362 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Nov. 29, 1888. 



IN NEWFOUNDLAND. 



ON Saturday, the 15th of September, the writer em- 

 barked at Halifax on the steamer Portia.. r32 tons 

 burden, bound for St. Johns, Newfoundland. This ves- 

 sel, which is of iron, leaves the port of New York tort- 

 nightly for Newfoundland, touching en route at Halifax, 

 there it remains from sixteen to eighteen hours before 

 leaving for its destination. The time occupied inthe 

 passage is about fifty-two horns from New York to Hali- 

 fax, and the same time is taken from Halifax to St. Johns. 

 This steamer is staunch and strong, and the master, Cap- 

 tain Dawson, a good seaman and successful officer. We 

 had very fine weather, the air being mild and the sea 

 tranquil'. As most of such voyages are, so was ours 

 uneventful for a short time. When well out to sea we 

 had the company of about fifty porpoises, which sported 

 on the surface of the water and ducked beneath it in 

 their gambols; these soon left us, and in their place we 

 caught sight of a huge whale, which showed itself but 

 twice. The tedium of our monotonous journey was again 

 broken upon by the arrival of an occasional land bird 

 about our decks; indeed there were a pair of linnets 

 which remained several hours around our vessel, hoping 

 about and picking up such food as they could find; these 

 little creatures seemed very tired and hungry. It was on 

 Monday morning that we first caught sight of Newfound- 

 land. As we drew near the high precipitous shores of 

 the island exhibited well the stratification of the rocks, 

 against whose base the sea dashed, and all then foldings 

 and contortions were in full view. From the foot of these 

 cliffs long points in various places ran out far into the 

 ocean. 



On the summit of this rocky coast there was a treeless 

 plateau, with hills rising above it, all of which when 

 bare of everything appeared to be covered by a growth 

 of low shrubs, the green of which had a brownish or 

 yellowish hue. 



We had been in full view of this rocky land for more 

 than an hour before we saw human habitation. When 

 we did see one it was situated far up at the head of a 

 cove and consisted of a fisherman's white hut. After 

 this we saw in various other coves, as we skirted the 

 shores, little clusters of humble homes; and where there 

 was earth enough to cover the rocks the sward growing 

 on them was of a brighter green than what one usually 

 sees elsewhere, reminding me of that green which meets 

 one's view as he approaches the shores of Ireland. Fish- 

 ing boats were frequently met along the coast; in one in- 

 stance I counted forty-four all hard at work in one place. 

 Here and there were seen substantial and well cared for 

 lighthouses. When we first came in sight of the island 

 the ordinary color of the rocks on the shore was gray, 

 but when not far from the Bay of Bulls this was changed 

 to red. In several places in this vicinity there were 

 great cavities in the steep shores where masses of rock 

 had tumbled out. Sometimes, indeed, they were seen 

 lying on the beach beneath. 



As we drew near to what we were told was the harbor 

 of St. Jii-hns we could see no entrance to it. At the dis- 

 tance of a mile a deep depression in the rocks was visible, 

 but that was all. Coming a little nearer the water be- 

 came visible and the whole grand entrance between these 

 Steep, massive and variously contoured hills gradually 

 came in full view. The entrance to St. Johns harbor at 

 the narrowest point is but 165yds. wide. 



The hill on the north of this entrance, which is called 

 Signal Hill, is 520ft. high, while that on the south side is 

 560ft. above the water line. Once in the entrance you 

 have a full view of the city of St. Johns, which is built 

 at the foot and on the slope of a steep hill facing the 

 entrance to the harbor, which is more than a mile long, 

 and about three-quarters of a mile wide. The city has a 

 population of about 25,000. 



Our steamer was soon at the wharf, and stepping 

 ashore we were met by the polite customs officer, who 

 immediately passed our baggage. I walked up to the At- 

 lantic, a large, new, convenient and commodious hotel. 



I had not been long in it until I was reminded of the 

 existence of game in the island by seeing t wo gentlemen 

 enter with game bags well filled with ptarmigan. The 

 shooting season begins here on Sept. 15. 



The day after my arrival I drove for nine miles over 

 the strange treeless hills, among which one sees in all 

 sort of odd places equally strange lakes, or, as they are 

 called here, ponds. These were surrounded by low shrubs, 

 hardly a tree being visible. We were on our way to 

 Petty Harbor, a fishing village, which we at last found 

 nestled down in a deep, rocky valley, so surrounded by 

 high hills that it reminded me of the entrance to the pass 

 of Glen Lyon, in the Highlands of Scotland. Wherever 

 any earth was to be found on the steep sides of these hills 

 and in the narrow valley, through which a large brook 

 tumbled, little patches of potatoes were planted. I heard 

 of one case where a poor woman had carried on her back 

 many loads of earth— enough to make a garden in front 

 of her little cottage, in which garden she had all of her 

 vegetables planted. 



On our way to Petty Harbor we were again reminded 

 of the ptarmigan by seeing a sportsman on his way home, 

 who told us that he had that day secured fifteen of them. 

 In order to give some idea of this bird, whose flesh is 

 more delicate than that of either partridge or grouse, 

 more especially during the months of October and 

 November, when it attains its highest flavor, I obtained 

 from Mr. Eichard White, a well-known sportsman of 

 St. Johns, the following facts: During the winter; at 

 times when the weather is foggy and moist, these birds 

 frequent the high hills, feeding on the buds of shrubs of 

 various kinds; but when it is boisterous and cold they 

 desert these haunts. They mate in February and lay 

 their eggs early in June; these usually number from 

 eleven to fourteen. The nests arc very rough affairs, 

 consisting of a few sticks and straws collected together; 

 they are constructed on the borders of marshes and among 

 low shrubs. The young usually make their appearance 

 in July, being about able to fly in the middle of that 

 month. They are in good condition on Sept. 15. when 

 the season has been a favorable one; when, however, it 

 has been cold and backward they are small at that time. 

 Their color is then brown, their wings being partly white. 

 In October their color begins to change, and by the last 

 of December they are nearly entirely white, with the 

 exception of the tips of their tails, which remain black. 



The legs in winter are feathered down to the toes. When 

 it is stormy and snowing in the winter they do not seem 

 to feed, but remain in one spot for more than a day. 

 During the autumn they feed on berries, which are 

 abundant on the island. 



The ptarmigan is found all over Newfoundland. The 

 best shootinggrounds near St. Johns are Cape St. Mary's, 

 Cape Pine, Trepassey and the coast stretching from it to 

 St. Johns. Ptarmigan are also shot in the immediate 

 neighborhood of St. Johns. On Saturday last, Mr. White 

 and his brother shot thirty-one of them within six miles 

 of that city. The shooting is all done on the wing, the 

 dogs made use of being generally the Gordon setter, these 

 being much preferred to" the pointer on account of their 

 superior endurance. Early in the fall the full covey rise 

 at a time, and when undisturbed they always keep near 

 the place where they were hatched. Later on in the sea- 

 son they are started in twos and threes. The heaviest bird 

 which Mr. White had shot weighed lib. 14oz. The average 

 weight at the last of October is about lilbs, each. Up to 

 the 1st of October three-quarters of the birds are shot at 

 distances not exceeding 40yds. After that, when they 

 are stronger and more timid, they rise when one is within 

 50 or 60yds. Mr. White says the largest number of birds 

 ever killed by him in a day was 27, 



Sportsmen coming to Newfoundland will during the 

 summer find access fortnightly to all parts of the shore 

 of the island (with the exception of those on the Straits 

 of Belle Isle) by means of the mail and passenger steam- 

 ers, Conscript, 440 tons, and Volunteer, 450 tons. These 

 boats are well manned and provided; and starting from 

 St. Johns one takes the southern, the other the northern 

 coast, touching at the various harbors on their routes. 



There are thirty lighthouses on the island belonging to 

 the government of that colony, and several others which 

 were erected by the government of Canada. Indeed, the 

 salient points of the island are so well lighted that a ves- 

 sel in clear weather has a lighthouse always in view 

 when coasting along its shores. Edwakd Jack. 



NOTES ON WESTERN FLORIDA. 



IV.— CRUISING DOWN THE COAST. 



We did not stop on our return at Carabelle, but sailed 

 out at once into the sea, where a strong favorable breeze 

 was blowing, and we made good time to the east, anchor- 

 ing at night off Alligator Point in only three feet of 

 water. The following morning, to our intense surprise 

 and chagrin, we found ourselves high and dry, left by 

 the receding tide. There was nothing to do but go ashore, 

 or rather, step aground, and spend the morning shooting 

 snipe and beach birds. We had very fair sport until the 

 returning waters liberated the Geline from her unaccus- 

 tomed position, and we once more headed to the east. 



South Cape is a well defined point of sand that makes 

 out into the Gulf and forms one of the arms that inclose 

 Ockolockone Bay. I have beaten around this veritable 

 "Cape Horn" several times in the course of my expedit ions, 

 but never yet have I been aided by a favorable wind. So 

 it was with Rusticus and I; we tacked almost in the eye 

 of a wind that seemed to shift to oppose every turn we 

 made, and baffled and worried our crew entirely out of 

 patience. We, of the cabin, took it very easily, but Cap- 

 tain Joe frowned and swore in a most outrageous manner, 

 and worked himself into a tremendous state of fury, 

 cursing, not oniy at the wind, but railing at its maker 

 and calling out in an excess of fury for the Almighty to 

 come down from on high and give the management of 

 the weather to him, and he could do a better job of it, 

 he knew. It was very sacrilegious and just a bit ridicu- 

 lous to hear this man, this creature of some seventy 

 inches in height, defying and railing at the Almighty 

 Power, which, whether under the Christian name of God 

 or the scientists' name of Nature, rules the vast universe 

 with inscrutable wisdom and boundless force. This same 

 man a few days after, during a terrific thunderstorm, 

 cowered as the forked lightning played in the heavens 

 and repeated the prayers of his Catholic church in terror, 

 as if it were worth while to create so grand a combat of 

 the forces of nature to slay so small an atom of the ani- 

 mal world. 



The woods of the cape were on fire and cast a great 

 light over the beach and the sea, as we anchored just 

 around the point, some three hundred yards from shore. 

 Then came the "grog," the pipes and the tales of sea and 

 land. Sailors are generally put down as notorious 

 ••drawers of a long bow," and their yarns are seldom 

 believed whenever they vary in the least from the lands- 

 man's idea of the normal condition of things. This is, I 

 think, very unjust. Of the vast, unfathomed depths of 

 the ocean, which is literally unknown save on the very 

 surface, and of the strange, unvisited lands of unexplored 

 continents, it does not seem surprising to me that tales 

 are told— true tales, too — that may seem improbable to 

 stay-at-homes. 



During the night all hands were awakened by a most 

 terrific tossing of our vessel. We hurried on deck and 

 found that a storm of considerable severity had sprung 

 up, the rollers coming in with great force from the open 

 sea and breaking all around us, while the anchor rope 

 was tugging and pulling in a way that must either soon 

 cause it to part or the hold to give; in the former case our 

 fate would be swift and sure to be dashed against the 

 beach and utterly wrecked. Ail hands were called to 

 hoist up the anchor; it was hard work to get on deck that 

 mass of iron, for it tugged against us as the breakers beat 

 on the bow of the little vessel, but at last it was accom- 

 plished; then up went the mainsail, I flew to the helm; 

 it was an exciting moment; we began to drift broadside 

 into t he very midst of the mass of foam, a breaker came 

 rushing in on us, ghostly white in the darkness, and 

 broke on our starboard bow, heeling her over until I 

 feared we never would right again, then another caught 

 us, carrying away the cabin hatch and sweeping us to 

 withing fifty yards of the shore. "Hard a port" sang out 

 Joe. I put the tiller down as far as I could; the wind 

 caught the sail and we rounded to just in time to avoid 

 grounding in the midst of the surf. ' It was a pretty close 

 call. By very careful handling we now ran up the bay 

 and in an hour anchored once more — this time in still 

 water. 



Ockolockone Bay is a large indentation in the coast 

 that receives the waters of a stream known by the same 

 name. We spent several days idling about the bay and 

 up the river, having excellent sport with cormorants and 

 summer ducks, and also killing great numbers oi snipe 

 and plover, 



It is a wild desolate region of forest and marsh, sparse- , 

 ly inhabited and fever bound by the swamps that every- 

 where exhale their noxious vapors. But nature is here 

 very beautiful; the forests are grand; tall pines shoot 

 straight up into the blue sky like the columns of some 

 great temple; there are sycamores and gigantic oaks fes- 

 tooned with the melancholy gray moss, through which 

 the sunlight comes in a subdued mood, as the light from 

 cathedral windows; here and there palmettos and Spanish 

 bayonets add variety and beauty to combinations already 

 beautiful, and the ground, carpeted with the moss and 

 mold of years, silences footfalls that otherwise would 

 disturb the singing of a thousand birds. One of these 

 songsters seems only to sing during the heat of the day, 

 when all others have ceased; the melody is wonderfully 

 s weet and clear, not unlike the notes of the northern wood 

 robin, but far more lovely. So shy is the singer, how- 

 ever, that, though I have heard it a hundred times, and 

 have tried with all the caution of a naturalist to identify 

 the species, I have always failed; the sound, phantom- 

 like, is always just ahead. 



Squirrels and other small game are everywhere in these 

 silent woods, and the many tracks are evidence of the 

 presence of deer, but somehow we never chanced upon 

 any large game in the Ockolockone region, and, as Ave can 

 neither shoot nor eat a track, we got no venison. 



There was a small settlement at the ferry crossing of a 

 road over the Ockolockone River, opposite this village 

 (nameless). Here we anchored one evening and spent a 

 day or so in roaming around. The people were at first 

 very conservative toward our party, but by a judicious 

 distribution of tobacco and other passports, we managed 

 to get acquainted at last. Climatic influence may have 

 great effect upon the dispositions of men, but it is hard 

 to realize that these people are of the same Caucasian 

 race that produces the noblest specimens of the human 

 kind. Utterly devoid of ambition and content to pass 

 their idle, shiftless lives in perfect apathy and the darkest 

 ignorance, they form perhaps the lowest type of our race. 

 They live in the rudest of huts, often whole families oc- 

 cupying one room. Men, women and children go shoe- 

 less, and, according to our notions, almost unclothed. 

 They drag out their existence by hunting and fishing, 

 and as the woods are full of game and the waters swarm j 

 with fish it is no very hard matter to get enough to eat. 

 Occasionally the family ox will be harnessed up to the 

 rude home-made cart and driven to Crawfordville — some 

 thirty miles away — where the supply of skins, and per- 

 haps" wax and honey, will be traded off for the necessaries 

 of life — flour and quinine. Some of the more active I 

 cultivate a small garden patch of corn and potatoes, or 

 tend a few head of cattle; and thus live from one year's 

 end to another's, knowing nothing of the great world 

 beyond their forest home, and caring still less. Well, 

 ignorance is bliss; and perhaps after all they are in their 

 way happier than he who toils and wrestles with the cares 

 of the world in the struggle not to be forgotten. The 

 country is exceedingly unhealthy; the hollow, shrunken 

 eyes and livid, yellow complexions showing how strong 

 a grasp the fever holds over this beautiful but deadly J 

 land. The sandflies here exceeded anything of which I ! 

 had ever dreamed, they actually would gather in such 

 numbers late every evening as to make hunting impossi- | 

 ble and necessitate a retreat to our boat in order to escape 

 the pests. The natives did not seem to mind their bites ;] 

 in the least, but would sit in the most unconcerned ' 

 manner, apparently oblivious of the fact that dozens of 

 the insects were trying to draw the blood through their ] 

 toughened hides. 



One day in talking to an old citizen about the country, i 

 I asked him if rattlesnakes were very abundant. "Well," j 

 he said, "thar used to be a right smart o' them, but they 

 has been killed and adulterated off and thar ain't many v 

 left now!" I knew that science had aided in the adulter- 

 ation of many articles, some of them equally poisonous, j 

 but it was rather startling to hear of the adulteration of 

 so deadly and useless an article as a rattlesnake. 



One morning during our stop at the village I woke up ] 

 rather early. The mist was rising from the water like 

 clouds of steam from a kettle, a sign that did not promise 

 well for the healthfulness of the spot, and my blanket 

 was dripping wet from the heavy dew. The woods were 

 ringing with the songs of mockingbirds and grosbeaks; 

 and just opposite the schooner, on a bank, stood a stately 

 white ibis, poised on one leg, its whole attention centered 

 upon the dark waters — a model worthy of auy lady 

 painter as the subject for a plaque or a tile. The river j 

 swarmed with alligators and a dozen black snouts wore 

 moving silently in search of the morning meal. I 

 reached into the cabin for my rifle and aimed at the eye 

 of a huge fellow that lay some 50yds. away. The shot 

 passed rather high and rebounding skipped in increasing 

 jumps clown the river, while the report awakened the 

 echoes of the woods, startling cranes and ibises from the 

 shore and rousing my comrades from the morning nap. 

 The reptile moved away with serene equanimity. My 

 next attempt was more successful; at 100yds, the ball 

 found its mark in his shoulder, and the huge beast leap- 

 ing clear of the water showed his entire length, and | 

 then splashed toward the shore leaving a bloody trail. 

 Hastily manning the dingy, Joe and I in picturesque des- 

 habille, started in pursuit. Our quarry had gone to a 

 swamp, in which there was, perhaps, two feet of water, 

 the surface of which was so covered with aquatic plants 

 as to almost impede the progress of a boat, while high 

 over head the trees arched so as to cause the light to be 

 quite dim. 



For several minutes we paddled around, but seeing 

 nothing, were about to give up the search, when all at 

 once, from behind a cypress stump, some twenty feet 

 away, the alligator made at us, mouth open and evidently 

 meaning business. I had but time to cock my rifle when 

 he was upon me, and I fired with the muzzle against his 

 head, blowing it to pieces. The impetus of his charge 

 was so great that he convulsively fell half into the boat, 

 lashing out viciously with his tail, while Joe and I, un- ; 

 willing to argue possession with so low a member of the 

 animal creation, vacated and took to the swamp, thus 

 acquiring knee boots of slime and mud; but he was soon 

 done for, and after a few convulsive struggles lay over 

 dead. He measured a little over eight feet. _ This is the 

 only instance that I have ever seen of an alligator turn- 

 ing on a man; indeed, authentic cases of such action on 

 then- part are extremely rare, an<#the fury of this one 

 must be ascribed rather to the pain of his first wound 

 than any natural ferocity. My first shot had caught him 

 in the shoulder, making a glancing wound and cutting a 



