1004 
FOREST AND STREAM 
But we hail not started with the idea that in this wilder¬ 
ness we were to enjoy all the dainties of life, for in order 
to explore its depths we must give up luxuries and com¬ 
forts which at home seem indispensable. How often in 
my earlier years, while pursuing the study of geography 
at school, did my pencil in drawing maps wander over 
this endless track of territory to the north and east of 
Moosehead Lake, striving to picture to niy imagination 
its elements. 
This great lake near the center of the State, together 
with a few of the largest rivers, of whose source there 
seemed a doubt, were about all that relieved the picture, 
and even now I was daily discovering that the latest pub¬ 
lished maps, which I had purchased before starting, were 
very inaccurate. Through the long stretches of deep 
water of Chamberlain Lake we paddled, keeping time 
with our oars, while on our right arose the peaks of the 
lovely Suurdnalumk Mountains, each individualized by 
the bright-rays of the morning sun. 
Entering Telosmis Lake, which is about a mile in ex¬ 
tent, wo sailed swiftly through its quiet waters and 
passed into Telos Lake, where at the mouth of a brook on 
the right hand we were successful iti landing a fine lot of 
trout, which averaged over a pound each. Telos Lake is 
four miles long and about half a mile wide, and is 914 
feet above tide water ; its northern shore rocky and ab¬ 
rupt in comparison with the sandy and uninteresting 
nature of its south coast. The mouth of the canal, or 
" cut," at its foot is clogged with immense quantities of 
flood-wood, old logs and stumps bleached to whiteness 
by the action of the weather, which give it a weird and 
ghostly appearance against the background of verdure. 
This •• cut" was dug by lumbermen some forty yearn ago 
to pass their logs into the East Brandi of the Penobscot ; 
but below the old dam, a quarter of a mile distant, one 
would never suspect by its natural and picturesque shore 
it was the work of men's bauds, tlicforee of water having 
relieved its sharp outlines. While out Artist was pre¬ 
paring his camera for a photograph of the “cut’’and 
lake our guides “ sacked” their burdens and canoes across 
the chevuux de frise of old stumps into the “cut,” and 
we pitched our fourth camp on the high bank to the right 
of the old Telos Darn. 
Although we had been out fourteen days we had so far 
been very fortunate regarding the weather ; but we here 
experienced the first rain-storm of the trip, a genuine 
northeaster of throe days’ duration. We had hardly 
raised our tent and got our “kit ” under cover before the 
watery contents of the heavens began to descend, and we 
took extra precautions to make ourselves comfortable 
and endure the trial in the most cheerful spirit possible. 
But I will not detain the reader with every item of the 
three days’ imprisonment. 
Encased in our waterproofs we resorted to the dam, 
caught trout, or wandered beside the waters of Telos 
stream for duck and partridges, giving little heed to the 
elements. 
It is amazing how little one makes of discomforts in 
the woods, provided he sympathizes with his surround¬ 
ings ; but to a nature lacking either poetry or romance, 
to whom a fail is only a suggestion of water-power and a 
tree so many feet of lumber, the situation is unendurable. 
Here our canvas boat was overhauled, cuts sewed and 
waterproofed, birch canoes pitched, buttons adjustod to 
our clothing, socks darned, guns and l-ifies cleaned, while 
the Quartermaster busied himself ingeniously cutting 
pliers, scissors and vices from wood, cutting the joints of 
the same piece, as souvenirs of the locality, 
But the storm had one good effect— it nearly exhausted 
the moose and bear Btories of the guides, and left them 
in the future only the ourreut topics of the day to dis¬ 
cuss. So far the days had been exceedingly warm, ther¬ 
mometer CO® to 70° in the shade, but what was our 
suiprise on arising early on the clear, bright day of Aug. 
10th to discover a heavy frost and the ice in our camp 
pails an eighth of an inch in thickness. We were first 
aware of the event by the exclamations of our cook, 
Bowley, Who was slipping about on the frozen ground 
outside, and to our incredulous replies lifted into the door 
of the teat one of the frozen paiJs bv the tin dipper, which 
adhered to its surface. The tent was quiokly “struck” 
and dried, and roll iug into our rubber blankets and bags 
our effects, we were cutting the waters of Telos Stream 
and Boon emerged into tranquil Webster Lake at its foot. 
The brook is about a mile long and very shallow, and but 
for the late rain would hardly have been navigable. An 
easy “carry” of a mile can he found through the tali 
grass and woods on the right-hand side, which also ter¬ 
minates at the head of tho lake. It is very essential to 
one's happiness in making this tour to know on which 
side of the stream is the best portage around a fall or 
rapid, for the knowledge saves many a laborious walk 
when one's shoulders are loaded. 
Webster Lake is a charming little sheet of water about 
three miles long and perhaps half as wide, which is 
wooded down to its very edge. At its foot is another of 
these series of logger’s dams about twelve feet high, and 
on the extreme high bank to the right we again pitched 
our tent. Great care had to be taken with our fires along 
the road, that not a remnant of them be allowed to re¬ 
main, ami the indications are often very delusive. 
Many years ago a fire started in the woods on Eagle Lake, 
and tile devouring flames sweeping southward over fifty 
miles to this section, destroyed this dam, winch has since 
been rebuilt. There are many decayed and deceptive 
logs about these old dams, some over a foot in diameter, 
at which a slight pressure will crumble and plunge one 
into the deep water below. 1 speak from experience. A 
bear story is always welcomed in camp, not only on ac¬ 
count of the truthfulness attending the first one,'but be¬ 
cause the doubts winch hover around the succeeding 
tales add to their Interest. 
We stretched the canvas of our tent at this place, and 
-while each one was engaged in ids various duties, Weller, 
the guide, pail i n hand, sallied out for fresh spring water. 
He had hardly disappeared from our sight when with 
immense jumps he came tearing back through the bushes 
shouting, “A bear! a bear 1" A rush for our rifles and 
a forward movement into the woodB, but after an unsuc¬ 
cessful tramp the sbe bear and two Cubs seen by our 
friend could not be found. 
Before we left the wilderness we liad the unspeakable 
pleasure of making the acquaintance of some six bears, 
but on every occasion wc were without our rifles, and 
when we made an effort to hunt them they were not to 
be found. We were either shooting a quick flowing 
stream, and with difficulty keeping our canoes from th e 
rocks, or surprised by meeting them (as in the above ease) 
nearer to camp than one could expect, when they sud¬ 
denly appeared. A few years since Maine offered a 
bounty of $10 a head on bears, and the hunting or trap¬ 
ping of them was a lucrative pastime, but since the with¬ 
drawal of the premium hunters have decreased in the 
same proportion that bears have increased. As might be 
expected, around the camp fire that night the recent ex¬ 
perience suggested hunters’ tales, each having its special 
locality and party designated who witnessed the exploits, 
while the habits, courage and peculiarities of bruin and 
other animals were discussed to an unlimited extent. 
One of the stories told byguideMorris related to a tame 
beaver which had grown to be a great household pet of a 
farmer living in the vicinity of Moosehead Lake. One 
night a defective faucet filled the farmer’s sink and over¬ 
flowed to the floor of the ki tohen. Whereupon tl le beaver, 
following his natural instincts, cut up the chairs and 
tables of the room, and building a dam about the fugi¬ 
tive stream, saved the habitation from further injury. 
We tarried three days at Webster Dam, where we"cap¬ 
tured the largest trout of the excursion, and feasted on 
many a fine duck and partridge. To impress the reader 
with the idea that our table fare was not so hard as might 
have been expected, I would state that the items of the 
daily menu consisted of brook trout, fried and boiled 
potatoes, stewed duck or partridge, hard tack, “ flip- 
jacks,” with maple sugar, coffee and tea,. Fish chowders 
and game stews were our favorite dishes, all eaten witli 
the seasoning of a hearty appetite. At this point we 
were probably as deep in this wilderness aB it was pos¬ 
sible to get in the trip. The most striking feature of the 
forests is the. absence of animal life, and more noticeable 
in our Northern, than Southern wilds. The stately pines 
of the South stand from eight to twelve feet apart, and 
with a span of horses one can almost drive from one end 
of Florida to the other; in fact the writer, in the winter 
of 1875, met a party so equipped traveling in an open 
wagon from New Smyrna to Fort Capron. choosing their 
way by the compass' aid. This open condition of things per¬ 
mits the rank growth of vegetation and animal life, which 
the close-locked branches of our Northern forests prevent. 
In the latter case also the continual ‘sifting of the pine 
leaves on the ground, and the gloom of the overhanging 
boughs choke what few shrubs might have an existence. 
Only along the rivers, or where some woodsman has 
failed to spare a tree, dare anything but a courageous 
blackberry or shrub maple show itself. You may wan¬ 
der for hours in this stillness without seeing a living crea¬ 
ture, unless you look sharply enough to mark the insects 
which toil in the mosses underfoot, inhabit the bark and 
decayed wood, or wait for you to rest before settling on 
you. But we occasionally entertained strangers of ani¬ 
mal life, and in one instauce that of an “ angelic ” order 
—at least it had wings, and its mission was helpful. 
Our Artist, while casting his line from the apron of the 
dam, caught it on a projecting, beam, and after vain 
attempts to withdraw it, was successfully assisted by a 
little brown fly-catcher, who, swooping down, attempted 
to carry to its nest the bright colored artificial trout flies. 
Thomas Sedgwick Steele. 
(To be Continued.) 
GAME AND SPORT AT THE SOUTH. 
I HAVE recently returned from an extended hunting 
trip through Virginia and North Carolina, and find 
that there is a growing interest throughout the South in 
sporting matters ; or perhaps it would be better expressed 
by saying that the old interest is fast being revived, for 
in the good old times before the war, when plantations 
were owned generally by men of culture, wealth and 
leisure, much more attention was paid to field sports than 
could he afforded in other parts of the country. The 
time came when planters became farmers, and gentle¬ 
men whose hands were unaccustomed to holding the 
plow, and whose feet had not been trained to walk the 
furrow, were forced to realize the truth of the old say¬ 
ing— 
He that by the plow would thrive, 
Himself must either hold or drive. 
For several years the rod and gun, the pack and 
horn had to be laid aside; game of all sorts 
consequently increased very rapidly. The wild turkey 
and the deer almost forgot their shyness and left the 
mountain fastnesses, being often seen where for years 
they had been strangers. The Virginia partridge (Bob- 
White) whistled from almost every fence corner, the 
drumming of tile, pheasant lured many a country hoy to 
leave his cows and watch for a chance to try his single- 
barrel (old hares often added a savory odor to many a 
negro cabin about meal time, and but for the foxes 
“ Mollie Cottontails" would soon have overrun the land). 
Often on a still night in the early fall have 1 listened to 
the foxes running and barking on the trail like fice dogs, 
and on one occasion I saw a fox in hot pursuit of a rab¬ 
bit cross the door-yard ofthe house where I was staying. 
As returning prosperity began to be felt in the South, 
and the “slough ol’ despond” looked less deep, the old 
fondness for hunting soon began to reappear. As a Vir¬ 
ginia belle, after following up good resolutions for — per¬ 
haps — a month, finds the old passion for flirting bred in 
the bone, and tingling through her veins with tile chiv- 
alric blood of a long line of ancestors noted for genera¬ 
tions in the chase—(after men)—so the Virginia gentle¬ 
man discovers the passion for sporting. Fox-liuntiug has 
been revived, and there are now some very fine packs of 
hounds to be seen ; bur the people are as a rule too poor 
to often allow of one man keeping a full pack, so the 
dogs are frequently owned by several neighbors as a part¬ 
nership pack. Much attention is also now being paid to 
improving the Block of bird-dogs. While in Kichmond I 
visited several fine kennels. Mr. J. 8. Wise’s Tom (Geo. 
C. Colburn’s Belle-Sensation) is a dog of remarkably fine 
carriage, and in every way unusually handsome. Mr. 
T. F. Taylor has perhaps the most complete kennel in the 
State — some fine Gordons — among them Champion Fan, 
formerly owned by the Toledo Kennel Club. In Lynch¬ 
burg I visited Dr. Wo. A. Strother’s kennel, where I was 
shown liis setter Frost with an interesting family of five 
of the finest six weeks’ old puppies I ever saw, sired by 
Gladstone ; he also owns the image of Eleho iu his dog 
Flint. Mr. T. F. Nelson, of the same place, owns a re¬ 
markably handsome and promising young dog of native 
stock, with a clear pedigree on the sire’s si;— ~ r - t . . 
1814, including some of the most noted dogs o-*,_ Jp® 
sey. The mother, native Virginia stock, with eslaT>,. .. H fSl 
pedigree since 1846, is one of the best field dogs I ever 
hunted over. 
While in Warrenton, N. O., I hunted with a number of 
gentlemen owning very fine dogs, mostly of native stock. 
Pointers seem to be most in favor in that section, and I 
found several very fine ones bred from Harvard Kennel 
Club stock. I hunted for several days with Dr, Foote, of 
that place—one of the most congenial gentlemen and 
thorough sportsmen it has even been my good fortune to 
meet; the owner of one of the best native pointers that 
ever went into the field — fast as a race-horse, staunch as a 
rock, hunting with admirable judgment and untiring 
zeal, having a pedigree of fifty years. It is noticeable 
that through Virginia and North Carolina, where the 
soil is very rough, and the ground to be hunted over is 
extensive, “ droppers” are much used, and generally are 
the most serviceable dogs, having great endurance, and 
showing a degree of judgment almost human, It seems 
to be not uncommon, where their owners hunt on horse¬ 
back or allow them unlimited range, for them to find 
coveys and return to their master, taking him to the 
birdB. The.y do not understand 1 ‘ To-bo )” nor charge at 
Bhot; but most of them are staunch, and back-stand 
naturally. They watch to see a bird fall, and pounce 
upon it so quickly that if it is only wing-tipped, they al¬ 
ways get it. I saw one of these dogs sit down and watch 
a bird that had been shot in the head rise higher and 
higher until it died in mid-air. It hardly touched ground 
before the dog had it. 
On another occasion I wounded a bird that flew a long 
way, and began sinking gradually ; one of the droppers 
saw it, and caught the turd in tire air before it leached 
the ground. 
All this I know is not orthodox,but still is very use¬ 
ful. I have seen some of the finest bred dogs in the coun¬ 
try, who were renowned in field trials, hunted with these 
old rough-and-readys always to be beaten in actual work. 
I have myself sometimes been much chagrined at having 
a wing-tipped bird get into tangled grass or briars ; my 
thoroughbred, well-broken dog pointing it from time to 
time in magnificent style, jumping on place after place 
where the bird was not, when in rushes one of the 
droppers, and after nosing round for a moment, takes 
Off down a middle furrow or ditch fifty or a hundred 
yards, soon returning withthe bird in liis mouth. While 
your thoroughbred iB systematically ranging an immense 
field of hill, meadow and brake, in thorough field-trial 
style, old rough-and-ready mounts the hill, surveys tho 
country round, and with a"knowing wink starts for the 
nearest “ branch,” following it up the wind as fast as his 
long legs and powerful muscles will carry him. Soon you 
hear a shout of “ Jim's got ’em.'’ We look around, and 
see rough-and-ready No. 2 pointing on the other side of 
tile branch, with No. 3 backing him, while our thorough¬ 
bred is to be seen way up the hill backstanding by sight 
in beautiful style, and we proudly call attention to the 
fact that our dog is extremely careful and steady. I do 
not mean to enter criticism on any class of dogs, I neither 
side with the “ blue bloods” nor the “natives.” All I 
want is the dog that will do the best work and most of 
it. To champions of “ blue bloods” I would say, I believe 
“ blood will tell,” and when I find a so-called “native” 
that does the most work, and gets me the most birds, he 
is decidedly “ bine blood” for me. The blood of Napoleon 
or of Aaron Burr may flow in unrecognized channels, 
yet the elements of distinction are there, and genius and 
talent may at any time surprise us into recognition. 
Quail hunting in the South is very hard work, the 
ground often being very rough and distances great; dogs 
of the greatest endurance are needed, and men who ao 
not own a pair of legs that are unt iring had better not 
try it, The birds are more gamy than those we find in 
the West, lying well for dogs, but making very long 
flights when flushed; it being generally a hilly country 
makes them hard to mark. Much of the cover being pine 
thickets growing close to the ground renders it impos¬ 
sible to get a shot. They often take to (he trees, and 
after beingpursued closely I have sometimes seen them 
exhibit wonderful adroitness in eluding their enemies, 
The marker often sees them light on a hill top, perhaps 
300 yards from the flush, and congratulates himself 
on being able to go straight to them and havejine single 
bird shooting; when on arriving at the brow of the hill 
where he plainly saw them light, the dogs make game 
and perhaps come to a point, but no birds can he found. 
A f ter lighting they ran a short distance and made a second 
flight to some secure branch or thicket, thus fooling both 
men and dogs. 
Turkey hunting in many parts of the South is very fine, 
and to a person who does not mind lying for hours in a 
blind, and takes delight in matching cunning against cun¬ 
ning instead of testing his skill as a marksman, it may 
be fun; but for me. give me quail on the wing. I have 
hunted turkey successfully, and have “ dropped a good 
deal of meat,’’ but lam not enthusiastic cn turkey hunt¬ 
ing. Deer hunting seems to me much the same, though 
I must- confess that to drop one nicely in his tracks gives 
a thrill of pleasurable satisfaction not often afforded by 
one shot at any other game, unless it is a black bear ; but 
then it is too long between shots—a dry sport at best. 
While in Warrenton a pack of hounds started a deer and 
ran him near town, when a number of curs and mongrels 
joined in the chase, ran him into the suburbs and caught 
liim, no t one of the original pack being in at the death. 
Of the merits of “ possum " and coon hunting I have 
but little to say. except that it is dear to the hearts of 
many residents of the “Old Dominion." If you desire 
the pleasure, however, I will introduce you to old Uncle 
Ben, whose cabin by the side of the “noble Jeems” is 
overtowered by a spur of the Blue Bidge, and whose 
graveyard in the immediate rear of his cabin contains 
the remains of his three dear departed wives,.leaving him 
once, more alone in the world, too old to win the heart 
and affections of any “ oh de sisters what tends de meet¬ 
ing,” but not too old to hunt coons and “ possums." He 
owns “ de hes possum dog in de country,” and on a moon¬ 
light night, armed only with an axe, will take you to the 
woods, where old “ Bean's” voice will soon proclaim a 
“ possum" treed, The axe comes quickly Into play, and 
Uncle Ben’s muscular aims soon fell the tree, when 
Bean quickly dispatches his game. When it is a coon 
there is more fun ; then it is roll, scratch and bite, until 
Bean gets on top once too often, but always art"" a 
