FOREST AND STREAM. 



291 



At this season of the year the swamps, as they are called, 

 are dry, and but for the obstruction so frequently offered 

 by the innumerable and almost impenetrable cane brakes, 

 locomotion would be comparatively easy. Here and there 

 are sloughs and bayous in which water still remains, and 

 now and then are small lakes, all of which abound in fish, 

 and are visited by great flocks of ducks, which fall an 

 easy prey to the hunter. 



In some parts of these swamps the bear are so abundant 

 that, during roasting ear season, they do great injury to the 

 fields by eating the growing ears, and at all times make it 

 almost out of the question for the planter to raise hogs. 

 Three years ago, while staying with a friend near the head 

 of navigation, one day, sitting in the portico, we heard a 

 hog squealing just above the house on the opposite side of 

 the stream. The proprietor hastily took his needle gun 

 and ran up there, when he found Mr. Bruin trying to make 

 a meal off pork. It was an easy matter to bring him down 

 with one shot. A neighbor of my host, by the name of 

 Flannagan, who had a horde of bear dogs, had killed forty- 

 three bears from January to the first of August, and he 

 did not feel that he had done wonders at that. 



A party of eight, headed by Dr. E. S. Henry, of this 

 city, took the little steamboat Vicksburg, at sundown, on 

 Saturday, intending to have a little fishing and hunting on 

 the Sunflower. The boat was not a large one, but it had 

 clever officers, and the party were made comfortable and 

 at home. We reached the mouth of the river before day- 

 light, and the foot of Oliphant's bar at about nine o'clock 

 Sunday morning. In that wild region people, perhaps, 

 forget the Sabbath day, for no sooner had the boat run her 

 nose on the ground, and the mate began to put out his 

 cable to haul her over, than one Nimrod had his "dug 

 out" overboard, and himself into it with his shot gun, 

 paddling for the shore. In a few moments we heard two 

 phots from him, and began speculating upon his success. 

 In the meantime, two other members of the party had 

 their rods rigged up, and with small chunks of fresh beef 

 for bait, were trying to entice the catfish. This resulted 

 in the capture of one fellow about fifteen inches long. 

 The hunter returned in about an hour without game, 

 having made his two shots at squirrels. But finding the 

 boat still worrying with the sand bar, he put off again, 

 going higher up the stream, and when he came back at 

 the call of the boat's whistle, he brought with him two 

 squirrels. 



After a day and night of hard wrestling with snags, logs 

 and driftwood, poling the barge and the boat around the 

 sharp turns by means of long poles in the hands of the roust- 

 a-bouts, we reached our destination at the mouth of Darl- 

 ing's bayou, at five o'clock Monday morning, and were put 

 off, bag and baggage, upon the high sandy bank, in close 

 proximity to a large pile of dry drift-wood. Here we put 

 up our tent, and as soon as daylight was fairly at hand, all 

 the members of the party except Capt. Auter, who bossed 

 the arrangements about camp, were either in the skiffs we 

 had brought along fishing, or were striking into the forests 

 ■with their guns in search of game. 



The first gentleman ready with hook and line, in his 

 eagerness to get his work fairly in, baited his hook with a 

 piece of fat meat, and it was not long before he had a 

 couple of catfish "flopping" on the bank, and then a nice 

 bass. It was the first time I had seen a bass so far forget 

 his dignity as to strike at a piece of fat meat lying still in 

 the water. But during the morning we hooked and cap- 

 tured quite a number with no other bait than small strips 

 cut from the sides of some small perch we caught. Later 

 in the day, however, we discovered a place where we 

 could obtain minnows by the million, and from that time 

 out used them freely. The bass bit ravenously during the 

 day, and the fishing party were enabled to carry more into 

 camp than could be used or saved, as the weather was 

 pretty warm. 



The second day was cold and rainy, and the larger part 

 of the party remained in camp. The fish would not take 

 hold freely, and only a few dozen were captured. Up to 

 this time the hunter's had Killed a few ducks and squirrels, 

 and wounded a deer and a turkey. The gentleman who 

 wounded the deer, tracked him so eagerly that he neglected 

 to keep his bearing, got lost, and did not reach camp until 

 a party of discovery went out and hunted him up. 



On Wednesday morning, at five o'clock, we heard our 

 steamboat whistle at the landing, five miles above, on her 

 way coming back. In a moment all was bustle and con- 

 fusion, packing up. In an hour or so the boat dropped in 

 at our camp, and took on the luggage and about half of 

 the party. The others, after supplying themselves with 

 minnows, took to the skiffs and floated down the stream, 

 stopping for a while at such points as gave indications of 

 bass. These elegant fish seemed to be ravenous, and even 

 tried to swallow our bobs. The fishermen actually became 

 surfeited, and laying aside tackle started on the run after 

 our steamer, which was overtaken about three o'clock in 

 the afternoon in the narrow and crooked part of the river, 

 ■where she and her large load of cotton were making but 

 little, if any, over a mile an hour. The boat tied up at 

 dark. As she had passed up, she ran of nights by the aid 

 of a pine torch at her bow, but could not well do this going 

 down with a load of cotton. 



The next morning the larger skiff was put overboard, 

 and tliree fishermen with our darkie went into it, where 

 they remained all day overhauling the boat near the mouth 

 of the river. Three hunters took the shore, and one his 

 dug out alone down the river. These were all picked up 

 a little after noon, having killed some ducks and squirrels. 

 The fishermen had a field day of it, and brought in a mag- 

 nificent string of black and striped bass, 



Vicksburg was reached at daylight, on Friday morning, 

 by a party who had enjoyed themselves hugely. Messes 

 of fish were sent about over the city to friends. 



It is a wonder this place I have written about is not 

 visited by more sportsmen. There is, perhaps, no place 

 on this continent where the game I have described is more 

 abundant. It is not very hard of access, the people are 

 genial and clever, and a man seeking a quarter in which 

 to while away his time with the gun or rod, and meet with 

 good success, cannot find a more favorable locality, 



B. H. P. 



COURSING HARES IN CALIFORNIA. 



The California Pioneer Coursing Club— the only organ- 

 ization of the kind in the United States — has introduced 

 hare hunting on this coast. The Club has been in existence 

 several years. Its annual meetings are held in Hovember, 

 usually in the San Joaquin valley, where hares are most 

 numerous and the country best adapted for the sport. 

 Merced is generally chosen as the rendezvous. 



On Tuesday afternoon, the members of the Club in San 

 Francisco, accompanied by friends, started for Merced by 

 the four o'clock train. The dogs, rugs, shot guns, valises, 

 and sportsmen comfortably filled two cars. The journey 

 was not a pleasant one for those not deeply interested in 

 "dog talk." The whole town of Merced— that is to say, 

 the seventy-five saloon keepers, four livery- stable men, 

 three grocers, and a few obscure citizens— had assembled 

 to receive the visitors. There was a startling premium on 

 teams, and seedy plugs, that would never have escaped the 

 poundman in a more pretentious town, were eagerly bid 

 for. 



In the pool-buying every one took a hand. Gentleman 

 Jones, having won last year, was the favorite. Judge 

 Pennie risked trade dollars on him in a way that was wildly 

 indiscreet. 



At eight o'clock in the morning the start is made from 

 the hotel. The hotel keeper acts as guide. Behind comes 

 a motley cavalcade indistinctly seen through the cloud of 

 dust . Four-horse stage coaches jolt over the squirrel holes ; 

 "buck-board" teams skim past them; dilapidated buggies 

 rattle along the plain, and lank mustangs plod with in- 

 fallible suie-footedness through the gopher-holes. As the 

 distance from home increases, the Indian file of vehicles 

 and horsemen becomes broken . The mist floats heavy and 

 thick over the brown plain. On we go, keeping in sight 

 of the hotel-keeper's white duster. A hare, feeding in 

 some stubble by the side of the trail, crouches down and 

 watches the strangers in amazement until a pistol bullet 

 rouses him to a sense of personal danger, when he speeds 

 away amid a chorus of howls from struggling dogs who 

 are with difficulty held in. Ploughmen rein in their long 

 teams and stare, and a vaquero turns his mustang and 

 comes at a wild gallop toward the sportsmen, with his arms 

 and legs flying and his body swaying in the manner pecu- 

 liar to Mexican riders. Now we swerve from the trail and 

 follow a wagon track running by a creek. Some of the 

 mustangs are beginning to wilt visibly, and many of the 

 teams have dropped far back toward the horizon. Even 

 the best horses show that the sharp ride has told on them, 

 when the hotel-keeper halts at a rickety old barn. Here 

 the sport is to begin. 



At last the stragglers have all arrived with the exception 

 of a few who, either from bad horsemanship, or slow mus- 

 tangs, have been left so far behind that it would be foolish 

 to wait for them. Ex-Sheriff Adams, as President of the 

 Club, now assumes direction and announces that no dogs 

 will be allowed to run loose, and there must be no shoot- 

 ing within half a mile of the teams. The latter announce- 

 ment falls with crushing effect on a party of verdant 

 sportsmen who have brought shot guns in the belief that 

 the object of the Club is to kill the greatest possible 

 number of hares. The dogs are all tied up with the excep- 

 tion of Mr. Adams's Ruler and Davidson's Sandy, which 

 are placed on the slips. The teams form in line, with a 

 field steward on either side. The judge rtdes about fifty 

 yards ahead, and the slipper, Frank Taylor, follows, hold- 

 ing the dogs. They have got about one hundred yards 

 from the barn,' when Dr. Sharkey, after a valiant tussle 

 with two impatient dogs is vanquished, and the beasts 

 charge directly in front of the dogs in slips. 



"Halt!" roars the judge, in a stentorian voice. "Whose 

 dogs are those?" 



The doctor acknowledges reluctantly that he is the un- 

 happy owner. 



"Fined $5, sir. Go ahead, Mr. Judge." 



The dogs are caught and the cavalcade advances fifty 

 yards further, when a hare springs from a bunch of weeds, 

 and is a hundred yards off before the dogs see it. When 

 they do, they plunge furiously forward, dragging the slipper 

 after them. He holds them a few moments until they are 

 straining evenly on the slip, when he pulls the spring and 

 they are gone like a flash. Four hundred yards on a 

 straight line and they have turned the hare. In the next 

 hundred, Ruler is doing all the running, when the attention 

 of the spectators is drawn to a black dog which has arrived 

 with a new-comer, i nd joined in the chase. The other 

 dogs outrun him easily, however, and before he come up, 

 the hare escapes in the weeds. The teams halted when 

 the dogs were slipped, and none but the owners or depu- 

 tized persons are permitted to go after the dogs. The 

 judge rides at a full gallop as close as his horse can run to 

 the hounds, for the race is judged by points, and it is ne- 

 cessary for him to be near at hand when the hare, in its 

 death struggle, twists and turns to avoid the relentless pur- 

 suers. Agility in turning, bursts of speed, and suceess in 

 killing the hare, are each rewarded by a certain number of 

 points. A race seen at the distance of several hundred 

 yards and close at hand may present different aspects, and 

 the owner who is behind rarely entertains the same opinion 

 as the judge, unless the latter decides in his favor. The 

 present race being decided in Ruler's favor, the President 

 again asserts himself. 



"Who owns that black dog?" 



A meek old gentleman, leading the wretched culprit, re- 

 plies, "Mr. Parr." 



"Fine Mr. Parr $5. Go ahead, judge." 



This time Dominick Shannon's Empress and Jerome 

 Deasy's Sallie Kearns are in the slips. The teams press a 

 little closer on the slipper, when a demented hare, which 

 might escape by lying still, bounds into view. Shannon 

 throws the dogs off, and in two hundreds yards the hare 

 is turned, py Empress, who shows wonderful speed,. 



Baffled on a straight run, puss turns back and is met by 

 Sallie Kearns, who misses her. Empress again takes the 

 lead, and, after several turns, cleverly kills within three 

 hundred yards of the team. Empress is an easy victor, the 

 other dog scarcely scoring a point. 



The mist has long since cleared away, and, far as the 

 eye can reach, yellow stubble and brown prairie stretch to- 

 ward the horizon. Against this dark ground the_ red 

 jacket of the judge looks picturesque and harmonious. 

 The blue and white habit of a country lady who has ridden 

 up to see the chase is in pleasing contrast to the broadcloth 

 and linen of the city folk. Hither and thither over the 

 plain the cavalcade wanders after the judge, the tiamp of 

 horses and rattle of wagons startling the hares, which 

 otherwise would lie close and elude the dogs.— San Fran- 

 cisco Post, 



An Aquarium in Philadelphia.— The Germantown 

 Telegraph says, that the managers of the Zoological Garden 

 at Philadelphia, contemplate adding an Aquarium to the 

 other interesting attractions there. This will prove a very 

 interesting addition to visitors, and the success of the Aqua- 

 rium in New York is an evidence that it will be likely to 



pay. 



■♦»»» 



—On the 5th instant, 25,000 California salmon fry were 

 placed in Bakers river at Warren, New Hampshire, by Fish. 

 Commissioner Powers, of that State, assisted by Mr. Holmes, 

 who is connected with the hatching house at Winchester, 

 Mass. These are the first instalment of the 200,000 that 

 the commissioners of Massachusetts and New Hampshire 

 purpose placing in Bakers river this month. There was a 

 loss of only nine fish in transporting them over one hun- 

 dred and twenty-five miles. The fry were six weeks old, 

 and appeared much stronger than our eastern salmon of 



the same age do. 



— -*<••»- . 



Canadian Fish for England. — Mr. Samuel Wilmot, 

 Government Fishery Superintendent, passed through Lon- 

 don on Saturday with 150,000 white fish from the Sand- 

 wich fishery establishment. A number of these ova are to 

 be forwarded to the Duke of Marlborough and Lord Exe- 

 ter. At an interview Mr. Blake had with these noblemen 

 in England they expressed a strong desire to have forward- 

 ed to them some of our Canadian fresh water fish, for the 

 purpose of introducing them into the waters of Great 

 Britain. 



The Fish Hatching Establishmet at Bedford.— En- 

 couraged by the success of his first year's operations, Mr. A. 

 B. Wilmot, the enthusiastic superintendent of the Bedford 

 fish,house, has entered upon a second season's work on a 

 more extensive scale. Last year he had about 570,000 eggs 

 in the house. This season he has put in a million. They 

 have been obtained from River Philip, the West, East and 

 Middle rivers of Pictou, and the Annapolis river. A short- 

 sighted and regretted hostility on the part of a few people, 

 in some quarters, has made the work of procuring the eggs 

 a difficult one. On one occasion, at River Philip, a quan- 

 tity of lime was thrown into the water for the purpose, 

 evidently, of destroying them. All the eggs in the fish, 

 house are looking well, and Mr. Wilmot is confident of be- 

 ing able to turn out a great quantity of fish next summer. 

 He is watching with interest a new experiment which is of 

 importance to the science of fish culture. Finding a scarc- 

 ity of the mail fish at the West river he took the melt to 

 that place from River Philip, and impregnated the eggs 

 with it. Should this experiment prove successful it will 

 be a valuable discovery. — Halifax (JV~. 8.) Chronicle, Dec lih. 

 — .»■ 



A DUTCH PISC1CULTURAL ESTABLISH- 

 MENT. 



IN order to repopulate the impoverished waters of Holland 

 and stock them with choicer kinds of fish, several 

 gentlemen of Amsterdam and Arnhem have recently erected 

 and carry on at joint cost a piscicultural establishment 

 near to the latter town . To allude first to what is the most 

 important point in ail fish-breeding undertakings — the water 

 supply— Mr. Op de Macks, director of the above works, has 

 no less than four sources to draw upon, viz.: a 45 feet deep 

 well , in the immediate vicinity, the river Yssel, and the 

 Rozehdaal and Beekhuizen streamlets. Before the latter 

 — which are brought to Arnhem by means of underground 

 pipes extending for nearly a mile— enter the hatching 

 rooms and and nurseries of the establishment, they are 

 made to pass through fineish wirework gratings to free 

 them of impurities, and their volume and current are regu- 

 lated by a number of sluices. In the case of the well 

 water, raised by steam power to a cistern or large tank at 

 the upper end of the incubating hall, the deficiency of 

 oxygen is rectified by causing the water to fall into the 

 upper hatching troughs, a depth of ten feet. It flows 

 through small apertures in the form of a jet, and, striking 

 against the small glass bars in the troughs, becomes 

 thoroughly impregnated with air. 



While one steam engine raises and renders available the 

 well water above alluded to, a second, situated on the 

 banks of the river, pumps up the Yssel water, admitted 

 into the canals of the institution by means of a sluice. It 

 raises ten cubic metres, or about 2,200 gallons per minute, 

 and thus brings the water in the basins to the required 

 height and temperature whenever a deficiency occurs in 

 the supplies from Beekhuizen and Rozendaal, or the brook 

 water is considered too cold. During summer Yssel water 

 has sometimes a temperature of 72° Fahr. (22° Celsius); 

 the well water, on the other hand, rarely rises above 43 s 

 Fahr. 



With respect to the size and construction of the incu- 

 bating hall, the same covers an area of about 180 square 

 yards, is lofty and well ventilated, receiving the moderate 

 amount of light admitted from windows on the north side 

 of the roof. The stone troughs with which it is furnished, 

 and which afford hatching accommodation for over 600,000 

 eggs, are arranged in four double rows, each of the latter 

 —separated from one another by three feet wide passages — ■ 

 confining six: pair of similar shape and dimensions, Be- 



