106 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[March 9, 1882. 



at the eastward I roused Dick and asked if that did not por- 

 tend something wo were not hankering after. Dick allowed 

 that, it looked so, and in order to gel a "lee" we hauled up 

 for the coast, mile* and miles to windward and not in sight. 

 For half an hour we carried all sail; then had to put in a reef, 

 then another, and then another, and still it "piped." Tt did 

 blow ; and the sea began to rise, and the Spray to labor, and 

 the darkness of Erebus followed. Still we carried on, and 

 us the phosphorescent seas broke on our bow, the conviction 

 loomed up in Tin- mind that it would have been wiser to have 

 waited for the larger boat. But the recollection that the day 

 before leaving 1 got insured in the Accidental Hartford Com- 

 pany was soothing consolation ; lirslly, because nothing serious 

 could happen; for had I not been for years trying to get the 

 best of fife insurance companies vainly? Secondly, had it 

 not been oft and repeatedly promised me" by a pious old aunt 

 that. 1 never would be drowned, but was reserved for a higher 

 destiny ? 



Bv this time it fairly hissed, and the swash of water in the 

 boat told the tale of boarding seas that, if continued, were 

 bound to swamp us. Dick bailed with the wash basin and 1 

 eased her at the helm; but it was useless, and Dick and I held 

 a council of war; One of three things must be done, either 

 to throw the freight overboard, up helm and scud, or anchor 

 — for be it known that soundings showed but four fathoms, 

 even though we were a good ten miles from laud — a rare, dis- 

 pensation of Providence, especially designed for such occa- 

 sions. There were objections to either propositions; firstly, 

 it was dangerous to get a barrel upon the gunwale to launch, 

 as the weight would heel her and let the seas in on us. To 

 scud was to run the risk of a pooping sea, loaded as we were, 

 besides a prospective voyage over to the coast of Mexico wilh 

 short rations. So the anchor was the best experiment. We 

 got the small piece of sail down and the anchor over with 

 long scope; and, Jerusalem! how she pitched and rolled. 

 But coral rock bottom was good holding ground, and she 

 held. But the forward deck rode under, and the seas would 

 soon have settled our hash except for the house which broke 

 them. After watching her awhile I made up my mind she 

 would stand it, if it got no worse. Fortunately" it did not. 

 Crawling under the cuddy, somewhat sheltered from the 

 spray. T waited for morning, and filled in the time by bailing, 

 while Capt.. Dick coiled himself up on the case of bacon and 

 went: to sleep; and high above the whistling of the wind 

 through the rigging and the pounding of the seas that nigger's 

 snore arose. It was a square stand-up tussle, but Dick won ; 

 and about daylight the wiud gave up the fight. The sun rose 

 bright. The" seas calmed down. A light breeze came out 

 from the south, and we got under weigh. By noon we entered 

 the mouth of the Homosassa, and, with a head wind but fair 

 tide, we beat up the four miles; and, rounding a bend, the 

 welcome sight of the Jones wide piazzaed cottages broke upon 

 our view, the white contrasting with the dark, green foliage 

 of the orange trees, all so suggestive of a square meal and 

 solid comfort; and that I did find it I will prove to you in 

 "our next." Podgers. 



On the Homosassa, Florida, February, 1882. 



REMINISCENCES OF A SPORTSMAN. 



ABOUT the year 1872 I was invited by my friend, Col. 

 J. D. T. , than whom few worthier men live, who was 

 then a rice planter in the county of Brunswick in this State, 

 to visit his hospitable home and join him and several others 

 in the pleasures of the chase. At that time, and even now, 

 so far as I know, deer abounded in the pine lands and 

 swamps of that section, and to get an abundant supply of 

 venison only req tired a few good dogs and skillful hunters 

 to bring down the game which they might start from their 

 lairs. Still hunting or stalking, as some persons call it, was 

 not practiced, for the reason that but little success attended 

 it. Hounds — whether of "Black St. Hubert's breed," I do not 

 know — were almost invariably used; and the experience of 

 this section demonstrates that deer were not exterminated at 

 all, nor permanently driven from their accustomed haunts by 

 the ehase.the opinions of learned writers "to the contrary 

 notwithstanding." Fleet dogs of good breath can force them 

 not only to "pant for the "water brooks," but to plunge in 

 them as a means of refuge, but they will surely return 

 before many days have elapsed. In open woods, where deer 

 are plenty, still hunting is far more destructive; for there the 

 huntsman has only to have the advantage of the wind, and a 

 knowledge of the habits of the animal, to enable him to kill 

 nearly every one he sees. An acquaintance of the writer told 

 him, several years ago, that near the banks of the Suwannee 

 River, in Florida, he hud killed 173 deer in two years, by 

 stalking, with an old-fashioned muzzle-loading rifle." A party 

 of us, including himsslf, hunted two days diligently in the 

 same neighborhood with a pack of dogs, and though we 

 started plenty of them, did not even get a chance to shoot. 

 But this is a' digression. On the occasion to which I refer, 

 the party consisted of Capt. Rumming; Kinchen K., Nick 

 Dm reall, 'Col T., William Fires, Teceel, Rev. William Mil- 

 lets, the writer, and one or two others. The mouth was 

 September, and the good old county had done her best to give 

 us a good supply of mosquitoes to keep us charming company 

 while we were in the woods. Although there were hundreds 

 of thousands — this is not strictly accurate, you know, for I 

 confess I was kept so busy that I could not count the enemy — 

 we were not troubled at night at all, and so far as their 

 music was concerned, slept quietly and sweetly. Rice birds 

 were plentiful in the plantations, and fat and juicy as few 

 other birds ever become. Col. T. had secured several dozen 

 for the purpose of regaling his guests; they were nicely pre- 

 pared, set on the table for supper and eagerly devoured by all 

 the company, especially by Kinchen K. and Capt, Rumming. 

 That night — the memory of it haunts me still — the god of 

 discord reigued triumphant, through the mouth of his vice- 

 regent Rumming, assisted in no small degree by other Kako- 

 ph mists, who in lulged in the usual stentorian variations, to 

 the bullfrog tones of their leader. 



Next morning, tit an early hour, we were off for the hunt- 

 ing grounds, between Ortou and Lillipuf ponds. Soon after 

 reaching the point of our destination the forces were prop- 

 erly disposed, and it was not long before the report of Parson 

 Milletts' gun was heard. Both barrels had been fired, and 

 the writer, who had been assiduously fighting a whole 

 brigade of mosquitoes about two hundred yards away, left 

 bis "stand" and went to see what had been done. Milletts 

 had a line buck. He told me he had shot about a hundred 

 yards the first time, "and aleetle EtU'der the next." Notic- 

 ing that the deer had been hit. with several shot, and think- 

 ing that a gun capable of such performance, at that distance, 

 a .remarkably good one, I ventured to ask if it could be re- 

 lied upon tor such work. He assured me that, if properly 

 charged, it would do the same thing nine times out of ten, 

 1 then asked if he would sell it, and told him if it would do 



as he represented, I would be glad to purchase. He told me 

 he would take $30 for it. I replied I would give him a hun- 

 dred if, on trial at a target, I saw that it was such a shooter 

 as he alleged. It was agreed that when the hunt ended I 

 might make the trial. A day or so afterwards, for the want 

 of a better target, a flour "barrel was placed on end, and 

 Kinchen, an old surveyor, stepped off the required distance, 

 and shot each barrel consecutively. When we went to the 

 barrel we found it had been hit with only one shot, and that 

 did not even stick in the stave. As Milletts had loaded it 

 himself, it was clear that he overestimated the capacity of 

 his gun, as he doubtless did the distance at which he shot 

 the buck. And so I didn't buy that gun. The truth is, that 

 very, very few shotguns can "be relied upon beyond fifty 

 yards, and most of the tales to the contrary are the purest 

 fiction, and must be taken with very many grains of allow- 

 ance. Indeed, after the fiasco of Milletts' gun, all the crowd 

 tried the barrel, and, except in one. instance, no gun hit it 

 with more than one shot. 



Milletts lulled another buck the same day, at what he said 

 was eighty yards, but old Kinchen, who was near him, told 

 me it did not exceed forty. Nevertheless, we got two deer, 

 and then went to our buggies to take the noonday lunch. 

 Our good hostess, with her excellent neighbor, Mrs. Fires, 

 had prepared us an excellent repast, and, as usual, with ap- 

 petites somewhat, sharpened with a draught of Glenlivet, 

 full justice was done to the sylvan entertaiument. Milletts, 

 with a little persuasion, concluded that as he was hunting, 

 he would take a mere taste, and, holding the bottle to his 

 mouth, I counted nine movements of the piston of his throat, 

 and wondered if that was what he called a taste, what he 

 would call a drink ! 



On my return to the city of Washington, I stopped with a 

 friend and presented him with a fine fresh venison ham for 

 his Sunday dinner. Among his special guests, invited par- 

 ticularly that he might partake of the game, was an eccen- 

 tric but intelligent clergyman whose name was Fatterton. 

 After we got to the table and Brother F. had returned thanks 

 to the Giver of all good for His mercies and blessings, I ven- 

 tured to ask him if he did not think that such a piece of 

 venison, like Burns' haggis, was "wee! wordy o' a grace as 

 king's my arm?" He replied, "No; short graces are always 

 the best," for you can get to eating the quicker." It is cer- 

 tain that he enjoyed the roast "excellent well," judging 

 from the rapidity with which his molary organs were moved 

 during the continuance of the dinner. 



The scene now changes to a point much nearer home, and 

 involves some of the same parties who have figured in another 

 part of these reminiscences. 



During the inonth of November. 1873, we had a hunt about 

 fifteen miles northeast of our town. One afternoon, the 

 hunters divided, and concluded to drive the same swamp and 

 the bordering thickets, so as to meet each other about half 

 way. A gentleman, a close, kinsman, and a dear friend of the 

 writer, whom all his nephews and nieces and many others 

 called "Uncle Pickett," old Kinchen K., Parson B., and my- 

 self went to the upper part of the "drive" and started down. 

 We had two hounds, Bob and Rock. Parson B. and I were 

 on one side, while the two hounds were on the other. We 

 had not gone exceeding three hundred yards, before the 

 dogs "gave tongue," nearly opposite where I was walking. 

 I hastened rapidly below, evincing unusual agility, and had 

 run perhaps fifty yards, when I saw a large" buck emerge 

 from the swamp and head away, so as to give me a broadside 

 shot at about forty yards. My right hand barrel was loaded 

 with twelve No. 1 shot, and (he left with twenty-five No. 3. 

 I let off the right, and at the crack 1 saw plainly that I had 

 hit him. The deer did not see me, and as he ran on, he 

 passed within twenty-five or thirty yards, and I let off the left. 

 At the pop he fell dead. I went up and found I had hit him 

 with four shot with the first barrel, and fifteen with the 

 second, breaking no limb. He was the tickiest buck, with 

 one exception, I ever saw, and must have had hundreds on 

 him. I supposed him to be diseased and poor, but on dress- 

 ing him found him to be in unusually good order — next to the 

 fattest I ever had killed. It was thought, by the, hunters that 

 he was a solitary buck who had not had the friendly services of 

 a companion to" rid him of the pests. He weighed 148 pounds, 

 after his head, hide, hoofs, etc., were taken off. We call this 

 a large buck. That night I spent with Parson B. , who lived 

 near, and while I was absent Old Kinchen, who to his piscato- 

 rial accomplishments adds those of a skillful huntsman and 

 an expert butcher, proceeded to disrobe the deer of his hide. 

 After he had nearly taken it off, in a slow voice he said, 

 "Uncle Pickett, does Col. Wells v shoot cat-ridges?" "I don't 

 know, Mr. C, why do you ask?" "Look here" — pointing to 

 the shot holes — "tol'able thick, for forty yards. " And since 

 then, whenever one of our party claims to have killed a deer, 

 at uncommon range, he hears the words of Old Kinoheu — 

 "tol'able thick, for forty yards." 



On another occasion, quite late in the afternoon, and in the 

 same section of country, Teceel and Parson Dulfrey — he of 

 Lake Waceamaw— were sitting, facing each other, at the con- 

 clusion of an unsuccessful drive, wffien Brother I). suddenly 

 raised his gun, pointing it diagonally towards his companion. 

 "Fool who?" said Teceel. Just as he said it, bang went 

 Brother D.'s gun, and as T. looked round, he saw a fine deer, 

 about eighty yards off, bounding away as well as he could. 

 Both shot, and then went down to see whether any damage 

 had been done. As they were looking at the place where 

 Brother- D. said the deer was standing he remarked, "It .was 



a nice fawn, T." "Fawn, the (beg pardon Bro. D.) it 



was a fine buck." Just then the writer came up, and as 

 he pursued the track, he soon saw where the buck had rim 

 against a small hickory tree. He remarked that he, the deer, 

 was hit, or he would not have touched that tree. Pursuit, 

 was made and after going about a mile he was found. And 

 Brother D. having "flashed his maideu sword," was happy. 

 After getting to camp he talked and talked and talked about 

 the achievement until he wore us all out. Indeed, I fear that 

 his exultation was so high, that he forgot one of the duties of 

 all men— a nightly approach to "the throne of the Heavenly 

 Grace." 



In that day the region for miles east and northeast of the 

 spot where we camped afforded splendid sport to the deer- 

 hunter. With good dogs they could lie started in nearly tdl 

 the "drives," but it very often happened that the game eluded 

 the watchful slanders by running out at some place where no 

 .one was located, and where nobody thought a deer ever 

 would run. After fleeing for a while, often shifting their 

 course if the dogs continued the pursuit, they took the near- 

 est feasible route to some large body of water, where all trace 

 of them was lost. Can this habit "be what David had in his 

 mind when he wrote the Forty-second Psalm — "As the hart 

 panteth after the water brooks, so my soul panteth after 

 Thee, Oh God." It is certain that the mere desire to quench 

 a "raging thirst" cannot be the motive which impels the deer 



when pursued by unrelenting dogs to seek the water. I have 

 known them often to cross a mere brook twenty times in 

 their course, to the river, without ever stopping at all. They 

 seek for safety, not for drink nor for cooling. It seems to 

 me, therefore, that in the light of safety from all enemies, 

 the simile in the verse I have quoted is far more expressive. 

 And now, begging pardon of every one who has had the 

 patience to follow me in this and other articles, for forcing 

 him to the exercise of that very commendable virtue, I prom- 

 ise him at least a week's repose before the commission of 

 another trespass. Wells. 



PASSAIC FALLS. 



FROM what knowledge 1 have of the country that 

 stretches out toward all points of the compass from the 

 watery boundary of New York city, I will venture the state- 

 ment that there is not another spot within an hour's ride of 

 your office that just now combines so many elements of 

 grandeur and beauty in the way of natural scenery as do 

 Passaic Falls, at Paterson, N. J, I will not even except the 

 famous Palisades at their best. At present the scenery at 

 the Falls is all Nature's own. It seems, as if out of pure 

 jealousy, she would put out of sight the encroachments and 

 embellishments of art, for the strong stone wall built across 

 the top of the cataract last summer, during the drouth, is en- 

 tirely hid by the great volume of water that now goes glid- 

 ing over it, and plunging madly down into the deep rock- 

 walled chasm. Likewise, th.' trussed foot bridge over the 

 chasm, a little east of the Falls, is absolutely covered, inches 

 thick, with frozen spray, a fantastic array of icicles of all 

 sizes, some of them enormous, depending from the bridge's 

 floor. Shelving rocks are fringed with them. Whatever 

 the spray touches it adorns in beautiful ice drapery. The 

 trees are cumbered with ice from trunk to remotest stem, 

 and those in close proximity with the Falls are quite denuded 

 of their limbs by the weight which proved too great for their 

 strength. 



Yesterday, while I was at the Falls, a limb four inches in 

 diameter where it joined the trunk of the tree cam.' crashing 

 down to the ice-paved earth. The ground beneath the trees 

 is literally strewn with severed linibs. A boy handed, me a 

 little twig with three tiny prongs, on each of which a ball of 

 ice had formed that together would weigh at last two pounds. 

 He had plucked it from a small hemlock several rods away. 

 The Falls are three hundred yards wide, while t he chasm 

 into which the great flood of water tumbles is at its widest 

 point not more than twenty feet. From this narrow chasm 

 the water mshes out at a right angle to the Falls into a large, 

 deep basin, and thence again, a little north of east, forming 

 an acute angle with the basin, it pursues its course down the 

 rapids, which of themselves are really picturesque as viewed 

 from the high, rocky promontory between the Falls and the 

 rapids. Across these rapids, at a high elevation, rope-walk- 

 ers have risked their necks for the amusement of the people, 

 and for their amusement Sam Patch once leaped into the 

 basin from a projecting cliff. It has appeared like a perpet- 

 ual holiday at this interesting spot, so constantly do the 

 crowds come and go, many in "carriages, but more on foot, 

 since the high water in the Passaic and the gorgeous appear- 

 ance of the Falls in its beautiful winter robes, woven by icy 

 fingers out of the delicate tissues of the rising, floating "mist, 

 all emblazoned by the inevitable rainbow that shoots up out 

 of the sprayey chasm like a ribbon of fire. Hrx. 



Patebson, N. J., February, 1882. 



SCREECH OWL IN CONFINEMENT. 



WHILE out shooting in December last, I had the good for- 

 lune to shoot a screech owd (JSeops agio) in the red plum- 

 age. After being shot the little fellow flew to 1 he ground, and 

 was secured under my hat; uncovering him. he appeared to 

 be dying, and was therefore carefully wrapped in a piece of 

 paper and deposited in a capacious pocket of my shooting 

 coat, A tramp of three hours brought us to the wagon ; and, 

 taking Scops out, I put him in the basket, observing to my 

 companion that he was about as dead as an owl could be. 

 Much to my surprise and delight, upon arriving home and 

 opening the basket, there sat the owl, out of the paper, with 

 eyes wide open, snapping his bill and hissing at a most alarm- 

 rate. We put him in a large cage, where he afforded us 

 much pleasure by his curious habits. For the first few days 

 he was very quiet, not moving about much, night or day, 

 probably owing to having been wounded; nor would he eat 

 anything, even though it were left in his cage all night. Wo 

 were afraid he would "kick the bucket," so determined to 

 feed hint, which was accomplished, with some difficulty, in 

 the following manner; One of us would hold him and pry 

 his mouth, while the other poked a chunk of raw meat down 

 his throat; we found it necessary to thrust it behind the forked 

 part of his tongue, otherwise be would throw it out of his 

 mouth, winking and opening and closing his mouth, just as a 

 person would who had tasted something remarkably nice. 

 After a week of feeding in the above manner, he seemed to 

 grow much more lively, dying about the cage during the 

 nisrht, and feeding himself" night or day wilh equal avidity, 

 either taking the meat in his bill or claws, as suited his con- 

 venience. 



When he had passed about leu days in confinement! we be- 

 came very much attached to him, passing many moments in 

 his society, amused by the curious and comical motions ho 

 went through; also the varied forms of facial expression, 

 caused bv Winking one eye at a time, or raising and lowering 

 the long ear tufts. I cannot refrain from quoting what W i Ison 

 says about this species, as it conveys a new feature to this 

 alieiJy comical and interesting bird 'On ceil mp!:ai;i. : ; the 

 grave and antiquated figure of this night wanderer, so desti- 

 tute of anything like gracefulness of shape, lean ircetj 

 refrain from smiling at the conceit of the ludicrous appear- 

 ance this bird must have made had nature bestowed on it the 

 powers of song and given it the faculty of warbling out 

 sprightly airs while robed in such a somber exterior, But 

 the great God of nature hath in His wisdom assigned to this 

 class of birds a more unsocial and less noble, though, per- 

 haps, not less useful disposition, by assimilating them, not 

 only in form of countenance, but in voices manners and appe- 

 tite, to some particular beast of prey, secluding from the 

 enjoyment of the gay sunshine of day, and giving them iittle 

 more than the few" solitary hour* of morning and evening 

 twilight to procure their food and pursue their amours, while 

 all the tuneful tribe, a few excepted, are wrapped iu silence 

 and repose. That their true character, however, should not 

 be concealed from tho3c weaker animals on whom they feed 

 (for Heaven abhors deceit and hypocrisy), He has stamped 



