132 



RECREA TION. 



the boys I had shot a bear, so they decided 

 to take the dogs and trail him. I took 

 them to the spot, and the dogs trailed 

 down the mountain for nearly half a mile, 

 where the bear lay, dead. We skinned him, 

 and an examination showed the bullet had 

 gone through his heart. 



I have known of other cases where bear 

 have lived long enough to do great dam- 

 age after having been shot through the 

 heart. Wm. H. Hilton. 



WINTER DAYS IN FLORIDA. 



After considerable correspondence with 

 sportsmen in the best game sections of the 

 United States, we concluded the West 

 coast of Florida must be an ideal spot, so 

 decided to go below the frost line. With 

 that end in view we wrote to J. L. Sandlin, 

 of Punta Gorda, on Charlotte Harbor. Mr. 

 Sandlin, a whole-souled sportsman, wrote 

 us we could have good sport with quails, 

 snipe, plover, turkeys, and deer, with no 

 danger in winter from snakes. My wife, 

 whom we called " The Princess," decided 

 to accompany me. Saturday, January 30, 

 found us at the Punta Gorda hotel, the 

 front veranda of which looks out over 

 Charlotte Harbor. 



The waters of the bay teem with fish. 

 You can stand on the pier and catch them 

 to your heart's content, while down the 

 bay there is the finest of tarpon fishing. 



We left the hotel early Saturday after- 

 noon. The Princess and I went in a one- 

 horse buggy, minus top and dash-board; 

 Mr. Sandlin and the guide following in a 

 wagon loaded with 2 tents, provisions, etc. 

 We crossed Alligator creek and took an 

 Easterly direction toward Fish-eating 

 creek, about 20 miles West of Lake Okee- 

 chobee. We had made 20 miles by 7 p.m., 

 and the guide pointed out a clump of cab- 

 bage palmetto trees, where we were to 

 pitch our tent for the night. Business cares 

 and the world were left far behind. We 

 soon had a large camp fire blazing and the 

 tents up. 



The Princess was to have her first ex- 

 perience in camp life, and well did she ac- 

 quit herself. She did not utter a protest 

 or a complaint, no difference how hard it 

 rained or how long our journey. 



Nine o'clock in the morning saw us on 

 our way again. All day we travelled over 

 a beautiful prairie, such as is found in the 

 West, only this country is covered with 

 palmetto, with large groves of pine-trees 

 scattered about (they are called " pine isl- 

 ands "). 



It grew dark, but still the solitary tree 

 that had been pointed out as near where 

 we would camp seemed as far away as it 

 had an hour before. There was no trail or 

 road now, and the guide seemed a little 

 confused. We followed blindly in the 

 darkness, frightening the many strange 



birds that abound near the creeks. As they 

 flew away, with their discordant cries, a 

 queer sensation came over me, for I could 

 but realize we were in a wilderness, 60 

 miles from the nearest town. 



We reached the tree at last, and pitched 

 our tent in a small grove of live oaks, hung 

 with festoons of Spanish moss. Next 

 morning we were eager for sport. Clate 

 saddled a horse for The Princess, but there 

 was no side-saddle, and her face was a 

 study as she looked at the cowboy's saddle. 

 On this she rode 3 days after deer, travel- 

 ling about 15 miles each day, over the 

 beautiful, flower decked prairies. 



We were not more than a mile from 

 camp, on the first day, when the dog 

 struck a fresh trail. We at once began a 

 slow, crooked walk, the dog with his nose 

 to the ground, picking out the trail from 

 among the tracks of probably 20 others 

 that crossed and recrossed it. After a walk 

 of perhaps a mile, the trail led to a palmet- 

 to thicket. When within 20 steps, a beau- 

 tiful doe jumped from the brush and 

 started across the prairie. I had the best 

 position and got 2 shots with my Win- 

 chester shotgun. The last took effect, and 

 blood was found on the palmetto leaves. 



The doe ran nearly a mile, stopped, 

 looked at us for a minute, turned and 

 walked off. Clate, following, found her 

 dead, some distance away. 



Every day was a repetition of the first. 

 In the afternoon we killed 6 wild turkeys 

 within a mile or so of camp. We could 

 easily find 10 to 12 coveys of quails in a 

 day, and could kill from 40 to 60 birds to 

 the gun. The shores of the small lakes and 

 ponds were covered with plover and jack- 

 snipe. Every pond had from 2 to 50 white- 

 plumed birds, egrets and cranes. The 

 Princess shot a sVa pound Francotte gun, 

 and could kill her birds as clean as we 

 with our heavier guns. 



Of course you can get more and better 

 deer shooting in Routt county, Colorado, 

 than in Florida; but for all-around sport, at 

 a time when Ohio weather is at its worst, 

 the Southern part of Florida excels. We 

 expect to make the trip again. 



The great trouble with many sportsmen 

 is, they start to Florida without any par- 

 ticular objective point, then travel around 

 looking here and there for good shooting. 

 Not finding it, they become disgusted, or 

 their vacation expires, and they return 

 home without the sport. My advice to all 

 is to visit Punta Gorda, and then with tent 

 and guide to leave the town, as quickly as 

 possible, for camp. Nimrod. 



HOW TO OUTFIT FOR THE KLONDYKE. 



Skaguay, Alaska. 



Editor Recreation: I went into a news- 

 stand to buy something with which to 



