jFOKEST ajnd stream. 



pleased with the entertainment, and f ells very grateful to the 

 girls, who had had a great deal of trouble for our sake. My 

 friend spoke about pay, hut I explained to biiu that au offer 

 Of that kind WoUld never do : apparently thev Considered us as 

 guests. We bad come there with (heir brother, and it was 

 plain that the old folks at home! had given instructions to treat 

 08 hospitably at the saf/ra, Thy y were people in good cir- 

 cumstances. But our English friend, with plenty of guineas 

 in his pocket and elsewhere, on saying good-bye, prei 

 the band of each girl a gold coin with the image of '• Her 

 Moat Gracious Majesty," which we explained (our friend not 

 being parsed in the Norse tongue) that they (the girls) must 

 hold as keepsakes iu remembrance of our visit. Blushing and 

 courtesyiug they grasped the hands of the donor for kissing 

 —a mark of respect among the. peasantry of that country to 

 men of great estate, But my friend would not .understand it 

 in that way. He was equal to the emergency, and with he- 

 coming decorum imprinted a kiss on each pair of those rosy 

 lips. 



" Iloni soit qui trial y ptrn.ie." 



Our return was taken by a much longer but less precipitous 

 route, the same path in fact by whieh the cattle make their 

 yearly journeys to and from the satra For several Lours 

 nothing of interest occurred. Wo hurried on, wishing to 

 reach Grand Lake and return to Ostersund as quickly as pos- 

 sible. _ Finn was at my heels most of the time. But toward 

 noon, in a thicket of young pines close to the. path, he suddenly 

 came to a point. Of course we were ready, and out of the 

 thicket darted half a dozen or more small birds, not much 

 larger than pigeons. We got one each. This was a covey of 

 Hjerpar (.2'ebr. bonasa), the •mall woodgrouse; They settled 

 in a cluster of large spruce trees, not far away. Reloading, 

 we went there without delay. We had seen plainly where 

 they lighted, but look as we may we could noi discover them 

 among the thick branches. At last Eric got. his eyes on one 

 and tried to point him out to us. But no ; we could not see 

 Mm, and we gave our gun to the young man, telling him to 

 shoot the bird, which he did. We" then, with our friend, lay 

 down to rest. We let Eric keep our piece, with permission 

 to shoot any birds be could discover in those big spruces. 

 And, right enough, he soon shot two more. 



We moved now r only a short distance to a fine spring, the 

 location of which was well known to our guides, aud here we 

 spread our luncheon, refreshing aud resting ourselves for a 

 couple of hours. Then on again toward Grand Lake, which 

 was yet some ten miles away. After proceeding some dis- 

 tance our paih led us along the shore of a long but narrow 

 lake. Our guides had before this told us that in this vicinity, 

 if anywhere, we might find the " cock of the woods, the great 

 Capercailzie," {Tetrao urogalhiii), whose acquaintance Sir 

 Francis was very anxious to make, this being, in fact, the 

 principal object for his joining us on this excursion, In an- 

 ticipation of such an event we had loaded our pieces with 

 much coarser shot and heavier charges of powder. We had 

 passed for the last hour or more through an open pine forest 

 of heavy timber, with a low undergrowth of heather, upland 

 cranberry and blueberry vines ; but although Finn had been 

 industriously at work he had not found anything We came 

 now to an opening in the forest, a kind of low meadow or 

 marsh, running up from the lake some distance into the tim- 

 ber. In this opening were scattered here and there small 

 blueberry patches, the shrubbery two or three feet high. At 

 one of these patches, on the very bank of the lake, our dog 

 made game ; advanced, creeping a few steps, and then threw 

 himself flat down, as was his habits when under the influence 

 of a strong scent. We did not doubt for a moment, nor did 

 our men, that here we had found what we were in search of. 

 On our suggestion we intended to advance from the lake side 

 into the copse, in order to drive the birds toward the timber; 

 but before this mauoeuvcr could be executed, up rose, all of 

 a sudden and with a tremendous noise, some eight or ten 

 birds, within twenty feet from where we stood. 'I ruth com- 

 pels us to say that at this, the best opportunity we had during 

 the whole trip, we got only two birds. They got up before 

 we were quite readyefor them, and Eric with his pony and 

 the other man were between us and the game when rising. 

 Both of us missed with the first barrel, but, with the second 

 we cut down a bird each, some thirty yards off, both falling in 

 the lake, which all the remainder crossed, and were thus lost 

 to up, for there was no boat, and it would take several hours 

 to get around the water, which our time did not allow. Those 

 we got were young, three-fourths grown birds, weighing prob- 

 ably eight to ten pounds each. Our enthusiasm was greatly 

 softened down by the certainty that all the balance of this 

 magnificent family had escaped us; but hoping to rind some 

 more of their relatives in the vicinity, we made Finn for more 

 than an hour carefully examine every one of those blueberry 

 patches. But nothing was found until we came to a small 

 stream, which, on the other side, separated the meadow from 

 the limber. Here Finn again, in his usual style, commenced 

 marching up the left bank of the water course, toward a 

 thicket of some kind of shrubbery. It was plain he was mak- 

 gante, and we followed close on his heels. We had not 

 to wait long, for before the dog came to a stand, up rose a 

 bud as large as a turkey- gobbler, which Sir Francis brought 

 down handsomely at. a distance of some forty yards; It was 

 au old L ' cock of the woods" iu full plumage, bis green neck 

 shining with a beautiful lustre. As we afterwards ascer- 

 tained, he weighed fully fifteen pounds. Under ordinary cir- 

 cumstances my friend was by no means an enthusiastic or de- 

 i f.-nive man; his motto seemed rather to be, Nil admi- 

 ' But to say that he was delighted would only feebly 

 express his feelings on this occasion. He did not exactly 

 ip out of his boots," but his countenance was illumined 

 with exceeding joy as he took hold of his big bird and ex- 

 claimed; " Finis coronal opus," and added, "I would give 

 a ten-pound note to have that bird stuffed." Ties was our 

 last shot. Without further interruption we arrived at the 

 farm-house in the evening, got some supper, thanked and said 

 farewell to the old people, paid Eric liberally for himself and 

 pony, sent our "best love" to the girls, and' with a favorable 

 Wind set sail for Ostersund, where we arrived in the "wee 

 small hours" of the morning, very much pleased with our 

 excursion. Our game bag contained three capercailzies, 

 eighteen black game, eleven ptarmigans, five woodgrouse. 

 Later in the day— being in those times quite a taxidermist— 

 we skinned the great bird, got the apothecary to make us an 

 ointment with pulverized arsenic, with which we rubbed the 

 inside of the skin, made a temporary body and neck of cotton, 

 I all in a strong wooden box, and delivered it to our Eng- 

 lish friend with our compliments. Iu Stockholm, where Sir 

 Francis arrived some days later, the bird was put in the hands 

 Of a skillful professional bird stutter, who finished it in fine 

 style, and that bird now adorns the library in my friend's au- 

 <j*sl ra nail in old England. 



Tbi3 excursion is fresh in my memory for three reasons: 

 1st. Lt is the only time I ever shot ptarmigans ; 3d. The only 



time when, in one. excursion, I killed all four varieties of 

 i grouse; and last, but not least, on account of my 

 English friend and his big capercailzie. J. 8. 

 -». « 



For Forest and Stream and Hod and Gun, 

 TO NATCHEZ BY RAIL AND RIVER. 



'■ Ttie heads of many people were bobbing as in sleep, 

 Ami many babies lifted their voices np to weep." 



—Song of the Jtail. 



THE newly risen sun was shining brightly on a lovely 

 May morning, as I stepped aboard a train on the Memphis 

 and Charleston Railroad. The train was westward bound, 

 and, as I took my seat, the man with a silver dog collar on 

 bis hat ''yanked" the bell. rope, the whistle sounded, and the 

 iron horse, breathing steam and coal smoke from his fiery 

 " in'ards, " moved slowly out, dragging his rumbling load be- 

 hind him over the trestle, out past Fort Robinctt,' where the 

 gallant; Col. Rodgers lies buried just where he fell— "in the 

 imminent deadly breach*'— Storming the enemy's works. 

 Then, as our Pegasus warms up to his work, on past the lake 

 where we have our winter duck shooting, past Big Hill, 

 where we. go to hunt the bearded gobblers, and after two 

 hours' steady running he pulls up hot ' and panting at Grand 

 Junction. Here we < hange cars for Jackson, Miss.', taking the 

 Mississippi Central Railroad. In good cars, and on a smooth 

 track, we bow] along at a pretty fair lick past Michigan City, 

 on past Holly Springs, a pretty and thriving town; both 

 places the scenes of cavalry fights' during the late unpleasant- 

 ness. 



At two o'clock we reach Oxford, a handsome place, 

 although you do not get a view of it from the train. The 

 State University is located here, and within its halls some of 

 our most distinguished southerners have been educated. 

 Leaving Oxford we rush on by several minor places; go 

 right through Water Valley, quite a busy place and appropri- 

 ately uamed ; pass Duck Hill, Which is in a valley and not a 

 duck iu sight, and on to Grenada, where the Mississippi and 

 Tennessee. Baib-oad comes in. As the shades of evening come 

 down we arrive at Durant, where, having washed the dust of 

 travel from our countenances, we worry down a most fear- 

 fully execrable glass of beer, and after it, as some amends, a 

 splendid, old-fashioned, ante-bellum, country hotel dinner. 



At ten o'clock we arrive at Jackson, and after having vainly 

 spread our limbs and couched our heads, after the style of 

 Lord Marmiou, we are knocked up by boots, with the cry, 

 "irtdu for Vicksburg." Boar-ding this we are rushed into 

 the "City of Hills " as the sun rises. 



Here we are assailed by a swarm of savage, bloodthirsty, 

 impecunious hackmen, porters, hotel bummers, gamins, news- 

 boys and small niggers. They were absolutely frantic to get 

 at us, and we only escaped being dismembered and carried off 

 piece-meal through the intervention of a policeman, who came 

 gallantly to our rescue, and, with his club, beat back the 

 horde of howling savages. 



After having at the hotel partaken of an exceedingly durable 

 beefsteak, a remarkably tenacious biscuit and a cup of tepid 

 fluid, yclept coffee, we sallied forth to see some friends. 

 These we did not find, but we did make the acquaintance of 

 one of the cleverest gentleman in the State, who put us under 

 obligations we fear we may never be able to repay, by taking 

 us to visit, all points of interest in aud around the town, be- 

 hind as fine a stepper as I h-.ve seen in many a day, Vicks- 

 burg is built on the tertiary hills where they strike the river. 

 These bills are here upheaved in a most remarkable way, and 

 the soil is filled with minute fossils and concretions of car- 

 bonate of lime. The bluffs cave but little, and in them are 

 still to be seen the bomb-proofs and holes in which the citi- 

 zens sheltered themselves from ihe hissing shot and bursting 

 shells duriDg one of ihe most desperate and prolonged bieges 

 and defenses of modern times.* 



Driving through the streets we saw many handsome resi- 

 dences, well-built churches, and a tine court house located on 

 the summit of a series of terraces. The Streets have been 

 graded at a considerable outlay of money, time aud labor. 

 Northeast of the town are the remains of an old Spanish fort, 

 crowning a high bluff, that commands a splendid view of the 

 river and adjacent country. From its grassy ramparts we. can 

 overlook the Federal Cemetery — " the bivouac of the dead " — 

 where lie, until the last reveille, the ashes of 16,000 soldiers, 

 the rows upon rows of headstones gleaming wdfite iu the 

 morning sunlight. In front of us rolls the broad river, and 

 through the trees We can catch glimpses of the fair country 



m'i and the villages of Peltaand De Soto. Away oil to 



the right is the mouth of the Yazoo River; to the left the 

 little city lies bathed in hazy smoke, as peacefully as if it were 

 never stormed at with shot and shell. 



Driving back we saw the "gamblers' graves." They were 

 buried on the side of a steep bill, through which a street is 

 now being graded, the excavations bringing to view the crumb- 

 ling bones of those desperadoes who years ago defied the law, 

 and, when finally taken, after a desperate resistance, were 

 lynched and buried here. South of these graves, on a high 

 bluff that overlooks the town, is the site of another fort built 

 by the Confederates. Here a huge gun, lying half buried in 

 the sod, recalled a picture I once saw or rend about entitled 

 "Peace"— an aid redoubt, o'ergTOWn with grass and wild 

 flowers, from which protruded ;:i cannon ; in Ihe muzzle birds 

 had built a nest, aud were feeding their fledglings. Here 

 children had built their doll-houses— "e'en in the cannon's 

 mouth "—and romped and gamboled within t he grassy ram- 

 parts— 



" Made rankly fertile with the blood of men "— 

 where erst had stood the grim artilleryman hurling the shriek- 

 ing messengers of death from his smoking gun. Upon this 

 hill a wealthy Englishman built a house alter the Style of a 

 feudal castle', but it has long siuce been razed, and not a ves- 

 tige of it remai us. 



As we were going to another point of interest we were met 

 by the hotel porter, who iulormedus, "Dat de boat done been 

 at de landing hour an a haf ; gwiue to leave stret off." Down 

 the bill we drove, and reached the wharf just as the grimy 

 deck hands were about to finish unloading a coal barge, 

 Black and ragged, and streaming with perspiration, they sang 

 merrily at their work, inspired, perhaps, by the near- prospect 

 of a rest. As we were watching them a little tug came along- 

 side to take away the barge. A large steamboat lay just below 

 us, With stern up stream, from the force of a counter current, 

 right in the way of the barge. I looked on with some curiosity 



* I saw it stated iu a VicUsbnrg paper tha 1 three hundred torn of lead, 

 mostly ballets, had been collected in and around the town since the 

 close of the war. This lead would make nine million tiz hundred thou- 

 sand ounce balls. God knows how many more are buried in the earth 

 and lost lu the river. 



to see how the tug was going to get it out. Slowly it. .■■■ 

 up to the steamboat until tne bow was against the steamer's 

 guards, abaft the wheel. "Go ahead on her," said the pilot. 

 Ihe little screw churned the water, and the huge steamer was 

 shoved slowly around, until it hiy ..■ cam, out of 



iy, Then the barge was cast loose and towed away, 

 Our steamer's broad stage-planka were hoisted, like ponder- 

 ous drawbridges. The bell tapped, "Let so," and there was 

 ajiugling of little bells down below, a hissing of steam, a 

 prolonged "cheow," the ponderous wheels begun to revolve, 

 and slowly we moved away from the wharf, headed toward 

 mid-stream, swung half round, and with scarcely a percep- 

 tible motion glided smoothly down the turbid river. Now 

 the wheels beat- the water with a faster lick, yet so steadily do 

 we move that standing on the upper deck, and looking back 

 at the little city, it seems to be drawing away from us and 

 fading in the distance, while the mighty steamer stands still. 

 After a while the town vanishes from sight, lost behind a 

 bend in the river. Then we come in view of the beautiful 

 little island set like an emerald in the midst of the waste of 

 waters. A border of young cotton woods, with a growth of 

 larger frees in the centre, give it the appearance of being 

 evenly and skillfully terraced. 



We steam on, and' the fairy isle drifts far astern and vanishes 

 from sight. For miles weird forests, the home of the black 

 bear, the panther and the homed buck, stretch away on 

 either side, as far as the eye can reach. Silently the mighty 

 river rolls on, not always within its banks, eating the crumb- 

 ling shores from one. side and piling them up on the other- 

 unceasing and quiet in its flow as the flight of time. 



Passing these long stretches of forests, we come occasionally 

 to a plantation with little darkies playing merrily just on the 

 very brink of the treacherous flood," and, if we are running 

 near shore, jumping into skiffs and dugouts to be " rocked in 

 the cradle of the deep " on the waves the steamer's wheels are 

 raising. If a great many of them don't go to furnish food for 

 the catfish, then there is certainly a special Providence which 

 protects the small Mississippi River nigger. 



The river is very full, and it almost seems that a quart of 

 water poured into it at its source would overflow the banks 

 down In re. Still the farmers are working away in the hope 

 of a ' 'fall " as serenely as if they were a thousand miles inland. 



The Mississippi River is, after all, as our Yankee brethren 

 would say, "a pretty considerable crick:" thirty-two hun- 

 dred miles long, in round numbers; navigable twenty-four 

 hundred miles, below and above the falls of St. Anthony, 

 forming part of the boundaries of ten Sta'es, draining with its 

 continents an area of a million and a half square miles, — a 

 sort of continental aorta, having for its tributaries fifteen hun- 

 dred navigable branches. The vast alluvial plain thiough 

 which it flows has an area of over thirty-two thousand square 

 miles. In some places, almost illimitable forests stretch away 

 on either shore, tilled with many kinds of game, and the lakes 

 and lagoons in these forests are stocked with fish, and teem 

 with wild fowl. Its vast littoral plantations produce in rich 

 abundance cotton, corn and cane, and all the fruits of a 

 emi-tropical clime. Fair cities adorn its banks, and crafts of 

 innumerable kinds are upborne upon its broad bosom. 



Plowing ahead, we pass dingy steamers having in tow 

 great fleets of coal barges, sometimes running close by thenv 

 again Laving them far away on the other side. Pass slowly 

 floating flatboats, whose crews are always cocked and primed 

 to fire a broadside of Billingsgate at you on the least provoca- 

 tion. Pass immense ".-awyers," lifting themselves from the 

 seething waters like gigantic saurians, wet and glistening, 

 then plunging out of sight again. We sec in some places the 

 tawny waters stirred by some mysterious force below, boiling 

 like huge caldrons, and occasionally breaking in a long wave 

 from the steamer's prow, but there is no sound with it. The 

 mighty river is mysterious and silent, telling.no secrets, striv- 

 ing always, in spite of Captain Eads, lo keep its mouth shut. 

 Again we pass long reaches of desolation. 



The giant gums hung thickly with a funereal drapery of 

 waving moss. Not a sound. Not a sign of animal life, save 

 now and then an egret, with plumage white as the wing of an 

 angel, solitary and alone, flies slowly a head of the gl 

 steamer; and once we saw two bald eagles winging their way 

 above the wooded wilderness. 



Thus steaming on through the golden hours of the glorious 

 afternoon, we pats, at sunset, Rodney, with its glittering 

 spires, set like a gem in the green luils'ide. But, we leave it 

 tar away to the left, along bar in front shutting it off from 

 the river. 



As darkness comes down over the waste of woods and 

 waters we descend into the luxuriantly furnished cabin that 

 stretches back like a gilded tunnel from forecastle to stern, 

 oiight with the lights from branching chandeliers. But 

 steamboat travel is uot what it was in the if«fe-Je#wmdayp-. 

 Then those chandeliers flashed clown on crowils of "fair 

 women and brave men " — brave at the bar and valiant at the 

 board— on a regiment, of wdiite jacketed mulattoes, who came 

 and went noiselessly, hearing sumptuous viands and spfli 

 wines, and wailing on the well-tilled tables. After the tables 

 were cleared the merry dancers tripped the light fantastic toe 

 to the sound of the "violin, flute and bassoon." Forward, 

 the planter with plethoric pocketbook indulged in a •'little" 

 game of " draw," and there the gay gamhouei disported him- 

 self, and sported with ye sucker." But "Troy and the glory 

 of the Trojans is no more." The crowd is reduced to a score 

 and a half, and the " little" game of draw to one of "five-cent 

 ante," and he of the silver box and the four aces must seek 

 other fields* and pastures green. 



Tis true the colored band came out as of yore, and dis- 

 coursed some sweei music: but there were not'enough ladies 

 in the cabin to form a quadrille, aud "the elephant had 

 tramped on ev^ry pocketbook" aboard, So they could not 

 even get; up a game to keep up appearances. As ihe evening 

 wore on we approached Natchez, and at ten o'clock a long 

 row of lights, rising one above another from the river to the 

 summit of the hill, showed us that, we were in sight of the 

 town, aud had almost reached our destination. 



A little further on our steamer sent forth a most diabolical 

 and unearthly yell from its three-barreled whistle, then the 

 little belts tinkled again. The engines stop, and we move 

 slowly up to the wharf. The gang-planks are lowered, and 

 going ashore we run the gauntlet of howling hackmen — dive 

 head foremost into a carriage and we are driven away to the 

 ••Marsh House" on the Thill. Natchez, like Rodney and 

 Vicksburg, is built on a bluff, at one of the live points where 

 the tertiary hills extend to the river. It by the 



French under ITIberville about ■ ■■ r 'f ibe last 



century, and takes its namefiom a UoUjo uribe of Indians who 

 then dwelt here. Thirty years after the low u was settled it 

 was totally destroyed by the Indians, who were ultin 

 defeated and banished. ' After having passed into the posses- 

 sion of the Spanish it finally became an incorporated city 

 under the United States about the beginning of the present 



