470 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



iJimB 1, ia»8. 



MY WHITE VIOLET. 



Little white violet you are my love, 



Nestling so modestly clown in the moss. 

 Shyly you hide frona the bold sun above. 



Humble the home that the oalc shadows cross. 

 Yet 'tis the one of your choice, dainty love. 



Pretty white violet you are ray otvd, 

 Here on the leaves I will lie by your side. 



Happy am I a.t not being alone, 

 Never a feeling or mood need I hide 



When 1 am with you, my pure one, my own. 



Honest white vio'let you'll not fieceive. 



Nor do I ask you to give lo v 5 for mine. 

 Comfort enough "tis for me to believe, 



Pleasure to feel that you cannot design, 

 Then when T love you, you vnl\ not deceive. 



KoBBRT T. Morris. 



THE GUNPOWDER RIVER. 



TRAV.ELERS between Philadelphia and Baltimore look 

 from the cai- windows in crossing the Gunpowder Eiver, 

 and see in it but a dreary waste of water, marsh and mud, 

 and it is only those who have sailed upon its broad ex- 

 panse and explored its numerous bays and coves in the 

 bright summer days that know what a beautiful river it 

 really is. Its shore line is broken by high blutfs and bold 

 promontories, and by manj^ indentations and creeks, 

 while smooth white sand beaches alternate with patches 

 of bright green rushes that grow in the Avater close to the 

 shore. Tlie beauties of the west shore are to be seen to 

 most advantage early in the morning, when the bluffs 

 stand out in bold relief, bathed in many beautiful tints by 

 the rising sun, shining upon the variegated clays of which 

 they are composed. It is in the autumn, however, when 

 the luxuriant foliage of these river woods (which crown 

 each bluff and promontory) have been painted by nature's 

 touch in all the gorgeous colorings she only can produce, 

 tha fc one is lost in admiration. 



In the afternoon, sailmg up the river, tlie scene is par- 

 ticularly striking. The vision stretches over the broad 

 expanse of water to away above the railroad bridge, 

 towai-d the nortli, over the emerald green marshes, and 

 past the light green willows that mark the course of the 

 river above them, until it is met by the gently sloping 

 farm lands, dotted here and there with picturesque cot- 

 tages, fields of grain, orchards and green pastures. As 

 you sail down the river, which is more than a mile wide 

 below the railroad bridge, and gaze out toward the blue 

 waters of the Chesapeake, wliere many sails can be seen 

 passing, it appears as though the mouth of the river was 

 before you and thatyou could sail directly out into the bay 

 by keeping a southerly course. And so you could if yoiu 

 boat was tial.-bottomed and did not draw over a foot or 

 two of water, but under this broad expanse which stretches 

 for a mile from Rickett's Point to Spry's Mand, and 

 which appears to be the mouth of the river, are hard sand 

 flats over whicli one can wade at average high tide. The 

 river when it reaches these iiats tm-ns at nearly right 

 angles from a southerly to a westerly course, passing be- 

 tween Carroll's and Spry's islands, and turning again 

 south erajities into tlie bay. 



The Gunpowder Eiver up to 1887 was one of the best 

 rivers in Maryland for ducking and fishing. The coves, 

 flats and middle gTounds produced a thick growth of wild 

 celery and other kinds of duck food, and all varieties of 

 ducks visited its waters in countless thousands. I have 

 seen acres of ducks and geese feeding on this grass, and 

 many hundreds were shot from the bhnds built on the 

 shores. White perch, yellow perch and rock bass made 

 their homes in the grass and afforded fine sport with hook 

 and line. Since the tune of the great blizzard of 1887 the 

 whole character of the river has changed, and few ducks 

 have been shot from the blinds since then. The ti-emen- 

 dous northwest wind at that time blew all of the water 

 out of the river, and the immense beds of grass were left 

 exposed for more than fortv-eight hours to the zero tem- 

 perature that prevailed. The mud was frozen hard to the 

 depth of more than a foot, and many persons livinf on 

 the shore walked dry-shod over juiles of river bed, where 

 they had never passed before except in a boat. This t<?r- 

 nble cold killed nearly all the grass, and the ducks and 

 nsh departed for other feeding grounds. 



Nearly all the land bordering on the river from its mouth 

 to Joppa, winch is ten miles up, is either owned or rented 

 by duckmg clubs. Carroll's Island, which has a world- 

 wide reputation as one of the best ducking points in 

 Maryland, hes just within the mouth of the river on the 

 north side. The club owns a very extensive propertv 

 with mdes of shore on the Gunpowder and Saltpeter 

 rivers (the latter being a branch of the former), and has 

 many suitable points for the construction of blinds But 

 the most and the best ducks are killed at Carroll's Island 

 by wliat IS known as overhead shooting, done from blinds 

 sunk m marshes over which the ducks fly in passing up o? 

 -down the river. This club has a fine house, fitted Sp ncl 

 furnished m elegant style, with every comfort and lu^urv 

 to be found in a hrst-class club house. The membership 

 18 hmited, and the cost of a share in it is well up in the 



They have no overhead shootiugliCTe,toTrome 

 of the points are famous, and thousands of ducks l^aw 

 been killed from the bhnds in them. To give some dia 

 of what one of these first-class i-iver farms costs wSh aS 

 the duckmg and fishing privileges, it mav be nkld that 

 this place was sold a fe^^■ veai.s aoo to a party of five Jin 

 tlemen for |60,000. Further nortli and nearer ?he iSlfoad 

 bridge IS a fine old estate knoNN-n as Harewood which W 

 one very good poiiit The place has been rented from 



^ weir Th? it?'"''' SS^, doS 



vei\ ell, ihe last owner was very fond of the anorr 

 and one might say that he died in the harness as he wa.; 

 found dead m the blind one day, liaving oV^lexerted 

 himself rowing after a crippled duck ^ exerted 

 Just north of H^u-euaiod i.s the P. W. & B R R brido-e 

 which has always been a favorite place for c,,mners who 

 do not belong to any club. The dicks in traS un Tnd 

 down the riA-er pass over the bridge and free ueStlv .^iv. 

 good shootmg. But it does not'take In i^^^p^uS 

 the ducks up to the fact that daneer lurk^ r n t f"-^"]^^^ 

 and they soon learn to climb hSSs^^^ 

 approaching it, but no niatter how high they cl^mb^there 



is always some enthusiastic nimrod who will let go his 

 gun at them. Parties shooting from the bridge have a 

 boat fastened near them which they jump into as soon as 

 they shoot, to recover the duck. Frequently three or f our 

 boats will start out after the same duck, all parties claim- 

 ing it, and there will be a fearful war of words, sometimes 

 ending in blows. The man with the most assurance, 

 loudest and vilest tongue.generally gets the duck. I have 

 seen a rough, who got most of his ducks by claiming, put 

 up his gun as if to shoot, then look right and left at those 

 nearest to him to see if they were going to shoot, and if 

 they did and were successful in knocking down a duck, 

 he would immediately claim the duck (not having shot 

 his gun off at aU), and by his rowdy and tough talk would 

 eventually get it. But it is not always the rowdies who 

 do the claiming, for I have heard of several men who pass 

 for gentlemen doing lots of it. One day one of these 

 parties came on the bridge with a $300 Greener gun, and 

 took his stand near another man. They both had a shot 

 at a duck which was killed; both claimed it, but the one 

 with the costly gun got up on the bridge, ran for his skiff, 

 fell down in his haste, nearly going through the bridge, 

 and lost his gun overboard, which was not recovered for 

 several days, and then was a minus a lock. 



The east shore of the riA'er nearly all belongs to one 

 estate and there are but few clubs on that side. The 

 lower ones have very good shooting for canvasbacks and 

 redheads, and as there are five creeks entering on this 

 side, three of which widen out into large ponds, they also 

 have exceptionally good mallard and black duck shoot- 

 ing. The famous Maxwell's Point is on the east side 

 aboot half way between the bridge and Rickett's Point. 

 It is a bold promontory that juts far out into the river, 

 the shores for more than a mile being protected against 

 the tide and ice by a rip-rapping of granite blocks, all of 

 which were brought from Port Deposit, Md. Judging 

 from what remains, it must have been in years gone by 

 a most magnificent place. The point is covered with 

 rare evergreens and other beautiful ornamental trees, in- 

 terspersed with choice fruit trees. There are the remains 

 of large greenhouses and graperies, while scattered along 

 the road approaching the house are many painted tubs, 

 in various states of decay, each one of which formerly 

 contained some rare exotic. The house is large and 

 roomy, with wide porches running all around it, from 

 which a magnificent view of the river and bay can be 

 had. This was formerly the summer residence of Gen. 

 Cadwallader, of Philadelphia, audit is still owned by his 

 heirs. At the time he occupied the place it was kept up 

 in regal style, and I have heard that he had a deer park 

 and aviary of rare birds, among which were some flamin- 

 gos which escaped from their captivity and spent most 

 of a year on the shores of the river. This point, like the 

 others mentioned, has been a great ducking place, and 

 thousands of canvasbacks and other ducks have fallen 

 to the unerring aim of the shooters concealed in the 

 blinds. 



Before the grass was killed the fishing in the Gunpow- 

 der was very good, especially in the fall when rock were 

 r imning. It was no inf req uent event for a skiUf ul fisherman 

 to catch anywhere from ten to sixty of these splendid fish 

 in a day, and I know of one catch of seventy-six taken in 

 one place near the bridge in a few hours. The fishing now 

 is not poor for those who know where to go. as there are 

 several places where the largest kind of white perch can 

 be caught in great quantities. Since the grass disappeared 

 the perch have fed along shore on hard bottom among the 

 rushes that grow very thick in such places, working their 

 way through the rushes to very near shore. I caught 

 quantities of them all during the past four summers, 

 using a stifl' rod with a sinker on the end of the line and 

 a No. 1 Sproat hook on a gut snood fastened to the line 

 eight inches above the sinker. I would drop my sinker 

 wherever I could find a small opening in the rushes, and 

 as soon as it reached bottom I would feel a bite. Many 

 fine perch were lost by their rimning through the rushes 

 and tearing out the hook. 



There is a spot off Carroll's Island called the Stone Pile, 

 where two of the barges loaded with stone for Maxwell's 

 Point were wrecked many years ago, that rarely fails to 

 yield a good catch of white perch, but it is very difficult 

 to locate; few but those who have the bearings down 

 pretty fine ever get on it. It is a terrible place to lose 

 hooks and anchors, and rivermen say there are at least 

 fifty anchors on the stone pile. I always use a trip line 

 Avhen fishing on it. Another place where one is almost 

 certain to find any (quantity of perch is where the chan- 

 nel makes its first turn from south to west. Here the tide 

 has scooped out a hole 30 or 40ft. deep, the south side of it 

 being nearly perpendicular. One can anchor in 6 to 8ft. 

 of water and fish in 30ft. This place can only be fished 

 with a hand line, and consequently is not much in favor 

 with those who prefer the rod. 



Vast quantities of herring are caught every sprin''- in 

 this river with gill nets and seinse, at times tremendous 

 hauls of rock and perch are made. Shad are becoming 

 more and more plentiful every year, thanks to the U. S. 

 Fish Commission, who have planted numbers of fry in 

 the river. For a period of more than twenty-fiA-e years 

 not a single shad was caught, about five years ago a few 

 hundred were taken at Joppa. and last season and this 

 several thousand were taken in the river. There are 

 A-ery few large yeUow perch now to be caught, but catfish 

 eels and crabs abound. Tire average depth of the river is 

 bf t, , but near the mouth there are a series of holes from 

 30 to 50ft. deep. 



• The Gunpowder also has something of historic interest 

 tor one of the numerous settlements made by our ances- 

 tors about 1700, Avhen they were looking for a good place 

 to build a city, was estabhshed at Joppa, which was 

 situated at the head of tide-Avater on the river Accord- 

 ing to Mr. Scharf in his "Chronicles of Baltimore," an act 

 ^^^^''i^y Provincial Assembly of Maryland in 

 1/ 0, to build a court house on the Gunpowder River and 

 a tract was purchased caUed Taylor's Choice, afterWard 

 Joppa. In 1 <31 smaU-pox visited Joppa, and the Legisla- 

 ture suspended the sessions of the Court from June to 



"ntiiJe'r ^'^^^ "^^'^ - --^^ 



During this time the town, which was never large did a 

 very fiourishmg business fuid was one of the most prosper- 

 ous and important seaports in Maryland. Tobacco was 

 brought to Joppa m vast quantities, which was shipped 

 to Europe and the West Indies. In 1768 the county seat 

 was removed to Baltimore, and Joppa soon began to de- 

 chne. The only bmldmg now left is a very large and 

 substantial one built of bricks brought from England It 



stands facing the river, and is a large double house with i 

 Avide hall through the middle and a very high hipped . 

 roof. The remains of one of the old wharAJes is still visible : 

 just at the junction of the Big and Little Gunpowder Falls. 

 The water at the end of the old wharf is 6 to 7ft. deep, 

 and at the time Joppa was in its glory there was a good ■ 

 channel, as deep or deeper, aU the way from the mouth 

 of the riyer. But cultivation and opening up of the 

 country draining into the river has caused it to fill up so ^ 

 that the marshes now extend almost a mile below .Joppa, 

 and the channel has become entirely obliterated. The ' 

 draw in the railroad bridge marks the place w^here the 

 channel ought to be, but there is now at this place and all ' 

 the way across' the river an average depth of only 3ft. 

 The marshes at the head of the Gunpowder are a great , 

 place for reed birds and rail shooting, and blackbirds fr6-i 

 quent them in countless thousands. 



EDAiVARD A. Robinson. 



Baltimore, May. 



JAGUAR, OWL AND SKUNK. 



Taylor County, Tex., May 11.— I have read "Aztec's'^ii 

 letter from San Luis Potosi, in Mexico. He thinks that" 

 that great cat, the jaguar, is not much of a fighter in 

 Mexico. That cannot be said of him in Texas, for all ac- 

 counts agree that he is here a fighter from Fightersville. ' 

 He is mostly found noAV in tlie brush or chapparal of 

 southwest Texas, where the trees are too small to afford 

 him refuge when pursued. When the dogs come up to 

 him he must .stand up to business, and he enters into it : 

 as if he rather liked it. One blow with his terrible paw 

 will break the skull or disembowel any dog. I have never , 

 hunted him, but those who have, tell me he is a regular i 

 dog-killer; that the dogs know him so to be; that few of i 

 them have the stomach to venture near him, and that t 

 Avhen he makes a break at them they instantly turn tail i 

 and scatter for dear life. And it need not be thought ; 

 strange that there should be such difference between the ' 

 jaguar of Texas and his brother in Mexico. 1 



The fox of Texas is precisely the same in appeaxance as I 

 the fox of the Eastern States, but he is very unlike him 

 in quaflity. Plere he is a poor, stupid, tmenterprising J 

 creature, out of whom no sport can be got. When! 

 pursued he takes to the first tree he can chmb, and | 

 there he will stay until he is shaken or shot out. He is a I 

 mere abortion of a fox, and may be the jaguar of Mexico > 

 is like him. \ 



Capt. Chas. Bendire, of the National Museum at Wash- j 

 ington, writes me that the bird I spoke of in a late letter as J 

 making a note hke Cuculhis canorus, is our little burrow- ■, 

 ing owl of the prairie-dog towns, and that this note is his ' 

 loA^e call, emitted only when he is in loA^e. His ordinary j 

 note is familiar to me, and it is so totally different from ( 

 his cuckoo note that I could not entertain him as the ' 

 author of it. Also some of my neighbors said the note : 

 was made by the "monkey -faced owl;" a bird spoken of ' 

 by everybody in this country, but I cannot say I know ' 

 him. Capt. Bendire is no doubt correct, and I thank him 

 for the information. . i 



I had a combat Avith a skunk this morning, and am now 1 

 so malodorous as to become a great offense to my house- 1 

 hold; insomuch that they seem to wish I Avere far away. ' 

 WhereA'^er I move the fragrance folloAvs and expands; 

 about around me. Truly, I have, become a perfume box. ' 

 The animal discharged several volleys at me at very close 

 range, bespattering my clothes and hitting me Avith one ' 

 shot in the corner of my right eye, Avhich burned like 

 cayenne pepper. I also got it on my face and beard. The , 

 odor, it appears, will not wash out, but must take its own i- 

 time about leaving. The liquid producing the stink is of ' 

 a dark yeUoAv or brown color, and there is much of it. ' 

 The beast was trying to Avaylay some of my poultry, and • 

 I killed him Avith a crowbar, not having time to get at my ; 

 gun. N. A, T. I 



Report of the American Museum of Natural ! 



History. : 



The annual report of the president of the Anierica,n ( 

 Museum of Natural History for the year 1892, has just ^ 

 been issued, and it includes among other things, the 

 address as delivered at the reception tendered by the 

 trustees of the museum in commemoration of the ojiening 

 of the new wing, together Avith the act of incorporation, 

 constitution, by-laws and list of members. 



The treasurer's report for the year shows that the ex- 

 penses exceeded the receipts by oA^er $27,000, and of this ' 

 more than $4,000 is charged to the Department of Public 

 Instruction. As against this it must be stated that the 

 endowment fund has been increased $10,000 since the last [ 

 report by the gift of $5,000 from Wm. Schermerhorn, Esq., 

 and a bequest of a hke amount fronr the estate of the late 

 Sarah M. Hitchcock. Moreover, by ecent act of Legisla- ' 

 ture, the board of estimate and apportionment is author- , 

 ized to grant annually $50,000 to the museum in addition , 

 to the $25,000 heretofore authorized by laAv. This is con- 

 ditional on the free opening of the museum to the public 

 every day in the week except Monday and the morning ' 

 of Sunday. 



The collections throughout have been increased by i 

 many gifts from publics-pirited individuals in all sections 

 of the country. In the department of taxidermy, the 

 bison group, the woodchuck group, the three bird group 

 have^been added during the'_, ear. Fifty mammals and 

 fifty "birds have been prepared and placed on exhibition. I 

 A new Guide to the Exhibition Collection of Mamals was . 

 published and the labeling of the collection completed. 

 The largest additions to the collections are perhaps to be 

 found in the department of vertebrate paleontology and 

 archeology and ethnology, but the entomological collec- 

 tion was .increased by the purchase of the Harry 

 Edwards coUection, which contains 250,000 specimens. ' 

 There has been very satisfactory growth in the library. 

 A very interesting addition to this is a copj^ of Audubon's i 

 Quadrupeds of America, the elephant folio edition, pre- 

 sented by Geo. H. Brown, of this city. 



A New Game Law. 



"Book agents may be killed from Aug. 1 to Oct. 1 ; spring poets ' 

 from March 1 to July 1 ; scandel mongers, from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, Inclu- ' 

 sive; umbrella borrowers from Feb. 1 to Mayl, and from Aug. 1 to ' 

 Nov. 1. Open season all the yea.r on life insurance agents.— .2.noi:a , 

 Union. 



