along the seashore of the town, and many fine dwellings 
stand on its salt covered suburbs. Here the place was 
filled with refugees from Hayti and St. Domingo. What 
tall, muscular fellows they were—their skins quite dark, 
with Arab features, and long coarse hair, glossy and black. 
Many of them had taken part in the fierce struggle which 
was raging in their unhappy country against the Spaniards. 
One of them told me he had killed in battle three Spanish 
officers with his sword. Said he: “My English young 
friend, Spaniards bloody cowards; they cut your throat in 
the dark; they like to grind knife and feel the edge, but 
they cannot stand the swordsmanship of my countrymen.” 
At Turk’s Island I sold the balance of my cargo, and pur- 
chased anchors, spars, and wrecked coffee, I also received 
on board some gold and silver—over one thousand pounds 
sterling—to be delivered by me to sundry merchants in 
Nassau. 
I now weighed anchor, homeward bound; the day was 
sultry, and accompanied by heavy thunder showers. To- 
wards night the weather threatened ill, and we took shelter 
in a place called East Cayeo Harbor. Here the speckled 
mosquitoes drew the blood from our necks and faces most 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
307 

‘provements, ninety or even one hundreds rods were not 
considered out of the way. How well I remember the ex- 
citement that was ereated when Hi. R—., a celebrated 
turkey shooter of that region, brought on the ground his 
new Ferris rifle, with it’s globe sights and patent muzzle, 
(new things in those days), and what exclamations of 
wonder were uttered when Lance—who though but a boy 
then, but known as a good shot, after having got his range 
picked off seven of ‘‘old Pinto’s” turkeys in succession. 
Old Pinto was a character in our parts, and known far 
and near for his speculating propensities, and withal was 
considered not over scrupulous in his business transactions, 
being decidedly close and not disposed to give the boys as 
they thought any more show than he could possibly help. 
The right thing to do was to have the turkey tied to the 
end of a rail or short stake with a cord of a few inches, 
giving the bird full play to stand erect and even to walk 
around a little, and that, too, on or against rising ground, 
in order that the shooter, when he missed or at the first 
shooting, might see where his balls struck and arrange his 
sights accordingly for his next shots. 
pecially ina windy day, would be an advantage to the 
This of course, es- 
At a quarter past two P. M., while sitting on a fallen 
tree, I thought of my dream of the night before, and then 
the mortifying fact dawned upon my benighted mind that 
dreams always go by contraries. 
As it was then late, and we were about eight miles from 
any living thing, we deemed it best to strike civilization as 
soon as possible, and with this thought uppermost in our 
minds we turned in the direction of St. Barnabe. I don’t 
know how the others felt, but I was growing savage. I 
was determined to shoot something before I got home, and 
when we were so near St. Barnabe that I knew where I 
was, I left the party and went into business for myself, and 
it came very near being a grave mistake. Shortly after we 
separated, as I was making my way through an opening in 
the woods, I was startled by hearing a loud grunt and some- 
thing run. I was frightened. I thought of bears and 
panthers, and a cold sweat fairly stood on my gun barrel. 
I buttoned my coat around me to keep from shaking to 
pieces, and cautiously moved away. In doing so I discov; 
ered the cause of my unmanly agitation. It was standing 
about five rods away, and was nothing more nor less than 
shooters; but at one hundred rods or more, they claimed it, 
and it was considered right. 
But old Pinto could not often be so magnanimous, but 
would not only have small hen turkeys, often speckled or 
nearly white, and therefore difficult to be seen against the 
snow, but would set them down half way behind the rail, 
or as he once did, (and that created a big breeze among the 
boys), tied his bird on top of a crockery crate; and more- 
over, told us it was only ninety rods off when it was one 
hundred and more. 
That turkey stood thirty-six shots and was then killed by 
a hilarious hiccuping Hibernian, who never shot a rifle he- 
fore in his life. He had come reeling out of the tavern, and 
approaching Col. B., who was driving down his ball for his 
tenth shot, he said: ‘‘Kurnel, be jabbers, yees promised 
me a schot the day.”” The Colonel, as well as all of us, were 
pretty mad, for the arrangement had been consented to 
previously, that that turkey must be hit before any change 
should be made. Turning around, the Colonel said: ‘Well 
here, Jimmie, if you will kill that pigeon,” (it was a small 
speckled hen, not much larger than a pigeon, and being the 
first bird, and that too on a crockery crate, none of the 
boys had got the range), ‘‘you shall have all the whiskey 
you can hold.” 
Jimmie took the gun, and instead of lying down a full 
length on *he slab, one end of which rested on the lower 
board of the fence, the other on the ground, thus giving a 
dead rest, he walked up to the tence and placing the barrel 
on the top board, about breast high, after swaying about a 
a hog; but such a hog I never saw on hoofs before. He 
looked as though he had just returned from an expedition 
in search of Sir John Franklin, and had endured the pri- 
vations and hardships of numerous Arctic winters. Why, 
you could have cooked him bodily and he wouldn’t have 
produced enough grease to lubricate the balance wheel of a 
Howard adjustment. The idea of being frightened by a 
hog roused my indignation to such a pitch that I deter- 
mined to teach his hogship a good lesson. Accordingly, I 
levelled my Canadian stub twist in his direction and coy- 
ered what I could with my sight, and then, without a word 
of warning, I introduced to his notice about a quarter of a 
pound of No. 8, backed up by a reasonable amount of pro- 
jective material. To say that the swine was taken by sur- 
prise doesn’t express it. For about a minute I guess he 
thought King William had made another forced march on 
the Rhine. Eleven seconds later, hatless and gunless and 
senseless, I was ruminating on the mutability of human 
calculations among the branches of a small oak, whither I 
had taken myself rather suddenly to escape the fury of 
that hog’s onslaught. Looking at him from the tree, I 
never for an instant doubted but what that hog’s whole soul 
was in the work before him. I never sawa more thorough- 
ly interested specimen of hog anatomy in my life. He 
peeled the bark off the tree with his tusks, and ploughed 
deep furrows in the dirt and leaves directly underme. From 
a base ball point of view, that porker did the finest bit of 
fielding I ever saw. I thought of George Wright, Ros. 
Barnes, and other noted players, but the hog suffered by 



































thoroughly, and many was the thick skinned negro who 
groaned under their weight. Here we obtained two barrels 
of beautiful fish of many varieties. 
Again we weighed anchor, and with a glorious breeze, - 
about four points free, flew on towards the Bahamas, and 
made a call at Rum Cay, where we took aboard some pas- 
sengers, and four days after this we passed Cat Island, or 
better known abroad as St. Salvador. We are told that 
Columbus first saw it in 1492, but how he got to it without 
dashing against some of the other islands to windward of 
it 1 don’t know. Perhaps he had a pilot on board like my- 
self, that kept him clear of the rocks. This long snake- 
like island is the most valuable fruit growing district of the 
Bahamas, and exports pineapples, bananas, and oranges 
to the United States. During iny stay in the Bahamas I 
always ‘“‘went in” for plenty of watermelons, bananas, 
sugar apples, sappadillis, and guavas. I have often seen a 
bunch of bananas weighing over a hundred pounds, 
The most curious little resident I ever met with in the 
West Indies was the soldier crab. Its limbs are remarkably 
small, and it handles them with all the machinery of a well 
ribbed umbrella. When frightened it silently stows away 
its limbs, lays low, and keeps cool. Iam told that every 
year they march down to the sea by thousands to spawn 
and change their shells. Ihave heard of their being used 
in Jamaica for soups, but in the Bahamas they are not con- 
sidered fit for human food. 
little, pulled the trigger, and to our utter amazement, he 
shot that little bird through at the butt of the wings, 
It was an extraordinary chance shot, of course, but it was 
a big thing, and Jimmie was the hero of the day. I don’t 
think it was a good thing for Jimmie, for with the treats 
by all hands, it was the occasion of his taking ina very full 
Two days more and we sighted NewProvidence, having been 
absent about forty days. We sailed through the eastern pas- 
sage, and handsomely glided past the massive old forts, and 
were soon at anchor abreast of this beautiful city of trees; 
but its glory was departing, for Fort Sumpter had hauled 



down the stars and bars, our friend Uncle Sam had con- 
quered his brother, and peace reigned again the Union; but 
empty warehouses and well-filled graves stood as monu- 
ments in New Providence to account for some of the nett 
prcceeds of the sum total of the ‘‘Yankee war” and yellow 
fever. 
<2 ____ 
EPRI Y SHOOTS.” 
ap Ai 
Epviror Forest AND STREAM :— 
Who of us, country-reared and with sporting proclivities 
but recall with pleasure those days when, word previously 
given out, or more often a notice in irregular characters, 
(suggesting strongly that ‘‘the schoolmaster was abroad’) 
posted up on the door of the bar-roum or grocery store set- 
ting forth that on a certain day, generally Thanksgiving or 
some day just before or between the holidays), there would 
be ‘‘a Turkey shoot” at the corners, or at some well-known 
tavern. How the announcement used to arouse our juvenile 
enthusiasm! Then were rifles looked to, bullets cast, 
patches cut, and all the minutiz of arrangements made for 
the match. The crack shots for miles around would be sure 
to be on hand, and many that were not shots at all, for 
there would be other fun always connected with “‘a shoot.” 
It is many years since we ran our eye along the tube at a 
turkey, but we presume those things are conducted about 
the same now a-days, varying in particulars perhaps in dif- 
ferent localities. In one section of the country the bird is 
secured in a box with only his head and neck exposed 
through a hole on the top, and at a distance of eighty yards 
the shooter must kill the bird ‘‘off hand,” or at two hun- 
dred yards and off hand, the bird being tied to a stake and 
in full view, it is only required to draw blood to win the prize. 
It could easily be seen when a turkey was hit by it’s flop- 
ping or jumping up, but sometimes a turkey would move 
even when the bullet came close, and only threw snow in 
it’s eyes, then if shooting at a long distance and the shooter 
had a friend on the watch to rush up and examine the bird, 
it gave occasion for fraud or thumbing, as they call it, ce, 
drawing blood with thumb nail or a knife even, and claim- 
ing the bird. Then often followed angry and sometimes 
very vehement discussions. 
Up our way a dead rest was allowed and invariably pre- 
ferred, the object being placed at a distance varying often 
according to the timidity or meaness of the setter up of the 
birds. I can recall the time when sixty rods, (measurement 
then was always made by rods instead of yards), was con- 
sidered fair; but as rifles reached a higher degree of ac- 
curacy at long range with their globe sights and other im- 
cargo before night. After that, of course, the crockery 
crate was kicked one side, the birds were properly put up 
and everything went off smoothly. 
All this time fun was going on in the bar-room. Those 
who were not shooters, but were not the less anxious to 
carry home a roaster, were trying their hands at the raffles. 
Ah, with what intense anxiety the boys would watch the 
turn of those deceiving dice! Once we remember when the 
big turkey was up, (an eighteen pounder), forty-six was 
high, and had so stood for some time, when it came little 
humpbacked Mike’s turn, (Mike was the only son of the 
washerwoman, ‘‘and she was a widow,” and the Doctor had 
given him a sixpence to try his luck). As his first raffle 
proved to be three sixes, his next two fives and a four, 
leaving fourteen to tie, with what eagerness we watched for 
the result, and as the ivories rolled out two fives and a six, 
what a shout went up, and then when little Mike trudged 
off home with the turkey on his shoulder, nearly as large as 
himself, it was a fit and satisfactory finale to the day’s 
sport. : J ACOBSTAFF. 
i 
A “WATCH ON THE RHINE.” 
_—__>—_—. 
Sr. BARNABE, Canada, 1873. 
Eprror Forest anD STREAM :— 
We had been told such marvelous stories about the abun- 
dance of game here that we made up our minds that if we 
once got started nothing would stop the slaughter but dark- 
ness or lack of shooting material. Friday night we scoured 
the town for guns, and laid in our stock of ammunition, 
which, by the way, is a very important part of a hunter’s 
outfit. I calculate that our stock averaged about as well as 
that of any party that has fitted out since the days of Dan- 
iel Boone. It was near eight o’clock A. M. when we left 
St. Barnabe and plunged into the mud and primeval for- 
est. Our party consisted of Mr. Roloff, myself, two Ca- 
nadian guides in full war paint, and two dogs. Immedi. 
ately on striking the woods we threw ourselves into atti- 
tudes ready for instant action, and I am sorry to say we 
had no occasion to throw ourselves out of them, only as 
the position became tiresome and obliged us to change 
hands fora rest. In fact, we travelled from early morn 
until two P. M. without seeing a living thing twice the size 
of a June bug, and it was astonishing how fast I lost inter- 
est in that raid after twelve o’clock. I begged one of the 
guides to throw himself up and let us try him on the wing, 
but he flatly refused. Nothing presented itself to relieve 
the monotony but certain fluids, that suffered continually. 



comparison. I tried to enter into conversation with him, 
with the view of getting him to playin Boston next season, 
but as near as I could make out, he was alveady engaged. I 
didn’t relish the idea of remaining in that tree long, for I 
was bareheaded, and feared sunstroke; besides, I never 
took mueh interest in the lumber trade. But deliverance 
came from an unexpected quarter. It appears that when I 
fired one of the dogs left the party and started in the direc- 
tion of the sound, thinkiag, no doubt, I had discovered 
game, and so | had. Iwould give all I possess in the world 
to know what that dog’s feelings were as he came upon the 
scene and saw me up the tree and the hog standing guard. 
I was completely overjoyed, and came near falling out of 
the tree into the jaws of death, or the hog’s. However, 
the grunter now turned his attention to the new comer, and 
I made up my mind that if that dog didn’t want crape on 
his front door in the morning he had better leave me to my 
fate, but the result clearly proved the truth of Bill’s re- 
mark, that ‘‘there ace more things in heaven and earth . 
than are dreamed of in our philosophy.” The dog seemed 
to take in the situation ata glance; he also noted that he 
had got no slouch of a hog to deal with, and then com- 
menced a series of movements between the two which for 
grandeur of conception and rapidity of execution have had 
no equal. The highest ambition of that dog at this partic- 
ular moment seemed to be to get in the rear of the hog, and 
the hog was just as anxious to keep his enemy in front, 
and for me to describe the movements of the two in this 
contest would require a volume as large as the corner-stone 
of the new post office. I should think that fifteen minutes 
had passed when the hog showed signs of distress, and he 
was evidently contemplating one of those masterly retreats 
that made McClellan’s name so famous, when an unexpec- 
ted movement on the part of the dog brought the idea to a 
head at once. The dog had been watching for the chance, 
and when he caught the hog off his guard he made a light- 
ning spring and fastened to one of the hog’s ears, and that 
settled the fate of Europe on that field. You could hear 
that hog give vent to his injured feelings for miles as he 
crashed through the woods, dragging the canine with him. 
I lost no time in getting out of that tree, and gathering up 
my hat and gun I commenced to put real estate between 
me and the scene of the late conflict in a somewhat marvel- 
ous manner. Before I got home the dog joined me, and he 
seemed as modest and unconcerned about his victory as I 
was in not sayiny anything about it when we arrived. I 
don’t care to go hunting here any more; it isn’t a happy 
pastime. From your unhappy Damon. 

—To the father of the family the Forest anp SrrEAM 
offers the advantages of amusing many a leisure hour. All 
rational sports are advocated. The ladies read and con- 
tribute to the Formst AND STREAM. The children can re- 
ceive a pair of skates as a Prize. See Prize List. 
