2 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[July 2, 1898. 
Honey Dew, Four Hounds and the 
Grapevine Telegraph* 
We were gathered about the stove in the tent. After 
supper pipes were puffing, the little stove was roaring 
hot, and it was either raining or snowing outside, no- 
body cared which. The visitors from the saw mill 
settlement down the valley were discussing a pet deer 
some one down there bad raised from a fawn once upon 
a ( time. 
"She were as delicate an' gentle as a little girl, 'n' no 
ma n ever got acquainted with a pet deer like that that 
he didn't feel kind of mean every time he went a-huntin' 
an' killed one like her. Of course he'd kill just. as many 
as ever, but then he couldn't help feelin' as if he hadn't 
ought to. She was sure like one of the children, in 
the house, out in the yard and wanderin' off on the 
ridge. She had a bell, and nobody would get to shootin' 
at her; but the dogs would run her down off the ridge 
every day or so and she'd put fer the house and never 
stop till she was in the room 'n' the door shut. She 
stayed out one night 'way after dark, and after 'while 
Thompson's wife heerd the dogs a-runnin', and she 
waked Thompson up, and he listened 'n' he says: 'That's 
Jennie, sure; they're a-headin' right down the valley!' 
And so he got up 'n' opened the door a crack, and here 
she come a-runnin', 'n' when she sailed over the fence 
he opened the door 'n' she hustled in 'n' lay down en 
front of the stove 'n' Thompson shet it and went back 
to bed. What did she eat? Oh, twigs n' garden sass 
'n' things, 'n' she was a glutton fer milk. She had a fawn 
once. She must 'a' been a tame deer down in the valley 
and a wild one up on the ridge, just the same as the rest 
of them. Went a-gaddin' around all the time. The little 
one grew up pretty near to a yearlin', and a feller back 
on the ridge shot her one day by mistake before he ever 
see her mother." 
We townspeople asked what had become of Jennie. 
"She died. Some thought it was from eatin' honey 
dew." 
"Honey dew?" 
"Yes. They say it'll kill a deer if it eats it.'' 
"And what is honey dew?" 
******* 
And that is what the writer would like to know of 
the reader. According to these men, it is a sticky, honey- 
like deposit, which comes on the upper surface of all 
the leaves of some particular tree, the variety most 
affected being, I think, the hickory and one other which 
I have forgotten. The deposit is made in a night, and 
the sun gradually dries it up, leaving a thin, silvery film 
on the leaf. Honey dew! None of us had ever heard of 
it before. Has the Forest and Stream ever nibbled 
the leaves of a honey dew tree? Did any reader ever 
make chewing gum out of it when he was a boy? Does 
any one cure snake bites with it? When I went to 
school why was not my almost pathetic thirst for knowl- 
edge assauged by some news about honey dew? Other 
things might well have waited. One was liable to "meet 
up" with honey dew most anywhere, whereas I have not 
bumped up against Sir Isaac Newton's binomial theorem 
in twenty-five years! 
I learned about the grapevine telegraph while on that 
same trip. I had the dim impression that the term was 
merely one of derision, applied to the imperfect news- 
gathering equipment of rival journals. It is, however, a 
distinct system of rural telegraphy. 
And how necessary such a thing as a rural telegraph 
must be! What would life in the sparsely settled moun- 
tains be without it? The first thought of a newcomer 
in such a locality is that the people must be very lone- 
some and that life, being devoid of newspapers, is de- 
void of interest. That nothing new ever happens; that 
the country paper is a week old before it is brought 
in from the settlement, and that its contents were a week 
old when they were printed. True, but for the grape- 
vine telegraph. 
For instance, when the hounds got out of hearing after 
jumping the big buck that week, what information could 
we have gotten of them from the county paper? What 
could the people at the saw mill tell us when the 
hounds did not run in their hearing; but for the grape- 
vine telegraph, what would, any of us ever have known 
about that deer chase? 
We heard the hounds trailing, then we heard them 
jump the deer, and the deep-voiced melody swing around 
through H.'s stand, where there was an unsuccessful 
shot. Then the moving chorus swinging around the 
ridge I stood on, down past the charcoal pit, through 
a gap, toward Silver Creek — and that was all. We did 
not see nor hear three of those dogs until 9 o'clock that 
night, and the other one of them not until 6 o'clock 
the next morning, and yet, gentle and credulous reader', 
by 8 o'clock we had the complete story of the chase by 
the grapevine telegraph, and by bedtime we knew where 
the missing dog was. The two men who followed the 
hounds reached Spring Creek, seven miles distant, after 
the chase had disappeared; but a woman at a cabin had 
heard the hounds and she said the deer had followed 
the water for half a mile and took back north on the 
next ridge, and her little boy said there were four hounds 
and a man from up the hollow pretty near got the deer. 
He got one "shoot" at it, and he "reckoned" he hit it. 
The chase came back on the ridge east of our camp, for 
three days afterward I myself met the log hauler who 
saw the whole outfit, and who told one of the saw mill 
men of it at the time, and who in turn fetched the news 
to our camp that evening of the hunt at about 6 o'clock. 
(He was getting into camp about flapjack time, my 
friend.) We therefore knew the chase had transferred 
itself to Block River, which is about ten miles from 
Spring Creek, and that the deer would lose the hounds 
at the river, and the hounds would be back by bed- 
time; we of course blowing the horn at intervals after 
dark as a guide to them. But directly along came a 
man with a new complication. A feller had been_ a- 
comin' from L'ville on his way to a town five miles 
west of our camp, and had passed a hound just this 
side of and going toward L'ville. Now, therefore, when 
by 9 o'clock three dogs were in, their owner was able to 
announce upon the arrival of the last mentioned tele- 
gram that Mute had gone to a certain house at L'ville, 
and that from there, not finding his master, he would go 
to Jake Sutton's at S ; which is another settlement back 
on Spring Creek, and that Jake would fetch him on to 
camp in the morning. And sure enough Jake Sutton 
came riding into camp next morning in time for break- 
fast with Mute at his heels. From the place where the 
dogs had jumped the deer to the river, where they lost 
it, and back thence to camp, the distance traversed by 
three of the dogs at a rough estimate and not counting 
circles, of which there were doubtless many, was some- 
thing like thirty miles. Mute's trip to L'ville and thence 
to Sutton's made his trip about forty-five miles. 
And yet some men folks think they are better than 
dogs. George Kennedy. 
Along the Potomac* 
As my thoughts ramble over the scenes and localities 
of my boyhood, I find them inadvertently approaching 
the precincts of the patriots' Mecca, the consecrated 
shrine where rest the remains of one 
Whose fame will rise day after day, 
As centuries come and pass away. 
I will not attempt an elaborate description of this in- 
tensely historical and renowned place, which has been 
described so often by the celebrated writers of the 
world, in comparison to whom I am a mere cipher. 
JOHN NORRIS. 
Yet there are a few minor incidents in connection with 
my earliest recollection which may be of sufficient in- 
terest to recall, before passing on other scenes and locali- 
ties. Among them, I recollect distinctly (although quite 
small at the time), when Gen. Lafayette visited the home- 
stead and tomb of his illustrious friend at Mt. Vernon, 
and planted the first memorial tree near the tomb of 
Washington. This beautiful manner of commemorating 
his love and friendship has been followed by numbers of 
distinguished men, among them the Emperor of Brazil, 
the Prince of Wales, heir to the English throne; the 
Duke Alexis', of Russia; Gen. Grant, Several Presidents, 
and also representatives of foreign monarchies, all of 
whom have voluntarily planted a living record of their 
sincerity to commemorate the virtues and wisdom of 
the great leader who battled to establish human liberty 
and equality, notwithstanding its antagonism to those 
forms of government which many of them represented. 
Before departing I cannot refrain from recalling in 
memory the sensations experienced when standing upon 
that emerald mount crowned with the historical mansion 
overlooking the Potomac, enjoying the distant 
scenery along the Maryland hills, or the beau- 
tiful panorama at close range moving over the 
surface of the river bearing to and fro the white 
winged messengers of commerce, and also numerous 
flocks of water fowl feeding along the margin or 
waving through the air; as it was enjoyed by the illus- 
trious proprietor in his declining years, after the turmoil 
of battle was over. On turning my eyes in a different 
direction, with feelings of reverence, I gaze down the 
descending slope winding through the verdant quiet 
valley leading to the tomb, upon arriving in the vicinity 
of which all who approach appear to be impressed with 
a reverential or intuitive feeling to speak in subdued 
tones when looking upon the sarcophagus containing the 
remains of one whose name will live when that of 
Napoleon will be lost in the vortex of oblivion. 
Crossing the boundary of Mt. Vernon we enter the 
estate of Belvoir, the property in early days of Col. 
Fairfax, the nearest neighbor and intimate friend of 
Washington. The buildings on this property were de- 
stroyed by fire previously to my acquaintance with the 
place, though I have frequently passed by and among 
the charred ruins, and gathered some fine fruit from the 
orchard, which still flourished in my boyhood. Col. Fair- 
fax abandoned his title as one of the lords of England's 
realm with the luxuries of wealth and refined surround- 
ings, and voluntarily made his home in the wilds of 
Virginia, where he was _ buried, and I believe his 
descendants are still in Virginia. 
Another near neighbor to Mt. Vernon was George 
Mason, a warm friend and adviser of Washington, and 
the author of the Constitution of Virginia, upon which 
the Constitution of our Republic was based. He occu- 
pied a position as a statesman in advance of the age in 
which he lived, unsurpassed if equaled anywhere. He 
was also a successful manager of his extensive planta- 
tions. Following down this northern neck, whose east- 
ern base is washed by the incesant roll of old Potomac's 
sparkling flood, my memory recalls from the past a 
galaxy of illustrious men who possessed and appreciated 
the magnificent forests, the verdant hills and charming 
valleys of this attractive and beautiful country. 
Many of those gentlemen, whose names are indelibleupon 
fame's record, performed services in the early history of 
our country which contributed to establish the founda- 
tion and give impetus to the germ which led to the pres- 
ent greatness of our Republic. Among them the differ- 
ent branches of the Lee family had their homes here; 
two of whom were signers of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, Richard Henry and Francis Lightfoot Lee, 
The Pendletons, Fitzhughs, McCartys, Peytons, Carters, 
Marshalls, Lewis, George Washington and several other 
distinguished gentlemen, whose names adorn history, 
were resident proprietors of the lands bordering on the 
Potomac, and formed a social galaxy of intellectual abil- 
ity seldom, if ever, equaled in a similar extent of terri- 
tory. 
Inasmuch as those men were the direct descendants 
of the original colonists, the question naturally arises 
from what sources this preponderance of talent obtained 
existence in such a comparatively small community. The 
only solution is found by tracing their genealogy. In 
doing so we find the class of settlers (the Cavaliers) along 
the west banks of the Potomac, and also on the James 
River, were unequaled in social position, wealth, and 
education, by any body of emigrants that ever -settled a 
new country, except those who colonized New England 
(the Puritans). They were equal in social standing, edu- 
cation and wealth. The difference was entirely in then- 
political and religious tenets. Although widely differing 
in their political, and sectarian opinions, yet they united 
in the common cause to resist the encroachments of the 
Mother Country, when attempting to abridge their vested 
rights. Notwithstanding we sometimes hear words of 
reproach in reference to Puritans, they consistently ad- 
hered to principles they advocated in reference to human 
rights previous to leaving their homes across the seas. 
On the other hand, without intending any disparage- 
ment, the Cavaliers abandoned their long-sttstained loyal- 
ty to the crown, and stood shoulder to shoulder with 
the Puritans, battling for human equality from Bunker 
Hill to Yorktown. There are some singular circum- 
stances in connection with those two powerful classes 
or divisions of colonists, the Puritans and the Cavaliers. 
Although their motives for emigrating were diametrical- 
ly opposite to each other (the Puritans for their hatred 
of Charles I., for his oppressive methods; the Cavaliers 
for their disloyal feelings to Oliver Cromwell, after 
Charles was beheaded), yet they each contributed their 
quota, and were equally ardent in erecting the pedestal 
upon which our mighty and still rising Republic stands, 
Another circumstance in connection therewith: there are 
but two family names on the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence, duplicated, each pair leading members, respective- 
ly, of the Cavaliers and Puritans, Richard Henry and 
Francis Lightfoot Lee, Samuel and John Adams. 
Another case illustrating the abnegation or impartial 
status of a Puritan patriot is that of John Adams, who 
presented the name of George Washington, a Cavalier, 
and strenuously advocated his selection as possessing 
the essential qualities necessary to command the army 
in the impending struggle. Another striking coinci- 
dence of mutual feelings of patriotism of the two great 
parties, still fresh in memory, was the simultaneous 
death of their acknowledged representatives, Thomas 
Jefferson and John Adams, on the anniversary of the day 
of our nation's birth, the 4th of July. 
I make the above digression from the line of ideas I 
was pursuing for the purpose of vindicating or recalling 
to memory a few facts culled from authentic history, with 
the view of silencing malicious innuendoes in reference 
to the dubious services and status of the Puritans in the 
struggle for fundamental principles of self-goA^ernment. 
Therefore, anv attempt to cast a shadow on the integrity 
of those patriots should fall harmless, under the evi- 
dence of history. 
In regard to their descendants, with a number of whom 
I have the pleasure of a personal acquaintance, many of 
them are extensively known as enterprising business 
men, as well as ardent patriots. 
And we are indebted to the enterprise, courage and 
perseverance of their race, from the settlement of this 
countrv down to the present time, for the wonderful and 
rapid prosperity of the United States of America. There- 
fore, let us ignore sectional criticism as applicable to 
Puritan or Cavalier. 
James Norris. 
Magnolia, Harford County, Md 
[to be continued.] 
Out of Commission. 
BY CHARLES HALLOCK. 
I have an invalid friend here who is a patient at the 
Asheville Sanitarium, and whose helpless hand I take at 
intervals in the spirit of fraternity. A hard chance has 
made his a paralytic, and all he can do is to he on 
his couch with his face toward the inclosing mountains 
and watch their changing aspects as the sun passes over 
them on its diurnal rounds. We are two superannuated 
sportsmen here together, grizzled with age and travel 
over the wide ranges of the continent, and our sym- 
pathies are in unison. We have passed our best years 
in the varied enjoyments of nature, and now the present 
environment of expansive forests and high peaks which 
enfold our lodgment is especially grateful to us. Every 
morning the wood thrushes and song sparrows carol in 
the oak groves, and quail call lustily on the edge of 
the fields. Occasionally a gray squirrel trips over the 
lawn and runs up a tree. All this is charming to men 
who are incapacitated by disability. No instinct of pur- 
suit incites us now to destroy them, as in our younger 
days. Nay, rather, as we come to feel the ^ insidious 
drain upon our vital forces, and perceive the life gradu- 
