Aug. 12, ign.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
253 
An August Journey in West Texas 
own case I find it a great pleasure to read the 
opinions of others and compare my own with 
them. It gives one great pleasure to try out 
new ideas. 
The way in which the wooden minnows are 
fitted with triple and double gangs of hooks 
will show but the evolution of the idea; in time 
I think they will be made without the gangs on 
the sides, leaving only the ones behind hid in 
the tail hairs to do the deadly work. For my 
part I do not see why they have added these 
extra hooks. It cannot be because they catch 
better or hold the fish more firmly, for I have 
JIMMIE IN CAMP IN THE CATSKILLS. 
used a unmber of them and have always found 
the one with the single gang and the bushy tail 
the best.* Since the bass evidently strikes out of 
curiosity and exasperation at the wooden min¬ 
now, it is sure to strike hard. If on the side 
hooks, as often happens, then in the course of 
the fight he will get hooked in several places 
and the fight loses some of its wonted flavor. 
If the fisherman is so minded he can easily re¬ 
move the side gangs, thus doing away with this 
fault. The side hooks get caught up in weeds- 
and are a nuisance. 
One of the minnows I have used for several 
seasons with more or less success is about 
three inches long with yellow belly and color 
of the sides shading into the brown of the back, 
which is mottled. There is the end gang and 
bucktail. This is about the best I have tried 
for bass when they are in the taking mood, 
though the minnows with green or white bellies 
are also good. Red minnows are for some rea¬ 
son or another snapped up eagerly, according 
to one fisherman, who also suggests that a 
piece of red flannel be tied on to the pork rind 
bait. 
Sometimes a tough piece of pork is cut into 
the shape of a frog, legs and all, about the size 
of a half-grown frog; the hook is run through 
the head so that it will be flat in the water. 
* I lie side hooks would be left off by some manu- 
iacturers were it not for the fact that bass frequently, if 
not generally, strike the wooden minnow amidships. For 
this reason three single hooks, one on each side and a 
trader, are employed more or less successfully.—E ditor. 
By FRANK 
N Aug. io, 1874, we were all up bright and 
early. The people of Austin stood in 
crowds to see us start. The Colonel rode 
ahead on his favorite “Billy”; next followed the 
ambulance with M. and myself inside and two 
servants out, then a light wagon with the other 
servants, and finally the army wagons brought 
up the rear under the care of Lieutenant L. 
On leaving town the first event was the cross¬ 
ing of the Colorado River. The water was clear 
and bright, and as we stopped in the middle of 
the stream to water the mules, we could see on 
either side of us teams crossing to and from 
the city. 
There had been such a long period of sun¬ 
shine that the road for some miles was very 
dusty, but the day was cool and a high wind 
blew it away from us. The country was roil¬ 
ing, and many of the hillsides over which we 
passed seemed a mass of rocks, and as some of 
the places were very steep the brakes of the 
ambulance were in constant use. Between these 
hills we often found long stretches of intervale, 
as beautiful a country as I care to see. Unfor¬ 
tunately it was too late in the year for many of 
the wild flowers for which this State is so 
famous, but we passed along fields of the cotton 
plant, and now and then a patch of verbena in 
full bloom. 
We came twenty-five miles the first day, stop¬ 
ping now and then to rest the animals, and also 
at the streams to water, and arrived at Dripping- 
Springs at dusk. Our camp was made in a half 
circle in a clearing opposite an oak grove. Our 
large tent was put up first, next two for the 
servants, then the mess tent, the wagons being- 
drawn up in line at the other end. The cook¬ 
ing was done in the open air and the large fire 
which the men had built at their end of the line 
was shortly responsible for a smoking hot sup¬ 
per to which they did ample justice. In the 
meantime our own cook was engaged, in prepar¬ 
ing our supper for which we were not a little 
impatient. This was all a novel sight to me, 
and I enjoyed myself immensely as I sat in my 
camp chair gazing at the brilliant sky which 
threw a glare over everything. I was told it was 
the reflection of prairie fires. 
The mules were hobbled and sent with a guard 
to graze nearby, and the camp was soon wrapped 
in slumber. I was surprised to find so large a 
camp so quiet. The only noise which disturbed 
me was the moving about of the animals and 
the braying of the mules. However, I slept weil 
and felt thoroughly rested the following morn¬ 
ing. 
Making an early start, toward night we reached 
our second camping ground at Adam’s Creek, 
and while the men were engaged in pitching the 
tents, we visited a house a short way from us. 
It was made of logs, with daylight peeping in 
at the many crevices. The chairs were covered 
with skins, while the rest of the furniture was 
primitive in the extreme. Hens and chickens 
were running in and out of the doors, and the 
pigs in the yard would, I think, have been quite 
as friendly had it not been for the old darkey 
who sat at the door and kept away all such in- 
R. TUCKER 
truders. The owner of the ranch was an Eng¬ 
lishman by birth and noted for his hospitality. 
To all he had we were entirely welcome. 
Melons, eggs and new milk were freely given 
to us. He lived here with his wife and babes 
as contented as though he were not miles away 
from his nearest neighbor. 
1 he Colonel thought it best to cross the stream 
before making camp, as in this country the 
rivers sometimes rise so rapidly that one is 
often detained several days before it is safe to 
cross. The banks of this river were of lime 
stone, and as they rose high above the water 
in its then low state, they reminded me of the 
Palisades of the Hudson. 
Our ride that day had not been so fatiguing 
as that of the day before, as the roads were 
much better and in many places very beautiful, 
as they wound through the woods or up the 
hillsides from the top of which we were enabled 
to obtain an extended view. 
Early the following morning the camp was a 
scene of great activity. Luncheons were put up, 
mules harnessed, horses saddled and finally the 
tents were struck. After an excellent breakfast 
we started on another long march. We fol¬ 
lowed the banks of the Perdinales for miles. 
The river was very low and the smoothly 
washed limestone which forms its bed was in 
such immense flat pieces that I thought what a 
splendid ballroom they would make. The moun¬ 
tains all seemed to be concical in shape and the 
HOMEWARD BOUND. 
views from the hills beggared description. 
The men, who were marched carefully, were 
never too tired to dance and sing about their 
camp-fires, and the melody of a quartette would 
linger in my brain as I sank into that deep 
sleep which is a part of outdoor life. 
The next day our road lav through a Wild 
tangled forest, the trees being mostly nut and 
