46 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Feb. 1, 1883. 



A TRIP TO TEXAS. 



EVER since the admission of Texas into the "Union of 

 States, I have had a strong desire to visit that imperial 

 domain and see what, was to be seen. Of course, I had no 

 expectation of being- able to traverse every square mile of its 

 territory, or even every county — but I had an ambition to 

 look at some of if, and enjoy whatever of comfort or pleasure 

 might be afforded, Its vest amines of fertile soil, swarming 

 with grou*e and deer, had a charm for me : and I thought if 

 I Gouta spend a fc in such u lovely land, 1 'could 



realize all the fond anticipations which 1 had indulged, and 

 get such a surfeit of hunting, that the old State in which I 

 was born would i hereafter offer little inducement for trial 

 upon its game. 



li bo happened that i made my arrangements to gratify my 

 wishes in regard to thE visit, and on the 2d of October last, 

 1 bade adieu to my household and left for the land of promise. 

 I had several Inni bred b ded i dolls and my 12-bore Whstley- 

 Pdchards, and expected, before many days, I should he writ- 

 ing to the Bportmfi friends whom L left behind, glowing- ac- 

 counts of successful adventures in what I was led to believe 

 was a very Paradise for Nimrods. After a few hours' ride, I 

 reached Charlotte, stopped at the Central Hotel, over Which 

 the smiling and genial Eccles presides, and at midnight took 

 the "fast mail" lor Atlanta, arriving on the clay when the 

 celebrated Cotton Exposition was to be opened with imposing 

 ceremonies. I was too eager for Texas, to allow such a 

 paltry affair to detain me, and so on I sped for Chattanooga 

 and Memphis, at which latter place I was kept for a half -day, 

 waiting for the departure of the Little Rock train. But "it 

 staned after a while, and then the Mississippi, the St. Francis, 

 L'Anguille, the White and the Arkansas rivers were success- 

 ively crossed, and I got out of the train, to wait one clay in 

 the capital of ' 'Arkausaw, " where I expected to meet with" my 

 brother, who had promised to accompany me, with some good 

 dogs. He had determined to go on with me without stopping 

 me, and was, unfortunately, detained at the" hotel so long" 

 that when he reached the depot* lie found I had gone down 

 into the city. He returned, and before I had gotten to sleep, 

 was loudly knocking at Ihe door of my room. The next 

 night we were off, and breakfasted at that well-known town 

 whose dimensions are so great, that it requires two States to 

 hold it, and whose accommodations for hungry travelers are 

 so meagre, that breakfast constitutes the victuals of Arkan- 

 saw, and supper those of Texas, until a new supply can come 

 in. [Travelers will recollect that passengers for the South 

 breakfast at a hotel in. Arkansas, and sup at one, a hundred 

 yards off, in Texas]. Then, by way of Jefferson and Marsh- 

 all and Long View and Dallas," we went to Port Worth, arriv- 

 ing about half-past two P.M. Here we found a somewhat 

 pretentious hotel, but infested with mosquitoes. 



Next morning I got up early and went into the northern 

 and highest part, of the city to take my first view of a rolling- 

 prairie. As I gazed all around at the almost treeless expanse, 

 1 wondered how many thousands of deer and grouse lay 

 within the circle of vision, confidently believing that the 

 numbers were beyond computation. On inquiring of a per- 

 son whom I saw, as to the game, lie put the first damper 

 upon my expectations, by saying that it was rather scarce in 

 that immediate vicinity, but ten or fifteen miles off "there 

 wm lots and sessions of it,'' Inasmuch as the locality for 

 which I was aiming was about forty miles distant, I hoped I 

 should find it in great; abundance'when I reached the place 

 of my destination. That day it rained a good deal, and at -1 

 P. M. I took the first train which passed from Port Worth 

 to Hillsborough and got off at a station called Grand View, 

 in the southern part of Johnson county. It was nearly a 

 mile to the little town, the road was in that lovely condition 

 that Texas prairies can afford after a rain, with' no convey- 

 ance, and I did not know the route. The station agent who 

 went to take charge of the very train which took me, and 

 whose effects were iu a car on the side track, kindly offered 

 to allow a traveling salesman for Galveston and myself the 

 use of two cots in^the depot, and though not offering any 

 remarkable luxury, we availed ourselves of the courtesy. 

 Next day I hired a conveyance and went about six miles. My 

 brother remained at Fort Worth to look after our baggage, 

 which had not arrived when I left. That night he joined me, 

 and with two dogs and a resident sportsman who Had a pair 

 of fine horses ami a spring wagon, we proposed to. make the 

 prairies echo with detonations of our Tolleys and Westley- 

 Riohards. The result I will now give you. * 



The day following our arrival we went into (he. fields look- 

 ing for partridge, (quail or Lob White) our friend and host 

 telling us that prairie chickens were scarce in the neighbor- 

 hood, but might be found in Hie prairies about ten or fifteen 

 miles distant and now and then early in the mornings or late 

 in the afternoons flying into the cornfields. We found sev- 

 eral coveys near the Osage orange hedges which surrounded 

 the plantation, but as they flew into the hedges and the thick 

 grass and weeds, which covered the adjacent prfrt of the fields 

 our success was not very remarkable. Hawks we found 

 abundant and had the pleasure of killing several of them. 

 Now and then a mule rabbit jumped up within tempting 

 distance of Don, our pointer, who could not resist his desire 

 for a chase. A run of a hundred yards usually demonstrated 

 to him that even on three legs mule-ears far surpassed him in 

 fleetness, and he came back looking- like a wiser dog. This 

 Wisdom, however, like that which (soften gained by bipeds, 

 only lasted until another temptation presented itself. As we 

 proceeded arouud the fields we came to a place which looked 

 as if it was a favorite resort of birds. Our dogs hunted well, 

 and but few minutes elapsed before Don came to a stand anil 

 immediately with a sharp bark sprang upon the quarry. No 

 birds rose, but the air soon became redolent of a mephitic 



The last clay of my stay I succeeded in killing four prairie 

 chickens, five' upland plovers, and two mule-eared rabbits. I 

 used No. 6 shot and three drachms of gunpowder, and several 

 of my shots were at long range. The best chance I had I 

 failed to do anything, for the reason that my gam had no 

 shells iu it, and the prospect for game had so excited me that 

 I forgot the fact until it was entirely too late. 



I confess I was somewhat disappointed in the flavor of the 

 prairie chicken, but, perhaps, it was owing to the fact that 

 at the breakfast when I tried them we had some plover, 

 which made a marked contrast. The plover is one of the 

 very best birds I have ever tasted, and comes as near equal- 

 ing the darkey's idea of " 'possum sop and rater" — "too good 

 to talk about" — as any food I have ever tried. It may not 

 ! be a plover, but that is what it was called. Certainly" they 

 I were fat and delicious. 



I It is very probable that there are many places in Texas, 

 Which WOufd satisfy the most exacting sportsman's demands, 

 but, "o far as 1 am concerned, that depends entirely upon the 

 testimony of others. In the more unsettled portions of that 

 great commonwealth no doubt game of various kinds 

 abounds in sufficient quantities to satisfy all proper aspira- 

 tions. During the spring I hear that there are thousands 

 of plover in the prairies. Usually Bob White's soft voice is 

 heard in the woods and fields, the timber is supplied with 

 squirrels, turkeys and deer, and during the winter months 

 the ponds and lakes are said to be full of ducks. AH this I 

 state upon the authority of others. But I didn't find the 

 abundance I sought, and my trip, as a sporting tour, was a 

 failure. My advice is that all sportsmen who visit that 

 country should get transportation for their dogs, for the 

 baggage-masters are merciless in their extortions, and some- 

 times not far from insolent in their demeanor. 



On my return home I concluded to stop for a week or 

 more in Arkansas and see if the bottoms in that State would 

 not afford more sport than I had had in Texas. Therefore, 

 when I reached Little Rock I went, without much delay, to 

 a plantation about two miles below, where I knew in former 

 days ducks could be had in abundance. Unfortunately for 

 me, climatic influences had prevented their arrival from the 

 North in the usual quantities, and I was forced to try the 

 teal, a few of which had made their appearance. We had 

 ducks and partridges and squirrels, one or the other or all, 

 at every meal while I remained at the place. As in Texas, 

 buds were not numerous and the hunting not entirely agree- 

 able, because of the character of the country; still, we had 

 some sport and some game. If I had postponed my visit for 

 ten days, I could have had my desires for duck-shooting 

 amply gratified without leaving "the house exceeding a mile. 

 Cold weather set in the very day I left, and that night 

 thousands of them came in "from the North, and the local 

 sportsmen had a fine time. 



The influx usually lakes place from the 1st to the l-jjtb of 

 November, and after that, until the rigors of winter in that 

 climate force the ducks further south, all the lakes and 

 ponds are swarming with them, I have seen thousands at a 

 sight, and there are few places in the country which offer a 

 better chance for this kind of game than the Arkansas River 

 and the ponds in its bottom lauds. In portions of the State 

 there are still many deer and turkeys. The Grand Prairie 

 and Long Prairie afford some grouse and a large number of 

 partridges, while the woods are full of the "nimble squirrel 

 on the nut-brown tree." I did not go to the Grand Prairie, 

 but only tried the other. The birds were mainly in the 

 woods, and we saw but one prairie hen, which I "failed to 

 kill, but which was brought down nicely by Tommy, a 

 young nephew. Later in the season, no doubt," I could have 

 had much better sport, Wklls. 



Pine Woods, North Carolina. 



\ntm\nl l§i$tonu 



tt 



FLORIDA RESORTS. 



THIS letter is written iu camp at Rockledge, Indian 

 River, Florida. For the past three weeks wenave been 

 enjoying the most delightful Florida winter weather. The 

 thermometer has ranged from 70 to 80 degrees in the shade 

 at midday. No rain has fallen, and there has been a nice 

 cool breeze nearly every day. 



Rockledge hammock, with its numerous orange groves, has 

 been the delight; of every visitor. The steamer Marion con- 

 nects with the De Barry Line at Sanford on Monday and 

 Thursday, leaving a 9 A. M. for Rockledge, and is recom- 

 mended "by those who come on here as much superior to any 

 boat that has run to the upper St. John. 



The last boat brought quite a party of well-known residents 

 of Atlanta, Ga., and Dr. Ilenshall and wife, of Cvnthiana. 

 Ky.; C. L. Jordan, of Willis, Texas, and N. H. Bishop and 

 wife, of "The Paper Canoe." They have all spent a few 

 days with us to complete their arrangements for going down 

 the river. 



The Doctor and party propose to devote the entire winter 

 to the explorations of the various inlets, keys and islands as 

 far as Ceder Keys on the west coast. 



Since our arrival we have visited Dr. Whitfield's Banana 

 River, Canareral Light, Dummit's Grove and the groves of 

 Oapt. Burnham, Wilson, Mrs. Hall and many others. 1 



odor, and poor Don had 

 eared rabbit afforded. 

 and as "the Scent of 

 got the full benefit 

 bloom" for several day 

 say that poL 



perienee than the rnule- 

 saster also befel Flounce., 

 ug over them still," I 

 dens of Gul in their 



It is almost needless to 

 I had never before see 



one, and after shooting tin- one which had perfumed our dogs, 

 I looked at the feci, of my brother who was standing near, 

 and there was another within less than a yard with its tail 

 ready for the- diffusion -of the "ottar of roses." By unusual 

 agility my brother escaped the sprinkling, and I then shot 

 the lovely looking hul bad smelling animal, "detested, 

 shunned, by saint and -inner," \\ tether there was any other 

 eats in that plantation 1 do not know, but I certainly smelt 

 them all over the fields and all over the prairies, whenever 

 our dogs were near. The day's bunt resulted in fifteen part- 

 ridges (quail), three, b i oni mule-eared rabbit, and two 

 polecats. Though we hunted diligently, on no day did we 

 get over twenty-live birds. The fact is the birds were ex- 

 tremely scarce. 1 only wondered how there were any at all, 

 for there was no wafer in miles and quail require some of 

 that, at least they do in my country. 



ipt. Burnham, Wilson, Mrs. Hall and many others. The 

 Doctor's place is on Merrif's Island, five miles smith of Rock- 

 ledge. The site is one of the most romautic on Indian River, 

 occupying a high shell ridge some fifty feet above the water 

 and commanding a beautiful view of a* little lakelet at its foot, 

 Indian River further west, Banana River on the east, and 

 far away the Ocean ridge, and Canareral Light far to the 

 northward. 



In the Doctor's garden were green pears, cauliflower, 

 onions, tomatoes, cabbages, lettuce, mustard, sugar cane, 

 bananas, radishes, beets, cucumbers, dill, sweet and Irish 

 potatoes, figtrees, paw -paw, gum-a-lim-bo, rubber tree, prickly 

 pear, etc. 



On Banana River on the ocean side are the groves of Mrs. 

 Hall, Oapt, Wesson and Capt. Burnham, the Old De Soto and 

 many others. We have also visited the noted Dummit grove 

 belonging to the Duke of Castellueia. 



The orange crop on Indian River this winter is abundant 

 and of fine" quality. The Duke is sending about 200 boxes 

 by each boat. 



In our camp we have the luxuries of venison, fish, oysters, 

 ducks, bananas, oranges, limes, lemons, sweet potatoes, egg 

 plants, etc. The new crop of tomatoes is beginning to arrive 

 from Lake Worth, from Which the farmers expect to realize 

 three or four thousand - 



_ The boatmen have been overhauling their boats, for excur- 

 sion parties and visitors are coming with every boat to go 

 down the river on hunting, fishing and exploring' parties. 



The stores here are well slocked with the provisions and 

 tackle necessary for atrip, but extra ammunition, tents, etc., 

 must be brought by the parties themselves. Rice Bird. 



THE HIBERNATION OF ANIMALS. 



DON'T black bears sleep through the winter?" qus- 

 tioned the writer of an attendant who was dealb? 

 out mid-day rations of bread and milk at the park, 



" That's the general impression," was the rejoinder, " Ut 

 we have never noticed any attempts at hibernation hce. 

 Bears are unusually lively during the cold months, and le- 

 mand their food as regularly as do the lions and other fane 

 animals. I don't know that" any observations of value on.hls 

 question have ever been made on animals in confinemen + I 

 have hud some experience with outside animals, and agreat 

 many go through what is called a winter sleep; and bwarm 

 countries there is what niight be called a summer sleer Bears 

 begin in the fall to look out for a soft nest; and if it's possi- 

 ble for them to cat more at one time than anotheithev do it 

 then, and when the cold weather sets in they arefat "and in 

 prime condition, According to some authorities.he fat pro- 

 duces the carbon that in some way tends to intuce somno- 

 lency. The stomach of a bear at this time beeoies empty, 

 and naturally shrivels or draws into a very small oace, and 

 is rendered totally useless by a substance called ' tappn ' that 

 clogs it and the intestines; "this is formed of pine leves and 

 other material that the animal takes from ants' nes and the * 

 trunks of trees in its search after honey. They lieisleep in 

 this condition for about six months, generally snowe in; but. 

 you can tell the place, as the heat of the bear, whs there is 

 left, keeps an air hole up through the snow. The bar seems 

 to live on its fat, thetappeu preventing its too rapid consump- 

 tion; and if you run across them during this tins — even 

 along in March just before they wake up— they are ihqu! as 

 fat as when they went in. I have taken a slice of fas from a 

 black bear six inches thick— regular blubber. I rencmber," 

 continued the man, ' ' one winter I was ' log haulin,- ' in the 

 western part of this State. We had our eyes on a big tree, 

 and one morning when it was about ten degrees beow zero I 

 tackled it to warm up. I hammered away foribout. five 

 hoius at it and finally started her, and over she cane — slowly 

 at first, and then as if she was going right throigh. The 

 snow Was nearly three feet deep, and as the tree stuck it flew 

 up for about twenty feet and half blinded me, aid when I 

 came to there was the biggest black bear I ever Sav standing 

 along side of me, looking about as mixed as Iffd. I hail 

 lost my axe, and the first move I made she stated, and on 

 taking a look I found that she had a nest in tie trunk and 

 had probably turned in for the winter. It wasabout twenty 

 feet from the ground and was built with moss, eaves and all 

 kinds of truck, and as warm and as snug as you pleases — a 

 good place to spend a winter in. " 



The brown and polar bears have the same ha it of lying up 

 for the winter. An Esquimaux informed Ctpt. Lyon that 

 in the first of the winter the pregnant bears ire always fat 

 and solitary. When a heavy fall of snow set: in the animal 

 seeks some hollow place in which she can liedown, and re- 

 mains quiet while the snow covers her. Sometimes she will 

 wait until a quantity of snow has fallen am then digs her- 

 self a cave; at all events it seems necessary that Bhe should 

 be covered up by the snow. She now goes„o sleep and does 

 not wake until the spring sun is pretty high when she brings 

 forth two cubs. The cave by this time las become much 

 larger by the effect of the animal's warnth and breath, so 

 that the cubs have room enough to mow and they acquire 

 considerable strength by continually snoring. The dam at 

 length becomes so thin and weak that it is with great diffi- 

 culty she extricates herself, which she dies when the sun is 

 powerful enough to throw a strong glare through the snow 

 whicb roofs the den. Then the family tomes out and will 

 take anything that comes along in the "wry of food. During 

 the long sleep the temperature of the bear's blood is reduced 

 to almost that of the surrounding air. The power of will 

 over the muscles seems to be suspended, respiration is hardly 

 noticeable and most of the vital functions are at a complete 

 standstill; the entire body sleeping, as it were. The male 

 grizzly bear never hibernates. The youig and the females, 

 however, build nests, one of which "measured ten feet high, 

 five feet long and six feet wide. 



Bats are great winter sleepers, and in most of the known 

 caves they can be found during the cole mouths clinging to 

 the walls and to each other. During hibernation their respi- 

 ration ceases almost entirely, and only the most careful use 

 of a stethoscope can reveal it. The air that has surrounded 

 numbers of them has been carefully examined and not the 

 slightest evidence found of its having been breathed ; and, 

 stranger yet, they can exist in this condition in gas, that, 

 were they r awake, would prove instantly fatal. A machine 

 has beeninvented to examine these and other animal <, while 

 in this condition. A delicate index records the slightest pul- 

 sation, while a thermometer shows the rise and fall of the 

 temperature at every moment during the period ; and by an 

 arrangement of the wing, the circulation of the blood is re- 

 corded. A more delicate experiment can hardly be imagined, 

 as a strong breath, a sneeze, or a footfall will cause the sub- 

 ject of the experiment to recover enough to respire several 

 times ; and the effect of this on the machine can be imagined 

 when it is known that though, while in this condition they 

 produce no effect upon the oxygen of the air about them, 

 they consume when respiring more than four cubic inches 

 of oxygen an hour. 



The common marmot is a great underground sleeper. 

 They build large storehouses, sometimes eight feet in diam- 

 eter," and from the latter part of September to April, they lie 

 in them, and, like the bears, give birth to their young during 

 this period. 



The dormouse is a remarkable sleeper. Even in their ordi- 

 nary sleep they can be taken from the nest and handled with- 

 out' waking them. Toward winter they acquire a great deal 

 of fat, and stow away a vast amount of provision around about 

 their nest, and then go to sleep within ; but they rarely awake 

 to use this food unlass a very warm period comes around be- 

 fore the regular breaking up of cold weather. 



The hedgehog is a sound winter sleeper, and has been the 

 subject of an infinite number of experiments while in this 

 condition. One experimentalist, believing that cold was the 

 cause of their curious condition, surrounded one with a freez- 

 ing mixture, and froze it to death. By increasing the cold 

 about another that was already hibernating, it was made to 

 wake up; and walked off. 



If an animal is suddenly decapitated while in this hibern 

 ating condition, the action of the heart is not affected for 

 some time, a second life seeming to outlive the one taken. 

 An experiment has been made in which the brain of the 

 sleeper was removed, then the entire spinal-cord, but for two 

 hours hardly any change was noticeable upon the action of 



