March 23. 1895, 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
223 
gwine to let dat fish get away from yo'. What fo' yo 
hooken' a fish bigg'n yo' is anyhow?" 
A coal black negress and a mulatto were quarreling. 
The mulatto called the other an "oV brack nigger." 
"Yes," said the negress, "1 is brack, an' I'se proud of it. 
I'se just like de Lawd made brack folks, an' He made 
white folks, but He never made no yallow folks. Whar 
yo spect yo' go when yo' die? De Lawd say, yo' can' cum 
in heah: you's none ob my chillen; de debbil say, clar out 
now, I'se got mo' 'spectable folks dan I got room foh 
now." Talking to themselves is universal among the 
Southern negroes. A little tot of three or four years 
looking at Joe, said to herself, "He sho dungrowed big." 
While the train was waiting on a side track, the Pull- 
man porter stood outside to get a little fresh air, and H. 
standing just behind him, heard him say to himself, " I 
reckon some folks mus' travel when they only got enough 
money to pay their fare. Now, there's that man and his 
wife an fo' chillen got off at Nashville, I shine all their 
shoes an' carry them chillen water half the night; he 
girnrne ten cents." As the train' neared Cincinnati, this 
porter busied himself as usual brushing off the passengers 
aud receiving the usual tips. After finishing this work 
he approached a man sitting near the middle of the car 
and holding out a two-cent piece said, "excuse me, 
judge, but I reckon you must have made a mistake an' 
give me one of your luck pieces. You gave me this, an 5 
I didn't 'spose you'd want to part with it." He got a 
quarter. O. H. Hampton. 
IN MINNESOTA WILDS.— III. 
(Concluded from, page 142.) 
" Ay, this is freedom! these pure skies 
Were never stained with village smoke; 
'.The fragrant wind, that through them hies, 
Is breithed from wastes by plough unbroke. 
Here with my rifle and my steed, 
And her who left the world for me, 
I plant me where the red-deer feed 
In the green desert— and am free. . 
"Alone the fire, when frost winds sere 
The heavy herbage of the ground, 
Gathers his annual harvest here. 
With roaring like the battle's sound. 
And hurrying flames that sweep the plains 
And smoke-streams gashing up the sky. 
I meet the fhimes with flames again, 
And at my door they cower and die!" 
We were located in the "Old Saw Mill" country, where 
game Of all kinds abounded. The heavy timber, spruce, 
tainafac and white cedar afforded excellent cover for the 
big game. This same timber had also attracted some 
sharp thieves, as not less than five saw mills have been 
in operation here and much valuable timber stolen. Huge 
piles of slabs still remain, and the natives from far and 
near go there and haul them away to help build their 
houses and stables. It is an easy matter to rob Uncle 
Sam in that country. 
We found the country cut up with big game tracks like 
a cow-yard. They had evidently been here in droves. 
One mile southeast from this camp was an immense 
muskeag, with a small lake in the centre of it. Moose, 
elk and deer watered here. Ducks were plentiful enough 
to supply our table. One day while tramping around the 
lake I found an excellent pair of moose horns, they were 
well preserved with the exception of a slight gnawing 
done to one side I gathered up my find and slung them 
over my shoulders and started for camp, and I came with- 
in an ace of getting shot, for as Doc was preparing tea, he 
heard me blundering through the thick tamarac, and 
could see only the horns, thought of course he had moose 
in sight, and reached for his rifle. Fortunately I saw him 
in time and yelled. 
Fifteen miles northeast from this camp, and on a well- 
travelled trail, lives my old friend Mimi and his interest- 
ing family, with whom I spent several pleasant days. So 
much did they interest me that I rode back to the ranch, 
a distance of seventy miles^ for my camera, in order that 
I might carry away with me the photographs of them all. 
Minn is a descendent from the old Hudson Bay trader, 
his father being of Scotch descent and his mother Indian. 
He is a most charming old fellow, arid he has always lived 
In Manitoba, Minnesota and North Dakota. He would 
sit around the camp-fire at night and tell stories of how 
in the days before the Iron horse had traversed this 
country, he, with others, used to puck their supplies in 
from St. Paul to Winnepeg. Smoking seemed to loosen 
his tongue, and he would talk for hours. He is a past 
master in the art of bunting. I never really saw still- 
hunting done bo perfectly as he does it, and after hunting 
with him a few clays 1 ceased to say that I was a still- 
hunter, I have actually seen him divest himself of all 
clothing except his mocassins in order to get within shoot- 
ing distance of an old bull moose. They never take any 
chances at one hundred to two hundred yards, therefore 
rarely ever fail to secure their game. I have known him 
to follow a woimded animal patiently for many hours and 
camp over night on his trail. This old man is a genius. 
He plays over one hundred tunes from memory on the 
violin, and plays them remarkably well. Two of his 
daughters are being educated in the Convent at Devil's 
Lake. One day I asked him how many children he had. 
Counting on his fingers he replied: "Un, der, trois, 
quatre, cinq, six, maybe seven, I dunno, maybe more, I 
dunno, I cant tell, maybe some I dunno." 
He and his family are noted everywhere in the country 
for their honesty and truthfulness. I found that when he 
promised you anything you could rest assured you would 
get it. 
He had promised me that if I will come there next Sep- 
tember he will take, me into a section of the country not 
many miles from the Lake of the Woods that has never 
been hunted by white men. and by very few Indians. £ 
hope to go, for man never hadbetter guide or companion. 
His first thoughts are always ^for your welfare and com- 
fort. 
There is a^section not far from the old mills that I am 
convinced contains oil, and should I go there again shall 
be prepared to find out positively. I should strongly ad- 
dse my New Jersey j riencjs wb.D cultivate prarjberrieg to 
go to that country, as that berry grows there in wild pro- 
fusion in every bog and swamp, and is never disturbed by 
man. 
w At one place we stopped and photographed two moose 
and one elk which a native had in captivity. He also had 
several deer which came running from the swamp wdien 
called and ate from his hand. Just one week before I 
started for home we had our first snowfall, and fortu- 
nately for me I was with Mimi. I learned more in one 
day's hunting than I ever knew before. We could have 
slaughtered game had we wanted to, but I was out for 
schooling, and I got it. Each hour spent with this old 
man I laid away in nature's store-house, knowledge that 
is priceless. Perhaps vou wonder why I talk so much of 
him. Let me say in conclusion that I, like others I know, 
have been humbugged so by men calling and advertising 
themselves as guides at fabulous prices, that I am gratified 
when I do find one so honest and conscientious as Mimi 
and I am sure there are many if you could only find them. 
They deserve all the credit due them. The man I first 
started with promised so much, and fulfilled nothing he 
had promised. He was one of those sharks we have all 
met, and if we had a good time on this trip it was not due 
to any exertion on his part, for I think he was the laziest 
man I have ever hunted with. This has not only been my 
experience, but the experience of several other sportsmen 
with whom I have come in contact. 
I want to go into that country next season if I can spare 
the time, aud I shall certainly pitch my tent with Mimi. 
I have been asked many questions regarding the game to 
be had there, and to one and all I say that I shall be pleased 
to answer them and give any information I may possess, 
provided they come with Forest and Stream's endorse- 
ment. Wabash. 
A Glass Snake. 
Who is it that lias not heard of the wonderful feats 
performed by the so-called jointed snake? We have been 
told that the strike of one of these curious reptiles meant 
immediate dissolution, the body would unjoiut and pieces 
or joints would go wiggling and squirming off in every 
direction, and unless the head part was captured and 
smashed, after all danger was over, the joints would come 
together and the snake be whole again. 
With the exception of a few old negroes, we have 
never met a person who actually claimed to have 
witnessed such performance. Last fall, a young friend 
where I was stopping at Tapeto, Miss., remarked that he 
had killed a jointed snake out in the front of the hotel. 
We rushed out at once to see. We found about twelve 
inches of the head part and about the same length of the 
'tail, but the middle was no where to be found, yet my 
friend declared that the snake was at least three feet 
long; and an old negro woman insisted that it was much 
over a yard long, and that "lots of it had done gone and 
runned off and hided." I picked up the tail part, and 
to my astonishment, it would break squarely in pieces 
just from its own weight. The breaks look like a broken 
stick, or . the pith of a dead, dry corn stalk, leaving no 
skin or leaders hanging, nor blood showing, everything 
just come square in two. The snake was about three- 
quarters of an inch in diameter and three feet long (I 
found only about two feet of it) of a dark greenish color, 
and the shape that of the common black snake, except 
that it had a very blunt tail. 
Will some one who knows be kind enough to tell me 
what kind of snake it was, and is there such a thing as a 
jointed snake? Snake. 
[It was probably a "glass snake," or "joint snake," 
which is not a snake at all, but a legless lizard. The 
vertebrae of the tail of this lizard (Ophlosaurus centralis) 
are exceedingly brittle and break off at the slightest 
blow. The belief that the two parts come together and 
reunite is to be explained by the fact that after the tail 
is broken off, a new one grows out. There was probably a 
mistake about the original length of the one you saw. 
The two pieces examined were probably all there was of 
it. There is another legless lizard found in India, which 
is also known as "glass snake."] 
The Birds of Eastern North America. 
We mentioned a short time ago the "Handbook of the 
Birds of Eastern North America," on which Mr. Frank 
M. Chapman, of the American Museum of Natural His- 
tory, has been engaged, and which is now in the printer's 
hands. It will be pubbshed at an early day by Messrs. 
D. Appleton & Co. The volume will be fully illustrated, 
and is designed to render the identification of birds, either 
in the field or study as simple a matter as possible. 
Mr. Wm. Dutcher, who has given special attention to 
Long Island birds has gone over all the species which are 
found in that locality. 
"That reminds me." 
When a fair-sized boy I was compelled to live for a 
wliile with a family who lived at some distance from any 
neighbors. The wife was very set in her ways, and was 
a regular attendant at a church about two miles from the 
house. She was also the head of the home establish- 
ment, and both of these people were almost as cross as 
bears. 
The church being at such a distance, they went in 
their carriage. Since they did not care to leave the house 
without some one being there, he would generally ac- 
company her, and I would stay home, but once in a 
while I would reluctantly have to go in his place. 
The services then, as at other churches at that time, 
were of the long kind, commencing at ten o'clock in the 
morning and closing at three in the afternoon, with an 
horn's intermission at noon. Consequently those living 
at a distance from the church like ourselves who at- 
tended both services were away from their homes some 
six hours or more. 
I baa tr^4 foy a short pl4-fasMofl?4,rifle s :bc>recl nut 
for a shot gun, and when the couple were away to meet- 
ing, since they stayed through both services, I had a 
splendid opportuntiy to spend a good long time in the 
woods with that gun. Eight jolly times I had with it, 
too, but managed to be at the house with the gun and 
game, if any, disposed of before their return, so that it 
was quite awhile before they "caught on" to the racket. 
But one Sunday when I unluckily happened to be a 
trifle later than usual, one not realizing how fast time 
flies Avhen one is enjoying himself, they saw me as I 
came to the house with gun in one hand and a big par- 
tridge in the other. Then didn't I catch it, though! They 
both scolded until their talking oigans were exhausted, 
and finally wound up the affair by the old duffers giving 
me an unmerciful whaling. But, what was the most un- 
kindest cut of all, I was told that from then, instead of 
his going, I was to accompany the lady to church every 
Sunday. 
After that for several Sundays 'in succession I accom- 
panied her like a dutiful boy. But on one pleasant Sun- ' 
day, for some reason, she concluded to return home at 
noon instead of staying through the afternoon service, 
and when we were near home, bang went a gun off in 
the woods a short distance from the house. Shortly 
after we arrived, who shall come around the corner of 
the barn but the old chap with my own little rifle and a 
couple of wild pigeons. As he knew nothing of our re- 
turn, it was a complete exposure for him. How he ever 
managed to shoot those pigeons I never could guess, as 
he knew no more about handling a gun than a wild Hot- 
tentot would. Wasn't he surprised to find us at home, 
and didn't he look sheepish when caught, and didn't the 
old lady give him a lovely scolding , though! She fairly 
boiled over. "The idea," said she, "of your whipping 
that boy for breaking the Sabbath by shooting |one 
bird, and here you, a man, or supposed to be one, come 
sneaking home with two birds that you killed with his 
gun this very day. You deserve twice as much of a 
whipping as you gave him, and I would like to give you 
a good one if I was able." But she wasn't. So after 
berating him to her heart's content, it was decided that 
after that he should accompany her to church instead of 
me. So I was left at home under injunction that I would 
not go shooting again when they were away on Sundays; 
but we all know how much a boy having a gun and 
several hours to himself, and who loves roving through 
the woods after game as I did could observe the rules under 
such circumstances. It will suffice to say that they 
never caught me that way again. A. L. L. 
|jfa# mfd (§un„ 
Sportsmen's Exposition. 
May 13 to 18. Madison Square Garden, New York.— First annua 
Sportsmen's Exposition. 
THE SUNNY SOUTH.— VI. 
COSTUMES AND CONVENTIONS 
Chicago, Ills,, February 13, — When I was out in the 
cane brakes hunting bear with Mr. Bobo, I didn't think 
very much about my clothes, and in fact didn't stop to 
think much about anything, even my baggage which had 
gone South somewhere with Tom Divine, It was only 
after I had said good-bye to Mr. Bobo, and gone aboard 
the southeast bound express that I realized that perhaps 
my costume was not what it should be. I had on 
corduroys and leggings and hob-nailed shoes and a very 
wide white hat wdiich lopped down and had to be tied up. 
Item, one spur. My entire baggage consisted of a bundle 
made of one bear's skull, done up in salt and a rag, sur- 
rounded by a sweater and a buckskin shirt, buckled into 
a belt bearing a knife scabbard. Not even a paper collar 
of my belongings was attainable, and what was more, I 
didn't know where I was ever going to find any of them, 
certainly not until I reached New Orleans I was un- 
shaven and sunburned, and I presume I did look pretty 
tough. Anyhow the porter on the Pullman told me I did. 
On board the sleeper I was so much observed that I put on 
my sweater and that not seeming to help matters, and 
having no other raiment I went to bed in self-defense. < 
At New Orleans it was worse yet, and wherever I went 
people turned around and looked. Several very nice 
looking girls that V. wouldn't have minded bracing up to 
if I had had on my store clothes, and who wouldn't ever 
have looked at me t hen, turned around and looked at me 
and laughed merrily. That made me feel bad. I 
wasn't saying a word, not even when a barber asked me 
what part of Texas I came from. When I told him 
"Chicago," he fell into a deep silence, at length remark- 
ing, as if to himself, "That thar Chicago must be a 
mighty strange place," which remark he left unexplained 
and detached. 
At the Cosmopolitan Hotel I was followed with sus- 
picion by the porter. I asked the clerk for my mail, and 
he said there wasn't any. Then I saw behind the counter 
my own hand-bag and I went around the counter and 
fell on it with joy, and the clerk ordered me out, aDd I 
didn't go, but was fishing out anything I could find in 
the way of help to my costume. I never knew before how 
mighty are the artificial conventions of life. In the 
woods I was happy; on board the train running through 
these woods I was miserable. At the city I was stdl more 
rnistjrable. All I could find in the valise was a soft hat. 
This I put on, and thereat the clerk concluded he did 
have some mail for me. I found instructions from Mr. 
Divine, who said the party had gone on down the river 
and were going to camp out somewhere, probably below 
the Quarantine, about 100 miles from New Orleans. Mr. 
Divine informed me that my friend Mr. R. B. Organ, of 
Chicago, (who had previously been a stranger to Mr. Di- 
vine) had gone on down to Memphis and thence to New- 
Orleans with Mr. Divine, and was now with the party 
down the river. Mi-. Organ heard I was going South, and 
allowed he would like to go too. I told him he couldn't, 
for I had never yet met my hosts, but he said that didn't 
make any difference, and that as he had to go he sup- 
posed I would have to fix it up somehow. So I had done 
this, the Southern hunters' hospitality being equal to 
everything. And all through the trip we twitted i?pli 
Organ about pishing himself m where jig wasn't wasted, 
