Dec. 88, 



Forest and stream. 



423 



had a good deal lit" till :uor in him. Tuesday morning we 

 gotofl I even and continued our course down 



[be river, Aficrauiileor.no the horsemen left us, as they 

 had lo strike tuross (lie mountains westward, so We ahenl- 

 i ■,■ it our packs and inarched off to Turkey Creek, a mile 

 further >ui, 



Au hour's rapid walking up the creek look us to the sec- 

 ond forte, and ik!" tin ie another hour of up-hill work 

 brought OS 10 tiki top Of the mountain. Part of this region 

 hud been bunil over, and the signs of game were not as mi- 

 ni. rous ..is on Straight Greek. At a little before eleven we 

 reached the umita houseon the river, where we found one 

 of tilts young Hammonds living, 



This' m-e'r i- the same stream' we U»£fc-al tire month of 

 Spruce Greek the day before, but we wore now iwelveor 

 fifteen miles further down stream, A fti-r looking at it huge 

 bearskin wliich Hammond showed us, we wept on by the 

 mouth of the South Fork, and got to old Jews Hammond's 

 idiout noon. Much lo my regret, 1 found that .less had gone 

 bear hunting and was not at home, II had hern raining for 

 au hour or two before thin and we were pretty wet and 

 rather hungry. We waded through the mud to the door of 

 the little iog house— the mansion boasting but one room, 

 with a sort of lolt. overhead, and a rude poreh floored with 

 puncheons across the back— and found the inmates just sil- 

 ling down to dinner. I asked whether Mr, Hammond was 

 at home, and was sorry to bear his wife say, "No. .less ain't 

 home; he's gone out to look for some- b'ar'sign. it's a pity 

 ra hadn't a-coine a. little sooner and found him at home; 

 he'd a-Iikcd lo a-gOUC om with ye." Hut 1 was not at all 

 .-ii ry to hear her add, "I reckon you men 'II be a-wnntin' 

 some dinner. Walk in and sit down, We hain't got rnueh, 



but you're weloTia.- lo so -It as it is." 



Wesal down. '"It" proved to be roast 'eoon, and now 



fit was thai I understood eleurly Ike meaning of a peculiar 

 expression in the eye of old Mrs. Hammond as she saw us 

 suddenly appear at lnv doorway. II said as plainly as any- 

 thi lg could: 



"By Zeus! Two si rangers and only one 'eoon for dinner!" 

 1 can tell you. I hough, that same 'eoon was a nioruster, 

 and wi'h huge chunks of corn bread, made of good, sound 

 yellow meal (to which white meal is as sawdust), afforded 

 us it substantial repast, while a little was left, for the family. 

 Tli • latter consisted, as well as w« could ascertain, of Mrs. 

 Jlanvitond, a married daughter with her baby; a gir] of 



f about fifteen, one of twelve, and an irrespresihlc boy of an 

 uncertain age. All occupied the OIMJ room, in which they 

 cooked, ate and slept, unless possibly tin- younger children 

 wen; relegated to the loft. Alter dinner, we lit our pipes, 

 and as the rain continued to fall steadily, sat down to talk 

 and rcsi. 



Three young men now turned up, big stout fellows of 

 from 18 to 21 years old; one was a sou of Jess Hammond, 

 the others nephews. The face of one of these seemed 

 familiar to me, but I could not tell why. 



Presently this one addressed D18. ' I mind of seeing yon 

 a fori;.'' 



"l\s." said 1, "where?" 

 * ' I seed you on the Middle Prong once about five years 

 ago, when the old man and some of us was camped on; up 

 thai-. I was only about, sixteen then. Don't you mind 

 seem" a boy along that time'! 1 mind 'you had "on a gold 

 watch; is that the same one you've got oh now'/" 



"W." 1 replied, "I have carried il a good many years." 

 •1 mind Of nearfn' Jess tell about that watch," chimed in 

 the old woman. "He said one time he seed a feller up the 

 Middle Prong, didn't have but one arm, and had on a gold 

 watch. Times in the winter when they'd be sittin' 'round 

 the tire o' nights and ait a talkiu' about their watches, Jess 

 iid say, 'I hem aint like the watch I seed on that feller up 

 the Middle Prom.', his was reel cold.' I reckon you're that 

 feller, aint you?"' 



'Pete's got a watch," put iu one of the three. 



I asked to see it, and Pole pioduced a huge silver watch 

 to which was attached a stout steel chain. 



"What time does it get dark now by your watch, Col- 

 onel'.'" drawled my old acquaintance, 



"Get dark? Ah, 1 don't know. 1 have not thought 

 about it. I suppose about rive o'clock, or somewhere along 

 there ; the days are getting short now, you know." 



"it don't git dark by" Pete's watch till ha-1-f-p-a-s-t- 

 s-e-v-e-n." 



"Half-pas! -seven :'' cried I, "Goodness, Pete, that will 

 never do. Run outside and gel a hitch on it with a log 

 chain and wind it up. Set it back a couple of hours. Half- 

 past seven, indeed, and November already here." 



A the watch was set back, and the conversation drifted 



othi 

 Thei 



Oples. 



"i tli to load it, and I am sorry 

 citable idea of so grievously 

 resaid incorrigible as that he 

 •r brthering anybody 

 ichester earl ridges, but these 



ng aien had been "oyer to Elk," lo a slorc some 

 thirteen miles off', and when they came in, brought. 

 burdens, consisting apparently of shoes, coffee and tobacco. 

 A rush was made lor the Lust as soon as produced, and 

 the old woman made an equitable distribution of pieces to 

 each and all according to size and age; even the small boy 

 got a piece. Now this boj had not been idle all (his while, 

 lie had bored first me and then Harmon, to "make a touch 

 hole" iu a certain hollow slick he had, of which he purposed 

 making a cannon to lie tired off at the front door. Harmon 

 gave him some powder wherev 

 to say with, I think, the cha 

 wounding and hurling the afc 

 should be debarred from turth 



I contributed a couple of Wi 

 he immediately carried off and hid away as a sort of curious 

 and cunning thing to be taken out in secret and worshipped 

 or made much of like some of the old Peruvian Huaetis. 

 The old woman's attention was at last, drawn to some of the 

 boy's performances, and having seen ihe way in which the 

 Winchester operated— for the young men would not be sat- 

 isfied until we bad tried the eun at a mark — she suddenly 

 became alarmed lest the cartridges should prove to be infer- 

 nal machines which would go olT at some unexpected mo- 

 ment, and thus addressed the youth; 



"Now you a'inf been a askin' the Colonel for them car- 

 tridges, hev you? Tou ought to be ashamed of voursclf. 

 Don't you know the man wants them for his gun?" 



" Well. Ihe man give 'em to me. He said I could have 

 'em. They won't hurl nothin'. " 



I assured the old lady that 1 had plenty of ammunition, 

 but she seemed hurt by the boy's want of politeness. "1 

 declare nOw 't seems '.-' if ye hainl cot no manners at all, to 

 be a-botherin' and a-pesteriu' I hem men that way, Let the gen- 

 tlemen alone and behave yourself." Then addressing me, 

 "Well now, Colonel, did you ever see sich a boy as That? 

 I declare 1 hardly know what in Ihe world to do' with him 

 sometimes; il seems like th_-re aint no way to manage him. 

 What do you reckon now you'd do with sfch a boy?" 



" My dear madam," 1 replied, " nothing is simpler. The 

 boy is not a bad boy, I should manage him without the 

 least trouble." 



"Ye would? Well now!" 



" Certainly, lu the msrning 1 would cut a coQpl&ofgood 

 dogwood gads; one of these I would wear out ou him before 

 dinner, the other after; 1 think there would be no trouble at 

 ail after that, Sfou see (he cartridges I gave him are per- 

 fectly harmless. The most he ean do when he puis them in 

 his mouth, will he to bite on the little cap in the end and so 

 blow the top of his head off. " 



"Has he got them things in his mouth? Great goodness!" 

 and there was an immediate rush for the boy. i'le opened 



his mouth. II was empty. The cartridges had been nut 

 away in some seei el nook olsewbere. Comparative order 

 reigned once more. Theu a fiddle was produced, and the 

 young men played. All ihe Hammonds are born fiddlers, 

 and the dance music was not. ill played, 



it had become evident to me that there was not room 

 enough in the Hammond mansion for us to spend the 

 night there, so, after some apologies from -Mrs. Hammond 

 for not being able lo extend us a- much hospitality as she 

 wanted to. we shouldered our packs and trudged off in the 

 rain for Mullins's, a mile and a half down the^ river, ou the 

 opposite bank, Arrived opposite his clearing we halloed, 

 and a small boy put us over the river in a dug- 

 out. To the question whether he could keep us all 

 night or not, Mullins said, "1 don't never turn no one 

 away." So we unslumr our packs, and entering the house, 

 stowed them and our guns in a corner and made ourselves 

 at home. 



The Hotel Mulllns was built of small round logs, almost 

 poles, and boasted but one room, of which one side was 

 taken up by two beds, while the opposite side contained a 

 dilapidated stone fireplace. Pacing the door was a small 

 square window, and beside it a rude shelf or two, whereon 

 a few cups, plates, etc., made up Ihe scanty household table 

 service. There were a tabic, a couple of chairs, and two or 

 three empty "bee gums," for 1'uruilurc The prospect was 

 not a very inviting one, hut, there was present one thing 

 which made amends for much that was lacking-— we hail 

 a hearty welcome. 



These poor people who could give iu, no belter supper than 

 "hOed" cabbage, coffee and com dodger, were glad to see 

 us; glad to be able to give us meals and a bed; all that they 

 had was at our service. 



Harmon soon discovered that Muffins and he had come 

 from the Mime county so there was no lack of interest in their 

 conversation. The mistress of the mansion was for some time 

 after our meal engaged in cleaning the dishes, making Up bread 

 and other like occupations, standing with her back to us. 



At intervals she turned and addressed me with stories of 

 her children, or neighbors, the point of which was lest in 

 the rattle of pans and cups as she weut to work again, or 

 drowned by the. voice of Mullins as he prosed awn\ to 

 Harmou some long-winded recollection of some ancient 

 worthy of their acquaintance. 



In the midst of his wife's "Njw don't you think Colonel 

 um-um-um, etc," and "Wouldn't any one ha done the same?" 

 towdiich, not knowing about what, or to wliom the questions 

 referred, I answered at random "Certainly. Von were 

 perfectly right," or "Very singular if any one would not do 

 just so," Mullins, suddenly as it were, aware of what, his wife 

 was doing, broke in with ' 'There now r , let the man alone. 

 The Colonel don't want to be bothered with all tfiem old 

 tides. Hush now I say! Don't let us have no more of it." 



This produced its intended effect for about two minn es, 

 when the wife began again and Mullins administered a 

 second reproof . This weut on all the evening, the old man 

 always winding up his rebuke with "Hush now 1 say, 

 hush!" broken only by a, temporary absence of Mullins and 

 the boy who went lo the mill to grind some meal for break- 

 fast. 



In the region of which 1 am writing there are no roads, 

 and the few inhabitants have as a rule each a mill for his 

 own use. An upright shaft of wooil is turned by a home- 

 made wheel at its foot and carries a stone on its top for run- 

 ner; as stone and shaft I urn together, the grinding is rather 

 slow. 



A few sheets of bark keep the top gear dry; and I hat is Ihe 

 mill. 



At a fairly reesocable hour we went to bed. Harmon and 

 I occupied one of the two beds, while the children slept on 

 the floor. Mullins wax so occupied in talking over old times 

 with Harmon, that he,, of course, forgot to bring in any wood 

 to be ready for the morning fire. "I woke as 1 always do 

 when in camp, very early. The rain was still falling' in a 

 desultory sort of way and a faint glow from the coals In the 

 fireplace gave an indistinct view of the cabin's interior. 

 After a while Mrs. Mullins awoke and sat up in bed for half 

 an hour, then she began, ".Mu'dius! Mullins! Get up and 

 fix the fire. ' 



"Hush, now," was the reply, "vou'll wake them men up. " 

 Well, but Mullins. 1 must' have lire to git breakfast " 



"Well, 1 say, hush! Don't make so much noise." 



"Now Mullins, you know I've got the rheumatics that 1 

 can't git no wood.' Git up now' and git some wood and 

 build up a fire, them men '11 he a vau'tin' their breakfast 

 audit must be a gettin' on towards morning. 1 ' 



"Hush now about the wood, I tell you. Them men wants 

 to sleep. Don't bother me no more about it," A( last Mul- 

 hns got up. and half awake, blundered out. in his bare feet, 

 to the wood pile, picked up a few sticks and bringing them 

 in, stuck them on end in the tire place to dry, while he 

 started a blaze with some kindling left in one 'corner by a 

 happy accident. Then he crawled into bet! again and was 

 soon fast asleep. 



Mis. Mullins got up and was presently busy about break- 

 fast. An hour passed on, Harmon roused up and finning 

 me awake said good morning. 



Then we greeted Mrs. Mo'llins and asked what sort of 

 weather there was, discovering, what we already kliew, that, 

 it was pilch dark outside and "still raining. 



When the children rolled up their quilt and blanket and 

 stuffed them under our bed, lea ving I he floor clear for the table, 

 we thought of breakfast and were soon dressed and sitting 

 by the fire, meditating on the depth of the mud we should 

 have to yva.de through" from the house to the creek to wash. 

 While thus engaged Mullins arose, and after silling before 

 the fire a few minutes, got up aud as though seized With an 

 idea, went out. He soon returned and thing something 

 down on the floor of the porch .as he name. 



"Now, what's that, Mullins?" said his wife, who had taken 

 advantage of his absence, to begin setting the table. 

 "A chicken." 



"You ain't gone and killed a chicken?" 

 "Yes, I hev." 



"Well 1 declare, Mullins, you are too bad, why didn't you 

 tell me vou was a goin' to kill a chicken?" 



"Hush, now! hush, 1 say! 1 want n chicken for break 



fast." 



"Why I done biled the cabbage a'ready and the coffee's 

 made Them men wants their eafin', they don'f want to be 

 a waitin' so long." 



"Well, I say hush now! Don't make so much noise about 

 it," 



"Bui the chicken's got to be li.xed. Mullins, and 1 had 

 breakfast all ready, It's a shame lo keep them men so ong 

 without a bile. What kind of chicken did you kill?" 



"1 killed a rooster." 



"0 Q-O-OOl HOW We aill't tot bUt one lousier." exclaimed 

 the boy, 



"Well, one rooster's enough," growded the old man, "it 

 woiddu't mailer if they was every one killed." Then turn- 

 ing to me, "I tell you Colonel, chickens is a terrible nuisance 

 about a place. There's no tclliti' what amount of grain and 

 stuff they'll destroy and scratch up, they're always in some- 

 thing Pd like to get rid of Ihe last one of them.''' 



""Vou ain't a thinkin' about what you're a-sayin', Mulling. 

 Briug in the chicken aud let me be a-fi.xin' it," The chicken 

 was produced and t he boy handed it to his mother, who, 

 after a glance at it let it slip from her nerveless grasp to the 

 table and with a voice and look of horror exclaimed, "Laws 

 if be ain't, gone and killed the old black hen." 



"O-o-o-oo !" cried the Arthur Sullivan chorus boy again, 

 "what '11 we do for eggs?" 



"O, Mullins! what ever made you gO and kill the old 

 hen, and she a-layin' regular up there in "the loft. Couldn't 

 ye get no rooster?" 



-Well, I thought it was a rooster." 



"Why, don't ye know no better than to kill an old hen 

 for a rooster?" 



"Now hush about your chickens! Isavhush! Don't 

 lei 1 ., hear no more about it," 



The opportunity, however, was too good an one for either 

 Ihe old woman or the boy to let slip, and they kept up such 

 a display of grief at the death of the old hen', and of admi- 

 ration for Mullins's rare judgment inselecting a chicken for 

 breakfast, that he was fain to beat a retreat. After a short 

 absence he came in and flung something down as before. 



The old woman started up in dismay. "What's that? 

 You ain't never gone and killed another chicken, Mullins?" 



"Yes, I have; an' 1 don't want to hear no more about it, 

 neither " 



"I declare, 1 don't know what a, body's to do," moaned 

 Ihcwifc; "here's breakfast been a-waitin', the cabbage done 

 biled an hour ago, an' 1 had the old hen ready to cook." 



"Don't you hear me say- hush!" roared the old man. 

 ' ' nush ! 1 say, and don't let me hear a thing of it . The 

 Colonel don't want to hear no more about the chicken. I'll 

 have ye trained agin two more gentlemen conies here 

 visitin'." 



This was as much as I could stand, and I fled away to 

 the creek to wash. With all the delays, our morning mwil 

 was over early, and we were ready to start no! very long 

 after daylight' 



On our way to the river bank, Mullins's daughter-in-law, 

 who lived near bv, met us and asked me whether 1 could 

 kill a wild chicken for her. I said I thought I could if she 

 would point out, the bird. She soon discovered the fowl, a 

 restless rooster, which ran when lie espied her approaching, 

 hut allowed me, a stranger, to get within twenty-five yards 

 of him, when a Winchester cartridge decapitated him, and 

 amid her thanks and the applause of the others, we heat a 

 retreat to the canoe and were ferried over by the boy. We 

 stopped a few minutes at Jess Hammonds'* to say goodbye 

 to our entertainers of the previous day, and then'strnck our 

 course for the (south Pork, We traveled very fast, and by 

 noon had reached "Big Beechy," a good trout stream which 

 enters Ihe South Pork from the Black Mountainside, in 

 1875 I had camped there one night with my brother, in an 

 old bark shanty of the Hammonds, but of this all traces 

 were gone, and the little opening in which it stood was all 

 grown up with briers. We crossed the creek, built a lire 

 under a large overhanging rock, antl ate our dinner; then 

 we pushed on as fast as we could, and, to shorten our 

 tramp, took to a bench high up the mountain, so as to avoid 

 Ihe many windings of Die stream. By this course we saved 

 some two miles, and at 8:10 o'clock found ourselves at an- 

 other camp of the bear hunters, where 1 had first met them 

 several years before. 



The shanty they had occupied there had disappeared, but 

 we found another one roofed with split basswood puncheons, 

 very dilapidated and grown up inside and out with briers 

 and' weeds. We concluded, and rightly, as it turned out, 

 that this camping place must have been deserted for some 

 new one, but as I.did not care to go further that night, I 

 decided to camp there, so we cleared away the briers and 

 brush from about the camp. cut. a fine lot 'of wood, built a 

 good fire, cooked and ate a good supper, and after Ihe usual 

 smoke and talk, slept soundly until early morning. We left 

 camp at seven o'clock, and for variety started out by the 

 creek bottom instead of taking to the benches at once as we 

 had the afternoon before. Harmon's gun was an old rattle- 

 trap "mountain rifle," a muzzle-loader, stocked all the 

 length and uncertain ill its action, so thai I never felt quite 

 sun- whether il would go off or not when 1 saw him fumb- 

 ling with the trigger. We were going through a little 

 grassy opening at the edge of the bottom next the hill about 

 half "an hour after we left camp, when I saw Harmon raise 

 his gun, and not looking in the direction he pointed it, I 

 turned to see the pheasant, at which I supposed he « as as 

 usual tiyiug to get a shot, fly away, when to my astonish- 

 ment, at the crack of the piece, down came a fawn from 

 the hillside and lay bawling on the grass with the dog hold 

 of it. A ball through the head" from the Winehester 

 finished it, and we at once proceeded to arrange our parks. 

 We had now just what we wanted, a small deer not too 

 heavy lo carry with us and eat from. We could not have 

 used a large deer, and probably Would not have shot one 

 had we seen it. I was simply bent on getting fresh air and 

 exercise, and looking over the ground for a possible future 

 fisiiing r hunting trip, and did not hunt at all this expedi- 

 tion. The small deer therefore just suited us as an addition 

 to our provisions. The things in Harmon's pack we put all 

 into mine, giving me a pretty good load, and he took the 

 deer, cleaned ami made up knapsack fashion, with the skin 

 of the legs for st raps, en his shoulders. Thus equipped we 

 resumed our journey. The day was as the others had been, 

 cloudy sometimes, misty sometimes, with a drizzling rain 

 falling, but toward noon simply dark and cloudy. We soon 

 left the creek and took again to the mountaiu side, where 

 we had good walking. We passed the new camp of the, 



