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FOREST AND STREAM. 



For Forest and Stream. 

 TISHOMINGO. 



"Hath not old costom made this life more sweet 

 Than that of , painted pomp?" 



TISHOMIN#0— what memories of a -wild free life are 

 revived at that name; of days of rapturous excite- 

 ment spsnt in the chase; of the melodious music of the 

 pack in full cry; the boom of guns, and the mad gallops 

 after the hounds. A quarter of a centuy ago the north- 

 western part of this country was a veritable hunter's para- 

 dise. It was a sort of terra incognita, close to the borders 

 of civilization. The old stage road from Memphis to Tus- 

 cumbia, Alabama— the only thoroughfare through the 

 country — ran along a pine ridge that traversed it from 

 east to west. Persons passing on this route and seeing 

 nothing but pines and poverty, concluded naturally enough, 

 that the whole country was nothing but a desolate waste of 

 dreary pine lands, nor dreamed that on each side of this 

 divide lay broad forests overshadowing rich and produc- 

 tive soils. And so it stood; and "Tish." was a synonym 

 for poverty and desolation. Ho railroad had then pene- 

 trated this almost primeval wilderness. The inhabitants, 

 were uneducated and ignorant, and few of them had even 

 been beyond the confines of their own county. They wore 

 homemade clothing, drank spring water, tempered with 

 a little good old home-made peach brandy, sweetened with 

 wild honey— for even at that early day the Arabic art had 

 found its way among them— chewed home-made tobacco, 

 shot flint lock rifles, looked upon "scatter guns" as only fit 

 to waste ammunition and kick men down; and abominated 

 * 'niggers" and "hound dogs" as they did the Evil One. 

 But^ a change earn e over the spirit of their dreams; this 

 fair country could not remain for ever unexplored. A dif- 

 ferent class of people came. The forests disappeared, 

 and the farmer's house took the place of the squatter's 

 cabin. Kailroads were surveyed and built, and towns 

 sprang up. The early settler looked on, dazed and wonder- 

 ingly for a while, and then went "farther back." Tisho- 

 mingo had not been at that time divided into three coun- 

 ties, and was almost as large as one of the New England 

 States, Near the northern boundary, and running nearly 

 paralled to the county line, flowed a small stream, with a 

 wide strip of bottom land on either side; south of the 

 stream was a broad extent of second bottom, and beyond a 

 gentle undulating country extended on to the steep "Hills," 



where 



"Up clombe the shadowy pine above the woven copse." 



The bottom lands were at that time grown up with 

 switch cane, alternating with thickets of hornbeam. The 

 second bottom was covered with a growth of magnificent 

 forests trees in endless variety, with very little under- 

 growth. The hills with pine, chestnut, oak and other 

 trees, with clumps of thick underbrush, affording cover for 



When the writer first hunted here, in 1851, game of every 

 description was abundant; deer roamed the forests in herds; 

 turkeys, ducks, countless thousands of wild pigeons, squir- 

 rels, and all kinds of small game, were as thick as leaves 

 in Valambrosa. The streams were filled with fish— the 

 black bass, perch, bream, pike, catfish, and other varieties. 

 Of the fur bearing animals, there were beaver, raccoon, 

 otter, mink, muskrat, and two varieties of hare. The rat- 

 tailed marsupial, that the old plantation darkey loved so 

 well, baked with 'taters, roved around at night and could 

 be found at every grape vine and 'sinimon tree. The gray 

 fox only, was found here. We hunted him sometimes for 

 a change, though I must confess that I never "hankered" 

 after the chase. The custom was to hunt him at night, and 

 I was never particularly anxious to hang my eye balls on 

 the underbrush, or to have my head sawed off with a bam- 

 boo briar, or have any of the hundred accidents happen, 

 that might befall a man riding to hounds at night. Oats— 

 that did not live in purlieus— wild cats inhabited the bot- 

 toms, and polecats the hills. One of the latter once made 

 me leave a deer stand. He was colored black and white, 

 and came at me like Joe Johnston advanced through Geor- 

 gia or like Cornelius Agrippa come into the world. As he 

 would not retreat worth a s-cent for a vigorous bombard- 

 ment with pine knots, and, as I was not pining for a whiff 

 of his scent, which I imagined would not "come o'er me 

 like the sweet South breathing upon a bank of violets," I 

 fled and left him master of the field. 



I brought the first hounds and pointers to this part of 

 the county, and for ten years we had it all our own way. 

 It is something to have passed one decade in a life as that 

 was passed, in a splendid game region with all the auxil- 

 iaries of the chase, and nothing to do but to enjoy life. 

 Yet I sometimes think we did not enjoy it as we could 

 now, with the same surroundings. A man's capacity for a 

 full realization of the pleasures of this life grows with his 

 growth and strengthens with his ripening years. What 

 would I not give now for one year, one month, of such 

 sport as we had then? The improvements in sporting 

 arms add greatly to the pleasures of the hunt. We had to 

 use such inconvenient guns then. Think of a man having 

 to get off his horse, as we did, to load his gun from the 

 muzzle, and while he is down the hounds clean gone, deer 

 and all, out of hearing. And worse, I have shot turkey 

 and deer too, with a flint lock rifle. Shades of the mighty 

 Nimrod and the chased Diana, Just think of it, ye who 

 now shoot, an "Express." Your hounds have flushed a 

 flock of turkey, and one immense old fellow pitches into a 

 tree right over your head; you draw a bead on him with 

 old flint lock and touch trigger. Kerwhack— it misses fire, 

 about a teaspoonful of powder pours down from the pan 

 into your shooting eye, the old gobler goes boomeranging 

 off through the trees in search of safer quarters, and mad- 

 dened by^pain and the loss of the game you leap around 

 as frantically as a kangaroo with the mania a potu. _ A 

 man that could stand it and not use words "ye like 

 whereof are not in Watt's hymns," could run his neck 

 against a clothes line on a dark night without indulging in 

 any appropriate remarks 



We generallv drove for deer, but sometimes stalked 

 them and occasionally "fire hunted," thereby violating a 

 statute of the commonwealth of Mississippi. The modus 

 operandi was as follows: armed with a gun, a long handled 

 pan, and some split pine, you sallied forth. When you 

 got to the woods you lit your head-light and went ahead. 

 The first pair of eves you saw you blazed away, and drop- 

 ped your deer, colt, or yearling, as the case might be. I 

 ; heard of a native that went out one night, and traveling in 

 a circle, came back to his unfenced cabin, shined the eyes 

 ol his honest watch dog, who neglected to bay deep mouth- 

 ed welcome as he drew nigh home— lammed away, and 

 Jelled the animal as he lay on the door step, 



We always used the double barreled shot gun in driving, 

 and the rifle in still hunting. I would not have the reader 

 imagine that we always used the old flint lock rifle. 

 'Twas only in an emergency when there were more hun- 

 ters than good guns. Every one who has bagged his deer 

 remembers the first; 'tis like the rememberance of his first 

 love. Nothing can give him such exquisite joy again— it 

 can happen but once in a lifetime. Well, I remember my 

 first deer— and dear too, for that matter. Though nearly a 

 quarter of a century has rolled away since that October 

 day, and they who rejoiced with me are all sleeping in 

 nameless graves on far off battle fields, and the old gun 

 from which I fired the fatal shot is standing rusty as a 

 crowbar, broken and useless in a neglected corner. Shall 

 I tell you how it happened? We had gone to the bottom 

 for a drive, I took the hounds, the rest went to the stand. 

 Two deer soon broke cover, but ran the wrong way. I fol- 

 lowed hoping to get a shot or turn the deer to the stands. 

 After going a short distance the deer separated, part of the 

 pack following each. I pressed on after the larger part of 

 the pack and the deer coming to the stream crossed over and 

 the pack were out of hearing in a few minutes. Knowing 

 the deer would come back to the same crossing, I hitched 

 my horse out of sight from the stream, and sat down at the 

 root of a tree near the water. I had up to that time fired 

 perhaps fifty shots at deer without ever touching a hair. 

 Had fired at them running, walking, standing, and even 

 lying down, always with the some result— no venison. 

 Sometimes after being shot at, they would wave their white 

 tails defiantly— fling out their bR'irs to the breeze— and 

 bound gracefully away. If it i id -a little fellow, he would 

 be scared like sixty and f<> i vif* at top speed. Some old 

 forest monarchs would ei^p and gaze at me in blank aston- 

 ishment as if asking, "Why the thunder did'nt you kill 

 me?" and then giving their antlered heads a contemputous 

 toss would disappear in the dim forest. It was unaccount- 

 able. I shot birds fairly— never missed a good shot at a 

 turkey, but could not hit a deer. Gradually the convic- 

 tion had forced itself upon me that I did not hold on them, 

 and I determined the very next chance I got, to take dead 

 aim or not shoot. I had been sitting down perhaps an 

 hour when I heard a faint note from the hounds; then an- , 

 other and another, nearer and nearer,loud«r and louder; they 

 were coming straight back . I had on a light colored hat and 

 fearing the deer would see it I walked back a little way, 

 threw it on the ground and returned to my stand. The 

 hounds were getting so near that I looked eveiy moment for 

 the deer to rush out from the cane and take the water. 

 How my heart leaped at the wild cry of the pack. In a 

 few moments- 1 found the deer had passed and was going 

 up the stream to a crossing above. Just as I was about to 

 turn away I heard a slight noise in the cane behind me, 

 and looking saw an immense buck. He stood with dilated 

 nostrils and heaving flanks, gazing at my hat in blank as- 

 tonishment. As I raised my gun he saw me and threw up 

 his head. Now or never, thought I, and taking fair aim 

 at his breast, I pulled trigger, lie wheeled off at the shot 

 and bounded away, head and tail up. After getting out of 

 gunshot he stopped, looked at me for an instant, and then 

 giving his tail a rapid flirt, disappeared amongst the trees. 

 4 'Missed him, by the great Diana. Why the thunder did'nt 

 I shoot the other barrel? No use; if I can't hit one 

 standing I certainly can't when he is running." Thus soli- 

 loquizing I picked up my hat and did not even look for 

 blood. As I mounted my horse I thought I heard some- 

 thing plunging in a slough, in the direction the dear had 

 gone, and rode out to it, but all was still. By this time the 

 hounds had crossed the stream above, and were coming 

 back, (the deer had got a good distance ahead and was 

 trying to give them the dodge when he ran upon me). 

 Thinking it was another deer I dismounted to have a bet 

 ter shot. On came the hounds, and when they reached 

 the place where the deer stood when 6hot at, they rushed 

 around frantically for a moment, then taking up the scent, 

 ran to the sloueh, plunged in, swam over, but could not 

 take off the trail. At that moment an old hound came up, 

 and going down the bank near me, gave a loud yelp and 

 seized something that lay in the water amongst the reeds 

 and rushes. I looked, and 'twas the dead monarch. I 

 gave an exultant shout, such as I never gave but once 

 afterwards, and that was when Joe Johnston rode up the 

 lines as the sun went down, at the first Manassas, and "the 

 red field was won." I'm loll now and I should'nt mention 

 it. I never saw a deer go off after being mortally hit as 

 he did. From that day I became at one stride a mighty 

 slayer of the Cervus Viginianus. I had found out how it was 

 done. 



The most fortunate snap-shot I ever made at a deer, was 

 one day as the hounds were working up a very cold trail of 

 an old buck that we had driven for without success several 

 times. I sat sidewise on my horse near the edge of a very 

 dense cover. Suddenly with a burst of canine music the 

 hounds raised him. I had barely time to cock my gun 

 when with a crash he bounded into the open, not ten yards 

 away. His sudden rush, with horns covered with wild 

 pea vines, was too much for the steadiness of my horse. 

 He wheeled round and I went sprawling to grass. The 

 hounds were so close on the buck that he could not turn 

 back, and rushed by, so scared that his eyes looked like 

 small saucers. I knew from the nature of the ground that 

 a few jumps would put him into the bed of a dry slough 

 out of sight. Rising to my knees I let drive at him as he dis- 

 appeared down the bank and knocked him over with one 

 shot—perhaps a stray one— in the orifice of the ear. 



The woods were filled with turkey, both hill and bot- 

 tom, and I have often seen them from the house in long 

 lines feeding in the wide fields that stretch away toward 

 the bottom as peacefully as tame ones in a farm yard. We 

 hunted them Fall and Winter with hounds, shooting them 

 from trees when first flushed, and calling them up when 

 w T ell scattered. In "gobling time" they were either shot 

 off the roost or called up and killed with a shot gun. I 

 have frequently bagged two in a morning's hunt, at this 

 season. They are exceedingly shy and usually approach 

 with great caution, stopping at intervals to look and listen, 

 and are off instantly on the leasj; suspicion of danger. For 

 ways that are dark and for tricks that are vain, they go 

 aheao^of the heathen Chinee. I have called at some old 

 fellows that like La Fontaine's dog, would run the other 

 way. One I recollect that had been called and shot at un- 

 til he would not come up within shot, but would gobble 

 and strut as long as he could hear a yelp. He was a patri- 

 arch, and I went after him one morning with a big rifle- 

 not a flint lock. Selecting an open space where a fallen 

 trfe with a limb on top made an excellent hiding place, I 

 gave a yelp in answer to his gobble. He gave a stunner in 

 reply that wake<l all the owls— who were just comfortable 



in bed— within a mile. After a proper interval, I tried him 

 again. He answered as before, and came so near that T 

 could hear him drum, but would not come in si^ht tt 

 went entirely around me, gobbling at intervals for* full* 

 two hours. Finally I stopped yelping in answer wait/ 5 

 half and hour, and was beginning to think that he had gone 

 when he gobbled again. I did not answer; and in a few 

 moments, looking through my "port hole" saw him stand 

 ing erect and motionless not fifteen yards away. H e W .J 

 a magnificent bird; his plumage shone with a. metallic lus 

 ter, and in the bright sunlight glittered with as manv 

 changing colors as "show upon the burnished dove." jtfL 

 eyes sparkled in liquid brilliancy; he was adorned with a 

 sweeping beard and spurred legs. All this I took in at a 

 glance, and drawing a "bead" just to miss the side of a 

 bush that stood in the way, touched trigger. The sharn 

 crack followed, and the ball grazing the bush was turned 

 aside, striking the butt of the wing without touching his 

 breast. He leaped into the air and came down running at 

 quarter -horse speed, and I got out my bullet pouch and 

 went for him, and for about two hundred yards we held 

 our relative positions.' Then his staying powers began to 

 show; a little farther on "I got so puffed up mit vind," as 

 Smidt says, that I was distanced, and saw him pass out of 

 sight. However, my horse was not far off, and going for 

 the hounds I soon had them on Mr. G-allo's trail, and jump- 

 ing him from a fallen holly, they ran into him in a twink- 

 ling. He was the finest turkey I ever bagged. 



One spurt on the home stretch and I am done, this is to 

 be taken cum grano salis—z, handful if you like. A native 

 had seen a gobbler fly up to roost, and came to borrow a 

 gun to shoot him with. As he only had the light of the 

 moon to shoot by he concluded to try a shot gun. He 

 took an old fusee, stocked to the muzzle and brass mounted 

 that out-kicked a Spanish mule; loaded it, and went forth! 

 He put in hardly enough powder to blow the shot out of 

 the gun muzzle, and the old gobbler merely raised up, 

 looked around and sat down again, after being fired at,.' 

 This so riled the native that he came back, put in a hand- 

 ful of powder and a corresponding load of "slugs." This 

 time he crawled up, got right under the tree aud lying flat 

 on his back with the muzzle pointed toward the zenith, 

 pulled trigger; ablaze leaped far up into the branches of 

 the tree, a report that shook the everlasting hills followed, 

 and with a shock that nearly jarred the soles from his cow- 

 hide shoes, the old arquebuse bounded into the air and 

 coining down the heel-plate stamped him square in the 

 forehead. A cloud of smoke as from a cannon ascended, 

 and the fragments of turke}', legs, flesh and feathers, with 

 pieces of burning tow, and bark and limbs from the tree, 

 fell in a shower. Then the reverberations died away and 

 all was silent save the sough of the night wind through the 

 forest trees and the mocking laugh of the owl. "Captain," 

 said the native as he set the old gun in its accustomed cor- 

 ner, "that ere piece ware a leetle to heavily loadened." 



Corinth, Miss., Oct. 1875. Gtjyon. 



STRAY NOTES 



For Forest and titnam, 

 FROM CANADA. 



I PROMISED you some notes from here some time past, 

 but have deferred sending them until I returned from 

 Peche a Malcolm, on the North St. Anns. I started a few 

 days prior, to the expiraiion of the season, intending to in- 

 clude partridge shooting with my fishing. I had an excel- 

 lent Indian from the village, but he was unable to speak a 

 word of English. Our communications were, therefore, 

 necessarily limited to our common wants. We endured 

 considerable hardship, and were four days in reaching the 

 Peche. The weather was very cold, and one day we were 

 camp bound by a terrific snow storm. It commenced 

 about seven in the morning and lasted until ten at night. 

 Over eight inches of snow fell. Next day, when we con- 

 tinued our journey, there was still some five inches on the 

 ground. I camped one night only at the Peche, and had 

 but a couple of hours' Ashing. I took only nine trout, 

 four of which were between three and four pounds, and 

 the remainder between two and three. The river was too 

 high and too cold for a large take or very heavy fish. They 

 would not rise to the fly. My friend" Neilson, who was 

 there three w r eeks ago, returned laden down with a mag- 

 nificent lot of fish, salted and smoked. The distance to 

 the Peche and the hardships to overcome deter many from 

 going there, and as a consequence the river is well siockjid/. 

 It is impossible to expect very fine fishing in close proxim- 

 ity to the settlements, although this season I have taken 

 some exceptionally fine fish in the Jacque Oar tier. 



The stocking of lakes is beginning to receive some atten- 

 tion here. Messrs. Glass and McLeod, of Quebec, have a 

 line lake here which they stocked with black bass trom 

 Lake St. Joseph. This Summer they have enjoyed some 

 fine sport. One rod in a single day took from one to two 

 dozen fish, none undier a pound, and from that to three. 

 There are many fine lakes here that, at a very moderate 

 outlav, might be made io yield splendid results if s tocKea 

 with black bass. They are better adapted for such aK^j 

 as they are run out of trout and their place supplied w» 

 suckers and minnows, which the bass would soon kill on. 

 I saw a barrel of live trout, taken with a seine, gomg in 

 Quebec to stock Bilodeans Lake. There was an mg.e" 

 iously contrived pump attached to the barrel for suppij m 

 the fish with air. They appeared active and in good cu 

 dition. The men informed me that they have taKen 

 over fifty dozen in the above manner, and the loss was ve j 

 trifling. Not a bad way to stock a small lake, if asm w 

 easily obtained. _ f tj^ 



The hunting season is fairly inaugurated. *f*™'k 

 and pigeons are in fair abundance in the back settlel J* ^ 

 Ducks are just beginning to make their appearance on 

 river. By next week I hope to have a crack at u' ^ 

 Hares are very numerous, and will afford first raw i fe 

 later in the season, when we have some snow to « 

 them. They do not burrow like our common ™»""> n & 

 take shelter under anv fallen brush. Start them oat ft 

 they gooff at the rate of a mile in 3:40. "^eood 

 quick shot to bring them down. They are esteemeu 8 ^ 

 eating, but are so plentiful that after a short time i tu^ oa 

 neglected. The Indians have many of them sra 

 their annual Fall trapping and hunting trips, i »«" q & t . 

 to try my hand at it soon, taking one 



nership. 



Good bye for the present. 

 Gv 



Yours truly, 

 M. Faibcbild, J* 



Valcartier, Canada East, Sept %Uh, 1875. 



Weston too has mounted the rostrum and discos 

 'What I Know About Walking." 



