lAimuttT 10, 188S. 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



28 



their tips, and most of them aro also branched. They them 

 fore usually widen Outward, &ud are seldom rigid in life. Lu 

 eorno fishes the spines art so feeble or flexible as scarcely to 

 be QlstiingmsheS from soft ray:,. 



In all eases where the dorsal and anal fins arc composed 

 of soft rays only, there are at tbe anterior edge of the fin 

 from one to throe undeveloped or rudimentary rays. In 

 runt o.ue>. I'n'ij rudiments are not included in giving the 

 numbers of the Bo rays. True spines, no matter Bow short, 

 should never be Overlooked, The last ray in the dorsal and 

 anal fin* is usually split to the ba.su. This is counted as one 

 ray, and not as two. 



The number of 1in rays may be conveniently indicated by 

 the use of Roman numerals forthe spines, andArablc nutner- 

 als for ill a soft rays. When there are two distinct dorsal 

 tins, a da^h is used lo separate the enumeration of the first 

 from shape of the seeoi.d. When a fin contains both spines 

 and soft rays, a comma separates the number of the former 

 from that of the latter. 



Tims iu the hhiek bft3S, "I> X, 13" indicates a continuous 

 dorsal fin, with ten spines and thirteen soft rays. In the 

 ",: '. baas [SaeouS chrysops) D IS— I, 12 indicates two 

 separate dorsals, the first with nine spines, the second with 

 one spine and twelve soft rays. The number of rays in the 

 pectoral and caudal fas is seldom of much value in the 

 classification of fishes. 



THE MONSTERS OF WHITE RIVER, ARK. 



SKOOM) PAPER. 



IN my last I wrote the facts, so far as I could gather them, 

 about the alligator gar and the loggerhead turtle. Recent 

 observation and hearsay go to prove that, 1 got these facts 

 about right. But 1 will relate some facts abont the loggerhead 

 turtle given me since I last wrote by a gentleman whose 

 veracity there is no reason to doubt. He said: "I was living 

 near a bayou fifty or sixty yards wide in Louisana. I had 

 living with me a colored boy thirteen or fourteen years old. 

 This boy went down to tbe" bayou one day to fish, but soon 

 came tearing back, crying, 'Oh, boas; oh, bo3s; Ise see dc 

 debil down iu dc bayou suah.' Seeing that the boy was 

 fearfully frightened and had seen something strange,"! and 

 a friend took a rifle and went with the boy to the. bayou. 

 When we reached there the boy pointed to the other side of 

 the stream, about forty yards away, where we soon saw a 

 round body as large as a man's head appear above the sur- 

 face of the water 'for a few seconds and then go down again, 

 soon to reappear. As it came up the third time I shot at it 

 with the ritle, hut missed. I shot twice more, but could not 

 About this time the friend with me made out that -it 

 wan a turtle's head. I could not believe that it was so 

 large, but be insisted that it; was. As there happened to 



be a dugout the.) 



concluded to pi 



we found that 



or the immen 



drop his head 



raise it out for a bit, thei 



"My friend being a 

 when tbe turtle came 

 These harpoons or sr 

 sharp points of steel w 

 with a loose socket, 

 proper, . ; 



'gig,' 'spear,' or harpoon in it, 

 md investigate. As we approached 

 job the head of an immense turtle, 

 a loggerhead turtle. He. would 

 Jer the water for a minute, then 

 repeat, 

 i artist with the harpoon, threw it, 

 all his force into his neck, 

 generally made with three 

 , set on a straight light pole 

 Itrong cord tied to the spear 

 nek the handle or pole pulls 

 :,, leaving the harpoon in the fish or animal attached to 

 the cord. As we drew the struck turtle to the. surface w T e 

 were astonished to find another of equal size with its jaws 

 firmly clasped on one of the wounded one's legs. We 

 slipped a cord around this one's neck, and "toted" them 

 both ashore and up the bayou "bluff" thirty to forty feet, 

 before the one let go of the other's leg. When we stopped 

 he let go. We then separated them a little way, but "they 

 made right at each other again like. tw r o bulldogs, not paying 

 the least attention to us. After a few snaps the one fastened 

 on to trie other again, having secured a good hold on the 

 other's leg and held on, the Other fought by snapping alone, 

 and though they have such great Strength "in their jaws be 

 could not, tear the skin on the other's legs, but when he 

 would strike the edge of the other's shell ho would chip a 

 piece out. After a time we separated them again, but they 



flared at each other a moment, then rushed together again". 

 'rom their appearance they had been fighting a long time. 

 Each had the skin all torn from the back of their heads and 

 the skull laid bare. We let them fight for some time, then 

 cut their throats and Weighed thc-m. one weighing 188 

 pounds, the. other 143 pounds. On opening (Jxein, as further 

 evidence of their long battling, we found no food in either 

 except a few large fish bones in the stomach of one." 



Here we have some facts about this turtle, giving some 

 idea of its size and its feroeity in battle. The person who 

 gave me these facts is a butcher and had facilities for weigh- 

 ' — ideuce I have reason to belie 



thai ( 



POU! 



tensive so far as danger to hu 



The next mouster I will 

 River mosquito. If if. lakes 



thi 



y appi 

 ,n being! 



ghing 200 aud even I 



50 

 to be entirely iuof- 

 s concerned. 

 is the ubiquitous White 

 Jliou of these little pests to 

 make one agglomerated monster, countless millions can 

 easily be found. There are many different, species of them, 

 but the worst, and I think the very worst of all mosquitoes, 

 is the small black one prevalent in dune and July. This 

 little pest is a sneaking, miserable little thine', it as a rule 

 bites yon behind your back, makes its way up your pants 

 leg, under your shirt cuffs, behind your ears, or' any other 

 place where it can take a mean advantage of you. ft don't 

 give you much warning, like a good honest "skeeter," by 

 its song, but drops right dowu silently on some unguarded 

 place and "slaps it right to you." Ordinary mosquito bars 

 are but little protection from it, for enough will work their 

 way through them to make things lively for you before 

 morning, and if the "bar" is not carefully tucked in all 

 around, if any point is left hanging down" loose, this mis- 

 erable creature, unlike any other mosquito 1 know of, will 

 find it, and pass up between the bur and bed and point out 

 the way for all her brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts and cous- 

 ins, and introduce them to you. A "smudge" or smoke has 

 hut little terror for them, a good bobbioct (1 believe that is 

 right) bar is your only surety of getting rest unless you 

 sleep in daytime and fidit "skeeters" all night. These 

 mosquitoeB are only bad in ordinary seasons along White 

 River during the mouths of May and June: after the "over- 

 flows" entirely subside and the "bottoms" become dry, 

 which they Usually do by July first, they are not had, but 

 in seasons like this, after very high and very late high 

 water, they are like the poor, with us always. 



The next, dreaded monster I will name, is the "swamp 

 £«v«r ( " twin brother to "yellow Jack," or the yellow fever of | 



the tropics. It was formerly just, as fatal and uncontrollable 

 as the yellow fever itself /but I am now assured that the 

 Southern physicians have developed a treatment by which, 

 if they can reach the patient iu time, they can save the, ircuai. 

 majority of cases; but if they cannot reach the patient di- 

 rectly after the attack there is little more hops than if it 

 were the yellow fever itself. It seems to he an acute form 

 of "biliousiie- ' .,.,.: ' v,- the brain and kidneys, resulting 

 in speedy, drowsy, painless death. It is not contagious, like 

 yellow fever, and is brought on by long continued exposure 

 in the swamps anil water, and the improper treatment of 

 more mild forms of bilious or malarial disease-. 



The next vicious monster that none need wish to meet is 

 locally known as "bilious fever," with or withoui ''cOnges 

 lion" or "congestive chills." I do uot know what the doc- 

 tors call them, nor do I care, but I do kuow that I do no; 

 want any of their kith or kin to call on me again. 



I located myself here oh the banks of White River the 1st 

 of June, at the commencement of what had every indication 

 of being one of the most malarious seasons ever known, aud 

 atone of the most sickly points on While River, trusting 

 that my great experience! of nearly a half century in the Il- 

 linois River bottoms— the meet malarious stream north- 

 Would enable me to take care of myself and ward off all 

 such troubles. 



But, as old Hank said at the close, of his hoop spake story, 

 I thought myself a little too blamed smart, so I "oatehed it" 

 and "catched it" hard. I was in very bad condition when I 

 reached here. As the major would say, I was "ver}-, awful 

 bilious." But I "tuck" my old well tried Illinois remedies, 

 that knew no failure, in warding off chills and fever, there, 

 and serenely followed my principal oeeupatlonin life, nnmelv, 

 searching for hoop snakes, coach whip snakes, cotton mouth 

 snakes, spreading adders with fangs an inch long, lizzards, 

 cray fish, swapping lies with the uatives, etc. I could not 

 keep oat of the swamps or off of the river, there I could fiud 

 things new to me every day and perhaps some new to science, 

 and what was refreshing, "I could get sight of a steamboat 

 once in a while, which reminded me that there was some- 

 where, even yet, civilization ou this continent. But, how I 

 got sick and how lam trying to get well, and how I found 

 out that Illinois biliousness" as they call it here, will not 

 answer in this White River country, I will tell in my next. 



BvRNi;. 



Chockjsit's ISlctf, Ark., July 20. 



FLORIDA ALLIGATORS AND CROCO- 

 DILES. 



ALLIGATOR catching maybe something new to your 

 J:\. readers, and 1 am willing "to confess that my experience 

 in fishing for, or rather catching, '"gators" is very limited. In 

 1S75 I ascended the CalloDsahateh.ee River to its source and 

 indulged i ti shooti <Xg large ' ' 'gators" among the islands between 

 Fort Meyers and the telegrap i crossing. On my return 

 from Lake Ochechobee I resolved upon devoting one day to 

 the destruction of these useless saurians. Early morn found 

 us at anchor among the islands. 



When cruising 1 use tin platos and cups, and when sur- 

 rounded by salt or brackish water I never allow them to be 

 washed, l" sec some of your readers manifest disgust at such 

 filthy housekeeping; but let censure be kept in abeyance until 

 I can explain, for to the explanation hangs a tail [uot tale). 

 I provided before leaving home an amply supply of waste 

 paper, and after each meal I had the frying pan, plates, 

 cups, knives and forks wiped and rubbed with it until they 

 resembled nickel plate, and rust was prevented, which would 

 have formed if salt or brackish water had been used in wash- 

 ingour utensils. 



For breakfast we indulged in breakfast bacon and fried 

 eggs. After the meal was over 1 engaged in oiling and 

 cleaning my rifle preparatory to a day's "'gator" shooting, and 

 Harry commenced wiping the breakfast things, and when 

 the wads of paper were saturated with grease aud egg he 

 threw them astern. My attention was attracted by a large 

 alligator some twenty yards astern. He approached a piece 

 of the paper, sniffed it, opened his countenance, and as it 

 "was a stranger he took it in." This proceeding was 

 repeated and I deemed it time to act. I requested Harry to 

 make baste slowly aud keep the " 'gator" on the lookout for 

 more paper. 



I disappeared under the cabin and secured the end of a pine 

 box measuring 10x14 inches. Balancing the board on the 

 end of my finger I found tbe center, at which point I made 

 a hole with an awl, and at one end I made a cut with a saw. 

 I passed the end of a stout braided linen line through the 

 hole and tied a knot on the end, after which 1 wound the 

 line loosely around the board, and attached a long-shanked 

 hook to the free end of the line. The hook was baited with 

 a savory piece of bacon dipped in fat and egg, and 1 secured 

 the shank of the hook in the saw cut. While these prepara- 

 tions were hastily made, Harry supplied the victim with 

 teazers in the way of wads of paper soaked in the frying 

 pan. The board was dropped astern, and as it floated 

 towards the game I hoisted the anchor and Harry and Frank 

 manned the oars. The bow of the boat was beaded down 

 stream, and by backing water she kept in position. Very 

 soon the current drifted the tempting morsel to the " 'gator." 

 He indulged in a sniff of the bait, took it in, gave a yank 

 and fixed the hook in his dimpled cheek. Frank and Hairy 

 gave way with a will; the " 'gator" saw us approaching, and 

 started for shore, and the coils of the line slipped from the 

 hoard. I seized the board, gave a lusty yank to fix the hook 

 securely, and the performance commenced. To my surprise, 

 the ugly monster was easy to manage, and after playing bim 

 for fifteen minutes I eoaxod him to tbe side of the boat, his 

 nose being in a Hue with the, stem. Harry made a mark on 

 the deck corresponding with the end of his tail. 



Being opposed to the use of a araff, and the introduction of 

 an alligator into the interior of the good boat Spray, 1 re- 

 quested Frank to get his rifle and dispatch the game, but 

 with his proverbial laziness, he removed his pistol from his 

 pocket and fired at the '"gator;" hence, the latter snapped 

 his elongated jaws, struck the boat with his tail, and the cur- 

 tain rose on the second act. I kept one arm around the mast 

 and sometimes the 'gator, and sometimes Al Fresco hatl the 

 Ijesl of it. After a long and exciting tussle I became master 

 of the. situation and th3 sneoni dun I brought the '"gator" 

 to the side of the boat, and requested Harry to finish bim 

 with my Winchester, but before he could do so Prank fired 

 a second shot from his pistol. With head down and tail up, 

 : ,.,i or made for tie bottom aud sulked. Iu vaia did I 

 coax, tease and twitch the varmint Ho treated mo with 

 contempt. 1 tightened the line and Harry punched him 

 with the pushing pole. When struck he would move a few 

 feet away and "play 'possum." After devoting half an hour 

 to this kind of dull "sport 1 resolved to have another look at 



his ugly countenance, but the hook broke, nnd there ended 

 my first and last, experience iu catching "gators." Measur- 

 ing the length of the "game" as indicated by the stem of the 

 boat and the mark on the deck, we found that ha was thir- 

 teen feet six inches. He was the largest '"gator" I have, thus 

 far soon. We hear of 'gators measuring sixteen and eighteen 

 feet long, but I have yet to see one longer than the one I 

 hooked. Within one hour at the islands, I killed eight, the 

 smallest measuring eleven feet; and bay best day's bag in this 

 State was thirty-six. 



Florida "'gators" have a had reputation and are wilfully 

 and maliciously misrepresented. As evidence of this I quote 

 the following: 



"An Appleton, Wis., despatch to the Chicago '1 rihune- says: 

 The Hon. lyytnau Barnes, one of the leadkii; attorneys and 

 best-known citizens of this part, of Wisconsin, went to Flori- 

 da three months ago for his health. \. few weeks ago he loft 

 his notol for a short trip across the country, and on the way 

 hail to cross a swampy piece, of land infested with alligators 

 and wild animals. He. never arrived at his destination, and 

 it is thought that he fell a victim to some of the dangers hn 

 had to contend. Three of Mr. Barnes' most intimate friends 

 have left Appleton for Florida to find him, dead or alive, and 

 ascertain what might have been his fa to, but not much hope 

 exists of ever again seeing him alive." 



My leva visit to Florida was in 1814, when I cultivated 

 the acquaintance of '"gators;" and since that time I have 

 met them on numeroiu occasions, and feel assured that they 

 have Dean misrepresented, The question is asked, "Will 

 "gators* attack a man';" In my wanderings 1 have endeav- 

 ored lo collect information on this head, and will give your 

 readers the benefit of my inquiries aud experiences, 



In isns 1 visited Enterprise, on Lake Monroe, and met 

 Mr. W., an old resident. He informed me that he started 

 out one. day doer hunting and carried an eleven-pound muz- 

 zle-loading rifle. He was crossing a marshy place and 

 jumped from lussock to tussock to keep his feet dry. Seve- 

 ral times his feet slipped and be was treated to wet feet, and 

 he started to walk in a cattle trail through the marsh. At 

 some points the water was nearly knee deep. He had not 

 proceeded far when he slipped on a slippery substance, and 

 the next instant a '"gator's' 1 head appealed and he wasscized 

 by the calf of the leg. In the excitement of the moment the 

 rifle Slipped from his hand aud shoulder, and the butt struck 

 the " 'gator" between the eyes. Not fancying the reception 

 he met with from the butt of the rifle, the " 'gator" released 

 his hi ild and made tracks as rapidly as his legs permitted. 

 Mr. W. informed mo that he was confined to the house for 

 several weeks by the injury. 



About the year 1870 I was ascending the St. Johns in the 

 company of Prof. Wyman. who devoted much of his time 

 to the exploration of Florida mounds and the stui y of the 

 comparative anatomy of the alligator. I questioned him to 

 ascertain if he had ever heard of a person being injured by 

 an alligator, and he replied in the alfirmative. He informed 

 me that he had met with a native who some time before 

 paddled his canoe to a fishing point in Great Lake George, 

 aud had there commenced fishing. The fisherman was bare 

 foot, and being tired of his cramped position in the dugout, 

 he passed one leg over the side, and his foot dangled in the 

 water. Very soon he secured a Bite — uot on his live minnow 

 but ou his heel. A 'gator having noticed a portion of flesh 

 dangling in the water, resolved upou appropriating it. Tbo 

 live bait seized the opposite side cf I he canoe and wriggled, 

 twisted, writhed and pulled. In due time the live bait suc- 

 ceeded in extracting his heel from the open countenance of 

 the saurian, but minus the skin and fat. The 'gator was per- 

 fectly justified in appropriating such a tempting morsel; and 

 an impartial jury empaneled to trv such a case would render 

 a verdict to the effect that it "sarved the plaintiff right." 



In 1875, I was ascending the Calloo«diatchee River, and 

 narry pointed out a small-sized '"gator" about seven feet 

 long sunning himself on the bank. I handed bim my Win- 

 chester lo try his maiden, shot, with instructions to "hit 

 back of the eye." Harry fired, and the "'gator" was appar- 

 ently unhurt ! But these creatures occasionally "play 'pos- 

 sum." Harry was elated, and expressed a wish "to see where 

 the ball passed out. We landed, and as the laud side of the 

 " 'gator" was lowest, Harry could not see the spciture of 

 exit. I suggested to him the propriety of setzing the 

 "gator" by the. tail and turning it over. He grasped the 

 tad and commenced the process of turning, when instantly 

 the dead "'gator" doubled on itself and came within an inch 

 of seizing Harry by the arm. 



I have reason to believe that alligators will not meddle 

 with man, unless iu self -defence; or unless a fisherman in 

 foolish enough to have, a, tempting morsel over the side of a 

 citnoe. But if reports are true, and I believe they are, we 

 have the true crocodile iu the southeastern portion of the 

 State; and it is questionable if these carnivorous brutes can 

 be trusted. Mr. D.. of your city, who was a companion of 

 Sir Samuel Baker in bis Nile journey, spent several months 

 last winter in a cruise around the peninsula of Florida. On 

 his return he visited me, and stated that he "was perfectly 

 familiar with the crocodile of the Nile, and that he saw 

 a number of them at a point in Southeast Florida." 



Al Fbesoo. 



QUAIL IN A CITY LOT 



Editor Forest ami Stream: 



Last August I noticed, while standing just at dusk on» 

 evening on the elevated grade of the P. F. W. & C. R, R., 

 in the southwest portion of this city, a flock of quail fly out 

 of a small tract of woods quickly across an open Held and 

 drop down into a couple of vacant lots in a thickly settled 

 portion of the city. My intense curiosity at once prompted 

 me to visit tbe spot. 



I found tbe two lots covered with a dense growth of cur- 

 rant, raspberry and gooseberry bushes, also what appeared 

 to he the remnant of a neglected osage orange hedge. 1 was 

 interested enough in this singular custom, as it. proved to be of 

 these cunning birds, and made an especial effort to note their 

 mode of arrival, and here again was evinced a superior oider 

 of intelligence as they came iu from different points of the 

 compass, but almost "invariably at the same time, just oefora 

 dark, 



The flock when 1 first saw them numbered eleven, and 

 this number remained unbroken for some weeks, when it 

 was reduced to nine, and again, losing three more, stood at 

 six, which was the number when I In st saw them. 



It seems like a sense of the keenest instinct for them to 

 select this thorny and almost impenetrable thicket, for their 

 nightly resting place, as this section of the city is literally 

 infested with cats, to which, however, 1 never charged the 

 decimation of my little flock, but felt it duo, like their final 

 destruction, to wiug shots aud other natural causes. 



FoiiT Wiwt, lad., July Si, IWif. PORJH», 



