148 
FOREST AND STREAM 
For Forest and Stream. 
A DESIRE. 
(FROM TlfE GERMAN OF HEINE.) 
T HOU art so like a flow’ret, 
As pure and fair and. wise, 
I look on thee, and longing 
Does in my heart arise. 
So lay my hands in blessing 
Upon thy sunny hair; 
Praying that God might keep thee 
As pure and wise and fair. E. C. G. 
THE VIOLET. 
(from the german.) 
^QJAY, violet, sweet violet, 
|k3 Why dost so soon appear? 
When all the flowers are sleeping yet, 
Thy head why early rear?” 
“Because I am both fresh and new, 
It will not signify! 
Say, if I came when roses blew 
Would all not pass me by?” E. C. G. 
-—---- 
For Forest and Stream. 
1 A TAPIR HUNT IN COSTA RICA. 
S OME ten months ago the fortunes of the writer were 
cast with those of an exploring expedition into a por¬ 
tion of Costa Rica hitherto very slightly known. The ex¬ 
ploration of the country was not as much the object of the 
expedition as the re discovery of some long disused and 
neglected gold mines reputed to b*e in the possession of the 
Indians of the interior. Of course we were fully deter¬ 
mined, however, not to neglect so favorable an opportu¬ 
nity'for collecting specimens of the fauna and ornithology 
of the country. 
Our party consisted of Professor G--—well known for 
his long connection with the coast survey of California, 
and whose services as leader and organizer of the 'expedi¬ 
tion had been enlisted in the indirect interest of the Costa 
Rica Railroad Company; myself, a vagabond artist whose 
evil star had left him stranded in Port Lemon without the 
traditional sou marquer ; Brown, a Jamaica negro, who had 
served in one of the West Indian Regiments in several Af¬ 
rican campaigns, and who condescended to forget his ex¬ 
alted station in so far as to act as cook; Jose Leon, a Span¬ 
ish mulatto from Carthagena, who acted as hunter; and 
four Indian boatmen. This party was afterwards consid¬ 
erably increased, but at the period of which I speak we 
were not “seven,” but eight. 
It was while ascending the Sic-Saula River (a large and 
rapid stream which empties itself into the sea some 100 
miles south of Georgetown), on our way to the residence 
of the king of the Blanco tribe, that the episode which I 
am about to relate occurred, the exciting nature of which 
will be better understood when I mention that the animal 
on whose capture we were bent was of so rare a species 
that even the Indians are in many cases ignorant of its ex¬ 
istence. It was at the end of a long day’s journey, Anto¬ 
nio and Chanquoi were busy putting up a ranche under the 
lazy supervision of Tu-cus, who was unpacking our rifles 
from the waterproofs in which we had wrapped them dur¬ 
ing a shower that had fallen some time before; Brown 
cutting ham for our supper and keeping up a grumbling 
accompaniment at being obliged to work in his wet clothes, 
and the professor and myself in that airy costume peculiar 
to Venuses and newborn babies, changing our water-soaked 
trousers and shirts for dry ones. 
We were camped on a flat, sparsely covered with cana 
brava and wild plantain trees. The great globe in its cease¬ 
less whirl had just carried us beyond the direct gaze of the 
sun, but a ruddy afterglow still lingered on the peaks of 
the distant Cordilleras, lending faint coloring to a picture 
rapidly fading into the sombre tints of night, and to which 
the rising mist from the river added a weird and ghostly 
character. Our canoe, secured to a stake by a strong 
painter, lay well beyond the reach of the mighty current 
which, already swollen, for the rainy season was fast set¬ 
ting in, swept by with a ceaseless murmur. I was just 
falling into a favorite train of thought, suggested by the 
apparent waste of these great powers of Nature, and which 
leads me irresistibly to the conclusion that mighty purposes, 
in which man can have but an unimportant share, remain 
to be worked out on this earth, which, with a childish pre¬ 
sumption, we are so fond of designating as ours, when a 
shout from among the canes startled us all into instant at¬ 
tention. Recognizing the voice as that of Jose Leon, who, 
while engaged in coJlecting wood for Brown’s fire, had 
wandered away unnoticed, the professor and myself hur¬ 
riedly joined the hunter, as it was evident from liis gestures 
that he had discovered something worthy of attention. 
“ ’Tis a mca moiijte, signores,” he cried, in answer to our 
inquiring looks, “and if I do not much mistake, one of the 
large sort with the red hair; they are so rare that we hardly 
ever come across them now. See where he has climbed 
the bluff; look at the length of his reach; why, he must be 
as big as a cow.” Sure enough, the red sandstone of the 
hill side bore the marks of the tapir’s great clumsy feet. 
The animal had evidently come down to the water to drink, 
and the return trail, showing that he had not crossed the 
river, led us to infer that he had a haunt in the neighbor¬ 
hood. 
“We must not miss such a chance,” cried the professor, 
in ecstacy; “if we lie in ambush here all night we will be 
certain to get a shot at him when he comes again to the 
water; run Jose and fetch both rifles; we will get into posi¬ 
tion at once.” “Stop a minute,” cried I, “the professor’s rifle 
v ill be quite enough to bring. I am so tired I would not 
stay up to-night to shoot a white elephant.” “A white ele¬ 
phant,” cried the professor, in disgust, “but this is a red 
tapir! You might live to the age of Methuselah without 
getting another such chance.” “Well,” I retorted, “I don’t 
think I shall live even through the night without some sup¬ 
per; that I must have, and I strongly advise you to follow 
my example.” 
Such a trifling- consideration would never have prevailed 
on the enthusiastic professor but for Jose Leon’s assurance 
that there was not the remotest chance of the tapir’s mak¬ 
ing his appearance for some hours to come; and it was 
with as much irresolution as Mr. Pickwick displayed when 
he parted from old Humphrey without shaking hands with 
him foi the third time, that the professor at length forced 
hknseK from the scene of his anticipated triumph. 
Munching our fried ham and hard tack with that glorious 
appetite which an active, open air life insures, and for 
which epicures, could they procure it for money, would be 
wise to part with half their possessions, we held an excit¬ 
ing council of war. The professor’s enthusiasm, fully par¬ 
ticipated in by Jose Leon, was, under the genial influence 
of food and drink, gradually extending itself to me, and 
having bargained for one smoke, which the professor re¬ 
luctantly allowed, fearing lest the tapir’s olfactory nerves 
might detect the unaccustomed odor, I finally determined 
to participate in the midnight vigil, a lively remembrance 
of former disappointments in similar exploits rendering 
me, however, somewhat less sanguine than my more im¬ 
pressionable companions. 
The professor, abundant in his precautions, had been 
gradually diminishing the bulk of the fire, and now that 
the Indians had finished their supper, finally reduced it to 
a couple of smouldering logs, sufficient to afford means of 
relighting the pile, but not bright enough to shine through 
the intervening canes and prevent Mr. Tapir from indulg¬ 
ing in his accustomed matutinal refreshment. Having 
filled our pockets with several extra charges, we noiselessly 
stole to the positions assigned us by Jose Leon, and now 
began that sensation, half ecstacy, half agony, which some¬ 
times makes the young sportsman feel as if he would gladly 
see the enemy of mankind himself appear within range in 
order to afford him an excuse for letting off his piece and 
putting an end to the period of suspense. Talk of the 
devil—the thought had hardly flashed across my mind when 
down the bank rushed a horrible winged figure, with flam¬ 
ing eyes, and hoofs and horns complete. I raised my rifle 
convulsively, but the hammer flew up and struck me so 
violent a blow on the nose that I was utterly confused for 
the time, and with difficulty comprehended the meaning 
of the words, uttered in a despairing tone, “Confound it, 
man, you’re snoring loud enough to frighten all the beasts 
out of the forest.” Surely enough, I found I bad fallen 
peacefully into the embraces of the drowsy god, and, hav¬ 
ing turned over on my back, would in all probability have 
slept till morning had not a well directed pebble, jerked by 
the professor, alighted on my nasal organ, and instantly 
called into existence the startling train of fancies above 
narrated. Thoroughly ashamed of my unsportsmanlike 
behavior, I shook off with a painful effort the almost irre 
pressible desire to shut my eyes once more, and now, in 
deed, began a period of waiting which taxed all my endur¬ 
ance. The night, which was very dark, had also become 
unpleasantly chilly, and, to use a thoroughly Irish expres¬ 
sion, that almost audible silence prevailed which, after a 
time, becomes so distressing to irritable nerves. The only 
sounds which broke the stillness being the occasional ha- 
lia-ha of a loon on the river, or an uneasy movement on 
the part of the professor, Jose Leon lying as motionless as 
a cat at a mouse hole. How long this lasted I am utterly 
unable to tell, for I felt as powerless to compute the pas¬ 
sage of time as any opium eater in his most distorted 
dream. At length, however, a faint “hist” from Jose 
Leon roused my attention, and in a moment more a rustling 
in the bushes caught my expectant ear. The noise in¬ 
creased, and before long a dark object appeared, shuffling 
down the bluff within twenty or thirty feet from where we 
lay. To me it appeared nothing more than a black mass 
on a scarcely lighter background, but to Leon’s practised 
eye, however, the tapir’s form was plainly distinguishable, 
and the sharp crack of his rifle rang through the silence of 
the night. The professor and I poured in a broadside, and 
springing to our feet, were hardly able in our excitement 
to obey an elementary rule in hunting big game, viz., to 
reload the instant you deliver your shot. A hideous grunt¬ 
ing and splashing in the shallow water convinced us that 
our quarry had not escaped unscathed, and the arrival of 
a couple of the Indians carrying firebrands, which they 
fanned into flame as they ran, enabled us to distinguish a 
huge bulk struggling convulsively within a few feet of the 
shore. We at once poured in another volley, but so thick 
was the hide of the brute that it required two more shots 
at the same close range before he consented to stretch out 
his limbs and die, as the Irishman said of his pig, for all 
the world like a Christian. We soon drew our prize to the 
shore, and found that Leon’s surmise was a correct one; we 
had indeed shot a red tapir. It was a male, and fully five 
feet in length from the tip of its short tail to that of its 
ugly, overhanging snout; its hide, covered with the dis¬ 
tinguishing red hair, we soon found to be fully an inch in 
thickness; and in its general outline it bore a striking re¬ 
semblance to the form of a pig passing by process of evo¬ 
lution into that of an elephant. Dawn found us hard at 
work preparing the body, fatigue being for the time for¬ 
gotten. When, however, the skin was ready for hanging 
in the sun, and we had made a hearty breakfast from some 
savory steaks cut from the fallen monster, which, although 
they would probably take rank at home with a particular] 
inferior beefsteak, tasted to us, after our saltmeat diet \\J 
the choicest porterhouse cooked in Delmonico’s best stvl * 
exhausted Nature asserted her rights with irresistible power’ 
and determining to remain camped where we were unt i 
the following day, we took shelter in the ranche, and soo' 
were wrapped in delicious slumber. Before very i 01](r Q 
however, we were again roused by the indefatigable Leon’ 
who came with the intelligence that another tapir had been 
discovered, and in an instant all was excitement again 
The Indians loaded their long guns with slugs enough to 
shoot half the game in the forest, and we, bucklino- 0n 
knife and revolvers, and seizing our rifles, started in Indian 
file after Leon, who, leading us up by the bluff, at the foot 
of which lay the remains of our last night’s victim, and 
for some half a mile along the line of the river, pointed 
out a growth of broad leaved, wild plantains, among which 
he declared lay hidden a female tapir, probably the mate 
of the one we had shot, accompanied by her calf. yr e 
were quickly posted in a circular line between the plan¬ 
tains and the river, and Chanquoi, making a long circuit 
got on the other side of the covert and began beating the 
game towards us. We had not long to wait; first came a 
crashing amid the brush, and then, lumbering into full 
sight, with her calf beside her, appeared the huge mis 
shapen beast we were in search of, making directly for the 
tree behind which I stood. I raised my rifle, and, shall I 
confess it, a peculiar sensation, which, whatever it may 
have been (Pure funk; printer’s devil), was certainly not 
conducive to accurate shooting, prevents my being able to 
state exactly at what part of the brute I took aim. The 
next instant I had made way for her ladyship with remark 
able celerity, and she, with a lack of civility I was per¬ 
fectly able to excuse, passed on towards the river without 
even noticing me by a glance. Bless me, why did you let 
her escape? roared the professor. Bless her, replied I, I 
am extremely obliged to her for letting me escape. Come 
on, cried Leon, we may get a shot at her yet, and off started 
the whole party in pursuit, each individual Indian yelling 
at the top of his voice. The speed at which the animals 
went, considering their lumbering build and the thickness 
of the undergrowth, was something wonderful. It was 
useless attempting to perforate their thick hides from be¬ 
hind, and our only chance was to turn them before they 
got to the river. On we plunged, reckless of torn clothing 
and lacerated skins. Soon the forest grew lighter, and the 
glimmer of water warned us of our approach to the river 
bank. The wild enthusiasm of the chase, however, ren¬ 
dered us reckless, and on we sped, till suddenly the game 
disappeared from view, and the next instant our whole 
party were struggling together in the mud at the bottom of 
a steep bluff, while the two heads of mother and child were 
rapidly lessening in size across the expanse of the turbid 
waters of the river. The professor, his face covered with 
mud, cast a reproachful glance at me, his resemblance to a 
super I once remarked behind tire scenes, painted up for 
some Indian drama, and trying to look spooney at a girl he 
was talking to, struck me so forcibly that in an instant we 
were both roaring with laughter. The whole party joined 
in our merriment except Leon, who looked on scornfully, 
evidently quite unable to see where the joke came in. We 
retraced our steps to camp, and after repairing damages 
sought once more our much needed repose, while in the 
sun before the ranche hung drying the skin of the only red 
tapir ever killed by an American in Costa Rica. 
How to Cook a Wild Duck.—H ow neatly a French¬ 
man turns a compliment, makes a calembourg , or gives a 
receipt for cooking. Here is a way of preparing wild 
ducks, told with exceeding grace, which method we have 
no doubt is as good to eat, as it is pleasantly narrated, 
taken from La Ghasse Illustree. 
“Once on a time there was a terrible wild man who lived 
on nothing but what he shot or fished. This wild man 
possessed all the virtues which belong to a free hie m me 
woods, but besides was remarkable for two things, ms cun- 
nary talents and his indecision. He was so undeciaea, 
that he never was quite sure what kind oi sauce 
he would dress his game with. Once it happened to tin 
eccentric man when lwe had shot a hare, that he cut it a 
up into fine bits, in order to make a stew, when sudaen ) 
changing his mind, he sewed together all the disjo 
members of the hare, and made roast of it. Never 
there seen so perfect a gourmand, nor one so utterly _ 
cided. It came to pass that on one occasion a gent Jem , 
hunter and a gourmand too, stumbled across this wild 
in his lair. With the hospitality of a savage, the wild nm 
invited the new comer to dine with him, on a mag 
wild duck, which he proposed roasting. It wasift^ j 
sight to see how the noble bird, turning s!»y be» 
fire, wa« just assuming a delicate golden tint, 
nicely, does it not?” said the savage, “but I i orge . 
it.” In vain did the guest plead for roast duck. R " 
lessly the savage tore the bird from the spit, cut fy 
wings, divided up the breast, and pitched all pell 
a stew pot. Sad, even despairing, the hungry gu h 
monstrance on his lips, saw the wild creature t nS 
the pot a pinch of salt, then a few whole P e PP' , 0 f 
two table spoon-fulls of olive oil, then a half ^ 
Bordeaux wine, and last the juice of a lemon. , 
untamed man stirred it and let it simmer tor a i < 
Somewhat doubtfully the guest tasted the disk- Ay 
tacy, it was delicious! Full of enthusiasm, tm 
man has sent us the receipt.” , tI y 
Will some of the readers of the Forest and Str 
M. Florian Pharaon’s receipt for cooking a wii ^ 
a Vindecisf The great Brillat Savarin could not a 
how to do it more artistically._ 
—After the late champion match, Daly offeied ^ 
Garnier the same game for $500 a side, but Gamier 
not accept. The offer is still open. 
