194 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



Jim launched the harpoon at the side of the largest. True- 

 as his aim always was— the sharp head pierced the reptile's 

 side in its most vulnerable part, just behind the fore leg. 

 A rush, a roar, as though all the bulls of the prairie had 

 united in one grand outburst, and this king of Alpattiokee 

 sped from one end to the other of his small kingdom, mak- 

 ing the water boil, and leaving a bloody wake behind him. 

 I have seen the dolphin and porpoise cross and recross the 

 bow of a steamer at full speed, I have seen the shark and 

 bluefish in their most desperate rushes, but it did seem to 

 me, standing by that solitary creek in the soft moonlight, 

 as I slackened and tightened the line as the alligator alter- 

 nately sulked and darted, that the remarkable speed of 

 those fishes was paralleled in the lightning-like rapidity 

 with which that huge serrated tail clove the water and 

 forced its owner onward. After a little while he got to be 

 somewhat exhausted, and I passed the line to the rest of 

 the party and seized the axe, to be ready for him as he was 

 drawn ashore. It was hard work even then to land him on 

 the soft sand, and he would throw that huge tail around 

 till it nearly touched his nose, and snap his jaws till the 

 flight air resounded again. But, watching my chance, I 

 sunk the axe deep in his skull, and his struggles ceased as 

 the quivering paws clawed the sand convulsively and then 

 relaxed. We finished eight more before midnight. A 

 ghastly spectacle they formed, lying upon their backs, their 

 white bellies and mailed sides glistening in the moonlight. 



"Umph! alpatah fight heap!" was the only exclamation 

 our red brothers made. 



A few days later we parted from our friends, and, afte 

 sending Jim into the river, I hired another guide and set 

 out for the Indian settlement. The man I now hired was 

 an old "cow herder," having charge of several hundred 

 cattle which roamed in a half wild state through the woods 

 and over the vast prairies. His house was the only one be- 

 tween Indian River and Lake Okeechobee, a distance of 

 nearly fifty miles. We left the cabin, mounted upon two 

 stallions trained for cattle hunting and following narrow 

 trails. Each horse carried a pair of saddle-bags, bag of 

 corn, pair of blankets, and a man. Each man had a gun, 

 pint cup, and big knife. Leaving the cabin early one day, 

 we reached the Indian settlement late the next. Our only 

 guide was a narrow trail across the vast plats, following 

 dry creek-beds, through cypress swamps and saw-grass 

 jungles, beneath gigantic pines and through thick palmetto 

 scrub. We followed this trail, made by the Indians, in a 

 southwesterly direction till we struck the saw-grass bor- 

 dering the "Big Cypress," a belt of cypress swamp nearly 

 forty miles in length. Through this swamp there was but 

 one narrow, blind trail, carefully concealed, lest the white 

 man should find it. But my guide was an old "tracker" 

 during the Seminole war, and struck it just where it en- 

 tered the swamp. Dismounting, we attempted to lead our 

 horses through. Bleeding and torn we emerged from the 

 saw-grass to enter the blackest looking swamp it was ever 

 my lot to behold. The tall cypress grew high above our 

 heads, shutting out every ray of light; long vines and 

 hooked briars hung from the limbs above and festooned 

 every tree. The mud beneath was of the blackest and soft- 

 est; stagnant pools of water, covered with green slime, gave 

 hiding places to numberless alligators and moccasin snakes, 

 numbers of which unwound themselves from the gnarled 

 cypress trees and wriggled silently away after darting at us 

 their forked tongues. While carefully avoiding these nox- 

 ious places a long vine would come athwart my horse's 

 back, sweeping blankets, saddle-bags and all into the mud. 

 To describe the rage of my guide at such a juncture would 

 be impossible. I was mad, but he was even more so, and 

 swore and stormed in a way that was perfectly frightful, 

 causing the innocent snakes and alligators to flee in terror 

 still farther into the black fastnesses of the swamp. My 

 rase died away as his increased, for I was convinced that, 

 black as was the picture, he was doing it justice. At every 

 leap our poor beasts sank above their knees, and it required 

 much dodging to lead them through the narrow apertures 

 and escape being struck by their fore feet. Never was 

 daylight hailed more joyfully than when we emerged from 

 the tangled thicket and at last reached solid ground. The 

 Big Cypress was passed, and we were in the Indian coun- 

 try. 



A few miles over a level prairie and we saw the first 

 habitation. A little further, and we caught sight of a 

 squaw running .rapidly to apprise the men at w T ork in the 

 swamps of our arrival. They couldn't have chosen a lo- 

 cality more favorable to their mode of living than this. A 

 swamp bounded it on the north and east, and a forest of 

 pines south and west. The scene presented was one of 

 peaceful rest and happiness. What wonder that the Semi- 

 nole fought for his chosen land as he did! The meadow 

 lark trilled his clear notes from the grass, where, also, we 

 heard the mellow whistle of the quail. Woodpeckers and 

 paroquets flew screaming by, and the wood ibis winged his 

 silent way overhead. 



Soon the entire population came forth to meet us, with 

 the exception of the women, and we were welcomed to the 

 village There were sixteen shanties grouped together, 

 with that of the chiefs a little ways off. Four posts sup- 

 ported a pitched roof, thatched with palmetto leaves. The 

 shanty was open at the sides and ends; a raised platform 

 of logs the whole length and breadth was used to sleep 

 uponby night, and as a table and chairs, etc., by day. We 

 were much annoyed by the dogs, who would come about 

 us examining everything we had. They were nasty little 

 curs, most of them, who would creep carefully up to us, 

 with noses extended and tails between their legs, and who 

 would scurry away at the least motion, I am prepared to 



vouch for the statement of the old sailor, Romans, who, in 

 1770, says: "They (the Creeks) are very fond of dogs, in- 

 asmuch as never to kill one out of a litter; and it is not 

 uncommon in the nation to see a dog very lean, and so sen- 

 sible of his misfortune as to seek a wall or post for his sup- 

 port before venturing to bark. " (Another "old joke.") I 

 mention things in their natural order of affection in the In- 

 dian estimation — dog, hog, squaw, and pickaninny. The 

 hogs were black, as all Florida hogs are, and numerous. 

 The children were brown, and numerous. The girls and 

 young squaws were much superior to their degraded sis- 

 ters of the west in point of beauty and cleanliness. Of 

 medium height, with small hands and feet and well-shaped 

 limbs. Their heads were small and well-shaped; eyes 

 black and lustrous; nose small and straight; mouth small 

 and full-lipped. Their hair was long, black and abundant, 

 The older women were less prepossessing, as older women 

 usually are. All, however, had the same low, musical 

 voice, excepting the old hags and habitual tobacco chew- 

 ers. The women wore a short cape over the shoulders, and 

 a petticoat. These two articles, with a profusion of beads, 

 completed their attire, with, of course, moccasins. The 

 only exception to this style was a young widow, who, being 

 in mourning, was allowed to wear but a single apron, and 

 was forbidden by their law to leave camp for two years. 

 The squaws are very careful of their master's health. Pick- 

 aninnies under twelve, or thereabouts, were in a "state of 

 nature;" boys over twelve, and under sixteen, wore a shirt, 

 and girls a petticoat; women, as described. Upon great 

 occasions both sexes ornament themselves with beads, rib- 

 bons, and silver. 



At first the maidens were coy and bashful, but they soon 

 overcame their natural diffidence, and sweetly insinuated 

 that "ichee" (tobacco), or "on-mee" (whiskey), would not 

 be unacceptable. 



After a short stay at the village we all went over to In- 

 dian Parker's cornfield, a mile away in the swamp. Par- 

 ker, his wife and children were all at work when we ar- 

 rived, but soon washed themselves, and set before us great 

 milky ears of corn, roasted in the ashes. He had corn 

 over six feet high, pumpkins, beans, etc., all growing finely 

 —this in April. Next, we visited Tiger at his plantation. 

 I met with a warm reception, and was introduced to his 

 squaw. In the course of our conversation he said: "You 

 hum-bux-j?" I told him I thought not; I never had to my 

 present knowledge. He then repeated more earnestly, 

 "You humbuxj!" This time I got vexed, and told him I 

 wasn't, A third "humbuxj," accompanied by a gesture, 

 directed my attention to a small palmetto shanty, beneath 

 which were three iron pots, around which were three hun- 

 gry Indians, and from which (the pots? not the shanty) they 

 were "humbuxjing" after the most approved style. As I 

 was extremely hungry I humbmvjed. Here was an oppor- 

 tunity! Tiger had eaten me out at Alligator Creek; I would 

 now pay him back in kind. I looked for my guide; he had 

 disappeared. I unbuckled my belt, laid aside my revolver, 

 and joined the band of revelers. "How romantic, thought 

 I; to be sure, things aren't just as I'd like to have them, but 

 then, when you're in Rome, etc." The pot nearest me con- 

 tained a dirty looking liquid, which, as near I could remem- 

 ber, not having seen any for six months, looked exactly 

 like dish-water, boiled over twice, with the dish-rag left in. 

 It was corn and water boiled. A huge wooden spoon was 

 employed to convey this delectable nourishment to its 

 proper receptacle— the mouth. The bowl of the aforesaid 

 spoon was as big as a baby's head, and while I was won- 

 dering how 'twas used a shock-headed urchin inserted it, 

 drew it forth full, elevated it till the handle pointed toward 

 the zenith, when presto! the dish-water disappeared, the 

 spoon was returned to the pot with a swoop of satisfaction, 

 and Injun number two proceeded to do likewise, Number 

 three did even so, and I was expected to ditto. I was hun- 

 gry;. I knew it; I'd eaten nothing but the roast corn since 

 sunrise, and had ridden near thirty miles that day. Bui, 

 strangely, my appetite was gone. I forgave Tiger for eat- 

 in g all my flapjacks; I promised myself to forget it. After 

 all, he hadn't done so very badly. But the eyes of all were 

 upon me. I must eat, or lose my influence. Gently I 

 grasped the spoon , coyly I fished for a few kernels of corn, 

 and very little of the dish-water. I shut my eyes, opened 

 my mouth, shuddered, gulped — lo, 'twas done! The sec- 

 ond pot contained pieces of boiled meat about an inch 

 square, which proved very good eating. So, inserting my 

 fingers, d la Indian, I drew forth a piece and ate it. The 

 third vessel contained about thirty feet of sausage, looking 

 so natural and life-like that I instinctively recoiled. One 

 of my brother revelers would seize one end of the mem- 

 branous rope, and, after storing away as much as his mouth 

 would contain, would sever by a dexterous cut the adipose 

 tissue and pass it to the next. When my turn came I beg 

 ged to be excused, and I've never hankered for sausage 

 since. 



I stuck to pot No. 2; my appetite returned. I yet cher- 

 ished revengeful feelings towards Tiger, and did my best. 

 The meat was tender and juicy; moreover, it had a deli- 

 cious flavor that I never had found pork possessed of. Of 

 course it was pork; it wasn't venison, nor bear, nor coon; 

 and I vowed I would get the receipt, and that the next 

 stray pig should be offered up. To be sure that it was a 

 pig, I said to "Charley," imitating the Indian manner, 

 "Um; good; too much; 'Shokocalika?'" A negative shake 

 of the head, and a single word, "Efab," (dog) terminated 

 the repast, In my sleep that night came visions of fearful 

 Indian curs, chopped into small pieces, yet having the 

 power to bark and bite. 



As a special honor, I was assigned the chief's shanty to 



g 



leep in that night, he being away. It differed in no way 

 from the rest, and probably the round logs which made my 

 bed were just as hard as the others. 



The next day we visited the corn fields, and a rain com- 

 ing up accompanied Parker and Tiger to their shanties. 

 My guide having offered his horse to Parker's squaw I could 

 do no less than offer mine to the old squaw, which Tiger 

 accepted in behalf of himself. I hoped he would break 

 his neck. It was an unique procession that wound through 

 the shady cypress swamp and over the prairie. First, there 

 were Parker's two daughters— young ladies of sixteen and 

 seventeen respectively— who had captured one of papa's 

 colts, and, mounted upon its back man fashion, led the 

 cavalcade. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, and 

 their musical laughter would come floating back at every 

 leap and kick of their half -broken steed. Next came Par- 

 ker's wife, astride my guide's pony with a solemn -looking 

 pappoose on her back, holding up her scanty skirts with 

 one hand, while with the other she guided the beast. Next 

 came Tiger, with my rubber blanket over his head, a tin 

 kettle on one arm, an iron pot on the other, and a lap full 

 of corn. He didn't see the comical figure he cut, bul 

 treated the whole matter as a thing of serious moment. 

 Parker, a host of pickaninnies, eleven dogs, a young colt, 

 and a hog or two came next. My guide and I came last 

 The procession started; the girls had stripped, and were 

 clinging to the pony and each other for dear life. We had 

 gone but a few rods before the pony suddenly elevated 

 his heels, landing the girls— a confused vision of arms 

 and legs— rods away in the mud. With another flourish 

 of his heels, and a snort of defiance, he then scoured 

 away over the plain. That started the rest; my guide's 

 pony vainly strove to throw his burden. Tiger had his 

 hands particularly full as the bay stallion sped away 

 with the blanket flapping and pail rattling. I shall never 

 forget the desperate expression of Tiger's face as he went 

 off, clinging to the horse and shouting broken fragments 

 of Seminole, such as "Che-la-koa (horse) ho-la-wan-gus 

 (bad); cha-high-wagh (squaw), ho-la-wan-gus— dam!" The 

 colt now went for the scene, upsetting a whole line of 

 clogs, and extorting profane exclamations from the pa- 

 tient Parker. After we had reached the shanties they 

 came in, one after another, and, removing their wet Gar- 

 ments (such as had any), Ave squatted around the cheerful 

 blaze of pine knots, placed Indian fashion, with the ends 

 toward the centre of the flame. 



According to promise, Charley was to pilot me to Lake 

 Okeechobee, but as several days elapsed, and no offer was 

 made, I became impatient, and anxiously sought for infor- 

 mation regarding it. The only satisfactory replies I re- 

 ceived were as to its size: — 



"Okeechobee, achiska pahleorstein, heap long; achiska 

 pahlehokolin. " 



This intelligence was very gratifying, as it settled many 

 misgivings I had indulged in. Fred Beverly. 



{To he Continued.) 



—The Sierra Nevada Observatory.— Mr. Lick, after 

 a long, laborious, economical and successful business life, 

 has the laudable ambition of doing something to ad- 

 advance the cause of science and thus benefit mankind- 

 and the agent which he has selected to render the chief 

 service, if the rumors which have reached us be correct is 

 to be an observatory, placed in a better situation than that 

 occupied by any similar institution, provided with instru- 

 ments superior to any now in existence, founded on prin- 

 ciples that will secure the greatest scientific ability and 

 fidelity. The details of the plan are not yet worked out 

 but the announcement is made by authority that there shall 

 be such an observatory. The summit of the Sierra" has 

 been selected after careful consideration. It is well known 

 that the lower strata of the atmosphere are constantly- filled 

 even in what we call clear weather, with particles of dust- 

 and all the most noted observatories are in countries where 

 the air abounds with a moisture which greatly obstructs 

 astronomical discovery. When we reach an elevation of 

 8,800 feet on the summit of Monte Diablo, on an ordinary 

 summer dajr, we are astonished to perceive that, while the 

 valleys within ten or twenty miles may be rendered indis- 

 tinct by the haze, we can distinctly see'Mount Lassen and 

 Mount Whitney, several hundred miles distant, but above 

 the level of the floating dust. Travelers whogo to Yose- 

 mite are generally astonished at the intense blueness of the 

 sky, and as we ascend it increases, indicating the Jack of 

 moisture and dust. Scientists on the Sierra and on the 

 Rocky Mountains have, by instrumental observation, found 

 that the telescope and spectroscope would give them much 

 information not obtainable on the sea-shore. The announce- 

 ment, therefore, that an observatory, to be built on the 

 most approved plan, supplied with the best instruments, 

 and placed in charge of the most competent men, will be 

 received with interest and gratification by men of learning 

 and intelligence in every land where civilization has estab- 

 lished her blissful sway." 



From the San Francisco Bulletin, we have additional in- 

 formation about this observatory, which has been announc- 

 ed by President Davidson of the California Academy of 

 Science. In a most impressive speech, from which' we 

 make the following extracts, Mr. Davidson said .-— 



"With a telescope of the largest size and most consum- 

 mate workmanship that American skill can devise, pro- 

 perly located ten thousand feet above the sea in the clear 

 skies of the Sierra Nevada; with every variety of apparatus 

 commensurate therewith; with masters of observation and 

 ingenuity in research; with ample funds reserved to devise 

 instruments and methods which those instruments and the 

 highest genius must suggest, we hope at no distant day to 

 sec solved the mighty problems of creation that are yet be- 

 yond our grasp."" 



"A thousand years hence, the James Lick Observatory, 

 endowed with perpetual youth, will continue to unfold the 

 mysteries of the cosmos, and to search for new worlds to 

 conquer." 



