10^ 
FOREST AMD STREAM. 
Just About a Boy*— IV. 
The stin had painted the western sky in crimson and 
gold, against which the gnarled cottonwoods and oaks 
appeared in silhouette, and the elms wove a delicate 
tracery of drooping limbs. The frosted leaves had 
nearly all fallen to the ground, leaving only the more 
hardy or sheltered ones still on the trees to wait the 
chill touch that would wither and send them fluttering 
down in zigzag flight as the morning sun rose. 
. The waiting silence of a fall evening had settled 
over the land while we were eating our lunch, and as 
the light faded the boy glanced comprehensively up and 
around as he said: "Well, I reckon we better hustle 
if we want to get that honey. I'll juss hide the guns, 
'cause we won't need 'em to-night. Hain't no painters 
nor bears nor things in these woods, so all we need is 
the axe 'n' pails 'ii' lantern 'n' ropes. I'll get things 
in shape whUe you fix the basket, nen we'll go." 
When he had "fixed things" we shouldered the axe 
and other plimder and struck out through the woods for 
the bee tree. Reaching the river, the boy sat down and 
began unlacing his shofcs, remarking, "Got to. Gross the 
fiver here." 
I did not fancy a plunge in the icy current of the 
stream so late in the season,, and made some few remarks 
about a boat and coming up during the next few days. 
"Pshaw!" said the boy, " 'tain't more'n knee deep all 
the way over. They's a sandbar here 'at runs kind o' 
anglin' down stream an' it won't take yeh more'n to 
yer knees anywhere. I been across here lots o' times 
an' I know. Your feet '11 get a little cold, but you'll 
feel better after yeh get out 'n yeh did 'fore yeh went in. 
Cm on, less git over." 
I had seen his intimate knowledge of things natural 
and local so well displayed before that I too began to 
strip for the wade, trusting to his guidance, and in a few 
minutes we were in the stream. 
The water was awfully cold for the first few steps, 
and then our feet became so benumbed that we finished 
•without any inconvenience, and felt as warm as toast 
a few minutes after we had put our clothing on again. 
It was quite dark, and the stars were twinkling like 
fireflies among the branches when the boy halted, 
dropped the axe and pails and remarked, "Here she is." 
A great elm tree rose into the darkness and its spread- 
ing branches ran 40 or 5pft. from the trunk. 
"Now, I'll tell yeh," said the boy, "you stay here an' 
I'll climb itp an' cut off the limb — that big one there," 
he said, pointing upward. 
"We. got to chop the end off first, nen put the rope on 
her 'n' cut it again closer to the tree. Yeh see the bees 
are pretty well out in a holler place 'n th' limb 'n' hain't 
in the holler trunk 'tall. I found that out when I was up 
here before." 
While he was talking he had taken a long rope from 
one of the pails and thrown it up over the limb. Throw- 
ing off his coat and shoes, he climbed the double strand 
like a monkey and swung himself up over the limb. 
Then I fastened the axe on the line and he hauled it up. 
Standing on the fork with one foot and the main trunk 
of the limb with the other, he began chopping the end 
off. 
"They're wakin' up," he said, laughingly, as the angered 
bees began to buzz in the hollow under his feet. "It 
won't hurt 'em 'n' they'll only git mad for nuthin', 
'cause they don't sting at night; they juss crawl out an' 
fall off. Reckon I better keep 'em in, tho', tuU I git the 
limb off," he continued, stooping down and stuffing his 
handkerchief into the small hole where the bees entered 
the limb. 
Soon the limb fell with a tearing crash down among 
the bushes on the ground. Then the boy drew the rope 
up a -d fastened it to the stump of the limb, throwing 
the end over another above him and letting it hang 
down to the ground. 
"Now you take holt of the rope and git a half hitch 
around something, so'st you can hold her when I cut 
her off. We don't want to let her fall 'n' mash the 
honey all up, so keep her stiddy till I c'n help yeh lower 
her when I git her cut off." 
I did as directed, and the blows soon sounded again, 
echoless in the gloom of the night woods, as the boy 
swung the axe with a will. 
"She's a-goin'; hoi' on now!" he said, as an ominous 
cracking was heard, and then a few more cuts left the 
limb dangling at the end of the rope. 
The boy dropped his axe and scrambled down the tree 
trunk, and together we lowered the big section of wood 
to the ground. 
"Bring the lantern 'n' pails now," said the boy, as he 
got his axe, and then listened with his ear against the 
limb to locate the length of the hollow by the noise of 
the bees inside. "Guess this'll about git 'em," he said, 
and began cutting a chip out. 
Soon he made an opening in the log, and disclosed 
great combs of beautiful wild honey, over which the 
swarm of angry bees were writhing in a dark mass. As 
soon as the hole was open they began to crawl but, and 
the boy by the aid of a splinter, flipped them out of 
the hollow by the handful. 
"Look out now 'n' don't git excited," he said. "They 
won't sting at night 'nless yeh hurt 'em, 'n' if one crawls 
on yeh juss flip him off, so'st he won't have a chance. 
Yeh see — gee! I got it that time!" he said, as he pinched 
a place on one finger, squeezing it up from, underneath 
until it was white and a tiny globe of amber stood out 
Oti the skin. 
" 'Tain't nothin' though, 'n' won't even swell up 'f 
yeh squeeze th' poison out juss as quick as yeh git 
stung, that way. Gee! it always makes a col' chill run 
up 'n' down my back, anyway, ever' time I git it. 
"Hoi' still, there's one crawlin' up towards yer neck. 
There, now yer all right. Yeh see, if yeh move right 
quick, er slap at 'em er hurt 'em er anything, they'll 
sock » stinger into yeh even at night, but if you 'member 
'n' juss go easy yer all right. Guess I got most of 'em 
jQut now, so I'll git a bigget bole so'st we can git that 
comb out whole» _ . . _ . . 1 . _ 
"Gee! that's nice-lookin', ain't it? Lots of it too! 
This tree is all right." 
The axe rang again, and the hole in the limb grew 
larger, while the myriads of bees buzzed angrily among 
the leaves on the ground, helpless in the darkness. 
"Guess that's all right now," said the boy, as he took 
the lantern and peered into the opening. "Gimme the 
pails." 
I handed him the pails and he carefully lifted the great 
new combs out one by one and deposited them on end 
in the pail^. • He had four large ones full of the finest 
light-colored honey when he had finished, and then 
called for the fifth. 
"They's a lot of old honey here, too," he said, "an' 
we'll take the^ clearest of it. 'Tain't as good flavor as 
the new, but it's good honey all the same. The rest 
of it I'm goin' to leave till to-morrow night, nen I'll 
come up 'n' get it 'n' the bees too, 'cause this is a dandy 
swarm, 'n' they'll stay here till they find a new hive, 
'n' lug ever' bit o' this honey to it. 
"I'll leave plenty, so they can't take it all away to- 
morrow, nen to-morrow night I'll come up with the 
boat 'n' some sacks 'h' a saw, 'n' I'll juss fasten 'em in 
again while they're asleep, nen I'll saw off the limb, 
both ends, 'n' take her home 'n' fix 'em up 'n one o' my 
hives." 
Here was more wisdom of the wild woods that "was 
new to me, though I saw the simple reasoning in it and 
told the boy that I was glad the swarm would be cafed 
for and not left to die of cold and lack of food after we 
had taken the fruits of their summer's labor, 
In another hour we had forded the river again, and were 
on our way back to the buggy with our plunder, the 
boy having made two trips across the river in the dark- 
ness to land everything safely. " 'Cause I know the bar 
better'n you do, nen I don't mind the cold water, any- 
how," he explained. 
The horse gave a little whinny as we reached the 
buggy, and he was soon spinning toward home, where 
we had to get the folks out of bed at 11 o'clock to 
sleepily view those beautiful combs and comment on 
the fruits of our trip. 
Two or three days later the boy burst in on me with 
the information that he had "Got that swarm of bees 
over at the house, 'n' it's a dandy too." 
El Gomancho. 
Notes from Seminole Land. 
The Seminoles have not forgotten the wars with the 
whites, and any reference to Osceola or Old Billy Bow- 
legs is received with contempt. They are genteel in their 
manners and honorable in their dealings with the white 
traders, and they are shrewd in driving bargains. 
Alligator hunting in the summer and otter hunting in 
the winter are engaged in by the men when they are not 
working their fields. An alligator hunt is generally made 
in parties, which supply themselves with plenty of am- 
munition and food for a trip to tlie cypress swamps, 
where the gator makes his home. The Seminoles use 
Marlin or Winchester rifles, and when hunting at night 
they use a bull's-eye lantern, with which they shine the 
gator's eyes. They are skillful with rifle and 6-shooter, 
and always shoot the gators in the eyes or at the base 
of the head, so that the skin will not show any holes. 
When a gator's eyes show above the water they make 
a good target, but if the shot is not fatal a circus begiiis. 
The Indians are past masters in the use of the paddle and 
pole, and their cypress canoes are handled with ease, so 
by the time the gator gets over his surprise they are olit 
of his way and ready for another shot. When the gators 
take to their holes or hiding places the Indians pull 
them out with a long pole, which has a steel hook or 
harpoon attached to it. When the gator is dead the 
Indians pull the head and front legs over the stem of the 
canoe and pole to a landing, where the canoe is tied, and 
then they proceed to skin the gator. They use a heavy 
knife which curves at the point, and a few minutes are 
all they need to have the skin salted and ready for the 
market. The average lengths of hides from the Ever- 
glades run from 4 to 8ft., but occasionally a skin of lift, 
is brought in; but these are very rare. 
The Seminoles are not like the white hunters, for they 
do not kill off all the game, but always try to have some 
for the future. They do not kill any kind of game during 
the mating or breeding season, and when hunting for the 
market they do not try to make a record by slaughtering 
game, but kill only enough for their use or to sell to the 
traders to buy the few necessary groceries and other 
articles which they have learned to use. A conservative 
estimate of the hides shipped from the Everglades would 
be about 4,000 per year. 
■ The otters are getting scarce, as the white hunters are 
getting many along the edge of the glades. The In- 
dians trap the otter with a double-spring Sargent trap, 
and very often they shoot them. The otters, like the 
beaver, are getting scarcer each year, and soon will be 
rare. 
In the early spring the manatee, or sea cow, come 
into the rivers to feed, and the Seminole who is fond qf 
sport where a good feast is in sight grinds his harpoon 
and grains, and goes to the inlet and waits for the flood 
tide to come in; and when the manatee rises to the sur- 
face to blow the harpoon is thrown, and the hunters 
rarely miss landing the game. 
Of late years the manatee have been protected by the 
laws of tlie State, and at times large numbers can be 
seen spouting at the inlet, and very frequently they 
come up the rivers for miles, where the manatee grass 
grows on the bottom. The manatee are not dangerous, 
and will get into the deep water as soon as they can 
when the hunter tries to approach them. 
Of the other game which can be found in the Ever- 
glades, among which are panthers, bears and wildcats, 
there is none which is so hard to find as the panther. 
A few have been killed by Northern, hunters who have 
been fortunate enough to secure the services of an ex- 
perienced guide. A huge black bear was killed by Tom 
Tiger on Cypress Creek last fall, and the hide is at the 
trading store on New River. A great many bear stories 
have been told and written, but they cannot be compared 
to Tom Tiger's story of this bear. It cannot be written 
to do it justice, but when Tom is in good humor it is a 
great entertainment to hear him recite the adventure. 
Hunting in the Everglades is very dangerous, on account 
of snakes, of which the rattler and moccasin are most 
common. The Seminoles" do not have any fear of snakes, 
but hunt barefooted and barelegged, and no fatal cases 
have been heard of among them. 
The hummock islands in the Everglades form a natural 
refuge for the deer and turkeys, and they are not hunted 
by the white hunters to any great extent; there are 
many of them, which is a credit to the unwritten law of 
the S.emmole. The quail are plentiful, but the pot-hunter 
has scattered them so that they are following the Indians 
back to the hummock islands in the glades, atT.d the - 
hunter who can stand the walking and wading "from 
island to island is the only hunter who comes in at night 
with the game. j_ vv- 
Fort Lauderdale, Fla., January, 1S9S. 
Reminiscences of an Old 
Sportsman.— IX* 
Early in the 50s I took a trip West, and bfouglit tip 
in Davenport, la., about Dec. i. I wanted to see the 
great West and get some shooting at the different varie- 
ties of game to be found there. At this time our New 
England shooting was of the best, but I had enjoyed 
this for some years, and longed for something different. 
Obtaining employment in the extensive lumber works 
of Burrell, Gillett & Co., with the privilege of an occa- 
sional day off for shooting, I settled down to learn 
something of the ways of the people, and to gather what 
information I could about the game of the country and 
the best places to visit Avhen I should be ready to go. 
Tom, the big sawyer, heard me say shoot, and he took 
to me at once, and as he was the first person that I had 
met who appeared to have any ideas upon the subject, 
Ltook to him, and within the first half hour of our ac- 
quaintance we had made an agreement to go deer hunt- 
ing, the first snow that was suitable. It was not many 
days before we had a snow that Tom said was just right, 
and we made preparations to start the next morning. 
Tom owned a rifle and was a very good shot, and 
he persuaded me to leave my shotgun and take a rifle 
instead. Now, I had never fired a rifle in my life, and 
knew nothing about it, but not wishing to appear to be 
behind the times, I said nothing to Tom, but hired a 
rifle at the gun -store, and the next morning we took 
the stage for Hickory Grove, nearly twenty miles north. 
I took along my. pointer, old Flora, for somehow I hate 
to go shooting without a dog. There were no other pas- 
sengers, so we had the whole coach to ourselves. About 
three miles out of the city a small boy stopped us and 
bade the driver go up to a house that stood some twenty 
rods from, the road and take in a lady passenger. The 
driver did not like the looks of the lane that led up to 
the house, and I heard him say, under his breath, that 
he would be teetotally something (I could not hear what) 
if he took the coach up that crooked path; and while 
he was thinking what to say, I let down the window 
and told the boy that this was the United States mail, and 
that it would be violating the law to driA^e oft' the regular 
post road. This settled it, and the boy started foe the 
house, and soon after the lady made her appearance; but 
she did not like walking through the 5 or 6in. of snow,. 
■ and when she reached us her temper was not in its nor- 
mal condition, if we could judge by the spiteful tone in? 
Avhich she accosted the driver and gave him her destina- 
tion, which we were very sorry to find would give us, 
the pleasure of her company for nearly the whole of our 
journey. The driver dismounted and opened the door,, 
and she was about to get in, when she spied old Flora,. 
. and starting back, declared that she would not ride witbi 
a dog, and demanded that it be put out of the coach. 
The driver was mad by this time, and he told her that 
she had better go back to the house and wait until some 
day when he had no dog aboard, as he did not propose 
to turn out a passenger that had paid fare. But the lady 
said that she must go, and with much snifling and turn- 
ing up of her nose she finally got in, and seating herself 
in the corner furthest from the dog, drew her skirts 
close around her and never said a word nor moved a 
muscle, so far as we could see, for nearly an hour. Then 
she unbent so far as to request me to tell the driver to 
stop at the first house, as her feet were freezing. Upon 
my stating the case to the driver, he said that there was 
no house within three miles. This appeared to disturb 
■her very much, as, with a deep-drawn sigh, she declared 
that her feet would surely be frozen before we could get 
there. I saw that she was really in distress, and told her 
that if she would allow the dog to lie in front of her and 
would use her as a footstool, her feet would soon be 
warm. But she said that she was afraid of dogs, and 
•very much disliked to have one come near her. I finally 
prevailed upon her to consent, and calling Flora over I 
bade her He down; and with fear and trembling the 
freezing feet were soon resting upon her, and in a few 
minutes the lady gratefully acknowledged that they were 
rapidly getting warm. When we arrived at her stopping 
place, she gave me her hand and very gracefully apolo- 
gized for her behavior at the commencement of her 
journey. Then, turning to Flora, she coaxed her up, and 
putting her arms around her she kissed her and told her 
that she would never again have anything but the kindest 
thoughts and words for any of her race; then, turning 
to me, she added: "And above all, I will never again 
object to one riding with me in a coach." * 
Arriving at our destination some three hours behind 
time, on account of the bad traveling, a few minutes' 
walk brought us to the home of Tom's friend, Mr. Allen, 
who greeted us cordially, and ordering dinner for us, 
proposed that we go out and try our rifles while it was 
getting ready. So we went a short distance from the 
house, and while Mr. Allen nailed a G. D. cap box cover 
to a tree, Tom and T loaded up. I was a little dubious 
about loading, as I had never even seen the operation 
performed; but by closely watching Tom I flattered my- 
self that I passed through the ordeal quite creditably. 
After fixing the target, Mr. Allen stepped off twenty 
good, long paces, and made a mark in the snow. All 
was ready, and Tom toed the mark and blazed away, 
putting his bullet into the lower edge of the target. Mr. 
Allen then took a shot and made his mark about midway 
