$BM. 14. I88i' 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



125 



wen covered ■.-.- i i ; i negro laborers goingta work otfn m-v\ 

 whom ''jnmpod,*.' us they style it, ami 

 escaped nt liii-'r'.i -i. .-mil other lauding nlnces, espaciaDj those 

 who had got a dollar nr twb [laid to them i.i advance, Our 

 boat was ii. >i ii very f:i>i mi". consequently wc had alftplo 

 time: to enjoy the scenery. 



On the i-i-ih at ninn A' M.. we bad reached take George 

 The th rmomci.'r wa- then at ; .' the weather pi laud 



Ero o r lighl southwcsl breeze and our 

 flue south, Ob the way oiil ■ • ■ ■ ! .ran 

 »iden. 



After leaving Luk-c George wo ramie into the narrow rive-. 

 the bout -almost touching its haute. On the projecting logs 

 ttfc dead .frees could be. won, thvei o| dour in uaiubar at a 

 Mme. large turtles called ■■ icarins them they 



would Slldeofi im.i ;li ■ ■. •.:,!.- -. II..- w- -a.v ..in ■ lir-l alii 

 gator, a trig fellow about ' -l.\ basking in the 



sun. \V,- counted sevenl m nir way up -h.. 



river, -mil al.-,. saw .quite a number of the beautiful wood 

 duck, which 'appeared to be vary tame,. as they would re- 

 main in the water til! the 'steamer- appro-icliod within gun- 



sho! 



Ai li vr in the evening we arrived at Orange City wharf. 

 where we engaged u wagon to carry us to thy city, two miles 

 back, .uvl - i lie only 'hotel, which was a long 



building, one atari high, surrounded by a broad verandah, 



with a ■ I- mi an. 1 win |,,.\ ,..-;,! ,,„ oil' the verandah 



OrBDjgc City caul) utdly be called a city yet. it is comprised 



wilhiu a radiu- ,>! . \w. mile-, and nuni'liei- aboiil ' • 

 n.-arlv all in ' '.vinrn ar-- \oi llu-rii people. Wi' met line a. 



Docioi- Martin, who bad formerly lived in Montreal, Judge 

 Stillin.-in, formerly of Woodstock, and a Mr. Beat 

 St. .lohn. N.-w Rrunswiek Most nf the other inhabitants 

 arc from Wisconsin, ami all an engaged in the esUiTiUsh- 

 ment of oi-:-!.-, -i.ocf.-. and evidently doing well. 



On the loth, in the morning, we hired a large wagon with 

 tw.i cream-colored horses,. and started on our journey of 

 thirty miles' through Volusia, county to within Beven miles 

 bfPortOrange ou the Atlantic. When leavinc Orang 

 pit) by a road through th iut dnveraaid we 



were limn passing through I'lvm-ii ivenuc, Mv Parisian 

 companion could ' noi undwstand why it wa- so styled, as 

 h-.ii-;-liu-:i ii, a it did not resemble in the slightest degree 

 jjay remarkable s,vonue of Paris or elsewhere; iuY . - ai 

 horses never proceeded fnator tjan a walk, notwithsland- 

 fng the "road was perfectly level; cue only all 1 «■ - 



or aseemlcd could not huvi- been moi'vlhan I 



eight feet high, and appeared to im-ti> have been the bed of 

 a dried up creek. 



Th.- road was sandy and consequently heavy. W* drove 

 for about a mile through a cypress swamp, the water up t.o 

 the hub-; ol' the wagon wheel's, and the branches of the trees 

 SKmo'st meeting overhead. Here we saw the remarkable air 

 plant, winch appears to si'""' wheivwr it is hung up. In 

 appearance, it is vi.rv like the lop leave- of the pineapple, 

 with a. sol't bulb and projecting from the cent. a- of the 

 Spares is a stem w ith pretty red flowers. We passed aeverul 

 herds of th- native cattle, browsing upon the wild grass. 

 Cattle-raising is a very profilabli business, and herds of 

 federal hundreds are owned by diffcrcm proprietors, each 

 inn in- his own catUc marked differently, after which they 

 arc all., w,,i to run wild, but receive occasional visits. They 

 are Small in size an I ma very tat. and are shipped in great 



numbers to Ouba, ami other W.-i lmii., Ehmds, Milk 

 cannot he obtained from any of the set Hers, as these cattle 

 give none, except during a shor) period when they have 

 their young, and then the- quantity is barely sufficient for 

 Hie calves. Hogs, many so wild and degenerated that they 

 resemble the European wild boar, can be seen in every direc- 

 tion, their tu.-U often beinsr from six to eight inches in 

 length. They afford many a choice meal for the alligators, 

 great numbers being devoured by them. 



These "thieving varmints," as the natives call the alliga- 

 tors, will quietly come upon the river hanks, or out of the 

 swamps (where there is water enough to cover their backs), 

 stretch themselves al full length, lazile dozing in the sun, 

 Willi an eye half op-n. until some foolish pig, calf or dog, 

 impelled by curiosity, comesupelosc to him, when, with a 

 sudden lash of ins long tail and as BOddbn a turn of his 

 huge head, the innocent animal is tossed between his open 

 jaws, where he is -aire to be caught, if not by the body, by 

 a limb, and immediately conveyed to the nearest water hv 

 fllB alligator, who soon drowns his rtctinl and then di'ags 

 ttimashore, when, if Chore are any of his own kind around, 

 lii.-y all com. I-., ih. feast; An alligator fight lakes place. 

 and in the victor go the spoils. 



At noon, near a fivsh-walcr stream, our horses were im- 

 harii' -.---ii and fed. and we took our lunch, consisting of 

 corn-e:i!,e. canned meal ami orange.-, after which when 

 w- lldng along the gtn mi, v ,- .-.m- a.-n-s i|„- :n-,i. ,;,',:.-, ajjtn 

 snake we had ever sCOB. This ; •-; >i i i. was over threu le.-i 

 Ion- and a- thick as a man s uii-i. \-: wc had noUiiug in 

 our hands to striks him with we kepi ai n respectful dis- 

 lanee. and lie ((uickly disappeared ill the w. - grasi*. 



The h-a-es again liamessfed w- pro leeded on our jpumry, 

 mid about ff-o'clock in the everting ariived ai our'destliW- 

 tioa. \\'a\. rly, a sottlomenj of foijroi five bouses in young 

 orange -rove's n-a, Ihe Spruce Kiv.-r <.;■ Creek. Tbcr- we 



I'oun.l two hrofhei-.s ini.e-.i I., fm in keopiog bachelors' quar 



lei-N, to whom we had letters of introibielioii I'ro.i -oun 



friends in New York. These two youne men were formerly 

 employe. I in a New York ilr\ iioo'ds establishment, hut the 

 house bavin- failed sonii- five or sis pears ago, they sough! 

 t-lieir fortune in Florida, where tin--.' bought 100 acres of 

 feud, called a ipnvestcad tmwhi B ih.vimili themselves a 



small hpuse, end are now living there without male or 



female help, with the exoeption of a man or two employed 



oce-asiomdh'. to assisl ihem in their annual labors of feiiilix 



gig and' preparing the soil around tbeir orange trees. The 

 seiiioi ..: the brothere attends to the household affairs, whii-:- 

 Hi->.e:i..' i oneii engaged in making all lie can out of lite 

 sale of i ruli from Lheii- bearing trees, and trading anything 

 that- he can make a dollar h v . 



As \\ nverly was our home Tor several days, it may not be 

 uiiiiiieri -ting for my Bporting friends to know what we paid 

 for bed mid 'board.' Wem-ccpled our host's Offer to lodge 



and liiii' us in food, including as many of the finest desenp- 

 Hon of Florida oranges as wo cared to cut, for $6 a week 

 each. Of course wilh oui mm- -.ml li.-hm- tackle We CDn- 

 ffibutetl considerably toward tlieBupply of fresh meat and 

 ph. However Miw was not taken, into consideration in our 

 host's offer. They supplied us with bread (|.irincipallv 

 corn bread), oatmeal porridge, rice, eggs, chickeiis, pork, 

 icauued meats, sweel ppta radishes, 



Soffee, le.-i:,l,il piev, im-,1 milk; [ n'eaiiv I'ol-^ol )i,Mieljle 



ptter. 1 have already mentioned to you 'Inn no fresli mills 



can be bad here, ihurcl'orc all the butter used is: salted and 



iiitpor'eil inlo thai uarni elimale from the Mortli. Son can 

 iiiie.-iie how slron- it 'n'coiiies. 1 so lost m v taste for Ihe 

 nrtti I- Hi ii I have not eaten butter, fresh or salted, since the 

 llih day of January last, and I utaiove I am very much less 



inclined to biliousness in consequence. We all Slepl in SCp 



unite beds, in ■ lie- same room, out patty consisting of ray 

 companion, the two brothers (owners of the place) and mv- 

 -elf. A we took a greal (leal or exercise wc retired at an 

 early hoar, and were up betimes in the morning 



Our .senior Landlord told me thai while living in the North 

 he was a martyr to asthma, and gci.erallv. for Several nights 

 following his' freipienl attacks, was compelled to ■<' UP 

 nearly the whole (iinc in -real distress, but since he came Co 

 o-yiii,'. i„ Florida, no child could have enjoyed sounder-sleep 

 than lie did, liis complaint hem- altogether cured, which 

 happy results he attributed entirely to the hea'ina-.propi rtii 

 of Uie climate, I m.-i several other persons who claimed 

 that ihc\ had experienced the same p.-ifcei relief since eom- 

 ing to the country ; and IniE raijl contributes largeh to the 

 settlement of Florida, by Xoiih.-rn invalids. 



Near US were Ihrecor four fannlie- of old BettlerSQI 5CTUBI 

 ters, styled by thjo Northe-rnera, '(crackexs" and by the 

 uegroes, "white trash." One perepn told me Ihal tliey de- 

 rived i'neir name from a habit they bad of carrying o horse- 

 whip around with tiietn when I'hey visited the tOwna, and 

 cracking it, under ihe impressioc lh.it ii gave ihem style, 

 but I could uol arrive al a s.-itislaetoiT solution of the n-a'son 

 for their being called "crackers." Both men and women 

 are inveterate smoker, and ehewor.s of tobacco. They have 



tbc ground. Il K perfc 

 loaded or not, in either 



I'llllle, sealed oil .1 WOOi 



burden upon tin- poor I 

 The niornin- after 01 



hired a "oraeki r" to ro 



for un alligator hum : a 

 He -i call trout, which i 

 started. I asked my mi 

 a flood boatman, about 

 I should call him. He 

 "Wha1 is your Chrisi 

 'Why! ,luniper,"saidhea- 



I my companion ami I (filch 

 two skill's, down Ihe river 



name, Juniper?" "fig, sir." said ha "Ob! you are Jlr. 

 Juniper Pig, are you?" "Yes, sir," said he ,' "I lave you 

 any brothers and sisters'.'" "Yes, ijir," he answered, '1 

 have one sister and one broihcr." "What is your sister's 

 name, JuuipcrV" "Her name, sir. is Florida, Florida Pig." 

 "And your brother, what is hr called'.'" "Mamh-rin Pig," 

 1 afterwards learned that the family name is spelled I'e-ne. 

 and should be pronounced Peg, bu'i Juniper was perfectly 

 content wilh it when called Pig. 

 Our trip of several miles down the river. Opposite to Mos 



ipnio Inl.-i. on the Atlantic, was full of advpnturc, I the 



country through which w-- passed, strange in scenery. On 

 either side could be seen the cabbage anfl pther palmetto 

 trees, Spanish bayonet palms, cypres-, live oak, red cedar, 



banana, oradge, lemon, lim.-. fig, -.u.-.o- cane, oh-andei bush 



and cactus, -rowiiisr wild, the odor of the wild Verbena 



mingling wilh that of ihe orange, perl liming the air. We 

 had no; proceeded far when we found ourselves anion- the 

 alligator-, which would sli]> oil' ihe hank into the river, al 

 our aopi-o.ieh. We counted thirteen of tln-ni both huge and 

 -.mall, swimming about sbrtj yards from u- al one time 

 Their bodies were altogether submerged, the onlv part visi- 

 ble being the sliglily el.-vated porlion of their rial I 



while ihey were on the bank. We caught twenty-seven sea 



and black bass, the total weight ol" which was &10 pOUnda. 



All the riv.-i- and lakes of Florida abound with fish. 



Returning after dark wc -aw hundreds of fire flies Hashing 



'ong the banks of Hie river. What a 



January 

 Before 



lea I he, 8 



of deer. 1 

 the large 

 Th, bird 

 snipe, wi 

 large an. 

 red ibk 



lebi 



of flu- 



id turkey, quail, wild pigeon, or dove, 



feral varieties of ducks and teal, pelican, 



:c aud nine heron, egrets, -and cranes. 



id other i.urlew. plover, lark, oyster bird and 



in 



d bird. The fishes arc bass, pikf. 

 ■hecpshead in the fresh and brackish water, and , 

 iCH t'-h in great varietj...- in gal] waler. 



isbing and -ho'.aing. The hunting of deer, 'coons, aud 

 ■ • arried on principally a1 nighi. when it i- called 

 •lire hunting ' or "shilling," I will endeavor to describe ihe 

 nanm r in Which these hunts iirccondic led. A dark ni-hl 

 s always the mos:. lavorah!,- for the pui]nwe. \\v leave The 



ions. i as soon as iln darkness sets in, the leadei carries on 



his shoulder a pole, at the end of which is an iron pan about 

 eighteen im Ii- ■■■ -i|Uare containing a few piece- of pnch piue 



hind him follow the .-jionsi'iien with their loaded gun-, 'ac- 

 companied by u couple of deer hounds, the utmost silence 

 being maintained, for fi-ar of disturbing tie- gun.-. Long 

 tramps are made through the woods.' until lln- feeding 

 ground- are reached, win ■, greal care i e taken to Observe ail} 



sliik'aml'g'^eat i'l, 't'l.eb 



. vesappearin 



, |j[ i( . ..leamim 



• si a rs 



\\ ben within about Ob 



ir s ij yards ;i i 



union lioin th 



' hand 



of i in- leader will direct 



ids followers t< 



where be ol 



ISel'Ve- 



the animal's e\ e-. Aim 



then should be 



taken betwecu 



Ihem. 



nlioul two or tine, inch 



38 lower than 



hej aupoar w 



icn. if 



the -hoi i- well directed 



it should stril 



a the animal 



in't.he 



bieasi. A- there are a 



jreai many eal 



Ic roaming o 



-cr Ihe 



dee:'. "'For one who i- a 



■ea-lomeil lo i 



o mistake thi 



.is kind of hi 





it is very easy to di 



liali tin- dill. r. 



n.-e. as cattle 





an- set further a pari tha 



i those of deer 



M v compan 





Ilia first expedition, not ] 



roperly under 







iiatinguishing between ■, 







i-er to 



gej a shot, unfortunate) 



- bil a COW bu 





ol kill 



her. Of course this ma 



ter was liushe 



1 up and kei 



1 un 



enided by the hounds' cries, soon come up to the wounded 

 animal and quickly disjiatch il 



Raccoon hunting is conducted in a very sinnle manner. 

 A* soon as thedogs get on a fresh scent, they follow it until 

 tiny rami.' up lo the 'coon, which generally takes to a tree, 

 ami ipiiekly reaches one of the topmost branches, crouches 

 as close io the end of it as possible, the dogs meanwhile yell- 

 ing nt the foot of the tree and making futile attempts to 

 climb it. By the reflection of the torchlight, bis coonship is 

 discovered and easily brought down by a'shot. 

 ■ The opossum oeQasionally takes to a tree, but often, when 

 hard pressed, throws itself on Ihe- ground and feign death, 

 when it may be taken hold of and Knocked about consider 

 a'li;. withoui manifesting any symptoms of life, but the 

 moment you 'urn your back o'r gel out di reach off he bolts 

 it is •from this trait of the opossum that the negro expression 

 of "playing 'possum" originatr-i, and it is quite a common 

 tinog, if a negro pretends not to bear or lake notice, for an- 

 other to say, "None of your 'possum fooliu'." 



Snipe arc to be found* on the swamp lands, bin l be swamps 

 arc so numerous thai one seldom tinds many birds con-re- 

 gal.-,! in any one; place. From fifteen to twenty is a very 

 fair bag for an afternoon's shooting. 



One day, while hunting wild turkeys. I came across sev- 

 eral snipe and made a very good bag. On our way back 

 my guide recommended me to keep one barrel of my gun 

 loaded with buck-hot, as, in beating about the palmetto 

 scrub, he might possibly start a deer, Tf not some other large 

 animal. We had not proceeded far when I flushed a snipe, 

 at which I lired, the report starting some twenty buzzards 

 about fifteen acres off. Knowing' these birds to feed on 

 carrion it struck me that they had probably been disturbed 

 from a meal off a deer we hail wounded two days previously, 

 so 1 hastened to the spot from which they bad flown in the 

 hope of procuring tbc antleM. What was my a-lonishmenl 

 ha finding, instead of a deer, an alligator apparently dead. 

 "Oho' " said I. "this i- what Ihe buzzards are feasting upon, 

 eh!" I approached the beast and obtained a good view of 

 him. but could mil find anv traced of tim buzzards' work. 1 

 had heard that alligator- o'o< a-ionallv ero-sed over from one 

 swamp io another, "but it did uol strike me thai ibi- fellow, 

 .-e.-n-.inglv dead, was on his travels. 



I came nearer and poked him with the muzzle of mjgun — 

 h- moved --and so did 1, thinking that in thi- ca-e.' 

 lion was the belter pari of valor, lie turned with dis- 

 tended jaw.-, and hissed, making a sound similar lo llliil or 



a goose, bui inii.-ii louder i leveled my piece when about 



ion feel oil', and gave him ihe charge of buckshot in the head, 

 lie la-hed bis enormous tail arouud at a tremendous rate. 

 bul 1 saw thai 1 had severely injured him. and that hi- 

 st niggles could not be very prolonged, 1 called my man. 

 and we had quite a war dance over our prize. After he was 

 dead my man opened the reptile's mouth, which was found 

 to contain iiuil-.' a number of small tish or minnows. This 

 accounted for hi.-, as well a- the buzzards' presence, in this 



dried up Kwanip, for thev had been feeding on these little 



tish. which had congregated in the lasl damp spot, about 

 twelve feel square, which remained after the water had 

 evaporated from this low ground during the several hot days 

 wc had recently experienced, We covered him up for the 

 night with palm leaves, and next morning mv man skiuned 

 him a- fata-- tin- head, and brought il lo' ihe hoii--. B dis- 

 tance of some three miles. I spent Iwo days pre.-erving the 

 head and skin, which I afterwards packed' up and brought 

 home with me. and there he is, tilled wilh sawdust, his 

 damaged bead being patched with black putty. 



YV. drove over to Port Orange, a small selllement on' 

 Halifax Hirer, the head waters of Indian River, or rather a 

 sail waier lagoon, for it i.- only separated from the Atlantic 

 Ocean by a strip of -and, about, three acre- wide. Halifax 

 River is about one mile broad, dotted with oyster shoals, 

 which, at ebi, tide, appear like low barren islands. There 

 wen- some trees growing upon an island, the resting placo 

 of hundreds of pelicans, eram-s, and herons. The waters 

 teem with mullet, red snapper, whiting, pompnno, sea bass, 

 and many other of the tinny tribe, besides sawfish and 

 sharks, easily caught i y hook and Hue or nets. 



Green turtles an- very numerous near Mosnuito Inlet — 

 someof enormous size— and turtle hunting, as well as -,earcn- 

 ing in the sand for their eggs, forms a verv attractive sport, 

 lot) to 800 eggs being frequently found in a nest. They are 

 excellent eat ing. and are -really relished hv epicures, as is 

 the turtle itself. Oysters in countless millions line the 

 shores and bottoms, and can be raked up anywhere. 



We hired a sailboat and enjoyed a very pleasant day in 

 the neighborhood. Here we came aero-- a fatmi u-id.-iit 

 of Laprairie, opposite Montreal, a railroad contractor who 

 ha- resided in Florida for many y. ars. lb- impiired after 

 many Cai.adian- with whom I am well acquainted, and ap- 

 peared lo enjoy talking ol Canada vu-y much. 



After an agreeable stay of ten (lavs al Wavciiy we decided 

 to return lo Jacksonville and go to Cedar Ecys, on the Gulf 

 of Mexico coast . as advised h\- Dr. Kenworlliy. We parted 

 with our pleasant hosts and bade good-bye to the settlers 

 among whom we had enjoyed a verv pleasant sojourn. 



U e drove io Enterprise, where we took the Btoamer Anita 

 for Jacksonville, stopping over night at Enterprise and Ful 

 aska, where we visited two of the large fashionable hotels, 

 Idled wilh guests from all parts of the S'orth. many ol whom 

 said they came limn- for their health, bul I mu-t sav thev all 

 looked pretty hearty. A- 1 had gone there for the same 

 reason, I did nol make any remarks about others, not caring 



Arrived at .Jacksonville, among an .lecuinulat.ion of let- 

 ters from Canada I found one wbiMi brought, me to a realiza- 

 tion of the fact that •■I'/,,,,,,,,,, ,„■„/„.,, ,/ /, ,/»„,-r.ni<;,i, ■„! «//»■ 

 pone, ' ami all future plane for further travel in Florida were 

 abandoned. M.y companion took the routo vie d-dar Eeys 

 10 Cuba and Mexico, and I came home with my alligator. 



Tin: Samk Old Story. — Mary possessed a diminutive- 

 sheep, whose external cove-ring was a.- devoid of color as the 

 congealed aqueous fluid, which occasionally presents insur- 

 mountable obstacles to transatlantic railroad travel on Ihe 

 Siena-, li tagged her to the alphabet dispensary one dav. 



When a doer k struck, and nol killed outright, tnertogs will 

 follow it till il falls from exhaustion; the sportsmen being 



and i 

 d 



ii tie. 



i the ] 



iterior. But he continued in the neighborhood, 

 led in the immediate vicinity until Mary once 

 ne visible. "What caused the juvenile " -ciui li 

 anker after Mary so?" inquired 'the inquisitive 

 if their leacher. "Why. .Mary be-low- an unal- 

 loyed affection upon the little animal, lo'which 'the wind is 

 tempered when shorn, 'as you must be aware ' the preceptor 

 with great alacrity responded.— Ami.n. 



