. 18*;?.. j 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



8S 



Of etjtu el re ism I hi I oi i ib$utg aucl 



romance connected v.iiu tin: tadiUra and Ehe French Cui 



traders, v. ' , ■! strange human interest to this re- 



{ponjanda ilyJh uta story tlrat can here bo flbrpiriclcd 



i Eron i in pe i of Jean Charles Taclie, and is as follows: 



"in asct tldij ! lhc jteal Liver Ottawa, one has to stop lit 

 i" rod "( the ni'gii uioiintaan, situate in She middleof the 



agi oi the seven chutes, at the foot of the island of the 



Grand Calumet, Itishete that Oadikut's tomb may he seen, 

 surrounded by a wooden railing. Each time the Hudson 

 Bay canoes pass the little rock an old voyageur relates to Ms 

 younger companions the I'alo of the brave interpreter. 

 Cadieux was a roving intcrpreterj who had married a ypnng 

 Algonquin girl, and' purchased tit this portage furs for tie' 

 traders. Attar a winter thus paHSed he ascertained that a 

 parly of kg lug to pounce on the canoes. To 



prevent this, he and fl young brave endeavored to UlVeigfe 

 the Iroquois into (la/ woods, while the OaoOfiS descended the 

 :'il tud by a circuitous route himself rejoined (hevoya- 

 genrs. tie succeeded in the first part of his design; l.ml when 

 thirteen days had elapsed, and Cadieux had not been heard 

 from, a party waasenl to scour the woods, who found a small 

 hut of boughs, and the corpse of the interpreter half covered 

 with green branches. His hands were clasped over a large 

 sheet of lurch bark, on which was scribbled his tale of ex- 

 haustion, hunger and death. The piece of bark on which 

 his death song was written (for Cadieux was a poet) was 

 brought to the post of the Lake of tie' Two Mountains, and 

 the voyageurs of to-day have set it to a plaintive melody, 

 which is much in the style of the old Norman ballads." 



But I must now pay my respects to the River St. Maurice. 

 As the .row flies, the distance from the contra] part of the 

 Ottawa (;: that river .s not great, but tm reader must nir-ice 

 the imaginary trip he has just made and pass with me down 

 to Montreal aM thence io. Three Rivers, where we will have 

 another talk about another of I he wonders of Canada. This 

 river waters a territory of inore than fifty thousand Square 

 miles, which is exceedingly rich in forests of pine spruce and 

 hemlock. If takes its rise m a spring lake four hundred 

 mites from the St. Lawrence into which it empties by three 

 outlets, and from which fact its only town of anv inrporance 

 is called Three Rivers. In 182!) several commissioners were 

 appointed by the Provincial Government to make a survey of 

 the SI. Maurice for the purpose, in pari, of ascertaining'' the 

 proximity of its source to the Upper Ottawa. They traveled 

 in canoes and met with many interesting adventures, and I 

 have had the privilege of consulfmg their reports in the Gov- 

 ernment Library at Quebec, where the officials take pleasure 

 in extending every facility to those seeking- information. lu 



this old book I 



Who formerly inhabited ,h 



were not numerous even 1' 

 is now well nigh extinct, i 

 ing with the gradual extiu 

 beaver. The superstitions 

 Indians were somewhat 



few items about the Indians 

 va I ley of t he St. Maurice. They 

 EtJ years ago, and the pure stock 

 nd their decline lias been in keep- 

 ition of their favorite animal, the 

 Wlrich prevailed among these old 

 ^ 'culiar, and they were" more san- 

 guine than maiFT her tribes in r< gard tc the efficacy if. 

 dreams. They allowed the virions, of the night to influence 

 their conduct in daily life, and notwithstanding their general 

 docility they were someHmes induced to perform deeds of 

 "Teat barbarity. The purpose of a dream with them was 



always good, however dre 

 one of their "voices of the r 

 not succeed iu the chase until 

 foe, they did not avoid tin 

 dream Ihut iu the absence 



might be the results. When 

 t" told them that they could 

 sy had killed some friend or 

 tiling; and if informed in a 

 mate food they might 



lore of this 'one laud the "ex 

 loom above all others.. H 

 Crooked Knife, and he is said to 

 aud eating of not less than thro 

 feasting dreams were so freqUl 

 appropriate reputation of being ; 



resort to a_ fellow man, they readily became cannibals. Lu the 

 ploits Of one particular cannibal 

 ; name was Macontogah or the 

 ivc confessed to the killing 

 netifs or half-breeds. Hi's 

 that lie acquired the very 

 evil spirit or demon. But 

 nee figured in these parts, 

 who was a eanibal wit hout any regard to his dreams. This 

 reprobate was once discovered in his lodge partaking of the 

 remains of bis grandchild, whom he had killed to keep him- 

 self from starvation. Bui,1hesc are exceptional stories, and 

 by the Indians, generally, they are listened to with pain and 

 indignation. 



Another glimpse into the. character of the Indian unnd is ob- 

 tained by this little story. They believed that among what they 

 call the Carrihou Mountains [here once lived certain woo'd 

 demons, and from the cave which was their special home, the 

 screams of children wereroften heard. Their terrible sounds 

 were undoubtedly in perfect keeping with the solitude of the 

 hind, but it is more than probable that the screams in question 

 came from the great horned owls or the nighthawks which 

 abound in the woods between the sources of the St. Maurice 

 and Hudson's Lay. 



The St. Maurice has many tributaries, aud there is a 

 kind of fascination in the very names they bear, some of 

 which are as follows; Shaweiiegan, Matawan. Vermillion, 

 Flammand, Maunonan, Wessounoau, Mekiuok, Bostonnais, 

 Croclie, Grant! Pierrichc, Tranche and Windigo, as well as 

 the Rat aud the Ribbon, all of them flowing tbrougb B great 

 wilderness, and only to be visited in canoes. Lakes are 

 numerous, and iu several places the immediate hanks range 

 from two hundred to a thousand feet iu height. Their 

 waters abound in various kinds of fish, and throughout the 

 whole valley both large and small game is abundant, the fur- 

 bearing animals affording constant emplovrnent to many 

 men, who do their trading at the Hudson Bay Company r s 

 port at a, place called La Tuque, located in the far north. 

 But the crowning attraction of this river are the Falls of the 

 Shawcnegan, which are about thirty miles from the St. 

 Lawrence, and in their grandeur are indeed weU nigh as 

 imposing as those of Niagara. Although located on the St. 

 Maurice, they bear the name of a large, river which empties 

 into that stream just below the falls] thereby causing con- 

 fusion in the mind of the tourist. The total fall of water is 

 said to be one hundred and fifty feet, and during the spring- 

 freshets there are three distind leaps, unconnected with each 

 other, but meeting in one immense basin. The great rocks 

 Which separate the falls are called "La Grand-Mere" and 

 "La Bonhommi . " There are large fissures in the rocks, into 

 which the waters are driven with great force, and which, iu 

 rebounding, make a fearful noise and throw up vast columns 

 of spray, whil&an mrmenso whirlpool near by is perpetually 

 covered with foam, But further up the river are the Fails 

 of the Grand-Mere, and the scenery both below and immedi- 

 ately above them is full of interest. On a comparatively 

 quiet reach above these falls the people have tried to give 

 employment to a small steamboat, but the navigation is 

 dangerous. The only proper way for the tourist 'to enjoy 

 the scenery of this rivei is tO travel iu a canoe, and there are 

 jilwnys to be found at Three Rivers some Indian htti 



KJyagi ti i ad f\ fpedition, but he mu.-t be ready to 



live on hardtack and to sleep upon hemlock boughs, which, 

 if he is it man of sense, he will enjoy The forests abound 

 wiih (her, caribou aud moose, and good sport will reward 



ie p. 1 1 t.i Inuilar, The hitter animal is generally hunted 

 when the snow ladecp, and sufficiently crusted with ice to 

 bear the weight of a. dog, but not that" of the moose. The 

 tramp after a-moose may sometimes last for many- days, and 

 some of the best pictures of this sport, and of the"' scenery of 

 this part of Canada, were executeo by the late accomplished 

 artist, C. Crieghiff, of Quebec. The contrast between the 

 wild scenery aud primitive life along the whole valley of the 

 St, Ala ii rice and the city of Three "Rivers is striking to the 



' ing ourisl, but eharaeteiistic of this northern province. 

 There art imn foundries or •■forges" nrnv in operation in this 

 vicinity, which were established by the French nearly one 

 hundred and liftv years atio: the oily is the see of a Roman 

 Catholic bishopric* and the Cathedral is claimed to be one of 

 the handsomest in Canada; and an extensive hi mber trade 

 with the West, indies lias existed here for many years. To 

 all lovers of the pictUUesqUc who are sighing for "new fields 

 and pastures new," 1 woidd say that a. canoe voyage on the 

 St. Maurice, will amply repay them for till the inconveniences 



. . ilderness tour. 



GAME AND FISH IN TEXAS. 



THE letter of " Wells," of Pine Woods, N. C. in Foeest 

 and Stkbam, of Feb. l(i, giving an account of his hunt- 

 ing "Trip to Texas." amused me not a little. He travels a 

 thousand miles or more to have some sport witli his gun in 

 Texas, slops a lew days iu two populous prairie counties, 

 don't hud anything, of course; returns to North Carolina and 

 reports Texas lobe a mighty poor place for game! From 

 (lie report which he gives of himself, he expected even to find 

 game in flie streets of Fort, Worth— a city of 10,1)00 people, 

 situated in a great prairie— bears, buffalo, deer, eomra \-n, 

 hyenas, lurkeyc, prairie-chickens, etc. Of course iie did not 

 find them prowling about or feeding in the. streets of the city: 

 neither did lie Unci them on the outskirts of the city. Tar- 

 rant county, of which Fort Worth is the capital is' a great 

 rolling prairie, pierced by railroads in every direction, popu- 

 lous of farmers, with very little timber except along the 

 streams. There is uo covert for game to hide in, and there- 

 fore there is very little there. Johnson county has similar 

 conditio . - :pt that the scream of the locomotive and 

 thunder >f bhej rains are not so generally heard over its roll- 

 ing prairies. They are both very beautiful and fertile re- 

 gions, tin!; for going a-gttnning hi, they are among the last 

 counties in Texas that 1 should think of. Indeed, I know of 

 no county in Texas which would seem to offer a less encour- 

 aging prospect, (o the sportsman than these two. The idea of 

 traveling so far to go gunning, and then choosing such local- 

 ities as ih;' held of one's exploits, seems to us in" Texas very 

 funny. 



Game is very nbuuclaiii in Texas; to use a, strange back- 

 woods expression, ■■ There's just oodles of it." If "Wells" 

 had gone to Colorado City, on lite Texas and Pacific Rail- 

 road, which he left, at Fort Worth, he would have struck 

 into i - lendid - i -■.-_ country, where he could have had his 

 Surfeit inshbrt order. Deer and antelope are very abundant 

 in thai region, ditto wild turkeys; and iu the proper season 

 the Colorado and other streams swarm with geese, ducks and 



is a magnificent clear, rapid stream, running between pre- 

 cipitous bltiffe, and over beds of gravel and solid rock, 

 varying in width from two to three hundred feet. The chan- 

 nel is dottedby numerous small islands covered with reeds, 

 rashes audheavj gohtsjs grasses, about, which the cunning 

 black bass delight to hnk. 



Very little fishing has been done in this stream, and it is well 

 stocked with the gamest of American fish, the black bass, 

 not to speak of the perch, buffalo, blue cat and two van 

 of gar. 



The fishing can be indulged in to the heart's eonlenl , the 

 stream being peculiarly adapted to it. The angler can 

 wade out in most an>' part of the channel, making long cast-, 

 down among the numerous islands mentioned, the current 

 taking the Hies down stream, thus enabling him !o keep up 

 the slack of .his line and out of sight oi the fifth. The rushes, 

 also, afford an excellent screen for the angler. The only 

 drawback to the pleasure of fishing here is i he voracity' of 

 the gars. They will take off your hail and frighten your" fish 

 away. The angler should supply himseii' with a good rifle, 

 by means of which he can rid the 'streams of a great many of 

 these posts. 



The-, railroad will be completed to this seel ion on or about 

 (he middle of April. T know of no portion of the Slate that 

 affords the lover of sport a finer field 1han this. 



It is a delightful climate to camp out in, being dry, invig- 

 orating and very healthful. The elevation above sea level 

 is about, 950 feet; (>i:o. W. PoT-K". 



Del Rio, Kiuiu-y County. Te.x. 



It is selfish to have a good thing and keep it all to one'sself, 

 SO I will just inform my brother sportsmen through your 

 columns that within three hours' sail of this city, which is 

 now connected by rail with the centres of civilization, one 

 niay find all the year around fishing that cannot he beaten 

 in thC United States, and in the winter season wild fowl 

 shooting that can hardly be equalled. 



I venture to say that any day one may land at Co DVJ 

 Pass, with a single rod and reel, a thousand pounds of game 

 fish, and from -eventy-five to three hundred ducks may he 

 killed with one gun in the course of a day. almost any' day r 

 one chooses in a Winter. This without decoys and without a 

 dog to retrieve. 



Quail are abundant here, and turkeys, geese, and deer can 

 be got in almost anjr quantity. I would like to see some 

 spoilsman, who fancies he knows how to land a big fish with 

 a rod and reel, come down here in September and get the 

 conceit taken out of himself and his tackle by the tarpurn, 

 which at that time, keep the water in a perfect boil. 



The great (rouble with the sport here is, there is too much 

 of it, and one soon loses his zest for it. 



Only a few days ago I left one; hundred and eighty ducks 

 on the wharf for persons to help themselves. 



The hotels here are good and prices not exorbitant, aud it 

 would real])' be a treat to many northern sportsmen to come 

 clown here either winter or "summer and see how lavish 

 nature has been to us. Bexae. 



Corpus Christ:, Texas, 1SS3. 



swans. 

 as far a 

 the sin 

 Sand-hi 

 prairies 



1 have often seen that river covered 

 tile eye could reach. The geese an 



n the rough hills are pe 

 issue with the adventurous sportsn 

 you jump them it stirs the blood, i 

 perched on the back of a fleet-foote 

 venient tree to climb. Cougars 



vith these birds 

 not confined to 

 •airies in great flocks. 

 rigades, stalk over the 

 ries, ever ready to join 

 in baffle. Ah! when 

 icularly if y^ou be not 

 orse, or have not a con- 

 bears and wolves are 



ing w 

 pea. i- 



.-d 



To 



world 

 Tcxas 



thai) 

 nter 



Deer , 



, cur 



C-e 1;, 

 para 



T 



also numerous, and jaguars, dangerous fellows when they get 

 their dander up, are by no means infrequent. " Wells" ne"ed 

 potto have gone so far as Colorado City to find plenty of 

 game. I merely instance that point as one where he could 

 have stepped oft the cars and plunged at once into medai* res. 

 Deer are abundant within a few miles of Palestine, also tur- 

 key? and ducks, and scpiirrels without end. Squirrel huut- 



itty lii tie rifle, carrying a, ball not bigger than a 



nteresting sport. 



iking there is no finer game country in the. 



e great alluvial plain lying along the' Gulf in 



ing from twenty to sixty miles in the interior. 



it region literally swarms with ducks, geese, 



vs. snipe, and a givai variety of other birds. 



o means scarce. If is indeed a regular sports- 



;e, whether ihe gun or I he rod be his favorite. 



bayous are very populous of gamev and tooth- 

 some fishes. About, twenty miles cast of Houston the Great 

 Thicket begins, continuing to the Sabine River, and probably 

 beyond. This is an immensely dense forest, with thick en- 

 tanglement of jungle, penetrated by innumerable streams. 

 It is full of deer, bears, wild-eats, 'coons, squirrels, ducks, 

 etc. One would also think that turkeys would abound in it! 

 but. they do not, owing to the great prevalence of cats, oce- 

 lots, weasels and other sly. predaceous varmints. These 

 things are too much for the turkey, and he gives that great 

 Wilder] cbjb a, wide berth. He will not stay where an enenry 

 may lurk behind every free and log, and where he has no 

 safety cither by day or night. 



As for Lob White, I fear his utter extermination in the 

 State unless the law-makers step in to preserve him. We 

 have a number of worthless persons in Texas who prowl 

 about with nets, destroying entire flocks at a swoop. By 

 persons on horseback these" birds are as easily driven as a 

 ilock of sheep or domestic ducks. Whole districts are thus 

 stripped of every bud, the worthless persons not even leav- 

 ing enough for "seed." We have some loose and inefficient 

 law on this subject now, and it is to be hoped that the next 

 Legislature may pass a law to hang every one of these rascals. 

 The birds ,, i > i '> the towns alive and sold to the res- 



laurant-keepers. If every man would "post" his lands, jt 

 would have some effect toward curtailing the miscreants. 



>k A. T. 



■.: i I aS ISS-J. 



In your issue Of Feb. 3, 1 notice, a communicatiou from 

 Mgj II. \V Merrill partial!;, descriptivs cf Ivmn:v cout t 

 and I beg leave to give you something additional" concern- 

 ing the western portion of the county lying on the Bio 

 Grande and Devils rivers. 



This portion of the county is very rough and broken by 

 deep canons and ravines, furnishina-' a safe retreat for the 

 different kinds of game that abound. Here may be found 

 White-tailed deer, turkey, three varieties of quail, a" few bears, 

 panthers, and an occasional jaguar or leopard. 



il stiver, the natural western boundary of the county, 



Jfo%#/ ^ifJottj. 



CRAFTY FEATHERED FISHERS. 

 rpHE following speedy method of killing wounded wild 



1 fowl, which appear sometimes to be as hard to despatch 

 as the traditional cat, was shown to me by a Rice Lake 

 Indian many years ago. and I have practiced it with good 

 success ever since. It is speedier in its action than cither 

 biting the head or neck— both of which performances always 

 savored to me of barbarism, and are for many reasons 

 objectionable— it is quicker death than wringing the neck, 

 and does not disfigure, either the bird or its plumage in the 

 slightest degree. 



The Indian, when showing me his plan, picked up a 

 wounded duck, and, pulling a feather from its wing, 

 plunged the quill portion of the feather into the duck's neck 

 just abOVe the sternum or breast bone, penetrating the 

 cavity of the throat, and pulled it backward aud forward 

 once or twice in the manner of using the plunger of a 

 syringe. A convulsive shudder of wings and body look 

 place aud all was over, the bird being as dead (according to 

 John Phceriix's description) as Julia's sister, -and this method 

 has_n:v;t BSgji faihd ci producing i sm dar elf -el v hen 

 used by me. Of course, any sharp instrument, would produce 

 the same effect, but as you are always- provided with a 

 feather after shooting a duck, no necessity exists for encum- 

 bering yourself with any other appliance. 



Regarding the capture of fish by .the bald eagle, (11 ■'■'.. 

 fatcocisphalus) it is an undoubted fact that often a fish is 

 obtained from the water by this bird, but he cannot fairly 

 be said to catch fish in the sense applied to Ihe osprey and 

 kingfisher. A disabled or sick fish floating on or close to 

 the. surface of the water will be picked up by him, sometimes 

 very cleverly too, and always by aid of the talons; but as for 

 obtaining fish in the manner of the other two named birds, 

 by fairly diving and securing his prey when under Water, 

 and submerging himself to do so, this is a feature that 1 do 

 not think ever occurs. A stranded fish, or one stfugghng 

 over shoal water, will be snapped up by 'him. but I am . oi 

 opinion not otherwise. 



During the last of the run of (he oulachan.s in Fraser 

 River, during the. month of May last past, 1 saw within a 

 distance of three miles on the banks of that river, I belieTe 

 more than a thousand eagles engaged in picking up the dead 

 and dying- fish floating on the surface of the water, and left 

 aground by the receding of the tide. Never dkl 1 see a flock 

 oi gulls more numerous following a school of herrings than 

 were the eagles at, this place, hut not one instance occurred 

 of the bird diving for his prey. On salt water i have E '■■•: 

 hours aud watched ihe osprey fishing, to bo systematically 

 robbed and re-robbed by his white-headed cousin, but can 

 record no instance of an eagle diving for a lish. On I fie par- 

 ticular occasion above referred to," I counted -is high as fif- 

 teen eagles sitting on one small hemlock tree; Lie river on 

 both sides was lined with eagles in addition to those on de- 

 wing, and the Indians living here informed me that this 

 state of affairs had lasted for about ten days. On returning 

 to this place, three days afterward, to secure some speci- 

 men-., I was too late, as the oulachan run was over, ami not 

 an eagle was in sight. A. person who has not lived Upon 

 visited this coast cannot appreciate the number of eagle thai 

 oo::gre,y;tt. vh:\re ash or other ;ood ;;-; penty - in; re j. ap,^ ir - 

 enily no limit to their number. 



A feature that is peculiar to the ii : ■ , 

 of Ibis coast, and which must have heeri a lately acquie e 



