3.1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



243 



anything her (Efforts did harm, as perhaps alarmed by the 



blows of her paddle on the water, the Shark gave her and 

 tlif canoe a wider berth, but oatue eloser to us. Just at the 

 left of the entrance, and but ten or fifteen feet distant, there 

 traS a large flat rock-, which when we entered was at least 

 two feet out of the water, and had a surface of six or eight 

 square feet. 



Our hopes were in reach this rook, which would be the 

 one shallow spot available. To this end we had chosen the 

 left band wall for our climb. As we progressed, the rock 

 became visible, the water, however, covering it and broken 

 by it. We could not reach it without taking a risk, for 

 we must drop and swim to it. Our plan was to climb out 

 as far as possible, get close together, and selecting a moment 

 when the shark was at the furthest limit of his beat, drop 

 together and make for the. rock, hoping that our united 

 splash wbuld scare him, and that if not we could with our 

 kuives perhaps protect each other, and at the worst one of 

 us would escape. 



This plan was not, carried out. While still some distance 

 from the entrance, and as much ahead of me, Jordan sud- 

 denly gave a piercing yell and dropped in a sprawl almost 

 directly in front, oi the shark, 



He had stepped upon a shell, which broke from under 

 him. EithtiT that yell or Hie splash proved his safeguard; 

 the fin disappeared, and in a moment became again visible 

 a hundred feet away. With two or three lusty strokes he 

 gained the rock and stood erect, saved. 



During this performance 1 stood still and, with bated 

 breath, clung to that wall like a fly, helpless at last, for the 

 sudden wrench to my already overtaxed nerves had de- 

 moralized me. After a little rest 1 braced up and resumed 

 mr crawl, feeling a reuewed hope that the shark might be 

 us"civil to me as he had been to Jordan, of whom the" last 1 

 saw before devoting attention to my footsteps, was that he 

 was endeavoring to" get hold of the end of :i pole which 

 Caroline was reaching out from the canoe. The next I saw 

 of him gave me a thrill of joy. He had succeeded in getting 

 into the canoe, and the two of them, for she was an expert 

 paddler, had gotten the boat inside of the reefs, and between 

 me and the shark, although it, was not out of danger, for 

 right under their bow was a concealed rock, which I could 

 .see. hut feared they could not. in attempting to pilot them 

 clear of this danger, I in some way lost, my balance, and 

 went down "by the run." 



1 have a confused recollection of the plunge, of a grab at 

 both ends of me as 1 came up — one 1 felt sure hy the shark 

 —a pulling scramble, during which we nearly capsized the 

 canoe, ami myself in it safe and sound, being* welcomed by 

 Jordan, who was half wild with excitement and reaction, 

 catching my hand and shouting, "Glory Hallelujah!'' and 

 by Caroline, who stood sobbing — well I don't care to say 

 how — it, is, sr rather was, nobody's business but ours; and 

 Jordan wasn't a competent witness. Since those days 1 

 have "changed my condition," and am accustomed to con- 

 sidering bygones as such. 



And perhaps Caroline, if her father carried out his in- 

 tentions about her, is now a sedate matron in some New 

 Kngland village, with Carolines, and perhaps Caroline's 

 Carolines of berowu. 



Recognizing the fact that her probable fate, if she re- 

 mained on the island with him her eventual fate, would be 

 that she would become the wife (married Island fashion) of 

 some sailor, who, tempted by her beauty, would desert, some 

 whalesllip for her sake, he "had resolved to give her if pos- 

 sible to the wife of some whaling captain, to be brought to 

 America and educated as a Christian woman. 



I have often wondered if this has occurred. And now as 

 I write have half a hope that through this "personal" her 

 whereabouts may trauspire. I should be glad to hear from 

 her. 1 should be both glad and sorry to again meet her — 

 glad for many obvious reasons, sorry because I would be 

 loth t<> have substituted for my remembrance of that bright 

 little unworldly child, who mourned and would not be com- 

 forted when I left her, the more prosaic person of forty odd, 

 as now, if she still exists, she must have become, 



PlSF.CO. 



heard 



just 



dress 



»(j in 





is up 



u rods 



Hive 



scat. 



hem- 



what 



luck 



it the 



• had 



The traveler, weary and dusty at the close of the day's 

 journey, drew up to the door, and got out of his vehicle. 

 'it; often happened that nobody would be seen for a few 

 minutes, when from behind some bouse, Tom, a negro boy, 

 would shou himself, and approach with a gait which 

 evinced that "hurry" was a word whose significance was 

 unknown on the premises. He would assist in looking after 

 the horse, and, at his convenience, carry the luggage into 

 the piazza. AbOUl that time, the old lady would walk in 

 noiselessly from the back part of the house, greet you with 

 u pleasant .smile aud a few words of unstudied welcome. 

 Upon your inquiring for Mr. hove and William", she would 

 probably tell you that they were out in the woods looking 

 after the cattle and sheep," and would be in after awhile. 

 Further questioning her. you might get the information that 

 they took their single-barreled, fiiul-lock shotguns, thinking 

 it might happen that they would see a deer or turkey during 

 ilnii search. She would then leave you, and you might 

 amuse yi mrself bv looking over some, old copy of tin; Faycitc- 

 vilie O'lmreer. which a traveler had left with them, or a 

 Pateut. Office report which some member of Congress had 

 sent to him. Or, if so inclined, you might walk about the 

 premises and see nailed up on posts, or the sides of a house, 

 some trophies of the vciiatorial skill of the lord of the pine 

 barrens— the antlers of many a buck which he aud William 

 had brought down by the aid of their guns. Just before 

 dark, or between sundown and that time, you would hear 

 the squall of one or more chickens, and have your olfactories 

 regaled with the aroma of roasting coffee. Tom would 

 come in and throw a few pine knots— "light erd," as usually 

 called— upon the fire, aud soon the blazing brands would 

 fill the room with light and heat, After a time, the quiet 

 voices of Uncle Daniel and William would hi 

 outside of the house, and in they would com. 

 woolen hunting shirts of a brownish color, set 1 

 in I lie corner, hang their shotbags upon the i 

 you a very gentle grasp of the baud, and thci 

 selves in split-bottomed chairs. You would as! 

 they had bad, and the old man would tell you t 

 succeeded in getting a deer and a gobbler, Of course, you 

 would want to see the game. A torch would be lighted, 

 and you would witness one of the means by which the 

 larder of the house was often supplied for the delight of the 

 palate of many a guest. After being told how far the deer 

 or turkey was from the hunter, when killed, that they had 

 "toted" the game on a pole tor several miles, and would 

 proceed to dreas it before going to bed, you would re-enter 

 the house. The old man would take a seat near his win- 

 dow, open the broad shutters, take a knot, throw it on the 

 fire, and make the room "more cheerful aud more bright." 

 The old lady would come in, aud William would help his 

 mother set out a foldiug table in the middle ot the room, 

 upon a floor well sprinkled with clean. white sand. She 

 would sro to a chest, fake out a clean cotton table cover aud 

 nicely spread it. Then she would go to the cupboard take 

 the plates, cups and saucers, kuives and forks, and put 

 them in their appropriate places, Lastly she would take a 

 small waiter and put it at one end, aud into this her sugar 

 dish and cream bowl aud teaspoons. Very shortly there- 

 after one of the negro girls would come in bearing a plate 

 of biscuit and a disli ot "fried chicken. Retiring, she would 

 soon return with a dish of broiled venison aud some turkt 

 steak. Mrs. L. would finish up with the coffee-pot aud a 

 plate of fresh butter. You would then be very quietly told 

 that if you wanted anything to eat, the chance had come 

 for you to get it. It is probable enough that you would 

 want no second suggestion, and proceed to business without 

 further ceremony. " That; coffee was not, to be surpassed 

 anywhere, in any French cafe; those biscuit were light aud 

 uicelv browned;' that chicken was past, all praise— tor be it 

 known that a young fowl cooked before the life heat ha 

 left it is unsurpassed in tendern 

 is good enough for poor mortals 

 lutely paridisean in delicac 

 is fresh from the churn. 1 ncea in 

 or with a relish, A better meal y 

 very memory of that Laguay 



AN OLD HUNTER'S HOWIE. 



MAXY years ag, 

 and "wagons 



svbeu sulkey 

 rand the horse' 

 transportation along the highways, 

 more common than they now are. 

 to be found which afforded the we 

 (reshtnent aud repose alter the toil; 

 Such a stopping place as 1 have d. 

 the east, bank of a stream called Qt 

 Cumberland, aud thirty miles we; 

 was, for a long while, the market i 

 irt of this State. Sit 

 l of railroads, 



the 



of the cousti 

 the trade wl 

 to other 



ud ei 



gs and buggies 



e the 



only moan 



a of 



dside 



inns were n 



lueh 



occa 



lionally one 



was 



i-.ui 



icy of the 



day 



fbed 



vas situate 



i on 



He, in 



the count 



V of 



f Fai 



•etteville, w 



bieh 



i of a 



large porti, 



1. of 



that 



iuie, by re 



asou 



V cous 



iderable pa 



rt of 



lied h 



as been div 



•rted 



h that place once controlled hi 

 i,., wiuioi nuuis, though the town is still in a somewhat, 

 thriving condition. The house to which I refer was made 

 of pine logs, nicely hewed, was of one story in height, bad a 

 s i nail piazza on the south side, at one euri of which, 

 "shed room," a bo 

 one, extending tl 

 chimney was mad 

 window's were di 

 Weather by plank 

 them, near the li 

 tor olwayi 

 with which he roi 

 lire, rendering the 

 The dwelling w 

 feet from the nort 

 were of the same 

 known. The eou 

 iluetive, and no 

 hostelry woulfj 

 sort, to avoid sleet 



Scotchman, hi s a 

 •were the dwellers 

 ten or lit 



McMillan* broth 

 old man owned a 

 it was, ant] iha 

 The mi )1 l e 

 affairs was not m 

 ence of slavery) 

 wove cotton aud 

 was mad 



a blazing 



: than t<- ii 

 outhouses 



Mr, Lo 



t ten feet square, and in the rear a large 

 e whole length of the house. Its only 

 ■ of puncheons aud dirt and slicks. The 



in i ne of glass, and shielded from the 

 shutters. Just on the outside of one of 

 eplaee, was a platform, upon which the 



kept a large supply of hghtwood knots 

 ml it, easy at all times to keep 

 use of other lights i i 

 isuninelosed, and was not mor 

 I side of the highway. All th< 

 unpretending character. Faint was un- 

 itry all around was, and is, very unpro- 

 ie unacquainted with the character of the 

 e ever stopped there except as a last re- 

 ne in the woods. Daniel Love, an old 

 ffij Polly, aud their only child. William, 

 in this humble home, except for the last, 

 •s of the life of the owner, when Daniel 

 -r of Mrs. L„ resided with them. The 

 few negroes, and with their labor, such as 



fafhei iiiid son, a scanty crop was made. 



tvas really the servant, and this slate of 



common iu the South during the exist- 



oinen, spun and 



Clothing of all 



than one 



ool. 



, aud i 



ind thu 



at i ii, !.-■-■, st ■ A is abso- 

 ebuess, and tbjfl bul ter 

 , ask you if you ute any, 

 iu never enjoyed. The 

 even now blessed with 

 me, though "many years have passed since 1 enjoyed its 

 delicious fragrance. 



After supper you get around the fire again; the old man 

 asks you question after question in regard to your neigh- 

 borhood; tells you of news in your immediate vicinity of 

 which you never heard, entertaining you with au abundant 

 supply of anecdote and a profusion of quiet humor. He 

 will tell you of his hunting experiences; and if you will ask 

 him how many deer he bas killed in all his life he will 

 inform you that, including the one got to-day, the number 

 is exactly 1,521. As to turkeys he is not so positive, but 

 enough to give every family in Cumberland county a nice 

 one for Christmas and Xew Year's dinners. In that day 

 we had no Thauksgiving dinners; for we had no Thanks- 

 giving day, known to our law. No doubt we were quite as 

 giateful lor Almighty benefactions as \ve are now; though 

 we did not make quite so much public parade of the fact, 



That old man was one of the salt of the earth. He knew 

 nothing of conventional or fashionable lite. He never saw a 

 railroad, uor a steamship. He had read but few books besides 

 his Bible. He knew how to be honest aud straightforward, 

 kind, gentle and hospitable. No avarice dried up the foun- 

 tain of his soul — no malignity, nor envy, nor hatred put gall 

 and wormwood in his heart. And that old woman, who for 

 forty years — neither long nor weary ones with her — had 

 made herself happy, by doing her duty in the "lowly train 

 of life's sequestered scene," as became'a wife aud a mother, 

 was really one of the best of the sex. To her, Mr. Love and 

 William "were the chief objects of her earthly ailolatry. 

 Her boy — for boy he always was in her eyes — was, to his 

 parents', ever loving and true. Though the old folks are 

 "dead and gone. 1 ' William lives there still, married but child- 

 less, and w-'hen he "shuffles off his mortal coil," the last, of 

 the race will have departed. 



While you and Uncle Daniel and William are talking, 

 that good old woman is deftly using her knitting needles 

 upon a pair of yarn socks for the comfort of her husband oi- 

 lier son— the wool clipped by tin 

 spun by her. Ob, how sweetly, 

 thirty years have passed over mi 

 furrowing niy cheek, does that n 

 dwell in the house of my memor_ 



After you have conversed until your feelings are in full 

 accord with the indications of your watch, Uncle Daniel 

 . will tell you that there are two beds in the last end of the 

 1 out of this the. clothing of all room, and you can take which one of them you choose. If 

 the possessor of more than one you show by your conduct that your modesty is likely to be 

 tbousaud acres of land, and had quite a number of cattle, sorely tried! lie will suggest, thai if Folly can stand it, he 

 sheep and hogs. Such is a general outline of the condition thinks you might he. able lo do so. And then, the old woman 

 of things, I may go out, but will come back after you have thrown thu 



protecting blankets over you, and will knit away, until you 

 have lost all sense of your earthly surroundings. In the 

 morning when you wake, alter a night of healthful repose 

 refreshed and strong, you will SBC her, quickly moving about 

 the firfe. If she uoiiees that you are awake she will express 

 her sincere wish that you have hud a good night, And then 

 she glides out of the room, you get up, put on your Clothes 

 (they call ii "dress, *' these days) and sit about, the tire, 

 which somebody has made while you were asleep. 



In a few minutes Uncle Daniel aud William come iu. and 

 you learu from them that soon after you got in bed. weary 

 With your ride of thirty miles, they, rested from their walk 

 of over ten, had skinned the buck, cut it up and out it 

 away; said rising Ot daydawn, hud that ven morninu taken' 

 a tramp of several miles. Pretty soon, you have hit irnatums 

 that breakfast is approaching— tor about an hour before you 

 had smelt the odor of parching coffee, and soon thereafter 

 heard the sound of the little coffee mill which was crushing 

 the fragrant oriental berry. The old lady always prepared 

 her coffee after the arrival of her guests, and hence it was 

 always fresh. The table would show the same bill of fare 

 which vou had tried the night before, with the addition of 

 ham and eggs, or soft boiled eggs without the ham. When 

 you indicated your wish to leave, your horse was brought 

 out, harnessed and hitched to the vehicle, the baggage 

 Stowed awav, and you make the usual inquiry as to the 

 "damage" which you have inflicted. To your astonish- 

 ment, you are told that, seventy-five Cents is ample remuner- 

 ation for all the services which they have rendered for your 

 accommodation. Alter your depariuie, .other wayfarers, lis 

 you were, will take your place, and meet with the same 

 hearty but unpretentious treatment; and they and yoO and 

 all thiit preceded you, will sincerely wish tied, they may 

 ver fare so well. The recollection of the turkey steak, 

 Hide from the breast oi a wild gobbler, will be one of the, 

 memories of joys that are past, pleasuut, bul mournful lo 

 the soul." 



I have said that the house had no adornments. It bad 

 none. The outside was destitute of attraction, and only 

 those who knew the character of the inmates would ever, 

 from choice, have made that house a stopping place, Its 

 recommendation lay within. Like the leaden casket, of 

 Portia, which "rather threatened than did promise aught," 

 it contained the "counterfeit" of loveliness and simplicity. 

 Many places there were then— and are now— where, with 

 architectural display, and well-graded walks, and beautiful 

 flower gardens, there was no comfort, either lo the inmates 

 or to the stranger. 



"Many a time and oft," iu the years gone by, when a 

 school boy going to and returning from our Stale univer- 

 sity, where 1 was a studenti V), when traveling ou public or 

 private business, or for mere pleasure, I have availed my- 

 self of the hospitality of this plain dwelling and enjoyed the 

 food aud lodging which it always afforded, as well as 

 the kind-hearted and sensible conversation of the occupants. 

 I have joined the old man and William more than once on a 

 deer hunt and sal around the same camp-tire, with others, 

 who have since been carried across the river of time, and I 

 trust are now with the blest. On these and other occasions 

 the father and the sou were true men— gent lemu— III for 

 the association of all persons who mistake not tine apparel 

 and well chosen language for the higher aud nobler charac- 

 terisui.s of the heart!" Wheu 1 first, met them on a hunt 1 

 had a small shotgun, Id-gauge and 30 inches long. ■;-, ,. ;_ |j nej 

 about 7 pounds. Their ideas of a deer weapon being a 

 musket of about iO-bore in size, 4 feel in length and 10 or J8 

 pounds in weight, they looked with feelings of contempt upon 

 my little gun, and regarded it as only tit for sparrows and 

 snowbirds, or possibly a squirrel, if perched upon the lower 

 limbs of a black jack. But after Iliad demonstrated its 

 power by bringing down a tine buck, they admitted that, it 

 lUJgkt kill if the deer was at close range, but never 

 could such a gun as that do the duty of "Old BetSl v" in v. 

 curing the skins of more than one thousand. 



In that day, and for rears before, the section to which 1 

 refer abounded in deer. It was poor and sparsely settled, 

 aud intersected with streams having wide swamps, which 

 afforded food and shelter for these game animals. 'I he 

 forests of loiig-leavect pines were then undisturbed by the 



•d and carded and 

 ,v. after il 

 ing my looks, and 

 anile of" xVunl Polly 



Now the turpentine getter baa 

 scarified the trees, 'made the 

 ax, and by this means quite as 

 sr have been forced to seek y more 

 itill left, and wheu the trees are 

 again comes, it may be expected 

 that numbers will return and again inhabit (he waste places. 

 But Uncle Daniel, having "served his day and generation," 

 has passed away never to return; Aunt Polly— for in her day 

 we had no Mollies. Bessies, Sallies -has long since gone to 

 the shadow land, and few are left who equal and none who 

 surpass their virtues. Wi;m.s, 



demand for naval store 

 visited nearly every o 

 woods resound with 1 

 much as any other, the 

 quiet retreat, A few a 

 "worked up" and stilln 



Jfa/wp/ §i$tom 



TAME ALLIGATORS. 



XX the sixth paper of Dr. Hem-hall's "Trip Around the 

 Coast of Florida," he speaks of "Alligator Furgessou," 

 who, in one of his yarns, 

 'gator that measured over 

 like to ask the readers of II 

 the longest alligator ku 

 has killed a genuine er< 

 Ibave three small la 

 a year in my possessioi 

 grown six incb.CS iu il 

 will come eagerly bust 

 on their box or calling 

 than I would suppose 1 

 over their be a ad I 

 would appear abov 



thai he never killed a 



welve feet in length. 1 would 



Forest and Stii'kam what was 



ivu to have been killed? Also, who 



iodile in Florida? 



e alligators, which have been about 

 They are three feet long, aud have 

 I time. Tkej are quite" tame, and 

 lg along when 1 commence tapping 

 lem to feed. They are more spry 

 ssible. I have held a piece of meat 

 seen them jump SO that, their heads 

 the box two feel high trying to get it. 



bin 



1 



taiid and talk 

 eep up a cons tan 

 like to be noli 

 lore brightness a 

 id. I feed n litl 



chance to run 



walk to catch 

 ;U1 awhile they 

 ing and whisli- 

 md talked to. 

 tclligenec than 



Putting one on the ground so 



awav.'l baveh 



him again. W 



will rise on the 



big of tails, as if tl 



Altogether they she 



1 thought the species had. 



week in summer; in winti 



At least these do not. Th 



fouud them frozen fast in 



in the tank. If large ones 



fierce as these little fellows, I should uot eafe'lo hc'lakcn by 



one. Putting a small piece of meat on the end of a stick. 1 



have severaitimes bad the Btick twisted forcibly out of my 



tall, asihey will not cat,. 



inter I have several times 



when the water was low 



mondingly as quick and 



