Dec. 8, 1887.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



385 



he returned to the team, I put on as cheerful a counten- 

 ance as possible and commenced joking him, but he had 

 no heart for my jesting, and I left him to his forebodings, 

 which were not unfounded, as the sequel will show. 



Once more encamped on the old spot, we hoped, as we 

 bunked for the night, the thievish hogs had furgotten us 

 during our ten days' absence, but were wofully mistaken, 

 as our frequent alternations of "Shoo, shoo," and snatches 

 only of dozing without real sleep proved. While break- 

 fasting we were planning how to provide the grub neces- 

 sary for carrying out a plan proposed by our Ci acker vis- 

 itor at the rookery for the next ten days, to the effect that 

 we should proceed to a locality on the coast called Fort 

 Pierce, four miles south of Fort Capron, where he had a 

 boat, and camping there let him supply us with shore 

 birds and fish in such numbers that we would be. kept 

 skinning and preserving all the time till we were ready to 

 say "halt." This plan would cut us loose from Mr. J., 

 who, subsequent experience showed, was not quite ready 

 to let the goose that was laying the golden egg for him 

 fly away. So he and our new parasite, whom we will 

 hereafter call Jim, came to our camp with many protes- 

 tations of interest in our success, and proposed a post- 

 ponement of the ten days' shore hunting and fishing for a 

 ten days' trip, more or less, to another rookery two days' 

 distant, much larger than the one wc had just left, and 

 bordered by a pine hummock affording good camping 

 ground immediately upon its shore. As it was yet early 

 in the season for gathering some kinds of eggs, we 

 snapped at the bait, and, sending off Tom to Fort Capron 

 for replenishing our larder, spent the day in recaulking 

 our scow and packing the material we had left to dry in 

 the loft of Mr. J.'s log stable. Vermin of some kind, de- 

 spite the avsenic, had ruined my rattlesnake's skin, 

 leaving me only the head and rattles. The mammal and 

 bird skins were on the eve of moulding from the exces- 

 sive dampness of the nights, and it was becoming a serious 

 question whether we had not better get out of so swampy 

 a region, to save what we had already secured at so great 

 an expense of fatigue and money. To le^ve a cherished 

 plan unaccomplished had not been the experience of my 

 life of nearly three score years, and I also felt some 

 responsibility in reference to introducing my young com- 

 panion of less than a score to such an tint' ortunate future. 

 After another sleepless night through the unwelcome vis- 

 itations of our porcine tormentors, we repacked the scow 

 placed upon the ox-team axles, and bade a final adieu to 

 the settlement on Ten-Mile Creek, with no regret, though 

 in Mrs. J. we had found a true-hearted woman, who, alone 

 of all we had met in the settlement, had manifested 

 toward us the least spark of unselfishness. 



In the outgoing of this trip, Mr. J.'s little son of ten 

 year accompanied us, and enlivened the monotony of the 

 tramp by his cheerful and unsophisticated nature, often 

 plying me with questions concerning Yankeeland that 

 made me grieve to think so bright a lad was being raised 

 under such outlaw influences. An incidental remark, as 

 we were fording a deep stream, whose quicksand bottom 

 threatened to sink oxen and load out of sight, that in my 

 country I had often driven oxen with a load of wood 

 across a pond without sinking an inch, so taxed his credu- 

 lity that he called upon my companion for confirmation 

 of the statement. He had never seen a flake of snow or 

 a film of ice, and no kind of illustration at our command 

 could make him comprehend the fact. Dressed only hi 

 shirt and trous:rs, he scrambled around in the briers and 

 saw-gras9 with naked feet as fearless of harm as though 

 rattlesnakes and moccasins were as unknown in that re- 

 gion as ice and snow. 



Camping soon after dark, we were too tired to unload 

 our tent, and each chose Ms own place and lay down 

 upon a bed of palmetto leaves and went to sleep counting 

 the stars. Our little "cheerfulness" went searching in 

 the dark for water, and just on the brink of a pool felt a 

 ground rattlesnake wriggling about his naked ankles. 

 Nimbly jumping aside, he captured the reptile and brought 

 it to me as a trophy. At early dawn we were off, and 

 soon after sunrise crossed fresh tracks of deer, and not 

 much further a panther's tracks. The panther should be 

 hunted only with dogs, that his attention may be diverted 

 from the hunter while he is drawing sufficiently near to 

 make sure of a deadly aim. In the course of the day we 

 arrived at the rookery, and for once realized all the ex- 

 pectations raised by our Cracker guides. It was a cypress- 

 slue of ten or twelve acres, with the exception of the end 

 nearest us, of about two acres of clear water, the whole 

 encircled with a margin of dense undergrowth twenty-five 

 or thirty feet in thickness. So matted was the marginal 

 growth it was impervious to the gaze beyond eight or ten 

 feet, but on climbing a tall tree and looking over the 

 underbrush, the clear water furnished to the sight a unique 

 aquarium that no other State than Florida, I imagine, 

 can furnish. I counted one hundred alligators, from 

 three to twelve feet in length, leisurely swimming in all 

 directions in the two acre space, and ceased counting. 

 Some were dragging long rushes in their mouths across 

 the water, evidently to construct their nests, which are 

 built on the margin above the water. The alligator lays 

 from fifty to seventy eggs in alternate layers of reeds 

 and eggs, and leaves the mass of rubbish to putrefy and 

 heat the eggs for incubation. Instinct brings the 

 mother to the spot at the right time to tear open the pile 

 and release the chicks on their first peeping. 



Selecting a place for our camp just far enough from the 

 swampy undergrowth to feel safe from the visits of alli- 

 gators, in two hours we had a path cut through the un- 

 dergrowth with a corduroy bottom laid, along which to 

 push our scow for launching in the clear water. Mr. J. 

 and his son returning with the team, this time we had 

 with us Jim, an experienced hunter and boatman. Our 

 experience in the first rookery led us to provide a boat- 

 hook for this, besides poles and paddles. Our boat 

 launched, we essayed to cross the clear water to the 

 cypress-slue, above which we could see hundreds of 

 spoonbills, white ibises and egrets sailing, while others 

 were diving in and out among the branches. So far as 

 Crackers or Indians knew, we were likewise the first ever 

 to launch a boat of any kind upon these waters, as well as 

 at the first rookery. To the alligators, our invasion of 

 their hitherto undisturbed domain must have been some- 

 thing akin to the astonishment of the natives when the 

 vessels of Columbus hove in sight. Fearless, they swam 

 up to the gunwale as to a floating log, and but for the 

 thumping of their snouts with our poles, they would evi- 

 dently have boarded us and taken possession of our frail 

 batteaux. A few charges of shot so educated them, how- 

 ever, that on the second or third day they were ready to 



give us a wide berth as we issued among them. As we 

 boated among the cypress-knees, they were still more 

 numerous and audacious, so that we found it almost im- 

 possible to secure a single bird we had shot, a half dozen 

 at a time springing from their lurking places the moment 

 the bird touched the water. Another set of nest robbers 

 than ourselves we found in the slue. The fishcrows by 

 the hundreds were perched near the nests of the curlews 

 and herons, just out of reach of their long necks; but the 

 moment a bird left the nest, either to exchange places 

 with its mate or because frightened by the crack of our 

 guns, these crows, so intent upon their plunder as to be 

 themselves unterrified, would dart upon a nest, and, if 

 the egg was small enough, fly away with it in its bill, or 

 if large, pierce it with its bill and fly off with the contents 

 dripping away through the air. Forced thus to change 

 our tactics, either to secure birds or eggs, we made it a 

 rule each morning to first shoot a number of crows as 

 they flew out and in, and by occasionally getting ahead 

 of the alligators secure a portion of them. Placing these 

 upon the slanting bow of the scow, if our shot dropped a 

 spoonbill or other bird, we would throw a dead crow in 

 front of the nearest alligator making for our game, and 

 thus manage, by giving away sometimes two or three 

 crows, to secure one spoonbill. 



In crossing the open water on our camp ward trips, as 

 we came out of the slue, our guide Jim was very expert 

 in often hitching the boat-hook over the shoulder of a 

 huge alligator headed the light way, and making him in 

 his fright drag us across the pond, till, nearing the shore, 

 he would let go by thrusting the hook forward and then, 

 giving our steed a punch in the side, dismiss him. In a 

 few days we had secured all the spoonbills, egrets, ibises 

 and snake-birds and their eggs we could well care for, 

 and began to think of leaving the interesting place. Our 

 provisions, too, were giving out, so I told Jim he must 

 take our breechloading rifle and go out and get us some 

 venison hams. In about fifteen minutes after leaving us, 

 we heard three shots in quick succession, and in a few 

 moments more he came in with the request that we go 

 out and help him bring in the hams. Eepairing to the 

 spot, we found a buck and a doe lying as they fell, about 

 ten feet apart, the third, a doe, running off with a broken 

 shoulder, but found the next day a few hundred feet 

 away, dead. Securing our hams, and a portion of the 

 liver of each, we had jerked venison for days to come. 

 In one of the livers I found the parasite fluke, always to 

 be searched for in the hepatic system of herbivorous 

 animals. 



Toward night of the sixth day Tom appeared with the 

 oxen and axles. Quickly converting our scow into a 

 wagon-body we prepared to bid farewell to cypress-slues 

 and 'gator swamps, well pleased with our experience in 

 seeing wild beasts and birds in their wild haunts. A 

 day's tramping across pine hummocks and wallowing 

 through intervening sloughs brought us upon an old 

 army trail leading from Fort Capron on the Atlantic 

 coast to Fort Bassinger on the Kissimmee. Following 

 this with the forests on fire on both sides and trees fall- 

 ing across it, which had to be cut away, we camped at 

 in id night for four hours by simply halting and lying 

 down on the grouud and sleeping as best we might. R-;- 

 suming our march by earliest dawn we soon found our 

 way impeded by thick undergrowth and crosswise logs, 

 which had to be cut away for the team. The last six 

 miles being across a sandy hummock with the thermom- 

 eter at 100% for six hours man and beast suffered exceed- 

 ingly from thirst, and I began to long for the knee-deep 

 morass as more desirable. Toward night we reached 

 Fort Capron, and as I drew near was espied by Judge P.. 

 who had so kindly warned me as I was about to leave for 

 Okechobee of the danger of trusting myself to the out- 

 laws who alone inhabited the region besides Indians. 

 The instant he recognized me he rushed out of his house 

 and clasped me around the neck, declaring he was never 

 so relieved in his mind, for he had about concluded his 

 worst fears for our welfare had been realized. 



At Judge P.'s I found Doctor P. and Erwin, who had 

 returned but the day before from, their circumnavigation 

 of the lake, having had a very sorry and to Erwin at 

 least a very unprofitable time, for he had suffered most 

 of the time from chills and fever, which had now 

 assumed a bilious form, and had so reduced his strength 

 that he was unable to leave his bed. At first sight of 

 him, I saw that, if I would take him home alive, I must 

 change my role and turn nurse. Therefore I chose a 

 camping place not far away on the left bank of a stream 

 about one-eighth of a mile above its debouche into Indian 

 River. Just across the stream a stalwart negro by the 

 name of Trott had recently "squatted," having a reputed 

 lawful wif e and a concubine, whose incessant quarreling 

 made day discordant and night hideous, except when the 

 lord of the harem interfered and for the time turned one 

 or the other out of the one-room shanty, as his fancy 

 dictated. He was a native of the West Indies, and had 

 served on a man-of-war in varied capacity, till he had 

 acquired more or less skill as a navigator. His strength 

 was fully equal to that of two ordinary men, and if pro- 

 voked would have been a dangerous man to deal with. 

 As soon as possible I sent by boat for a hermit doctor 

 across the Indian River, whose prescriptions dispelled the 

 bilious tendency and gave me encouragement that in 

 eight or ten days I might commence my homeward 

 journey. Subsequent acquaintance with this physician 

 revealed a singular history. Originally from Vermont, 

 where he had long practiced medicine, he acted as 

 surgeon during the war in a Western regiment, but 

 instead of returning to his home at the close of the war, 

 drifted to this frontier land, and doubtless under an 

 assumed name commenced a hermit's life on the sandy 

 island nearly opposite Fort Capron, whiling away his 

 time in fishing and corraling green turtles for the Savan- 

 nah market. At this time he had corraled about fifty, 

 weighing from 40 to 1251bs. I bought of him the largest 

 as a specimen for Brown University Museum. Two 

 months later, he embarked on a sloop commanded by the 

 negro, to take his turtles to Savannah, and was wrecked 

 and drowned on the coast near Fernandina. 



Bhown University, Providence JR. I. J. W. P. JENKS. 



Narcoosee, Fla., Nov, 26.— Snipe are coming in fast, 

 and we have had some excellent sport. A party of six 

 guns close to Kissimmee bagged 211 the other day, which 

 is the best bag that has been made so far this season 

 around here.— General. 



NEW ENGLAND GAME NOTES. 



IT seems that the late grouse shooting in Maine, New 

 Hampshire and Massachusetts has not proved very 

 satisfactory this fall. The Boston market is almost en- 

 tirely bare of such birds. Now and then a few are seen, 

 but they have been smuggled through in boxes of chickens 

 or turkeys. But not one partridge can be found in the 

 stalls, where on former seasons twenty, and even a hun- 

 dred, were to be seen. The new transportation laws of 

 the above-named States (Massachusetts always excepted 

 where the marketman lias an interest) and the Provinces 

 have much to do with the absence of tliese birds in the 

 Boston market. The few that are to be obtained in this 

 State make but very little show in the markets, and to 

 obtain tJiem from the other States and districts noted, 

 the gauntlet of game wardens has to be rau, and if the 

 truth is told, the shippers are getting tired of the work. 

 In the first place the receivers of such game here do not 

 pay them enough to make the risk worth while. In this 

 State it is evident that the grouse are sadly on the de- 

 crease, but now and then a few are to be found. They 

 are ever on the alert, however, and it takes one of the 

 best shots, accompanied with the best of trained dogs, to 

 cope with them successfully. It is, in fact, patent to all 

 who have observed these birds for a series of years, that 

 they yearly become more and more shy of both the gun 

 and the dog. 



But in Maine and northern New Hampshire the case is 

 more hopeful. The early shooting was not very satis- 

 factory, but of late those who have had the courage to 

 invade the woods with anywhere from a few inches to a 

 foot of snow on the ground and the weather very cold 

 for November, have been rewarded with good bags of 

 grouse. A couple of guides, of Andover, Me., who fol- 

 low gumming in the early winter, have lately come out 

 of the woods, where they have been since the first of 

 October. They report the partridges wonderfully thick 

 in the lake region. They carried no firearms other than 

 a long revolver a piece, not caring to be burdened with 

 shotguns on their gumming trips, but with these revol- 

 vers they were able to kill all the partridges they cared 

 for in camp. This number was not a few, as anybody 

 knows who is acquainted with the habits of these m en in 

 camp. The breasts of the birds, pulled out of a slit in the 

 skin, are all the bits they have the time or the inclination 

 to prepare. These gummers say they have never seen 

 so many birds in the woods. If they winter well it means 

 good shooting next fall. But somehow the best gunners 

 were not remarkably successful in these very woods early 

 in the fall. One Boston gentleman, Mr. Dwinnell, of the 

 firm of Dwinnell, Hay ward &Co.,in the coffee trade, 

 made his annual trip to the IJmbagog Lake region a little 

 later than usual, and as he is a full believer in the fish 

 and game protective laws, and as it was full October 

 before he got into the woods he took no fish-rod with 

 him, but devoted his entire vacation to shooting. He 

 took some seventy-five partridges in all, fully enough for 

 one sportsman. 



By the way, it may be suggested that although the 

 black bear did not "pan out" very abundantly in the fall, 

 yet the early snows that have fallen this year in Maine 

 and New Hampshire have made good bear hunting. 

 Quite a good number have been followed by their tracks 

 in the snow and either driven into their dens or treed and 

 shot. The two gunners mentioned above had an en- 

 counter with a good-sized bear, or rather as they were 

 returning one night to camp, laden with gum, bruin 

 started from beneath an old treetop and the boys begun 

 emptying the contents of their long revolvers into him. 

 Evidently the bear did not like the smell of powder, for 

 he quickened his rather lively run into a furious rush up 

 hill, affording the chance for several revolver shots, 

 though at rather long range. The old bear got away, of 

 course, but the gummers say that if there had been suffi- 

 cient daylight left, and they had not been a mile or two 

 from camp, with only a very dimly spotted trail, they 

 should have followed him up. As it was they drew blood 

 with then; revolvers. An old bear and her cub were 

 driven to den and killed in the vicinity of Mount Bigelow 

 by a couple of hunters from Kingfield, one day a week 

 ago. They report seeing another very large one that did 

 not succumb to their bullets. A bear has given the hunters 

 of Anson and New Vineyard the long chase, within a short 

 time. He was tracked across two or three townships, in 

 the snow, and he finally outwinded the hunters among 

 the mountains of Kingfield. The old hunters claim that 

 bears are increasing in Maine. 



Another big moose has been added to the number of 

 the slain in Maine the present season. This makes eight 

 this year, so far as heard from, killed in that State in the 

 open season. The last was an enormous fellow, estimated 

 to be nine years old. It measured 9ft. from the base of 

 the horns to the end of the tail. The girth was 9ft. 4in., 

 and the measurement along the back from the end of the 

 nose to the extremities of the hindfeet was 18ft. The 

 horns spread over 4ft. The giant was killed by A. B. 

 Douglass, a well-known hunter and guide. It was killed 

 in the Dead River region, on Spruce River. It was fol- 

 lowed up by the hunters for days by tracking in the 

 snow. 



The number of deer killed in Maine during the present 

 open season appears to be rather small, and but very few 

 have been smuggled through to the Boston market. 

 Still, a few have arrived. In one case, about the first 

 seen of a couple of haunches of venison, done up in the 

 hides, was on the back of a man coming around from 

 Merchant's Row into North Market street. The man 

 when asked where the deer came from, declared he did 

 not know. But the venison was fresh, and it evidently 

 came from Maine. The commission merchants who re- 

 ceive either venison or partridges here, killed in the 

 States where the non-transportation laws exist, are very 

 reticent concerning the way that the game reaches then- 

 stores. If they answer at all, it is not always to speak 

 the truth. Western deer are not yet being received in 

 the abundance of former seasons here, but it is probable 

 that the recent cold weather in the West is to bring them 

 forward. 



As for the quantity of deer in Maine, the reports are 

 very favorable, but the success of the hunters on the first 

 snows has not been great. The report comes from the 

 lumber camps that the deer are unusually plenty. This 

 is the case in the upper regions of Somerset and Franklin 

 counties, while in Oxford county the woodsmen say that 

 they have never seen the signs of deer so plenty. A 

 gentleman here from St, John, New Brunswick, who is 



