Jan. 24, 1903 ] 
FOREST AND STREAM, 
69 
With Rod and Gun. 
tFrora a Staff Correspondent.] 
An Hour with Didymos, 
St. Augustine^ Jan. 4. — Anyone visiting St. Augustine 
for the first or last time, whether in quest of gamfe, 
fish or any other pleasure, should fortify themselves 
with a clear understanding of this historical old spot 
and thus escape the uncanny mixture of local imagina- 
tive history. From an historical startdpoint St. Augus- 
tine, as we all know, has no peer on this continent 
for interest; the landmarks are here, and many of 
them show the weight of time, and tell a story of a 
time in which I am glad I didn't live. Most any local 
historian in the garb of cab driver can make one's 
hair stand on end, and thank Heaven he wasn't born 
a Spaniard with a yearning to be good in those times. 
I visited Fort Marion, the old city gate-way, "the 
oldest" and "next" to the oldest houses. In the Vedder 
Museum we saw the old fireplace and the old rifle 
suspended there. 
But my visit here' was not wholly in search for his- 
tory. I came here to investigate the conditions relat- 
ing to the taking of fish and game, and to take some 
of both if I could. But instead of doing this I visited 
Didymus. 
In a very recent number of Forest and Stream I 
find an article of much feeling and nicely told, signed 
Unknown, of which the writer said he wished he had 
the pen of a Didymus or Hastings and others, and 
asking what has become of Didymus. I don't blame 
him; nor is his pen the only thing to envy this sage 
of the Forest and Stream, this nestor among the 
best and only true school of lovers of woodcraft. It 
is the soul within that moves the pen and brush alike 
in painting on canvas nature's benediction, or on com- 
mon brown paper a story that we can see. English 
phraseology can butt against the moss-grown jungles 
of Florida and the north pole and leave them colorless; 
it's "the artist" that can give touch and color to a 
speckled trout leaping through a rainbow or a broken 
down hayrake; and this is Didymus. I found him 
tall and erect and clear of eye at eighty-three, active 
and strong, and ever ready for action. With him I 
hunted and fished in many lands. My new hammerless 
guns of improved makes look like foolish things be- 
side his beloved and well used old fox gun of obsolete 
design, between whose hammers his keen blue eye 
has shone on victory so many times, and will many 
times to come. (It was only a slight local afiliction 
soon mended that kept us from the woods.) 
In the charming appointments of this home, the 
many windows where the sun can come in, the hang- 
ing of a drapery, the adjustment of pictures, the rugs 
harmonious, the prettily groomed lawn overlooking 
the water, presided over by Her who should rule all 
our destinies, I spent a delightful hour. The best 
hunting trip of my life was experienced in Didymus's 
library. It was so real. 
It was in St. Augustine, too, that I met Dr. 
Dewitt Webb, whose love for tnetaphysics is only 
beaten by a neck by his love for his pointer 
Val and his gun. I was obliged to ask the doc- 
tor to start a "time factory" so I could join him 
indefinitely, but we found that "the old fellow with the 
scythe" had cornered the market. 
St. Augustine presents many pleasant inducements 
for the sportsman. The Magnolia Hotel is as cozy 
as home. Mr. McDowell is always glad to see the 
man with gun-looking baggage, and he is equally 
anxious to further his sport by securing good horses 
and guides, both for hunting and fishing, and they catch 
anything there a man wants. A few miles out quail 
are found; in another direction, a bit_ further, a bag 
of snipe can be had. Hunting here is mostly done 
horseback, which, to my mind, doubles the pleasure 
of the outing, which can only be made brighter by a 
call at the Gate of Didymus; and should your bag 
be a small one, call at the Gate of Dr. Webb, he has 
a way of cheering one up outside of his medicine 
chest, and Forest and Stream is always on file there. 
Palm Beach and Lake Worth. 
Palm Beach, Jan. 6. — To come to Florida and not visit 
Palm Beach is like going to France and dodging Paris, 
and while it is a long way from the Bowery, modern 
railway service has overcome all obstacles to the ex- 
tent of a fine hotel on wheels, including the "taking 
out of a license." The Atlantic Coast Line, or the 
Seaboard Air Line, picks you up in New York, and in 
thirty-six hours of sleep and other comforts places you 
in the hands of Mr. J. R. Parrott, of the Florida East 
Coast Line, and I am convinced from actual observa- 
tion that Mr, Parrott spends most of his time on 
wheels to see to it that all who start for Palm Beach 
get there in comfort, and he keeps them there as long 
as they can stay. There is no hardship in the stay- 
ing; such hotels are the outcome of taste and cash, 
and one can get anything he wants from the roof to 
the subcellar in the way of price. 
The Palm Beach Hotel, it occurs to me, is in the 
right spot and in the right hands for the tourist sports- 
man. Mr. Ormes, the manager, has employed four of 
the best guides in this important section for the use 
of his guests, and their motto is "No game, no pay." 
This includes deer, turkey and quail shooting, and 
there is a fine line of buzzards always in sight 
which I find, on inquiry, are migratory, just like people 
who flock to this modern Eden; with the departure of 
the winter guest, so goes the buzzard, his taste for 
a chosen branch of society is manifest. In crossing 
Lake Worth to "The Palms," at West Palm Beach 
(a charming home-like place presided over by Mr. J. 
C. Stowers, our postmaster, who is in close touch with 
the game country and providing men to show one 
where and when to shoot), I saw hundreds of wild 
ducks always within gun range; in fact, so tame that 
they are fed on both shores alike, but are not shot 
within two miles of White Hall, the palace of Mr. 
Flagler. Fish of many varieties are taken here, just 
out of doors; and two miles back frorn West Palm 
Beach you want to load your gun, for deer and quail 
and turkeys are found in goodly quantities in this 
locality, and the pretty gun cases are becoming more 
numerous every day. In other words, the southern 
flight of a lucky people has begun, and the sweet 
strains of orchestra and voice are heard when the stars 
in a southern sky are the brightest. I venture to say 
that there is no other place on earth where the canvas 
hunting clothes and the swallow-tail coat are used to 
so finished a purpose in the same given space — plung- 
ing through a Florida jungle at five, from victory 
afield to heroic efforts of another sort amid the glim- 
mer of modern, well-gowned society at six. Dear 
Palm Beach, you don't belie your peaceful name. 
Surely your lot is a graceful one. 
Along the East Coast of Florida. 
Seabreeze, Jan. 10. — At Miami everybody goes fishing, 
and every incoming train bears evidence in the baggage 
car that the catch will be great; yet each year the supply 
of fish lingers there in undiminishing numbers. 
Those who have never fished before get the fever 
here, and go away seasoned anglers. It may be possi- 
ble that Congressman J. W. Babcock, of Wisconsin, 
has been a fisherman for many years, and his wife, 
too; but be it as it may, they have gone at it with in- 
creased energy this year at Miami, with the kingfish 
as their specialty. Each day finds them afloat, and 
each night ashore radiant with success; and while the 
kingfish seems to please, amberjacks (21 pounds), 
mottled groupers and black groupers find a place in 
their trim launch, with Mrs. Babcock a close second 
in her share of the catch. 
At Rockledge I found a place to live, a place to 
shoot, a place to fish and a place to dream. In break- 
ing camp here one is pulling at the tender cords that 
bind. Rockledge is situated on the Indian River, half- 
way between St. Augustine and Palm Beach, on the 
Florida East Coast Line, in the heart of the famous 
orange groves which have made the Indian River 
known the world over — since which time this pretty 
body of water has become recognized on account of 
its own beauty, its broad expanse of water and tropi- 
cal shores. 
Here is the pretty Rockledge Hotel, and landlord 
Shares, who will be found ever ready to help the sports- 
man secure a full measure of the good things Rock- 
ledge has to give the searcher for sport. 
I stepped out of the hotel at six A. M. and found 
Boatman John Moore nearly read}' for me, pushed 
out into the river, and in five minutes was blazing 
away at broadbills. Returned at seven thirty, dined 
with her who sweetens our coffee with sugar and 
smiles, and with her pushed off shortly afterwards 
trolling for trout. Returned for lunch with eight 
spotted beauties, weighing from 2 to 3j4 pounds each, 
and only the shortness of time kept me from going 
after channel bass in the afternoon, black bass in the 
laKe next morning, quail shooting on Merritt's Island 
in the afternoon, duck shooting on the Banana River 
next day, and repeating indefinitely this appetizing 
programme. Here I found established for the winter 
Mr. Fred J. Simmons and his charming wife, of De- 
troit. Mr. Simmons "has his own launch and boat 
house, and is particularly generous to the rod and 
gun visitor. Mr. Chas. A. Paescke and family, of Mil- 
waukee, stopped there for a few days and was still 
fishing when I left. Judge Neushafer, of New York, 
is here, and has made his own trail from the billiard- 
table to his boat and back; the judge plays billiards 
well, only because a billiard cue is so much like a fish , 
rod. 
I, however, wanted to visit Seabreeze further north, 
and other places of interest in Florida; and, too, in 
a given length of time; so I pulled out for Daytona. 
Just across the Halifax River, on a narrow peninsula, 
overlooking the ocean, is Seabreeze, happily chosen 
spot, appropriately named. The Colonnades Hotel is 
here witli its pretty lawns, long sun parlors, cheerful 
oflice with its big open grate fireplace, dining-rooms 
open on all sides, overlooking tall pines and palmetto 
trees, and the Halifax River on one side and the 
ocean near by on the other. The house is presided 
over by Mr. Chas. H. Creighton, an educated twelve- 
bore sportsman of twenty-bore instincts. 
A day afield here promises much. We left the hotel 
early. Mr. Creighton, Mr. Ralph Valentine (of Ohio) 
and myself, in the care of Isham Bennett, Esq., who 
acted as guide and proved a philosopher as well. We 
went, after a deer, on our way to the haunts of our 
quest. We bagged some quail. Later we started a 
deer and our hearts to going; but that perverse deer 
always kept just out of range, and is there yet. Then 
we got on the track of another one that had cold feet, 
and this one, too, still has a warm heart. In the mean- 
time Mr. Valentine and I were having some fun with 
English snipe, while Mr. Creighton was bottling his 
energy near the wagon. Turkey tracks were in evi- 
dence, while the sun wouldn't be long; so we began 
the homeward drive with Sport, Mr. V's pointer of 
great promise, and Mr. C.'s Don, an Irishman of 
many gifts in the role; while the intrepid Bennett sat 
on the front seat sounding like a bunch of quail lost 
to each other. As a bird finder, however, Sport was 
the best of the three; yet Bennett "can find birds," and 
is a good guide for the man who wants to make a 
bag. 
It is here that a long pier has been built out into 
the ocean, to accommodate the fellows who want to 
take big fish, and they do get them. Between Sea- 
breeze and Daytona is the long bridge where visitors 
exercise from early morning until Florida sundown 
trolling for trout. Men. women and children just walk 
and fish. North from Daytona, a few miles, is a lake 
famous for black bass; near its shores is the haunt 
of the wild turkey; from its low banks in the meadow- 
like country, are the feeding grounds of the snipe; on 
the higher ground quail are found — and so would I be 
if duties did not call me where quail are as hard to 
find as a professional game of poker. 
At the Colonnades I had the pleasure of a luncheon 
with Mr. John F, Hazen, ex-vice-pjesident of the 
American Tin Plate Co. Mr. Hazen has led himself 
to believe that he is only a reminiscent sportsman, tell- 
ing me that reading Forest and Stream for nigh 
on to forty years has cost him more money than the 
support and education of his family, and that he don't 
regret a dollar of it, proving this by asking my advice 
about the best gun to get for Florida shooting near 
a comfortable front porch. He will be heard from 
again. E. H. Molton, Jr., accompanied by his wife, 
are here, fishing-tackle laden. 
Ducks on the Banana River. 
Jacksonville, January. — On reaching Jacksonville this 
morning I was presented to Capt. F. H. Coolidge, of 
Atlanta, who, in company with Steven A. Ryan and 
W. O. Conway, all members of the Atlanta Gun Club, 
have been hvihg the sweet existence of hermits on one 
of the many little islands formed by the Indian and 
Banana rivers and tributaries and the ocean near Rook- 
ledge, for four or five days, shooting ducks. The 
bag made by these Georgia marksmen shows their trip 
was a regular powder-shot-meat success, and an ex- 
press bill of $18 would indicate that their friends at 
home were not forgotten in the slough of the duck 
pond; 300 bluebills (broadbills), 100 pintails and 80 
mallards fell to the crack of their guns, which shows 
that our Barnegat and Great South Bay shooters 
didn't get 'em all last fall. These gunners believe in 
good timber. Capt. Coolidge has with him a gun of 
steel and gold — and Mr. Ryan carries one of gold and 
steel. T. E. Batten. . 
CHICAGO AND THE WEST. 
The Doubting Didymus, 
I have read with interest the comment of Didymus 
upon the account given to me by Col. R. E. Bobo, re- 
garding migrations of squirrels in the State of Missis- 
sippi, which account I believe to be perfectly true in 
every particular, as Col. Bobo was an observer and a 
gentleman, and in this case had the advantage of being 
upon the ground and seeing what he described. I 
infer that Didymus has never seen such a migration. 
None the less, it may have occurred. Indeed, it did 
occur, and as described. 
Illinois Tinkers Game Law, 
Chicago, III, Jan. 13. — The merry game of tinkering 
the game laws goes forward here the same as elsewhere, 
as witness the following advice this morning received 
from Springfield: 
"State Game Commissioner Lovejoy, acting in conjunc- 
tion with the committee from the State Sportsmen's Asso- 
ciation, has prepared a revision of the Illinois game law. 
The purpose in revising the entire law has been to in- 
clude protection for all classes of game, some birds and 
animals having been omitted in the previous laws. 
"One feature of the bill which will appeal especially 
to sportsmen and those interested in preserving the game 
of the State prohibits the killing of any sort of game for 
commercial purposes. To secure a better enforcement of 
the game laws the bill provides a fund from which the 
game wardens and deputies shall be paid. This fund is 
to be created by charging a resident license in addition to 
the nonresident license. Commissioner Lovejoy thinks 
the laws can be enforced by a fewer number of wardens 
provided they are paid regularly for their services. 
"The bill provides general protection for all sorts of 
game, game birds and song birds, rabbits affording the 
single exception. The open seoson for the killing of 
various sorts of game are as follows: 
" 'Quail during the month of November. 
" 'Grouse and prairie chicken during the month of Sep- 
tember. 
" 'Woodcock and doves during the months of October 
and November. 
" 'Snipe and plover, September i to April 25. 
" 'Wild geese, duck or other water fowl, excepting the 
mud hen and coot, from September i to April 15.' 
"It is made unlawful to kill deer and wild turkeys at 
any time. 
"The provisions of the present law are preserved in the 
section providing against the selling of Illinois game in 
the market, but allows game from other States to be sold 
in the open market from October 1 to February i, unless 
it is unlawful to ship such game from the States where it 
has been killed. It also prohibits the selling of ducks, 
which heretofore have not been included in the list of 
game birds not to be sold in the market." 
Now, let us see what we would have if this bill went 
through as proposed. First, we should have one most 
excellent feature, the stopping of sale of all sorts of Illi- 
nois game — one more proof of the excellence and grow- 
ing quality of the Forest and Stream platform plank. 
This would cut off such outrages as the butchery done 
on the duck marshes by such shooters as the Powers 
boys and their friends, who in a year kill and sell many 
thousands of ducks, as reported in these colum_ns at 
earlier dates. It is very likely that this excessive slaugh- 
ter on the Powers boys' marsh has been the immediate 
cause of the introduction of this "Stop the sale of game" 
clause in the bill above mentioned. 
As against this stopping the sale of game in this State we 
have the inevitable loophole, so often ignorantly or in- 
tentionally left in game bills by the framers — the permis- 
sion to market game "not killed in this State." In effect, 
experience has shown that this means about the same as 
no restriction whatever in the marketing of Illinois game. 
It may not seem so to those who are beginning the study 
of game laws and their workings, but it surely will so 
seem to anyone who has attempted to enforce the game 
laws of this State against the dealers of South Market 
street. I imigine, therefore, that the game dealers will 
make no objection to the "stopping" of the sale of Illi- 
nois game. Of course, the clause is better on the books 
than off, but it will not be enforceable. It might stop a 
few extreme and well-spotted cases like those of the 
Powers boys, or other market-shooters along the Illinois 
River. 
The clause requiring a resident shooting license will, in 
all likelihood, defeat this or any other bill carrying it. 
Theoretically this may all be y^ry well, and it might 
