March 2S, igos>] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
236 
jumps. I have, since entertained the idea tliat tlife liGisgg 
we heard before the three made their appearance might 
have come from the fact that this doe was chasing the 
others back and forth through the woods; but whether 
it was the resuh of a playful or ugly mood is questionable. 
As we came out from the field the same evening and 
reached the main clearing, I remember how perfect and 
serene was the aspect of the latter, while some bird — it 
iilight have been a trefe sparrow — trilled Sweetly once or 
iwiee i|i the gdth€rli1g gl<3oirt. The full glory of the sun- 
set's afterglow ilngefed in the w&st; where several rose- 
tinted clouds and the deep crimson glafe ftf .the sky re- 
fleeted their light oh far distant clouds drifting iii. tile 
north and east. The foreground appeared gray arid in- 
distinct, while along the horizon the woods were darkly 
butlined, and northward from the glow banks of purple 
clouds were piled in billowy folds like low mountain 
ranges, giving a new awe-ihsiaifing beauty to the scene. 
A passage of Thoreau's came to my mind where he says 
in his journal: "A man is blessed who every day is per- 
mitted to behold anything so pure and serene as the 
western sky at sunset, while revolutions vex the world." 
At one end of the clearing was a small pond which had 
originally been an old beaver meadow,_ and now in the 
darkening twilight a faint, bluish fog might be seen curl- 
ing off its mirrored waters, or hanging in a vaporous veil 
DVef the field sloping down to the shore. It appeared 
airnbst akin to gom6 phailtdm creation with a single spark 
lighting its misty surface, where the fising orb of Jupiter 
was translucently reflected, while the sun's pale satyr, 
visible in the western zenith, suspended its glistening- 
sickle against the fading glory of the sky. The voice of 
an owl, uncanny in its human-like intonation, broke upon 
the silence and startled the listener's ear, for even if one 
is accustomed to- hear the hooting of this sombre night 
wanderer, it nevertheless seldom fails to impress with 
its weird nature. The air, I remember, as we walked 
down the dusky road was as cold and sweet as a draught 
of spring water, and seemed to permeate the mind with 
sorne of its own clarity; but what else can one say of 
Adirondack ozone, exfiept that it is an ambrosial oxygen, 
stimulating to both mental and physical resources. 
Probabl}' no hunting incident conneeted with this old 
woodland clearing retains a more pleasant recollectioii 
than one which occurred there in September of last year. 
Although I had bagged a six-point buck two seasons pre- 
vious, yet this one was, however, the only large deer I 
could claim as a trophy up to the time above mentioned ; 
but before the sun had sunk to its golden bed on that 
memorabie autumnal evening, aspirations and ambitions 
were indeed gratified. However, for all the pleasure en- 
tailed in this hunt, I can alone give thanks to the 
"Veteran," as it was he who, in spite of some dissension 
Oil my part, ordered me off to wateh the northeast corner 
of the clearing that afternoon; which place, by the way, 
constituted one of his own favorite hunting grounds, and 
therefore I have more than good reason to be appreciative. 
Shortly after four o'clock, with plenty of lap-robes, 
blankets, a lantern and the faithful old "cannon," we 
rattled off in the buckboard — C, Wallace and myself. Al- 
ready there seemed to be a tone of brisk October mellow- 
ness in the breeze that turned the color of the lake to an 
unusually deep sapphire, as we left it behind and entered 
the woods, while not even the smallest island of a cloud 
floated on the serene, azure dome above. When we at 
last teaghed ouf destination, Flora, the reiiowned steed of 
so many hunting episodes, was fastened to a rough hitch- 
ing post, warmly blanketed and left to her own con- 
templations, which, however, were not destined to pro- 
longed duration. It was quite a little distance from the 
road over the field we intended watching, while the trail 
which led there wandered through tangles of blueberry 
bushes and across knolls thickly grown with wild fronds, 
as well as sloping stretches of upland covered with wiry 
grasses and interspersed with groups of young poplars, 
pin cherries, birches and other trees. The pond pre- 
viously referred to emptied its amber waters over a log 
daiii near-by, and flowed on in a foaming l.)rook through 
the Sunny opell until it melted into the shadows of the 
forest. As we walked quietly along, several flickers flew 
up from the grass in advance and an invisible cock of the 
woods mewed and clattered loudly close by, Nearing the 
field, I went ahead and moving cautiously made a good 
survey of it, in case anything might chance to be out, be- 
fore we prepared to watch from the blind. The latter, by 
the way, did not deserve this name, as in reality a thin 
growth of fronds was the only shelter it afforded, and 
when seated on a low cracker-box they failed to conceal 
my head or shoulders. But as the field was below and our 
position on a knoll overlooking it, this fact was not as 
detrimental as it would otherwise have been, although 
some minutes later I tremblingly wished there was more 
to hide me. C. and Wallace ensconced themselves com- 
fortably in a little depression just behind where I sat, 
and after throwing a cartridge (not a soft-nosed or explo- 
sive one, I would add with some feeling) into the barrel, 
I laid the rifle across my knees and the vigil commenced. 
A steady murmur from the not far distant stream fell 
on one's ears with a soothing influence, and every splash- 
ing intonation might be distinctly heard until the listener 
was reminded of some dreaming, restful lullaby, or low 
talking musical voices and the sunlight striking on the 
rich crimson yellow orange and russet foliage of the trees 
in the woods opposite, intensified their wonderful color- 
ing, broken by the bluish spires of the balsams in the fore- 
ground. The shadows of the trees behind us were clearly 
and sharply outlined on those across the way, while the 
Small field of clearing below was thrown into quiet shade. 
There were numerous dark openings along the edge of the 
woods on the lower side of the latter, and knowing several 
cri these were entrances to runways, I frequently scru- 
tinized them closely. My eye happened to be on one of 
these openings when, as far in as was possible to see, I 
perceived the branches of a spruce swayed suddenly back 
and forth. The occurrence gave me a strange sensation 
at the time, but I thought no doubt an eddying breeze or 
perhaps some bird in the act of alighting, had caused the 
branches to move thus violently. In thinking it over, how- 
ever, I Gould scarcely credit such surmises, and then, as 
I still watched the place intently, I caught a momentary 
glimpse of widespread, polished antlers, as a form moved 
across the open and disappeared. Instantly my heart 
commenced to pound unmercifully, and I watched the 
opening until my eyes watered from being fixed so long 
on one place. Several minutes passed without a sign of 
anything, and then from behind a stunted spruce along 
the edge of the woods a head came into view and was 
drawn back out of sight again. This time, however, I had 
located where he stood, just behind the small tree, which 
efl'ectually concealed all but part of his shoulder, and 
when every now and then he would peer cautiously out, 
the head displayed nearly upset my equilibrium. _ Finally, 
after more than five minutes of this nerve-straining busi- 
ness, the buck walked slowly with majestic tread out into 
full view, and never will I forget the picture he presented, 
nor the shivers of excitement that coursed through me as 
I sat waiting for him to turn partly broadside before 
firing. It was at this time that I wished the blind was a 
foot thick and two or three feet high, as he seemed to be 
looking everywhere, and I immediately recognized the 
fact that he was no "fool deer," but a wild, vyary monarch 
of the forest. Presently he changed his position and stood 
with head turned in the direction of the stream, partly 
broadside and partly quartering. The right moment was 
at hand ! Cocking the rifle, and taking an elbow rest on 
my knee, I put the sight as nearly as I could on the point 
of the shoulder and fired. At the report he wheeled and 
ran hard up the hill, diagonally with our position, giving 
long bounds with his white flag waving. 
While C. and I remained in the blind, Wallace took the 
rifle and started out with the idea of making a cut across 
the fields, and thus if the buck happened to^ be wounded 
head him ofl: or catch him unawares looking toward his 
back-track. 
"Say, you pulled your gloves off with your teeth and 
threw them on the ground when you told us that buck 
was coming out," whispered my young brother, grinning 
at the thought of my excitement, although he, too, was 
sufifering fromi a like malady. 
"Did I really?" I asked, somewhat astounded, and just 
as he was about to reply, Wallace came back with the de- 
pressing information that he had not seen a sign of our 
quarry. Then we all walked carefully down to the field 
and took up the trail right from the spot where the deer 
had stood as I fired, following the tracks across the bare 
ground until they reached the undergrowth covering the 
knoll. Here we discovered the signs we had been search- 
ing for, and a plain trail led up the hill which we followed 
with ease. Nearing the top, Wallace, who- was a little in 
advance, cried out suddenly, "There he lies !" just as we 
both saw the buck stretched out on a little level patch of 
ground within a few feet of where we stood, and quite 
dead. On closer examination I found that he more than 
fulfilled my expectations, having an unusually large and 
heavy set of horns for a Virginian deer, and when 
weighed the next morning touched the scales at two hun- 
dred and twenty pounds. Altogether he was a noble speci- 
men of his kind, and I fear as we looked him over, noting 
his various handsome points, silence was not very strictly 
preserved, and no doubt if any other deer chanced to be 
lurking in the vicinity, he fled hastily to a more quiet or 
secluded refuge. The bullet had struck on the point of 
the shoulder, and proof of the buck's size and strength 
was the fact that he had run mcfre than fifty yards straight 
up hill before succumbing to the shot. 
Under the silver radiance of a full moon we rode into 
camp that evening, and the generous praise which was 
bestowed on the trophy fiHed the cup of satisfied elation 
to overflowing 
■ "Yes," said old Jerry, regarding the buck with hands 
in his pockets, "thet's one o' them ole fellers," and em- 
phasized the last two words heartily. 
Paulina Brandreth. 
I: 
Tarpon Fishing at Tamos, Mexico* 
M&nteRey, Mex., Feb. 20.-~~Edhor Forest and Stream: 
Owing- te my having missed a connection for the north, 
1 ani sti-anded here to-day with nothing to do, conse- 
fiuently t take the ' opjDoftunity tO' Send you a statement 
CoiiCerhiiig sfomfe tarijon fishing that 1 liate been doing 
lately in the Panuco Ixivsf. , . . , 
As some of your readers know, for the kst five of six 
years I have spent about two weeks per Wiiiter at TSnl- 
IDieo fishing for tarpon and other game fishes. I first 
went tliefe in December, 1899, with my friend. Dr. Howe, 
of IMexico City; and lii Atigust, ipbo, you published a 
record of our sport. Since then I have; written other 
articles on tarpon fishing at Tampico and elsewhere fot 
your paper. These articles and the fact that during the' 
last three of four years I have induced a number of my 
friends in Mexico and the United States to go to Tam- 
pico for the fishing, have been the means of making that 
place quite a resort for tarpon fishermen during the win- 
ter months. Each year the number of sportsmen there 
has increased, and this winter it is not uncommon to 
find a ddzeii boats on the river, each containing one or 
two persons angling for the silver king. At present there 
is anchored in front of the city the steam yacht Saphire, 
with a party of sportsmen who have come from England 
especially for the tarpon fishing, and for begimiers they 
have been fairiy successful, although their methods of 
angling are by no means the best, as far as success is 
concerned. 
From numerous inquiries that I have been makmg 
lately from both natives and Americans residnig along 
the Panuco River, I conclude that the good tarpon fishing 
begins about November i and lasts. until April or perhaps 
even May. The best months, however, for visitmg sports- 
men are December. January, February .and March, be- 
cause it is liable to be hot in all the other months of the 
year, and when there is yellow fever at Tampico it 3s 
liable to continue until November and appear agam in 
April. For two years, though, this locality has been en- 
tirely free from that much-dreaded plague, 
As a rule the climate during the winter months there 
.is delishtfiil ; \>-^i thi< ; e;iscn it has at times been uncom- 
i'ona-bly cool, the thermometer once registering as low as 
.'f! deerees. Last vear dnrina' the first lialf nf Felxruary 
ihc climnic could hardly have been imijnyv ed ; for 
although at times it was quite hot in the sun, there was 
nearly always a pleasant breeze, thus rendering the con- 
ditions for fishing ideal. 
For several years I had been hearing rumors to the 
eiTect that for one tarpon in the neighborhood of Tam- 
pico, there were ten near Tamos, some eight miles further 
up stream, and these rumors were traceable to the cap- 
tains of river steamers, consequently it was my intention 
for several seasons to go up stream and test the truth of 
these reports; but twice I was prevented, the first time 
because the sport at Tampico was good enough to satisfy 
the most exacting fisherman, and the second time because 
1 was called away suddenly by business affairs. Last 
year, though, I succeeded in reaching Tamos, and was 
followed immediately by two friends, and the next day by 
others also. Up to that time no tarpon fisherman had 
ever wet a line above the mouth of the Tamesi River, 
which joins the Panuco about three and a half miles 
above the Government wharf at Tampico. The date, if I 
remember rightly, was the sixth of February, and my 
companions were Messrs. F. S. Eaton and H. G. Picker- 
ing, of Boston. The latter ' gentleman afterward sent 
vou for vour columns a statement of our catch; but, as 
It was his first experience with the silver king, he did not 
recognize what exceptionally fine sport we got; conse- 
quently he did not enthuse much about it in his article. 
By the way, I must tell you my experience in intro- 
ducing these gentlemen to the greatest of all angling 
sports Mr. Eaton had been a friend of mine for five 
years, and I had often talked to and written him about 
tarpon fishing, and finally, in November, 1903, when I 
met him and his cousin, Mr. Pickering, in Boston, I in- 
duced them to join me in Mexico on February i, 1904, 
by guaranteeing not only that they would catch tarpon, 
but would get as many as they wanted. 
I arrived at Tampico on the night of February I, and 
found awaiting me a telegram from them stating that 
they were at Monterey and would remain there until they 
liea'rd frorh me, consequently they did not. reach Tampico 
till' the night of the third. This gave me a good chance 
to test the waters; therefore I started out early on the 
mornint? of the second, trying first at the mouth of the 
river that enters the Panuco a mile below the railroad 
dcpoi, then working up stream to The Palms (where I 
had had a;rcat luck in times past), and finally reaching 
the mouth of the Tamesi. After fishing faithfully all 
day, I returned at night with two jackfish, and did not 
have a single tarpon strike, although I had seen some 
twenty-five or thirty fish during the day. 
Next day I worked down toward La Barra and out to 
the end of the jetties, and even on to the Gulf without 
seeing a single tarpon. However, I landed seven fine 
jackfish and chased* a devilfish on the Gulf for fully a 
"quarter of a mile trying to get a shot at it . with a re- 
volver, but failed, owing to the cowardice of my boatman, 
who refused to back me up near enough to shoot. Re- 
turning to La Barra for lunch, I hooked and landed an 
exceedingly small tarpon; and in the afternoon, although 
I went back to the outer end of the jetties and fished up 
river to Tampico, I did not get another rise. By this 
time I was feeling pretty blue, not on my own account, 
but because of my friends; and when I met them that 
night and confessed to my hard luck, I had to ask them 
what kind of a fish liar they deemed me. They very 
kindly, though, told me that they still had confidence in 
mv promises, and stated that they would not be ready 
tc' do any fishing till the next afternoon. This gave me 
still another opportunity to locate the fishing. Conse- 
quently, early next morning, in company with my friend, 
Mr. K. B. Ross, the resident engineer on the Government 
v/harf, I started up river, but neither of us had a strike, 
and we saw only two or three fish. The same luck at- 
tended us on the return to our starting point, but when 
we reached there we saw som.e tarpon jumping a mile _ or 
more down stream. We went there for them and tried 
faithfully with no success, but just as we had turned up 
stream in despair, Mr. Ross had a strike _and landed a 
G-foo(er. T reached Tampico, however, without having 
had a single strike. You may imagine how downcast I 
was when I met my friends; and, to make matters worse, 
when we left the boat house at two o'clock, we found 
that tlierc were only five mullet apiece provided. For 
such fishing conditions, liowever, this number was ample. 
We started up stream once more for The Palms, but 
before reaching that place found the tarpon striking well. 
During the afternoon- each of us had fully half a dozen 
strikes^ I landing three and my companions one apiece, 
all large fish. . . 
• Next day, on the same fishing ground, the luck was 
still better, for I landed seven and my companions five 
between them, Mr. : Pickering taking a 6i/^-footer weigh- 
ing about 150 pounds, the heaviest catch of the season. 
