36£ 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



M. Bert concludes : 1. The colors and the various tints which 

 chameleons assume are due to changes in the position of the 

 colored corpuscles, which sometimes, by sinking underneath 

 the skin, form an opaque hack-ground underneath the cau- 

 lescent layer of Pouchet ; sometimes, by spreading themselves 

 out in superficial ramification, leave to the skin its yellow 

 color, or make it appear green and black. 2. The movements 

 of the color-bags or chromoblasts are regulated by two groups 

 of nerves, one of which causes them to rise from below to the 

 surface, while the other produces the opposite effect. But 

 we have digressed very materially from the practical part of 

 our trip, and we must leave our chameleon to his capricious 

 reveries and take a pull at the oar of our slow sailing craft. 



An incident occurred to my guide while anchored off 

 "Barker'B Bluff " a few months before, which came near 

 putting an end to a favorite dog. This canine had been making 

 the night melodious with his bark, which attracted the ever 

 watchful ears of an alligator, who swam to the boat and 

 climbed aboard, when the guide, awakening from his slumbers, 

 raised the temperature 'of the air to such a degree, that Mr. 

 Alligator beat a hasty retreat. Alligators are particularly ap- 

 preciative of dogs, and many a sportsman has been bereft of 

 his setter while retrieving water fowl, an instance having 

 occurred at Enterprise a few days before our arrival. 



Days passed, and at last we sailed through a narrow channel 

 only half a mile wide, called the " Hole in the Wall," and soon 

 came in sight of Fort Capron, which lies on the west bank of 

 the river. Suddenly we were visited by a tropical wind storm 

 which carried overboard our foresail, but lowering our main- 

 sail immediately we ran into the dock at the fort under bare 

 poles, while a number of its inhabitants stood watching our 

 manceuvers with anxious eyes. 



Fort Capron, on Indian liiver, one hundred and twenty 

 miles from New Smyrna, was established by the United States 

 government in the Seminole war of 1S35. All that remains 

 of the original fort is a brick chimney and the old parade 

 grounds. From here due west to Tampa Bay, was a line of 

 lorts which had for their object the subjugation of the Indians. 

 A gentleman by the name of Payne has now erected, near the 

 site of the old fort, live wooden houses, which are thatched 

 with leaves of the palm tree, often used in this part of the 

 country for that purpose. Judge Payne is the oldest settler, 

 and came to this country in 1840, during the second outbreak 

 of the Indians. He is sixty-six years of age, tall, slender, 

 long gray beard, with an iron constitution, and says he expects 

 to live to be at "par." He is a man of intelligence, well 

 informed on all subjects, has a fine library, and a more 

 social, genial companion cannot be found in the country. He 

 has accommodations at his house for at least twenty persons, 

 and is happy to welcome all who come. Since leaving New 

 Smyrna, it had not been our good fortune to meet with so 

 satisfactory quarters, and we were agreeably surprised. Judge 

 P. has three sons, one of them deputy collector of the port, 

 who also watches Indian Biver inlet opposite, for smugglers, 

 and during the past war it was a favorite passage for blockade 

 runners. 



'1 he thermometer was 82 degrees in the shade on landing, 

 and afterward arose to 88 degrees, and we were told that in 

 the summer the mercury seldom rose above {£ degrees, but 

 they were obliged to endure nine months of such heat. 



Fresh tomatoes, lettuce, radishes, peas, to tay nothing of 

 guava and orange jelly (all raised on the place; were served 

 us, quite a contrast to hard-tack and salt pork; while the neat 

 rooms and snow-white linen were a decided change from 

 sloping in the open air, on beds of palmetto leaves, although 

 not so romantic. 



SVkile on our way to the Bangeley Lakes, Maine, trouting 

 during the season of 1874, we made a pleasant traveling ac- 

 quaintance by the name of Colonel Von 13. who was going 

 down into the provinces, salmon fishing. We bade each 

 other good-bye at one of the stations, never expecting to meet 

 again. There was but one boarder at Judge Payne's, and 

 that individual was our former traveling companion, Colonel 

 Von B. 



In addition to the cabbage palm so plenty along the river, 

 Judge Payne has on his grounds a number of date palms, 

 limes, century plants, and we noticed an oleander tree, over 

 thirteen feet high, and covered with fragrant blossoms. 



The last of the Seminole tribe are located about sixty miles 

 from here on the Kissimee River, and borders of Lake Okeecho- 

 bee. Their chief's name is Tus-keenugee, and they number 

 about three hundred, including forty warriors. Ten daya be- 

 fore our arrival an altercation had occurred, during which one 

 of the settlers had assaulted the chief with a knife, and a coun- 

 cil was called in which it was decided to wipe out the pale 

 faces. Fort Capron was made ready for the seige, the win- 

 dows and doors barricaded, and loop holes for riles were cut 

 in the walls, but upon further consideration on the part of the 

 Indians, the war cloud blew over. 



The fishing is excellent, pompino, sheepshead, sea bass, 

 weakhsh, turbot, jew and angel tish are caught in any quantity 

 wiiuin a stone's throw of the fort, and when one has a bite he 

 little knows what species will be landed. Deer, wild turkey 

 and quail are abundant, wliile panthers, bears and wild cats 

 are occasionally to be had, and Judge Payne's sons are always 

 ready to lend their assistance to the sportsman in procuring 

 them. Cattle and swine seem to run wild, and the latter, 

 which are as black as coal, with a high ridge of bristles along 

 their backs, and tusks six inches in length, are quite a formi- 

 dable opponent. The cattle feed on grass in the shallow water 

 of the river, where in droves they are frequently to be seen, 

 but they are nevertheless very poor, and you have, no desire 

 to call for beef steak but once in Florida, for india-rubber is 

 tender in comparison. 



It was from this point that the successful Lake Okeechobee 

 expedition, sent out by the Fouest and Stbeam, entered the 

 everglades. This lake is distant about fifty miles to the south- 

 west, and is the largest in Florida. Boats were conveyed 

 on wheels, and the lake navigated for the first time by white 

 men. 



We secured fine specimens of the water turkey, or snake 

 bird, and the snow white ibis, the latter of which measured 

 four feet from tip to tip. Also the wood ibis (1'antalw locu- 

 lator) and a pair of cardinal grosbeaks (Loxia cardinaUa) which 

 we packed with our other curiosities. 



We were prevented from long tramps back in the woods 

 on account of the extreme heat, which was very oppressive, 

 and this in the middle of February. 



To the south on the river about two miles, lies Fort Pierce, 

 trace a great trading post for the Indians, but they have now 



changed their patronage to Tampa Bay, on the- west coast. 

 From here to Jupiter Inlet it is thirty-eight miles, and this 

 brings us below latitude 27 degrees north. After passing the 

 Halpahtiokee Biver the west bank is very high, but the east 

 correspondingly low. Here is to be found the rubber tree, 

 satin-wood, guava, mango, sea-grape, crab-wood, and the 

 cocoanut, in addition to the cabbage and date palm. One of 

 those curiosities of Florida, an Indian mound, has been foutid 

 here, and from it no less than forty skeletons of Indians have 

 been taken, besides implements of hunting and fishing. 



On an island just inside the river is Jupiter Inlet lighthouse, 

 one hundred and fifty feet high, and here also is located one of 

 the fivelife-saving signal stations on the east coast of Florida. 

 This house contains a French mechanical flash light, and re- 

 quires the care of three men. Until recently many a poor mari- 

 ner's life was saved by a rope attached to a ramrod which was 

 fired from an old musket across the ill-fated ship, but the 

 musket has lately been superseded by the regulation mortar. 



On our return north from Fort Capron to Titusville,^ our 

 "chance acquaintance," Colonel Von B., supplied us from 

 his own stores (brought from New York), bacon, canned 

 tomatoes, peas, soups, pickles and jellies, while Judge Payne 

 added fresh tomatoes, limes, oranges and lemons — they were 

 " friends in need and indeed." 



Just before making a landing for camp, a large black bear 

 crossed our bows, but on account of the darkness and want 

 of dogs we were unable to pursue his majesty with any hope 

 of success. 



(To be Continued.) 



&faml %/iztorg< 



THE MARINE CARNIVORA. 



Iowa.— The report of the Fish Commissioner, Mr. B. F. 

 Shaw, shows the distribution of fish in the Slate during the 

 years 1876 and 1877, which was as follows : 



18T6. 



Native ash distributed 1,574,200 



Salmon and lake trout "''■ 



Shad MO-MO 



White tab. 



Eels 1lio.hu>> 



Penolmeot Salmon 80,000 



Landlocked " -• 6,uw 



Native fish dist. from car 3i».ooo 



1S77. 



Lake trout 303.500 



Native fish ™>*™ 



Brook trout 81,000 



Shad 15n,ii00 



California Salmon KMMJ2 



Landlocked « jMOO 



California Salmon at hatching house 100 '9„ 



Other tish " " " „ W A^, 



Lake trout eggs " " " l, .60,0 00 



6,315,700 



.«. — . 



Wisconsin Lake Teotjt and Whitefisii.— Under the en- 

 ergetic and able management of Mr. H. W. Welsher, Super- 

 intendent of the hatching house at Milwaukee reports 4,000,- 

 000 lake trout and 15,000,000 whiteflsh spawn on hand at 

 present. This is pushing things, and, barring accidents, Mr. 

 Welsher has good hopes of turning out more fry from his 

 hatching than have ever been turned out from any other sin- 

 gle house in the history of fish culture. 



> ■»■ ■» 



Salmon in Virginia.— We visited the hatching-house near 

 the river on Wednesday, and Mr. H. B. Nicholas furnished 

 us with the following information •. The commissioners sent 

 100,000 salmon eggs, which were received here October 13, 

 and placed in the troughs on that and the following day. On 

 the 18th they commenced hatching, and in ten days the 

 troughs were full of small salmon, about 90,000 eggs being 

 hatched out. On the 28th day of the present month the little 

 sacs disappeared and feeding commenced. The little fellows 

 are doing well, and will soon be ready for distribution. About 

 40,000 will be placed in the North and South rivers, and the 

 balance Colonel McDonald will distribute according to his 

 judgment in other streams of the State. The hatching-house 

 was not at all injured by the flood.— Lexington (Va.) Gazette 

 and Citizen. 



Fish erom the Sandwich Islands. — Some time ago the 

 Chairman of the Fish Commission sent to the Sandwich Islands 

 about 130,000 salmon and trout eggs, consigned to A. W. 

 Bush of the firm of Friel & Bush. The salmon eggs were 

 placed in a pond at Ewa. A Honolulu paper received by the 

 last steamer chronicles the successful hatching of the eggs, the 

 percentage of loss being very small. It also adds ; " The trout 

 ova, previously sent by Mr. Bedding, was also successfully 

 hatched, and the youug strangers have been placed in the 

 stream of Waipahu, where they appear to be thriving. With 

 the salmon, which, as is well known, is a deep-water fish, re- 

 turning annually to its spawning place, it is proposed— if the 

 experiment turns out a success— to stock our principal island 

 rivers." In return for these fish our Commission received 

 about 100 of the awa, the choice fish of the Sandwich Islands, 

 and a dozen mullet. More of the latter will soon be received 

 in exchange for eggs sent by the Commission. These fish have 

 all been placed in the water at Bridgeport, Solano county, 

 where they may find salt water, brackish water and fresh, to 

 each of which they are partial at different seasons. Specimens 

 of the awa were sent on to Professor Baird of the United 

 States Fish Commission, who submitted them for scientific 

 consideration to Prof. Theodore Gill, the head of theichthyo- 

 loo-ical department of the Smithsonian Institute. The latter 

 reports in brief : " The awa is found described in the books 

 Chauos Cypridellft, Vallenciennes. The English name is milk 

 fish, on account of the sweetness of the flesh. But little is 

 known as regards its habits. It is said to attain a large size, 

 being sometimes as much as three and a half feet in length. 

 Letters to the Fish Commission from _ the Sandwich Islands 

 say that the fish under favorable conditions reaches a weight 

 of six or seven pounds. They will prove a valuable addition 

 to our food fishes, but afford no sport to the angler, as they 

 never take the hook. — San Franustwo Chro?iicle, Nov, 29. 



, mm * »». 



—At the Aquarium some 5,000 eggs of the brook trout 

 come from Covey in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, all 

 beiu<„ r hatched out by means of the Ferguson jar for Mr. Perry 

 Belmont. Mr. Belmont purposes stocking his streams in Long 

 Island with the young fish. 



— The hatching of the California salmon in the Aquarium 

 has been quite successful. Of a large quantity produced, not 

 one per cent, have died. The fish are now large enough to be 

 hand-fed. One of the great uses of the Aquarium would be 

 to 6tock gentlemen's premises with young fish precisely in 

 this way. ^_ 



i ■ — ■ 



NOT many days ago I heard a gentleman of very intelligent 

 appearance, while watching the feeding of the seals on 

 fish in the Zoological Garden of Philadelphia, quote to his 



companion the philosophical fishermen in Pericles : " 



Master, I marvel how the fishes live in the sea." " Why, as 

 men do a-land ; the great ones eat up the little oneB." 



Now, I do not say that this particular gentleman did not 

 know any better — perhaps he did, and if so I beg his pardon 

 for taking him as the example of a class, but the incident is 

 very suggestive of the ignorance prevailing among most visi- 

 tors to zoological gardens, with respect to what they go there 

 to see. 



Probably the larger proportion of those who do not make 

 more or less of a study of the forms of animal life which sur- 

 round them, look on the seal as a fish, and an equally large 

 proportion of those remaining, while they have an idea that 

 it is not really a fish, take it to be a sort of whale — which in turn 

 they are not quite sure of— or, as I have been asked, " What 

 is the difference between a seal and a porpoise ?" Now, for 

 the benefit of such of these as may occasionally turn for in- 

 formation to the pages of Fokest and Stream I propose to 

 tell them what a seal is. The seals are a sub-group of the 

 same order (Caminora) to which the lion, dog, wolf, bear, 

 skunk, etc., all belong. What fish-like appearance pertains 

 to them is owing to the power which nature everywhere mani- 

 fests of adapting her organic forms to the mode of life under 

 which they have been produced. Their resemblance to the 

 whale, however, may perhaps be accounted for on grounds of 

 relationship, closer than that which all forms doubtless bear 

 toward each other'; the discovery of Zeuglodon and other 

 fossil forms indicating the previous existence of a group in- 

 termermediate between seals and cetaceans. The group of 

 seals has been termed Pinnipedia or fin-footed as opposed to 

 the land carnivores, constituting the Fisaipedia or split-footed. 



All the Marine carnivora were originally included by Lin- 

 nseus in one genus, Phoca. Buffon, however, somewhere later, 

 recognized two natural groups into which all the forms fell by 

 reason of a very obvious character — the absence or presence 

 of an external ear. The French naturalist, Peron, in 1816, 

 constituted these groups into two genera, to which he gave 

 the names of Phoca and Otaria. Brooke, some years later, 

 arranged them into three families, according to the classifica- 

 tion which is still adopted : the Eared Seals, the Earless" Seals 

 and the Walruses, now known respectively by the names of 

 Otaridm, Phocidm and TrichechidcB. 



The various modifications of structure to be found among 

 the seals offer, perhaps, the best instance existing of the 

 adaptation of form to necessities— the rounded outline of the 

 body together with the close pressed hair, directed uniformly 

 backward, affording the least possible resistance to the yield- 

 ing medium in which they habitually live, while the power- 

 ful development of the extremities in many species enables 

 them to move on land with much greater ease than is known 

 m any other marine animal, and the tough, leathery skin 

 which covers both hands and feet, serves the purpose of the 

 webbed foot of the duck, when in the water, and answers by 

 its toughness to protect them from injury against the rocks 

 when transformed into means of terrestrial progression. The 

 nostrils are mere slits in the extremity of the nose, and can be 

 firmly closed at will by the animal to exclude the water, 

 while the structure of the lungs and the enormous quautity 

 of blood contained in their arteries enables them to remain for 

 a considerable length of time without a fresh supply of air- 

 it has been stated that the seal can remain from a half to 

 three-quarters of an hour under water. I have myself timed 

 one for twenty-five minutes, although the average duration of 

 their immersion is much less — probably not over fi ve or six 

 minutes. The ear in the Otaridce is so tightly rolled as to 

 prevent the entrance of water, and in the Phocidm, in Which 

 the ear consists externally of a mere orifice into which the tip 

 of the little finger might be inserted, there is a valve with 

 which the opening can be completely closed. The eye, too, 

 has a covering like the nictitating membrane of the eye of a 

 bird, which can be drawn over it at will, protecting its delicate 

 apparatus from contact with foreign substances, while its 

 transparency does not admit of any interference with the 

 powers of sight. The brain of the seal is very large and 

 many species give evidence of an intelligence which is suscep- 

 tible of much training. It was a popular opinion among the 

 ancients that the seal possessed the faculty of recognizing the 

 sound of music, and that they were perceptibly affected by 

 its influence. 



This belief has been handed down to the present day, and 

 was adverted to by Mr. R. Brown, in a paper on the Seals of 

 Greenland, published a few years ago in the Proceedings of 

 the Zoological Society of London, in which he states that he 

 has frequently seen seals raise their heads and listen intently 

 to the sea songs of the sailors as they dragged their boats over 

 the ice floes. It is hard to doubt the conclusions of sotiain- 

 ed and accurate an observer, but I confess that experiments 

 on the seals in the Philadelphia Garden Jhave rendered me 

 somewhat skeptical on this point. 



The seal being an animal of a considerable grade of intelli- 

 gence, pays much attention, in an inquisitive sort of a way, to 

 whatever is going on around it; and I have so far failed to con- 

 vince myself _that the animal, uolesg possessing a specialty 



