944 
FOREST AND STREAM 
votedly as a civilized school girl. When the infant slept 
the frame to which it was tied was carelessly laid across 
the top of the canoe, only four or five inches above the 
water, 
A pull of ten or twelve miles in the hot and breezeless 
afternoon, relieved at times only by the shadows of the 
overhanging cliffs along the shore, brought us along the 
Stile of that grand old bald rock which two days before 
wo thought a near inland height. It seemed as we turned 
a point to spring suddenly au island out of the depths of 
the smooth water, its eight hundred feet of precipitous 
wall reflected as from a mirror, Olf to the north-east, 
miles away, stood the other rock, so like it that oue 
almost fancied if a purple shadow of the one to winch we 
were so near. Now and then the further one, from somo 
peculiar condition of the air or water, seemed to beshorl- 
oned in at the water’s edge, and project a rounded form 
far over its receding base. The two •• Barns,” as they 
are called, are not like any other lake islands in appear¬ 
ance, and apparently not iu geological structure. They 
look like some of the cliffs along Nepigon River, a hun¬ 
dred miles away, save that there is no mark to be dis¬ 
cerned of Die abrading action of the glacier. The inner 
Haro stands like a batitlemented fort at the entrance of 
Wabenoosh Bay. When we came alongside its majestic 
heights we could bear the faint roar of the Wabenoosh 
falls, three or lour miles distant, and as tlio purple hue 
of the declining day began to climb the wooded steeps 
on ei thee side of us, we pushed vigorously on, occasionally 
looking back to see if the great rook which had so sud¬ 
denly burst upon our view was real and permanent, or 
only a dream of solitude a,ml grandeur. 
Guided by the sound of the tails, we entered the mouth 
of the river and found ourselves in a great pool or basin, 
with a rim of lulls that looked like mountains in the 
fading light. The falls lookod promising, and going up 
the mil worn portage path past them, F. quickly secured 
a beautifully marked trout of a pouud weight. No others 
rose to his fly, although further up the stream we could 
sec them jump ing quite freely. The water was of a dark 
red color, and of 00 deg. temperature. The Indians wlu) 
were camped near ns said we could take many of the 
size of the one P. killed about a day’s journey further up 
the stream. This river is a favorite highway of Indian 
travel, as shown by the well worn portage trail. 
We bad no time to spare, however, in canoeing up the 
river, so early the next morning we floated out into the 
bav, and paddled along its northern shore. Tbe one great 
island of rock, the only island of that bay, seemed in the 
morning sun even higher and grander than in the even¬ 
ing light, while far out to sea, the faint shadows of more 
distant, islands could be seen upon the water. A mile or 
more ahead of us appeared a swiftly moving speck of 
green foliage, which our keen-sighted guides pronounced 
to be a canoe with coon hunters. It made scarcely a 
ripple on t e. surface, but the coons were further out in 
the lake, and after we had rounded the point of the bay 
and left the disguised canoe behind us, we heard the 
mocking laugh of the great diver, and saw him disap¬ 
pear beneath the water. Once or twice we essayed a 
shot at the beautiful bird, and onee we thought, and still 
think, the ball roughed Ids feathers, although he escaped 
us, A llocic of young sawbill ducks Wassy routed out 
of the rocks by the shore, butthey were not game for us. 
About eleven o’clock we reached the mouth of the next 
river, known by the name of White Sand. A deserted 
cabin on the lake shore shows where, in the old times of 
rivalry in the fur trade, a temporary post had been estab¬ 
lished'. We could hear the noise of falls, and tried to 
ascend the narrow but swift and deep stream. But trees 
across it, snags without number in it, and the warmth of 
its water checked our ardour, and we fpfl back to an old 
Indian encampment for dinner. An abandoned canoe 
furnished birch bark for a Are, and we had a hurried 
meal. This river, at least below the falls, runs through 
an alluvial formation, densely wooded with poplar and 
birch, with occasional cedars. In the afternoon we made 
a few more miles, but rain coming on we camped at a 
sand beach, back of which there was a dense forest of 
fir and birch, the latter of fine quality for canoe-building. 
The shores had been gradually becoming less steep, 
although at intervals a spur of the interior hills would 
r,,-u;li the lake and end in au abrupt and rocky bluff. But 
where the saud-lieach ended there seemed to be the same 
rougliiiSsS of surface which I have referred to before as 
characteristic of the island formations further down the 
ake. 
ATTRACTIO NS OF G ALVESTON. 
T O one who is fond of seaside delights I can't see how 
any place could be more attractive than Galveston. 
Here he can have old ocean to his liking. The city is 
situated on an island thirty miles long and from a half 
mile to three miles in width. It is at the east end of this 
island. Here, then, we have a beach fronting on the 
Gulf of Mexico some Diirty miles long, composed of 
clean compact sand, as smooth as a parlor floor. It is a 
glorious place for a drive, There is almost always agood 
breeze on, and the great breakers roll iu and dash them¬ 
selves to pieces under the wheels of your vehicle. It is 
amusing to see these breakers chasing pie little boys and 
girls up the beach. There can be no better sea-bathing 
anywhere. Last night I spent an hour or so in the Gulf 
nabatlniig suit, and sounded the bottom at least three 
hundred feet out before I found it growing too deep. The 
water deepens very gradually, and the floor is all that the 
bother couLd wish. livery night there are thousands of 
bathers. There are sharks enough all around the island, 
but they never come in among the breakers, and there is 
no instance of anybody ever beiug hurt here by one. 
Sting rays are sometimes about, but 1 cannot hear of but 
one instance of their stinging here. That was a young 
lady. She fainted away with the intense pain, but soon 
recovered, and no evil followed. The sting of the ray is 
not poisonous, any more than that of a wasp, but I judge 
that it is terribly painful while it lasts, Sometimes 
medusfe come in, but it is easy to avoid them, and even if 
one comes in contact with them I understand that the 
damage done is very trifling—so little, indeed, that 
it is hardly worthy of mention. It is said to be a sort of 
nritklv sensation, like that of a nettle. In Galveston Bay 
11 i-ive sometimes seen these medusae in flocks of thou- 
snids These are Dm only annoyances—the dread of Diem 
_-that Dm bather is subjected to here, and harm from 
them results so rarely that none but novices and strangers 
pver think of them. 
For boating and yachting Galveston Bay furnishes an 
ample field. This is the body of water lying between the 
island and the mainland, from five to twenty miles in 
breadth and about seventy-five in length ; perfectly land¬ 
locked everywhere except at two points. For pleasure 
boating it has no superior in American waters. Fishing 
is fine at all seasons. Just now Die amateur is having all 
the sport he wants with tlio trout, or weak fish, or T sup¬ 
pose it is the red fish, the sheepshead, croaker flounder, 
etc. These are all biting ravenously. That monster, 
the jew fish, is also abundant and eager to strike a hook, 
but as he ordinarily carries several huudred pounds avoir¬ 
dupois, the amateur fisherman is by no means eager to 
hook on to him. This fish, as big as he is, is not excelled, 
I believe, in excellence for the table by any fish of our 
waters, Another fish that is very numerous in the bay is 
thetarpum, grand ecaille, or silver fish, He will take a 
hook readily, hut is rather shunned by the fisherman than 
sought by him. He has the repute of being dangerous. 
He has a habit of jumping very high in the air, and car¬ 
ing very little where lie falls. He ma.y fall in a fellow’s 
boat and upset it, or he may fall on a fellow and lull him. 
They have knocked men out of their boats in Diis same 
bay and sometimes drowned them. They reach as high 
as 200 pounds and over; beautiful as can be, but not good 
to eat. They sparkle all over like new ribbon. In the 
sea they are continuously jumping, and in that line can 
heat a porpoise all hollow. They are from Die tropics, 
and with the first breath of cold air they leave. When 
caught on a book their behavior is said to be very much 
like that of a wild horse when first roped, only ten times 
worse. They have the saw fish here, too, quite numer¬ 
ous. One was caught in the bay the other day, twenty- 
two feet long. He was playing in four feet water and was 
dragged ashore in a seine. These are only a few of the 
fishes they have to amuse themselves or sti r the flood with 
here. 
As regards climate tlds is one of the most fortunate sea¬ 
side reBorts in the world, It is a rare tiling that the mer¬ 
cury reaches 90 here at the hottest season of the year. 
From 80 to 85 deg. is about its midsummer range. A t night 
it falls to 75 and lower. This makes a delicious climate. 
There is no reason why Galveston should not become a 
great summer resort, except probably yellow fever, which 
does sometimes put in its appearanee here. It lias not 
been epidemic for twelve years. 
The city is a beautiful place. It is filled with orange 
trees in full bearing, and oleanders covered with bloom. 
There are delightful shady walks to talk love in, and in¬ 
deed nooks to hide in. Oranges and oleanders make a 
very dense foliage. The population is about 35,000, I 
judge. Many of the buildings are very costly and grand. 
Forest and Stream has a numerous family of friends 
here, and there is one thing that I cannot help observing, 
and that is, that these readers and friends of Forest and 
Stream are the best and most cultured men in the city. 
I tind it so wherevor I go. It must indeed be a pleasant 
tiling to write to such a constituency as that. In fall and 
winter, sport with the gun is superb here. The bays and 
bayous are filled with wild fowl. N. A. T. 
Galveston. Texas, Aug , 22d, 1879. 
DUCK SHOOTING IN DELAWARE BAY. 
T 
(Continued from issue of Dec. 18th.) 
-*HE modus operandi of shooting wild fowl in tins 
part of the world (Khehoboth Bay) is rather primi¬ 
tive, as I am informed by a Pliiladelpbia sportsman, a 
prominent member of the N. E. S. C. Club, who slaughters 
ducks at notheast Chesapeake Bay from a sink-box, and 
whom I met at this place on a “ wild goose chase.” Said 
he: 
“ These people get an old mule and drive him up and 
down the shore every day for a week or more until the 
geese become accustomed to him, and not only do not 
fly off, but actually swim shoreward and within gunshot; 
and, at the proper time, every preparation having been 
previously made, the rider slides off the animal’s romp, 
rests his gun, or ‘cannon’ on the heast’sjhack. and ‘pulls 
on to ’em,’ and the result is generally from fifty to sev¬ 
enty geese at a shot. (This, although the actual state¬ 
ment of my informant, I took in without questioning, 
but mentally allowed a large margin for shrinkage.) 
“ And what is most astonishing about Diis mule busi¬ 
ness,” added my informant, “ is, that the animal is so 
trained that lie acts as a retriever, swi mm ing out and 
sloshing around among the dead and crippled geese, and 
bringing them ashore.” 
As we had no mule handy, we were compelled to forego 
the pleasure of this novel and interesting mode of shoot¬ 
ing wild geese. The wind being off shore and light, I 
took a stroll along the beach, and picked up quite a lot of 
beautiful shells, and met- one of the residents of this iso¬ 
lated region, who was the owner of quite an extensive 
farm (400 acres), but he complained of the hard times, 
uud said he -‘reckoned he’d hev to give up raisiu’ com 
now, as wages hed got as high as thirty cents a day." 
Upon my arrival on hoard the yacht in the evening I re¬ 
ported progress, and we unanimously agreed to leave this 
placo as soon as the wind shifted and removed the sand¬ 
bar. We killed nine geese during ‘ our stay, the result 
of two nights shooting on tlie ponds. The moon shone 
very brightly, and, reflecting upon the white sand, added 
much to the loneliness of the situation, and no sound was 
heard save the far off murmuring of the surf as it broke 
upon the beach, and now and then the solitary honk of 
an old gander speaking to Ms mates. 
At last the wind shifted and removed tlio sand obstruc¬ 
tion at Die mouth of the river, and we got under way, 
glad enough to leave Diis God-forsaken spot, and once 
more breathe the free air of old ocean. . 
Homeward bound! Ran across the bay, and arrived at 
Cape May, landing at 1.30 p. m. , and after a look through 
this almost deserted “city by the sea,” to boat again, 
and, aB Die sun went down behind the glistening sand 
hills of Henlopen, liove anchor,” and, with a spanking 
sou’-wester and a bright full moon, “ sheeted oft, and 
went bowling up the hay. (the lights of t ape May, 
Cape Henlopen and Brandywine shoals cast their reflec¬ 
tions upon the silvery sea-caps, as our little yacht 
careened over, as though bidding them a graceful adieu, 
and soon—very soon, it seemed—the lights of Egg Island, 
East Point and the Ledge, like twinkling stars .came up 
out of the shimmering sea. It was a glorious mght, and 
Capt. Wilkins, who is an old yachtsman, and used to all 
kinds of weather, remarked, as he handled this hand¬ 
some little craft, “Boys, isn’t Diis beautiful.” I can 
scarcely call to mind a time when I felt so supremely 
happy. How glad I am that we have escaped from 
that miasmic lagoon, with its pestiferous vermin (mos¬ 
quitos) and unsavory odors, ana are once more permitted 
to breathe tins pure air. 
Off, under our lee, many outward hound vessels were 
anchored, waiting for ebb tide to carry them on their 
journey. In Morris River Cove their lights shone like 
Mreflies and seemed to dance merrily to our joyous songs. 
Running aroimd under the lee of False Egg Island, we 
came to for the night. In the morning, dropped in at 
the mouth of Straight Creek, so called on account of its 
excessive crookedness. Here we met a salt-hay Jersey- 
man, captain of one of those shallow crafts that Wilkius 
calls a “ sea-pounder.” This individual and Wilkins en¬ 
tered into a conversation in regard to the creation of the 
world, when the irreverent old cuss remarked: “Well, 
I've heai’n that the Lord made the world in six days, and 
my kalkerlation is, that He made the world in one day, 
and it tuk the balance of the week to make Straight 
Krick.” 
Wilkins was shocked at the man’s impiety, and 
lectured him soundly for it. The sloop, the man, and the 
creek had been old chums for the last hundred years, and 
I spent the balance of the day trying to cipher out which 
was the crookedest. 
After the evening shooting we ran up to Fortescue. 
Straight Creek heads in a thousand ponds which are con¬ 
nected by narrow waterways and extend over hundreds 
of acres. I met an old duck Bliooter here, who informed 
me that geese and brant make tills their resting-place 
after long flights, and are found here in almost countless 
numbers during the latter part of February and early in 
March on their return to their Northern homes. 
Mayberry entertained us this evening with some som¬ 
nambulistic antics. First he began with a sort of a wail¬ 
ing sound, which, I presume, was an attempt to sing ; 
next he shouted “ change partners 1” Just at this mo¬ 
ment a cork popped from the mouth of a porter bottle, 
wlic-n he rose up and exclaimed : “ Who discharged that 
gun ? It has blown off the whole deck of the yacht!” 
Jack was now wide awake, and had risen up in his bunk 
to a sitting posture, his straight black hair stood on end, 
and, with his dark, swarthy features, lie looked like a 
Ul e warrior. Patton very kindly took charge of him, 
and tied a wet towel around his head, and, after admin¬ 
istering a “hot jigger” for his “ innerds,” he was ten¬ 
derly put to hed again. The band played no more that 
night. 
We remained here two days with indifferent success. 
Our evenings, however, were passed pleasantly at the 
Fortescue House. A party from a neighboring village 
met here the second evening to have an oyster feed, with 
“knocking apple” for lunch. Reader, have you ever 
i * perpetrated ” a “ lio-down ” to the ‘ ‘ Arkansas Traveler " 
with a South Jersey lassie for two hours without inter¬ 
mission? No! Well, don’t do it, for I know somebody 
who did, and that same individual perspired away five 
pounds of good solid flesh to “forward two,” “change 
partners," “ sling corners,” etc. Mayberry desires to he 
excused 
Under way again. Our gallant little craft, as Diough 
tired of a qiuet harbor, is making good time under double 
reefed mainsail and full jib. The fresh nor’wester is di¬ 
rectly ahead, and the sea short and chopped up; but “the 
old gal” (as Patton affectionately calls her) takes to it 
kindly now and then, however, playfully tossing Die 
spray" into our faces as a gentle reminder that she means 
to be treated properly. When off the mouth of Back 
Creek a tremendous squall struck us, winch knocked us 
down to our dead-lights, and the water ran over the deck. 
Wilkins, quick as lightning, gavo her a short luff, but she 
was too far gone to mind her helm, and the next instant 
she would have capsized had not Mayberry given her 
about four feet of sheet. She came up mto the wind 
shaking like a scared racehorse, when Wilkens turned lier 
how towards Back Creek, where we came to anchor 
within a hundred yards of our first stopping place, tte 
laid in a good Bupply of oysters and fish, and leaving Pat¬ 
ton to attend to the cooking department, again shouldered 
our guns and started off for theponds. The ducks were ex¬ 
ceedingly tame (a new flight having arrived), and we failed 
thirteen. The next morning a pair of sprig-tails flopped 
down close to the yacht. Wilkins paddled Clark, our 
crack shot, up to within twenty yards of them when he 
“let go both barrels” and never “rumpled a feather. 
“ Somebody drew the shot out of this gun, or I d have 
cut those birds all to pieces,” said Clark, with terrible 
emphasis, and his amiable face lengthened mto a painful 
expression.” ^ wilkinSi <.the cause of your missing 
was, that you shot from the left shoulder.” 
Wilkins killed the same pan* of ducks in about an hour 
afterwards and gave them to Clark as a peace-offering ; 
Die latter accepted with calm dignity, but did not fire 
another shot the balance of the day, although it was one 
Die host davs we had during the whole trip. He has 
foraivenCap the trick ; but don’t mention left-shoulder 
shouting to him—at least not for some time. 
I took a trip up to the “ Drum Beds, and through the 
rreeks and branches, and started a few black ducks, but 
the fresh-water ponds were frozen and the birds were 
barred out from their favorite feeding grounds. North¬ 
west winds invariably drive the ducks across the bay to 
the Jersey side, and they go far inland from the bay 
shore among the swamps and shallow ponds. 1 met a 
“native of the soil” who had been reared in this place, 
and who had not yet heard of General Grant or the Re¬ 
bellion, and he told me that it was eighteen miles to the 
mouth of the creek where our yacht lay. I mentally 
multiplied it by two (for up and down . and, had I not 
been reared by a Christ ian mother , I should have ’ cussed 
that Jerseyman. 1 started for the yacht, the shades of 
ni^lit were closing around me, and the keen northwest 
wind, blowing directly in my lace soon froze my mous¬ 
tache, and 1 had an assortment of icicles hanging down 
over my mouth. Flood-tide caught me, and the air was 
filled with scurrying snowflakes. I had a little twelve- 
foot ducking skiff and a good broad ash paddle, and, as 
I drove my little craft across the tiny waves, tlio spray 
dashed over my face and froze ; and I venly believe that 
had I been a temperance man, I should that night have 
broken the pledge, I came to the conclusion that mght 
