Terms. Four Dollars a Year. 
Ten Cents a Copy. 
NEW YORK, THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 1878. 
For Forcst'and Stream av 
SOLITAIRE. 
Hod and Oim. 
At SOLITARY life the heron leads 
In every land ; 
In thoughtful equipoise among the reeds 
You see him stand, 
As If great problems or heroic deeds 
His thoughts command. 
He comes from out Ihe sky with slanting flight 
Down through the air— 
As If a Qeck of cloud from realms of light 
Were falling there — 
And scans a murky beach wltlLwatohful sight 
And timid care. 
At rest he shnts his wings with quiet pride, 
And seeks the dredge 
Of weeds an l mosses woven by the tide 
Within the sedge— 
Some lonely spot along the river side, 
Or bayou's edge. 
Think not he comes from labored flight to seek 
For needed rest ; 
Or that his lonely life Is but a freak ; 
The grim bvhest 
Of hunger makes his whole demeanor nnek, 
And food Iris quest. 
If fish or serpent, heeding not the form 
That stands so still, 
Comes lurking near, all reckless of the Irani, 
A flashing bill, 
With never a premonition of alarm, 
Wld strike to kill! 
The solitary life the heron leads 
H like some men’s ; 
His thoughtful equipoise among the reels 
And silent fens, 
Reminds of the stolc^men of deeds 
Who strlke’wlth pens! 
J. C. Burnett. 
For Forest and Stream arid Rod and Oun. 
S W ce k 0,1 IQnxhytuhwi, 
A PARTY of us, five in number, started down the Missis- 
sippi about the middle of November last, bent on 
slaughtering something in the way of game— that is, I speak 
for myself, for the main hold of the balance of the party was 
bear. Our generalissimo had collected together, by begging, 
borrowing, trading and, I guess, purloining, six as large and 
ferocious curs as one cbuld imagine. Our pack consisted of 
seven in all, we taking one old hound that was used to the 
business as a leader, and the curs to do the lighting. The lat- 
ter seemed to understand what was intended for them, and to 
keep in practice they fought among themselves whenever op- 
portunity permitted. While waiting for the train or boat 
all we wanted was to get a peep at a bear. We looked upon 
the simple-minded natives with contempt for not dropping 
everything else and going a-bear hunting. 
We had to give up all notions of aidiDg ourselves and be 
content if we only got our luggage hau ed. The mules com- 
posing our team were small, and, like all others, lazy, and the 
darkey driving had to lay the whip on vigorously, accom- 
panied with choice expletives. I was raised in the Sunday- 
school and forbear quoting, as such language jars my nerves. 
We got within two miles of our destination when the team 
gave unmistakable signs of giving completely out We 
concluded to strike camp and trust to luck to get the balance 
of the way, as it was then after sundown. 
While the others were fixiug around for the night, the 
General and I struck out through the cane to get some veni- 
son for supper. My gun was an old himmered barrel Ken- 
tucky rifle of about flfty to the pound. The barrel was 45 
inches long and looked as if the maker had just that much 
iron in a piece and did not want to cut it. It was a trusty old 
piece, however, and just as good 300 yards as ten, if held 
straight. The others had shot-guns. The General and I 
stayed out until dark, but found no gime. We saw some old 
deer sign and a bear track or two, which gave us hope. 
The next morning was the holy Sabbuth, and while some 
were hunting up a team, I shouldered “ Long Tom ” and 
Struck out through the woods. The others at camp being of 
a religious turn of mind, declined following except far enough 
to “get some hickory nuts,” and for fear of “meeting a 
bear ” carried a large six shooter along. I went about two 
miles through wet slashes and low c^ne-ridges covered with 
switch cane. I saw some of the finest oak timber I ever saw 
but very little sign of game. 
We got a team without much trouble, and noon found us 
camped on a low ridge, with cane and water all round us. 
The cane was on three sides of us and varying from ten to 
twenty feet high, while the water was in front and was from 
two to six inches deep. Not a very cheering place for a camp, 
l admit, but when the old man that hauled us out got warmed 
up with a “jigger,” as he called it, and his tongue loosened 
and be°;an his marvelous tales of the amount of game about 
there, I reckon there never were five happier souls than we 
were at that time. 
Afier getting things fixed up, I slipped out to leave the 
woods aud look for sigDS. I found a few deer tracks and 
some of the heaviest cane brakes I ever heard of. 
until daylight. Our tent was ordinary duck, not waterproof, 
nor well stretched, and we got ourselves ami everything elsa 
except our powder, wet. Wo managed to keep our guns and 
ammunition tolerably drv and let the rest go. The morniDg 
was the most gloomy uud heaviest clouded I over experienced. 
The clouds were scudding aoross the sky from u southwesterly 
direction and looked as if at any moment they would burst 
open and give us a second flood. We ventured out, however, 
and did our bc9t to raise a bear, but after wandering around 
for a couple of hours without success, gave it up as a bad job 
and returned to camp a sadder if not a wiser lot of men. It 
was impossible to go anywhere. Wo would slart off, getiiog 
the course from the compass, and after wondering around 
awhile would find ourselves everywhere but where we wanted 
to be. Wc would get lost iu five minute's, aud if wo had not 
stationed a man with a horn to give us the course wo might 
have hi en there until now. 
I could not stay iu camp, and, after resting a lit'lo, I struck 
out on my own hook. The sloughs had risen four inches 
from the rain, and the cane was so wet I got soaked through 
in going a short distance. It commenced raining about two 
hours before night, and found mo two miles from cutup with- 
out my coat, and sloughs, canebrakes, etc., without number. 
I got my couise and lit out, and got iq about as wet as is pos- 
sible for a man to be.. The sum of the third day’s hunt was 
a large hawk that I knocked over and four ns wet men 03 
ever come aloDg. The bear hunters wore exceedingly low, 
and I began to fear that even burnt brandy would not save 
them, although frequent visitations to the jug containing the 
raw article seemed to help them a little. 
The rain continued all through the night, and it was none 
of your gentle, refreshing Southern showers which one reads 
of ; it was a regular pour down, and it was only by the hard- 
est exertion we kept our fire alive. The fourth morning 
dawned almost as gloomy as third. Water every where, in 
camp and out. A few of us ventured out, but found our 
roads impassable from water. When wc got back to camp 
we found our old friend the teamster had come to got us out 
of the water. There was nothing remarkable about him, ond 
he was far from handsome ; but we were about as glad to 
see lnm as roost any one we could name. Dom Pedro was 
nowhere. We brought the jug and drained it for one more 
“jigger," which he turned oil with a vim. As I was one of 
the young men of the party, I wus d tuiled to go for his 
wagon. I had a nice, pleasant wulk of two miles through 
Cane from 
twenty to thirty feet high, as thick almost as they could I the cool, refreshing water, which varied from four to twelve 
stand. One can draw some idea of their density by this, inches deep. All things must have au end, however, and the 
There were places where the cane had fallen down and beDt middle of the afternoon found ua camped on the high banks 
over so that a man could walk over them. I walked on the of Hushpucknia, and happy once more, 
top of cane four feet from the ground. It was like walking The stream we were camped on is a tributury of the Sun- 
ou rotten ice, through which one would break now and then, flower River, ami heads somewhere in the northern part of 
and it was fully as hard to scramble up on the cane as it is Bolivar County. It seems to be a con-iderable stream, large 
to get on the ice after breaking through. Aud the imagina- enough to float a small steamer. I did not sec much of it, 
tion of f illing into a den of wild cats or a nest of bears fully though, and no one around there seems to know anything 
equals the tickling sensation of freezing water slipping up about it; and as it is not laid down on any maps that I have 
on m 8 seen, it is altogether guess-work with me. 
Two of our best bear-hunters had also gone out with the The morning of the fifth day was gloomy as ever. We 
dogs and were kicking up a fearful racket. I thought certaiu killed a few squirrels and made a deer drive, without getting 
they had a bear up, but learned presently that it was only a a run. About) noon an old bear hunter came to our camp, 
d°g fight. They reported lots of bear sign, and we went to wanting to take a huut with us. lie brought about a dozen 
bed early so as to get at them soon. The morning dawned half-starved, nondescript dogs, all shapes, all sizes and colors, 
bright aud beautiful and we were almost tasting bear meat— He vowed, though, that they would not “cross a trail," und 
in fact, we got up quite a discussion how we should cook it. if our dog9 would only help bis to do the fighting, we were 
Our dog commander summoned his forces, and three of us os good for bear as a bit is for a barlow. We told him that 
took stuods where we thought the game would be most likely was just to our Laud ; wc held the bowers, and all we wanted 
to run. The dogs would not hunt, none except the hound, and | was 6ome small trumps to lead them out. His dogs came 
they would while away the tedious hours by a little wool 
picking. They fought in the baggage car, on the boat, in the I an y one . I 1 * 13 anything to do with hounds knows that I near making a bare trail of our camp by eaiiug everything 
, , , i •. i _ I rtnc hir itcnlf iq nnt miif»h flnr fjmAiio )>no i* ^Arra n>An)rl I l» a« 1 » l».» »i«.. {.irliAiAMA ...... 
woods and at camp, or any place, it made no difference to 
them whatever. When we were at a loss for other amuse- 
ment we could, at least, have a first-class dog fight with all 
the latest improvements. 
As I stated above, we had started down to the game 
country, but had not determined where we would hunt. We 
all agreed at last upon the Sunflower county of Mississippi. 
We got off the boat at Australia, 185 miles below Memphis. 
The weather was all that could be desired, except a little 
warm for us, as we were used to a colder climate. We laid 
ia our supplies at Memphis, and all we had to do now was to 
find where to go and go there as soon as possible. We made 
inquiry among the natives and were told that game was every- 
where about there, and bock some distance people could 
scarcely live for the bears. They told such fabulous tales of 
what a bunting ground Hushpucknia was that we forthwith 
decided on that as our field of action. The distance varied 
as much as the men. They called it from seven to fifteen 
miles from the river. We found a man willing to haul us out 
one by itself is not much. Our famous bear dogs would trot 
along behind and wait for us to break roads through the cane 
for them. I waded sloughs and canebrakes all day, and all I 
could get a shot at was a black squirrel. I skinned it and 
stretched its hide, as it was something of a curiosity, for I 
began to fear tbut our trophies of the chase would lie small. 
I found considerable sign of game, but it was of o’d date, as 
if the game had made an exodus about the time we arrived. 
I stayed out until near sundown. The other men came in 
at noon aod went out again. They had not got in from their 
afternoon’s hunt when I got in. 1 learned from the c x>k that 
their spirits had undergone a change since morning. Dogs 
would not hunt ; water and cane so bad ; where the cane was 
one could not get through scarcely at all, and the water was 
very disagreeable wading, as none of us had gum boots. 
After tramping all day I felt as if I hud a great vacuum some- 
where. After getting all right again, I started out to blaze 
some trees so we could find our way to camp more easily, for 
one might be within forty feet of it and not know it, unless 
some one there would make a noise, as the cane completely 
hid it from view. It is the most glorious place to get lost in 
I ever was. 
they could flud. It was only by the cook's judicious use of a 
two handed club, intermix' d with some very .formidable 
oath9, that we saved anything. Afier dinner we got a couple 
of mules and our best bear hunter and the struDger mounted 
them. I now thought bear certain, for it was a strong force 
mustered out that gloomy N jveuiber evening. Our old 
friend of the team summoned his forces— of himself and 
three boys and a half dozen dogs. Our general started off 
blowing to the dog9, ami all began to look lovely, and the 
oose hung away out of reach. That was the first act of the 
mma ; the second was more exciting, and cimc ncur being 
more tragical. The mule that our geueral was on suddenly 
became displeased with the dogs, crowd, or something else, 
and all at once there was a graad pinorama of a buck-jumj ? 
ing mule, flyiDg guu, and a bear hunter going through the 
air, making several revolutions to the minute, as if be bad 
suddenly conceived the idea of making a windmill out of 
himself. 
After enjoying a good laugh— the first for several days— 
the general picked himself up and continued the hunt on 
foot. They seemed to have enough in the bear gang without 
me, and I struck out on m y own book. I bad seen some 
there though for $5, and we struck out with the firm convic- 
tion of eating venison before sundown. We found the roads I I met the other fellows coming in, and they were in glorious 
almost impassable from recent rains and hauling, as it was in spirits. They had struck a bonanza sure. They were terri- 
the height of cotton and cotton seed delivering. We were bly excited, such signs as they had seen surpassed anything 
informed that it had been raining more or less for three we had imagined in our wildest dreams. Tracks as large as 
months; and it looked like it, for the low ground was full of a man’s hat.; trees literally torn up by the roots; beds Targe 
water; an immense amount of cotton was still standing out, enough to accommodate twenty; the largest bear we ever 
as the weather would not permit its being picked. We found heard of, etc., etc. I flew back to camp und got the ax and a __.. u 
we had blundered by coming this season, hut were hopeful, cane knife, and we worked manfully, cutting roads, bridging a possum; the latter they miuuged to lose coming in. 
as every one we met assured us we would have grand sport, | sloughs and blazing paths, and fixing up for a general havoc parly now begun to get the “ blues '' to an alarming e 
fresh deer tracks that morning, and I wanted to go back to 
the same pluce. I saw two fine deer— Ihe first sighted by any 
of the party. I followed them some time, but could not see 
them any more. I returned to camp in good spirits, for I 
believed I or some one else of the party would get one the 
next day. I fouud the bear hunters had returned without 
gating a run, and the sura total of the hunt was a coon and 
“ J *- . Our 
extent. 
there were “ lots of bear," and gave us thrilling accounts of 
how they 9tole their pigs and destroyed their corn, etc. How 
we waded water and split mud! What cared we for that? 
the next day. We went back to camp tired, wet, and, that 
boon of a hunter's life, hungry, but perfectly happy. Just 
after dark it commenced raiuing and gained mo it gloriou.- y 
The bitters ha l given out, and we had no way of replenish- 
ing them. I suggested a dog fight, thinking to arouse them 
a little from the "sbugh of despond;” but they 9adly shook 
