318 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[April 7, 1898. 



STORIES OF THE OZARKS.-1L 



[Oontimied from. Pane, 895,1 

 r rVHE new arrival was a slim, wiry-looking man, with a 

 JL stealthy catlike tread, dressed in home-spun, on 

 his head a cap made from the skin of some of some wild 

 animal and beneath peered a pair of keen gray eyes. He 

 was tendered a camp-stool and a cigar, which he lighted 

 at the camp-fire; but to all our questions about the local- 

 ity of the game he gave evasive and unsatisfactory 

 answers. 



Casting a suspicious look about the camp he said, "I 

 see you've got soniejlogs. Dogs ain't no good. A pack 

 o' dogs yowling on a trail scares all the game out'n the 

 country. It's a mighty poor hunter that can't kill game 

 'thout dogs, and to put a lot o' dogs on a run and shoot 

 the deer when it comes through the stand as you'd shoot 

 a beef, 'taint fair play for the deer, 'taint fair play. I 

 say it's butchery, and you call it sport. I'd as soon shoot 

 a calf in a farmer's barnyard and call it sport. I hunt 

 for a livin'. If a hunter can get the wind of a deer and 

 slip up on it, I allow it*s the square thing, as they're 

 made for man's use; but dogs, no!" 



The stranger's fur was all turned the wrong way, and 

 we must mollify him in some manner, but how was the 

 question. On asking his name we found he was the 

 most noted and successful hunter in all that region , and 

 we had often heard of him in our previous hunts in the 

 Ozarks, but had never met him before. He was the very 

 man we were looking for; he was a veritable storehouse 

 of hunting lore, and his exploits would fill a volume. 

 How to unlock this storehouse was what puzzled us. He 

 softened somewhat when we told him we would leave in 

 the morning. His reticence was easily accounted for, as 

 he thought we were poaching on his game preserves and 

 intended to jump his claim. 



A local hunter would lose caste with his fellows in that 

 section, and be a traitor to himself as well, if he should 

 pilot strangers to the best hunting grounds, for that 

 would be giving aid to the enemy. In all previous trips 

 we had bad a friend at court who bad kept us posted by 

 mail during the summer months where to look for mast 

 and game during autumn; but as he had recently re- 

 moved from the State we missed his advice on the present 

 trip, and were in consequence considerably at sea. 



We tendered our visitor the hospitality of the camp, 

 and after he had thawed out we succeeded in getting him 

 to relate the following incidents in his experience: 



"One day some years ago I went to one o' my neighbors 

 'bout eight miles off to help him build a log cabin for the 

 winter. As it was late in the afternoon when I started 

 back, I made a straight cut across the mountains toward 

 the cabin T called home. I alius carried my gun no mat- 

 ter where I went; and as it was in the fall o' the year I 

 thought I mout chance to kill a deer or a turkey or two 

 'thout goin' out o' the way to get 'em. When I was 'bout 

 a mile from my cabin I heard a flock o' turkeys going to 

 roost in a grove o' pines on the side o' the mountain, and 

 bein' too dark to shoot I allowed I'd give 'em an early 

 call in the mornin' and have a turkey for dinner. So I 

 took a round-'bout course so as not to scare 'em, eat a late 

 supper and went to bed . 



f The next mornin' afore day break I was on the ground 

 and hid in an openin' between some large boulders that 

 closed a space on three sides but was open at the top, 

 where a man could stand comfortable 'thout bein' seen. 

 I sat down at the mouth o' the openin' and waited for 

 ' daybreak, and laid my gun on the ground and listened 

 till I heard the turkeys fly down from the roost; then I 

 called gently two or three times. It was a little too soon, 

 I reckon, for X got no answer. With the second call came 

 two or three answers, an old gobbler among the rest. I 

 could hear 'em comin' on the run , and was just reachin' 

 for my gun when 1 heard a rapid breathin' or pantin' of 

 some animal behind me, like a dog does when he's hot or 

 tired, and turnin* my head 1 saw the biggest kind of a 

 wildcat, with mouth wide open and eyes lookin' like two 

 fall moons, just in the &efc o* jumpin' on my back. I 

 sprung to my feet and thro wed my arms over my head, 

 and gave a yell that would have scart a grizzly. The cat 

 went one way and 1 went another, i got out o' my 

 hidin* place in a hurry, and stood a few minutes feelin' 

 weak and trembly like, and went back and picked up my 

 gun and started for home feelin' like a sheep-killm' dog. 



"You see, the cat was out lookin' for breakfast, and 

 hearin' my call, crept up the rocks behind me, expectin' 

 to get the pick o' the flock. I allow I'd a-soured on his 

 stummick, for I still had my knife, and I'd been sure to 

 tickle his ribs afore he got through with me. That's one 

 time I was flustrated." 



"Did you get any turkeys?" 



"Turkeys? No. I couldn't have shot a turkey if one 

 had run up and bit me. But I laid for that cat till I got 

 him, leastwise I reckon I got him, though when I first 

 seed him I didn't examine him very perticular, and he 

 didn't stop long enough for me to cut a swallow fork in 

 his year neither, so I'd know him agin. I've taken a 

 many and a many o' their pelts, and shot a heap o' his 

 family since; and I'm goin' to keep a-shootin' as long as I 

 can load a gun or pull a trigger. I've sworn vengeance 

 agin the whole cat family; and when I see one during the 

 summer when his hide's no good I alius send him a lead 

 charge with my compliments. It's alius been an unset- 

 tled pint in my mind, which was scart the worst, the cat 

 or me." 



"Are there any panthers in this section?" 



"No, there ain't many painters right about here, but 

 I've heard say there's a good chance of 'em down 'bout 

 the Arkansas line. 



"Now, you don't want no scrimmage with a painter. 

 Letme tell you that now; and 'specially you don't want 

 to shoot at no painter with them bird guns o' yours 

 [doublebarreled shotgun] nor a rifle neither, 'nless you're 

 as stiddy as a rock, which I don't reckon you are, as I 

 allow you ain't had much experience with them critters. 

 A man's life sometimes hangs on a single shot, and if you 

 cripple a painter you're apt to be in a mighty bad fix; 

 and if a man's a little shaky he'd better not shoot 'nless 

 he has to. 



"I've heard hunters say that a painter will run from 

 you if you let him alone; and I don't say it ain't so, but I 

 never seed that kind. They most alius see you first; and 

 if you don't tackle 'em they will you if you come near 



'em, leastwise that's my experience. I've shot several 

 painters in my time, and I've had two or three narrer 

 escapes. 



"When I lived over on Imboden Fork I was out one 

 day on the divide buntin' deer. There was plenty o' 

 fresh sign, and I kuowed I was close on a drove of 'em, 

 for I've hunted so long I can tell almost to an hour how 

 old the sign is. Lookin' carefully down a ravine or 

 gully that opened into a little valley toward which the 

 tracks led, T seed several deer a little below the mouth o' 

 the ravine, a buck, a doe, and two nearly grown fawns. 

 To get a shot at 'em I laid flat on the ground and began 

 to crawl toward 'em 'long the edge o' the gully that had 

 a heap o' leaves and trash at the bottom. I was tryin' to 

 get to a bunch of scrubby cedars, where I'd be hkf from 

 'em, and bein" above and havin' the wind of 'em I bad a 

 mighty good show to kill one or two of 'em afore they'd 

 find out where to look for me. I'd crawled nearly to the 

 cedars, pushing my gun along on the ground ahead o' 

 me, when I heard a rustling in the scrub oaks to my left, 

 and turned my head, and there was a painter not over 

 15ft. from me, gatherin' his feet under him like a cat, 

 just ready to jump for me. I raised to my knees and 

 fired as quick as a flash, and throwed myself on the 

 ground, 



"The painter sprung at me just as I fired, and missed 

 me by a hair. His claws just touched my jacket as he 

 went over me head first into the gully; and the way the 

 leaves and gravel flew for a few minutes was a sight. 



"I wasn't long in rammin' down another ball, and 

 stood on the edge 'o the gully ready to give him another 

 shot; but the painter was kicking his last kick and had 

 nearly buried himself in the leaves and gravel. I rolled 

 a rock or two down on him to see if I could wake him up, 

 and after a few minutes slipped down the gully with rifle 

 cocked and bit him a kick to see if there was any life in 

 him, for it'll never do to trust them critters an inch, for 

 they belong to the cat family too. But he was dead as 

 Jonah. I had shot him in the mouth and the ball came 

 out 'o the back of the head. I dragged it out 'o the gully 

 to an open space away from large trees for fear it might 

 have a mate lyin' round somewhere that might put a fel- 

 ler to a heap 'o trouble unless he was ready for it, for it 

 often happens where you find one there's another not far 

 off. It was a full grown male and I wasn't long in gettin' 

 the pelt off his carcass and started for home in a pretty 

 fast walk. 



"No, I didn't get any deer; didn't want any deer just 

 then when there was bigger game to be had. I could get 

 deer any day. 



"The painter was watching the deer, you see, and 

 was hankerin' after venison himself, and as I was likely 

 to interfere with his dinner he thought he'd take it out 'o 

 me, and he came mighty near gettin' me, too. If I'd 

 crippled that painter or the gun had snapped I don't 

 reckon I'd be here to-night telliu' you 'bout it. I had my 

 bunting knife and might a made a right smart fight, hut 

 a man 'u'd have to be mighty quick and cool with five 

 pints to one agin him, to come out even in a scrimmage 

 with a full grown painter. 



"I tanned that hide and my old woman lined it with 

 flannel and it made a mighty w r arm blanket to put on the 

 bed in a cold night in the winter. It sometimes makes 

 the cold chills run over me when I think how near the 

 old woman come to bein' a widder that day, but I'd do the 

 the same thing over agin ter-morrer if I had the chance," 



Cameron. 



[to be continued.] 



FLORIDA SPORTS. 



I AM speaking of Florida, delightful, semi-tropical 

 Florida, whose fauna vies with its flora in variety 

 and beauty — where not more than 10 years ago her 

 waters teemed with fish, the call of the bob white re- 

 sounded through the scrub, and deer were plentiful. All 

 combined made parts of Florida an Eldorado for the 

 naturalist, the hunter and the fisherman. I cannot help 

 but recall a few of the many pleasant fishing and hunting 

 excursious in different parts of the State in the early 

 spring of 1883. The hoarse bellowing of the alligator by 

 night added a weird charm, and the expected shrill warn- 

 ing of the rattlesnake gave but greater zest to our daylight 

 excursions through the palmetto scrub. 



Among the many places I visited during my sojourn 

 there, memory loves to linger over that period passed 

 under the hospitable roof of Captain A. E. Willard, then 

 residing at Sarasota, on Sarasota Bay, to whom I had 

 letters of introduction. 



It was here that I first made the acquaintance cf the 

 tarpon, one of the largest scale fishes in existence, and 

 was admitted by stealth to the "inner circle" of a laying- 

 seance of a mammoth logger-head turtle, and observed 

 with much interest the minute details of the operation. 



Among the people with whom I was thrown in contact 

 was a native named Roberts, who lived on the water and 

 in the woods, and was often employed by Captain Willard. 



Because I shot fairly straight and knew something of 

 woodcraft, he took a fancy to me. So one morning when 

 the tide was dropping out be called and said to me that 

 he would show me such fishing as I had never witnessed 

 nor dreamed of, if I cared to go with him. I agreed joy- 

 fully, when he told me to take my Winchester rifle, hire 

 a skiff and oarsman and follow him. Roberts had an old 

 ship's yawl boat, which very probably he had found adrift 

 and patched up. 



We set out for the shallow flats across the bay, the 

 feeding grounds of the tarpon. Before we reached the 

 flats I could perceive the dorsal fins of our quarry dot- 

 ting the Burface of the water here and there. With a 

 word of caution to me Roberts took in his oars and placed 

 himself in the bow of his boat, instructing his man to 

 move slowly and quietly toward the nearest fish. He 

 stood erect in his boat with his grain poised in his hand 

 like a javelin, and as my man quietly followed the lead 

 of his boat I handled my rifle nervously, and awaited re- 

 sults. When the yawl boat had reached a point not less 

 than 50ft. , the arm of the cracker hurled with unerring 

 skill the barb of the grain into the body of the unsuspect- 

 ing fish. The staff of the grain, fitting loosely in the 

 socket, fell away and floated harmlessly on the surface 

 of the water. The poor tarpoD, wounded nigh to death, 

 rushed madly for deep water, Roberts paying out the 

 stout line, one end of which was securely fastened to the 

 barb, the other made fast to the bow* of the boat. When 

 the line had reached its limit the strength of the fish was 

 so great that he dragged the yawl boat as fast as my man 



could pull my boat, and for a time I was afraid I would 

 be left out of the race and not get near enough for a fly- 

 ing shot; but the opportunity came at last, for the poor 

 victim in its desperation would spring six or eight feet 

 above the surface of the water, when a bullet frr-m a .44- 

 caliber Winchester would end the matter or would 

 weaken the animal to such an extent that it became an 

 easy prey to the pot-fisherman. The only attraction 

 which the sport had for me was it3 novelty ; the wild 

 rush of the fish, the foaming wake, the leaps above the 

 water, with the sharp explosion of a repeating rifle, fol- 

 lowed by the silver ecales which fell away from the fish 

 in mid-air, was exciting enough and reminded me of 

 many days in the field with quail and duck when the 

 feathers floated from the birds like the scales from the 

 fish ; but the birds were not held in leash by a cord ; and 

 while it is true that I shortened the agony of the fish, I 

 felt very much like a murderer when it was all over. I 

 am glad to say that I did not indulge in this sport but on 

 two occasions, the first was the one alluded to above, 

 when, with the combined effort of grain and rifle, we 

 secured thirteen tarpon, ranging in weight from 75 to 

 I251bs, ; on the other occasion we killed fifteen of about 

 the same average weight. It must be remembered that 

 at this date the tarpon was not considered a game fiVh, 

 for it had not prior to this time been taken with rod and 

 line. 



While I was yet enjoying the hospitality of Captain W. 

 we made a trip down the bay in his sloop to one of the 

 several keys which lie to the westward of Sarasota Bay. 

 Our main object was deer hunting, for these animals 

 come across the bay and occupy the keys, where they 

 find good feeding ground as long as they can find fresh 

 water, but return to the mainland again when the fresh- 

 water pools dry up in long periods of drought. Unfor- 

 tunately for us, it fell upon just such a time, and we 

 found no deer; but Captain W. proposed that we should 

 pitch our tent on one of the keys and take a turtle egg 

 hunt. Presenting another novelty, it was more agreeable 

 than deer hunting. The moon was full and the weather 

 perfect. Turtles always choose such nights to deposit 

 their eggs in the sand above high water mark along the 

 beaches of the keys. After supper we set out down the 

 beach and found many nests, but we had walked several 

 miles before we found a turtle that had just come from 

 the water and was looking about for a place of deposit. 

 Cautiously we placed ourselves between her and the Gulf, 

 and dropped down on the sand in her rear just aB 'she had 

 found a place to suit her. I was within easy reach of her 

 as she began the excavation , using her hind flippers with 

 much dexterity. When she had made the hole, about 

 18in. in depth, I made a lateral trench into this, and 

 withdrew the eggs as fast as she laid them, securing the 

 entire number, which was 136. As sobn as she was 

 through depositing the eggs, she filled up the hole with 

 sand, using her fore flippers for this purpose. The sand 

 was pulled under her, and as she filled the hole she 

 would raise her body and come down with her entire 

 weight to pack it more securely, Not satisfied with this, 

 she reached out and gathered in bits of seaweed and drift 

 with which to cover all traces of the newly made nest. 

 The whole time occupied in making the excavation, de- 

 positing the eggs and filling up the hole was just thirty- 

 one minutes, having taken out my watch and timed her 

 accurately, 



I was so much interested that I did not realize that she 

 had finished the operation until with a dexterous turn 

 she suddenly faced about and then we were 6in. apart, 

 I admit I was frightened, for she could have taken" the 

 half of my face with one little bite. Fortunately she 

 was as badly frightened as I was, and with a snort of 

 terror she turned obliquely and started for the Gulf. 

 When I looked around there was friend Willard rolling 

 in the sand, convulsed with laughter at my fright, but as 

 he saw the turtle making her escape he called out to me 

 tu tarn her over. This I attempted to do, but always 

 caught her too far aft, and had he not hurried to my 

 assistance would have lost the prize, for she was a 

 monster. 



We left her lying on her back, and as we walked back 

 toward camp 1 asked the Captain how he would ever get 

 the monster to the boat, which was anchored near the 

 camp in the bay. He merely answered "Wait and you 

 will see." The p?,rty secured 2, BOO eggs that night, and 

 having made a supper of some of them we turned in. 



Rising rather late the next morning my attention was 

 attracted to a man walking along the beach a mile or so 

 away, and when I asked what he was doing Capt. W. 

 again replied, "Wait awhile and you will see." In the 

 meantime the man leisurely made his way to the camp, 

 following the curvature of the Bhore. As he approached 

 nearer I discovered that there was a line attached to his 

 waist which extended out into the Gulf, to the other end 

 of which was securely fastened her ladyship, the turtle, 

 which would rise to the surface occasionally to blow. A 

 hole had been cut through one of her flipperB, to which 

 the rope was made fast. The man having thus secured 

 the turtle, turned her over, when she went to the water 

 and was quietly led by him to the camp. Her weight 

 was estimated between 500 and 600ibe. 



Bear and raccoon are very fond of turtle eggs, and 

 destroy great numbers of them. I was told that these 

 animals watch the turtles deposit their eggs from the 

 palmetto scrub; thus locating the nests they go and rob 

 them. We saw many raccoons scurrying away from the 

 nests that night to the shelter of the scrub as we walked 

 along the beach. 



Another little fishing trip in the St. John's River and 

 I shall have finished for the present. In the spring of the 

 same year I left the steamer at Astor, the terminus of the 

 St. John's & Lake Eustis Railroad, and while waiting for 

 the cars to start my attention was called to a lean, lank 

 "cracker" who was trying to dispose of some very fine 

 black baes. When I approached him and asked where 

 they were caught and how, he replied, "Not far away, 

 here in the river with a bob," the zest of the sportsman 

 got the better of me, and I told him that I would stop 

 over and take a day's fishing if he would take me out for 

 a consideration. There were no hotels there at that time, 

 but he said that he could find accommodation for me 

 across the river if I would get into his skiff. While my 

 baggage was checked through, I took my grip and was 

 rowed across the river, and found accommodations with 

 a store keeper who furnished, board and lodging to the 

 few transient visitors who came along. 



After an early breakfast my cracker called for me and 

 when I repaired to his skiff I found several tishing pole a 



