nse- 



mding out at an angle from the 

 body. The accident had happened within a short 



.. 1. 1..: was caught, as we hounded up his track where 

 he had crossed an opening with the other buck and then 

 he was all right. After he crippled himself the other buck 

 ran away from him, and would have escaped if Cage had 

 have had less patience, as he remained on the stand ah 1 I 

 seven hours. My pack is too fast and run too long to drive 

 with. Thev run the deer entirely out of the country, and 

 after two or thTee races the deer will nol come back. They 

 seldom come back (the dogs) under forty-eight hours if 

 the deer does not go directly to water and 1 ! 1 may catch 

 a great many that I nfcrer hear of. For successful driving 

 ft dog should be slow and mouthy, but game enough to run 

 all day. Dabmwutoj.-. 



For Forest and Stream. 

 REMINISCENCES OF THE (COW PAS- 

 TURE) DORCHESTER MARSHES. 



THERE are many in this city, lovers of sports by flood 

 and field, who will' remember pleasurablv the good 

 tunes they have had and the bags of snipe and plover ob- 

 tained in a day's shooting on the old Cow Pasture familiar 

 to old Boston gunners. The writer of these lines has had 

 many a good day's shooting there in years gone by. and 

 found mflay agreeable friends from the brother sportsmen 

 he met there. First among them was Caleb L., a cele- 

 brated Nimrod, and beloved by all for his sterling qualities. 

 He would always get a good bag, and seemed to have a very 

 fascinating way with the birds. Then there was JoBeph 

 K., an old veteran, who was of ten seen at nightfall wend- 

 ing his way in the direction of the old bam which stood 

 near the centre of the marsh, where he intended to quarter 

 for the night, and be on hand bright and early in the morn- 

 ing. There were also W. L., B. F, and nurn tiers of others: 

 but as we spieak of all these, let. us drop a tear to their 

 memory. They have passed away from the mortal lo the 

 immortal shore, and we shall see" them no more. Of the 

 living representatives of those times let us call up a few of 

 them. 



First, there was Seth C the indefatigable gunner, who 

 always had some interesting story to tell, Often as we sat 

 ensconced in the stand have we seen him on the 

 walking from Boston, with his basket, of decoys covered by 

 his rubber poncho on one. arm, and his gun on his shoulder, 

 on the way to a favorite position in the centre of the marsh, 

 directly opposite the point stand, where he would shortly 

 be Been blazing away at the approaching birds and anathe- 

 matizing all greenhorns. 



Then there wore the brothers, R. R. J. and V. R. J., 

 veteran duck and snipe slayers and moonlight inveiglers of 

 ye gentle qi IS lung expeditions were much in 



rogue during those palmy days, and the solemn stillness of 

 the midnight hour was often made to ring with the roar of 

 the Messrs. J. 's guns. 



Then there were H. and B. (we havi 1 ihem for 



years), also, T. H. S the famous gunner, who hafi done 

 favors innumerable tor his brother .sportsmen in tie . i 

 fixing guns, making and painting decoy-, (•-!,; 

 bird call:,, etc.. etc, and whose authority is 60 excellent on 

 all subjects pertaining to the gun. 



We now recall to mind G. H. M., whose door is always open 

 i. i is ' 1 -, ,- - i 1 whose kind welcome and plea,aiii 

 we have often experienced.. Many a fine day's gunning 

 I,. . ' enjoyed with him, and we desire to' Mm I I D 



sincere!] for his liberality in plae: boats at 



. . 1 also often, NextinordercomesG. W., W.P.,andC. 



T. C, who COUid be seen on almost any day from the 20th of 

 August to the 10th of September, at sunrise, snugly estab- 

 lished in the usual place, the point stand, where the con- 

 tinual ciack of their guns betokened the Sport they were 

 having. We have met' them a number of times reluming 

 from the marsh with large strings of game, for they in vari- 

 ably met with good success. Then convenient shooting-box 

 in the immediate vicinity was the resort of all the gunners 

 of the neighborhood. What pleasant times we have had 

 within its walls, and methinks 1 he 1 :. mi 1 1 laughter of 

 the speirtsiueu wlu .1. at the various 



ludicrous steiries which were told and the comical »d- 



...;...-. C With 01 - . - h : 



has long .-:,- it Stood 



... red by the gri 



over us at the 

 . . happiest 



il - .,., e . ■ .;. . ;.. old h 



BU( ... •-:■ - : ' -: - Bpi ft, I 1. 

 yellow-legs, grass-bircU, and 

 sprinkling of brant birds, sickle-bill curlew, find wiUet, and 



