362 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



TDec 7 1882. 



$he gparfstiimt ^anriit. 



burdens bear, 

 h rock weeii, 



SOUTH-SOUTHERLY. 



ALL the coast in white Is cmcreii, 

 Dark-limberl pines 

 Boulders growing thick 



Ui.leheii.-afhiui icy fdare; 

 OUt heyomt, the V'lvt'.s arc surging, 



Dark aud slow they move along; 

 Vial the sea-breeze lulled and iiuiei 



Waits the coming of I be storm. 

 See! the suow-rlakes light descending, 



Floating down from leaden sky. 

 LI9tBH! o'er the waves a sound comes, 



Ah-ai-hil;; the old squaw's Oty-. 

 Low and mellow conies an answer 



Prom the Hock out in the bay. 

 A nd the si\ If I. bird hears the greeting. 



Turns and throws aloft the spray. 

 Warm his feathers, eheery-hearled. 



What cares he tor wintry cold- 

 (lay companion always welcomed; 



Feelings all in staging tolfl, 

 Ah-nr-hd-, as snow is fnllinjr, 



Clearly BOUniJe o'er all I he bay; 

 And the voices, floating shoreward 



Show how little care have tbev - 



-MARK West. 



IMPRESSIONS OF FLORIDA. 



IP sportsmen who write tip their adventures lot puhliea- 

 . tion Would only make a careful study of Emerson's Bssay 

 mi "The Superlative.' we might expects most happy result". 

 Such flaming head-lines as "The Hunter's Bonanza"' and the 

 "Sportsman s Paradise" would disappear from print, and 

 leaders would have more faith in spurting literature. The 

 extravagant lines above quoted headed a recent article de- 

 scribing a mountain resort with which 1 had been familiar 

 ■,,.., boyhood. I knew that the "shady pools filled with 

 trout-, the lofty forest teeming with deer-;' and a host of 

 other attractions, existed oniy in the imagination of the 

 writer. How different, is a writer who has recently unbur- 

 dened himself in these columns upon the subject, of Florida. 

 He apostrophizes that delectable region as the "land of tin 

 cans!' Let me bear witness that those simple words give 

 the reader a better idea of Florida than whole volumes he 



might read. 



With feelings aliin lo those which must have animated 

 the breast of Ponce de. Leon, when he pushed on in search 

 or the Fountain of Youth, 1 turned mv steps toward the game 

 laud last winter. A recent publication informed me that it. 

 was like "a land perpetually breathed upon by the airs of 

 Araby the blest.'' It also said (dial "one can five here more 

 cheaply, can enjoy more genuine luxuries, can obtain a 

 greater income from a smaller investment, and can sooner 

 secure a competency than in any other portion of North 

 America." if this were really true, we might expect to find 

 here the center of the earth's population; but. as we do not. 

 find it, we may reasonably assume (he falsity of the state- 

 ment, without 'troubling ourselves with proof. 



It is not my intention to state what 1 saw in Florida--! 

 wish rather to fell what. I did not see. This State is hai led as 

 auett Eden by two classes of beings very opposite in their 

 natures (1 shall not consider that, really sensible class who 

 think Florida a nice, warm place to spend the winter, but 

 who regret thai, they June to pay more for oranges there 

 than in Kew Yolk), 'First, then, w'e have the dreamers of 

 this life; people who, like thermometers, become buoyant 

 On a bright, warm day; people who become enraptured with 



red forests; romantic voting women, who recline 



in the warm sunshine, now and then raising their eves to 

 gaze upon the festooned arches, as the steamer .slowly 'stems 

 ■ ii current of the winding river. Florida is hap- 

 pily suited to these, if 1hey have the money to live at the 

 best hotels and travel on the best steamers. 



Secondly, we find a large class of Yankee .-.peculators who 

 are enthusiastic upon I he subject of Florida. We meet them 

 at every turn, and find them ever ready with u scheme to 

 make our fortune. Nol any for us. 



If we regard scenery as a combination of natural views, 

 containing both beauty and variety, we might almost say r 

 that Florida is without scenery. Variety is greatly want- 

 ing, and. indeed, most views present the monotony of a 

 prairie scene. Take, for instance, the Ocklasvalei ' Kiver. 

 'I'he. books tell us there is an ever-changing view, but we 

 found the principal change lo be that of the boats direc- 

 tion. We found no "banks covered with llowers," no "air 

 heavy with fragrance," and, in place of the tropical birds, 

 we saw only buzzards and (worse still) water tin Keys. This 

 river i- ICurlt It; B Ortby to be seen, but it is the most mo- 

 notonous stream in the world, barring a canal. To sec a 

 mile of if is to sec it all. 



The St. Johns River is not, to bo compared with Northern 

 rivers in scenery. You travel half a day, and wonder if the 

 banks will ever have their low, monotonous out lines broken. 

 With the exception of the width, (he whole lower St. Johns 

 looks alike. To wind through the intricate turnings of the 

 upper St, Johns is like navigating a canal through a New 

 Jersey swamp. Were it not for the oceasionafelunvps of 

 palmettocs one might readily imagine himself on the prairie. 

 Yet Ihe upper St. Johns otters the most interesting trip in 

 the State. Taking the ijiicer little' steamer Volusia at San- 

 ford, the sportsman may enjoy ,-oJiieihing entirely novel in 

 the way of traveling. Few men are so well fitted to navi- 

 gate this portion of the river as (he genial Captain Lund. 

 The man who can be captain, pilot and engineer, and who 

 can boss the hands and keep the passengers in a good humor 

 while the Volusia lies stuck in the mud, is a bos! indeed. 

 Prom the deck of the Volusia the tourist will sec the first 

 large 'gators he lias met with in Florida. Thousands of 

 birds are within sight during the dav. Upon arriving at Salt 

 Lake., the terminus of the. Volusia's voyage, one may fake, a 

 rowboat and catch bass by the bushel. I caught one here 

 weighing (en pounds. This also seems a favorite spot for 

 saurians. Their ugly heads pop up by the hundred. I give 

 it as my experience that there is no sport in shooting alliga- 

 tors. They are mostly sluggish in action, aud often allow 

 the steamer to pass "within' a few feel of them. They are 



:;, h killed, not withstanding the stories told to the con- 

 trary. 1 saw large one- killed with a rifle of thirty-two 

 caliber, 



The tourist, who has gone thus far will do well to cross over 

 to radian River eight miles from Salt Lake by wagon. This 

 region i, diets many at tract ions, ifs climate is not surpassed 



in the State, its fruit is superior to any other region. One 

 may pluck a ripe lemon, and close bv he will find fine oysters 

 to use it on. The Indian River affords a sail of ninety 

 miles, with game, fish and camping places in abundance. 



There are several strange lliings which are apt to strike 

 the attention of an observant, traveler in Florida. The 

 number of Yankees who have invaded this far-off Southern 

 clime, and who are engaged in putting it up, seems marvel- 

 ous. They inform you that you have only to plant seeds 

 and watch them grow into 'dollars; but they are always 

 willing to part with their bonanzas. Ln traveling through 

 the country settlements one is constantly making the mental 

 inquiry. What, in the name of heaven, do these people live 

 on'.' Save the oranges, which seem common to most homes, 

 one sees positively 'nothing eatable. Of course there are 

 some who by means of industry and money have converted 

 their habitations into somelhi'ng approaching civilization. 

 As has been pointed out, by a former correspondent, Florida 

 is not a paradise, but rather a "land of tin cans." The 

 poor man who settles there will find his small capita) rapidly 

 disappearing in the necessaries of life, while he is wailing 

 for a revenue from his orange grove. 



Readers of these lines may conclude thai a trip in Florida 

 will not pay, but it is not my intention to create such an 

 impression. Many places offer sport unsurpassed elsewhere, 

 and if one meets with weather nol warm enough to ener- 

 vate, he may enjoy a pleasant trip, A day's shooting in the 

 bracing air of the North gives one a buoyancy of spirits 

 which can never be known in Florida, * Shooting quail 

 under a burning sun. and over panting dogs, is nol the best 

 sport to be found. Sycamore. 



Baltimore, Mar yland. 



BIRCH AND PADDLE 



US NEW BRUNSWICK WATEliS, — SECOND FAP.EI1, 



NE important Cad must not remain unmentioued — a 



fact that, greatly conduced to our enjoyment of Hotel 



idling the flies. Among 



.mips of pitch, and they, 



O 



Squatook — w 

 our odds and 

 melted down 

 sable coiupou 

 a long way. 

 On our fit 



with a due proportion of butter, gave us a 

 nd, of which a very little was calculated to go 

 Thereafter we ceased to consider the flics. 



,g at Hotel Squatook we betook our- 



selves immediately after breakfast to tlu; whitetish barrie 

 before mentioned. While fortune aud many fine fish were 

 rewarding our endeavors, Sam, sitting on the Stakes, threw 

 back his rod carelessly for a fresh cast, ft was a slovenly 

 movement, and bis leader, touching the water an instant he- 



ight* 



Th 



«t niggling to 1 

 same treacher. 

 ing at the nois 

 a nee, and 



unexpected lug 

 ent, and the languid 

 perch. He tried to 

 We heard a choked 

 illy Sam reappeared 

 iding up on those 

 Tnrn- 



hind him, wat 



was vigorous; it came at a critical 

 fisherman was toppled off his u 

 shout— "Hooked him!"— presuma 

 ■11 only and a heavy splash, and 

 lefully. I 



I engrossed ill my occupation. 1 

 it sight of Sam's eccentric perl" 

 guffaw more comfortably and more 

 derisively I took a step backward. R was but ii single step 

 — alas, how easy the first step in a Wrong direction: But, 

 the whole dread" consequence of this fttuct ,«<> became at once 

 apparent; 1 sat me down in four feel of Squatook water, 

 effectually quenched. As my heels vanished over the 

 stake-tops Sam beheld and was comforted. Moreover, lie 

 succeeded in landing his fish, which went a good twenty- 

 four ounces. 



That afternoon we went a few hundred yards down 

 stream, to a spot where, after rushing in white-capped 

 tumult through a gloomy channel, the river broadens fan- 

 like out and" breaks over a low fall into a pool of quiet. 

 waters. The pool is wide and deep, girdled with a gray 

 confusion of rock. Over the black surface fleecy masses 

 of froth were wheeling sullenly, creamy bubble-clusters ed- 

 died awhile aud vanished; while here at a dapping bough 

 and there at a jutting trunk a flock of these light waifs 

 would gather and cling. How our hearts leaped at the 

 sight! Behold us soon waist-deep around the margin of the 

 pool, or braced on the very lip of the fall. The surface is 

 lushed in three or four places at once by the struggles of the 

 speckled beauties against the slow inexorable reels. Our 

 excitement is intense but silent, lis only expression is the 

 teera measured determined click, or its thrilling swift rattle 

 as the. taut line cuts the water and the rod bends and bends. 

 A large fish has taken Sam's drop aud is 

 spent across the basin. The leader trail- 

 a shining swirl beside it, a strike, and at . t . 

 the very monarch of the pool flashes out, then darts like 

 lightning down stream. Now, gallant fisherman, hold 

 thine own! How glorious the strife with two such prizes 

 to win! We forget our own rods, and the contest, is keenly 

 watched; more than once his reel is all but empty. For ten 

 minules the result is doubtful. Then, reluctantly, victory 

 declares itself for Ihe lithe rod and Ihe skillful wrist. At 

 ihc examination of the spoils this trout was pre-eminent, 

 going two pounds eight ounces. There was but one. larger 

 fish captured on the trip, and this honor fell, two days later, 

 to Ranolf's fortunate hand. There are other fislung grounds J 

 here a trout of two and a half pounds is not by any 



by 



■eled half- 

 There is 



ritv. In s 



Miramichi, as the Sevi . 

 of catching a four-pounde 

 though with me, of a truth 

 triumph has so far been m.i 

 nient of it. But in the Sip 

 of size is unusually high, a 

 taintv which is so great ad 

 The Squatook I rout are 

 lusty and not too fastidiotl: 

 and freshness of the eounti 

 the very forest, primeval 



of the tributa 



Ta 



«T neighbors of tl: 

 lusmtac, the hope 



bly be indulged; 

 to indulge the hope of such a 

 icaivst approach to the achievc- 

 took and the Toletli the average 

 1 there is little of (hat uncer- 

 iw back in the Miramichi fishing. 

 ways on hand, provided with 

 appetites. Then the wildness 

 . For the most part you are in 

 Only here and there has the de 



ccratiug lumberman spread his ravages before you. For 

 seven days after leaving Tom Lynch and Griffin on the 

 shores of Mud Lake we met no human being save an Indian 

 trapper on his founds. The sportsman a thirst for "fresh 

 fields and pastures new',' if he do but take with him some 

 experience and a good deal of "slilheroo," will surely not 

 repent of having done the Squatook. 



During our stay at this place we made a careful survey of 

 the falls, and decided that they were in reality a more awk- 

 ward obstacle than they appeared, With accurate manage- 

 ment a canoe could pass down on the extreme right; by the 

 aid of half a miracle a passage might bead 



l the center awaited 



r light craft with no shadow of compunction. 



e were confident, little guessing what the ma- 



left, while 



demolish 

 Ilowevei 

 licious fi 

 Ouv hist night at Hotel Squatook was varied by a grue- 



ng i 



some experience. In my sleep a hand was laid upon my 

 arm, and I sat bolt upright, in the dark. Groping T per- 

 ceived that Sam was sitting up also, and had leaned across W. 

 B.to awake me. Graspiugmy shoulderasif to enforce silence 

 he muttered "Hark!" I heard nothing but a slow wind in 

 the pines. But, presently, my flesh crept, as from up the 

 lake came a long, wavering, terrible howl, half brutal, half 

 human, as of a tortured madman. I shuddered, and with a 

 suppressed groan Sam said "Ugh h-h' did sou ever hear the 

 like of that? It's Cerberus bioke loose, and we've got no 

 cakes! 1 wonder would he eat hardtack!" But we reached 

 for our guns, and kept vigil then, without waking the 

 others, for more than half an hour. But hearing nothing 

 more of it we were at last reassured and went to sleep. The 

 three whom we had watched over, not inviting them to share 

 in the music of this sweet-voiced being, laughed at our story 

 next flay. But before many nights had passed they were 

 converted from their skepticism. 



Bidding Hotel Squatook a reluctant farewell, with ail 

 things snugly packed in our good canoes, we slipped through 

 the whitetish barrier, sped rapidly down Ihe chafing current, 

 aud almost before we could rub our eyes- were in the angry 

 sluice above the- fall, stranion's canoe, being ahead, made 

 for the easier right hand passage, we following closely. But 

 a sunken tree disturbed his calculations and checked him 

 right in our path. There was no help for it, so Ranolf 

 drove us with all his strength for ihe left channel, down 

 which we leaped wildly in breathless uncertainty. But the 

 doubt was soon solved. A htrge rock was lying in wait at 

 the foot of the leap, covered, luckily for our craft, with an 

 oozy growth of water weeds and" mosses. This we just 

 failed to avoid. The canoe rose upon it, paused and turned 

 over, discharging us into the current, fustaullv the surface 

 of the pool was diversified with floating paddles, poles, tent- 

 pins, tin kettle*, box covers, etc., and Stranion and W. B. 

 were, busy capturing all these articles in an edd y below. 

 We got ihe canoe ashore, righted her, and proceeded to dive 

 for spoons. Our heavy valuables, guns and the like, were 

 lashed to the canoe, and therefore got. no worse than a 

 wetliug. but our axe had been left loose, and some iff our 

 spoons were in the iron pot which, though itself secured, 

 had lost its cover aud ceased to be responsible for its con- 

 tents. The axe we regained, the water here not he 

 than five or six feet dee)), but at mealtimes from th 

 dragged a maimed existence, sharing one another's spoons 

 The meal and rice were a part of our lading, and the tobacco 

 as well. For this last we felt no uneasiness, congratulating 

 ourselves that it was in a waterproof tin. We didn't open 

 it at the time, because there was enough for the day's needs 

 in the other canoe. But the meal was mush, the rice already 

 commencing to swell, and many otlier articles in a lnment- 

 able condition. Henceforth w'c were to have no porridge, 

 no fritters, only beans, beans, beans and hard biscuit to go 

 with our trout and canned delicacies. And this meant dinner 

 three times B daj , instead of the pleasant sequence of break- 

 fast, dinner aud tea. We embraced this opportunity to fill 

 up our pipes, and wcie much cheered with the sight of 

 Ranolf diligently endeavoring to scratch wet matches on his 

 somewhat moist nether garments. 



After a Uriel delay spent in examining our canoe and re- 

 pairing its damage-, which were fortunately slight, we con- 

 tinued our journey down the river. An exciting day it was 

 all through, leaving us well tired out at evening. 'Taking 

 care now to preserve a safe distance between the canoes, we 

 slipped on swiftly between ever-varying shores. Rounding 

 a sharp turn we would see before us' a slope of angry water, 

 with huddled waves and frequent rocks, and at, the' foot of 

 this slope, some hundred- yards ahead, three or four great 

 white "ripples" foaming and roaring in the sun. Then a 

 season of stern restraint, strong checkings, strenuous thrust 

 ings, sudden, bold dashes and hair-breadth evasions a plunge 

 and a cheer, and, drenched from the. crest of that last "rip 

 pie," we look back on the raging incline behind us. This 

 sort of thing took place not once, nor twice, bvtt many times 

 through that clay, and always unexpectedly. When we 

 stopped to rest, or for lunch, the trout, were always "=1 hand 

 to receive us, and no one pool was like its predecessor. The 

 whole day afforded us richest, variety in scenery, in adven- 

 ture, and in sport. 



Late in the afternoon we reached (he second Squatook 

 Liikc, called Sugar Loaf Lake from the noble mountain that 

 dominates it and is reflected in its deep, still waters. On 

 three sides the shores of this lake rise gradually and to no 

 great, height, mantled with a low. second growth of birch 

 and poplar. But on the northeast towers the mountain from 

 the water's edge, its base in a cedar swamp and muffled with 

 dense woods, its lofty, conical summit that topples toward 

 the lake as though it had received a violent push from be- 

 hind, veiled and softened with thick blueberry bushes and 

 low shrubbery. Close by and under, thrust* up from the 

 deepest lake-bottom, a high rocky island stands a satellite 

 to the mountain. This island is entirely made- up of rock- 

 layers, lilted and contorted and rent in every direction, the 

 strata for the most part, indeed, set square on edge, and 

 cedars and birches finding root in the Crevices. Here we 

 pitched our tent with difficulty ; and our bones were con- 

 scious 01 the rocky foundation even through deep piles of 

 cedar boughs. 



On the morrow Sam and Ranolf, indomitable lishermeu, 

 devoted themselves to the destruction of the finny tribes 

 of the lake, while Stranion. W. B.. and the writer un- 

 dertook the ascent of Sugar Loaf. We set, out, armed to 

 the teeth, remembering that, [wars abounded in this region. 

 They gave us way, however, and avoided our sight though 

 their traces were recent aud numerous. Indeed a greal 

 part of the ascent we at CQinpiished with compari 1 , , 

 by following a well-beaten bear-tiack which led up 1 

 terrace or plateau near the summit. This tenu.ee, it ap- 

 peared, was the bears' fru.il garden, yielding a rich crop of 

 luscious blueberries, for which Bruin has a marked pen- 

 chant. We helped ourselves liberally, though with some 

 trepidation, and heard nothing more of it. At length, breath- 

 less, torn, dripping, and exhausted, altera three hour- eli.,,1, 

 we vanquished the height, aud threw (an-,!-, i sl ,„ rie 

 on the narrow, naked level of the summit. Her - a delicious 

 wind was blowing frc.-hly. from which, as WOll a- from the 

 wouderful scene spread out below us, We drank in new life. 

 No lack of oxygen up here, and our blood ran redlv and 

 vigorously, kotowing we would be thirsty after so difficult 

 a climb, we had taken care to bring fia-ks of wine and 

 water with us. Close round the mountain's base were lower 

 hills, with lakes and water courses, or "thorougbj uri 

 encircling them; and we could trace our later da\ a journey 

 ings, looking strangely unfamiliar at this height, Giving 

 our vision a wider sweep, on every side rose moioua US. 

 There were visible the Laurentian Hills, on the north bank 

 of the St. Lawrence, and in the opposite direction Bald 



