424 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Dec. 22, 1887. 



sign of him. At length our eyes met, and away he went 

 on foot, giving me an easy shot, which bowled him over. 

 At the shot a second took wing, and was about 50yds. off 

 when I got a bead on him, he was hard hit, but flew 

 away nearly half a mile, when he fell in his effort to 

 alight. The camel man marked him clown, and after a 

 long quest we found him dead. 



" An hour later we sighted a herd of fifty antelope lying 

 down. There was a small bush which would have 

 afforded excellent cover for stalking a single animal, but 

 the antelope covered so much space that some of them 

 would be sure to sight me. Nevertheless, I decided to 

 try it, but while my camel was kneeling I saw the herd 

 move off. They went toward some clumps of jugube 

 bushes about a quarter of a mile off, and sending the 

 camel man around to get behind them, I went nearly 

 direct for the cover. I had just entered it, when I heard 

 a rush and saw the whole herd trotting toward me headed 

 by a good buck. They sighted me at the same instant 

 and whirled around without much waste of time, but I 

 got my ball in and heard the thud which told me it had 

 struck. I thought, too, I heard a struggling behind the 

 bushes. When I got up the antelope was gone, but I 

 found blood and tracked him to the edge of the jungle, 

 when I saw him standing on three legs about 200yds. off, 

 The camel man saw him too, and was going after him 

 when I shouted to him to pick me up. The poor beast 

 led us four miles before he gave in, when I got off and 

 gave him the coup de grace. 



We then went for sand grouse, of which I got a brace 

 before lunch, and two more brace after. Later I got a 

 long shot with wire cartridge at a bustard on the wing, 

 but failed to score, and went home delighted with my 

 day's success. The contract presented no more difficulties. 



On Tuesday I went to tlie snipe ground, but first picked 

 up a guide to take me to some deeper water where ducks 

 abounded; a continuation of the snipe ground and about 

 a mile off . My first shot on the water failed to score, 

 but it started hundreds, which went wheeling round in 

 all directions. I got five brace in about two hours, then 

 went to the snipe ground, dropped my three first birds in 

 succession, missed the next four, which humbled my 

 pride a little, and sat down to lunch with five brace to 

 show for twenty-five shots. I got another five brace after 

 lunch and then cantered home. 



The following day I crossed my first day's partridge 

 ground on the camel, and made for some cultivated 

 alluvial lands on the river's bank. The ground was only 

 half cleared, the plots of low tamarisk bush covering about 

 as much area as the plowed land. This tamarisk is capi- 

 tal cover for partridge and hare, and rare good grounds 

 to shoot over, and I wound up with a good day's sport, 

 leaving the ground with six brace of black partridge, a 

 brace of hares, a brace of stone plover and a wild goose. 

 The latter presented himself unexpectedly. After the 

 partridge shooting I heard some blue crane at no great 

 distance, and loading with wire cartridge I tried in vain 

 to stalk them. Returning to the camei I was preparing 

 to mount, when a flock of wild geese came flying toward 

 us at no great height; I brought down the first, which 

 landed some fifty yards behind me with a loud thud, but 

 that did not prevent his giving the dogs a good run as he 

 ran along with outstretched wings. 



My contract was complete, and I had Christmas eve 

 for a time of rest, which I spent in great part at least in 

 picturing the faces of the two sisters when the basket 

 should reach them with every detail as per requisition, 

 and in dwelling on the greeting with which they would 

 welcome me on the morrow, for it was arranged that I 

 should spend Christmas with them. I pictured the 

 hostess's triumph in being able to make such a display of 

 game upon her table, not so much for the game's sake as 

 for the evidence it afforded of her influence, but I dwelt 

 with still fonder anticipation on the thought that her 

 demure little sister would let me know by a pressure of 

 the hand or a glance of the eye that she knew for whose 

 sake I had been toiling. And my fancies — were they 

 prophetic, and did there come the pleasures of fruition? 

 Ah! But that was five and twenty years ago. 



Shikaree. 



THE SPOTTED HYENA. 



" TANTJARY, what's the matter with the Kaffirs? 



*J Instead of following the wagon, as usual, they are 

 all running in front of the oxen." 



"Impisi, n'kos" (hyena, sir)! was the answer returned 

 by my Zulu henchman, who was walking alongside the 

 wheelers, while I was seated on the fore chest of the 

 wagon, trying to keep off the midges by enveloping my- 

 self in clouds of tobacco smoke. 



The day had been intensely hot, and we were trekking 

 at night in order to relieve the oxen, and on the hinder 

 part of the wagon hung a portion of a Burchell zebra 

 (Equus burchelli) which I had shot during the day for the 

 purpose of feeding a pair of Hon whelps, which were 

 among a collection of live specimens that were being 

 taken down to the coast. In all my trips up the country 

 I was generally accompanied by a lot of Kaffirs, who 

 kept company with my teams for the purpose of getting 

 the surplus meat, which I constantly shot for my own 

 party, and on this occasion a spotted hyena (Hycena 

 crocuta), attracted by the smell of the remains of the 

 zebra, was following the wagon and caused the stampede, 

 which attracted my attention. Stopping the team I ran 

 back, rifle in hand, to try and get a shot in the bright 

 moonlight, but the moment I appeared at the rear of the 

 wagon the hyena sprang into the grass and disappeared. 

 Climbing up and concealing myself among the rear cageB, 

 I directed the driver to go on and stop on hearing a low 

 whistle from myself. We were hardly well under way 

 before the hyena reappeared in the road and followed, 

 but the moment the signal was given and the wagon 

 stopped, he would dart into the grass before I could ^get 

 a steady aim. After several failures, I noticed that the 

 wagon was just passing the summit of a hill. Ordering 

 the driver to whip his oxen into a sharp trot down the 

 incline, I dropped off when we had gone about 150ft., 

 crouched on one side of the road under the shadow of a 

 bunch of tall grass, and when the hyena's body appeared 

 like a silhouette on the crest of the hill, he caught a 

 raking shot which dropped him in his tracks. This was 

 my first introduction to the "wolf" of the colonists, and 

 thoroughly detested by them for its ravages among their 

 flocks, but like our western animal of the same name, its 

 numbers have been much decreased by the free use of 

 strychnine. My next experience was somewhat different. 



There was a farm on my road up country, where I fre- 



quently used to stop for several days at a time, in order 

 to rest my oxen and give them the benefit of the fine 

 grass. One morning the native shepherd reported that a 

 sheep had been taken from the kraal during the night, 

 and traces were plain where it had been dragged over the 

 wall at a corner of the inclosure, and down into an 

 almost impenetrable kloof, but a short distance away. 

 As the farmer did not like to lose a second sheep, which 

 he would have been obliged to slaughter in order to get a 

 carcass for poisoning, a spring gun loaded with slugs was 

 arranged so that anything attempting to pass at the same 

 spot would receive its contents. During the night the 

 report of the gun was heard, and we were on hand early 

 the next morning to ascertain the result. There was no 

 dead hyena, but bloody traces were followed down to 

 the kloof, by pretty much the same path, along which 

 the sheep had been previously dragged. Of course the 

 farmer felicitated himself on being rid of a scourge, and 

 no further search was made. That afternoon I left, and 

 some time elapsed before we again met. The circum- 

 stance had slipped my memory and was recalled by the 

 farmer, asking if I had forgotten about setting the spring 

 gun for the hyena, and he continued by saying: "A few 

 days after your departure I noticed a number of aas vogels 

 (vultures) sitting on the trees in one part of the kloof, 

 and judging they were feeding on the carcass of the 

 hyena, 1 determined to cut my way in and have a look at 

 the remains of the thief. With the assistance of my two 

 sons I finally managed to get in, and what do you tliink 

 I found? The slug riddled the body of a Kaffir." He 

 added with a quizzical look, "I let the aas vogels finish 

 him without asking the coroner to hold an inquest." 



While on my tramp to the Diamond Fields, I stopped 

 one morning at a Boer's house to inquire how far I w T ould 

 have to walk during the day, so as to reach water for my 

 usual night camp. He told me that just before sunset I 

 would reach "hyena pond," where I would find water, 

 wood and good grass, but to look out for the hyenas, as 

 they were thick in that neighborhood. So much so, that 

 travelers usually kept a watch at night, to protect their 

 oxen. Sure enough, just about the predicted hour I struck 

 the promised place, and the pack pony was turned loose 

 to fill himself with sweet grass, January started a fire, 

 while I arranged the little tent and covered the ground 

 underneath with a good coating of long grass, to prevent 

 any stray stones from interfering with my slumber. 

 After having our suppers, the pony was caught and tied 

 to the limb of an acacia tree, just back of the tent; some 

 extra wood piled on the fire, and I crawled into the tent, 

 rolled up in my blankets and stretched out; while Janu- 

 ary curled up, dog fashion, just at my feet. I slept as a 

 thoroughly tired man would do and knew nothing until 

 just before daybreak, when I was awakened by a horrible 

 sensation of nightmare. On coming to my senses, I found 

 myself lying flat on back, while January was squatted on 

 my chest, shaking as if he had a severe fit of the ague. 

 The howling and yelping of hyenas, mixed with the 

 affrighted whinnyings of the pony, instantly gave me the 

 clue for January's behavior, who was sent rolling almost 

 into the fire, while I followed on all fours. Picking up a 

 brand which I whirled around my head and hurled in the 

 direction of the hyenas, caused them to scuttle off, much 

 to the relief of both January and the pony. Coffee was 

 soon made, and on that day I covered more ground than 

 usual, simply because the hyenas gave me an early start. 



In my wanderings I frequently came across _ young 

 hyenas in the possession of the Boers, many of which 

 were very tame, but experience taught me that after 

 reaching maturity they were apt to snap, not so much 

 from ill-temper as from fear, as they are certainly the 

 most cowardly wild animal I ever met. I once had a 

 pair sent me about half grown and quite tame, and as the 

 cage in which they arrived was unsafe, was directing the 

 keepers about shifting them into a stronger one, when an 

 up-country friend walked into my yard and reminded 

 me of a promise made to show him through the Botanic 

 Garden. As he was an enthusiastic florist and one of the 

 editorial fraternity I immediately started off with him, 

 warning the keepers to be careful. We had scarcely 

 passed off my premises, when there was an outcry behind 

 us, and I turned just in time to see a badly frightened 

 hyena bolt across the lane and plunge into a strip of 

 bush opposite. 1 instantly gave chase, leaving a badly 

 demoralized editor behind me, and soon overhauled my 

 quarry, which had squatted from sheer fright soon after 

 entering the bush. He allowed me to straddle him, and 

 on reaching down to seize him by the nape I instantly 

 realized the enormous muscular development of a hyena's 

 neck as he suddenly twisted his neck to give me a nip. 

 A sharp inward kick from the heel of my heavy hunting- 

 boot landing on his ribs knocked enough wind out of him 

 to keep him quiet until the pm-suing keepers secured him 

 with a rope and dragged him, back into the yard. On 

 starting after my visitor I found he had increased his dis- 

 ance up the lane, and when I reached him he remarked: 

 "If that hyena reception was gotten up for my special 

 benefit I am perfectly satisfied, as it was a complete suc- 

 cess, but I would much prefer a floral one." 



Several merchants in the interior acted as my agents, 

 and I frequently called on them to pick up whatever they 

 had succeeded in getting for me. On one occasion while 

 stopping with one of them, he proposed that I should 

 accompany him to an outlying Boers, whose wool he 

 wished to purchase. As it would take the better portion 

 of two days to reach the farm, my host's cape cart carried 

 forage for its team, beside some provisions for ourselves. 

 It was fortunate that these precautions were taken, for 

 as the first day of our journey was drawing to a close, we 

 found out that we were lost on the veldt and would have 

 to camp for the night. Selecting a valley, through which 

 a stream ran, we started a fire, and a Malabar coolie, who 

 accompanied us, soon had a very fan- curry and a cup of 

 coffee ready for supper. After a soothing pull at our 

 pipes, my host and myself crawled under the cart, rolled 

 up in our blankets, using the harness for pillows, while, 

 the coolie made himself a bed with the cushions in the 

 cart. About midnight we were awakened by something 

 tugging at our pillows, and my friend sprang out and 

 climbed into the cart with the coolie. While he was so 

 doing I caught a strong whiff of jackal smell and unsuc- 

 cessfully tried to laugh him out of his foolish fright; con- 

 sequently he uncomfortably dozed the balance of the 

 night, sitting upright in the cart. The next morning we 

 found that the little thieves had nearly ruined the reins 

 by chewing them. While the coolie was preparing break- 

 fast I heard the peculiar call of a bull gnu (Connochcetes 

 gnu) from the top of the hill in front of us, and picking I 



up my rifle, proposed that each of us should go to the 

 tops of the opposite hills and see if we could discover any 

 indications of a road. On his acquiescence, I started in 

 the direction from which the sound proceeded, and by 

 careful stalking managed to kill the gnu. Failing to find 

 any signs of a road, I turned to descend, when L spied my 

 friend coming down the opposite slope at racing speed. 

 On reaching camp I found him leaning against one of 

 the cart wheels, showing evident signs of fright, and on 

 inquiring the cause, he said: 



"I came face to face with a lion on the top of the hill." 



"Nonsense," I replied. "There's not a lion within a 

 hundred miles of us. They have been all killed off in 

 this region years ago." 



"I tell you that I met one just now, and let's hook up 

 and get away from here as soon as possible." 



"Well, you go and hook up, while I go up the hill and 

 see if I can't pot him. As it is the first chance I've ever 

 had at a lion I'm not going to let it slip." 



He continued begging me to return until I passed out 

 of hearing, and on getting on top of the hill and knock- 

 ing around among some large boulders, just as I expected, 

 a large male hyena shuffled out in front of me and was 

 instantly killed. Retracing my steps and reaching the cart 

 the facts were made known, but my friend persisted in 

 saying that he had seen a Hon. That afternoon we reached 

 the Boers, and when the story was told to him and his 

 sons, the chaff my friend had to stand was something 

 outrageous. But he bought the wool nevertheless, and 

 continued buying until in a few years he was able to re- 

 tire on his means. He is now Hving at his ease in Eng- 

 land, while I am still enrolled among the toilers, showing 

 that commercial thrift is evidently a better accomplish- 

 ment, in a wordly sense, than zoological knowledge. 



The young of the hyena look very much like puppies 

 of a solid dark brown color. The spots graduaUy appear- 

 ing with age, thus reversing the usual procedure in some 

 of the larger cat animals, such as lions and pumas, which 

 are invariably spotted at birth and gradually assume 

 their solid color as they become older. I once had a pair 

 under my charge which bred regularly, and the only 

 difficulty I had in rearing the young was the nervous 

 fidgety habit the mother had of carrying them about in 

 her mouth and letting them drop on the hard floor of the 

 cage. This was counteracted by making a partition with 

 a sHding door in it, and whenever the young needed 

 suckling the mother was admitted, and after they were 

 satisfied a threatening gesture would cause her to spring 

 through the open door, which was immediately closed 

 after her. 



There is a peculiarity about the spotted hyena which 

 bothered me a good deal at first. Judging from external 

 appearances, every one which came into my possession 

 seemed to be a male; and, on questioning theBoers about 

 this characteristic, I was invariably told that thsy were 

 aU hermaphroditic. Not believing the assertion, I set to 

 work to try and solve the mystery, and after a series of 

 observations managed to pitch on a cage which, from un- 

 erring actions, evidently contained a pair. Then watch- 

 ing my opportunity, as they lolled about in various posi- 

 tions, succeeded in identifying the female. After that 

 there was not so much difficulty, particularly if the 

 female had ever borne young. I would refer those of a 

 scientific turn to the articles of Dr. Watson in "The Pro- 

 ceedings of the Zoological Society, London," 1877, p. 369; 

 1878, p. 416; 1881, p. 516, for a thorough technical descrip- 

 tion of the singularities of the spotted hynea. 



Frank J. Thompson. 



HUNTING IN FLORIDA IN 1 874.-VI. 



ON our second day's sail down the river, at a wooding- 

 up place, Capt. B. drew my attention to a woman 

 standing in a doorway, with a child in her arms, and said, 

 "That is the wife of Mr. Lang, who was murdered a few 

 weeks ago in the neighborhood of Ten-Mile Creek you 

 have just escaped from.'* As the boat was about to start, 

 I failed of an opportunity to learn definite particulars 

 from her of the terrible tragedy, but this seems the proper 

 place in my narrative to give the denouement. Less 

 than a year afterward I found the following in the Boston 

 Transcript, but by whom written I know not, nor, 

 though correspondence with true men in the vicinity of 

 Fort Capron, have I been able to obtain other than con- 

 flicting accounts of the arrests and trials: 



"Now that spiritualism Is being brought so prominently for- 

 ward, it is interesting to learn, from the Chicago Tribune., that an 

 ingenious attorney in Florida was the first person to discover a 

 practical value in It. His client, Tom Drawdy, was accused of 

 murdering one Lang, and the jury was composed of eight colored 

 and four ignorant white men. There was no doubt of the murder; 

 there was no flaw in the evidence. But the counsel found one. 

 He maintained that no proof of Lang's death had been given, and, 

 in all probability, he was still hiding to obtain revenge. This made 

 a commotion, but the main argument was yet to come. The gen- 

 tlemen of the jury had heard that spirits were very common all 

 over the North; that some had even been heard of in St. Augus- 

 tine. Supposing the jury brought in a verdict of guilty and hanged 

 an innocent man, what could they expect but that his spirit would 

 haunt them through life, appearing with staring eyes and clammy 

 tongue, the death damp on his hands and the horrors of the tomb 

 round about him ? Of course they would take the responsibility, 

 and they did, by acquitting Tom Drawdy forthwith. Here, there- 

 fore, is the first authenticated instance of the practical value Of 

 spiritualism, and i t may be added that that value was of a dubious 

 sort. 



Without affirming or denying the truth of these state- 

 ments in their fullest extent, I am assured from all I can 

 learn that Mr. J. , the father-in-law and reputed instigator 

 of the murder, was shot dead in bis tracks by the sheriff 

 while resisting arrest, as he had assured me he would be, 

 rather than bo arrested; that Tom died in the State's 

 prison not long after incarceration, and that his colleague 

 in the murderous affair was shot by the guard for insub- 

 ordination in the chain-gang. 



Leaving the steamer at Tocoi I proceeded by a mule 

 raihoad to the old town of St. Augustine, bidding good- 

 bye to my companions Fred and Erwin, who continued 

 on to Jacksonville and thence to New England by 

 steamer. My familiarity with quaint old towns in 

 Europe, hundreds of years ante-dating the settlement of St. 

 Augustine, prevented my realizing the novel sensation so 

 generally depicted by tourists on first beholding its dilap- 

 idated waUs and coquina-stone castle. A walk before 

 breakfast on the long sea-waU and a ramble around the 

 fort through its moat, and across the draw-bridge, with a 

 hasty inspection of the cemetery and the old cathedral 

 and square, satisfied my curiosity, and I spent the fore- 

 noon, as the mule-car did not return to Tocoi till 1 P. M., 

 in searcliing for objects of natural history in the suburban 

 lagoons. Taking the Palatkasteamer for Jacksonville at 

 Tocoi I re-admired the remarkable river whose very 



