604 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



LJas . S3. 



I100S in my left hand and found that UiehooS was firmly 

 imbedded in the angle of his jaw, tlve shank standing out at 

 rigb.1 angle". 1 Mmknl lii« ridden si.li^ ; is he !ny calmly on 

 i.lie surface without moving n. tin. It was ft redfish of fully 

 thirty pound? 1 then tried to insert my hand under his 

 gni-coVer, whenle gave his head a sudden flirt, broke the 

 lunik in my hum I and sinwly sunk Inward the bottom. 1 

 ■ M,i , I, , |, -,;-ii. mi m i! my limit, mid saw my wife with 

 clasped t u 1 1 j , 1 -■ ..ra/ing with loneing eyes al the slowly disap- 

 pearing mass oi red gold. 



'It's too had to lose Mm!" u aid she. 



'Mv deal', we don I want him, I only hopa he may live 

 , me brother angler as much sport us he gave me ' 



Wi -].enl i wo more weeks on Indian River :ia<l its tribu- 

 taries, goingdowit as far us Fort Capron and the inlet op 

 posite .in.i hti-l Diauy delightful experiences, lishing, hunt- 

 iting and collecting curious and marine specimens, 

 and foisting on fish, e une, oysti >■-. i rails, turtle, oranges, 



bananas, gtmvas, etc.,' i-|, •. As (Ida Was but ■•in cvpcriiiicn 



tal or.trial trip of the Rambler, we returned to Titusvtlle. 



Urs. Bishop departedfor Lake Worth, and Mr. and 



Air-. Mayor and my wife returned to Jacksonville and tlie 



North. 



We mm begau onr Bual preparations tor our cruise 

 around tin e,.:i-i m i vdar Keys. Many of the boatmen on 

 ihr 1 1 vi r did not believe we wen serious in onr intentions, 

 as a voyage around the peninsula had never been under- 

 taken by any boat from that section, The} were Quite .con 



i: ill ' i further than Jupiter, or 



Lake \\ orlh. Sirangc to say, though, there was not one to 



• ' vices to -nil the boat on this -'big voyage," while 



in" :i ran down to Jupiter a dozen would have offered, 

 whose knowledge of seamanship, from their own account, 

 tl I the circumnavigation of the globe, Tin 

 Lake Worth boatmen, however, who made occasionallrips 

 iu tliti summer to Key Largo and Key West, were not so in- 

 credulous, but looked upon the. enterprise with doubt and 

 suspicion, and forebodings of evil and disaster. But out 



al'norwas not In be. dampened, nor our enthusiasm quenched 

 by any amount of blue water; and if the Rambler held to- 

 gether, we had B crew thai would not desert her. 



The Rambler was a small schooner, thirty-lour feet, in 

 length, ten feet beam, and drawing two feel all; the bottom 



i all round, with a good clean bow, and storit cut away 

 somewhat like the .sharpie. She was strongly built,, a good 

 sailor, -with n clean run, though rather -low' with cruising 

 rig, but » dryer boat never plowed salt water. The cabin 

 was quite roomy, eight by fifteen feet, with four nud a half 

 feet head room.' The crew consisted of the "Squire" aud 

 ".lack" of Connecticut, '-Buck" of Texas, the "Skipper,"' 

 myself, and "Cuff," Cuff was the Skipper's dog, a cross 

 between setter and hound, and a good all 'round dug on 

 deer, turkey and quail. The Skipper was to sail the Ram- 

 bler as Ear as Jupiter, at the foot of Indian River, where I 

 was to take command and sail her by Chart, compass and 

 dead reckoninc down the Atlantic coast, to Key West, thence 

 up the Gulf const to Cedar Key.-. As [ fully described In- 

 dian River aud the country below in the Foke's r and Stream 

 several years ago. I will not devote much space to that sec- 

 tion in the c papers. 



At length, on the morning of January 10. J8H2, with a 

 southeast wind and oio-e-hauled. we departed from Titus- 

 ville. As we trait hounding along, Jack, who .frequently 

 "drops into poetry" when th< tcaai « is fitting, stood upon 

 the cabin roof and melodramatically exclaimed: 



And th.- muv.-s lioniul 1,,-1,,-uili mi- ssasli-ed 

 rim knows Ms rider. Welcome to the ■■our'." 

 His friend, the Squire, more matter-of-fact, and somewhat 

 slangy, said: "Oh, take a tumble, and give us a rest!' 



But Jack, with the spirit strong upon him, and with "the 

 poet's eye in fine fren/y railing,*' continued J 



"I am as a weed, 

 u Ocean's foam to sail 

 ,y sweep, i lie tempest's breath prevail." 



"Well, my line Jimpson weed, we're coming about, and if 

 you don't step down and out the foreboom* will fire you 

 overboard like fat oft a hot shovel," remarked the Squire, 

 while the Skipper sung out: 



"Avast, there: belay your jaw-tackle and come aft ! Hard 

 a-leel" 



Jack, in duty bound, tumbled aft. 



We passed In succession Addison's Point, Pine Island 

 Jones's Point, Rocky Point. Ofty Point, Oleander Point, 



■ic.il wen sunn abreast of Rocklcdge. That night we made 



,-iiaii River. We sailed up to the forks, then poled 

 iip the South Prima- three or four miles. The following 

 day Buck killed a yearling buck will, his little 38-Cah 



Wire he ;, 



The streams on the east coast of Florida are usually nar- 

 row and deep, with perpendicular banks, allowing a boat to 

 lay close alongside. Our schooner "as ilins moored, with 



bow and stern lines, close tos big cypress tree, the stream 

 being not mare than thirty feet wide. Within fifty yards, 

 on the high bank, were the poles and deer-skin scaffold-' of 



a recent Indian camp. Squire had a wholesome fear of 

 Indians, whom we heard were now iu ilie neighborhood on 

 their annual winter deer hunt. 



Just above the Rambler the stream made a detour in I lie 

 form of a loop, turning back on itself, so that for u short 

 distance, near the schooner the stream flowed imopposite 

 directions, separated by a mere strip of land, but live yards 

 in width at its narrowest point, and where there was a email 

 connecting branch of water. The boys supposed the water 

 to which this branch led to be a bayou or pond: but One 

 day 1 discovered the true nature of i't. and found I hat the 

 loop or bend was upward of half a mile in extern. The 

 hanks being high and densely covered with trees, bushes 

 urn fines, completely hid the schooner from I he view of 

 anyone pa- ■■_ ■■'. parallel portion of the stream. 1 

 mentioned this peculiarity to Jack one day, who requested 

 nil hoi to "give ii away ."'as lie had nnw an opportunity to 

 "play it" on the Squire, who WftS then out in the pine-, binn- 

 ing with Buck. Jack had been nursing his wrath to keep 

 it pool for -nine time, l-'or ilie ties! hour Jaet mdtbe 

 ren elosi u closeted in Hi h ii brains big 



i .. an i head ol an Indian— a staffed culii o Itii 

 With outstretched arms, and the head surmounted bythe 

 p uuliiu turban worn bj Florida Indians. Tin- i cai 



fully stowed away for future use. 



That night the Skipper was telling of a small lake, formed 



try an expansion of the stream a mile above, which fairly 



teemed with black bass ranging from ten to twenty pound's 



in weight, Of course, this was all pun: fiction, but it served 



for Sijuire, who wa-, a zealous fisherman, was 



- i deeply interested. The Skipper described the place 



so minutely that he could not miss it. The. next morning a,l 

 but Scmjre had a great desire, to kill a deer, so he Started 

 tin the river alone in the Waif, the tlingcv, with a ■ ■■ - 



ply of lishing tackle IP . . . ,! , ... ,. \ 



dissuaded him. Hewaa no sooner out nl 

 bend in tlie river than Jack and the Skipper took their gun-, 

 rilles and pistols, and the Indian dummy, gc-1 into tn- Daisy, 

 aStrannlui.n canvas boat, and proceeded to Hie "cut off'.'" 

 passing into the upper stream half u mile ahead of Squire 

 They hauled their boat into the saw-grass ina sheltered 

 cove not more than fifty yards from the Rambler, and waited 

 for their victim, He was not lone in coming,' for he was 



anxious to reach the famous lake. Itowius; nlons, inlmirimr 



the siili-trqpical beauties of the stream. iiii ; clumps o1 cal> 

 bilge palm-, the green bay lliickets. tlie moss-draped wafer- 

 Oaks, the profusion of vines end diinhimr sthrubs. and 

 impressed bythe awe-inspiring and deathjike stillness of 



-iieam ami f.ircst. lie approached within fifty yards of the 

 ambush. Suddenly. Ban Pop] Popl Pop' 



Ping! Ping! Ping! belch forth the earns, pistols and rifles of 



'■"' I Hie Skipper, accompanied by a -cries of the, most 



didioh'e, demonutc arid unearthly ' yells. Screams and 



screeches that ever issued from human throats, while the 

 IndiUi dummy was raised idoi'l above. I he --"■ mi':- -. if- ,,'■„,,, 

 waving wildly, and its body dancing and sv, irigiim about in 

 a perfect frenzy of rage. Wlutug! POjp! Bangl went the 



guns. Wough! Wougiil WhOo-Oop! Ya-im.. scresj tin 



boys. 



But the Squire, his eves staring wildly at tlie whirling 

 dummy, ducking bis head at eveiy bang ol the guns, and 

 the peispiriition streaming dn\\ n his face, was going down 

 the river m -.< rate thai even Hanlan would have envied. 

 Then was beard from the saw-grass the most startling, sur- 

 prising and indescribable sounds imaginable; snorting, 

 choking, sobbing ami groaning. It may have been I lie 

 -iin ale red cacbimitii ms. or suppressed iiv-terieal kuitluer 

 of Jack and the Skipper, but I rather think it, was the Indian 

 dummy thin had worked itself Tnfoa fit. 



Squire return.-.] to the schooner, n hich he found deserted. 

 for Buck and I hid ourselves in the deepest red ssi 

 woods the moment the dummy was taken so bud. He 

 searched the cabin thoroughly. 'but not a gun, pistol, or 

 -Hiei en apoii could he find He then sat down or, .is , 

 rest, with the tiller by his side, keeping a sharp lookout. 

 It was not lone-, ce looking up stream, he saw the Indian 

 dummy paddling a canoe around the bend, and one or two 

 others with him. partly bid. but also paddling furiously. One 

 more reassuring look and Squire "lit out" for the piny 

 woods. 1 will here drop the mantle of charity on the scene, 

 but this, while shutting out, from view the' actors, could 

 not subdue the sulphurous odor which pervaded the atmos- 

 phere for tin- rest of the day. permeating the pine woods 

 aud namalcs, and diffusing itself along the surface of the 



hti[dl ^jipvrg. 



To insure promot- attention, communications should 

 dressed to the Forest and .stream rablishing Co., a 

 to individuals, in whose absence from the office matter: 

 porta nee are liable to delay-. 



-'J' •' 



THE BIRDS OF MAINE. 



With Annotations of their Comparative Abundance,' 



Dates of Migration, Breeding Habits, etc 



in 1-VF.BETT SMITH. 



Family Tyrkssvdm: Fi.ycatcheb8. 



113. Kingbird, Tyrant Flycatcher — Muse&am - 



Aral.: 7'i/rdnm/s ea.'./i, ■u;isU Ridg. HlW, Cfi. 51153.— Abund- 

 ant, Arrives in May. .Breeds; nests on trees, frequently 

 In orchards and near houses. Lay,; from four to 

 six yellowish white eggs with purple and brown blotches, 

 iu June. Deservedly a favorite bird with the farmers. A 

 pair of kingbirds will not only give warning by their chat 

 teriug outcries of the approach of a hawk or crow to the 

 vicinity of their nest, but they will boldly attack any raps 

 clous bird that ventures near, and by their pestering, drive 



away the would-be robber > ; -- - . ye" - u birds ''- - 



114. Western Kingbird, Ark-.. n-a^ Flycatcher- Musei vpa 

 nertkalis Aud. ; 2>- - (iealis Ridg. 306, Cs. 370.— 

 Accidental straggler from the Western Stales. A single 

 specimen reported as laken in Maine. (Henry Bryant, II, 

 I)., iii "Proceedings Boston Soe, Nat, Hist., X, 96, 1865.) 

 This record mentions Hie specimen as received from 

 Plvmptoii, Me. There is no such town in this Slate, and 



i, ,, - i in Hie name is Plymouth. Penobscot county. 



In regard to this record of this ,,p.-i m < M . Mr. IT A. 

 Purilie says [Bull. Null,. Orn. Club, Sept... 187(1, p. 73) the 

 bird w;is "shot at Eliot, Me., by Mr. George K. Brown." 



115. Gival Crested Hvcatcher— Afnieiea/ja eiihita Aud. ; 

 Miiiarrhns eritut;- Rid- :'iJ:>. Cs. 378.— Common in Western 

 Maine. Rare east of the Kennebec Yalley. Ajrives early 

 in May. ISreed- usually on high trees, lays four or more 

 eggs, buff with purple lines ami spots, in June. This species 

 bus been a regular summer visitari! for many years in the 

 vicinity of Portland city. \\ ii re it Inn ris, but tile birds are 

 nevw abundant here. Quite common along the south.- 

 westeru border of il" Stati I ■ .■•r. summer. 



IP'e Pliiebe Plyciitcher, Coniniou PfiWeO— MlCmdOffia 

 ■ mm. ■ .-;..., ,.- i ■ .,-,.. b'iil- -\\i. ' -. 379, Abmiii.i.nl. 



Arrives early in April. Breeds, usually on I'm i .1 



bridges, sheds, etc., also upon rock ledges. Nests in May, 

 and lays from four to sis pure while eggs, rarely slightly 

 Spotted. T'ao brood- each' season. 



117. Olive-sided or < M topers Fh calchc - ^ Mtiseirapa er.op- 



.,-: And., i ;■, d, .]•■*., ,. i mi.-, »18, I'-. 380. — Common, 

 Arrive- in May, Breeds on trees, and lays four or more 

 yello'.v i-l, n hiie , uu- vs nil biown -polo, in June, Tin eggs 

 n, m the bingbirdin form and coloration, 



but ar, aboin one-third smaller. "While iu company uitlmw 



friend BTatluui Clifford Brown at Cape Elizabeth, June 136, 

 1882, X found a nest oi iin- pecies wifli foui eggs, upon a 

 lie rree twelve feet in height in an abandoned pasture 

 sparsely overgrown with young toes, 'iiii- nesl wascom- 

 paclly built of twigs and neatly lined with gray tree moss 

 -M, i: .1 ,- ■■'■, mm ,,, , i i-i ,,,,,■- .... placed upon I he end of a 



lower branch eighi feet fium the ■■ 



118. Wood Petyee li'lyeateher - Mnsci'-ojia- etnas And.; 



-,„,,, - Uidg. a-io, Cs. HS'.'.— Mmndant. Arrives, in 



May. Bo ■ i four or more eggs, cream colon 



with reddish brown spots, Which forma ring around larger 



end of i in- egg. 



119. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher,— .!/».<. 



And.; Emimloiitu Jheeireiitris Ride'. 3!J'J. Cs. 388.— Common. 



til.tii And, ; Eiiijn 

 ; En.pidonar tram (ls.385.— 



luil nowhere abundant. Arrives in May, Breeds; lays tour 

 :-. v.l,;i, i.vilh reddish spots,' in June Mr. KA. 

 I'Mily nas eivcu me :,„ inteivstingaccount of u neal vli;, ,, 

 eggs, iotiud June 18, ISS'I), at. Little Deer Island. Pi cob - 

 county, Me. "This, nesl was on u large coo! thai formed a 

 sort ol .shelf in under a. low stump. It was compos, d of a 

 mass of dead leaves, pieces of decayed wood, evergreens 

 ferns, bird, bark, and mosses, arranged in form and appeal' 

 aiice much hke Hie nest of the pew c,- - „ 

 with line roots and grasses. Iiiameter 2,13 inches, depth 1.0 

 inch'; eggs (.6&X.50), v. hiie with numerous reddish 

 tie Whole surface, and formine a. ring about the irrean r 



I Mil. ' 



Pill. Traill's Plyca icber.- .\f't«cieai 

 puxftliis tmilWRid 

 Common. Arrives in May. Breeds on trees and busheaj lays 

 four or five yellowish wliite eggs with reddish brown snot's 



June. 



131. Least Elycalchfr. — Muvcieapo. minima Ami.; Em- 

 .jtidnua.r minimus Ridg. 32G, C-. 5187.— Common. Arrives 

 early in May. Breeds on bushes and trees; lavs four mire 

 white eggs. Frequents cities gardens, and open lands hi the 

 "in.' >i houses more commonly than other flycatchers Of 

 die same genus. 



Famh.v TKociitT.tD.w: HmiMir-i 



123. Ruby-throated flumuritigbird — Tivehitt-:- 



Aud.. Ridg. 335, Cs. 409.— Common. Arrive- early itiilav. 



Irecd on free tl te nesl usually made on a branch in such 



a manner as In appear part of it. The interna! dimeiision- 



if the nest of this diminutive bird are about an inch in 



;gs are pure white, 



mer of 1877 (Au- 



nniugbird of this 



Me., ami kept it 



vater. Aftertwo 



io tame I hat when 



■sentine; the Bnger 



r.r.n it.' Thisbird 



leu, Esq., of Ban 

 . id account of this 

 incident. The beautiful pet was kept in confinement for 

 many months, and was finally killed, accidentally, by a dog. 

 II would lie no difficult undertaking In keep a number Of 

 these birds in a conservatory of flowering plants, and their 

 presence would add much "to the beauty and attraction of 

 such a place. The birds, an be captured by the aid of im 

 insert net, or attracted within a room or enclosure by means 

 of flowers displayed. 



Family Cypskliix-e: Swifts 



123. Chimney Swift, "Chimney Swallow" — 0/tcetvra,pda&- 

 rjia. Aud.. Cs. -105: Cha-tum petaigica Ridg. 351 —Abundant. 

 Arrives in May. Breeds; usually in colonies. 

 or hollow trees. Occasionally birds ot this 

 their peculiar nests to the inner walls of the de 

 of lumbermen. Lays four white, eggs, in June 

 often arrive iu spring from the South in 1: 

 many hundreds Of birds together. And 1 ha' 

 colony of hundreds occupying a single chimney of a dwell- 

 ing house. It was interesting to note the regularity with 

 which these birds assembled at twilight every evening. 

 After repeated circlings and incessant twitterings, contin- 

 ued of tjntimes for half an hour, and when nil appeared to 

 have reached home from the wanderings of the day, the de- 

 scent into the chimney was made with great precision. This 

 was accomplished by'a gradual closing of the ranks of the 

 birds while continuing their extremely rapid flight in a hori- 

 zontal circle directly above the chimney. When the descent 

 began, this circle of birds assumed the form a huge black- 

 hollow tunnel or cone with its inverted apex entering the 

 chimney-, aud barely a minute then elapsed ere all the birds 

 were housed for the night. 



Family CAPRtMULC4iD.E; WHiPF00KwtLi.s, NhmjtHawks. 



124. Whippoorwill— Caprinuilnus eoeiferus Aud, Ridg. 



depth audita 



•eh more in breadth. Tl 



without gloss 



. ..tOx.-io inches. in the 



LOisri3lr. A. 



Parker caught a male 



species at li, 



yd Lake. Piscataquis co, 



alive by feed 



ngwith sugar dissolve. 



months' coni 



nement in a room it beci 



liberated it v, 



as ,i -M-. recaptured Pv 



the bird won 





gor, to 



Tin 



nimneys 

 lies affix 

 f cabins 



ed i 



397 



HiMav: 

 'with J 

 This I 



Ble 



354; A 



localities. 



eggs, yello 



over whoh 



strictly nocturnal or crepuscular in bs hat 



seclusion during the open daylight, but actively 



food during the evenimr and earlv morling. and 



during moonlignt nights, ft seek'- its insect food 



the ground, and irequents the garden! 



lor this purpose. 1 have noted the pn 



within a half dozen miles of Bangor ' 



Mr. Boardman reports it. ho 



Common in restricted 

 :tn the ground, lays two 

 ad brown spots :n„ 

 " e the next species is 



about fa 

 senee 



lininir in 

 eekingits 



all times 

 ricb upon 



nlc 



of this 



lird 



bin not furthe 

 aear Calais. T iiavt 

 never known of its occurrence in the close vicinity of Port 

 land, yet have commonly found it within twenty miles 

 west of this city, as well as in other localities in Maine. 

 The species U vei'v local in it habits, not only in selecting 

 its breeding place's. ) : ,„t 1 have known tlie birds to visit the 

 same -pots night after night, going from one to another With 

 the greatest regularity, so that I knew just where to find 

 them at dusk, midnight., or early morning. 



12a. Nisrhl.hawk— Chord, lies' tirqinunnts Aud. : C; horde/ !,.-s 

 //■oieuta Ridg. 357; Chordediles p/qleht,: Cs. 399.— Abundant. 

 May. Breeds on the ground, usually form- 



ing a depression if on light 

 it with grass. But often nc 

 is seen where the eggs are Is 

 breeds on the flat, graveled n 

 eilics. In .lune lays two OggS, dl 

 giving them a gray marbled appei 

 crepuscular in its habits, and - 

 if not solely, in the air. tl is ■ 

 ine nioonliirh 

 also. Ill tin 



Fryeburg, 0: 



■lightly lining 

 appearance of a nest 

 t. it not. infrequently 



it's of Iniililiu.iis in lli'e 



ib, wilh tine dark streaks, 



appearance. Diurnal as well us 



1 seeks its food (ill-eot-i 

 s on Ike wing at all limes dur 

 quite active during Ilie daytime 

 ii adult mule Dightliauk, sl'iol at 

 Me., July 7, 188&, 1 found an 



, By, a black Cricket, aboi'ii twenty small -us- 

 hoppers, and many small, hard insects, all freshly, let itu 

 The bird was taken at noon of a bright sunny day 

 Family (i in.n>,,,: Cm koos. 



126, Black -hilled Cuckoo- - Goc6ysu&.4r}/t}irt>ptJtalolU8&\l&., 

 Ridg. 388., Cs. 488.— Common. Arrives in May. Breeds, 

 usually on bushes: lays from four to six pale greenish blue 

 eggs in June, There is an old retrain which states thai 

 •'tin- cuckoo is :i bonny bird, it sings in the night.' And it is 

 inn that tin pi culiar'note- .a tin- cuckoo are heard during 

 m iliitlu summer nights, as well is at all times ol the day . 



137, yellow-billed Cuckoo ' • :■ ■■■ an ■ ■■ ■■■-■ Aud . 

 i -. cai.-Kare. Probablj n0! aregulnrvisi - t. 

 Mr. R.eirdinaii has procured but iw, -peenii. ii- hi Eastern 

 Maine, during a long serios of years ol collecting. 1 haw 

 taken a ringlc Bpeolmen in western Main. OUmbferland 

 county) 



