Oct. r,, 1883.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



187 



hillside, lie wheeled and made for the cove across the hol- 

 low, from which lie had been first pill up. His line of flight 

 was .-ilnir i-i dircrih Over three whohappened in line up and 

 down the hill, each of whom in turn diluted him with one 

 barrel as be p tssed over. 



The heighl at which he was hit and the impetus he had 

 gained in winging his frightened Stampede ta cover and 

 nossible escape carried him at an angle of forty-five de- 

 .iti - '"" - to tin opposite hillside nearly one hundred yards, on a 

 line, as we hud in walk; Onstriking the ground he hounded 

 like a ball. 



Comments on i Ik- occurrence'.- ju-t related led to a disous 

 Enon of the dogs' performances, and then was. general and 

 legitimate boasting except by the old Bachelor, Whose praise 

 wasof the others dogs. Dick's poinler was a lemon and 

 while, wiry liltle fellow thai went Uke a skyrocket, and gave 

 hi-, master much trouble by frequently ranging too farwnon 

 out of sight and freezing too staunchly to game to be called 

 pJS, consequently in hjfgp coveiHt was sometimes a tedious 

 job to find him." 



Dick boasted thai he would stand as long as game would 

 lie. and that he had never been guilty of a false point. 

 When we crossed Into a neighboring field that dog was dis 

 fevered on a point, and when all had gathered .''.round him 

 thy universal verdicf was, that the dog had lied tin- ve-rv 

 first opportunity thai offered; to prove that he was las 

 master's equal in even th.it essential accomplishment. Dick, 

 as well as a crack shot, was a celebrated angler, that could 

 drop h minnow into a tub of water nine times out of ten, at 

 seventy-three feet, when in trim— so repotted by average 

 authority-- I ih-ver li-lied with him. The grass had been 

 grazed Off SO Short that within a circle of forty feet around 

 that dog there was no more visible cover for game than on 

 the bare tloor of a room, and after tramping around and 

 Kicking. everytliing within an improbable range of a dog's' 

 nose, we proceeded to give il to Dick unmercifully, even 

 the charitable old bachelor deeming it a lit pecasicn. to add 

 a genteel tap. "This is the first time that 1 ever ku rw him 

 todo il, sure'" was pronounced a rather transparent screen 

 behind which to endeavor to hide. The dog remained as 

 immovable as a piece of statuary, and the others held a 

 steady but wondering bank. The' fun was becoming- up- 

 roariously enjoyable 10 all hut Dick, who supported a small 

 tree with his back while submitting to the demand that the 

 flog be lefl to workout the nn slery. 



I'd rather own a irue-to-Iife picture, photograph or paint- 

 ing, of that particular scene, than a gem front the brush of 

 an old master It was a stunner to all, and noticeable that 

 his nose aim ,-t touched the ground, and that his eyes were 

 fixed as if he saw llicgaim just under his nose, but hail he 

 stood upon a billiard table there could have appeared no 

 greater impossibility of there being a bird where his nose 

 Bhd eyes indicated. Hut it was there, covered by a leaf in 

 a, depression made by the tread of a heavy ox when the 

 ground was soft, and ihei. it remained till "Dick kicked at 

 the spot on Which the dog'- eyes were riveted, 'i'iial bird 

 fell to Dick's gun and was bagged, and the exultation of the 

 don's owner was shared by all. 1 have seen birds lie to dogs 

 when not evi a Bp " ■>' grass intervened, but 1 think that 

 was the most extraordinary instance I ever met 



That Wafi an eventful day's hunt, for in addition to those 

 so prosily narrate 1. there were many other laughable incidents 

 similar to liiosu happening in the almost every day's hunt of 

 ail. 



Han ■. were counted game the second day, and the hoisting 

 Of a White flag guaranteed no protecttonas the day before, 

 when every gunner had to pocket all his game. Early in the 

 |fternoon it was decided to finish filling that bag— about 



which ih iv had i u some chatting before" we started— with 



hares and go home. When we reached I lie house our pack 

 horse appeared to be just fiom mill, and the game was actu- 

 ally estimated by the bushel The Iwo days' score of quails 

 was l.iti. a coincidence I shall never forget so long as 1 

 remember that hunt. Seveiitv-oight each day, nearly half 

 hi Which werekilled by thai old bachelor, wli.i hnratTewer 

 caps Mian an\ bill ' lie 'Doctor. 



Next morning a high wind prevailed and Harry and the 

 Doctor left for home." The. bachelor, Dick and I revisited 

 the scone of the first day's shooting and found the birds by 

 siuglcs and pairs, and not a bunch of more than half a dozen, 

 fagt as We had been reassured that, morning. By noon we 

 Bad bagged just twenty-iivo. and after lunch we separated 

 toijh pledges to repeat the hunt every fall, but the Fates 

 decreed that oar first and last meeting. With that season 

 my connection with the neighborhood terminated, and the 

 boy who accompanied us as game carrier- — now the head of 

 a family and the best wing shot in the country — has often 

 told us 'that game has never been so plentiful as the two sea- 

 sons of my residence there. K i-:nti - ci;i.\n. 



the summit and came to the waters of the French Broad, 

 Which arc diSl barged into the Gulf of Mexico, in about n 

 half hour the whistle sounded, the brakes w ,v put on, and 

 ■ I ■ :. ■■ M ndersonvilm, 2,500 feet above tide 

 water, sent its cheerful lights to gladden travelers and 1„- 

 token that the end of the journey by rail had been reached. 

 We got quariei- at the Virginia Hotel, and remained there 

 until .Monday about midday. . 



It was rather more 61 rful bo us, with our surroundings. 



than was the "Wei Bnudayat a Country Ian," sobeButifuIly 

 described by Washington .Irving. But that Snndaj was a 

 decidedly wet one. There was no cessation of the waterfall 

 from daybreak until Monday morning, and whi l 



were Baptists, conic! be expectcd'to call to see us. "the Old 



He" consoled us by saying. "Ye need not expect ii. for they 

 arc opposed to sprinkling." We kepi our rooms, of course, 

 and passed the time reflecting Unit il was far better for the 

 rain to fall while we were under the shelter of shingles, than 

 when protected onlv bv one of Hcmmcnway's tetlts, Be- 

 sides this we consoled ourselves that we ,-iiould probably 

 •scape a wetting while in the woods, because of the fact 



that the 



ilvn dischf 



3 held. Ami > 



vapor which the aimospl 

 wc had a cloudless Bky dune 

 the head waters of the French Broad 

 About eight o'clock on Monday mo 

 up, and at twelve we win- seated 

 "kivered wagons." to each of which 

 very philosophical mules, and siarti 



reached a farm house, and getting aui 

 it afforded, "put up' 1 for toe night 



:d the .Savannah. 

 [Ug the clouds broke 



n two old fashioned 

 is hitched a pair of 

 ou our jouiuc\ to 

 fourteen miles we 

 accommodations as 

 1 



IN THE NORTH CAROLINA MOUNTAINS. 



COMPLYING with a- promise hitherto made, I beg the 

 indulgence of your readers, whilst. I give a. brief ac- 

 count of a recent trip to the mountains of this State, made 

 partly for recreation and partly to enjoy whatever of sport 

 the forests and streams might, afford. I will premise by 

 saying that theresults, as a hunting experiment, were far 

 from being so satisfactory as 1 was led to anticipate by the 

 glowing descriptions which had been given by friends who 

 were, doubtless, sincere in their declar.iti-r- 



Leaving home at :t A. M. on Saturday, the 9th, our partv, 

 consistiogoi X. K. C. well known as ''The Old [Ie-Fiflher 

 man of 'Waccainnw." W. B. Barker, genial deniaen of 

 Quhclc.(lo avoid misprinting this consult the '.'Fair Maid oi 

 Perth." as to the name of one of the olaua engaged in the bat- 

 tle), Teceel. Ids sou Pick, and the writer, reached Charlotte 

 tn time for breakfast at the Central Hotel. Owing to rail- 

 road connections. WC had lo remain until 1 SO P. M.. when 

 we took the Charlotte & Atlanta Air Nine for Spartanburc. 

 S. C, at which point the road from Columbia to Hender- 

 sonville crosses. Wearrivedat Spartauborgin duetime.aud 

 Iran ferring ourselves and luggage were soon on <>.,r way 

 toward- that lovely tanuc o' mountain-: which "divide the- 

 waters from the waters," and i- known as tin- BlilC Ridge of 

 the Appalachian Chain. After a run of two hours wc had 

 come to the fool, of the chain, aud having lo ascend a long 

 i'nd sleep grade from the immediate saiie;. of the 1'acolet, 

 as the track was wet wc. were obliged to exercise our p:i- 

 lience until additional locomotive power could be obtained. 

 This came at last, and slowly we ascended for several miles, 

 until Saluda, a summer resort, wa- reached, Tui- place is 

 east of the ridge, and situated on a high range near Tryon 

 Mountain, between the waters of the Pacolet and Green 

 rivers, both of which How into Broad Itiver. a tributary of 

 the Santce. Thcuce we began descending towards Green 

 Elver, and grossing thai by a sinuous course wc soon passed 



fore named, we had tor companion- Rev, Air. Wordan. his 

 -on- Will and Jim (one Of the best, shots in the State). Bob 

 Laird, Bart Boniaci, Charley ledyur'ds, aud the driver-. 

 Two beds and the floor afforded as the chance for sleeping, 

 and I presume this luxury was full v enjoyed. Next morn- 

 ing wc left and -non reached the French' Broad, finding it 

 much swollen by the recent rain. Crossing on a bridge, we 

 reached the western side, anil ascended to a point eight 

 miles southwest of Brevard, the county town. The valley 

 is a beautiful one. ami the lowland- quite productive. On 

 the east -ideof the river, and live miles below Brevard, i- 

 thefarm of Mr. LoundeS of Smith Carolina, one of the best 

 cultivated and fertile in the we-teni part of the State. He 

 is a raiser of due stock, and live- at his place from Mnv 

 until November, when he goes back to the city of Charles- 

 ton. Passing Brevard -wc stopped ; u a farm abuse aboul 

 one mile distant, where the wife of the proprietor kindly 

 gave" OS a good Supply of delicious milk, which, with corn 

 pone and ginger bread, made quite an agreeable lunch. The 



oWner of the premises has a large yOUag orchard of apple 

 and peach trees, hoping to derive from the products at no 

 distant day a handsome revenue. 1 trust he may do so, for 

 no better apples arc raised on the face of this earth than 

 those Which grow in the mountains of this Stab'. If he can 

 escape the blight in his pear tree's, 1 see no reason why they 

 may not be made profitable, provided always that some 

 belter means of gelling them to market shall be supplied 

 than now exists, anil the COSl of transportation is not SO 

 high as in consume the value of the article. 



While our mules are. enjoying themselves at rest and par- 

 taking of their lunch, several of our party concluded td 

 walk on, with the view of finding some game. So, talcing 

 Jim Wordan'sold .left and l.edyarir- Argo-onr only (jogs 



of eight, and was once hard to heal at grou-c. But he has 

 been' sadly damaged, not onlv bv the weight of years, but 

 by being used as a sepiirrel and 'possum" dog Which oecu 

 pal ions have caused him lo prefer the Smell oi those "v ii ■ 

 mints" ti, that of the bird called in our mountains the 

 pheasant Bo, pretty soon after reaching the woods, Jeff 

 vindicated bis'Oharacter«by treeing a squirrel, which I hail 

 the' pleasure of tumbling wilh my sixteen -bore Weble-v, 

 loaded with two and a half drams of gunpowder and one 

 ounce of No. shot. Argo, who is young and needs some 

 training, backed Jeff handsomely, but failed to bark at the 

 Ouajry. flic hill- being ratlin steep for my inagile limb-. 



lgotto the highway, much preferring Its gentle grades. 

 Jim. Wordan ami Bob Laird, however, crossed, and I soon 

 heard several guns iu rapid succession! When they came to 

 the road they had two arouse, ouc killed by Jim and the 

 other somewhat in dispute. With one' squirrel and two 

 LTou-c as our only trophies we pursued our way until we got 

 within two mile.s'of Mi-s Mary'-, where wc proposed lo stop. 

 At this point several of ns took a -'nigh cut" through some 

 woods and fields, hoping to gel a. -he.it at grouse or quail on the 

 way. No grouse was found, but we started a large covey of 

 young quail, about two-thirds grown, from which we suc- 

 ceeded in getting ten. It was my fortune to have shot three 

 times, gelling a bird at each shot. When the. sun was 

 nearly down we reached "Miss Mary's," where our wagon's 

 were found, aud received a kindly welcome by her and her 

 brother, the owner of a splendid farm on the river. A good 

 supper, a pleasant chat and tired bodies made us enjoy the 

 beds, lo which we retired at an early hour 



Next morning wc were off, aud after traveling tive or six 

 miles we left the river aud commenced a slow ascent of the 

 adjacent mountains. Winding round and round we reached 



wc pitched our tent and then Started out to see if we conlel 

 add to our stock of provisions. A part of the crowd had 

 previously taken a "drive" and started a buck, which es- 

 caped unseen. We got about ten Squirrels and three grouse 

 —the grouse not being in packs, but separate. Having a 

 scautv supply id rye straw upon which to spread our 

 blanket-., the ground was too hard for mv hips— and 1 got 

 •but little refreshing sleep. We concluded that ( he promised 

 land had not, yet been reached, and after sp.-ndii e 



on Flat Oleel, .villi but pex.r -llccess ue pulled up stakes 

 and started for Hog Back Church, o : the beautiful Toxa- 

 wav River, a tributary of the Savannah and situated at the 

 foot in the mountain bearing that classical name. 



Wc soon reached th crest of the ridge, and alter traveling 

 about two miles, reached the Toxaway, crossed it. and 

 spread our canvas. -In-' ■■■- we had stopped one of our party 

 fiushed a ".rouse within fifty yards ot tie- camp and On 

 being notified, four or live' oi us, with He' two dogs, started in 

 pursuit. Argo soon flushed it without being seen. On he 

 went, and the bird again lushed it. a thicket,' and Igota 

 glimpse of him as he aped away, following the cure, old 

 Jeff soon came lo a stand and Teceel ami Laird beiug iu ad- 

 vance, approached. Boon the' whir was beard. Laird let off 



hisWcstlcy Richards, missing, and Teceel knocked him over 

 with his lfi-bore Scott. Crossing a small branch, and going 

 down it. a young bird was flushed, which I saw perched 

 upon the limb id' an oak. I approached within about thirty 

 yards and feeding sure I could kill it with mv Tollev a- it 

 sat, and Hot certain I could do so if it (lew, 1 determined 

 that meat was needed ami e-h'ppcel it over. The dogs stood 

 another, which rose wild, and not being able to tieiel it or any 

 other, we returned to the camp. Having suet eeded in get- 

 ting a good supply of straw anil hay. our tent, tloor was 

 amply provided, and the canvas and the church gave us 

 comfortable quarters. Xcxt day -we act a few squirrels, and 

 three or tour crouse, anil by the aid of a bov. a nice string 

 of about forty i rout out of the adjacent stream. Odnclud 

 ingthat owing to the want of dogs, if not for other equally 

 eoeirl reasons, wc should not be able to load down our 

 wagons with game, and having "seen the elephant.'' wc de- 

 termined to pack up. leave the- pe-Hudel waters of the 

 laughing Toxaway and the frowning crags of the Hog Hack. 

 and get back as early as possible to the haunts of civiliza- 

 tion. And so, after eight days' ahseence we got to lleiie!er- 

 -onvilli', and then by train' soon saw "the 'thrifty Wife's 

 smile-" at home: and heard fllD prattle eif the "wi'aiis" a- thew 



Tin- country wc saw is a beautiful one, and no doubt 

 "rouse in considerable numbers inhabit the woods The 

 people saythereart plenty of them, But we had no good 



elogs. If we had been -o fortunate as tO have be,-,, supplied 



wiflithem. Ethinb we,.- old easily have bagged several do.-.n 

 each day by the use' of energy and muscle and steady shooting. 

 Indeed.' I am told that in ll'ie woods, within a few miles cf 

 Hendcrsouville. there are plenty of these birels, aud there is 

 no use of traveling so far as we- did in order to find them. 

 1 believe the statements. 



Nearly all lie- stream- which enter into the French Broad, 

 especially when they are rapid and the waieris cool, abound 

 in trout, at. ,1 an angler who i- not Wfraidof watel can catch as 

 many as he wants, if he knows how todo it. i give it. up, 

 1 can't jerk quick enough. A- to tie -ir ih-li, [ must be par- 

 doned for saying that 1 have often eaten ti.-h equally good, 

 and msichlargerin the section iu which I live, and especially 



We had good hearth anil good, appetites, invigorating 

 atmosphere and delicious water, Of the lasi named article 

 the mountain streams afforded an abundant supply, cool and 

 pure enough for any man whose taste aui! StolUai ii have 

 not been ruined by profuse additions of Kennebec and North 

 River. Wct.t.s 



"MAINE COAST SHOOTING." 



IN your issue of Sept. 1-1. under the heading of "Maine 

 Coast Shooling," comes an article from l<\ K. Hamilton. 

 who gives ilS it very enthusiastic account of the shooting lo 

 be obtained at Camp Ellis, situated at the mouth of Bnco 

 River. Maine. 



Now, having during fin- past, resided quite a number of 

 vears in thai neighborhood, and knowing the tidewaters, 

 the marshi's, flats and sand-bars for a number of miles around 

 thai vicinity. 1 ihinK a tew remarks woulel be acceptable to 

 such of your many readers who have any intentions of visit- 

 ing there. Mr. Hamilton, in his account, tells us of the 

 extraordinary shooting to be obtained at thai place; and, to 

 n-e l.i- own words, he says that a "Mr. Jones, of the Natu- 



bagged eighty birds before breakfast." He does not tell us 

 whether Mr. Jones ever found his head again or nut, but 

 from his silence on the subject we suppose he has recovered- 

 ii again, which is vr\ foitiin.-d,- for him, as well as the 

 Natural Historical Society of Boston. Neither does he tell 

 us what particular kind of birds Mr Jones bagged, nor does 

 he tell us whether he shot the birds or not; but as he was 

 nut at, all hours with a gun and had lost his head too. this 

 makes it difficult ta express an opinion. lb- tell- us also 

 that the duckshad noi ar-rived at. Heat dale. This we already 



that tl'icv we,-,- -ome varietv of the bav bird- which 'are due 

 about that lime. Many year.- ago. before ihe building of 

 Ehe Boston A: Maine Railroad along the beach to old 

 Orchard, we used lo have, during August and September, 

 excellent bay bird shooting. All along the beaches from 

 Bine Point, across Litile Hiver to Old' Orchard, along to 

 Bay View, over Gooscfair Biver, and along to the Saco 

 River, this used to tie the favorite feeding ground of the 

 bay birds, from the yellow-leg dowu to the little sandpiper. 

 Almost anywhere- along the seven miles of health [have 

 alluded to, we used to plant, our sink boxes in llic sand, 

 aud over a small flock of decoys wc used to call down flock 

 after flock, only to have them wheel and go, leaving tic- 

 dead aud crippled to the tunc of our old muzzle-loaders. 

 But all this is changed aud gone; the railroad has opened up 

 the beach lo easy and convenient travel, all along the beach 

 huadreds of cottages and monstrous hotels contain their 

 thousauds of guests and summer residents, all forming a 

 constant confusion and driving the birds i'rour their old 

 haunts. Little River, below Old Orchard, has heeu filledup 

 by the railroad company, and turned from its course also; 

 Goosefair River has been treated iu the same manner, and 

 much of the old breodiujr grounds of the birds Is destroyed. 

 The construction of the breakwater at the inouthcf the Saco 



River has destroyed most of the feeding ground in that lo- 

 cality" by the formation of a number of constantly shifting 

 sand burs which contain no food, where there' use-d to ha fine 



And now with its village's of holeils and COttag&J all along 

 the sea wall among the sand hills, tin-, railroad running along 

 the beach, aud Ihe constant travel and coiiiu-ion. taking 

 all into account, wKfln we hear from hotel proprietors such 

 phenomenal scores, these accounts are entitled loom* suspicion. 



.Mr. Hamilton Bays also that ou the farther side of the 

 river there ii to be found heavy hard wood timber, where 

 the ted s.pdrrel challenges serious attention. I was not 

 aware- that Ihe small red Squirrel Challenged much audition 



Erom sportsmen, excepl the destructiveness of the little ras- 

 cal, whose depredations among the nests of the ruffed 

 grouse, quail ami woodcock are a matter of serious consider- 



ate 



lie 



statement that if there' are any red squirrels ou the- opposite 

 side of the fiver from Camp B.lis that all the limber fiom 

 Hills Beach up the- river to We.-ti.rook is hunted over.almost 

 every day bva number of that part of the population kcown 

 as the small bov. of which 1 have no doubt there are a great 

 many in the large cities of Biddeford and Saco, only :i few 

 miles up the rive r. 



Sir. Hamilton also tells us that the wild pigeons are shot 

 in great, numbers. We liavc traveled the blueberry hinas 



