. Jan. 7, 1886j 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



46B 



On Sunday morning, the camp put on its holiday attire 

 and took a rest. The week had furnished enough of sport, 

 although never was there a brighter day or a more glorious 

 Tipple ou the water. Before the day was over, our student 

 friend of last year, whose entertainment of us at the bridge 

 was one of the red-letter days of the camp, had taken our 

 Lauds in his and greeted us with his olden smile and wel- 

 come. He was now a Senior in Queens University and was 

 spendins his vacation at his home, six miles up the lake, 

 from whence he had that morning run down in his sailboat 

 to revive to us the pleasant acquaintance of last year. The 

 flame of the ancient friendship was ablaze in a moment, and 

 he in turn was welcomed with all the welcome which the 

 American camp could extend with all its arms. Through 

 the remainder of our outing our meetings were frequent, 

 and to him we became indebted for much that made it what 

 it was, for kindnesses which it is our regret that we can 

 never repay. 



The Colonel and Captain joined the group, which well 

 nigh filled the tent to overflowing, and the afternoon went 

 quickly and merrily by, to the time of the departure of our 

 visitors. 



In the middle of the night the wind rose, and the heavy 

 waves began to pound on the beach below, while the can- 

 vas tugged and strained at its fastenings with a violence 

 that threatened to pull the tent pegs and hurl it into the 

 woods. Soon a pouring rain added to the rumpus without, 

 wliich, witli the fall of a slab every now and then from the 

 cook's breakweather beside the range, made our sleep one of 

 tits and starts. But our covering held its own, the roar set- 

 tle(i into a steady monotone, and "great nature's second 

 course" at last settled upon us all. Wawayanda. 



SOME POINTERS ABOUT DUFFLE. 



I HAVE read "Woodcraft" and in the main agree with 

 the veteran camper, its author, upon the essentials for 

 a trip in the woods. I, too, believe in ' 'smoothing it" as 

 much as possible. I can see no virtue in a man's making a 

 martyr of himself, going without the things he needs when 

 he can have most of them at least, with a very little extra 

 labor. 



One's outfit should always be made up with a view to the 

 Iccality of the camp. 



Were 1 going an hAmdred miles beyond mule road, I should 

 go as light as "Nessmuk" — think I should even throw away 

 thev"ten cent tin" — but if one is going to a camp accessible 

 by team and boat, I see no object in limiting one's cooking 

 and eating tools to four or five pieces of tinware and other 

 articles in proportion. For five successive seasons I have 

 camped in the Adirondacks of New York, in a camp within 

 five miles of which a team can be driven and there is good 

 boating by river and lake the rest of the way. I have studied 

 the matter of dutBe not a little, and as I think to some pur- 

 pose, yet alter all has been said upon the subject, each one 

 will decide for himself after a trial and govern himself ac- 

 cordingly. 



Many of the Adirondack guides furnish everything except 

 the personal property a person needs. I prefer to own my 

 traps— there is a deal of pleasure in looking the things over 

 during the January days with the mercury "gone on a winter 

 trip down below zero. And then I don't like the average 

 guide's profanity, if his rusty kit gets smashed. There is a 

 heap of fun in smashing one's own furniture. 



My cooking kit, when packed up for a start for camp 

 about July 28, 1885, had the innocent look of a large tin 

 pail with'cover. There is the large pail_, that's for water or 

 fish, or packed full of venison steaks it goes in the cool 

 of the spring. In the bottom of the pail aforesaid we find a 

 dozen tin plates just fitting the pail; four pails are taken out, 

 each nesting so that no room is lost. In the smallest pail is 

 a large coffee pot of sheet iron, riveted together and rigged 

 with a bail to hang over the fire ; in the pot are a dozen tin 

 cups, two sizes of spoons, knives and forks for the party. 

 Inverted over the tinware in the large outside pail, and just 

 beneath its cover, I have a four quart basin and a sheet 

 iron frying pan with a detachable handle. This handle is 

 five inches long and made with a socket to receive an exten- 

 sion of wood when in use. 



With this line of crockery I can spread a table for ten 

 persons, give each a knife, fork, spoon, plate, cup and sauce 

 dish (don't laugh, the sauce is only maple syrup), thus re- 

 moving from the woodland meal most of the signs of rough- 

 ing it. The tin baker is next in order. This I utOize on the 

 way in and out of camp, as a tin trunk. In it I pack car- 

 tridges, tools of various kinds, extra clothing perhaps, put a 

 strap about it, and it handles as well as a drummer's sample 

 case. Some campers have not caught up with this tin baker 

 perhaps. Mine is made of heavy tin of the following 

 dimensions: 17 inches long, 11 inches wide in front, and 5 

 inches wide at back. The art of making is in getting the 

 proper angle of the upper tin surface to the lower. Made in 

 this way with sheet-iron pan one inch deep hung in the 

 center, I'll waiTant it to bake a mess of biscuit in ten minutes 

 by the watch, or cook a roast of fish or fowl or venison, as 

 quickly as the modern range. After the meal it makes a 

 good dishpan, a minnow crate, or pork barrel. 



I like the shelter tent pretty well if I cannot get a bark 

 lodge, but of all the habitations man hath yet made with 

 which to cover his devoted head upon a summer outing, give 

 me the bark lodge both now and forever. A little experience 

 will enable any man of gumption to build one that will not 

 leak in a pouring shower, and you can biiild your fire near 

 home and go to sleep without fear of a conflagration before 

 morning. And I like a place where I can drive a nail and 

 dispose of my eilects in a convenient if not picturesque way ; 

 the rafters of the bark lodge are just the thing for this. 



If you are going to the Adirondacks don't omit the pack 

 basket, "Nessmuk" to the contrary notwithstanding. Do 

 you think that every guide in that glorious region would 

 carry one if the wisdom of man had yet discovered a better 

 thing for the purpose? 



A knapsack will do for blanket and rations, provided you 

 want hash made of the latter before you find the hither end 

 of the carry. A very common cargo for the basket is the 

 meat of a deer, a blanket, extra coat, hatchet, rations, jack, 

 oil and whatever else guide and sportsman think necessary 

 for a three-days' tramp for the home fire. 



A basket properly made and strapped will not chafe nor 

 hurt the back. It puts the load where it is least in the way 

 and upon the muscles best able to cany it, and it won't wob- 

 ble about and churn its contents like tlie knapsack. 



Upon my last trip I had a bit of experience with a piece of 

 duffle that may be of use to some one. Every outer has 

 lound difficulty in finding the proper covering for the feet. 



had tried all the anti-friction-easy-for-the-feet boots and 

 hoes on the list. I concluded to try a pair of "oil-tanned 



moccasins." I bought a pair. They were not beautiful to 

 look upon, but were well made and according to order. I 

 stoically endured the jeers of the boys over my "hen-skin" 

 shoes on the way to camp. Arrived there I hung them on a 

 nail in the lodge, and soon turned in. About the first sound 

 I heard after that was a shout from Bill, "Say, boys, look at 

 the hen skins, " I opened my eyes and looked. My beauti- 

 ful moccasins had turned two shades darker in color, and 

 had the appearance of having been soaked for a week in 

 strong brine. Moisture stood in drops all over them; in the 

 hot sun it dried off, but those things were wet whenever they 

 were left in the shade or a place at all damp, wet inside and 

 out, wet all the time of a three weeks' trip, and are wet yet 

 when not in a place hot enough to bake. I vote oil-tanned 

 moccasins a delusion and a snare to the outer of the Adiron- 

 dacks in the month of August. If any one is disposed to 

 question this I have a pair upon which he ean experiment 

 by paying the freight. The best foot gear for all kinds of 

 weather and all kinds of tramping that I have found is a 

 pair of French kip boots, hand made, and fitted over two 

 pairs of socks to insure their being large enough. 



An outer is likely to be a lover of boats, Upon my last 

 trip I took in one, a description of which may interest. She 

 is of the lapstreak class, built of best quaUty of cedar clap- 

 boards, elm ribs, ^oak keel and stems, spruce gunwales, 

 decked over at bow and stern twelve inches. She is lOi feet 

 long, 29 inches beam, 9^ inches rise at center and 17 inches at 

 the ends. With yoke and paddle she weighs an even thirty- 

 five pounds. She carries her skipper and a friend in the 

 bow, and if necessary a hundred pounds of duffle; or trims 

 beautifully and handles nicely with one person. The boat 

 is of fine form and her lines are elegant. Her workmanship 

 is superior to any of Rushton's boats that I have yet seen. 

 For a boat for many purposes in the woods she comes as 

 near the ideal as any I have yet seen. She got some hard 

 knocks, but came out solid as when she went in, and now 

 haegs in the woodshed patiently wailing the coming of an- 

 other summer vacation. A man of ordinary muscle can 

 carry this boat anywhere in the woods, and take on some 

 extra duffle besides. When he gets to navigation the boat 

 takes all on board, is big enough to float in, and small 

 enough to carry. 



Speaking of what a small boat can do in the way of cargo 

 reminds me that in August, 1884, myself, guide and two 

 other men, with three packs and two guns, made the length 

 of Albany Lakes, Brow's tract, through the Beaver into 

 Smith's Lake in a boat weighing only 35 pounds. This was 

 a case of necessity, but it involved no danger and no especial 

 inconvenience. I have that boat yet. The only thing about 

 her that is peculiar is her great width of beam in proportion 

 to her length— length, 30 feet 8 inches; beam, 36 inches. The 

 load referred to could not have weighed less than 700 pounds. 

 Neither of these boats is fast; they are not racers. Time is 

 of no account with the camper, at most, not so much as the 

 ease he seeks and the recreation he goes to find. I don't 

 quite like the double-bladed axe, but I'm not sure that I have 

 anything better to offer. Surely not now. Nitkam. 



GouVEHNETm, N. Y. 



Address all communications to the Forest and Stream Publish- 

 ing Co. 



THE VAMPIRE OF THE OCEAN. 



THE articles in your issue of Dec. 10, "Capture of a Sea 

 Devil," and Dec. 24, "The Devil Fish of Estero Bay," 

 induce me to contribute my mite of information concerning 

 this curious sea monster, whose very existence is regarded by 

 many who live beyond the smell of the salt sea foam as 

 mythical. 



Few are they who, on looking at the chart of the Carolina 

 sea coast, would not be struck by the magnificent expanse of 

 the harbor of Port Royal, crowded on either side by innu- 

 merable small islands, once the pride of their old possessors, 

 the Sea Island cotton planters, 'The thousands of small creeks 

 and inlets formed by these densely wooded islets are a favor- 

 ite resort of immense varieties of fish, which have always 

 repaid with good sport the assiduous attentions of the gentle 

 art. To find subsistence easily and abundantly is an impulse 

 that pervades all animal life. So hither came the devil fish 

 lo get his fill of the small fry that crowd these waters. I 

 use the past tense, for, rnirabile diciu, the fish has not been 

 seen in the neighborhood for several years. He is a great 

 lover of quiet and solitude, which this harbor afforded until 

 Dupont aroused the slumbering echos of this mimic sea with 

 his screaming shot and crashing shell, from which time dates 

 their gradual disappearance, thereby expressing supreme dis- 

 like to a home obstructed by the cables and rendered dis- 

 turbing by the noise of crowded shipping. 



After satisfying the cravings of his appetite in the smaller 

 and more inland waters the devil fish would betake himself 

 to the broader waters of the bay and there disport himself on 

 thefeurface, probably by way of a "constitutional." It was 

 here that the gentry from the plantations would seek them 

 for the indulgence of that favorite but dangerous sport, 

 devil-fishing. 



Elliott, in his "Carolina Sports" (1854) claims to have 

 been the inventor of this sport of harpooning devil fish, and 

 to have been the first to capture any number of them, which 

 is probably true, and indeed it could not have originated 

 from the hands of a more worthy sportsman than 

 "Elliott, early trained, with easy skill, 

 Old Walton's various offices to fill. 

 The sport to lead, the willing ear begiiile, 

 And charm with rare felicity of style." 



To all who are so fortunate as to possess this rare and 

 valuable addition to their library — "Carolina Sports" — he is 

 the ideal of the gentleman sportsman, although the moss of 

 thirty years covers the stone beneath which he rests, and 

 the crack of his Manton among the oaks and palmetto ttiick- 

 ets of the Sea Islands have ceased "lang syne." 



The mode of capture was as follows : Harpoons somewhat 

 smaller than those used for whaling purposes were the 

 weapons used. These were charged at the butt with a 

 wooden shaft six or seven feet long. The hue attached to 

 the "eye" on the "shank" of the harpoon may be at least 

 one hundred and fifty or two hundred yards long, according 

 to the size of the boat. With his lines carefully coiled in 

 the bows of his boat, and harpoon in hand the "Piscator" 

 would sally forth to the favorite play grounds of this sea 

 vampire, rowed thither hy four or six stout oarsmen if the 

 barge is as it should be, twenty or twenty-two feet long. 



The first sight of the game is a black bat-like wing thrust 

 four or six feet above the wave, like the mystic arm that 

 reached out te grasp Excalibar, when thrown into the water 

 by Arthur's dying request. Anon he skims along the sur- 

 face of the brine like a huge inverted dish cover, turning 

 over and over in his gambols. We see for a while his ishin- 

 ing mottled stomach, then his dark and slimy back. You 

 are now near enough to strike. Straighten yourself. Throw 

 your arm well back with weapon grasped" a little back ef 

 midway and at an angle of forty-five. Then pitch it point 

 foremost with all the force you possess directly at his back. 

 Or better still — we have come upon "him haply slumbering 

 on the Norway foam," stomach up and back down, spread 

 out like an immense dirty blanket on the surf ace of the deep. 

 Now is your time. Grasp the shaft in both hands and plunge 

 your steel deep into his vitals until you feel it go through. 

 Step carefuUy down from the forward thwart,' bearing in 

 mind that your foot must not get entangled in the line, and 

 laying hold of the line, but not too tightly if yoii value the 

 natural covering to your fingers; seat yourself down firmly, 

 for directly you are going to move. All this in a few seconds. 



The fish has recovered from his momentary shock. With 

 a gurgle and a splash he starts off at lightning speed. The 

 line is run out with frightful rapidity. Mark how the smoke 

 rises from friction of wood and hemp. Increase the strain 

 on the rope if the toughness of your hand will allow you; he 

 is out far enough, and it is time to make fast. Call on Scipio 

 Africanus (begging the shade of that warrior many pardons) 

 behind you to lend a hand and wind the slack around the 

 cleat. Away you go, twenty mdes an hour, right out for 

 sea. He appears near the surface with harpoon well fixed; 

 floundering and splashing for a moment he disappears in a 

 bed of foam, straight downward, dragging the bow a foot 

 under water. The line again slackens and he again rises, 

 this time not in front of you, but right under you. You see 

 five feet of reeking wing' spread out on either side of your 

 craft, deliberately flapping in water by the barrelful. Well 

 for you that it does not last long, before he is off again, with 

 a few more wounds from your rifle or else from the old bay- 

 onet you have attached to the end of a pole. At last he has 

 given up, after pulling you ten or fifteen miles outside. On 

 the approach of flood tide he is towed toward shore and 

 beached at high water mark. 



We now measure him and find he is 17 feet from tip to tip 

 of his wings; length to base of tail, 10 feet; to end of tail, 16 

 feet. This was about the measurement of the last one seen 

 by the writer just two years ago. The scientific description 

 of this devil fish is given in the "Zoology of New York," by 

 James E. DeKay. Albany: 1842 :" "Family Raiida?, genus 

 GepMhptera, Dumeril. The pectorals produced into long 

 processes at their anterior extremities, presenting the appear- 

 ance of two horns; teeth slender, with a serrated spine." 

 This latter description is somewhat wrong, as the devil fish 

 has no serrated spine, like a sting ray or a whip ray, but 

 only a socket which looks as if made to recieve one of these 

 formidable weapons. "The Sea DevU {Gephaloplsra vam- 

 pirus). The vampire of the ocean, Mitchell. Cephalop- 

 iera giorna, Lesuem-." Then come the characteristics 

 which state that the tail is longer than the body, which is 

 another error. Of all the specimens caught in this section, 

 the length of tail compared to that of the body was as six is 

 to ten. The color is a blue-black above and white varied 

 with dusky opaque clouds beneath. Thickness, between 

 three and four feet. The two horns, or rather feelers, with 

 which he sweeps his food into his mouth, grow from near 

 the eyes, which are on top, tail coming to a blunt point. 



An article which came out in some of our American papers 

 concerning one of these fish which had been caught near 

 Galveston, I think, and stating that it was one of the few 

 ever caught, caused some amusement among our native 

 sportsmen. The father of the writer has captured some 

 twentj^ or thirty himself, as have several other gentlemen of 

 this vicinity. The sport could not be placed under the head 

 of willful cruelty, as the fish were always cut up in lumps 

 about four feet thick and carted up into the cotton fields by 

 the planters, and there used as manure. The liver furnished 

 an excellent lubricating oil. The devil fish is no longer an 

 object of sport here, for, as I have said before, he has entirely 

 disappeared. He may yet be caught probably on the west 

 coast of Florida. I should dislike to try that gastronomic 

 feat of eating steaks cut from one of these creatures, as per- 

 formed by one of your correspondents. 



The last one was seen here two years ago. This individual 

 got entangled in the piles of a wharf and was taken. The 

 same waters are here, the same swarms of small fish come 

 and go with the tides; but for us the CeplialopUra dampims 

 has vanished beneath the waves of bygone years and his 

 wake is no more seen. Sic passim. WiuJ Drake. 



A SHAMEFUL FASHION. 



A THING of beauty is a joy forever, is an accepted say- 

 ing, and yet a thing of beauty, when distorted and out 

 of place, becomes an actual source of distress to thinking 

 people, and people of fine sensibilities. It is customary to 

 compliment the fair sex under all possible conditions, but for 

 the present distorted taste or fashion, which trims nearly 

 every woman's hat with some form of a dead bird, there is 

 no word of commendation or excuse. A bird's wing is 

 beautiful as it cuts the air, bearing a joyous bird in freedom 

 among the trees. A live bird is beautiful, but ten thousand 

 dead birds with glass or waxen eyes, withering beaks and 

 shrunken skins, perched above the noses of ten thousand 

 women are anything but a source of joy. 



Look at the display of the millinery windows of to-day — 

 dead birds to the end of the chapter! An importer of mil- 

 linery informs me that the demand for some form of dead 

 bird is enormous. A thorough system of collecting tropical 

 birds is in operation abroad, extending even into Africa and 

 Australia. Besides, the kiOing of sea swallows and other 

 handsome plumaged but dull-colored birds in this country, 

 and sending them to France to be dyed, is appalling, to say 

 the least. "Look about you," he says. In doing so what 

 do I see? Six women out of every ten have some form repre- 

 senting a dead bird on their hats. It is natural to fall to 

 calculating. There are over 50,000,000 of people in this 

 country alone, and fully half of them are of the dead bird 

 wearing gender. But few are too young or too old to wear 

 dead birds. Allow us only 10,000,000 females weai-ing bird 

 corpses in the United States. Give us 10,000,000 for Eng- 

 land and 10,000,000 for France, and take all the rest of the 

 fashionable world to make our estimates good. What have 

 we found? That 30,000,000 forms of bird life have lately 

 been taken to deck out the hats of women. How long can 

 the bird life stand such a strain? Does not utter extermina- 

 tion stare it in the face? 

 No wonder an anti-plumage society has ^been formed in 



