80g 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
|;Dec. 23, 1899, 
Atrived in town, the produce is sold; there is a gen- 
eraHnterchange of Christmas greetings and joyful antic- 
ipations of frolics to come, a little preliminary meri'}'- 
making, and sometimes a too free indulgence in corn 
juice. Little luxuries and articles of finery_ are bought, 
and at evening the party returns to their "homes with 
lighter loads and lighter hearts, to prepare for the long 
anticipated frolic of Christmas Eve, and the poor cracker 
or freedman, with his single steer harnessed into a make- 
shift vehicle, seems as happj- as those who bear the 
names of the first families in the county. 
At dusk the whole quarter is in an uproar. Hiige piles 
of pitch pine are set ablaze, and roseate lightwood fires 
are kindled throughout the open, air premises. Dusky 
groups are scattered in all directions, and fantastic 
shadows flit hither and yon. The deep recesses of the 
woods resound with laughter, singing and cat-calls. The 
old stone jug passes freely, and corncob pipes are often 
replenished. Old Sam brings out his squeaky fiddle pnd 
diligently rosins the bow. Cudjo and Dick are on hand 
with their banjoes, horse bones and goomer boxes. And 
now the fun begins. Such breakdowns, Juba dances, 
reels and "Essence of Ole Virginny" have never dis- 
turbed the stillness of the night for a year. 
Wake snakes! Walk your chalks! 
Saliy go down the middle. 
Hit yo' heels, knock yo' toes, 
\i i ' " An' scrape dat cornstalk fiddle. 
Ki-ya! Whoopee!' 
And all night long the banjo picks, the goomers 
thrum, the dancers dance, and the jug goes round, until 
the dawn of day brings brief surcease and the tired negroes 
seek a short repose. Shortly after sunrise the dusky hive 
is again astir. Some of the house servants assist the 
mistress in preparing for the great event of the day, the 
Christmas dinner; and no meager repast is that. What 
with the gumbo soup, the barbecued sheep, the roast 
possum, the toothsome poultry, the hot mince pies, 
and the eggnog, the keenest appetities are sated to 
repletion. Those of the farm hands who are fond of 
forest sports form small parties for shooting or fishing, 
while the devoutly inclined jump into a wagon and drive 
to a neighboring rustic church. Others pay visits to 
friends, while the j'^oung and boisterous fill up the day 
with uncouth sports, in bucking, wrestling, climbing 
greased poles and chasing pigs. At evening all are at 
home again and the festivities of the previous night are 
repeated. Often the master's family pay frequent visits, 
and encourage emulation by small presents of money. 
Utmost latitude is allowed within the limits of decency, 
and all through the week the frolic is kept up, varied 
each day with some new pastime. Great is the havoc 
among the small game of the woods, the coons, the pos- 
sum's, the rabbits, the squirrels, and the partridges; fear- 
ful the mortality among the turkey coops and pig styes, 
and taxing to the pockets of their patrons the frequent 
demands for a Christmas gift. The negroes rule for the 
time until New Year's has come and gone, and then all 
hands readily resume their wonted labors, somewhat 
worn but in no wise demoralized by the extraordinary 
indulgences of the week. On large .estates and well- 
ordered plantations of magnitude, the routine of to-day 
does not vary much from that of past slave times. Dur- 
ing lulls, the hours of evening are often beguiled by 
song and. story, and many an antiquated darky gains 
distinguished place among his credulous listeners by re- 
counting his hair-breadth escapes from stump bears, his 
marvelous ghost stories and adventures with spooks 
and night doctors. Then the spirit of mischief lurks in 
the gloaming, and many a practical joke is played upon 
the timorous or superstitious, whose weak points are 
known. Uncle Ned. a venerable and pious African, was 
an easy victim. He had outlived his usefulness, but 
was nevertheless handy at little odd jubs about the 
premises, and belonged to that class which might be 
termed necessary nuisances. He did little except to mind 
his gardeU patch and his pig-pen, the remainder of his 
time being spent in prayers, for he was remarkably de- 
vout in his declining age, however remiss he might have 
been in his youth. He had always a sermon or an ad- 
monition at his tongue's end, and misquoted Scripture 
by the yard whenever any one deigned to converse with 
him. Nevertheless, his weaknesses and shortcomings 
were well known; his breath and his cabin were often 
rank with the fumes of corn whisky, while heaps oi: 
chicken feathers were often found under' his bed, although 
his own private stock of poultry never seemed to dimin- 
ish. He had great and unmistakable fears of the Evil 
One, who, he said, seemed to have a special spite against 
him, and who, he declared most solemnly, had fre- 
quently appeared to him in the form of a cat, a copper 
snake, an owl and a black crow. Occasionally, when the 
arch fiend could not impress him in any other way he 
said he would spit at him from among the live coals 
in the fireplace. 
At length one Christmas time the enemy manifested 
himself in a most extraordinary manner. It was even- 
ing, and the cabin hearth was glowing with a fine bed 
of coals, upon which rested a coffee-pot and a skillet i'riz- 
zhng with odorous fat sausages. Betty, his old woman, 
was fidgeting about the supper table, as Uncle Ned 
sat toasting his shins before the fire, reflecting upon his 
sins, in joyful anticipation of the feast in preparation. 
Now, it just so happened that his young master, a 
scapegrace, who was home from college for the holiday 
vacation, had taken a note of the situation and stealthily 
climbed to the roof of the cabin, whence he occasionally 
dropped a few grains of powder from a horn imto the fire- 
place. 
At the first fizz old Ned drew his chair back suddenly. 
"What dat? Betty, look dar! See de debble a-spark- 
lin' in de fire?" 
"Oh, pshaw! 'taint nuffin, you ole fool — only jes a 
sign ob snow," and Betty went on with her work. 
"Dar it am ag'in! Oh, golly! Betty, 'pears to rae I 
smell brimstone!" 
• . "Go 'long. 'Tain't nuffin*, I tell you," said Betty, but 
with less assurance than before. 
Just then an extra dose fizzled on the coals, and the 
smoke of the mimatare explosion drove the old couple 
to the further cofner of the room, where Ned began to 
ment the young mischief at the top of the chimney, in 
the efifort to suppress his mirth, accidently dropped the 
powder horn plump into the fire. IVIuch alarmed, he did 
not wait to witness the effects, but slid from the roof 
in a jiffy, and ran to the house as fast as his legs could 
carry him. In less than a minute afterward there was 
a rush and a shuffle of hurrying footsteps through the 
yard, and through the porch to the front door; the door 
burst open, and in rushed Uncle Ned, staring and speech- 
less, wliile Aunt Betty followed close behind in a delir- 
ium of terror. 
"Oh, marster ! Oh mistis !" cried she, "de debil is 
arter us, sure enough." 
"What's the matter now, Aunt Betty?" they said, with 
some concern at her visible emotion. 
"Oh, de debil he come down de chimbly wid a clap 
of thunder and de fiery cloud, and shy de coffee-pot 
plum at my head, and he fling de skillet of sausage at de 
ole man, an' he toss de chunks and coals all ober de 
room wid de shovel. Oh, golly! Lor' sakes! Such a 
smell ob brimstone, and such a cloud ob smoke! An' 
den he sputter and spit like a ole black cat, an' finally 
he jump on de chist and sit dar wid hees legs crossed 
and blowing oft" streams of fire. Oh, mistis, de debil 
hab us dis time Sure!" 
At these words poor old Ned sunk at the feet of his 
mistress and grasped her gown with quaking hands, 
while all the negroes who had gathered arovtnd by this 
time shook with dismay. Some words of comfort were 
offered, but. Betty grew incoherent, and would only say 
that she "left de debil sitting on the chist — de berry 
chist whar dat whisky was. Didn't I tole you, ole man, 
offen 'nuff 'bout dat whisky? Debil knowed well enough 
dat whisky hab no bizness dar," and Betty sobbed aloud. 
The master at one time thought the old couple were 
drunk, but when he saw that their terror was real he 
made his way to the cabin, followed by a whole bevy of 
negroes, who kept at a respectful distance, and sure 
enough he found the condition of things pretty much as 
had been described. Everything was in fearful confusion, 
and a cloud of sulphurous smoke still filled the room. 
The master looked bewildered, and the teeth of the 
negroes began to chatter at these unmistakable evidences 
of the presence of his Satanic iVIajesty. 
Presently Ned stooped to examine something upon the 
floor, but suddenly drew back with a shriek, "Oh, Lord! 
Oh. Lord!" said he; "it's one of his horns!" 
"Let me see it," demanded the master. Hand it to 
me!" 
"Oh, Lord! marster; tell me to go kill myself; tell 
me to drink pizen, but nebber ask me to touch dat horn. 
I cotddri't do it nohow — not for de world to come." 
The master accordingly picked it up himself, and ex- 
amined it. Then the secret was solved at once. The 
horn was his own, and he had loaned it to his son that 
morning to go shooting with. 
"I smell brimstone powerful," said Ned, as he glanced 
at the terrible relic. 
"And T smell a rat," said the master. 
Soon afterward the old negro was fully informed as to 
all the details of his misadventure, but his incredulous 
mind could never divest itself of the belief that the devil 
had some agoncy in the matter. 
Ch.\rles Haixock. 
Potomac Notes. 
• The Zoo Park, 
The harpy eagle is proving attractive. It is now in 
fine condition, and its plumage is perfect. Three New 
Yoi'k artists have recently sketched the bird, and are 
loud in its praises. 
The seven young pumas are now about seven months 
old aiid are in good condition. This- is true also of the 
four five-month-old lions, and of the four or five young 
elk. Seven adult antelope (five three-year-old bulls and 
two cows) and two calves and five mule deer have re- 
cently been added to the collection from the Yellowstone 
Park. A pair of moose from Ontario has also been 
added. They are very tame and in excellent condition. 
Another addition is a pair of wild boars. 
The Semidi Propagating Company, through Mr. Byron 
Andi'ews, of Washington, has placed a dozen arctic or 
blue foxes in the park. These are being closely ob- 
served to learn their breeding habits, so as to be able to 
deal intelligently with them in their far-away Alaskan 
homes. 
One of the most interesting families in the National 
Park is the boa with her young, sixty-two of which 
were born about the first of December. The boas at 
birth were about 18 inches long, and twenty-four hours 
after birth killed mice, which, however, they did not 
eat. The mother was a gift from the Governor of the 
State of Para, and has been in Washington about four 
months. A number of the young have been sent to the 
Philadelphia and New York zoos. 
Mr. Baker informs us that there is a steady increase 
of visitors, the most noticeable increase being in the num- 
ber of week-day visitors. People now visit the park in 
all sorts of weather. The park as an aid in the educating 
of children plays a prominent part. Thousands of school 
children visit the park annually and gain a knowledge 
of our animal life that would be impossible to learn from 
books alone. B. A. Bean. 
A Pine Grosbeak at Sea. 
The Gloucester (Mass.) Times of Dec. 14 reports: 
"A strange bird flew on board the schooner Procyon 
during a snow storm Wednesday on Cashes. The little 
fellow was nearl}^ exhausted, but was cared for by the 
crew, and soon became very chipper and tame. It is 
about the size of a robbin. with brown head, blue wings, 
dark gray breast, and has a bill like a parrot's. The crew 
had never seen a bird Wkt it before, and have named it a 
Cape tsland pstfrot;'* Th? bird was probably a pi'i?> gros- 
beaki . /, . ^ ....,u...-.-_-,^.,..*l 
An Inhuman Trust* 
Florida Times-Union, Dec. it, 
No greater evil threatens the American people to-day 
than that which will certainly follow the extermination of 
our birds; but few appreciate the wholesale manner in 
which war is made upon them. To open the eyes of our 
people to the proportions of the massacre and the neces- 
sity of taking some such steps as are earnestly recom- 
mended by those popularly styled "feather cranks," we 
copy the following statement from the Forest and 
Stream of Dec. 2: 
Reference was recently made in the Forest and Stream to a 
party of bird skinners whicli had left Long Island, sent out by a 
factory there, to visit Florida and other waters and to get a cargo 
of plume birds, The vessel is to be absent all winter, all sorts of 
birds are to be killed, and at frequent intervals shipments of skins 
are to be made to New York. 
On Nov. 22 the factory occupied by the concern which sent out 
this boat load of bird skinners was destroyed by fire, and its 
whole contents, incliiding many thousand bird skins, were burned 
up. It is said that in the factory there were 10,000 sea gulls, 
20,000 wings of various birds, and 10,000 heads of birds. The fac- 
tory was a building 100 by 50 feet, one story high, and employed fifty 
hands; and we are told that the concern had gunners shooting 
for it all along the Long Island coast, as well as in Massachusetts, 
on the islands ofiE the coast of Maine, and at various points along 
the shores of the Southern States. This record for numbers killed 
by any one man employed by the factory is said to have been 141,000 
birds killed in a single season in Florida. 
During the last year the demand for feathers has been practically 
limited to the long so-called eagle feathers, which are taken from 
eagles, hawks, herons, swans, geese, turkeys and turkey buzzards, 
and to the long wings of gulls and some other sea fowl. It is 
hoped, however, by the manufacturers that the coming season 
will show a more general demand for birds of all descriptions. 
In sending us the clipping. Dr. DeWitt Webb, Vice- 
President of the St. Augustine branch of the Humane 
Society, begs us to urge upon all sheriffs the duty of 
protecting our birds from these murderers. This is a 
labor of love often performed by this paper, and we 
cite again the law to remind the sheriffs that they have 
sworn to enforce it: 
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
Section 1. That hereafter it shall be unlawful for any person to kill 
in this State for the purpose of sale or commercial traffic anj of 
the following named plumed birds. That is, any eratie, egret, ibis, 
curlew or heron. 
Sec. 2. That hereafter it shall be unlawful for any person to 
purchase, trade or traffic in any of the plumed birds hereinbefore 
mentioned, or for commercial purposes to purchase, trade or traffic 
in the plumes or peltry of the said plumed birds of the State. 
Sec. 3. That whoever shall violate any of the provisions of this 
act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof 
shall be fined in a sura not exceeding $300, or imprisoned in the 
coimty jail not exceeding six months, at the discretion of the court. 
Approved June 5, 1S91. 
§Hnie §dg ^ttd §m. 
In Maine Woods, 
BosTONj Dec. IS. — ^About the best showing of deer 
brought from Maine during the open season in that State, 
which closes to-day, was that of Messrs. Geo. P. Wasson 
and A. H. Morse, Jr. They came out from Randal' ,s 
camps, White Cap Mountain, the other day, bringing 
four buck deer. One of the bucks was very curiously 
marked; about half albino. The lower back half of the 
body, as well as hind legs, was nearly white, being only 
slightly dappled or spotted with brown. The forelegs 
and upper front half of the body was more or less red 
or brown, mixed with white. It was a buck of some 
age, as there were five good points to the antlers. Mr. 
Morse, who shot this deer, will have the head mounted 
and a rug made of the curious skin. It almost seems as 
though the Boston Sportsmen's Show should secure the 
skin entire, and have it mounted as a freak in color. An- 
other odd feature concerning the deer taken by these 
two gentlemen was the fact that the horns almost im- 
mediately came off each one of three of them ; conclusive 
evidence that deer in Maine shed their antlers quite early 
in December to ..later in that month. The horns of each 
were saved, however, so that the heads — really fine ones 
— can be mounted. 
The papers say that Charles F. Towne, a Colby student, 
after hunting all day in the vicinity of Rum Mountain, 
near Wilson Lake, Piscataquis county, at nightfall found 
that he had lost his bearings. He took out his compass'' 
to get the direction, but'found that the needle adhered to 
the glass and would not move. A drop of water had got 
in through the case and held the needle fast. Realizing 
that he was lost, he bethought himself that it would be 
useless to strike off through the timber, and that he 
would freeze if he stopped walking. Kindle a fire he 
could not. Selecting two large trees he commenced to 
walk back and forth between them. His clothes soon 
became frozen from moisture during the day. He kept 
up his weary march all night long. He had had no food 
since morning, but being in the best of physical con- 
dition, from playing football, he withstood the strain. 
At daylight, or sunrise, he struck dite east and soon 
came out to a tote road. Following this he carne to a 
camp where he obtained rest and food, with the direction 
to Elliottville. Here he took the train back to camp, 
where he had left his fellow hunters. They had been 
searching for him, having gone entirely around Wilson 
Lake. The same thing happened to a compass taken into 
the woods by Dr. Lambert, at Bemis, a year ag0._ The. 
great Thanksgiving snow storm came up, and late in the 
afternoon Dr. Lambert found himself three or four miles 
into the woods from the lake or camps. His compass 
would not work. Water had got into it, and capillary 
attraction had stuck the needle fast to the glass. The 
snow was blinding, but he knew that down hill would 
lead to water, and that water ran toward the lake. He 
started down hill, and soon after dark he came to a 
brook. This he could follow, and he followed it down. 
He strongly hoped that it was Toothaker Brook, which 
he had crossed in the morning. This it proved to be, 
and he soon came to a lumber road that he followed down 
to camp. He has disposed of that compass and now has 
one the cases of which are water tight. 
Another curious case of a hunter or guide lost in the 
woods is reported from Kineo, Moosehead Lake. Two 
brothers went out after moose and became separated. At 
dusk one of them shot the moose he had been follow- 
ing. He soon realized that it would he usele,?? to tfy to 
get mt of ths w^ocds that nifht. Hs th« b2 
