262 



RECREATION. 



many a bumper of what I have heard a Pot- 

 tawattomie Indian call "skittawaboo." 

 Supper dispatched, the evening slipped by 

 in pleasant converse with the habitues of 

 the place around a roaring log fire. The 

 new partner reached the confidential stage 

 of his potations, and linking his arm within 

 mine he drew me to the farther corner of 

 the bar in front of the building and said : 



"You-hic-may think 'cause us fellers 

 didn't kill any deer that we don't know 

 how. 'At's afl ri', but jus' same we kill 

 more deer than any other fellers 'at goes 

 into these woods. You shaw them gun- 

 gunny zacks? Well, we got some cut down 

 vVinches'er's in 'em." 



At that point I interrupted him, for I 

 noticed that one of the guides was straining 

 his ears to make out our conversation, so 

 I promptly led the lumberman into the open 

 air,. 



We retired early, as the captain had a 

 load of freight to run over to the head of 

 the Big Tomahawk lake in the morning. 

 The sun had barelv swung above the sea 

 of pines when Captain Ray had steam up 

 on the launch, and I was casting her off 

 from the wharf. A hail from the bluff 

 back of the landing arrested us, and Joe 

 came running to the boat. "Hold on, Doc- 

 tor," he cried. "I want to see you." 



Loosening the light strap that held his 

 hunting knife to his side he buckled it 

 about my waist and said: 



"I want to give you something to remem- 

 ber me by as long as you live. This knife 

 once belonged to a Norwegian from Trond- 

 hjem. Many years ago he pawned it for a 

 pint of whiskey at a lumber camp in these 

 woods and never redeemed it. It was my 

 father's knife and I have carried it for 

 years. With it I have drawn every kind of 

 game that roams these forests. Good bye, 

 Doctor. May prosperity follow your trail." 



The knife was a lovely creation of box- 

 wood, coin silver and Skania silver steel. 

 The finely carved boxwood handle was 3^2 

 inches long; the blade, 3^ inches; and the 

 exquisitely modeled and carved sheath of 

 boxwood, 5 l / 2 inches. The wood scabbard 

 took in rather more than one-third of the 

 rounded knife handle, which was fullest in 

 the middle and tapered evenly to each end. 

 It was an admirable arrangement, and abso- 

 lutely prevented the slipping of the knife 

 out of its sheath. Many are the knives and 

 surgical instruments I have owned, but 

 never have I had a tool that held its edge 

 under hard usage as long as that old 

 Norsk knife. 



One morning in January, 1895, the good 

 sloop Tease lay at anchor off Punta Rassa. 

 Entering her dingey I was soon set aboard ; 

 the anchor was weighed, sails hoisted, and 

 the Tease shot rapidly South along the 

 Florida main. 



At last the pleasant lines of our destina- 

 tion, Mound Key, came in sight, and soon 

 the Tease was anchored in a little cove on 

 the North shore of the island. Lying in 

 in the center of the great Bay of Estero, 

 this fertile key comprises some 80 acres of 

 black soil, and is elevated about 80 feet 

 above the bay. Under giant gum- 

 limbo trees on this, the highest land in all 

 South Florida, was the board palace of my 

 Cracker host. A week slipped quickly by, 

 during which I repeatedly visited the sea 

 fowl rookeries, the oyster beds in the tide- 

 water creeks, the best fishing points in the 

 great bay, hunted quails and turkeys on the 

 main and thoroughly explored Mound Key. 



One evening the young sons of Captain 

 Johnson, Herb and Willie, begged me to 

 take them hunting on the mainland. Their 

 mother said, "Do take 'em, Doctor, and 

 stretch their legs for 'em. Pore little fel- 

 lers, they be so cramped like on this here 

 key/' 



"Certainly," I replied, "it will give me 

 great pleasure to have them go. I will take 

 the 45 rifle, Willie can take my fishing rod 

 and Herb the 22 rifle. When Herb found 

 that his ears had not deceived him, he 

 clasped the little gun to his heart, snuggled 

 his face down upon the shining barrel and 

 said, "Doctor, I love her. Her is a dandy. 

 Her'll kill a robin to-morrow sure." To 

 the little Crackers of South Florida, robin 

 means anything that wears feathers. 



Sunrise found us sailing up the bay 

 with Captain Johnson who was on his way 

 to Punta Rassa, with the boys' light skiff 

 towing astern of the Tease. When off the 

 mouth of Spring creek we entered the 

 skiff. Herb handed me a paddle and ship- 

 ping a pair of light sculls sent the boat 

 dancing over the bay toward the mainland. 

 As he pulled for the mouth of the creek, I 

 could but notice the sad deformity of his 

 left hand and wrist, and on asking him 

 how it happened he told me the following 

 tale : 



"Me and Willie was fishin' more'n a year 

 ago off of that point over there. We got 

 tired and laid down in the boat and just 

 let her drift. Finally I set up with my 

 back against the seat and my left hand and 

 arm hanging over the side of the boat. All 

 at once a big shark seized my hand and 

 wrist in his mouth. I screeched and held 

 on to the side of the skiff and Willie, he 

 screeched, he did, and held on to me. It 

 scared the shark, I guess, 'cause he let go 

 of my arm. It hurted me awful and made 

 me sick. Willie took me home and Pap 

 went after one of the Kresh'yuns right off. 

 He came and fixed my hand and wrist and 

 after a long time I got well. Pap says them 

 Kresh'yuns is queer like, but they was aw- 

 ful good to me when I was hurt. Say, 

 Doctor, be there many queer people like 



