TTeb. 8, 1883.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



25 



gone lu-linv. v*hi ■•!•< he remained until eight o'clock, when 

 there being ;i half fathom of watotou tin- bar, we sailed into 



till 1 livirr 



On tlir little bay nisi inside oi the inlet is mi old palmetto 

 shanty ami » well, constructed by old man Futch several 

 Hears before, where I then round him, nearly starved, wait- 

 ing fur his companion, "Sailor Jack," who had gone io 

 LnkeWonh for provisions, buf who never wen.1 bflok, hav- 

 Bag shipped on aboaf nl Lake Worth for Halifax River, 

 leaving the old man to Shift for himself. I found this Sailor. 

 Jack :i row days afterward at Lake Worth just aa he was 

 about to sail for the Halifax, When 1 look the opportunity to 

 preach liim a ' --.-r ni'Mi ' on "man's iidiumanity to man." 

 which -eeniedlo be thoroughly appreciated bj tic small 

 Inn attentive audience, 



Whilfl OWl hunting the day alter our arrival at Hillsboro', 



in th'' beach scrub, an unusual olrjccl caught my eye as 1 

 was passing an open space between two bushes, whii h 1 - 1« 

 at a second glaui e was a large rattlesnake coiled up within 

 two feet of me. As 1 stepped back and will, dreu a buck 

 Sol cartridge and inserted one of small shot, he began 

 (pawling languidly aud slowly awaj and without shaking 

 rattle, when 1 shol ins head oil' lie was six (col in length, 



and had a very beautifully marked skill which I took Ofl ai 



once, giving the body to Skipper, who had often horrified 

 the boys by telling'them oi his greal i mess for tried rat- 

 tlesnake. "But although this was a fine specimen, four 

 inches in diameter, with lusciou- and tempting-looking 

 Steaks along the backbone, all porterhouse and tenderloin, 

 In- seemed tp have suddenly lost all desire and appreciation 

 for that kind of meat; at all event-., be ' didn't scetn to 

 iiac-.n after it." 



A- we returned, we passed a shallow, muildv bnvou. the 



hotiom of which was left dry by the ebb tide, where we saw 

 Mime oysters, and struck il rich These oysters were the 

 fattest.' largest, and had the finest flavor of any f had ever 

 asidl. and this is saying a good deal for one born and bred 

 n Baltimore. They wei'e all single oysters, none less than 

 ttk inches long, anil were attached to the denuded stems 

 and branches ol sea-fans (Gorgonia,), and wore thereby easily 

 [STried in bunches. Out dinner find day was a royal one: 

 Jysteis. raw, fried, roasted and sterwed; Spanish mackerel, 

 broiled; venison steak; naked yams, boiled rice; sliced raw 

 ipinatocs, and for dessorf bananas and g($en cocoannts. 

 \ futl-grownigreen cguoainul is a delectable, delii-iousandani- 

 Sipsial delicacy call nlated to delighl and tickle the palate of 

 EbS most satiated and bta«i epicure, Taking off the husk, 

 :.ine of tin "eves'' is opened, the milk poured out into a cup, 

 and the shell cracked in halves, when Hie meat will be found 

 >l tin consistence of Van/: mange; tie milk is then poured 

 hack and the contents eaten with a Bpoon, 



.Viler wailing a da\ or IWO in vain for n fair wind, we 

 left Hillsboro' River with a st route southeast wind -and a 

 heavy el,.,,-, sea. and sailed closebntiie.d, makimr lung leg- 

 an-l -ho,-: ones down the coast, bound tor New River Inlet. 

 twenty miles below. After a few miles .lack was com 

 pelled' to go below and Skipper was anxious to nut back, 

 hut I was desirous W kaov, horn the Kami, ha- would behave 



ill a heavy seaway. She worked to a charm, and after an 

 \ rough passage, the sea running verv hiL'h. and 

 in the iccti: of half a galQ, we made NewTCiver Inlet, where, 

 though ihi tide -was ebbing, there was plenty of water on 

 the liar, and w,- ai once made the run in. with Skipper at 

 the masthead to look out Ihc channel. A large brig beating 

 down the coast ahead of US and laboring hard in the heavy 

 lied. [1 lo.,; VVOVS0 tO I he. boys than it really wag. 



bough it was, forsooth, lumpy and dualy enough, Hud 

 proved lo be the roughesl bit of sailing we encountered on 

 flic voyage. The wind bid been squally for several days, 

 hauling from northeast to southeast,, consequently, old At- 

 lantic »;;■ on a nigh add tried bis best to carry Our bow- 

 sprit away. In,! it iva- a stoul slick and stood' the racket 

 hravi 1\ . 



Wc anchored in Hie river a hundred yards above the north 

 point of the inlet, where there was plenty (,r wafer and good 

 holding-round tor the mini hook. New Hiver. lor six mile- 

 above its mouth, i-tbc -iraighle-l. deepest and fines! river 1 

 have, seen in Florida, although a narrow one. It is famous for 

 &S sharks, regular man-eaters, some of them, and for the 

 immense numbers ami variety ol its fishes, The buys drove 

 Sown a snubbing posl al thepofnl of the inlet, where they 

 Baulecl out sharks until their anas ached. I looked on ill 

 their sport with the utmost complacency and even with 

 flirty satisfaction, helping them to haul oul some of the 

 larger ones, fori reiuemb, reel how in ally I eame to bine. 

 devoured bv Ihe monsters, al that very place, three, years 

 befoie. Da Unit occasion Wash Jenkins, who has charge of 

 the Life Saving Station t'Xo. -ii. ejghi miles above, had 

 sailed u.- down the river to the south shore of the inlet, 



where we le-llUied Our tramp to BisCaVlie Ba\ It wQS 

 iind. iratood Ihat on our return we were to Bet Are to the 

 scrub at the inlet, so thai he. seeing the smoke, could sail 

 down for us. We were gone a few day.- longer than we ex 

 pected. and arrived at the mlcl again one day about noon. 

 We saw an old yawl-boat across the inlet, lied to some man- 

 groves, and which belonged to old man Kulch, but so far as 

 we were concerned il might as well have been in Ihc 

 Bahamas. We sal fire to Ihe scrub, bul a Strong wind from 

 the north kept the smoke near the ground and Jenkins failed 

 (osccit We slept on the beach thai night, and tb.e next 

 mornimi I told my party that if thev would help to build a 

 raft. I would crossover and get the boat, when we could 

 walk up the sea beach to Ihe station. We found a Few 

 water -naked logs aud tied them togetbei with vines, coti- 

 HWcting a rude raft about seven by three feel, but which, 

 of Its own weight, settled flush with (he water. I found il 

 Hat stick, like a garden paling, some live feel long.a half 

 inch thick, and three inches wide, which done duty as a 

 paddle. I mounted the raft, which sank to the bottom in 

 the shallow water, but by floating it into deeper water I 



managed by greal care to preserve my balance, standing 

 upright, and found that ii would sustain me, though it sank 

 beneath the surface some -ix inches, with my weight. 



Al low water Black I -tailed, but I found' il difficult navi- 

 gation, reiiuiring the utmost eauli. n lo keep my cqn'dib- 

 limn and i i.i prevent the frail structure, iron, turning turtle 

 and spilling me overboard; a single plank would have been 

 a ship in comparison^ Hut by dim of hard and careful, but 

 extremely slow work [ reached. the middle of the stream 

 The tide then began to make, and with it came hundreds of 

 sharks, string-rays, sawfish and pornofses, I had not 

 thought of them before. Huge man cater- swarmed around 

 my rait, immense rays dived beneath it. an occasional saw- 

 fish would come darting toward me, stop suddenly, wag- 

 ginghis tail, seemingly undecided whether to run a saw on 

 me or flop me over with his fait, while the harmless por- 

 poises went rolling by, thinking it great fun. The slightest 



touch of a shark's tail would have capsized my craft and 

 sent me llouudcring into the water, where I would soon 

 have been divided, piece meal, and distributed into the 

 maws of a dozen sharks. But I struck at them with the 

 slight paddle whenever they came too close, and thus kept 

 them at B respectful distance While using the -lick in this 

 way it cracked at the middle; (hen il required double 

 caution in paddling and striking, Finally, after it half 

 bom's hard work 1 succeeded in getting across safely, where 

 I bailed oul the boat, in which was an oar. and sculled over 

 after the boy, I'mler BUch trying circumstances there is 

 nothing like self-possession, Ir-vel-hendulness and presence 

 Ol mind, unless if be, as I'at said, absence of body 



Rushing in and oul with Ihe tide, al New River, lislies 

 can be seen by thousands, snapping at anything, even a bil 

 of white rag tied to the hook and thrown to them bv a 

 strong hand line. We look crevaile irom ten to thirty 

 pounds, always large one- In re, never less than ten pound-. 



By anchoring a hoaf in midstream they can be speared or 

 grained as they swim rapidly by. often pursued h.\ -harks 

 and porpoises." Mr„ Jenkins takes them in this way up to 

 forty pounds aud cure- and smokes them. The largest 

 allig.aloi wc killed wa- here, lie had crawled out on the 

 shore where the boys had left some sharks, when Jack shot 

 him from the schooner with a mid-range l-Vahodv-.Martini 

 rill, at a hundred and fifty yards, knocking Ihe cap of his 

 skull off; he was twelve feel in length. Alligator- -can, lo 

 be as much al home in sail water as in fresh. 



Six miles above Ihe inlet is the "haulover." opposite the 

 site of old Fort Lauderdale, and marked by a group of 

 COCOanui trees. From here the river runs southerly, to its 

 mOUth, mill parallel with the set,, beach, the intervening 

 strip of ridge being nowhere much over a hundred feet in 

 widlli. At the haulover Ihc river spreads out into a broad, 

 shallow bay, into which empty its Xorlh and South 

 branches and several creeks, and is diversified by several 

 islands. Two mile- above the haulover, on the east bank, 

 is the wharf or landing of Life Saving Station No. 4, the 

 latter a quarter of a mile away on the sea beach. Wc made 

 fast to the wharf and went to the station to see my old 

 friend. Wash, Jenkins, the keeper in charge. We found 

 him alone, hi- family being away on a visit lo Key West, 

 lie was very glad to see us. not having seen a human face 

 since hi- family left three weeks before. His nearest neigh- 

 bora are at Hisi aync Hay. twenty miles below, and Steve 

 Andrews ai Station No. 3, twenty-four miles above. 



We -pent (wo or Unci day- 'hen- -hooting ducks, cool- 

 and snipe, and one dav went out with Jenkins and his dogs 

 lor deer Wa-h. Weill" a mile above on a neck of land be- 

 tween the North Branch and a creek, to drive, the rest of us 

 taking stand- across the timbered strip. I was sitting 

 at the edge of some spruce [lines, near tin open .-pace cov- 

 ered bv gallbcrrj and mvrllc bushes, when I heard some 

 quail near by 1 began to whistle and call them up, aud 

 soon had them all around me. There were, perhap-. thirty 

 Of them: they had never seen a human being before. I kept 

 perfectlj still, but continued whistling and calling, and had 

 them hopping over my feet, cocking up their cunning little 

 heads and looking know inglv at me with their bright round 

 ey, -. a- liny ran about picking at Hie buds and leaves and 

 bits of grass, twittering and chirping like so many young- 

 chickens. Thev soon wandered off and 1 was alone again. 



Thai night we planned an expedition up the South Branch 

 to ihe Everglades, to visil an Indian village, sonn twenty 

 miles distant. Accordingly, next morning we moved the 

 Rambler safely in the bav, making everything snug and 

 tattt, Taking'our guns, a 'rod or Iwo, some trolling tackle, 

 and grub enough for several days, wo embarked in an Indian 

 cypress canoe, belonging io Jenkins, soma twentj feel in 

 length, and two feel team, with sorii-sail. poles and paddles. 

 We started at nine o'clock, sailing across Ihe bav to the 

 South Branch, which, being very crooked, wc furled the 

 sail and each man look a puddle. This branch of New 

 Hivei Lb much like other rivcrsin Southoasl Florida. About 

 an average width of fifty yards, with perpendicular banks, 

 green lo Ihe water's edge with a prolusion of wild grasses 

 and shrubs, and with a varying depth of from three to 

 iwcuu feet. Many alligators were gunning themselves on 

 the -and spits hi the lower end of the Stream. As we pro 

 gressed Ihc water became decperand the current stronger. 

 The bank- were clothed, usually with pines) with an occa- 

 sional hauiak of palmetto, water oak. swamp maple, bav. 

 Spanish asii and other timber. Here and there were little 

 coves o, bights thickly grown with rushes, and aquatic 

 plants bearing brieht-colornd flowers. 



Wo soon reached the great cypress belt, tlu'ongh which 

 the amber-colored Stream poured silently and* swiftly, 

 (hough so clear that great, masses ol white, coralline rocks, 

 seamed, fissured aud lying in endless confusion, could be 

 plainly seen tit the bottom, through the crevices of which 

 wen crowing Ihe nio.-t beautiful and curious aquatic 

 plants, and grasses. The fall cypresses, with pale aud gii/. 

 zled trunks, stood in serried ranks like glim spectre-, orua 

 mented in a fantastic fashion with the scarlet plumes of air 

 plants, while their long arms meeting overhead w<n draped 

 in heavy folds and festoons of gray Spanish moss. Tin 

 solemn and impressive stillness was broken only by the 

 wild cry of some startled egret, heron or osprey, which 

 echoed through the weird forest with a peculiarly hollow 

 emphasis, and at lasi died away ill a low mournful cadence. 

 Our own voices sounded unniuural and strangely sonorous, 

 resoundinir as though beneath the dome of -ome va.-l cathe- 

 dral. 



Passing through the cypress bell we came to Ihe "sloughs" 

 where the stream divided into several smaller ones. "The 

 "sloughs" is a margin of tall grasses and shrubs of very lux- 

 uriant growth, intersected by numerous small si reams' and 

 lying between the cypresses and (he Everglades proper. 

 Getting through thie We finally emerged into the Everglades 

 seemingly a sea of waving green grasses, with innumerable 

 — islands of nil sizes. But these grasses are all growing in 

 water, clear aud limpid, wilh channels a few feet wide, di- 

 verging and crossing in every direction, through which a 

 canoe can be sailed or poled; there was then two feet of 

 water in the Everglades. A brisk breej&e blowing, we unfurled 

 the sail and went skimming along, greatly to our satisfaction 

 and relief, for we were quite tired after paddling up stream 

 some six hours. 



It i- a hard matter to convey a correct, or even an approxi- 

 mate idea of the region called the ••Everglades;" it is Unique, 

 then- is nothing like il an\ where el-e. A'.- far as the eye can 

 reach Stretches a broad; level expanse, clothed in verdure 

 of a peculiarly fresh and vivid green, u rich and intense 

 color seen nowhere but here. The suifaee is dotted and di- 

 versified by thousands of islets and islands, oi nil Bhapee and 

 sizes, from a few yards to many acres hi extent, clothed 

 with a tropical luxuriance of trees, shrubs and vine-^ The 



mangrove here gives place to the cocoa-plum, which grows in 

 endless profusion amid Ihe; swamp maple, sweet buy, ma.-iicli, 

 water poplar, gum, limbo, satin wood, water' oak, and tower- 

 ing above these, clearly revealed against the blue sky, the 

 plume-like palmetto, while over and around all, running riot 

 in their exuberance, arc innumerable vines aud creepers bear- 

 ing Dowers of gorgeous dyes. 



8ee!ng a smoke" several miles away, we sailed in that, di- 

 rection through the intricate and narrow channels, often 

 making shortcut- by plowing through musses of lily-pads, 

 deer tongue and lotus. As We t,e..,red the smoke we saw 

 several Canoes -hoot OUi from behind i-laud- on our right 

 and left, their white -ails gleaming and darting along in the 

 rays of the selling sun like sea-gulls, but all proceeding in 

 tin- s-,., i,. direction, toward the smoke. Suddenly, one wc 

 had not seen cauie swooping down upon us like a huge bird 

 of prey from the shelter Of * small island, a tall young In- 

 dian, clad only in a light-colored shirt, a red belt and an 

 enormous red turban, stood upon the pointed stern guiding 

 the canoe wilh a pole, while an elderly Indian sat amidships 

 holding the .-beet of the -ail. They sailed through a con- 

 verging channel into our course and wailed until we were 

 alongside. 



"How d'ye!" said I. 



'How! ' answered the old imui. "Me see 'um canoe; me 

 see 'urn while, man; me wait; me glad see um. Howl" 



"We come to see you; have a good time: come to see 

 your village, "said I." "We got big canoe— .schooner— at 

 station— at Jenkins's." 



"In-eah! (yes. or all right). Me glad see 'um; in-oak!" re- 

 plied he. 



Here Jack put in his oar, saying: "We like Ingun; big 

 Ingtin; Mr. Lo! Come sec um; big Ingun, whoop-ee! 

 squaw, hoop-hi! papoose, hi-yahl wigwam! wampum! you 

 bell wa-hoo!" 



I saw from the twinkle of the old man's eye that he un- 

 derstood English very well, as he replied, good-naturedly; 



Ila! Young man— talk heap— talk much — ho-hi-wau- 

 gus!"(bad, or no good). Theu he continued: "Me Tiger; 

 Big Tiger— old Tiger-tail my father— the chief; little chief I" 

 Then, pointing toward Ihe pines on the mainland, he. said: 

 ".Me gS— village— -you come — in-cahl" 



The . hauling aft the sheet, they shot away, our own 

 heavily. laden ctuioe seeming to stand still in comparison, 

 1'h -e'lndian- bad been :it work in their fields on the islands, 

 but seeing us coming, they quit work earlier than usual so 

 as in get to the village before our arrival. 



Jf#%a/ ]§i$torQ. 



THE BIRDS OF MAINE. 



With Annotations of their Comparative Abundance, 



Dates of Migration, Breeding Habits, etc. 



BY BVERETT SMITH 



e'AMti.v KvuoNin.v.: Tin-: Falcons.— Concluded. 



lij$, Marsh Hawk — Oirvwa aid" 1 "* Aud. ; Circus hiuhoniuo 

 Hidg. -|:!0; Q&rmix cyawus Ivudnonius- Qs. 489. — Abundant. 

 Arrives in April. Breeds on the ground ; lays from four to 

 six dull bluish white eggs, generally faintly blotched with 

 pale browtf, in May. The most abundant species of hawk 

 throughout the inhabited portions of the State. The light 

 gray plumage and ihe comparatively smaller size of the male 

 bird misleads some persons into the belief that il is a differ- 

 ent species of hawk from the larger female with its rich cin- 

 namon brown coloration of plumage. But the large white 

 space over the base of the tail, common to both sexes, may 

 easily be seen aa the bird pursue- its low flight over the 

 fields and meadows, and is a characteristic marking of the 

 Bpecies. The marsh hawks do not frequent the forests, but 

 make their haunts about the fields, marshes, and open lands, 

 where tlav ma\ be ^, en quartering their chosen ground as 

 systematically as (rained hunting dogs. They are very de- 

 structive to small game birds, such as are found in the fields 

 and marshes, and they also prey upon mice, frogs, snahes. 

 etc. This hawk does not commonly pursue its prey but 

 pounces upon it unawares. 



15-f. Cooper's Hawk — AslAtr eooperi And.; decipiter 

 ,;„.i„ri Uidg. -i:il. ('-. llt-i— Hare. An occasional visitant 

 from the south. I have never observed this hawk in Maine, 

 nor even seen a specimen killed here. Prof. A. K. Verrill 

 mentioned it in his list of the birds of Norway, Maine. Mr. 

 Boardmau mentions il as "rare." Mr. N. C. Brown in- 

 forms me that he has seen bul (wo specimens here. Ouc of 

 these in the possession of Mr. I. ('. Daniels, taxidermist, at 

 Portland, April l.i. lo76, and Ihc other oue was alive in 

 captivity at Gorham, Maine, in ihe possession of Chas. B. 

 Merrill, Ks,j. Mr. Harry Merrill gives me the record of two 

 specimens killed in Penobscot county; one in 1878, and oue 

 in 1881. 



Although not a very large hawk, this bird is endowed 

 With great strength, daring, and speed of flight. Many 

 hawks capture their prey chiefly by darling Suddenly upon 

 it, bin ihe Coopei's hawk will pursue the swiftest of birds 

 while on the wing, with a sustained tlighl that I believe to 

 be unsurpassed in speed by any other bird. I remember 

 an incident thai well displayed the wouderful rapidity of 

 flight of which this hawk is capable. 



One autumn day in Virginia, whije shooting partridges, 

 or quails (Oiii/r nrginutnws), a partridge that had been well 

 alarmed by a shot from each of my two companions, flew 

 close by me. and at that instant I observed the bird to 

 suddenly increase its -peed, as a Cooper's hawk gave chase. 

 Swift as" was the ut nio-t speed of the pari ridge, vet much 

 -willei wa.- that of the hawk, which was quickly overtaking 

 it- pn-y a- both bird- disappeared from my view over the 

 tops of a grove of small pine trees. The incident served to 

 illustrate the facts thai a swift-flying bird like the partridge, 

 already frightened, was capable of greatly increasing Its 



speed "upon urgent necessity demanding it, and that a hawk 

 of this species is capable of a sustained rapidity of ilighi 

 even greater than the utmost speed of the Orti/.r UtginiaivuS, 

 l.Vi. Sharp-shinned Hkw"*— Astur fa*tu$ And. ; Acc(pit$r 

 fascuA Kidg. 483, Cs. 464.— Abundant. Arrives in April. 

 "Breeds on trees. Lay.- four or live eggs, while with brown 

 blotches, in May. Next to the mar,-li hawk I he most abuudaul 

 -pecics of hawk throughout I lie Si ale. This little hawk is not 

 much larger than the rusty-Crowned falcon, but in its gen- 

 eral appearance it seems like a diminutive fac simile of Ihe 

 Cooper's hawk. The sharp shinned hawk is a deadly enemy 

 to small birds, such aa warbler- and sparrows, but does not 

 commonly attack birds larger than these. It is often locally, 

 bul erroneously . tinned "pigeon hawk" in Maine. I shot a 



