eer 
7 
longed rain, as he who has undergone that experience. With 
the sun obscured by dripping clouds and the trees and shrubs 
soaked with rain, the traveler through the wilderness, whether 
he goes by stream or Jand, sees through the discomforts of 
his surroundings, the sunshine of his distant home. The 
men of the Wawa yielded to their surroundings. A deep 
Joom overspread Brother Scott’s countenance, and at inter- 
vals woeful sighs escaped him. He thought of the Greek 
Professor alone in his tent at Jeromeville; he thought of his 
cheerful home and all its pleasant surroundings, and then, as 
he looked down stream into the damp, soggy, gloomy forest, 
he fairly groaned aloud. As for the Judge, in addition to 
the depressing influences noted, he had been put upon by an 
unhallowed son of Seney, and his temper was badly ruffled, 
a fact belonging to the history of tais voyage, the cause and 
consequence of which will be fully recorded in the next 
chapter. 
FLORIDA AGAIN,—I. 
Hiditer Forest and Stream: 
Annually, hundreds if not thousands visit Florida partially 
or fully equipped with sporting implements; and as a result 
a large portion are disappointed, and they decry the sporting 
resources of the State. Fishing in Florida cannot be equaled; 
beach birds, ducks, geese and quail are plentiful, and in cer- 
tain sections large numbers of deer and bear can be found. 
But the fisherman must visit the localities where they exist. 
Many persons secure an outfit of fishing tackle before they 
leaye home, and they generally find it useless. On arriving 
in the State many strangers are interviewed by railroad and 
steamboat runners, and are sent to localities where fur, fin 
and feather “are plentiful;’ they reach the points recom- 
mended to find that they have been sold. 
Annually I receive numerous letters of inquiry, asking 
numberless questions regarding the climate and health, and 
the shooting and fishing of the State; the best points to visit 
and how to get there. I find it impossible to reply to them, 
and to impart information that will suit the many and in 
compilance with request I will prepare some brief notes of 
the climate, health, sport and the best places to visit, based 
on extended personal experience, or data furnished me by 
reliable parties. 
Interested parties in other States have maligned Florida 
by asserting that the State “reeks with malaria,” and that 
visitors are ‘‘liable to suffer from malarial diseases during 
the winter months.” The city of Jacksonville has been 
rossly misrepresented by parties residing in and out of the 
tate—her healthfulness and sanitary condition have been 
blackened by hotel keepers of Florida as well as those of 
other States who are jealous of her prosperity and the suc- 
cess of her magnificent hotels. Jam prepared to admit that 
soon after their arrival in the State, a few persons suffer 
from diarrheeal and febrile attacks, the sequence of an im- 
pure atmosphere inhaled in sleeping cars, change of water, 
and the disposition on the part of strangers to gorge them- 
selyes on arrival with oranges and bananas. Another source 
of siight ailment is the result of visitors shutting themselves 
up in their small bedrooms and keeping out the balmy and 
health-giving atmosphere, In many of our large hotels there 
may be seen any evening during the winter, one, two, or 
three hundred persons congregated in a ball or parlor with- 
out ventilation, and for hours inhaling a pestiferous atmos 
phere rendered poisonous by the breaths of hundreds of per- 
sons, and the deleterious gases resulting from the combus- 
tion of gas in dozens of burners. If a sensible person opens 
a window, hands are raised in holy horror, and the trans- 
gressor is glad to escape. That a majority of the winter visi- 
tors escape illness is truly surprising, for they use every effort 
to induce disease by inhaling a contaminated atmosphere 
instead of following the custom of residents, who are careful 
to maintain free ventilation and a full supply cf pure air. 
Asan evidence of the adaptability of the State to the suc- 
cessful treatment of pulmonary, catarrhal and kidney dis- 
eases, I need but refer to their infrequency in the State, and 
that numbers visit it annually forits climatic effects, and res- 
idents can be found in every portion of the State, who have 
come to if as invalids, and have been cured or materially 
benefitted by the change. As an evidence of the general 
healthfulness of the State, I need but cite the fact that ac- 
cording to the U. 8. Census reports the mortality per 1,000 
is less in Florida than in any State in the Union, if we de- 
duct the deaths of invalids who are sent to tae State in the 
last and incurable stage of lung, kidney and heart diseases. 
During the summer months malarial diseases are not as 
common or severe asin many of the Northern States, and 
when they do occur they are mild and readily yield to treat- 
ment. Even the city of Jacksonville, with its large popula- 
tion, and the large number of deaths occurring among in- 
valids who come to it in an incurable condition, presents a 
low mortality and will favorably compare with other cities 
North and West, as is shown by the annual health report of 
the city of Yonkers, N. Y., to which I add the mortality of 
the city of Jacksonville: 
Cities. Rate per 1,000. Cities. Rate per 1,000. 
New York, N. Y_.............24.98 Wilmington, Del....,......... 21.02 
Brooklyn eho yee 20.19 District of Columbia,........ 26 58 
BiralowNe ve one Eee eee 14.19 Richmond, Va. -....20........ 18.40 
Rochester, N. ¥--..-.-.5..-2- POSER Ortol kee Miais «Sem yoess ees 21.91 
VIOIIZETH NIN 6 le cac6 heen 14.16 Milwaukee, Wis,........-...- 14.35 
Plattsburgh, N, ¥....--...... 25:00 Cincinnati, O .:.3......... 17,238 
Newburgh, N. ¥_..-........,. 1/000 ClevelandO- sn) oe ei 16.72 
POSCOM LESS 00, tec etas-s blasts ty 21.53 Baltimore, Md.,..._.,--..---2. 21,43 
Worcester, Mass... - Evansville, Ind , 
‘Cambridge, Mass... Chicago, Ill.... 
nn, Mass......... St. Louis, Mo.. y 
Newburyport, Mass Salt, Lake City.........--...5: 14.00 
Koneora snr myo Ae: San Franciseo, Cal.....:..... 15.80 
Bunlinetan, Vit.s soe och New Orleans, La.......-....: 50.17 
Hudson county, N. J Mobile,Alatee 242.05 .42331905 23.05 
New Haven, Conn............ Savannah, Ga...,...-.,..000: 50.25 
Harttord, Gonn.:.....3.....3. Charleston, S C ............: 29,16 
Proyidence, R.1.............. 19,89 Nashville, Temm,...,...5:..:-, 28.11 
Philadelphia, Pa.............. 17,96 Jacksonville, Fla... .-.:-.... 12.50 
Pittsburgh; Pas... Ls, 21.16 
The health of a State is an important consideration when 
4 sportsman or tourist proposes visiting it. I speak authori- 
tatively regarding the health and moriality of the State, for 
my first visit to Florida was in 1844, and I spent each winter 
in it from ’65 to "75, when I became a permanent resident. 
Some of your readers.may remark that my references are 
irrelevant and unnecessary, but when persons contemplate a 
pleasure or sporting trip they do not want to take any more 
chances to contract disease than they would at their homes. 
I have spent many weeks at a time in various portions of the 
State cruising in a small boat, with nothing over me at night 
but a canvas cover hauled over the boom and fastened to 
each side of the boat, and night after night I have’slept in 
bays, rivers, lagoons and marshes, and companions and self 
never suffered from a moment's illness of any kind. I have 
devoted weeks to an examination of the southwest coast 
STREAM. 
from core Sable to Cedar Keys, and during that time never 
slept under a roof, and enjoyed perfect health. 
Much ignoranee prevails among medical men as well as 
others regarding the climate of Florida, and it is time the 
public were enlightened on this subject. A comparatively 
dry climate is the best, and it is generally believed that the 
“atmosphere of Florida is saturated with moisture.” To set 
this matter at rest and to establish the fact that the air of 
Florida is not as moist as represented we will give the mean 
relative humidity of a few points for the five cold months: 
MEAN RELATIVE HUMIDITY. 
| 
| 
ao ik ha 
P : > > 
ae eae es sa | 5 3 
= : 2 . (ere) 
al aN 8 | a | @ | oe) oe 
3) - | 8 | § B |as| as 
19 5 | 4g 3 o8 | od 
al | Zi =) ber) & I | = 
| 
pr ct.|pr et. |pr ct.|pr ct.'pr et.|pr et.|pr ct. 
Mentone and Gunnes| 3 | 71.8 M42 Fie0 90.7 Mig a TRA P a 
assau, N.P........ 1 | 76.1 | 72.0 | 77.0 | 72,5 | 68.4 | 73.2 mo 
Atlantic City, N. J..| 5 | 76.9) 79.1 | 80.6 | 77.8 | 76.8 | 78.1) .... 
Breckenridge, Minn | 5 | 76.9 | 83.2 | 76.8 | 81.8 | 79.5 | 79.6 
Duluth, Minn........ 5 | 74.0 | 72.1 | 72.7 | 73.3 | 71.0 | 72.6 brs.0 
St. Paul, Minn,...... 5 | 70.3 | 73.5 | 75.2 | 70,7 | 67.1 | 71.8 
Punta Rassa, Fla....) 5 | 72.7 | 78.2 | 742 | 78.7 | 69.9 | 72.7 
Key West, Fla....... 5 | 77.1 | 78.7 | 78.9 | 77.2 | 72.2 | 76.8 bra.t 
Jacksonville, Fla,...) 5 | 71.9 | 69 83 | 70.2 | 68.5 | 63.9 | 68,8 
Augusta, Ga,.... ... 6 | 71.8 | 72.6 | 73.0 | 64.7 | 628) 68.9) .... 
Bismarck, Dak.. ... 1} 76.6 | 76.4 | 77.4 | 81.6 | 70.6 | 76.5 
| | ! } 
The mean relative humidity of any winter resort is an im- 
portant factor, and with regard to the city of Jacksonville it 
has been grossly misrepresented as ‘‘reeking with moisture.” 
As far as observations have been taken by the Signal Service, 
it has been established that the mean relative humidity of 
Jacksonville is less than that of any other portion of the 
State. And to correct errors industriously promulgated by 
interested parties, 1 will append a few figures: 
MEAN RELATIVE HUMIDITY OF JACKSONVILLE, FLA. 
| 1 
. . | 
ew | ws ie 
G a ‘ b uw 
YRARS FI E 3 3 a | as Annual 
iad ¥ y s | E 2 | 8 5 mean 
cent a ug 
2/i/Aa|e |e | |e 
pr ct.|pr'ct.|pr ct.|pr ct.|pr ct./pr ct.) year. |pr ct 
Bye a/fr hee or eres 78.9 | 71.1 | 67.8 | 70.4 | 60.2 | 69.7 | 1875 | 70,3 
TBVOTT ce. gut se 68.2 | 64.5 | 738.6 | 69,0 | 63.5 | 67.8 | 1876 | 67 2 
Uo Coy toe epee ets 71.8 | 70.0 | 67.8 | 68.5 | 66.4 | 68.9 | 1877 | 69.3 
DUB 79 | ee heat aale 70.0 | 66.3 | 65.0 | 65.0 | 66.0 | 66.5 | 1878 | 68 7 
TST ORGY | ean oe soln aiis 70.5 | 74.6 | 77.1 | 69.4 | 63.7 | 71.1 | 1879 | 69.7 
Mean for 5 years...) 71.9 | 69.8 | 70.2 | 68.5 | 63.9 | 68.8 68.8 
Thus, it will be perceived that Jacksonville possesses a 
lower mean relative humidity than most of the celebrated 
winter resorts. 
As rainfall has much to do with the success of the sports- 
man, as well as the convalescence of invalids, we will give’ 
the rainfall at a few points on the Mediterranean, as well as 
in the United States: 
RAINFALL IN INCHES AND HUNDREDTHS. 
13 Hi a ae 
= ee eles a 
; aw 2 & by = . os 
'Sa| fle | 2) € | 42 |e3 
Eps > 5 ee e |S 
5 2 o Se | @o s =| 
Aetna a i) a 
SICH ete. s 28 | 5.11 | 4.12 | 3.06 | 1.68 | 2.89 | 16.86 
Mentone .. 9 | 5.84 | 3.15 | 1.70 | 2.18 | 4,13 | 16.50 
Nervi. «+ 7 6 00 | 4.88 | 4.78 | 2.33 | 4,49 | 23.40 
GENO kes beh te ae tie ens 29 | 7.61 | 4.86 | 4,39 | 4.27 | 3.59 | 24.72 
Atlantic City, N.J.......- 5 | 4.61 | 3.60 | 2.76 | 2.40 | 3.46 | 16.93 
Augusta, Ga..........-.-: 5 | 4.56 | 8.09 | 3.70 | 8.64 | 5.65 | 20.64 
Jacksonville, Fla......... 5 8.02 | 838 | 2-84 | 5.14 ay 16.62 
Key West. Fla........ ates 5 | 2.43 | 1.83 | 2.18 | 2.22 | 0.94 | 9.40 
Punta Rassa, Fla ..-.-..-. 5D | 2.88 | 0.99 | 199 | 2.67 | 1.04 | 8.77 
| } 
Although the rainfall may be light in any locality, there 
may be many unpleasant drizzly days, seriously interfering 
with sport and outdoor exercise, and we will add afew fig- 
ures illustrative of the fact that Florida is fayored with 
bright sunshine, As we proceed east and south from Jack- 
souville, the number of rainy days will be found to be less 
during the five cold months: 
METEOROLOGICAL DATA FROM SIGNAL OFFICE U. 8. A, 
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. 
RAINY DAYS. 
Date. | Noy. | Dec. | Jan. | Feb. |M’ch. Remarks. 
=, 3 | —_——— a 
18741875. ..... 14 6 15 10 5 | 
1875—1876...... 10 4 4 8 vi “Rainy days,” all 
1876—1877...... 5 10 6 fi 6 gave on which rain 
1877—1878...... 9 ) 4 10 8 | fell, 
1878—1879...... 5 8 5 9 3 
Average,.,-... 18.6 | 74 | 7 8.6 | 5.8 [37.4 days in 5 montbs. 
' 
CLOUDY DAYS. 
Date. | Nov. | Dec, | Jan. | Feb. |Mc’h. Remarks, 
1874—1875..... oO Ge | tc | oe 
18f5—1876...... 5 4 5 fe Ht?! 
1876—1877...... 6 3 2 10 ai 
1877—1878...... 10 il 11 9 10 
187S—1879...... 9 ii 5 11 4 
Average....... 7.4 \)7.0 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 6.2 |85.6cloudy daysin5ms. 
RAINY DAYS (INCLUDING SNOW). 
| E 
| wn a | 3g 
LOCALITY. = “ c S} a 
ei/ei|sigi|¢)alez 
al Z Q 5 i= = | 9 
Jacksonville. ..........255 5 | 8:6) 7.4] 7%, 8.6 | 5.5 | 87.4 
Mentone is 22sec... issseees 8 | 10.1 7.26) 5.1 | 5.66} 9.55) 37.48 
St psa es ees 4.0 | 13.0} 8.0; 6.0 | 11.0 | 42.0 
Jacksonville is the metropolis and the objective and dis- 
tributing point of the State, and in my remarks I have made 
it the starting point. Excursion tickets to Florida are issued 
by all railroad, steamboat and steamship lines from the West, 
Northwest and North. Steamships leave Boston, New York 
and Baltimore weekly for Savannah, and from New York to 
Charleston and Fernandina. Those who prefer the all 
rail route can leave New York early in the morning and 
reach Jacksonville the next day at noon. In years gone by 
the trip from Savannah to Jacksonville was a rough and 
tedious experience; but owing to the superiority of the road- 
bed, locomotives and cars, the trip is at present made in four 
noire and twelve minutes including stoppages—distance 172 
miles, 
For the benefit of the uninitiated I shall briefly refer to 
the more common fish of the State, the baits used for their 
capture, and the best route to reach various fishing localities 
where fish are the most plentiful. My remarks willbe based 
to a great extent on personal experience, and will be essen- 
tially simple and practical, 
SHEEPSHEAD (Diplodus probatocephalus),—These fish are 
very plentiful in nearly all of the streams of the State. In 
Northern waters they do not leave salt water, but in this 
State they frequent fresh as well as salt water, As a rule 
they are not as large as in the North. As bait, they will take 
prawns, shrimp, oysters, clams, fiddlers, and hard-backed 
crabs, As far as my observations have extended the fiddlers 
of the eastern coast are blackish, but on the western coast 
they are larger and mottled pink and white. They can 
be captured with a landing net at low tide, or in the 
evening when they feed in droves. On sandy beaches near 
high water mark, their hiding places will be detected by the 
presence of small hillocks of sand where they have burrowed. 
When cruising I invariably carry an ordinary shovel to dig 
for fresh water as well as bait. If the fisherman will dig up 
the sand, six inches deep, where the fiddlers haye burrowed, 
he will in a short time obtain a supply of bait, For keeping 
them I provide a box about one foot square and fifteen 
inches deep. In this place about nine inches of moist beach 
sand, and when captured { place the fiddlers in the box. 
They will burrow in the sand and keep alive for four or five 
days, Fiddlers are very tender and the first nip of a sheeps- 
head removes them from the hook, and the fishermen must 
keep a taut line and strike quick and hard. With a erab 
net, hard-backed crabs can be captured on the oyster 
bars or along the shore of bays, To keep them alive 
I use a box fourteen inches square and twenty 
inches long. The lid is hung on two strips of canvas which 
act as hinges, and to opposite sides of lid and side I attach 
short stout cords to fasten the lid. In the bottom and sides 
I bore a number of quarter-inch holes. At the end of the 
box near the top I fasten a few feet of stout cord. When 
the crabg are captured I place them in the box with an ample 
supply of damp moss, grass or seaweed. At night J drop 
the box overboard, lash it to the traveler and allow it to re- 
main in the water until I shift my quarters. By adopting 
this course | keep crabs for days. When about to use them 
for bait I pierce them through the head in the central line with 
my bait knife, and thereby avoid manya nip. Taking hold of 
the legs with one hand and the point of the back shell with 
the other, 1 remove their jackets. 1 cut off the claws at first 
joint from the body, and divide the body with bait knife 
from head to tail. Then I cut each half inte as many baits 
as there are legs. For large sheepshead there is nothing like 
crab bait, but when feeding they will not reject fiddlers, If 
crab bait is used, asa rule, patience must be the watchword. 
With a taut line the fish will be felt nibbling and munch- 
ing the bait, but the fisherman must wait until he feels the 
weight of the fish, when he must give a lusty yank to sink 
the hook in the tough jaw of the fish. Oysters make an ex- 
cellent bait, but will be found difficult to keep on the hook 
unless they are boiled. When forced to use raw oysters I 
provide myself with squares of mosquito netting sand 
strong linen thread. When the hook is baiied I place 
it on the center of the mosquito netting; inclose the 
bait in netting and fasten netting to the shank of hook with 
the thread. Conks are very plentiful at many points, and 
make a firm and attractive bait. Owing to the coiled condi- 
tion of the shell the greenhorn will be puzzled to extract the 
contents. A blow from a hammer or hatchet on the base of 
the sheli will fracture it, and the contents will be brought 
into view. At many points, notably in Charlotte Harbor, 
and on the northerly side of a small sandy key to the north 
of Pavilion Key, large and luscious clams will be found, and 
they make an excellent bait. If obtainable, prawns make an 
attractive bait. Unless the hooks are stout and well tem- 
pered, and made of the best steel, sheepshead will crush 
them. For large sheepshead, best quality Virginia hooks No. 
1-0 or 2-0, or O’Shaughnessy 7-0 or 8-0, will answer a good 
purpose. I have tested many hooks in sheepsheading, but 
have found none to equal the cast steel sheepshead hooks, 
sold by Shipley & Son, No. 5 Commerce street. ‘These hooks 
are rather blunt and require dressing with a fine file. In 
Florida these fish exist in endless quantities. My friend 
Mathew Teecey, of Pennsylvania, landed fifty-three in one~ 
hour on the Indian River, and fifty-six in the same time at 
the dock at Punta Rassa. The latter feat was witnessed by 
Dr R. J. Levis, of Philadelphia. To accomplish this feat, 
he had his boatman to bait his lines and unhook his fish. On 
the southwest coast the fish generally range from two to four 
pounds, My favorite mode of capturing them at the inlets 
isto use a very strong eight-foot rod, and a nine-strand 
plaited gut leader three feet long. To the leader [ 
attach two short stout gut snoods. I fasten a 
hook to the end of the Jeader and to the snoods. The 
leader is fastencd to the line above the sinker. 
IT fish near the shore in water from four to six 
feet deep, and the instant 1 hook a fish I give him line. His 
capers will attract others, and they seize the bait sana cere- 
monie. In this way | sometimes capture two or threc ata 
cast. To the uninitiated I will say it fiddlers are used strike 
quick, if crabs are the bait make haste slowly, but yank vig- 
orously when the weight of the fish-is felt. The capture of 
sheepshead is an art only to be acquired by a careful study 
of their mode of taking a bait, and by treating them toa 
lusty yak Some years agol visited Homosassa and met 
a legal gentleman, St. George R. He informed me that he was 
an ‘‘old sheepsheader,” and that he would ‘‘teach me how 
to capture these wary fish” I thanked him, and kindly 
accepted his offer. In company with two other gentlemen 
we proceeded to a point a short distance below Jones’s house. 
In a short time 1 landed eight large fish, and the catch of 
my instructor numbered 0. With a string of pious ejacula- 
tions my piscatorial instructor promised never to teach an- 
other greenhorn how to capture sheepshead. A hand-line is 
generally used to capture these fish, but half the pleasure is 
Tost if a rod is not used, It the piscator is disposed to enjoy 
royal sport let him use a split bamboo Henshall rod, and he 
will discover that a three or four pouid sheepshead is worthy 
of his notice. Au Fresco. 
JACKSONVILLE. Fla., Oct. 4, 1884, 
