562 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Jtinb 29, 1898. 



"Game Laws in Brief."" June, 189S, revised. Game and Fish laws 

 of all tJie States, Territories and Proimoces. Correct, reliable, hand- 

 somely ilhtstrated. Published by the ''Forest and Stream.'' Sold by 

 all dealers. Price 25 cents. 



KILLING A "CAT." 



So many accounts of the shooting of big game are now 

 published, that I alnaost hesitate to write as to the killing 

 of anything so small as a wildcat; but reflecting that after 

 all, those who have not killed a "cat" are in the majority, 

 I shall address myself to them, and briefly describe the 

 incidente of a Uttle trip to Lake Harney, through which 

 runs the St. Johns River, thu'ty miles south of Enterprise, 

 Florida. „ , , 



I had chartered the Erie, a small steamer of very light 

 draft, and remained a day at Jacksonville to see to the 

 purchase of stores, ammunition, etc. , promising to pick up 

 an old college chum en route up the river. Besides the 

 captain and pilot, the cook; and Eitter, the engineer— the 

 most profane man I ever listened to— I engaged a little 

 darkey named Bob, a true Florida "nigger" and as bright 

 as a button. He was to wait at table, wash dishes and 

 make hiinseK generally useful. Bob was not the type of 

 servant one would expect to meet among the liaut ton of 

 New York; but he was as sharp as a steel trap and lots of 

 fun, and when he heard we were "from de norf," devoted 

 himself to us, heart and soul. 



Bob was escorted aboard by his mother and by his sis- 

 ter, Lucretia Garfield Adkins, who led by the hand 

 the latest addition to the family, Benjamin Harrison 

 Adkins. The chance was too good to be lost. I promptly 

 put together my camera and took all the juvenile Adkin- 

 ses. After many in jmictions to Bob to "behave heself" 

 the mother departed with the youngster and the girl, 

 much pleased at the chance of securing pictures of her 

 offspring "fur nufi&n." 



Everything having been satisfactorily arranged, we 

 started on time and in a few hours hove in sight of Pa- 

 latka. My friend was seated upon the wharf, and when 

 we made fast leaped lightly aboard. He was closely fol- 

 lowed by a tall, "spare" man in a high hat and a linen 

 duster, who looked about as little fitted for a sporting trip 

 as one could well imagine. The stranger's trunk was 

 shoved aboard and we pushed off. As soon as I could get 

 my friend alone I inquired as to the identity of the per- 

 son in the linen duster, who was already quite at home 

 and was helping himself to a drink in the cabin. "Oh,'' 

 said he, "that's Charlie Pewson." "And who is Charlie 

 Pewson, may I ask?" "Why he is connected with a ticket 

 agency in Boston; he always gives me passes when I 

 travel." "Sam," said I, "I trust that you don't think for 

 a moment that I am going to associate for a week with 

 that unpleasant-looking individual in order to pay for 

 your free passes?" 



"Why certainly," said Sam, "Charlie is most entertain- 

 ing; and besides he has a pass back for you, as far as 

 Charleston." "Not me," I responded warmly, "I never 

 accepted a favor from his kind yet that it did not cost me 

 ten times as much as I originally saved; Mr. Pewson gets 

 off at the next landing or our sporting trip ends here." I 

 may as well mention that Mr. Pewson did get off and that 

 my friend is still looking for a |100 biU which he subse- 

 quently lent him. After this everything went on merrily 

 enough and in due course of time we reached Enterprise, 

 where we stopped to lay in a supply of fresh vegetables. 

 My companion wanted to replenish our stock of ham and 

 eggs, but I told him that abundance of food would make 

 us lazy and that it woifl^d be much more sportsmanlike to 

 live upon the proceeds of the chase. He suggested the 

 possibility of lack of success in our role of Nimrods; but I 

 spurned the idea. On the wharf at Enterprise was a little 

 darky with a front tooth missing. He was fishing, as all 

 southern darkies do when they have any spare time, and 

 very frequently when they have not. Abe, for that was 

 his name, became an object of deep interest to Bob, and 

 the feeling almost approached veneration when he landed 

 a fine black bass, which fish, by the way, si very plenti- 

 ful in Lake Monroe. We leai-ned that Abe was going to 

 Lake Harney to work for a man up there; and to save the 

 httle chap a tiresome journey, we took him along with 

 us. Abe being a "yaller nigger" was on this account 

 somewhat disposed to lord it over Bob who was of the 

 inkiest hue. 



From Enterprise to Lake Jesup, a distance of twelve 

 miles, the river runs through a flat and marshy country 

 including Holden and Jesup prairies, sometime the home 

 of myriads of EngUsh snipe. Upon this occasion, how- 

 ever, the snipe must have been away from home, for 

 all we saw were a few alligators, wMch we uniformly 

 missed. The next morning, our provisions having run 

 short, we killed a couple of crowbills, known also as 

 blue peters and coots. Their flesh is as strong as poison 

 and unspeakably tough; but we ate them aU the same. 

 Sam said he did not think the dinner was properly served, 

 for you got your fish and game at the same time; he also 

 feelingly alluded to the ham and eggs which we might 

 have secured at Enterprise, but I turned the conversation. 



Eighteen miles between higher banks, with clumps of 

 palmettoes here and there, brought us to the entrance of 

 picturesque Lake Hamey. On one side was a prairie, the 

 other being densely wooded. Among the ti-ees at' the 

 fm-ther end of the lake a short distance from the river 

 lived "old man Tanner," a "cracker" from Georgia, who 

 had "fit in the wah." Nothing delighted the old man's 

 heart so much as to take charge of a party of himters, 

 a fair way to secure sport and compensation at the same 

 time. This alone could rouse him from his usual torpor 

 and infuse energy enough into him to cause him to travel 

 ai-ound on foot. At other times he bestrode a poor little 

 mule, even when the beast was hauling a well loaded cart 

 to or from the nearest settlement. In the afternoon we 

 crossed the river in a boat, each taking a marsh to him- 

 self, since between ran a broad and muddy ditch. After 

 a deal of hard work I managed to kick up half a dozen 

 snipe (I had no dog), five of which I was lucky enough to 

 bag. The birds wei-e very fat and flew slowly; besides, I 

 was up to the dodge always to- shoot a snipe down wind, 

 since he breasts it for an instant before stai-ting off on his 

 pin wheel career through the aii-. 



The birds were so few where I was that all this took a 

 deal of time, dm-ing which Sam was having a regular 

 Fovttix of July. Al most as fast as h.e could load he would 



let go with both barrels; then perhaps, after a pause, 

 would follow a single shot. Again and again I stood on 

 the bank of the sluice "with longing for the farther 

 shore"; but it was useless. Across that mass of mud and 

 water no man could go without a boat. At length the 

 firing ceased: his ammunition was exhausted. We sig- 

 naled for the steamer to send for us. With a feeling of 

 mortification I met my friend, my five little snipe in one 

 pocket of my coat. "A flower sack would hardly hold 

 his," I said to myself. "Well, Sam," asked I, "how many 

 have you?" "Hem," said my friend, "you know I am not 

 used to shooting snipe." "Of course," I admitted, "you 

 could not be expected to kiH all. Come, how many did 

 you get?" ' 'W ell," said Sam, while a slight color suffused 

 his countenance, "to tell you the truth, I did not gft any." 

 "Whew!" said I, "how often did you shoot?" "Between 

 forty and fifty times," replied the poor f eUow in a most 

 crestfallen way. "And how about those single barrels?" 

 I asked; "they usually mean a dead bird." "Oh, some of 

 those snipe flew so fast that I did not get a chance to 

 shoot a second time. Snipe are hard birds to kill, and no 

 mistake." 



Before returning to our steamer we pulled across Har- 

 ney Bar a couple of times and landed three of four black 



'- BRIGHT AS A BUTTON." 



bass, which, with my snii^e, for a while prevented any 

 further distasteful allusions to the extent of our larder. 



The next morning my friend, having borrowed a dozen 

 buckshot cartridges, started with old man Tanner after 

 deer. Now deer are very plenty around Lake Harney. 

 They lie in the heat of the day in clumps of scrub pal- 

 metto, 01" ponds, as they call them, from which they are 

 dislodged by the hounds a,nd shot as they run. They are 

 not much larger than goats "a fine buck" weighing 

 about 801bs. During the day I again killed enough snipe 

 to keep the wolf from the door and had a rather novel 

 and unpleasant experience. Upon the marsh where I 

 was shooting was a large herd of semi- wild cattle, among 

 them being a big black bull. The whole herd followed 

 me around at a distance of about 100yds. , apparently 

 through curiosity; all save the bull, w^hich, evidently 

 actuated by other motives, advanced upon me, bellowing 

 from time to time, first at a walk then at a brisk trot. 

 Patterning my gait after the bull's, I retreated to the 

 river's edge (for I did not think I could stop the beast 

 with snipe shot) and lustily yelled for the boat, which, 

 having placed me upon the marsh, had crossed the nar- 

 row stream to the steamer. ■ The bull still continuing to 

 advance, I entered the river up to the waist, and in so 

 doing trod upon a small alligator, which dealt me a 

 smart blow on the leg with its tail. I was, indeed, 

 between the devil and the deep sea, and upon the aiTival 

 of the boat clambered into it with unfeigned satisfaction. 



I was reading in the cabin when my friend entered, 

 accompanied by a most nauseating odor. According to 

 him they had not seen a living thing aU day. After a 

 change of clothes all through the evening my companion 

 shifted around uneasily, and finally asked me to load up 

 a few more buckshot cartridges. I inquired as to the 

 whereabouts of the lot furnished in the morning. ' 'Well," 

 said he, "I might as well tell you the truth; we started 

 no less than eight deer to-day, and somehow missed them 

 aU. We saw a skunk, too." "Yes, Sam," I remarked,- 

 "and I think it proved a better marksman than you." At 

 this a loud guffaw burst forth from the comer of the 

 cabin, and Bob, who had entered unobserved, overcome 

 with merriment, began to execute a sort of shuffle on the 

 floor. "Bob," said I, "go out at once. I told you not to 

 come in here without permission." Bob retired very 

 slowly, all his ivories still visible, and upon reaching the 

 deck broke into another breakdown, at the same time re- 

 marking to himself in a very audible tone, "Yah, he done 

 hit him for shuh." 



Somehow Sam did not seem to Mke all this and began 

 telling me his plans for the morrow. 



The following day Sam started off again for the deer, 

 and I, after smoking a cigarette on deck, went into the 

 cabin to load shells, prior to taking a little j^asear among 

 the snipe. I had a 6 lbs. canister of powder on the table, 

 a couple of poimds of which were pom-ed into a pan, and 

 was working away without dreaming of evil, when I 

 thought I smelt something burning. I kept on loading, 

 however, until I was startled to see a little column of 

 smoke curl up from my sleeve. A fragment of the cigar- 

 ette had f aUen upon it and the whole lower portion was 

 smouldering. 1 left the cabin very promptly. 



In the evening Sam returned very much disgusted. 



They had not seen a deer all day, but had treed a wild 

 kitten which, as my friend was taking aim, "old man 

 Tanner" had promptly shot. "We don't pay him two 

 dollars a day to do our shooting," said Sam, and I quite 

 agreed with him. I might mention here that, being ever 

 ready to try experiments, we had the kitten cooked for 

 dinner a couple of days later, It tasted like veal and 

 was really quite palatable. That night we hung the 

 graceful little thing over the rail, and in the morning the 

 tracks of a very large "cat" were plainly distinguishable 

 in the sand below. The mother had been down to see 

 after its offspring, doubtless guided by the scent. 



Without waiting to put on my shooting brogans and 

 leggings (the latter made of double thickness of pig skin 

 and warranted proof against fangs of moccasin or rattle- 

 snake) I yelled for old man Tanner, whistled for the three 

 hounds, and grasping my gun hastened, in knickerbockers 

 and the low shoes I wore.around the boat, across the marsh 

 toward the woods. The scent was hot and the dogs 

 started at full speed. Behind me came old Tanner, his 

 gun at fuU cock and the muzzle pointing at the small of 

 my back. Mr. Tanner and I differed in opinion as to the 

 method of carrying a gun, and I had more than once 

 expressed my views most decidedly; but in moments of 

 excitement my mandates were likely to pass unheeded. 

 In the meantime the hounds had started the "cat" and 

 were making things very lively in the hammock. Now, 

 wildcats, when chased by hounds, always run in circles, 

 hence by crossing the circles one can easily on foot keep 

 pace with the dogs. In about fifteen minutes they had 

 the animal treed; and when we came up, panting froni 

 our run, we could see its hindquarters projecting beyond 

 the trunk of a palmetto. Tanner's gun instantly went up 

 to his shoulder, but I almost knocked it out of his hands, 

 explaining at the same time in very forcible laug-uage 

 that that ' 'cat" was mine. The animal skUlf uUy kept the 

 trunk of the tree between itself and me, but I finally 

 managed to put a couple of buckshot through its hind- 

 quarters. Down it came and in rushed the dogs, speedily 

 retiring, however, with, their ears in, shreds. We finished 

 it with a club. It was very large and its skin grizzly 

 from age. 



After killing a number of snipe, a few ducks and a 

 "gator" or two, but by no means denuding the country of 

 game, we went down the river fully satisfied with our 

 trip. C. B. M, 



A MAINE BEAR HUNT. 



Pascal M. Edmxtnds, of Andover, Me., while standing 

 in his doorway the 20th of last month, discovered a large 

 bear making slowly along his back field. He had no gun, 

 so he sent his wife to the neighbors for assistance. Mean- 

 time he grabbed his nail hammer and filled his pocket 

 with sizable rocks and started after the bear, who was 

 making toward Roxbury Pond, and as Mr. Edmunds ap- 

 proached him he faced about and showed fight. Ed- 

 munds with a rock in each hand commenced pelting the 

 bear— and just here let me say, many a Maine boy or 

 man can sling a stone as well as old King David could 

 when a boy, and can make a formidable fight with such 

 weapons. Edmunds was no exception to this rule, but 

 threw his missiles with such good effect that bruia wheeled 

 and ran, with Edmunds in full pursuit, who soon had the 

 bear cornered on a point of land making into Roxbury 

 Pond. Here bruin came to bay and rose on his haimches, 

 growled and exhibited a fine set of molars and tearers. 



As if Providence favored the brave, Mrs. Edmunds 

 with a relay of neighbors and a gun appeared at 

 this moment, Mr. William Mitchell with his gun, Fred 

 Merrill unarmed, and Lyman Merrill armed with a 

 sucker pole, and as they gathered near the bear got 

 down and ran into a thicket out of sight. Edmunds 

 meantime laid out a plan of attack, for he had no thought 

 of letting the game escape. He then placed Lyman Mer- 

 rill in a little opening Avith his sucker pole to obsti'uct the 

 escape of the bear in that direction, and Fred Merrill only 

 counted as an innocent scare, or one dot of a surrounding. 

 Then Edmunds and Mitchell started on the trail of the 

 bear into the thicket, and on turning a sharp corner they 

 came face to face with the beast only a few feet distant. 

 Edmunds said, "Now's your time, shoot!" But Mitchell 

 replied, "If I don't make a sure shot the bear will kill 

 me. I want to make a dead shot when I fire." But the 

 bear was a hustler and couldn't wait, and taking to his 

 heels soon came face to face with MerrUl and the sucker 

 pole, who wielded that pole with such good effect that 

 bruin went up a tree. Merrill kept punching him with 

 the pole with annoying eft'ect and soon succeeded in dis- 

 lodging him, and following up his advantage belayed 

 bruin most vigorously. 



At this juncture Edmimds came up with his hammer in 

 hand, and while Merrill punched the bear with that useful 

 instrument, the sucker pole, Edmunds got in a tremend- 

 ous blow with the nail hammer, which f eUed him to the 

 earth. 



Thus ended one of the most audacious and frisky bear 

 hunts of the season. The bear weighed 3601bs. 



Moral — Courage and perseverance will accomplish won- 

 ders. J. G. Rich. 



Bethel, Maine. 



Tennessee Notes. 



Chattajstooga, Tenn., June 22. — The Atlanta Constitu- 

 tion says: "A Georgia man who crossed a stream in his 

 buggy a few days ago found, after he had crossed, that a 

 9-pound fish had jumped into his buggy. And the fish- 

 ing season is young yet." 



Within seven miles of Chattanooga, a busy city of 

 53,000 people, a farmer named Jordan, in the Sequatchie 

 VaUey, killed a bear last Saturday that was walking in 

 his calf pasture. 



River men have reported seeing four bears in the 

 vicinity of the "Suck," on the Tennessee River, between 

 Lookout Mountain and Walden's Ridge, within the past 

 five weks. 



Deer are reported more numerous than usual on Wal- 

 den's Ridge, feed is very plentiful and the chestnut crop, 

 or "mast," this season will be immense. Quail are strong 

 and lots of them. Fishing for black bass good aU around. 

 Prospects for faU sport are excellent. D. G. Charles. 



A NEW-SUBSCRIBER OFFER. 



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