Deo. B1, 

 _ 1886.1 



FOREST AMjU STREAM. 



448 



bad passed tliese we saw numerous trails leading up the 

 *Sann. It was not until we were almost upon tbem, that we 

 'w the lodges standing in a little opening amoDg the cotton- 

 ^oods. The camp was clean and the people seeiaed well to 

 to. We saw no men. but numhers of women and small 

 children peered at us out of the lodge doors. The former 

 seemed to me unusually pretty for Indians. Staked out 

 upon the ground were a number of sheep skins, and one that 

 had covered a small black bear, while a large grizzly skin 

 and a dressed moose hide hung from two of the trees whose 

 branches were festooned with bundles of dried sheep meat. 

 We did not dismount from our horses nor speak to any of 

 the people except to a couple of well grown boys, who told 

 us that there were plenty of fish in the creek. Riding down 

 into the water I set up my rod and in a short time had 

 captured half a dozen of the most vigorous and gamy tish 

 that I had yet seen. I should have fished here longer, hut 

 the sun was getting low and it was necessary to start for 

 camp. 



On the way hack we again rode into the dusky grouse 

 and here Appekunny did some very good, and I some very 

 bad, shooting, The birds flew at a tremendous rate of speed 

 in the high wind, and it required quick shooting to stop 

 them before thej^ were out of range. This blue grouse 

 shooting is splendid sport. The birds are large and strong 

 of wing, and get up with a rush and roar that quite equal 

 that of the ruffed grouse. They are abundant here, and I 

 do not doubt that a man with a brace of good dogs could 

 kill on these ridges from thirty to fifty birds a day. 



As we were lounging about camp just at dusk, the four 

 Kootenays who had stopped in the morning, rode up and 

 dismoimted. They had been hunting on a mountain to the 

 east of the upper lake, and had killed four sheep, the meat 

 of which now hung from their saddles. The news of their 

 success filled me with rage and envy. It was natural enough 

 that the Kootenays should be successful, for they know 

 these mountains well, and are familiar with ail the best 

 localities for game; moreover, they are true mountain 

 Indians, and are as much at home on foot among the rocks 

 as in the saddle on the plains. On the other hand, we 

 were almost entire strangers in the country and had to learn 

 everything for ourselves. Before the Indians left us that 

 evening I made overtures to one of them to come the nest 

 day and hunt with us. But, although he promised to do so, 

 I felt no very great confidence that he would carry out his 

 agreement. Yo. 



Addrests all (•omimmik'ations to the Forest and Stream Publixh- 

 ing Co. 



AMONG THE SEA ISLANDS. 



IT^ROM the St. Johns River extending northward the coasts 

 J of Florida and Georgia are composed of low-lying 

 islands. Many of them are mere mud banks overgrown with 

 a heavy marsh grass and dotted with numerous small ponds, 

 the abode of great numbers of waterfowl. Often the creeks 

 that intersect the marsh are so small as to be unnavigable f or 

 any craft save the smallest of canoes. There are many, how- 

 ever, that are traversed by large steamers and the view ob- 

 tained by totirists is both grand and desolate. These are the 

 famed Sea Islands, whose planters grew the noted long staple 

 cotton in the palmy days of slavery when cotton was king. 



1 had passed through these islands several times on a 

 steamer and determined some day to do so in a small boat, 

 for I reasoned there was sport to be had and an entirely new 

 cruising ground to explore It was not until last November 

 that my opportunity came and then I could only be away 

 ten days, but I determined to do all 1 could in that time, 

 and accordingly on the afternoon of the 9th I left Mandarin 

 with a friend, in a twenty-foot catboat, provisioned and 

 otherwise equipped for our long desired cruise. 



The thirty odd miles on the St. .Johns River, between 

 Mandarin and the entrance to the Sisters Creek, I will pass 

 over without delay. We laid in a few indispensables at 

 Jacksonville and a few more at Yellow Bluff, and arrived at 

 our point of departure from the St. Johns at noon of the 

 second day. We sailed boldly in and "at once ran on an 

 oyster bank. IsTow an oyster bank in use as a reef was at 

 that time a novelty to us. I am proud to state that since 

 that cruise we are in possession of more technical points re- 

 ceived from them than any other persons living. Candidly 

 I never ran on so many reefs in a cruise in my life as on this 

 one, and all or nearly all of them were of oysters. The tide 

 was falling and it was necessary to get off at once. We were 

 overboard in a jiffy minus our lower garments except shoes, 

 which we retained to guard against the sharp shells. A few 

 energetic heaves and she slid off and we again filled away. 

 We ran aground many times aftej-ward but also avoided it 

 often by a close watch of the current and avoiding sluggish 

 places. We sighted a stranger fishing from a bateau and in- 

 quired concerning the general dii'ection of Nassau Sound . 

 He questioned : 

 "(Join' to Nassau?" 

 "Yes." 



"Ever bin throixgh befo'?" 

 "No." 



"Well, stranger, I don't reckon you'll ever git thar with- 

 out a pilot. You'll git lost, and hev ter climb yer mast to 

 git yer bearin's, and when you git up you'll see lots of other 

 fellers up their masts, all lost and trying to find their way 

 out. Take my advice, stranger, and git a pilot. I don't 

 mind taking you through myself for a figger." 



We declined, hauled our sheet and continued our voyage. 



We found many ducks as we passed through the winding 

 ci'eeks, but all very wild and nearly all flying high . Wirt 

 took a long shot at a passing flock of blue-winged teal, but 

 had no luck. Numerous great blue herons rose from the 

 tall grass on either side, and with an indignant squawk 

 flew off to some less disturbed locality. Once a flock of 

 gannet raised hopes of a shot, but they were too wary, Now 



we regretted, in language emphatic, our mistake in not 

 bringing a canoe as a tender. Our sail was a warning to 

 all of our approach, and often we saw with disgust a flock 

 of ducks get up from whore they had been concealed by a 

 bend in the creek, our sail having started Ihera, while they 

 were invisible from the deck. If we had brought a canoe, 

 one of us would have cautiously preceded the sail boat and 

 no doubt picked up many good* shots. 



We made Cedar Point about sundown and came to an- 

 chor for the night. Our an-angements for comfort and con- 

 venience were very fair for a small boat. We had a canvJis 

 cabin that was removed and stowed under forward during 

 the day, and which, when in position at night, effectually 

 protected us from dew or rain. We had a mattress which 

 fitted around the centerboard, also an oil stove, which was 

 a necessity in a cruise where we were compelled to camp 

 aboard almost entirely. 



The next morning about 8 o'clock we made Port George 

 inlet, and the tide being strong ebb, we had a long and 

 tedious beat up the reach. We often tacked without gain- 

 ing ten feet. About noon we came to the "canal," so called 

 because it is a channel dredged out for the Savannah steam- 

 ers, and is, at low water, not over forty feet wide. Wirt 

 started a flock of ducks by going ashore and plowing througii 

 the mud. However, he didn't get a shot, and returned to 

 the boat plastered with mud till it made him tired to carry 

 it and me to see him. 



-Just as we passed out of the "canal" a strong breeze from 

 the N.E. sprang up, and at the same time we spied a flock 

 of curlew and willet on a mud bank ahead. As we neared 

 them they rose, but one curlew flew near the boat and we 

 secured hxm. A little further on I saw a yellowleg on a 

 mud flat and ran close to him. Wirt broke his wing, and 

 at the same time the boat stuck fast on the flat. Rather than 

 waste another shot on the snipe I volunteered to go after 

 him. I stripped and waded ashore, and the moment I got 

 out of the water I went into the mud nearly to my waist, 

 Although the yellowleg could not fly he could run, and it 

 was an invigoraiing spectacle to watch the pursuit. I had a 

 .similar experience before, which although not cheerful fo 

 recall, 1 think I will relate, because to an observer it must 

 have been more entertaining than "the greatest show on 

 earth." 



We were sailing in a narrow bayou similar to the one 

 spoken of above, Dizzy and I. Dizzy is an Englishman, but 

 in spite of that misfortune is a rare good fellow and without 

 a superior on a cruise. We rounded a point and discovered 

 a rosy spoonbill quietly feeding about one hundred yards to 

 the left. We immediately ran the boat close to shore, and I 

 hastily divested myself of my clothes and, taking a gun, slid 

 overboard and waded ashore. I expected to find mud, and 

 1 found it. If there is a muddier spot in the world I'd like 

 to see it— from a distance— out of piire curiosity. I floun- 

 dered on till finally I fairly stuck fast, in to my waist. 

 Dizzy, in the boat, occupied his time by alternately giving 

 I)reposterous advice and rolling on the deck in fits of laugh- 

 ter. 1 wiggled and squirmed till nearly exhausted, and then 

 stood still to rest. 1 would have liked to sit down, but I 

 couldn't bend my legs. When I attempted to pull one leg 

 out, the other, having all my weight, sank deeper than ever, 

 besides there were a lot of sharp oyster shells in the mud 

 that cut me whenever I made amove. My gun was a nuis- 

 ance; I could not lay it down in the mud, so I held it aloft 

 and thus lost the use of one hand, while its weight aided to 

 keep me down. 1 might have been there yet if it had not 

 occurred to me to lie over on my back, and in this way I 

 finally got out, and partly rolling and partly .sliding I re- 

 gained the water. I didn't get the spoonbill. 



But to return to the yellowleg. I caught him at last, 

 after falling down several times, which did not improve m}' 

 personal appearance. I had a cut on one foot from an 

 oyster shell that made me limp for a fortnight. Next time I 

 won't be so stingy with my shells. 



The breeze increased tiU'we had all we could attend to, and 

 when we could start our sheets we fairly flew. We soon ran 

 into Nassau Sound, and running across to Amelia Island, 

 we landed on a shell bank to cook dinner. We replenished 

 our supply of water from an old darky's well. The house 

 near by we found belonged to Jim Long. We had dinner 

 ashore, principally broiled snipe. The curlew and yellow- 

 leg were fine, but the willet were decidedly fishy. After a 

 smoke we interviewed the Long family. Old man Jim, his 

 wife told us, had "dun gone to Fernandina to trade." As 

 he had taken all the eggs with him, nest eggs as well, we 

 were unable to buy any and we parted. 



The wind was dead ahead but the tide was flood and we 

 made good progress. Just before dark we made the head of 

 the sound and anchored under the lee of a bluff, on which 

 we observed several houses. We put up the cabin and pro- 

 duced the remnant of a ham worn to the bone. Coffee, bis- 

 cuits and jam assisted the ham, and our digestion needed no 

 assistance! Our usual custom was, after putting everything 

 in order, to lie at length and read and smoke until bed time. 

 That night Wirt had nothing to read, and after smoking for 

 some time in silence he suddenly jumped up, thereby upset- 

 ting the recently washed dishes which were balanced on the 

 centerboard, and propcsed a game of chess. 



"How the blazes are you going to play chess without board 

 or chessmen?" 



"Play it in your head, of course." 



"Yes, certainly, play it in my head, but how about yours?" 



"Well, 1 guess I've got nerve enough to risk it." 



"Well, I decline. I've tried it once, and speaking plainly, 

 it wasn't a success. I'll tell you about it." 



"Do you remember when Dizz}'' and 1 were running the 

 Ever Blue on the river? Well, oae night we were coming 

 up with a big freight, and after supper, as we had nothing 

 to do, Dizzy proposed a game of chess. Now, neither of us 

 were experts ; but we thought we knew enough to get along, 

 so we started. The first few moves were easy enough, and 

 as soon as I got a chance I ran my queen out and stationed 

 her where she would rake his king if he moved a pawn which 

 stood between them. I was very careful to place her out of 

 danger, and you can imagine my astonishment and i^digna- 

 tion when Dizzy announced as his next move, 'Pawn takes 

 yoiu queen.' A dead silence. Presently I inquired sarcas- 

 tically, 'Pawn take anything else besides the queen?' 'No, 

 only the queen.' 'Had that pawn been moved before?' 

 'No.' 'Then, how the nation did it take my queen, which 

 was at rook's fourth?' 'It's plain you don't understand 

 chess.' 'Not that kind, certainly.' 'If I had a board I'd 

 show you just how you lost your queen.' 'You might try, 

 but there wouldn't be any money in it.' Just then we came 

 near running down a steamboat, and after it had passed 

 chess was not referred to and we smoked in silence." 



Wirt did not press the game of chess, and presently we 

 heard a hail from a boat that was approaching. It came 



alongside, and two gentlemen invited us to come ashore and 

 spend the evening at their house. We accepted, and "biled 

 up" as much as our wardrobe admitted and they pulled us 

 ashore, where we met sever.-il gentlemen and ladies with 

 whom we spent a very pleasant evening. We returned on 

 board al)Out 11 o'clock and at once turned in. 



We passed the drawbridge of the "Transit" Railroad early 

 next morning, and at once struck a very heavy sea breeze. 

 First one and then two reefs were put in, and we made Fer- 

 nandina about 11 o'clock, with everything piled to wind- 

 ward and the lee rail under. At Fernandina we decided to 

 wait for the wind to lull before crossing Cumberland Sound. 

 So Wirt remained to watch the boat while I went up into 

 town and purchased some supplies and some newspapers. 

 About 3 P. M , the wind having fallen to a gentle breeze, 

 we got under way and beat down to the sound, whence we 

 laid our course for Dungeness, our destination. 



Cumberland Sound is a beautiful piece of water about 

 four miles long by one and a half in width. Protected from 

 the sea by the southern end of Cumberland Island, it afl'ords 

 a secure and commodious harbor for Fernandina. We an- 

 chored off the old plantation of Dungeness about 5 o'clock, 

 and decided not to go ashore that night; but early next 

 morning we hauled in to the wharf, and all the forenoon we 

 wandered over the splendid domain. Dungeness, once the 

 residence and now the last resting-place of Gen. Nathaniel 

 Green, commander-in-chief for a period of the Revolutionary 

 army, is a magnificent plantation. It occupies the southern 

 end of Cumberland Island, and as regards health is probably 

 as near perfection as any spot on earth. The plantation is 

 aisled in every direction with grand old live oak avenues, to 

 which even Bonaventure is not superior. The sea on the 

 east and the sound on the west meet at Fernandina bar and 

 form the island. Recently I learn the New York Yacht 

 Club propose making it their winter headquarters. The 

 choice is a good one. The sound forms a beautiful harbor. 

 The bar is a good one, and it is easily accessible from New 

 York. The quaint little burial plot, where are the graves 

 of Gen. Green and "Light Horse" Harry Lee, are worth a 

 long journey to visit. A more beautiful spot it would be 

 hard to find. The inscription on the stone at the grave of 

 Gen. Lee is brief and simple: 



: Sacred to the Memobv of ; 

 • GEN. HENRY LEE, OF VIRaiNIA. i 



PROBUS OBIT. 



Mr. Carnegie has built a large and beautiful mansion on 

 the site of the old structure. The original ediflce was square 

 and massive, built of coquina. On a former visit, before 

 the construction of the walls, I counted sixteen rooms, esti- 

 mated to be 20x40, besides servants' quarters, a flue old man- 

 sion and conducted in princely style. 



We had a bath in the sea and saw many willet on the 

 shore, but it being Sunday we earned no guns with us. We 

 left Dimgeness about noon and drifted to Fernandina and 

 there caught the young flood and drifted to our anchorage for 

 the night, some three or four miles further on. 



About 10 o'clock the followinor morning, still drifting, we 

 jiassed the residence of the gentleman who had entertained 

 us a few nights previous, and many friendly tokens fluttered 

 on the bluff and were vigorously answered with the rather 

 grimy handkerchiefs of the crew. 



At Nassau Sound that evening, through not having any 

 wind we got into an awkward scrape. We were approach- 

 ing the mouth of Nassau River — ^the exit from the sound — 

 and were drifting with the ebb. On attempting to enter 

 the river we could not stem the tide, so we worked over to 

 shallow water and both jumped overboard and attempted 

 towing, but the short seas broke so spitefully against the 

 boat we could do but little. Very soon tiie boat struck on 

 a hard sand bottom and every sea lifted her and pounded 

 her on it again and again. It began to look serious. How 

 long she could stand that sort of thing without opening was 

 uncertain, but not long we felt sure. The sun was setting 

 and we were chilled and numbed by our long towing opera- 

 tions. It would never do to spend the night there. We 

 could not get afloat in deep water, for there was no wind, 

 and the seas breaking against her prevented our attemps to 

 shove off. 



Finally just as the sun set a light air came over the marshes 

 and while ! kept her head to the seas Wirt climbed on board 

 and got sail on her and she slowly began to make headway. 

 The breeze increased and her pounding grew less and less as 

 we neared deep water, and when she ceased to touch I 

 climbed on board and wrapped a blanket about me, my teeth 

 chattering with cold. We did not attempt to find the channel 

 for the river, it was too dark, but ran about a mile up the 

 source and found a quiet anchorage for the night. Neither 

 of us will easily forget how comfortable a cup of hot coffee 

 made us that night nor the luxury of a pipe afterward. 

 When we tried that exit next morning it was with plenty of 

 wind and some points from Jim Long concerning the shoals. 



By this time we realized that as far as shooting was con- 

 cerned we were not to be surfeited this trip. Ducks then 

 were in plenty but very wild. Curlew and other snipe we 

 met but scattering and the result of numerous long shots was 

 not satisfactory. 



We were drifting with the tide one morning — in fact the 

 return trip was nearly all tide work — when we saw, about 

 one hundred yards ahead, two otters playing in the water at 

 the mouth of a small creek. Their skill in the water inter- 

 ested us greatly. They allowed us to get within fifty yards 

 of them, then they dove and we saw them no more. 



We made the St. John's River that day at noon, ai:d bea- 

 con 17, five miles below Jacksonville, that night. From 

 Yellow Bluff' to St. John's mill we had a wholesail breeze 

 and held her to ii. Next morning we stopped at .lackson- 

 ville and put in a short time at a re'staurant, then we hoisted 

 sail for the last time and at four P. M. we came to anchor at 

 Mandarin. 



Before I finish let me say if any one wants to cruise 

 through the Sea Islands let him take a catboat of very ligbt 

 draught, and a canoe as small as he can shoot out of, and 

 I advise Ihe summer months as much more suitable for en- 

 joyment. The days are longer and the water is perfect for 

 bathing, and there are a considerable number of snipe in 

 August and very fine fishing. Calumet. 

 Mandarin, Fla. 



SAI.EM, Mass., Dec. 28.— A pileated woodpecker was shot 

 last week at Manchester, Mass. This is a rare E^sex county 

 bird. There are some golden eye ducks, mergansers and 

 saddle-back gulls, with an occasional snow owl s'een. Soma 

 quail and partridges yet left,~X. Y. Z, 



