FOEEST AND STREAM. 



in the position which they occupy, and if more of the keep- 

 ers of lighthouses on our coast were like him and his estima- 

 ble wife (who is also assistant keeper), they would be greater 

 credits to the Government which appoints them as well as to 

 themselves, and there would be much less need for the con- 

 stant cry of civil service reform. May he never be reformed, 

 for he doesn't need it, Mr. C. was originally a college pro- 

 fessor, and the liberal education he received has been by 

 no means allowed to go to waste in the ten or more years 

 he has spent upon this island by the sea. He is still deeply 

 interested in scientific pursuits, and as he subscribes for 

 numerous journals is always quite up with the times. I 

 would advise any tourist who passes Egmont to stop and 

 have a chat with him by all means if it is possible to effect 

 a landing. This is often not the case, and it is a rough 

 place for boats as there are no harbors, and being so far 

 from mainland or shelter one should keep his eyes peeled 

 and be ready to run for it. The island itself is some two 

 and half miles long by a little over one wide. Not an ani- 

 mal larger than a rat on the whole island, >nd Mrs. C, 

 who, by the way, is the best housekeeper on the whole 

 coast and a worthy mate for her husband in every way, has 

 taken advantage of this fact by going into the poultry busi- 

 ness quite extensively; for besides hens and ducks innu- 

 merable there are between three and four hundred turkies 

 which have the range of the whole island, and do well 

 with the least bit of care. It was quite a sight worth see. 

 ing to go out with her into the palmetto woods when she 

 called them up to be fed. Mrs. C. is well posted as a con- 

 choligist, as indeed are all the younger members of the 

 family, and recently possessed a valuable collection which 

 was sold to the principal of one of the Northern universi- 

 ties. I hope he will be made to pay what he agreed to for 

 it, for a lady earns her money who picks up shells on a 

 white beach under the glare of a Florida sun. (This is for 

 your private eye, Mr. Editor, but I can't help saying what 

 I feel sometimes.) Their son Eugene is the best pilot and 

 boatman I know of, knowing the coast of West and South 

 Florida by the inch from one end of it to the other, and 

 has visited nearly every port of any size in the Gulf of 

 Mexico as far as Honduras and Central America. He is 

 the most skillful person in handling a boat that I ever saw, 

 and if parties wish a pilot and guide to the best fishing or 

 shooting on the coast lie can take them there. He is well 

 acquainted with the waters of Charlotte's Harbor, and of 

 the Caloosahatchie river which runs into it, and it is down 

 there that wild turkies are so thick that you can knock 

 them over with a pine knot. I don't exaggerate, nor is it 

 an isolated incident. 



I sat up with Mr. Coons until after midnight talking 

 over old times and various matters of interest. It was 

 time for the lamp to be trimmed, and as the long walk to 

 the top of the tower was more than I cared to undertake 

 after a long day's work I bade him good night, but I would 

 advise the visitor to make the ascent by all means by night 

 as well as by day. Ladies need not fear of soiling their 

 dresses, for there is not a particle of oil spilled about. 

 Everything is a pattern of neatness and good order. From the 

 lantern you look right down upon every part of the island, 

 anc can get a perfect idea not only of its shape and con- 

 formation but of the surrounding islands, bays, channels, 

 anchorages, etc. It quite surprised me the first time I as- 

 cended to note the transparency of the water from this 

 hight, it is much greater.than when one is quite close to the 

 surface. May not this account in a measure for the success 

 with which the fish hawks and other birds dive for their 

 prey? 



[To be continued.} 



For Forest and Stream. 

 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE 

 MOHAVE INDIANS OF ARIZONA. 



IR-RE-TA-BA (who died in October, 1874), was for many 

 years head chief the Mohave tribe of Indians, who in- 

 habited the valley of the Colorado river in Arizona, roaming 

 from Fort Mohave to the mouth of the river, a distance of 

 some 300 miles. This was prior to their being placed upon 

 the present Colorado river Reservation in 1865. Ir-re ta- 

 ba was an Indian of sterling worth, and after entering into 

 a treaty of peace with the whites, faithfully kept his com- 

 pact until his death, prior to which he enjoined his tribe to 

 live in harmouy with the whites forever. He had an 

 immense influence with the Yumas, Cocoapas, Chimehevas, 

 Coahuillas and other tribes, until a few years before his 

 death. The cause of this loss of confidence was occasioned 

 by a visit of Ir-re-ta-ba to Washington, who, upon his re- 

 turn, told the Indians of what he had seen in his travels; 

 how he had ridden in a large wagon that run upon iron, 

 and was drawn by an iron horse, and traveled farther in 

 one day than any Mohave could travel on horseback in a 

 week; how great were the numbers of the white men, 

 comparing them with the Indians as a pebble to a handful 

 of sand; but when he told them of the telegraph, how a 

 man could sit in his house, distant eight or ten days 

 travel, and talk with his friends freely, then their faith 

 began to waver, and as he continued to tell of all he 

 had seen and done, their confidence in him was entirely 

 destroyed, and he was openly denounced as a liar, and 

 from that time his power over them was gone. 



At last death claimed him, and for five days prior to it 

 the whole tribe assembled round his house and kept up 

 their accustomed rites of crying, singing, shouting, etc., 

 and when he died his body was burned, (as is their custom,) 

 then his clothing, horses, grain, and everything of which 

 he was possessed was cast upon the fire, Sacrifices were 



made by all the tribe, each one donating to the fiery ele- 

 ment some article, as beads, calico, clothing. Beans, corn 

 and flour, all articles of subsistence burned, were for Ir-re- 

 ta-ba's support in his happy hunting ground. 



In a few days Ho-ko-row was chosen as his successor, 

 and all began to feel sorry that they had disbelieved Ir-re- 

 ta-ba, while some believed that his spirit would return 

 and haunt them for their bad faith. 



A few weeks since, a Medicine man of the tribe told them 

 that Ir-re-ta-ba's spirit would come back to them and de- 

 stroy their crops and houses, if they did not offer up 

 greater sacrifices. Committees were appointed to invite 

 the Yumas, Pimas, Maricopas, and other tribes, to a feast, 

 to come off October 4th. In due course of time the visi- 

 tors arrived, and it was determined to re burn Ir-re-ta-ba, 

 and perform anew their religious ceremonies. A dummy 

 was manufactured of baked mud, clothed from head to 

 foot, looking very natural to me (reminding me of hundreds 

 of the same appearance that I had seen in cornfields in the 

 States), and a guard placed over the sacred remains. A 

 house was erected upon the river bank, sufficiently large 

 to accommodate the whole tribe, and upon the appointed 

 day all assembled, and the worship commenced by the 

 head chief haranguing the crowd for about half an hour, 

 and then all hands joined in a general cry. Now, this 

 crying was no sham; it was genuine, down-hearted, honest 

 crying. Great tears would course down their cheeks — the 

 squaws being the most violent — and such a noise I have 

 never before heard — at a funeral. It seemed to me that 

 they would never stop, but after about an hour, Ho-ko-row 

 said something that seemed to be very satisfactory to all, 

 and after a reasonable length of time I found that it was 

 decided to continue the crying by detail. First one captain 

 would start in, followed by all his band. They would 

 keep up for about twenty minutes, and then another cap- 

 tain and band would come to their relief. Now this was 

 a good operation, for the balance of the tribe not occupied 

 in crying ^ould talk and smoke; in fact, would enjoy 

 themselves first-rate (considering it was a funeral). 



After eight or ten hours continuous crying, it was de- 

 cided to bring forward the corpse, which, in the meantime, 

 had been deposited in the brush a hundred or more rods 

 away, but carefully guarded. Some sixty young bucks 

 were selected as escort or mourners (I could not tell which), 

 and falling into line marched by file, preceded by the war 

 chief, who in turn was preceded by two old squaws 

 gorgeously arrayed, each carrying a small sack of corn, 

 which they scattered in front of the procession, uttering at 

 the same time yells, such as only a squaw can give forth. 

 This tribe has three chiefs, viz.: Ho ko-row, head chief ; 

 Set-fu-ma, son of Ir-ra-ta-ba, who is called hereditary 

 chief, but at the time of his father's death he was most 

 skilled in ward politics, and Ho-ko-row secured the nomina- 

 tion. Then they have a war chief. The line being formed 

 proceeded to the sacred spot, and the dummy was brought 

 forth and escorted towards the grand house, stopping at 

 intervals (to give the corpse a rest). After stopping four 

 times they had reached within about thirty feet of the 

 house when the corpse about faced, and counter-marched 

 to the rear, some eighty yards. Then all the captains (28 

 in all) walked toward the dummy, preceded by the two 

 old squaws, who scattered corn in their path. During this 

 proceeding the balance of the tribe was doing the crying 

 within the house. It was finally decided that the corpse 

 might enter, which was done, the whole tribe marching 

 round and round it, throwing at the same time some offer- 

 ing upon it, such as corn, muslin, calico, beads, sandals 

 and feathers, all the while keeping up their very monoton- 

 ous cry. Then the captains marched by, each one 

 shaking hands with the corpse, wishing .it a happy time 

 in his new hunting grounds. All now adjourned crying, 

 to eat melons, and in less time than I can write it, not a 

 cry could be heard, and all seemed happy. I think, as 

 cryers, they are a success, having a perfect command over 

 the tear bag. As soon as they had each one eaten three or 

 four water melons apiece, they marched out to witness 

 races between the horses that were doomed to be killed 

 and eaten before daylight, and here was another peculiar 

 mode of giving out premiums one that might be followed 

 by the premium givers at agricultural fairs in the States 

 with good results. The winning horse was to be the 

 first one slaughtered and eaten, and so on, asj they were 

 placed in the come out, and I can assure you the pro- 

 gramme was faithfully carried out, for at three o'clock 

 next morning these same horses w T ere occupying a space 

 in front of each Indians back of the tribe. Now twelve 

 high-toned and highly dressed Indians were selected to 

 destroy all by fire that represented Ir-ra-ta-ba. All the 

 Indians were removed from between the house and the 

 river, as the barn burners, I mean the house burners, as soon 

 as the torch is applied, rush to the river bank, and jumping 

 in commence a vigorous washing, which they keep up 

 until the last spark of the fire dies out. All this was done, 

 and by daylight nothing was left of house, grain, clothing, 

 beads, or even the dummy, and all the Indians seemed 

 happy to each other, saying: "Now, I think Ir-ra-ta-ba's 

 spirit is satisfied, and won't come back to do us any harm," 

 and to tell you the truth, I don't believe it will myself. 

 Y r ou will see by the above, that cremation is no new 

 thing, neither is spiritualism, for these Indians have from 

 time immemorial practiced the one, and believe in the 

 other. Yosemite. 



Arizona, Oct: 1876. 



<♦■»■ — — -•■■■■ 



— While the blackbird shooting was going on at San An- 

 tonio (Texas) Fair the other day a lady deprecated very 

 much the cruelty of shooting the birds on the wing. Said 

 she: " Why don't they shoot little birds on the ground, 

 so th«y won't fall and hurt themselves?" 



BY-WAYS OF THE 



For Forest and Stream. 

 ADIRONDACKS, 



THE rich treasures and pleasures of the Adirondacks 

 are not to be enjoyed at once, or explored till after 

 numerous successive visits. I have received, during the 

 past fortnight, new impressions, and derived fresh exper- 

 iences of the vastness and grandeur of a wide field of 

 nature, in which I have roved delighted for twenty years. 

 My destination on this last occasion was to the group of 

 ponds and lakes, north and northwest of Bloomingdale. 

 Up along Lake Champlain, through rocks rent asunder to 

 make a highway for recreation and enjoyment, up the 

 sandy hillsides of Port Kent to Keeseville for the night; 

 then onward by the side of the Ausable river through 

 Franklin Falls, I journeyed to the Rainbow House, on 

 Rainbow lake. As we came near the Ausable chasm, I 

 heard a story which was extraordinary surely, yet verified 

 by several of the passengers. Even in Revolutionary days 

 there was a bridge across the chasm which was once 

 broken down to prevent the passage of the enemy. On a 

 very dark night soon after, a mounted traveler went across, 

 and to the surprise of those whom he visited appeared on 

 the western side. They inquired how he ever got there, 

 and he answered calmly, "By the bridge." In the morn- 

 ing all repaired thither, and there, on a solitary beam over- 

 hanging a fearful chasm appeared the print of the horse's 

 hoofs. At the Rainbow House, having been furnished 

 with a comfortable room, I settled down, well pleased, and 

 prepared for future action. Among the guests there was a 

 lady who was a skillful and enthusiastic hunter. A few 

 days before she had brought down a buck with her own 

 hands, and soon after shot a hawk. This lady was always 

 among the foremost for the chase, first to be ready, and 

 last to yield, keeping up with the very guides while on the 

 route. I never met before a Diana such as she. 



The lakes I visited in this vicinity, and which now being 

 the number which I have seen tnroughout the State up to 

 eighty, are Rainbow, Clear, Round, Jones and Osgood. 

 They are all attractive, though little lakes, of which Round 

 is the most beautiful for form and scenery. It was in this 

 lake that the famous largest lake trout was, captured, which 

 weighed 52 pounds. (See Wallace's Guide). There is 

 still another lake, named Lily Pad, and on the maps, 

 through which I passed, but being very small, and densely 

 covered over with lily pads which made rowing doubly 

 difficult, and without any redeeming quality, it scarcely 

 deserves distinctive notice. I admire water-lilies, but 

 there were scarcely any visible, being cropped, it may be 

 by the deer. Clear Pond is separated from Rainbow only 

 by an extensive ridge or backbone, as it were, from which 

 both are visible. And yet they are entirely distinct. The 

 waters of Clear lake are higher naturally than those of 

 Rainbow, purer and colder. It is without inlet or outlet, 

 and must be fed by springs. A channel has been cut be- 

 tween, for intercommunication, but otherwise the two are 

 separate. The best fishing here is five miles from the 

 house, on what is called the North Branch stream. And 

 as the best time is sunset, we never found ourselves re- 

 turning homeward till darkness reigned. What gorgeous 

 fiery sunsets I there beheld — never sublimer — and how the 

 red light was reflected from mountain sides! Still, unless 

 overclouded, we had the light of a full moon on our liquid 

 paths, and on one occasion we were favored with flashes 

 of vivid lightning. Once on Rainbow lake, the way was 

 open for three miles, and there, with double pairs of oars, 

 we made the waters fly, or rather flew ourselves. I caught 

 in the North Branch, with a fly, a trout which weighed 

 one and a half pounds, being the largest taken from it, 

 this year. Another weighed a pound, and smaller onea 

 were numerous. 



Mr. Wardher, the hotel proprietor,, is continually im- 

 proving his grounds, and even now is availing himself of 

 their natural advantages, to have a trout pond within a 

 few rods of his dwelling. Two years ago, while absent 

 from home, his former house was destroyed by fire. Mrs. 

 Wardner, with heroic exertions and by such aid as she 

 could command, saved the furniture. For several months 

 the family lived in an adjoiuing workshop or barn. With 

 commendable enterprise, tho present commodious, well- 

 built mansion was spediiy erected. The hunting season 

 is now at hand, and it gives me pleasure to recommend 

 their house, to those who would find in the midst of 

 forests, streams and lakes, and at moderate rates a pleas- 

 ant house. 



I desire to call the attention of your readers to the south- 

 eastern route from Martin's to Westport, wishing that my 

 attention had been called to it in a similar manner long 

 ago. There is no comparison between the northern and 

 the southeastern, which is not favorable to the latter, 

 whether .with respect to distance, expense, or scenery. 

 We are creatures of habit, and many like myself have gone 

 to Martin's or Pol Smith's by the way of Port Kent, simply 

 because they have taken that route before. Sixteen years 

 ago I took that route, and so eight years ago I took it 

 again. And recently at Schenectady, I checked my trunk 

 for Port Kent. But fortunately, I returned via. North 

 Elba and Keene; and now I should like to take that route 

 again, for its own sake, and return by it next day. Look 

 at it. From Martin's to Port Kent is 51 miles; from Mar» 

 tin's to West Port 43 . So that not only the lime and ex- 

 pense of 80 miles stage travel is saved by the south- 

 eastern route, but also all the travel and expense between 

 Westport and Port Kent. Some, I have heard, go all the 

 way to Plattsburgh in order to take the railroad there to 

 Point of Rocks, thus traveling 35 miles, _thQU|h Poiat of 



