182 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



fOCT, 5, 1832. 



CAMP LIFE IN THE GREAT SWAMP. 



BS A. Ml l.K. 

 [ WAS Bitting one tiny last summer on (liy I'roul, pOICB 



looking' out on the scone before me and thinking, pet 



haps loo seriously 

 mass of living 

 laughing and g 



dark Frown of 

 cabin nestled al 



column of blue 



and the corn; tin 



f what whs suggested. In one solid 

 the clearing swept out in all directions, 

 ig in its gay verdure until lost iu the 

 unbroken Forest, Here aud there a 

 leedjte of the woods, or seel, jls little 

 e stealing up Iron, amidst the cotton 



idpeckors in the orchard called to-cacji 



oilier; tbe fowls softly gossiped along the fence,- the breeze 

 blew a caress from the westward, and everything Spoke of 

 peace end happiness. All but the spirit of liinn was divine, 

 and as I watched the stupid niggers loafing behind sullen 

 mules under pieteu.se of plowing, 1 felt that something 

 WAS Cerlai nly wrong and out of joint. 



What was it? Did we really' deserve the reproaches lav- 

 ished upon us by foreign ignorance'.' Were we really all 

 lazy and shiftless!! Should we not abandon our ways' and 

 walk in those of the stranger'/ Ought we lo 150 .'.'nd buy 

 sub-soil plows and reapers, and all sorts of improved gear to 

 put into the hands of niggers too cureless and luzv to lake 

 care of a hoe? Ought we to give up col ton and corn and 

 plant grains and Plover and grass, and raise cattle and 

 manure'; There was land— just roiling enough to shed its 

 wuler— with a soil of the very richesl loam twenty live feet 

 deep. Did that need clover and crass? There was a range 

 for all the cattle in the Tinted Stales in the eui.e-brukes. 

 green and fresh through any winter: Ihere was n mighty 

 stream of richest manure sweeping by our very doors in 

 countless tons, Irving to put itself on our fields, and rejected 

 with difficulty, and yet I lo, the nigger and (he mule! 



Healthy',' Yes, no place is healthier where one lives in 

 the clearings and provides good, well-cooked food. Whui 

 kilts people in the bottom i- because fools squat down over a 

 nasty bayou to stive driving a well, aud cal cubes of half- 

 raw "bacon, saleraf.us adulterated with flour, and drink bad 

 whisky. This ought to kill anybody, and, thank Ood, it 

 has killed a lot. but they learn very slowly. 



By (leorgc, there he comes. I'd know the old "mar's" 

 gait'a mile off— the head to one side, the body I wisting along, 

 first one side alu -ail, then t'other, and the flirts of (hat Dig 

 bushy tail, like an ugly woman trying to show off her hair! 



iu'a .short while old Shclb. had dismounted and occupied 

 a seat near me. 



Now it is a rule fixed— that is. a sort of swamp axiom, a 

 rule without exception— to offer a guest, a drink of whisky. 

 Of course 1 knew this well enough, bui as old Shelb. rarely 

 drank away from home, and we were all busv over a 

 basket of peaches, I somehow failed to ask him. 



Presently he rose to go. anil there was a general protest. 

 1 saw something was wrong, and urged him to stay. After 

 much talk he turned red as a gobbler. "Well, then," he 

 said, "why in blazes don't you arsk me to take a drink?" 



The general whoop that followed and my red face eased 

 his humor, 



"Why," Isold, "you old catamount, yon wouldn't drink 

 f i asked you." 



"Anyhow. I like to be a$ked. all the same," said the old 

 fellow. 



fhis matter of diplomatic courtesy settled, old Shelb. and 

 i dropped into the half cross and half affectionate style of 

 our general intercourse. 



He was wandering about the country out of pun- rest 

 lessuess. From frost to frost he is totally out of gear. He 

 gets feverish and bilious and almost cross. This is the time 



a him ( 



ir all (he old sins he can remember, and 



added a few licks on genera] account. 



like a wolf, until the old woman 



B house 



the stable lot. 



There he will 1c 



s-and talk loherbv (hi 



splat 



\s they only go off to I he Springs 

 iirsi- he gets "bilious." No one 

 tun would do if he couldn't get 

 o points in view. Not only does 

 Jeep sympathy of his wife, who is 

 about touching the old fellow's 

 cs him his pills and watches him 

 iding the water or taking the box 

 y and earnestness-, Shelb. uses 

 ers need apply, These have long 

 ut with a ding 

 , pills and sell 

 ill." Anyhow 

 nli 



all tbeii 



he whips bis do 



even in a p 



He prow 



fairly ru 



the fence luirl fondle his o 



hour. Somebody onces 



earned his deepgratitui 



now. though Shell.. BWC 



for the summer. Of i 



knows what a "imiin 



"bilious.'' Shell), has I 



beget medicine, bul (In 



apt to he rattier carele 



dignity. She always it 



while 'lie takes them, h 



with exquisite simplh 



Blank's pills, aud no 01 



been out of market, but 



bouse in Memphis, win 



them to him as "the genuine Blank's Liver 1' 



they don't kill hiin, and he believes he would 



he could occasionally get a dose of three of Blank's pUL 



with six compound cathartics, "jusl to make 'em act, you 



know!" 



He wanted me now to go a fishing. J told him — as he kne^ 

 -thai I detested fishing but he insisted and t consented. The 

 fact is it Was quite a compliment for him to ask me, us he 

 generally prefers to take the woods alone, and I agreed 

 more for (hat reason than because 1 cared for the spoil. As 

 for the details, be demanded thai he have full charge of 

 everything, Aud so we parted, to meet al his house next 

 day. I was to carry a mosquito net, pair of blankets and 

 myself: the rest he was to provide. 



Hie plan was lo go in bis dyg-oui. through a chain of 

 bayous and lakes, camping out al night, and returning in a 

 week or two, as we chose. These waterways till the whole 

 county, so that it is possible for one thoroughly acquainted 

 with them to travel long distances by wvtcr. Occasionally 

 a portage may occur, lilt rarely, as your true Swamper has 

 no longing for that sort of labor. 



I found the dug-out already loaded on the wagon, and all 

 fixed lor a start. 



This craft is a thing to gladden I he eye of a connoisseur. 

 On it Shelb. has expended all of his ingenuity and experi- 

 ence, until she is fairly as perlecf as that style of boat can 

 be. She was made ant of an enormous sassafras be found 

 somewhere in I be woods. The tree must have been over 

 four feel in diameter high up from the roots. Carefully 

 shaping and hollowing this where it tell, the embryo boat 

 was then sunk in water for ftycai to 18S1 m and avoid split- 

 ting. At the end of this time She Was drawn-out and set up 



in his front yard, where he could put the final and lingering 

 touch/* on her. 



As she lay before us she was about twenty feet long, two 

 feet beam, and say eighteen inches deep, with a well-shaped 



entrance and counter, the bow aud stern rather raised; then 

 a sheer given to the whole boat aud neatly painted of a dull 

 color between lead and copper, impossible to describe, but 

 as much like an old log as possible. The bow and stern 

 were covered with a sort of deck for about a foot, and 

 heavily bound with iron, screwed on to prevent cracknel 

 where the libers of the wood ran out. The seats v., re small 

 boxes, about the size of a big brick, and the paddles of the 

 lightest bolilcadi, very I bin and broad, contrary to "Jujin" 

 rule, which is to make them narrow. A Stout setting pole, 

 some ten feet long, with a fork at the end to catch a hold 

 with wheu pushing through flags and grass, and a big 

 tpougeto bail with, finished the equipment of the boat 

 proper. 



I nder a canvas flap near his .seal were nailed small hickory 

 forks to hold bis gun and keep il dry, while the box he Sat 

 on contained ammunition. Resting on Other pieces for the 

 purpose were two beautiful canes for fishing rods. They 

 were about twelve feet long, straight as arrows, and wed 

 wrapped with sinews between everv joint; no doubt ugly 

 enough beside a fine-jointed rod, but beautiful in the woods 

 and a very coach whip among lisle s. No reel, but a set of 

 pretty brass guides led the line back to the bull, where it 

 was tied to a deer's foot, arlisiieallv set on. A small box, 

 some fourteen inches square and' twelve deep, composed 

 our mess chest, and when examined was a gem of itself. On 

 raising the lid a table for two was completely set out. Sail, 

 pepper, vinegar, sugar, in proper vessels, 'each buried an 

 inch iu its hole; two pannikins for grub; places: for knives 

 and forks, and spoons and cups. Everything was in place, 

 awaiting onlv the food which enlivens "to be placed «i it. 

 Below this was a drawer for cold meats, bread and oilier 

 matters. The bottom held our sugar, eofi'ee, etc., etc.— 

 everything that had no bad smelt The cooking utensils 

 were in a bag and the heayy grub ditto. Rut as old Shclb. 

 is Li King restless, we had better start and do the rest of our 

 poking ahOut in camp. 



We stalled. Where we went i deeliue to say. 1 have 

 no idea of ruining the country by hundred 'of cockney 

 canoeists pushing about in it. Let them lind out and pay- 

 toll to the lawful mosquitoes like men. 



But in half an hour after leaving Shelb. 's house we wore 

 afloat in a clear, dark bayou, with the cool breath of the 

 forest jusl reaching us, and not a sound to be heard beside 

 our own voices and paddles. 



Shelb. had turned aside as we came along in the wagon, 

 and now brought out a nest of some fiv or wasp as the re- 

 sult, By tearing off the top and gently- patting the Lotion, 

 a uu ml >er of fat, helpless worms fell out aud became, bait 

 I'm- fishes. One of t bese lie put on his hook and dropped it 

 into the water. Generally, however, in such a boat each 

 man baits the hook of the' other for convenience. Ilis float 

 was made of a combination of goose-quill and white pine, 

 very narrow and scarcely visible 011 the water. Bul he saw 

 tt well enough, and iii a short, while down it went. A 

 touch, a twitch, and into the boat came a beautiful little 

 bream. ' Shelb. at once loosed him. 



"What's that for?" 



"Luck!" 



"Didn't know yon were so superstitious:" 



"Well, 1 ain't.' But tishiif is a queer business unci has 

 some strange Ways, 1 allcrs spiis on my hook, and have 

 tried il often, and' I'm blessed if it don't make a difference. 

 Now. in hunting you can see all around you— seethe game, 

 Bee the- woods-arid the earth; bul in nshin' you don't Bee 

 nothin' but a boh and a line. Now. how do you know 

 what's going on down in (he water?" 



W.. continued to float gently along, now paddling a little, 

 now fishing, until time for a lunch. Paddling up to the 

 bank we got 0111 and Shclb. proceeded lo prepare some fish 

 for dinner while 1 looked over the stores. We had SUgar 

 and coffee- -31bS. each, a bucket of lard, pilot bread, aud 

 dour— some S01D6., a bag of onions and potatoes This 

 wasto lasl us indefinitely -not less than a week. A jug I 

 thought whisky proved' to be two gallons of mola-scs. and 

 our Mm,.- wore practically finished. We had a nice loaf of 

 bread, butter, and other good things out of (he old lady's 

 pantry for to-day. and I dipped a cup of water from the 

 bayou. 



"Hold on a minute! ' said Shclb.. bringing out a two-gallon 

 rundlet. "Have some beer?" 



"Why, where iu blazes did you gel heerV" 



"Made if. 1 don't think that bayou water is good at this 

 season, so 1 just carry along a stock of corn beer." 



"[ never heard of such a, thing, but it does help out 

 awfully. How do vou make it'.'" 



"WellJ Iirsi bile some con;, say about a quart, then put 

 this in about two gallons water, then a quart of inola.-sc.-. a 

 half pint of dried apples, and giugi r or sa~satras or spruce 

 enough to suit Whenever I lake any out I put BOmegWeefc 

 ened water batik again, and so "I" keep a stock always on 

 hand." 



That night we camped al. a lovely spot. A sheet of water 

 that glimmered inthesetting sun relieved the feelings, which 

 will tire of the deep shadows of (he woods. On the lake, 

 ail was brightness and life. The fish Were breaking the 

 glassy surface as they leaped for their prey, the crane 

 frowned at OUT intrusion as he flew heavily by, and the 

 kingfishers squalled as merrilv as usual in their blue suits as 

 thev jumped on their finny suppers. 



Our tent was what the hunters cull a half- faced camp. 

 They till use this .style, and claim that it lets the heat of the 

 tire gel to the occupants, but f have always found as much 

 smoke us heat got in, anil beyond all question prefer the 

 Sibley lent with a wall to it. 



The. cooking of supper was an easy jot), as the remnants 

 of our luncheon supplied it. But after this the old hunter 

 began to buslle about in a way to ovxutc my curiosity. 



"What an yon up to, Shelb.?" 



"(foing to hake bread for to-morrow." 



"Haw yon got s Dm eh oven?" 



"Hutch! no; got better— 'Injin!' " 



Ei cli ,n d uw-uy a little clean space of earth upon which 

 In placed what looked like, and was. a simple sheet-iron box. 

 In this he placed his dough aud shut it close. A little earth 

 covered thcJjox entirely and left only a sort of mound to 

 mark its grAve. On and around this a substantia] Are was 

 built aud the operation was completed. 



"Mow,'' said MttP , "the 'fujlus' cover their dough up 



in green leaves simplv, and that does just as well, but they 

 doii't use yeast and i do; so I have the iron box to let her 

 awall The only points of difficulty about it is to learn bow 

 lo proportion the fire so as not to get the bread too dry dur- 

 ing lite Qight, and if all goes well we will have hot rolls for 

 breakfast: they can't burn, though they- may be too dry." 

 "Why, Shelb., you are developing genius" as a cook!" 

 I 'low 1 orter; I've been al it long enough. 1 brought you 



on this voyage more to shew you my ways iu the woods than 

 for any sport we are going to have. Livin' in the woods is 

 .so simple that very lew people ever get the hang of it. 

 Most old hunters get 'azy aud dirty, and so don't care- 

 while most green hands straiu so painfully lo be 'knowing' 

 that they leave themselves without either comfort or neces- 

 saries. As I hunt a great deal by myself, I try to arrange 

 my plans so as to let most of the eo'oking attend to itsctf. 

 Now here is my camp kittle, like you never saw iu a camp 

 before. It is simply one kittle inside of the other, and no 

 matter how long you leave it your cooking can't burn. This 

 is worth a great deal to me. "yet it onlv cost a trifle to fix. 

 When by myself I do all my cooking while asleep! When 

 1 wake iu the morning I make coffee, and the bread and 

 Stew is all ready, having cooked while I rested." 



"That's all very well for cooking after you've caught your 

 hare, hut after all I doubt if any man can travel through 

 the woods now and kill a living as he goes.'' 



"That's because you don't know how. On the contrary; 

 I doubt if there is any county in the United States thai 

 won't support a man easily by it- contributions of game, 

 etc. You want to kill tt buffalo or deer every dav to keep 

 from starving — but that is useless as well as impossible; 

 Sow, if I was under a press of hunger I should commence 

 to kill the nearest live thing. Everything — except crow — 

 is eatable when cooked right. So I'd kill sparrows, jays, 

 hawks, all sorts of game trash, and in the course of a' day 

 pick up enough of them to feed half a dozen men. Put 

 them in my kittle, with proper fixius, -,nd a kinir wouldn't 

 turn away from thai dish. The mistake people make in the 

 wootls, us out of them, is, their eves are bigger than their 

 1 fellies. A half acre of ground wi'll furnish bread for a man 

 easy. and a very small patch of uncultiyated ground supply- 

 all the flesh hcougb- to cut. ' 



1 remember hearing in South Carolina about a Frenchman 

 who lived that way, and lived well. His firewood aud rent 

 CpPt nothing, as he squatted on the edge of a swamp; he 

 planted about an acre of corn anil vegetables, and supplied 

 flesh by hunting. He was evidently a gentleman, but there 

 he lived for years, till he died, solitary, satisfied aud healthy, 

 nis cookery was famous, and no one ever knew whether 'it 

 was a woodpecker or a dove he was eating. Yes. the cook- 

 ing is the great thing. If ever brains were needed, it is in 

 camp cooking, and yet anything seems to be thought good 

 euough. Everything is fried, and every bill of rations in- 

 cludes the inevitable bacon; this aud skipjacks, also fried, 

 make up the genuine 'all-day -piddley' diet. Now in camp 

 nothing ever should be fried. ' The facilities for roasting and 

 stewing are too good there to throw away." 



' I h t 1 k til ] I 11 1 I 1 1 1 1 In make 

 a good rich stew — a gipsey slew. That is, put in anything 

 you happen to have and stew if all night! Again, Mr. Green- 

 horn buys ground coffee instead of the grain, and doing his 

 ow r n roasting and grinding. 



"Ask ten men why they go into the woods, and nine will 

 say, 'for an appetite.' But just think of wasting an appe- 

 tite on slapjacks anil bacon! But, Shelb., you have to fry 

 fishes?" 



The old hunter looked at me indignantly. "Didn't you 

 never eat a chowder out of blue cats? Why a fish of no kind 

 ever was meant to be fried. No, sir, to get the good out 01 

 him vou must keep him in water, dead or uliv.-; and be- 

 fore we get home I'll have you so full of stewed fish vou 

 can't say fry. Hirer eat plunked shad, eh? Kverget hold of 

 a clayed trout, eh? Nor roast oysters, nor baked crabs, nor 

 baked shad? The people who fry lose too much. But it 

 must be either laziness or ignorance. Now you mark me, 

 and 1 will feed you well and hot fry once on this trip." 



The next day was on us: the bass wire jumping all over 

 lake, and we had no bait. Shelb. got some long bushy 

 branches oil' a pecan tree, and tying tile twig ends together, 

 soon made a very effective minnow seine Witu this we 

 swept a little hole or two and got all we wanted. The fishes 

 bit beautifully, and we soon had what the old fellow called 

 'a mess,' then we pulled around the lake and went to camp. 



Wished here bv Mes 



BELOW QUEBEC. 



Tmnn r-Ai'EK. 



MR. KDEX. the genial and obliging harbor master of 

 Gaspe. has furnished us with a general letter of intro- 

 duction to all of his many friends stationed iu summer time 

 while fishing is carried on along the various stations scat- 

 tered along the north shore, and this document insures us 

 upon landing at the St. Johns River a hearty welcome- from 

 Mr. Conway. He is the agent at this port of a eodfishery 

 t'ollas, of Gaspe, and enjoys hi'.s 

 id substantially built house near 



His kind intentions and hearty welcome have, however. 

 been already forestalled by orders given iu advance of my 

 anticipated arrival by Messrs. Garland and Bland, the pres- 

 ent lessees of the St. Johns. They have a snug and commo- 

 dious frame house at its mouth, w'hich serves for the double 

 purposes of lodging and storehouse. In front of it is an- 

 chored a large two-masted firmly-decked boat, in which they 

 can extend their excursions to any point along the coast 

 whenever it suits their time and fancy. At present, how- 

 ever, salmon fishing up the river is still in its prime, the 

 cottage is untenanted, and the boat swings quietly to her 

 anchor with each change of flood and ebb as if she had no 

 other mission to fulfill. The man in charge of the camp 

 transfers my luggage to my assigned quarters, the wants of 

 the inner man are duly attended to, and a canoe is ordered 

 to carry me at daybreak up to the fishing grounds, where I 

 am to have again the pleasure of meeting those two genuine 

 sportsmen whose acquaintance I hud made during uiy last 



It requires at least the aid of two good men with a canoe 

 to stem the swift current and many raprls which character- 

 ize the generality- of all larger salmon rivers, the St. Johns 

 included. The* canoe is built at Gaspe of thin strips of 

 maple firmly braced with a large number of tough, neatly- 

 cut ribs, and in build it resembles a compromise between a'n 

 elongated clinker boat and the ordinary birch canoe. These 

 Gaspe built boats stand, in virtue of their compact fittings, 

 much more wear and tear than the latter, and will last at 

 least four years if properly handled and cared for when not 

 in actual use. 



Their excess of weight is of no special consequence, as 

 there are no portages to be made; and since they are roomy, 

 a couple of men find plenty of space in any of them for their 

 camp baggage and themselves. I am of the opinion that iu 

 point of the known luxurious means of transportation, that 

 of canoe riding is ahead of the list, and even the motion of 

 a rocking chair is a jarriug one in comparison with the easy 

 rising aud falling of the canoe upon the gently yielding 



