Jaw. 26, 1895. 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
69 
ALLIGATOR HUNTING IN MISSISSIPPI. 
Alligators are known to be very fond of young pigs, 
and they are quite a nuisance to the farmers who are 
eking out an existence along the banks of Black River. 
During the fall of 1894 there was quite a drouth in that 
locality, and the swamps were about as near void of 
water as they had been for years. As a consequence the 
alligators had taken to their winter quarters, which 
were holes made in the bank of some slough or low- 
lying lake. These holes frequently extended some thirty 
or forty feet back from the opening, which is usually 
very little larger than the alligator. These places con- 
tain water when everything else goes dry, and the alli- 
gators take to them and get their living as best they 
can. Sometimes a pig will come along, and finding a 
good wallowing place in the soft mud at the mouth of 
one of the watery dens, will proceed to root out a good 
place to take a quiet snooze. But usually it is not long 
before the 'gator discovers that there is something 
eatable at the mouth of his den, a pair of bright eyes 
may be seen taking in the situation, and then a huge 
mouth opens and the pig goes sliding back into the 
water to be eaten at the leisure of his captor. 
This irritates the farmer. When he finds his "raisor 
back" being bodily taken away from him he organizes 
a posse and procures munitions of Avar, consisting 
usually of a long pole with a steel hook securely fastened 
1 to one end, a ball of traut line cord and an axe ; and the 
posse proceeds to the holes, pokes around with the hook 
• and finally raises the ire of the tough skinned monster 
within. He gets mad and bites the pole, and finally 
gets the hook fastened in the tender part of the lower 
jaw, when all hands get hold and pull. It is only a 
question of strength then, for the stronger is the master. 
Usually the alligator comes out with his legs set like 
those j)f a young bull being pulled by a rope against his 
will, j As soon as the 'gater's head is fairly out of the 
hole he is dispatched by a single blow of the axe 
between the eyes, and the farmer returns merrily home, 
thinking not of the brutality, and with the exclamation 
that, ' ' That old red-eyed rascal will never get another 
of my pigs. ' ' 
IftThose who hunt the alligator for their hides and teeth 
pursue an entirely different method. The favorite way is 
to hunt them with a headlight at night in a bateau or 
dugout. The little craft is paddled close to the pair of 
glistening eyes and as soon as the distance is near 
enough a load of shot is sent into the skull between the 
eyes ; and as soon as possible a sharp hook is thrust into 
the alligator, he is towed ashore and the desirable parts 
of the hide and teeth are taken and the carcase left to 
the buzzards to devour. Plumb Bob. 
PARSON UZZELL'S RABBIT HUNT, 
f December 19, 1894, late in the evening a party left 
Denver on a special train, under the direction of Rev. 
Thomas Uzzell of "The Tabernacle" for the second 
annual rabbit hunt on the Arkansas River. By the time 
the train reached Lamar, a hundred and forty miles 
southeast from Denver, the party had been increased by 
additions at Colorado Springs and Pueblo to about one 
hundred men, with shotguns. The instructions directed 
each man to have two hundred cartridges, so the party 
was well provided with ammunition. 
The train next morning on its arrival at Lamar was 
met by fifty or more ranchmen with conveyances of 
various kinds, and the hunters were at once taken to 
the farms up and down the river, being scattered a dis- 
tance of fifteen miles. After breakfast the hunting com- 
menced. Each party of two, three or four hunting on, 
and in the vicinity of the ranches, where they were 
taken as guests, and paying no attention to any one 
else. It was not a general organized hunt by surround- 
ing the country and driving the rabbits in, the tendency 
being rather to scatter than to corral the rabbits. The 
farmers turned out in their wagons and helped by 
gathering up and bringing in the rabbits as shot, but they 
did little, if any, shooting leaving this to their guests. 
The hunt continued two days, the party meeting again 
the second evening, bringing in the rabbits by the 
wagon loads. A summing up from the reports of the 
different parties showed by actual count five thousand 
one hundred and forty -two (5,143) rabbits killed and 
brought in, the result of the two days' shooting. They 
weighed over fifteen tons, and were brought to Denver 
the following day on the fast freight, making a full car 
load. 
Mr. Uzzell is the pastor of ' ' The Tabernacle, ' ' a large 
mission in the lower part of the city. The rabbits were 
distributed to those who applied for them, principally to 
the poor, and undoubtedly a great deal of good was done 
thereby. All who participated in the hunt were fully 
repaid by the sport. 
This article will give an idea of the enormous number 
of these animals, and the rapidity with which they are 
increasing. The Alfalfa fields, becoming so numerous 
and extensive in Colorado, are particularly attractive 
to them. 
Other hunts by smaller parties have been made in 
other parts of the State with excellent results. The 
farmers everywhere are glad to have hunters come and 
kill these animals, as they have become almost, if not 
quite, a pest. They furnish good sport, and although 
they make a large target, it takes quick shooting, as 
they go in a hurry when they start. Geo. Habpeb. 
Home Made Skis. 
Okonagon, Wash. — I will tell the boys how I make 
my skis. I take a fir board 4^ in. wide, 1)^ in. thick 
and 12 feet long ; shave the front end down to 3-8 in. 
thick and back 14 in. , and from there back I groove the 
bottom out 5-8 in. Then I shave the top off to a sharp 
edge in the center, leaving a place 18 in. long where 
the foot rests. Then steam them well and put in a press 
and let them dry. Then take a piece of natural crook 
% in. thick 1 in. wide and fasten to the front end with 
screws. This keeps the shoe point always in its proper 
shape ; and when the shoe runs away and strikes a tree 
or any solid object the point cannot break off. I put the 
toe strap on so as it will come back to the big point of 
the toes. I put a piece of hard wood on for the shoe or 
boot heel to come against and leave a small shoulder on 
each end of the piece. Then I put a stiff piece of leather 
on each side from the toe of the boot back 2 inches 
farther than the heel 7 or 8 inches wide and put a piece 
of leather across in front. This will keep loose snow 
from falling in and packing under the feet, which without 
these you will have to stop quite often and clean out your 
shoes. For dope I use paralfine and lard oil. Melt two 
or three paraffine candles in a quart of laird oil and put 
it on smoking hot. "When the shoes are properly grooved 
out they will not sink half so deep in soft snow as 
those that are flat, and unless the snow is as hard as ice 
they will not slough. 
W While I am not an expert on shoes, I am very fond of 
the sport and have had some splendid rides every winter 
for the last forty years. Lew Wilmot. 
THE FISH FESTIVAL OF JAPAN. 
The war between China and Japan has aroused in the 
minds of the whole civilized world an interest in every- 
thing that pertains to the habits and customs of these 
peculiar people, especially to the everyday affairs of the 
Japanese. 
A traveler making a tour through Japan is strongly 
impressed with manj of their strange festival days, no 
one of which interests him more than the ' ' Boys' 
Fish Festival, ' ' commencing each year on May 5, and 
lasting several days ; the whole population giving up 
their time to make ths festival an impressive one to the 
young. Ths festival is destined to keep fresh in the 
minds of the youth the importance of perseverance and 
the surmounting of all obstacles which they may have 
to encounter from youth to manhood. One of the prin- 
cipal features consists in flying paper fish. The festival 
originated many hundreds of years ago, and is both his- 
torical and traditional. 
Nineteen hundred years ago, tradition says, Japan 
and Corea were on very friendly terms, the friendship 
continuing until the reign of the Emperor Chuai, when 
their friendly relations were severed. About this time 
the Emperor died and his wife, the Empress Jingo, 
with her minister of state, To-ke-uchi-Su-kune, was 
obliged to go to war and punish the Koreans. Before 
starting on warlike expeditions it was the custom of the 
rulers to go to the river and cast in a hook. This the 
Empress aid, and to her great delight, she drew out a 
large carp, which at once was taken as an omen of her 
sucbess in the battles thatwere to follow. The koe (carp) 
is famous for leaping up waterfalls over rocks and sur- 
mounting all obstacles in its progress up the stream. 
The army was successful and conquered all Korea. At 
this time the son of the Empress was born. The prince 
grew strong and beautiful, and to honor and perpetuate 
his memory, as well as to celebrate the conquest of 
Japan over Korea, the Empress established the "Boys' 
Fish Festival, ' ' sixteen hundred and ninety-one years 
ago, which has continued until the present time and is 
general throughout Japan, but more parti cularly is the 
celebration observed by flying paper fishes in the province 
of Joshiu. 
These fish are made of strong native paper, and are 
constructed in imitation of the carp. They are of 
various sizes, from one to over thirty feet in length, 
hand painted and decorated in a highly artistic manner, 
Japanese artists being very skillful with the brush. The 
head, fins and even the scales of the fish are made to 
appear quite real. The paper is cut out, firmly joined 
and pasted together to form the body, after which they 
are painted. The colors used are red, yellow, black and 
blue, with a touch on the scales and eyes of silver and 
gold. Separate pieces are added to form the dorsal, 
pectoral and abdominal fins, and a circular piece of 
rattan is pasted in front to make the open mouth, an 
aperture being left at the end of the tail, allowing the 
air to pass through and inflate the fish. To the mouth- 
piece are fastened strings, which are tied to long bambo 
poles "or rods, which are then placed in the ground and 
fastened to the housetops. At the extreme end of the 
rod they attach the red rising sun of Japan with 
streamers, upon which are painted pictures of hideous, 
terrifying warriors. One fish after another is added, 
indicating the number of boys in the household. 
( When a baby boy is born the relations present the 
family with a paper fish. ) If the wind is brisk the fish 
become distended like a balloon and float about in the 
air, much as they would swim in their native element, 
making a pleasing and striking appearance. 
When the older residents are questioned as to what is 
the meaning of all this great display and festival, they 
Will in most instances reply, ' ' We do not know. ' ' 
When we reflect how many hundreds of years back the 
origin of the ceremony dates, the answer is not strange. 
We can readily realize that even in one hundred years 
from now many people then living in the United States 
may not be able to tell what great event in our history 
the Fourth of July commemorates. 
Should you be so fortunate as to occupy a house com- 
manding an elevated view in any city in the province 
of Josiuh on the morning of May 5, you would be 
startled by the gorgeous and beautiful sight presented to 
your vision. The city would seem to be covered with a 
brilliant cloud floating above the low roofed houses, 
which upon closer inspection would prove to be myriads 
of flags, streamers and fishes of all sizes fluttering in 
the air. You would at once try to reassure yourself 
whether you were really in the sea breathing salt water 
or whether the fishes had left the water and had taken 
wings and were flying about the city. J. B. Kino. 
An Artist's Grayling. 
The beautiful illustraiton of Michigan grayling in our 
issue of December 22 last was from an original water 
color by Mr. Robert Porteus, and oredit should have 
been given at the time. The work is one of the best fish 
pieces we have in a photograph, and of course the photo- 
graph loses very much of the original, for the curiously 
shaped and placed dark spots do not show well, and the 
stripes on the ventrals do not show at all. The caudal 
is well shown, also the great dorsal fin. The iridescence 
of the fins and the beautiful tints of the body are of 
course impossible in a photograph. 
BLACK BASS BY NIGHT. 
Editor Forest and Stream : — I was very much interested 
in the point raised by Dr. Alfred Hinde in his letter 
which appeared in your paper of January 5, as to the 
nocturnal habits of black bass. The doctor states that 
he "made microscopic sections of the eye of this fish," 
and that he has been led to think that the black bass 
(large mouth ) ' ' does not swim around in the dark, ' ' and 
that he does not 1 ' think it can do so. " _ In speaking of 
the results of his microscopic examinations he says : "If 
my conclusion should prove to be correct it would be in- 
teresting to know that with the microscope alone we can 
decide the nightly habits of this fish. Will Mr. A. 1ST. 
Cheney or some other naturalist-fisherman kindly throw 
sufficient light upon this subject to decide the matter?" 
While I am not a naturalist, and cannot therefore 
reach any scientific conclusion, yet I have had consider- 
able experience fishing for black bass during the past 
eleven years, and have naturally acquired considerable 
information regarding the daily and nightly habits of 
this grand fish. For many years I labored under the 
delusion that black bass could not see after dark, and for 
that reason did not make any effort to find out to the 
contrary. But last summer I had an experience which 
satisfies me beyond the shadow of a doubt that black 
bass (both varieties) not only move around at night, but 
can see very well. I will briefly relate the experience. 
Last August a party of seven, including myself, were 
camping at the narrows between Six Mile and Crooked 
Lakes, which are located near the Georgian Bay, 
Canada, between the mouths of the Severn and. Muskosh 
rivers. One beautiful moonlight night, about 11 o'clock, 
several of our party were lying on the rocks exchanging 
fish stories, when it occurred to me that I would try and 
catch a ' ' channel cat, ' ' which fish can be taken better 
after dark than at any other time. I aroused my Indian, 
who had gone to sleep, and told him of my desire. With- 
out a complaint he cheerfully got up and put a canoe on 
the water. In reply to the question whether there was 
any bait, he said there were three or four small frogs, 
but that he would take along a piece of smoked venison. 
He paddled out about one hundred yards from the shore 
and told me to drop in my line, which I did. The bait 
had not sunk more than six feet before I got a savage 
bite, and immediately hooked a very lively fish, which 
was landed. as soon as possible, and imagine my surprise 
when the Indian said it was a small mouthed bass. 
Casting the line again, I told the Indian to move on to 
the narrow channel which connects the two lakes. 
At this time a Mr. Stephenson of our party, who was 
still lying on the rocks, having become excited over the 
catch of a black bass at night, waked his Indian, got a 
canoe, and started for the same point in the channel to 
which we were going. He got to the spot first, and 
cast his hook baited with a small piece of venison. The 
moment the bait struck the water it was taken by a 
large fish, and when I came up and inquired what the 
noise was about he replied that he thought he had an 
immense bass. Without waiting for him to land his 
fish my Indian paddled up alongside and I threw in my 
line, which was immediately taken by a fish. Both 
of us were using light lines, rods and reels and the fun 
began. The fish would make the most terrific runs, 
then leap out of the water, then under our canoes, 
almost doubling our rods, and then the reels would 
sing out those songs which make the fisherman's heart 
leap for joy. We did not know what kind of fish they 
were, but we knew they were the hardiest and gamiest 
fighters we had ever had on our lines. Both fish were 
successfully landed, and behold they were the genuine 
black bass weighing about four pounds each. 
I then followed Mr. Stephenson's example, and baited 
with smoked venison, and as soon as our lines were cast 
again each had another bass. In one hour at that place 
we landed 26 of the handsomest bass I ever saw, all of 
which were the large mouthed variety except three or 
four. There was not a small one among them ; not one 
that we thought would weigh less than three pounds, 
and others we estimated at four and one-half pounds. 
We only camped there one other night, and I took ad- 
vantage of it by trolling for fish at night. The result 
was that I caught one bass and one wall-eyed pike in 
about half an hour. I have no doubt I would have 
caught more had we kept along the shore, but the In- 
dian was afraid of snags and rocks and kept well out in 
the lake ; 
Every statement made can le proven by witnesses if 
Dr. , Hinde isjit all incredulous. Upon my return home 
I told a friend about the experience I had had, and the 
following month (September) he went to the same 
place, and~ had a similar experience fishing for bass at 
night. He states that in some places the bass were 
swimming so near the top surface of the water that 
their fins were sticking out, and they seemed to be in 
large schools. He caught bass at night as fast as he 
could cast his line, and as he could make no use of the 
fish returned them to the water. So I concluded that 
black bass can move around at night, and can see per- 
fectly well. From close observation last summer I am 
convinced that black bass go on to the shoals at night 
to feed and can be caught then more easily than in the 
daytime, when they are frequently in hiding in deep 
pools under the edge of the rocks. 
Pennsylvania. Edwaed O'Neil. 
Alabama is Hospitable. 
Jersey ville, 111., Jan. 14. —Moses Collenberger, one of 
Illinois, noted trap shots, and Amos Pessings, both 
of this city, have just returned from a month's shooting 
in Alabama. The party were located about sixty miles 
northwest j of Mobile and report very fair sport and a 
most enjoyable time. They hunted quail principally, 
but killed also three deer and a number of turkeys. The 
quail and turkey were numerous, but deer were scarce. 
These gentlemen speak in the highest terms of the 
hospitality shown them by all classes with whom they 
came in contact. Their camp was visited by numerous 
parties, some of them staying all night and all coming well 
supplied with eatables. Mr. C. gives it as his opinion 
that they are the best feeders he ever saw. 
Invitations to shoot over their lands came from every- 
body, and each seemed to try to outdo the others in the 
efforts to entertain the "Yanks" as the party were 
called, and make their trip pleasant. L. S. HANSEnn. 
